“Daddy and I were always super close, you know. Not that I didn’t love Mom just as much, but Dad understood me. We always clicked.” Kenzie immersed herself in her memories. “He was so much fun and he went all out for the holidays. We’d go to the woods and get a tree then he and I would decorate it while Mom made sugar cookies. We’d sit together eating cookies and drinking hot apple cider, talking about special ornaments and making plans for the holiday season. Dad and I would hang the lights, help Mom decorate the house, and we always worked together on some secret gift for her. He just made Christmas so special and magical. When he and Mom split up, it was as if all the magic died. Christmas hasn’t been the same since.”
“You know some of that is just growing up, don’t you?” Tate asked, setting down his mug and taking Kenzie’s hand in his. When she looked at him with a quizzical expression, he continued.
“As kids, Christmas is magical and wonderful and full of special surprises. Once we grow up, some of that wonder disappears. It doesn’t mean Christmas still can’t be special. It’s just different. No matter how hard you try, nothing ever quite recaptures the magic of Christmas like when you were a child. It’s just the way it is. I’m sorry about your father, Kenzie. It’s a hard thing to lose a parent. But don’t you think he’d want you to move on? When my mama died, Pop made a huge effort to make Christmas special that year. It wasn’t the same, never will be, but he put enough love into it that we moved forward and each year it got easier to celebrate without her.”
“I’m sorry, Tate. I sometimes forget you’ve lost a parent, too. I suppose that maybe it is time to put the past behind me and look toward the future,” Kenzie said wistfully, wishing it could be as easy as it sounded.
“What do you think your future holds?” Fervently wishing she would include him in her plans, he rubbed his thumb across the palm of her hand.
“I don’t know, but I’m hoping this really hot, completely frustrating cowboy will want to be a part of it.” Kenzie gave Tate a flirty smile.
“Is that right?” Tate ignored the pain in his side and leaned over to kiss Kenzie with a thoroughness that left them both breathless. He couldn’t believe she’d just said she wanted a future with him in it. Mindful of not pushing the issue, he let her comment slide. “Before your dad died, how did you envision your life? What were your dreams?”
Kenzie was quiet so long Tate didn’t think she would answer. Finally, she let out a sigh and rested her hand on his leg.
“As my father’s only child, he groomed me from the time I was old enough to walk and talk to take over the ranch. I went everywhere with him, learned everything he knew about ranching, cattle, and horses. Up until Mom left him, I knew my future was going to be ranching. I loved every inch of our place and didn’t have any other dreams. Even after the divorce, I thought eventually I’d end up back at the ranch with Dad. Then he died and we had to sell the ranch. I gave up my dreams and went with what was practical.”
“I’m sorry, Dewdrop. No one should have to let their dreams go like that.” Tate wrapped his good arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
When she tilted her head back and locked her eyes to his, he couldn’t help but surrender to the need to kiss her. Several breath-stealing moments later, he felt completely ensnared by the emotions Kenzie stirred inside him.
“I think you better behave for the time being,” Kenzie whispered against his lips as he tried to keep from groaning with pain.
“Maybe you’re right.” Cautiously leaning back against the cushions, he fixed his gaze on her face. “If I promise to be good, will you at least think about putting up a few decorations?”
“I’ll think about it.” The impish look she gave him made his heart trip in his chest.
><><
The next morning Tate opened his eyes and stretched, feeling much improved.
His head didn’t hurt, he could wiggle the fingers of his broken arm, and his knee barely throbbed.
The tempting aroma of coffee and bacon wafted beneath his door, making him ravenous for breakfast.
Quickly grabbing the cane next to his bed, he got up and hobbled to his suitcase. Certain everything he owned was dirty, he opened the lid to discover Kenzie had washed his clothes. They sat neatly folded in his suitcase, ready to wear. After picking up a pair of lounge pants and a T-shirt, he went to the bathroom to take a shower then remembered he needed to cover his arm.
