Barreling Through Christmas: (Sweet Western Holiday Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 4)

by Shanna Hatfield

  “Oh, yeah it is, baby.” His teasing grin drew out her smile. He kissed her again, a light, playful kiss before he set her on her feet, took her hand in his and stood. “Before you turn into a pumpkin at midnight, I want to show you something.”

  He led her to a spot in a casino across the street where they could see out the window facing The Strip. After he glanced at his watch, he pointed across the crowded street below. “Watch the water,” he said, pointing to the man-made water feature in front of the casino.

  Water shot into the air as the fountain show began. Paige watched, transfixed more by the feeling of Cooper’s body pressed close behind her than the splendid sight of the fountains in front of her.

  When the show finished, Cooper guided her back to the street where they caught a cab to her hotel. He insisted on walking her inside.

  Together, they wandered through the lobby, in no hurry to say goodbye. At the elevator, Cooper realized he had to let her go. For now. Still, he hesitated. When the elevator door opened, he moved inside with her.

  At her curious glance, he grinned. “I’ll see you to your door.” His hand caressed her cheek while the look in his eyes touched her soul. “Thank you for this evening, Paige.”

  “Thank you, Cooper. It was something I’ll always remember.” She glanced down at her feet, hesitant to speak but knowing she had to tell him the truth. “I need to tell you goodbye now, Cooper.”

  “I know, honey. I didn’t expect you to invite me inside,” he said, grinning at her as he wound one of the curls that had tempted him all through dinner around his fingers, rubbing the golden strands.

  His hand slid into her hair and Paige wondered if her feet would continue to hold her with his big hand tenderly moving to the back of her head, pulling her closer to him.

  “No, Cooper. I mean this has to be the end of this… this… thing between us. I, um… kind of have a boyfriend.”

  His smile melted and he glowered at her. “You sure weren’t acting like you have a boyfriend earlier.” His hand dropped to his side and he stepped back from her. “A serious boyfriend?”

  “Well…” Paige wasn’t sure how to describe what she had with Dexter. Was convenient and familiar the same as serious?

  Every emotion she’d ever felt for Dexter, if poured into a bucket, would be mere drops. The longings and wondrous feelings Cooper had stirred in her since they met a few days ago flooded over her like a raging ocean.

  However, it wasn’t fair to compare the two men because Dexter was real, part of her normal world. Cooper was something from a dream, something intangible and completely out of reach.

  “I’m sorry, Cooper. I suppose I just got caught up in the moment, in the atmosphere. If it changes things, if you’d be uncomfortable doing the modeling job because of our…”

  “Incredibly hot make-out session?”

  She flushed a deep shade of red and nodded. “If that alters your ability to work with me, I completely understand. I can find someone else to model the line, although you are still my first pick.”

  “Why is that?” he asked, not quite yet ready to admit defeat to some guy back in Portland. If Paige was so attached to this boyfriend, why didn’t she mention him sooner? Why had she engaged, and she had been fully and freely engaged, in their sizzling kisses?

  Flustered, Paige opened her handbag and dug around looking for her key. When she pulled it out of the bag, Cooper moved a step closer, leaning one muscled forearm against the door. “Why do you want me to be your model?”

  “You know why,” she said, clearly unsettled by his proximity.

  “Tell me why, Paige.” He spoke in a low, husky voice while pinning her with a heated look.

  “Because I feel you can best represent my client’s clothing line.”

  He leaned a little closer. “Why? What makes me the best candidate for the job?”

  She fidgeted with her room key and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “You have particular assets that will best comply with the style of jeans in the line and showcase them in the most advantageous manner.”

  “In plain English, Paige. Why?” His fingers toyed with a curl that had fallen over her left eye. He leaned down until his lips lingered a breath of space from hers. Something electric pulsed between them, something impossible to overlook.

  She moistened her lips and glanced up at him. “Because you have the cutest butt I’ve ever seen.”

  Red licked up her neck as she spun around, jammed the key into the lock, and rushed inside the room.

