“Come on, old guy, let me help you up,” she teased.
Dixie laughed so he decided he wouldn’t argue too much. He took Holly’s hand and she pulled him to his feet. He didn’t immediately let go of her hand. Instead he pulled her close and kissed her cheek.
“Gross. I told you, no PDA.” Dixie shook her head, then she said to the dog, “That’s what happens when grown-ups fall in love. I’m never going to have a boyfriend. They’re gross.”
Colt ruffled her hair, messing it up and making her groan and brush it down again.
This was what it felt like to be a family. Even with the grief, the hard times, the worry, it felt good. This was what it was like to have Holly at his side, her fingers brushing his, interlocking briefly before sliding away again.
Today he could almost believe that this was their future, the three of them as a family.
When they got to the church he realized he should have recognized the car and the trucks. His brother and Kylie were outside the church looking at windows. Pastor Stevens stood next to them. Jack sat on a nearby bench with Maria at his side.
“Cooter, there you are. I wondered where you’d gotten off to.” Kylie greeted the dog. Cooter nudged at Dixie as if giving her a goodbye hug and then he settled in next to Kylie.
“What are the three of you doing out and about?” Carson asked, glancing at his watch and ignoring—in his big brother way—the fact that it was a school day.
“Taking a walk,” Colt answered.
“Cooter came over to say hi to me,” Dixie said. There was a telltale hiccup in her voice and noticeable puffiness around her eyes.
Kylie studied her for a moment. Then she said, “Cooter likes to hang out with us. When we come to the church, he usually heads for the park to see if there is anyone around to play with. I usually don’t worry because he’s friendly and he always comes back. But he seems to really like you.”
“I like him, too.” Dixie petted the dog’s head and Cooter closed his eyes as if he’d found the best kid in the world. “What kind of dog is he?”
“He’s a labradoodle,” Kylie answered, looking from the dog to Colt’s daughter. “He’s pretty special. He likes to help people feel better.”
Colt watched in wonder as his daughter practically lit up, petting the dog who seemed to understand that she needed him. He moved closer to her side, and it made sense, that Cooter had found her at the park and curled up next to her under that tree.
Dixie needed a dog. He glanced at Holly, wondering if she thought the same. Would she agree to letting their daughter have a dog like Cooter, one trained to make her feel secure in her new environment? He thought it could help. The old beagle he’d had as a kid had been his best friend when things had gone south with his parents. When they’d fight, he’d go find old Snoop and spend time in the barn with the tricolored animal with the small body, long ears and big heart.
“We should be going,” Holly said. “Someone has had a break from school but probably needs to return. Although...we might be able to get lunch first.”
Dixie’s smile disappeared at the mention of school. “Can we eat at the café?” she asked.
“Of course,” Holly responded. “I need to get back to work so we can have lunch while we’re there.”
“Maybe I could stay with you today and help?”
Colt guessed Holly was going to object but she just nodded. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea. I’ll call the school and let them know. I’ll also call and make an appointment with Rebecca West for pedicures.”
“We can do pedicures?” Dixie asked.
“At Rebecca’s Salon. It’s right across the street from the café. Remember, she’s Isaac’s wife.”
“I remember. And Allie’s mom,” Dixie said. She lit up a little, the sadness momentarily chased away. She hugged Holly and then leaned down to hug the dog, Cooter.
“Holly, could we talk for a minute?” Kylie asked, her knowing gaze on Cooter and Dixie.
“Of course,” Holly answered.
“Dixie, can you keep an eye on Cooter for me?” Kylie asked. “Don’t let him wander off.”
Dixie nodded and she was already on the ground with the dog. Colt watched her for a moment and then his gaze followed Holly as she walked away with Kylie. He hoped the outcome of this conversation was another new addition to the family.
He watched Kylie and Holly talk, their heads close together in conversation, and he found himself praying, for all of them. They had a tough road ahead, tougher than he would have imagined.
Looking back he guessed he’d rushed in on his proverbial white horse, thinking he’d rescue Dixie, make Holly grateful, and the three of them would have a happily-ever-after.
Reality was never quite as easy as all that.
Chapter Nine
“Would you do me a favor?” Kylie asked.
Holly studied her friend’s face, wondering at the slightly sneaky expression. “What are you up to?”
Kylie grinned at the question. “I want you to adopt Cooter. He’s a sweet dog. I’ve been training him for a year and he’s somewhat silly, but he’s housebroken and sensitive.”
Kylie, in addition to being a therapist, raised service animals. They were well-trained animals taught to comfort, to recognize different situations in their owners’ lives, and some were guide dogs for those with physical challenges. Holly should have recognized Cooter as one of Kylie’s animals.
Colt’s niece Allie suffered from seizures, and she had a special dog that had been trained to sense when a seizure was coming on and to protect her if she fell during a seizure.
“Didn’t you have him for someone?”
“Not really. Jack was going to take him but now he worries about the dog not getting enough exercise. I think he also worried that he might trip over an animal.”
