by K C West
PJ put Cleo down. Without hesitation, she marched up to Pup and swiped his nose with her paw. Pup’s cry was either the result of the momentary sting of Cleo’s claws or complete surprise at this smaller animal’s attack. He dropped into a submissive position. PJ and I stared in disbelief at our usually brave and fearless animal. Before we could do anything, Jackie rushed in to play with Pup’s tail. He turned his head to see what manner of creature had become so familiar.
“I think they’re going to be okay,” PJ said. “We’re now a family of five.”
“Yes, and these two are going to be into everything.” I released Pup from the leash. He watched the two kitties, obviously mindful of little stinging claws.
“Keep an eye on them,” I said, “while I go and unload the cat and dog food.” When I returned several minutes later, Pup had retired to the corner of the room for a nap. Jackie and Cleo were nestled as close to him as they could get.
“They’re fine,” I said. “Looks like the introductions exhausted all three of them. Let’s fix some lunch. When those two gals wake up, they’ll be hell on wheels.”
“Yeah, Pup has earned that leather chew bone we bought for him.”
We set out plates, bread, and lunch meat. PJ turned to me. “I’m so happy to be living here with you and Pup, and now Cleo and Jackie. We have the perfect family.”
I took her into my arms and held her. “Indeed we do.”
Our kiss was interrupted when Jackie, rushing into the kitchen, slid on the polished wood floor. The more she scrambled to regain her footing, the more she slid around, until she was an out of control bundle of fur and legs. Cleo’s mad dash sent a scatter rug flying.
After all that, Pup came and stood in the doorway. “Did I just see him shake his head?”
“I think you did, Kim. And can you blame him?”
Chapter 5
Kim and I slipped into a booth at Tio Tomas, our favorite cafe in Santa Fe. It was a small, cozy, faux adobe style building located on Cerrillos Road, offering inexpensive local cuisine and friendly hospitality.
Rita, the petite owner, approached with menus. “Hola, you two. Do you need these, or will it be the usual?”
Kim looked at me. “The usual, por favor.”
“Si. Lo mismo,” I echoed.
Our favorite entree was The Santa Fe Trail Steak, smothered with chiles and grilled onions. We ordered Corona Extras to drink with it. The only question was which kind of chile peppers to have on our steaks.
“Red or green?” Rita asked, predictably.
“Make mine ‘Christmas’ since it’s only a few days away,” I said.
Kim ordered the same.
“You got it.” Rita hurried away to get our drinks.
Kim’s brow furrowed. “Are you sure you can handle green peppers as well as red ones? That’s hot stuff, you know.”
“Oh, I can handle hot stuff.” I gave her shin a tap with my boot. “I handle you, don’t I?”
“Whoa. Such feisty talk. I didn’t realize I was so difficult.”
“You can be a handful,” I said, making us both smile. “But I’m just getting into the Christmas spirit. It’s a treat to see more of you now that your rough draft is finished.”
Rita brought our beer and a plate of nachos. We sipped and ate in silence. I took a mental inventory of my purchases and tried to recall if I’d missed anybody. As impossible as it seemed, I thought I was finished buying gifts.
“So, are we finished with our holiday shopping?”
“Probably,” I said, as our sizzling steaks arrived.
“Gracias, Rita,” we murmured in unison.
“De nada, chicas. Enjoy.” She left us to attend to other customers.
The green chiles were more than hot, they were explosive. In seconds my nose and eyes were watering. “Wow!” I opened my mouth to fan cool air into it, and took several gulps of the cold Mexican beer.
“What were you saying about handling the hot stuff?” Kim tried to cover her smirk.
Rita arrived before I could think of a scathing retort.
“Do you need anything else?”
We laughed because the portions were always so big there was usually no room for more. I did have one request, though.
“Agua! Water, please, and lots of it.”
“I was about to say that your Spanish is improving, PJ, but I see you need relief from the chiles verdes right now. No?”
