Secret-Santa Cowboy: The Buckskin Brotherhood

by Thompson, Vicki Lewis

  “It’ll be cold sitting in your car.”

  “I’ll run the heater every so often. And maybe take a hot drink in a thermos.” This close, the lyrics of the song came through loud and clear. The band was playing Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer and the crowd was clearly into it.

  “I hope you find out after all the digging you’ve done.”

  “Thanks. I hope so, too. I—”

  “Leo!” Nick came out the door, coatless, and hurried toward them. “Hey, Fiona, good to see you.” He turned to Leo. “Listen, bro, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to search the square.”

  “What’s up?”

  “You’ll want to get in here. Ben finally told us the surprise and it’s about to happen.”

  “What is?”

  “Henri and Ben are going to sing a duet.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Leo stared at Nick. “You’re kidding!”

  “Nope. Ben just told me so I ran out to see if you were nearby. Thank God you were right here.”

  Fiona’s grip tightened. “Is this another tradition?”

  “It sure isn’t,” Nick said. “This is a first. You—”

  “I’ll walk you home, Fi.” He had no choice. Her deer-in-the-headlights expression didn’t bode well.

  “That’s okay.” She let go of his hand. “You don’t have to. I can—”

  “Nick?” Eva burst through the door, also without a coat. The sparkles in her hair and on her cheeks caught the lamplight. “Oh, good, you found them! Fi, come on. This is epic.”

  “I’m not sure I—”

  “You’ll hate yourself if you miss this, girlfriend. You really will.”

  Eva’s enthusiasm seemed to work where his logic had failed.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Without looking at him, she joined Eva, who immediately started chattering away as she ushered Fiona inside.

  Nick sighed. “She didn’t look totally okay with this.”

  “She’s not, but maybe if she has Eva…”

  “Let’s think positive, Santa.” He smiled. “Glad I got a preview of you in the suit. Garrett said you were something to behold.”

  “Yeah. Come on. I need to check on Fiona.” He started for the door.

  Nick followed him in. “My recommendation? Don’t hover. Let Eva handle it.”

  “Good advice.” He wound his way through the tables to the area commandeered by the gang. They’d saved his seat next to Millie and had managed to cram in one on his other side for Fiona. She’d taken off her coat and draped it over the back of the chair.

  Eva sat next to her, clearly giving her a pep talk. She kept her voice so low he couldn’t make out what she was saying. Not that she’d want him listening in.

  Besides, he had his hands full with his brothers. They felt obliged to carry on, at max volume, about how fabulous he looked in the suit. And he began to sweat. Concern about Fi was part of it, but the polyester suit over his shirt and jeans worked outside. Inside, not so much, especially with a packed house.

  When the Brotherhood finally abandoned the subject of his outfit, Jake leaned around Millie. “Hey, bro. Do you reckon Henri and the Babes will sound better than they do on karaoke night?”

  “Hope so. I think Henri might pull it off, but if the Babes are singing backup, I have my doubts about the outcome.”

  “Me, too. I’ll clap and shout and holler regardless, but—”

  “You all will,” Millie said. “I don’t care if they sound like tomcats on a back fence. You’re all gonna react like it’s Faith Hill and Tim McGraw up there, with backup from Dolly, Reba, Martina, Trisha and the Judds.”

  Jake nodded. “Yes, ma’am. We know that.”

  “Lucy didn’t say a word to me.” Matt sat on Millie’s far side. Clearly dumbstruck, he gazed at his wife as she joined the other Babes on the bandstand. “She has a pretty good voice, but I’m going with what Jake said about the karaoke nights.”

  “Yeah.” Jake chuckled. “Remember the night the coyotes started howling along with them? It was a tossup as to who sounded—”

  “Shh.” Millie put a hand on Jake’s arm. “They’re getting ready to start.”

  Sweat trickled down the side of Leo’s face. He unbuckled the wide black belt and opened his coat. Better. Except when he glanced at Fi, she was watching him. She looked nervous.

