by Dylann Crush
“Ladies, shall we?” He pointed his horse east. They could get to what remained of Kermit’s Christmas Tree Farm by cutting through a couple of neighbors’ acreages.
“Let’s go, Daddy.” Kenzie urged her pony into a trot. “We’re going to get the best Christmas tree ever.”
Cash glanced back to Jinx, who held on to the saddle horn with both hands. “You okay back there?”
“So far. But no running. Nice and slow.”
Nice and slow. That seemed to be her MO in so many areas of her life. He nodded and waited for her to draw up even with him. He’d go nice and slow—on the horse and in their relationship. If that’s what it took to keep her moving forward, he was all in. No matter how many hours it would take them to find the perfect tree.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jinx settled into the easy sway of Star’s slow gait. It was almost nice. She’d spent so much time inside over the past couple of weeks, she hadn’t realized how much she missed the fresh air and the wide-open spaces. Cash pointed out property lines and told her stories about the neighbors whose lands they crossed. As they neared Kermit’s property, he filled her in on the history of the farm.
“Why do they call him Kermit the Hermit?” she asked.
“Like I said before, he doesn’t get out much. Once upon a time, this place was huge—the only cut-your-own tree farm for miles around. We used to come out here every year. We’d all climb into the back of Dad’s pickup. Mom would pack thermoses of cocoa, and we’d sing made-up Christmas carols at the top of our lungs.”
“What happened?”
“When Kermit’s wife died, he kind of fell out of touch with the town. The lady’s circle from one of the churches made him meals for a solid year. The mayor even came to visit him.” Cash’s parents had taken a turn trying to coax the old man back to civilization.
“But he didn’t care?”
“Nope. He grieved alone, only reaching out when he needed something he couldn’t take care of himself. Which wasn’t too often.”
“How does he get by?”
“He still lets folks cut down trees on a part of his land. It’s all on an honor system. There’s a cash box near the road.”
They’d reached an old rusty gate on the trail. Cash climbed off his horse and swung it wide open. “We’re here.”
“So what do we do, just ride into the field and tag the one we want?” Jinx looked suspicious.
Cash swung himself back onto his horse. “Nope. This is a do-it-yourself kinda place.”
“Let’s go.” Kenzie raced ahead.
“Don’t go too far, Tadpole. Stay where I can see you.”
She disappeared in between two rows of trees, obviously oblivious to his warning.
“Kenzie!” His voice boomed through the countryside.
“I’m right here, Daddy.” She reappeared between two different rows of trees.
“Stay close.”
“Okay, okay.” Kenzie turned her horse around and stayed close by.
Jinx breathed in the scent of pine trees. She’d expected Texas to be full of tumbleweeds and cactus, not beautiful rows and rows of pines. She raised her gaze to enjoy the view of Cash riding a few feet in front of her. Unlike her, he was an absolute natural on a horse. He swayed back and forth in the saddle, instinctively matching the horse’s gait with the movements of his body. He must have felt her gaze on his back; he twisted in the saddle to shoot a smile her way.
Her breath hitched. She’d never been this happy before. Never thought she deserved it. He brought out feelings in her that she didn’t know she was even capable of.
“Kenzie thinks she found a tree.” He pulled up, stopping his horse until she caught up. “Do we have enough ornaments for that?”
Jinx followed the line of his arm, her gaze resting on a giant pine that towered over its neighbors. “You’ve got to be kidding. That’s got to be at least, what, twelve feet tall?”
He shrugged and climbed out of the saddle. “Let’s measure. If we put it in the front room, we’ve got the height.”
“Yeah, but how in the world are you going to get that home?” She swung her leg over the saddle, trying to find the ground. Cash slung an arm around her waist, catching her before she tumbled into a heap.
“Need a hand there?” He slid her foot out of the stirrup and set her upright, both feet finally firmly planted on the ground.
“Thanks.” The tree appeared even taller now that she wasn’t sitting six feet off the ground.
