Cowboy Firefighter Christmas Kiss

by Kim Redford

  “Normally, I’d agree. But if they decide it’s a fun game, they might decide it’s worth playing.”

  She hadn’t thought about how wrong this could go. It was one thing to think about a funny situation. It was quite another for it to become real life.

  “Now here’s something else for you.” Jack chuckled low into the mic, luring listeners to come in a little closer for his next bit of news. “This big bull has a name…and not just any name, but a name bestowed on him by a little girl called Storm. She named him…Fernando. Let me say that again to make sure you got it. That’s right. Fernando.”

  “Well, that did it,” Slade said. “There’s not a cowboy or cowgirl in the county who won’t want to be part of Jack’s growing bull legend.”

  “Fernando,” Jack said again. “Now, folks, don’t be sitting at home on your hands. Give me a call and tell me about your Fernando sightings…and rest assured Cactus Craig and the rest of the Ranch Radio Rowdies will be all over this story to bring you the latest news on Fernando.”

  “I guess I might as well give in and get in on the joke,” Slade said. “It’s always better to laugh than to cry.”

  “It could turn out to be fun for everyone…if they don’t let their cattle escape, and ranchers are too smart for that to happen,” Ivy said. “Best of all, this attention could make Fernando’s sale difficult or somebody might recognize him.”

  “Guess that’s an upside to this sideshow,” Slade said, looking down at his cooling stew and shaking his head.

  Wildcat Jack gave a growl into his mic. “To get y’all in the mood for your Fernando hunt, I cued up a song from way back when in the seventies, and I mean way back to the era of over-the-top glitter balls and rhinestones and leisure suits. Disco has never been my thing, but in honor of our missing bull, here’s the Swedish rock band ABBA’s ‘Fernando.’ Dig it.”

  Ivy waited until the song was over, then got up, walked over, and turned off the radio. “Well, I guess that’s that. Cat’s out of the bag.”

  When Slade’s phone played Storm’s ringtone, he picked it up, hit speakerphone, and held it toward Ivy.

  “Uncle Slade!” Storm hollered. “Did you hear Jack? Fernando’s on his way home. He’ll be back in time for Christmas.”

  “We’re not too sure of the facts yet,” Slade said, sounding patient.

  “I’m gonna get him a Santa Claus hat. He’ll look good in red.”

  “I doubt he’ll wear it.”

  “He’ll be so glad to be home, he might even let me ride him.”

  “You’re not riding any bulls.” Slade sounded a lot less patient. “None of us are anymore.”

  “Yeah. Well…I’ll give him a special treat.”

  “That’ll work.”

  “I’m going on the Wildcat Den tomorrow and telling everybody exactly how I named Fernando.” She dropped her voice conspiratorially. “You know, he was the handsomest and smartest and biggest bull I ever met, so I knew right away he needed a special name.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I think so, too.”

  “Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

  “I’m too excited to sleep.”

  “You better get some shut-eye. You want to be fresh for your radio interview, don’t you?”

  “Yes! I’m going right now. Nighty night.” And she was gone.

  Slade looked at Ivy. “You know, by the time everybody gets through embellishing the personality of this bull, they’ll probably interview him on television.”

  “Live stream, for sure.”

  “He’s just a bull, even if he is top-breed bloodline. But the thing I remember most about him is that he likes water.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, all cattle like water. But Fernando has a favorite pond on the ranch. He’s so massive he can take out a gate. He just puts his head under it and pops it off its hinges.”

  “I had no idea. Where’s his favorite pond?”

  “Right in front of my new ranch house. The pond is small and more ornamental than anything with lily pads in the water and flowers on the bank and an overhanging willow tree. In summer, it’s really pretty. Anyhow, I’d find him just standing in it with water up to his stomach and…well, it looked like he was meditating on the meaning of life or something.”

  “Storm did say Fernando was smart.” Ivy teased him in a low voice.

