Christmas Gifts: Small Town ChristmasHer Christmas Cowboy

by Gail Gaymer Martin

  Mass chaos was the only way to describe the scene in the kitchen when Elizabeth walked in fifteen minutes later. There were kids on the floor playing and a few people sitting at the long table that stretched nearly the width of the room.

  Angie Cooper piled pancakes on plates while Travis poured batter on a griddle. He nodded in her direction and went back to work, flipping and then removing pancakes from the griddle.

  As if last night had never happened. She called herself a fool for believing it meant something to him. She’d seen him at the bull riding event, flirting with every woman who crossed his path. She’d watched him charm, cajole and tease.

  Of course one kiss in the moonlight meant nothing. And it didn’t really mean that much to her, either.

  “Do you like chocolate chips?” he called out, and she guessed he was talking to her. Everyone else ignored the question.

  “Chocolate chips?” She drew closer, watching as he sprinkled chocolate chips onto the pancakes that were already golden brown.

  “On your pancakes.” He reached back into the bag.

  “Oh, I think I might.”

  “You don’t know?”

  She shook her head. And watched as he drizzled more chocolate chips on the pancakes.

  “You’ll have to try them.” He flipped pancakes onto the plate his mother had set next to the griddle and then he handed the plate to Elizabeth. “Syrup and butter on the table. There’s fresh coffee.”

  He pointed to a machine that looked as if it belonged in a restaurant. A woman close to Elizabeth’s age held a cup under the nozzle and filled it with coffee.

  “Do you want some coffee?” She held the cup out to Elizabeth.

  “I’d love some, but I can get it. I don’t want to take yours.”

  “I don’t drink coffee.” The pretty blonde held out the cup. “I’m Heather, kid five in the Cooper clan.”

  “Hi, Heather, I’m Elizabeth Harden.”

  “I know the ice storm was kind of disastrous, but I’m glad you can spend Christmas with us.”

  Elizabeth blinked a few times. She had a cup of coffee in one hand and a plate of pancakes in the other, and really no idea what to say to Heather Cooper. She glanced around, at the crowd of Coopers, at the box with ornaments spilling out, waiting to be hung on the family Christmas tree.

  “Oh, I can’t stay. I have to get home to…” She didn’t even have a cat to use as an excuse.

  A low chuckle behind her. She turned, glancing up into Travis’s laughing eyes fringed with dark lashes. “What, you have a cat to feed?”

  How did he do that? He just shrugged and reached past her for a prescription medicine bottle at the back of the cabinet.

  “I don’t have a cat, I have…” Nothing. Oh, good grief, that sounded pitiful. She’d always been very happy with her life. Content.

  “You have what?” Travis smelled good. He stood close, his arm brushing hers. His hair was a mess and he had flour on his T-shirt and arms.

  She stared up at the man, speechless. He pulled off his dark-framed glasses and wiped them with the hem of his T-shirt, lifted them and then wiped them again before placing them back on a nose that had just a hint of a bump. It was good that he wasn’t perfect.

  “I have things to do.” She had set her plate on the counter to pour syrup over the pancakes. She picked it up, took the fork that Heather offered and walked away.

  When she sat down at the big dining room table, small Cooper kids on either side of her, Travis remained in her field of vision. He swallowed a pill from the bottle, washed it down with water and went back to making pancakes.

  “He’s a nuisance.” Heather sat down across from her. “You’d like Reese. He’s in the army, though. Jackson isn’t here yet. Blake is busy with something at the bank.”

  Was Heather purposely listing all the single Cooper men?

  Well, Elizabeth had never been one to hint. “Heather, I’m sure they’re all very nice, but I just ended my engagement last week.”

  Heather patted her arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry or push single brothers at you. I should really know better. People are constantly trying to fix me up. I enjoy being single.”

  “It does have its advantages.” Being single meant not being left at the altar. Being single meant not worrying that another person would hurt her.

  “It must have been difficult.”

  “It did take me by surprise.”

