Yuletide Cowboy (8 page)

“Did you come to help, too, Momma?” Jack asked.

“Sure did.” She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the head, making him giggle. “Is that okay with you fellas?”

Gavin crunched his brows together skeptically. “Long as you don't use the hammer. You're worse with it than me.”

“Hey!” Lynn laughed cheerily. “That's not a nice thing to say about your ol' momma.” She engulfed him in a swooping hug and growled against his neck. He squealed and wiggled attempting to escape.

Jack hopped from foot to foot excitedly. “Get him, Mom ma! Get him.”

Chance had climbed the first two rungs of the ladder but paused to watch them. They were good together. The three of them. Lynn had done a great job. She should be very proud of herself. Laughing and breathless from romping with Gavin she let him go and smiled at Chance. Her cheeks were soft pink and she had a happy
glow about her as she held his gaze. His stomach tilted looking down at her and he felt peaceful.

“I wish I had some of those plastic gadgets you hang lights with. It would make things a lot easier, I think.”

He held up the staple gun. “We'll do it the old-fashioned way.”

“You ain't usin' a hammer?”

“Nope, Gavin, I'm afraid I'd hit my thumb if I tried to hang lights with a hammer.”

“You don't want ta do that. It hurts.”

“Yeah, I reckon it did.” He climbed the ladder carrying a strand of lights and all three jumped to hang on to the ladder.

“We won't let you fall, Mr. Chance,” Jack yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Thanks. I'm in good hands. I can see that.”

“There are none better than my boys,” Lynn called, her voice bright with affection.

Chance looked down to find her smiling up at him as she said the words. She looked so pretty and so happy at that moment that he almost missed a rung on the ladder.

“S
o, what do you think?” Chance asked as he hopped to the ground. He'd hung several strands of lights, and the old house was looking great.

He was standing close to Lynn and she could feel the warmth from his body through the down vest that he wore. She'd helped him for the last hour and he'd been great with her boys. And, okay, the man smelled wonderful.

“Momma, don't ya got yor ears on? What do you think?” Jack asked, tugging on her arm. It was what she always asked him and Gavin when they weren't listening to her.

Boy, where had she been? How embarrassing was that? “Ear one and ear two are both on and ready to do their jobs,” she said lightly, careful not to look at Chance.

She hoped Chance hadn't noticed her embarrassing lapse. She stole a glance at him. He caught her and the wink he gave her said he'd noticed plenty.

“You were taking a nap,” he drawled, a teasing smile
tugging at his lips as he grabbed the ladder and moved it down three feet.

A flutter erupted inside her chest at his words and she watched him. He moved with an athletic grace she'd been admiring all morning.

Leaning the ladder against the house, he placed a hand on his hip and grinned. “Seriously, I think a mother of active twin boys deserves to grab a power nap any time she can get it.”

“Thanks, they are few and far between.” Her mouth felt like she'd stuffed marshmallows in it when he gave her a crooked grin.

“Hey, remember I'm the hired help, so if you need to go grab a little shut-eye I'd be more than glad to watch these two cowpokes of yours.”

“Oh, that is so tempting.” True, she wasn't looking for a romance. Or a date even. But there was nothing keeping her from liking the guy. And the more she knew of him, the more she liked him.

“I'm serious,” he said, looking at the boys, who were stretching out the strands of lights like he'd shown them, checking for burned-out bulbs. Jack plugged one end into an extension cord. “We've got this.”

The thing was that, as a single working mom of two active boys, she literally dreamt of sleeping… “No. I'm good. I want to do this with the boys.”
And you.
So she was human. She was a woman drawn to a man. But that was all. Nothing more.

He grinned and it was like a bolt of sunshine. “Sounds great to me.”

What was a great guy like Chance Turner doing still single? The man had never been married and he was
about twenty-eight, if she had her figures straight. He was a year older than Cole and they'd had a small gathering for Cole's birthday three weeks ago. Not that being twenty-eight and never married was a bad thing. She assumed his lack of a wife had a lot to do with being on the road so much.

Not that it mattered to her one way or the other. He was simply a nice guy who was kind to her kids.

And you're having a great time with him.

“Hey, Chance, got one,” Gavin yelled, waving at him to come to the end of the strand.

