A Cowboy for Christmas

by Sara Richardson

  “Plenty of people don’t like me,” she insisted, though she didn’t offer him any names. Most likely because she couldn’t think of any.

  Ty pulled up along the pick-up curb that ran the length of the airport’s ridiculously long terminal, scanning the people standing on the sidewalk. Nerves clenched his stomach.

  “Is that them?” Darla pointed farther down. Sure enough, there was his mother, standing at the edge of the walkway waving both arms in the air like she was trying to land a jet.

  Here we go. “Yep.” He eased the truck up the curb to where they were standing and braced himself for the greeting. After he slipped the truck into park, he quickly climbed out. “Hey Mom and Dad,” he called, taking long strides to Darla’s door. He opened it for her, and she gave him a wide smile before stepping out to meet them.

  “Darla!” His mother sidestepped him and went right for his supposed fiancée, seizing her in a hug that nearly knocked her off balance. His mom wasn’t a small woman—she was a rancher, strong and sturdy and nearly as tall as he was.

  “So nice to meet you, Mrs. Forrester.” His mother’s shoulder muffled Darla’s voice.

  “You’d better call me Maureen. Or Mom! Better yet, call me Mom.” She finally released Darla so she could get a look at her. “Oh my lord, you’re a pretty one. It’s a crying shame that Ty hasn’t sent any pictures of you two. I’ve been dying to get a look at you. I knew you’d be pretty, of course. Ty likes the pretty ones.”

  Ty gave his mom a look meant to quiet her down and turned to present Darla to his dad. “This is my old man—”

  “Call me Dad.” His father jutted out his hand for a firm shake.

  Darla seemed to take the awkwardness in stride. Ty had to hand it to her—that smile on her face sure looked genuine.

  “I can see where Ty gets his good looks,” Darla said, looking back and forth between his parents.

  “It’s mostly from me,” his mom joked. His dad only blushed.

  “Or maybe it’s from me.” Rhett sauntered over. Who knew where he’d been, probably signing autographs for some kids or something. “He learned everything from me.” Ty didn’t like the way his brother appraised Darla. He didn’t like the smirk on his brother’s face either.

  Darla’s eyebrows pointed. “And you are…?” She was obviously giving his brother a hard time, and Ty loved her for it.

  His brother shot him a degrading look. “You know who I am. I’m the main attraction for your auction.”

  Darla gave him a repentant grin. “Oh that’s right. It’s nice to meet you, Rhett. Thanks for making the trip.”

  “I couldn’t say no when I heard I’d get to meet my little brother’s fiancée.” Rhett let his gaze linger on her, likely only to piss Ty off. “I have to admit, you’re not exactly what I pictured.”

  The muscles at the back of Ty’s neck bunched. It was a veiled dig, but he hadn’t missed Rhett’s meaning. He might as well have come out and asked how a lowly bull rider like Ty had scored someone as beautiful as Darla.

  “What, exactly, did you picture?” Darla asked, crossing her arms in that intimidating way women had.

  Unfortunately, no woman had ever intimidated Rhett. “Someone less…captivating,” he said, turning on the charm.

  And there it was. Let the insults began.

  “Actually, I’m the lucky one.” Darla walked over to Ty, swinging her hips in a way that commanded attention. She slid her hands across his shoulders and drew him close. “I can hardly believe I found such a captivating guy.” With a wink, she brushed her lips across his and it took everything in him to not hold her there so he could bring the kiss deeper. It was an act. He had to remember that.

  “Well I guess I was wrong then. Welcome to the family.” Clearly amused, his brother somehow managed to pick up three of the suitcases that were strewn around the group.

  “Wow,” Ty said, looking at the other four suitcases. “Did you pack up the whole house?”

  “I had to bring presents.” His mother rolled one of the suitcases to the back of the truck. “We have so much to celebrate! Be careful with this one.”

  Ty collected the other suitcases and started to load everything into the back of the truck while Darla chatted easily with his parents.

  “She’s hot,” Rhett said, handing him a suitcase. “Still wondering how you managed to close the deal.”

