Page 39 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy

“But that’s only because we made a pact.”

“A pact? What kind of pact?” Julie’s voice elevated.

Taylor scrunched up her nose. “Yeah, what does that mean?”

“It means that,and I shouldn’t be telling you this, Garrett and I did a little bit of an exchange. He lets us use his property for the fundraiser, and I help with Cody, showing him the wonders of Christmas in Last Stand. Oh, I know the way I’m saying it doesn’t sound super great, but it all happened sort of organically. It wasn’t this ruthless, tit for tat kind of thing. And actually, I’m enjoying showing Cody and his uncle how to experience the holiday. The poor boy lost his mother last year around this time.”

“And Garrett lost his sister,” Julie said. “Must’ve been hard on him too. One minute he’s the doting indulgent uncle, the next he’s Cody’s father andmother.”

“Exactly,” Nicole said. “And he’d been working hard out at Cottonwood, without really experiencing what Last Stand has to offer.”

The girls grinned at her.

“I mean, in terms of Christmas, you two goof heads.”

“And I bet it’s causing quite a stir with the town, seeing you finally move on, supposedly.”

“There is that,” Nicole replied. “It came as an extra bonus. I’m not getting too many pitying stares anymore.”

“No, now you’re getting, you-go-girl nods of approval. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Julie added.

“It’s true,” she said. “But this is only between the three of us, right?”

Her friends nodded. “Right,” Julie and Taylor chorused.

“But you have to admit, it’s exciting, having a secret pact with a gorgeous guy, and all,” Taylor said.

Nicole pinned her with a look.

“What? I’m just saying…”

“Honestly, with this Johnny thing hanging over my head, I’m just not in any frame of mind for… men.”

The school bell rang; it was the end of lunch. Everyone rose from their seats, packing up their leftovers. Nicole had hardly eaten a bite but was grateful for the company. “I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”

The girls gave her hugs and words of encouragement.

“Thanks, my friends. Now, back to work.”

Although, Nicole loved what she did for a living, she didn’t believe teaching was work. It was an honor to be able to give her students a positive first impression of school. Her curriculum combined learning with fun and it brought her joy seeing their sweet innocent faces in the morning. Oh, she’d had some troublemakers along the way, but she took it as a personal challenge to turn them around before the end of the school year, hopefully even earlier than that.

On her way back to class, she pulled out her cell phone and called, Coop, Taylor’s husband. “Hi, Coop,” she said. “I hope I’m not catching you in the middle of something.”

“Nope, just finishing lunch. Hey, isn’t Taylor there with you?”

“She was, she just left. We had a nice lunch together. I have a favor to ask, Coop. And it’s okay if you can’t do it, but it’s for the fundraiser. And for little Cody.”

“The answer is yes.”

“I haven’t asked the question yet.”

He laughed. “Shoot, I’m listening.”

“I need to borrow you and your truck sometime.”

“Okay, you got it. What’s up?”

“What’s up, is that I’m hoping to make one little boy very happy.”

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