The Cowboy's Christmas Courtship

by Brenda Minton

  “I think you need a hug.”

  He groaned but then he gave her a quick hug back before escaping. “There, are you happy? I hugged you. Just don’t tell anyone.”

  She smiled and they both laughed a little. “I won’t.”

  “Good, because that was weird.”

  “Brandon, I want you to talk to Pastor Johnson. Wyatt is a good man. He’s been through a lot. Maybe we should both talk to him.” She pulled a plate out of the microwave and stood there, looking at her little brother who now towered over her.

  He shrugged and took the heated plate from her hands. On his way to the table he mumbled that he’d think about it.

  They’d been falling apart for a long time. She wondered how Gage Cooper, a man who barely seemed in control of his own life, was the one forcing them to fix their broken lives.

  She reminded herself that he’d used her before to get what he wanted. He no longer wanted to date her best friend, or help with chemistry, though.

  He wanted to be a better person. She couldn’t fault him for that. But she also couldn’t let herself fall in love with him. Not this time.

  Thoughts of Gage fled, because she noticed the pile of mail she’d dropped on the counter the day before, and then forgot about. She sifted through the envelopes, wishing that she hadn’t. The day had been long enough without adding to the stress. She took one envelope from the pile and walked out of the room with it.

  If Brandon wondered why, he didn’t ask.

  * * *

  Gage walked through the barn at Cooper Creek on Monday morning. Limped, actually. His knee was swollen and sore. Too much time on his feet. The doctor had warned him to take it easy. He’d always had a hard time sitting still. Listening wasn’t actually one of his best traits, either.

  The door opened. He turned, smiling when he saw Reese walk through the door, his white cane swinging in front of him as he traversed the dark world he’d lived in since returning from Afghanistan.

  “Anyone here?” Reese kept walking, smiling as he moved forward.

  Reese never seemed to get angry. Or bitter. But Gage had been bitter enough for both of them. Why would God let this happen to Reese? Reese, who always helped others, unlike Gage, who skipped out.

  Gage had a lot of anger, because if God was going to punish someone, it might as well be him and not his brother. He could admit to himself that he’d been taking a lot of chances for that very reason.

  “Hello?” Reese called out again.

  “I’m here.” Gage turned away from his brother, the way he’d been doing for the past year. “I’m going to work that new gelding.”

  “Is he any good?”

  “Good as most,” Gage answered, walking down the aisle between the stalls and stopping in front of a dark chestnut gelding. The deep red of the horse’s coat caught the sunlight from the open window. The animal moved to the stall door, shoving his head at Gage. He ran a hand down the sleek neck.

  The horse made him think of the mare he’d seen at Layla’s. She had a prize horse and he doubted many people knew it.

  “You still here?” Reese walked up, his cane tapping the stall door.

  “I’m still here.”

  “Good to have you back.”

  “Yeah.” He snapped a lead rope to the horse’s halter.

  “Gage, it’s time for us to talk. You’ve been mad long enough. I’m not sure if it’s something I’ve done or if someone else made you mad. But I do know you can’t keep running off every time someone says something that gets under your skin.”

  “I’m not running.”

  “Not this time?” Reese reached and the horse nuzzled his hand.

  “Not for the time being. I’m going to put a few things right.”

  “Meaning?”

  “There are people I’ve hurt, people I’ve done things to. It’s time to make amends.”

  “Right, I’m not going to argue with you about that. But that doesn’t tell me why you’ve avoided me like the plague.” Reese stopped, a slow smile spreading across his face. “You afraid you’ll catch blindness?”

  “No.” Two years ago, they probably would have been in a fight by now. He would have pushed Reese. Reese would have pushed back. They would have been rolling in the aisle of the stable until someone stopped them.

  “You itching to hit me?” Reese asked.

  “Probably so.” Gage smiled a little as he said it.

  “Then do it. Hit me.”

  “Right.”

  “Because you can’t hit a blind guy?” Reese grinned and reached, pushing Gage just a little.

  “Don’t.”

  “Don’t start it if you can’t finish it, Gage. If you’re going to be mad, I’ll give you something to be mad about.”

  Gage pushed back and Reese took a step, then found his balance. He laughed, but Gage wasn’t amused. Reese was baiting him—he knew, and he should let it go.

  “It should have been me.” He leaned in close and the words came out gruff. Reese shook his head, clearly not getting it.

  “What should have been you?” Reese stepped close, his smile gone.

  “If someone should have gotten hurt, it should have been me. Not you.”

  Reese took off his sunglasses and shoved them in the pocket of his shirt. He stood there for a long minute, staring in Gage’s direction, and then he shook his head.

  “You’ve got to be kidding. All of this anger is over my blindness? What, you think God looked down one day and thought He ought to smite someone, so He picked me? But He messed up, because you would have been a better target?” Reese used his cane to find the bench next to the office. He sat down. “I don’t know if I should laugh or knock you down.”

  “I don’t think you can take me.”

  “I think I can. This isn’t a punishment, Gage. It’s life. It’s a new path and a new challenge. It’s opened doors for me to share my story, and my faith.”

  “Yeah, I get that.” Gage sat down next to his brother, rubbing his knee. “I’m not an idiot.”

