Christmas Cowboy

by Claire Adams

  I jogged to catch up. "What did the ambassador say?"

  Kiara stopped and tears overflowed. Then, she smiled. "He's okay. My brother, Charlie, is back on base, completely unharmed. Everything's fine."

  I reached out to fold her in my arms, when a polite cough stopped me cold.

  Whitney stood in one of the French doors, her arms crossed tightly across her waist. "Am I interrupting?" she asked with ice in her voice.

  My father rushed past her and caught Kiara away from me. "My dear, have you checked your messages? Your brother is no longer MIA. He's safe!"

  "Thank you, Mr. Brickman." Kiara's tears spilled freely over her wide, sparkling smile. "Thank you for getting the message to me so quickly."

  "Don't thank me, thank Teddy. He was the one badgering all our contacts," my father said.

  Whitney pursed her lips, but managed to set aside whatever whim had sent her out to find me. "I'm glad to hear your brother is safe, Ms. Davies."

  "Thank you," she said. She reached out and squeezed Whitney's hand. "That's very kind of you."

  Whitney blinked back sudden tears and extricated her hand. "I'll tell a waiter that champagne might be in order.”

  My father watched Whitney go with a frown. "Teddy," he said with a sharp tone, "why don't we give Kiara a minute to take in her good news? You can help with the champagne."

  I followed him, but only to snap at his back once we were inside the ballroom. "You told me 'good luck.' I thought you weren't going to try to influence my decisions anymore."

  "You're not making a decision," my father said. "You're messing with the emotions of a vulnerable woman. Kiara Davies is strong, independent, and has a good head on her shoulders, but she is all alone."

  "Her brother's okay; they'll be sending him home for leave, at least," I said.

  My father stopped and poked a finger hard into my chest. "And, she has her stepsisters to round up and take care of. That doesn't make her any less lonely. And you sweep in just at the right moment and take advantage of her vulnerability, for what? To help you decide about another woman? If you don't want to marry Whitney, then don't marry her, but don't drag Kiara into your floundering."

  "I'm not dragging her into this; it just happened."

  I had to stop myself before telling my father that I hadn't intended to fall in love with Kiara, but it had happened long ago and the feeling had only gotten stronger and stronger.

  "Nothing happened," he said, "except for you leading her on. Enough is enough, Teddy. It is cruel what you are doing to Kiara, and Whitney will not wait forever."

  "I'm not marrying Whitney," I said, standing toe to toe with my imposing father.

  He glared at me, then swung his hands up to adjust his cufflinks under my chin. "You are more stubborn than your mother ever was, and that is really saying something, Teddy. I'm sorry, but I just can't let you go on floundering like this. Either you marry Whitney, or you lose your claim to our family fortune."

  "An ultimatum?" I scoffed. "How is that supposed to help?"

  He gave a grim smile. "We'll see."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kiara

  Standing outside Teddy Brickman's ballroom, it was easier to imagine it had all been a bad dream. The cottage would still be there, a tiny bright spot in the shadows beyond his manicured lawns. My brother would have never gone missing. And I wouldn't have fallen in love.

  The thought sounded so casual. I was safe out there on the portico as long as Teddy did not return. I could see him arguing with his father. They were so fierce, even Whitney backed away.

  I watched her bump into a passing waiter, and her platinum bracelet slipped from her elegant wrist. I took a step forward only to stop myself. How could I rush inside, anywhere closer to Teddy, instead of finding my stepsisters and telling them the good news?

  Madison flew by the window, her carefully smooth hair now loose and wild. She already had her hands raised, asking the high, glittering chandeliers how Cameron Falcon could do this to her. Ivy ran behind her, her advice at a deafening volume. One scene-stealing sister could not be outdone by the other, no matter the crisis. They flashed along the windows and French doors that enclosed the ballroom, and I felt another twinge of guilt.

  I should have been thinking about Madison, or Charlie at least, but I had stayed on the portico to daydream for a moment about Teddy. Not the Teddy Brickman I could see through the spotless glass, but the Teddy who had tied on an apron to help me at the pizzeria. I wanted the Teddy who had held me all night when I’d thought my brother was lost forever. He was the only one I wanted to share my happy news with.