  He leaned toward her and kept his voice down. “I’m just a little—”

  “I can see you’re sweating.” She swallowed. “You should take off the coat.”

  He wasn’t going to chance it. “I’m okay.” He left the coat on and focused on Henri and Ben.

  They each held a cordless mic as they walked to the front of the bandstand. If they were rattled, it didn’t show.

  The lights gleamed on Henri’s short gray hair and Ben’s snowy mop that he kept long enough to touch his collar. They wore matching Western shirts in Christmas green.

  Their fond expressions as they glanced at each other brought a lump to his throat. If Henri couldn’t have Charley, he was glad she’d let herself fall in love with Ben.

  Ben addressed the crowd. “We’ve all been together a lot of years, and during that time I’ve hesitated to foist my singing on the good people of Apple Grove. But I like to sing, and so I decided—to paraphrase Lesley Gore—it’s my bar and I’ll sing if I want to.”

  Leo chuckled and snuck a glance at Fi. She’d smiled at that. Good sign.

  “And I want to sing,” Ben continued. “especially because Henri consented to a duet. For the past couple of Christmas seasons, I’ve thought of her whenever I’ve heard this tune. Couldn’t tell her. But this year I can. The Babes graciously agreed to provide backup. Hope you like it. Here’s our version of All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

  Leo and his brothers whistled and stomped louder than anyone in the room. Millie gave them an approving glance.

  The band played the intro and Henri began to sing. Leo’s breath caught. The woman could sing. Then Ben joined in and the Babes swayed and crooned perfectly in tune.

  Leo reached for Fiona’s hand under the table and wove his fingers through hers. He loved this song and couldn’t help moving in time to it. Fi moved a little, too. Having everyone’s attention focused on the stage seemed to have settled her down. Soon the entire Buckskin contingent was in motion.

  Toward the end, Leo stood and coaxed Fiona up, too. The wave traveled across the Brotherhood and continued through the rest of the audience until everyone was standing and swaying to the beat. Ben and Henri faced each other, singing their hearts out, oblivious to anything else.

  Leo swallowed as joy spread through the crowd. Beautiful.

  The song ended and Ben pulled Henri into a tight hug as the crowd roared its approval. They turned, arms around each other’s waist, and blinked as if startled by the standing ovation. Then they laughed and bowed in unison.

  Shouts of more, more, more earned a shake of the head from Ben. When the noise abated, he lifted the mic. “We practiced for hours on that. We don’t have a repertoire, at least not yet. But stay tuned. This was fun. We just might do it again.”

  Amid more enthusiastic applause, he and Henri turned and exchanged high-fives with the Babes before all of them exited the bandstand.

  The band launched into another song, but no one was on the floor. Everyone in the place had converged on Henri and Ben. Leo headed toward them, too, running interference so Fiona wouldn’t be caught in the crush.

  Eventually he made it through the crowd, tugging her along behind him. He kept her hand tightly in his as he reached the stars of the evening. “You two blew me away. The Babes did, too.”

  Henri gave him a quick hug. “Thanks, Santa. I see you brought this year’s Christmas elf along.” She gave Fiona a smile.

  Fiona returned it. “You were wonderful. Great.”

  “We worked hard on it,” Ben said. “Ed brought over a voice coach from LA, which helped a ton.”

  “I was terrified, anyway.” Henri glanced
at Ben. “This guy wouldn’t let me back out.”

  He grinned. “Are you sorry?”

  “I loved it. At least after the first ten seconds when I was shaking like a leaf.”

  Fiona stared at her. “You were scared?”

  “I was, but then we started, and I could tell Ben was having a blast. Something just gave way inside me. I didn’t want to waste such a special moment being scared.”

  “I can’t believe we didn’t know,” Leo said.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t figure it out, since I was gone so much with no explanation.”

  “We just thought you were sneaking off to be with Ben.”

  “I was. We practiced mostly at Ed’s, since the voice coach was staying with her.” She looked over at Fiona. “I love my journal, by the way. If I fill this one, and I might at the rate I’m going, I’ll need another one.”

