“Guess so. Anyway, if you’d call her and tell her I don’t mean her any harm, then I can get along with this job.”
“Better yet, I’ll just walk over there with you.” A daring plan had occurred to her. It would be dangerous, but as long as Russ believed she was married, she was confident it would turn out all right. It would mean she wouldn’t have to spend Christmas Eve alone, after all, and she might unravel some of the mysteries about this gorgeous cowboy. “In fact, if you like, I could go along when you make the other deliveries.”
“You could?” He looked like a drowning man who’d just been thrown a line. “Aw, I couldn’t ask you to do that. It’s cold out there.”
“I’m sure Steve’s truck has a heater, and I have warm clothes.” She glanced down at her outfit. “I wouldn’t go dressed like this, obviously.”
“Good.”
She glanced up in time to see lust reflected in his eyes and her heart somersaulted with delight. She was playing with fire, but she’d be careful.
He looked away and cleared his throat. “The thing is, I’m not driving Steve’s truck. I don’t have a license.”
“Then how did you get here? In a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer?”
“Sort of.” He returned his attention to her. “But the sleigh’s full-size, and ol’ Blackie has to do the work of the reindeer. He doesn’t fly too good, so we’ve been usin’ the roads.”
That was when she knew she had to go. She might never have another chance to deliver surprise Christmas presents in a horse-drawn sleigh on Christmas Eve with a Santa who looked like Russ.
She transferred her kitten to him. “Hold them both for a minute and I’ll change clothes.” She started for the bedroom.
“Wait a minute, Jo.”
She turned back to him. “What?”
“Listen, I think I’d best do this alone. I mean, it’s my crazy family that started this tradition, so there’s no reason to drag somebody else into—”
“Russ, folks expect a man and a woman to be delivering these gifts, and they’ll be confused if you show up alone. I’ll make the whole thing look more legitimate, and you know it.”
“I’ll just tell them about Steve and Claire right off instead of using that Santa Claus line.”
“Russ, please let me come with you. The only darned thing I have planned is to pop It’s a Wonderful Life into the VCR. I will die of loneliness spending Christmas Eve by myself, and besides, I’ve always wanted to ride in a sleigh.”
Although there was compassion in his gaze, he shook his head. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea. What if your husband comes home, thinkin’ to surprise you, and finds you out ridin’ around in a sleigh with some no-account cowhand?”
“Trust me, he won’t be home.”
He regarded her for a long moment. “Because he’s repairing iron lungs.”
“That’s right. Just wait there a minute. I won’t be long.” She ducked into the bedroom.
“Jo?”
“Yes?” she called out as she started unbuttoning her top.
“I’d count it a favor if you’d shut that door.”
“Okay.” Smiling to herself, she went to do as he asked. His words stroked her ego, even if she couldn’t allow his hands to stroke her body. It was nice to know she still tempted him.
“Oh, and Jo?”
“What?”
“Leave the Santa hat on. Some of the folks’ll probably get a kick out of it”
“Sure thing.” She thought about his last request as she dressed in long underwear, sweats and fur-lined boots. She’d been told Russ had no use for this holiday, but a man who wanted her to wear a Santa hat for their gift-giving journey didn’t hate Christmas. Before the night was over, she’d find out why he thought he did.
RUSS JUGGLED the two kittens and tried not to think about Jo getting naked on the other side of the bedroom door. One thing was for sure—her worthless husband didn’t deserve her.
Iron lungs. Not likely. Jo was in love, so she believed that hogwash, but Russ wasn’t fooled for a minute. He’d been around enough to know the line of bull that certain kinds of lowlifes handed their women.
Jo’s husband, Richard something-or-other, according to Steve, was playing around with another honey at this very minute. Russ would lay money on it In the meantime, Jo, the most wildly passionate woman he’d ever met, was spending her Christmas Eve alone and trying to be brave about it by putting up a tree and decorating the apartment up real nice. It was enough to make him sick.