  I rushed to the door, anxious to tell Whitney her bracelet had dropped. It would leave me on better terms with her and close enough to turn around and catch Teddy's eye. All night, we had been drawn together like magnets, and now I hoped to pull him close.

  "Whitney, your bracelet," I called.

  She glanced back in my general direction, got the impression it was me, and turned back to her lively conversation. I stooped down, snagged her bracelet from the ballroom floor, and held it out, but she wouldn't even look my way. I’d thought the iciness had melted between us with her kind words about my brother, but I was wrong. I was consoled by the fact that Teddy now stood directly behind me.

  I slipped the platinum bracelet in my pocket to return to Whitney later, and turned to catch Teddy's attention.

  He had shifted in his agitation and now had his back to me. His father, on the other hand, glanced over Teddy's shoulder and made eye contact. That's when I heard what they were arguing about.

  "Either marry Whitney or lose your claim to our family fortune," Mr. Brickman said, his gaze dropping from mine back to his son.

  Teddy stepped back as if slapped, but I didn't hear anything else. A ringing took over my ears and pushed out all other sound.

  I would never know if Teddy really loved me. If he had, and there had been a future between us, it was gone with those words. Now all I could be was Teddy's rebellion or the reason he ruined his life. Either way, I felt my heart fall into a cold hibernation again.

  If Teddy did not marry Whitney, he would lose every way of life he had ever known. No more sports cars, no more expensive lunches. He would have to get a job. He would have to leave his estate. He'd raved about my apartment during our secret weekend together, but he would feel cramped and bitter within weeks.

  He would choose his family fortune and stay in a world where I didn't belong. I wanted to hate him for it, but it made the most sense. Who did I think I was? A modern Cinderella?

  I took Whitney's bracelet back out of the hidden pocket in my dress. My hand cocked back to toss it at Teddy. Then I heard a crashing wave of gossip flow through the partygoers. My stepsisters were already cornering the market on embarrassing scenes. I dropped my hand and turned to leave.

  "Is that my bracelet?" Whitney asked. "Did you just put my bracelet in your pocket?"

  "What?" I asked, whipping around. "No!"

  She pointed to my dress pocket, cleverly hidden among the pleats. "You just slipped my platinum bracelet from Tiffany's into your pocket. You're trying to steal my jewelry."

  I slipped sideways through the partygoers, turning towards Whitney as I tried to gain some distance away from Teddy at the same time as explain myself to the fuming heiress. "I found your bracelet, and I was going to return it to you."

  "When?" she snapped. She followed me, holding out her hand.

  "Honestly, Whitney, I'm sorry," I said. I stopped when I bumped into the hardwood doorframe of the ballroom. "I was so distracted."

  "By what?" she asked, her voice getting louder. "By trying to steal my fiancé, as well?"

  I edged out into the hall and tossed Whitney her bracelet. "There, I gave it back. You dropped it, and I returned it to you."

  She followed me down the hallway and into the kitchen. We both bumped into Vincent Jeffry and started talking at once. He held up both hands, and I let Whitney speak first.
<
br />   "I want you to escort Ms. Davies off the premises. She's stealing from the guests," Whitney said. "She probably wants revenge for what happened to her little garden shed of a house, but I caught her red-handed."

  "Stealing?" Vincent Jeffry asked, looking at me.

  "She must have slipped my platinum bracelet off my wrist while thanking me," Whitney gasped. Her friends that were jamming up the kitchen door echoed her sharp intake of breath. "I told her I was glad her brother was safe over in Afghanistan, she shook my hand and stole my bracelet. Kick her out now!"

  Vincent Jeffry looked as if someone had just cut off his finger with a carving knife. He clutched his hands together over his chest and gaped at us both.

  "I saw it fall off her wrist; I picked it up, and I was going to return it to her," I told him.

  "She says she got distracted," Whitney said.

  I remembered the ultimatum that Mr. Brickman had given Teddy. I couldn't stay even if I wanted to, so I headed for the kitchen door.

