Her Last Cowboy Christmas

by Liz Isaacson

  Amber took out her phone and snapped a picture of Lance in front of all of them, his face open and honest and happy.

  Then he said, “All right. We’ll see you at Balboa Park,” and the Coach started off with Thunder. His runners stayed together in a pack, the dogs right there with them.

  Amber tapped the video button and managed to get a few seconds of the action before everyone was too far away and dust covered things.

  “That was amazing,” she said to Lance.

  “It really was, wasn’t it?” He turned toward her, and Amber didn’t stop and think. She didn’t wait to analyze the situation.

  She stepped into his arms, put her hands on that strong jaw that had been a feature in her dreams, and kissed him.

  His hands moved through her hair as he returned the kiss, and Amber’s pulse accelerated, zooming through her whole body. Lance took control of the kiss, his mouth soft and insistent at the same time.

  Amber sighed into him, and he slowed, his hands moving down her back to her waist as he kissed her sweetly. He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.

  She had no idea what to say. She kept her eyes closed, wishing he’d kiss her again. And again. And again.

  Yes, she’d had several boyfriends over the past couple of years. Lance had probably seen them all parading in and out of her life, and a slip of humiliation moved through her.

  But none of them had kissed her the way he just had. “Lance—” she said, but he stole the rest of her words with another kiss. She felt passion here. Adoration. Love.

  She’d known Lance liked her. The flirting had established that. The doughnuts had testified of it. But this kiss?

  This kiss said he cherished her, and for Amber, in that moment, there was no better feeling in the world.

  “I can’t believe we adopted out seven dogs today,” Amber said as she opened the door to the diner. “Seven dogs, Lance. It’s incredible.”

  “Big dogs, too,” he said.

  “Seven big dogs.” Amber felt like she was inside a movie, one where things just didn’t make sense even when they happened.

  “Four of those were to track team members.” Lance chuckled. “Maybe we shouldn’t be so excited.” He held up two fingers for the hostess, and she grabbed two menus and led them to a table.

  “Hey, I’ll take dog adoptions no matter how we get them,” she said. “Even Jewel was stunned.”

  “Maybe we should have them run with cats,” Lance said, smiling as he lifted his glass of water to his lips.

  Amber burst into laughter. “Can you imagine? Leashed cats, with athletes trying to get them to run.” She shook her head, still giggling.

  “It would make headlines.” Lance shrugged, though he was completely kidding too.

  “So, Mister Longcomb. Tell me something else about you I don’t know.”

  He reached for the menu and hid behind it for a moment. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m an open book.”

  “Hardly.” She watched him, sure he wouldn’t make her work too hard. When he said nothing, she said, “Okay, I’ll tell you what I know about you, and you can correct me or add to it. Sound good?”

  “I suppose,” he said, though he didn’t seem terribly impressed with this game.

  “You’re a cowboy, so you like horses and dogs and animals.” She paused when the waitress arrived, and she and Lance put in their orders.

  “You love your family, and you go see them every week. You go to church, and you like to play the drums.”

  “Mm, right there,” he said, lifting his eyes from the straw wrapper he’d been tying in knots. “I like to play the guitar. I’m just on drums because no one else could do it.”

  Amber watched him for a moment. “Guitar, not drums. Got it. You like country music, and well, hamburgers.” He’d ordered one here tonight, and one at Pages.

  “That’s it?” he asked.

  “That’s what I know.” She wasn’t going to vocalize how good-looking she thought he was, or how faithful. Those sort of statements would reveal too much of herself, and she wasn’t ready to do that yet.

  “I like a hot breakfast,” he said. “My mother cooked for us kids every morning. Hash browns, bacon, eggs, toast.”

  “Your dad had a farm, right?”

  “A small one,” he said. “And here’s something I bet you don’t know. I like to dance.”

  Glee lit up Amber like a light bulb. “You do?”

  “Yeah, country dancing. Or you know, line dancing.”