But he wasn’t doing one thing about this sorry situation except to take her along on a sleigh ride. Her husband’s being a skunk didn’t justify Russ seducing a married woman. He’d committed plenty of sins in his twenty-nine years, but adultery hadn’t been one of them. Despite his many failings, he liked to think he wouldn’t lower himself to rustle another man’s wife, not even if the son of a bitch wasn’t fit to call himself a man.
He hoped he hadn’t bit off more than he could chew, letting Jo come along tonight. True, he could use the help and he hated thinking of her being all alone on Christmas Eve. But every time he was near her, his blood started pumping faster, and a fair share of it traveled straight to his groin. Good thing she was changing out of that sexy little red outfit, because standing in her living room looking at her a moment ago had been like an instant replay of that November night they’d set each other on fire.
She remembered that night, too. He’d seen it in her eyes. The comment she’d made to Steve pricked him again. Tell him he was passable for an Arizona boy. He’d love to know if she really meant that, or if it had been hurt pride talking. But he could hardly ask her. Just talking about the subject was liable to get him hot.
This whole situation might get very sticky if he didn’t watch himself. With the Christmas season working on her, and missing her man, she might have entertained the idea of inviting him into her bed again. An Arizona boy who was here had to be more tempting than a Montana boy who wasn’t
Not that she’d follow through on the idea, but she’d probably thought about it. After the way they’d made love that night, it was only natural for her to think about doing it all again. Damn, how he wished they could.
Russ shook his head. This idiot she’d married must have the brain of a chicken, leaving a woman like Jo alone night after night Russ wouldn’t trespass, but sooner or later, some guy would try. It was the way of the world that men caught the scent of a lonely and frustrated wife, and a good many couldn’t resist that temptation.
Depending on the circumstances, Jo might be worn down enough that she’d give in, especially if she began to figure out the holes in her husband’s story. Russ ground his teeth. It would happen someday, with some cowboy, sure as shootin’. But by God, he wouldn’t be that man. He already had enough on his conscience.
6
AFTER PUTTING ON the Santa hat, Jo shoved her arms into her wool coat, checked to make sure her gloves and muffler were stuffed in the pockets and opened her bedroom door.
Russ looked up.
She couldn’t help smiling, seeing such a rough, tough cowhand with his hands full of kittens. He cut quite a figure, as her grandmother would say, standing in front of the multicolored lights of her tree, with Clint Black singing in the background. Couldn’t get much more of the yuletide spirit than this—a cowboy, a Christmas tree and kittens.
“I’m ready,” she said.
“I hope you put on a lot of clothes.”
“I did. I have my long underwear on under the sweats.” And if I owned a chastity belt, I’d be wearing that, too.
For an unguarded moment he stared at her with heat in his gaze, as if he might be imagining her in the formfitting underwear. He swallowed and glanced away. “Long underwear’s a good idea. I have a couple of warm blankets in the sleigh that we—that you can wrap up in.”
Blankets. This was sounding cozier by the minute.
But she had no intention of backing out now. “Then I g
uess we might as well take these kittens over to Lucile.”
“Do you think she might’ve gone to bed by now?”
“She’s still up. I could hear her television through the wall while I was getting dressed.”
His eyes darkened again at the reference to her dressing. He let out a breath. “I think we’d best get going, Jo.”
“Sure thing.” Damned if she didn’t enjoy his discomfort a little bit, perhaps because it did a lot to heal the sore spot he’d left in her heart when he’d walked out on her in the middle of the night. She buttoned her coat and put on her muffler as she moved past him to turn off the Christmas lights and the stereo. “Want me to hold one of the kittens inside my coat?”
“That’d be a help.” He handed her the tortoiseshell, and their hands touched briefly. He cleared his throat and backed away. “With two of them it’s like a rodeo goin’ on in there.”
“I’ll bet. But I think Steve was right to send two.”
She tucked the little creature under her coat and opened the door. “Lucile will have such fun watching them play.”
“Yeah, ol’ Steve knows how to do things right.” Russ stepped out into the cold.
Jo heard the wistful tone in Russ’s voice, the unspoken message that he didn’t know how to do things right like his older brother. Another piece of the puzzle. This would be a very informative evening, she thought, locking up and following Russ to Lucile’s door.
