Page 85 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy

“What’s that tied to it?” her mother asked.

She saw something dangling and reached around to the base. “It’s a g-gold bracelet, with one charm. It says, Best Christmas Ever.”

Nicole closed her eyes tightly to keep from shedding nonstop tears. She loved the gift, so much. As much as she loved Garrett and Cody. It was by far the best Christmas gift she’d ever received. Because that was all she wanted for Cody and his uncle. To not be sad during the holiday. To have a good time this season while in Last Stand. Garrett wanted her to know she accomplished that goal, and it meant so very much to her.

“Oh, honey.” Her mom came over to give her a big hug. “That’s a beautiful sentiment. Are you okay?”

Nicole nodded, unable to get any words out.

“He’s a good man, that Garrett,” her father said.

Nicole couldn’t disagree. For her, it had been the best Christmas ever too.

*

On Christmas eve,Garrett tucked Cody into bed at nine o’clock. “Get some good sleep, Code. When you wake up, you just might find what Santa left for you.”

“Okay, but Uncle Garrett? Will you be sure to wake me if it snows tonight?”

“You have my promise, Cody. If it does, and I hear it, I’ll come get you.” He didn’t have to warn Cody that it probably wouldn’t snow again; the boy had heard it from him at least a dozen times this week. “Now, get some rest.” Garrett kissed Cody on the forehead.

“Uncle Garrett?”

“I’m here,” he said.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you too, Cody.”

*

The first thingCody did when he woke up Christmas morning was to run into the parlor and look out the big front window. It broke Garrett’s heart to see the disappointment on his nephew’s face when he discovered with his own eyes it hadn’t snowed overnight.

“I guess it didn’t snow,” he said, dejectedly.

“No snow, sorry, Code.”

“It’s okay. Maybe sometime today.”

“Yeah, maybe. Hey, looks like Santa made a stop here last night though. Come see what he brought you.”

Cody dug into his gifts, thrilled with his remote-controlled Jeep, and the new superheroes toys he’d opened. Garrett might have gone overboard in the gift giving department this year, an overcompensation for Cody’s loss. They played with the Jeep for an hour, Cody bumping the darn thing into every single piece of furniture in the house until he finally figured out how to control it. And every few minutes, Cody would stop to look out the window. He’d frown and then go back to playing.

Garrett tried his hand at making waffles with whipped cream and warmed berries for breakfast, but he had a box of sugar doughnuts on standby just in case the waffles bombed. They ended up eating both and then topped it off with hot cocoa until they were both high on a sugar fix.

Around noon, a knock came at the door. He opened it, surprised to find Nicole on his doorstep. “Hi,” he said. His dang heart nearly burst from his chest. She looked amazing, her cheeks pink from the cold, her hair covered in a white knit cap and her face, so beautiful he could hardly stand it.

“Hi.”

She had two wrapped gifts in her hand. “Would you like to come in?”

“Only for a minute. I have something for Cody. And for you.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Of course, I did. We did Christmas together. And this is part of Christmas.”

“Cody,” Garrett called, all the while staring at Nicole.

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