  "Wait, Kiara," Vincent Jeffry called, "I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding."

  I shook my head. "It's not worth you losing your job over," I said and opened the door.

  "Kiara! There you are," Ivy shoved past Whitney's collected friends and bounded over to me. "Madison has gone over the edge this time."

  "Is she all right? She hasn't been drinking, has she?"

  Ivy dragged me back into the house and through the kitchen. "She won't stop crying, and she won't go upstairs. They're talking about telling the waiters to carry her out."

  "Wait." Whitney and her friends blocked the door. "You can't just steal from me and then walk around like you didn't do anything. There has to be consequences, Vincent Jeffry, don't you think?"

  "Is this really about the bracelet?" I asked.

  Ivy locked her arm with mine and gave an approving, "Oooh, what is this about?"

  "She thinks I'm trying to steal her fiancé," I told Ivy. Then I held my breath, wondering on what side my stepsister would fall. Would she side with the ultra-rich crowd she wanted to be part of or with her stepsister?

  "You're engaged?" Ivy asked and tossed her hair. "And here I kept thinking the man actually had to propose to you before it was official."

  "He will when you and your ridiculous family stop causing scenes. When are you going to admit that you don't belong here? Not on Teddy's estate, not in this neighborhood, and certainly not in this social circle. Stop playing fairytale," Whitney said.

  Her friends all approved of the stinging remark, but I could see Whitney's eyes sheen with tears. She was hurt that Teddy wouldn't chose her, but she really didn't hate me. She knew it was mean, but that was overridden by what was expected of her. Her high status, her fortune, and her carefully selected friends couldn't see her let me get the upper hand.

  "We're leaving," I said, the fight gone from my voice. "After we get Madison."

  Ivy and I stepped towards the kitchen door again, but Whitney's friends closed rank. They expected more from the scene. It couldn't just end with us walking away.

  "Vincent Jeffry, you need to call the police. Right now," Whitney said.

  "No, Ms. Barnes, I don't think that is necessary," my friend said in a tight voice.

  "It's fine," I told him, "call the police. I don't want you jeopardizing your job for me."

  I made another push out the door so we could collect the hysterical Madison, but Vincent Jeffry detained me. "Maybe it's better if you leave right now," he said, his eyes wide and pained.

  "I'll just be a second," I said.

  Vincent Jeffry looked at the posse of wealthy women and then back at me. "Ivy can help her sister. You should head out. I will tell the police everything."

  "Where's Teddy?" Ivy asked suddenly. "This is his house, and Kiara is his guest. He should know what's going on. Don't you think?"

  "No," I yelped. I unknotted my arm from Ivy's tight grip. "I'm leaving right now."

  "No way, Kiara; what are you doing?" Ivy followed me out the kitchen door to the small herb garden. "Teddy is into you. I mean, he's really into you. And everyone knows he doesn't want to marry that stuffed-up, rich bitch. You should tell him what Whitney's trying to do."

  I thought about Teddy with the ultimatum hanging over his head. There was no way I could ask for his help now. I didn't need his help. And I certainly did not want him to sacrifice a life he would come to miss.

  "He's not into me," I said.

  "Really? I thought it looked like he was in love with you," Ivy said.

  I shook my head. "I'm not doing it. You've seen it firsthand with Madison. Love is pain or sacrifice. Why would I want that?"

  "That's it!" Ivy cried. "That's what I'm going to tell Madison. I'm gonna go get her."

  The door closed behind Ivy, leaving me outside in the dark herb garden. I turned down the crushed stone path and headed towards my family's property.

  I didn't stop until I stumbled on the little chapel folly in the dark. That stormy night I had hidden inside with Teddy had replayed in my mind so many times. I had always thought it was the most romantic of places, a small world apart in the midst of his grand and sweeping gardens. The little chapel was cozy and intimate. It was where we had first really talked. Teddy had been easy to open up to because, in a way, I felt like I had known him all my life.

  "I know it was a hard spot for you. That's why you should have called me," Teddy fumed.

