A Cowboy for Christmas

by Bobbi Smith

  Dwylah laughed, too. “I’d never pass up the chance.”

  Penny knew she had to discourage her from going. “It’s a hard ride, though. I’m a little concerned about making the ride myself. It’s been so long since I’ve ridden astride, but we’re in a hurry and we have to get up there and get back.”

  “But you’re going to be alone with Danny,” Dwylah pointed out.

  “This is important. I have to do it. I’m not worried about my reputation. We’re not in society anymore. We’re back on the ranch, and I’m taking care of my father’s business.”

  “There’s nothing else you can do, is there?”

  “No. My father’s not strong enough to make the trip. I have to go.”

  “Well, let’s get into town while you have time.”

  They found Jack waiting for them downstairs.

  “Breakfast is ready. You won’t want to go into town without eating something,” he told them.

  They all went into the kitchen to eat.

  “We’ll be back as soon as possible, Papa,” Penny assured him.

  “Get whatever you need and tell Artie to put it on my bill,” Jack advised. “Take an extra blanket with you this morning. Rob’s taking you in the buckboard. He’s picking up supplies while you’re there.”

  Penny went upstairs to get another blanket and their coats. When she came back down, she saw that Rob had pulled up out in front.

  “Rob’s ready to leave,” Jack told them.

  They went outside to find the older ranch hand waiting for them with the buckboard.

  “So we’re going in that?” Dwylah eyed the buckboard skeptically. It looked to be a much rougher ride than the carriage that had brought them out to the ranch.

  “Do you want to stay here?” Penny asked, knowing it wouldn’t be an easy ride for her.

  “No, I’m always ready for something new. Let’s go!” Dwylah went down to where Rob was standing.

  Rob helped Dwylah up on to the driver’s bench first, knowing she’d be safest sitting in the middle between him and Penny. After getting Penny seated, he joined them there.

  “We’ll be back soon, Papa,” Penny promised as they started off.

  Jack stood on the porch, watching them drive away. Dan had been down at the stable, and when he saw Jack, he came over to talk with him. They had a lot of plans to make, and this was the time. He had to get their supplies and be ready to leave when Penny returned from town. They went inside to talk.

  “Are you ready for this?” Jack asked Dan as they settled in his office.

  “We’ll do it,” he assured him.

  “Just keep an eye on her. Penny could be trouble. She always was as a child,” Jack told him with a half smile, remembering some of the wilder escapades of her younger years.

  “I thought I’d put her on Ol’ Midnight.”

  “That’s good. He’ll be an easy, steady ride for her.”

  “I’m going to go get things packed up. Let me know when she’s ready to head out.”

  “I will, and, Dan—” Jack’s tone turned serious as his foreman looked his way. “Be careful.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Dan left him then, his thoughts a bit troubled. He was making this trip for Jack, just like he’d made the trip back to St. Louis, but this time he was going to be alone with Penny out in the middle of nowhere. He hoped she was capable of keeping up with him, but lady that she was, he had his doubts. It wasn’t going to be easy, no matter what he’d told Jack. She was a temptation, and he was going to have to concentrate on the job he’d been sent to do, and nothing else.

  “Oh my—” Was all Dwylah could say as she stared at Penny.

  Penny had gone in a back room of the general store to try on the work clothes she needed for out at the ranch. She stood before her now, wearing a pair of denim pants, boots, a boy’s work shirt, and a cowboy hat.

  “What do you think?” Penny asked.

  “I never thought I’d see you wearing pants,” she answered, realizing how they showed off the slender curves of her figure. She might be wearing clothes fit for a boy, but she certainly didn’t look like one.

  “I picked out a riding skirt, too, but the pants will be warmer.”

