Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy

by Diana Palmer

  “Do you want me to leave?” Veronica asked.

  He paused to look back at her. “Honestly? Right now, I don’t know what the heck I want. I get that I invaded your privacy, and I’m sorry as hell about it, but I still hate you for not being honest with me.” He sighed. “It feels like you’re using this as an excuse not to be straight, and that doesn’t make me feel good about anything.”

  “That’s not fair,” Veronica whispered.

  “Maybe it isn’t, but it’s how I feel, and I can’t help that any more than you can help getting mad at me for reading your texts.”

  He abruptly stopped speaking, stepped back, and threw the door open to let some guests come in. After exchanging pleasantries, he looked over at Veronica.

  “I’ll check in on you later, okay? I’ve got to help get the groom ready to leave before HW gets up to his tricks.” He hesitated, his voice rough. “The apartment keys are in my pocket if you want them, or just ask Mano for the spare set in the gas station safe.”

  Still clutching her coat, she watched him leave, her heart thumping hard as she tried to work out what to do next. He’d read the text and drawn all the wrong conclusions from it—which, considering what Leon had said, wasn’t exactly hard.

  Should she leave? Was there any point in staying when she’d already made him doubt they had a future together? He might not believe her even if she did try to explain. Jason never had. Maybe she’d been stupid to think that any man would ever trust her.

  “You okay, Veronica?”

  She looked over to the door to find Tucker observing her.

  “Ted said you might need to leave early because you weren’t feeling too good.” He paused. “I’ve got a fleet of vehicles going back and forth between here and the hotel so if you want to go, it won’t be a problem.”

  “Thanks.” Veronica let out a shaky breath. “I think maybe I should go. Ted’s not very . . . happy with me right now.”

  “I kind of got that,” Tucker said tactfully. “If I can just say something in his defense, he’s a good guy, and he doesn’t get mad easily. If you can bear to stay and talk this out, he’ll definitely listen to you.”

  “I know.” She offered him a smile. “He’s not the problem, it’s me. And I can’t give him the answers he needs right now.”

  Chapter Eight

  “She said to tell you that she was sorry, and that it was all on her, and that you weren’t to worry about anything,” Tucker said and then hesitated. “But she looked like she was about to burst into tears, and I don’t think she really wanted to leave.”

  Ted nodded slowly as he tried to deal with the fact that Veronica had left the wedding. The reception had finished and the evening party with a band and a free bar had commenced, leaving everyone, except him, full of food and happy to dance the night away.

  “It wasn’t all on her.”

  Tucker grimaced. “It rarely is.”

  “I read a text on her phone and got mad about it, forgetting that she’d dealt with an abusive ex who controlled her life, and that she might not take what I did too well.”

  “Unfortunate.”

  “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. She asked me to be patient and wait until she could explain everything to me, and I wanted more.” Ted shook his head. “So damn stupid!”

  “You’re in love with her—you get to be stupid.” Tucker gently punched his arm. “Now, all you have to do is think of a way to fix this.”

  Ted looked over at the dance floor where the happy couple was swaying gently to some romantic song. “I can’t go after her right now. I have duties.”

  “Like those two would even notice you’d gone,” Tucker scoffed. “If they ask where you are, and they won’t, I’ll tell them you had to pull someone’s truck out of a snowbank, and you’ll be back when you can.”

  “But—”

  Tucker punched him again, this time harder, and shoved him toward the door. “Don’t even go there. Veronica needs you, and that’s more important than anything.”

  * * *

  Veronica let herself into the apartment and gently closed the door behind her. She hadn’t taken Ted’s keys and had borrowed the spare set from Mano, who had told her he’d been up to check on Bacon, whom he’d taken quite a shine to. She went straight to see the piglet, who immediately climbed into her lap. She held him close, burying her face into his neck, and just breathed him in.