  She laughed, tipping her head back and really laughing. She snorted a couple of times, but she didn’t care. Lance joined in with her, and when their food arrived, she said, “I’d really like to see that.”

  “Let’s dance at Cache and Karla’s wedding,” he said. “Surely they’ll have a band there.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Your band.”

  “No.” Lance shook his head. “Cache won’t want to play on his wedding day.”

  “Mm.” Amber started mixing the mayo she’d requested with ketchup to make a sauce for her fries. They talked and laughed some more, and everything was so easy about being with Lance.

  He took her home and walked her to the front porch again, like he had last time they’d gone to dinner. Tonight, though, he took her into his arms effortlessly and leaned down to kiss her.

  “Best day I’ve had in long, long time,” he whispered, matching his mouth to hers once more.

  She wanted to say, “Me too,” but she just kept kissing him instead.

  Chapter 9

  Admittedly, Lance hadn’t kissed a woman in a while, but the feel of Amber’s mouth against his was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. It was like she’d been made to kiss him, and he couldn’t seem to stop himself tonight.

  She finally pulled away, breathless and with her hair mussed up around her face. She smoothed it back and smiled at him. “You better get back to the ranch, cowboy.”

  He nodded, a blip of embarrassment squirreling through him. Everything about this afternoon and evening had just been so perfect. The dogs had behaved beautifully, and the cross-country team had agreed to come get the canines twice a week for their runs.

  And Amber had kissed him.

  He felt like he’d been lit up from the inside as he walked back to his truck. Before he knew it, he’d arrived back at his cabin. Kicked off his boots. Collapsed into bed right before his phone rang.

  “Hey, Art,” he said to his brother.

  “Lance, I just saw the news with the dogs.”

  “Yeah?” He sat up, having forgotten about the media coverage already. He fumbled for the remote control, only to knock it to the ground.

  “Yeah, it was amazing. You looked good on camera too.”

  “Thanks.” Lance finally got the remote and turned on the TV. They’d already moved on to the weather though. Disappointment cut through him, only intensifying the longer he watched the guy gesture toward clouds and low pressure systems.

  “Mom said she recorded it if you missed it.”

  “I did,” Lance said. “I’ll watch it when we’re out there this Sunday. Are we still going to talk to Mom about coming to Last Chance Ranch?”

  “About that….” Arthur cleared his throat. “Sandy and I can’t be there this Sunday.”

  “Oh, okay,” Lance said. “Why not?”

  “She’s not feeling well.”

  Lance heard something more in his brother’s words, but he didn’t press the issue. “Okay. Well, do you think I could talk to her alone? Or do you want to be there?”

  “Kristen will be there,” Art said. “You two talk to her about it.”

  “Okay.” Lance wasn’t sure what to say next. “Hey, is everything okay with you? I mean—” It was Wednesday, and Sandy was so sick she couldn’t make Sunday dinner?

  “I’m okay.” Art sighed, a heavy, heavy sound that made Lance listen harder. “We lost another baby. Sandy is devastated.” Art’s voice dropped to a whisper. “And she’s having some h
ealth problems right now, so we’re just going to be sticking closer to home this weekend.”

  Lance’s heart skipped a beat, and then two. He loved his sister-in-law, and he loved the two kids Sandy and Art already had. “I’m so sorry,” he said.

  “It’s fine,” Art said. “I mean, it’s not fine, but we’ll be okay. She just needs some time to herself, and time to find the path God wants us on. That’s all.”

  “I understand.” If anyone did, it was Lance. He hadn’t understood a lot of things about why his first marriage had been such a disaster. Time had helped heal the wounds, as had his family and his faith. But he still didn’t know why he’d had to fall so completely in love with Peggy, only to have her make him question everything he’d ever felt for another person.

  “What’s new with you?” Art asked, another sigh following. “Besides all the dog programs, of course.”

  “Well,” Lance said. “Don’t die, but I’m seeing someone.”

  “What?” Art made choking noises over the phone. “I’m dying. Lance, you can’t be serious.”

