A Cowboy for Christmas: A Contemporary Christian Romance NOVELLA

by Debra Ullrick

  “Relax, Mom. Everything has been taken care of and the place looks great. Smells good too.” Callie breathed in scents of cinnamon, prime rib, and fresh baked bread. “I’d better go see if Dustin needs any help. He’s outside fixing the Christmas lights. I didn’t even know any were broken, but he said there were, so…” She shrugged.

  Her mom turned around facing the stove, but not before Callie caught the glimpse of the smile on her face. Her mother had been smiling a lot lately. Ever since the night Callie had shared with her that she was in love with Dustin, and he was in love with her as well. “Callie, I need you to check and make sure the stove is stoked.”

  “Already did that.”

  “The one downstairs too?”

  “Yep.” She took two steps toward the mudroom.

  “Would you go around and light all the candles?”

  “Already did that too.” She took two more steps.

  “Would you turn the Christmas tree lights on?”

  “Mom, everything is ready. I’m going to go help Dustin now so he can get in out of the cold.”

  “Dustin’s fine. Besides, I need you in here.”

  Callie looked over at her mom. Something was up. Her mom didn’t need any help. Everything was taken care of. Then again, maybe her mom just wanted her with her when she saw Sherry for the first time. Moral support and all that. “I’ll go double check everything in the living room, Mom.”

  The relief on her mom’s face was evident, and Callie dutifully headed off into the living room.

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  Finished with the lights, Dustin stood back and surveyed his handy work. So far, everything was going as planned.

  The sound of a vehicle coming down the lane snagged his attention as the darkness began to take over the daylight. One look confirmed it was his mom’s truck. Dustin flipped the switch on the lights and strode out to meet his mom.

  She parked in front of the house, and Dustin opened her door to pull her into an enormous hug. “Mom. I’m so glad you made it.”

  “Me too.” Dusting her light brown hair back, she let out a breath. “Eisenhower Tunnel was really bad. Cars all over the place.” She returned the hug and then stepped back.

  Dustin could hardly contain the excitement. “Did you bring it?”

  “I sure did.” His mom’s dark gray eyes brightened. “It’s in my duffle bag.” She pointed to it sitting on the seat.

  He grabbed her large maroon duffle bag, looped his arm through hers and led her up the snow-cleared sidewalk and into the mudroom. “I’m so excited you’re here. I almost can’t believe it.”

  She tightened her grip on his arm. “Me either.” Her excitement gleamed in her eyes.

  As soon as they stepped inside, Barb and Callie scurried toward them. “Sherry!” Barb grabbed his mom and the two of them hugged, holding onto each other for several long moments. Time had not faded the bond of friendship they enjoyed. Just like it hadn’t with him and Callie.

  Callie stood behind them, looking over them at him, and smiling, and Dustin returned her smile for more reasons than she could even know.

  “Okay. Okay, you two. My turn, Mom.” Callie tapped her mom on the shoulder.

  Barb stepped back, and Callie wrapped her arms around the woman who had always made her feel special. Who had always showed her the greatest kindness. And who had loved and treated her like the daughter she’d never had.

  “Now, let me look at you, Callie.” His mom spread Callie’s hands out, and she eyed her up and down. “Why, you must’ve grown a good two or three inches since I last saw you. You’re looking good, girl.” She dropped Callie’s hands with a proud smile and a bounce of her eyebrows.

  “So do you, Mrs. Lockwood. It’s so good to see you again.”

  Dustin’s mom patted her on the arm. “It’s time you called me Sherry. Being’s you’re all grown up now and everything.”

  “O-kay.” Callie looked up at Dustin, her eyebrows met in the middle. “Sherry.”

  He shrugged, but that crooked grin that was so him was never far behind.

  “Well, let’s not stand here in the doorway all night. Come on in.” Barb looped arms with his mother and the two of them headed off into the living room, heads ducked together, talking ninety-miles an hour. “I just couldn’t believe it when Dustin said you were coming…”

  Dustin shifted his focus back onto Callie who was staring in the direction of the living room with a huge smile on her face. He loved how happy she looked.

