Cowboy Christmas Jubilee

by Dylann Crush

  “I suppose that’s good to know. Hey, I need to take him out to go potty real quick, then I’ll come back in and clean up. And, Dixie?” Jinx grimaced. “Can you please keep this a secret? Just for the next day or two until I find somewhere to keep him while I’m at work?”

  “About that. ” Dixie made her way to the sink to rinse off her hands. “Where are you staying?”

  “I’ve been bunking down here and there for the past couple of days. I’m hoping to find someone who needs a roomie soon. Know anyone?”

  “Actually, yeah, I do.” Dixie dried her hands with a paper towel. “How would you like to take over my extra bedroom? I’ve been thinking of getting a roommate to help with expenses. It’s not much, just an apartment over the antique store downtown, but it has plenty of room for two.”

  “What’s your rent run? And how about him?” Jinx held Hendrix away from her chest. “Any pet restrictions?”

  “Rent is eight hundred a month plus utilities, so about four fifty would cover it. And I think pets are okay as long as they’re under twenty-five pounds.”

  Jinx ran through the pros and cons in her head. Having a place to stay that had actual walls would make her time in Holiday so much more bearable. But shelling out that much money in rent would mean it would take longer to get enough together to fix up her bike and be on her way. If she knew for sure the job in New Orleans would still be there when she got there, it would be easier to make a decision. “That sounds great. Let me check a couple of things on my end. Can I let you know in a day or two?”

  “Sure. No rush. I’d need some time to clean out the second bedroom anyway. I’ve got a lot of craft stuff in there right now.”

  “What kind of crafts?” Jinx asked.

  Dixie flicked her dangly earring. “Jewelry mostly, although I also dabble in photography. None of that pays the bills though, so if you want it, the space is yours.”

  “Thanks, Dixie.”

  “No problem. And just so you know”—she nodded toward Hendrix—“your secret’s safe with me.”

  “No bad mojo?” Jinx wasn’t sure she understood Dixie’s stance on lies versus secrets.

  “Nope. Keeping a secret is fine. Lying about it is what gets you into trouble.”

  “Glad we got that straight.” She waited until Dixie left the storeroom, then tucked Hendrix under her arm. “Let’s get you outside for a couple of minutes.”

  She took him out back and set him on the ground. The light hanging from the tall pole outside the back door cast a circle of yellow around them. Hendrix sniffed around, venturing outside the glowing ring. While she waited for him to do his business, Jinx brainstormed places she could stay. When she’d worked janitorial in a high-rise building, she’d spent the night in one of the empty offices. But Holiday didn’t look like it had a booming need for corporate cleaning services. She’d even slept in a shed at a gardening supply nursery for a few weeks before she had started working with Wade. It was easy to find places to hide out in LA. Not so much here in Holiday, where everyone seemed to keep track of everyone else’s comings and goings.

  “Hurry up, Hendrix.” Where did he go? He usually didn’t wander far, but she’d lost track of him. “Hendrix?”

  Jinx crept around the grassy area, trying to catch a glimpse of him. She stopped when she came to the edge of the pigpen. Charlie had pointed out the Rose’s mascot on her brief tour of the grounds. But Jinx hadn’t seen the pig since. Soft snuffles and snorts came from a far corner.

  “Hendrix? You’d better get over here, buddy, or your ass is grass.” The flashlight on her phone didn’t help much, but she held it out in front of her, trying to find where the noise was coming from.

  There was Hendrix, on his back, the giant pig hovering over him.

  “Get away from him! Hendrix, come here!” She clapped her hand against her thigh. Hendrix’s head lolled back, and he yapped at her. She ran closer, waving her hands in the air above her, sure the pig was eating her traveling companion for a late-night snack. Finally, just a few feet from the pig, Jinx stopped. Pork Chop was giving Hendrix a bath with her tongue, licking off every dot of marshmallow fluff. And the little beast was loving it. His hind leg whapped the ground when Pork Chop started in on his head. He’d always loved to have his ears scratched.

