Cowboy Christmas Jubilee

by Dylann Crush

  Kenzie nuzzled the little critter against her cheek. “Isn’t he so cute, Daddy?”

  “Adorable.” He pulled the brim of his hat over his eyes.

  “Want to hold him?” She held it out. The dog scrambled to cling to her palm.

  Cash reached for it at the same time as Jinx. Their hands bumped, both trying to grab on to Hendrix.

  “It’s okay. I’ve got him.” Jinx smiled up at him, the sun glinting across her pale skin. Her eyes looked more blue than gray out in the sunshine.

  “Yeah, go ahead.” He untangled his hand from hers. “Kenzie, let’s head out. I’m sure Jinx has stuff to do today before she has to be back at work.” He studied her profile while she settled Hendrix against her chest. God, would he ever look at the Rambling Rose’s logo the same?

  “Can we take care of Hendrix while she works tonight? Please, oh please, Daddy?” Kenzie danced around in front of him, tugged on his hands, and shot him her best puppy dog eyes.

  “I’m sure Jinx has a place for him.”

  Kenzie stuck out her lower lip. “No. He’ll have to go back in his crate. But I could watch him. I’ll hold him real careful, I promise. I’ll even do all my homework.”

  “Reading too?” he asked. Ever since the meeting with her teacher, he couldn’t help but notice how much she hated doing her reading homework.

  She let out a huge sigh. “Do I have to do all of it?”

  “Hey, I have an idea.” Jinx paused, glancing over at Cash. “If your dad says it’s okay, maybe you can read to Hendrix?”

  Kenzie lit up like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. “Oh, please, Daddy? I promise I’ll do all my reading if I can read to Hendrix.”

  They didn’t have plans that night. He only pitched in one weekend night at the bar so he’d have time to spend with Kenzie. Sure, why not? She could play with the dog, and he’d have a chance to catch up on some paperwork.

  “If it’s okay with Jinx…”

  Tiny arms wrapped around his legs like a vise. “Thank you, Daddy.”

  “Sure. I think he’d like that. Why don’t we put him in his crate so you can get him home?” Jinx offered. “And maybe I can show you a couple of tricks that might help with your reading.”

  Kenzie beamed up at him. “Jinx mixes up her b’s and d’s just like me, Daddy. She says she had diplexia.”

  “Dyslexia.” Jinx laughed. “It just means I sometimes get my letters mixed up a little. I had a great teacher when I was about your age, and she taught me some ways to make it easier to see the difference.”

  Cash cringed at the mention of the d-word. Kenzie’s teacher had put them on the list for a tutor, but the daily fights over getting the reading homework done were taking their toll. Maybe Jinx could offer a few suggestions. He hoped he wouldn’t regret giving in this time. “So, how long until you need to be back?”

  “Couple of hours. I was just going to walk over to Dwight’s to see how things are going with the bike.”

  “We’d be happy to give you a ride.”

  “Oh, that’s okay. It’s nice out. I can walk.”

  “It’ll take you an hour just to get there and back. This way, you can fill me in on how not to kill the critter while we Hendrix-sit for you tonight. What do you say?”

  She didn’t exactly smile, but the tiny upward tilt of her lips told him he’d won this round. “Let me just tell Dixie I’ll be back.”

  “Yay! Jinx is going to ride with us!” Kenzie grabbed Jinx’s backpack from where she’d set it on the ground.

  Jinx reached for it as Kenzie tried to hoist it into the truck. “Oh, I’ll get that.”

  Before she had a chance to grab it, the bag tumbled onto the ground. Clothes, toiletries, and a couple of credit cards spilled onto the gravel between them.

  Jinx crouched down, trying to scoop everything back into the bag.

  “I’m sorry.” Kenzie’s lower lip trembled.

  “It’s okay, sweetie. It was an accident.” Cash squatted next to Jinx to help. His fingers closed around one of the shiny credit cards. Turned out it wasn’t a credit card after all but some sort of cash card.

  “Here you go.” He handed it back.