“Dixie needs him.” Holly glanced back at her daughter and the sweet dog that had remained close by her side. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“Maybe he needs her,” Kylie offered. “And if school was tough for her today, maybe give her a day or two with you. Call the school counselor and let them know that she’s struggling, that you can do schoolwork at home and she’ll be seeing me. If you want her to see me.”
“I do think she needs to talk to someone,” Holly agreed. “If you have the time, we’ll make an appointment.”
“I always have time for Dixie.” Kylie paused. “And for you and Colt if needed. This has been a huge change for all three of you.”
“It has, but we’re working through it.” Holly glanced back at her daughter.
“Is there something more, Holly? None of us know the entire situation with Dixie’s custody.”
“She’s only here with us for two months, then she’ll choose where she wants to go. That was the way Becky’s will laid out the question of guardianship.”
Kylie cringed. “Wow, that’s tough. I’m not sure that’s in Dixie’s best interest. Her having to choose is going to put a lot of stress on her.”
“I agree, but what can we do? Some days it feels like Daisy and I will be the two women going before King Solomon, both claiming that the baby is ours. I won’t tear her apart and make her choose. If it comes down to it, I’ll give custody to Daisy.”
“What if that isn’t what Dixie wants?”
“I don’t know, Kylie. I know that it isn’t fair to Dixie to have to make this choice. But it also isn’t fair that she’s been taken from everything familiar just weeks after losing her mother. I’m basically a stranger to her.”
“I know.” Kylie gave her a quick hug. “With that all in mind, let’s start having weekly talks. I’ll come over to the house to talk to Dixie, so she feels comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
Kylie nodded in the direction of Dixie and Colt. “Why don’t you tell your daughter she has
a dog? I’ll stop by with a bag of his favorite food and bring his collar and service animal vest.”
They headed back to Colt and Dixie. At the sight of Kylie, Cooter cocked his head to the side, his ears perking up.
“Can we go now?” Dixie asked, a big grin on her face. “We have a surprise.”
“What a coincidence, because so do I.” Holly hugged her daughter. “You go first.”
“No, you go first!” Dixie told her. “What is it?”
“Cooter’s going to come live with us.”
“What about the cats?” Dixie questioned. “That might be trouble.”
Kylie laughed. “Cooter loves cats.”
Holly looked to Colt and saw approval. He grinned, those gray eyes of his twinkling with amusement. And something else. Something just for her. It made her feel nineteen again. Nineteen and in love.
But she wasn’t in love. She knew that he was gorgeous, and attraction wasn’t love.
Dixie hugged Kylie, then turned to Holly. “Now our surprise.”
“What’s your surprise?” Holly asked.
“D...” Dixie stopped herself. She looked from Holly to Colt and took a deep breath. “Dad made us an appointment at the salon to get a pedicure. He’s taking us right now.”
“But I have to work,” Holly blurted out, which she quickly regretted because Dixie’s happy expression crumpled and Kylie shook her head. “But...work can wait.”
The café would still be there, and she had employees who could take care of the business in her absence. But Dixie might not always be here.
They said their goodbyes to Kylie and Carson, as well as Pastor Stevens, and headed back toward the café. Dixie walked ahead of them, Cooter on a leash next to her. Colt reached for Holly’s hand and she laced her fingers through his because it felt right.
“Thank you,” she told him.
“For what?”
“Thinking of us, making the appointment at the salon, being here. It’s a long list.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
She gave him a long look. “Really?”
“Really. I know that’s hard for you to believe, but this is where I want to be. I want to be with you and Dixie.”
“What if she chooses Daisy?” Holly whispered the question, making sure Dixie didn’t hear. Saying the words out loud made them real, and it hurt.
“I’m trying not to think about that.”
“Me, either,” she said. “I don’t want to think about how empty my house and my life will be. And then I tell myself how selfish that is.”
“It isn’t selfish.”
“Kind of is,” she said as he pulled her closer to his side. “Kylie is going to meet with Dixie. She doesn’t agree with the will, with putting so much pressure on Dixie to make the decision about guardianship. I understand that Becky wanted her to have a say, but it’s a lot for a young girl to handle.”
“I couldn’t agree more. As happy as I was to know we could bring her here and spend time together, I worried about how it will affect her later on.”
“Then knowing that, we have to be the ones who help her make a decision that won’t hurt. As much.” Even if it hurt them.
“Deal.”
Holly didn’t say it out loud, but they were thinking the same thing. Dixie’s life was back in Broken Arrow, with Daisy. In Broken Arrow there were friends, dance lessons, soccer and all of the other things that were familiar and beloved.
They could visit her there. The drive was easy; less than two hours They could stay in her life. But if she made the choice to go back, it would hurt. She would be gone from Hope. Colt would go back on the road. Holly would go back to burying herself in work.
Today, though, they had one another. They made their way up the sidewalk to Rebecca’s Lakeside Drive Salon and Day Spa where Colt had arranged for them both to have pedicures and shoulder massages.
They entered the salon, which was across the street from Holly’s café. Rebecca called out a greeting from the back where she was doing a perm.
“My nail girl will be right with you and I’ll join her as soon as I finish up here.” Rebecca said as she moved her client to the hair dryer.