  She should have stayed and had things out with Ted, but she hadn’t wanted to disrupt the wedding even more than she already had. Ted deserved to enjoy the day with people he loved and trusted, and she wasn’t sure she was one of those people anymore. She took down Bacon’s leash. She wished she could say she’d overreacted to Ted reading her text, but that wasn’t something she could control because it was so tied up with the person she’d been, and had tried to get past.

  When he returned, she’d tell him everything, even though Sharon hadn’t yet gotten back to her. And then they could be friends again, wish each other well, and move on. She swallowed hard. He’d only asked her to be his girlfriend for the wedding after all....

  Making sure she had her keys, she took Bacon out for his walk. The town was quieter than usual as almost everyone was still at Morgan Ranch enjoying the wedding. She didn’t see a single soul, which, in her present mood, suited her just fine.

  By the time she got back, her face was chilled from the wind and the thought of crawling into bed with a mug of hot chocolate was incredibly appealing. She stomped up the stairs, her boots leaving wet patches of snow on the steps, and unlocked the door to the apartment.

  There was a light on in the kitchen she was certain she’d turned off before she’d left. Hugging Bacon to her chest, she eased off her boots and walked through to find Ted sitting at the counter staring right back at her.

  “Hey.” He still wasn’t smiling.

  “Why aren’t you at the wedding?” Veronica asked.

  He shrugged. “This seemed way more important.”

  She held Bacon up like an offering. “I’ll just put him into the bathroom and then I’ll be back, okay?”

  “I’ll make some coffee.”

  She contemplated making a mad dash for the stairs but only for a second. This was Ted, her friend, and whatever else happened between them, Tucker was right. She could rely on him to at least hear her out.

  When she got back, he was sitting in one of the chairs and had placed two mugs on the kitchen table in front of him. He gestured at her cup.

  “I made you hot chocolate. You always like it when you’re cold.”

  “Thank you.” She cradled the cup in her hands as she settled into the chair opposite him, and tried to decide where to begin. “About Leon . . .”

  He held up his hand. “You said that didn’t have anything to do with what happened, so why don’t you move on?”

  “But—” She took a good look at his face and sighed. “Okay, then I’ll start with Jason. I thought he was dead.”

  “What?” He blinked at her.

  “As in no longer living, but from what I’ve found out today, that doesn’t appear to be the case.”

  “Did you . . . try to kill him?” Ted asked.

  Despite the seriousness of the moment, it was such a Ted question that Veronica’s sense of humor surfaced, and she fought a smile.

  “What if I did?”

  He sat back. “Then you didn’t succeed, and you’re in the clear, right?”

  “Doesn’t that worry you at all?”

  “Look, I’ve already accepted that you stole his pig, so adding a probably justifiable homicide isn’t that big of a stretch.”

  She stared hard at him as his lips twitched.

  “You think if I had killed him, he would probably have deserved it?”

  He nodded. “I’d still make you turn yourself in, but I suspect you’d get a minimum sentence.”

  “You sound like my uncle Victor.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Ted sipped his
coffee and then set the mug back down. “What exactly happened to make you think Jason might be dead?”

  Veronica let out a relieved breath. Here came the hard part. “As I already told you, I went around to see how Perry and her piglet were doing. I still had my keys so I kind of ended up inside the house.”

  “Ended up.” Ted raised a skeptical eyebrow.

  “I looked through the back windows. Perry was lying on the floor with the piglet next to her. I thought Perry was dead. I rushed in without thinking or realizing that Jason had taken the day off and was still at home.”

  “That explains how Jason comes into the story. Go on.” Ted nodded.

  “He grabbed hold of Bacon, and held him up in the air with one of the kitchen knives at his throat.” Veronica shuddered as she recalled the scene. “He said he was going to send both pigs to the slaughterhouse, and that he’d only stayed home to wait for the truck to arrive.