  “You little troublemaker. Get over here.” She reached out and hooked his collar with her finger. He bounced to his feet and let her pick him up. The pig sat back on her butt. Jinx could have sworn she frowned at her. Then Pork Chop nudged into her, trying to finish what she’d started with Hendrix.

  “Get away from me!” Jinx stumbled back, landing on her ass in a puddle of mud. Great, just great. Now she’d have to find a way to do laundry. Otherwise, she was down to a miniskirt and one pair of leggings.

  She brushed herself off as best she could, then took Hendrix back into the storeroom and rinsed him off. “You stay put. I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”

  With a thin layer of mud coating her backside, she poked her head into the office, where Charlie was counting up the till.

  “You need me to do anything else?” She tried to block her mud-coated lower half with the door.

  “Nope, I just need to finish up in here. Hey, do you have a sec?” Charlie looked up from the stacks of cash spread out on the desk in front of her.

  “Sure.” Jinx ventured into the office, careful not to turn, so Charlie couldn’t see she’d taken an impromptu mud bath in the pigpen.

  Charlie tucked her pencil behind her ear. “How are you liking it around here?”

  “Oh, it’s great. Thanks so much for the opportunity.” Piles of dollar bills covered half the desktop. Wade would die, actually keel over and shit himself if he saw the kind of cash the Rambling Rose pulled in on a single Friday night.

  Leaning forward to rest her elbows on the desk, Charlie sighed. “Can I be honest with you for a sec?”

  “Sure.” She was a little taken aback by the question. Jinx didn’t usually inspire relative strangers to share deep thoughts with her, especially sober relative strangers.

  “I need help.” Charlie gestured to her humongous belly. “The baby’s going to be here soon, and I need to start pulling back on my responsibilities at the Rose. I’ve already got Shep and Angelo taking on more than their fair share. With Beck devoting more and more time to developing his craft brew, I need someone I can count on to pick up the slack. Are you interested?”

  “Like what?” If it meant extra pay or extra hours, she was in. The sooner she made enough to repair her bike, the sooner she’d be back on the road.

  “Helping me with the accounting piece. Maybe take over the scheduling. I’m transitioning a lot of the special event planning to Dixie, but I know she could use some help with that too.”

  Sounded easy enough. And it wasn’t anything she hadn’t done in one of her many previous jobs. “Sure. I can use the extra hours.”

  “Great. You want to start by recounting the deposit for tomorrow? I’ve got to run to the bathroom. This kid is sitting right on my bladder.” Charlie struggled to rise from the chair. “I swear I must pee at least five thousand times a day.”

  “Um, okay.” Jinx waited until Charlie waddled out of the room before turning to the desk full of cash in front of her. Had to be more than enough to fix her bike and get her to New Orleans with plenty to spare. Wade never would have let anyone near this kind of dough. Was Charlie that naive, just that trusting, or did being pregnant suck all the important brain cells out of her head and decimate her judgment?

  Jinx wasn’t there to figure out Charlie’s mental health status. And she wasn’t a thief. So she grabbed a towel to protect the seat, picked up the nearest stack, and began to count.

  * * *

  A half hour later, Jinx made it to the storeroom to get Hendrix. “Sorry, little guy. We’ll figure something out soon, I promise.” She sh
ould have found him a new home back in LA. Geri would have taken him if she hadn’t had a trailer full of cats already. She was the kind of woman who couldn’t say no to anyone, especially a male. Jinx let herself smile for a second as she thought about her ex-coworker. She wondered how long Geri had been able to hold off telling Wade that Jinx had taken off for good this time.

  She stuffed the leftover wrap she’d had for dinner into her bag. Tips had been good, but she didn’t want to spend all her income on food. The wrap would be enough for breakfast, and Charlie had asked her to come in for the Saturday morning crowd, so she’d be able to grab something then. This living meal to meal would get old soon. Not that she’d ever managed to save more than a month or two extra in the bank. But living paycheck to paycheck sure beat not knowing where her next meal would come from.

