Merry Cowboy Christmas (Lucky Penny Ranch #3)(52)

He chuckled. “Last time I heard someone say ‘damn kids,’ it was a friend complaining that the kids had interrupted a well-planned evening of sex with his wife. I feel like saying ‘damn old people’ right now.”

She raised an eyebrow. “So was this a well-planned evening of sex?”

“Hell, no! This was spontaneous, which is ten times better than planned. But now that you’ve mentioned it, it could be a night of wild passionate sex. The bedsprings could try to keep up with your moans and screams.”

“Yeah, right. What about your moans of ecstasy, cowboy?”

“Want to see who can make the most noise?”

“Good night, Jud.” She grinned.

“Good night, Fiona. See you tomorrow morning if that old fart wants to drop by the store for coffee.” Jud gave her one more parting hug and in a couple of long strides disappeared behind his bedroom door across the hall.





Chapter Thirteen



The sunshine was bright and beautiful on Saturday morning. It was still cold enough that the dusting of snow that had fallen wouldn’t melt except on the major roads where the traffic was heavier, but the sun took away the dreariness.

Either all that natural light or else the idea of a shopping trip the next day put a new spring in Dora June’s step. And she talked nonstop all during breakfast. She started with how lovely it was to have a day with few clouds, went on to talk about her party the night before and what a success it was, and then segued into what she would buy when they went shopping the next day.

“A nice new Bible case for Henrietta, don’t you think?” She stopped bustling around in the kitchen and wrote something on a list lying on the countertop. “I saw a pretty pink leather one last week with a Bible verse on the front. I think she’d like that. And a doll for Audrey.”

“But, Dora June, Audrey is only a few weeks old.” Fiona finished her breakfast and put the plate in the dishwasher.

“She’ll be big enough to play with a rag doll by this time next year. I saw an adorable Raggedy Ann in a cute little gift store at the mall.”

Fiona slipped her arms into her coat and pulled a pair of gloves from her pocket. Suddenly she couldn’t wait to get to the store where maybe she’d have a few minutes of peace. “Don’t wait on me for supper tonight. I’ll probably work late to get the bookkeeping business caught up.”

“And a scarf for Ruby.” Dora June picked up the pencil and waved.



The store was not quiet.

All day long, it bustled with folks coming in to visit around the table. Fiona had made eight big pots of coffee from morning until closing time and had sold six dozen doughnuts in addition to the prepackaged pastries right off the shelf. It had been a wonderful day for the store but a horrible one for catching up on her bookkeeping business.

It didn’t matter that the clock above the cash register said that it was ten minutes past five. Six old guys were still gathered around the table discussing politics and the upcoming election while they polished off three more packages of chocolate cupcakes.

She did all the closing chores and swept the floor, but they did not take the hint and leave. Then again, what did she expect? They were men and they were used to women working around them.

“Well”—Herman Hudson finally stood up—“I reckon them cows of mine ain’t goin’ to drag a big round bale of hay out to the pasture and feed themselves. It’ll be dark in an hour even if we did have sunshine today.”

“Guess you heard that the weatherman is callin’ for a norther about midnight,” Truman said.

“But no more snow until the middle of next week.” Herman nodded. “Then we’re getting one big enough to run last year some competition. Never thought I’d see two hard winters in a row.”

“It’s them Dawsons over on the Lucky Penny that’s caused all this,” Truman fussed.

“Give it a rest, Truman,” Herman scolded. “They ain’t God and that’s the only person who controls weather.”

They meandered toward the door, taking their own good easy time, stopping to talk more about the weather and about the hay they’d put up for the winter. When they were finally outside, Fiona locked the door, turned the sign around to Closed, and flipped off the light switch.

Time had stood still for the past hour, but when she sat down in front of the computer, it moved much faster. She didn’t realize how late it was until her stomach wouldn’t be ignored another minute. A quick trip into the dark store netted two packages of peanut butter crackers, a pint of milk, a diet cola, and an iced honey bun.

She nibbled as she worked and didn’t look at the clock again until her neck began to ache. Rolling it around a few times to get the kink out, she figured a couple more hours would put her up to date on everything. Then she looked at the clock and rubbed her eyes. Surely it wasn’t midnight already, but the clock had no reason to lie to her, so she backed up all her files and shut down the computer.

The old guys had been right about that norther. In some parts of the country they called such a fierce, cold wind a nor’easter but in Oklahoma and Texas it was simply a norther. It hit with a force and dropped the temperatures by at least twenty degrees. Fiona ran from the store to her mother’s car, slammed the door against the blasts of icy cold wind, and shivered all the way to her toenails.