Cowboy Christmas Jubilee

by Dylann Crush

  “Yeah. He’s the next to youngest. Went off to Nashville to find fame and fortune.”

  She caught the edge in his voice. Cash struck her as someone who valued control, power, and the ability to make a quick decision. She had a lot more go-with-the-flow in her. Yet another good reason to steer clear.

  They entered the kitchen to find a group of Walkers crowded around the large granite island. A variety of appetizers were spread out over the counter. Her stomach grumbled.

  Ann clapped her hands together. “Thanks for your attention. This is Jinx. She works with Charlie at the Rose and is going to be staying at the old bunkhouse on Cash’s property. Y’all make her feel welcome.”

  Jinx wanted to curl up inside herself and die as the sea of curious faces turned her way. Charlie smiled from across the island. Jinx tried to grin in return—at least one friendly face. And there was Charlie’s husband, Beck. Make that two. The rest of the clan spoke all at once. A hand reached for hers, and a towheaded boy tapped her on the arm.

  Cash stepped in. “Hey, one at a time. Let me do the introductions. Jinx, meet Waylon and Darby. They pretty much run the ranch now that Dad is semiretired. They’ve got four kids running around here. This one here is Ryder, then there’s Luke, Allie, and June. Over there’s my brother Statler, the nerd. He has his own CPA firm. You met my dad already.” Tom smiled and waved from his spot in the doorway leading into another room. “Anyone know if Presley’s coming?”

  “Wouldn’t count on it.” Charlie dipped a chip into a bowl of salsa. “He closed down the Rose last night. Saw him leaving with a pair of—”

  “Yeah, I figured.” Cash leaned against the counter. “You know Angelo and Shep.”

  Jinx nodded at her coworkers.

  “That’s pretty much it. I’ll point out which kid is which if you can catch ’em. Hell, I can barely keep track of them all.”

  “Curse jar!” Kenzie’s voice floated out of the other room.

  “If you’ll excuse me for a minute.” Cash made for the doorway, disappearing past his dad.

  “So, Jinx, is it?” A smiley brunette sidled up next to her. Darby, that’s right. Married to one of the Walker brothers, although she couldn’t remember which one. “I love your hair.”

  “Thanks.” Jinx fingered a strand of her air-dried hair. She’d run a brush through it, but with no hair dryer, it had probably frizzed out on her. No mirror meant she couldn’t feel too bad about how frightful she might look.

  “So what’s your story? Charlie told me you were driving cross-country on a motorcycle and broke down by Cash’s place?”

  “That’s right.”

  “And you’re working at the Rose now. That’s good, hon, real good. With the baby coming soon and Beck getting the brewery up and running, Charlie’s going to need an extra set of hands around that place.”

  “Oh, I’m not staying very long. Just until my bike gets fixed,” Jinx insisted.

  Darby eyed her over a tortilla chip. “But the baby’s due right around New Year’s. You’ll at least stay through the holidays, won’t you? The whole town does the Jingle Bell Jamboree. It’s so much fun, and the Rambling Rose is a big part of that.”

  Christmas was over six weeks away. Surely, she’d be well on her way before that. “Um, we’ll see.”

  Charlie nudged Darby with her elbow. “Don’t scare her off, Darbs. I’m working on her to stick around. Hoping maybe she’ll find Holiday too irresistible to leave behind.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Jinx took a step back and bumped into Ann. “I’m so sorry.”

  “That’s okay, sugar. I’m so glad you could join us tonight.” Ann patted her shoulder. “Now, if you girls will stop gabbing and help me set the table, we can get this crowd fed.”

  Darby and Charlie dismissed Jinx’s offer to help, so she wandered into the other room in search of Cash or Kenzie. A huge flat-screen TV had a football game going, the players almost life-size. Kenzie sat at a kid-size table in the corner, coloring, with Hendrix curled into a ball on her lap.

  Jinx put her hand on Kenzie’s chair and peered over her shoulder. “What are you making?”

  “I’m trying to draw a reindeer, but it’s not working.” She held up her paper.

  “Want to let me try?”

  Kenzie handed her the pencil and watched while Jinx sketched the outline of a reindeer. “Can you give him sunglasses?”

