by Katie Lane
“Christie?” he said, making her realize that she was sitting there glaring at the phone.
She put it back to her ear and snapped. “What?”
There was a pause. “I don’t know, darlin’. You were the one who called me.”
“Believe me, if this wasn’t an emergency, I wouldn’t be calling you at all. I don’t want you thinking that I’m some clingy woman who can’t live without you now that we’ve had sex. I realize that last night was just us letting off a little steam. Nothing more and nothing—”
The door rattled like the man outside was trying to get in. When he couldn’t, he pounded on the door. Christie’s heart pounded right along with it.
“Unlock the damned door!” Cord yelled. She started to ask him why he would want her answering the door for some mass murderer when she realized that his voice wasn’t coming through the phone. It was coming through her door. She got up and pulled it open to see Cord standing there looking extremely sexy in his Stetson and sheepskin coat. He also looked extremely ticked.
“Letting off a little steam?” he said.
“What are you doing here?” She looked down at the string of Christmas lights in his hand.
“Just answer the question,” he said. “Is that what you thought last night was? Just the two of us letting off some steam? Because it was much more than that for me, Christie. A helluva lot more. I agree that we have a lot going on in our lives right now. You have Carrie Anne and your work, and I have the ranch and Ryker, but just because we have a lot going on that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to see each other. Especially when being with you makes all the other stresses in my life fade away. And I thought you might feel the same way too. But obviously I was wrong.” He held out the string of lights. “Here, you can finish the job I started.” He turned and headed toward his truck.
She looked down at the lights in her hands and then glanced around the yard. It was too dark to see much of anything so she flipped on the outside light. When she did, her entire yard lit up with Christmas lights. Every bush and weed was covered in colorful twinkle lights. And smack dab in the middle, was the tree she’d bought. Cord had planted it in the ground and covered its branches with so many lights it glittered like the tree at New York City’s Rockefeller Center.
Christie covered her mouth and blinked back the tears that welled in her eyes. He hadn’t run off and left her. He’d given her and her daughter a Christmas Wonderland.
Dropping the string of lights, she leapt down from the trailer and raced across the yard. “Cord!” He turned and she jumped right into his arms, hooking her bare legs around his waist and cupping his sweet, endearing face in her hands. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d left and I got a little hurt that you had. And I tried to hide that hurt by acting like what happened wasn’t a big deal. But it was a big deal. It was a big, amazing deal.”
He stared back at her, his brown eyes reflecting the multi-colored lights. “It was a big deal for me too. And I’m sorry I left you without saying goodbye. I just wanted to surprise you.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the light display. “It’s beautiful. Carrie Anne is going to love it. You turned her home into a dreamland.”
“It is a dreamland. My dreams sure came true here.” He bent his head and kissed her. It wasn’t as hungry as the kisses the night before. It was much slower and sweeter, but just as melty. She kissed him back for all she was worth. His hands moved from her waist to her butt and she sucked in a startled breath when his cold fingers brushed her naked skin. He drew back. “Are you naked under that robe, Christie Buchanan?”
“Yep.”
The sound he made in the back of his throat could only be described as a feral growl. With long strides, he carried her straight back to the trailer where he made love to her against the bathroom door without removing one article of clothing. When they’d both reached orgasm, he dropped down to the bed with her still straddling him.
“A six-time champion rodeo star and I can’t even last eight seconds.”
She reached for the snaps of his shirt and smiled seductively. “Now I’m sure you can beat that time.” She jerked open his shirt.
They made love until the sky started to brighten, then they fell into an exhausted sleep. When Christie woke, late morning sun was pouring through the windows.
“Carrie Anne!” She sprung out of bed and would’ve started getting dressed if Cord hadn’t calmed her.
“No need to panic, darlin’.” He reached for her phone and handed it to her. “Why don’t you give her a call and see how she’s doing? If she’s ready to come home, we’ll go and get her. If not,” his gaze ran over her naked body, “we can take our time.”