  “I think that’s probably an understatement.” Heather took a fork from one of the children next to Elizabeth. The little boy was about to stab the table. “Enough of that, guys. Scratch Nana’s table and there will be trouble.”

  Elizabeth took her last bite of pancake and stood to take her plate to the sink. Travis stood at the sink helping his mother do the dishes. “I can help with those.”

  She’d expected Travis to step away and let her take his place. Instead his mother stepped away.

  “If you don’t mind,” Angie smiled. “I need to make sure Tim has blankets in the wagons.”

  “Wagons?” Elizabeth took a plate out of the rinse water and stacked it in the drainer. Travis chuckled, the sound low in his chest.

  “Yeah, we Coopers do love our traditions. We have Haflingers…”

  “Haflingers?”

  “Small work horses. We hook them to wagons, everyone piles in and we head to the back field where there is a stand of cedar trees.”

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to pick up a tree at the store? They have lovely fake trees that don’t require watering.”

  “City girl, you take all of the fun out of things. Hang with us and you won’t want to go back to your ‘buy it at the store’ lifestyle.”

  She wanted to argue, but when he helped her into the wagon a short time later, she thought he might have a point. Together, with a dozen or so Coopers, she sat in the bottom of the wagon, leaning against the side rails and huddled under a quilt.

  The horses that pulled the wagons were golden-coated with light manes and tails. As they started off through the field, Travis jumped in the back of the wagon she rode in. He eased himself next to her.

  “Having fun?” He leaned against the side of the wagon, his legs stretched in front of him and his arm resting behind her head.

  “Much better than driving down to the store to buy a tree.”

  “I told you so.”

  “And here I thought you weren’t the type of guy who would rub it in.”

  “I wouldn’t always. Only when I feel strongly about the point I’m making.”

  “Which is?” She smiled up at him.

  “That you should spend Christmas with the Coopers. I guess I have to remind you that without you and your pocket organizer to help, I’ll probably forget to buy gifts for all the children at Samaritan House. Plus they’ll be disappointed not to see Mrs. Claus again.”

  “That’s a sad story.”

  “I know, very sad.” He rested his hand on her shoulder.

  “I’ll think about staying. For the kids’ sake. How’s your ankle?”

  “Good. I have it taped, but I can wear my boots again.”

  She nodded and let it go.

  The wagon creaked along the trail, jostling and bouncing. She definitely wouldn’t recommend crossing the country in such a vehicle. She honestly couldn’t imagine being an early settler and uprooting her life to move west, traveling by wagon.

  Travis’s arm draped around her and his hand rested on her arm. All around them people were talking and laughing and she was definitely in new territory.

  Travis started the first verse of a Christmas carol and the rest of the family chimed in, the way he’d known they would. Next to him, Elizabeth sang along, hesitating on the words. Her cheeks were pink. Her eyes were bright.

  He wished he had a sprig of mistletoe to hold over her head. Any excuse for a repeat of the previous evening and a kiss that had kept him painting into the early hours. He’d put the finishing touches on her portrait and then he’d gone o
ut to the barn and cleaned stalls because he hadn’t been able to push thoughts of her from his mind.

  It sounded crazy, like a country song, but she did something to him. He hadn’t expected that when he pushed her out of the path of that bull the other day.

  She moved and he smiled down at her. He could stay right here, in this spot, forever. He could handle this, the quiet, settled person that she brought out in him.

  He didn’t have a single desire to rush off and find something else to do. He had one goal, spending time next to her. In the wagon, braving cold weather to go chop down a tree seemed like one of the best ways to spend a day.

  “Hey, Trav, you’re unusually quiet.” Mia, his youngest sister, smirked.

  “I’m always quiet.”

  Heather laughed at that. “Trav, you’re never quiet. What’s up with you? Jesse, do you think he’s sick?”

  Jesse, his physician brother, had to comment. “It depends on the other symptoms. But I don’t think it’s contagious.”