  In need to lighten the mood, since she clearly wouldn’t allow him to kiss her again, Cooper turned around, lifted up the hem of his jacket, and waggled his rear at her. “And don’t forget it, PP!”

  He chuckled when she slammed the door shut and clicked the lock for good measure.

  No matter how much Paige wanted to deny it, Cooper knew their kisses had rocked her every bit as much as they had him. The question, now, was what to do about it.

  Chapter Ten

  “Gramps?” Cooper called as he kicked off his boots and stepped into the mudroom at the back of the house. “Gramps, are you in here?”

  “In the office, Coop,” Nick Charles’ crusty, deep voice reverberated through the house.

  Cooper shed his coat and hat, hanging them on hooks by the door then walked through the kitchen and down the long hallway toward the front of the house. Halfway there, he turned into a dark, masculine room where his grandfather sat at a big oak desk with a stack of papers in front of him.

  “Do you want to go with me?” Cooper asked as he sat down on one of the two leather wingback chairs fronting the desk.

  Nick leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his head. White hair fell in grizzled curls to almost his ears, matching his snowy white beard. Lines weathered his face, bearing testament to years spent outdoors and wisdom gained from hard work and heartache. Sharp, intense blue eyes, nearly identical to his grandson’s, twinkled with a zest for life the years hadn’t dimmed.

  The older man grinned at Cooper. “Remind me where you’re headed, and then I’ll give you an answer.”

  Cooper shook his head. “I swear, Gramps, your memory is the first thing you are going to completely lose when you get old.”

  Nick laughed. “I’m already old, son, and in case you haven’t noticed, it already ain’t what it used to be.” He smirked and pointed to a box sitting by the office door. “I was only teasing you, though. I know you’re heading to the hospital. I’ll stay home and catch up on this pile of paperwork, but thanks for the invite to ride along.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go? You always enjoy seeing the kids.” Cooper leaned back in the chair and studied the man who had raised him. Gramps looked a little tired. His hair looked whiter than it had the last time he’d taken time to observe the man. But Nick Charles still had plenty of good years left in him and could work circles around Cooper on most days.

  “I don’t want to cramp your style,” Nick teased. “You might find some cute young nurse in need of a date.”

  Cooper shook his head. “That’s not going to happen, so you might as well come with me.”

  “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been moping around ever since you got home from Vegas. What happened that you aren’t telling me about?”

  Unable to hold it back any longer, Cooper blurted the truth. “I think I might have finally fallen in love. But she has a boyfriend, and she wants to plaster my butt all over an ad campaign for some designer clothing line.” He shrugged and grinned at his grandfather. “Other than that, not much.”

  Nick stared at him, registering Cooper’s comments, trying to decide which statement to tackle. It was the first time he’d heard Cooper use the word love in reference to a woman and the thought of it caused hopes of cuddling great-grandbabies before he died to spring to life. “Let’s start with who she is.”

  “Paige Porter. She works for an advertising agency in Portland. She has a client who wants to release a
new line of western clothing at next year’s rodeo in Las Vegas. He sent her there to find a real cowboy to model the jeans. Paige and her sister decided I was the perfect one for the job and spent the better part of a week trying to track me down.”

  Nick gave him a confused look.

  Cooper sighed. “Apparently, she caught a glimpse of me at one of the vendor shows and snapped a photo of my rear end without me knowing. Then she and her sister showed the photo to everyone they could find willing to look at it, trying to figure out who the mystery cowboy was. I happened to run into her when I was in full makeup, signing autographs, and she even showed me the picture.”

  Nick grinned. “So you, of course, didn’t feel the need to tell her it was you. Is that about right?”

  “Yep,” Cooper smiled. “I played along for a while. Celia let the cat out of the bag, though. She recognized my belt and tricked me into facing Paige without my makeup on. Paige was beyond mad. I’m not sure what happened, but we ended up having dinner together and we went for a ride on that big observation wheel. She’s scared of heights, so I might have distracted her with a few kisses and that’s when I figured out I’m in love.”