  “I see,” she replied, but she was having trouble adjusting to this part of western life. “You will need a heavier coat, won’t you? The one you wore on the trip back from St. Louis certainly won’t work if you’re out riding.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I’ve got what you need right here, Penny,” Mrs. Carson, the shopkeeper’s wife said, coming to speak with them, carrying a suitable work coat. “It’s a boy’s size, but it looks like it’ll fit you.” She’d known Penny before she’d left, and was impressed with the woman she’d become. She was surprised she wanted to get back to the ranch life after living in the city for so long, but Penny was, after all, Jack Anderson’s daughter, and that explained it.

  Penny quickly put the coat on and was satisfied it would work. “I’ll need another pair of pants and another shirt.”

  “I’ll get them for you right away.”

  Penny went in back and, to Dwylah’s surprise, came out still dressed in work clothes, carrying the clothes she’d worn to town.

  “You aren’t going to change back for the trip home?” she asked.

  “There’s no need,” she answered. “Dan and I will be leaving right after we get there, so I might as well just stay like this.”

  Rob had already loaded up the supplies he was taking back, and had been watching for them. He met them at the buckboard. He stared at Jack’s daughter as if seeing a complete stranger. She definitely didn’t look like a fancy city girl anymore, dressed as she was. She looked like she was ready to hire on at the Lazy Ace.

  “Do you need anything else here in town, Penny?” Rob asked.

  “No. Papa’s waiting. We have to get back.”

  He helped Dwylah up and was about to help Penny when she climbed up agilely all by herself to the driver’s bench. He took his seat and grabbed up the reins, set for the trip back.

  The ride back to the ranch was cold, but uneventful. Jack had been watching for them and he came out of the study just as Penny and Dwylah entered the house. He stopped to stare at his daughter and ended up smiling.

  “Don’t you look like a ranch hand,” he said.

  “That’s what I was aiming for,” she replied. “I’ve got a job to do, and I’m going to do it.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  Rob had followed them inside, carrying their bags for them,

  “Go find Dan for me,” Jack told him.

  “I’ll send him right up,” Rob said. He left the house to look for the foreman and found him working with Vic in the stable.

  “Jack said to tell you he needs you up at the house.”

  “Thanks, Rob.”

  When Dan had gone, Rob saw the horses that were saddled and waiting, and he looked to Vic. “Is Dan riding out?”

  Vic repeated what Dan had told him. “He’s taking Penny out to show her around the ranch. Jack wants her to get a feel for things while the weather’s holding up.”

  “Dan is one lucky man,” Rob said.

  “Why do you say that?” Vic didn’t envy Dan the task of riding around the Lazy Ace with a city girl.

  “You should see that girlie now. She’s all dressed up like a real cowgirl, all ready for trouble. Or maybe she is trouble,” he chuckled. His tone didn’t leave any doubt about what kind of “trouble” he meant.

  Rob didn’t know that Lou had walked up behind him as he was talking to Vic.

  Lou’s expression was threatening as he faced down the ranch hand. “You’re talking about the boss’s daughter, Rob. Remember that.”

  Rob shut up and went to take care of the team and the buckboard, but he was still thinking Dan was going to have a fine time with Penny.

  Dan knocked on the front door and heard Jack call for him to come in.

  “I’m in the study.” />
  Dan went down the hall and came to a stop in the study doorway. Dan always prided himself on his ability to control his reactions, and he was real proud of the way he kept his expression blank when he got his first look at Penny wearing her ranching clothes. He’d thought she was gorgeous in her gowns, but seeing her dressed liked this, he thought she was even prettier.

  “Do you think these clothes will work for the ride?” Penny asked in her innocence.

  “They’ll do much better than your dresses,” Dan assured her. “Are you ready to leave?”

  “We were going to have some lunch first. You want to join us? There’s no sense in you riding out hungry,” Jack invited.

  “I appreciate the offer, Jack, but I’ve still got a few things to take care of down at the stable. How soon will you be done eating?”

  “About half an hour,” Jack said.

  “Just let me know, and we’ll be ready to ride out.” Dan left them to finish taking care of business.

