Cowboy Christmas Jubilee

by Dylann Crush

  Jinx finally stopped moving. Turning to face him, she squeezed his cheeks together with one hand. “Would she wash your mouth out with soap for saying those four-letter words?”

  Warmth radiated out from where her hand cupped his chin. The full moon bathed her in a shimmery glow, glinting off the dozen earrings and piercings she had through her ears. She smelled fresh, like she’d just doused herself in wildflowers, not spent the past eight hours sweating it out behind the bar. Come to think of it, her hair looked like it might even be damp.

  “Did you shower?” As the words left his mouth, he wanted to chomp down on his tongue.

  Her eyes sparked, then a vacant emptiness took over. She let her hand fall away. The cool night air seemed especially chilly after the warmth of her touch.

  “Yeah. I reeked of beer, so I rinsed off real quick. Charlie said it was okay.” She moved past him and continued to walk.

  “Where are you staying? Let me run you over there so we can both go home and get to bed.”

  “Why does it matter so much? I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself.”

  Charlie was right. Jinx was a big girl. He’d be better off putting the new bartender with the swirly ink and giant attitude out of his mind for good. “Fine. But if you get into a bind, give me a call. You still have my card, right?”

  “Sure.” She lifted a hand to wave over her shoulder. “See ya, Deputy.”

  He stood for a moment, watching her move beyond the reach of his headlights. Jaw clenched, he climbed back into the truck and inched past her on the pavement. With a final look in the rearview mirror, he pressed on the gas and left her behind. Stubborn woman. If she didn’t want his help, he’d stop offering.

  Chapter Six

  A breeze batted the front of the tent, making Jinx want to burrow farther down into her lightweight sleeping bag and fall back asleep. Already November, and she could still sleep outside. Thank goodness for the moderate Texas climate. If she’d been home in Seattle right now, she probably wouldn’t be able to stay in her tent. It didn’t get that cold, but it was a different kind of cold—wet, bone chilling, damp.

  Hendrix wiggled out from the sleeping bag and scratched at the front of the tent.

  “Now? Seriously, you need to go out now?” She snuggled farther into the sleeping bag. “Just hold it.”

  He didn’t come back, just sat near the front of the tent, pawing at the nylon.

  “Cut it out. You’re going to scratch a hole in it.” She tossed a sock at him, hoping he’d give up and come back to the sleeping bag. He might have only been five pounds, but he generated enough body heat to keep her warm, and right now, she missed the little heater.

  Hendrix barked, short, loud yips that pierced through the stone-cold silence of the night.

  “Shh. You’re supposed to be quiet so no one knows we’re here.” Jinx unzipped the side of her bag and shrugged into a sweatshirt. She clipped the leash on Hendrix, then let him out into the eerie gray of early morning. Based on his behavior the night before, she didn’t trust him not to wander.

  She waited, trying to keep herself propped upright, wanting nothing more than to crawl back into her sleeping bag and catch a few more hours of shut-eye. But a quick glance at her watch showed she only had an hour until she had to be at the Rambling Rose to set up for the breakfast crowd. Charlie had given her a heads-up that it was a family-friendly shift and to be prepared for a slew of kids.

  She liked kids. Other people’s kids. She’d never let herself imagine having her own someday. Kids needed a mom and a dad. A home without wheels, a stable place to call their own. Not like the fun house she’d grown up in. At least until she’d turned fifteen and left home for good. Her mind wandered for a moment, back to roaming the streets of Rainier Beach with her friends late at night. Anything to get out of her mom’s place. That was then. This was now.

  And now meant she had about ten minutes to throw herself together if she wanted to make the trek to the Rambling Rose in time for her shift. She climbed out of the tent.

  The walk back and forth to the honky-tonk was getting to her. She’d been keeping her eyes open for a spot to camp closer. So far, nothing beat this tract where she’d first parked the bike. The scrubby trees provided a break from the wind, and there was a freshwater stream just a few minutes’ walk through the brush. But she did need to start thinking about a more semipermanent solution. She’d text Jamie today to find out how long she could hold the job in New Orleans. If things looked good on that front, she could bunk with Dixie for a while and still make it to Louisiana before New Year’s.

