Page 52 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy

“But I don’t make him laugh. Or smile.”

“Don’t you? Coop and I have both noticed a change in him lately. He’s pretty closed off, but we think you’re changing that.”

Nicole gathered her wits. She’d made one move in the right direction today in shopping for a house to buy. And she was going to make another decision now too. “I’m going to focus on the fundraiser. It’s only one week away now. And then I’m going to focus on family. And Christmas.”

“Are you forgetting the deal you made with Garrett?”

“No, I’ll still own up to my end of the pact for the next week, and that’s where it’s going to end.” She couldn’t entertain any notions of her being with Garrett. He needed the money from the sale of Cottonwood Ranch, for Cody’s future and he was leaving as soon as he finished up at the house. He had another life waiting for him and Cody in Northern California that didn’t include her.

She wasn’t ready for another heartbreak ride. Once a year on that merry-go-round was more than she could handle.

*

It was takingGarrett double the time to paint the hallway than it should, but at least he was doingsomething. It was the fourth day of his recovery and the stitches were still in, his arm was still tender to the touch. It was a slow healing process, and he was super careful not to strain his left arm. The last thing he needed was to rip open his wound. Man, oh, man. Being injured like this put one thing first and foremost in his mind. It wasn’t the time lost, or the work yet to be done. It wasn’t that he could barely sleep at night, or that he had trouble dressing in the morning. No, none of that mattered.

What his injury told him was that if something happened to him, Cody would be alone in this world. Nothing scared him more; nothing kept him up nights more than that realization.

Hell, there are no guarantees in life and accidents happened all the time. Carrie’s image popped into his head immediately. He’d made a solemn vow to his sister that if something ever happened to her he’d take care of Cody. He was honoring that vow, and he loved the boy very much. But he couldn’t guarantee that he was always going to be here.

Paulette’s car pulled up in front of the house and he heard the engine shut down. A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door. He took off his gloves and walked over to open the door. Paulette and Cody greeted him at the same time.

“Hi, you two.”

He ruffled Cody’s hair, as the boy walked past him and entered the house.

“How’s your arm, Mr. Brown?”

Garrett lifted up his arm to show off the clean bandage. “Healing. It’s getting better every day.”

“That’s good.”

“Thanks for driving Cody home. Want to come in?” he asked, as the girl lingered in the doorway. “I’ve got some doughnut holes and chocolate milk.”

“Oh no, thank you. I just wanted to remind you about my choir performance. You said for me to remind you about it.”

“Oh, yeah, when’s that again?”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight?” Garrett scratched his head. Was he losing his marbles? “It’s Friday already?”

Cody chewed on a doughnut hole he’d snatched out of the kitchen, sidled up next to him and giggled. “Yes, it’s Friday today. Don’t you remember?”

Paulette glanced at his bandaged arm again. “If you can’t make it, I’ll—”

“No, no. Of course, we’ll be there.” He’d promised Cody they would go. And Paulette had been a godsend to him for all she’d done. He wasn’t about to disappoint either one of them.

“Great, if you’re sure.” Paulette reached into her pocket and handed him two tickets. “Here you go. The performance starts at seven at the church. I’m glad you’re both coming.”

“We’ll see you there. And thanks again,” he said, gesturing with the tickets in hand.

Once Paulette drove off, he closed the door and walked into the kitchen where Cody was sitting devouring another doughnut hole. “Hey, go easy on those. How many have you had?”

“Today?”

“Yeah, today.”

“Four.”

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