“Si.” I felt my face heating.
She quickly placed a basket of crackers and extra tortillas in front of me. “These work best. Chewing on them should help.” As she slipped our bill on the table between us, she said, “Feliz Navidad.”
“Thanks, Rita, same to you.” Kim picked up the bill and checked the total. It was a habit from her undergraduate days of pinching pennies. I busied myself putting out the raging fire in my throat.
“Will we see you Christmas Eve at the Farolitos?” Kim asked, opening her wallet.
“Of course. Miguel and I never miss the stroll along Canyon Road to see them. You will love all the glowing candles on the walls and roofs, the hot cider, and the carol singing.”
She took Kim’s payment and we finished our drinks. Wishing her Merry Christmas once more, we stepped out into the clear, crisp air, clambered into the Rover, and drove toward home.
“You know, Jasper and Little Bird are cooking Christmas dinner for us at their place, so I asked them to come over on Christmas Eve. We can all go on the Farolitos Walk together. Is that okay with you?”
Kim steered with her left hand and used her right to squeeze my thigh. “Of course, honey. We can serve them eggnog and cookies.” Her eyes sparkled. “The place will be completely decorated by then, and the artificial tree with all its unbreakable ornaments will be up.”
“It’s looking a lot like Christmas already.”
“You know I’ve never been much on celebrating the holidays. I’ve never had a good reason.” She captured my hand and held on. “That’s all changed now that I have you and Pup and the kitties. Christmas at the ranch, with all the changes and all the decorations, should be really great.”
“Don’t forget the holly and greens I bought today for the windowsills and bookshelves.”
We stopped for a red light. Keeping her eyes on the signal, Kim managed a throaty chuckle. “Uh-huh, and the large quantity of mistletoe for the doorways.”
“I didn’t think you noticed that.”
“I try not to miss much, if it involves me. Mistletoe just might.”
“That’s the idea, most observant one.”
We grinned at each other until the light turned green and Kim concentrated on her driving.
“It’s plastic, though, so we don’t have to worry about the animals chewing on anything poisonous.”
“How would they ever get to it? On second thought, if there’s a way, Cleo will figure it out. I never saw a cat get into so much mischief.”
“You have to admit that they’re great. It’s been wonderful having them, hasn’t it?”
“I can’t imagine life without them,” Kim said. “And Pup is over his initial shock. He loves them as much as we do.”
We pulled onto our private driveway and stopped near the front door to unload the Rover. Pup came out to greet us and the cats slinked out as far as the doorway. When Pup had calmed down, and no food materialized, Cleo and Jackie turned around and resumed their own agendas.
We carried our purchases inside, and I detected a faint lemon scent in the hallway.
“Little Bird’s already finished cleaning. Watch your feet, everyone.”
Kim sniffed the air. “Not only has she finished cleaning, but I believe she’s baking something fantastic.”
We stacked our purchases on the table in the hallway and followed our noses to the kitchen. Little Bird was taking a batch of Christmas cookies out of the oven.
“Careful. They’re hot.”
Kim ignored her and coaxed a cookie from the tray and into her mouth.�
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“Mmm. Ah…” She hopped around, licking her fingers, fanning her mouth.
“What did I tell you?” Little Bird stood with her hands on her hips, shaking her head.
“Oh, but they’re so good.” Kim opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water to cool her lips. She grinned at Little Bird. “Well worth a little pain.”
We parked ourselves around the large oak kitchen table and sampled some shortbreads and sugar cookies. Kim finished her bottle of water while Little Bird and I sipped some hot Earl Grey. We let Pup try a tiny bite of cookie and then encouraged him to snack on his own supply of kibble. Before Little Bird left for the day, we finalized our plans with her for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Kim put on some holiday music and we moved into the dining area and living room to finish hanging the last of our decorations. Glowing embers in the living room’s kiva fireplace created a cozy atmosphere. We stretched out on the sofa under a soft Pendleton blanket. Pup and the cats found comfortable spots near the hearth and went to sleep.
