Christmas Cowboy

by Claire Adams

  He lifted his hand, and I stopped.

  "I don't want you with Finn, Chloe, but I've lost too much in my life already. I don't want to lose you, too." He paused and pursed his lips again. "The night I had to come get Parker from the hospital, I saw Clark for a minute, and the fear and agony on his face left me breathless. I'm still hurt over our old shit, which is ridiculous, I know, but I can't let it affect you and Parker."

  I moved closer to him and slid my hands over his shoulders. "Then, stop pushing me away. I'm just like you, and if you would just bend a little, that can be a good thing."

  "I know, pumpkin. You just have to give me a little bit of space, though. Okay?" He reached up and touched the side of my face.

  I moved into his arms, hugging him tightly and praying that this was a turning point for us. I needed my father back as someone who would be on my side.

  "I love you, Dad." I kissed the side of his cheek and moved out of his hold.

  "I love you, too, and hey, I got you something pretty nontraditional for Christmas."

  "Parker told me." I smiled.

  His smile faded as his eyes widened and anger brushed along his features. "What? He wasn't supposed to say anything. It was supposed to be a surprise."

  "No, Dad. He just said that you got me something pretty cool, but that he couldn't tell me what it was." I put my hands on my hips.

  "Oh, good. I thought he told you what it was."

  "No, but you can tell me if you want." I gave him a shit-eating grin.

  He chuckled. "I'm not saying anything other than this: it's a gift, but it's a project, too, so if you don't want it when you get it, it will not hurt my feelings if you want to give it back."

  "Give it back? Are you crazy? You might be a huge pain in my butt, but you give the best gifts ever." I winked and walked to the house. "I'm helping Finn get settled in tonight, but I'll be in later. You want to watch a movie with me and Parker?"

  "A western?" he asked and picked up his hand-towel.

  "How about The Grinch?"

  "Count me out." He rolled his eyes.

  I laughed. "Too close to home?"

  "Watch it, missy, and be careful on the roads."

  * * * *

  I drove to Finn's with a lightness about me that felt so good. I couldn't wait to tell him the story about our dads, which in all honesty was heartbreaking.

  His truck was back out front, as was his father's large pick-up. I parked beside Finn's and got out, pulling out a bag of treats I'd worked on for the last day or so to keep him in a holiday spirit.

  I knocked on the door, not wanting to use my key in case his father wasn't aware that I had one.

  "Come in!" Finn called out, and I walked in, smiling at both of them as they sat on the couch.

  Finn's foot was propped up on several pillows on the coffee table, and he was wrapped in blankets with a glass of water in his hand.

  "Hey, guys." I sat the treats on the counter and moved to sit beside Clark on the couch. "Everything go okay with getting out of the hospital?"

  "Yeah. He's got to be careful with those crutches in the snow and no getting that cast wet, but other than that, he's doing good." Clark reached over and squeezed my hand gingerly.

  "And, the concussion?" I looked over at Finn, chuckling at the look on his face.

  "You're not my mother, you're my girlfriend. Get over here and give me a kiss, dammit." Finn leaned forward and took my hand, tugging at me.

  I got up and moved to his side of the couch, sitting down and giving him a quick kiss.

  "Dad, time for you to go. Nice of you to visit. Don't be a stranger." Finn leaned forward and sat his beer on the coffee-table.

  Clark laughed and stood up as I shoved Finn's shoulder.

  "Don't be rude. Your dad can stay and watch a movie with us or something." I winked at Clark.

  He acted like he was going to sit back down. "Yeah, sure. Why not."

  "Get out!" Finn pushed at him, and we both laughed.

  "Alright. Call if you need me. I'll see you tomorrow, Finn."

  "Thanks for everything, Dad."

  I got up and walked to the kitchen with Clark. "I made some cookies and fudge. You want to take some back to the office so you and Milly can try it out?"

  "Hey. Is that stuff for me?" Finn called from the living room.

  "Hush." I glanced over my shoulder and winked at the sexy guy on the couch.

  "Naw. Keep it for the boy. He's got a wicked sweet tooth."

