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

by Shanna Hatfield

  Every nerve in her body stood on high alert, as though each one had been eagerly awaiting his touch.

  With her thoughts constantly drifting to the infuriating man, she’d barely made it through the last week of work. Thankfully, she wouldn’t have to go back until after New Year’s Day. By then, she hoped to have her head on straight.

  Elliott, of course, had been thrilled when she told him she’d found not only the perfect model for the jeans, but also several models who would do well showcasing the shirts and jackets in the line, too.

  Somehow, she had to get through a preliminary photo shoot with Cooper to show Elliott and then she could get back to normal. At least until Elliott was ready to do the final photo shoot and she’d have to spend several hours, if not days in Cooper’s presence.

  First, she had to survive this lunch. Much to her relief, the server arrived and took their orders. Paige glanced around the restaurant, taking in the gaudy red bows and strings of multi-colored lights. Each table and booth had a red ceramic Santa boot filled with greens serving as a centerpiece. Upbeat Christmas music played in the background, creating a lively, enjoyable atmosphere. She could see how the restaurant would be a popular place for families to eat if they had a child at the hospital.

  At the sound of jingle bells ringing, they all looked over as several employees, all wearing Santa hats, approached a table. One of them rang a string of bells while the rest of the staff clapped. A large piece of cake with a candle in the middle was set in front of an adolescent boy, then they all launched into a crazy song that sounded like a mix of “Happy Birthday” and “Jingle Bells.”

  Restaurant patrons clapped when the boy blew out the candle before returning their attention to their own meals.

  “That was fun!” Randi said, smiling at Paige as the employees walked back into the kitchen, accompanied by the tingling of jingle bells.

  “I think I’d die if someone did that to me,” Paige said, then clapped a hand over her mouth, wishing she could reel back the words at the look in Cooper’s eye. She pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare get any ideas! You’ve humiliated me enough to last a lifetime. Maybe even two.”

  Nick raised his bushy eyebrows and glared at his grandson. “What did you do to this sweet girl?”

  “Nothing much.”

  Paige huffed in indignation. “Nothing much? Are you kidding me?” She turned to Nick. “The first night we went to the rodeo, he pretended I was his girlfriend and made fun of me in front of everyone there. Everyone!”

  “Shoot, that wasn’t anything.”

  “You made me ride a unicorn.”

  “But you liked it,” Cooper said with a grin, and took a drink of his soda.

  Her glacial glare would have left lesser men frostbitten. “That’s beside the point.” She looked to Nick again. “While a camera crew recorded it, he tricked me into sitting in front of a stage, and had six cowboys shake their back ends at me and do a dance performance. It was the single most mortifying moment of my entire life.”

  Cooper leaned toward his grandfather and dropped his voice to a stage whisper. “She’s a little dramatic.”

  Amused, Randi laughed. At the betrayed look on Paige’s face, she tried to stop, but couldn’t contain her mirth. “It was funny, especially when Shaun gave you that wink and your eyes about bugged right out of your head.”

  Paige unrolled the napkin from around her silverware and draped it over her lap. “I guess I shouldn’t be entirely upset about it, since I met Shaun. I’m looking forward to working with him.”

  “Shaun?” Nick asked, looking at Cooper.

  “Price. Shaun and some of his friends let Paige talk them into being models with the new clothing line.” Cooper gave Paige a long glance. “Are you gonna exploit their backsides, too?”

  Paige choked on the drink of water she’d just swallowed while Randi pressed her lips together to keep from giggling aloud.

  Cooper gently patted Paige on the back and winked at his grandfather.

  When she could speak again, Paige glared at Cooper. “I’m not exploiting anyone, and especially not anyone’s backside.”

  “I don’t know…” Cooper appeared unconvinced. “Seems to me when you’re taking pictures of behinds and wanting to showcase them in advertisements, it is definitely exploiting them. I may even feel a little used about the whole thing, since you took a picture of mine without asking then showed it all over Las Vegas. Isn’t there some criminal charge I could press if I wanted to?”