“It’s perfect!” Kenzie trotted in circles around it on the back of her pony. “It’s the most perfectest Christmas tree ever.”
“You sure you don’t want to look at one of these?” Cash gestured around them to the sea of five- to six-foot trees.
“Nope.”
He smiled an apology at Jinx, a dad clearly wrapped around his little girl’s finger. “Let me get the saw.” He passed both sets of reins to Jinx. “Can you tie them up to a tree or something? They shouldn’t run, but they might not like the sound of the saw when I get it going.”
Jinx took the leather leads and loosely draped them around a branch of a tree. “Yeah, we’re going to need more ornaments.”
By the time Cash had sawed through the thick trunk of the tree, the sun sat directly overhead. “Y’all want to take a break for lunch before we head back?”
“Lunch?” Jinx wondered where they’d be able to grab a sandwich with nothing but trees and fields around them.
“Daddy and I packed a picnic.” Kenzie pulled something out of a pocket on the side of her saddle.
“When did you have time to do that?” She helped Kenzie spread out the blanket.
Kenzie beamed. “Are you surprised?”
“I sure am. You’re definitely making this a day to remember.”
Cash joined them on the blanket, spreading out the picnic feast. “PB&J, grapes, and Rice Krispies squares.”
“Perfect.” She meant it. The sun overhead, the man she’d been waiting for all her life next to her, and the promise of many tomorrows between them filled her heart with a joy she didn’t know she had the capacity for. “I think this is going to be my new very favorite best day.”
Kenzie giggled. “What’s a very favorite best day?”
It was a game she had played with her dad. She hadn’t thought about it in years. Hadn’t had a reason to. “Every time you have a really good day, you have to think to yourself…is this the very best day? Better than all the others? If so, then you can declare it as your new very favorite best day.”
“How many new very favorite best days can you have?” Kenzie picked a few grapes off of the bunch.
“As many as you want. But you can only have one at a time. That’s why it has to be the most very favorite best day ever.”
“And today is yours?” Cash asked.
“Yep.”
“Well then, it’s mine too.” He leaned across the blanket and kissed her on the lips.
“I want it to be my new very favorite best day too,” Kenzie whined.
Jinx laughed. “I already called it. You two have to find your own days. This one’s mine.”
“That’s not fair.” Cash nudged Kenzie. “What do we do when someone’s not being fair?”
Kenzie didn’t say anything, just sat there like she was thinking too hard. “We tell a grown-up?”
Jinx laughed again while Cash shook his head. “Not that kind of not fair. Jinx isn’t being fair because she won’t share her day. What do you say we tickle her?”
Kenzie’s eyes lit up, and she attacked, her fingers ready to deliver some serious tickles. Jinx tumbled over to the blanket, laughing so hard she snorted. This was the first. The first of her new very favorite best days. Her decision to stay with Cash and Kenzie meant she had an unlimited number ahead of her.
*
* *
“There we go.” Cash crawled out from under the tree to admire his handiwork. The massive tree Kenzie had selected stretched toward the dark wooden beams lining the two-story ceiling of his living room.
“I think it’s still crooked.” Jinx stood on the steps, her head tilted at a slight angle.
Kenzie’s mouth puckered.
“Which way do I need to move it?” He’d been trying to get the damn tree to stand up for the past hour. The trunk was too big to fit into the stand he’d pulled out of the barn, so Presley had run by with a giant galvanized metal tub earlier. And thank goodness for that. It had taken him, Cash, and Jinx to wrestle the tree inside the house. Hopefully, the tub would hold it upright.
“A little to the right.” Jinx tapped her finger to her lip. “Just a couple of degrees.”
He stuck his hand in between the branches to grasp the rough bark of the trunk. “Better?”
“Now a little to the left.”
“You sure?”
“Um, yeah.” She didn’t sound so sure.
He nudged the tree an inch to the left.
“Perfect.” Kenzie clapped her hands together. “Now can we put ornaments on?”
