“Boy, something sure smells good in here.” Cort took off his gloves and hat then divested Jacob of his many layers before removing his own.
“I’m glad you think so. If you boys get washed up, I’ll set lunch on the table.” Kaley bit her lip to keep from laughing. Jacob mimicked Cort’s every move as he walked down the hall to the bathroom.
She hurried to dish the soup and set out a fruit salad she’d made while breakfast cooked that morning.
As she opened the oven door to remove the rolls, a puff of cinnamon-laden air filled the kitchen with a mouth-watering scent. Quickly setting the pan on the counter, she drizzled the fragrant treat with frosting then set it aside to cool. While a fresh pot of coffee percolated, in case Cort wanted a cup before he returned outside after lunch, she poured glasses of milk for the three of them.
Jacob and Cort hurried to their seats and Kaley asked a blessing on the food before her two men dug into the hearty soup.
“This is so good,” Cort said between bites. “There’s nothing like a thick bowl of soup on a cold day.”
Kaley gave him a shy smile, inwardly pleased by his compliment. Watching Jacob shovel in his food, she reached out and ran a hand over his head.
“Did you have fun this morning?” she asked.
He looked at her with a mischievous grin and shook his head, holding his index finger to his lips.
“Oh, I see. It’s a secret. Is that it?”
Jacob nodded his head, grinning at Cort. The big tease winked at the boy then shrugged at Kaley.
“So you two are ganging up on me now, huh?” Warm delight flooded through her, much like a cozy blanket on a cold night, as she watched Cort interact with Jacob. Once again, he’d included her son in something that brought a smile to his face and softened her heart.
Jacob giggled and returned his attention to his soup and the fruit she’d spooned onto his plate.
“You’ve had a busy morning.” Cort pointed to the rope wreath on the wall. “I saw the sled out front with the pinecones. It looks nice.”
“Thank you.” Kaley toyed with the spoon in her soup bowl. “I’ve never done Christmas before, so I want to get it right. I don’t want to mess anything up.”
Cort’s spoon clattered into his soup when he dropped it, taken aback by her statement. Hastily fastening his gaze on her face, he wanted to make sure he’d heard her correctly.
“What do you mean you’ve never done Christmas?” he asked, unaware of the soup splattered across the front of his shirt.
Kaley reached over with her napkin and brushed away a glob of soup dripping from his shirt pocket. Cort captured her hand before she could pull it back. “Tell me, Kaley.”
“I never had Christmas growing up. Dean and Ed thought it was a waste of time and money, so other than a stocking for Jacob, we’ve never celebrated Christmas.”
Cort couldn’t imagine never celebrating Christmas. Even if they didn’t have decorations and gifts, his family would have still celebrated the birth of Jesus.
“I want to make sure I do it right, for Jacob.” Kaley’s voice was barely above a whisper as she stared at her soup.
Cort lifted her chin with his index finger, forcing her to look at him.
“There isn’t a right or wrong way to do Christmas, Kaley, as long as it’s done from the heart. Christmas isn’t something you can buy in a store, wrap in fancy paper, or hang on a wall. It’s not about all the decorations or parties or things you can bake. It’s not about wrestlin’ Christmas into submission to your idealistic plans.” He gazed at her with such tenderness, it made tears sting her eyes and threaten to spill down her cheeks.
A soft light glowed in his eyes as he placed his hand above her heart. “It’s something you have to find in here. I bet you’ve celebrated Christmas more than you think.”
“Maybe so,” she whispered. She turned her attention back to her rapidly cooling soup, thinking of all the years she’d sat alone in her bedroom on Christmas Eve, reading the marked passages in her grandmother’s old Bible.
“Besides, my partner and I plan to make sure Christmas comes to the Hanging P this year. Isn’t that right, Jacob?”
Jacob nodded his head, patting Kaley’s arm.
She swallowed down her emotions and smiled at her little boy. The three of them returned to eating lunch.