  At least working at the bar would ensure she didn’t totally starve. And if it worked out to stay with Dixie for a month or two, she’d have a roof over her head. For now, she’d settle for a quick sponge bath over the utility sink. When was the last time she’d actually washed her hair? Tonight might be her lucky night.

  She grabbed one of the clean washcloths and a hand towel. In less than five minutes, she managed to scrub down her whole body and wash her hair in the oversize utility tub. It would be nice to crawl into her sleeping bag without a boozy film on her skin. She threw on her last pair of clean leggings and a shirt, then tossed the linens in the washing machine.

  Maybe this stint in Holiday, Texas, wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe with the extra responsibilities Charlie was going to give her, she’d actually manage to save a little for a change. Maybe she’d turn her history of bad luck around.

  Maybe.

  * * *

  Cash poured himself two fingers of whiskey from the bottle Charlie kept hidden in her bottom desk drawer, then settled into the chair across from her. She counted up the cash, slipping a rubber band around each stack when she got to a certain amount.

  “Looks like a good night tonight?” He kicked his boots onto the edge of the desk.

  She glared at him, holding out a finger, her lips moving as she counted.

  “Sorry, Sis.” The amber liquid slid down his throat, the burn a welcome distraction from what had been bothering him all night.

  Jinx.

  She’d laid that line on him, then barreled out from behind the bar, and he hadn’t seen her since.

  Charlie snapped a rubber band on the last stack. “There. Now, what were you asking that was so important you made me have to count that pile twice?”

  “Nothing. Just saying it looked like the Rose did well tonight.” He lifted his feet off the desk and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “Did your new bartender leave already?”

  Charlie scooted back in her chair, crossing her arms under her chest. “What do you care?”

  “What? I care if y’all do a good business here. Job security and all that.”

  His sister’s head shook from side to side. “Not what I meant.”

  “What, then?”

  “What is it with Jinx? I know you don’t like her look—the hair, the tattoos, the metal. But what’s your problem with her?” Charlie’s eyes narrowed.

  “Nothing.” He scoffed, held his arms out to the sides, shrugged. Anything to make him look unaffected at the mention of the blue-haired bartender’s name. “I just wondered how she was getting home. Where’s she staying, anyhow?”

  “Oh. I guess I didn’t ask.” A wrinkle appeared between Charlie’s eyebrows. “I didn’t even think about that.”

  “Yeah. I recognized all the vehicles left in the lot. Either she’s catching a ride with someone, or she’s walking wherever she’s going tonight.” For some reason, the thought of Jinx heading home with one of the frat boys down from San Marcos made his chest constrict. What the hell was that all about? She’d made it pretty damn clear he wasn’t her type. Hell, he didn’t even want to be her type. He wasn’t looking for a hookup or anything else. Wouldn’t mean a thing to him if she found a bed to warm. As long as she kept her word to Charlie—that’s all he needed to be worried about. He set the glass tumbler on the edge of the desk, no longer in the mood for a drink.

  “She seems like a big girl. I’m sure if she’s biking cross country, she can look out for herself.” Charlie lifted the tumbler to her nose and inhaled. “I miss Sully. We used to toast over big nights like tonight while we counted up the till.”

  Cash knew Charlie had a special place in her heart for the old owner of the Rambling Rose. “But if he hadn’t passed, you wouldn’t have met Beck, and you wouldn’t be about to make me an uncle again.”

  “True.” She set the glass down on the desk. “Speaking of my hubby, he’s going to be here any minute to drive me home. I told him I’m pregnant, not completely incapable. He’s been up since the crack of dawn, working on the house. I can get myself home.”

  “He cares about you. Let him spoil you for a change.” He offered a hand when she struggled to get up from the chair. “When are you going to start letting him work the late shifts around here? You ought to be taking it easy.”

