Christmas At Love House: Bittersweet Interlude (Bull Rider #3)

by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

  Natale ran to the window. “They’re here.” She turned and clasped her hands beneath her chin. “How do I look?”

  A quick perusal of her tight black jeans and salmon colored sweater brought a smile to Velia’s face. “Bellissima!” She was proud of Natale who had survived a hellish time in her life. Now, she was eighteen and considered an adult, but to look at her this second, she looked like a love sick teen who didn’t seem to mind the five year age difference between her and Foley. Velia could do nothing but sit back and watch whatever it was to play out. As protective as Bobby had become, Velia wasn’t sure he’d feel the same way.

  Natale turned toward the mudroom for her jacket. “I need to hurry out there.”

  Velia took her arm. “No, you’ll wait right here. Act like a lady.”

  “I’ll act like a lady tomorrow. Right now I’m excited to see him.” Off she went.

  Well, my heartthrob is out there, too. Velia called Kase and Alba, slipped her son’s jacket on him, and went out right behind Natale, directly into Caulder’s arms.

  He gave her a kiss before hugging his son. “Hey, you know what? My cousin Jase will be in tonight. I didn’t expect him for a couple more days. That’s cool, eh?”

  “I’m excited he’s coming. This is wonderful news. Any word on your aunt’s arrival? Maybe she’ll come with Jase?”

  “Still not sure since she’s helping take care of the kids.”

  “I hope she makes it.” Velia turned to Foley. “I’m so happy you came. It’ll be fun.” She witnessed him take his, and Natale’s hand behind his back in secret. He must’ve worried how his and Natale’s relationship would be taken. Good, he needed to be concerned. Oh, boy… That means it isn’t only one-sided. Grinning at Torre, she asked as more of a tease than anything, “How many times did you get tossed on your behind at Foley’s?” She gave him a swat on his arm. “I know you rode those bulls.”

  “Sì, a few times but so did your husband.” Torre laughed and gave Caulder a fake punch in the gut. “He made me wear a helmet because I had stitches.”

  Caulder carried Kase into the house. Foley grabbed his backpack and luggage from the backseat of a different rental car this time. “It sure is cold here,” said Foley, stomping snow off his boots.

  “Dinner’s nearly ready. It’s warm and comfortable in our home. Oh, dear, the pasta will be overcooked.” Velia rushed in ahead of the others to take care of her dinner. Surprisingly, Natale stopped to help after the guys headed to the family room. “Thanks for helping, Natale. I know you’d rather be in the other room.”

  “Sì. I need to show Reece, I mean Foley, that I inherited the ability to cook.” She continued with the salad, set it in the fridge, and plated the tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese crostini. “I’ll set this on the table in the family room. What wine are we having?”

  “You’re not having…” Clearing her throat, she reconsidered. “Prosecco, and grab any bottle of red for those who want it.” Velia didn’t know Natale drank wine, but why was she surprised?

  “I’m not going anywhere tonight.” She rolled her eyes. Reaching into the cupboard, Natale removed a glass for herself. “I’ll only have one glass…or two.”

  “Do as you wish.” Velia turned her back to her cousin. Natale was right. She had tried to act like her mother. That would have to stop so she could enjoy the time with all three of her cousins, and she didn’t even want to think about young Alba getting into boys or drinking wine. But she was already a beauty. She’d be grown before long. Teen girls made Velia glad she had a son. Albeit, she would gladly welcome a baby girl into their little family.

  Chapter Five

  Velia served coffee in the family room after dinner. Caulder talked about sledding before it got too dark, although they had outside lighting. “The snow’s perfect right now and the hill is waiting.” Kase sat on his lap, so he tapped his knee. “You ready for a sled ride, little cowboy?”

  Kase jerked his head around to face his dad. “Now! Can we go now?”

  A knock on the door disturbed them. A second later, Torre and Jase came into the room.

  Caulder got up to hug his oldest cousin. “I’ll be damn! Wow, dude, it’s great to see you. You look good!” He peered around him to see if his aunt was with him but she wasn’t. “Your mom didn’t make it, huh. Where’d you get the damn muscles, cuz?”

  “Don’t y’all cross her off your list yet,” said Jase, patting Caulder on the back. “Muscles come from hard work.”