  “I’m so glad my mom came,” Dustin whispered next to her ear.

  Callie turned, and her soft eyes glinted with joy. “Me too. It’s so nice to see my mom smiling again. And I have you to thank for that. You and your mom. All I’ve heard all day was Sherry this, Sherry that, and how she couldn’t wait to see her again.”

  He nodded, a grin coming to his face that was at once the face of a man but with the boyish charm she had fallen so in love with. “It’s really nice seeing her so happy again. When I first got here, she was so sad.”

  “She sure was.”

  His face puckered in confusion. “So, what changed?”

  Callie wrapped her arms over themselves as she leaned on the entrance wall, watching her mom catch up with her friend, each chatting away like two excited magpies. “Well, we had a good talk. She told me some things about my dad that I never knew. I think talking about it helped her get a new perspective on things. I know it did me.” She smiled up at him, and love shone in her eyes.

  As long as he lived, he’d never get tired of seeing that love for him in those blue eyes of hers. And he hoped she wouldn’t either because he planned on showing her often.

  “Well, shall we join them or give them some time alone together?” she asked. “Supper won’t be ready for at least another hour.”

  Dustin turned and glanced outside. Large snowflakes floated softly from the night sky. “Remember when all of us used to take a walk on nights like this?”

  Callie looked out the window and nodded. “I remember how afterwards when we finished our walk, our mom’s had either hot chocolate, or hot apple cider, or milk, and plenty of cookies waiting for us.”

  He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “You want to go for one now? Before dinner?”

  It took her only a second to consider. “Sure. Let me tell my mom.”

  Dustin nodded. As soon as she was out of range, he quickly unzipped the side pocket of his mom’s duffle bag, removed his present, then shoved it in the pocket of his Carhartt outback style coat before slipping it back on.

  Callie headed toward him laughing.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “She barely acknowledged me. They were laughing and talking about the year their Christmas trees disappeared.”

  His eyes widened and sparkled on the thought. “I remember that. Dave and I thought it would be cool to hide them. We had so much fun riding the snowmobiles looking for the things that we figured if we hid the ones we got in barn, we’d have to go again. It almost worked too until your dad found them.”

  Slipping on her own coat and boots, Callie shook her head. “If I remember right, you two were grounded through Christmas.”

  “We were supposed to be. But my mom and yours thought it was cute, so they talked our dads into un-grounding us.”

  Her eyes were filled with nostalgia and peace. “We sure used to have fun, didn’t we?”

  “That we did.” And with any luck, they would continue to.

  When they both finished suiting up for the cold, they stepped outside, her going through the door on his push. Arm-in-arm they headed down the lane, stopping every once in a while to catch snowflakes on their tongues, and to share a kiss. Her kisses were every bit as sweet as she was, and Dustin knew he would cherish every one from this moment for the rest of his life.

  Down the lane, when the house looked more like a small toy, Dustin carefully reached inside his pocket, pulled out his cell phone to check the time.

  But, he
wasn’t careful enough to not arouse her suspicions. “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure we aren’t late for dinner.”

  “Oh. What time is it?”

  He grinned down at her. “Time to get going, or we’re going to be in big trouble if your mom’s prime rib dries out because of us.”

  With a laugh, she spun them around. “You’re right. Besides, I’d hate to miss Christmas Eve dinner.”

  “You and me both.”

  However, when they reached the house, Dustin led her past the front door. She looked up at him, frowning, but didn’t say a word. She just let him lead her around the side of the house where one of the big picture living room windows looked out on the scene beyond. There his mother and Barb stood in the window, arms looped, smiling. Barb gave him a thumbs up.

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  Callie stopped. Her eyes widened. There in front of her was a new Christmas display. A snow-globe carousel and three tiered, great big present boxes. One was red with a big green bow. Another was green with a red bow. And the tallest one, taller even than her, was blue with a golden bow. Spread across the lawn were several large Christmas ornaments that she could barely see because they weren’t lit, but they were beautiful nonetheless. “Dustin, this is beautiful.”

