by Katie Lane
Summer stared at her in horror. “That’s just creepy, Spring Leigh.” She pointed the spatula at them. “But you’re right about Cord. Which explains why I fell so hard for Ryker. Hot is in their DNA.” She looked at Christie. “Although I’m not sure Cord is ready for a relationship—serious or otherwise. He’s still pretty screwed up over the mistakes he’s made in the past.”
Christie couldn’t agree more. His belief that Ryker was going to move in with him was a perfect example. Adult children moved out. They didn’t move back in. She wondered if she should tell Summer about Cord’s plans, but then decided against it. She didn’t like Cord sticking his nose into her business. She didn’t need to stick her nose into his. He was a big boy. He could handle his life. She had all she could do to handle hers. And part of handing it was keeping her relationship with Cord on a boss/employee level. No more using him as a babysitter for Carrie Anne. And no more staying at his house . . . or late night kisses that knocked her socks off.
“I’m not interested in Cord Evans,” she said. “Seriously or otherwise.” It was only a half lie. She wasn’t interested in him for a serious relationship, but her body was definitely interested in a physical one. She just chose to ignore her physical urgings.
“Then if it wasn’t Cord,” Spring said. “You must’ve been fantasizing about your ex.” When Christie looked surprised, Spring reached out and squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. If anyone gets it, we do. No matter what our daddy did, our mama was still crazy about him. But Mama didn’t have as much willpower as you do, Christie. She welcomed our deadbeat daddy back every time he showed up.”
Holt hadn’t ever come to see Christie’s mother . . . or her. And she didn’t know what was worse—a father who showed up rarely or one who didn’t show up at all.
“I don’t have a speck of willpower,” she said. “Which is one of the reasons I left Wyoming and Danny Ray far behind me. Not that he was beating down my mama’s door to see me or Carrie Anne. The last time I talked to him was right after my mama died. I called to give him the news.” She paused as pain tightened her heart. “Deep down, I think I was hoping that he’d show me some kind of love and sympathy. Instead, he thought I was calling for child support and gave me a list of reasons why he just couldn’t spare a dime. When I heard a woman giggle, I hung up without ever telling him about my mama.”
Spring squeezed her hand again and sent her a sympathetic look while Summer was a little more vocal.
“Asshole. You’re lucky to be rid of him.”
“His loss is our gain.” Spring winked at Christie.
Summer set down her spatula and picked up a cookie scoop. “She’s right. If you hadn’t shown up, Audie would’ve burned down the bakery by now. And speaking of the bakery, why are you back here instead of waiting on customers, Spring? And aren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on Carrie Anne?”
“The only customers are Stuart and Race, and Carrie Anne can handle herself with our two hometown football heroes. When I came back here to give y’all the good news, she was beating Stuart badly at some game on his phone.”
“Well,” Summer prompted. “What’s the good news?”
Spring’s blue eyes sparkled with excitement. “Autumn called and she and Maverick are coming home.”
Summer went back to scooping dough onto the cookie sheets. “That’s not news. Everyone already knows they’re coming home for the holidays.”
“But they aren’t just coming home for the holidays. They’re coming home for good.”
Summer spun around. “What? But Maverick has been playing so well I thought the Miami Dolphins would sign him on for next year.”
“They wanted to, but he turned them down.” Spring smiled brightly. “It seems our brother-in-law would rather be a high school football coach than a professional football player.”
Summer let out a loud whoop before she pulled Spring off her barstool and hugged her close, completely unaware of the cookie dough that fell out of the scoop and plopped onto the floor.
The sisters’ joy warmed Christie’s heart. It also made her a little jealous. The triplets had a bond that Christie would never share. She got up to get a paper towel to clean up the cookie dough and was completely shocked when Summer reached out and pulled her into the hug.
