Page 31 of Her Cowboy Santa
The front door of Nate’s house swings open, and there are people spilling out onto his front porch. He groans. “I told them not to do this.”
“It’s OK. They’re your family,” I reassure him even though I’m nervous. I want them to like me. I want to be accepted by his people. It’s important to me.
He gives me a small smile. “Yeah, they are. They were just so excited when I told them about you. Everyone wanted to meet you and Danny.”
“Really?” My eyes fill with tears at the thought. It’s been so long since I’ve had family. Just in the short time that we’ve gone to Montana, I feel like I’ve gained two families. Mary and Christopher Maas, and now Nate’s family. The thought is a little overwhelming.
He looks panicked for a second. “I limited it to just three of them, but I can tell them to go home.”
I manage to croak out, “Happy tears.”
His hunched shoulders ease, some of the tension fading from his body. “I don’t mind your tears. But as long as I’m around, they’ll always be the happy kind.”
I get out of the truck slowly, partly because I’m stiff from being still for so long and partly because I’m feeling so shy. If Nate had told me about this gathering, I would have insisted he pull over at a rest stop so I could freshen up and meet his family looking my best.
Rudy bounds up the steps first. He’s met with kisses and cuddles. Then a petite silver-haired woman rushes down. She envelops me in a hug and says, “I’m Emma May. Welcome to the family.”
“I’m Callie,” I say. “And this is my son?—”
“Our son,” Nate corrects quickly.
I can’t help smiling. “Our son, Danny.”
“Let me just look at you,” Emma May says as she takes Danny in her arms. She instantly begins crooning. “Oh, you’re going to be Nana’s boy, aren’t you? Yes, I can already tell. You and I are going to be thick as thieves.”
A man with a bushy beard and a scowl limps forward. Beside him is a woman with short blonde hair. She’s in a tight red dress that shows off her generous curves. Her big smile is unguarded and genuine.
She introduces herself. “I’m Thea, and this is Jasper, my husband. Emma May hasn’t stopped talking about you all week. She’s so excited to have a new daughter-in-law and a new grandson to spoil.”
“I’m excited to meet everyone, too,” I admit.
“Nate said you don’t have much in the way of family,” Jasper says, “but you do now.”
“Thank you,” I croak up at the big man.
“Now come in,” Thea says, looping her arm around mine and dragging me into the farmhouse. The first thing I notice is the big Christmas tree in the living room that’s decorated with tinsel and popcorn. The colored lights make me smile, and I can’t stop staring as it blinks. It’s like the tree is welcoming me too.
“We didn’t really know your style,” Thea says, “so we just kind of guessed. Next year, I’ll come over and help you do it exactly the way you want it.”
It’s all so much to take in, and Emma May is still nearby. She’s pointing to different spots in the house and explaining them to Danny. “That’s where you’re going to play the guitar that Nana buys you in a few Christmases. That’s where you and I will build blanket forts. You see that corner of the living room? Nana is going to fill it with toys for you and…”
Thea glances at me, and we share a chuckle. “She’s an amazing grandmother, but she will spoil them rotten if you turn your back for one minute.”
“You have kids?” I ask as I follow her up the stairs.
“Emma. She’s already after us for another one.” She opens the door to the bedroom. “This is the nursery for Danny. Jasper made the murals on the wall. He won’t tell you this because my bossy mountain man is way too modest, but he’s a big deal in the art world. Like really big.”
I take in the scene of the playful farm animals with smiling faces. In the picture, there’s a little boy toddling along with a big, brown dog beside him.
“It’s perfect,” I breathe out. “It must have taken him days.”
She shrugs. “He started working the moment Nate called him.”
Tears fill my eyes again. This is so much better than I could have imagined. It’s like we fit into his world.
“I never thought I would have all this again,” I say, and turn toward Nate, who has been trailing us from room to room, looking as nervous as a kid in the principal’s office. “I feel like I’m home.”
He pulls me into his arms. “Good, because you are.”