  “If this wasn’t happening to me, maybe it’d be funny.”

  “I thought Fernando had his own barn and pasture where you kept him safe.”

  “Right…but he has a thing for that one pond. He was safe enough meandering down there now and again till those rustlers showed up.”

  “You must admit, Fernando is getting more interesting all the time.”

  “Don’t tell anybody I told you about the pond. It’ll just add to his mystique.” Slade rubbed his jaw. “When we found him there, Storm was the one to lure him back to his barn.”

  “Sounds like he has a mind of his own.”

  “I feel kind of bad about making him get out of that pond now, seeing as how he’ll probably never run free or stand in that water again.”

  “How can you say that? Isn’t he coming home for the holidays?”

  “I wish.” Slade just shook his head. “If it gets to the point where it’ll disappoint kids at Christmas, I may have to haul out another Angus bull and call him Fernando.”

  “That’d be a real disappointment. I want him to come home.”

  “Don’t we all.” Slade got up, walked over, and took her in his arms. “But we can’t count on it. We need an alternate plan.”

  “You’re right. I suppose Angus bulls have a similar look.”

  “Yeah…but Fernando is bigger than most.”

  She reached up and kissed Slade’s cheek. “You did your best to stop the legend before it reached critical mass. Now I know you’ll do your best to see it through to the end for the best possible result.”

  “I just don’t know what else I can do.”

  “Why don’t you make this work for you? I could put up an Instagram account for Fernando. Do you have photographs of him? A few of him with Storm would be wonderful. If people are watching and looking for him, it could make him safer.”

  “What about a reward for his capture and return to Steele Trap II? That’d probably set every cowboy and cowgirl in our neck of the woods looking for him.”

  “Great idea! I can put that message up on Instagram with the photos. Do you have one of him standing in his favorite pond?”

  “Storm probably has one.”

  “That’d help build his image, too.”

  “I can see this might help. With so much attention, the rustlers could actually let him go so they don’t risk getting caught.”

  “True. But Fernando is smart and strong. Keep in mind, Jack said there have already been sightings. Our favorite bull might have escaped and be headed our way for Christmas.”

  “You’re starting to believe the legend, aren’t you?”

  “Legends are born because we want to believe them.”

  “Yeah.” He sighed, tugging her closer. “Do you suppose we could forget about Fernando for now and finish our dance in bed?”

  “I suppose that means you don’t want me to sing you a private rendition of ABBA’s ‘Fernando’?”

  “If I never hear the name again, it’ll be too soon.”

  She chuckled as she took his hand and led him into her bedroom. “I bet we can make everything right—together.”

  “I’m happy to help.” And he started shucking his clothes.

  She admired him as he stripped down, revealing sleek skin stretched tight over hard muscles. He was just so beautiful—inside and out—that sometimes her heart hurt when she looked at him.

  He sat down on the bed, and it crea
ked, groaned, and sagged under him. “I’ve got to get you a new bed. This one is going to ruin me.”

  “Should we move that item up on our priority lists?”

  “Either that or move into my good house.”

  “This is convenient for me.”

  “Yeah. And I don’t want you out on the road late at night.”

  “I can handle it.”

  “I know. Still, I’ll order a bed tomorrow and get it delivered here.”

  “Thanks. I won’t complain. It needs to be upgraded anyway, along with other items. Send the bill here, will you?”

  “Not on your life. I’m buying you—us—a new bed. It’s not going on the Hall’s expense account.”

  “But, Slade—”

  “Call it a Christmas present if you want, but that’s the way it is.”

  “Okay. Christmas. Now I’ll need to think of something special for you.”

  He grinned, looking her up and down. “You’re all the special I need or want.”

  “Fortunately, I’m all yours.”

  “Yeah.”

  She wanted to make this a night to remember, so she turned and lit several candles Morning Glory had been kind enough to give her as a welcome-to-your-new-home gift. She’d arranged them on the corner of her dresser, where they looked pretty in lavender, pink, and yellow. Soon the scent of lavender, rose, and frankincense wafted across the room. Last, she turned off the overhead light, so they were enclosed in soft light and sweet scent.

