Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy

by Diana Palmer

  “Thanks, Mom! I’m going out to tell Bart good night.”

  “Watch for snakes. They crawl at night and I don’t know how to kill one. We don’t own a gun anymore.” That was true. After her husband’s death, Katy, who was mortally afraid of firearms, sold them to several friends of Teddie’s dad.

  “I’ll watch where I put my feet,” Teddie assured her.

  “Okay. Don’t be long.”

  “I won’t!” she called back over her shoulder as she ran to the front door.

  A few minutes later, there was a scream and a wail.

  Katy, horrified, went running out the door onto the front porch, flicking on the porch light on the way. “Teddie! What happened?!”

  Teddie was frozen in her tracks. She couldn’t speak. She just pointed.

  There, standing a few feet away, was a wolf. Even in the dim light, Katy could see that it was huge, much larger than the biggest dog she’d ever seen. It had an odd ruff around its head with black stripes running through it. As she looked closer, she noticed that the wolf had three legs.

  “Teddie, come here. It’s all right. Walk slowly. Don’t run, okay?”

  Teddie did as she was told. She was afraid, but she followed her mother’s instructions. “He’s so big,” she said in a ghostly tone.

  “Yes.” Katy let a held breath out as Teddie made it to the porch. The wolf still hadn’t moved.

  Teddie would have run into her mother’s arms, but they were folded over her chest. She never had understood why her mother didn’t hug her. Her friends’ mothers did it all the time.

  As Katy stood there with her daughter, wondering what in the world to do, she heard a pickup truck coming down the road. It paused at the end of her driveway and suddenly turned in, going slow.

  “It’s Parker!” Teddie said. “That’s his truck.”

  Katy wondered why he’d be here after dark, but she was so worried for her daughter that she didn’t really question it.

  He pulled up at the steps and got out. “Oh, thank goodness. You horror!” he said, approaching the wolf. “Your papa’s worried sick!”

  The wolf howled softly as Parker approached it.

  “It’s okay, old man, you’re safe. Come on, now.” As the women watched, Parker picked up the wolf as if he weighed nothing at all and put him in the passenger seat of the truck. He closed the door and only then noticed how upset Katy and Teddie were.

  “It’s all right,” he said in a soft tone, the one he used with frightened horses. “He’s old and crippled and almost blind. Sarge said he left the screen door open accidentally and Two Toes wandered off. Poor old thing probably couldn’t find his way home again. He’s got a lousy sense of smell.”

  “Oh, thank goodness,” Katy said. “I thought he was going to eat Teddie. She screamed. . . .”

  Parker chuckled. “That’s what most people do when they come face-to-face with wolves. Some are aggressive predators. Old Two Toes, there, he’s a sweetheart.” He indicated the wolf, which was sitting up in the passenger seat without making a fuss.

  “He’s somebody’s pet?” Teddie asked.

  “My sarge. He’s a wildlife rehabilitator. Two Toes lives with him, though, because the old wolf can’t be released into the wild. He’d die.”

  “I remember now,” Katy said. “You told me about him.”

  “I did,” he agreed.

  “That’s so sad,” Teddie said. “I’m sorry I screamed. I was really scared. He came out of nowhere.”

  “Everybody gets scared sometimes. It’s not a big deal,” he said softly, and smiled at her.

  “Okay. I’m going inside. It’s cold!” Teddie said.

  “It is. You don’t even have a jacket on,” he chided.

  Teddie just laughed.

  He looked up at Katy. “You’re not wearing one, either.”

  “She screamed and I came running,” she said. “I didn’t think about how cold it was.” She looked frightened and sad and almost defeated.

  He came up onto the porch, towering over her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She drew in an unsteady breath. “Life,” she said simply, fighting tears.

  He pulled her gently into his arms, wrapped her up like treasure, and just rocked her. “Let it out. It’s hard being the strongest person in your whole family. We all need a moment’s weakness to remind us that life is like a prism, with many facets.”

  “Or like Schrodinger’s cat?” she mumbled into his denim jacket.