“But I have to post on your social media and work on your ‘Christmas on the Ranch’ contest before I head into the bakery.”
“My followers can follow someone else today, the contest doesn’t go up until Monday, and I’m sure Ms. Marble or Autumn won’t mind helping out at the bakery until you get there.”
She looked back at the sex-mussed man in her bed and couldn’t argue with his good logic.
Carrie Anne wasn’t upset at all that her mother hadn’t come to get her. As soon as Dirk put her on the phone, she started enthusiastically chattering about her overnight stay.
“It was soooo much fun, Mama. Granny Bon and Gracie let me and the triplets make little gingerbread houses—except they weren’t made out of gingerbread cookies like your house. They were made out of graham crackers. But once we glued all the candy on with frosting they looked just like real gingerbread houses. And Granny Bon said I can bring mine home once it dries. And guess what, this morning it was dry. And you know who cooked dinner and breakfast for me? Mayor Dirk! ’Cause he’s not only good at mayoring, he’s good at cooking. He asked me what I loved to eat and when I told him pepperoni pizza that’s exactly what he made for dinner. And he put loads of pepperoni and plenty of stringy cheese. And he also made a salad, but he didn’t make me eat it like you do. And he didn’t make me eat all my waffle this morning either, but I did. And Ms. Marble came to have waffles with us. But she can’t eat them ’cause she has sugar died-and-beat-us.”
Christie stifled her laughter, but she had the phone on speaker, and Cord didn’t stifle his.
“Is that Cord?” Carrie Anne asked. Before Christie could come up with a good lie of why she was with Cord, her daughter continued. “Hey, Cord!”
Cord winked at Christie. “Hey, Half Pint. Sounds like you’re having fun.”
“I am. You’re not coming to get me yet, are you, Mama? Because Gracie’s gonna take me out to the corral and show me how she barrel races. Did you know she won lots of ribbons barrel racing? And she said once I learn how to ride, she’ll teach me how. But I don’t want to be a barrel racer. I want to ride bulls and wild broncos like you, Cord.”
Cord’s face registered fear and Christie intervened. “We’ll talk about that later. Remember your manners and I’ll pick you up in a few hours, Baby Girl.”
“Are you coming to get me too, Cord?”
“Yes, ma’am. Your mama’s car broke down so until she can get it fixed, I’ll be driving you around. Is that okay with you?”
The squeal of excitement pretty much said it all.
After Christie said goodbye and hung up the phone, she crossed her arms over her chest. “And just who said that I’m going to let you drive me around, Cord Evans?”
His eyebrow lifted. “Is there someone else you’d rather let drive you around?”
She pretended like she was thinking for a second before she shrugged. “I guess I’m stuck with an arrogant rodeo cowboy.”
“Damn right, you are.” He reached out and pulled her back to bed.
They didn’t get up until close to noon. After they got dressed, she fixed him a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Cheetos. The orange dust that got on their lips resulted in a make-out session that left them both wishing that they hadn’t gotten dressed.
&nb
sp; On the way to pick up Carrie Anne, Cord swung by his house to change clothes. When they pulled up to the porch, she noticed all the lights that were missing from his front shrubs. “So that’s where you got the lights,” she said.
He laughed. “And almost a butt full of buckshot when Jasper heard me slipping around in the dark and came out with his shotgun.”
“Did you tell him where you were taking them?”
“No, but I think he figured it out.”
She heaved a sigh. “Great. The way news travels in a small town, I won’t be surprised if some kid on the playground doesn’t tell Carrie Anne that her mama had S-E-X with Cord Evans.”
He cringed. “I didn’t think about that. From now on, we’ll need to be a little more discreet. Which is too bad because I was hoping that you’d come in and take a hot shower with me.”
After showering in the small shower in the trailer for the last few months, a regular shower with plenty of hot water sounded like heaven. But she shook her head. “I’m not stepping foot in your house. If I do, we’ll never get my daughter. Now get!”
He laughed as he got out. “Bossy woman.”