After Cort finished his second helping of soup, she brought a plate of cinnamon rolls to the table.
“Are those homemade cinnamon rolls?” Cort helped himself to one, still warm with gooey cinnamon filling and sweet icing puddling into a flavorful pool on his plate. “I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
Kaley laughed and brought him a cup of hot coffee.
“And you’re an angel of mercy.” He sipped the hot coffee before taking a taste of the cinnamon roll.
Jacob eagerly dug into his treat.
“These are hands-down the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had.” Cort leaned back after eating his third and patted his flat belly. “I don’t know, Jacob. I might need a nap to sleep off all this good food before we head back out.”
Jacob jumped up and grabbed Cort’s hand, trying to tug him to his feet.
“I guess that means no nap for me.” Cort stood and stretched his arms over his head. Kaley thought he resembled a giant and wondered how he appeared to her little boy. No wonder Jacob gaped at Cort as if he was some kind of mythical hero. She considered the possibility that she looked at the man the same way.
Despite his height and brawny build, she knew Cort was a big softie. It was evident in the kind way he treated her and her son.
Jacob began pulling on his snowsuit so she bent down to help him, tugging his stocking cap over his ears, making him grimace. “Are you sure you don’t want to help me this afternoon?”
Her son shook his head and pointed to Cort.
“Remember to stay warm. You get cold, you come right back in the house.”
He gave her a brief nod before opening the door and running outside. She watched as he jumped off the porch and dove into the snow.
“It appears he’s got energy to spare today,” Kaley commented to Cort as he zipped his coveralls and pulled on a stocking cap.
“I’ll work it off him.” Cort studied her for a long moment. He started to put on his gloves then stopped, stuffing them into his pocket.
He reached out to her, catching her chin in one of his big hands.
“Kaley, I meant what I said at lunch. Christmas isn’t something you do or create. It’s something meant to be enjoyed. Don’t work yourself into a frenzy trying to make the holiday special. It’s about having fun with the people around you. Keep that in mind and you’ll do fine.” Cort wanted so badly to kiss her but feared she’d push him away again.
“I am having fun, but I want to make Jacob’s first real Christmas special. However, I’ll take what you said into consideration. Since you’re a self-proclaimed expert at the holidays, maybe you can share your wisdom with me this year.”
The devilish grin he shot her direction made her legs tremble. A quick step back landed her on a barstool.
Cort opened the door, yanking on his gloves. “It’ll be a pure pleasure, Kaley, girl, to teach you everything I know.”
Kaley mulled over his comments, sensing a double meaning to his words. She watched as he jogged down the steps, scooped Jacob up from where he played in the snow, and tossed him over his shoulder, making the boy laugh as they ambled toward the shop.
Smiling at their antics, she shut the door and hurried to do the lunch dishes. Not wanting to be distracted from her craft projects by having to make dinner later, she put ingredients in the slow cooker and turned it on.
She brought paint and small paintbrushes to the kitchen and finished decorating the three posts. With several other ideas for crafts floating in her head, she took a box of supplies she’d gathered along with more spray paint outside and went to work.
Several items sat on the porch drying when the dog ran over and s
tarted sniffing them. Warned to leave everything alone, Buford flopped by the door with a grunt. Kaley went inside the house and rummaged through her baking pans for a mini-muffin tin.
She took it to her craft room and filled each of the twenty-four cups with a treat, alternating a piece of candy with some little toy, like a rubber ball or a reindeer eraser. A perusal of her scrapbook supplies turned up a variety of Christmas paper, so she punched out twenty-four circles. Precisely numbering them, she used rubber cement to attach the circles to the pan, covering each cup. A piece of ribbon looped through a hole in the handle of the pan served as a hanger.
She hung it on the wall near the refrigerator, low enough for Jacob to reach, then hurried outside to see if her paint projects were dry. When paint didn’t stick to her fingers, she covered the kitchen table with newspaper and carried everything inside, setting freshly painted jars, pots and letters on the table.
