Long, Tall Cowboy Christmas

by Carolyn Brown

  Lila rolled up on her toes and kissed Brody. “See you in an hour.”

  “Or two.” He laughed.

  “Take your time.” Nash didn’t kiss Kasey, but the slow, sexy wink he sent her way brought up scenes from the songs from the night before and put a nice blush on her face.

  “What’s that all about?” Lila asked when they went into the nearest western wear store to fill Hope’s list first.

  “What?” Kasey tried to act innocent.

  “Spill it, sister. You had makeup sex, didn’t you?”

  Kasey nodded. “You ever had music sex?”

  “What’s that?” Lila laid two leather billfolds on the cashier’s counter while Kasey gathered half a dozen pairs of wool socks.

  “Country music mixed CD and the…well, if it’s a fast song…and if it’s a slow one…it’s a horizontal dance that keeps up with the beat with…” Kasey blushed all over again.

  “I get it and no, but it damn sure sounds like fun. How long does the CD last?”

  “The one he’d made lasted an hour and it ended on ‘God Blessed Texas.’” She giggled.

  “Oh, I’ve got to give this a try for sure. A whole hour? Did you replay it or did you fall asleep?” Lila asked.

  “We didn’t replay it, but we didn’t fall asleep the next two times and when I woke up he’d carried me upstairs and put me to bed so that the kids…and now I feel like my face is on fire.”

  “Wow! That’s pretty damned impressive.” Lila paid the bill and shoved the receipt into the bag with the items. “So is this going to get serious?”

  “He’s not avoiding me this mornin’, so maybe.”

  They started out of the store when Kasey remembered that she didn’t have a thing under the tree for Nash. He should have three presents like everyone else, and then a Santa present. But what on earth did she buy for him, especially when Lila was with her? Socks were warm but so impersonal. A billfold was the same, and besides that’s what grandmothers gave to her grandsons—definitely not what she should give Nash—especially after last night.

  “Can you believe it’s only a week and a couple of days until Christmas?” Lila asked.

  “What have you bought for Brody?”

  “Nothing yet, but you can bet your fanny that he’s getting a mixed CD for one of his presents. Let’s go into that store right there. I really like that plaid shirt in the window.” Lila pointed. “Don’t worry, I’ll let Brody think the music sex was all my idea.”

  “Thank you!” All the air left Kasey’s lungs in a loud whoosh. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that, but it’s been a long time since I had a friend I could talk to about anything. In the army, the wives had to be close as sisters and we…well…” she stammered.

  Lila draped an arm around her shoulders. “I never had a girlfriend that I could be this open with and it’s pretty awesome.”

  “Yep, it is,” Kasey agreed.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  A stiff breeze rattled the limbs of the old scrub oak tree, but the stars were bright in the dark sky that evening. Nash couldn’t see any sign of a moon, but one star did look brighter than the others. If modern-day shepherds were on their way to see the new baby, he doubted that it was shiny enough to lead the way.

  If someone had told him six weeks ago that he’d be sitting in front of a manger that held one of Emma’s baby dolls all wrapped in swaddling clothing with Kasey McKay next to him, he would have told them they were insane.

  “I keep expecting a lightning bolt to flash through the sky and zap me, pretending to be someone as holy as Joseph,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.

  “It’ll get me first,” Kasey answered.

  “Y’all are supposed to be quiet,” whispered Jace, dressed as a shepherd.

  “I’m glad I don’t have to do this every day,” Rustin said.

  Paul chuckled. “I don’t think I could be a wise man for more than an hour a year.”

  “Shhh…” A second wise man, Fred, shushed them. “If we talk, then everyone who walks by will want to visit with us.”