Once he was gone, Christie went through the pictures on her phone looking for something to post on Cord’s social media. When she didn’t find any pictures she liked, she got out of the truck and headed to the barn. People loved the pictures she’d posted of the horses.
Inside the barn, she was surprised to find Danny Ray mucking out a stall. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him work so hard, and she had to wonder if Cord was right. Maybe Danny Ray could change.
“Hey, Danny Ray,” she said.
He startled and whirled around. “Jesus H. Christ, Christie! You scared the shit out of me.” He glanced down at the horse poop covering his boots. “Pardon the pun.”
She laughed. “I didn’t think the day would come when Danny Ray shoveled poop.”
He leaned on the shovel and scowled. “Yeah, well, I didn’t think I’d ever go to a kids’ Christmas party and have a good time, but I did. Kids are kinda cute—as long as you only have to deal with them for an hour. That constant chatter of Carrie Anne’s can drive you to drink in a hurry.”
“She does talk a lot. And there are days I’ve wished for a stiff drink.”
“But I bet you never drank one.” He studied her, then surprised her once again. “You’re a good mama, Christmas Buchanan. You’re a damn good mama.”
She squinted at him. “Speaking of drinking, are you drunk, Danny Ray?”
“Sober as a preacher on Sunday. Cord doesn’t keep a drop in the house. Believe me, last night when he was gone I searched it from top to bottom looking for a bottle.” His gaze narrowed. “Did he spend the night with you?”
She stumbled over her reply. “Umm . . . why would you think that?”
“Because he left to get you and then you both show up here this morning looking as happy as two bugs in a rug.” He shrugged. “And I don’t blame you for sleeping with him. Why settle for a rodeo bum when you can have a rodeo star? Damn, I should’ve asked you to marry me when I had the chance.”
There was a time when she had wished with all her heart that Danny Ray had asked her to marry him. But now she realized that marriage to him would’ve been a huge mistake.
“No, you shouldn’t have,” she said. “You didn’t love me, Danny Ray, and I didn’t love you. We were just two immature kids in lust.”
“Nothing wrong with lust.” He flashed his cocky smile, but it quickly faded. “Is it just lust with Cord?”
The question left her feeling stunned, and she scrambled around for an answer only to discover that she didn’t have one. She wanted to say it was just lust, but she’d had lust with Danny Ray and what she had with Cord wasn’t anything like that. It was more intense. More consuming. More . . . beautiful.
When she didn’t answer, he sighed. “That’s what I thought. But if you’re smart, you’ll be real careful. His record with women is as bad as mine. And a leopard can’t change his spots.”
She’d once believed that, but she didn’t believe it anymore. Cord had taught her that people can change. He had changed. And she had too. She was no longer the mistrustful woman who had first come to Bliss. In the last few months, she had learned to trust. She trusted the Hadleys. She trusted Cord.
And more importantly, she trusted herself.
“You’re wrong, Danny Ray. You can change your spots. You just have to want to.” She smiled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get our daughter.”
Chapter Twenty
Cord was happy. It had been a while since he’d felt completely happy, so it took him a few days to identify the buoyant feeling bubbling around inside him. He woke up smiling and went to sleep smiling. And smiled like an idiot all through the day.
At first, he tried to tell himself that it was the sex. Good sex could make you happy. And sex with Christie had been more than good. It had been spectacular. But with Carrie Anne on holiday break, he and Christie hadn’t been able to even share a kiss since their night in the trailer and his sexual glow still hadn’t worn off. Which made him wonder if it was the woman more than the physical satisfaction she’d given him. When she was around, he didn’t feel like a failure. He felt like a man who could do anything.
“What’s that song you’re whistlin’?”
He stopped whistling and grooming Raise-a-Ruckus and glanced over to see Jasper leaning on the stall door. He had his cowboy hat tipped back and was studying Cord with an intense look.
“I don’t know,” Cord said. “I was just whistling.”