  Nick chuckled as the server brought their meals. “You quit teasing that poor girl, Coop.” He turned to Paige. “You’ll have to forgive him, honey. My grandson doesn’t know when to stop being the class clown.”

  “Was he always like this?” Paige asked, fluttering a hand at Cooper.

  Nick nodded. “Pretty much. He’s been a joker since he came to live with me when he was knee-high to a grasshopper.”

  Cooper gave his grandfather a look that silenced him. The four of them ate their meals discussing familiar landmarks of the area.

  After lunch, Paige started to reach for the bill, but Cooper snatched it away from her. “This one is on me.”

  “I don’t think so,” she said, trying to pull it out of his hand. “I can write this off as a business expense.”

  “So can I,” he said, heading to the cashier with Paige hot on his heels. On his way there, he fished money out of his wallet to cover the bill and a generous tip, placing it on the counter before Paige had time to insist she wanted to pay.

  Cooper pocketed the receipt and pushed open the exit door, holding it for Paige. She glanced behind her to see Randi and Nick slowly making their way through the maze of tables toward the door.

  With a longsuffering sigh, she walked outside and turned up the collar of her trench coat against the cold drizzle of rain that had started to fall.

  “This rain sure doesn’t make it seem very festive, does it?” Cooper observed, turning his face up to the pewter-hued sky.

  “No. Just once, it would be wonderful to have snow for Christmas. I don’t suppose that will happen, though.”

  “Probably not.” He took Paige’s hand in his, entwining their fingers together.

  Rather than pull away, she stared at their joined hands, disturbed by how right it felt, how easily they fit together.

  “I do hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Paige.” His voice was low when he spoke. The way he said her name made it seem like a caress nearly as intimate as the way his thumb grazed back and forth across her palm.

  The feelings rolling through her, of longing and wanting that were completely inappropriate to have for the man, made her pull her hand away and take a step back.

  A flash of hurt flickered across Cooper’s expressive face at her rejection.

  Paige almost reached out and grasped his fingers, but instead stuffed her hands into her coat pockets.

  “It’s probably a good thing I ran into you,” she finally said, staring at that darn, delectable cleft in his chin. To distract herself, she lifted her gaze slightly and found herself entranced by the smattering of freckles on his nose. How could a grown man have such boyish freckles? Freckles that made her want to kiss each one.

  Annoyed with herself for her wayward thoughts, she looked into his eyes and realized her mistake too late. The twinkling light she noticed there reeled her in as though she had no power to resist. And in truth she didn’t.

  When it came to Cooper James, her brain turned to pudding, her resolve melted, and her insides morphed into a syrupy, heated mess.

  Swiftly dropping her gaze to her feet, she cleared her throat. “What I meant, is that we should probably set a date for your preliminary test shoot. Will you be around in early January?”

  Cooper nodded. “I have to be in Denver on the tenth. Any time before the ninth is fine.”

  Paige pulled out her phone and scrolled through her calendar. “Would the fifth work for you?”

  “Sure. That’d be fine.
Where do I need to go?”

  “To our office. We’ll use the small studio there. I’ll have the contract all ready for you to sign then, too. Mr. Flynn may want to meet you, so it’s possible he’ll be there.” Paige tapped something into her phone. “I just sent you a text with the address and time. Thank you, Cooper. I really do appreciate your help with this.”

  He shrugged. “No problem.” A mischievous grin transformed his face. “It’s not every day a pretty girl chases after me because she wants to plaster photos of my hiney all over the place.”

  Paige blushed and glanced at Nick and Randi as they left the restaurant.

  “Brr. It’s cold out here,” Randi said, wrapping a colorful scarf around her neck and tugging on a pair of gloves. “Thanks for having lunch with us, and thank you, Cooper, for buying.”

  “My pleasure. You girls stay out of trouble. I’ll tattle to Santa if you don’t.” Cooper looked pointedly at Paige.

  “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Charles.” She ignored Cooper and smiled at his grandfather.

  “It’s just Nick, honey, and I’m glad I got to meet you, too.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Paige bumped Randi with her elbow. “Let’s go before we both turn into popsicles.”

