Page 8 of Cowboy's Christmas Wife

Kyle stared at it. “When did we buy bacon?”

Well, that answers that question, he thought and tossed the packet into the trash can. He scrambled the eggs and loaded the toaster with slices of bread. When the first load of toast popped up, he put it, butter, and a knife in front of Kyle. “Make yourself useful,” he said and turned to pour the eggs into the heated pan.

He and Kyle made a modest breakfast that way, and when Laura wandered into the kitchen a few minutes later, Daryl had to stop himself from swallowing his tongue. She was in a slouchy pair of sweatpants and a tank top with messy hair and no makeup; she shouldn’t look beautiful, but damn it, this may be his favorite look on her, casual and comfy. “Coffee?” he asked her and smiled when she nodded with just a touch of desperation.

Daryl pointed out where the mugs were and told her the creamer was in the fridge. To his surprise, she poured a cup and immediately took a sip. He must have been making a face because she leveled a flat look at him. “When you’re a parent, you want as much caffeine as humanly possible as quickly as possible. The first cup could taste like mud, and I wouldn’t care.” She took another sip. “I’ll make a fancy coffee later.”

Daryl nodded as he put her eggs on a plate and handed it to her. She smiled in thanks and sat down next to Kyle, who was watching the exchange with a look that was somewhere between interest and amusement. They ate breakfast in a comfortable kind of silence.This is nice, Daryl’s mind crooned, and he shook off the thought and tore into a piece of toast. He couldn’t go there. This was temporary; he had to remember that. “I was planning to get a haircut,” he announced apropos of nothing. Laura looked at him. “Before the…uh…before we go to the courthouse later.”

Understanding filtered over her face and arranged her features into a complicated expression. “Sure,” she croaked and cleared her throat. “Did you want me to…?”

Daryl shook his head. “I could either come and get you after, or meet you there,” he suggested.

“Let’s just meet there,” she said. “Jeanette wants to get lunch first.”

Kyle let out a loud, dramatic sigh. “And I’ll be here,” he said, “assisting the vet with inoculations for the herd.”

“I’m sure Daryl would rather be helping you with that,” Laura said jokingly, but the words landed flat.

Kyle didn’t seem fazed at all. “You’ve obviously never inoculated cows,” he said, and then he was off, putting his mug in the sink as he went.

Daryl opened one of the drawers and grabbed the spare key that he and Kyle kept there. “Here,” he said. “So, you can come and go as you need.”

Laura smiled and took the key. “Thank you.” They stood, awkward, for a few moments, and then they heard Lily’s cry as she woke up. “Well, I’ve got to get her. See you later?”

Daryl nodded. “Later,” he agreed.

He and Kyle headed out to the barn, and Daryl did his level best to get everything buttoned up, short of the inoculations, so that Kyle wouldn’t be too in the lurch. When the vet arrived, he came inside to shower. No one was home, so he took a little time to agonize over what to wear. Finally, he settled on his nicer pair of dark jeans and a white button-down shirt that still had the tags on it—a gift from his sister from his last birthday.

Once he was dressed, Daryl forced himself to leave his Stetson on the peg by the door and headed out. He drove into Windy Creek proper and parked in the community lot that was closest to the courthouse. It was a little bit of a walk to Evie Wright’s salon, but he didn’t mind. Even though it was a cool day, it was sunny, and he liked the press of the sun against his head and shoulders. While he walked, he had a thought and pulled out his phone to call his sister. “What’s up?” she answered by way of greeting.

“Come to the courthouse in an hour? I’m getting married.”

He heard his sister choke on air and laughed. “What are you talking about? Getting married?”

“Come be my witness, and I’ll explain,” he said. “I promise Laura Jo isn’t pregnant.”

“Laura—” She let out a harsh breath. “I swear to God you and Kyle give me more gray hair than my own kids.”

He laughed again. “Just wait ‘til they’re older.”

“Ha-ha,” Georgina said dryly. “Very funny.” She paused and took another breath. “An hour?” she asked.

“At the courthouse,” he said.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll be there.”

They hung up as Daryl reached the salon. Luckily, Evie had an open slot for him. “What’s the big occasion?” she asked him as he sat down, eyeing his outfit. “You’re usually a haircut-every-six-months kind of guy, and that’s with your sister chasing you in here.”

Daryl laughed, albeit a bit nervously. “It’s a funny story, actually,” he said. “Do you remember Laura Jo Sanders?”

Evie thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I think so,” she said as she grabbed her clippers and began cleaning up the back of his neck. “She moved when we were kids, right?”

He went to nod, but she pushed his chin into his chest. “Yeah,” he said instead. “She and I reconnected recently and…uh…we’re getting married today.”

The clippers were yanked back away from his hair. “Get out!” she squealed. Daryl met her eyes in the mirror, almost afraid of what he would see…but Evie had the biggest smile on her face. “You had a crush on her when we were kids, right?”

Was I that obvious?“I guess so,” he mumbled. Evie just beamed at him over his shoulder.

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