Jars painted red and white soon boasted matching plaid ribbon tied around the tops. Kaley set them aside. Small terra cotta flowerpots she’d painted white were turned upside down. She added funny snowman faces to each pot along with stocking caps made from old socks, topped off with a piece of ribbon. Plaid ribbon glued around the bottom edge of the pots gave them a finished look.
Next, she turned her attention to the large letters she’d painted white. After dabbing glue along the edges, she sprinkled silver and iridescent glitter over them, inordinately pleased her attempts at making holiday decorations turned out so well.
She set aside the letters to allow the glue and glitter time to dry and glanced at the clock. Cort and Jacob had been outside for almost three hours. She hoped they both were staying warm.
Cort would need to feed and take care of the other evening chores soon. Briefly, she thought about wandering outside to find them, but decided to let them enjoy their time together and went to her bedroom.
At the back of the closet, she dug out the one box of keepsakes Dean allowed her to have. After carrying it to the bed, she sat down and opened the lid.
Kaley fingered the dried single rose from the day she’d wed and placed it on the bed, along with the lone card Dean had given her for her birthday when she turned eighteen.
Other dusty reminders of her past were set aside as she picked up a tattered shoebox. Removing the lid, she gingerly lifted out a tissue-covered bundle. For a long moment, she held it in her hands then removed the tissue, stuffing it back inside the box before holding up an ornate miniature birdcage.
The tiny red cardinal inside held her attention as she turned the key on the bottom to wind it, listening as the bird chirped a happy tune.
She didn’t know the age of the music box or even where it came from, but it had been in the little shoe box belonging to her grandmother, so she’d kept it. The bit of fake greenery and faded red ribbon glued to the top of the cage made her think it was intended to be a Christmas decoration.
The hem of her shirt served as a dust rag as she wiped it clean. Kaley carried it down the hall to the living room and set it on a side table. She sank onto the couch, wound it again and listened to the bird’s song.
No matter where she was as a child, the sound of that bird gave her a feeling of connection to her roots and never failed to bring her a small measure of comfort.
Slowly rousing herself from her memories, she wandered back to the kitchen, wondering if Cort would ever bring Jacob back inside. Past time for him to do the feeding, she didn’t think he’d take the boy with him on the tractor, but Jacob would love the experience.
She eyed her mess on the table as she made a green salad then moved the snowmen flowerpots to a bookshelf. She filled the jars with candy canes, cinnamon sticks, foil-wrapped candies, shiny glass balls, and miniature pinecones. A grouping of the jars on the coffee table in the living room added a special festive touch to the decor.
The letters she’d painted and bedazzled with glitter found a place on the mantle, nestled among the garland she’d draped there earlier.
She threw away the newspaper covering the table, wiped it down, and added a new Christmas tablecloth she’d purchased when she and Kenzie were shopping. A big white candle surrounded by a wreath of greens and red berries occupied the center of the table. As she added a bow, she hoped someone would appreciate her efforts.
While vegetables steamed to go with their dinner, she set the table, poured water for the three of them and placed the glasses next to the plates. The sound of Jacob and Cort’s boots at the back door made her smile. How she loved to hear that stamp-stamp-stamp sound before the door opened and cold rushed in along with two smiling faces.
“What have you boys been doing all day?” she asked, looking to make sure Jacob didn’t appear cold or tired. His face, bright with eagerness, let her know he was fine.
“Something special.” Cort lifted her coat from a peg by the door and held it for her. “Can you leave dinner for a minute and come outside?”
The vegetables would be mushy by the time they came back in, but Kaley didn’t care. She shoved her arms into the sleeves of her coat then pulled on her boots.
“Just put on your gloves. We won’t be out too long,” Cort said, opening the door for her.
She slipped on the gloves from her coat pockets then felt something cover her eyes.
“Hey, what’s that…?” she started to ask, but the air whooshed out of her when Cort picked her up in his arms. She could never remember a man carrying her before, except for the day Cort had picked her up by her waist. Carried in his arms, held close against his chest, was more wonderful than she’d ever imagined, even with all their bulky winter clothing separating them.