Summer was the tough Hadley sister. The one who never got too sentimental. So it was surprising to find out she was a bear hugger. Christie was pulled into a tight hug that squeezed all the air out of her. And since her mother had passed, Christie had needed a good tight hug.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
They drew apart, and Christie turned to see Carrie Anne standing in the doorway. She was about to explain why they were celebrating when Spring spoke.
“We’re celebrating girl power.” She held out an arm. “Come join us, Sweet Pea.” Carrie Anne raced over and was immediately enfolded in the group hug. It was one of the most poignant moments in Christie’s life and she couldn’t keep tears from filling her eyes. She tried to brush them away without anyone seeing, but of course Carrie Anne saw and brought everyone’s attention to them.
“Why are you crying, Mama?”
Christie smiled down at her daughter. “Because Girl Power is a thing of beauty, Baby Girl.”
“Damn straight it is.” Summer quickly brushed at her eyes before she waved the cookie scoop. “Now everyone get back to work. We’ve got a business to run and a gingerbread house contest to win.”
“And a sister to get ready for.” Spring held out her hand to Carrie Anne. “Let’s go find some good Christmas music to play, Sweet Pea. I’m starting to get in the holiday mood.”
A few minutes later, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” came out of the overhead speakers in the kitchen. Summer and Christie looked at each other and smiled before they started to sing along as they worked. Neither one had a good voice, but it didn’t seem to matter. They sang along with three more Christmas songs before Ryker called and Summer left to meet him for lunch at the diner. Christie continued to work on the gingerbread house.
Once the shutters were done, she made more gingerbread dough for her gingerbread people. She wanted them to be unique, so after she rolled out the dough, she cut each figure out by hand. She made a family of four because that seemed like a nice even number. She made a father, a mother, a little girl, and a littler boy. Because this was Texas, she put a cowboy hat on the father and boots on the entire family. She also cut out some horses.
While she worked, she tried to keep her mind on anything but Cord. But the more she tried not to think about him, the more he snuck into her thoughts. Or not him as much as the kiss and how much she wanted a repeat. Which was crazy. If she couldn’t stop thinking about repeating the kiss when she was away from him, what would she do when she was with him? Attack him in the barn if he took off his shirt? Dive on him in the corral if he bent over in those snug-fitting Wranglers? Waylay him in the office and shove him down on the desk?
There seemed to be only one way to keep from making a fool of herself: she needed to quit working for Cord. She didn’t doubt for a second that Cord would be relieved. Last night, he’d looked horrified after the kiss. And this morning, he’d left before they’d even gotten up. Carrie Anne had been extremely disappointed that she hadn’t gotten to help him feed the horses. Something she brought up as soon as she walked into the kitchen and saw the gingerbread horses.
“Is that Maple and Raise-a-Ruckus, Mama? I wish Cord hadn’t gotten up so early so I could’ve helped him feed them. And I wish he hadn’t left so I could’ve stayed with him instead of come to the bakery. Where do you think he went?”
“I don’t know,” she said as she carefully placed the horses on the cookie sheet. “But I do know that getting to hang out in a bakery is much more fun than feeding old horses.”
“No, it’s not. I like horses better than dumb baking.” She sat down and spun around on the stool. “And when I marry Cord Evans, I’m going to be around horses
every single—” She stopped spinning and stared at Christie with wide eyes. “Oops.”
Christie studied her daughter. “You want to marry Cord?”
Carrie Anne slowly nodded. “But it’s okay, Mama, ’cause he’s not a deadbeat. And now that I caught the bouquet, I gotta marry someone. And the best someone in the entire town is Cord Evans. He’s nice, and loves animals, and he’s gonna teach me how to ride a horse. And you don’t have to worry about me falling off ’cause Cord said he’ll be right there to catch me. And I believe him ’cause he has big muscles.”
Christie could attest to the fact that Cord had big muscles that were strong enough to catch you if you should stumble in a corral or if an amazing kiss left your knees as weak as water. But she wasn’t concerned with his muscles at the moment. She was concerned about how close her daughter had gotten to Cord. And how devastated she would be when she no longer got to see him.