  I ducked inside the small chapel as he and Vincent Jeffry thundered down the path.

  "I'm sure she's gone to the cottage, sir," Vincent Jeffry said.

  Teddy stopped just outside the chapel door. "This is ridiculous. Not just tonight, but this whole life. Do you ever feel like that?"

  Vincent Jeffry shook his head and said nothing. I wanted to jump out of the chapel and tell Teddy to stop it. If he even thought about leaving his family fortune behind, he would regret it, and I didn't want to see him ruin his life like that.

  "Sir, you really should be getting back inside. Your guests," Vincent Jeffry said feebly.

  Teddy tossed his hands in the air and strode back the way he'd come. I waited a full, tense minute before I peeked out of the garden folly. The path was empty.

  I hurried down it and raced across the manicured lawns. I knew if anyone looked out the ballroom windows, I would look like a ghost fleeing in the moonlight, but I didn't care. I wanted to go home.

  I stopped dead at the split-rail fence. The cottage really did look exactly the same - except the siding wasn't weathered, it still smelled of cedar, and deep ruts still cut up the driveway where the construction trucks had driven. I looked up, past the tears in my eyes, and saw that the roof was no longer patched and a new chimney stood without a single crumbling brick.

  It was impossible to admit, but the house fire had been one of the best things that had ever happened to me.

  Without it, the distance between Teddy and I would have always been more than the acres between our properties. I never would have crossed that split-rail fence. Teddy never would have kissed me. We wouldn't have made love in my apartment. I wouldn't have felt the painful, crushing heartbeats that let me know I was still able to feel something.

  I went inside and stood in front of the cold stone fireplace. The house was empty except for a neatly set pile of logs inside the fireplace. One match, and I would have a merry fire.

  "Another fire. Just what this place needs," I said.

  There was a handwritten note on the box of matches. "Welcome back home, neighbor."

  I struck a match and lit the fire. Teddy had never intended to buy my family's property. He had rebuilt our cottage out of a sense of guilt, but there was something else.

  There was the way Teddy had looked at me when he first spotted me at Old Jim's gas station. A smile of relief, as if he'd been waiting for me to save him from a boring conversation. His eyes on me, like they had been when I first marched into his party. The heat of his gaze, like it had been above me, melting me as we made
love.

  I shook my head. "Get it together, Kiara," I told myself.

  I looked around the cottage and thought about all the thrift store hunting I would have to do to furnish it before my brother and father got home. Charlie was uninjured, but had been granted extended leave. I had no idea how long my father would be around, but we would need more than a fire in the fireplace to make it feel like home.

  I rubbed my heart, feeling the knot that always came when I thought about seeing my father and brother again. They loved me, that I knew, but it was never more than a quick visit. They were so used to their lifestyle, and I had never known anything else.

  I knew my father and brother did not understand the crushing loneliness of being left behind. I’d never hinted how much it hurt that they could go off and not look back. I understood that I needed to support them and keep them strong. That was my sacrifice. In order to love my family, I had to be willing to say goodbye to them over and over again.

  So why did it hurt so much to say goodbye to Teddy?

  "I wasn't sure you'd light the fire. Thought it might be too soon," Teddy said from the front hall. "You left the door wide open."

  I nodded, remembering how the spotless, bare interior of the cottage had pulled me in. I was still in shock, and that was why I couldn't speak.

  Teddy shuffled into the living room to stand next to me, but he couldn't keep still. He glanced all around, checking the floorboards, inspecting the ceiling. "I thought you might want to celebrate your good news," he said.

  I waved away the fancy bottle of champagne he produced from behind his back. "No. Thanks. No more charity for me."

  "Charity? Neighbors should celebrate things like this together," he said.

  "We're neighbors." I moved away from Teddy where our old, scarred dining room table used to stand.

  Teddy caught my hand and pulled me back to the fire. "We don't have to talk about that right now," he drew me into his arms. "I'm just glad your brother is all right. I'm sorry about what happened."

  I pushed against his chest. "Something like that was bound to happen. I'm sure people have been protecting you from gold diggers and thieves for a long time."