A Little Country Christmas

by Carolyn Brown

  “The bathroom is through that door and the other one is a closet,” Landon explained. “They offered this to me if I’d stay on here at the Longhorn Canyon.”

  Dixie set Sally on the floor, and she crawled over to the coffee table and pulled herself up on it. “Why did you come here, anyway? I would’ve thought you’d want to stay close to your two brothers after you found them.”

  “I love my brothers and their families,” he answered. “But I got this itch to go somewhere else, like something was pulling at me to go.”

  “Seems to me that you’d do the same jobs no matter which ranch you decided to live on,” she said.

  “Yes, but…” He paused. “I guess I’m just not ready to settle down, and I need to do more, work on more ranches, meet more people, and travel more before I settle down. Have you ever felt like that?”

  “Just every week,” she admitted for the first time. “But it’s not to leave Sunset or this area. It’s to have a place of my own for me and this baby, a place that doesn’t have a shop in the living room. Sometimes I feel like she’s never going to have a normal life with so many people coming and going all the time.”

  Something like this is what I’d love, she thought, looking around the cabin, but she didn’t say it out loud.

  Landon chuckled. “You want to dig in and put down roots. I want wings to fly to the next ranch.”

  “If you want to travel and see things, then why are you going right back to your brothers’ ranches?” she asked.

  “It’s only for a week, and then I’ve got a job offer just over the border into Colorado. I’m supposed to drive up there and talk to them the second week in January,” he explained.

  “When you finally settle down, where do you think it might be?” she asked as she turned toward the door.

  “Who knows?” He shrugged. “In another ten years, I might be right back at either Pax’s or Mav’s ranch. When I get ready to put down roots, it would be nice to have family around me. But until then, ranchers always need help.”

  Dixie bit back a sigh. That sealed it right there. Even if they became more than friends, she would never be willing to drag Sally from one place to another every few months.

  “If we’re going to make decorations, we probably should be going,” she said as she took one last look at the sweet little cabin.

  “To tell the truth, I hope the decorations help the looks of that pitiful tree. I’d hoped to find something really pretty for you.” He picked Sally up and followed Dixie outside.

  “I’ve got lots of scraps,” she said. “We’ll just fill in all the bare spaces with decorations. The tree doesn’t have to be perfect. Just think about if it could talk. It would be bragging to all the pretty trees that the cute little girl picked it over them.”

  “You should write children’s books,” Landon told her.

  “I could never do that, but I do tell Sally stories like that all the time,” she admitted.

  “I bet you could if you tried. You should at least write down the stories you tell Sally and keep them in a journal for her.” He buckled Sally into the car seat and then checked the tree in the back to be sure it would ride well.

  “Maybe I will, but right now we’ve got to turn this tree into a pretty one, not tell stories about it,” she said.

  Chapter Three

  How about pizza for supper?” Landon asked as he drove down the pathway toward the road leading west to Sunset. “The convenience store is open so we could get some slices, or some chicken nuggets if that sounds better, and then get busy decorating the tree.”

  “I’ve got a slow cooker of chicken and dumplings ready to eat at home,” Dixie answered. “Be a shame to waste it. Why don’t we just have that before we start making decorations?”

  “You don’t have to twist my arm. I’m always ready to eat a home-cooked meal.” Landon made a left-hand turn onto the road.

  “So, you’ve got the itch to move again?” she asked.

  “I feel like a fish out of water,” he answered. “I love it here, and I’ve kind of made a shirttail-kin family right here. Emily is my sister-in-law Alana’s friend, and my brothers both worked out here on Tag and Hud’s ranch next to the Longhorn, but I’m just not satisfied yet…” He paused.

  “You feel like there has to be something more to life than this? I love my job, too, and the folks at the ranch are good to me, and I feel guilty when I want more. Is that kind of the way you feel?” she asked.

  “Exactly,” Landon agreed. “I can’t put my finger on it, but I’m restless even when I’m happy.”

