A Cowboy's Christmas Promise

by Maggie McGinnis

  “But it’s day two and no one’s landed in the hospital yet. This is a good thing.”

  Hayley picked Kyla’s laminated list off the table. “Maybe I should look at the list. There has to be something else I could do that would be useful. Oh, look! Someone needs to pick the flowers! I can totally pick flowers! Ooh! I could do it while riding a horse, perhaps!”

  “Can’t do that one ’til Friday, or they’ll wilt.”

  “Um, place cards! How about I write up the place cards?”

  Kyla frowned carefully. “You’re a doctor. I’ve seen your writing.”

  “Good point. Okay, okay. There has to be something here that speaks to my talents. I’ll find it.” She stopped on an item halfway down the list. “Cupcake tasting? Now that sounds like something I could handle. But didn’t you and Decker already pick your cake flavors?”

  “We did, but Jenny’s all excited to have us try these new cupcakes she’s doing at the bakery now. She’s doing a cupcake tree for the reception. The kids will love it.”

  “So how about I head right into town and taste cupcakes for you? I’ll give you a full report when I get back. Later. Much. For instance, after the centerpieces are done.”

  Kyla laughed. “I don’t think Jenny has them ready yet, or I’d be happy to send you.”

  “Do you need me to scout the ceremony site? Head out on horseback and make sure there aren’t any rogue poison ivy plants in the area or anything?”

  “As helpful as that sounds—”

  “Seriously. What if the foliage clashes with the dirndls? We wouldn’t want the pictures ruined. I should definitely ride out and check everything out while there’s still time to make adjustments.”

  “Y’know, I can tell you’re not quite sold on the whole dirndl thing. But wait ’til you see the pictures. With the mountains in the background, the green meadow, the blue sky.” Kyla put her hands to her chest, then fluttered her fingers like one of the self-centered designers on that runway show where people had to make clothing out of tinfoil and duct tape and plastic wrap. “When it all comes together, you’ll understand my vision.”

  “Oh, I’ll be a vision, all right.”

  “Well, just think. When you get married, you can stick me in a hot-pink muumuu and six-inch heels if you want. Bridal privilege!”

  Hayley laughed at the thought of Kyla stumbling down an aisle in that getup. “That’s easy for you to say. You know there’s no risk.”

  “Because you’re never getting married. I know.”

  “Exactly. I will leave the bridal bliss to those more qualified to handle it.”

  “I still think you’d look adorable with a minivan full of little redheads.”

  “Bite your tongue, girl! I will never drive a minivan.”

  Kyla winked. “You say that now.”

  “Oh, you can engrave that now.”

  “So…on a completely different topic, did you get a chance to talk with Daniel yesterday?”

  Hayley laughed. “Oh, yes. That’s a completely different topic.”

  She fiddled with a strip of lace as she thought back to yesterday’s conversation with Daniel. And tried not to admit that thinking about him had delayed her sleep last night by an uncomfortable amount of time.

  “He’s nice,” she finally said.

  “Yes?” Kyla’s eyebrows hiked upward, obviously hoping for more.

  “He is. He’s nice.”

  “How about funny? Gorgeous? Smart?”

  Hayley waved a hand carelessly. “Sure. All of those, too.”

  “Aha.” Kyla grinned.

  “Take your matchmaker grin off, missy.”

  “I know, I know. ‘I’m just here for a cowboy fling.’ ”

  “Exactly. And he’s not really a cowboy—though he does wear a Stetson pretty well.”

  Kyla shook her head, biting her lip.

  Hayley growled. “Stop smiling. He’s a really nice guy. Easy to talk to, crazy easy on the eyes. But it’s not like we forged some sort of cosmic connection in our twenty minute conversation in a barn yesterday.”

  Because there’s no such thing. Just because I was up half the night thinking about him means nothing.

  “You never know.”

  Hayley put down the list and felt her pockets for her phone, which she’d apparently left in her cabin. Time to divert this conversation before it got even more uncomfortable. She pointed to Kyla’s bag. “Where is your phone? I need to call Jess.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she’s way better at this starry-eyed bride thing. I’m going to give you to her, and I’m going to go hang out with the cowboys.”