  She shoved it to the bottom of her bag without looking up. “Thanks. What a mess. I need to better organize my stuff, I guess.”

  “Here’s another one.” Kenzie held out a silver and red card that sparkled in the sun. “How much is five-zero-zero?”

  Cash looked from his daughter to Jinx. “That’s five hundred dollars.”

  Jinx’s cheeks pinkened. “I didn’t want to have a bunch of cash on me while I was on the road.”

  Cash nodded. “Okay.”

  “This way, I can store the numbers in my phone and don’t have to keep track of it all.”

  “Makes sense.” Sure, it might make sense—if he wasn’t already getting a weird vibe from her.

  “You ready to head to town?” Jinx stood and slung the strap of her backpack over her shoulder.

  “Yep. Kenzie, let’s go hop in the truck.” He made sure Kenzie got settled, then climbed in the cab next to Jinx. What was she hiding? As he pulled onto the road to take them to town, he vowed he’d figure it out—hopefully before someone he loved, like Charlie or Kenzie, got too attached.

  Chapter Seven

  Jinx pulled her jacket tighter around her. The bar hadn’t been as busy tonight. Storms had raged across the county off and on for hours. Hopefully, she’d make it back to the tent before the next shower started. At least Hendrix was safe and warm at Cash’s place. Maybe Kenzie would be willing to watch him for a while until she could find a better place to stay.

  A fat raindrop plopped onto her head. Crap. This was the one drawback to her freewheeling plan. Sleeping outdoors in a non-waterproof tent meant she had a miserable night ahead of her.

  Headlights appeared in the distance. She only had another quarter mile or so to go. The drainage ditch sat low on this stretch of road. She didn’t want to scramble down the embankment and get stuck trekking the rest of the way through the tall weeds. Who knew what kind of creatures might be slithering through the grass? Instead, she pulled her jacket up and over her head, shielding her face from the oncoming lights.

  The vehicle passed her, and she let out the breath she’d been holding. Just another truck. Did people around here even own two-door and four-door cars? Seemed like everyone had at least some sort of four-wheel drive vehicle. The raindrops fell faster. She picked up her pace. Forced her tired feet to move. Headlights shone behind her. Dammit, the truck that passed her had turned around. It pulled up beside her.

  “God, you’re stubborn.” His voice floated through the window.

  She lowered her jacket and turned to meet Cash’s eyes. The blue glow from the dashboard made him look eerie. And mad. He was definitely mad. One hand rested on the steering wheel, the other draped across the back of the passenger seat, his fingers drumming on the headrest.

  “Get in the truck, Jinx.”

  “I don’t need a ride. I’m fine.” She shivered as the rain found its way inside her jacket and rolled down her back.

  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice. Either way, you’re about to get dumped on.”

  “Why can’t you leave me alone?” That was the problem with towns so small they didn’t appear on a stupid map—she couldn’t blend in, lose herself, disappear among the tourist attractions. In Holiday, Texas, she was the attraction.

  A crack of thunder rumbled across the sky. She hesitated. Part of her wanted to jump in the truck. At least she’d be dry. Part of her wanted to tell the deputy to go to hell. She didn’t need him meddling in her business. Part of her wished she’d never left LA.

  “Come on. I’ve got your tent and stuff in the back.”

  “What? Where did you get my tent?”

  “From the
edge of my property. Now are you gonna get in here with me, or do you want to ride in the back with your crap?”

  “Wait a minute. Are you threatening me?”

  “No. Just trying to keep us both nice and dry.” He threw the truck into park and cracked open his door.

  “Fine.” She opened the passenger door and climbed inside, her wet clothes dripping all over his tan leather seats. Hopefully, they got waterlogged and ruined or something.

  “Was that so hard?” He slammed his door shut and gestured to the seat belt. “Buckle up. Safety first.” His mouth slashed across his face in a thin line.

  She buckled her seat belt and crossed her arms across her chest. “Happy now?”

  He pulled the truck onto the road. “I could charge you with trespassing.”

  “But?”