  He smiled down at her. “I’m glad you like it.” Then, he held his finger up and lifted his eyebrows. “Wait here.”

  “Wait? What? Why?”

  But he was already hurrying about, moving the ornaments.

  “Dustin? What are you doing?” Callie watched, completely unable to decipher his actions.

  Suddenly he stopped in front of the present ornaments and pressed two extension cord plugs together.

  Callie’s mouth fell open as her eyes went wide.

  Her hands covered her mouth.

  Tears filled her eyes as she gazed at the eight large glowing Christmas ornaments in various bright hues that lined up in a neat row in front of the large gift boxes. Each had a letter on it that spelled out: Marry me?

  Her shock only deepened when she realized that Dustin had not only come back to her side but had dropped to one knee. He knelt there, holding out a small glittery red, neatly wrapped box toward her with a tiny silver bow on top.

  Her cowboy’s silhouette, framed perfectly with the words ‘marry me’, sent a surge of joy rushing through Callie so that her breath stopped about the time the tears started. With no hesitation whatsoever, she rushed to him, bent down, and kissed him. “Oh, Dustin. It’s so beautiful. Of course, I’ll marry you.”

  Dustin’s crooked smile split across his face. He stood and handed her the wrapped box. “I was hopin’ you’d say that. Oh, and by the way, I asked your mom’s permission to marry you, and she said yes.”

  Callie looked up at him, smiling. “When?” she asked as she worked at taking the paper off slowly, carefully, and meticulously, brushing off the snowflakes that landed on it as they fell.

  “The night I talked to my family about coming here.” Pride pressed his shoulders back.

  “Wow, I had no clue,” she said as she continued to slowly work at the tucks and folds of the wrapping paper.

  “Will you hurry up already?” Finally, he reached for a corner of the wrapping paper, but Callie yanked it out of his hands.

  “Don’t. I want to save it.”

  He hooked his thumbs through his belt loops, resting his hands on his hips. “Cal-girl, with all the snow that’s landed on it, it won’t be worth saving.”

  She looked at the damage the snowflakes had done and were still doing, then up at him, then back at the wrapping paper. “You’re right.” With that, she tore at the wrapping, and within seconds had it off. Raising the lid on the box, she frowned. Inside it was a red plastic ring that looked like it had seen better days. Her eyes came up to his, questioning him.

  His grin was sheepish and shy as if he was asking her to trust what she did not understand. “It was my grandmother’s. My grandpa couldn’t afford a ring, but he wanted to get married to my grandma in the worst way. The only thing he had was an old ring that had come out of a box of caramel popcorn, so he proposed to her with it. My dad asked my mom to marry him with that same ring. Dave asked his wife with it too. Well,” he shrugged. “You get the idea. I didn’t want to break tradition.” He smiled down at her.

  “Aw. That’s so sweet. Thank you.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Then she slipped the ring on her finger and held her hand out, admiring the token of love that had been passed on from one generation to another.

  Dustin took her hand in his. He removed the ring and slipped it into his pocket.

  Hey!” She nearly went into the pocket after it. “What do you think you’re doing? That was my ring!”

  “That was for tradition. This is your ring. Here.” Carefully, he slid a beautiful diamond ring onto her finger. More beautiful than any other she’d ever seen. The single marquee sparkled under the Christmas lights, filling her with dizzying joy.

  But, she forced disappointment into her voice. “Nah. I like the other one better.” She sighed.

  “You don’t like it?” Hurt floated through his words.

  Not even trying to contain her smile, Callie looked up at him. “Are you kidding me? I love it!” She held her hand out and lifted her shoulders. “Sorry, while I loved being a part of your family’s tradition, this one is much, much more me. Don’t get me wrong, the worn out plastic ring was cute and everything, but…”

  They laughed.

  At that moment, Callie noticed movement at the window. Both of their mothers were standing there, arms hooked. Her mother nodded to her as her smile cascaded into happy tears. “I love you,” she mouthed.

