Page 11 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy

“We’ll all get these lights up, but first go inside, wash your face and brush your teeth. Is that a deal?”

“I already brushed my teeth this morning.”

“I know, Cody. But that was before you got chocolate mouth.”

Nicole stifled a giggle.

“Go on, it’ll only take a few minutes and we really could use your help when you get back.”

Cody smiled. “Okay.”

After Cody walked into the house, Nicole handed him a few feet of lights. “You’re good with him.”

He reached across the ladder and hooked the lights. “It’s a work in progress. Half the time, I don’t know if I’m too hard on him or too easy on him.”

“Seems to me Cody is doing pretty well under the circumstances. I’d say you’re right where you need to be.”

He stopped to gaze down at her. “Thanks. But I know he misses his mom a lot. It’s been a rough year. I think coming here to Last Stand has given him the change of pace he needed. We couldn’t stay in Denver and face all the memories.”

“Do you plan on staying here for long?” she asked, as he climbed down to move the ladder.

“Just long enough to fix the place up and sell it. I bought a house in the Mammoth Lakes area in California. It’s a fixer-upper and I figured to move there and work on it while we get used to the area. Living with chaos doesn’t seem to bother Cody.” He leaned against the ladder. “He misses the snow. I figure he’d like it there. Be a good place for us to settle down for good.”

“And what about you?” she asked. “Would you like it there?”

“I’ve always gone where the work took me, but yeah, what’s not to like? Fresh air, beautiful scenery, and snow in the winter.” He smiled. “The sale of Uncle Rand’s place will give us a certain amount of financial freedom and as long as there’s enough work for me locally, I can adjust.”

“Well, your timing is good coming to Last Stand when you did. We’ve got enough Christmas activities to keep Cody busy for the entire season. Speaking of which, there’s a tree lighting ceremony tonight in town at the library. Everybody comes out for it.”

“I don’t know…”

“Hey, we made a pact remember? We’re going to make this Christmas memorable for Cody. And maybe for you too.”

“Uh, let’s stick with Cody. I’m afraid I’m a lost cause.”

“Yeah, well, I had that same attitude, for about a minute, in September.”

“What happened in September?”

She shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe she’d brought up the subject. “Never mind.”

“Oh, so turnaround isn’t fair play? I just told you a lot about myself, and I’m a pretty darn private person.”

Her shoulders slumped and she took a seat on the love seat bench, one that he hadn’t yet discarded. He had plans to spruce up the exterior, but that would come last on his agenda. He leaned against the ladder, crossing his ankles, waiting for her to say something. He had an uncanny curiosity about her that he was afraid stemmed from his attraction to her. It wasn’t just a physical reaction, but he liked her spunk and her kind heart, despite the fact, yesterday she’d been snarky about poisoning him with her cookies.

“I might as well tell you. It’s not that the whole town doesn’t know and you’re bound to hear it at some point. I was engaged to be married. Johnny Dupree and I dated for nearly two full years. He’s an investment banker, and well, we hit it off right away and fell in love. He was all-in on getting married and we planned a beautiful wedding. I even had Taylor make me a custom wedding gown, but that’s a whole other story. On my wedding day, Johnny informed me that his ex-girlfriend had come back into his life. And he wasn’t sure about his feelings for me. He, uh, claimed he needed time to figure it all out. And so, my wedding didn’t happen.”

Garrett’s first reaction was what a jerk her fiancé was. And secondly, he could only imagine the pain Nicole went through. He felt immediately protective of her and wished he hadn’t pressed her to tell him her story. “Sorry, Nicole. That had to be hard on you.”

“It was. I was not only heartbroken but humiliated. And then December rolled around and I started getting excited about the holidays. You might say Christmas saved me. Because I love it so much and what it means to our town. During this time of year, there’s no room in my heart for anything but good spirit. I know that sounds Pollyanna of me, but my mom always says there’s no sense crying over spilled milk and Christmas is a time for miracles.”

“You have a smart mom, and a fool for an ex.”

She smiled. “Thanks. I agree.”

Cody walked out of the house, coming to sit on the loveseat next to his teacher.

“Got your teeth all brushed?” Garrett asked.

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