The Best Cowboy Christmas Ever

by June Faver

  “We make it out of any grass crop, including maize, sorghum, and other cereal grains. We use the entire green plant and not only the grain.” He chortled. “You remember this, ’cause it’s gonna be on the test.”

  “I will remember. My dad feeds his cows rotten grass.”

  Hearing a truck pull up, he looked out the window. “Looks like Colt is here, so I will see you in a while. I’ll drive you into town later, and we’ll get some of that French bread so you can make bread pudding.”

  “You’ll be glad you did.”

  Big Jim pulled on his jacket and gloves, set his Stetson on his head, and strode out the front door. Colton and Mark were climbing out of the truck.

  Mark spotted him and made a run at him, calling out his name. “Big Jim!”

  Big Jim caught him with both arms, enveloping him in a hug. “How are you, son?”

  “I’m good. I finished my essay for school. It’s about family at Christmastime.”

  Big Jim gave him an extra squeeze. “Well, you can bet your new boots that the Garrett family is gonna have the best Christmas that ever was.”

  Mark gazed up at Big Jim in delight. “I can’t wait. Leah has been telling me all about how the Garretts celebrate Christmas—” He stopped and gazed up at Big Jim. “I hope it’s okay, but I wrote about the way you have Christmas and not about how bad our life was before…before…”

  “Boy, I’m so proud to have you in this family. Just write about this Christmas, because it’s the way all of your Christmas celebrations are going to be from now on.” He gave Mark a big hug. “Now let’s get on out to the stables, boy. Let’s clean up after our horses and maybe we can take a little ride.”

  Mark let out a whoop and raced toward the stable.

  Big Jim saw that Colt was leaning against the grill of his truck, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Hi, Dad.”

  “Hello, Son. Something on your mind? You look serious.”

  Without a word, Colt pushed away from the vehicle and approached his father, arms extended for an embrace.

  Puzzled, Big Jim wrapped his oldest son in his arms, surprised by the usually macho Colton’s apparent vulnerability. “What’s going on, Son?”

  “I thought I would be able to have a chance to really talk to you today, but Mark wanted to be here, and I didn’t want to disappoint him.”

  Big Jim patted him on the shoulder. “We can always talk, Colt. Anytime you like.”

  “Aw, Dad. I just made a mess of everything.” Colt raked his fingers through his hair. “I came to apologize for being such a prick to Angelique. I honestly didn’t believe she was your daughter.”

  Big Jim heaved a sigh. “Well, that was pretty easy to tell. I’m sorry you felt that way. Are you telling me you changed your mind?”

  “Yes and I need to make it up to you and to her.”

  “Well, you don’t need to do a thing for me, but Angelique is in the house. Why don’t you go on inside and have a true heart-to-heart with her. She’s a sweetie. I’m sure she’s going to welcome your apology.”

  Colt sucked in a breath and blew it out. “I hope so.”

  “You go on inside, Son. I’ll be in the stables with Mark.” He watched Colt stride up onto the porch and into the house. He hoped that Angelique could find forgiveness in her heart that day.

  * * *

  Angelique was sitting at the table in the kitchen.

  Gabrielle was in the booster seat happily eating scrambled egg and biscuit and drinking milk from her sippy cup.

  Angelique was making a list of items she needed from the grocery store when Big Jim was to take her to town. Big Jim’s larder was very well stocked, but she wanted to make something that would share her New Orleans heritage with the Garrett family. Maybe she could find some frozen shrimp?

  She was startled when she looked up to find Colton Garrett staring at her. “Oh, uh… Your father is outside.” She felt quite threatened by the intensity of his stare as well as his size.

  “I know. Dad sent me in here to talk to you.” He pointed to the table as though asking permission to sit.

  This struck her as odd since he had grown up in this house, and sitting at this table should have been his right. She nodded, gathering her notes and pen. “What can I do for you, Colton?”

  He sat down on the other side of Gabrielle, placing both of his big hands on the table. He seemed to be extremely ill at ease.

