Merry Cowboy Christmas (Lucky Penny Ranch #3)(7)

“If Allie lets Audrey go to the nursery, I just might do that.” She handed the baby up to her mother and went straight to the kitchen. As luck would have it, she fell in right behind Jud. Wide shoulders stretched the knit of his shirt and the remnants of his aftershave, mixed with the outdoorsy scent that he’d picked up doing evening chores, smelled heavenly. Probably because she’d been too busy keeping body and soul together to notice men at all, but dammit, why did he have to look so good?



That night, Fiona slipped downstairs right after her shower for another piece of pumpkin pie. Standing in front of a full refrigerator loaded with Thanksgiving leftovers was right up there next to having the pearly gates swing open for her to enter heaven. She removed a whole pie and set it on the countertop along with a container of whipped cream, but she held the door open with a toe. Next she took out the pitcher of sweet tea and the plastic container with the turkey leftovers.

Light flashed bright in her eyes and startled her so badly that she almost dropped the tea.

“Mama,” she gasped. “You scared the hell out of me.”

Katy sat down at the table. “Then you’re an angel now, right?”

Fiona smiled and then laughed. “It’d take more than that much of a fright to make an angel out of me. Couldn’t you sleep, either?”

“I heard someone out here. Didn’t know if it was you or Jud, but since I wasn’t asleep, I came out to talk,” she answered. “Sit down and tell me the whole story. You’ve lost at least ten pounds from when we saw you at the homecoming in July.”

Fiona fished a fork from the drawer and set the pie in front of her mother. “I love your pumpkin pie. Sometimes I craved it so bad, especially when they made pumpkin lattes at the coffee shop and the aroma filled the whole place.”

“You brought one suitcase and one box home. Where are the rest of your things?” Katy asked.

“That’s all I have left. I was serious when I said I’d taken them to a consignment shop. I didn’t need them and I did need money. I’m glad my room is still the same and I have a closet full of clothing up there. Some of it is a little loose but believe me with this kind of food, I’ll put the weight back on,” Fiona said.

“Did you go hungry?”

Fiona carried her pie to the table. “Let’s just say I ate a lot of ramen noodles. It’s amazing what you can do with those things.”

“I could kick your butt for not calling me. Not wanting to come back to Dry Creek was one thing. Doing without necessities is another,” Katy said.

“Pride.” Fiona said one word and then shoveled a forkful of pie into her mouth.

“That’s a dangerous thing.”

“But it’s stuck in my heart with something stronger than superglue.”

Katy nodded. “Comes from your grandmother and the Miller side of the family.”

“Finally I reached the end of my rope and came home.”

“Well, thank God for the end of the rope. What caused the divorce?”

Fiona nodded. “He wanted to climb the ladder to the top. I wanted to stay home and cuddle a few nights a week.” Fiona shoveled more pie into her mouth. “I hated all the dinners and parties. I think once Kyle saw Dry Creek after we were engaged, he realized I didn’t have the ‘breeding’ of a high-society corporate wife.”

“That son of a bitch,” Katy said.

“I know. I could feel him slipping away and knew deep down we were probably heading for divorce.”

“What was the final straw?”

“His old girlfriend came home from Philadelphia to join the firm. Sparks were relit. We were already fighting more than loving, and then he came home one night with his arm around her and told me he was divorcing me. He handed me the prenup, which I’d signed without even reading. After all”—Fiona pushed out of her chair and poured two glasses of sweet tea—“we were in love and the vows said until death parted us.”

“And?” Katy asked.

“And it said that I could take out of the house what I’d brought into it, which amounted to my clothes and personal things. My car was in my name, so that was mine for a little while. And I got a ten-thousand-dollar check. The end.” She sighed and sipped at the tea. “I started a checking account, paid for some therapy lessons, rented a cheap apartment, finally found a minimum wage job, and you know the rest.”

Katy wiped a tear from her eyes. “You went through all that alone. Fiona, I was here. Your sisters were here and we would have done anything for you.”

“I know, Mama, but…” Fiona paused.

“That independent streak that you got from your granny is a mile wide.” Katy picked up a paper napkin and wiped at more tears. “Now you’ve made me cry and I don’t cry, so I still may kick your butt.”

Fiona cut another piece of pie while she was up and topped it off with a layer of whipped cream. “I’ll be round as Santa Claus before I get full again.”

“You could use a little weight.” Her mother finally smiled.

“Let’s talk about the store. Why haven’t you hired some help or better yet someone to manage it for you since Granny got so bad?” Fiona asked.

“I must’ve been waiting on you. I still can’t believe you are here, Fiona.” She reached across the table and laid a hand on her daughter’s arm.