Cowboy Boots for Christmas

by Carolyn Brown

  “Heard you had a little dustup with Betsy down at the store.” Verdie pulled out a chair and sat down at the end of the table. “Looks like they may make it a three-way feud.”

  Callie hung her coat over the back of a chair, picked up a doughnut, and bit into it. “Holy smoke, Verdie. These are to die for. Has Orville ever had one?”

  “Hell, no! I didn’t want him hangin’ around my back door whinin’ like a half-starved hound dog,” Verdie answered.

  “You hear that Ilene Gallagher is out after Orville?”

  “Of course. There ain’t much goes on in Burnt Boot that I don’t know. Crazy thing is that she really likes him, but he’s afraid to get tangled up in the feud. Did Gladys exaggerate, or did you really bite Betsy?”

  “She did not exaggerate.” Callie pulled out a chair and sat down.

  “Why didn’t you just knock the shit out of her?”

  “Gladys wouldn’t like us fightin’ in her store.”

  “And this makes Betsy look like a fool, right?”

  Callie reached for another doughnut. “Yes, ma’am.”

  ***

  Verdie had just finished reading a chapter to Martin that evening when Callie peeked into the room.

  “Come right in and join us. Martin is a good kid. He lets me read to him when he’s plenty old enough to read it for himself, but he knows it brings me pleasure.” Verdie smiled.

  Martin had been antsy all afternoon and evening, as if waiting for something. Callie couldn’t put her finger on it, but something just flat-out wasn’t right. His eyes darted from the window to the bunk beds, back to the window, and then to the closet, as if he was casing his own bedroom to rob it.

  “Did I tell you that my feet didn’t get all wet in them boots that Granny Verdie let me borrow? They’re a little big, but, boy, they sure beat wadin’ through snow in my shoes.” Martin changed the subject quickly.

  A hard pang of guilt slapped Callie in the ribs as she sat down on the bottom bunk of the extra set of beds. Cowboy boots wouldn’t make him a bad person, and it was downright crazy to let him continue to work without something warm on his feet.

  “I been thinkin’ that with my first paycheck I’d buy me some of them rubber boots. Santa Claus knows I want cowboy boots for Christmas, and I won’t have the money to buy them for a long time, but rubber boots don’t cost so much and…” He paused for breath.

  “Next time we get into Gainesville, I’ll get you some rubber boots,” Callie promised.

  Finn stuck his head inside the door. “You want the plain old black ones or some with pink hearts on them?”

  Martin did a fake gag. “Come on, Finn. You know boys don’t wear pink ones with hearts on them. I want some black ones or red ones like firemen wear.”

  “So you might be a fireman?” Finn sat down on the bed next to Callie, legs touching from hips to knees, causing her thoughts to drift away from boots of any kind or fashion.

  “Maybe a volunteer fireman right here in Burnt Boot, but my real job will be ranchin’,” Martin said. “Finn, did you ever know of coyotes, the ones like are howling out there tonight, to attack people?”

  “Never heard of it. Besides, you’re in the house, and coyotes never break through windows to get into a house. They run from people,” Finn said.

  “I like it when we’re all together in my room for just a little while,” he said.

  “Well, young man, it’s time for us all to get into our own rooms so you can go to sleep. Good night, all y’all,” Verdie said. “It’s so good to be back home.”

  She headed off to her room, and Callie started toward the living room with Finn right behind her. She sat down on the end of the sofa and pulled her legs up under her, tucking a fluffy red throw tightly around them.

  “He’s up to something,” she said.

  “Yep.” Finn sat down beside her and shifted her feet into his lap. Starting at her toes, he massaged one at a time. “Don’t know if it’s a ploy for cowboy boots, or if he’s going to sneak out the window and go coyote hunting, but he’s definitely up to something. Did you notice the way his eyes kept going to the window?”

  “I did,” she said. But thoughts of her young nephew were fading fast as Finn worked on her feet. “You could go into business. We could make more on foot massages than we can raisin’ cattle. Big old steamin’-hot cowboy like you with those hands, wow, just wow.”

  One dark eyebrow jacked up toward the ceiling.