  “Are you trying to cover up the smell of pies or entice me to greater exertion?” Slade teased her as he jerked off his boots and socks, then tossed them in a corner. He threw back the bedspread, bunched up a pillow, and lay down flat on his back completely nude, completely exposed, completely ready.

  “I love the smell of pie on you…and I’m always ready for you to exert yourself.”

  “Glad to know I can please you.” He sighed in pleasure. “It feels really good to lie down.”

  “If that feels good, I bet we can do something to make you feel even better.” She grasped her belt buckle, then started her own stripping, although unlike him, she made hers slow and seductive, watching him watch her.

  “That buckle never looked half as good on me as it does on you.” He gave her a lazy smile as he crossed his arms behind his head, all ready for his show.

  “I take it you still don’t want it back.” She pulled the belt free and dropped it to the floor before she ever so slowly pulled her shirttail out, then snapped open one button after the other to reveal the lacy, red bra she wore underneath. As she slipped off the shirt, his eyes grew dark.

  “Never…but if you don’t hurry up, I may have to get up and help you.”

  “Would it make you grumpy?”

  “No, that’s not what it would make me.”

  She grinned, liking his impatience as she sat down on a rocker in the corner. She leaned forward, knowing he was watching her every move, and heard him groan in response. She tugged off her boots and socks before she glanced up at him.

  He rubbed his bare chest before slowly moving his hands downward. “How long do you expect me to wait for you?”

  She just smiled in response, then wriggled out of her jeans and tossed them on top of the boots. She stood up wearing nothing but a bra and thong—in other words, just scraps of red lace.

  “Get over here,” he growled, patting the bed.

  She was more than ready to join him, hot and wet and needy. She walked over, knelt on the bed, then slowly crawled up it on her hands and knees till she crouched beside his chest. “Is here good?”

  “Here is perfect.” He sat up, clasped her shoulders, kissed her, and eased her onto her back in the middle of the bed. “I don’t think I can be slow and gentle tonight.”

  “I want you fast, hard, and now.”

  “That’s what you’ll get.” He opened the nightstand drawer, pulled out a foil packet, and slipped on a condom.

  She waited, shivering in anticipation as she raised her arms above her head and spread her legs.

  When he turned back, he looked at her for a long moment, as if drinking her in deep and deeper. And then he knelt between her legs, casting her in the shadow of his body, and placed both palms flat on her stomach. She shivered harder as he clasped her waist, fitting his hands around her as he’d done the very first time they’d met. He squeezed possessively, then leaned forward and softly kissed her lips. He smiled a secret sort of smile before he nuzzled down her neck until he reached the swell of her breasts. He pushed down her bra, exposing her to his hot gaze, and then he kissed, nibbled, and licked until her nipples were hard points.

  She ached all over, more and more desperate as he drove their passion higher and higher. She writhed up against him, straining for what only he could give her. She grasped his hips, tugging him toward her, beseeching him without words.

  And he understood, because he raised her legs and placed them over his shoulders. In one strong motion, he drove in deep, filling her completely and causing her to cry out his name. When he started to thrust, he leaned down, pressed a soft kiss to her lips, and whispered her name. She held on to him as all that was real in her world while he pumped harder and faster, longer and stronger—breath rasping, sweat beading—as she grew hotter and brighter in the fire that he was stoking between them.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t take another moment of the red-hot blaze that was burning her inside out, he sent her over the edge into a frenzy of unrestrained, rainbow-tinted ecstasy.

  And he went with her…scorching her, scorching him.