  Jack went with Penny to join Dwylah, who was already waiting for them at the table.

  The meal was hot and tasty, and Penny had a good idea this would be her last decent meal for quite a few days.

  “Is there anything else I need to know before we leave?”

  “Just listen to Dan,” Jack advised. “He’s a good man and he knows what he’s doing.”

  “I will,” she promised. She paused for a moment, and then asked, “Papa, there is one thing I wanted to ask you about.”

  “What?”

  “Do I need to take a gun along?” She remembered the shooting lessons he’d given her years before, and though she hadn’t fired a gun since she’d left the ranch, she knew trouble could show up anywhere, at any time on the Lazy Ace.

  Jack was thoughtful for a moment and then got up and left the room. He returned with a gun belt and sidearm. “There’s no need for you to be wearing it, but you can put it in your saddlebags. That way you’ll have it just in case you do run into trouble.” He put it on the table next to her.

  Dwylah stared at the gun for a moment and then looked at Penny. “You actually know how to use that?”

  “It’s been a while, but yes, Papa taught me when I was young.”

  “Oh my—”

  Jack looked to Dwylah. “I always wanted my girl to be able to take care of herself.”

  “I can see that.”

  “This isn’t the city,” he added.

  “Obviously.”

  They finished eating, and Penny hurried upstairs to pack what she needed to take along. She tied her hair back, put on her new coat and hat. She took a quick glance in the mirror and was satisfied that her father would be proud of her.

  She definitely looked like she belonged on the Lazy Ace now.

  She was back.

  Grabbing up the bag she was taking along, she left her room and started down the hall. She reached the top of the stairs to find Dan, Dwylah, and her father talking in the hall below.

  Jack went to meet her at the bottom of the steps and gave her a quick hug. “I gave Dan the map, and your gun is in your saddlebag.”

  “Thank you, Papa.”

  “Listen to me, Penny. Do whatever Dan tells you to do. He knows his way around the Lazy Ace. Trust him—and be careful,” Jack dictated. “You never know what kind of trouble you might run into out there.”

  “We’ll be careful,” she assured him, and then she gave him another hug before turning to Dwylah to give her one, too. “I know Papa is worried about me getting in trouble, but I want to know if you’re going to keep an eye on him while we’re gone. He might prove to be more trouble for you than I was on the trip.”

  “I’ll try, but I don’t think it will be easy,” Dwylah said, smiling brightly at her and Jack. “He is, after all, your father.”

  “Don’t you worry about me, Penny,” Jack laughed. “I’ll be right here waiting for you when you get back.”

  “I’m counting on that, Papa. We’ll hurry. Christmas is less than two weeks away. I want to spend it with you.” She kissed his cheek.

  At the stables, Dan brought out a deep black horse.

  “You’ll be riding Ol’ Midnight,” Dan said as he untied the reins and handed them to Penny. He stepped back to watch her mount and was impressed when she swung easily up into the saddle. He found it hard to believe this was the same girl he’d tracked down in the city at the dance. “You all right?”

  Penny nodded as she got comfortable

  Dan mounted his own horse and took up his reins. Looking to Jack, he told him, “We’ll be back as soon as possible.”

  “I’m counting on it,” Jack said.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Dan glanced over to see how Penny was handling the horse. He knew right away she hadn’t forgotten how to ride, and that was real good news, considering the long miles they had ahead of them. “Are you comfortable on Ol’ Midnight?”

  “He’s fine.”

  “Good.”

  “How far is it to the canyon?”

  “We should make it by tomorrow afternoon. There’s a line shack about halfway up, so we’ll spend the night there tonight.”

  “That’s going to be a lot better than camping out,” she said, trying to imagine sleeping around a campfire in the cold.

  “We’ve been lucky so far with the weather, but that could change real fast. If a blue norther comes through, we’ll be needing a whole lot more blankets than what we brought along.”

