Wrestlin' Christmas: (Sweet Western Holiday Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 2)

by Hatfield, Shanna

  As he leaned back against the couch cushions, Cort ran a hand over his head and sighed. While he stared at the hallway where Kaley disappeared, he struggled with his need to follow her, to hold her, to love her.

  Kaley held herself back from him, from what he offered her. Until she was ready to let go and let him into her heart, there wasn’t a blasted thing he could do about it.

  Chapter Nine

  Cort vigorously rubbed his gloved hands together, trying in vain to restore warmth to his numbed fingers. No November in his recollection ever seemed so frigid.

  Just a few days before Thanksgiving, he thought it might as well have been mid-January as cold as the temperature had dropped.

  As he hurried to finish the morning feeding and chores so he could go inside and warm up for a while, Cort tried once again to figure out where things went south with Kaley.

  A month had gone by since the day they’d taken Jacob to the doctor and then gone to the pumpkin patch. At the time, the day seemed nearly perfect to him.

  Kaley clearly appreciated the flowers he purchased for her and seemed to have fun. That evening, when she’d so willingly and eagerly responding to his kisses, he thought things were finally moving in the right direction.

  Just as quickly as their little interlude began, she ended it and ran to her room. Since then, she’d not shown any interest in him, other than as her hired help.

  Memories of how her silky skin felt beneath his work-roughened fingers, how her alluring fragrance ensnared his senses, made wild wanting settle over him once again.

  So many times, he’d imagined the flavor of her lips, how it would feel to hold her in his arms. That October night, he discovered her kiss tasted like the sweetest nectar, filled with rich, dark undertones, and proved more satisfying than anything he’d ever experienced.

  Although he’d kissed plenty of women over the years, none had ever lingered in his thoughts like Kaley. No kiss had ever made him desperate for more.

  Thoughts of those few kisses and how much he wanted to kiss her again, to get lost in her arms, wrapped up in her love, was about to drive him mad. Instead of sleeping, he spent most nights tossing and turning, trying to get thoughts of her out of his head.

  Frustrated beyond endurance, he experienced times when the desire for a drink nearly sent him speeding down the road to the closest bar. In those weak moments, he forced himself to call Tate or attend a support group meeting. Once he started working for Kaley, he promised himself he wouldn’t drink and so far, he’d kept his word.

  Thank goodness for Jacob. The little boy served as a buffer between the two of them. Cort didn’t think he could love the child more if he was his own son.

  Proud of the progress Jacob continued to make communicating, he hoped it wouldn’t be long before the child would speak.

  Thoughts of speaking brought him back around to the knowledge that he and Kaley had to talk about a variety of things including his plans for Thanksgiving. When he returned to the house, he’d corner her long enough to discuss the upcoming holiday.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t have the opportunity to speak privately with her before the three of them left for church and then went to Tate and Kenzie’s for lunch.

  Gideon and Jacob played in the family room when they finished eating while the adults lingered around the table, drinking hot coffee and eating pie after a hearty lunch.

  “What are your plans for Thanksgiving?” Kenzie asked as Kaley quietly picked at her slice of pie. She repeated the question before the woman seemed to notice everyone waiting for her response.

  “I’m sorry, I guess I wasn’t paying attention,” Kaley apologized, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

  “I just asked what you’ve got planned for Thanksgiving. If you don’t have other commitments, we’d love to have you join us. It’ll be us, my mom and stepdad, and my little sisters.” Kenzie avoided thinking about how empty the table would be without Tate’s father there. The sweet old man passed away in early January and every holiday had brought an aching reminder that he was gone. In his nineties when they wed, she and Tate treasured every day with him as a precious gift, but they still missed his wit, gentle guidance, and love.

  “I wouldn’t want to impose. Jacob and I usually have a quiet day at home.” One more day filled with silent tension at her house was the last thing any of them needed. Since the night she’d kissed Cort with complete abandon, nothing had seemed right. Mostly because she’d shut him out and pretended she didn’t long for his love with every beat of her heart.

  “We insist.” Tate grinned at her over his coffee cup. “You can even bring this big lug with you.” He thumped Cort on the back.

