Darn Good Cowboy Christmas

by Carolyn Brown

“Been busy with the new therapy group, and the motel is going really good. I started to call this morning, but we only had five rooms to clean and Tasha said she’d take care of them if I wanted to get out. Thought I’d run down to the used bookstore in Bowie and stock up for a month or so. I’ve got two strays I need to find jobs for.” Lucy sipped her coffee.

  “I’m not in the market…” Jasmine started.

  “You could be,” Liz said.

  “Oh?”

  “I talked to Maddie last night about… well, when this day came. I only said I’d work until Lucy found someone. I’ve never had a job. I don’t know how to do this,” Liz said.

  “You’re doin’ fine,” Lucy said.

  “I kind of figured out over the weekend that I want to work with the horses or on the ranch. That’s what I want to be when I grow up. It’s like fate that Lucy came today. I’ll move over and let one of Lucy’s girls have my waitress job,” Liz said.

  “Thank you,” Lucy said. “Bridget is twenty-one. She’s got waitress experience. She’s living with her folks in Petrolia. I’m afraid if she doesn’t get a job, she’ll fall right back into her abusive husband’s web. If she’s got a routine and her own money, she’ll be fine with our weekly meetings.”

  “What meetings?” Jasmine asked.

  “Started them a month ago. That’s another reason I don’t get out much. Sunday afternoons, those that can, we all meet in the Baptist church fellowship hall. It’s like AA only for abused women. It’s our support group,” Lucy said.

  “When does she want to start work?” Liz asked.

  “She’s sittin’ out there in my truck. Thought we’d check here first since it’s closest to her folks’ farm,” Lucy said.

  Jasmine looked at Liz. “You sure about this, Liz?”

  “I’ll miss you but I figured out what I want to be and Maddie said I could work with the horses. I’ll give Bridget my apron and start work on the ranch tomorrow morning.”

  “Then bring her on in. She can work with Liz all afternoon and start full-time tomorrow morning,” Jasmine said.

  Lucy didn’t waste a minute as she fairly well danced across the floor.

  “She takes her mission very seriously. That’s a good thing you did, but I’m going to miss you like crazy,” Jasmine said.

  “It’s the right thing and the right time,” Liz said. “And we’re friends. I’ll see you often.”

  Bridget was a short woman, carrying about twenty extra pounds and a few faint yellow bruises around her eyes. She wore a chambray shirt out over her tight jeans. She held out her hand to Jasmine and said, “Thank you for givin’ me a chance. I did some work over at the Dairy Queen when I was in high school, but that was a while ago. I’ll learn fast though.”

  “Minimum wage to start,” Jasmine said.

  “The tips are really good, though,” Liz said.

  “I would work for minimum and give the tips to you,” Bridget said.

  “That isn’t the way it works. You keep the tips. Some days they’ll be better than your wages. I pay on Saturday at quittin’ time. You need a fifty dollar advance on your first paycheck for gas to get you to work the rest of the week?”

  Bridget nodded. “Daddy said I can use his old work truck until I can get something better. He’d probably fill it up with gas, but if I can do it on my own, I’d like that.”

  “Then get an apron and follow Liz everywhere she goes today. Lucy, you want to pick her up on your way back home?” Jasmine asked.

  “I’ll be here at two,” Lucy said.

  “Hey, Lucy, you said you had two women needing work. What’s the other lady looking for?” Liz asked.

  “She’s fifty years old and never worked outside the home. We got her set up in a little garage apartment in Henrietta, but rent is due at the end of the month. We could only help her get situated and pay one month. She’s not qualified for anything.”

  Liz’s mind went into overdrive. “Cooking and cleaning.”

  Lucy nodded. “She could sure do that. She takes care of cleaning the fellowship hall when we leave.”

  “Does she have transportation?”

  Lucy nodded again. “She’s got a car. Have you heard about anything?”

  “I might have something. Send her down to my house this afternoon. We’ll talk. I hate to clean and I damn sure hate to cook. We might work up a deal,” Liz said.

  “What time?” Lucy asked.

  “Three. I’m supposed to be at the horse barn at four,” she said.

