Life had taken on the magical quality of
Christmas that Rowdy enjoyed every year. As he drove down Wildcat Road, he
thought about the fact that the county was only two days out from the annual
festivities centered in Old Town, Sure-Shot, and Wildcat Hall Park.
Out-of-towners were starting to arrive and fill up Twin Oaks B&B, Wildcat
Bluff Hotel, Cowboy Cabins, and every other available space for rent. It was
fun and exciting, but everybody was running to get last-minute details
completed so everything rolled out smoothly for those who came to relax and
enjoy the holidays.
Well, not quite everybody was involved in
supporting the festivities. At Lulabelle & You Ranch, Belle had created her
own little island of holiday happiness. She wasn’t involved in the county’s
affairs, so she was focused on her clothing line, the horses and cattle on the
ranch, and the pigeons in her barn. He smiled at another thought. She also put
a little focus on him because he spent evenings at her house.
He turned off the road, rattled across
the cattle guard of Belle’s ranch, and drove up to her house. He parked in
front on the circle drive. He shook his head in disgust at the shingle stacks.
They were a glaring reminder of what he—and nobody else—hadn’t done for her,
but at least most of them were there. If she had a leak on her roof, there’d
have been no question about reroofing her house, but upgrading could wait until
they were past the holidays…at least he hoped she saw it that way.
He’d make up for the shingles today
because he was arriving with gifts in the back of his one-ton pickup, sort of
like Santa Claus with gifts in the back of his sleigh. Horsepower and
reindeer-power got the job done.
She knew he was coming, so she opened the
front door, raced across the lawn, and threw herself into his arms just as he
stepped out of his vehicle. She felt good like she always did…and so right with
him.
“Did you bring my gifts like you said?”
She grinned at him, excited like a little kid on Christmas morning.
“Look in the back of the truck.”
She started to run back there but stopped
and looked at him. “You could have waited until Christmas.”
“I want you to enjoy my gifts now.
Besides, aren’t you going to your family’s ranch for Christmas dinner?”
“I always do, but this year…”
“Family is important. Tradition is
important.”
“But we’re important, too.”
He pressed a soft kiss to the tip of her
nose. “Let’s table that for today. I want you to have what I made.”
“Made?” She opened her hazel eyes wide in
excitement.
He tugged her to the back of his truck.
“Oh my! You made furniture for my new
patio?”
“Remember, I told you I did a little
woodworking as a hobby. I hope you like cedar. It’s perfect for outdoors.”
“It’s gorgeous.”
He was pleased with the two chairs, love
seat, and table he’d created for her. He lowered the tailgate and hopped up
into the bed of his truck. He set each piece on the ground and then picked up a
big sack and handed it to her. He leaped back down and closed the tailgate.
“What’s in here?” She hugged the sack to
her chest. “It feels soft.”
“You need cushions for your furniture,
don’t you?”
“Wonderful! You thought of everything.”
“I wanted you to have it all for
Christmas.”
She peeked into the open sack. “I can
hardly believe it. You matched the color of the new trim on my house.”
“If I’m going to do something, I do it
right.”
She gave him a little self-satisfied
smile. “Yeah. I can give testimony to that fact.”
“Come on. I’ll carry your new furniture
around back and set it up.”
“I’ll help.”
He picked up the love seat and headed for
the backyard. She kept right up with him, lugging the sack of cushions. When
they got there, he set down his piece of furniture near the metal set. The old
patio set looked insubstantial, almost whimsical, in comparison.
“Where do you want me to position your
new furniture?”
“I’m not sure.” She set the big sack on
top of the old table.
He checked the flagstone patio under his
feet, looking for any problems that might have occurred since he’d finished
installing it. No issues so far, but he didn’t expect any because he did
meticulous work. He liked the big size of the patio. It stretched the length of
the house just outside the long bank of windows, so the patio served as an
extension of that room, melding outdoors with indoors.
He was as proud of building the patio as
he was of making the furniture. He’d worked hard to bring her vision to
life…and he’d succeeded. He realized now that when something was made for
someone out of love, it turned out not just beautiful but special as well. He
could easily spend a lifetime creating wonderful things for her just to see her
face fill with happiness as it was at this moment. He’d learned that was part
of what love was all about.
“I want to center the set just outside
the windows so when I’m inside I can see how beautiful it looks outside,” she
said.
He tugged her close, feeling his heart
swell with happiness. “Perfect. Now let’s get the rest of your new furniture
back here.”
Soon they had the cedar pieces arranged
on the patio with the cushions in place. It looked good, even better than he’d
imagined when he was making it.
“Rowdy, I love it.” She set the
crimson-silk-flower holiday arrangement he’d included in the sack on the center
of the table and then plopped down in a chair and stroked long fingers across
the smooth, varnished tabletop.
“Merry Christmas.” He sat down beside
her, feeling as if he’d come home for the holidays.
Smokin’ Hot Cowboy Christmas
by Kim Redford
Publication Date: 9/29/2020
Have yourself a Smokin’ Hot Cowboy
Christmas
It’s been one fiasco after another
for newcomer Belle Tarleton since she began trying to turn her ranch into an
arts center. Local workers seem determined to ruin her Christmas party plans,
and she hopes bringing in down-on-his-luck Rowdy Holloway to help with
renovations will get things back on track.
Rowdy is the unluckiest cowboy in
the whole of Wildcat Bluff County, Texas, and things are not improving this
holiday season. Sure, he’s the object of many local women’s drool-worthy
fantasies, but the town has decided he’s the man who should stop Belle’s
renovation plans.
It started as a simple mission,
but now Rowdy’s so twisted up he doesn’t know whose side he’s on. With only
days until Christmas, Rowdy and Belle need to tap into their fiery
personalities and off-the-charts chemistry if they’re ever going to find a way
to thaw the ice on this reluctant town’s heart.
Kim Redford is a bestselling author of contemporary Western romance novels.
She grew up in Texas with cowboys, cowgirls, horses, cattle, and rodeos. She’s
a rescue cat wrangler and horseback rider—when she takes a break from her
keyboard. Kim Redford currently divides her time between homes in Oklahoma and
Richardson, Texas.
Author
Website: http://www.kimredford.com/
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