Page 11 of A Tiny House Christmas

“You can stay in the tiny house as long as you want.”

She perked up with the idea of rarely having to go into town or see anyone else. And the little home was small, simple, and without clutter. Did she actually need her old belongings? Living with nothing in the tiny house would be like a stripping down to find out what she truly needed and wanted in her life.

Did she still want to work for the Dragons?

Maybe.

Did she still want the ranching lifestyle?

She inhaled the barn’s scents, the calm quiet. Heck yeah. She’d always want this. It was in her blood, in her bones. Even more than working with the Dragons, which was a job she absolutely loved.

They stood, ready to get back to chores.

“Can I stay here for Christmas?” She swallowed, thinking of her family’s rejection, her broken plans. The scheduled honeymoon. The family Christmas filled with wedding guests who were staying at the ranch for the holiday, making it also a family reunion.

“Kar, you can stay with me until the end of time.”

The seriousness of his words and the heartfelt way in which he delivered them gave her a lift she didn’t think possible.

CHAPTER 3

Karlene’s head was spinning. She’d been caught out, coming out of the barn, laughing with Joey, heading to the house to make a full cowboy breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs and hash browns which would tide them through the approaching Christmas Eve afternoon and until supper.

Her parents had been standing in the middle of the driveway, and when they’d spotted her laughing like she had no problems in the world, had launched straight into a very thorough what-for. How could she have strung along Thomas like that? Mrs. McNaughton was beside herself. Not to mention the expense the McNaughtons had gone to, or the family members who had come all the way to Sweetheart Creek for the wedding. Didn’t she owe it to Thomas to straighten it all out and walk down that aisle?

No.

Their entire grant for the next several years was dependent on collaborating with the McNaughtons. What were they supposed to say to them now that she’d run out, cost them an arm and a leg on a wedding, and humiliated their son?

I’m sorry.

They’d raised her better than this.

I know.

They’d been desperate for her to fix it all and Karlene had ended up making herself dizzy, she’d shook her head so long and hard during the conversation, trying to shake off the humiliation she’d caused herself and everyone she cared about. Then she’d fled into the big house to the soundtrack of the low scolding tone of Joey telling her parents to understand how much courage their daughter had shown by following her gut.

Not long after, Joey crouched down to where she’d sat on the floor, back against the kitchen cupboards. He sat beside her, talking to her like he was trying to coax a stray out from under his couch.

He held her as the sobs rocked through her, his body warm and strong, giving her the strength she didn’t possess.

“I’m so stupid.” She leaned back, and he tenderly used the hem of his shirt to dry her eyes.

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.”

She’d been waiting and hoping for Joey to return her feelings that she’d become blind to what she was truly doing in her own life. Preparing to walk down the aisle with Thomas? What had she been thinking? That relationship had been wrong for so long and she hadn’t even noticed until she’d been standing in that church with eyes only for her best friend.

She was so angry with herself.

“What you did was brave.”

“Why did you nod at me in the church?”

Joey paused, silent.

Anger swirled through her, the desire to rage against him building. She could blame him, even though the fault wasn’t his.

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