  “Right. I told Beck, and I’ll tell you—this place is in my blood. I’ll probably go into labor during the New Year’s Eve party or something. You’ll have to haul me out of here kicking and screaming.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.” Cash could picture it now, Charlie scaring that baby into staying put until she was damn well ready for it to arrive. He didn’t want to be the one to tell her that all her well-laid plans would get blown to bits as soon as that baby started screaming. He wasn’t that far away from the sleepless nights and dirty diapers that he couldn’t remember how it felt to be at the beck and call of a ten-pound tyrant.

  Charlie gathered the cash and dropped it into a bank bag, then tucked it under her arm. “I did ask Jinx if she could pitch in on some of the office stuff. You proud of me for stepping back a bit?”

  “What kind of office stuff?”

  “Just counting up the deposits, maybe helping with staff schedules for the part-timers. She seems capable.”

  Cash clenched his jaw. “What do you know about her? Did you do a background check?”

  Charlie put a hand on her hip. “Of course I did a background check. All clear. Obviously, she’s experienced behind the bar. Plus, I had her recount the deposit tonight, and she actually told me the number I came up with was short a couple of twenties. Those brand-new bills stick together sometimes, you know?” Charlie shrugged. “She could have pocketed the difference, and I never would have known. What do you have against that poor girl?”

  “Nothing.” How could he explain the sixth sense a law enforcement officer had to deal with, even when off duty, to someone who trusted with her whole heart and soul? “Just be careful, okay?”

  She shook her head, dismissing his concern. “Can you lock up for me?”

  “No problem.” He walked her to the back door just as Beck pulled up in his truck. “Have a good night, Sis.”

  “You too.” She half hugged him before waddling down the steps to her waiting husband.

  Cash turned back to the honky-tonk. Everyone else had cleared out, and an eerie quiet settled over the usually bustling building. He did a quick walk-through to make sure everything was locked up. As he passed the utility room, he thought he heard a dripping sound. He flicked on the light and noticed the faucet hadn’t been turned off completely. Well, damn. He tightened the knob, then wiped his hand on his jeans. Something about the sink looked off. He leaned down to get a better look. Blue. Like someone had spilled some blue food coloring down the damn drain.

  Or maybe blue hair dye.

  Why the hell would Jinx be washing her hair in the storage room? No matter what Charlie thought, her new employee had to be hiding something. And he wanted to find out what it was. Not because she put him on edge, made him fe
el like he was standing at the rim of some deep ravine. No, he wanted to make sure she wasn’t trying to pull a fast one on the people he loved.

  Resolved to check her out more thoroughly in the morning, he locked the back door and pulled it closed behind him. Tonight, he’d do what he did every Friday night after a long shift at the bar—head home, pour himself a stiff one, and try to pass out before he started feeling sorry for himself for what a shitstorm his life had become.

  Buried in thoughts of the past, he almost drove right by the black-jacket-wearing pedestrian. He slowed and pulled up beside her.

  “Where you headed?”

  “None of your business.” Jinx didn’t glance over.

  “Let me give you a ride.” At least she hadn’t disappeared with someone else. For some reason, that realization shed a hint of lightness over his dark heart. “Come on, Jinx.”

  When he mentioned her name, she finally looked over. “Are you following me?”

  “What? No, I’m not following you. I’m heading home. Why don’t you get in the truck?” His tone didn’t leave room for negotiation. But damn if she didn’t keep putting one foot in front of the other.

  “No thanks. I like to walk.”

  “Get in the damn truck,” he growled.

  She kicked at the gravel on the side of the road. “I said I like to walk.”

  He slammed on the brakes, threw the truck in park, and got out. He was used to people doing what he said. His job depended on it. He caught up to her and fell into step beside her. “You don’t mind if I walk with you then, do you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t need an escort, Deputy.”

  “No. You need to get in the truck. But if you insist on walking, you don’t leave me much choice but to make sure you get where you’re going safe and sound.”

  “And you’re really going to leave your truck here and walk with me wherever I want to go?”

  “Well, I’d rather drive you, but my mama would whup me good if she found out I let a woman walk home alone at three o’clock in the fucking morning.”