  He chuckled. “Who’s been talking?”

  “Teddie. She heard you talking to somebody about a cat in a box and an Einstein-Rosen bridge.”

  “Heavy stuff.”

  “Very heavy. Way over my head.”

  “Mine, too, at first. But I loved the concept of invisible numbers and tangents and cosine and stuff like that. Ate it like candy.”

  She drew back and looked up at him. He seemed different and she couldn’t decide why until she realized that his hair, his thick, soft, black hair was loose. It flowed over his shoulders and down his back like silk.

  “Your hair’s down,” she murmured.

  He shrugged. “I was getting ready for bed when Sarge called. He’s missing an arm and sometimes it bothers him at night. He asked if I’d go hunt for Two Toes, so I left supper hanging and came running. Driving. Whatever.”

  “Supper at this hour?”

  “I don’t live a conventional life,” he said. “Supper’s whenever I feel like fixing it. But tonight it was oatmeal.” He made a face. “I think I’ll pass on reheating it.”

  “If you’ll come in, I can make you a nice ham and cheese sandwich. I even have lettuce and mayo.”

  His eyebrows arched. “All that on one sandwich?” he asked with a smile.

  “All that.”

  “Okay. Thanks. But I have to take sweetums home to Sarge first.”

  “I’ll be making the sandwich while you’re driving. Want coffee?”

  He nodded. “Strong and black, if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “I’m grading papers,” she replied. “Strong and black is how I take it, too.”

  He smiled. “Okay. I’ll be back in a few.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Is Parker coming back?” Teddie asked excitedly when her mother came inside.

  “Yes, he is. He doesn’t really want to reheat the oatmeal he left to go find his sergeant’s wolf.” She laughed.

  “He’s so nice.”

  Katy nodded. “And smart,” she added with a wink.

  Teddie smiled back.

  * * *

  Later, Parker knocked at the door and Teddie let him in.

  “Your hair’s down,” Teddie said. “I didn’t notice before. Gosh, it’s long!”

  “Warrior hair,” he teased. “It’s my ‘medicine.’ I’ve never cut it, except once.”

  Teddie’s eyes asked the question.

  “When my mother died,” he said softly. “It’s an old way of expressing grief.”

  “Gosh,” she said, fascinated. “Well, I’m glad it grew back. It’s beautiful!”

  He chuckled and ruffled her hair. “You’re good for my ego.”

  She made a face at him.

  “Sandwiches and coffee,” Katy said, bringing out a platter of them and going back for the coffeepot. The small table was already set. “Teddie, want a sandwich?”

  “No, thanks. I have to finish my homework,” she moaned.

  “Feel okay now?” Katy asked gently.

  She nodded. “I was just a little scared. He’s a very big wolf.”

  “He’s a big baby,” Parker said as he took off his jacket and sat down at the table. “Sarge loves him to death.”

  “I guess he’s just scary to people who don’t know him,” Teddie amended.

  He smiled. “I’ll take you over to Sarge’s one day and you can get acquainted. He likes people. Loves girls.”

  She laughed. “That’s a deal. I’ll go do that horrible math.”

&
nbsp; “Math is not horrible,” Parker pointed out. “It’s the basis of all engineering.”

  “I don’t want to be an engineer. I want to fly jet planes. Fighter planes!”

  He rolled his eyes. “And here I’m teaching you to ride horses!”

  “One step at a time,” Teddie said with a grin. She turned and went down the hall to her room.

  “Fighter planes.” Parker shook his head as he bit into a sandwich.

  “She’s adventurous,” Katy said, nibbling at a sandwich of her own.

  “When I was her age, I wanted to be a cowboy and live on a ranch,” he said.

  Both eyebrows went up.

  “Of course, when I was a little older than her, I was a cowboy and lived on a ranch.” He chuckled, swallowing down a bite of sandwich with coffee. “Coffee’s good,” he said as he put the cup down. “Most people don’t get it strong enough.”

  She laughed. “I like a spoon to stick up in mine.”

  “Me, too.”

  “You wanted to be a cowboy, but you already were one,” she prompted.