  Her backpack stuffed with dirty clothes and with a grumpy Chihuahua in his soft-side crate, she set off on the walk back to the Rambling Rose. She arrived in enough time to brush her teeth and put on a touch of makeup in the bathroom.

  For the next couple of hours, she mixed mimosas and hauled trays of Texas french toast and huevos rancheros to the waiting crowd. The kids wanted to touch her hair, and more than once, she caught a skeptical glance from a surly local or concerned parent.

  She was about to sneak off to the backroom to take Hendrix out when someone shrieked her name from the doorway.

  “Jinx!”

  Kenzie barreled across the room, legs and arms flapping like she’d just seen her favorite cartoon character. Jinx caught her right before Kenzie plowed into her. Scrawny arms wrapped around her waist, and a mass of light-brown hair pressed into her gut. Jinx instinctively hugged the kid back.

  Kenzie took two steps backward, grabbed Jinx’s hand, and began tugging her toward the doorway. “Daddy told me you work for Aunt Charlie now. Are you gonna have breakfast with us? I like the french toast sticks. Angelo always makes them look like a face and gives me extra whipped cream. Do you like whipped cream?”

  “I…uh—”

  “You gotta like whipped cream. Papa sometimes squirts it into my mouth from the can.” Kenzie’s voice quieted as she glanced at the older man standing next to her dad. “Oh, I wasn’t supposed to tell Daddy that.”

  “You must be Jinx.” A woman about Jinx’s height enveloped her in a hug.

  Awkward. Who in the hell were these people? So far, Texans sure seemed to like to dole out the hugs. All of them. Well, all of them except the tall, dark, and cranky deputy. Jinx stood still, waiting for the moment to pass.

  Cash cleared his throat. “Sorry, my family’s made up of huggers. Mom, enough already.”

  The words sounded funny coming from the man who couldn’t seem to stand her. He definitely didn’t strike her as a hugger. Or much of a smiler either. The chip on his shoulder seemed to be as big as the double-wide where she’d last seen her own mother.

  Cash’s mom backed away. “I’m sorry. It’s just that Kenzie and Charlie have told us so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  Jinx side-eyed the beaming girl. They’d only met once. What could Kenzie have told them?

  Cash gestured to his mother. “Mom, meet Jinx. Jinx, this is my mom, Ann, and my dad, Tom.” He shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable performing the introductions.

  Tom offered a hand, so Jinx shook it. Warm, rough, the way she imagined a rancher’s hands would feel. Charlie had told her she grew up around here with a ranch full of brothers. Lucky for her she had so much family around.

  “Can you eat with us? Nana, can she?” Kenzie grabbed Jinx’s hand in one of hers and Ann’s in the other.

  “We’d love to have you join us. Kenzie, why don’t you go find a table?” Ann pointed to the far side of the room, at the tables closest to the windows.

  Couldn’t they tell she was on the clock? Surely the logo T-shirt or apron ought to provide a built-in excuse. “Oh, I’m actually working right now. I can’t—”

  “Place is about cleared out, wouldn’t you say?” Tom gestured around the mostly empty room.

 
The brunch crowd had come and gone. A few regulars sat on barstools watching a college football game. Dixie walked by at that exact ill-timed moment.

  “You go ahead, Jinx. I’ll cash out the table you’ve got left. Enjoy the break.” She winked, and Jinx vowed to royally screw up her next cocktail order.

  “It’s all settled then. Looks like Kenzie found us a table.” Tom guided his wife toward an empty table where Kenzie sat, swinging her legs in a too-big-for-her chair.

  Jinx looked up at Cash, waiting for him to make up some excuse. She didn’t want to budge her way into their little family lunch.

  Instead, he pulled his mouth into a resigned line. “Shall we?” He gestured toward the table across the room.

  Toward his mom and dad.

  Toward his kid.

  Toward uncharted territory.

  * * *

  Jinx tensed as she stepped in front of him, moving toward the other side of the room. He didn’t blame her. With a deer-in-the-headlights look frozen on her face, she let him direct her across the room to where his family waited. He should have known she’d be here this morning. With Charlie trying to step back a little, she was probably having Jinx work as many hours as she could handle.