Slowly limping across the bedroom, he opened the door and started toward the kitchen but stopped short when he got to the living room. Christmas decorations filled the room and familiar carols played in the background.
This was quite a change from yesterday.
He admired a hand-carved nativity set, smiled at some decorations obviously crafted by a childish hand, then studied the holly garlands draped over the doorways and along the mantle.
In the kitchen, he watched Kenzie for a moment as she fried bacon. A cheery red apron covered her dark green sweater. With her gleaming hair pulled back into a ponytail, she looked like a lovely ornament. He listened to her hum along to a popular Christmas carol and watched her sway slightly to the music.
“Happy Holidays, Dewdrop,” Tate said in a teasing voice.
“Oh, Tate, I didn’t hear you.” She spun around, looking a little chagrined at his catching her humming a holiday tune.
“I see one of Santa’s elves escaped from the North Pole and vandalized your house last night.” The grin on his handsome face did great justice to his dimples and made Kenzie’s knees weaken.
“Something like that.” She smiled at Tate, wondering how he could look so enticing with his hair sticking up every which direction around his head and a crease from the pillowcase on his cheek. “Thanks for last night. I appreciate what you said and I’m going to make an attempt to grow up and move on.”
“So far so good,” Tate said, noticing a plump snowman cookie jar on the counter. “Where did all this stuff come from?”
“It’s mine.” Hastily wiping her hands on a dishtowel, she pulled some garbage bags out of a drawer. “Mom didn’t want any of the decorations when she left Dad, so she saved them for me. When I moved here, I brought them along. I couldn’t bear the thought of throwing them away, even if I wasn’t ready to use them.”
“I bet each piece has a story behind it,” Tate said, pointing to a resin reindeer wearing a happy smile as it sat next to the toaster.
“Most of them do. I’ll share the best ones with you.” Quickly wrapping the garbage bags around his arm, she fastened the ends with tape. “After you went to bed, I decided to get this stuff out and stayed up way too late reminiscing, but I wanted to surprise you this morning.”
“Mission accomplished. I’m totally surprised.” Tate kissed her cheek then looked into her much-loved face. “Thank you, Kenzie, for everything.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, pointing toward the doorway. “You better hurry it up or I’ll eat all this bacon by myself.”
“Don’t even kid about a thing like that. Bacon is serious business.” Tate limped out the door, looking forward to spending the day with Kenzie.
After eating a filling breakfast of bacon, toast, and eggs with juice and coffee, Tate decided to check the messages on his phone. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of messages people left for him, it seemed everyone wanted to know where he was, how he was doing, and if he had plans to continue the pro rodeo circuit in the coming year.
Going back to his room, he called Cort and visited with him for a while then talked to Huck.
Exhausted by the time he hung up from a call with his dad, he fell asleep with the phone still in his hand. He woke up when it buzzed. It took him a moment to realize what was making the annoying noise.
When he answered the call, he was surprised to find one of the local television personalities on the line, inviting him to make an appearance on the morning news program a few days before Christmas. They wanted him to talk about his rodeo career and plans for the
coming year. Tate agreed and hoped he’d be able to walk on the set without his cane by then.
He rose from the bed and made his way to the living room. A scent redolent of Christmas tickled his nose, making him grin.
“What are you making, Dewdrop?” he asked as he rounded the corner to the kitchen.
“Gingerbread bars,” Kenzie said, turning to look at him over her shoulder.
Tate almost laughed at the sight she made, along with the upheaval in her normally tidy kitchen. Baked goodies or sweets in the making covered every counter surface. As she squeezed a drizzle of frosting over a big pan of bars that smelled amazing, flour dusted her chin and highlighted one of her cheeks.
“Have you done quality control on those? Need a taste-tester?” Tate asked, hoping he could get a taste sooner rather than later. He’d lay the charm on extra thick if he had to in order to get a sample of the goodies.