  “Guess I lucked out.” He concentrated all of his attention on fitting the suitcases into the truck bed so they wouldn’t slide around. Before his brother could say anything else, he closed up the tailgate and went back to where Darla stood. “Ready? Maybe we could grab breakfast or something.”

  “Yes, we need to do breakfast.” His mom beamed at Darla. “We can order mimosas and toast your engagement! I can’t wait to learn everything about you.”

  Oh boy. Ty moved to open the front passenger’s door for Darla, but she shuffled to the other door. “It’s okay. I can sit in back with your parents.”

  “Oh.” He did his best to conceal his disappointment. That meant his brother would be riding shotgun. Peachy.

  They all climbed into the truck and belted in. Ty kept his eyes focused on the road. At least he didn’t have to worry about awkward silence. Darla and his mom chatted like they were long-lost best friends.

  “Nice ride.” Next to him, his brother was busy looking around the truck, likely finding its inadequacies. “Two thousand ten, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Unlike Rhett, he didn’t buy himself a new rig every year.

  “I brought all the family photo albums in my suitcase,” his mom was telling Darla behind them. “All the way from Ty’s baby years through high school.”

  “Yeah, barely had room for my underwear,” his dad muttered.

  “I can’t wait to see them,” Darla gushed. She was really good at this pretending stuff. Although he should’ve seen that coming. Darla was personable and outgoing and genuinely friendly. His mom would likely be attached before they’d even ordered their meals.

  He saw a sign for a diner and pulled off the highway, a whole new set of worries flooding in.

  Everyone piled out of the truck and walked toward the entrance, but Ty held Darla back.

  “You don’t have to be so nice to them.” He didn’t need his mother devastated when he told her they broke up.

  “Of course I do,” she said, giving his parents a wave before they disappeared inside the restaurant. “I’m supposed to be your fiancée.”

  “Yeah, well you’re not.” He didn’t care if she picked up on his frustration. If he wanted to keep his head on straight during this whole thing, he’d better keep reminding himself she wasn’t his. “How do you think it’s going to make them feel when we break up?” It would only give them something else to be disappointed in him about.

  “I’m a nice person. I’m going to be myself. That’s the only way this is going to work.” She nudged a playful elbow into his ribs. “Come on. I know you’re not thrilled that your family’s here, but you’re the one who said we could have fun with this. I’ll do my best to make the whole three weeks a lot less painful for you.” She gave his chest a pat. “I promise.”

  He didn’t bother mentioning that was one promise she would not be able to keep.

  * * *

  If she didn’t quit eating, Ty’s parents would probably think she was a glutton, but wow, this stuffed French toast was divine. Not that Darla hadn’t enjoyed Everly’s breakfast selection at the Farm Café, but this was a real diner with unhealthy, inorganic, greasy food, and for some reason, right now, it was the best thing she’d ever tasted.

  “You going to finish those home fries?” she asked Ty, eyeing his plate from across the table. He shook his head and slid his plate over to her, remaining as quiet as he had the rest of the breakfast. No one else had seemed to notice his subdued glower. His parents weren’t exactly what she’d expected. First off, they were younger than she’d been picturing. Or at least they seemed younger. Ty’s dad still had d
ark hair, and his mom had only a few gray streaks in her reddish ponytail. For some reason, she’d expected them to be closed off and uptight, but they were actually easy to talk to. Especially Maureen, who asked a lot of questions and seemed very personable. Of course, neither of his parents had said more than two words to Ty since they’d gotten to the restaurant. They were too busy talking to her and listening to Rhett’s stories. She could see why his brother drove Ty crazy. He was your stereotypical egotistical jock—flirting with the young waitresses, sliding in digs against his brother every chance he got, commanding all the attention in the room with loud talk about his football team. He even signed autographs for people seated nearby. All the while, Ty sat in the figurative shadows, sipping his black coffee.