  After hugs, introductions, and handshakes, Velia fixed Jase a plate of food. Torre and Foley made another plate, too. They sat together in the kitchen to eat.

  Kase crawled onto Caulder’s lap again at the kitchen table. “Dad has to take care of a few things before we go sledding, son.” Caulder turned to Foley and Jase. “I want to show you around my dad’s barn tomorrow. He has a couple of new retired race horses there, and bulls in the other barn.” He nudged Jase’s shoulder. “We’ll ride a couple bulls tomorrow. I know you never had time before when you visited. There’s one or two out there needing breaking in, and I’m raring to ride.”

  “Can’t wait!” Foley nudged Natale, giving her a soft smile.

  Jase nodded in agreement, but he rubbed his shoulder in jest…the same shoulder he had broken while riding a practice barrel at Caulder’s years ago.

  They’re all little boys at heart. Velia set the coffee pot in the center of the table and spoke up. “You are not riding one of those crazy, wild bulls, Foley. There are other ones you can ride if you insist.”

  “It was my plan, ma’am.” Foley poured cream into his coffee. He winked at Natale. “We’ll see about getting y’all on one.”

  Natale laughed but then rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so. That’s your job, partner. Capisco?”

  He shrugged. It was obvious he didn’t understand what she had said. “I guess.”

  Everyone at the table laughed. “Just agree with her if you don’t know what she’s saying.” Caulder chortled. “That’s what I do sometimes.” He ducked when Velia tossed her napkin at him.

  “I’ll ride those mean bulls with you, Caulder.” Torre frowned at the youngest of his sisters. “My little sister isn’t a bull rider.”

  “Don’t you dare say that to me, Torre.” Alba slid her chair out and stood with her hands on her slender hips. “I’ll do it.”

  “Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute.” Caulder stood. “Alba, your time will come when you can do whatever you choose but not on my watch.” He thumped Torre in the head. “Quit teasing your sister.”

  “Tell me where and I’ll get them,” said Torre, rushing to his feet. “Alba, you can help. I might even let you go down the hill with me, little bambina.”

  “The pole barn down the road is where the sleds are kept. There’s a bunch of them in there. I have to run down to my dad’s first, but I’ll be right back.” Speaking to Velia, Caulder gave her a wink. “I’ll take you down the hill, baby.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” she said with a wiggle to her eyebrows. Glancing around at the dishes on the table, she didn’t even care. This evening, fun came first and she looked forward to playing outside with her family. “Let’s leave the dishes for now. Come on, Kase honey. Let’s get your warm clothes on.” Velia stood and took his hand when he hopped across the floor like a bunny rabbit. “Jase, I’m so happy you’re here. You can have the same bedroom you had on your last visit? Remember which one?”

  “Yup. Later, Velia.” Jase gave a short nod. “Thanks for dinner. I’ll get my stuff put away after I finish, then be out with y’all.”

  “Mommy, let’s go.” Kase rushed out of the room.

  “See you later, Jase,” Velia said. She looked on in awe as Natale and Foley cleared the table. Hmm. “Thanks, you two. Don’t rush Jase. He might want dessert.”

  Natale frowned. “Of course we won’t rush him. I’m tossing together an additional surprise dessert, Velia. Foley agreed to help. Expect chocolate with cherries.”

&nb
sp; She held up a moment while Kase called from the other room. “All right. We all love chocolate in this family.” Velia went into the mudroom with Kase, but not before catching Foley and Natale in a kiss at the sink. Obviously, it wasn’t the first one by the way their lips were locked and how they held each other in a rather tight embrace. They didn’t even mind that Caulder’s cousin sat there, albeit his back was to them.

  “Why is Foley kissing Natale?” asked Kase from the doorway, one boot in his hand.

  Brushing long hair from his cheery face, she answered, “He’s kissing his girlfriend, little one. You’re going to stay my bambino forever, right?”

  “Sì, mamma.”

  As fast as time moved, he’d be standing in the kitchen kissing his girlfriend before long. Then he’d strap himself onto a bull like his dad and ride around his grandpa’s ring. Velia hugged her little boy. “Ti amo, angelo mio.”

  “Love you, too, Mommy.” He broke free and ran to his snowmobile suit. “Let’s go sledding.”

