Page 20 of Deck the Halls with Cowboys
My husband tipped his head back to the ceiling. “She wants a perfect Christmas but gives that fucker cooking responsibilities,” he muttered.
“That’s what I fuckin’ said.” Denver turned, giving me a view of Beau as he crossed the foyer. “The Christmas miracle will be him not fuckin’ that up,” the golden cowboy said with a smirk.
Den was all business now. “Do we have a backup plan?”
Backup plan?
For…a ham?
“It’s just a ham,” I chimed in. “How can anyone mess up a ham?”
The cowboys said nothing, exchanging a look.
“Boys, are y’all going to bring this tree in, or should we just let the snow have it?” Abbie called from the living room.
“Tree?” Den parroted, looking at me. He jerked his thumb to the living room. “Baby, we already have a tree.”
My sweet friend came into sight a second later, dressed in leggings and an oversizedHome Alonesweatshirt, my daughter perched on her hip. Her long brown hair was thrown up into the most glorious messy bunI’d ever seen.
“How do you manage to get a perfect bun every time?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief.
Abbie smiled at me, a bubble of laughter escaping. “Jigs is the one who taught me.”
My jaw hit the floor. “J-Jigs? Our Jigs?”
NJ laughed with Abbie as she came to stand by Beau. “Yeah, when I was sixteen. My ponytail kept falling out during our horse rides. One day he told me to ‘come here,’ and he twisted it up.”
I looked at Beau. “I need to have a conversation with your dad.”
He chuckled. “He’ll be up here later.”
“Yeah, sorry we’re early. The snow wasn’t letting up, and we just wanted to get the tree into the house as soon as possible.”
“We already have a tree,” Denver repeated.
My eyes bounced over to him. “This isn’t for the living room, honey.”
His mountain of a chest rose and fell slowly as he sighed through his nose. “Fucking hell,” he muttered before addressing Beau with a jerk of his chin. “Let’s go.”
Abbie shot me a wicked grin as Denver brushed by her to put on his hat and coat.
“Caleb! Get your shoes and coat on and come help.”
“Yes, sir.” As the men headed onto the porch, Caleb dashed up the stairs.
Chapter Six
Abbie
“I take it you and Denver had a conversation,” I said, sneaking a look at Valerie.
She smiled at me, bright and wide. “Yeah, we did.”
When she didn’t give me anything else, I cleared my throat and refocused on the paper chain I’d been making. Denver and Beau were out back, getting more firewood from the shed. Everyone else was on their way, but it would be some time before they arrived because of the snow.
“That’s good…” I trailed off, leaving NJ on the floor.
Val bumped her hip into mine, laughing. “You’re such a journalist.”
