Page 1 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy

Chapter One

Nicole Russell walkedher class out to the pickup line at Honeysuckle Elementary, her fourteen kindergarten students eager to greet their mom or dad. It was an especially cold December afternoon, even for Last Stand, Texas. Late last night, they’d had an unexpected snowstorm, enough white powder to blanket the streets and make for a frosty landscape. This morning, her students had been thrilled to slosh through the snow. It was an unusual sight and one worthy of all the hoopla. Nicole was careful to make sure the little ones put on their jackets before going outside for pickup.

The cars drove up and one by one, Nicole escorted the child to their parent. She knew many of the adults from childhood, so as she handed them off, she smiled and waved. Too often she’d receive a sympathetic look in return.Still.It had been three solid months since she’d been left at the altar in the church just a few blocks away. Three months since her beautiful one-of-a-kind wedding gown had been tossed aside. Three months since the food had spoiled at the reception that didn’t happen.

How could she have been so wrong about Johnny Dupree? How could she have not seen it coming?

Don’t dwell. Don’t dwell, Nic.

She handed Donald Collins off to his mom. “He had a great day, today,” she said.

“Thank you, Miss Russell. It’s good to hear. How are you doing?” Mrs. Collins gave her ahead tilt, the one she dreaded.

“Just fine,” she replied. “Have a great rest of your day.”

She loved the town, but she didn’t want to be everyone’s pity case. Small towns were like that, and Mrs. Collins along with the rest of them was being kind and caring. But why couldn’t they move on, like she was trying to do?

She couldn’t dwell, Christmas was coming and it was her favorite time of year. She needed the diversion, looked forward to it. All she had to do now was finish planning the Honeysuckle Holiday Fundraiser.

When Paulette Sanchez pulled up to the curb, she guided her newest student, Cody Brown to the car. “Look, Cody. Here’s your ride.”

She ducked her head down as she helped Cody into the car seat. “Hi, Paulette.”

Paulette was a high school senior, and the daughter of Honeysuckle’s school principal, helping out by driving Cody back and forth to school, while his uncle Garrett worked at Cottonwood Ranch. There was sometimes babysitting involved, from what Nicole gathered.

“Hi, Miss Russell. How did Cody do in school today?”

“He’s been fascinated with the snow. All the kids are. It’s quite a treat, right, Cody?”

The dark-haired boy nodded.

“I agree. I don’t remember it ever snowing in Last Stand. It’s pretty awesome,” Paulette said. “So I can tell Mr. Brown that Cody is doing well and doesn’t need any extra help with anything? He asks me at drop-off every day.”

“Right now, Cody is keeping pace with the class, but I’d be happy to speak with him if he needs reassurance.” She glanced at the boy and he gave her a shy smile. “I did send a couple of notes to Mr. Brown this week about the fundraiser. Did he mention it to you?”

Paulette shook her head. “No, he never mentioned a note.”

“I gave them to him, Miss Russell,” Cody answered from the back seat.

“I’m sure you did, Cody,” she said softly.

“He’s really busy and all, fixing up the ranch.”

“I know he is. Maybe I’ll send him another note. Well, good-bye now. See you on Monday, Cody.”

“Bye, Miss Russell.”

Once all the kids were picked up, her friend Julie, who taught second grade, slipped her arm through Nicole’s. “All done for the day?”

“Yes, how about you?”

“I’m all done too. We should head on over to the meeting. It’s about to start. We’ll grab some coffee to warm us up.”

“I know, right. I’ve been cold all day.” A shiver ran through her as she headed to the teacher’s lounge with Julie. “It’s amazing that we got snow last night.”

“Right, snow in Last Stand. It’s sort of a miracle. It’s too bad it happened in the wee hours of the morning. None of us got to see the snow fall.”

“It came as quite a surprise when I woke up. It’s really beautiful seeing everything coated in white.”

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