Page 3 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy

“For one, pal, I miss you when you’re at school, and for two, I thought we’d do something fun this afternoon. How does that sound?”

Cody grinned. “Really?”

“Really. Let’s say good-bye to Paulette first and thank her, okay?”

The boy nodded and walked over to her. “Thanks, Paulette.”

“You’re welcome, Cody. Have a great weekend you two.”

“Same to you, Paulette. Thanks again,” Garrett said. “Drive safely now. The roads are a little slick.”

“I will.”

Garrett took hold of Cody’s hand and began walking toward the house. The connection filled him up and made him think of his sister and all she was missing out on. She’d adored her son and had worked hard being a single mom after her husband passed.

“The snow’s still on the ground, Uncle Garrett.” Jubilant, Cody kicked a patch of snow with his boot and the ice went flying.

“I see that. It was a freak storm. They don’t usually get snow in this part of Texas, Code.”

“But it’s here now.”

“Yeah, for a little bit.”

“Maybe it will come again. For Christmas.”

Garrett winced. “I wouldn’t count on it. This is not Denver, where it snows a lot, bud. Even the weatherman was surprised at the storm that moved in and out quickly last night. So let’s not get our hopes up.”

Cody eyed the snowy surroundings for a moment, his eyes filled with wonder as if he hadn’t just heard what Garrett said. Then his nephew dropped his backpack and bent down, picking up a clump of pure white snow and drew back his arm. Thenwham! Garrett saw a flash of white before the snowball hit him right smack on the shoulder. Cody burst out laughing.

“Oh yeah? You want a fight?” Garrett bent, gathered up his own snowball and lobbed it at Cody, hitting him on the arm. “Bang.”

The snowball fight lasted all the way to the house, with the two of them running and jumping out of the way of the next cold toss, Cody’s joyous shouts piercing Garrett’s ears. Both were freezing cold when they walked up the steps to take off their coats and shake them out.

“That was fun,” Cody said.

“It was. I think you got me good.”

“I did.”

He ushered them into the house, a work in progress. Garrett had torn down a bedroom wall, to make the living area into a great room, turning the place into a four-bedroom house instead of five. But the great room was where people lived, and more space was needed. The kitchen was partly done with new flooring and cabinetry ready for installation, but still needed new appliances. It was home, for now and Garrett tried to make it as comfortable during the process as possible.

Once they got dry, they opted to pop some popcorn in the microwave that was their only source of cooking at the moment, and watch a movie together. Luckily, Garrett had replaced the old fireplace last week and the wall-to-ceiling stacked stones really had eye appeal. He set wood logs to burn, and soon the room got warm and cozy. For a change, Garrett let his work go to spend some quality time with Cody. He had to do that more often. The boy needed it. And, maybe, so did he.

Cody took out the Battleship game and they sat across from each other and played for a good hour. Cody “beat” him twice, and Garrett won three games. Cody pouted a bit, moping around. Garrett knew enough to let him be, he didn’t like to lose. The boy got that trait from him so he’d have to work out the loss on his own.

When it was time for dinner, Garrett microwaved a frozen casserole he’d picked up at the market. He lacked skills in the kitchen, and that would have to change once they settled in California. The boy deserved more than frozen meals, but at the moment, it couldn’t be helped. The only appliance they had, besides a refrigerator, was the microwave. Thank goodness, Cody ate everything Garrett put before him.

“Code, how about some ice cream for dessert?”

The boy’s face lit up; his brown eyes sparkled. “Yes!”

“I thought you’d like some. But you have to—”

“I know, I know. I have to brush my teeth for an extra minute.”

“At least. You don’t want to—”

“Lose all my teeth before I’m thirty.”

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