  “Stop it. I wouldn’t really want you to be touching another woman,” she said.

  “Jealous?”

  “No, just protecting my interests. There’s a major difference between jealousy and protecting one’s property.” She smiled.

  The eyebrow went up another notch. “And I’m your property?”

  “Shhh! Did you hear that?” Callie whispered.

  Shotgun raised his head and growled.

  Pistol cocked his ear to one side and waited.

  Angel didn’t even open her eyes.

  Finn shook his head. “Old houses groan with the cold. The dogs are going back to sleep, and the cat didn’t even wake up. Now where were we?”

  She threw a leg over his lap, and his arms went around her as she rested her cheek on his chest. Hard muscles barely muffled the steady beat of his heart. She liked that about Finn O’Donnell. He was steady and true, kind and honest, and he took in strays, which testified to his kindness.

  ***

  The window creaked when Martin raised it all the way to the top, letting in a blast of arctic air. “Y’all okay? I know it’s cold, but we’re lucky it ain’t rainin’ or sleetin’.”

  “It was scary and we heard coyotes and we’re cold,” Adam said.

  “But we kept going until we saw your light.” Olivia shivered.

  “We done talked about y’all hidin’ in the barn, but it’s too cold. Give me your hand, Ricky, and I’ll help you inside. There’s plenty of beds in here and it’s warm,” Martin said.

  “But what if your aunt finds us?”

  “I’ve got an idea that will keep her out of my room,” he said.

  “Okay, anything to get warm. My feet are so cold, I can’t feel them,” Olivia said.

  All three kids scrambled over the windowsill. Martin put a finger to his lips and tiptoed to the door, peeked out, and shook his head. “Granny Verdie’s light is out, and if Callie had heard anything, she’d already be on the way, so she must be asleep, too. Take off your coats. What did you bring with you?”

  “Nothing,” Ricky said.

  “Okay, then you guys can use some of my pajamas. Olivia, you got a problem sleeping in one of my shirts and my loungin’ britches?”

  She shook her head.

  Martin opened up a drawer and handed out sleep clothing and then opened his closet door. “You can change in here, Olivia. And we’ll hang up y’all’s jeans so they’ll be dry tomorrow mornin’. Anybody hungry?”

  All three heads bobbed up and down.

  “I snuck some peanut butter, bread, and jelly in here while nobody was lookin’. And I got some milk and some plastic cups.”

  “I hope they don’t take you to jail for helpin’ us,” Olivia said.

  “We can’t let y’all get split up.” Martin pulled the wooden thread spool at the end of a long cord, and the light came on in the closet. “I cleared out the whole floor, so anyone knocks on the door and I’m not here, you get in here and shut the door. It’ll be your hiding place until we can figure out our next step.”

  It was well after midnight when all four bunks were filled.

  “Martin?” Olivia whispered from the bunk above his.

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you. I get mad at my brothers, but I don’t want to never see them again,” she said.

  He remembered how terrified he was when he was in foster care. “I’d just die if they took me away from Callie, so I know how you feel.”

  “They’re already asleep. They were brave little guys, even when the coyot
es howled.” She yawned.

  “Good night, Olivia,” Martin said.

  “This bed is so warm. I could just stay here forever.”

  ***

  Callie awoke early and made her way to the kitchen, where Verdie was already sitting at the table with a mug of coffee in front of her.

  “Good mornin’. Coffee is made and oven is heating up for biscuits. Thought we’d start off the day with sausage and eggs. Snow hasn’t melted much, but the sun will take it down some today. Then it’ll be muddy tomorrow, and on Monday we’ll get a fresh layer on top of frozen mud. You and Finn still plannin’ on runnin’ in this shit?”

  Callie poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. “This is Saturday. We take the weekends off, but I have to admit, it just makes Monday rougher. Did you sleep well?”

  “Thought I heard a window squeak and then voices, but convinced myself I was dreaming. Pistol would have told us all about it if anyone came around the house,” Verdie answered. “But for the most part I slept much better than I did down there at the funny farm. Home is where your heart is.”

