A Cowboy Under the Mistletoe

by Jessica Clare

  Cass chuckled absently. “I guess it does. You have Christmas plans? Going to visit family?”

  “Not this year,” Sage said, her heart aching. Christmas had always been a special time with her dad. “Just gonna lie low and probably man the desks on the holidays in case anyone needs anything. Or maybe I’ll go to the big grocery store in Casper and buy groceries for families that need it.” Something that would give her the warm fuzzies and remind her of all the good things in the world.

  “You have a good heart,” Cass told her, and then her face fell. “Can we . . . talk?”

  Sage’s phone buzzed again, and she forced herself to concentrate on the baby in her arms and Cass’s worried frown. “What is it?”

  Cass averted her eyes and traced a finger on the beaten-up postal counter. “It’s about the new guy at our ranch. Jason. I heard you know him? That you two are friends?”

  Oh no. This wasn’t a friendly visit. This was Cass coming to get information. Sage had reassured Jason that his job would be secure if he hadn’t gotten fired on the first day, but this was day two, and Cass was coming to fish for info? Not a good sign. “I met him on Saturday, and we’ve spent some time together. He’s a really nice man. Very kind. He came over for dinner last night.”

  “So you two are dating?”

  “Just friends,” Sage said, and she could feel a blush heating her cheeks. It sounded ridiculous to protest, but she wasn’t going to tell Cass the real reason Jason had been hanging out. He’d asked her to keep his secrets, and she would.

  “Ah.” Cass chewed on her lip. “Here’s the thing, Sage.” Her voice was gentle. “We’re a little . . . concerned. We were told he was an experienced ranch hand when he came out, but he can barely keep his seat on a horse. He says he knows more than he does. What’s worse is that he’s making us all very nervous, so I need to know what’s going on.”

  “Nervous?” Sage had expected to hear the inexperience thing. You couldn’t hide it no matter how hard you tried, but she’d hoped that he’d have enough tools in his toolbox to pick up quickly and it would be a nonissue. Making them nervous was something else entirely. “Why does he make you nervous? He’s a sweet man.” The baby grabbed a fistful of Sage’s hair, and she tugged it back out of his slobbery hand. Jason was tall, sure, but he had the most lovely smile and kind eyes. She didn’t see how he could make anyone nervous.

  But Cass looked upset. Her lips pulled down in an unhappy frown, and she reached over and fussed with one of Travis’s sleeves. “He does some weird stuff. Like, late last night, Dustin found him walking the perimeter of the house. He said he circled around it three times and went to the barn, then came back and went around the house one more time.”

  Oh no.

  “And he’s sweating all the time. And nervous. Like, I’ve never seen anyone sweat so much. He just seems twitchy and distracted. We’re worried he’s on something and it won’t be safe to have him near the babies.”

  This was terrible. She could understand Cass’s fear—with two small children living out at the ranch and Jason being a stranger? Her worry made sense, and poor Jason had been struggling the last few days. She thought of how her father would have reacted to find one of the new ranch hands walking around the house over and over again late at night. Her father probably would have fired him immediately, because he’d have been worried for Sage’s safety. Being a parent meant you had to be cautious about who was around your child, and Jason would be living at the ranch with them.

  She understood, she really did. She just didn’t know what to do. “He’s not on something,” she told Cass, confident she could share as much as that. “It’s not drugs.”

  “But it is something?” Cass asked, her expression worried.

  “It’s . . . not my secret to tell,” Sage said. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be mysterious; it’s just that I promised him he could confide in me, and I can’t break that promise.”

  “It could be the difference between him getting let go tomorrow and staying on for the entire winter, Sage.” Cass’s expression was full of frustration. “It’s going to be just me and Eli over Christmas, and the baby. That means extra work for my husband, and if Jason is trouble, it could put Eli in danger. I can’t have that. You understand, don’t you?”

  “I promised I wouldn’t tell,” Sage said, pleading. “Please understand.”

  “I’m trying.”