  “Sure.” She added a pair of dark glasses.

  “And a cowboy hat?” Kenzie pointed to the antlers. “And some candy canes.”

  “Is this a Texas reindeer?” Jinx laughed as she sketched to the girl’s specifications. When she was done, she held it up. “You want to color it in now?”

  “You draw real good.” Kenzie picked out a brown crayon and began to fill in the face.

  “Dinner!” Ann summoned them all to the dining room.

  Kenzie grabbed her sheet and took Jinx’s hand. “You can sit by me.”

  “That sounds great. But Hendrix better stay here, don’t you think?” Jinx lifted the chair and looped his leash underneath the leg. “Don’t you get into any trouble.” Then she followed Kenzie into the dining room and took a seat. Cash sat on her other side.

  “How are you doing?” he asked.

  “Surviving.” She managed a nervous grin, then tucked her napkin into her lap.

  Tom motioned for everyone to hold hands while he said the blessing. Sandwiched between Kenzie and Cash, Jinx closed her eyes, letting herself feel their hands in hers. Kenzie’s little fingers squeezed hers, like a butterfly beating its wings against her palm. Cash’s firm grip left no room for wiggling. Strength flowed through his hand to hers, bolstering her courage, filling her full of unwelcome tingles too.

  As soon as they dropped hands, the Walkers started passing around platters full of food. Ann had made a roast with potatoes and homemade gravy. Jinx’s mouth watered as Cash held the platter for her to help herself. Conversation flowed around her, and she began to settle in. So this is what a family dinner looked like. She sipped some red wine, took the buttered roll Kenzie offered, and enjoyed being in the presence of a group of people who clearly loved each other.

  Maybe it was the wine, the warmth from the fireplace in the other room, or the nearness of so many Walkers, but she let herself imagine what it would be like to be a part of a family like this. Inside jokes flew around the table. The siblings spoke over each other like they were still kids. With no brothers or sisters of her own, she’d never felt so much a part of something and so very alone at the same time.

  As they finished their meal, Kenzie held up the reindeer picture. “Look what Jinx made for me.”

  “That’s really good. Did she help you color that?” Beck asked.

  “No, she drew it.”

  “Really?” Darby swirled her wine. “You seem to have a talent for art.”

  Jinx tried to slide down in her chair. “I just mess around.”

  “Hey, Darby, weren’t you saying you needed some help with the set design for the Christmas play at school?” Charlie asked.

  Darby shot her a conspiratorial grin. “Why, yes, yes, I was. Jinx, how would you feel about helping a very untalented room mother make hundreds of elementary kids very, very happy?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Jinx dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “I don’t think I’ll be around that long.”

  “So you can help while you’re here. It’ll still be better than me trying to do it on my own.” Darby took a sip of her wine.

  “You’d have so much fun. Those kids have been working so hard on the Christmas play. It’s a highlight of the Jingle Bell Jamboree.” Ann nodded.

  “I suppose I can pitch in a little,” Jinx said.

  “Don’t let them talk you into anything you don’t want to do,” Cash warned.

  “No, it’s fine. I’d
love to help.” Whether her spirits lifted because of the sense of family camaraderie or the glass of wine, Jinx found herself agreeing and actually looking forward to it.

  “Okay then.” Cash pushed back from the table. “Do we have dessert tonight?”

  Ann stood. “I was going to wait until Thanksgiving, but Dwight brought over a bag full of pecans from his tree.”

  Cash’s eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. “Pecan pie? Did you make a pecan pie today?”

  Kenzie leaned close to Jinx. “Pecan pie is Daddy’s favorite.”

  “I’ll help serve it up.” Cash got to his feet.

  “You just want to help so you make sure you get the biggest piece,” Charlie joked.

  He grinned. “You’ve got me all figured out, Sis. Here”—he leaned over Jinx—“let me clear your place for you.”

  As he reached for her plate, a crash came from the kitchen. Jinx spun in her chair, catching a glimpse of Hendrix on top of the kitchen island.

  “What in tarnation is that?” Statler pointed to the dog, who didn’t appear startled. He stood on the counter, lapping up the remains of something spread over the granite.