He brushed his hands off on his jeans. “Don’t you want lights first?”
“Oh. Yes. Lots of lights.”
As he ripped open a box of the lights she and Jinx had picked out, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Tempted to let it go to voicemail, he read over the package. Programmable to dance to music? What happened to regular old twinkle lights? His phone buzzed again. Charlie.
“Hey, Sis. That baby here yet?” The smile on his lips faded as her sobs hit him square in the gut. “What’s wrong?”
Jinx caught his gaze from across the room.
“Charlie? Slow down. What happened?”
Her cries faded, and Beck’s voice came on the line. “Hey, Cash. Your mom just called.”
“They’re still up in Tulsa? Supposed to be coming home tomorrow.” Something wasn’t right.
“Your dad fell off a ladder and broke his hip. He’s okay. Your mom said they’re going to take him into surgery first thing in the morning to try to repair some of the damage. Charlie’s ready to jump in the truck and head up there, but I don’t think she should travel, not with the baby coming any day.”
“No. Of course not. What do we need to do?” he asked.
Jinx crossed the room and pressed her hand to his back. It wasn’t much, but that small gesture gave him more comfort in that moment than he could have hoped for.
“I’m not sure yet. Sit tight, I suppose. We’ll call Waylon and Statler to let them know. You want to try to track down Presley and Strait?”
“Yeah, sure. Presley just left here about a half hour ago. You keep me posted. How’s Mom doing?” Jinx rubbed small circles on his back. He leaned into her, drawing on her strength.
“As well as can be expected. He’s in good hands, and her sister’s with her.” Aunt Doris would make sure the doctors were doing everything they could. She pretty much defined the term ballbuster, or at least she had when she lived down the road. They never got away with a thing while she was in charge.
“All right. Give Charlie a hug for me. Tell her everything is going to be okay.”
“Will do.” Beck disconnected, and Cash stood with the phone pressed against his ear.
“What’s going on?” Jinx’s voice pulled him back.
He ran a hand over his chin. “My dad fell off a ladder and broke his hip.”
She gasped, then clapped her hand to her mouth. “Oh my gosh. Is he okay?”
“Yeah. Beck said he’ll be fine. But my mom’s got to be worried half to death. They’re going to take him into surgery in the morning.” Cash staggered to the edge of the couch. “What am I supposed to do?”
“He’s still up in Tulsa, right?”
Cash nodded as he dropped down onto a cushion.
Kenzie rushed to his side and curled up against him. “Is Papa going to be okay?” Fat tears slid down her cheeks.
Hell, he had to hold it together for his kid. He shook off the shock. Pulling Kenzie tight, he assured her, “Papa’s going to be fine, Tadpole. Nana’s with him. He’s probably just going to need to stay off his feet for a while, okay?”
Jinx made eye contact over Kenzie’s head. She wasn’t buying his little white lies. He didn’t blame her. The truth was, this reality check had him a little bit scared.
“Hey, Kenzie. Why don’t we go get some dinner started while your dad makes some phone calls?”
Cash nodded, grateful she was there to distract his daughter. Even though Presley had just left a little bit ago, there was no telling where he was headed. Might take him hours to get a hold of him. And he hadn’t talked to Strait in months. No one had.
“I think we’ve got a box of mac and cheese in the pantry.” Jinx held out her hand.
Kenzie took it. “You promise Papa’s going to be okay?”
His heart wrenched in two. How could he promise a thing like that? What if the surgery somehow went wrong?
Jinx saved him again. “Nobody can make a promise like that. But your daddy can promise that the doctors up in Tulsa are supersmart and doing everything they can for your papa, okay?”
“Okay.” His daughter suddenly seemed so much smaller than her seven years. She let Jinx lead her into the kitchen. He listened to them chatter back and forth about little things, things that didn’t matter a hill of beans when his mom and dad sat in a hospital hundreds of miles away.