  “No, you just play one in the movies.”

  “Shut up. I know that God isn’t looking for people to punish.”

  “You were angry because you thought I deserved better.” Reese grinned and then laughed. “Because you think I’m that righteous. That’s pretty good.”

  “Shut up.”

  “I will, if you’ll tell me what’s going on with Layla Silver.”

  “I’m helping her out. She needs the help.”

  “I think she’s always done a decent job of holding things together.”

  “That’s what everyone thinks.” Gage leaned back, resting his head on the rough wall of the stable. Was he the only one who could see that she was barely holding on? “I didn’t plan on helping her...it just happened.”

  “Gotcha. Well, if you’re planning on skipping out of here anytime soon, just remember that she’s a...”

  “Nester.”

  “Yeah.”

  Gage knew that. He had no intentions of getting tied up with someone looking for a ring and a walk down the aisle. He had plans. In a few months he was heading to New Mexico. He’d stay and help his friend with his new bucking bulls. That might take six months. He might even buy a few bulls of his own to add to Jerry’s herd.

  He also planned on returning to bull riding as soon as the doctor gave him the okay. He was still young. He’d won the finals. Next time he’d win the world title.

  “Gage, seriously, you have to get past the anger.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “Right, okay.” Reese stood and unfolded his cane. “I came out to find you and tell you I’m going to be a dad again.”

  “No way.” Gage stood and clasped his brother’s hand.


  “Yeah, way. Listen, Gage, I’m not angry with God. Don’t you be angry for me.”

  Gage knew he had to get past this. It wasn’t that easy.

  “I’m happy for you and Cheyenne.”

  “Thanks.” Reese cocked his head to the side. “Still angry?”

  “I’m working on that, so give me a break.”

  “Fine. Mom wanted you to know she’s going to Tulsa with Dad. You’re on your own for lunch and dinner.”

  “I think I can handle feeding myself.”

  “Don’t tell her that. She’ll think you don’t need her.”

  Gage laughed and walked back to the gelding. “She knows we all need her. Lucky is knocking on the door of forty, and he still comes over for lunch.” Their older brother, Lucky had been married since his junior year in college.

  “Yeah, she wouldn’t know what to do if he didn’t.” Reese headed for the door. “I have to find Cheyenne and get back to town. Could you try to stay out of trouble?”

  “I’m trying.”

  Gage watched his brother go. It was hard, letting him walk away without offering to help. But Reese knew where he was going, what he was doing, and he knew how to make it through the world, even blind.

  Gage had been in church the first time Reese spoke, telling everyone that blindness meant trusting. He had to trust the people in his life. He had to trust that there was nothing in his path when he walked through the house. He had to trust that obstacles would be moved. He had to trust the cane and his other senses. More than anything, he had to trust God.

  He’d said that everyone should trust God as if they were blind.

  Gage had been angry when he’d listened. He hadn’t gotten it. He hadn’t gotten how God could do this to his brother. How Reese could be so accepting. Now, watching his brother navigate a dark world, trusting his senses, trusting the cane, maybe now he did. Or at least he was starting to.

  He guessed if he’d been Reese, he would have been fighting mad. He would have fought the darkness. He would have fought the cane. He would have hit a lot of walls and bumped into a lot of obstacles.

  The irony of that hit him head-on. He had been hitting obstacles and bumping into walls.

  Chapter Seven

  Layla left the feed store at five o’clock Monday afternoon and walked across the street to the Mad Cow Café. Vera had offered her a job a couple of nights a week. One of her waitresses was pregnant and on bed rest. The job wouldn’t be permanent, but it would get her through the holidays.

  Her feet ached as she made the block and a half trek to the restaurant in the concrete block building, painted with black-and-white spots like a Holstein cow. As she walked she inhaled the aroma of Vera’s fried chicken. She watched as a few of the town council members strung lights and hung lighted candy canes from electric poles. Christmas was coming. It made her hopeful. But it also worried her because she never knew how she’d make the holiday a good one for her brother. Not that he’d ever really seemed to care. But she cared enough for both of them.

  The parking lot was crowded. Older farmers were there early to make sure they got Vera’s famous fried chicken before it was sold out.

  When she walked through the doors of the only diner in Dawson, several people turned to wave and call out a greeting. She returned the greeting and went in search of Vera. She found her in the kitchen, turning chicken that she fried in cast-iron skillets.

  “Hey, girl, good of you to come over and help.” Vera wiped her hands on a rag and straightened her hairnet. “We’re swamped already.”

  Vera handed her tongs over to the other cook, and motioned for Layla to follow her.

  “You’re assuming I know how to wait tables.” Layla followed Vera out the swinging doors and back into the dining area.

  “Oh, honey, you’ve been here enough, you know the drill. The only thing you won’t know is the abbreviations, so don’t try. I’ll have Breezy show you the ropes on the first couple of tables and then you’ll be on your own.”

  Breezy Hernandez turned from the table she’d been waiting on. She was Mia Cooper’s long-lost biological sister.

  “Hey, Layla. I’m glad to see you.” Breezy hurried past with an order to turn in.