  “It’s Hendrix!” Kenzie raced into the kitchen with Cash right behind her.

  “Watch out for broken glass.” He scooped up his daughter before she cut her feet on the shards of the broken pie plate on the floor. “My pie! Please tell me that wasn’t my pecan pie.”

  Jinx grabbed the devil dog from the counter. Maybe Armando was right and he really was a little demon. “How did you get loose?” She fingered the frayed end of his now-much-shorter leash.

  “Looks like he chewed right through.” Waylon held a palm over his belly and clapped Cash on the back with the other. “You’re SOL on that pie, Bro.”

  “What’s all the fuss?” Ann broke into the circle surrounding the mess on the floor, a broom in her hand. “I’ll make you another pie for Thanksgiving, Cash.”

  “What’s SOL mean?” Kenzie asked.

  “Don’t you worry about that,” Ann said. “Be a big helper and grab that bag of cookies from the pantry, will you?”

  Kenzie scrambled away from her dad to do her nana’s bidding. She returned a minute later with a half-full bag of store-bought vanilla wafers.

  “I’m so sorry about the mess. I’m going to take him outside for a minute.” Jinx whirled around, trying to remember which way was out in the huge monstrosity of a house.

  Cash caught up to her as she struggled with the front door.

  She swatted his hand away. “I got it.”

  “I’m just trying to help.”

  “I don’t need help.” A mixture of feelings swirled inside her. Wasn’t she just thinking it would be nice to fit in, have a family who cared about her? But not Cash’s family. It was too much. They were too much. They smiled too much and were way too willing to help—who did things like that? Especially for a total stranger?

  “Hey, are you okay?” Cash followed her into the yard.

  “Yeah, I’m so sorry about the pie. I needed some fresh air.”

  “My family can be a bit much.” He leaned up against a tree while she squatted to hold on to Hendrix’s shortened leash.

  “They’re great. It’s just—”

  “You don’t have to help with the play, you know.”

  “I know. I want to. I just don’t think I’ll be here that long, and I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

  He pushed off the tree and squatted next to her. “Hey, look here.”

  She met his gaze, saw the sympathy in his eyes. “You too?”

  “What?”

  She picked up Hendrix and stood. “I don’t like people feeling sorry for me. I’m not some charity case.”

  “Hey, no one said anything about you being a charity case.” Cash stood, towering over her. “You had a stretch of bad luck. You’ll get your bike fixed and be on your way. It’s okay to let people help you every once in a while.”

  “I’m not used to that. I’ve been on my own for so long, it just feels weird, especially since…I mean, you’re strangers.”

  He moved closer, invading her personal space. “Why have you been on your own?”

  “Forget it. I don’t want to talk about it. I’ll help with the play. For as long as I’m in town. Okay?”

  Arms crossed over his chest, his gaze drilled into her. “Okay.”

  “Good.” She nodded.

  Charlie, Darby, and a handful of kids came out the front door, breaking the awkward interaction between her and Cash.

  “Ryder wants y’all to watch him shoot off his stomp rocket,” Darby said.

  Thankful for the interruption, Jinx handed what remained of Hendrix’s leash to Cash. “Can you watch him? I’m going to go help clean up.”

  “Sure.”

  It had only been a couple of weeks. She had a job, a place to stay, and a volunteer gig in town. She’d never felt more unsettled in her life.

  * * *

  Cash entered the kitchen through the garage, wiping his boots on the doormat before kicking them off. He almost called out to let Jinx and Kenzie know he was home, but the sound of Kenzie’s giggles made him pause. Ever since Jinx had entered their lives and begun spending her afternoons with Kenzie, working on her reading, his daughter seemed to laugh a lot more. He set his keys on the counter and tiptoed to the doorway, not wanting to break up whatever fun was going on in the other room.

  The two sat side by side on the sectional, shoulders hunched over the coffee table, their backs toward him. “Is Jinx your real name?” Kenzie asked.

  One of these days, he’d have to reward his little interrogator.

  “No. Just a nickname that stuck.”

  “So what is your real name?”

  “Oh, it’s… You sure you want to know?”

  Kenzie’s pigtails bounced up and down.