He took the phone into the bedroom for some privacy and pulled up Presley’s number. His brother was probably out chasing skirts or running the table at the pool hall in the next town over. When it went to voicemail, he disconnected. Strait didn’t answer either. With Charlie banned from traveling and two of his four brothers not willing to pick up their phones, his course of action became crystal clear.
He had to go to Tulsa.
The sooner the better.
Now he just had to ask Jinx to take care of Kenzie for him again. Decision made, he strolled into the kitchen. Jinx and Kenzie were bent over Jinx’s phone, giggling and whispering back and forth. He tried to make his voice light. Kenzie didn’t need to worry about her papa being in the hospital. She needed to be thinking about Santa and Christmas and decorating that monstrosity that still listed a little to the left in his family room. She’d be okay with Jinx.
Thankful he had someone to lean on, he wrapped his arms around both of them. “Group hug.”
He’d draw on their love and support and carry it with him to share with his mom and dad. Everything was going to be fine—as long as he had Jinx and Kenzie waiting for him when he got back.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Of course he had to go to Tulsa. Jinx would never deny him the chance to be at his father’s side, not if she was able to offer some assistance in making that happen. So here she was, wrist deep in soapy water, cleaning up the breakfast dishes while Kenzie got dressed to start another week of school. Cash said he’d call her when he got there and give her an update on Tom’s condition. Charlie had promised to come over tonight to put Kenzie to bed so Jinx and Beck could handle things at the Rose. Charlie’s doctor didn’t want her standing so much at the honky-tonk anymore. Too stubborn to go on complete bed rest, she’d agreed to hang out with Kenzie so that Jinx could still help out at the Rose.
Jinx was amazed at the way the Walker clan rallied when one of their own needed help. Darby had volunteered to make dinner for everyone tonight, and Jinx found herself looking forward to the sense of camaraderie—something that would have scared the crap out her just a few months ago.
“You about ready, Kenzie?” She wiped her hands on the dish towel hanging from the stove. “We’ve only got ten minutes until the bus gets here.”
Kenzie padded into the k
itchen, still in her footed kitty cat pajamas. “Do I have to go to school today?”
The puppy dog eyes didn’t jibe with the cat print but managed to be effective just the same. Jinx gathered her into a hug and rested her chin on top of Kenzie’s untamed tangle of curls.
“I think it would keep your mind off things if you were surrounded by your friends. Aren’t you making those gingerbread houses today?” She warred back and forth with herself. The poor girl could use an extra helping of love today. But it would probably be better if she stuck to her routine.
“They’re not real gingerbread houses. The teacher makes us use graham crackers. Not like the ones I always make with Nana and Papa.” The mention of her grandpa’s name brought on a fresh round of tears.
“It’s okay, honey. Your papa is a strong man. He’s doing everything he can to get better.” Jinx had dealt with the unexpected passing of her dad when she was about Kenzie’s age. She’d never forget the deep ache she’d felt when her mom had said her dad was gone and never coming back. At eight years old, she didn’t fully comprehend what that meant, but she knew enough to know she’d never see him again. Her heart shattered for Kenzie. Even though Tom had only broken a hip, it was still scary to be a kid and not fully understand what was going on.
Kenzie snugged her little arms tight as far as she could reach around Jinx’s middle. “I miss my daddy.”
“I miss your daddy too.” It felt natural to admit it. “Now, why don’t you go get dressed, and I’ll drive you to school today?”
“Do I have to? I don’t feel good. My tummy hurts, and I have a sore throat, and I think I might be getting the measles.” Kenzie grabbed her stomach and flung a hand to her forehead. “Can you take my temperature?”
Kenzie was just worried about her papa and missing her dad. Jinx couldn’t do anything about that, but she could try to distract both of them. “You know what?”
“What?” Kenzie’s head nestled into Jinx’s stomach, muffling her words.
“I think we need to play hooky today.” Hopefully, Cash would understand. She didn’t think he’d be too upset if she kept Kenzie out of school for the day. What would she miss out on? Making fake gingerbread houses out of graham crackers?