Darn Good Cowboy Christmas (29 page)

With one swoop, he threw her over his shoulder, her bare butt too tempting, so he nibbled at it while he carried her back to the bedroom and flopped her down on the bed. He leaned down and kissed her long, hard, and passionately. When he broke the kiss and she opened her eyes, he'd kicked out of his boots and his jeans were down around his ankles. His lips found hers again and the next time she opened her eyes he was wearing nothing but a bit of straw in his dark hair.

“Who's slow?” he whispered.

He smelled like sweat and horses instead of shaving lotion and soap. She'd never had sex with anyone who wasn't showered and clean, but the idea was so heady that she was panting when he stretched out beside her and let his hands roam all over her body as he continued to make love to her mouth with his lips and tongue.

“I should've showered,” she whispered. Maybe he didn't think heat and sweat were as sexy as she did.

“I've wanted you since you threw your leg over that horse this afternoon. God, you were so sexy. We'll shower later,” he said.

“Five hours. You promised five hours.”

“Not all at once, darlin'. This is the appetizer. Then we'll have a shower and the next course. Then maybe a bubble bath and the main entrée,” he said.

“I like the way a sizzlin' hot cowboy thinks,” she whispered as she ran her hands down his back.

He gasped when she cupped a firm butt cheek in each hand and squeezed.

“I like your body,” she said.

“Oh, honey, I love your body,” he whispered.

His breath on her neck was cool, she was so hot. Liquid spasms shot through her lower gut, and she arched against him. “Can that be a fast food appetizer, please?” she asked.

He raised up and looked deep into her dark eyes. They were filled with a mixture of want, need, and lust. It was a heady feeling, to know that Liz needed him as bad as he did her.

“Yes, ma'am,” he said as he slipped inside her.

She rocked against him. “God that feels so good.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he agreed.

Her phone rang but her clothes were in the living room and she wouldn't have answered it if it had been lying between her naked breasts. Nothing mattered but Raylen and the next moment.

“Blaze, what are you doing here?” Liz squealed when she answered the doorbell.

“Standing out here in the rain freezing my ass off,” he said.

She slung open the door and stood back. “Come in and warm your hands. There's a fire going in the fireplace, and I brought home leftovers from the café. They're on the stove if you are hungry.”

“Hot coffee?” He stepped inside, gave her a hug, and shucked out of his heavy, work coat before heading to the warmth of the fire.

“In the pot. I'll pour us each a cup. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?”

He warmed his backside and then turned around and rubbed his hands. “For a fireplace I might…”

She carried two mugs of coffee to the living room and handed one to him. “No you wouldn't, so don't even think the words.”

“I wasn't going to say I'd leave the carnival business. I was going to say that I'd consider building a house on the property for the winter months. Fireplace wouldn't do me a bit of good in the summertime anyway,” he said.

She curled up in her favorite recliner and pulled a fluffy throw over her bare feet. Hooter had raised his head when Blaze came into the house, but he'd settled back down. Blister had barely opened one eye from her new bed on a pillow at the end of the sofa beside the bookcases.

“Talk to me,” Liz said.

“Colleen invited me for the weekend and she took next week off. I'm scared out of my mind, Liz. I don't know whether to take her to Claude or what? She says she wants to get to know the carnival business, but I want her to get to know me first,” Blaze said.

“Sit.” Liz gestured toward the other recliner.

He settled into the chair and sipped his coffee. “What do I do? And where is Raylen?”

“I helped exercise the mares all afternoon. I'd just come in, got a shower, and was waiting on Raylen to heat up leftovers. You hungry? There's plenty in there for all of us. Jasmine sent them home with me.”

“I haven't eaten. Don't know if I could swallow, I'm so nervous. I'm a carnie, Liz. I can't change that. You can, but I can't.”

“Hello!” Raylen yelled at the door.

“In here. Blaze is here,” Liz said.

Raylen removed his coat on the way to the living room.

“Hey, Raylen. Have I stolen your chair?” Blaze asked.

Raylen kissed Liz and slumped down on the end of the sofa. “No, but what are you doing here? Colleen is over there jumping every time she hears a truck door slam. She's got my old room all fixed for you.”

“I'm scared,” Blaze admitted.

“That's understandable,” Raylen said. “I'd be scared of Colleen too.”

Blaze set his coffee on the table. “We were talkin' about what Colleen and I should do this next week. She's taken a week off work and Haskell told me he was looking forward to helping Poppa so I should take her somewhere. She said she'd be happy in Claude in my trailer but…”

“Go on,” Raylen said.