  “My point is, I’m happy with my life. So many people aren’t,” he added. “They’re always chasing something they can’t find, wanting things that are impossible to have. It’s important to be satisfied not only with who you are, but where and what you are. After all, life isn’t forever. We’re just temporary visitors here. Tourists, really.”

  She burst out laughing and almost toppled her coffee. “Tourists! I’ll have to remember that one.”

  He grinned. “I stole it from a pal, when we were overseas. He was a great guy. He was going to medical school when we got out of the service. He didn’t make it back. A lot of guys didn’t.”

  “I know.” She did, too, because her husband had been one of those. “My husband was already a doctor, though. He loved his work. He loved being in the service. He said that patriotism was being sacrificed by people who didn’t understand that freedom isn’t free. He wanted to do his part.” She bit her lower lip. “Sorry. It’s still fresh.”

  He just nodded. “Life goes on, though,” he said, studying her. “You have to pick up the pieces and keep going.”

  “You’ve lost someone,” she said suddenly.

  He hesitated. Then he nodded again. “The love of my life,” he said with a quiet sadness. “She was eighteen, I was nineteen. While I was overseas, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She died before I even got home. We were going to be married that Christmas.”

  “I’m truly sorry,” she said softly, and put her hand over his big one. She didn’t understand why exactly, because she almost never touched people–not even her daughter, whom she loved. “I do understand how that feels.”

  His hand turned and clasped hers. There was a flash, almost electric, between them when he did that. She caught her breath, laughed self-consciously, and took her hand away. He seemed as disconcerted as she felt. He finished the sandwich and washed it down with coffee.

  “I’d better go and let you get to those papers,” he said, rising. “Think of the poor students who’ll be disappointed to have to wait an extra day to learn that they failed the test.” He grinned wickedly.

  She laughed, the tension gone. “I guess so.”

  “Thanks. It was good coffee and a nice sandwich. Better than cold oatmeal,” he added wryly.

  “Anytime. Thanks for coming after our furry visitor. If he ever comes back, I’ll know who to call.”

  “Where’s your cell phone?” he asked.

  She took it out of her pocket and placed it in his outstretched hand. He put in his contact information and handed it back.

  “That’s my cell number,” he told her. “If you have a problem, night or day, you call me. Okay?”

  She smiled warmly. “Okay.” She cocked her head. “Where’s your cell phone?”

  His eyebrows arched, but he handed it to her. She put her own contact information into it and handed it back.

  “If you need us, you only have to call,” she said quietly. “We’d do anything we could to help you.”

  He was unsettled. He hesitated. “All right. Thanks.”

  “I mean, if you come up with some unified field theory in the middle of the night and need to discuss it with someone who knows absolutely nothing about theoretical physics, I’ll be right here. Think of it as ego building.”

  He chuckled. She was a card. “I’ll do that.”

  “But if you get sick or something, you can call, too,” she added. “I nursed my mother for several years before I married. I’m pretty good in a sick room.”

  That surprised and touched him. “I’m never ill.”

  “I knew that,” she replied spritely. “But just in case . . . ?”

  “Just in case,” he agreed.

  He started for the door. “Good night, Teddie. See you Saturday,” he called down the hall.

  “I’ll be here, still doing horrible math!” she called back.

  “Math is not horrible!”

  “It is so! It has numbers that are invisible! I heard you tell that other man that.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “How do you see invisible numbers?” she asked from the hallway.

  “I’m leaving,” he told her. “It’s much too late for philosophical discussions.”

  “I thought you said it was math,” Teddie replied innocently.

  “Just for that, you can learn two new ways to tie a cinch on Saturday,” he said formally, and then ruined it by laughing.

  She grinned. “Okay. Good night.”

  “Good night,” Katy echoed. “Thanks again.”

  “Thanks for the nice eats,” he replied. His dark eyes were warm on her face. “Sleep well.”

  “I don’t, but thanks for the thought.”

  He sighed. “I don’t sleep well, either,” he confessed. “I play solitaire and mah-jongg on my cell phone until I get sleepy. Usually, that’s about four in the morning.”

