Dean had been repulsed by the sight of her scars and told her he never wanted to see them. However, he was in her past and Cort held her future.
Abruptly turning around, she took her husband’s face in her hands and kissed him deeply, eagerly, urgently.
“I love you, Cort. More than I ever thought I could love anyone.”
“I love you, too, Kaley. So, so much.” Cort held her hand, giving her balance as she kicked off her shoes. He kissed her eyelids, her cheeks, and her nose before removing the flowers and pins from her hair.
Burying his hands and face in the silky tendrils, he felt the sparks of desire spread fire through his veins. Unwilling to wait any longer, he started to pick up his wife and carry her to their bed, but she put a hand to his chest, stopping him.
“Not so fast, there, cowboy.” A beguiling smile rode her tempting lips, while her face bore a look of sweet seduction. “One of us is wearing way too many clothes.”
“I agree, and I plan to get them off you as quickly as possible,” Cort teased, reaching out for her again.
She playfully slapped his hand away before unbuttoning his shirt, placing hot kisses along his chest. Deliberately tormenting him, she pulled it off his shoulders so slowly he thought he might explode from anticipation. He groaned in a combination of misery and pure pleasure as she tossed the shirt aside.
Kaley stepped back and studied him, drinking in the sight of his strong shoulders, muscled arms, and chiseled abs. It wouldn’t be a hardship at all to become accustomed to seeing all that exposed manly flesh on a daily basis.
She reached out and leisurely trailed her finger just above the waistband of his pants. “I’ve been a very good girl, Mr. McGraw, and I can’t think of a single present I’d rather unwrap than you.”
He pressed his lips fervently to hers again, his insistent mouth demanding and welcoming a response from hers.
“Merry Christmas, Kaley, girl,” Cort whispered, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her to their big bed.
“What’s wrong, buddy?” Kaley asked as her son sat amid the debris of gift opening, appearing sad instead of thrilled, like she’d expected.
On top of the presents she’d purchased for him, including his remote-controlled tractor, Cort gave him a bunch of his old toys he’d refurbished, and his new aunt and grandparents had thoroughly spoiled him with clothes, toys, and books.
Kaley definitely felt spoiled with all the wonderful things she’d found under the tree bearing tags with her name.
A bright red envelope for her and Cort made her look forward to the New Year. Since Huck and Mara couldn’t come for the wedding, they’d gone together with Tate and Kenzie and a few other friends to provide the newlyweds with a honeymoon at a private cabin in Colorado in February. Plane tickets were included in the envelope along with suggestions on things to see and do, if they were so inclined. Kaley could hardly wait to go.
By then, Jacob would be settled into school. Kenzie and Tate volunteered to have him stay with them while she and Cort enjoyed the trip.
The present she loved the most, though, was her craft room.
Cort asked her for some glue, to fix a loose piece on one of Jacob’s new toys. She opened the door to the craft room and screamed so loudly, everyone ran to see what had happened.
Between squeezing Cort around the neck and dancing enthusiastically around the room, they figured she liked the gift. She opened every drawer and cupboard, hugged Cort again, and thanked him for the wonderful surprise.
He seemed pleased with her surprise gift for him. They’d taken a photo of the three of them the day they’d gone to the pumpkin patch. She had it enlarged, matted, and framed. Cort lovingly rubbed his hand over the frame and looked at her with moisture in his eyes as he kissed her cheek and thanked her for the gift.
Despite all the happy exchanges of gifts they’d enjoyed that morning, she must have somehow overlooked something her son truly wanted.
“Don’t you like your presents, Jacob?” Kaley wracked her brain to think of something he mentioned that she’d failed to get for him.
“Oh, I love my presents, Mama. I got so many good things, more than I wished for.” Jacob climbed onto her lap and gave her a hug.
“Then what’s wrong?” Kaley glanced at Cort to see if he knew more than she did. Jacob tended to tell him things he didn’t confide in her. She assumed it was part of a male-bonding thing she’d never understand.
“I didn’t get the one thing I asked Santa for. I just knew he’d bring it, now that you and Daddy are married.” Jacob’s lower lip quivered as he tried not to cry.
“What did you ask for, partner?” Cort hunkered down in front of the chair where Kaley held Jacob and placed a comforting hand on the little boy’s back. “What did Santa forget?”
“A baby brother.”
Cort blinked his eyes in shock while Celia choked on the coffee she’d been sipping. Trevor chuckled and Jana tried to hide her smile behind her coffee cup.
“Oh, buddy.” Kaley searched for words to explain to her son why there wasn’t a baby brother under the tree.
“But, Mama, ‘member, you told me that I couldn’t get a baby brother until I had a daddy and he was married to you. Now that you and Daddy are married, I just knew Santa would bring my brother. I’d take Gideon, but Tate and Kenzie like him there and I don’t want to make them sad.”
“They do like him there, son.” Cort tried not to laugh at Jacob’s serious expression. He’d have to remember to tell Tate the story later. “Santa can’t bring babies, but if you wish extra hard, maybe you’ll have a new baby sister or brother on the way by next Christmas.”
“You think so?” Jacob asked, gaping at Cort like he could do anything.