  “We’ll wait a little while until Daddy comes back. How about we start a snowman?”

  “Yippee.” Kase got into his warm clothes, then jumped up and down as she tried to get boots on his feet.

  Once outside, Velia answered a call from her mom. She took Kase’s hand to walk around the house to view the lights from the outside. “Ciao, mamma. How’s it going? Your flight still scheduled?”

  “Sì, right on time.” Lidia’s voice was filled with excitement. “We’ll see you in a few days. Dolly and Aiden insists on picking us up since they’ll be there anyway. You don’t have to come get us.”

  “Sì, they told us. Caulder just got back from Oklahoma today and Foley is with them. Caulder’s cousin, Jase, arrived. Christmas will be so grand!” Velia knelt to pull Kase’s hat over his ears. “You’ll find out when you get here, but warn papa that Natale and Foley have somehow hooked up. Well, not hooked up, I don’t think, but are together.”

  “We’ll talk when I get there, sweetheart. We think Reece is a nice boy, and to be sure he treats her right, your papa will speak to him.”

  She wouldn’t want to be Foley. “All right, Ma. You take care. Tell papa ti amo. A presto!” Ending the call, she looked up when Caulder pulled into the driveway. “About ready?” she asked when he got out.

  Kase ran up to him right away, telling him about the snowman.

  Snowball was more like it. Velia chuckled, and said to her husband, “Can you get some warm clothes on now? We’re waiting for a fun ride.” She traipsed across the snow to hug Caulder. “Snuggle up really close on the way down, okay, honey? It’ll be cold on that long hill but not if your arms are around me.”

  “Woman, you excite me with your words. I’ll be tight up against you all right. Maybe we’ll have to linger at the bottom of the hill for a while. You know I have a hard time controlling myself at times in this mountain air.”

  “Counting on it.” Velia moved out of his arms and held his hands between them. “Seems I do to, thanks to all these years with you, tesoro. This is an exciting week. Being home and having our families around us for Christmas makes me all warm inside. Our dolce vita.”

  “I know what you mean. This is my dream come true and exactly what I wanted for us.” Caulder glanced at Kase rolling around in the snow with Torre looking on. “Who taught him to make snow angels?”

  “I think Alba did. She’s such a sweetheart and so good with him.” She looked up into his eyes as they caught the glow of holiday lights. “Foley and Natale were kissing in the kitchen.”

  “That sounds like a country song, darlin’. Nothing we can do about it. Foley’s intentions are true. He’s crazy about her, but I don’t know how the hell that happened.”

  “Same for her, and I do know how. She’s been to visit him in Oklahoma. Maybe it is real? I don’t want either of them to get hurt. I love them both, but she’s so young.”

  “Me, too, but she’s grown up for her age.”

  “Come on, Mommy. Sled with me.”

  “I’m coming, honey.” Velia turned to Caulder and stretched up to give a kiss. “Go change. The wind is picking up, but it does sound nice whistling through the pines. Just as long as we don’t have another storm until after everyone arrives. But being snowed in together might be fun.” Velia turned in a circle, staring upward. “A full moon. Marshmallows can be roasting in the fireplace, and we’ll sip hot chocolate while singing carols. I can’t wait for our families to congregate here in our home again.”

  He grabbed her into his arms and did a circle with her. “Sounds like a plan. We’ll do that with or without a snowstorm.”

  When she turned to walk away, he pulled her back. “Come back here. All of what I have…none of this would be the same without you here, Velia.” He held her tight and pressed his cheek against hers. “You know how much I love you, woman.”

  “Um hum, and you know how much I love you back. I wouldn’t change anything. I’m not going anywhere. Why would I ever leave a sexy cowboy such as yourself?” She swatted his behind.

  “It was my plan to sweep you off your feet the day we met.”

  Velia gave him a squeeze when he smiled. “It worked. We better tend to our child. He’s waiting patiently with Torre, probably begging him now.”

  Caulder grasped her arm again when she attempted to leave. “It’s time to make him a sister or brother.”

  Velia nodded. “Yes, it is. My bed was lonely while you were gone.”

  He winked and released her arm. “See you as soon as I get dressed.” He looked down at himself. “Not sure I can walk past these kids with a freaking…well, you know what you do to me. Your bed won’t be lonely tonight.”