“It's blown, all right,” Jack added.

“Duty calls.” He tipped his hat, eyes twinkling. “Want me to show you how to change a bulb, too?”

“Sure, sounds great,” she laughed, her heart feeling as light as the breeze blowing in across the yard.

She watched him show the boys how to replace a bulb with one of the extras in a little plastic bag that was still attached to the strand.

Her boys huddled with him, their little brown and blond heads bent next to his black one. When the light popped on like the rest of them they whooped and gave each other high fives. Guys.

“There ain't nothin' to that,” Gavin gushed.

Chance grinned at him. “You're right. It's easy once you know how to do it.”

“What if there's not any extras with the lights?” Jack asked, looking at the strand that lay next to them.

“You can get a little pack of them for less than a dollar, I think.”

“Did you hear that, Momma? I got a dollar. I can help.”

“I got a dollar, too, Jack,” Gavin added, not wanting to be outdone.

“And that is one reason I love you two so much, be cause you are my little helpful men.”

They beamed at the praise and Chance winked at her once more. There was nothing meant by the wink other than agreement with what she'd said, but that didn't stop her insides from feeling suddenly as if she'd been turned upside down. She stepped back, having somehow moved to stand a bit too close to him.

“I guess I'd better get dinner started. You're upholding your part of the deal so I'd better get mine together. Do you like King Ranch chicken?”

“Does a horse like sweet feed? It's my favorite.”

A warm bloom of pleasure spread through her at the way he was smiling at her. Self-conscious, she glanced at her boys, who looked in shock at each other, then up at him.

“It's our favorite, too!” Gavin exclaimed for both of them, and Jack nodded, his big blue eyes locked on Chance in admiration.

Shaken by the attachment that her boys seemed to have formed so quickly, she had to force her voice to sound normal. “Then while you boys are finishing up I'll go start on that.” She should have already started it, but she'd been unable to walk away from hanging the lights.

It was nice seeing her boys with a good man. The neighbors had helped with several projects at the shelter. Men like Dan Dawson, who'd lived in a shelter growing up, came by to play football and hang out. And others like Mule Hollow deputy Zane Cantrell spent time with
the boys, especially after he'd married Rose, who'd lived in the shelter with them. And there were all the others like Clint Matlock, Pace Gentry and Cort Wells who helped the boys with their riding skills. The list went on and on. Mule Hollow was full of great cowboys and everyone she'd thought about was now happily married to friends of hers. The single guys came around too, and it never failed to bless her soul to see men willing to mentor kids who weren't lucky enough to have a man in their life. It was special.

So why, she asked herself with one last glance before heading inside, did it seem her boys had latched on to Chance Turner like they'd never before latched on to any one?

 

Chance was having a hard time concentrating. He'd helped with the lights and had a blast with the boys. They were quick learners and interested in everything. While Lynn had cooked supper they'd taken him to the backyard tree house. Chance didn't want to think or say anything derogatory but there was no denying that they needed an intervention.

He'd crossed his arms and studied the poor thing. The boys flanked him and he bit back a laugh when he realized they were copying his own stance.

How easy it was to influence those around you. He'd made a lot of mistakes in his rebellious wild days, during the beginning of his riding career. It had taken one fateful night—a bar brawl had gone bad and a drunk had pulled a knife on him and a riding buddy. Thankfully, his buddy had lived after being stabbed and in the emergency room Chance had come to know the Lord.
That E.R. doctor had intervened in more than a physical crisis. He'd also stepped in and brought Chance to his knees before the Lord. Ever since then, Chance had tried his best to be the man that God had intended for him to be. He'd wanted to be like Doc Stone…a man who stood in the gap and boldly told others about God.

He'd made plenty of mistakes along the way. But that hadn't stopped him from trying, striving to be a man of integrity, one the rough-and-tumble riders could see living his witness, day in and day out.

Looking at the boys standing beside him gave him a reprieve from the feeling of failure that had weighed on his shoulders since Randy's death. He knew it was temporary and undeserved, but he wasn't able to walk away from these two without offering to help them on the tree house, too. Even if the solitude he craved called to him back at the stagecoach house.