“I can’t make any promises, but miracles happen every day and I’ll do my best to make it happen.” Cort picked up Jacob and tickled his tummy while winking at his new bride. “Now, I know you’ve got lots of great presents in here, but I have a special one for you outside. Get dressed and put on your boots and coat while I go get it. Okay?”
“Okay.” Jacob ran off to his room.
“Cort, what else could this child possibly need?” Kaley asked, rising to her feet.
“There’s one more thing our little cowpoke needs.” Cort kissed Kaley on the cheek before yanking on his boots and jogging out the front door to the barn.
Kaley watched as he led a pony to the front yard. A red bow adorned the child-sized saddle. “I can’t believe he got Jacob a pony.” She tugged on her own boots and glanced at her in-laws.
Trevor laughed while Jana and Celia hurried to put on their boots. Jacob rushed by them, whooping as he ran down the steps.
“I’ve got a pony?” Jacob stopped a few feet away from the horse. Cort had taught him not to run up to animals because it spooked them. He walked slowly and let the pony sniff him before hugging its neck.
Cort picked him up and set him in the saddle then handed him the reins.
“What do you think? Do you like him?”
“He’s awesome!” Jacob reached out to Cort, giving him a hug. “You’re the best daddy in the whole world.”
Cort felt his chest fill with pride while his heart overflowed with love, especially when Kaley slipped her hand into his.
“I guess this means I’m going to have to learn to ride.” She sighed dramatically but winked at Cort.
“Yep. I’ll teach you. Right after we spend some time working on granting Jacob’s wish. I think he’d like a baby named Grace, don’t you?”
Kaley looked at the amazing man she married and leaned her head against his strong arm. “I think he would, Cort. And so would I.”
Pumpkin Cake Roll
My beloved Aunt Louise used to make this pumpkin roll. She was one of those special people who exuded loving kindness. She always looked for the good in others, was generous, giving, and gracious.
She shared this recipe with me, taking the time to type it out on a recipe card. That recipe ca
rd is now covered in splatters and caked-on sugar, but every year when I pull it out of my recipe box, it makes me smile and remember a wonderful lady who is greatly missed.
Louise’s Pumpkin Cake Roll
Cake:
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup candied cherries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer on high for five minutes.
Gradually beat in the granulated sugar. Stir in the pumpkin and lemon juice. In a small bowl, stir together flour and other dry ingredients. Fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread batter in a greased and floured 15x10x1 jellyroll pan. Sprinkle with nuts.
Bake for 15 minutes. Immediately invert cake onto a flour-sack (tea) towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll cake and towel up together. Cool completely.
While it is cooling, in a mixing bowl beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla with mixer on medium speed until smooth. Unroll cake and spread with filling, out to the edges. Reroll cake, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve. Cut into 1-inch slices and garnish with cherries and whipped cream. Makes 10-12 servings.
* Note: You can substitute pecans for walnuts or make it without nuts. You can also garnish with glazed nuts, caramel ice cream, or a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Thank you for reading Wrestlin’ Christmas. Now that you’ve finished Cort and Kaley’s story, won’t you please consider writing a review?
I would truly appreciate it.
Reviews are the best way readers discover great new books.
If you’d like more information about the crafts Kaley made or visual inspiration from the story, check out the Wrestlin’ Christmas board on Pinterest.
Capturing Christmas (Rodeo Romance, Book 3) - Life is hectic on a good day for rodeo stock contractor Kash Kressley. Between dodging flying hooves and babying cranky bulls, he barely has time to sleep. The last thing Kash needs is the entanglement of a sweet romance, especially with a woman as full of fire and sass as the redheaded photographer he rescues at a rodeo.
Determined to capture the best images possible, rodeo photographer Celia McGraw is fearless and feisty. Not one to back down from a challenge, her biggest risk isn’t in her work. Danger lurks in the way her heart responds to one incredibly handsome stock contractor.
Will Kash and Celia capture the spirit of Christmas and each other’s hearts?
Turn the page for an exciting preview!
Chapter One
“Celia McGraw, I know you’re out there,” the announcer’s voice boomed through the speakers at the June rodeo in southern Idaho. “Can you please come out here to the arena, darlin’?”
Caught off guard by the request, Celia’s head snapped up and she stared in the direction of the announcer’s box.
“What did you step in now, Celia?” Huck Powell asked as he bumped her shoulder with his.
She lifted a boot-clad foot and pretended to look at it. “Nothing that I know of.” A saucy grin danced across her pink lips as she slipped the strap of her camera over her head. She handed it to Huck, a good friend to her brother and a world champion bull rider. Quickly shaking out her mane of red hair, she took a deep breath and hurried over to the arena gate.
In her profession as a rodeo photographer, she spent a lot of time in the arena, but she had no idea why the announcer had singled her out. After the steer wrestling ended, the rodeo committee had recognized a few individuals and passed out a memorial award. She’d stood with Huck and several of the competitors as they waited for the award presentations to come to a close and the team roping to begin.
Thoughts spinning in a million directions, she tried to determine a reason the announcer would call her into the arena.