  “But what?” He glanced her way.

  She hated cops. When she was a kid, she thought they were the good guys, the ones she was supposed to look to for help. That was until her mom decided to make a career out of finding her next Mr. Right at the local precinct. Jinx learned the hard way that sometimes the people who were supposed to protect her could be the most dangerous.

  “Seems like there was a but there.” So what if he pressed charges? She hadn’t damaged any of his precious property.

  “But I won’t.”

  Her breath left her body in a long, drawn-out exhale. “Why not?”

  “Honestly?” His eyes cut to her.

  She could just make out the wrinkle between his eyebrows. Nodding, she waited to see if he’d continue.

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head. “My gut tells me you’re hiding something. But hell if I know what it is. I don’t suppose you want to tell me, do you?”

  The skies opened, and rain pummeled the windshield. He flipped the wipers to full speed. She stared out the window, letting her finger trace the path of the cold raindrops as they split and rolled across the passenger window. Thing was, she did want to tell someone. She was tired of holding everything in, turning the other cheek, looking the other way, and keeping other people’s secrets.

  She tucked her hair behind her ear and studied Cash’s profile. He could have been an actor with that jawline. Girls would have lined up for hours to pose for a selfie with him or get a glimpse at one of his rare smiles. Once upon a time, she might have been one of them. But she’d left giggling and gossiping about boys in the past, back when she had someone to giggle and gossip with.

  “I’ll take that as a no. Moving on to plan B.” The inside of the windshield began to fog. He reached forward to adjust the defrost; she jerked her knee away. “Chill. I’m not going to touch you.”

  “What’s plan B?”

  “Head back to my place.”

  The hair on the back of her neck stood up. “If you think I’m going back to your place with you, you’ve—”

  “What? You’re out of options. Storm’s not going to let up for a few hours, and I’m not going to worry about you getting washed away by a flash flood overnight. You’ll be comfortable on the couch, and we’ll find a better place for you to stay in the morning.”

  “And if I say no?”

  He tossed her a smug, tight-lipped grin. “Do you have a better offer?”

  “Dixie said I can stay with her for a while.” She had another offer; she just hadn’t officially taken Dixie up on it yet.

  Cash let his head fall back against the headrest. “You want me to run you over there now?”

  Jinx checked her watch. Dixie was probably sound asleep by now. “I don’t want to wake her up.”

  “I can always drop you off at the sheriff’s office if you don’t want to stay at my place tonight, although I guarantee my couch is more comfortable than the cardboard they call a mattress.”

  Jinx crossed her arms around her stomach. “I’d prefer the couch.” Half pissed off at the way he assumed he could boss her around, half looking forward to a night of dry, comfortable sleep, she caught herself before she let the relief she felt inside show on her face.

  A few minutes later, he pulled off the main road and onto a long gravel drive. She couldn’t see much of anything through the rain-splattered windows. They stopped in front of a two-story ranch house. The outdoor lights cut through the storm, a beacon guaranteeing warmth and a roof over her head, at least for the night.

  “We’re going to have to make a run for it. You ready?”

  “Hey, Cash?” Jinx wrapped her hand around the door handle, ready to spring from the truck toward the house.

  “Yeah?” His gaze met hers in the dim light of the truck cab.

  Her breath hitched as she reached out to touch his shoulder. “I just wanted to say thanks.” There, that wasn’t so bad. She’d always had a hard time accepting help, especially from strangers.

  He didn’t say anything right away, just stared at her in the semidarkness as the rain pummeled the roof of the truck. Then his shoulder rolled, making his muscle ripple under her touch. Could he tell how hard this was for her?

  She let her hand drop. He caught it in his and gave it a squeeze before letting go. “You’re welcome. Now, you ready to get out of this storm?”

  Jinx nodded.

  “Go!” Cash hopped out of the cab and waited for her to round the front bumper before leading her toward the porch.

