Page 1 of A Tiny House Christmas

CHAPTER 1

DECEMBER 23

He was Joe McCall to everyone who knew him. Except to Karlene.

His best friend’s kid sister was the only one who still called him Joey—and the only one allowed to without facing dire consequences.

If Karlene ever called him Joe, he knew she was mad—as mad as the time she’d shown up at seventeen, as angry as the thunderstorm gathering around the ranch, wanting to ride off her fight with her then-boyfriend-now-fiancé Thomas. Joey had refused to let her ride his stallion out into the storm, and he’d been called Joe that day.

The next month she’d bought her own horse. Which, naturally, he’d allowed her to board, free of charge, on his ranch ever since.

There were a few other rare times she’d called him Joe. For instance, the occasions he’d sided with her older brother Blake and said no to her tagging along on their adventures. He’d like to think he’d made up for that with a few secrets and favors over the years. For example, Blake didn’t know about the old cabin he and Karlene had found a few miles ride from his ranch, a place they’d camp out in a few times a season.

Karlene called him Joey at least ninety-nine percent of the time, which he figured was a decent ratio for a cowboy and his best friend’s kid sister.

He shook his head, taking in the line of six bridesmaids standing to his right. Karlene had a way about her, that was for sure. He still hadn’t figured out how she’d convinced him to be one of her bridesmaids. Or a dude of honor, or whatever she called it to make him feel better about it all.

Who could say no to her when her eyes lit up whenever she stepped onto his ranch, and that bounce fell into her booted step? You’d have to be some kind of monster to shoo her away.

And so here he was in spiffy dark-washed jeans, a tuxedo jacket and a fresh new cowboy hat that matched the men to his left, waiting for Karlene to come down the aisle. It was two days before Christmas and the Sweetheart Creek church was decorated in red and green for the seasonal wedding and all of the pews were packed. A wave of pride filled him, dampening his eyes as Karlene appeared in the church doorway in her white gown. Six years his junior, the tagalong kid had grown up on him. Today she was a bride, about to get married.

Married.

Little Karlene Spragg.

A wife. It was going to change everything.

He supposed it was about time, though. She was pushing thirty-years-old and had been dating Thomas McNaughton since high school. And yet, somehow, the fact that she was all grown up hadn’t registered with Joey. Not even when he’d been drawn into the wedding party, all the plans thankfully taken care of by Thomas’s mother, leaving him out of decisions regarding floral arrangements, color schemes and nail polish.

Maybe today didn’t feel real because Kar hadn’t ever truly had her heart broken, or been wrung out on the adult datingscene like he had. And now she was going to be a wife to a man outside his social circle.

Her husband-to-be’s family had one of the biggest ranches in Hill Country, and next week Karlene would no doubt move her horse—which was currently rigged up to the carriage out front, ready to take her and Thomas from the church to the wedding reception—to her own ranch.

Hers and Thomas’.

She’d have kids. Quit her job as a physical therapist for the NHL hockey team in San Antonio and become so busy he’d rarely see her. She’d no longer need him after today, and a stab of loneliness ached in his gut.

He rolled onto the balls of his feet, fighting the sense of loss. He met Karlene’s eyes across the church and the air left his lungs.

Somewhere along the line, her familiar legginess had made her a knockout without him noticing. She was simply stunning, the dress hugging her curves.

He bounced in place again. Something felt right about waiting for her to walk down the aisle toward him.

He frowned at the fleeting thought, then became distracted by how Karlene was frozen in the church doorway like his prize bull had gotten out again and she was afraid of becoming a target.

Karlene’s round eyes locked on Joey’s and the hitch in her shoulders dropped. His gut warmed and he caught himself taking a half step forward before catching himself. The heat spread as memories of this woman, his best friend, flooded through him. Laughter. Horseback rides and camp-outs at their secret cabin. The two of them cooking breakfast in his kitchen after an endless night of calving cows, elbow to elbow.

He reminded himself that she wasn’t here for him. And this wasn’t the day or time to swoop in and look out for her. That was over now. She had other people to do that.

Karlene Spragg and her long legs were all grown up.

But his gut told him she wasn’t okay.

She needed something. A friend. Him.

She was wavering in the doorway, seemingly unable to move down the aisle.

Was she waiting for something fromhim?

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