“It's a sad situation, ain't it,” Gavin said, solemnly.

“Hopeless,” Jack sighed heavily.

Even Tiny looked depressed about the scary way the boards tilted between the tree limbs.

“It's not hopeless.” All three—dog included—looked at him with hope. There was no way he couldn't help.
No way.
“All it's going to take is a little know-how. Your momma has never built one of these before, but I'd give her an A for effort anyway.”

“Yeah, she tried.” Gavin let out a long sigh.

“You did um, ain't ya,” Jack said, sounding more and more like Applegate.

“Yes, I have, Jack. But my first one was a disaster, too.”

“Worse than ours?”

Chance laughed. “Yes, Jack. Worse than yours. But, see, my uncle had to come help me and my cousin Cole rebuild it. We couldn't do it on our own.”

“Your uncle helped you. Not your dad?” Gavin was studying him, probing. The look in his eyes pulled at Chance's heartstrings.

“No, not my dad. It was my uncle.” His dad had spent a good deal of time away from him.

“We don't got a dad to help us either,” Gavin continued and Jack nodded.

Chance swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. He'd been too young at the time to realize that it wasn't normal for a kid to spend so much time away from his dad. And his mom. He'd had his cousins and his uncle and aunt to fill in the holes. He'd been lucky. It wasn't until he was a little older that he understood. “You don't have a dad, but God gave you a mom who loves you and tries very hard. That's the best thing ever.”

“Yup,” Jack sighed. “That's good, ain't it, Gavin?”

“Yup.”

As if that was all that needed to be said on the subject, they went back to studying the dilapidated tree house.

“So what do ya say? Do you want me to help you?” He knew the minute the words were out of his mouth and the boys turned jubilant smiles up at him that he was in trouble.

“W
ell, that was some day and a great meal,” Chance said. He and Lynn were standing on the front porch and he was getting ready to head home. They'd gotten most of the Christmas lights up and had a meal better than anything he'd eaten in a long time. Lynn Perry could cook.

“Thanks. I can make a few dishes pretty decently. But I'm pretty iffy on the rest.”

He laughed and looked down at her. He was getting partial to looking into her deep blue eyes. He kept finding himself trying to figure out what she was thinking and feeling. When she looked at her boys it was clear as blue skies what she was thinking. But it was the rest of the time that had him hooked.

“I know you're being humble now. There is no way you can cook a dish that mouthwatering and not be able to cook anything else you wanted. That was awesome. Really, Lynn.”

In the porch light, she looked pleased. His gaze dropped to her lips, full and expressive, their corners tight with uncertainty. Her lips. Chance pulled back,
tugged his jacket closed and stuffed his hands into his pockets—for safety. He'd been thinking about pulling her into a hug and kissing her. That's what you did at the end of a date—but that was just it, this was not a date.

He wasn't here for a date.

But that was exactly what it had felt like sitting around her kitchen table with her two sons enjoying her excellent King Ranch chicken.

“Well, I guess as a mom, I'm just happy the boys like my cooking.” She had pulled on a coat when she'd walked him outside. Now she tugged it close and took a deep breath.

He did the same as silence stretched between them. It was time to go but he was reluctant. He felt more at peace right now than he had in what seemed like ages. Part of that had come from her, and part from the boys. They'd touched a chord in him that he hadn't even known was there. He'd bent down and given them a hug before they'd gone to take their bath. And they'd asked him once more about the tree house, their excitement overflowing.

“So you're fine with me working on the tree house?”

“I don't want to impose. But the boys are so excited.”

“You can say that again.” He chuckled. “I don't have anything pressing right now. And I enjoyed today…and don't think I'm not getting something from it. It was good for me.”

It had been very good for him.

In the porch light her blue eyes darkened. “Are you all right? I heard you came home because of something to do with that bull rider who was killed.”

He shifted his weight from one boot to the other and hefted a shoulder. “Randy was his name.”

“You were close?”

Chance rubbed the edge of a curling porch board with his boot and fought a tightness in his chest. “I'd been witnessing to him. I'd known him for a while though he was only twenty-five. I felt responsible for him.”

“It must have been really hard on you.”

“Yeah.” He inhaled the chilling air, feeling cold to the bone. “Harder on Randy. He just needed a little more time.”