  They reached the table, and he held out a chair for her. Jinx cast a longing look toward the kitchen, then slid onto the seat. If she hadn’t looked so miserable, he might have laughed out loud.

  Kenzie pointed to the chair next to Jinx. “You sit there, Daddy.” She leaned against the back of the chair on Jinx’s other side.

  Flanked by him and his daughter, Jinx seemed to grow more uncomfortable by the second.

  His mom reached across the table and patted Jinx’s hand. “Charlie told us you’re from Seattle?”

  Jinx nodded.

  “How long are you in town?”

  “Oh, I’m not sure. I need to get my bike fixed.” Jinx slid her hand out from under his mom’s.

  Cash smirked. Hell, he could sit back and let the info flow. Between Kenzie and his nosy mother, he’d get all the recon he needed.

  “Charlie said you’ll probably be here for at least a month or two. You’ll love the Jingle Bell Jamboree. So much fun. Here in Holiday, we don’t need much excuse for a celebration. There’s always a parade, a festival, or some sort of party going on.”

  Jinx’s eyes widened. Her fingers gripped the edge of the table. The deer in the headlights appeared to be morphing into a wild animal caught in a snap trap.

  “Chill, Mom. She’s just passing through—”

  “Oh!” Ann slapped a palm on the table. “You’ll be here for Thanksgiving. You’ll come to the house. The Rose is closed that afternoon, and we always have Charlie and the gang over for Thanksgiving dinner.” She nodded to herself, satisfied firm plans had been made, and picked up a menu.

  “Slow down. What if Jinx has other plans?” His dad smiled and nodded toward Jinx. “Do you have other plans, hon?”

  Jinx took in a visible inhale. Her shoulders lifted, and her chest rose. The pink rose on the Rambling Rose logo perched in a precarious position. Every time she took in a breath, the rose on her chest moved. Cash became mesmerized with the rise and fall of her breath.

  “Of course she doesn’t have plans yet. She doesn’t know anyone else in town.” Ann slid her reading glasses to rest on top of her head. “Besides, Cash makes the best sausage stuffing in Texas.”

  “You can sit by me, Jinx. Nana lets us have pie and cookies on Thanksgiving, don’t you?”

  “That’s right, baby doll.”

  Kenzie beamed under her nana’s wink.

  Cash finally managed to redirect his attention from Jinx’s chest to her face. “How can you say no to cookies and pie?”

  “Gosh, that sounds great. If I’m still here, I’d love to join you.” The words spilled from her mouth, then she chomped down on her lower lip.

  Liar, liar, pants on fire. She had absolutely no intention of joining his family for Thanksgiving. He could tell by the look on her face and the way she chewed on her bottom lip like she wanted to gnaw it off. Too bad for her. Once his mom got something in her head, didn’t matter how crazy it was, she always saw it through. He’d been the victim of many of her harebrained ideas, and it appeared she had her sights set on Jinx next.

  Kenzie poked Jinx in the arm and pointed to her menu. “What’s that say?”

  “Why don’t you sound it out, Tadpole?” He’d confided in his mom about the teacher’s preliminary diagnosis. Maybe now she’d see for herself what they were talking about.

  “Eggs den…” Kenzie began.

  “Benedict, honey,” his dad chimed in. His mom poked his dad in the gut, and he gave her a confused look.

  Cash watched his mom whisper in his dad’s ear. They argued back and forth for a few moments, probably debating whether or not poor Kenzie needed as much help as the teachers thought.

  As his parents muttered to each other, Jinx leaned over Kenzie’s menu and pointed to some of the letters.

  “See how the d faces that way and the b goes the other?” Jinx’s finger trailed over the tiny print on the giant menu. “Sometimes they play tricks on me, and I have to think about it before I read the words.”

  “Me too!” Kenzie pointed to a capital B. “The bigger ones are easier. Do the words ever look like a worm and wiggle on the paper when you try to read?”

  Jinx nodded, and the two of them put their heads together, giggling like they were sharing some sort of inside joke.

  Cash stared at them, uncomfortable with the way Kenzie latched on to a woman she’d only met once but also grateful that someone seemed to understand what his daughter was going through. Why the hell did that someone have to be Jinx?