  “So when is the wedding?” Maureen asked, withdrawing a small calendar from her purse. “It should be in the summer, don’t you think? Preferably late August—”

  “Summer’s bad for Darla,” Ty interrupted. “And we just got engaged, Ma. We don’t need a date yet.” Everything about the man seemed tense, and Darla wasn’t quite sure what to do. They were supposed to be looking at each other with stars in their eyes, and he hadn’t looked at her once all during breakfast.

  “Well surely you don’t want a winter wedding,” his mother persisted. “And you’re going to wait a whole year and a half?”

  The corners of Ty’s mouth pinched, so it seemed like a good time for Darla to jump in. “We have a while to decide. I’m not planning on a huge, grand affair. Something small and intimate. Simple.” That was what she and Gray had done. They’d eloped, and then a few weeks later they had the best party she’d ever been to. She smiled against the welling sorrow. You can’t keep that big beautiful heart hidden away, my love. She didn’t know how to stop hiding. Last night she’d felt this emotional connection to Ty, and it scared her so much she was actually relieved when they picked up his parents and Rhett. Relieved because it wasn’t just the two of the anymore, relieved because she could act and pretend and be someone else.

  “A small and intimate wedding sounds lovely,” Ty’s mom said.

  Darla kept on smiling and let her role pull her away from her thoughts. “We can talk more details after the holidays. This Christmas festival has really been consuming our time.” She shared a look with Ty, silently telling him to relax. Breathe. Inhale, exhale. He shifted his stony gaze to the windows.

  “Speaking of the Christmas festival…” She glanced at Rhett. “I saw your posts on Instagram. Thank you so much. I think most of the inns and hotels are completely booked for the entire weekend. The ski resort sold out the first week we started promoting.” Once Ty saw how much money they were going to raise, hopefully he would agree inviting his brother had been a small price to pay.

  “No problem.” Rhett brushed off her gratitude with a sly shrug. “Maybe you can fix the auction results so I end up going out with one of your hot single friends.”

  Ha! Most women might be reduced to giggles when he talked to them but she saw right through him. “I know you’re not asking me to cheat.”

  “Cheating’s not always a bad thing,” he said with a confident smirk. Wow. He really was used to getting his way.

  “You won’t need my help getting a hot date.” He clearly didn’t need anyone’s help hooking up with women. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of your single fan girls there to bid on you.” Darla redirected her attention on Ty. After all, she’d promised to make this fun for him, and right now he looked like he could use some amusement. “The word on the street in Topaz Falls is that you two are going to bring the highest bids.”

  Ty glared at her from across the table. “Me? I’m not doing the auction.”

  “Of course you are.” He’d already agreed to help…

  “But we’re engaged,” he argued stubbornly. “I’m officially off the market.” His grin turned smug.

  Poor man. He had no idea who he was up against. “We’re not married yet,” Darla said sweetly. “And it’s such a good cause, schmookie poo. I’m willing to let you go out on one last date if it means helping our friends. I’ll make sure whoever wins you will behave herself.”

  “Both of my boys on one stage?” Maureen clapped her hands together. “I can’t wait to see that. Of course they’ll bring in the highest bids.”

  Rhett smirked at his younger brother. “We all know I’m going to come away with the highest bid.”

  “How do you figure?” Ty asked, his eyes narrowing.

  Oh geez. Darla should’ve realized they’d turn this into a competition. “I think what’s most important is that we raise as much money as we can for Mateo and Everly.” Remember them? she wanted to ask Ty. “Let’s not forget why we’re doing this.”

  Neither of the brothers said a word, but they did continue glaring at each other.

  “I can’t wait to take pictures!” Maureen smiled proudly. “I never thought I’d see you two onstage together again. It’s been years.”

  “Together onstage?” Darla nudged Ty’s boot with her own. “This sounds like a story I need to hear.”

  “Never mind.” He started to put on his coat.

  “Yeah we should probably get going.” Rhett glanced around like he was searching for their waitress, probably so he could impress them all by paying the bill.

  Lucky for Darla, the wait staff seemed to be taking a break in the back. She scooted her chair closer to Maureen’s. “When were these two onstage together?”

  “Ty never told you about the play they were in?” his mother asked, reprimanding him with a disappointed gaze.