  “I . . . lost my temper, lowered my head, and tried to tackle him to the floor. I made a grab for Bacon, who was squealing his head off, but Jason shoved me backward so hard that I fell on my ass next to Perry, who definitely wasn’t dead. She didn’t like Jason much by this point, and seeing him hurting her baby made her mad. She charged him and he went down like a stone.”

  Veronica gulped for air. “Luckily, Bacon fell on top of Jason when he hit the ground and Perry was more interested in saving her piglet than finishing Jason off.”

  She glanced over at Ted to find his shoulders were shaking, and that he had one hand covering his mouth.

  “It wasn’t funny!” She glared at him.

  “Sure sounds like it from this side of the room.”

  She shot to her feet and marched over to him, hands on her hips. “I was afraid!”

  He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his knee, which, she realized, was exactly where she wanted to be.

  “I guess you had to be there,” he said.

  She punched him hard in the chest and he obligingly grunted.

  “I’ll shut up now. You didn’t know whether Jason was okay at that point, so I get that it was stressful.” He smoothed his hand over her back. “I guess this was when you stole Bacon and made a run for it?”

  “Yes.” She tangled her fingers in the buttons of his shirt and wouldn’t look up at him. “I did call nine-one-one and left the back door open for the paramedics.”

  “Of course you did.” Another tremor rumbled through his frame but this time he kept his voice even. “I suppose, after you left like that, you couldn’t just call his cell and ask him if he was okay?”

  “No, which is why I couldn’t tell you everything. Today I asked Sharon to find out what happened to Perry. She’s supposed to be getting back to me anytime now.” Veronica finally looked up at him. “Do you think Jason went through with it, and sent her to be killed?”

  “I don’t know, love.” Ted held her gaze. “Do you want to call him and ask?”

  “Call him? Ted, I’ve spent the last two years avoiding him like the plague!”

  Even as he opened his mouth to reply, her cell rang. She jumped like she’d been shot and yanked it out of her pocket.

  “Oh my God, it’s Jason.”

  “Well, pick up,” Ted said. “Put him on speakerphone.”

  She glared at him, but did as he suggested.

  “Hello?”

  “You’ve got my pigs, haven’t you?”

  “Hi, Jason, how are you? Long time no speak,” Veronica said airily, hoping her ex wouldn’t notice the tremor in her voice.

  “I hear you’ve been looking for me. If you don’t return my property, I’m going to the cops. I’m going to tell them how you broke into my house and attacked me. I had a concussion!”

  Veronica offered Ted a stricken glance and he wrapped his hand around the one of hers holding the phone, which steadied her.

  “I thought you were sending the pigs to be slaughtered.”

  “And I will be doing that after you return them,” Jason countered. “Perry’s too dangerous to keep.”

  “You’d better keep your stories straight for the cops, Jason. Which is it? Did Perry attack you, or was it me?” Veronica asked. “Maybe that bump on your head really did confuse you.”

  “I’m not confused, sweetheart, you just—oh, hi, Marissa, how was your day?”

  Veronica glanced over at Ted and raised her eyebrows as Marissa started talking.

  “I’ve just been speaking to Sharon, and now I hear you threatening your ex-wife on the phone over a pig? You told me she’d ambushed you and stolen them, and that you wanted them back because you loved them—not that you intended to send them off to be slaughtered! You know how I feel about animal cruelty. How could you do such a thing?”

  “Marissa, sweetheart, darling—”

  “Don’t you Marissa me. If Veronica did take those pigs, she’s welcome to them!”

  “But—I didn’t . . .” Veronica tried to interrupt, but the couple at the other end of the conversation was too busy shouting at each other to hear her. She looked over at Ted and shrugged. “She’s got more guts than I ever had, I’ll give her that.”

  “Hello?”

  Veronica jumped as Marissa came on the line.

  “Er, hey. What’s up?”

  “Jason’s stormed out in a huff.”

  “Okay . . .” Veronica said cautiously.

  “Don’t worry about Perry,” Marissa continued. “She’s safe on my parents’ farm.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “You’ve got the piglet, right? You’re welcome to keep him—although you do know he’ll get big like his mother?”