  Dixie stopped by to take their order, and they managed to work their way through brunch. Jinx took Kenzie’s recommendation and went with the Texas french toast. She practically inhaled it. Ann continued to pepper Jinx with questions. Some she answered. Some she deflected. Some she responded to with questions of her own.

  By the time they finished eating, the room had emptied.

  “Does Charlie have you working tonight?” his mom asked.

  Jinx nodded. “I have a couple of hours before I need to clock in again.”

  “Can I see Hendrix?” Kenzie clasped Jinx’s arm.

  “Oh, um—” Jinx looked back and forth from Kenzie to Cash.

  “Please? I want Nana to meet him.” Kenzie whipped her head around to face her grandmother. “He’s soooooo cute. I want one for Christmas, okay?”

  His mom’s brows knit together. “What’s a Hendrix?”

  “He’s a Chihuahua.” Jinx turned in her seat to smile at Kenzie. “If your dad says it’s all right, you can hold him for a minute, okay?”

  How could he say no to Kenzie when her face lit up like the angel at the top of the Christmas tree? “Okay, but make sure you wash your hands after. Where is he anyway? Did you bring him to work with you?”

  Jinx frowned. “I couldn’t leave him by himself. It’s okay though. He’s in a crate in back.”

  “Charlie know you’re keeping a dog in her storeroom?” Cash asked.

  “I…uh”—her eyes darted to the hall where the offices were—“haven’t quite had a chance to talk to her about it yet.”

  Cash took his napkin from his lap and set it on the table. “Best make sure you do. She can’t afford to have the health department close her down.”

  “I will. I’ll ask her today.” She stood and turned to Kenzie. “Want to come with me to get him, and then we can take him out back?”

  Kenzie glanced his way. Cash nodded. She grabbed Jinx’s hand and followed her to the back room. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the two of them, hand in hand.

  “Kenzie seems to have found a new friend.” His mom nodded toward the two of them. “What do you thi
nk?”

  “What do I think about what?”

  “Jinx. I’ll admit she doesn’t look like your type, but—”

  “Whoa!” He stood and stepped back from the table. “Don’t start trying to play matchmaker with me, Mom.”

  “Simmer down now. I’m not trying to play anything.” His mother put her hand on his arm—her left hand. Her wedding ring sparkled. Like hell that wasn’t intentional. “I’m just wondering if it isn’t about time you try to find someone special. Kenzie needs a positive female role model in her life.”

  “She’s got you…and Charlie. That’s enough.”

  “I’m not saying you have to ask Jinx out. But promise me you’ll keep an open mind about dating? You don’t need to find the one tomorrow or even next week—”

  “Enough, Mom, okay?” He covered her hand with his own and gave it a squeeze.

  “I just want you to be happy. Kenzie too. Y’all deserve it.”

  He didn’t hold it against his mom for wanting her kids to have the best life had to offer. But he’d learned one thing—he didn’t deserve shit. If he wanted something in this life, he had to work for it and take it and then fight like hell to hang on to it. He’d fought hard for Lori Lynne, and it hadn’t made a bit of difference. He’d never forgive himself for letting her walk out of his and Kenzie’s lives, for Kenzie’s sake, if nothing else.

  His daughter did deserve everything life had to offer. Maybe his mom was right about needing to find a positive role model for Kenzie. He’d never be able to tell his mother that. She’d hold it over him for the rest of his life.

  “I’m gonna head out back and make sure Kenzie’s not getting eaten alive by a rabid rat-dog. Y’all want to come?”

  “We need to get back to the ranch. Tell Jinx we enjoyed meeting her though.” His dad clasped his hand and patted him on the arm with the other.

  “Will do, Dad.”

  His mom waited her turn, then grabbed him in a hug. “Tell Kenzie I’m looking forward to making cookies with her tomorrow. And remind Jinx about coming for Thanksgiving.”

  “Fine. I’ll make sure she knows she’s invited.” He waited until his parents made it to the door before turning toward the back. Almost forty years of wedded bliss, and they were still going strong. Relationships like that just didn’t exist anymore. He shook his head and passed into the outdoor beer garden.