  “Well, you’ve got some time to figure all that out,” she told him.

  “Yes, I do, and until the first of the year, we’ve got something to do every single day so that you can have a perfect Christmas.” He slowed down and turned right into the driveway of the Quiltin’ House. “I can almost smell that chicken and dumplings. I’ll get the princess out of her saddle and bring her inside if you’ll go on and dish them up.”

  “Saddle?” Dixie laughed.

  “She’s not a princess who rides in a low-slung sports car. She’s a cowgirl princess who shows up all the boys on the ranch. She can outride and outshoot them and is prettier than the whole lot of them too.” Landon got out of the vehicle, rounded the front end, and opened the door for Dixie.

  Just that small gesture made Dixie feel like a queen. Sally’s father had been Dixie’s only boyfriend, and he had not had an ounce of chivalry. Truth be told, he was a selfish bastard who had left her high and dry when his mother offered to let him come back home if he would leave her and that brat behind.

  “Thank you.” Dixie grabbed the diaper bag and hurried up on the porch to get away from the howling north wind. “Good thing we got the tree when we did,” she said as she unlocked the door. “If we’d waited until now, we would have had to put rocks in the princess’s pockets to keep the wind from blowing her all the way to Dallas.”

  Landon carried Sally into the house, set her on the floor, and removed her little snowsuit. “That’s funny, but so true. Maybe we should carry a bucket full of stones in the bed of the truck for both of you. I’d hate to try to find y’all if you got carried off to Dallas. That’s a pretty big place.”

  “So, you’d come lookin’ for us?” Dixie removed her coat.

  “Of course I would. Your roots are here, not in the middle of a big city.”

  The baby’s little lower lip quivered when Landon walked back out the door without even sitting down for a few minutes. After all the excitement of the evening, Dixie might have felt the same if she hadn’t known he was coming right back. When he brought the tree into the shop, Sally’s blue eyes got as big as saucers, and she clapped her hands. She watched as Landon removed his coat and hat and then got busy putting the tree in the chipped and rusted metal stand. When it was upright, Sally pointed at the top, walked all around it, and jabbered words that even Dixie couldn’t understand.

  “I think she’s looking for the squirrel,” Landon said as he lopped the ends off a few branches in an attempt to give it a better shape. “Maybe we should make a stuffed squirrel first.”

  Dixie headed toward the kitchen. “Before we do anything, we’re goin’ to have some supper.”

  She had been out to the ranch for Sunday dinner after church many times, but she’d never had anyone sit down to a meal with her here in the shop. Her hands shook as she took three bowls from the cabinet and set the table.

  Settle down and enjoy his company, Sarah’s voice scolded in her head.

  A picture of the elderly woman, tall and thin with chin-length gray hair, popped into Dixie’s head. She was part of the Fab Five, as the group of senior citizens called themselves who lived not far from the shop. No one would ever guess that she or any of the other members of the Fab Five were past seventy. They were active in everything in town and had been on a couple of long cruises since Dixie met them. They all spoiled Sally terribly, bringing her prizes and toys every time they went
anywhere, even if it was only into Bowie for groceries. Sarah was Dixie’s pick of them all, and if she had a problem, she often went to Sarah for advice.

  “What are you thinkin’ about?” Landon asked.

  His deep voice startled Dixie so badly that she jumped. “Sarah was fussin’ at me.”

  “On the phone?” Landon picked up Sally and carried her into the kitchen.

  Dixie tapped her forehead with a finger. “Right here. She gets into my head sometimes and scolds me.”

  “The whole bunch of them meddle in all of the folks’ lives out at the ranch, but it’s just because they love all y’all. That reminds me. We’ll have to go to the church program Sunday night. They’re going to put on a skit.” He settled Sally into her high chair. “What can I do to help with supper?”

  “Pour the sweet tea. It’s already made up in the refrigerator,” Dixie said. “I’ll slice the bread and set the pecan pie in the oven to warm up.”