  “This is why I love my family.” Travis shot Jesse a warning look. Jesse didn’t seem fazed. The family doctor and the family clown, both of them had been adopted the same year. Travis came from Russia. Jesse from South America had been the quiet kid, the studious one, from the very beginning.

  “Yeah, we love you, too.” Jesse turned his attention to Elizabeth. “Did Travis tell you that we’re twins?”

  “Twins?” Elizabeth looked from Travis to Jesse. “Really?”

  Jesse Alvarez Cooper laughed, white teeth flashing in his dark face. “Yeah, we were adopted the same year. I was older by a few years and we didn’t look anything alike, but we’ve always been pretty close. It’s like that when you’re a twin. You almost know what the other person is thinking and you even feel what they’re feeling.”

  “Jesse, enough.” Heather’s quiet voice cut between the two.

  “Thanks, sis.” Travis shot Jesse another warning look. Usually the sensitive guy, Jesse had gone too far this time. Didn’t he get it, that she didn’t know how to handle a family like theirs? She hadn’t grown up with a dozen siblings, always teasing and going at each other.

  Jesse lost his grin but laughter still lurked in his eyes. “I only meant to say that the other night when Trav got knocked in the head, I had a headache.”

  Travis would have been mad had it not been for Elizabeth’s laughter. The sound kind of went all over him, making him feel about a million things at once. Most of all, it made him think that he did have some kind of untreatable illness.

  Fortunately things got quiet as the wagon, driven by Lucky, second oldest of the bunch, climbed a slight hill. Just over that hill they would stop and pick a tree from the dozens that dotted the landscape. Cedar trees weren’t always the prettiest evergreen, but they smelled about the best.

  The wagon jostled to a stop. The tinkle of bells on the horses’ harness broke the silence.

  “Time to get out,” Travis announced as the rest of the group clambered out of the wagon. Elizabeth stood carefully, wobbling a little.

  He reached for her hand and led her to the end of the wagon. Heather hopped down, landing next to Jesse. And next went Mia. Elizabeth sat on the edge of the wagon and Jesse stepped forward, but after a quick look from Travis, he backed away. Travis hopped off the back of the wagon, most of his weight on his left leg, saving his right ankle from the impact. It was better but it wasn’t healed.

  He reached for Elizabeth’s hand and she hopped down, landing next to him.

  “Your family does this every year?”

  “Every year that I can remember. We like our traditions.” He led her toward the crowd. And it was a big crowd. Even if they didn’t all show up, it still took two wagons. It took a lot to keep a big family close, especially as they got older and moved away.

  So they kept the traditions that had been started when the kids were young. They showed up for breakfast each year. They took the wagon to the back field to get a tree. When they got back to the house they’d have the roast his mom put in the Crock-Pot long before dawn, and then they’d decorate the tree.

  “It’s beautiful out here.” Elizabeth turned away from him. “It’s snowing.”

  She smiled big, looking up at the gray sky as big flakes started to fall. The white fluff landed on her stocking cap and melted. It dusted her shoulders and clung to her hair for mere seconds.

  “It won’t last long. Big flakes like that never last.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s the moment that counts.” She looked up at him, her eyes glittering with dampness, her lips shining with gloss.

  Yeah, moments counted. And sometimes moments had to be walked away from him. He needed to walk away.

  “Let’s find a tree.”

  “Does everyone agree on one tree?”

  Her hand slipped into his.

  So much for walking away from the moment.

  “We pick one for the main house. But Lucky and his wife pick one for their family. Jesse might get one for his apartment. Mia, too. Heather has a fake silver thing she puts up at her house. Jackson… Who knows about Jackson.”

  “Gotcha.”

  The family had headed off into the thickest stand of trees. Travis led Elizabeth toward the group, fighting the urge to lead her off by herself. Yeah, that would not be the smartest thing he’d ever done. It was right up there with the thought that he wished he’d grabbed that sprig of mistletoe.

  “You two coming with us?” Jesse glanced back, indicating with a nod that they should catch up.

