Page 28 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy

“Okay. It’s hard to believe there’s only one more week before winter break.”

“Right, and two more weeks before the big fundraiser.”

“You’ve got a good handle on it. I think it’ll be a big success.”

“I hope so.”

Garrett glanced over at the sofa. Cody had finished his milk and eaten his two cookies. With an opened book on his lap and his head resting against the sofa cushions, he was fast asleep.

Nicole stood beside him. “He looks so peaceful.”

“I love watching him sleep,” Garrett admitted.

He sensed Nicole watching him, watching Cody. There was a moment, a split second in time, when Garrett could see this scenario play out. The three of them together, but it wasn’t possible. Not with Nicole as brokenhearted as she was. Not when the pain of losing Carrie was so strong. He feared letting anyone else in. Not when Cody was still so vulnerable. He couldn’t chance any of it.

Still, it was a nicewhat iffor another lifetime.

Chapter Four

Monday afternoon, Nicolemade sure all of her kindergarten students were safely picked up for the day, keeping a watchful eye out for Cody. And his ride. A part of her secretly hoped she’d find Garrett behind the wheel of the car picking Cody up. She shouldn’t feel this way just because Garrett touched a sympathetic cord within her. Just because she liked him more than she should. Just because his love and compassion for his nephew was a big turn-on. She wasn’t in the market for a boyfriend or any sort of entanglement for that matter. He would be leaving soon. And they were just friends at this point. It had to stay that way.

So why was she secretly hoping to see Garrett again? Was it because he’d been flirting with her lately? Did he even know how much his compliments meant to her? Was she being a silly fool to contemplate another involvement with a man?

When Paulette pulled up, she walked Cody to the car. Nicole greeted her with a smile and a few friendly words and told herself she was glad he hadn’t come.

And she almost believed it.

A few minutes later in the teacher’s lounge, she met with her fundraiser committee. “Hi, all,” she said, sitting down at a round table. The group of five all greeted her, and she opened up her digital notebook. “I think we should start with what we’ve accomplished so far. The ranch is shaping up nicely, the lights are up but we have more decorating to do. Mrs. Williams, you’ve made sure we have horses to pull the sleigh, right?”

“I have. We’ll have a string of four horses, being brought in that morning.”

“And, Julie, you’ve got a handle on the s’mores booth.”

“I do, we’ll use two big BBQ grills to melt the marshmallows. I think it’s all covered.”

“Great,” Nicole said. “Next we need to talk about the snowman contest. We’ll need props, like hats and scarves and of course, we can’t forget the tumbleweeds. How are we doing with that?”

“Well, if the snow doesn’t melt, we won’t need tumbleweeds.”

“Right, but we can’t count on that. How about we try to round some up? I think Garrett, uh, Mr. Brown will let us use the barn to store them for the time being. How are we doing with food?”

“I’ve got a subcommittee of volunteers,” Lily Trumble, a parent volunteer said. “We’re working on a menu. Sandwiches for the day and I think we’ll do stew and chili for nighttime. I’ve been speaking to local restaurants to get donations.”

“Perfect, thank you.”

“I’ve designed flyers for the town shops and we’re working on signs,” Mrs. Lemon said. “Blake Charles Realty has donated the printing of them. And our Last Stand radio station will be announcing the fundraiser one week before the event.”

“That’s great. We’ll be sure to have some of our students disperse those flyers. Now all we have to discuss is the cookie decorating booth, the pine cone painting table and, oh, I thought it’d be fun to have a big Christmas wishing tree right in the middle of the ground where every child and parent can place their own wish on the tree. I’ll take care of that… and we need a few volunteers to help with sanding the wagon. It’s in need of some repairs and…”

The meeting ended half an hour later. Nicole felt good at the progress being made. She didn’t want to let anyone down since this was the first time she was heading this fundraiser. Maybe it was to prove she could do it, or maybe it was to show the town that she was truly fine. The more she thought about it—which she did every day—the more she realized that she was recovering better than she expected.

Because of Garrett?

She chuckled. Maybe despite him. Though spending time with him was surely a good distraction.

“What’s funny,” Julie asked, gathering up her notes from the meeting.

“Oh, nothing,” she said, smiling.

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