  She laughed. “Me, too. Especially mah-jongg.”

  “I have four apps with it. I’m a fanatic.”

  “We should get a board game and teach it to Teddie. She doesn’t like playing games on the phone.”

  “Not a bad idea. I’ll pick up a Monopoly game, too. We might play one Saturday night if you don’t have anything better to do.”

  “We just sit and watch old movies on DVD,” she said, shrugging. “I watch that series that your boss’s wife writes for, and the one her father produces, but nothing else. Well, maybe the Weather Channel and the History Channel. But that’s about it.”

  He grinned. “Two of my favorites.”

  “I’ll bet you sit and watch the NASA channel,” she accused.

  “I do. It’s not the most stimulating channel on television, but I like seeing how far we’ve come in the space race.”

  “We’re really having one, now.” She laughed. “SpaceX fired the gun, and all the other space companies are piling into the game. I’m so excited about Starhopper lifting off!”

  “Me, too. I like to watch those rockets land after they’ve lifted the vehicles into space. He landed two at once on floating platforms in the ocean. Do you have any idea how complicated and delicate a procedure that really is?”

  “I do. It’s amazing, what Elon Musk has accomplished.”

  “A man with a vision,” he replied.

  “A truly great man,” she agreed. “He’s revolutionized space travel.”

  “And in a very short space of time, as time goes.” He cocked his head and smiled. “Well, good night.”

  “Good night, Parker.” She frowned. “Do you have a first name?”

  He made a face. “Yes, I do, and no, I’m not telling you what it is.”

  “Well!”

  “Nobody knows what it is.” He hesitated. “Well, the boss knows, because payroll sends me a check. But he’s sworn to secrecy.”

  Her eyes twinkled. “Okay. We all have a few secrets.”

  He chuckled. “So we do. Good night.”<
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  “Drive carefully,” she said, and then flushed. It sounded forward.

  Both thick, dark eyebrows arched. “My, my, do you worry about me already?”

  She turned absolutely scarlet and was bereft of words.

  He grinned. “Don’t sweat it. It’s sort of nice, having somebody worry about me.”

  “Oh. Well, okay then.”

  He went down the steps to his truck. She watched him all the way to it before she closed the door and locked it. Her life was suddenly very complicated.

  Chapter Four

  It seemed a very long week before Saturday rolled around and Teddie was dancing with anticipation because Parker was going to take her riding down the fence lines today. He said Bart was as ready as he was going to be.

  “I’m so excited,” she told her mother. “It will be the first time I’ve ever really ridden him around the ranch!”

  “You do exactly what Parker tells you, okay?” Katy said. “He won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “I know that.” She cocked her head. “You look really nice,” she commented. “That’s the first time I’ve seen your hair down in a long time, Mom,” she added curiously.

  “I rushed to get breakfast and forgot to put it up,” she lied, hating the faint blush that was probably going to give her away to her daughter.

  She was wearing jeans with a yellow long-sleeved sweater. She looked neat and trim but also very sexy. Her long blond hair was around her shoulders, soft and waving. She did look nice. It hadn’t been intentional. At least, she didn’t think it was. She was attracted to Parker and she didn’t want to be. She’d only lost her husband a few months ago. It was too soon. Or was it?

  Teddie watched those expressions pass over her mother’s face. “Parker’s nice,” she said. “Much nicer than that lawyer who’s coming out here to see you next month.”

  “He’s a nice man,” Katy said, frowning. She’d forgotten that he’d invited himself out to Colorado. Now, she was regretting that she hadn’t said no.

  “Are we going to get to go trick-or-treating next week?” Teddie asked plaintively. “There’s almost nobody near enough for us to ask for candy around here. Well, maybe Parker and Mr. Denton, but nobody else.”

  Katy grinned. “The school is going to be handing out candy next week. In fact, the businesses in town are staying open after dark so they can hand it out, too. Just between us, even the policemen have bags of it in their cars, and they’ll be handing it out. So you’ll get lots of candy. I promise.”