  “I have more.”

  “Great.” She hesitated. “Leo mentioned you might not make it tomorrow. I’m sorry to hear that, but if you change your mind, please come. No need to notify me. It’s a buffet. Very casual. We’ll start around five.”

  “I appreciate the invitation.”

  Leo slipped his arm around her waist. She was trembling. “We should move aside. People are lining up behind us.”

  “Right.”

  That one tense syllable told him so much. Fi was in trouble.

  Henri beamed at them. “You need to dance to this one. They’re playing an appropriate tune.”

  “So they are.” He hadn’t paid attention to the song the band was playing until now. It was Keith Urban’s I’ll Be Your Santa Tonight.

  Leo gave Fiona’s waist a squeeze as they maneuvered back toward the table. “We don’t have to dance. We can leave.”

  “No, let’s dance.” Her tone was clipped.

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want to look like some scared rabbit running away to hide.” The words came out in a rush as she stared at the floor. “Now that I’m here, we should dance at least once. And you should take off your coat. And your glasses.”

  “But—”

  “Please, Leo. The longer you leave stuff on, the more ridiculous I feel.”

  “Should I take off the beard, too?”

  “Maybe not.”

  “Okay.” He took off the glasses and put them in the coat pocket. Slipping out of it, he left it at the table and led her to the dance floor. “We can go back to your place after this.”

  “That’s fine.”

  He drew her into his arms and she rested her cheek against his, likely to avoid gazing into his eyes. He sighed and pulled her closer. The tension began to ease from her body as she tucked in.

  Relax, Fi. I’ve got you.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The slow, sexy tune settled over Fiona, gradually replacing her anxiety with the sensual pleasure of Leo’s warm body pressed against hers. He gathered her close and moved to the beat, her hand held against his chest, their hips aligned.

  He moved his head a fraction and his beard tickled her cheek. She giggled, nervous tension making the sound higher pitched than normal.

  “Does it tickle?”

  “A little. It’s okay.” She snuggled closer, blocking out her surroundings. “More than okay.”

  “Not as soft as the mitten, though.”

  “Nope.” She closed her eyes and concentrated on his breathing blending with hers, the solid feel of his chest, the shelter of his broad shoulders and strong arms. The lights, the laughter, the murmur of voices and the clink of glasses faded. There was only the music and Leo.

  Sexual hunger teased her, gliding through her body. She absorbed the thump of his heartbeat. His breath feathered the side of her neck and her hips brushed his. Desire simmered just under the surface.

  They’d started dancing halfway through the song, so it ended before she was ready for the moment to be over. She stood still, eyes closed, holding onto the magic just a little bit long—

  “Clear the way!”

  A booming voice jerked her out of her romantic fog.

  Leo released her and turned. “Oh, God.” Grabbing her hand, he headed toward CJ, who had a grim-faced Isabel in his arms.

  Isabel was putting up a fight as Rafe and Matt forged a path through the crowd. “Stop this nonsense, all of you. I can walk, damn it!”

  “Not on my watch!” CJ kept going.

  Henri pushed her way up to Isabel and tucked a jacket around her. Garrett came along behind CJ and draped a shearling coat over his shoulders.

  Gripping Fiona’s hand, Leo made his way through the confusion to Garrett. “She’s in labor?”

  “Her water broke. Rafe and Matt are taking them to the hospital. Everybody’s headed there. Matt asked me to gather up Lucy, Kate and any of the Babes who need a ride. See you there.” He worked his way back toward the group of tables.

  See you there? Fiona’s breath caught as icicles of fear stabbed her chest.

  “Hey, bro.” Nick hurried up with Eva. “You and Fiona can come with us. I’m parked right in front. We just have to fetch our coats.”

  Leo glanced quickly at her. “Is that—”

  “It’s fine.” What else could she say? He’d never let her walk home alone so he could race to the hospital with the Buckskin gang. Besides, Isabel was a friend, someone she admired for her grit. She couldn’t turn tail and run.

  He flashed her a look of gratitude. “Thanks. I’ll get our coats. Meet you guys by the front door.”