  Nash drew Kasey close to his side when she shivered. She wore jeans and a turtleneck sweater under the robes, but it was getting colder by the minute. Lila and Brody had been supposed to play the parts of Mary and Joseph in the live nativity, and he’d been slated to be a shepherd so he could take control of two sheep. But the couple who were helping with the inside program got sick at the last minute and Hope made changes. Nash didn’t think that she’d checked with God about putting him and Kasey in the roles of Mary and Joseph or how the whole town of Happy would feel about it, but there they were, kneeling beside a box made with old weathered barn wood filled with hay and a doll baby with blond hair. The crazy thing was that he couldn’t think of a place he’d rather be unless it was sleeping with Kasey beside him.

  There had been no nightmares the past three nights, no cold sweats or waking up with a head full of miserable memories. With Kasey in his arms, he’d slept like the proverbial baby. They had learned to set an alarm, and she was either in her room or the kitchen by the time the kids were awake.

  “Mama, I got to go to the bathroom,” Rustin whispered.

  “You know where it is,” Kasey told him as she reached under her robe and fished her phone out from her pocket to check the time. “And it’s only ten minutes until we finish here, so you don’t have to come back. Find Nana and stay with her.”

  “This wise man’s knees are about to fold, so I’m going inside, too,” Paul said. “Gracie is watching Silas and Emma, so we’ll add Rustin to the mix.”

  “What about the sheep when we get done here?” Fred asked.

  “They’re tied so they should be fine until we go home,” Nash answered.

  Home.

  He’d used the term before.

  Going home to Louisiana for leave from the military. Going home to his grandmother’s farm from the feed store or the grocery store. Going home to the base from a mission. But never had the word sunk into his heart and soul like it did that night. For the first time in years, he really felt like he had a place to settle down and grow old.

  But Kasey damn sure deserves more than a little spread with a little flock of sheep, he argued to himself when he thought of her never leaving the Texas Star.

  “Time!” Kasey finally said. “And Paul’s knees don’t have a thing on mine right now. Who would have thought dirt could feel like concrete?”

  Nash stood up and extended a hand to help her. The now familiar jolt that rushed through him even at the touch of her palm didn’t surprise him, but he did wonder if it would be like that when they were two old people sitting on the porch in rocking chairs.

  He shook the negative voice from his head as the whole group from the nativity hurried inside the fellowship hall out of the cold.

  “Is it okay if we take all this garb off now, chère?”

  “I’m shuckin’ out of mine,” she said as she unwound the long scarf that covered her hair and shook it loose. “I would not have made a good woman in that age.”

  He wiggled his dark eyebrows. “Why?”

  “You know better than anyone else. In those times they would have already taken me out in the street and thrown rocks at me.”

  “I would have protected you.” He slipped the long robe over his head and folded it neatly. “What do I do with this?”

  “Just lay it on the table over there. Gracie and Granny know where to store all the costumes.” She nodded toward the place where the little drummer boy’s outfit and one of the wise men’s were lying.

  “Here, I’ll take it.” Fred held out a hand. “Y’all done good and the real live sheep did a better job than those painted wooden ones we’ve had for years. And that star was a nice touch. Next year, do you reckon you could get a donkey and get it trained?”

  “It’s an idea. That painted one looks kind of flat,” Nash answered.

  Fred slapped his leg and laughed loudly. “It is kind of skinny, ain’t i
t?”

  “Y’all need to feed it better. I’m surprised that it’s not dead.” Nash kept up the joke.

  “Amen to that. Kasey, you tell Hope Dalley that next year she’s going to have to find a younger wise man. My old bones don’t take to the chill anymore,” Fred said.

  Kasey nodded toward the refreshment tables. “You tell her. She’s right over there.”

  “Time to go find a seat now?” Nash asked.

  “We need to get Silas. Emma and Rustin have a little part in the program,” she said.

  We.

  Like home, that was another short word with so much meaning. Maybe it took the we to make a home, because a house was only an empty shell without someone to share it with.

  “Wait right here. I’ll get him, and, honey, I can see part of that hickey on your neck,” Nash whispered.

  * * *

  Kasey turned around and deftly adjusted her sweater so that the mark was covered and then flipped her hair over it to be doubly sure. She’d been considering getting one of those cute little chin-length bobs, but this definitely was not the time to make that change.