Before she’d left for work, she’d shoveled a narrow path down her walkway, and Lucile’s. A few inches had fallen since then, but the path was still navigable.
Following Russ gave her a chance to admire him from behind. She could feast her eyes on his broad shoulders and admire the rolling walk of a typical long-legged cowboy, but his cute butt was hidden by the sheepskin jacket. She supplied that image from memory—a memory polished by all the times she’d relived that night they’d spent together.
Sure enough, a red sleigh that looked just like Santa’s was parked at her curb, with a black draft horse standing patiently in harness blowing steam from his nostrils.
“Beautiful horse,” she said, longing to go make friends with the animal but knowing they had kittens to deliver. “And what an unusual shade of black.”
“Steve took a liking to that coat of Blackie’s, which is why he bought him. He’s mostly Clydesdale, but there’s a couple of other breeds mixed in. Steve likes the way he looks with the red sleigh. He means to start up a sleigh-ride business next winter.”
“I remember something about that project, but I don’t see any seats for passengers.”
“He’s got a couple benches being upholstered that will fit in the back. But now, with no seats it’s a perfect Christmas sleigh.”
“It sure is,” Jo agreed. “Wasn’t he hoping to get you to help him with the sleigh-ride business?”
“Yeah, well, Steve’s always cooking up things like that for me. We’ll have to see how it goes.”
Jo decided not to pursue the subject, but she could sure picture Russ bringing in the tourist trade, as Steve had predicted. The combination of Russ’s good looks and the sleigh’s romantic image would be dynamite. At the moment, the sleigh looked festive filled with packages of various shapes and sizes.
Wedged among them was an aluminum extension ladder.
“Who gets the ladder?” Jo asked.
“Nobody. That’s so’s I can climb up on Ned and Sharon’s roof.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ned and Sharon get a little cooler of champagne, orange juice and a red rose. I gotta lower it down the chimney.”
“Good grief.”
“I told you this was crazy.” He glanced over his shoulder. “No telling when we’ll get done with everything, either. You can still back out after we give your neighbor her kittens, if you want. I sure wouldn’t blame you.”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. For all I know, we’ll end up getting shot at.”
“Has that ever happened to Steve and Claire?”
“Well, no, but everybody knows Steve’s truck by now. Nobody’s ever laid eyes on this-here sleigh. They won’t know what’s going on.”
“Maybe they’ll see the sleigh and start believing in Santa Claus again.”
“I guess we’ll find out.” He climbed the two steps leading to Lucile’s door, but then he stepped to one side. “You’d better ring the bell. She doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
Jo stepped up beside him and pushed the doorbell.
Unzipping his jacket a little, Russ stuck his hand inside to cradle the kitten. “Well, tiger, here goes nothing.” When no one came immediately, he turned to Jo. “She’s probably asleep in front of the TV. I think we should—”
“Give her a minute. It takes her a while to get around.”
“I say she’s asleep. I say we take the kittens back to Steve.”
“Don’t give up so easy, Russ. There. She’s unlocking the door.”
The door opened a crack, but the security chain was still on. “Who is it?” Lucile called.
“It’s me, Lucile. Jo.”
The chain came off and the door opened wide. Lucile, all five feet of her wrapped in a red quilted bathrobe, her gray hair a cap of ringlets, stood staring at them. “Jo? What on earth are you doing out there this time of night? And why are you with this tipsy cowboy?”
Jo grinned. “He’s not drunk, Lucile. This is Russ Gibson, Steve’s brother. Steve and Claire are sick, so Russ is taking over their job this Christmas Eve.”
“So that’s what you meant, young man!” Lucile put a hand to her chest. “Here I was accusing you of being sloshed, and you were trying to bring me a Christmas present. How embarrassing.”
Russ touched the brim of his hat. “No problem, ma’am.”
“Come in this minute!” She stepped aside to let them by. “I swear, I feel like Ed McMahon just showed up at my door! What a darling little hat, Jo. Come in, come in.”