This was confirmed only a second later when Carrie Anne’s eyes lit up. “Cord!”
Christie turned to see Cord standing there. In his Stetson and big sheepskin jacket, he seemed to fill the entire doorway with hot cowboy. Her entire body flushed with heat, including her cheeks, and she was glad Carrie Anne was there to distract Cord from noticing.
Carrie Anne jumped off the stool and raced over to give him a hug. “How come you got up so early this morning? And how come you left without saying goodbye? Can I go out to the ranch with you now and see Maple and Ruckus? And can I ride Maple today?” She pulled back from the hug and looked back at Christie. “Please, Mama. I promise I won’t go real fast.”
“Hold on there, Half Pint,” Cord said. “I told you that we needed to wait until you get the proper equipment.” He ruffled her hair. “And you can’t go back to the ranch with me because I’m getting ready to head out of town for a few days.”
“Out of town?” The words didn’t pop out of Carrie Anne’s mouth. They popped out of Christie’s.
He took off his hat and looked at her. He hadn’t shaven that morning—probably because he’d been in such a hurry to leave—and the thicker beard should’ve made him look scruffy. Instead, it made him look even more masculine and sexy. He cleared his throat. “I was wondering if I could talk with you for a second.”
“Of course.” She looked at Carrie Anne. “Go out front and help Spring.”
Carrie Anne looked like she was about to argue, but Cord stepped in before she could. “If you do a good job of helping, I’ll take you over to the diner for a strawberry shake and hamburger before I leave.” He glanced at Christie. “That’s if it’s okay with your mama.”
She nodded, and Carrie Anne raced out of the kitchen yelling the news to Summer and Spring. When she was gone, Christie looked at Cord. “You shouldn’t bribe her to do what I tell her to do.”
“Sorry, but we need to talk in private.” He glanced behind him. “In fact, it might be best if we stepped out back.”
She didn’t want to talk in private. She didn’t want to be alone with Cord in case she did something really stupid—like throw her arms around his neck and beg for another kiss. But since she couldn’t come up with a reason for not stepping outside with him, she got up and led him to the back door. Once they were standing in the alley, she wished she had stopped to get her coat. The cold December breeze blew down the alleyway like a wind tunnel, and she immediately rubbed her arms to warm them.
“Here.” Cord slipped out of his jacket and held it out for her.
She shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m fine.” All she needed was to be surrounded in Cord’s scent and heat. But of course, he didn’t listen and slipped it over her shoulders anyway. She tried not to shiver from the delicious warmth that surrounded her. She waited for him to say something and when he didn’t, she brought up the elephant in the room. “You don’t need to apologize for what happened last night,” she said. “I think we both were a little tired and not thinking straight.”
His soft brown eyes studied her for a moment before he nodded. “I still owe you an apology. You were a guest in my home. I should’ve shown you more respect.”
“I touched you first.”
He looked down at his boots. Was he blushing? Of course, she was blushing too so she had no room to talk. But her blush had more to do with desire than embarrassment. The man was standing way too close.
“You did touch me.” He swallowed hard. “And then I touched you. So I guess we’re even. Let’s forget about it and move on.”
She wished it were that easy. But the melty feeling in her panties said it wasn’t going to be. She took a breath and said what needed to be said. “I think it would be a good idea if I stopped working for you.”
His head came up. “What? You can’t do that. I need you.” It was pathetic how the words made her tummy take a tumble. Of course, he wasn’t talking about the same kind of need as she was. “As Ryker says, I suck at social media and keeping my website updated. You can’t leave me to post pictures of the scrambled eggs and bacon I eat for breakfast. And you can’t take Carrie Anne away. She and I have become buddies.” He held up his hands as if trying to calm a frightened horse. “You have my word that I won’t touch you again. I’m going to be out of town for a few days, so I won’t even be around. And when I get back, things will be different. If they’re not, then you can quit.”
She should’ve remained strong and refused him. But there was something in his pleading brown eyes she couldn’t say no to.
