Page 45 of Christmas with the Cowboy
“You have reason,” Jill agreed.
“Bruno and I will be splitting our time between the apartment and the cottage until your mom arrives,” Trenna said with an airy wave of her hand.
“And where will you be tonight?” Jill asked in a posh tone.
“We shall be in town for the weekend, then depart for the country Monday morning.” Trenna waved at an elderly couple who smiled at them as they strolled by. “I’ve been thinking of getting a dog. This is a good way to figure out if I want one.”
“Bruno is more like a lethal pony.”
“He’s all show,” Trenna said. “But I don’t want that getting out.”
“Hey,” Jillian said, looking past Trenna. “Isn’t that your dad?”
Trenna turned to see her father and Dawn walking down the street, her father smiling and nodding at the people whom he decreed worthy of nods. Carter Hunt always looked like he was holding court when he was in public. Trenna turned back to Jill, her shoulders hunching a little as she picked up her cup before planting her elbows on the table. She wasn’t trying to be invisible, but she didn’t want to be spotted.
“It is.”
And it was hard to explain to a woman who had a tight-knit family why she felt no desire to draw her dad’s attention. But upon meeting Jill’s gaze, she realized that no explanation was necessary.
“Enjoy what you have,” Trenna said softly.
Jill smiled, albeit a touch sadly. “Trust me. I do.”
*
Reed was nota great Christmas shopper, so he always put it off, a move that never helped his shopping anxiety. This year was different. He was going to buy gifts now and save his anxiety for bigger issues. He unfurled his crumpled list as he walked to Marietta Western Wear, conveniently located next to Grey’s Saloon, which would be his next stop.
His brothers were easy and already taken care of. Two expensive bottles of booze were nestled in the backseat of his truck—rye for Spence, scotch for Cade. Now all he needed was to find something for his mom, his sister, and his dad, plus a few more things for Lex. Candice and Gregg had shipped quite a few packages to Audrey before they’d left for the East Coast, and his dad had bought her a horse, but if there was a Christmas to be spoiled, this felt like the one.
Once inside the store, he made a beeline to the silk wild rags, which was his equivalent of a tie for his dad. He’d gotten his dad a wild rag every Christmas since his mom had helped him pick out his first one at the age of five. That meant that Daniel should have a trove of silk scarves, but the man was hard on them, so there was always a need. Reed was grateful for that. And he was also grateful that he was the wild rag child, and his siblings did not impinge.
It was dark by the time he emerged from the store, half an hour before closing. The shopping had been as painful as ever, but he felt confident in his choices—an engraved silver barrette for Em, a braided rawhide slide for his dad’s new wild rag, a pricey bridle for Lex to use with her new mare, and a bottle of perfume for his mother. He was particularly confident in that choice, since the store owner confided to Reed that Audrey had told her if she saw any of her men shopping for her to guide them to the scent. Reed had been guided.
His truck was parked half a block from the store—and Grey’s Saloon—so after stowing the bags, he decided to check in at the bar and see if any of his high school friends might be back for the holidays. As it turned out, the group he found had never left town, or had returned after college or jobs in other places. Marietta had a way of bringing one home, and Reed was beginning to feel glad that he was one of them. He’d enjoyed his years at the Holloway Ranch, and had a ton of responsibility there, but the place wasn’t his, and he understood that if it sold, he could be out of a job, with nothing to show for close to fifteen years of service. It was better to be on the home ranch, caring for family property, especially now that Henry was retiring. And things were going well with his father, if he disregarded the bit with his dad telling Trenna he wasn’t over her.
What the hell had been going through the old man’s head? He was thankful that Trenna had told him because he would have felt like a fool if she hadn’t, and he’d found out later.
Reed jerked his head back as fingers snapped in front of his face.
“Welcome back to the planet,” Darby Worth said. Darby was small and wiry and wore rimless glasses. The casual observer would never guess that the man was a superior bull rider and loved a good scrap. “I said, is there a reason that Jay over there is giving you the stink eye?”
“Can’t think of one,” Reed said. He wasn’t going into details, and he’d been well aware of Jay’s presence, having spotted him shortly after taking a seat at the table of the class of ’06. He figured that if the man kept his distance, then he would keep his temper. There was no proof that Jay had vandalized Trenna’s car, and as to Jay’s confronting her in the bar two nights ago…well, he’d very much like to discuss the matter, but was concerned that such a move on his part might bring on another confrontation with Trenna. That he wanted to avoid, so he continued to sip his beer, ignore the big man, and catch up with his classmates. When he’d finished, he paid his tab, said his goodbyes and headed to the door.
Jay did not follow.
Reed brushed aside a whisper of disappointment as he unlocked his truck. Jay staying put made it easier to keep his promise to Trenna, but he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that the big man was still blaming Trenna for being fired. That maybe he needed to confront Jay and spell out a few things. Darby Worth would have his back, and while Darby was almost comically small, he was one hell of a fighter.
He stopped the truck halfway out of the parking spot and only put it back into gear when the car behind him, who wanted the spot, honked.
He pulled out of the spot, reminding himself that the Reed who wanted to head back into the bar was the Reed he’d laid to rest a long time ago. The Reed that was coming back to life, now that someone he still… Reed’s brain stuttered, then came up withcared about. And even though it felt like bullshit, he went with it…someone he stillcared aboutwas being threatened.
Trenna’s way was best. Jay had said his piece and it was done. If he’d had further beef, it only made sense that he would have approached Reed instead of allowing him to walk out of the bar.
Old Reed needed to stand down.
And stand down he did. By the time Reed stopped at Big Z’s to get the additional strings of Christmas lights Lex had asked for and then pulled into the grocery store parking lot, he’d convinced himself that Jay was done. He hadn’t picked a fight when he had a chance. He hadn’t approached Trenna in two days. It was done.
“Yo. Keller.”
