Page 10 of Her Cowboy Santa
Nate snaps his fingers and sends his dog a frown. “You’re with me tonight, buddy.”
He looks at me, letting out a whine as if he can’t believe how unreasonable Nate is being.
I chuckle and step toward him. Juggling Danny in one arm, I give Rudy a gentle head pat. “You’re a good boy.”
Rudy seems to accept this and gets to his feet, his nails clicking along the hardwood as he trots back to Nate.
Nate hesitates for a moment longer in my doorway. He opens his mouth and finally says, “They’re good people. No one will treat you better than Mary and Christopher.”
“I can sense that,” I tell him even though what I really want to do is ask him about his plans for tomorrow and the rest of the week. Is he staying? Is he going? Will I ever see him again?
“Come on, Rudy,” he says and turns to walk across the hall. I listen to the soft click of his doorknob and glance down at Danny. He’s staring up at me as if he’s not sure what to make of the confusing cowboy either.
“This is it,” I whisper to him. “It’s our new beginning, and it’s so much brighter than I could have ever imagined.”
Chapter 6
Callie
The next morning, Christmas carols play softly from the radio as Mary recounts meeting Christopher at a Christmas Eve dance when they were teenagers. That was the moment she knew she was in love with him. The two of them have been inseparable ever since.
Mary and I are working in the kitchen together. We’ve just started on a batch of sugar cookies. I’m a little bit nervous because I was hired on how well I interviewed. Mary hasn’t actually tasted my sweets.
When she asked me the secret to making good cookies, I answered love. Then I told her that love tastes a lot like butter. It was my mom’s joke, but Mary laughed and hired me after I said that.
Danny is in the kitchen with me, but he’s in a playpen. He’s near enough that I can get to him if he cries, but he’s not so close that he’s in danger of getting near the oven or anything that could hurt him like the mixer.
I haven’t seen or heard from Nate. I haven’t asked Mary about him because I don’t want to know if he’s gone already. He probably is, but I’m holding onto just a little bit of hope that he’s still around, and I’ll get to see him again later.
Mary’s phone rings. She dusts her hands on her green apron that has a reindeer on it. She answers the call and listens for a moment then says, “OK, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She hangs up the phone. “Something is always breaking down on the ranch. That’s just the way farm life is.”
“You can go tend to it. I’ve got this,” I tell her as I press cookie cutters into the flour dough on our workstation. I scoop up the snowman carefully, not letting him fall apart and place him on the baking sheet.
“This is a huge batch. I’ll send you a helper,” she promises as she steps away. She pulls off her apron, putting it on the hook near the back door. There are four or five aprons with various Christmas designs. The one I’m wearing is red with a smiling snowman complete with a hat and stick arms.
“That’s not necessary,” I reassure her.
She scowls at me and it’s the first time she’s looked unhappy since I arrived. “It is necessary. It wasn’t my intention to throw you in the deep end all at once.”
“This is my job. It’s what I’m here for,” I remind her, keeping my tone gentle. I’m not against help, but I don’t want Mary thinking I’m some delicate flower who needs constant reassurance and guidance.
Her expression changes then, softening as she glances at the play pen where Danny is staring up at a mobile with a swinging monkey. “That might be true. But you don’t have to do everything on your own anymore.”
With that, she shrugs into her coat and leaves, closing the door quietly behind herself. Christmas carols continue to play on the radio in the kitchen. I’m singing along and shimmying my hips.
Danny watches me, laughing in delight at my exaggerated dance moves. I didn’t imagine just twenty-four hours ago that I’d already be at the ranch and feeling so happy.
“This is the happy dance,” I tell Danny, clapping my hands together.
There’s the sound of a throat clearing, and I turn around to find Nate and Rudy standing in the doorway. I was having so much fun with Danny that I didn’t even hear them come in.
My heart skips a beat at the sight of Nate standing there in his cowboy boots, blue jeans, and faded flannel. But it’s the look on his face that takes my breath away. He looks like he’d rather shove aside all of the cookies and eat me as his sweet treat.
“I’m here as the official cookie tester. Mary sent me,” he explains, his voice low and gritty like he’s thinking about the same thing I am.
“I thought you left.” There’s no disguising the curiosity in my voice or the longing.