  “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to spend Thanksgiving with my folks. I meant to ask you earlier, boss, but I didn’t have a chance. I haven’t seen them since August and I’d like to make the trip while the roads are good.” Cort glanced at Kaley, trying to decipher the blank look on her face.

  Although it was imperative he spend the day with his family, mending relationships, Cort hadn’t planned to discuss it in front of Tate and Kenzie.

  He couldn’t bear to spend Thanksgiving with Kaley, pretending there wasn’t something charged and mysterious passing between them with every glance, every touch they shared. Lately, though, she’d made sure the only time they touched was entirely by accident.

  “You should see your folks. Spend the day with your sister.” Kaley inclined her head his direction although she refused to return his gaze. “Jacob and I will make out just fine.”

  “Don’t worry about the chores. I’ll take care of them,” Tate offered. Cort gave the briefest nod of his head in agreement. If Kaley thought she could do the feeding on her own, he wouldn’t go. The chores were too much for her, especially if she had to take Jacob along.

  “Oh, no, Tate. I couldn’t ask you to do that.” Kaley turned to him with a horrified look on her face. She didn’t want to be a burden to her neighbors or friends.

  “You didn’t ask, we offered. I’ll come over tomorrow and Cort can show me what needs to be done,” Tate said, settling the matter then focusing his attention on his friend. “If you think the weather will hold and you can make it to Boise, when do you plan to leave?”

  “I thought I’d leave Wednesday, right after the morning chores. I’ll come back Friday afternoon, in time take care of the evening feeding. You’d need to do the chores Wednesday evening, Thanksgiving Day, and Friday morning.”

  “Consider it done.” Tate smiled at Kaley again, giving her a flash of his dimples while his bright sapphire eyes twinkled.

  The charismatic cowboy was a rare combination of good looks, charm, and a genuinely nice guy. She could see many similarities between Tate and Cort. It made sense the two of them were such close friends.

  Kaley never had any true friends growing up. Once she married Dean, she didn’t have the opportunity to make friends because she spent most of her time on the ranch with him and Ed. Neither Dean nor his father held any interest in attending church, but Kaley had faithfully gone even though she’d felt like an outsider. That’s where she first met Tate, and then Kenzie.

  Even if she hadn’t opened herself to them, she considered them friends.

  A good first step toward knowing them better, she concluded, might be telling them her first name.

  “Thank you, Tate. I appreciate the help and if I’ve failed to mention it before, I appreciate the friendship you and Kenzie offer. It means a lot.”

  “You’re so welcome, K.C.” Kenzie reached across the table and squeezed Kaley’s hand.

  “And while we’re at it, I’d like for you both to call me Kaley. That’s my first name. I’ve used K.C. for so long, I never realized how impersonal it sounds.”

  Kenzie and Tate shared a private look then both turned to smile warmly at her. “Kaley it is!” Tate got to his feet and patted her shoulder as he walked by to check on the children. Gideon’s belly laugh blended with Jacob’s gigg
les, making it clear the boys had a good time.

  “You have to tell me one thing that Jacob loves to eat so I can make it for Thanksgiving.” Kenzie grabbed a notepad from the counter and returned to the table.

  “He’s not a picky eater,” Kaley said, glad that her son would eat just about anything. Like most children, he enjoyed sweets, but he’d also eat fruit and vegetables without turning up his nose.

  “There must be something he enjoys.” Kenzie wanted to make the day special for the little boy. She and Tate were aware of Jacob’s progress and prayed he would soon be able to speak again.

  “He loves broccoli cheese casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy, chocolate cake, and sugar cookies,” Kaley finally rattled off his list of favorites. “Honestly, though, he’ll eat just about anything except spinach. You can ask Cort if you don’t believe me.”

  “He is a good eater, Kenz.” Cort nodded his head in agreement, thinking of all the tasty meals Kaley prepared and how Jacob most always ate whatever she served him.

  “Great. I’m sure we’ll have a few things he’ll enjoy, then.”