  Eva looped an arm over her shoulders as they hurried toward the entrance. “Hang in there. It’ll work out.”

  “Yep.”

  “Why don’t you wait by the door for Leo? Nick and I will go warm up the truck.”

  “Okay.” Her stomach churned as she stood beside the door while others from the Buckskin gang hurried past. Several paused to ask if she needed a ride. She smiled and shook her head. The bulk of the crowd had remained and the band launched into Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.

  Leo showed up, her coat over his shoulder as he belted the Santa jacket. “Where’d they go?”

  “They’re warming up the truck.” His beard was askew and his blue eyes were more intense than ever. The disguise wasn’t working anymore, but now wasn’t the time to tell him.

  He helped her into her coat. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Come on.” If she kept moving, she’d get through it.

  He ushered her out the door. “This might not take long.”

  “We’ll see.” She prayed it wouldn’t, mostly for Isabel’s sake, but also for hers.

  An arm around her shoulders, Leo hustled her over to Nick’s vintage truck, which was a two-door with a cramped back seat. Nick jumped out and flipped down his seat so Fiona could climb in.

  Leo followed her. “Thanks for the ride, bro.”

  “Seemed obvious.” He pulled the seat into place, got behind the wheel and closed the door. “We’re the only ones who live in town, so we can bring you two back here when this is over.”

  “How long do you think it’ll take?” He reached for her hand and enclosed it in both of his.

  Nick backed the truck out of the parking space. “Not my area of expertise, but Eva was with the ladies for most of the day, so she might have info.”

  “It’s impossible to predict.” Eva turned in her seat. “We went online today, thinking we’d find some averages for first babies. No such thing. Some take forever to be born, and others pop right out.”

  “Cleo Marie will pop right out,” Leo said. “At least she will if she’s anything like her mother.”

  Fiona smiled, but it felt more like a grimace. “That’s for sure.” The dark interior of the truck gave her a temporary respite. The hospital would be bright, though.

  “I know, right?” Eva said. “I was amazed that she was working at Cup of Cheer when you and I met Beth for coffee two days ago.”

  “I think it’s way cool that this is happening on Christmas Ev
e.” Nick picked up speed as he headed out of town. “I’ve heard kids born during the holidays have their birthdays swallowed by everything else going on, but that won’t happen with Cleo Marie.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Right, bro?”

  “I can’t imagine it. CJ and Isabel won’t let that happen and Henri definitely won’t.”

  “Henri’s amazing,” Eva looked over at Nick. “Wasn’t that duet incredible?”

  “Sure was. Wondered if they’d ever get together, let alone sing a duet at the Moose on Christmas Eve.”

  “My money has been on Ben all along,” Eva said. “He’s been patiently waiting for Henri to come around.”

  Nick turned onto the road leading to Apple Grove General. “If you ask me, patience is highly overrated. It’s been four years. In Ben’s shoes, I would have made a move sooner.”

  “But timing is everything.” Leo tightened his grip on her hand.

  She looked over at him. “Or nothing.”

  “How so?”

  “You make a decision, it turns out great, and then you congratulate yourself on good timing.”

  “I so agree with you, girlfriend,” Eva said. “We get all puffed up about good timing when it’s mostly dumb luck. Cleo Marie is a perfect example.”

  Nick pulled into the hospital’s visitor parking lot. “CJ and Isabel don’t think so. CJ says this baby timed it perfectly so she’d bring them together.”

  Eva snorted. “From inside the womb, Nick? Do you believe that?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He pulled into a spot next to Jake’s truck and shut off the engine. “Just like I believe the bachelor auction was perfect timing for us to find each other.”

  Fiona couldn’t say the same about the auction. Or Operation Santa. When it came to Leo, the timing might never be right.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  No surprise, the interior of Apple Grove General was well lit. Leo tightened his grip on Fiona’s hand as he walked into the reception area. He’d only been in here a couple of times—a broken arm courtesy of an untrained horse and a broken toe compliments of a clumsy one.