  “Holy smokes!” Landon grabbed Dixie around the waist and spun her around a couple of times before setting her feet back on the floor. “This ain’t just supper. It’s a feast.”

  Her heart pounded, and her pulse kicked up a dozen notches. “No, a feast”—she stopped to catch her breath—“is what we have at the ranch for Thanksgiving.”

  “We’ll have to agree to disagree,” he told her. “If you ate whatever the cowboys cook up at the bunkhouse all week, you’d understand. I can’t wait to tell them about this meal. They’re going to be so jealous. Merry Christmas to me,” he singsonged as he put ice and tea into the glasses.

  Dixie couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed an evening so much. Usually, after closing the shop, she and Sally had supper, and then she spent the rest of the evening with the baby before her seven-thirty bedtime. After that, she either cut out the pieces for a quilt or maybe watched some television before she turned in. Tonight, Landon had given her and Sally a taste of the joy of the season. They had a tree. Ugly as the poor thing was, standing over there in the corner with too many branches in some places and gaping holes in others, it was theirs, and Landon would be sharing in the fun of making decorations.

  She hummed as she spooned the dumplings into a large crock bowl and put it in the center of the table. Then she added a platter of sliced bread and a small divided plate with two kinds of cheese. Landon seated her before he took his place and then waited for her to say a simple prayer.

  “We didn’t say grace when I was growing up, and we didn’t go to church,” she said after she finished. “But after the fire, I decided that I needed to go to church, and that I’d raise my daughter to respect God.”

  “We didn’t pray over our food either,” Landon said. “But I got used to saying grace when I moved to Daisy to be near my two brothers. Everyone out there, and everybody here on the Longhorn Canyon Ranch, respects God, like you said.”

  She dipped up small bowls full of chicken and dumplings for each of them, and then put a few spoonfuls on a saucer to cool for Sally. “She can eat a lot of things by herself, but not this.”

  “I’ll help.” Landon cut a dumpling into pieces and blew on a spoonful until it was cool enough to feed her. “Here you go, princess.”

  Sally closed her eyes and made an “mmmm” noise when she tasted the food in her mouth.

  Landon put the first bite into his mouth and said, “I agree. These are great.”

  Dixie could feel the heat rising up the back of her neck. Not once had her ex-boyfriend ever complimented her on anything that she cooked. More than once, he had come in from work, taken one look at the supper table, and said, “I’m not eating this crap. I’m going down to the convenience store and get myself a burrito.”

  “Thank you.” Dixie kept her eyes on her plate and hoped he couldn’t see her scarlet-red cheeks.

  I will not think about the past, she vowed. I will enjoy the memories I have already made today and look forward to what is ahead during this holiday season.

  When they finished eating, she cleaned Sally’s face and hands, set her on an area rug with some of her toys, and turned around to find Landon clearing the table. “I can take care of that,” she told him.

  “Oh, no!” Landon rolled up his sleeves above the elbows. “You cooked and fed me a great supper. It’s only fair that I help with the cleanup. I don’t know where everything goes, so if it’s all right, I’ll wash, and you can dry.”

  Dixie couldn’t keep her eyes off his muscular forearms. A vision of him wrapping her up in his arms popped into her head. The temperature of her body jacked up at least ten degrees, and her voice sounded strange in her own ears when she said, “That’s fine and thank you.”

  He washed the tea glasses first, rinsed them, and set them in the drainer. Her hands shook when she picked the first one up, and she dropped it on the floor. It shattered, sending glass all around her legs and feet. Landon scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the living room. He set her down on a rocking chair and grabbed the broom.

  Landon makes me feel like a queen and this rocking chair is my throne.

  “I’ll clean it up. Just don’t let the baby come into the kitchen until I’m sure there are no more slivers on the floor,” he said. “Are you hurt? Did you get cut? I didn’t realize you’d kicked your shoes off until I looked down.”

  They both noticed a blood spot on the top of her sock at the same time. “Where’s your medicine cabinet? In the bathroom?”