Russ allowed Jo to go ahead of him, and he tipped his hat again as he passed by Lucile. Just then, the tiger-striped kitten began to mew.
“What’s that?” Lucile asked, her eyes widening as she turned toward him. “Mercy, that sounds like—”
“It’s a kitten, ma’am.” Russ hauled the little animal out of his coat. “A no-tailed one, see?” He presented the kitten backside out, just as he had to Jo.
“A...kitten?”
“Two kittens,” Jo said, extracting the tortoiseshell. Lucile looked as if she’d gone into shock. Jo hoped this hadn’t been a horrible mistake. “They’re sisters. One of Steve’s barn cats had a late litter. And I, that is, Santa thought that you might—”
“Two kittens.” Lucile’s eyes filled with tears. “Two kittens.”
Russ sent a panic-stricken look toward Jo. “You don’t have to keep ’em, ma’am. I mean, if this is an imposition, we won’t leave them.”
“That’s right.” Jo dumped her kitten in Russ’s free hand and hurried over to Lucile as tears streamed down the older woman’s face. “This was my harebrained idea, and I can see it was a mistake.” She wrapped her arms around Lucile and hugged her tight. “You told me nothing could take Pookie’s place, but I just naturally had to try this. Steve’s annual visit seemed like the perfect thing. I’m sorry. We’ll take them back.”
“Over my dead body!” Lucile’s response was muffled against Jo’s wool coat, but the intent was unmistakable.
Jo stepped back in surprise. “You want them?”
“Right this minute!” Lucile swiped at her eyes and held out both hands. “Bring those little babies to me this minute.”
Russ hesitated. “They’ll snag your bathrobe, ma’am.”
“This bathrobe is already snagged all over from Pookie.” Lucile sniffed again. “Bless her heart. She wouldn’t want me to be alone, especially when darlings like this need a home. Let me hold those little girls.”
Now Jo thought she might cry as Russ walked over and tenderly deposited the kittens, one in each of Lucile’s arms.
“The little tiger-stripe likes bein’ scratched behind her right ear, especially,” Russ said, standing close enough to demonstrate. “See? Her motor’s runnin’, now. And this little tortoiseshell is partial to bein’ rubbed under her chin.”
Kittens or women, Jo thought. Russ Gibson made it his business to know how they liked to be stroked.
“I will surely keep those suggestions in mind,” Lucile said, her voice husky as she gazed at her twin Christmas presents. She glanced up at him. “Are you sure you can part with these two, young man?”
“Oh, uh, sure.” He stepped back and cleared his throat. “I mean, these aren’t exactly my kittens in the first place. I just—”
“You just fell in love with them, didn’t you?” Lucile said, nuzzling each kitten in turn. “Feel free to come and visit them anytime you like.”
“Well, now, I don’t really need to do that.”
“Russ is more the love-‘em-and-leave-’em-type.” Jo couldn’t believe she’d said it out loud, but there was no taking back the words as Lucile and Russ both looked at her. Russ frowned, but Lucile seemed amused.
“I see,” Lucile said, smiling. “Well, Russ, you’re welcome, is all I’m saying. No strings attached. And I even keep a few beers in the refrigerator for guests. Which reminds me, I’ve gone and forgotten my manners. Would either of you like something to eat or drink?”
“That’s mighty kind of you, ma‘am,” Russ said, “but you’re the first one on the list, and we’d better get going or we’ll be at this until dawn. Ol’ Blackie doesn’t move as fast as a pickup truck.”
“You’re doing this on horseback?”
“A horse and sleigh,” Jo said. “Now, doesn’t that sound like fun?”
Lucile’s eyes shone. “It sounds wonderful. If I were twenty years younger, I’d beg to go with you.” Her attention returned to the kittens, who had snuggled against the red bathrobe and started kneading their paws into the quilted material as they purred. “But of course I wouldn’t want to leave these precious creatures, so I guess I wouldn’t beg to go, after all.” She looked at Jo. “Thank you, sweetie. This is the best Christmas present I’ve had in quite a long while.”
Santa in a Stetson Page 6