Creed and Sage removed their coats and handed them off to a lady in black pants and a white shirt. Quiet ended and the noise started again.
April left a group of young women and hurried to their side. She looped an arm in Sage’s and one in Creed’s and marched them across the room to the Christmas tree where her father was standing with a drink in his hand.
Sage felt like an overgrown giant beside the petite woman with her hair all done up in a mass of blond curls. Her gorgeous red velvet sleeveless gown with jewels around the scooped neckline dipped in drastically at her tiny waist and set off her creamy white skin. A tiny bit of train trailed behind her and a front slit stopped at her knee.
Creed would surely wish that he was with a woman like that rather than one who’d been called Mrs. Jolly Green Giant in high school.
“Nice dress,” Creed said.
“Yes, it is.” Lawton stuck out his hand. “I’m Lawton Pierce. I would’ve been over to make your acquaintance before now but the blizzard has wreaked havoc. It’s taking every man I’ve got to get the feeding done and make sure I don’t lose cattle.”
“Creed Riley. Pleased to meet you. Come around anytime and if you need an extra hand, I’ll be glad to help out.”
“Thank you.” Lawton turned to Sage. “You’re looking awful pretty tonight, as usual.”
Sage smiled. “And you guys clean up right good too.”
“Well, we did take our monthly bath for this shindig, didn’t we, Creed?” Lawton clapped a hand on Creed’s shoulder. “Come with me and I’ll make you acquainted with the rest of the canyon ranchers and with a lot of the cowboys who help run the Canyon Rose.”
Sage waited until they were well out of earshot before she asked, “What happened to the blue dress? And I didn’t even get to see your entrance. I feel cheated.”
April’s mouth firmed into a hard line. “I don’t know how Daddy found out about the dress but he did. You didn’t tell on me, did you?”
“Hell no!” Sage said.
“Well, I opened my bedroom door and there he was, all John Wayne–like, sitting in a chair right in front of the door. Liked to have scared the shit right out of me. Just sittin’ there, his arms folded over his chest and his hat cocked back.”
“What did he say?”
“Not a word. He just pointed, Sage. I slammed the door and stomped around for five whole minutes. When I opened it again, he was still sitting there, just waiting.”
A group of women waved from across the room and started toward them.
Sage said, “Hurry up and tell me what happened.”
“I went back in the room and put on this dress. I wore it to a party at college before I left so no one has seen it here. I came out and he escorted me down the stairs. No big entrance for me this year. Oh, hello, Willa Sue! Darlin’, you look fabulous in green. It matches your eyes so well.”
Willa Sue was a small Hispanic woman with jet-black hair, lightly toasted skin, and full lips, but her eyes were light green instead of dark brown. Her dress was the same shade, reminding Sage of mistletoe leaves, which in turn made her think of Creed. She scanned the room and there he was, laughing and talking with a group of ranch owners. He took a sip of bourbon and his eye caught hers. Their gaze met somewhere in the middle of the room and he gave her a sly sexy wink.
“Tell us the truth, Sage?” Willa Sue asked.
“What? I’m sorry, I was looking around the room to see if Hilda decided to join us tonight,” Sage answered.
“I was saying that cowboy that’s buying the Rockin’ C better get on his runnin’ shoes because soon as this snow melts all us single girls are going to start cookin’.”
Sage kept the moan at bay but it wasn’t easy. She understood exactly what Willa Sue said. When the weather cleared up, there would be a stampede of women bringing cakes, pies, and casseroles to the new bachelor at the Rockin’ C.
“And I was askin’ if you thought it was a good idea or if that handsome hunk had already got branded since y’all are holed up together over there.”
Maria, another young woman, spoke up. “And I told her that he’s not your type. You’ll go for a serious professor arty-farty type, won’t you?”
Maria had strawberry blond hair, wore a short emerald-green dress, and four-inch spike heels. Still, she barely came up to Sage’s shoulder.
