Page 22 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy

“You don’t usually do that,” she said lamely.

“I smile,” he said in his own defense. “If something is funny or cute or amazing.”

He stared at her and goose bumps rose up her arms.

“In this case, all three,” he said, not letting go of her gaze.

“Uh, thank you?”

He nodded and turned away, walking toward the front of the barn. “Are we through in here?”

“I think so, unless you’re hiding a batch of tumbleweeds for the snowman contest.”

“Nope, sorry.”

“Okay, another thing to add to my to-do list.”

“Are you going to go tumbleweed hunting?”

“Maybe I’ll have the fourth- and fifth-grade students do if for extra credit.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“I should go,” she said, realizing she’d taken a great deal of his time. “I still have to deal with my car.”

“Call the garage, and if they can help you, Cody and I will follow you into town.”

“But your work.”

“We are still going to the festival today, right? I’ll have to drive into town at some point today. Might as well help afriend, at the same time.”

She chuckled. Garrett had a way of making her feel good about herself, and life in general. “Thank you,” she said softly.

*

The festival wasin full swing by the time they arrived, Garrett making sure Nicole’s car was fully operational. Rusty had changed the battery at no charge, feeling guilty he’d closed down the shop that morning to attend the festivities. And in return, she’d offered to bake him his favorite dessert, pecan pie. The way people did business in Last Stand sometimes surprised him.

Garrett walked alongside Nicole and Cody, as they wandered down Main Street, looking at the booths and fun games. Nicole led them to a booth where one had to guess how many candy canes were in a giant-sized jar. “Cody, would you like to make a guess?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

“How many do you think are in there?” Garrett asked.

“More than seven,” Cody said. It was his favorite number.

“Definitely more than seven,” Garrett said.

“How about three sevens? Which would be seven hundred and seventy-seven,” Nicole said.

Cody’s eyes went wide. “That’s good.”

“Okay then, Code,” Garrett said. “I’ll write down your name and your number and we’ll come back later to see if you’re right.” He wrote on a slip of paper, and gave it to Cody. “Here, you go drop it in the box.”

Cody grinned and slipped his guess into a slatted gift box, wrapped with pretty Christmas candy cane paper. “Good luck,” the lady behind the booth said. “Winner gets a handful of candy canes and a month of free horseback riding lessons at our ranch, the Misty Rose.”

Cody’s eyes grew wide. The kid loved horses—what little boy didn’t—and he’d been asking to go horseback riding since they’d arrived. Garrett hadn’t had the time to make that happen. “Uncle Garrett.” He tugged at his jacket. “I want to win.”

“Well, you put in your guess. Let’s see what happens.”

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