  I walked Clark out and turned as the door shut, giving Finn a sexy smile.

  He beckoned for me to join him. "That's not the only wicked thing I have. Come sit in my lap and let me hold you."

  I crawled up in his lap, straddling him and rubbing his chest and the thick column of his neck. "I've missed you. You feeling okay, really?"

  "Much better now." He gripped the back of my neck and pulled me down for a long, hot kiss.

  I wasn't sure how active he could be, but I rocked against his arousal slowly as he groaned against my lips.

  "When is Brian getting here?" I asked.

  "I don't know, but call him and cancel." He slid his fingers under my shirt and squeezed my breast as he moved down to suck at my neck and then my ear.

  Heat rushed through me, and I almost agreed to tell his friend to hop off. A long night with Finn on the couch sounded divine.

  "I'm not canceling on your best friend." I pulled back and moved between his legs, being careful not to hit his cast. "When he gets here, we'll stop."

  "I hate him already." He reaching out and touched the side of my face. "I'm so sorry for scaring you. You're all I've thought about the last few days. Did you know that?"

  "No, but I'm glad to hear I'm not alone. You're all I've thought about, too." I tugged off his blankets and slipped my fingers into his sweatpants near his hips before glancing up at him. "Can I?"

  "Fuck, yes." He lifted his hips, and I pulled his pants down over his ass, leaving him naked from the top of his thighs up.

  I reached out and took his thick cock into my hands, stroking him with one hand and then the other in a slow, tight fashion.

  His teeth sunk into his bottom lip, and he closed his eyes, dropping his head back onto the couch.

  "God, that feels good."

  "Mmm...looks good." I moved up and rolled my tongue across his thick head before taking him in my mouth.

  His breath caught in his chest, and he groaned, lifting his hips and forcing more of himself into me. I wasn't sure when Brian was coming, but I wanted Finn to come before his boy showed up and ruined everything.

  I wasted no time in taking as much as I could of him, my hands pumping his flesh where my mouth didn't touch. He pressed against my shoulder and groaned loudly a few minutes later.

  "Slow down, Chloe. I want this to last." He slipped his hand into my hair, and I groaned loudly as my body flooded with wetness.

  He wasn't the only one that wanted it to last.

  A knock at the door behind me had him growling loudly.

  "It's Brian, dude. Let me in."

  "Go away," Finn groaned, and looked down at me as I continued to fuck him. He licked at his lips and put his focus back on me, watching me intensely as I let moans roll out of my mouth and sucked him harder.

  When I moved one hand to stroke his sack, his eyes rolled back in his head as his mouth dropped open.

  He came hard, and I took my time drinking him down and cleaning him up.

  "Dude, really? I can hear you guys in there. It's fucking freezing out here." Brian hit the door twice.

  Sitting back on my heels, I helped him get his pants back up and stood up, leaning over and kissing him twice as he tried to catch his breath.

  "Where are you going? Don't leave. I want you here with me." He called out as I grabbed my purse and opened the door.

  "Hey, Brian. Good to see you again." I looked over my shoulder and winked at Finn. "Have fun with your guy's night. There are sweets up here for you to share
. I'll see you tomorrow, baby."

  His angry pout was beyond beautiful, and it only got worse as Brian stopped me.

  "You don't want any of these treats, Chloe?"

  "Nope." I licked my lips and glanced at Finn. "I already had mine."

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Finn

  I watched Chloe go and wondered why the fuck I'd agreed to Brian coming over. He had been with me the last day at the hospital, and now instead of making love to my woman, I was hanging out with the guy I used to egg houses with.

  "Hey, what was that all about?" Brian picked up the bag Chloe brought over and dropped down in the chair next to the couch.

  "She just came over to give me those goodies and make sure I was all settled in."

  "If you want her to stay, I can totally go, Finn." Brian pulled out a cookie, inspected it, and ate it in three bites.

  "No, we're spending all day tomorrow together, I think." I nodded toward the cookie. "That any good? Can she bake?"

  "Delicious," he groaned and pulled out another.