  “Happy Holidays!” Randi called to the two men as they walked away. When they’d gone several yards down the sidewalk, she looked at Paige. “Did you and Cooper talk?”

  “We figured out a day for him to come in for the preliminary photo shoot.”

  Exasperated, Randi sighed. “I meant talk about how you’ve been pining after him and how much you’d like to date him.”

  Shocked, Paige spluttered. “Why on earth would you even think I’d discuss any of that with him? Did you forget about Dexter?”

  “No, but I kind of hoped you had.”

  Paige marched over to Randi’s car and waited as her sister unlocked the door. When she did, Paige slid onto the passenger seat, somehow managing to glare at Randi the entire time. “I don’t know why you’ve suddenly taken such a strong dislike to Dexter, but I wish you’d cease in your efforts to push me toward Cooper. That man is… is…”

  “Incredibly handsome, loads of fun, and about as big-hearted as they come,” Randi said, as she backed out of her parking space and drove through the hospital parking garage to the street. “Even you have to admit what he does for the children at the hospital is pretty amazing.”

  “I concede that he is great with kids, and it is very kind of him to visit the sick children at the hospital, but it doesn’t change the fact he drives me crazy.”

  Randi snickered. “That’s kind of the whole point, isn’t it? Dexter doesn’t do anything for you. He doesn’t make you angry, or sad, or happy, or frustrated. He’s like a blob of lumpy day-old oatmeal — just something taking up space that you don’t want to deal with.”

  Paige glowered at her sister. “I can’t believe you just called Dexter a lumpy blob of unpalatable cereal. He’s... he is…” Unbidden, a giggle rolled out of her. Defeated, she turned to Randi. “He is kind of bland.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Are you sure about this, Gramps? Why didn’t Paige say anything to me about it?” Cooper asked as he parked his pickup in front of Randi and Dave’s house.

  Strands of multi-colored lights draped across the front of the house, dripping off the eves, and trailing along the porch. The two trees in the yard, flanking the walk to the door, glistened in the early evening dusk with more twinkling lights.

  Cooper liked the old-fashioned feel of the big colorful lights, even if he wasn’t convinced they should attend the family dinner planned at the Martin home.

  According to Nick, Randi had invited them for Christmas dinner when they had lunch at the restaurant the other day. She assured him Paige wanted them both to be there.

  Cooper had his doubts about Paige wanting to see him. Although he was ready to admit his feelings for her, and had to his grandfather, she was a long, long way from being willing to confess she felt something for him besides irritation and frustration.

  “I told you Randi even sent a text last night to make sure we were coming. So come on,” Nick said, opening the pickup door and getting out.

  Resigned to crashing the family gathering, Cooper slid out of the truck and stamped each foot to shake down the legs of his jeans. He opened the back door of his pickup and lifted a box, carrying it on one arm as he walked with his grandfather down the sidewalk and up the two porch steps.

  At the door, Nick rang the doorbell and they both waited.

  Footsteps echoed from inside the house and Randi swung the door open with a wide smile. “Merry Christmas!” she said, beckoning them inside. She hugged Nick and then Cooper, motioning for them to remove their coats. When they took them off, along with their hats, she left them on a bench near the door. “Come on in and meet my husband.”

  The scents of turkey and spices blended with the fragrant scent of pine as they followed her down a short hallway to a large open kitchen. Holiday carols played in the background as a tall man carved a turkey while Paige and an anemic-looking guy set plates on a table in the dining area.

  “Dave, this is Cooper James, and his grandfather, Nick Charles.”

  Dave wiped his hands on a dish towel and reached out to shake Nick’s and then Cooper’s hand.

  Cooper set down the box he carried and shook Dave’s hand, liking the honest appearance of the man’s face and the mirth lingering in his eyes.

  “Welcome to our humble abode. Randi said she invited some friends for dinner, but kept it a secret about who would join us,” Dave said, tipping his head toward Paige. “I guess you probably already know my sister-in-law.”