At the gate, the rodeo clown, a man she’d known since high school, winked at her. “I’m under orders to tie this blindfold over your eyes, Miss Celia, and lead you out to the center of the arena.”
Celia scowled at him. “What kind of dummy do you take me for? I’m not letting you blindfold me, Cooper. I’ve seen the terrible things that happen when you do. Two weeks ago, I watched you humiliate that poor bareback rider when you convinced him he was in a banana eating competition with four other contestants. You blindfolded him, dragged him out in the arena, and left him there all alone shoving bananas in his face faster than a half-starved baboon.”
Cooper laughed and waggled a blue bandana at her. “I promise there won’t be any contests, games, competitions, dance-offs, sing-alongs, or other such nonsense instigated on my part.”
When she offered him a skeptical look, he held both hands up in front of him. “Honest, Celia, no tricks from me. But I promise you’ll get a kick out of this.”
Slowly releasing a beleaguered sigh, she turned around so Cooper could tie the bandana across her eyes, effectively cutting off her view.
“Ready to do this?” Cooper asked with a hint of humor in his voice.
“No, but lead on.”
The weight of his fingers settled on her shoulder and she clasped his other hand in a death grip. The arena gate creaked open. People whispered around her but she couldn’t understand what they said.
As they moved forward, she lowered her voice. “Don’t you dare let me fall in a pile of poo.”
Cooper laughed. “Would I do such a thing?”
Celia tilted her head toward the clown even though she couldn’t see him. “Yes, you would. In fact, didn’t you do that to a girl last fall?”
“Maybe, but she deserved it. That prissy, uptight princess needed a little earthy substance on her crown.”
Before she could reply, Cooper whipped off the bandana. For a moment, Celia wished he’d put it back over her eyes. He could have possessed the decency to offer a warning about what awaited her in the arena.
Instead of giving in to the desire to kick Cooper with the toe of her boot, she turned her attention downward.
“Are you insane?” Celia glared at the man kneeling before her in the loose dirt of the rodeo arena holding a ring box. A gaudy diamond glittered in the sunlight.
In all her wildest imaginings, seeing Wayne Warshaw down on one knee was the farthest thing from her mind.
He beamed at her and held up the ring box. “Marry me, Celia! Make me the happiest cowboy on the planet.”
Furious, she shook her head. “No! I won’t marry you, you lunkheaded idiot! If you’re operating under the delusion I’m even remotely interested in marrying you, you’ve got feathers and fudge for brains.”
Twitters of excitement fell to a stunned hush as hundreds of spectators caught their collective breath at her rejection.
“Celia, you don’t mean that!” The spurned prospective bridegroom lunged to his feet and grabbed her hand in his. “You’re such a tease. Give ol’ Wayne some sugar, honey.”
On the verge of losing her temper, Celia glowered first at him and then Cooper as he stood nearby. Unsuccessful in his efforts to hide his humor in the situation, he held out his wireless microphone so Wayne’s proposal and her adamant refusal carried over the crowd.
“What part of ‘I’m not interested’ don’t you understand?” She tried to pry her fingers from Wayne’s clammy hand, but he held tight. Finally, she jerked her arm away with such force she nearly upended him.
He took a staggering step forward, still holding out the ring. “But, Celia, I wanna marry you and I know you…”
“You don’t know a thing about me, Wayne, not a thing. Furthermore, you never will. Now, leave me alone before
I sic the law on you for harassing me.” Celia spun around and marched across the arena with her shoulders back and head held high.
Tracy Lawrence’s How A Cowgirl Says Goodbye played over the speakers. Angry daggers shot from her mossy green eyes to the announcer’s booth. The man in charge of the audio equipment tipped his hat to her with a cocky grin.
Offended by the amusement her supposed friends found in her suffering, she wanted to scream. It seemed as if they’d all turned on her during one despicable evening.
Shocked voices rose in volume as Wayne sprinted across the arena and hurried over a fence, out of sight. The roar reached deafening levels by the time Celia made it behind the stands.
The sharp twist of events in the last five minutes left her dazed and slightly traumatized. All of a sudden, her bravado fell away. She shook like a leaf in a blustery winter windstorm as she took a shortcut to her pickup.
Humiliated by the public proposal, she wished she’d never set eyes on Wayne. She’d met him at that very rodeo a year ago when she’d snapped a photo of him team roping with his uncle.
Good-looking and good with a rope, Wayne had been fun to hang out with at first. She’d dated him a few times, but by the third date, he seemed clingy and obsessive.
With her inner alarms sounding an alert, she’d told him she didn’t want to go out anymore and hadn’t looked back. That was months ago. No sensible reason existed why he’d presume she’d marry him.
In light of the scene that played out in the arena, she hoped he’d finally gotten the message she wasn’t interested in seeing him ever again.
Situations such as the disaster she’d just endured made her wish her big brother still competed as a steer wrestler. He and his best friend spent several years as rodeo stars and were part of the reason Celia became a rodeo photographer.
No one used to bother her when the dynamic duo of Cort McGraw and Tate Morgan were around. The two men presented a formidable front to potential suitors, especially those she didn’t particularly like.
Wrestlin' Christmas: (Sweet Western Holiday Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 2) Page 28