“The truth?” Willa Sue asked.
“To cook or not to cook? Is that the question that you need me to answer?” Sage asked.
Willa Sue and Maria both nodded.
“He knows how to cook, how to iron his own jeans, and how to use a mop. He can cut down a Christmas tree, run a ranch like he’s been there forever, and he’s easy to live with.”
Maria groaned. “That’s not fair.”
“Something that looks like that cooks? I don’t believe you,” Willa Sue said. “You just don’t want us over at your place chasin’ him. I heard that Grand put a deal in the will that said you get to live there forever.”
“She did,” Sage said.
“Y’all might as well look on past him at the two new cowboys Daddy hired this week. They’re standing over there in the corner. They’re brothers and they’re both blond-haired like you said you were going to hitch up with before Sage and Creed got here,” April said.
All the eyes in the group went to the corner where April was looking. Sure enough, two tall cowboys were talking in a group of five other men. It was evident that they shared the same genes but one was slightly shorter than the other. The tall one had brown eyes and the short one had green eyes.
The one with brown eyes smiled at Sage and started across the floor.
Willa Sue tossed her long black hair over her shoulder. “Looks like we done attracted one.”
The cowboy stopped right in front of Sage and extended a hand. “Hello, ma’am, I’m Rocky, newly hired on the Canyon Rose. The band is just gearing up for the first dance. You’d make this old cowboy real happy if you’d dance with me.”
Sage shook it firmly and businesslike then let it drop. “I’d love to but I’ve already promised the first dance to someone else.”
His head barely bobbed and he turned his attention to April. “I see. Well, how about you, darlin’?”
“Daddy always gets the first one. Tradition, but I’ll save you one for later.”
His brother had joined the group by then and he was cozying right up to Willa Sue. When the band broke into the first Christmas song of the season the dance floor cleared out and Lawton left his group to claim his daughter’s hand for the first dance.
Lawton knew his business. If there was a stranger in the mix, he’d learn real quick that she was the owner’s daughter and to tread lightly. Sage wondered if the protective father instinct came the day a man held his child or if it grew along with them. She remembered Creed talking about what his daughter would or would not do after he’d seen April in her revealing dress.
Evidently some men just had the instinct to take care of their womenfolk.
Rocky held out his hand to Willa Sue and she graced him with a brilliant smile. His brother was already on the dance floor with Maria.
Sage was so deep in thought that she didn’t even see Creed making his way around the perimeter of the enormous room until he slipped an arm around her waist.
“Can I have this dance, ma’am?” Creed asked.
She slung both arms around his neck and he looped his arms around her waist. Creed Riley didn’t just two-step to the country beat. His feet floated six inches above the floor and she felt as if she floated with him.
“You weren’t honest with me,” she said. “You said you couldn’t dance. You’re an expert, Creed Riley.”
“Aww, shucks, ma’am, you’re just bein’ nice to this rough old cowboy. Woman gorgeous as you makes me look like a bumbling fool.”
Her stomach fluttered
at his deep drawl and she wanted to drag him away from the party. She hadn’t even wanted to like him in the beginning and now his voice made the zipper on her dress itch to slide down.
What about all the other women watching and waiting for their turn to dance with him? They’d fall backwards on the nearest bed or haystack and drag him down on top of them without blinking an eye. And he would forget all about the Amazon he’d brought to the dance.
He glanced toward the ceiling. “Look there. I believe these folks rustled up some mistletoe.”
She looked up and there it was, hanging from the bottom of a huge crystal chandelier. She started to say something but didn’t get the first syllable out before his lips were on hers right there in the middle of the dance floor in front of Lawton, all the other ranchers, April, and even the Almighty.
She felt like a mule had kicked her in the ribs, knocked the breath out of her, and stopped her heart between beats. Then her heart gave a lurch and took off like a steam engine.
“I ain’t got a no trespassin’ sign to hang around your neck, but I wish I did.” He breathed into her hair when the kiss ended.