“Fine. I’ll wait until you get back,” she said. But she didn’t see how a few days away from Cord was going to change anything.
She knew for a fact that once you caught rodeo cowboy fever, it was hard to get rid of.
Chapter Ten
The Cheyenne bar where Cord finally tracked down Danny Ray Corbett was like all the other bars Cord had spent half his life in. It was too dark, the music too loud, and the smell of alcohol too strong. As soon as he stepped in the door, his stomach tightened with the unrelenting need for a stiff shot of Patrón. Or the entire bottle.
He ignored the craving and shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it next to the other snow-dampened coats that hung on the row of hooks. He left his cowboy hat on and tugged it lower. He didn’t want anyone recognizing him and making a scene. He spotted an empty barstool at the bar and headed to it. His butt had barely settled before the bartender showed up to take his order. She was a tough looking gal with bleach blond hair and a mean scowl.
“What do you want?”
“A Coke, please.”
“With a shot of what?”
“No shot, ma’am. Just the soda.”
She shook her head before she left to get his drink. When she returned, she set his glass of Coke on the bar. “Since you aren’t here to get drunk, you must be here for women. You got the wrong night. Ladies’ Night is Tuesday. Monday is dollar beer night. Which explains all the drunk cowboys roaming around.”
He took the straw out of the Coke and took a sip. “Actually, I’m looking for a friend of mine. Danny Ray Corbett. You know him?”
She snorted. “Every bar owner in town knows Danny Ray. If he’s not getting into fights, he’s getting so loaded that he needs a ride home—or to the house of whichever woman he’s mooching off of at the time.”
The fact that Danny Ray was drinking and carousing while Christie was working two jobs to make ends meet pissed Cord off. He’d done his fair share of drinking and carousing, but he’d always made sure that his family was financially taken care of. He’d sent Jenn a check every month like clockwork right up until Ryker was out of college and Jenn had remarried. Of course, given the choice of money or a father, most kids would choose a father. So in that respect, he was no better than Danny Ray.
“Is he here tonight?” he asked.
She leaned closer and her eyes narrowed. “What do you want with him? If you’re looking to cause trouble, I’ve got a double barrel under the bar that I ain’t afraid to use.”
He didn’t doubt it for
a second. The woman’s hard look said she’d spent most of her life handling rowdy drunks in her bar. “No trouble. I just wanted to offer him a job in the rodeo off-season.”
When Cord first decided to come looking for Danny Ray, he had planned to give him a stern lecture on fatherhood. But on the way to Wyoming, he’d realized what a stupid plan that was. At thirty, Cord had been too full of himself to listen to some old cowboy’s lecture on being a father, and he figured that Danny Ray would be the same way. Danny didn’t need to be told what he was doing wrong. He needed to be shown. He needed to see what a great kid Carrie Anne was and what a beautiful, intelligent woman Christie was. And he needed to see what a fool he was if he let either one of them go. The only way Cord could figure out how to get Danny Ray to Bliss was to offer him a job.
“A job?” The woman shook her head. “Good luck getting that lazy bum to work. He doesn’t even work at rodeoing, which is why he sucks so—” Her eyes widened, and she snapped her fingers. “That’s it! I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out where I know you from and it just hit me. You’re Cord Evans.”
He glanced around. “I’d sure appreciate it if you kept that to yourself.”
For a second, he thought she might ignore his request. She looked like she was busting at the seams to scream out his name. Instead, she nodded and leaned closer. “Okay, but could you take a selfie with me later? And maybe give me your autograph.”
“Sure thing. Now where is—”
She cut him off. “And would you talk to my cousin in Muskogee, Oklahoma, who thinks she’s so damned hot because she saw Blake Shelton at a diner and he called her ‘Sis.’ That’s all she brags about at every family reunion.” She flapped a hand and fluttered her eyelashes. “’Did you know that Blake eats hamburgers?’ I mean who the hell don’t eat hamburgers?”