  “Home is where your boots are, according to Finn.” Callie smiled. “Thank you for letting Martin borrow Patrick’s boots.”

  Verdie grinned. “He would have liked the idea of a kid wearing them.”

  “Verdie, I love your cooking and I love having you here at the ranch, but you don’t have to make three meals a day around here. You can be our guest,” Callie said.

  “Got to stay busy at something, or my bones will think I’ve quit. If that happens, the damned old things will stop working altogether, and I’m not ready for that. If it makes you feel better, we’ll work together. You get out the eggs, and I’ll start making sausage patties.”

  “Good mornin’, ladies.” Finn’s voice still had the morning gruff in it. He sported bedroom hair, and his blue eyes had that early-morning look in them that was so damn hot it took Callie’s breath away. She stepped back and her shoulder touched his hard chest. She poured a cup of coffee with trembling hands and carefully handed it to him.

  “Martin must be worn out. He’s sleeping later than usual,” Verdie said.

  “Good mornin’.” Martin yawned from the doorway. “Is that sausage I smell? And waffles? I could eat a horse. Y’all better make a lot.”

  “Not waffles. Just eggs and sausage and hot biscuits,” Callie said.

  “Did you hear from Polly yet?” Martin asked.

  “She might call today,” Verdie said. “How many biscuits does a boy who’s hungry enough to eat a horse need?”

  “A lot.” Martin poured himself a glass of orange juice and plopped down in a kitchen chair. “I’m worried about my friends, Callie. Why can’t they come here? If we can’t afford it, I don’t need nothing for Christmas now that Granny Verdie gave me some boots. I’ll even wear them butt-ugly shoes to school when my black ones wear out.”

  “It’s complicated,” Finn said. “There are laws and things that have to be done for kids to be placed in foster care.”

  “‘Complicated’ is just a word big people made up to say no.” He pouted.

  Finn laid a hand on Martin’s shoulder. “It’s like this, son. There’s lots of paperwork involved before folks can be foster parents, and they prefer the people who are going to be foster parents to be married. Even if we wanted to take the kids, the law probably wouldn’t let us.”

  “Then the law needs to be changed. You and Callie are the best parents in the world, we even got Verdie to be the grandma, and we got lots of beds for them.”

  “It would take a miracle,” Verdie said.

  “Well, then, I want a miracle for Christmas,” Martin said.

  Chapter 16

  “What do you think, partner? Shall we feed cows or take care of the horses first thing this morning after breakfast? Or would you like to stay in and read and let me and Callie do the work?” Finn asked.

  “Cows. They’ll be hungry,” Martin answered quickly.

  “Smart move. That’s what I would have said, too, because once the sun melts the snow, it’s going to get muddy, and we could get stuck out there,” Finn said.

  “What are you going to do this morning, Callie?” Martin asked.

  “There’s always Saturday cleaning that has to be done,” Callie said.

  “Well, don’t go in my room. I’m working on a Christmas present, and I don’t want you to see it until Christmas day,” he said.

  “Oh, really?” she asked.

  “Promise you’ll stay out of my room,” he said.

  “I promise.” She agreed, but she was a bundle of mixed emotions that morning. And the churning deep in her gut had a hell of a lot more to do with this new relationship with Finn than whatever Martin had in his room.

  Ever since she had awakened, she’d felt like the other shoe was about to drop. Add that to the heat between her and Finn, and she had jitters that had nothing to do with black coffee that morning. Then there was Verdie, bless her heart. Callie had only known her for three days, but it felt like they’d been a part of each other’s lives forever—as if she was the grandmother Callie never had. A hell of a lot of change going on, and it was unsettling.

  “Oh no!” Martin pushed his chair back so quick that it fell on the floor with a thud. He took off for the bathroom with a hand over his mouth, and Callie followed right behind him.

  “Open this door,” she yelled when she heard the lock click.

  “I’m not going to upchuck. It’s going the other way. Would you take my place this morning with the feeding? I’ll be better in a little while,” he hollered.

  “I can’t leave you here alone if you’re sick,” she said.

  “Granny Verdie is here,” he said. “I’ll be fine, but it would be awful if this happened out there in the pasture.”