  “I am,” he said. “Her name’s Amber, and things are actually going pretty well.”

  “That’s great,” his brother said, sincerity in his voice. A wail came through the line, and he said, “I have to go, Lance. I want to hear more about it. Soon, okay?”

  “Yep,” Lance said, and the call ended. He didn’t need to tell his brother every detail about his relationship with Amber. It was enough to know he had a relationship with Amber.

  He fell back onto the bed again, a smile on his face. “Thank you, Lord,” he said to the ceiling. “For everything. For the dogs. For Coach Tea. For good food at the diner.”

  He blinked, thinking of that first kiss with Amber again. “And for Amber. Yeah…thank you for Amber.”

  Lance checked one more time to make sure his cats and dogs had food and water. Of course they did. He’d done it an hour ago. Before he’d showered. Before dressing in the black suit he currently wore. Before ordering a bouquet of red roses online to be picked up in fifteen minutes.

  He had the reservation at Covington’s Steakhouse. He had the ballet tickets in his breast pocket. He literally had everything planned to make this Valentine’s Day the most magical one of his life—and hopefully, Amber’s too.

  Now, he just needed to go get the woman.

  His throat felt so dry, and he wasn’t even sure why. He’d kissed Amber every day for the past week, and she’d given him no indication that she wanted to stop anytime soon.

  His stomach flipped every time he saw her, and when she opened the door to go to the ballet with him was no different. She wore a dark red dress in a color he thought was called burgundy, and it hugged her hips and swelled across her chest. With wide straps over her shoulders, it almost looked like sleeves, and she held her hand out like, Well? a sparkly, flirty look in her eyes.

  “Stunning,” he said, reaching up to adjust his tie. It choked him, but maybe his breathing was getting restricted by the sight of this gorgeous woman in front of him.

  She laughed lightly, took the roses from him, and stepped onto the porch, her hands going right to his bow tie too. “You clean up nice, cowboy.” She twisted and set the roses on the table beside the front door and then brought it closed behind her.

  “Good enough for the ballet?” he whispered.

  “You know there will be people there in jeans, right?” she asked, moving back to fiddle with his clothes again. He held very still, because she was so close, and he could barely think.

  “You mentioned that,” he said. And yet, they’d dressed up as if they were going to a wedding. This was better than what Lance would wear to a wedding. Had worn, especially the few that had taken place out on the ranch.

  Sure, he’d dressed up a little. Switched out his work hat for his church one. Wore his nice boots, all polished up and gleaming. Slacks. White shirt. Tie.

  But wearing a suit jacket felt like so much more than that.

  She finally finished with his tie and stepped back. “You’re very handsome.” She stretched up at the same time he leaned down. Their lips brushed, and fire started in Lance’s stomach. This felt like their first kiss all over again, and he enjoyed the energy of this date already.

  “We’ll be late,” he whispered against her mouth, but her fingers tightened on his collar and drew him back for another kiss.

  He pressed her into her closed front door and kissed her until he couldn’t breathe. Heat and desire mixed with embarrassment, but she didn’t giggle. Didn’t say anything. Just kept trailing her fingers through his hair along the back of his neck.

  “Our reservation is in fifteen minutes,” he said, finally putting some distance between them. He threaded his fingers through hers and led her to the truck. She waited in the spot next to the steering wheel when he got in, and he reclaimed her hand as soon as possible.

  “How’s the wedding prep going?” he asked.

  “Fine,” she said, and Lance wasn’t an expert on women, but he knew not to ask about the wedding again.

  “I didn’t get a chance to talk to my mom on Sunday,” he said to quickly change the topic. “Kristen was there, of course, and her daughter fell and busted up her lip.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Yeah.” Lance shook his head just thinking of the fuss Tia had thrown. There had been a lot of blood, and Kristen and Joel had ended up leaving early. “I didn’t want to talk to my mom alone, so we’re going to try for this Sunday.”

