Merry Cowboy Christmas (Lucky Penny Ranch #3)(43)

“I don’t want to talk about it. Where are you putting your Christmas tree?”

“Well, I’m going to put my two cents in and then we’ll talk Christmas,” Allie said. “Don’t let this one horrible evening dictate your decision about the future.”

“Enough about the future. Let’s enjoy the right now. Now, about that tree? And this is really good soup, Lizzy, but then you always were a good cook.”

“Just not a good housekeeper.” Lizzy smiled.

“What are you giving Toby for Christmas?” Fiona diverted the subject away from the next night.

“I found one of those coupon books online and ordered it. It’s for all kinds of sex things and it does not expire until Christmas day of next year. Other than that I have no idea,” Lizzy answered. “Confession time, though. Allie, I kept back a box of decorations from the attic when we brought them down. We always had way too much stuff for one tree since Mama bought more every year when it went on sale.”

Allie patted her sister on the shoulder. “So did I! I stole the one marked the year I was born. I think it probably has a lot of Granny’s stuff in it. You aren’t mad at us, are you, Fiona? We’ll share what’s on the tree at Audrey’s Place with you if you move away, or if you stay, it can all be yours.”

“No, I’m not upset at all.” A picture of a huge tree in her house in Houston flashed through her mind. It sat in a twelve-foot expanse of glass overlooking an acre of green grass. All done up in blue with a huge bow on the top rather than a star or an angel, it had been designed by someone on the firm’s payroll. When she and Kyle had their Christmas party, the tree, with the blue and white striped packages underneath, was a huge success.

Last year, she’d bought a twelve-inch fake tree at a discount store for three bucks, fluffed out the limbs and strung microwave popcorn for a garland. She’d bought a few ornaments at the thrift store and made a construction paper and glitter star for the top. The presents that her mother and sisters mailed dwarfed the little tree but she’d been proud of it.

“You ready for me to bring in the tree?” Toby yelled from the kitchen.

“Yup!” Lizzy hollered back.

“Did you get a real tree? You rat! I bought a fake one in Wichita Falls last week when we drove up to see Granny,” Allie said.

“I’ve always, always wanted a real one, but Granny was allergic to them and cats. Now I’ve got Stormy out in the barn with another batch of kittens. She comes into the house when she wants to and she and Toby’s dog, Blue, have become best friends. Toby and I went out in the pasture and cut down a tree before y’all got here. It’s leaned up against the back fence.”



The clock said midnight when Jud finally eased up the stairs, bypassing the squeaky step and going straight to his bedroom. He’d planned to come home right behind Fiona at ten-thirty but he and Deke got into a conversation about oil drilling and then he wound up over at Deke’s place having a couple of shots of whiskey with him while they continued to talk.

Now it was too late to knock on Fiona’s door. He slipped into his room, kicked off his boots and clothes, and fell into bed naked, shivering against the chill of the sheets. He felt cheated out of his nightly visit with Fiona and wished he’d begged off with the excuse of being sleepy rather than going to Deke’s place.

Fiona was in his dreams that night. She drove her mother’s little Chevy Malibu and they came upon a bridge, the likes of which he’d never seen before. It was an arch so tall that the top of it was buried in the white puffy summer clouds. There was enough steel bracing under it to verify that it was secure but it was only one lane wide and there were almost no side rails.

Fiona stopped the car at the end of the thing and shook her head. “I can’t do this. I’m terrified of heights. Always have been.”

“I’m right here beside you. I’ve got faith in you, Fiona. Keep your eye on the road. Don’t look to one side or the other. Just drive and in fifteen minutes, it will be over and we’ll be on the other side.”

She took a deep breath and held on to the steering wheel in a death grip. One simple swerve and they’d both plummet into a glassy blue river below them, but she made it across and pulled her car up to a place that required a passport for them to go on. She whipped hers out but Jud didn’t have one. He woke up while trying to explain to the guards that he was with the woman and didn’t need a passport.

He checked the clock to find that he’d overslept by half an hour. Truman would be finished with his breakfast and gone. The old codger didn’t wait around for help and things had to be done his way.

Usually Jud had a morning shower to wake him up, but that morning he threw on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved knit Henley shirt and carried his boots down to the kitchen. Truman, Fiona, and Dora June were all having coffee at the table. Hot cinnamon rolls were on the cabinet along with a pot of hot cereal, a pile of bacon, and a stack of toast.

Jud stopped inside the door and blinked half a dozen times. Truman at the table after six o’clock. Was the world coming to an end?

“If you wouldn’t stay out until daylight, probably chasin’ after hussies, you wouldn’t oversleep,” Truman barked.

“Truman O’Dell!” Fiona exclaimed.

Truman crossed his arms over his chest. “You best eat some of that oatmeal Dora June made. It’ll stick to your ribs while we get the livestock taken care of this morning.”