  Cooper walked over to where Paige stood next to a guy he immediately labeled as absurd. Dressed in purple skinny jeans, a pink plaid shirt buttoned to his chin and topped with a yellow bowtie, and shiny pointed-toe shoes, he could have been a reject from a clown school. The knot of hair on top of his head looked like a knob on some sort of deranged nerd doll. Under Cooper’s perusal, the thin man drew himself up to his full height, which was just a few inches taller than Paige.

  A light scruff, similar to what a young boy trying to grow his first beard might boast, intermittently dotted his cheeks. Curious, Cooper wondered if a strong wind might topple the effeminate-appearing man as he hovered close to Paige.

  Unable to stop himself, Cooper smiled and started to reach for the man’s hand. “I didn’t realize you two girls have another sister. Hi, I’m Cooper.”

  Dave chuckled, Randi giggled, Paige scowled, and the man appeared thoroughly insulted.

  “This is Dexter Woods, my boyfriend,” Paige said, glaring coolly at Cooper.

  “Hey, Dex, nice to meet you,” Cooper said, smiling broadly as he continued to hold out his hand.

  “It’s Dexter,” the weenie guy said, eyeing Cooper speculatively.

  Cooper took the soft, fish-like hand in his, wondering if the guy could be any bigger of a wimp than he’d already pegged him. When he gave Dexter’s hand a little extra pressure, the guy winced. Immediately, Cooper let his hand drop.

  “Hello, Dexter. It’s nice to meet you,” Nick said, casting Cooper a frown, warning him to behave.

  However, Cooper couldn’t have curtailed his teasing then, even if he wanted to. Not when Paige’s supposed boyfriend was a first-rate sissy.

  No wonder she’d raced all over Las Vegas trying to find a model for her client’s jeans. If the guy she was dating represented those she normally came into contact with, he could see why she had to broaden her search.

  Her brother-in-law seemed normal, though. In fact, Cooper thought Dave was the kind of guy he could hang out with and shoot the breeze.

  Lest he say something to insult Paige or her boyfriend before the meal was even on the table, Cooper wandered back to where Dave carved the turkey.

  “It was so nice of you to invite us to dinner, Randi,” he said
, smiling at the friendly woman. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Mash potatoes?” she asked, handing him a masher and pointing to a pan of cooked potatoes.

  “This, I can handle.” While he took out some of his frustration with Paige on the potatoes, he talked to Dave about the winery where he worked and told him about knowing Kelly through Celia.

  He noticed his grandfather made an effort at drawing Dexter into conversation, but the monosyllable responses he received soon grew old. Nick turned his attention to Paige and Randi. He asked the two of them if they’d been good, and what Santa had brought them.

  Randi showed off a silk scarf that looked like a painting by Monet while Paige held out her wrist, pointing to the watch Randi and Dave had given her.

  “That was a good one about Dexter being their sister,” Dave said in a lowered voice while Nick and Dexter helped Randi and Paige set food on the table and fill the water glasses. “The dude is barely a dude.”

  Cooper smirked. “I can see that. Not that it’s any of my business, but why is Paige wasting her time with a loser like that?”

  “We have no idea. She’s been dating him for a few years, now, but they rarely do anything together. In truth, Dexter has a severe germ phobia and rarely leaves his apartment.”

  “You don’t say.” Cooper glanced over at Dave. “How did Paige meet him?”

  “At the time, Dexter was still working in an office and Paige ran into him when they both hailed the same cab. Randi thinks she feels sorry for him, but that’s ridiculous. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised he came today. I think the last time he left his apartment was when Paige talked him into coming here for Easter dinner.”

  Cooper’s eyebrows shot upward. “That would explain the pasty skin. Does he need to get some medical help?”

  Dave nodded his head. “If his doctor can prescribe it, he’s probably already taking it. It’s not just his germ thing. He’s an acute hypochondriac, thinks he’s allergic to everything, and has a negative view of life in general. Just watch when we sit down to eat. It can get pretty comical.”

  A slight sting of remorse hit Cooper. Despite his tomfoolery, he had an empathetic bent for those with any type of challenge. “Geez, I’m sorry he has problems. I probably shouldn’t have teased him.”