  “Good idea,” she said. “Here’s a question for you. When do you think I might be able to meet your mother?”

  “You want to meet my mother?” Lance didn’t mean his tone to sound so shocked.

  “Sure,” she said. “She’s obviously very important to you.”

  “Yeah.” He looked out the window, wondering why this surprised him so much. Maybe because this was technically their third date, though he’d been kissing her for a week now. “Well, she’s probably going to move to Last Chance Ranch. I’m sure you’ll get to meet her soon.”

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” she said. “I bought you some of that really dark chocolate you like. It’s at the house.”

  “Ninety-three percent?”

  “Yes,” she said, bringing out the giggle now. It made his pulse ricochet around inside his body, and he liked the pretty sound of her laugh so much. He liked it when she laughed from her stomach too, and the light way she snorted when she did.

  Lance liked everything about this woman, and the fact that she’d crawled right into his heart surprised him.

  “I don’t know how you eat it,” she said. “It doesn’t even seem to melt.”

  “It melts,” he said. “It’s fantastic.”

  “I’ll leave you to it.”

  “I signed us up for the three-course meal tonight,” he said. “It includes dessert, so I’m sure you’ll get to have something sweet.” He grinned at her, pleased when she smiled back at him.

  He pulled into the steakhouse a few minutes later. Walking in with Amber on his arm made Lance feel like a prince, and he couldn’t help beaming around at the crowd like She’s with me. Can you believe she’s with me?

  No one seemed to question that the gorgeous Amber Haws was with him, and he enjoyed dinner immensely. She ordered a tuxedo cake, with alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla cake, and when she pressed her lips around that fork…Lance felt sure he’d combust.

  They laughed and talked, and everything with her was easy, just as he’d hoped it would be. They found their seats in the theater, and she started talking about the ballet in an excited voice.

  “When’s the last time you went to a ballet?” he asked.

  “Years,” she said.

  “Why didn’t you go?” he asked. “I mean, I know you got hurt and had to stop dancing. Seems like you’d still go watch, though. Experience it any way you could.”

  She considered his words, her eyes glued to the program. “I couldn’t feel the jo
y in the dancing after I got hurt.” She looked at him, those wide brown eyes so vulnerable. “At least for a while. After that, I didn’t have anyone to go with.” She shrugged like that explained everything.

  Lance let it drop, though he thought she could’ve certainly mentioned it to any of her boyfriends over the years. Surely one of them would’ve taken her.

  Soon enough, the lights dimmed, and the curtains opened. Amber’s excitement beside him made him smile, and he sent up a prayer of gratitude that he’d been able to be the one to experience this with her. Please allow her to feel the joy in the dance again, he prayed.

  Ballet wasn’t Lance’s first choice of things to watch, but even he could appreciate the beauty in the movement. He could tell the dancers worked hard to be at the level they were, and he understood the countless hours behind the curtain no one saw.

  Intermission arrived, and Amber stood to clap along with most of the rest of the audience. Lance joined her, his legs not quite short enough to be comfortable in the narrow rows. She turned to him, full of light. “Isn’t it great?”

  “Yeah,” he said sincerely. “I really like it.”

  “Buy me a soda?”

  “Of course.” He gestured for her to enter the aisle first, and he followed her up to the lobby, where they joined the line to get refreshments.

  Amber pulled out her phone and frowned at it. Lance tried not to look. He did, but his eyes just flew to the screen. Something male in him wanted to make sure Amber never had anything to frown about, and he certainly didn’t want anything to ruin their perfect night. Their first Valentine’s Day.

  He watched as she typed. He’s just a cowboy, Mom. It’s nothing.

  The breath left his body as if someone had attached a vacuum to his lungs and turned it on. His eyes caught on the message above the one Amber was about to send.

  JJ says you’re seeing someone new already. Who is he?

  He glanced away as Amber glanced up. His throat felt like she’d poured cement in it, and it was hardening quickly. Unable to swallow or talk, he stood there feeling more and more foolish by the second.