Page 8 of A Cowboy Home for Christmas
“So, whenever you need to vent about that prick, you come find me, and I will listen. Don’t forget, I was there, Lauren. I watched him cheat, and I watched you hurt. All these years. And it almost fucking killed me.”
Maybe if she hadn’t been so strong and stubborn, I would’ve swooped in and rescued her. But she’d been damn determined her girls were going to be raised by both parents. I respected her choices. I didn’t agree with them. I certainly didn’t like them. But I respected them.
She scoffs. “I’m not going to vent to you about your brother.”
“Why not?”
“He’s your brother.”
“Did you not hear a damn word I just said?”
The tiniest smile lifts the edges of her lips.
“What in the Sam hell are you smilin’ about?”
“Thank you, Barker.” She rubs my forearm. Sparks of heat crackle over my skin.
“You’re welcome.”
“Why don’t you two just fuck already and put us all out of our misery.” Savi appears out of nowhere. She stirs cider in a paper cup. “If we could all see it, Gunnar could see it. No wonder he cheated. Although, I’m surprised he got a second one-night stand accidentally knocked up.”
Lauren shuffles back. Her eyes sweep between me and Savi, before searching for her girls. Thankfully, they’re over at the hot cider station with my ma.
I step between Lauren and my sister. I glower down at Savi. “He cheated because he was a cheater. Period. He gave Lauren a thousand reasons to cheat, but not once did she break her vow. Show some goddam respect to your niece’s mother.”
“Fuck you, Barker.” She spins to leave, and I catch her arm and hiss, “Watch yourself before you accidentally say something in front of the girls you can’t take back.”
She wrenches her arm free from me. “You’re one to talk. Wait until you accidentally kiss her. Good luck explaining that to the girls.” She storms off.
I wait a second before turning to face Lauren. My blood is boiling to the point I feel ready to erupt. Now I’m tasked with the chore of protecting Lauren from my sister. The two of us are going to have a long sit-down and figure out the root of her anger.
“Barker, it’s fine.” Lauren’s small voice comes from behind me.
“It’s not fine!” I spin around. She jumps back. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
She looks for the girls again. Savi’s made her way over to them and they’re all smiles and giggles over cider.
“Why are you so calm about this?” I can feel the layers of anger piling up.
She takes a small breath and folds her arms under her breasts. “I refuse to bite back at her and damage whatever is salvageable in our relationship. She’s Lark and Clara’s only aunt. Look how happy they are.” She points across the way. Savi pokes the girl’s noses with a glob of whipped cream. “They’ve already lost so much. I can’t take her away, too. It doesn’t matter how she feels about me. It’s how she feels about them, and she adores them.” Lauren chews on her lower lip. “Barker, she’s not wrong. We shared looks. We laughed harder together. We pretended we were only friends when deep down, we both knew something else was brewing.”
“Something we didn’t talk about, much less act on.” Come hell or high water, no one is blaming me for falling in love with Lauren. Not when we were forced together. Not a damn person.
“Mommy, let’s go decorate the tree!” Lark slips her small hand in Lauren’s, and we’re off without another word.
Back at the lodge, we use wooden sleds to haul the tree to our cabin awaiting us. Ironic, considering there’s no snow. Surprisingly, they do the trick.
“I’ll grab the top.” Lauren lifts the crown of the tree.
“You got it?” She nods at my question. “Okay, I’ll go in backward. Savi, hold the door open.”
“I got it Uncle Barker.” Lark darts past me.
The scent of burnt gingerbread swirls in the doorway.
“Smells like you left the cookies in the oven too long, pa.” I chuckle. “Watch the threshold,” I tell Lauren when she reaches the door.
She steps over and smiles at me. But something over my shoulder wipes her smile clean away.
