Merry Cowboy Christmas (Lucky Penny Ranch #3)(88)

He turned around and followed her down the stairs. “Fiona, I did a fair amount of fighting with myself, too. That’s why I couldn’t be really mad at you when you ran away that night.”

He stopped at the end of the steps and pointed up to the mistletoe hanging above the doorway into the kitchen. She held her coffee cup out to the side, wrapped the other arm around his neck, and tiptoed to kiss him. It only amazed her slightly that his touch and his kisses made her knees go weak and created a place where there was no time, no world, nothing but the two of them.

“I love you, Jud Dawson, and when we are old and gray and chasing grandkids around the property on the Lucky Penny, your kisses will still make me want to drag you off to the bedroom.”

“I hope so,” he chuckled. “That’s exactly what I’d like to do right now but I hear truck doors slamming, which means the rest of the family is here. And your mama and Dora June have been making a buffet breakfast for everyone for the past hour, so I expect we’d better wait until later.”

“Merry Christmas!” Lizzy called out as she and Toby pushed open the door.

“I smell cinnamon.” Blake carried Audrey into the house.

“That’s bacon,” Allie said right behind them. “Mama always makes her famous oven omelets with bacon on Christmas.”

“You are all wrong. It’s coffee.” Deke brought up the tail end of the parade.

Coats came off and were hung on the hall tree, along with cowboy hats. Boots were kicked off and lined up against the wall before everyone padded in their socks to the dining room.

“Merry Christmas to all y’all!” Dora June and Katy said.

“Breakfast before presents,” Katy said. “This is quite a day.”

“And I’ll never forget my anniversary.” Jud kissed Fiona on the top of her head.

“And this morning I’m asking Truman to say grace for us.” Katy bowed her head.

Truman pushed back the chair at the end of the table and stood up. “Thank you, God, for this family, for this beautiful Christmas morning, and for all that you have brought into our lives this past month and for this food. Amen.”

Jud squeezed Fiona’s hand. “I won. He’s no longer Scrooge.”

“Yes, you did.” She smiled up at him.

“He must be hungry for his prayer to be that short.”

“More nervous than hungry. Deke has parked the RV out back. He plans to leave right after the wedding. And Mama says that next Saturday there will be a huge reception at the church for us, and all your family has been invited. Allie and Lizzy say there are lots and lots of Dawsons.”

He put a finger over her lips. “They will love you because you love me.”

“Okay,” she said. “But it’s not fair that you only had to remember a few names and I’ll have to get to know dozens of new faces.”

“Dozens?” Jud chuckled. “Try hundreds. I’m just glad that we’ll be married or my handsome cousins would steal you from me.”

“Not a chance,” she said.



Presents flowed out from under the tree to the sofa, and following tradition, Katy passed them all out before she sat down in a rocking chair. “And now,” she said, “you may start opening.”

“All at once?” Jud asked.

“That’s the way we do it,” Fiona answered. “It’s noisy but it’s so much fun.”

Like a little girl, Dora June ripped into her first package and brought out a lovely set of monogrammed towels. The second one produced a set of pots and pans and the third one a set of dishes and cutlery for four.

Truman’s first present was a pair of red swimming trunks with bright blue dolphins printed on them. His second was a pair of flip-flops and the third was a digital camera from Deke.

“What on earth does Truman need that for?” Dora June asked. “Y’all are playin’ pranks on him, aren’t you?”

“He might want to take a few pictures,” Deke said. “He can send them straight to your phone and you can send them on to us.”

“Well, it will be kiddin’ time before long. I expect he could take pictures of the new baby goats.” She opened a set of king-sized sheets. “This is a wedding shower. I love it all.” Excitement danced around her as she continued to open gifts while everyone else set theirs to the side and watched as Truman handed her a card with a tiny little present on the top.

Dora June’s hand went to her heart and her eyes filled with tears. “You bought me a present, Truman?”

“Guess I did,” he said with a slight grin. “Open the card first.”

Her eyes filled with tears when she read the card. “Oh, Truman, I don’t care what the present is. You bought it for me so it’s going to be special.”

She laid the card to one side and Fiona saw part of the message: I hope this will make up for all the Christmases that I’ve been a jackass. All the rest will be special, I promise.

The whole room went silent as Dora June pulled the ribbon loose from the small package. When she opened the gold box and found keys to a vehicle, she squealed. “Oh, Truman, you’ve gotten me a new truck, haven’t you? But there’s two sets of keys. What’s the second set for?”

“Yes, I did.” He nodded. “And it’s sittin’ right outside the kitchen door. Want to go see it?”