  Travis didn’t answer. He had never minded being the kid brother, the clown of the family, Jesse’s sidekick. He’d never minded being the guy who rodeoed for a living but had a degree in business.

  He had his place in the family; they all did. He got pegged as one of the babies, along with Brian and Mia. Maybe that had been fine at fifteen when he pushed his chores off on the older brothers. At twenty-eight it didn’t fit. A family like theirs meant two things: sometimes a kid struggled to be noticed, sometimes they struggled to be alone.

  At that moment he wished he and Elizabeth could be anywhere but surrounded by his family.

  Chapter Seven

  Snow still fell from the light gray sky as the wagon creaked and dipped along the trail that led back to the Cooper house. Elizabeth lifted the twig of cedar she’d pulled from one tree and inhaled the fragrant scent that clung to her gloves and stayed with her, taking a place in her memory that would forever be the smell of Christmas in Oklahoma.

  And the man next to her, he would forever be a part of the memory, too. Because he made her think that she could get past what had happened to her.

  The wagon stopped in front of the big, two-story brick home.

  “All ashore that’s going ashore,” Lucky shouted from his seat at the front of the wagon. “Guys, help get the tree from the other wagon.”

  “Ladies, let’s get lunch on the table so we can decorate the tree.” Heather called out as she climbed down.

  This time Elizabeth managed to hop down on her own, landing lightly next to Mia and Heather. They pulled her along with them, including her in their sisterly camaraderie, making her a part of their family, if just for a little while.

  Angie Cooper met them at the door. “Come on, girls, let’s get the hot chocolate heated up and the table set for lunch.”

  A few minutes later Elizabeth didn’t know where she fit. The Cooper women knew what to do, where to go. As Elizabeth stood in the center of the kitchen, the other women were pulling out plates, silverware, glasses and napkins. They were heating hot chocolate and finding peppermint sticks.

  Heather turned from setting the table. “I’m so sorry. We all get so busy doing what we do and we forget that not everyone knows our routine. We need to fill glasses with ice. The glasses are on the counter.”

  “I can do that.” Anything to be useful, to not stand and worry that she might be imposing.

  She filled the glasses and carried them on a tray tha
t Angie provided. The table had been set and she put a glass next to each setting. As she finished, a loud bang was heard coming from the front of the house and then loud talking, signaling the arrival of the men with the tree.

  “There they are.” Heather motioned for her to follow. “We’re done in here. Let’s go see how much too big it is. We always get one that looks just right, but when we get it in the house, it’s a foot or so too tall.”

  When they walked into the living room Elizabeth saw what Heather meant. The tree reached the ceiling and then some. Travis lowered it and Jesse grabbed a tool and proceeded to chop off the top of the tree and trim it up.

  “Not even a foot this year.” Tim Cooper beamed like a proud father, his pride focused on the tree they’d cut down. “We did good, honey.”

  Angie wrapped an arm around her husband. “We did. And the hot chocolate is ready. Let’s warm up and then we’ll eat lunch.”

  Elizabeth started to follow the rest of the family, but when she turned, Travis hadn’t moved. He stood next to the tree, eyes closed. She waited for him to open his eyes.

  He’d taken off his hat and he held it behind his back. His heavy coat had been dropped on a hook at the door. He wore a blue plaid button-down over a gray thermal shirt. His jeans were faded and worn. She wondered if he ever wore a suit and tie, and she liked to think he didn’t.

  “Travis, you okay?”

  He opened his eyes and smiled. “Of course. It’s something I do every year. This is a good time to remember what God has done for me. And it’s a good time to remember to pray for the family that gave me up.”

  “Why is this a good time?” She studied his face, remembering that he was the cowboy who went from one woman to another. So where did this side of him come from, this side that thought about God in a way she never had?

  Maybe that was the difference between the Coopers and her own family. Christmas meant something more to this family. It meant more than gifts and holiday lights. It meant more than getting away to someplace warm.

  Christmas meant faith. It meant a cowboy who took time to thank God for bringing him here.