  “What you need is in the cabinet to the left of the bathroom sink,” she answered.

  He picked up the baby, set her in Dixie’s lap, and handed Dixie the first book he could lay his hands on. “Here, you hold Sally so she doesn’t get into the glass, and I’ll take care of your foot.” Then he patted Sally on the back. “Mama is going to look at a book with you, baby girl.”

  “Lan-Lan, go?” Sally’s little lower lip stuck out.

  “Only down the hall,” Landon assured her and glanced down at Dixie. “Bathroom, right?”

  Afraid to blink for fear she’d wake up and find that this was all a dream, she just nodded. Her foot was bleeding, and it should hurt, but she didn’t feel a thing. Did all queens feel like this when their knight in shining armor picked them up?

  Not armor, she thought. Landon is a knight in shining cowboy hat and boots.

  In minutes he returned and dropped to his knees in front of her. “If it needs stitches, we’ll have to go to the emergency room,” he said as he eased the sock off her foot. “Nope, it’s more of a puncture and it’s not deep. Thank goodness you were wearing socks, or it might have been worse.” His big, rough hands felt like silk as he cleaned the wound, applied ointment, and then covered it with a Band-Aid.

  Dixie’s heart pounded and her pulse raced. “Thank you,” she said and was surprised when her voice sounded like she’d been sucking air from a helium balloon.

  “No problem.” Landon patted her on the knee and then started back down the hall to put away the supplies. “Keep Sally entertained, and I’ll clean up the glass, then do those dishes.”

  “I can stand up and dry dishes,” she protested.

  “Of course you can, but let me do it,” he threw over his shoulder.

  While Sally pointed at the pictures in the book about a puppy dog, Dixie listened to Landon singing bits of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and humming through the words he didn’t know.

  Landon would never leave his wife and child behind without so much as a backward glance, she thought as she looked down at her bandaged foot.

  He finished the cleanup and came back into the living room. “Are you sure you feel like running a sewing machine tonight? Will it hurt your foot too much to sew?”

  “It’s barely a scratch.” She handed Sally up to him. “Your turn to entertain her while I work on some ornaments to dress up our tree.”

  Landon sat down on the floor and played “name that stuffed animal” with Sally. While she tried to say the animal’s names, he peeked over at
Dixie. She cut circles from red and green velvet and then ran a stitch around the outside edge. Then she gathered it up and stuffed the result with leftover quilt batting to make a perfect little round ball. In less than half an hour, she had two dozen ornaments ready.

  “Let’s put these on the tree so Sally can see them before I put her to bed. It’s already past her bedtime,” Dixie said.

  Landon had just finished hanging the last one up close to the top, when Sally crawled between his legs, grabbed one from a low limb, and the tree came crashing down to the floor. The limbs brushed against her face and startled her so badly that she began to cry. Landon gathered her up in his arms, checked her to be sure she wasn’t hurt, and kissed her a dozen times on her cheeks and forehead.

  “It’s all right, baby girl. We should have fastened it down better. Don’t you worry. Mommy and I will get it all fixed so it won’t fall on you again,” he chuckled.

  Dixie righted the tree and stood back staring at it for a full minute. “What are we going to do?”

  Landon handed Sally off to her, went out to the porch, and brought in two heavy flowerpots. He situated them at the base of the tree to hold it steady and then tried to knock it over, but it stayed upright. “It’s not beautiful, but it works.”

  “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Dixie set the baby down and retrieved a bolt of fabric printed with Christmas trees. She stretched it out on the table, cut two lengths the same size, and sewed up the ends and sides on the sewing machine.

  Sally toddled right over to the flowerpots and was about to stick her hands in the dirt when Landon picked her up again. “Guess my idea wasn’t so good after all.”

  “It was a wonderful idea.” Dixie stood up and carried her two new sacks to the tree. “We’ll just cover the pots with these,” she said as she worked, “and tuck the ends under the bottom like this. Now Miss Nosy Pants can’t get into them.”