“There's this place off the coast of the state of Washington that I've been looking at. I've got plane tickets and the room on reserve but I have to confirm by midnight. I wanted Liz's opinion before I went over to your folks' place,” Blaze said.

“What's your heart tell you?” Liz asked.

“It says I don't want to share her. It says that I want to spend a whole week in a place where neither of us knows another soul. But I don't know if that's what she wants,” Blaze said.

“Confirm your reservations and tell her it's a surprise. Is it that place we've looked at that you have to go out to it by ferry?”

He nodded.

“Tell her pack a warm coat. It'll be a chilly ride,” Liz said.

“Thank you.” Blaze breathed a sigh of relief. He left half a mug of coffee on the end table and put his coat back on. “I knew talkin' to you would help.”

“Don't tell her that you talked to me, Blaze. If I was her, I'd rather think it was all your idea and didn't need a second opinion.” Liz walked him to the door and hugged him good-bye. “Guess I'll see you tomorrow at Sunday dinner?”

“Oh, yeah. Our flight is at six o'clock tomorrow evening out of Dallas. We'll have to leave Ringgold about three.”

Liz went back to the living room and curled up in Raylen's lap. “Think we'll ever get them raised?”

Raylen didn't answer, so she leaned back and looked into his eyes.

“What are you worried about? Something happen at the barn? Are the horses all right?” she asked.

“It's not that. It's…”

It sounded so silly in Raylen's head that he wasn't sure he could put his feelings into words, but he felt the necessity to try to get it out even if it did sound crazy. He remembered when Rye fell head over heels in love with Austin; and now Colleen called him daily wanting to talk about nothing but Blaze McIntire.

It hadn't happened like that with him and Liz. It was as if they'd been put on the earth especially for each other, so they'd been comfortable from the time he slung open the door and found her on Haskell's porch. He hadn't needed to call Gemma or Dewar and talk about it every day. It didn't mean he wasn't in love with her or that he took that love for granted.

Liz waited for a full minute but he didn't say anything else. “Okay, now you are worrying me. Are you about to tell me that this is over and I'm going to be sitting on the porch tonight all by myself for the first night of the light show?”

“Hell, no! Liz, I'm in this for a long relationship. But I work all year for a living, sometimes from daylight to way past dark like today. I've got land and a house but I don't have the time or money to book a flight to some remote island for a whole week, as bad as I'd like to. It sounds romantic and I…”

Liz cupped his cheeks in her hands and stared right into his eyes. “Look at me, Raylen. I've had the traveling scene my whole life. Sitting here with you after a hard day's work, having Jasmine's leftovers for supper, looking forward to tomorrow with your family, and cuddling down in your arms tonight is living my dream.”

He leaned forward and the kiss they shared was more passionate than any that preceded it. “I love you,” he said simply.

“And I love you. Did you ever see a baby chicken fresh hatched?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Can't say that I have. Is that anything like a newborn colt?”

She kissed him again. “Not at all. Poppa raises a few chickens out on the property. He likes fresh eggs. Little chicken comes out of the egg with these little wings that don't look they'd ever be good for anything, but give them six weeks and they're flapping them and flying.”

“What does that have to do with spending a week on an island with no one but me and you?”

She kissed him harder. “Colleen just came out of the egg. She needs to grow her own wings. Mine won't fit. She has to get used to a different lifestyle, but she has to know that Blaze loves her enough to keep her safe and protected while she's sprouting her wings.”

“I'm not sure I understand it all,” he said.

“Okay, cowboy, here's the deal. Right now. Right here. There's no one else around here and this house is our island.”

“That I understand just fine.” He picked her up like a bride and carried her to the porch. “Thank you.”

“For what? Forcing you to sit with me two hours every night for the light show?”

“For making this our island,” he said.

“No fortune-teller is an island unto herself. She must have a sexy cowboy before it's a real island,” she whispered as she plastered herself to him in a fierce embrace.

The first car lights brought the kiss to an abrupt end.

“Here they come,” she said.

“Didn't you think they would?”

“I didn't know, Raylen. I really didn't know.”

“Honey, in these parts folks have to drive a long way to get a little Christmas light show. You got a write-up on the front page of the Bowie paper and one in the Ryan paper. People want to see what they read about, and besides, it's free and you are giving out candy canes. Pretty impressive.”

He grabbed her hand and hurried around the end of the house to the barn. People would turn around and go back out to the road on the south side of the fence. He had opened the gates on his property out onto the highway and strung lights along the top of her yard fence.

“And I'm entered in the Montague County Christmas contest for the best property decorations,” she said. “Aren't they ever going to get here?”

“No, they're takin' it slow and easy, probably talking about each one of those exhibits. You got the candy canes ready?”