“Wait here.” Cort’s breath, warm and laced with cinnamon, blew across her face as he set her on her feet. “And no peeking until I say so.”
Jacob grabbed her hand and she could feel his excitement as he wiggled next to her while the sound of Cort’s footsteps crunched across the snow. She felt something bump against her knees, knowing it was the dog.
“What did you and Cort do?” she asked, reaching down and connecting the hand not holding Jacob’s with Buford’s head.
Jacob’s giggle and the dog’s happy bark provided her only answer.
She heard Cort’s steps draw closer then felt his presence behind her, smelled his alluring scent.
“Are you ready?” he asked, his breath creating tantalizing whirls of warmth on her neck.
“Yes,” she whispered as her legs trembled and her stomach fluttered in response to his nearness. The cloth covering her eyes dropped and she gasped in surprise.
“Oh!”
Beautiful, twinkling Christmas lights hung all along the edge of the house, wrapped around the porch posts, and covered the shrubs and trees. A big star blinked from the dormer over the front door, above the porch. Large, plastic candy canes illuminated both sides of the front walk, and two reindeer, made of light-covered wire, nodded their heads near the porch.
“How did you… where did you?” Kaley glanced at Jacob then rested her gaze on Cort. His smile was every bit as full of child-like wonder as the one on her son’s face. She kissed his cold cheek and threw her arms around him. “This is the most spectacular thing ever. Thank you.”
Cort felt Jacob wrap an arm around his leg and looked into his face, so similar to that of his mother. Picking up the boy, he tossed him in the air, making him giggle.
“You think she likes it?” he asked Jacob as he held him in one arm and wrapped the other around Kaley.
Jacob nodded and pointed to his mother.
“I love it, buddy. You two are awesome!”
“We’re glad you think so.” Cort winked at Jacob while pulling Kaley close to his side. He took a breath and inhaled her tempting fragrance. Since the temperature hovered in the single digits, he gave her another minute to stare at the lights before nudging her toward the house.
“Let’s go in before we all freeze,” he said, walking across the yard with her, still carrying Jaco
b.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said, stopping at the corner of the house to look at the lights one more time before hustling back into the warmth of the kitchen.
She helped Jacob remove his many layers of outerwear then sent him and Cort to wash up while she set dinner on the table.
Their satisfied grins as they returned to the kitchen made her smile. “Is that what you worked on all day?”
“Yes, ma’am. My folks have boxes and boxes of lights and decorations they don’t use, so I brought some back. Jacob and I spent the morning untangling the lights, getting the candy canes to work and making the star. This afternoon we got everything put up. We heard you working on the back porch and thought for sure you’d see us,” Cort said, waiting for her to take a seat before sitting at the table.
“I was totally clueless.”
“If you want, I’ve got some decorations you can use in the house, too,” Cort offered, taking a helping of the chicken and noodles she’d made in the slow cooker.
“I’d appreciate anything you have to share.” She gave Jacob a serving of vegetables and salad before passing them on to Cort.
“After dinner, I’ll bring in the boxes.” He winked at Jacob. “Let’s deck the halls.”
Chapter Twelve
Kaley watched as Cort walked around the room, admiring all the festive touches she’d added while he and Jacob worked outside. From his spot in front of the mantle, he studied the sixteen-inch letters she’d painted.
“I like how the glitter reflects the light from the fire,” he said, turning to look at her with a fiery glow in his silvery eyes.
With unwavering certainty, Kaley knew that burning light came from a place deep within his heart and not the fire crackling in the fireplace.
True to his word, after dinner Cort ran out to his truck and carried in three boxes filled with a variety of decorations. An armful of wood along with kindling followed then he built a fire in the fireplace. Once the flames merrily blazed, the three of them dug into the boxes.
Wrestlin' Christmas: (Sweet Western Holiday Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 2) Page 16