“You can eat as many as you like, within reason, after you have some lunch,” Kenzie said, setting her ground rules for his cookie consumption. “I thought we could have sandwiches, if that’s okay with you. I got a little preoccupied this morning.”
“Sure.” Tate glanced around to see if he could do anything to help then decided he had no idea where to start.
“If I put the sandwich stuff on the table, can you make them?” Kenzie finished with the frosting and rinsed her hands.
“You bet.” Suddenly anxious to be done with lunch, he wanted to move on to the sweets. He swiped a pinch of cookie dough from a bowl when he thought Kenzie wasn’t looking. It was buttery with a rich cinnamon flavor.
“Snickerdoodles, you snitch.” Kenzie took lunchmeat and cheese from the fridge.
Tate decided with her superpowers of being able to see behind her back, she’d make a great mother someday.
The desire to be the father of those children hit him square in the heart, making him catch his breath. Rolling the idea around in his head and liking it more with each passing second, he felt a new sense of longing and purpose.
Abruptly sitting at the table, he realized his feelings for Kenzie were the forever kind. The settle down, have a family, and grow old together kind of feelings that drove a man to think of proposals, weddings, and babies.
He let his mind wander, considering the possibilities.
By the time she set the sandwich ingredients on the table, he’d once again composed his thoughts.
“Hope you like turkey and ham,” she said, setting out two plates and silverware along with a bowl of pasta salad.
“Two of my favorite sandwich ingredients.” Tate assembled sandwiches, helped himself to a scoop of pasta salad, and waited for Kenzie to come to the table. She placed a glass of water in front of him and he offered her a smile of thanks.
He was taking a bite from his sandwich when the oven timer dinged. Kenzie jumped up to take out a sheet of cookies then popped in another one.
“What are you going to do with all that?” Tate asked, inclining his head toward the overflowing counters when she returned to the table.
“Give it away,” she said, taking a bite of pasta salad.
Tate choked on his sandwich and washed it down with a gulp of water. “What? Why?”
“I always make up tins of treats to give to people who might not have any homemade goodies, like Paul, and some of the elderly neighbors, a few people at church. I’ll make sure to put together some treats for your dad. Is there anything he likes in particular?”
“Everything,” Tate said with a grin. His sweet tooth came directly from his father. “He’ll eat anything you take him.”
“Great.” Kenzie didn’t mention her plans to send Tate home with an ample supply of treats when he left. Thoughts of his leaving made her sad, so she mentally switched gears.
“Are you finished with your Christmas shopping?” Kenzie asked as Tate made himself a second sandwich.
“Shopping?” Tate repeated. He hadn’t purchased anything other than the vintage milk can in Las Vegas that would ship directly to his dad. He typically sent gift cards or gift baskets to friends. He needed to get something nice for Huck and Mara’s family as well as something for Cort. A trip to the bank for cash bonuses would take care of his ranch hands. “I haven’t exactly started yet.”
Kenzie looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
“I’ll see what I can find online.” A trip to the mall was pretty much out of the question.
After clearing the lunch dishes out of her way, Kenzie went back to her baking project, giving Tate tastes of whatever he wanted. With a glass of milk in front of him and his second gingerbread bar in his hand, he was happily full and unbelievably content.
While he still held some lingering disappointment about what happened at the finals, he knew brooding wouldn’t change anything and decided to focus on his plans for next year.
Depending on how long it took his arm to heal, he would most likely miss several weeks of competing.
Many cowboys sidelined with injuries could find themselves in a financial bind before returning to the rodeo. Thanks to a crisis fund, those with serious injuries could receive assistance until they got back on their feet.
Tate felt fortunate his injuries were relatively minor and the rodeo wasn’t his sole source of income. Between good insurance and the ranch, his finances wouldn’t experience an impact, even if he did have to wait a month or two to get back on the rodeo circuit.
Determined to ignore the what-ifs flying through his thoughts, he decided any major decisions about his career could wait until after the New Year.