  Casually lowering her hand over the front of him, she gave a gentle squeeze and smiled sweetly. “Save it for later.”

  “Absolutely.”

  Velia looked back as she took the rope to the sled. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go sledding. Coming, Torre?”

  Kase came running over. “Hurry, Mommy.”

  He watched them walk off. “Velia, wait until I come back outside. I’ll check the hills for the best and safest ride first. Don’t use the longest hill tonight.”

  She walked on but glanced back over her shoulder, giving him a smile that she hoped would melt the snow beneath his feet.

  ***

  Caulder stopped in the kitchen when he smelled chocolate. “What’s going on out here? That smells delicious. You’re a cook now?”

  “Foley and I are about done with dessert. It’s a surprise. I’m Italian, eh. Of course I’m a cook.” Natale giggled. “It’s in the blood, cowboy. Ask Velia.”

  Caulder nudged Foley in the arm. “Making dessert? What the hell you doing, trading manure for chocolate?”

  “Eww, that’s gross, Caulder,” screeched Natale.

  “Only if I have this pretty lady helping me in the kitchen,” Foley said back to him. “But I reckon she can deal with the manure.”

  “Okay, you two,” said Natale. “This isn’t something I want to talk about in the kitchen.” She slipped her arm around Foley’s waist. “You’re right, though. I don’t mind manure on the soles of my boots if I’m around you.”

  “Okay, I’ve heard enough. Come out when you have a minute.” He went over to switch on the additional outside back lights. The Christmas lights surrounding the exterior of the house reflected on the snow. He took a moment to peer out at his wife and son playfully tossing snow at each other. Torre stood around them out there like he was waiting for a bull to stampede out of the woods, so he could hop on one.

  Velia dropped to the ground to make a snow angel and patted the ground beside her for Kase to join in. He did. Caulder was overwhelmed with love at watching the two people he most loved in the world. A knot stuck in his throat. Now it was time to switch to warmer clothes and get out there to check the hills and make a determination. They’d enjoy a fun couple hours together.

  Upstairs, he changed into his flannel shirt and tucked it into
his jeans. He went to the window when Kase screeched in laughter. Torre set him on the sled in front of Velia. “No, wait.” He banged on the window, but no one heard him. “Velia, no, not that way… That leads to the creek. “Don’t go that way, dammit!” He rushed out of their room and downstairs, running out the back door as fast as he could. “No, Velia.”

  It was too late. Torre pushed the sled.

  He cupped his hands around his mouth to yell. “Velia, get off the sled.” He ran downhill. “Come on, Torre. The creek isn’t solidly frozen. I said don’t use this damn hill!”

  All he saw was water splashing and heard Velia scream. “No! Sonofabitch.” By time he got to the bank, he couldn’t see them. “Where are they? Torre, help me find them.” He stepped out onto the ice at the shore and broke through. “Velia. Kase!” He yelled to Torre, “Call 9-1-1 and then my dad. Tell them what happened. Velia!”

  He scanned the banks around the area but didn’t see a thing. Not even the sled. The water raged downstream. His hands fisted. “Velia, say something. Where are you? Kase! Oh, God. Where are you?” He got back out of the water at the shore and ran along the banks. Running up and over the snowy hills where the banks were high, he fell twice when his boots stuck in the drifted snow. He spotted a board ahead. He flexed his freezing fingers until the muscles in his arms quivered. “The sled. This far down. Dammit, where are they?” Then he spotted footprints. He called her name again. Please, please say something.

  “Caulder, where are you, man?” Foley called after him.

  “Downstream.” He peered through the thick branches. “Over here. Foley, I can’t find them.”

  Foley trudged over to where he waited. “Oh, my God. They’re okay. I know they are. We just don’t see them, that’s all.

  “Did Torre call 9-1-1?”

  “Yeah, they’re on their way and so is your dad.”

  He clenched his head with both hands. “It’s cold. Dark. My family. God, my family is out here somewhere. Wet. Freezing. Velia, where are you. Velia!” He lost count of how many times he called her name until Foley grabbed ahold of the back of his shirt and gave him a jerk or two. “I have to keep going, Foley. I saw some tracks back there but bigger than hers and no kid.”