  Vera grinned. “That girl has more energy than ten of me. She’s doing a great job with the music on Saturdays, too.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  Vera handed Layla an apron, order pad and a pen. “Good luck.”

  She would need more than luck. Monday night at the Mad Cow was crazy. The tables filled, emptied and refilled. Layla took orders, stopped to talk when she could, made salads and then did it all over again.

  “Layla, when did you start working here?” Slade McKennon, in his police uniform, opened a menu. It was thirty minutes until closing time and the café had cleared out, leaving just a few tables to wait on.

  “Vera needed a little help.” She pulled out her order pad.

  “That’s great.” He looked over the menu and then set it down. “She’s out of chicken, right?”

  “Sorry.”

  “No problem, I’ll have a chef salad with ranch dressing. Coffee to drink.”

  Layla wrote down the order and started to walk away. Slade touched her arm. She saw he wasn’t smiling.

  She let out a long sigh. “Brandon?”

  “Afraid so. Don’t worry, this isn’t official, but I wanted you to know that we had a report of some kids driving recklessly on Back Street yesterday afternoon.”

  She didn’t need more information. “It was probably him.”

  “I’d like to help, if I can. I know Gage has him out at the ranch this afternoon.”

  That was news to her. She must have made a face because Slade grinned.

  “Gage is trying to be helpful.” She didn’t mean to say it like she didn’t appreciate his help. She did. She just didn’t need this much Gage Cooper in her life.

  Why in the world did she always love the bad boys? Her mom had said it was in her genes, that she had to fight it and find a good boy who would stay close to home, love Jesus and work hard.

  She hardly thought Gage qualified.

  Slade cleared his throat, an obvious attempt to stop her woolgathering, she guessed. She took his menu.

  “Gage gets him, Layla. And maybe helping Brandon will help Gage find himself.”

  She didn’t comment on that. “I’ll get this order in.

  Slade nodded and before he could say anything else, his phone rang. As she walked through the doors to the kitchen, Slade yelled out to cancel his order. He had to leave. Layla tossed the paper in the trash. When she returned to the dining room, Slade was gone, blue lights flashing as he took off.

  “It’s closing time, girls.” Vera walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel.

  Layla’s feet couldn’t have agreed more. She seriously needed a massage. And better shoes. She hobbled over to the door and turned off the neon Open sign.

  “You okay?” Breezy slipped the apron off her waist and tossed it under the counter at the front of the dining room. She reached for Layla’s.

  “I’m good. Just worn-out.”

  “It won’t take long to clean up our work area,” Breezy offered with another big smile. “I already filled the condiments for the morning shift.”

  “I don’t know how you do it.”

  “I don’t work two jobs,” Breezy said matter-of-factly.

  “You girls head on home. Frank’s here, and we’ll get things cleaned up.” Vera pushed a button on the register. “Layla, you did good tonight.”

  “Thanks, Vera.”

  Breezy pushed the door open. The two of them stepped outside. It was colder than cold. Layla shivered and pushed her hands deep into her pocket.

  “Where’s you
r truck?” Breezy looked around, eyeing the parking lot, empty except for Vera’s Jeep.

  “I left it at the feed store. I guess I should have driven it over here, but when I left work it seemed easier to leave it.”

  “I’d give you a ride, but I’m walking.” Breezy lived with Mia, until Mia and Slade got married. “I guess we can walk together.”

  They walked in easy silence most of the way. The town was quiet, just one lonely truck driving past. The Christmas lights swayed in the breeze. Breezy seemed to have a lot on her mind. Layla enjoyed the peace and quiet. It had been a long day. When they got to the parking lot of the feed store, they stopped.

  “I’ll wait while you get in your truck.” Breezy offered, glancing around the dark area.

  “I’m fine. It’s Dawson. Besides, you still have another block to go.” She pulled her keys out of her purse. “I could give you a ride so you don’t have to walk in the dark.”

  Breezy laughed an easy laugh. “If you had seen some of the places I’ve slept, you’d know I’m not worried.”

  Layla said a silent thank-you. At least she’d always had a home. Breezy hadn’t been so lucky.

  “Breezy, thank you for helping me out tonight. I didn’t expect it to wear me out.”

  “You’d already worked a long day. It had to be exhausting.”

  “It was. I’m sure it’ll get easier.”

  They parted. Breezy walked down the sidewalk, looked back once and waved. Layla climbed into her truck, happy to sit down, even in the cold cab. She stuck the key in the ignition and cranked.

  Nothing happened. She groaned and tried again. This couldn’t be happening. Not tonight. Not in this cold. She’d walked home before when her truck hadn’t started, but it had been warm and during the day. She didn’t want to walk tonight. And Breezy didn’t have a car to give her a ride.

  She sat for a minute, waiting. She tried again and nothing happened, not even a click. The gas tank wasn’t empty. She knew it wasn’t. Her battery was nearly new. She tried once more, with the same horrible results.

  She’d have to walk. But she really didn’t want to. She stood in the gravel parking lot, looking around the dimly lit area and wishing like crazy she hadn’t turned off service to her cell phone. But she couldn’t afford it. There were a lot of things she couldn’t afford.