  Angelique wished Big Jim was in the house. She couldn’t imagine why the brother she had dubbed Mr. Grumpy Face was acting so jumpy.

  He swallowed and spread his hands. “I wanted to apologize to you for not accepting you into the family. I found it hard to believe that my dad had fathered a child he didn’t know about.” His face had reddened, and he was having trouble meeting her gaze. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Oh, I don’t know what to say.” She was alarmed by his about-face. Was this some kind of trick?

  “Let me say that my wife, Misty, is not to blame. She was following my idiotic lead.” He shook his head. “I thought I was protecting my father from a scam artist.”

  This made her smile. “Me? You give me too much credit. I would have no idea how to carry that off.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said again.

  “I wanted to find my father. Can you understand that?”

  He shook his head sadly. “No, I can’t. I was fortunate enough to be born to two parents who loved me and were always there for me…until my mother was killed in an accident.”

  “I’m so sorry.” She felt truly sorry for him, this man who had been so forbidding.

  “Thanks. Dad really stepped up and made sure we were cared for.” He spread his hands again. “I’m sorry we didn’t know you.” He seemed to be sincere.

  “Me too.”

  Gabrielle had finished her breakfast and drained the last of the milk in her sippy cup. “I go potty,” she announced.

  Angelique busied herself getting Gabrielle down from the booster seat. “We’ll be back shortly.”

  Gabrielle walked beside her, holding her hand, but Angelique glanced back at the man left sitting at the table. He seemed to be deeply depressed. She felt a pang of pity for the man who had been, if nothing else, openly hostile.

  When Gabrielle had done her business, Angelique helped her wash her hands and then swiped at her face with a washcloth. She looked too cute in her warm fleecy pajamas, but Angelique changed her to a tot-sized red sweat suit with a Christmas tree on the front of the top.

  Gabrielle was clasping her tiny sneakers when she raced back into the kitchen. Angelique followed behind her, surprised when Gabrielle ran straight to Colton and slammed into him.

  He managed to snap to, and when he saw her coming, he held out his arms. She responded with giggles. “Whoa, little lady.”

  She seemed to find that hilarious and squealed her delight. She held out her shoes. “My chooz!”

  “I see,” Colt said. “Want me to help you?”

  At her vigorous nod, he lifted her into his lap and slipped each shoe on, fastening each with the Velcro strap.

  Angelique was encouraged by his gentleness with her daughter. Perhaps he had truly had a change of heart.

  Gabrielle wriggled off his lap and ran back to Angelique, proudly showing her shoes.

  “Thank you for being so nice to my daughter.”

  Colt offered a smile. “She’s my niece too.”

  Angelique was filled with a sense of relief. “Yes, she is. Would you like some coffee?”

  “Yes. Yes, I would.”

  This was a normal thing for a normal brother and sister to share. Coffee.

  Chapter 20

  “So, how does this extra-credit thing work?” Big Jim asked.

  Mark was earnestly mucking out one of the stalls. “The teacher said we could earn extra credit
in English if we complete a two-page essay telling about our family Christmas traditions. Only—only we really didn’t have any…so I wrote about the Garrett family Christmas traditions that Tyler told me about.”

  Big Jim felt a rush of pity for all the things this young man had been denied by virtue of having been born into such sad circumstances. Big Jim realized he had the best of the Dalton family in Misty and her younger brother folded into the Garrett clan.

  Now, it seemed that Big Jim would need to make sure Mark’s Christmas was special enough to make up for all that he had missed out on in the past.

  He wondered what present this fine young man would like to receive. He reviewed all of the things he knew about Mark, but other than horses, Big Jim couldn’t recall anything he had mentioned that he liked. He would have to ask Misty if there was anything in particular Mark would like to find under the tree on Christmas day.

  In a while, Colt joined them in the stables. Without a word, he picked up a shovel and began mucking out one of the stalls.