The dance ended and a woman was suddenly glued to Creed’s side so tight that air couldn’t get between them. She had a thumb hooked in his belt at the small of his back and gazed up at him with adoring big brown eyes.
Interior decorators could say what they wanted about green being a peaceful color. It caused all kinds of fiery heat in Sage that evening, and it was a very different kind of blaze than what Creed created when he kissed her under the mistletoe.
She flipped her shoulder-length blond hair back and said, “I’ll take the next dance.”
Creed stepped away from her and slid an arm around Sage’s shoulders. “Well, ma’am, I’d be glad to dance with you but I just now promised Miz Sage that I’d go with her for some barbecued buffalo wings. I understand that Hilda makes the best in the whole county and we’re about to put them up against my momma’s with a taste test.”
The short blonde popped her hands on her hips. “Sage, you don’t play fair.”
“All’s fair in buffalo wings and dancing, Dee Mercer.” Sage tucked her hand into his and led him toward the refreshment table.
“Did I just miss the opportunity of a lifetime or did you save me from a life of heartache?” he whispered.
“The latter,” she said.
“Why’s that?”
“She’s a female player, Creed. She’d tear your heart out and shred it into bite-sized pieces and then feed it to her cat.”
“Sounds like a vicious woman.” He chuckled.
“All women are vicious,” Sage told him.
He kissed her on the forehead. “Darlin’, you are a sage in more than just your name.”
The twinkling lights surrounding them in all the decorations reflected in Creed’s green eyes, and when she looked into their depths, she and Creed were the only two people in the whole big room. There was music but it was over in the next county. There was mistletoe but someone else could dance under it and steal a kiss because she knew in that moment that she belonged with Creed.
And it scared her spitless.
“Come on, Creed. Now I’ve got to take you to the buffet and make an honest man out of you.” She laughed to cover up her instant fear.
“Is there a preacher over there?”
She popped him on the arm and started around the busy dance floor. “I’m making an honest man out of you so that you didn’t lie about going for buffalo wings.”
“Well, damn!” he muttered with a chuckle.
As soon as they reached the table she put a wing on a plate, picked it up with her fingers, and held it to his mouth. She hoped Dee was watching and got the message loud and clear.
“These wings are fantastic,” Creed said. “Momma’s can’t hold a light for them to go by, but if you ever tell her I said that, I’ll swear I never said it. You’ve got to introduce me to Hilda.”
“Not tonight,” April said at his elbow.
“Why?”
“Hilda don’t like big crowds. She cooks and stays in the kitchen. The caterers do the serving and toting. You can meet her tomorrow though.”
Creed raised an eyebrow toward Sage.
She shrugged. “Tradition.”
“What?”
April picked up a pecan tartlet. “We have church at the chapel at two thirty tomorrow. The blizzard prevented the Hanging of the Green ceremony we usually have the first of the month, but we’ll have it tomorrow. Afterwards, Grand and Sage come home with us for supper. It’s just the leftovers from today, but it’s just Hilda, me and Daddy, and Grand and Sage. Grand ain’t here so you’ll have to fill in for her.”
“Is that even possible?” Creed teased.
“Sure it is,” April said. “You just argue with Daddy, say ‘shit fire’ when you are mad, and try to steal Hilda from the Canyon Rose. It won’t do you any good because she’s been here since Daddy was born, but that’s the tradition.”
“Expecting a big turnout at the church in this kind of weather?” Creed asked.
“Chapel will be packed full. Folks don’t miss church and this ceremony is nice,” Sage said. “I’m going to sneak back into the kitchen and tell Hilda she’s outdone herself. You go on and talk cows and tractors with the ranchers.”
“I’m going with you,” April said.
Creed hung his head. “I’m not feeling much love right now.”
April motioned toward a tall, dark-haired woman wearing a black dress slit up to her hip coming right at him. “Oh, honey, you could have all the love you want. That is Lisa Reynolds coming at you. She is wild as a March hare in heat so don’t let her talk you into something that will get you killed.”