  Tate returned to the kitchen and the adults discussed area news for a while before the noise from the family room grew silent. Kenzie and Kaley found the two boys curled up on Gideon’s blanket asleep.

  Later, after Jacob awoke, Kaley bundled him into his coat, hat, and gloves then Cort carried him out to his truck and drove the three of them home.

  Once there, Cort changed his clothes and did the evening chores while Kaley put together dinner and they ate.

  Before Cort retired to his room for the night, he found Kaley sitting in the kitchen, looking over cookbooks.

  “Are you trying a new recipe?” he asked from behind her chair, startling her.

  A gasp escaped her as she tugged off her glasses and stared at him.

  “I haven’t decided.” She willed her racing pulse and thoughts to settle as Cort bent down beside her. Engulfed by his enticing scent, it made it hard for her to do anything but breathe deeply, in rapt appreciation. “I wanted to make something special to take to the Morgan Ranch for Thanksgiving.”

  “Take that pumpkin thing you made for Halloween. It was really, really good.” Cort recalled the flavorful, moist cake rolled around a creamy filling. After three pieces, he wound up so stuffed he could hardly move the rest of the evening, but it was worth the suffering. “In fact, you could make a practice one for me to taste-test, just to be sure.”

  A smiled lifted the corners of her mouth at his teasing. “You think they’d like it?”

  “You’re an incredible cook. They’ll enjoy whatever you take, but I know they’d love the pumpkin thing.”

  “You’re not just saying that to be nice, are you?” A worried crease etched a groove along her forehead.

  Cort wanted to run his fingers over the line and kiss away her concerns. Before he acted on one of his amorous thoughts, he needed to leave the room.

  “They’ll love it. Trust me,” he said, turning to exit the kitchen. She watched him go out of the corner of her eye, noticing when he stopped and glanced back at her. “Thanks for letting me spend the holiday with my folks. It’s um… it’s a big deal, after the way I left them in August.”

  “I’m glad you want to go, Cort. Have a good time and don’t worry about things here. If you need to take more time, just let me know. I’m sure Tate and Kenzie will keep an eye on us while you’re gone.”

  “You can count on it.”

  “It’s such a shame your family couldn’t come, Kenzie,” Kaley said as she helped with the dishes after a big Thanksgiving meal. “Who would have thought we’d get that much snow yesterday afternoon?”

  Early that morning, Kaley bundled into warm clothes and boots then headed out to shovel off her front and back walk. She hustled outside and waved Tate on his way when he stopped by the house before going to do the chores, snow shovel in hand. She didn’t want him worrying about clearing her walk when he already provided assistance by doing her feeding and some of the other chores.

  “How could a foot of snow fall so fast?” Kenzie scrubbed a big pot and handed it to Kaley to dry. The snow began right after lunch the previous day, coming down so hard in such a blinding flurry it caught many people by surprise. “I’m glad Cort left early yesterday morning, before the storm hit. It sounds like he made it home just before it started to snow there.”

  “I’m glad he made it with no problems.” Relieved Cort got on the road right after he finished the morning chores, Kaley hoped he had sense enough to stay at his parent’s place if the roads were bad on Friday.

  Although she hated being an imposition to Tate, since he was the one coming over to do her feeding and chores, she’d rather deal with her guilt over that than worry about Cort driving several hours on dangerous roads. In the winter, the stretch of I-84 running from Boise past Pendleton could be icy, snow-covered, and treacherous.

  “That pumpkin roll you made is absolutely wonderful,” Kenzie said, sensing Kaley’s worry over Cort and changing the subject. “Would you mind sharing the recipe?”

  “I’d be happy to. It isn’t hard to make.” Kaley knew Kenzie was an excellent cook and felt flattered by her request. “It’s one of the few things I have from my grandma.”

  “Were you close with her?” Kenzie asked. Although she’d known Kaley since she and Tate began attending the little community church together, she didn’t know much about the woman, other than what she’d observed.

  Kaley was reserved and uncertain, but a hard worker, a good person, and a wonderful mother.