  “She’ll be there,” Lucy said.

  Bridget fell right into the work, and Liz had five minutes of free time just before the lunch rush. She called Maddie and told her what she’d done that morning.

  “That’s a good thing you did, Liz. Then you were serious about working more?” Maddie asked.

  “Were you serious about me working as much as I want?” Liz asked.

  “I was. Dewar, Cash, and I are leaving tomorrow morning and we’ll be gone a week. The hired help will be helping Raylen and he’ll be your boss. Think you can handle that?”

  “I’ll do my best not to piss him off and get fired before you get back,” Liz said.

  “If you can do that, I’ll start you at a quarter above minimum.”

  “Better make it minimum wage, then.” Liz laughed.

  ***

  Raylen waved from the horse barn when he saw Liz drive up. She hopped out of the truck and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Did Maddie talk to you?”

  “Not since breakfast. I meant to run up to the café for dinner, but Granny made fried chicken and it would have hurt her feelings if I didn’t take an hour and eat with her and Grandpa. How’d your day go?”

  “I quit my job.”

  Raylen’s heart fell to the ground. The other shoe had dropped. The weekend on the boat had proved to her that she wasn’t ready for ranch life.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Liz asked.

  “I’m afraid of what I’ll hear.”

  “Lucy needed places for a couple of her abused women. One is working for Jasmine. I quit and gave her my job. Kind of like fate tossed them women in my path. Aunt Tressa says when opportunity knocks, invite it in for a cup of coffee before you send it on its way. So I did. Bridget is working for Jasmine, and she’s a hard worker. She’ll do all right. The other one is my new housekeeper and cook. She’ll be at my house at eight in the morning and she’s going to clean, wash, and iron and all those things I hate. And hot damn, she likes to cook. She’ll have our dinner ready at noon and she’ll leave at two. She’s working five days a week. As of this minute, I’m working for O’Donnell’s Horses and you are my boss.”

  The grin that split Raylen’s face lit up the whole north part of Texas. “What’s her name?”

  “Who?”

  “The new lady.”

  “Oh, that’ll be Wilma. She’s Hispanic and has put up with years of mental abuse from a rascal husband, but she doesn’t want to talk about it. She says that’s behind her now and she wants to go on with her life.”

  Raylen took off his hat and slapped the dust out of it on his leg. “How can you afford that?”

  “I’m going to pay her with what I make working for you,” she said.

  She wanted to spit it all out right then but she couldn’t make herself do it. She’d tell Raylen about her finances someday but not that day.

  “I suppose we’ll be out of the house by the time she gets there every day,” he said.

  “We’d better be if we want to be finished before dark. I’m a horse woman now, not a carnie. I can’t sleep until noon. So what are my orders?”

  “Kiss me and then exercise horses until dark.” He continued to grin.

  Chapter 30

  Christmas Eve wasn’t exceptionally cold but it was nippy. The O’Donnell family had decided to have their dinner and present exchange that day, and then on Christmas Austin and Rye could take Rachel to Tulsa to spend the day with the other side of the family; L
iz and Raylen and Blaze and Colleen could all go to Claude.

  “Got to be accommodatin’ to the other folks,” Cash had said.

  Liz awoke in a state of excitement. She’d already wrapped ten presents for Raylen and hid them in a spare bedroom. In the living room, piled up on the sofa and waiting for Raylen to arrive, she had at least one present for everyone in the O’Donnell family and one for Blaze who would be there also.

  There was a pretty shawl for Colleen, a sweater for Gemma, several baby toys for Rachel, who had stolen her heart. A lovely crystal bowl for Maddie, and a Christmas CD for Cash, and a big box of Dewar’s favorite Christmas chocolate covered cherries from a special candy factory in Wichita Falls. She’d chosen a silver picture frame for Austin and Rye with a gift certificate to a fancy photography shop to have a family portrait done. Today Raylen got a silver belt buckle with the ranch brand engraved in the middle in gold, and Blaze got the biggest bottle of his favorite shaving lotion that she could find.

  Raylen was running a little late that morning. A mare was down in the horse barn trying to deliver a foal too early and he’d called the vet in for an opinion. Medicine had been given, but the vet didn’t think it would save the foal brought on by one of Danny Boy’s escapes.