  Sage knew Cass, and knew that she wouldn’t be threatening unless things were dire. This wasn’t a shakedown for information, Sage realized, but a last-ditch effort to understand Jason and help him keep his job.

  Oh, she was screwed either way, wasn’t she? If she told Cass Jason’s secrets, he’d keep his job, but she’d have lost his trust. And if she didn’t, he’d get fired. “You’re putting me in a bad spot, Cass.”

  “I know, but I have my husband and my baby at the ranch to think about, Sage. You know I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.” She took her baby back from Sage’s arms. “Please. Help me help him, okay?”

  With a heavy sigh, Sage said, “He has post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in Afghanistan.” She closed her eyes, feeling like the worst kind of traitor. Jason would never forgive her if he found out. “He goes around the building because he’s checking the perimeter. He sweats because he’s nervous and his PTSD flares up in certain situations.”

  When she opened her eyes, Cass’s mouth was hanging open. “Oh. I wasn’t expecting to hear that.” She juggled Travis in her arms. “That poor man.”

  “He’s a good guy,” she promised Cass. “And he’s no danger to the children at all. He’s just having a hard time since his service dog died.”

  “Oh.” Cass’s eyes were soft. “Is he as new as we think?”

  Sage said nothing.

  “Well, silence is a pretty obvious answer, you know. If he was experienced, you’d be rushing to tell me about it,” Cass pointed out.

  “I’ve said enough,” Sage said, flushing. “Just be . . . kind and understanding, all right?”

  Cass nodded, her expression distracted. “Well, that changes things. I’ll talk with Eli.”

  “And no loud, sudden noises, all right?”

  “Sure.” Cass smiled at her and then headed for the door, but her expression was distracted. Her thoughts were obviously on the problem at hand and she’d clearly forgotten about Sage’s presence already.

  Sage hoped she’d made the right decision. It didn’t feel like it, but how much worse would Jason have felt if he’d been immediately fired? He’d emphasized to Sage just how much he needed this job. He’d worked so hard, too, to learn as much as he could in advance.

  And . . . if he’d been fired, he’d probably have left town right away. How awful a person was she that that was part of her incentive to tell his secret? Because she wanted him around.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Sage stewed on revealing Jason’s secret for the rest of the day. Jason didn’t come over that night, but he’d texted her on and off all evening, and she hoped he was in a better place than he was the night before. She hadn’t seen Cass again, or heard from her. Greg, either, really. It had been a quiet day at the office, and she’d worked on her decorations for the town’s Christmas party since she was the decorating committee as well as, well, everything else. Her prizes for the raffles had come in, and she spent most of the day wrapping them in festive paper and stuffing the stockings that would be given to every child that came to the party. She’d paid for those out of her pocket, but Sage didn’t mind. She loved seeing the little faces light up when they got their Christmas goodies.

  Then it was time to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Sage drove home, nervous, fed the cattle and petted their noses for a few minutes so they wouldn’t feel neglected, and then went inside to get ready. It was a casual dinner, since most of the people invited were ranchers and didn’t have tim
e for the fuss of getting fancied up, so she put on jeans and boots, and then, because she was seeing Jason, she found one of her ugliest sweaters—one her father had called “Christmas checkerboard” thanks to its eye-watering green and red repeating squares. She put on a pair of jingle bell earrings and brushed her hair until it was a smooth waterfall down her back, and she fussed with her makeup over and over again, trying to perfect a smoky eye. It just made her look like she had a black eye, though, so she gave up, wiped everything clean, and went for a simpler look—mascara.

  Her phone buzzed with an incoming text just as she finished swiping the wand over her lashes one last time.

  JASON: I’m outside, doing a sweep of the perimeter.

  SAGE: OMW

  She moved to the front door and waited for him to come there and knock so she wouldn’t startle him. She opened the door, smiling, because he looked gorgeous. He’d worn a white button-down shirt with long sleeves, the collar barely open at the neck. His long legs were encased in dark jeans, and he wore the boots she’d given him. He was freshly shaven, and his hair was neatly combed. More than that, he looked like he’d had a good night’s sleep, and she hoped that was a positive sign.