  The rain soaked through to her skin within seconds. She wiped at her eyes, trying to see where she was headed. Cash put an arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his chest, moving toward the door. By the time they reached the porch, her hair hung in wet chunks around her face. He fumbled with the knob before flinging the solid wooden door open and pulling her through.

  The door closed behind them, shutting out the light. She stood in the calm, quiet darkness, the storm outside muted by thick wooden walls. The only sound was the drip, drip, drip of the rainwater trickling down her body and dropping onto the floor.

  “You okay?” His voice came from her left. She turned toward it. He’d let go of her after they made it inside. He had to be close. She couldn’t see a thing, but she could sense him. A zipper unzipped, and something hit the floor. His jacket.

  “Yeah.” The adrenaline surge left her chilled. Her teeth chattered, knocking against each other, the sound amplified, bouncing off the walls in the otherwise silent space.

  “Come here.” His hand grazed her shoulder. “Can I warm you up a bit?”

  She nodded.

  He held on, pulled her close.

  Goose bumps raced across her skin as he slid her jacket off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor.

  “You’re freezing.” His voice came out in a whisper, and she felt his breath float across her skin.

  “Where’s Kenzie?” She didn’t want to wake her.

  “I took her and your dog up to the big house before I came looking for you.”

  Alone with the deputy. He radiated heat. She gravitated toward him, craving the warmth. The layer of darkness provided a sense of safety and security. He couldn’t see her, how vulnerable she felt. Not only had her hiding place been exposed, but she felt like he’d also peeled away a layer of her protective armor.

  His hands rubbed up and down her arms. She rested her forehead against his chest. His breath caught, and his muscles tensed underneath her. Eyes closed, she burrowed into him. He relaxed, securing his arms around her, his head bending closer, his nose tickling the shell of her ear.

  She wanted to bury herself in his arms. The solid weight of him felt like a shield she could hide behind. Safe and secure, far away from the troubles she’d fled in California.

  His hand came up, and his fingers traced the line of her jaw, stopped at her chin, tilted her face up toward his. His mouth stopped half a breath from hers. “Tell me I shouldn’t kiss you.”

  She swallowed the lump lodged
in her throat and rasped out a response. “I really don’t think you should kiss me.”

  He nodded into her hair.

  Her pulse revved like her bike just before she shifted into a higher gear. The moment stretched. He began to pull away, taking the heat with him. The contact had sparked something deep inside—a temporary connection. She’d been on her own for so long. It would be nice to give in to the kind of shelter Cash offered. If only for a night.

  “But I want you to.” Her hands slid under his shirt, fingers dancing across the smooth ridges of his abs.

  He inhaled. Sharp.

  Her nails raked across his back, not enough to leave a mark but deep enough to let him know she didn’t want him to go anywhere.

  That was all the encouragement he needed. His palms cupped her face. His nose bumped her cheek. His lips found hers. Sucking. Scorching. Searing.

  He was everywhere at once. Need bubbled up inside her. The need to feel the hard planes of his chest. The need to cling to someone, even though it would be temporary. His hands worked under her shirt. It had been a long time since she’d given in to a one-night stand. Her hormones squashed any rational thoughts out of her brain, seeking the one thing her body wanted from Cash—to escape.

  He stepped into her, urging her backward until her legs hit the edge of a couch. Then he eased her back, his hand cradling her gently, like something he treasured, lowering her onto a cushion. Her shirt stuck to her skin. She peeled it off, warmer without it, and leaned back. He fell against her. Boots hit the ground—his, then hers. His hands tangled in her hair, skimmed her rib cage. She broke away to steal a few breaths. His lips trailed kisses over her neck, her collarbone. She shifted under him, capturing one of his thighs between her legs. This was insane. But she’d never been known for being levelheaded.

  She arched into him, urging him on, focused on riding out the streak of need he’d sparked inside her. The length of his thigh pressed against her, applying pressure exactly where she needed it. A moan rose from the back of her throat. He toyed with her, sliding his leg up and down against her, teasing her to the brink of a cliff she hadn’t visited in way too long. As she hung at the edge, ready to catapult herself over, he paused, hovering above her.