  He seemed to be in a much better mood, so Big Jim figured he had worked things out with Angelique. At least he hoped so. He would have to take her pulse to make sure their encounter had been a pleasant one.

  After the stables had been cleaned and fresh hay spread on the floor of each stall, the three saddled up their favorite mounts and took a short ride.

  Big Jim had considered seeing if Angelique wanted to accompany them on this outing, although he knew in his heart that riding a horse was not her favorite activity. He didn’t want her to feel left out.

  After Colton and Mark had departed, Big Jim went into the house to clean up. When he emerged, he found Angelique and Gabrielle waiting for him, dressed in outdoor wear. “You girls ready to go?”

  Gabrielle nodded. “I weady, Gwampa.”

  He loved that she reached for him, confident he would be there for her. “Grampa’s here, darlin’.”

  “I have a list. Not much, but definitely essentials.” Angelique followed him as he carried Gabrielle to his truck. “Don’t you want to lock the door, Dad?”

  “I’m sure everything will be okay. We don’t get many unannounced visitors way out here.”

  She giggled. “Like me?”

  He turned to her. “You’re my family. Not a visitor.”

  Tears sprang to her big blue Garrett eyes.

  Big Jim shifted Gabrielle and reached for Angelique with his other arm, drawing her into an embrace. “Aw, honey. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  She nodded and sniffled against his chest.

  He kissed the top of her hair, sensing there was something else behind the tears.

  She pulled back, gazing at him, her face tearstained. “Actually, I think that was about the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time.”

  * * *

  Gabrielle sat in the car seat Big Jim had installed in his truck. She proudly surveyed the passing countryside, calling out everything they passed. “Cows!”

  “Yes, little darlin’. Those are your grampa’s cows. Those are Angus, as a matter of fact.”

  “Angus cows!” she called out, her face alight.

  Angelique was so glad her father was educating her daughter, as though he planned for her to be a part of his life for a long time to come. Although Gabrielle did not understand that Angus was the name of the breed, it would probably imprint on her over time. At least she could recognize that it was a cow.

  They bumped over the cattle guard and made a turn onto the highway in the direction of Langston.

  Big Jim cleared his throat. “So, you and Colt get things straight?”

  Very subtle, Dad. “Yes, as a matter of fact, we did. He—he apologized for being…distant.” She couldn’t help but smile. “He said he thought I was some kind of a scam artist.”

  “You? It never entered my mind. I knew you were mine the moment you and Gabrielle entered my life… My girls.”

  “Don’t get me started crying again. I just mopped up the tears.” She swallowed hard. “Let me just say that I am so happy to be here with you…and I’m feeling very lucky to be a part of this wonderful family.”

  Big Jim looked at her and smiled. “I’m glad you made the effort to find your way here.” He slowed as they entered Langston and drove the few blocks to the small grocery store. He turned off the motor and climbed out to release Gabrielle from her car seat. “Come to Grampa, little darlin’.”

  Angelique climbed down on her own, while Big Jim chided her.

  “I would have come around to help you down.”

  Together they entered the store and Big Jim chose to carry Gabrielle around like a trophy he’d won. People stopped him to comment on his beautiful granddaughter. “We’ll see you in church on Sunday.”

  Angelique made quick work of selecting several loaves of French bread that were close to the “sell by” date. Several cloves of garlic found their way into her cart, and she was glad to find shrimp in the freezer section.

  “Mmm. Love me some shrimp. We can throw them on the barbecue.”

  “In that case, we better get more,” she said. “Because these little shrimpies are headed for a pot of gumbo.”

  Big Jim tossed another bag of frozen shrimp into the cart. When they were done, they went through the checkout line.

  “Which one of your sons does this little beauty belong to?” An older man dressed in cowboy garb was in line in front of them. His wife turned to stare too.

  “Why, she’s the spitting image of you, Big Jim. Look at those eyes.” The woman reached out to touch Gabrielle, who clasped Big Jim’s neck tighter.