  “Merry Christmas Eve,” he said with a sweet kiss. “You ready?”

  “Once we get all these presents out to the truck.”

  “That’s a lot of presents,” he said.

  “Buying them was so much fun. I love shopping and I got to buy so many this year. Usually it’s one for Momma, one for Aunt Tressa, for Poppa, and for Blaze. I love Ringgold,” she said.

  “Did you buy something for everyone in town?” he asked as she stacked presents in his arms.

  “I would have if they were coming to Christmas at your folks.” She giggled.

  Colleen met them at the door and helped Liz unload the presents from Raylen’s arms and arrange them under the tree.

  “So how are things between you and Raylen?” she whispered.

  “First, tell me about you and Blaze,” Liz said.

  “I’m in love.”

  “Me too,” Liz said.

  Dinner was loud and noisy just like all affairs at the ranch. Presents afterwards left the room covered in paper and ribbons and more noise and laughter. Liz opened her presents slowly, savoring every single moment and enjoying watching others open what she’d shopped for.

  Gemma gave her a lovely horseshoe pendant dangling from a chunky bead chain. Colleen’s present was a snow globe with an angel inside and a note that said she’d still be glad to buy Liz’s wings. Austin and Rye gave her two bottles of Austin’s watermelon wine in a crystal wine bucket. Dewar’s gift was a set of horse head bookends and a gift certificate to the nearest bookstore. Maddie and Cash gave her a quilt rack to sit in the corner of her living room, and Granny and Grandpa’s present was a hand quilted throw to put on it.

  She loved all of the presents and the thought that went into them, but they would never know how much fun she’d had agonizing over what she gave them that year. To have friends so close that she knew what they would like was the biggest gift of all.

  Raylen looked strange when he opened her gift, as if he didn’t like it or she’d intruded on some kind of private ground by commissioning a silversmith in Amarillo to make the buckle. He kissed her on the cheek and thanked her, but something wasn’t right.

  Before she could ask him what was wrong, Maddie dug her phone from her hip pocket and answered it. “Oh, no!” she said.

  “What?” Raylen asked.

  “It’s that mare we’ve been watching. She’s delivering early. I knew she was too old to breed. Damn that horny Danny Boy,” she fussed.

  “You stay here. Liz and I will take care of her,” Raylen said. “Everyone doesn’t need to go.”

  “Get rid of those shoes and use my boots, and, darlin’, you’d better shuck out of that fancy dress and put on my coveralls too. They’re hangin’ on a hook by the clothes dryer,” Maddie told Liz.

  Liz was a little disappointed that she couldn’t finish the day in the glow of the family in full Christmas spirit, but she nodded in agreement. She hurried into the utility room and changed into the coveralls, kicked her high heels off, and donned a pair of worn cowboy boots. They were half a size too big but they beat ruining her expensive high heels.

  The mare was down in one of the stalls with a hired hand standing over her when they reached the stables.

  “I’m on stall duty every two hours. When I left last time she was fine,” he said.

  “The vet checked her early, Carl. We both thought we had it under control. It’s not your fault. Go on home to your family. We’re here and we’ll take care of her.” Raylen knelt beside the black horse. “And Merry Christmas, Carl.”

  “Same to you and Miz Liz.” Carl headed out of the barn.

  “Come on, girl,” he said softly.

  Liz dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the mare’s neck. “We won’t ever let Danny Boy close to you again if you’ll have this foal and not die.”

  “How do you plan to keep that promise?” Raylen asked. His tone was edgy but he’d felt terrible when he didn’t have a present for her. Now she’d think he was a total jerk and in front of his whole family. Even Blaze had thought to bring something for Colleen which made matters even worse. But he’d been so wrapped up in his present for the next day he’d forgotten about the gift exchange among the family that day. He gave gift cards every year to everyone. To fancy restaurants for Rye and Austin, to Toys“R”Us for Rachel, to a spa for each of his sisters, and a cruise for his parents. Dewar got one to a George Strait concert and…

  “Shit!” he said. He hadn’t gotten Blaze a damn thing either. Now Colleen would be mad at him too.