Jasper cocked an eyebrow. “Hmm? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you whistle before.”
“So?”
“Nothin’.” He pointed over his shoulder. “There’s a man out front asking for you.”
“What does he want?”
“I’m not one to stick my nose in other people’s business, which is exactly why I’m not going to say why I think you’re so happy.”
The man was too much of a know-it-all for his own good. “Ornery cuss,” Cord grumbled as he put away the currycomb. Once outside, he recognized the pot-bellied cowboy instantly. It was the metal artist he’d commissioned to make the entrance sign for his ranch.
“Hey, Marty. Good to see you.” He walked over and shook his hand. “You got something for me?”
“I sure do,” Marty said. “I put a rush order on it because I’m such a fan.” He walked around to the bed of his truck and pulled back the tarp. C & R Ranch had been laser cut into a large piece of steel with two bucking broncos on either side. It looked better than Cord had imagined it would and he could only hope that Ryker loved it as much as he did.
“It looks great, Marty. Thanks for doing it so quickly.” He glanced back at Jasper. “Can you help him get it into the barn, while I run into the house and write him a check?”
Jasper squinted at the sign and then at Cord before he nodded.
Inside, Cord found Danny Ray snoring on the couch and Carrie Anne shaking one of the presents under the tree. He couldn’t help but smile. He’d done the same thing when he was little. Which is why his father had put his gifts in bigger boxes and added rocks and marbles to trick him.
“I think that’s called cheating, Half Pint,” he said.
Carrie Anne startled and dropped the present. “I was just lookin’ to see whose name was on it, is all.”
“Uh-huh. And I guess you had to shake it to read it.” Her cheeks turned pink just like her mama. He laughed. “So did you figure out what it was?”
She visibly relaxed and grinned. “My riding helmet.”
Damn, it looked like he’d have to use marbles and rocks next year. Since he couldn’t lie to her, he changed the subject. “I thought you and Danny Ray were going to play a game.”
“He tried to teach me poker, but it wasn’t any fun so I taught him Old Maid using one of the jokers. And when I was organizing my pairs, he fell asleep. I was gonna wake him, but then
Jasper said it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie. And I asked him what that meant and before he could tell me somebody rung the doorbell asking for you. So what does that mean? Do dogs lie? And why is it best to not wake them? And why does Jasper think my daddy is a dog?”
Cord knew why Jasper thought Danny Ray was a dog. He didn’t trust him. Cord had to admit that Danny Ray still wasn’t the kind of devoted daddy he had hoped he would be. But his work ethic had improved. Once he’d paid off Carrie Anne’s boots, he’d continued to volunteer for odd jobs. And that was something.
“It’s just an expression, Half Pint. Let me finish taking care of some business outside and I’ll come in and play Old Maid with you.” He pointed a finger at her. “And leave those presents alone.”
She smiled sassily. “It’s a helmet, isn’t it?”
He bit back a grin before he headed to his office to get a check.
Once he’d paid Marty and the man had left, Cord went to the barn. He wanted to make sure the sign had been placed out of sight just in case Ryker happened to stop by. He didn’t want the surprise ruined like Carrie Anne’s riding helmet. Now he’d have to get Carrie Anne another surprise. Maybe he’d get her a dog. Every kid should have a dog. Of course, she’d have to leave it here because a new puppy wouldn’t fit in the trailer. Christie and Carrie Anne barely fit there. They needed a bigger place to live and not some small apartment or house. Carrie Anne needed space to run and be a kid.
He was still mulling over Christie and Carrie Anne’s living arrangements when he stepped into the barn. It was a good thing he checked to see where Jasper had put the sign because it was leaning up against a stack of hay in full view.
“We need to get that out of sight,” Cord said to Jasper who was standing there staring at the sign. “It’s a surprise for Ryker.”
Jasper continued to study the sign. “I figured as much. So you’re going to surprise him by using his initial on the entry sign?”
“That’s not the surprise. The surprise is the ranch. I built it for Ryker.”