  “Nice try, but you’re stuck with me ’til Thursday. She had a class she couldn’t cancel.”

  “Class? Right. Actually, she’s getting her dirndl adjusted. Said she was going to take it up a few inches and shred the sleeves a bit so it’s a little more Goth.”

  Kyla laughed. “You’re going to regret all this dirndl-hate, you know. When Saturday comes and Daniel can’t take his eyes off you, we’ll talk.”

  “I never said I wanted his eyes on me.”

  “Right.”

  “Okay, bride-girl. The entire world is pink and fluffy and smells like roses.”

  “That’s better.”

  The swinging doors between the great room and kitchen flew open and Decker’s mother bustled through with a plate of hot sugar cookies. She had her customary jeans and plaid shirt on, her silver hair roped into a messy bun. “You gals sound hungry out here. Eat.”

  Hayley hugged Ma as she took the plate. “See, Kyla? Now this is a woman who knows how to treat the guests. No glue guns, no pine pitch, no lace. Just good, hot cookies.”

  Ma peered down at the disaster that was Hayley’s centerpiece and nodded slowly. “Kyla, honey? You got a different job maybe Hayley can do?”

  “Sure, Ma. You want me to send her into the kitchen with you?” Kyla’s eyebrows were high, her grin just barely suppressed.

  “Um…”

  Hayley laughed. “Gosh, you two sure do know how to make a girl feel welcome.”

  “You know, I could actually use a few things at the grocery. Would save me a trip into town. You want to take the truck in and do a little shopping?”

  “Because I’m safer if I’m not here at Whisper Creek?” Hayley tossed the last bit of lace to the table as she laughed again. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t want me in your kitchen, either. Yes. I will happily go get groceries.”

  Ma motioned Hayley out of her chair, then sat down. “All right. Let me see if I can rescue—um—adjust this centerpiece a little.”

  “Thanks, Ma. I’m thinking I should probably stick to the barns while I’m here.”

  “Mmm hmm.” Ma looked up, a small smile playing at the edges of her lips. “Might be me, but I don’t think it’s the barns you’re interested in, my girl.”

  —

  Later that evening, Hayley headed out of the main lodge after helping Ma with dinner cleanup. It was eight o’clock, the sun hadn’t yet set, and she was looking forward to sitting on her cabin porch with a big glass of lemonade and the book she’d picked up at the airport. She headed down the path toward the guest cottages, but the sight of a black truck parked near the barn had her freezing in her tracks.

  Daniel was here. Again.

  But she should just keep walking, right? Just head toward her cabin, pour that lemonade, grab that book, put her feet up, and enjoy the evening breeze on the porch swing. She definitely shouldn’t be turning toward the barn, wondering why he was back at Whisper Creek.

  She definitely shouldn’t be abandoning all reason and following the sound of his whistling. Again.

  Two minutes later, she peered over a huge stall and found Daniel walking Apollo in tiny circles. The vet did not look amused, but the horse looked even less so. Daniel hadn’t seen her yet, and she didn’t want to spook him or the giant horse, so she folded her arms on the stall door and waited for him to complete a circle and co
me back her way.

  When he looked over and saw her, she was gratified to see a smile steal over his face. “Hey, Hayley. They finally let you off KP duty?”

  “Yep. I’ve been dismissed to my cabin for the night.”

  He cleared his throat. “This is not your cabin, is it?”

  “Why, yes. Special wedding guests get to stay in Stall Four.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “So I shouldn’t believe Cole, who was complaining that the bridesmaids had commandeered the best cabin for two weeks?”

  “Stall Four is the best cabin, isn’t it?”

  Daniel laughed. “I suppose, if you’re a horse person.”

  “I always wanted one of those stable-girl jobs where you got to live in the barn with the horses. This could be my chance.”

  Without warning, her stomach stabbed as she pictured little Celia and Izzy sitting on her bed one of those nights where the fighting was really bad downstairs, making plans to run away and live in a stable with her.