  As elation danced through her, Callie held up her hand and pointed to her engagement ring. “I’m engaged!”

  They nodded, and smiled, then slipped into the shadows of the living room.

  With no audience, Callie turned and gazed up at Dustin. “I love you. In case you ever have to wonder.”

  His smile melted through her insides. “I love you more.”

  “No, I love you mor—”

  Dustin’s mouth covered hers as he pulled her into his arms. And underneath the Christmas Eve sky, Callie thanked God for giving her the best present ever. Her very own cowboy for Christmas.

  About the Author

  Debra Ullrick is a hot rod, figure-eight races, classic cars, mud-boggin', monster trucks fanatic, who loves Jesus. Her hobbies include, going to classic car auto shows, collecting muscle car and monster truck models, reading, writing, drawing western art, feeding wild birds, playing with her Manx cat Tickles, visiting with family and friends, surfing the Internet, watching movies, especially every available version of Jane Austen’s stories, Monster Jam World Finals DVD’s, Ma and Pa Kettle, Little People, Big World, CASTLE, COPS, and the PBS documentaries, Frontier House, 1900’s house, and Manor House.

  Debra and her real-life hero of forty years, along with their now married daughter lived and worked on cattle ranches in the Colorado Rocky Mountains until a few years ago. Now they live down in the flatlands where they’re still experiencing cultural whiplash from big city living.

  Her debut novel, The Bride Wore Coveralls, the first book in the Racing series is available through www.amazon.com.

  Debra loves to hear from her readers.

  To contact her visit her website at www.debraullrick.com or write her at christianromancewriter@gmail.com. You can also find Debra on Twitter and Facebook.

  Other Books by Debra Ullrick

  The Bride Wore Coveralls

  Racing Series, Book 1

  (Barbour Publishing)

  Can bitter rivals come to love each other? Fighting deep prejudice against her femininity, her choice of vehicle, and even her heritage, Camara Cole is determined to win the mud-bog racing championship this year. Her biggest competition seems also to be her worst enemy. Chase Lamar has been racing mud-boggers as long as Camara, and he grudgingly admits she's the
best driver-mechanic he knows. Their rivalry has been long and bitter. But Chase is a new Christian. As he begins to change, he finds his relationship with Camara changing, too. When Camara's vehicle is sabatoged, she naturally blames Chase, despite a growing attraction. Chase must prove his innocence, but evidence points his way. When the smoke clears and the truth is known, will each be able to extend forgiveness, maybe even love?

  Déjà vu Bride

  Racing Series, Book 2

  Furious with God, Olivia Roseman vows to never trust Him again. Why should she? Once again her prayers have gone unanswered, and once again another loved one has been ripped from her. With no job and only a few dollars, Olivia makes a choice to start over again. Without God and without love. However, her handsome new boss isn't going to make forgetting God or keeping her vow to never love again very easy. Erik Cole questions the sanity of his moving from Swamper City, Alabama to Charity, West Virginia. That is, until he hires airbrush designer Olivia Roseman to paint his monster truck. When he senses that she’s a gal who is down on her luck, he vows to do whatever he can to help her. Only problem is, the little beauty creates more challenges than one. As his feelings toward her deepen, all Erik can do is hope and pray that one day Olivia will open up her heart to Christ—and to him.

  Catch Me if You Can

  Racing Series, Book 3

  The last thing Audra Darron wants is another disastrous relationship. When the persuasive Barrett Camden challenges her to a date, she accepts his challenge. It doesn’t take her long to learn under all that macho exterior is a kind man with a tender side. A mystery man full of secrets, something she detests. Does she dare trust him when he asks her to without knowing his past and risk her heart?

  Barrett Camden is a man with many names. It’s been seven years since he went into hiding. When he sees the gutsy little beauty wipe out her competitors in a demolition derby, he’s determined to get to know the feisty woman. The only problem is, she’s not interested. Not the least bit discouraged, he pursues her, but soon discovers his past may very well keep him from catching her.