  Jinx took in a deep breath. “It’s Joy. Kinda crazy, huh?”

  His daughter’s shoulders lifted up in a shrug. “I like it. It’s pretty.”

  “Thanks. Nobody calls me that anymore.”

  “Not even your mom?”

  A sharp punch of laughter escaped Jinx’s lips. “Especially not my mom. She’s…let’s just say not part of my life anymore.”

  Kenzie put a comforting hand on Jinx’s arm, causing Cash’s stomach to hitch into a knot.

  “My mommy’s not a part of my life anymore either.” The way she said it didn’t just tug at his heartstrings; it gutted him. Made him more resolved than ever to give his girl everything she deserved.

  Jinx wrapped an arm around Kenzie’s shoulders and pulled her against her side. “I’m sorry, kiddo.”

  Before the conversation derailed into a total train wreck, Cash cleared his throat. Both of them turned around, surprise evident on their faces at being caught deep in conversation.

  “How’s the reading going today?” He walked around the couch and gathered Kenzie into his arms.

  “Hi, Daddy!” Her kisses landed on his cheeks, chasing away the stress of his day job, reminding him what was important.

  “Hi, Tadpole. Did you have a good day?”

  “Yep. I got a part in the play. I’m the star on the Christmas tree.”

  Cash tilted his head. “A star?”

  “Not just a star. I’m the special, sparkly one on top. Jinx is going to make a big tree, and my face is going to stick out of it, and I get to stand on top of everyone else, and it’s gonna be sick!”

  He glanced over Kenzie’s head to Jinx, who stifled a laugh. “Care to interpret here?”

  She stood and gave Kenzie a teasing tap on the nose. “What she means is that we’re going to build the front of a huge tree out of plywood with cutouts for all the kids’ heads. We’ll need scaffolding for the back so they have a tiered framework to stand o
n. Some of the kids will be ornaments, but Kenzie is going to be the most special gold star on top.”

  “Hmm. Okay. That makes a little more sense. What’s this about it being ‘sick’ though?”

  “Oh, that means cool, Daddy.” Kenzie rolled her eyes, smiling at Jinx.

  “Why do I suddenly feel about a hundred years old here?” He tickled Kenzie until she couldn’t catch her breath, then tossed her onto the couch cushion and picked up her book from the table. “Did you go up a level in reading, honey?”

  “Yeah, I’m a prairie dog now. Ms. Pepper says if I keep this up, I’ll be an armadillo before Christmas break.” She bounced on the cushion, using it like a trampoline.

  “Wow, a prairie dog. That’s fantastic. Does that mean I need to start calling you my little prairie dog instead of my tadpole?”

  She stopped bouncing and walked to the edge of the cushion. Putting a hand on either side of his face, she pulled him toward her and planted a smushy kiss on his lips. “No. I always wanna be your tadpole, Daddy.”

  His heart surged with love for this little miracle of his. “So what do you want for dinner tonight? Should we drive Jinx to work, then eat at the Rose to celebrate your big achievement?”

  “I really don’t mind the walk.” Jinx gathered the books into a stack on the table. “It’s good for me.”

  “You still want to argue with me about this?” He’d been driving her to work and making sure whoever pulled the overnight shift at the sheriff’s office brought her home every night. Yet every day, they had the same conversation. “It’s in my best interest to make sure you get to and from safely. If something happened to you, I’d have to listen to Kenzie read ‘See Spot run’ five hundred thousand times.”

  “Anyone ever accuse you of being a little overprotective?” She swatted him with one of the early reader books. “You really do sound like you’re a hundred years old now. Spot went out of style in the ’50s or ’60s.”

  “I can’t help it. I don’t want anything to happen to the people I care about.” Cash caught her hand in his.

  Her gaze met his. For a brief second, her carefree attitude slipped, and he recognized the same desire he’d seen in her eyes before. It would be so easy to pull her against his chest, slip an arm around her back, and nestle his nose against the warm pulse of her neck. Images from the night they’d almost spent together on this same couch had played through his mind on a loop ever since it had happened. But she wasn’t long-term material. She definitely wasn’t his type. Then why did his body rev into hot-and-bothered mode every time he got close to her?