  Veronica took a firmer grip on her phone. “Can we back up a bit here? Did you just lie to Jason?”

  Marissa chuckled. “Who do you think came home and found Jason being attended to by the EMTs while he rambled on about Perry trying to kill him? While we were at the ER I called my folks and asked them to come get Perry and keep her safe. Jason doesn’t remember any of it.”

  “How did you know I had Bacon?” Veronica asked.

  “I didn’t until I talked to Sharon today and realized you’d been in the house on that fateful day and that you’d probably taken him to safety. I was just glad to hear he was okay. I was worried he’d run away.” Marissa paused. “Thanks for doing that. If he does get too big for you, let me know, and he can come live on my parents’ farm. They kind of collect rescue animals and they already love Perry.”

  “Marissa, Jason said he was going to call the cops and say I attacked him if I didn’t bring Bacon back,” Veronica said.

  “He won’t be doing that,” Marissa said.

  “You sound very confident,” Veronica commented.

  “He’d never live it down if I went to the cops with him, and insisted that he’d been brought down by a pig. And I would do that for Perry who doesn’t deserve to suffer because of Jason’s actions.”

  Even though Marissa couldn’t see her, Veronica nodded. “Jason sure hates looking stupid.”

  “Yeah . . .” Marissa sighed. “Although I think the stupid one is me. I really messed up believing all those lies he told me, and thinking I was the one who’d finally be the woman he needed.”

  “Trust me on this.” Veronica snorted. “The women aren’t the problem, Marissa. The common theme is Jason.”

  “I realize that now, and I’m truly sorry for all the harm I caused you.”

  “You didn’t cause me harm. I was already looking for a way out of the door before you came along. In fact, you helped me realize how relieved I would be to go.” It was the first time Veronica had voiced her feelings on the matter, and they rang true. “I’m sorry you had to find out he’s a rat-tailed ass.”

  It was Marissa’s turn to snort. “Look, I’d better go. I have some packing to do before Jason gets back. I’ll get your number from Sharon, and maybe we can keep in touch?”

  “I’d like that,” Veronica said sincerely. “And maybe, one day I can com
e and see Perry in her new home.”

  “Awesome. Happy holidays.”

  Veronica ended the call and got up to set her phone on the countertop before facing Ted.

  “Well, that didn’t go quite how I was expecting it to, but I think everything’s okay now.”

  “You do?” Ted asked, his slow smile warming her heart. “Like, everything?”

  “Everything that was stopping me from telling you that I want to stay in Morgan Valley—if Uncle Victor will have me.” She met his gaze head-on. “I’m sorry. I should have told you everything up front instead of making you doubt me. But I didn’t want you ending up with a criminal being tried for murder.”

  He winced. “A lot of that’s on me, okay? I’m . . . not great at trusting people, and I always look for the worst possible outcome.”

  “You do?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Really?”

  He rose to his feet in one strong motion and hoisted her over his shoulder.

  “That’s it.”

  “What? Put me down!”

  He carried her through to his bedroom and gently dropped her on his bed before straddling her hips and looming over her.

  “One question.”

  “What is it?” Veronica asked.

  “Leon.”

  “I thought you didn’t care about that because it didn’t have anything to do with the pig situation.”

  “I care now, so give it up.”

  “He’s my boss,” Veronica said.

  “Go on.”

  “We work together.”

  Ted flicked her nose with his finger, which made her grin.

  “I’m a specialist pediatric nurse. Leon’s a doctor.”

  Ted considered her for a very long minute. “So, the ‘kids’ are your patients?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Go to the top of the class.”

  “Dr. Tio is desperate to get a pediatric nurse here at the new health center,” Ted mused. “You should go and talk to him after you’ve settled things with Victor.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Veronica pretended to try and sit up. “Now, shouldn’t we be getting back to that wedding?”