  Daniel peered over the stall wall. “Well, you’re going to have to kick out Moon Gypsy if you want to sleep in her stall. And you might need a shovel.”

  Hayley pretended to ponder, giving herself a moment to shake the memory loose. “Y’know, maybe I’ll just stick with my queen-sized bed and claw-foot tub.” She watched him do another circle. “You really do work here all the time, don’t you?”

  “Not all, but a lot.”

  “So you have to walk him all night?”

  He grimaced in response. “Possibly. Depends how things go. I imagine you don’t do a lot of colic in your practice, hmm?”

  “Um, no. My teeny beasts tend to have the opposite problem.”

  She kept watching as he circled, trying not to let her eyes wander down his body. Trying not to appreciate how his broad shoulders and pecs filled out his faded T-shirt so perfectly. Trying not to notice that his jeans fit even better than the ones he’d had on this morning, and that his smoothly shaved face had given way to delicious, dark stubble.

  He was not her target demographic for the week, dammit. She should be heading to the evening trail ride, where the cowboys were going to be.

  Apollo was quivery, and his already scary-looking head was dominated by wide eyes and laid-back ears. He was making no secret of his irritation with Daniel’s efforts to keep him on his feet.

  “Easy, boy. Settle down. Settle.” Daniel’s voice was low and steady as he tried to stop Apollo from bouncing his head to break loose from the lead rope. “It’s gonna be fine. Settle down. Keep walking. Settle.”

  “You’re going to get dizzy walking around in circles all night.”

  “I’ll bring him out into the hallway once he’s a little calmer, but for right now, I feel better having him in here. It’s harder for him to break free of me.”

  “Now do you wish you had an assistant?”

  Maybe, say, one who’s five-foot-ten and has red hair?

  “Yes.” He flashed a smile over his shoulder, and Hayley could swear that smile woke up a flock of teeny tiny baby birds in her stomach.

  Just then Cole’s voice came from a stall somewhere down the barn, startling Hayley. “Don’t hire her. She’s a city gal specializing in show cats and dropkick dogs. Plus, she’s dangerous to have around.”

  “I love you, too, Cole,” Hayley called. “And also I would like to point out that I’ve been disaster-free for three days and counting.” She paused. “And also also, I would like to thank you for my fabulous accommodations.”

  Cole emerged and sauntered toward her. His light brown hair peeked out from under his Stetson, and was it her imagination, or did all Whisper Creek guys come with bodies that could be on calendars? No wonder the website got so many hits.

  Still, as gorgeous as he was, when she looked back at Daniel, there was no comparison, at least for her. Where Cole’s hair was light brown, Daniel’s was the color of the darkest chocolate. Where Cole’s eyes were laughing and bright blue, Daniel’s hovered somewhere between brown and green, crinkled at the edges from way too many days out in the hot sun, she imagined.

  Or maybe a lot of laughing, somewhere back in time.

  “We still have a long way to go before you’re back on a plane. And Jess arrives in a couple of days, so our risk doubles exponentially at that point.” He looked into Apollo’s stall. “What do you think, Dan?”

  “I think we’re gonna have an overnighter with this guy, unfortunately.”

  Cole slapped his hands gently on the stall door. “Damn.”

  “I’ve got it covered. I’m okay to stay.”

  “No, you can’t. That’s ridiculous.”

  Hayley perked up. “I could help!”

  “Really. I’m good.” Daniel pointed to a small cooler and thermos as he circled the horse toward the stall door. “I’ve got coffee and Coke. Cole, you’ve got a night ride going out in half an hour, and a full slate of stuff going on tomorrow. And a wedding to get ready for. I can do this.”

  Cole shook his head. “I appreciate it, but I don’t feel good about it. I’ll let you do the next two hours while I’m out on the trail. Then we’ll talk.” He pointed at Hayley. “Appreciate your offer to help, but it scares me. You need supervision.”

  Hayley rolled her eyes as he headed toward the ranch hands gathering in the corral just outside the barn. “I don’t need supervision. Don’t listen to him.”

  “Sure.”

