The Cowboy's Christmas Courtship (Cooper Creek Book 7)

by Brenda Minton

  “I’m not going to hurt her.”

  “Are you going to marry her?” Brandon’s dark eyes were fixed on him, and Gage worried that the kid would decide to suddenly defend his sister’s honor.

  “I’m not planning on marrying anyone.”

  “Don’t hurt her...that’s all I’m saying.”

  “I’m just trying to help her out.”

  They were silent for a few minutes before Brandon spoke again. “She’ll probably lose her jobs.”

  “We’ll make sure she doesn’t.” Gage sighed as he turned down the road that headed to town instead of to Cooper Creek Ranch.

  Brandon grinned.

  He drove toward the Mad Cow. It was almost closing time but he thought he would talk with Vera before she replaced Layla. And he knew she’d have to replace her. Vera couldn’t go even a couple of days without a waitress.

  The parking lot was empty except for Vera’s Jeep. Gage left the truck running and set the emergency brake.

  “Stay here,” he warned Brandon.

  “You going to talk to Vera about Layla’s job?”

  “I reckon I am.”

  Brandon grinned again. The kid was getting as bad as Gage’s mom and Granny Myrna. When Gage walked through the door of the little café, the cowbell over the door clanged, and Vera looked up from the cash register.

  “Didn’t you see the Closed sign?” Vera smiled, making it okay to be there at closing time. She glanced at her register tape and then raised her gaze to his again.

  “You know me, Vera, no sense of time and no respect for rules.” He pushed his hat back and grinned at her, not really knowing what he would say without starting a few new rumors.

  “You’re going to have to come up with something better than that.” She pulled off her reading glasses and let them hang from the chain on her neck. “So?”

  “I just wondered...” He looked around at the empty dining room. He could hear someone in the kitchen rattling dishes and singing to the radio. He cleared his throat and thought about that pile of bills he’d seen while he’d been watching Layla sleep.

  “You was wondering?”

  He cleared his throat. “About Layla’s job.”

  Vera pinned him with a look. “I’m going to have to hire someone, Gage. I’d do it myself if I had more hands and a lot more energy, but I don’t.”

  “She’s worried about it.”

  “I’m sure she is. This is going to be hard on her in a lot of ways. I’m just not sure what I can do. The job I gave her was temporary while my other girl is out having her baby. Now I’ve got Layla out.”

  “I’ll do the job for her while she’s gone. We can set up an account for the tips I earn and give it to her.”

  The words were out before he could stop himself. What in the world would people say? So much for keeping Dawson out of his business. Vera gave him a look, eyes narrowed and lips pursed but twitching like she might start laughing.

  “What?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Oh, nothing. I just always wondered what you would look like when it happened.” Then she started laughing, and he blushed from his ears to his neck.

  “I’m helping out a person in need.”

  Vera’s brows arched. “Of course you are, honey. I’m just saying, this is about the sweetest thing you’ve ever done. I’m not surprised, just real impressed.”

  Gage shifted from foot to foot and adjusted his hat. “Well, I should go.”

  “Don’t you want to know your hours?” She laughed a little more. “What about the feed store? Are they going to replace her?”

  He’d forgotten about the feed store. “Guess I’ll talk to them tomorrow.”

  “You’re going to work her job over there and here? Gage, that could start some serious rumors.”

  “I know that, Vera. But people will just have to talk, won’t they?”

  “I guess they will.” Vera came out from behind the counter. She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “She deserves someone like you.”

  “I’m not her someone, Vera. I’m just her friend.”

  “That’s exactly what I meant. Now, you wait right here. I’m going to box you up a coconut cream pie for being so sweet. And I’ll expect you here tomorrow afternoon at four.”

  “I’ll be here.” And for the first time since the conversation started, he managed to take a deep breath.

  People were going to talk. There was no getting away from that. He shook his head and wondered what they would say that he wasn’t already thinking.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Layla moved from the kitchen to the living room, cringing as she sat down. Her abdomen was still tender but she actually felt pretty good. And she was tired of sitting. Three days of being on the couch was enough. But Jesse had insisted she not do any chores outside, and definitely no waiting tables at the Mad Cow.

  She closed her eyes and thought about all of the bills piling up and the money not coming in. She opened her eyes when someone rapped on the front door and then opened it. Angie Cooper had left just an hour ago, after fixing lunch and doing some housework for Layla. She’d had errands to run and promised to be back later.

  The person walking through the door wasn’t Angie, it was Gage. And he had a Christmas tree. He smiled as he dragged it in through the door, a big evergreen, the smell of cedar strong, filling up the house before he even had it completely inside.

  “I brought you a tree.”

  “You certainly did.” She wondered where they would put that big tree and how it would fit in her tiny living room. It looked to be about nine feet tall.

  “It might be a little big.”

  “You think?” She laughed a little as he pulled the tree into her tiny living room and tried to stand it up. “We might have to move the furniture out.”

  “We might. But who needs furniture? A tree, on the other hand, is pretty important.”