  “Hi, Jason.”

  He stared at her sweater, rubbing his jaw. “That is . . . something.”

  “You like it?”

  “Am I a jerk if I say no?”

  She chuckled. “No, you’re honest. It’s another one of my father’s ugly sweater gifts. It’s meant to be blinding.”

  “Damn, he could pick ’em.” He shook his head. “You gonna wear that to the rehearsal dinner?”

  Sage glanced down at the checkerboard pattern. She knew there was a thing where you weren’t really supposed to glam up so much at a wedding that you outshone the bride, but she was pretty sure this didn’t qualify in that category. “You think it’s too loud?”

  He shook his head and touched the door, heading inside and slipping past her. “You said you wanted to make him jealous, right? That ain’t gonna do it.”

  Oh. Truth be told, she hadn’t been thinking about Greg at all. Her thoughts had been purely on Jason and what would make him smile. She wanted to hear his chuckle. She wanted to see his eyes light up when he looked at her. “I guess. What should I wear, then?”

  “Can I see your closet? I’ll help you pick. We’ll find something that’ll make him sweat a little.”

  “Sounds good.” She led him upstairs and then gestured at her closet. “I have to warn you, though, I’m very much a sweater and jeans sort of girl. I don’t have a lot of dressy wear.”

  “You don’t need it. We just want something that makes him think about what he’s missing out on.”

  “I’m not very good at revenge,” she admitted as he poked through her sweaters. Thank goodness she’d closed her panty drawers earlier, because he was standing about two feet away from her collection of undies and bras, and that would have made her squirm.

  “You’re too nice,” he agreed, and while he flipped through her closet, she studied him. He wasn’t sweating tonight, and the hunted look was gone from his eyes. Maybe having a distraction tonight in the form of the party was helping him stay grounded? If so, that was good, because she was the one that was darn nervous. “Everyone’s going to think we’re dating,” she pointed out to him. “I hope that’s all right.”

  He glanced over his shoulder and grinned at her, and her heart flipped. “I thought that was the point of this.”

  “I mean, it is. But even if it’s not, just having company tonight so I’m not sitting alone is fantastic.” Gosh, she was feeling flustered now that it was time to execute her plan. Would everyone be able to see right through her for the phony she was? They would take one look at how gorgeous he was and wonder what the heck he was doing with a blah person like Sage. She doubted they’d buy the whole “dating” thing. Heck, not even she believed that someone as good-looking as him would be interested in someone like her.

  “Sage, I am going to hang all over you tonight and make everyone there positively jealous of how loving we are, all right?”

  Oh my goodness, her cheeks felt scorching hot. “All right.”

  “Which means no goofy sweaters. We need to show them how pretty you are.”

  Was it possible to pass out from blushing too much? she wondered. He finally pulled out a plain black sweater, her softest one, and held it out to her. “Here, wear this.”

  “Black? To a wedding rehearsal?”

  “You said it was casual, right? No one will care.” He gave her an easy grin. “And no reindeer antlers, all right?”

  With a chuckle, she headed into her bathroom to quickly change. The moment she pulled the sweater on, she felt different. It was a good call, she realized. The sweater was a thin, clingy tunic that showed off her figure and made her eyes look luminous. Or so she thought. It was definitely a different look from ugly sweater–ville. With one last vain fluff of her hair, she headed out of the bathroom and went to rejoin Jason. “Better?”

  He rubbed his mouth. “Damn. Much.”

  Okay, that was an amazing reaction. She beamed at him, and strangely enough, she felt pretty and wanted and desirable. He was gazing at her as if he’d never seen her before, and all of that because of a sweater. How odd. “Shall we go?”

  He crooked his arm in her direction, and she put her hand in his elbow, and off they went.