  “Why have you been hanging out here at the ranch instead of with your girl, then?”

  A deep sigh rolled out of Cooper. “When I walked her back to her room, she told me she had a boyfriend and that going forward our relationship had to be strictly business. I told her I’d still do the modeling job, but what I really want to do is see her again.”

  “Did she kiss you back, when you had her in a liplock on the Ferris wheel thing?” Nick asked.

  Cooper glared at his grandfather. “Of course she did. She was every bit invested in it as me, but then she dropped the boyfriend thing and tossed in some rules about professional behavior, and blah, blah, blah.” He lifted his hand and mimicked someone speaking. “I wasn’t really listening to that last part. I couldn’t quite get past the whole boyfriend declaration.”

  “Hmm.” Nick gave Cooper a thoughtful look.

  “Do you think she would have been kissing me so, um… well…?” Cooper ran his hand over his head, much like Nick had earlier. “Would she have kissed me like she meant it if she was really in love with the boyfriend?”

  “I don’t know, son. Women do strange things. You’ve told me about all the crazy things that happen in Las Vegas. Maybe she just got caught up in the atmosphere.”

  Cooper shook his head. “No. She’s not like that. She’s a play by the rules, all work and no fun type of girl. I can’t figure her out.”

  “Well, why don’t you call her? Make a plan to see her?” Nick didn’t know why he had to suggest the obvious. He’d never seen Cooper so tangled up over a girl before and the very thought of it made him want to get up from his chair and do a jig around the room.

  “I don’t want to step on another guy’s toes, Gramps. It’d make me blistering mad to find out my girl was kissing some guy she’d only known a few days when she was out of town.”

  Nick laughed. “If the girl was really yours, she wouldn’t want to be kissing anyone else, Coop. You’ve got enough of my blood in you to guarantee that.”

  Cooper stood and shot a pointed look at his grandfather. “Come with me. We can go out to lunch at that place you like near the hospital when we finish visiting the kids. Who knows, maybe we’ll both get a little holiday spirit while we’re there.”

  “Okay. You talked me into it.” Nick rose from the desk and walked with Cooper to the office door. “I’ll load the pickup while you get ready, but remember to bring a change of clothes because I’m not eating lunch with a clown.”

  “According to you, I’m a clown all the time, just some days I wear makeup.”

  Nick thumped him on the back. “True, but let’s go to lunch without the makeup today.”

  “You got it, Gramps. I’ll be ready in about thirty minutes.”

  Cooper jogged down the hall and ran upstairs to his room.

  Half an hour later, he clattered down the stairs and headed to the kitchen where Nick rinsed out a coffee cup.

  “Ready to go?” he asked, sliding his arms into his coat and picking up his new Stetson, settling it on his head.

  “Let’s get to it,” Nick said, slipping on his coat and tugging on his hat.

  Together, they walked out to the pickup Nick had started a few minutes earlier so the cab would be warm.

  The two of them talked about plans for the ranch for the coming year. The conversation turned to what they could fix to eat for Christmas dinner since their housekeeper, who also cooked for them, decided to visit her daughter in Seattle for the holidays. After they decided on grilled steaks, they discussed some of their neighbors and friends.

  Cooper parked the pickup at the hospital and removed his coat, leaving it in the pickup. He lifted the box from the back seat and smiled at his grandfather. “I should have rented a Santa suit for you. With that long hair and beard, you could easily pass as the jolly old elf.”

  Nick glowered at his grandson. “I don’t have a pot belly and I’m far too tall to be Santa. Just because my hair is white and my name is Nick doesn’t mean I’m ready to fill in for him.”

  “Aw, come on, Gramps. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  Nick pointed at him as they walked inside the hospital’s double sliding doors into the colorful lobby. “You use up enough for five people most days.”

  Cooper chuckled then stepped over to the visitor’s desk and gave the woman his name.