  “You’re right...a tree is definitely important.”

  The tree brushed the ceiling. He’d already shoved it into a tree stand. It looked as if he’d tried to trim it. One side seemed fuller than the other, the way trees cut from the field often are. It smelled awfully good, though.

  “Do you like it?” He grinned, steadying the tree and looking from it to her.

  “I think it’s perfect. I do have an artificial tree we could have used.”

  “No way.” He scooted it around the room. “Where do we put it?”

  “Middle of the room? But that might cause problems.”

  “Hall?”

  “More problems.” She looked around the room. “The rocking chair can go in the kitchen for now.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Positive.”

  He dragged the rocking chair out of the room and when he came back he moved the tree where her chair had been. It took him a few minutes of turning and positioning, but he finally had it so that the fullest side faced out. She enjoyed watching him work. He’d pulled off his coat and he wore a heavy, button-up shirt and jeans. His boots were a little muddy. His hat was cocked to the side thanks to the tree brushing his face as he angled it to make it stand straight.

  “Perfect.” Layla clapped her hands and smiled at him. She forgot everything but Gage standing in her living room with the perfect tree.

  “Decorations?” he asked her.

  Layla responded, “Attic.”

  “Great.” He grinned. “Nothing better than climbing a ladder into an attic.

  “It can wait for Brandon to come home.”

  “Nope, I can do it.” He looked around. “How do I get up there?”

  “There’s a door in the ceiling of the utility room.”

  He headed out. She watched him go, and then looked at th
e tree he’d cut down for her. Any other woman would have been doomed by such an act of sweetness. But she knew his charm. She knew how easy it was to fall for that smile and the sweet things he did.

  And yet, she felt her heart stuttering and stammering as it tried to convince itself that Gage Cooper had to be off-limits. For so many reasons.

  A few minutes later she heard him banging and bumping around her attic. She waited, cringing at the vibration of her entire house. And then he returned carrying a rubber container full of decorations.

  He set it down and swiped at a cobweb that clung to his hat. “For someone so organized, that attic is crazy.”

  She laughed at the description. “Yeah, I guess it probably is.”

  He arched his brows at her and pulled the lid off the container. He grimaced. “Is this it?”

  “You were expecting more?”

  “I don’t know.” He pulled out a box of lights. “Lights first. Do you feel up to helping?”

  She was already on her feet. “Of course.”

  He walked to the back of the tree and started at the top. He strung the lights at the top of the tree, and as he reached to hand them to her, their hands brushed. And then on the next pass, brushed again. He moved around the side of the tree the final time, and smiled down at her.

  “Almost done.” He spoke softly, finishing the lights as she watched.

  Layla needed to do something. She reached into the tub and pulled out a box of angel decorations. “These first. I always make sure these go on first.”

  “Are these special?” He took the box from her hands.

  “They were my mom’s favorites.” She shrugged, trying to make him think that it didn’t really matter. But it did. She and her mom had always decorated the tree together.

  “Layla, I’m so sorry.”

  She looked up, blinking quickly to clear her vision. “Gage, don’t. Please. Not right now. I wanted you to know they were her favorite. They’re special to me. But I don’t want to cry.”

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. For a moment she thought he would kiss her, but he didn’t. He ran his fingers through her hair and then he brushed a hand across her cheek.

  As she turned to hang ornaments, her legs weak and her fingers trembling, he reached into the container and pulled out a box of homemade decorations. She smiled, remembering the year she’d made them with Brandon.

  Gage looked at the baked dough decorations. “Also special?”

  “The year after they died, Brandon and I made those together.”

  “Good memories, Layla.”

  “Exactly. That’s why I don’t want to cry. Each year I decorate the tree, I remember the special moments. It’s more than just decorating a tree—it’s the memories, the laughter.” She smiled up at him. “It’s corny, I know.”

  He shook his head. “Not at all.”

  They worked in silence, hanging each ornament while Layla thought about the past, about her parents, about the advice her mom had given her, sometimes at night while her mom nursed a new bruise and Layla’s dad slept off another drinking binge. Advice meant to help Layla have a better life, but advice that had caused her to put her heart away, safely locked up where no one could ever hurt her the way her dad had hurt her mom.

  Those memories weren’t the ones she wanted. What they needed was Christmas music. She reached for the television remote and turned to a station with seasonal music. Gage started to sing along to “Silent Night.” She sang with him.

  Emotions tangled inside her, drawing her closer to the cowboy at her side.

  “I think you should sit down.” Gage wrapped an arm around her waist and led her back to the sofa. “I’ll finish. You boss me around.”

  “That’s a good idea.” She sank into the soft couch and pulled the afghan around her shoulders. “Gage, you’ve been wonderful. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “I have a suggestion.” He smiled as he continued to decorate the tree. “One of these days you’ll agree to have dinner with me.”

  “Gage.”

  “I mean it, Layla. I want to take you out. Maybe to Tulsa. I know a really good steak house.”