He sat down on one of Maddie's cast iron benches and pulled her down beside him. A smaller version of Santa's sack filled with candy canes sat between them.

“Right here. All ready,” she said.

The first car arrived and the window on the passenger's side slowly lowered. “This is so pretty. The kids had a wonderful time,” a lady said.

“It'll be open nightly until Christmas Eve. Come back and here's candy canes for everyone,” Liz said.

The kids in the backseat of the van squealed.

The next car was there before she could sit down. The third pickup pulled off to one side and three elderly cowboys crawled out.

“We want the whole tour, not just the drive-thru,” one said.

“Yes, sir.” Liz grinned and looked over at Raylen. “You are on candy cane duty. This way, guys. The whole tour is the light show and the barn, which is still decorated because I didn't want to give it up after a big party we had at Thanksgiving.”

“Read about this in the paper. Them fool reporters didn't give it the right credit, though. I know you. You are the waitress up at the café who always keeps my coffee cup full. Man alive, Roy, would you look at that tree. Place looks prettier than that mall over at Wichita Falls, don't it?”

“Momma would've liked the angel on the tree,” Roy said softly. His shoulders sagged and white stubble on his face said that Momma wasn't around anymore to fuss at him to shave.

“You and Raylen keepin' company?” the third fellow asked.

Liz nodded.

“We heard that, didn't we, Buddy? Raylen needs a good woman. You be good to him,” Roy said.

Buddy, a tall, lanky cowboy in bib overalls, nodded. “This is a fine put-on for a town like Ringgold. Must've took you a spell to put it all together. I got a feeling that you are happy here in Ringgold.”

“Yes, it did take a lot of work, but I had a lot of good friends that helped me. And I enjoyed it all. And I am very happy here. I plan to stay forever. Y'all know Haskell? He's my uncle,” she said.

“Yes, ma'am, we surely do. Our wives and Miz Sara was good friends in the day. He made all them pretty things, didn't he?” Buddy asked.

Liz nodded.

“Well, guess we'll be on our way. We might come back another day,” Roy said.

“It'll be open all month,” she said.

Raylen smiled when she sat back down on the bench with him. “I was busy. Was that Roy and Buddy?”

“I guess so. But I'm going to remember them as the three wise men. Look up there.” She pointed.

A star was shining brighter than all the others and it hung right above her barn.

***

Sunday dinner was at the O'Donnell's place and Blaze still wasn't completely comfortable. He kept touching Colleen's hand, her hair, and her cheek for assurance.

Liz had loved that first rush phase of excitement with Raylen, but she loved the new phase even better. The one where she knew he'd be at her house as soon as he finished work, that if she had a nightmare she could back up into his embrace and it would disappear. Most of all, she loved the confidence in knowing not one ounce of the sizzle was going to fade each time they took their relationship to the next phase.

Everyone was talking all around her and Raylen, but suddenly she felt as if they really were an island unto themselves. His fingertips gently massaging her neck muscles sent her mind to an imaginary clear river where they were skinny-dipping and making love in the water. When he looked down into her dark eyes, she joined souls with him right there in all the noise and confusion of getting everyone gathered around in the kitchen so Grandpa could say grace, and everything and everyone disappeared.

“What are you thinking about? I think Blaze is doing pretty good, don't you?” he asked.

“I was thinking how wonderful family and friends are, and yes, Blaze is doing fine,” she whispered.

He kissed her softly on the lips.

“Our Father in heaven.” Grandpa's voice brought the last few whispers to a halt.

Liz bowed her head, but she didn't hear the prayer. She was too busy letting her imagination run full like she did Missy the afternoon before. In her vision, she and Raylen weren't skinny-dipping; they were making passionate love again the first time. She'd never guessed that she could endure such heat and come out on the other side without a visible mark on her body. Of course, there was that brand on her heart.

“Liz?” Raylen said.

She opened her eyes and raised her head. Prayer was over and everyone was lining up around the food tables.

“Where were you?” Raylen asked.

She pulled his head down and whispered, “Making love with you in the shower.”

Colleen saw the red creeping up on his neck. “Raylen is blushing. What did Liz just say to you?”

The high color that had reached his cheeks deepened.

“She said she's starving. So will you hurry up and get your turkey? You are holding up the line,” he told Colleen.

“I don't believe you,” Colleen said.

“Believe it. Food isn't the only thing a woman can hunger after, is it?” Liz leaned forward and whispered into Colleen's ear.

Colleen's translucent complexion looked as if she'd walked through a forest fire. “You got it, sister! You know anything about this big surprise Blaze has in store for me?”