  “Are you sure?” Callie asked.

  “Finn needs your help,” he called out.

  “I’ll have my phone. If you need me, you’ll promise to call, right?” she asked.

  “I promise. Just go help Finn, and tell him I’m sorry,” Martin said.

  She turned around to find Verdie right behind her. “Probably nerves over his little friends. We’ll be fine. I’ll give him a dose of that pink medicine. Raised my boys on it, and there’s a brand-new bottle in the medicine cabinet.”

  “I’ll take it,” Martin yelled.

  “And it will make you all better by noon. You’ll probably be ready to build a snowman after dinner,” Verdie shouted through the closed door.

  Finn peeked down the hallway. “Hey, is my partner sick?”

  “That one is. I’ll be standing in this morning,” Callie said.

  “Does he need to go to the doctor?” Finn asked.

  “I think it’s a case of nerves,” Verdie whispered. “He’s so worried about those children that it’s upset his stomach. He’ll be fine.”

  Cassie dressed in jeans, a sweatshirt, and her new coat and met Finn in the living room. Shotgun got up slowly from the front of the fireplace, shook his fur, and ambled toward the door. Pistol looked up, shut his eyes, and went back to sleep.

  “Pistol isn’t much of a cow dog.” Callie laughed.

  Suddenly, as if he understood what she said, a low growl came from his throat, and he set up a yapping that would have raised the dead all the way down in Fort Worth. He ran to the door, hackles standing up like porcupine quills and carrying on until Angel trotted across the floor sideways, her fur puffed out like a dandelion to put the fear of a limping yellow kitten in whatever was on the porch.

  Finn opened the door to find Sheriff Orville with his finger headed toward the doorbell.

  “Good morning. Guess that noisy mutt announced my arrival.” Orville sent a bright smile toward Callie.

  “Can I help you?” Finn asked.

  “We’ve got a call from the Laytons up the road from you. Their foster kids went missing last night. We’re just checking the neighbors to see if anyone saw or heard anything,” he said.
>
  “Well, come on in where it’s warm. We’re just getting ready to do chores, but those kids sure aren’t here. You want a cup of coffee?” Finn asked.

  “No, thank you. I got a cup in the car. Mr. Layton says that the kids have taken quite a likin’ to the little boy who lives here. He was hoping the kid might have talked to them and would know where they might be headed or holed up. You didn’t tell me you had a kid.”

  “That would be my nephew, not my child. His name is Martin. He is friends with the kids and is very upset about them going back into foster care. He’s not feeling well, but I can ask him. Please come inside, Sheriff,” Callie said, but she caught the sly wink from Finn and blushed.

  He nodded and stepped into the living room. “I’d appreciate that, Callie.”

  Callie started to swing the door open but remembered that he’d asked that she not barge into his room, so she shouted through it. “Hey, Martin, the sheriff is out here. Your friends are missing, and Mr. Layton is worried. Have you talked to Olivia?”

  “Hot damn! Joe wants a doughnut,” Joe yelled.

  The door opened immediately, and there was Martin, all the color drained from his face. “Oh, no! Did someone steal them? We should have taken them in, Callie. Now they’re gone, and it’s cold, and what if they freeze or starve? What’s Joe hollerin’ about? Did Verdie make doughnuts?”

  “You just get to feeling better. The police will find them.” She touched his forehead, but he wasn’t feverish.

  Evidently Joe could smell doughnuts, and that set him off. “Run, dog, run. Cops,” he said loudly.

  Orville raised an eyebrow and she shook her head.

  “He’s upset because he wanted us to take them, but we aren’t approved foster parents. Sorry about the bird.”

  “Well, thank you. Call me if you hear anything. Small as Burnt Boot is, we’ll find them.”

  “Now I’m really worried,” Callie said as soon as the door closed. “I hope they’re holed up in a warm barn. Maybe they’ve gotten into the school or the church. That’s the two places they know won’t be occupied on a Saturday.”

  Finn draped an arm around Callie’s waist. “Let’s get the chores done, and if they haven’t found them by then, we’ll help with the search. Just knowing we’re out there will make Martin feel better.”