  “I don’t know.”

  He hung the last decoration, finding a spot that looked a little bare. “I do know. I know that we’ve become friends and I’d like to take you out.”

  “My life is really complicated.”

  “I know that.”

  “No, you don’t. You’ve been gone a lot. You don’t know how complicated it is to be working two jobs and raising a fifteen-year-old brother.”

  “You’re right, I don’t.”

  “I haven’t been on a date in a long time. It isn’t fair, to go out to dinner with some nice guy when I have all of this going on.”

  “Well, there you go. If you go to dinner with me, you’re not going with a nice guy.” He winked and then he dug around in the tub. “No star or angel for the top of the tree?”

  She shook her head, trying hard to keep up with him, trying to understand where this conversation would take them and what she should say next.

  “This is going to have to be a cowboy tree.” He pulled off his hat and placed it on the top. “Perfect.”

  She had to agree. The tree was perfect. He was perfect, even with his perpetual five o’clock shadow and hair messy from the hat. He wanted to take her to dinner.

  “Gage, I can’t go out with you. A few years ago I tried to date, but it was too complicated. I work a lot. I have a little brother to raise. It’s a package deal.”

  “I know that.” He sat down next to her on the couch. He looked at the tree and smiled. “We did a good job. Now it feels a little more like Christmas in here.”

  “Yes, it does. The hat is a nice touch but you might want that later.”

  He shrugged, reaching for her hand. “I might. But I have others at home.”

  He lifted her hand and brushed a kiss across her fingers.

  “Gage.” She shook her head. “I can’t.”

  “I know. When it comes to stability, I’m not the poster child.”

  “It isn’t that.” Not completely. The late-night talks with her mother came back to her, the warnings, the careful advice.

  “I have Brandon, and he’s pretty much all I can cope with right now.”

  “I know.”

  She touched his hand, tracing her fingers over his. “You have helped him so much.”

  “I’m not sure how.” He chuckled, soft and husky. “It’s not like I’m the best role model.”

  “You’re a good person.”

  “Now I know you’re making things up.” He lifted her hand again, holding it against his cheek. “If you keep telling me that, I’m going to start believing it.”

  “Good.”

  He released her hand and looked at his watch. “I have to go. You’ll be okay until my mom gets here?”

  “Yes, I’ll be fine.”

  He stood, looking down at her with a careful look. “Think about dinner.”

  She nodded. “I will.”

  He left. She watched as he pulled on his coat and reached for a hat that wasn’t there. He brushed a hand through his hair and smiled back at her. Then he was gone and she was alone. She sat on the sofa looking at the tree, at his hat where a star should have been.

  She thought about how it would feel to go out to dinner with man like Gage. She thought about how much Brandon needed him, and how it would break both their hearts when Gage left again.

  * * *

  Gage walked in the back door of Vera’s instead of the front door. He didn’t want people to know he was waiting tables until he actually walked out on the floor. Before coming to the Mad Cow he’d stopped at the feed store to talk to them about working for Layla, and t
hey’d agreed. They needed the help, and Layla needed the money. It was a win-win for all of them.

  Layla would be surprised. And probably a little bit mad.

  “Hey, there’s my new waitress.” Vera stepped out from behind the grill and gave him a careful look. “You’ll do, but you aren’t as pretty as Layla.” Vera laughed at her own joke.

  “Where do I start?” Gage asked.

  “I’ll get you an apron and an order pad. You’ve eaten here enough to know how it works. You give ’em menus, get their drink orders and then go back to see if they’re ready to order. My specials are listed on the board. Salads are in the cooler at the waitress station.”

  “I’ve got it.” He followed her into the dining area. People turned to stare. A few of them called out his name. He waved and kept following Vera.

  She made a big production of handing him an apron and an order pad. “You’re ready for this?”

  “Don’t look so doubtful.” He grinned as he tied the apron around his waist and dropped the order pad in one of the pockets.

  “I’m still surprised that you offered. This is a big deal, Gage. People are going to talk.”

  “I know.” He looked around the dining room at the early crowd that had showed up to make sure they got an order of Vera’s fried chicken.

  “The Pullmans just got here.” Vera nodded to a table with parents and two kids. “Go ahead and take their order.”

  “Will do, boss.”

  Ted Pullman watched Gage with a glint of humor in his eyes that Gage didn’t really appreciate. “Gage, you’re a waitress now? I knew cattle prices were down, but didn’t think they were that bad.”

  “I’m helping Layla Silver out. She can’t work for a while.”

  Mira Pullman smiled at that. “That’s real sweet of you, Gage.”

  “Thanks, Mira. All of my tips go to Layla.”

  “You could just give her the check from the finals,” Ted offered as he picked up the menu.

  Gage had thought about it, but he knew she wasn’t going to take his money. He wrote down their order and headed back to the kitchen. When he walked back to the dining room a few minutes later, the big table in the middle of the room had been filled. His older brother Lucky and his family, Jackson and his family sat down. Great.