The woman had her eyes fixed on Creed, so he smiled and held up a buffalo wing.
April pulled Sage toward the door leading into the kitchen. “Don’t worry about him. He’s a big strong boy who can take care of himself.”
“Why would I worry about him?” Sage asked.
“Hey, woman, I saw that kiss. It heated up the room about twenty degrees. Had Maria and Willa Sue both pantin’ and wishin’ they could corner him up under that mistletoe. Someday I’m going to find me a cowboy like Creed Riley and…” She stopped and blushed.
“And what?” Sage asked.
April whispered, “And we’re going to do things that’ll make snow boil.”
“April Pierce!” Hilda looked up from the island in the middle of a big, modern kitchen.
Hilda was leaning toward the backside of sixty but her hair was still black as a crow’s feathers. Her round face sported a few crow’s-feet around her dark brown eyes, and her body was a little rounder than it had been when she was twenty. She’d never married and lived in a small house out behind the bunkhouse. But most of her time was spent supervising the staff in the big house. And nobody that had two sane brain cells to bump against each other crossed her.
Not even April.
“Sorry, Hilda. You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
Sage rounded the island and bent low to hug the five-foot woman, but it didn’t take her mind off what she’d heard April say about Creed, and she damn sure didn’t like the look in Lisa’s eyes when she pranced all prissy-like across the dance floor.
“Well, I did and I’d best not hear any more such things coming from your mouth. You are going to be the mistress of Canyon Rose someday and that’s no way for a lady to talk. Now, tell me about your trip to the artist thing, Sage. Did you do well this year?”
“Very well. Enough that I get to paint another year.”
Hilda wiped her hands on a bibbed apron that hung around her neck. It covered a red pearl-snap shirt and a pair of jeans. “That’s good. Now tell me about this cowboy that Ada put so much trust in.”
“What have you heard?�
� Sage picked up a finger sandwich. “Is this your chicken salad? When I get married you’ve got to give me the recipe for my wedding present.”
“You are marryin’ up with that cowboy?” Hilda asked.
Sage fumbled the sandwich and had to maneuver fast to keep it from making a mess on her dress. “Hell no!”
“Never knew Ada’s Indian sense to be wrong. You’ll bring him around tomorrow for me to meet, won’t you?”
“Of course I will. It’s Christmas,” Sage said.
“Well, I’m glad you’re home, child, and safe. Storm like we had, it’s a wonder you didn’t get stuck off in a bar ditch somewhere.” Hilda pulled another pan of wings from the oven. “Now go back to the party. Them dresses cost too much to be standin’ in the kitchen with me. Go show them off.”
* * *
The tall woman pressed against Creed as if she wanted to get her message of availability through to him by touch. The blizzard hadn’t frozen his ability to reason and there was no way you could rearrange the aura around her to spell anything but trouble. Not even the love of the Christmas season and the mistletoe hanging above them had worked its magic to the point that Creed wanted to do more than dance with the lady. Fact be known, he would have rather been doing chores with Sage than two-steppin’ the tall lady around the floor.
“I’m recently divorced. Got a pretty nice little cotton farm up in Silverton in the divorce settlement. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” she whispered.
They were directly under the mistletoe when Lisa tangled her fist into his hair and pulled his face to hers. “Merry Christmas to me, Creed Riley. May it be the start of something hot and wonderful.”
And then her lips were on his. He kept his mouth shut tightly, even when she pried at it with her tongue. He didn’t shut his eyes, so everything on her face was out of focus. Her mascara had globs as big as cow patties and there were crow’s-feet around her eyes. Was that a mole she’d covered up with makeup? No, it was a tiny bit of chocolate chip from a Christmas cookie.
“You don’t kiss worth a damn,” she said as she pulled away. “We’ll have to work on that, but I do love playing the role of teacher.”
Christmas at Home Page 21