  She smiled and stood. “It’s so nice of you to do this for the children, Mr. James.”

  “Please, call me Cooper.” He tipped his head toward his grandfather. “And this is my grandfather, Saint Nick, er… I mean Nick Charles.”

  “Welcome, Mr. Charles. If you gentleman don’t mind waiting a moment, I’ll page someone to take you to see the children.”

  “Thank you.” Cooper moved over to a set of chairs and dropped the box on one then looked around. The children’s hospital lobby featured brightly painted walls with images of trees. The support pillars going up to the high ceiling were fashioned to look like birch trees and little birdhouses hung on the walls in a random but artistic placement.

  In a matter of minutes, a smiling woman approached them with an outstretched hand. “Cooper! Thank you so much for coming again.”

  “It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Haynes.” Cooper picked up the box and nodded to his grandfather. “You remember my grandfather?”

  “Of course. It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Charles.” She smiled at him and lifted an eyebrow. “I think Cooper should have had you wear a Santa suit, sir.”

  Nick scoffed while Cooper laughed.

  “I told him the same thing,” Cooper said, shooting his grandfather an I-told-you-so look. He sobered as they walked to the section of rooms occupied by terminally ill children. It always made his heart feel like it might wither right in his chest whenever he visited those kids, but he’d do anything he could to give them a few happy moments. He spoke to each one, giving every child one of his special bandana-printed gift bags.

  The sight of the children, so sick and often lethargic, turned his heart into a melancholy mess. Children should be full of boundless energy and excitement, especially a few days before Christmas.

  Sorrow for the future these children would never know ate at him, making him wish, more than anything, he could do something to help them.

  He kissed the knit cap-covered head of one blue-eyed little angel who tugged particularly hard on his heartstrings. After he wished her a Merry Christmas, he stepped into the hallway where his grandfather and Mrs. Haynes waited.

  “Are you ready to see the rest of the children?” Mrs. Haynes asked, pointing down the hall.

  Cooper shook his head. “Just give me a minute,” he said, taking a deep breath and then another to clear his head.

  When he felt like he could slip back into his happy-go-lucky rodeo clown persona, he turned to Mrs. Haynes. “Let’s bri
ng them some cheer.”

  She led them down a hallway with a mural of racing horses on one wall then turned into a room where sunlight spilled through a bank of shiny windows onto the carpeted floor. Plush chairs shaped like horses, zebras, pigs and cows, mixed with low round stools that looked like mushrooms. Long padded benches, upholstered in bright purple, green, and yellow geometric fabric lined the room, giving adults somewhere comfortable to sit.

  More than two dozen excited faces looked up at Cooper as he walked into the room with a broad smile.

  “Merry Christmas!” he said in a booming voice, bringing cheers and laughter from the young occupants.

  While his grandfather sat on one of the benches, Cooper waded into the middle of the children, sitting down on a mushroom-shaped stool.

  He let the children clamor over him, and then asked them all to sit in a circle around him. He pulled out a cowboy version of Twas the Night Before Christmas and read it to the children, then read three more Christmas stories before he gave all the children his special goodie bags.

  Before he could leave, one of the rascally little boys raised his hand.

  “What can I do for you, Timmy?” he asked the boy.

  “Do you fight bulls?”

  Cooper nodded his head. “Sometimes. Most of the time, I’m in my barrel. Did you know some cowboys refer to a clown’s barrel as a bomb shelter?”

  Wide-eyed, Timmy shook his head.

  Another little boy raised his hand. “Have you ever been stomped on by a bull?”

  “I have,” Cooper said and twisted to one side, lifting up his shirt to show the children a long, jagged scar across his side where a bull’s horns had caught him by surprise the year after he’d started in the business.

  “Wow!” several of the children said, awed by his scar.

  “Do you gots other scars?” another imp asked.

  “I do, Skylar.” Cooper pushed up his shirtsleeve and showed them a scar on his bicep, then tugged up the hem of his shorts and showed them the scars across his knee.