  "Give me one." I sat up and reached for it, laughing as he clamped his hands down on the bag.

  "I mean, tastes like shit. You don't want this. I'll take one for the team and eat them all for us." He bit into another cookie.

  "Give me the bag, you ass."

  He tossed it to me and I dug through it, pulling out a few candies and three cookies.

  "How are you feeling? You still wanting to go into town tonight?" He licked at his fingers.

  "I'm alright. A little tired, but I'll live." I bit into a cookie, surprised at just how good it was. Not only was she gorgeous, willing to give me a blow-job to make me feel better, and wicked smart, but the girl could bake a mean cookie. "I'm asking her to marry me."

  Brian laughed and stood. "Alright. Let's get this show on the road. It's getting dark, and you know I hate how bad people drive around here."

  "It's the tourists. All these people flocking in from out of town for the holidays." I reached for his hand, and he helped to pull me up.

  "Oh, I know who it is. I still hate it regardless." He snagged one more cookie and walked to the door. "You want to grab something to eat, too?"

  "Sounds good. Get my thick jacket out of that hallway closet and my red hat, please?"

  "Aye, aye, Captain." Brian got the items and helped me dress, making me feel like a child again.

  We got in the truck, which took forever thanks to my gimp-ass almost falling five times. I buckled up and leaned back, grateful that Brian was comfortable enough around me to listen to tunes and let me have a moment.

  The image of Chloe with her pretty pink lips around my cock raced through my mind, and I steeled my resolve. I didn't need to relive her pleasuring me with Brian in the seat next to me. It wasn't good for anyone's comfort level.

  "Burgers sound good?" I asked, turning my head to see what his reaction would be.

  "Yeah. What are we looking for, anyway?"

  "I want to get Chloe a necklace, Milly some new mittens, and Dad a new jacket. The mall might be our best bet."

  "It's Friday night before Christmas. You realize it's going to be a fucking madhouse, right?"

  "Yeah. It's all good. We'll be quick about it and get back to the house for some TV."

  "Quick about it? With you trying to carry your big ass around on those toothpicks?" He huffed. "This should be good."

  "Are you calling me fat?" I sat up as he pulled into the overcrowded parking lot at the mall.

  "Yeah, a fathead." Brian glanced around. "You sure about this? Look at this place."

  "It's all good. Come help me out of the car and let's get this shit over with."

  "Fine. Let's get the gifts and eat." Brian got out of the car, and I opened my door and grunted as he helped me to my feet. "Be careful and don't slip. Busting your ass is funny when you’re healthy. Busting it now would be another trip to the hospital."

  "Shut up, and stop treating me like a child." I positioned the crutches under my arms and moved toward the escalator that would lead up to the chaos.

  "Let's swing by the old Vanning place on the way to get a burger." Brian suggested and reached out to help me, but I swatted him off with my crutch.

  "Why? I can't afford it, anyway." I glanced to my left as three girls going down the other side called out to me.

  "Finn! Is that you? What happened?" The blonde in the group puffed her bottom lip out.

  "You poor baby. You need us to take care of you?" the brunette threw in.

  "No thanks, ladies. I'm good." I turned back up as Brian called out.

  "I'm not good. I could use some TLC."

  I laughed and got off the moving staircase. "Come on and stop looking needy. That's half your problem."

  "I am needy." Brian moved up beside me and looked around at all of the people. "What are the odds that we're going to run into a hundred women that call out your name? This is going to be depressing."

  Someone called for me behind us, and I rolled my eyes. "We'll be done soon."

  "Not nearly soon enough," Brian mumbled.

  * * * *

  We stopped by the old Vanning place on our way over to Burger Stop, but as I suspected, someone had purchased it. It was a beautiful old mansion that was built in the early nineteen hundreds. It would have been the perfect spot to turn into a ski lodge, the lodge I'd been dreaming about since I was a teenager.

  "Hey, you still down about the old mansion?" Brian reached over and squeezed my shoulder as we walked up to the restaurant.