  “This little beauty is my daughter Angelique’s girl.” He gestured toward Angelique. “This is Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Angelique.”

  Angelique felt her cheeks flame, but she smiled and greeted the couple. Big Jim must know he was stirring up the gossip in this small town, but he seemed to have no shame over having fathered a child out of wedlock.

  When they were loaded back in the truck, he drove to the far side of town, although the Garrett ranch was back the way they had come. “Just a little stop to make.”

  Once again he wrestled Gabrielle out of the back seat and made it around to open Angelique’s door. “What is this place?” She looked at the large building with a faded sign overhead. Feed and Seed?

  Big Jim escorted her inside, waving to a man behind the counter. “Hi, Pete. How’s it going?”

  The man’s eyes lit up when he recognized Big Jim. “Good to see you, Mr. Garrett. What can I do for you today?” He came out from behind the cash register.

  “I thought we could look around. I’ve got grandkids who are all about animals.”

  “Right this way, sir.” Pete gestured toward another room.

  There were shelves of food for small animals as well as dog beds and crates of various sizes, and along one wall were some cages.

  “In a few months we’ll have some baby ducklings, chicks, and Easter rabbits,” Pete said.

  There was a cage with two rabbits in it. They appeared to be very different, although Angelique had never realized that rabbits came in different breeds.

  Big Jim set Gabrielle down in front of the cages, her eyes wide. Angelique reached for her hand and squatted down beside her. “Bunnies.”

  “Did I hear my father-in-law out here?” Beau’s redheaded wife came around the corner. She grinned when she saw them. “I thought that was you, Big Jim. Hi, Angelique. What brings you folks out in the cold?”

  “Just looking around,” Big Jim said. “Trying to find something special for Mark for Christmas. Any ideas?”

  Dixie scoffed. “Well, of course I have ideas. How about taking a look at some of the hand-tooled saddles or other tack?”

  “That might work,” Big Jim said.

  Dixie tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and
led him away. “I might just let you have the family discount.”

  Pete slouched against the wall, grinning at Angelique. “I don’t think I seen you around here afore.”

  Angelique took a big breath and blew it out. On my own here. “I’m Big Jim’s daughter. You can call me Angelique.”

  “Well, Miss Garrett, I’m plum tickled to meet you. An’ this’n must be your little girl. She looks just like you.”

  Angelique didn’t know if she should correct him or not, but the fewer people around here who had ever heard the name Guillory, the better. “Nice to meet you, Pete. Tell me about these rabbits. They look so different.”

  He pushed off the wall and squatted down beside her. “There are over three hundred breeds. That there little brown one is a Holland Lop. Her ears hang down instead of standing up.”

  “She’s really pretty,” Angelique said. “What about the white one? It’s so fluffy.”

  Gabrielle was straining to reach them.

  “Ain’t she a beauty? She’s an Angora. Her fur is extra long.” He opened the cage and brought the rabbit out so Gabrielle could pet her.

  Gabrielle made a sighing sound as her fingers sank into the long, thick fur.

  “Be gentle with the bunny.” Angelique demonstrated softly stroking the down-like fur.

  “Yeah, these are our leftovers. They were more expensive than the common breeds so they weren’t grabbed up.” He shrugged. “Now they’re sorta like pets.”

  Angelique frowned. “‘Leftovers’ sounds so mean.” The rabbit was snuggling in her arms, and Gabrielle was stroking its fur and cooing to it.

  Big Jim came up behind her. “Looks like somebody done fell in love.”

  “My bunny!” Gabrielle asserted.

  “Yes, I see.” Big Jim nodded.

  “Looks like someone found her present.” Dixie was grinning. “Old Luke Hammons wanted to buy them for rabbit stew, but I said no.”

  Angelique let out a little yelp of protest. “What an awful idea.”

  Gabrielle was now petting the Holland Lop. “My bunny.”

  Dixie was grinning from ear to ear now. “These girls are best friends, and I can make you a good deal on the pair.”