We delayed our dinner for several hours because of our large meal at Tio Tomas. Napping together on the sofa under a blanket seemed like a much better alternative. Eventually, my stomach rumbling grew too noisy to ignore, and I padded into the kitchen, put the chicken enchiladas Little Bird had left for us into the oven to reheat, and set the timer. Pup and the girls followed me, whining and whimpering enough to force a replenishment of their food and water supply. Pup needed to go outside after that, and I set the kitchen table while I waited for him to return. Once the animals were settled, I returned to Kim’s side, trying not to wake her. With a contented sigh, she drew my body against hers and we snuggled together, letting our stockinged feet protrude from the bottom of the blanket.
“Are you asleep?” I asked after what I thought was a few minutes.
“Yes.”
I kissed her cheek and chin. “Aren’t you the funny one?”
“I try to be, every now and then. What is it?” I could tell from her slow speech that she was still drowsy.
“I just wanted to tell you that I’ve never been happier or more content than I am right now. Being with you, loving you, and living on this ranch… it’s heavenly.”
She angled her head and we shared a thorough kiss. “Having you here makes my life complete. I’ve always loved this ranch, but it just wasn’t a home until you came here to live with me. Loving you and having you return my love makes me the happiest woman alive.”
“Aw. Who’s this hopeless romantic? And what have you done with Kim?”
“Hey!”
“I’m only kidding. It’s wonderful to hear you say that. We may have our disagreements, but all in all, I’d say this marriage is a total success. You’ve such a romantic soul.” I nipped her lower lip and she growled. “Sometimes, when I kiss you, Kimmy, I swear I hear bells ringing.”
“That’s the kitchen timer. Our dinner’s ready.”
“That was a short twenty minutes.”
I got up and pulled her toward the back of the house. When we reached the doorway into the kitchen, I pointed upward. “Look at that. It’s mistletoe.”
Kim shook her head. “Doesn’t count. It’s plastic.”
“Sure it does.”
“Oh, all right.” She gave me a perfunctory kiss.
“Well, put some effort into it.”
“But our dinner’s ready.”
I pushed her away mid-pucker. “All you care about is your stomach.”
“I love kissing you, but I’m hungry.”
I gave in to her. I always did when she teased me like that. “C’mon, then. Let’s get your tummy filled.” I pulled the enchiladas from the oven and added a salad of fresh greens and tomatoes.
“Did you see that we got a Christmas card from Donny Benton?” I asked, as we ate our meal.
Kim nodded, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I wondered what had become of him and his wispy goatee after he left our group in Arizona.”
I took a long swallow of water. “You know he went to California for more courses after he earned his doctorate.”
“That’s when I lost track of him.”
“He sent me a few e-mails a month or two ago. I think he’s gone into partnership with some electronics expert and they’re looking to start a business doing digital mapping of archaeological sites. Soon he could be on the cutting edge of some big developments.”
She gave me a penetrating look. “Has he asked you for money?”
“We’ve discussed a loan, but I’m still reviewing the data. I haven’t committed to anything yet.”
“It’s not my place to advise you on how to spend your money.”
“No, it isn’t,” I said, a little too firmly.
“But, I do worry that he might be taking advantage of your friendship.”
I put down my fork and pushed back from the table. “I appreciate your concern, and I’ll continue to review the figures with Dad’s accountants and legal team. I have to tell you, though, it looks exciting.”
“Donny can be very persuasive, honey. He talked me into an extension on a major paper deadline once, just because he’d been putting together a PowerPoint presentation for the Arizona Historical Society and didn’t finish the reading assignment for my course.”
“I understand, and I’ll be careful. It was good to hear from him again. I’ve missed all the gang from our first expedition.”
Kim stood and gathered our dishes. “That was a special bunch, and I’m glad most of them have stayed in touch.”