  The church was packed when they got inside the sanctuary. They’d have been standing or sitting in folding chairs that had been set up in the narrow side aisles if Jace hadn’t saved them part of a pew. The space was tiny enough that Kasey was pressed so tight against Nash that light couldn’t get between them, and Silas had to sit on Nash’s lap.

  “Full house,” Jace whispered.

  “Never seen it like this before,” she said.

  “Me, either. Did you hear that Mrs. Anderson, the fifth-grade teacher and little kids’ Sunday school teacher, has been diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s? She decided to retire effective immediately. Mama and the rest of the school board have a week to get someone hired and to find someone to teach her class here at the church.”

  “Don’t look at me,” she said. “You can volunteer.”

  “Not me,” he declared.

  “Maybe they’ll hire a teacher who will lead you to the altar and you can start havin’ all those kids you’ve been talkin’ about. Now that would sure enough cause another packed church. The great Jace Dawson finally roped and tied.” She giggled.

  “Not damn likely,” he muttered.

  Nash leaned forward and said, “Never say never.”

  Before Jace could say anything else a dozen little children marched out from the choir loft. Led by the preacher like little puppy dogs, they each stopped on a piece of tape stuck to the floor. The preacher went on to stand behind the pulpit.

  “Welcome, everyone, to ‘Jesus Is the Reason,’ the title for this year’s program. In this part of the world we tend to think that when we gather for weddings, funerals, programs, or even after church on Sunday, that there should be food involved. But then Jesus fed the multitudes and even fried fish for his disciples so maybe it’s just following his example when I tell you that immediately following the program, the ladies have set up refreshments in the fellowship hall. Now I’ll turn this over to Mrs. Anderson, who tells me this is her last time to chair this program.”

  Everyone applauded when a gray-haired lady took the podium. The pianist hit a few chords and then the children all sang “Joy to the World.” After that they said their memorized verse, each one telling a little about the birth of Jesus. Rustin was the last one to deliver his line, and he spoke right up just like he’d done at school.

  Then Emma’s little group took the stage, each carrying an ornament, and as Mrs. Anderson read a sweet little story about how a star got to sit on top of the tree, each child hung his or her ornament on the tree. Then they sang “Hush! There’s a Baby,” and Emma’s voice drowned out everyone else’s, even Mrs. Anderson’s.

  The rest of the program lasted about an hour, but Kasey had trouble keeping her mind still. There wasn’t room to wiggle, but she did cross and uncross her legs so many times that Jace finally frowned at her.

  “We need to get those lace curtains out of the attic for Emma?” Nash whispered softly in her right ear.

  Now what in the devil brought that on? she wondered. They were listening to kids read passages from the Bible and talk about Jesus being the whole reason for the season and Nash was thinking about pink curtains?

  She nodded.

  “What made you…”

  “Emma looks like an angel and my mind circled around to those things,” he explained. “One of the boxes has ceramic angels written on the side? Maybe we’ll put some of those in her room.”

  Another nod. “She’d probably like that. Got any sheep for Silas and Rustin’s room?”

  A smile spread across his face. “Probably. Do they like bunnies? I saw one box of those.”

  The responsibility behind what he’d just said was pretty damned weighty. They were about to make decisions that would involve both of them. She brushed that away and mentally began to redecorate the living room. That ugly brown braided throw rug in front of the coffee table was going to be the first thing replaced. It would make a really nice dog bed inside that new house Nash had built for Hero, Princess, and Doggy.

  “I forgot to buy the dogs a present,” she whispered.

  “Unforgivable!” Jace chuckled. “Whatever made you think of that?”

  “Long story, but the kids will throw a fit if the dogs don’t have a present on Christmas,” she said.

  “I’ll take care of it. How about new food dishes and a rawhide bone for each of them?”

  “Great!”

  Hope tapped them both on the shoulder from the pew behind. “Shhh…no talkin’ in church.”

