Page 18 of Cowboy's Christmas Wife

“Don’t look now,” he said, “but the judge just walked through the door.” Laura seemed to tense up. “Relax, Laura Jo,” he murmured. “Let’s just finish our meal, and then we can go get Lily, okay?”

She nodded, trusting him. “Okay.”

Like he’d suggested, they tucked back into their dinner. When they were finished, Bernice brought their check and a piece of cherry pie. “We didn’t order this,” Daryl said.

Bernice winked at them. “Congratulations again,” she said. “You two make a beautiful couple.”

“Thank you,” Laura said and looked at him. “Split it with me?” She held up the spoon.

Daryl nodded. “Can’t turn down an offer like that,” he said. He dug his spoon into the pie and scooped up a cherry. Instead of popping it into his mouth though, he held it out to her and raised an eyebrow in challenge. Laura smirked in reply and leaned forward and took the proffered bite. She made a little happy noise that rode down his spine on a shiver.

“Well, hi, folks.” Daryl looked up as Judge Morrison approached them. “It’s nice to see you two out and about.”

Laura’s smile in return was a little shaky. “Hello, sir,” she said. “We’re just finishing up some dinner after working at my parents’ house all day.” At the judge’s questioning look, she added, “I inherited my parents’ house after they passed on, and I moved in there with my daughter when I first moved back to Windy Creek, before I ran into Daryl again.” She shook her head, scrunching her nose. “It’s a mess.” She reached over and touched Daryl’s arm. “Luckily, Daryl has been able and willing to help me get it back into shape.”

Judge Morrison nodded. “That sounds mighty fine,” he said. “Y’all have a good evening.”

“You, too,” Daryl said. He looked back to Laura, whose smile was frozen in place. “Ready to go?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, please,” she squeaked out.

They left the money for the check and Bernice’s tip on the table and made their escape. As they exited, they ran into Caleb McGrew, a relatively new hand from the ranch. Caleb was escorting his girlfriend into the diner. “Hey, Mr. Rivers—”

“Caleb,” Daryl cut him off. “You’re two years younger than me. Please call me Daryl.”

The younger man ducked his head. “Sure, sure,” he said, and Daryl knew that he would probably never call him by his given name.I’ve gotta ask Kyle about that, he thought and waved as Caleb and his girlfriend disappeared through the door.

Laura let out a breath. “That scared me.”

“What? Seeing the judge?”

She nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. “What if he doesn’t believe us?” she asked. “What if we’re not convincing enough as a couple, and he ends up siding with Clark at the hearing? We might even face some kind of penalty or fine if the judge thinks we were trying to trick the court.” Her face paled dramatically. “Do you think we could go to jail?”

Daryl stood there, watching her worry at her lip and hold herself like she might shake apart at any moment, and he couldn’t not do anything about it. But he didn’t think words would have any impact. Not when she was this worked up. She’d been like this even when they were twelve years old. Once her brain got on a “worst-case scenario” loop, it was hard to get it back off. “Come here,” he said.

“What?”

He crooked his finger at her. “Come here,” he said again. Laura took the few steps toward him to close the gap between them. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her the last few inches to put her body against his. She gasped. “Can I kiss you?” he murmured, only for her to hear.

Laura stared at him for a moment, and then nodded minutely. “Yes,” she breathed, “yes.” He kissed her, and just like the kiss they shared in his kitchen on Halloween, it started soft and sweet, but then her arms were around his neck, and her fingers tracked into his hair. His tongue brushed her bottom lip, and she opened to him with a little sigh.

A little harrumph broke them apart—a little old lady was trying to get by them, and they were blocking the sidewalk. Laura buried her face in his chest, and he laughed. “Sorry, ma’am,” he said. “Newlyweds, you know?”

Her scowl became a grudging smile. “That’s sweet,” she said as she passed them. “But it’s still no excuse for blocking the path, young man.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed. “Understood.”

Laura groaned from where she was hiding her face, and Daryl laughed and pressed his lips into the top of her head. “See?” he asked her. “We’re believable; we’re going to be fine.”

Laura tipped her head up so that he could look at him. “You think so?” she asked.

He leaned down and pecked her lips, keeping it light so as to not lose himself in kissing her again. “I know so,” Daryl told her. “If I need to start kissing you in public more often, you just let me know.” Daryl felt her tremble against him. She cleared her throat, like she was trying to think of what to say. He knew he should take his words back—they weren’t a couple, and he didn’t have the right to kiss her like that—but they had agreed on some PDA to make their relationship story plausible. He loosened his grasp on her but didn’t let her go. “If I’m too much, you only have to tell me,” he said. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

She shook her head. “I’m not uncomfortable,” she said, but the way she said it sounded like that was precisely the problem. It hit him that she wanted him, that she felt the same attraction and draw to him that he felt toward her. Maybe it even meant that if he was bold enough to ask, making love to her might be a possibility. It was so tempting, but he couldn’t risk his heart like that. She was newly divorced from a man who hurt her deeply, and she’d made it very clear that she wasn’t looking for another relationship. Even if she agreed to give in to their mutual attraction and become more intimate, there was no chance it could lead to love. Meanwhile, he’d been hung up on her for years. It was all a recipe for disaster.

Daryl let her go. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go get Lily and head home.” Laura smiled and nodded. They walked back to his truck hand-in-hand.

ELEVEN

---