I joined her in clearing the table. She rinsed our plates and silverware and put everything into the dishwasher. I stood behind her while she worked, wrapping my arms around her waist when she finished. “So, what’s for dessert?” she asked.
“You, gorgeous.” I tightened my grip and hugged her before leading us both to the bedroom.
“PJ, sometimes you’re insatiable.”
I fingered the buttons on her flannel shirt. “But I don’t see you resisting.”
Chapter 6
Even though I hadn’t opened my eyes, I could tell it had snowed during the night. Snowed a lot. I knew by the wooly blanket of silence that seemed to engulf the house. Until last night, we’d seen snow in the mountains, but not that much in our valley and not much at all for February. The weather gurus were warning of drought conditions, but what did they know? Their predictions were wrong as often as they were right.
I dared to slowly open first one eye, then both. The window was a frame for the setting moon, whose silvery glow reflected off the snow and bathed our room in soft light. A nearby tree glistened proudly in its new mantle of white. When I reached for my watch, the glowing dial showed just five o’clock, much too early to get up. I nestled myself against PJ’s warm body, hearing her moan.
“It snowed during the night,” I whispered.
“And you woke me up to tell me this?” She hiked the blanket up to her chin. “It’s a great excuse to sleep in.”
“Nah, it’s too pretty a day for that, but we can sleep a little longer, if you’d like.”
“Works for me.” She turned into me, pressed her cheek to my neck and went back to sleep. Her skin smelled faintly of raspberry soap.
It was daylight when I awoke again, and PJ was snoring softly beside me. After easing myself from her slackened embrace, I got up, pulled on my robe, and viewed the Christmas card scene from the window. Cleo and Jackie were thoroughly awake and desperate for a meal, so I slid my feet into my fuzzy slippers and shuffled into the kitchen. Pup had raised his head when I got up, but remained in the bedroom, curled up on the rug at the foot of our bed. I made two cups of Stash’s Earl Grey, added honey and a splash of low-fat milk to PJ’s, and returned to the bedroom, shrugging off my robe and slippers.
After placing both mugs on the bedside table, I dove under the covers and put my hands on PJ’s warm belly.
“Yikes.” She turned onto her side, defensively. “You’ve got ice cubes for
fingers.”
“Sorry.” I rubbed my fingers across her bare back. She twisted and slapped at my hands.
“Go away. You’re making me cold.”
“But I brought some tea to keep us warm and help us wake up.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” She sat up, and placed pillows against the headboard.
“You were too busy squealing at me.” I put two pillows up on my side.
“Find us a couple of shirts, would you, please. It’s too distracting and too chilly for both of us to sit here naked.”
“If you insist.” I located two T-shirts, slipped one over my head, and tossed the thinner one to PJ.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Thanks a bundle,” she said, donning the almost transparent garment. “Now then, let’s have tea.”
I picked up the mugs and climbed in beside her. “Here you go, your highness.”
She claimed her beverage and gave me a kiss. “You’re a treasure. Slightly perverted, but a treasure nonetheless.”
“I know.”
“And so disgustingly humble, too.”
“Right on all counts.”
We sipped our hot beverages contentedly, and I enjoyed the view of PJ’s nipples through the fabric of her shirt.
“Where have the days gone?” PJ asked, her big toe nudging my foot under the blanket.
“I don’t know.” My toe prodded back. “It seems like just last week we were celebrating the New Year with Jasper and Little Bird, and now we’re smack dab in the midst of winter.”
“The worst part is, I hardly get to see you between your edits on the book with Glenna and my lectures and committee meetings for various charities and the Santa Fe Four Hundredth Birthday celebration. We don’t spend enough quality time together.”
“I know you love to help out with various causes, and I certainly think some of them are deserving of your time and money, but sometimes you have to say no. People will take advantage of you if you don’t carve out some time for yourself.”