  “What is the matter with you? Didn’t you like my present?” Liz snapped.

  “Hell, yes. It’s beautiful and I love it. But I didn’t have a thing for you or Blaze. Dammit!”

  Liz walked across the stall on her knees and wrapped her arms around Raylen. “Tell me you love me.”

  “You know I do.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I love you.”

  “That’s the best Christmas present in the world. Now let’s take care of this horse. She’s just about ready. Look at those little hooves coming out.”

  “It’s premature, so it’s probably not going to make it.”

  “Oh, yes it will. Little or not, it’s not going to die. That momma horse has worked too hard not to have her baby, and it will live,” Liz declared as the next contraction pushed more of the foal out into the world.

  It was black except for one white ear and a white splotch on the forehead that faintly resembled a star. When it was fully out Raylen was everywhere at once, wiping its nose, shaking it gently to make it suck in air, and cussing under his breath the whole time.

  Liz stayed out of his way until the newborn finally heaved and started breathing, then she helped wipe it down with warm towels. “What now?”

  “We baby-sit for a while. See if it can stand on its own and hope his momma survives,” he said.

  “Do we call the vet?”

  “No, nothing he can do that we can’t now,” Raylen said.

  “Where’d that blaze come from? His momma and daddy are both solid black.”

  “He’s thrown one other one with a blaze. He’s won two major races and is almost as famous as Danny Boy,” Raylen said.

  At midnight, the mare was standing on her own and everything looked fine. The tiny little horse had fed even though it had to stretch its neck to the full extent to reach his mother’s teats.

  “I’m going to get a shower and grab a few hours sleep,” Raylen said.

  “Me too. Santa Claus is coming at five in the morning, right?”

  Raylen grinned. “Leave milk and cookies.”

  ***

  Liz woke up Christmas morning to the aroma of coffee wafting down the hallway. Without opening he
r eyes she patted Raylen’s side of the bed, only to find a pillow and cold sheets. Then she remembered that he was going to his house after the foal had been born. He’d promised to be at her house at five o’clock because Santa was coming that morning. She jumped out of bed, pulled the curtains back, and gave a sigh of relief. The weatherman had said there was a slim possibility of freezing rain, but the sun was peeking up over the eastern horizon. After presents, she and Raylen should have dry roads all the way to Claude where they were having Christmas with her family.

  Raylen slipped his arms around her from behind, clasping them under her breasts and pulling her back to his chest. “Merry Christmas, darlin’.”

  “Merry Christmas to you.” She wiggled in closer and sniffed the air. “Do I smell cinnamon rolls? Does that mean the gig is up? Did you find the milk and cookies on the bar, Santa?”

  “I found my milk and cookies. Blister talked me out of the milk and Hooter begged for the cookie so that was their Christmas present. The cinnamon rolls are not canned. Wilma had them in the refrigerator with a note on top that said to heat for ten minutes on Christmas morning.”

  “Guess that rules out a quickie,” she teased.

  “They’ve been in the oven seven minutes. Three minutes is even too fast for me unless you want to dance for me this morning. It is Christmas,” he said.

  He nuzzled into her neck, nibbling gently at the sweetness offered there before he clasped her hand in his and led her to the kitchen. Coffee, juice, and two forks were already on the table. He brought the cinnamon rolls from the oven and put them on a hot pad in the middle of the table.

  Excitement and a tiny edge of fear mixed together to curb his appetite. This was the day, and he hoped he had planned it well enough.

  Excitement reigned in her heart. She’d gotten what she wanted for Christmas. A house that wasn’t on wheels and not just any old cowboy picked up under a tumbleweed or behind a mesquite tree, but Raylen O’Donnell. Miracles did happen. She had living proof.

  She nibbled at the cinnamon rolls but was too nervous to eat more than a few bites. She’d put out all ten of his presents before she went to bed the night before, had awakened at two o’clock and checked to make sure they were arranged just right and to see if he’d snuck one in for her. At four she woke up again and padded up to the Christmas tree to rearrange them one more time. Still nothing from Raylen.