She startled him by placing a hand on his arm. He could feel the warmth of it through his jacket. The simple act warmed his heart more than any words could have.

“You could only do what you could do. You can't make choices for other people.”

His mood shifted suddenly and he gave a harsh laugh. “Boy, don't I know it.”

She squeezed his arm and then tucked her hand back into her jacket. He felt colder instantly.

“I know what you're feeling about that,” she said. “If it had been up to me I'd have made several decisions for others in my life. But it wasn't possible. For my children, yes, and I made the most important one for them when I took them to the shelter in L.A. I know that I only have them for a short season in life and then they'll be on their own. I'll be praying that I did everything and gave them everything I could to help them make the right choices. That's all you could do for your friend. For Randy.”

He hadn't told anyone else how he felt about the drugs.

Other than Wyatt. “I could have done more, intervened about the prescription drugs and the bad decisions he was making.”

“Maybe, but maybe not.”

He nodded. “Look, it's cold. You better get back in side. Thanks for the evening. And the company.” He had to move. The guilt was on him once more like a heavy shroud. “Chance, wait.”

His heart thumped against his ribs when he turned to find her right beside him. “Please do come build the tree house,” she said and then she took his breath completely away when she hugged him. As easily as the breeze, she slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. Her face rested against his heart as she held on to him. She was warm and soft and smelled so sweet. And she was holding him.

By the time he tugged his hands from his coat pockets she was stepping back.

“Come tomorrow if you can. I get off at two again,” she said, smiling. She slipped inside the house.

Tiny, who'd been flopped across the bottom step, lumbered over to whine at the door.

Chance didn't move at all. Not for a full minute.

He just stood there staring at the door.

 

“You hugged him!”

“Well, Nive, you had to have been there. He just needed it.”

“Hey, I didn't ask why. I'm all for it. When he gets there this afternoon, you going to hug him again?”

“No. I just did it on the spur of the moment. He
looked so sad. He feels responsible for Randy's death. Even though you and I both know we can't be responsible for someone else's actions.” They'd both learned that after years of letting abusive husbands make them think it was their fault they were getting beaten. It just didn't work that way. For anyone.

“So the kids really like him.” Nive leaned over the glass counter and put her chin in her palm. Her amber-colored hair was pulled into a messy topknot and loose tendrils fell around her heart-shaped face.

“It's scary how they've attached to him.”

“It's cool. Wonderful.”

Lynn frowned. “Nive—”

“Don't look at me that way. Do you seriously not think you're going to remarry?”

Lynn laid her pencil down, finished with the list she was making. “In my heart of hearts I just can't see it happening. I mean, well, you know how it is. Those two precious boys are my responsibility. What if I made a mistake? What if I could trust a man again and he…and it turned out bad. I don't want to think about it.”

“Are you sure you aren't just using them as an excuse?”

“Maybe.” She was honest about it. “Because I sure can't read my mixed-up heart. The one thing I'm positive about in life are my boys.” She loved them and they loved her and they were her life. And God loved them. She was certain about that also. So two things. Three—God had brought them here. It was good. So there were plenty of things she was sure of, but she wasn't sure that she could ever truly open up to a man and be a wife,
emotionally, physically, mentally. She had baggage even she didn't like looking at.

If she did find a good man he would deserve more than she could give him.

“Well, I think it's great you're going to let him help you with that tree house. Gavin and Jack told me it was horrible.”

“The little toots!”

Nive made a face. “Seriously, Lynn. You weren't going to let them walk around on those boards after you nailed them in? Jack said you nailed one in and it fell right off the tree and stuck in the ground. Those were his very words.”

“All the more reason to be glad I decided to let Chance help.”

“How's the Christmas shopping going? Did you get a tree yet?”

“Nive, I just got the lights up. Hopefully we'll get a tree this weekend, because next weekend is pageant practice. I've got to go. Wish me luck. I'm going to talk to Chance this afternoon about Stacy's wedding if the time seems right. I really think he'll do it. He's just hurting right now. But I feel like if I just explain everything he'll do it.”