  Jace nudged her and winked. They didn’t need words. The queen bee of the program had spoken and they’d better listen. No one crossed Hope Dalley, least of all one of her own grandchildren.

  Silas had fallen asleep by the time the program ended, and he awoke in a sour mood. But he turned the frown into a bright smile when Nash told him that there were cookies and candy waiting just for him. Nash had a way with kids and should have a dozen of his own.

  Rustin and Emma ran across the room, holding hands and both talking at the same time. Silas wiggled until Nash set him on the floor, and the three of them took off over toward the Christmas tree where brown paper sacks were lined up on the floor. Each would contain an apple, an orange, candy bars, and cookies so that the kids would have something to take home that evening. Hope Springs had brought them for the past fifty years, but not many people knew where they came from.

  Valerie hugged Kasey from behind. “The kids did really good. Emma’s going to be a natural. We might see her in Nashville before too many years.”

  “Don’t say that. She’s growing up too fast as it is.”

  “Darlin’ daughter.” Valerie chuckled. “It was just yesterday that you were just her age, so don’t blink.”

  “I told her that I’d build her a stage,” Nash said. “When spring gets here, we should have a concert with her as the main attraction.”

  “That would be fun and, Nash, that lean-to you built for the nativity scene was really nice,” Valerie said as she moved on over to help the ladies with the food tables.

  Spring.

  Concert on the Texas Star.

  Everyone was on board with this whole thing with Nash and suddenly, out of the dark night, Kasey wasn’t so sure about any of it. It was moving too fast, and she felt pressure behind her eyes.

  Reverse psychology.

  That’s what it was. Lord only knew, she’d used it enough on the kids to recognize it. Valerie had thrown a good old-fashioned southern hissy fit when Kasey moved over to the Texas Star. That didn’t work, so now Valerie had done a one-eighty. It was so that Kasey would feel exactly like she did right then, that she’d question her own feelings and would move back to Hope Springs.

  “Well, it won’t work,” she muttered.

  “What?” Nash asked.

  “Nothing.” She smiled. “Let’s have a snack and then take our sheep and kids home.”


  Warmth filled her heart when she realized she’d said our sheep and kids, and there wasn’t a bit of guilt mixed in with it.

  “I’m sure ready for that.” Nash nodded. “I get a little antsy in big crowds. I’m lots more comfortable on the ranch with you and the kids.”

  “Me, too,” she said and meant it.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Nash had set the box with the pink lace curtains to the side and was on the fifth one marked knickknacks. He’d chosen three ceramic angels for Emma’s room, all with touches of pink to match her curtains. Now he was looking for something that might look nice in the boys’ room. Finally, he found one with cute little lambs for Silas.

  “Yes!” He pumped his fist in the air like one of the children.

  “Jackpot!” he yelled when he discovered a collection of cowboy boots in the last one.

  He was putting three into the box with the curtains and lambs when something rattled inside the largest one. He turned it upside down and a small black velvet box fell out at his feet. The corners were worn and a few places on the box were completely bare. He flipped it open to find a set of wedding rings inside.

  Touching the center diamond, he thought about how the engagement ring would look on Kasey’s finger. Without thinking he stood up so he could get his phone from his hip pocket and bumped his head on a rafter.

  “Ouch!” he yelled.

  “You okay up there?” Kasey yelled from the bottom of the narrow staircase.

  “I’m fine. I found the curtains and some other things for you to look at.”

  “I’m putting the soup on the table in five minutes,” she said. “Maybe this afternoon we can hang the curtains?”

  “No problem,” Nash said as he hit the right icon to call his mother.

  “Hello, Nash. What’s goin’ on?” she answered.

  “Mornin’, Mama.” He lowered his voice. “I’m in the attic going through boxes and I found a set of wedding rings in a velvet box. They were tucked down in an old ceramic boot. Were they Granny Minnie’s?”

  “In a black velvet box that’s old as dirt?” she asked.