  * * *

  • • •

  Painted Barrel didn’t have a ton of reception halls or places to hold a party. Actually, there was really just one, the local “saloon” run by Wade. It was the town’s only restaurant and doubled as a meeting place for all kinds of things. Sometimes they had town hall meetings here, sometimes Bible studies or the occasional book club meeting. Tonight it was closed for a private party—Greg and Becca’s rehearsal dinner. The interior of the place was done up beyond its normal country pub look. Tonight, it was festooned in white flowers and garlands, and the tablecloths were red with white napkins, plates, and floral arrangements. A big CONGRATULATIONS banner hung down the length of the bar, and behind it, Wade was pouring drinks. People were already crowding inside to get out of the snow, and as they entered, she saw Greg’s older brother was taking coats while Greg and Becca greeted everyone at the front.

  “Here,” Jason said, and helped her remove her coat.

  The moment she was free of it, static made strands of hair float around her head and her slinky sweater stuck to her skin. Lovely. She fussed at her clothing as Jason deposited their coats, and when he came back to her side, he put his arm around her waist. “Stop fidgeting. You look fantastic.”

  She did? Sage stared at him in surprised pleasure. He gave her waist a squeeze, and she remembered that this was all a game. Right. He was repaying her for some of the lessons. It wasn’t a real date.

  Not that she’d know what one of those felt like, either.

  There was Greg, standing next to Becca in a gray suit. He was wearing a red tie that matched Becca’s festive red dress and smiled at guests as they approached. Becca was clearly more in her element, chattering and beaming at everyone. Greg looked at Sage in surprise as they moved forward. “You made it.”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t miss your rehearsal dinner.” She beamed at Becca, who gave her a giddy smile.

  “Who’s your boyfriend?” Becca asked, gazing up at Jason.

  Sage turned to him, and as she did, she realized how tall he was in comparison to everyone else. He towered over Greg and Becca both, and even Sage felt dainty next to him, and she wasn’t all that dainty a girl.

  “I’m Jason,” he told them, sticking his hand out in greeting. She noticed he didn’t correct them and say that he wasn’t her boyfriend, and she could feel her face growing redder by the moment.

  “How long have you and Sage been dating?” Becca’s eyes were wide, and she kept glanc
ing over at Sage as if full of disbelief. “She hasn’t said a thing.”

  “She’s good at keeping secrets,” Jason told them, and looped his arm over her shoulders as if it were the most casual thing in the world. He smiled at them. “We kinda wanted to keep it just us for a while. You know how it is.”

  “That’s so sweet,” Becca gushed, clinging to Greg’s arm. “Isn’t it, baby?”

  “Sure is.” Greg gave Sage an almost hurt look, as if he felt betrayed that she’d never shared such a secret with him. He didn’t look happy to meet Jason.

  “We’re just having fun,” Sage managed to choke out. Isn’t that what people said when they were dating casually? It was just for fun? She couldn’t imagine. No one ever dated her, much less just for fun. But it sounded good enough.

  Jason chuckled. “Yup.” He leaned in close to Sage and touched one of her earrings. “You’ve got a strand of hair stuck here, sweetheart. Let me get that for you.”

  She remained perfectly still as his fingers moved over her earring, and a shiver went down her spine as he grazed the shell of her ear. “Thank you.”

  “Come on, let’s go get a seat.” Jason nodded at Becca. “It was nice to meet you both.”

  “You too!” Becca gave Sage a look that promised a grilling later on. Not that she’d ever been that close to Becca, but they still talked. Sage suspected she was going to get a visit at the office this week just to hang out and fish for gossip. But hadn’t she expected that? She knew that coming to the party with a date meant that people were going to talk, and she was ready.

  As Jason steered her toward a table, he pulled her close in a half hug, his lips going to her ear. “You need to stop blushing so much, sweetheart.”

  Oh gosh, like she could stop now? Just hearing his sexy whisper and feeling his breath tease her ear was making her face turn bright red. Other parts of her were thrumming with heat, too, which just added to her shyness. “I’ll try.”