  "No. It's going to be years before I can ever consider getting my own fixer-upper. Someone made a good purchase. I'll just be interested to see what they do with it." I shrugged and almost lost my footing.

  "Be careful, man. Shit. Your dad will kill us if you get hurt again." He held the door for me, and I laughed.

  We would always be fifteen in our heads, no matter how old we got.

  The hostess showed us to our seat, and I ordered a drink before pulling out the blue box that had Chloe's necklace in it. I popped it open and ran my finger over the forever heart. "You think it's too much?"

  "What? No." Brian reached across the table. "Let me see it up close."

  I handed it to him, and let my hands drop back into my lap. "I love her."

  "Really? Already? It's been two weeks." Brian looked at the necklace, shrugged and handed it back to me. "She's going to love that. It's pretty, and honestly, I think it's just about showing that you cared enough to get her something. You get extra points. You're on crutches, and you got her something."

  I smiled, knowing I could always count on Brian to make me feel better. I left the conversation on my feelings for Chloe for later in the evening, and if he wanted to talk about it, he was going to have to bring it up. I didn't want to have to defend something that made no sense, and yet it just was.

  "This is true." I picked up my drink and took a long swig of it. "Oh, man, I found out what was up between my dad and Chloe's."

  "What? Tell me."

  "They grew up together, like you and I did, and then in college I guess Jonathan fell in love with some girl, and Dad stole her right beneath his nose." I shook my head, not being able to fathom something so horrible happening between me and Brian.

  "Damn. That's awful. I don't know what I would do if you did that shit to me." Brian sat back, sipping at his beer and looking around.

  "So, her dad totally got the girl drunk and slept with her in a place he knew my dad would find them." I sat my drink down, deciding that I'd leave the fact that it was my mother off the table. That was too personal to share.

  Brian almost spit his beer, but caught himself. "Are you shitting me?"

  "No. Crazy. It's been thirty years, and they are still at each other's throats over it."

  "I imagine so." He picked up his menu. "Do you think they'll ever fix it?"

  "You know, I don't know. Dad was pretty torn up about it when he told me the other day, which means he still cares a
bout Chloe's dad. I think between her and I, we can get Dad hooked up with Milly and help him work through this stuff with Jonathan. He mentioned something about talking to him to clear things up for me and her, but I told him no thanks. I need to work on that relationship myself."

  We paused to order our burgers, but the minute the waitress left, “my big sister” Brian showed back up.

  "Hey, look, I know this is absolutely none of my business, but what are you going to do when Chloe goes back to Cali? Long distance relationships suck for people who are mildly sexually active. You are what we would call extremely sexually active. How is that going to work out, exactly?" He lifted his hands as I gave him a stare. "I'm just concerned and wanted to make sure you’ve really thought through this. That's all."

  "First of all, you're right. It's none of your business, but since I know it's bothering the hell out of you, I'll explain my thoughts on it."

  Brian lifted his beer toward me. "You're a good man."

  I rolled my eyes. "If she goes back, which I don't think she will, then I have two choices. I can stay here and we keep in touch, visiting when we can and spending a lot of time on Skype and the phone, or I go with her."

  "Go with her? Are you insane?" He sat up and hit the table with his knees.

  "Lower your voice. Everyone's going to be in our business, and I don't doubt that there are several girls in here that I don’t particularly want to see right now."

  He glanced around and lowered his voice. "Right. Are you insane? You can't leave here. Your dad's here. You love it here. Fuck...I'm here."

  I laughed, and sat back in my chair. "I don't know what's going to happen, Brian, but if she wants to be physically together and is willing to try things out, then we have to live in L.A. or here. That's going to be up to her."

  "You are a snow-shoveler. What are you going to do in California?"

  I leaned forward and pressed my hands to the table. "Go back to school and get a degree? I shovel snow because my old man needs help, and I'm his only son. I have other talents."

  "I know, dude. I didn't mean it like that." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I just don't like it. I mean, like, at all."

  "I know you don't, but I really think she's the one. We'll find out as we get closer to the time she's supposed to leave, but her dreams are out there, Brian. She wants to design a line of clothing for people in warm weather."