  She leaned back on the wall. “This all-nighter thing is sort of above and beyond, isn’t it?”

  “No. Not really. Not with everything going on here this week. It’s the least I can do.”

  “Can’t the ranch hands help?”

  “Maybe, but Cole and Decker are already short-staffed, and they don’t want any of the other guys trying to deal with guests on not enough sleep. That’s a prescription for an accident.”

  “Is this the kind of thing you do often? Set up your caffeine station and spend the night making yourself dizzy?” She, who closed her office at five o’clock sharp even on the worst days, could hardly imagine this lifestyle.

  “Not often, no.” He paused, trying again to steady Apollo’s head. “But I’ve been friends with these guys forever. Plus, I’m the only large-animal vet in this part of the county, so when a horse goes down, it’s me or nobody.”

  “How many hours a week do you end up working? If that isn’t too nosy a question?”

  “Too many, usually. I need a partner, but being a horse and cow vet in this neck of the woods is turning out to be a harder sell than I thought.”

  “Well, most grads long for the kind of glamorous life I have as a city vet, right?”

  He was looking for a partner? Why did that make the baby birds sit up and peep so loudly?

  He laughed. “Maybe, but I’d still rather get kicked by a horse than scratched by an overbred tabby.”

  Hayley automatically lifted her hand to her neck as she watched him make another slow circle in the stall. The view from behind was just as good as the one from head-on.

  She gulped. “It’s, um, it’s a good thing you don’t have vertigo issues.”

  He looked over his shoulder, winking. “I’m going to end up with some at this rate.”

  “I feel guilty just standing out here while you do all the work. Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?”

  “Not really, no. But I appreciate you asking.”

  “Can I go make you some dinner, maybe? To go with the stomach-rotting beverages you brought?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “That depends. Do you like kitchens more than you like crafts?”

  “Nope. I do make a mean chicken noodle soup, though.”

  “From a can?”

  “You betcha.”

  Daniel shook his head, smiling. “Well, my boxed mac ’n’ cheese is to die for, so I won’t judge.”

  “But see, I don’t have to cook. Where I live, there are seventeen different restaurants within four blocks. What do you do for food out here?”

/>   “I eat a lot of mac ’n’ cheese.”

  “I can make other things.” She watched him do another circle. “Do you like peanut butter, for instance?”

  “As gourmet as that sounds, I’m good, thanks. I brought food.”

  She peered into his open backpack. “You have six granola bars and a banana.”

  “Food.” He walked another circle, and she could hear his low voice talking to Apollo. The soft rumble of it did jumpy things to her insides, and she realized she wouldn’t mind listening to it for a long, long time.

  All night, for instance.

  When he came around to face her, she felt her face flush as she tried to erase the thought from her mind. “Tell you what, Hayley. If I get a hankering for chicken noodle soup, I’ll let you know. You heading out on the trail ride with Cole?”

  Oh, yikes. Was that a dismissal?

  “Um, yeah. Maybe. No. I don’t know. Probably not.”

  Seriously? Could she sound any more like an eighth grader with a desperate crush?

  Daniel laughed, low and rumbly and gorgeous. “You always this decisive?”

  “No. Yes.” She shook her head. “Merda. I should go.”

  He laughed again. “You could stay and keep me company if you’re bored.”

  Really?

  She tried to suppress her grin as she pushed away from the stall door. “I could do that. I’m good at…company.”

  She saw him wipe his hand across his face again, and cringed as she realized he was hiding yet another tolerant smile. “Up to you. I don’t want to take you away from the full cowgirl experience, night-ride version.”

  Hayley felt her face flame as his words went all double-entendre in her head. She really needed to get a grip. “I, um, I did the night rides last year. Too many divorcees with very, very little self-control.” She shivered.

  Daniel laughed. “Cole and Decker would agree with you there.” He turned to face her. “Then you should probably stick here in the barn. It’s safer.”

  “You’re probably right. You sure? I won’t be in your way?”

  “Not at all. You’ll help keep me awake, which will prevent me from getting trampled to death by a colicky stallion.”