  “I remember how bad they can be,” she agreed. “One time I think the temperature dropped more than fifty degrees in less than an hour and then it started snowing, too.”

  “Blue northers are rough, that’s for sure. Let’s just hope the weather stays decent long enough so we can find everything your father sent us after.”

  “I get the feeling this isn’t going to be easy.”

  “Your pa never does anything the easy way, but that’s why the Lazy Ace is so successful. In the years I’ve worked for him, I’ve never seen him back down from any challenge.”

  “You’re right. I don’t think he’s ever been afraid of anything.”

  “There was one thing—” Dan started

  She glanced over at him, surprised and curious. “Really? What was it?”

  “He was afraid you wouldn’t come back to the ranch. That’s why he sent me to get you rather than just writing another letter or sending a wire. He knew I wouldn’t come back without you.”

  “So you’re never afraid of a challenge, either?” she asked, casting him a quick sidelong smile.

  He shook his head and smiled wryly. “Not anymore. I’ve learned that challenges just mean you have to work harder, that’s all.”

  Even as he said it, though, Dan knew he was facing one of his biggest challenges ever, being out alone with her this way for almost a week. He told himself he was riding with her to help her and to protect her, and he knew he would, but she was proving to be a temptation he was finding harder and harder to resist. He’d overcome serious challenges in the past, and he was confident he could do it again.

  “My father got himself a good foreman when he hired you.”

  “I like to think so. I do my best for him. He’s a fine man.”

  All the lies and negative things her mother had said about her father over the years had haunted her during their time apart, and Penny knew she was going to have to put all of that behind her and try to be the loving daughter she once was. Eager to prove herself ready to take up where she had left off, she urged her horse to an even faster pace.

  Dan was surprised by her action and spurred his horse on, catching up with her quickly. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Up to the canyon,” she said with confidence. “We’re going to find that money and get back to the ranch. I want to spend all the time with my father as I can.”

  “I understand what you mean.” And he did. It seemed to Dan everything he’d believed about her in the beginning was being proven wrong. She wasn�
�t the spoiled little girl he’d expected her to be when he’d first seen her at the ball. It would have been real easy for her to have stayed in St. Louis and sent him on back to the ranch alone, but when she’d learned about the deception that had kept her away from her father all this time, she’d proven that she still loved him and wanted to put things right between them. Dan admired her for that. The irritation he’d felt with her early on for going back East and leaving the father who loved her was over. She realized what she’d lost and she wanted it back.

  He knew she was one lucky girl.

  Not everyone had the chance to reclaim what they’d lost.

  It was getting close to dinnertime when Jack came to join Dwylah in the parlor.

  “I wonder how Penny’s holding up, riding astride the way she is,” Dwylah said. “That can’t be easy for her after all these years of living in the city.”

  “The first day or two will be hard for her, but she’ll get used to it. She’s my girl,” he said.

  “Yes, she is. I’m amazed at how quickly she seemed to adapt to everything here again. Back in St. Louis she would never have been caught wearing pants and riding astride.” She was glad he was proud of his daughter.

  “Did you know Elizabeth very well?” Jack asked.

  “I did socialize with your wife, but I’m actually closer friends with her sister, Matilda. That’s why I volunteered to come along with Penny. They were desperate, and Matilda knew she could trust me.”

  “That was very kind of you to make the trip, and you did a find job, by the way. Penny showed up safe and sound.”

  “Danny had a lot to do with that, too. He’s a good man, your Danny.”

  “I wish he were ‘my Danny.’ I’d be proud to claim him as my son. He’s been a big help here on the Lazy Ace. But what about you—do you do this sort of thing very often? It can’t be an easy job being the chaperone and traveling across the country this way.”

  “Actually, I’ve never done anything like this before. I was excited by the thought of coming to Texas. I’ve always heard about what it was like to live on a ranch, but I wanted to see if for real. It seems like it’s quite an adventure.”