  “No,” she answered for him. “He left out that childhood tidbit.”

  “I can’t imagine why.” Maureen dug her wallet out of her purse and rummaged through it until she found a picture.

  Darla slapped a hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t disturb the peace in the restaurant. “They were in a production of Grease?” It was impossible not to laugh. The picture had to have been taken early in high school. Ty was dressed up like a rebel greaser and Rhett like a jock.

  “You’re darn right they were in a production of Grease.” Their mom admired the tattered photograph. “Ty had the lead role—Danny.”

  “Really?” She eyed her fiancé—fake fiancé—picturing what he would look like as a bad-boy greaser now. It was kinda hot.

  “I could’ve had the main part,” Rhett said, flagging down a waitress. “I didn’t want it.”

  “Whatever.” Ty stood abruptly. “You couldn’t sing. That’s why you didn’t want the part. You knew you’d make a fool of yourself up there.”

  “And you could sing?” his brother shot back. “You did make a fool of yourself—”

  That was Darla’s cue. “Why don’t we go get the truck started?” she asked Ty cheerfully. Before these two started to throw punches. “That way it’ll be nice and toasty when everyone comes outside.”

  “Wonderful idea,” their mom agreed. “We’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  “After I pay the bill,” Rhett added. “I always pay the bill.”

  Darla noticed Ty’s fists clench. “Come on, schmookie poo.” She linked their arms together and dragged him away from the table before Rhett baited him into an all-out brawl.

  Chapter Ten

  If he had to listen to his brother detail one more of his legendary defensive plays, Ty thought, he just might pull the truck over and make Rhett walk the rest of the way to Topaz Falls, like his dad had constantly threatened to do to them when they were kids.

  Not much had changed since those days when they’d try to one-up each other in the backseat of their dad’s old Ford. Only difference now was Ty had gotten smart, and he simply didn’t respond to Rhett’s constant attempts to draw him into a pissing match. Unfortunately, that only seemed to make his brother try harder.

  It had been more than twenty-four hours since he and Darla had left to pick up his family from the airport, and yet the drive home seemed to have taken years. All the way up the highway,
his parents and brother had wanted to stop at every point of interest, and had then insisted on eating lunch in Georgetown and dinner in Glenwood Springs. There would be no more stopping, though, since they were almost home.

  “Then there was that time I got that strip sack against Tom Brady.” Rhett couldn’t seem to quit.

  “I remember that!” Their mother bounced excitedly in the backseat. “It was in all the highlights. Oh, you should’ve seen Brady’s face!”

  Robert laughed. “Looked like he was about to cry.”

  Ty glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Darla rolling her eyes. “I bet you guys are pretty proud of Ty too,” she said sweetly. “I know everyone in Topaz Falls is. Wait until you see him ride at the benefit rodeo.”

  There was a long pause before his mother cleared her throat. “Oh. I don’t think we’re going to make it to the rodeo.”

  Why didn’t that surprise him?

  “Really?” Darla’s voice sharpened. “I thought that’s part of the reason you came out. To watch him.”

  “Well, sure. Yes,” his mom said quickly. “I mean, we really wanted to, but the theater in Vail is doing a production of A Christmas Carol that afternoon, and that’s one of our favorites.”

  By now it shouldn’t have bothered him, but Ty took it like a kick in the gut.

  “Aren’t they doing the play another day too?” Darla now had a definite edge in her tone.

  Ty shot her a small smile in the rearview mirror. It was nice of her to try, but they obviously didn’t want to come. She might as well let it go.

  “We already have tickets, I’m afraid,” his mother said. “But I can’t wait for the auction! And maybe after the play we can all go out for a big family dinner.” She patted Ty’s shoulder. “How would that be?”

  He didn’t have a chance to answer before Rhett chimed in. “I’ve heard of a few good restaurants in Vail. I’d be happy to take everyone out for a five-star dinner. We can meet up after the play and rodeo.”

  How many more times would they have to hear about how wealthy his brother was? Ty applied more pressure to the gas pedal, inching up the speedometer.