  Chapter 26

  A week later, Slade sat on horseback in front of Steele Trap II’s ranch house. He felt as if he had a target on his back as he gazed at the pastures around him, even though there’d been no more rustled cattle. Nothing appeared out of place, but then it’d looked normal before Fernando went missing, too. He didn’t trust much of anything at the moment, except Ivy and his family and friends. He wasn’t even too sure about his cooking, since he’d burned the cookies, but that’d been unusual circumstances to say the least. Ivy. She had been making everything bearable and life so much better since she came into his world.

  He decided to check Fernando’s pond for hoofprints or any sign that the big bull had been around there. He wasn’t the only one keeping an eye out for Fernando. Ivy’s Instagram with Fernando and Storm photos had been an instant success and gained followers daily. After she’d posted the reward, cowboys and cowgirls all over North Texas had started the hunt. Slade wasn’t sure if it was hurting or helping to get Fernando home, but it sure was causing a ruckus.

  As he rode down the hill, he heard the creak of saddle leather and glanced up at a brilliant blue sky with fluffy, white clouds. A red-tailed hawk wheeled overhead before silently gliding away. Pretty day. Great time of year. If Fernando was back, the rustlers were caught, and the cattle drive over, all would be perfect.

  He let his horse nose past lily pads and drink from the water. He doubted if he’d ever find Fernando basking in the pond on a hot summer day or even taking a drink on a cool winter day again. But hope was still alive, and he wasn’t one to stand in its way.

  As he sat there thinking about what needed to be done, he realized he didn’t want to do anything except be with Ivy. They had Christmas plans to make for the Hall, so he had a good excuse to call her. He plucked his phone out of his pocket just as he heard Storm’s ringtone.

  “What’s up?” He clicked on speakerphone, hoping she hadn’t come up with some new, unrealistic plan for getting Fernando back to the ranch.

  “Uncle Slade,” Storm said breathlessly. “There’s been a big break in the case.”

  “Case?” He figured she must have been talking with Sheriff Calhoun.

  “You know. Fernando’s case.”

  “Right.” He felt his stomach clen
ch in anticipation of her next words, since good or bad, he had to be prepared for the news. He’d gladly pay the reward if some cowboy would just bring the bull home.

  “Fernando’s going to have babies.”

  “Babies?” He frowned at the phone, wondering if it was working right.

  “Yes! I’m so excited. He’s a cow bull now. And his babies will be here in time for fall calving.”

  “Storm, he’s been gone a couple of weeks, so he’s either—”

  “Don’t take my word for it! Get the Den on your phone. Wildcat Jack is talking to a rancher near Honey Grove right now.”

  “Fernando escaped and he’s been caught?” Slade felt a huge surge of relief wash over him. Maybe miracles did happen. If the rustlers had taken U.S. 82 east toward Texarkana, where they could quickly slip into Arkansas or Louisiana, Honey Grove made sense, since it was on the west side of Paris. And if he’d escaped against all odds, he could have made it back there. Still, why would rustlers go east when west made more sense?

  “Quick! Get the Den,” Storm said. “I gotta get back to Jack to find out more.” And she clicked off.

  Slade couldn’t understand why the rancher didn’t call him about the reward if he’d caught Fernando. No way to know, so he used the Wildcat Den’s new app, and soon, Wildcat Jack came in loud and clear.

  “Mr. Reynolds, when did you figure out the bull covering your cows was the legendary Fernando?” Jack asked in a serious tone.

  “What a big brute of a beauty! He went right through my fence—and it’s not loose, no way, no how—like it was made of butter.” Mr. Reynolds chuckled. “I had three cows in that pasture all ready for a bull, but I had no way to afford an Angus of Fernando’s pedigree.”

  “He’s high on the food chain, that’s for sure,” Jack said.

  “I didn’t see him till this morning. He was probably there a couple of nights…and believe you me, that’s plenty of time for a bull like that to take care of business.”

  Wildcat Jack chuckled in a low, knowing tone. “I’m a cowboy myself, so I get just what you mean.”

  “I can’t tell you how grateful I am that Fernando came calling on my cows. Maybe he brought candy and flowers.”