Page 2 of Cowboy's Christmas Wife

“One banana split,” Daryl ordered and pulled out his wallet. “Two spoons, please.”

Laura opened her mouth, seemingly to protest, but then she smiled. “Thank you.”

With a nod, the man bustled around, scooping the ice cream and slathering it in toppings. Daryl paid, and they took the dessert to one of the tables near the back of the parlor. They both picked at the banana split for a moment, awkwardness settling between them, before Daryl couldn’t take it anymore. “What happened with Clark?”

Laura sighed and grabbed a bigger spoonful of the ice cream, being less delicate now.Good, he thought,she doesn’t have to hide from me. “I came home earlier than he expected from a 5k fundraising run that I helped to organize, and I found him in our shower with another woman. When I confronted them, she made it clear to me that it had been going on for months.” She motioned at Lily with her spoon. The girl made a grab for it, and Laura dodged her chubby fist and ate the ice cream before the infant could get to it. “I found out I was pregnant after I’d already left.”

Disgust at her husband crackled through him; it set his teeth on edge. “I can’t believe he would do something like that.”

She shrugged. “I’ve stopped asking myself why he would torpedo our marriage,” she said. “I did everything he ever wanted, and it still wasn’t enough.” Laura scoffed and took another bite of ice cream. “Please have some of this,” she said, motioning to the quickly melting dessert. Daryl didn’t actually want any. Banana splits had always been a tradition of theirs: whenever they had a bad day, they would scrape their money together to get one. But, in all honesty, he didn’t care for them. He just went along with buying them because it would make her smile, and he would always do just about anything for that.

He picked up his spoon and dug out a section of ice cream that was free from the toppings and fruit. “So, what are you doing now?” he asked.

Laura smiled and nuzzled her face into the top of her daughter’s head. “I moved back into my parents’ old place,” she said. “It needs some fixing up, but Lily and I are going to make it work.”

“I’d heard you rented it out.”

“I couldn’t stomach the thought of selling it—but it wouldn’t do the place any good to sit empty, either, so renting it out seemed to make the most sense.” Her expression soured. “Clark hired this company to take care of it—deal with the renters and such—but it seems like a repair hasn’t been made in years, let alone any cleaning. I’m amazed it didn’t smell worse when we moved in.”

“It’s okay, though, right?” Daryl asked before he could stop himself. “You girls are safe?”

Laura didn’t exactly give him an unfriendly look, but there was something chilly in her eyes now. “Yes,” she said. “We’re just fine. Thanks.”

He dipped his head, apologizing but not knowing why. “Right,” he said. “Of course.”

She seemed to relax again. “So the ranch,” she said, “is it really gone?”

A sucker punch would have been less painful. He had been so distracted by seeing Laura again that he’d forgotten about the conversation with the bank manager. “Not quite yet, but if I can’t find a way to pay off a chunk of money owned on my mortgage in the next two and a half months, it will be,” he said. “The bank’s given me until the end of the year to get caught back up.”

Laura winced in sympathy. “I’m so sorry.”

“My own fault,” he grunted. “I started a side business that kind of got out of hand. I’m not really the business type.” He shrugged. “I’ll either figure it out, or I won’t, but it’ll be fine either way.” If he said it enough, he would start believing it, right?

He felt her fingers on his wrist, and he looked down at where she’d reached across to touch him. Laura’s fingers felt downright chilly against his blazing skin. Daryl raised his eyes back to hers, and he nearly chuckled at the light dusting of pink that had raised on her cheeks. But still, she didn’t remove her hand. “You’ll get it worked out,” she said. “You will.”

Daryl hoped that she was right.

TWO

Laura walked into Jeanette’s office a hair late for their scheduled meeting, and she found her lawyer-turned-friend waiting for her by the door. Her short blonde hair was styled into beachy waves, and she was wearing a suit that couldn’t quite hide the small swell of her pregnant belly, along with sneakers on her feet instead of her usual heels. She looked tired.

“I’m so sorry!” Laura called as she stepped inside, knowing how punctual Jeanette liked to keep things. But to her surprise, her friend’s expression didn’t show a hint of upset. On the contrary, her face was full of sympathy.

“Oh no, you have really bad news for me, don’t you?” Laura whispered, her stomach sinking.

Her lawyer held up a hand that was studded with different rings. Jeanette struck Laura as the cool older sister type. She was tough, and sharp, and clever. She also happened to be one of the kindest people Laura had ever met and a true, loyal friend. “Come sit down before we get into it,” she said. Laura sighed and followed Jeanette into the conference room. Papers were spread out across the large table.

Laura plunked down into a chair, set the diaper bag down, and took Lily out of the wrap. She smiled when the baby stretched her arms. She was going to dig out a new diaper when Jeanette made grabby hands for her. Laura raised an eyebrow. “You want to change her diaper?” she asked. “Weren’t you the one wailing not two days ago about having to do the diaper bit all over again?” Laura gestured at her friend’s belly.

“I want you to give your full attention to what I’m about to say about that trust fund you inherited,” Jeanette countered.

Laura grimaced. “How bad is it?” She motioned for the stacks of papers.

Jeanette’s smile was tight, and Laura groaned. “Your grandfather must have been a…very interesting man.” The flatness of her voice told Laura just what she thought of that. She watched Jeanette lay Lily gingerly down on the other end of the conference table and began to change her diaper.

“He was, at that,” Laura agreed with a sigh. “Though I should say he did his best,” she said tiredly. It was a phrase she was very familiar with. She’d heard variations of it over and over again from her grandfather’s household staff when she had gone to live with him. Back then, she’d felt utterly at sea, as if her entire world had been taken away from her in the blink of an eye. Not only had she lost her wonderful, loving parents, but she’d also had to say goodbye to the only home she’d ever known. None of the luxuries her wealthy grandfather could offer had been any compensation for what she’d lost. Nor had it been much comfort to hear that he was doing his best when it was so very much less than what she needed.

“And he was from a very different generation,” she added.

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