Merry Cowboy Christmas (Lucky Penny Ranch #3)(87)

Excitement built higher and higher when she saw the driver holding a tablet with her name on it. He led her out to a limousine and held the door for her. The firm was surely courting her in high style. Twenty minutes later, she was sitting in an office on one side of a highly polished table with four men and a woman on the other side.

“Ms. Logan, I’m very impressed with your résumé. We like your work ethic, your dependability, and your dedication. We do, however, have a few questions. The first one being why have you dropped out of the market for a year?” the oldest one of the four men asked.

“I was working in the same firm as my husband. We divorced,” she said.

“Well, that clears that up. I’m surprised that you didn’t find a job immediately with another firm. We weren’t in the market for your skills but surely there were other places,” the lady said.

“I put in several résumés with several companies. I guess no one was in the market for my skills until now,” Fiona answered honestly.

“Well, we like what we see and we would like to make you an offer and introduce you to the other three people in the department,” one of the men said.

“I have a question,” Fiona asked. “How long have these other three been working for you?”

“One has been here twenty years, one eighteen, and the last one fifteen. The supervisor who left retired after thirty-five years with us. Folks stay with us when they join the firm,” the woman said proudly.

“Why not promote one of those to this position and hire someone to fill that place?” Fiona asked.

“We thought new blood might be good and all three of them will retire in a few years. We don’t want to be left in the same position we are now.”

Fiona turned over her hands, palms up, in her lap. In the left one she put the offer of the new job and thirty years of future work in this firm with all the perks that came with it. There would be hard feelings in the ranks because she was younger than any of the people that she’d be supervising. But she could overcome that with kindness, fairness, and hard work.

She put family, Dry Creek, and Jud in the right one. An old kitchen table in the back room of the store compared to a lovely office—maybe even with a lovely view, with a gorgeous mahogany desk and comfortable chair. Three clients compared to dozens, maybe hundreds. Cute little power suits or jeans and boots.

The lady was shuffling papers and getting ready to take her to see her office but Fiona’s hands were still open. She couldn’t make herself rise out of the chair.

Not yet.

Seeing Jud every day or maybe a couple of short weekends a month. Watching Audrey grow up or making an appearance in her life a few times a year. Being with Granny while she was sporadically lucid or never seeing the light in her eyes again.

Jud had said he would follow her to Timbuktu, but was that fair? He loved the Lucky Penny. He was lucky when it came to oil and he was so excited about drilling in a few months.

The left hand slowly closed into a fist and she brought the right one up to rest on the desk. “I’m sorry if I have wasted your time. I do appreciate the expense that you’ve gone to for this interview, but I’m going to have to refuse your offer.”

“The salary is negotiable,” Mr. Pierce said quickly.

“It’s not the money.”

“Then, what?” the secretary asked.

“My heart is in Dry Creek, Texas, and if I can’t throw everything into a job, I can’t do it,” she answered truthfully.

“That’s exactly the work ethic we want to see. I’m so sorry that we can’t persuade you to join us, but I understand.” Mr. Pierce offered his hand.

Fiona stood up and gave it a firm shake. “Thank you again, sir.”

She walked out of the office, got into the car, and went back to the airport with no regrets and the lyrics of “Breathe” running through her head.



Jud met her and Katy at the door, a question on his face as he brushed a kiss across her lips. “Welcome home to both of you.”

“Can I talk to you upstairs in the hall?” she asked.

He took her hand in his and walked beside her up to the second floor. “I wanted to call or text but this had to be your decision and you didn’t need me to influence you one way or the other.”

When they reached the hall, she kicked off her fancy shoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, drew his face down for a long, lingering kiss. “I love you, Jud. Let’s get married Sunday morning.”

“And the job?”

“I turned them down. When I put everything on the balance scale, that just couldn’t come up to the benefits and joy I have right here with you,” she answered.

“Sunday? That’s Christmas Day,” he said. “But it’s doable if that’s what you want.”

Her feet left the floor when he picked her up and swung her around. “This is the best Christmas present ever for me.”

“Me too,” she giggled. “Now let’s go tell everyone.”



Fiona awoke Christmas morning and was on her way down the stairs when she met Jud coming back up with two cups of coffee in his hands. He handed her one and drawled, “Merry Christmas and happy wedding day, darlin’.”

She took a sip, and then kissed him. “I can’t tell you how happy I am.”