Nive didn't move from her position but lifted a hand and waved. “I'll say a prayer. I want that girl married so bad it's not funny. If ever there was a need for a happy ending it's for Stacy… I'd even give up dreaming about my own if Stacy-girl could have hers.”

“That's really sweet of you, Nive. But don't worry. I feel like God has this under control.”

“Hey, He might have more than you think under
control where you and this cowboy preacher are concerned.”

Lynn was opening the door when Lacy practically waddled in. Her blond, erratically wavy hair framed her adorable face and she looked a little puffy under the eyes.

“How are you?” Lynn asked, pulling the door closed to keep the cold out.

“Priscilla is kicking like an Olympic soccer player. She needs a container of peanut brittle. Now!”

Nive was already moving. “Tell her to hold her horses. I'm getting it.”

“You have eaten your weight in peanut brittle,” Lynn said.

“Yep, yep, yep, and I've enjoyed every ounce of it! I'm holding up my bargain and I'm off to kick my feet up at home, munch on peanut brittle and let Priscilla watch a little
Love Me Tender.
That Elvis movie's got some soothing music in it, so maybe the little whirlwind will settle down and stop kicking.”

“You and Elvis.” Lynn laughed. She had her Elvispink Caddy and loved his music. “Do you think if you stopped feeding her so much sugar it might help?”

“Hey, I'm monitoring my sugar intake. I'm not eating it in anything but candy.”

“
Lacy,
” Lynn gasped. “You're so bad.”

“Hey, I'm a pregnant woman.” She took the bag Nive held over the counter. “I can crave what I want. So back off, sister.” She plopped her money on the counter, grabbed a tissue from a box and greedily reached inside the bag for a piece of golden brittle. She took an exaggerated bite.

“You are crazy.” Lynn laughed.

“Blissfully. That's the way God wants me to feel. I mean, goodness gracious—look how He's blessed me. I certainly don't deserve any of it, so I'm surely going to enjoy it like I'm supposed to.”

“You have got to have the most optimistic mind of anyone I've ever met.”

Lacy's electric-blue eyes settled on Lynn, seriousness overtaking mirth. “Oh, Lynn, after the year it took for me to conceive I'm just so grateful.”

“It's hard to believe it was that long.”

Lacy started to bite down on another piece of brittle but paused. “I was beginning to think I couldn't get pregnant but it was just God's timing. The man upstairs was just telling me to hold on to my horses till He gave me the go-ahead. And He taught me a big lesson in com passion and patience while I waited.”

That was pure Lacy, always trying to figure out what God was trying to teach her. Lynn wasn't always so good at that.

“Well, I hate to run out on great company but I've got to go. Enjoy your time at home this afternoon.”

Lacy grinned. “Will do and you, too. I hear you've got some handsome help coming over. Y'all have fun!”

Lynn stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “And how did you know that?”

“Little birdies told me. Well, big birdies, actually. Chance told Cole when he saw him this morning that he was helping you this afternoon. Cole told Seth and Wyatt, and it went like wildfire as soon as App and Stanley got wind of it. And yes, the posse knows, too.”

Lynn let out a groan. “Great. Just great. Now everyone
will instantly jump to conclusions. I'm just letting the man help me build a tree house.”

“Yep and I'm only eating one piece of this brittle. Relax. Enjoy and build a
great
tree house. Who knows where that will lead…. Lynn and Chance, sitting in a tree. First comes love and then comes—”

“I'm outta here.” Lynn laughed despite herself and headed toward her car. She heard Lacy continue the song as the door closed behind her.

She glanced around and felt like she was sneaking out of town as she got into her car and drove down Main Street. The entire town knew Chance was coming out to her house again. And she knew exactly where it would lead. Straight to overblown hopes for love and romance, which wasn't happening. Yes, the man was gorgeous. Good to her boys and extremely useful around the house… Her ex-husband had been none of those things. So it really felt unfair to let her experience with her ex color her view of Chance. But she painted all men with that brush where she and her boys were concerned.

Where this was going? Nowhere. She'd just gotten carried away with her soft side, and Chance had looked so woebegone and sad last night that on a crazy impulse she'd hugged him. Hugged him for a pretty long time.

An extremely nice, long time. And now she knew…

No hugging allowed. None. Zero. Never again.