  Although Kenzie only interacted with Ed and Dean Peters a few times before they died, she’d noticed Kaley seemed somewhat suppressed by the two men. Tate never said anything, but she got the idea he hadn’t always approved of their cavedweller attitudes toward women. Not all men were as open-minded and as fair as Tate. Kenzie was grateful her husband treated her like a partner and cherished friend.

  As Kaley considered her response, Kenzie gave her a warm smile. Finally, she answered. “No. I never met her, but my mother had a box of handwritten recipes from my grandmother. It was one of the things I kept when my mother died.” Kaley wiped an already clean counter and returned the dishrag to the sink.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you’d lost your mother. Is your father still alive?”

  “I never met him so I don’t know if he is or not,” Kaley painfully admitted. She hadn’t shared anything about her family with anyone since she was ten, except Dean.

  “How old were you when your mother passed?” Kenzie asked. Tate lost his mother at a young age. His father, who’d been in his sixties when Tate was born, raised him alone. Kenzie knew about losing a parent, too, since her father took his own life when she was a teen.

  “I was Jacob’s age. I think it wasn’t too long after my fifth birthday.” The warm hug Kenzie gave her and the tears in the other woman’s eyes took Kaley by surprise.

  “That’s so sad, yet look at the wonderful woman you grew into.” Kenzie brushed away her tears and offered Kaley a watery smile.

  Attentive to the fact the topic made Kaley uncomfortable, Kenzie wracked her brain for a distraction. She made them both a cup of tea while Kaley took a seat at the counter.

  “Are you going shopping in the morning?” Kenzie asked, sliding a fragrant cup of spicy tea across the counter to her friend, taking a seat beside her.

  “I hadn’t planned on it. Dean and Ed weren’t big on gifts or Christmas, for that matter. I’ve never gone to Black Friday sales.” Kaley sipped the fragrant, sweet tea and sighed appreciatively. “This is delicious. I’ll give you my pumpkin roll recipe if you give me your recipe for this tea.”

  “Done.” Kenzie walked over to a cupboard and removed a box of tea with a holiday picture on the front. As she handed it to Kaley, she grinned. “Tate’s convinced I mix up my own spices and grind them together, but they carry this at the grocery store by the expo center. Just add about a teaspoon of sugar
per cup and you’re set.”

  Kaley laughed and accepted the unopened box, assuming Kenzie had more in the cupboard. “I think I can handle it. Give me a piece of paper and I’ll write down the pumpkin roll recipe.” She dug in her purse and pulled out her glasses, sliding them on.

  Kenzie found a blank recipe card and gave it to Kaley along with a pen then retrieved that morning’s newspaper, filled with a variety of sale ads.

  After dropping the newspaper on the counter, Kenzie grabbed two blank sheets of paper and slid one to Kaley when she finished sharing the recipe.

  “If you’ve never gone shopping on Black Friday, you have to try it, at least once.” Kenzie gave Kaley a conspiring look.

  “Who’ll watch the boys?” Kaley asked, picking up an ad for a toy store, beginning to warm to the idea.

  “You let me worry about that.” Kenzie flipped open a department store ad, winking at Kaley.

  An hour later, the two of them laughed and chatted like old friends when Tate walked into the room with Jacob riding piggyback and Gideon dangling over his arm.

  “What are you girls plotting in here?” Tate asked, kissing Kenzie on the cheek and glancing over her shoulder at her list.

  “Just mind your own business, cowboy.” Kenzie shot him a saucy grin. “Kaley and I are mapping out our shopping plans for tomorrow.

  “You’re seriously going shopping in the morning?” Tate asked, knowing Kenzie had unwaveringly avoided Black Friday sales since he’d known her. He had to assume the impromptu shopping trip had something to do with Kaley.

  “Yes, we are. I’m putting you in charge of two little boys.” Kenzie hoped he’d go along with her plans.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Kaley looked warily at Jacob as he slid off Tate’s back and climbed on her lap, gazing with interest at the toy store ad she’d been flipping through for the third time. He zeroed in on a remote-controlled John Deere tractor and began tapping his finger on it. To make sure his mother saw what he wanted, he put his hands on her face to get her attention and pointed to it again.