Surrounded by the smells of holiday baking, the sight of a beautiful woman with flour streaking her cheeks, and the sounds of Christmas carols in the background, Tate slipped right into the holiday spirit.
“You’re a terrific cook.” Tate took a hot snickerdoodle right off the cookie sheet as Kenzie pulled it out of the oven. He tossed the cookie up a few times in his hand until it cooled enough to handle and hobbled back to the table.
Kenzie gave him an indulgent grin. “I don’t cook all that often, but I do like to bake for the holidays.” She washed an empty bowl then put away a canister of flour. “If you’re under the delusion that I’m domestic, you might want to rethink that. I just do enough to get by because I’m really not home that much.”
“That is so not true.” The look he shot her said he knew otherwise. “I do enough to get by which is nuking stuff out of boxes or cans and barbecuing meat. You can actually cook, and quite well from what I’ve tasted.”
“Thanks.” The unexpected praise made her blush. She busied herself storing cooled cookies in a resealable bag. “My mom is a good cook and I learned a lot from my grandma before she died.”
“Where did your grandma live?” Tate couldn’t recall Kenzie mentioning a grandparent before.
“Portland. It’s where my mom was from originally. She and Daddy met at college and you know the rest of that story. When we moved to Portland, we lived with Grandma for a couple of years until Mom got back on her feet. By then, she was seeing my stepfather. It wasn’t long until they married and we moved to a new house. Grandma was always in the kitchen baking or cooking and it helped me get through an incredibly tough time being with her. There was something comforting about cooking together.”
“I’m glad you had your grandma to help you.” He was also glad the woman shared her cooking skills with her granddaughter. He didn’t think he’d ever had so many delicious sweets in all his life.
“Grandma was a gem.” Her gaze fell to the snowman cookie jar on the counter, remembering when her grandmother gave it to her, full of her favorite treats after Kenzie had a particularly rough day at school. “Most of my furniture belonged to Grandma.”
“She had some great antiques.” It was nice to know Kenzie valued the pieces she inherited from her grandmother. With the money she made as a corporate trainer, she could afford to purchase anything she wanted for her apartment, but instead she used the pieces that had se
ntimental value.
“Thanks, I’m pretty partial to them.” She slid the last pan of cookies into the oven.
As he finished his glass of milk, Tate glanced around the kitchen, letting his gaze rest on Kenzie. It required a considerable effort on his part to keep his hands, and lips, to himself, despite his aches and pains.
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” he asked. He assumed his best option was staying out of the way.
“No, but thanks for offering,” Kenzie said, loading the dishwasher with what would fit and starting to hand-wash the rest.
Tate noticed Kenzie didn’t have a lot of fancy gadgets or equipment in her kitchen, just the basics, including a rolling pin that looked like it had been used for many years. “I’m surprised you don’t have all kinds of kitchen toys. Don’t great cooks like to keep up on the latest inventions to make their lives easier?”
“Great cooks might but I’m not one. Even if I was, I’m not home enough to justify the expense or use of space for that kind of stuff.” She dried a baking sheet and stored it in a skinny cupboard.
“If you were home more and could justify it, what one thing would you get?” he asked, curious as to what type of kitchen tools drew Kenzie’s attention.
“One of those stand mixers. I’ve always wanted one, but there’s no point in buying it when I’m rarely home. It’s not like I entertain much or have a lot of company.” The look on her face told Tate she would love to have one of those mixers.
“Speaking of company, if you rarely have any why do you have such a nice guest room? I couldn’t help but notice it’s much bigger than your room and has the private bathroom.”
Kenzie briefly wondered when he’d seen her room, but knew she’d left him alone a few times while she ran errands. He must have been looking for her. “I’m not here that much so it’s no biggie. When I do have company, I want them to feel welcome and comfortable. So far, my longest-staying guests have been my little sisters. They usually spend a week with me right after school gets out for the summer.”
The Christmas Cowboy: (Sweet Western Holiday Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 1) Page 18