Holly led Dixie to the pedicure chairs with the massaging seats.
“You girls have fun,” Colt told them as they got settled.
Dixie had to scoot down in the seat so her feet could reach the basin for the water, even though it hadn’t been filled yet.
“Where are you going?” Holly asked.
He grinned and started backing toward the door. “I have a café to run. You’re fired.”
“What? You can’t fire me. I own that café.”
“I own 51 percent if I remember correctly. I’ve been an amazing silent partner for a few years but I realize I’ve overlooked my duties. Don’t consider this a permanent firing. But for the next six weeks, you’re laid off.”
“Colt, you don’t know the first thing about running the café. You can’t cook. You can’t wait tables.”
Dixie began to laugh. “Oh, yeah, that’s the other surprise. He can cook. And he’s really firing you.”
“Not funny.” She started to get out of the chair but Dixie shook her head. “I can’t let him do this. He’ll ruin my business.”
“I think he’s serious,” Dixie said with a bit of a smirk.
Holly settled back into her seat, Dixie’s words taking the wind from her sails. Colt stood at the door, his expression serious, but ultimately he would let her make the final decision.
Finally, she nodded. “I think I just lost my job.”
Dixie clapped her hands. “Pedicure time.”
Colt waved goodbye. Holly wanted it to be this way forever, them spending time together, making decisions together, but she knew time was short, and eventually a decision needed to be made.
And she didn’t get to choose.
* * *
Colt walked out the door of the salon feeling pretty pleased with himself, yet also scared to death. That was hard to admit. He hadn’t planned it this way. He thought he’d help more, take on more responsibility. But laying Holly off from her own diner had been a whim. He’d had the advantage of shocking her.
He grinned and began to whistle as he crossed the street. As he headed up the sidewalk to the café, Isaac parked and got out of his truck.
“Someone looks happy,” Isaac said as he joined him. “Did you get her to say yes?”
“Nope.” Colt opened the door of the café and motioned his brother inside. Isaac was his brother. That was still a hard thing to accept, even after all these years. Sometimes he thought they didn’t know each other any better than he and Dixie did.
Or Holly. He had known the little girl Holly. He’d met up with her at that college in Tulsa. But really knowing her? That was just now starting to happen.
He guessed a guy should truly know a woman before he proposed spending the rest of his life with her.
“So why are you whistling?” Isaac followed him through the café, calling out a few greetings as he dogged Colt’s steps to the kitchen. “You’re back to your happy face. She didn’t say yes. But you’re happy. And you were at the salon.”
“I made her a pedicure appointment. Holly and Dixie are doing what girls do.”
“Good job,” Isaac complimented. “And that’s why you’re whistling?”
Colt walked into the kitchen, where Stacy and Jess, the waitress in training, turned to give him confused and questioning looks.
“Everything okay?” Stacy asked.
He looked around the kitchen and the café, his new domain. “I fired Holly.”
“You did what?” Big ol’ Jim, the best fry cook in the county, came around the counter toward him.
Isaac laughed but Colt didn’t see this as a laughing matter. Jim happened
to be a pretty big guy, and he was loyal to Holly.
Colt held up a hand to stop the beating he was about to get from a man who didn’t look too amused by his choice of words.
“Temporarily,” he rushed to explain. “She needs to rest and spend time with her daughter. As her silent partner in this business, I’ve decided to speak up. In the best interest of the café, and in Holly and Dixie’s best interest, I’m taking over for a few weeks.”
Isaac sat down on a stool, hand to his left ear. “Could you repeat that, because I’m sure I didn’t catch everything you said.”
“You heard me.” Colt turned to his half brother. “Now get out of my kitchen. I have work to do.”
“Nah, I think I’ll stick around. Watching you be the chief cook and bottle washer might be good entertainment.” Isaac grew serious. “Also, I have a message and a gift to deliver.”
“What would that be?” Colt asked as he glanced around the kitchen, wondering what the owner of a café was supposed to do.
“Dad wants to give his granddaughter a gift. I’m supposed to deliver it this evening.”
“What kind of gift?” Colt asked as he stuck his head out the door and surveyed the dining area, where Stacy was filling drinks and taking orders.
The door to the kitchen flew open and Stacy rushed in with a tray, an order pad and a pitcher of water. “Get to work. Boss.”
She tossed him the order pad and shoved him toward the door. “The lunch crowd has arrived.”
He stepped into the dining room and thought maybe he’d made a mistake about this new career path. Ten tables of happy, joking citizens of Hope. They were all laughing; many were looking at their phones. And then they were looking at him.
Colt smiled at the crowd and turned back to the kitchen. Smile gone, he walked up to Isaac and pushed him off the stool, laughing as Isaac tried to keep his feet under him. Isaac’s phone slipped from his hand and Colt hurried to grab it while Isaac scrambled to keep it from him. Colt got to it first.
He went straight to texts and saw what he guessed he would see. One text to dozens of people. Colt has a new job as a waitress at Holly’s.
The Prodigal Cowboy (Mercy Ranch Book 5) Page 10