Page 20 of A Cowboy Holiday

She’d taken the Halloween costume memo seriously and had insisted on wearing a pink frou-frou princess getup with tulleand a tiara. Tanner wasn’t dressed up, but he’d taken the trouble to paint a spider on his cheek.

“They’ll give me hell if I show up as is,” he’d explained. “You can borrow some paint if you’d like.”

My reply? A concise and emphatic, “Fuck, no.”

If anyone asked, I was a cowboy.

Tanner twisted in his seat to address Phoebe. “I love Rudolph.”

“Daddy, turn it up! Let’s sing! ‘Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer…”

To be clear, no one but Phee could ever convince me to play holiday music in October. And if it was just her and me, I might sing along in a goofy deep voice to make her laugh, but Tanner was here…in my damn truck, and that wasn’t gonna happen.

Tanner had no such qualms. He sang loud enough to rattle the windows, which Phee found hysterical.

“My eardrums,” I griped playfully.

“I can’t help it. This is one of my favorite songs,” he commented with a wink. “I’ve always liked Rudolph…and ‘Frosty the Snowman.’ ”

“Me too!” Phoebe squealed as if the mere idea of having something in common with Tanner was the coolest thing ever. In the fifteen minutes we’d been in the vehicle together, she’d fallen under his spell. Every question, every new observance from the clouds shaped like sheep to our matching black tees was aimed at him.

“Do you like the color black? I don’t like it. But I like black cats and black licorice too. Do you like black licorice, Mr. Tanner?”

I hadn’t had a chance to remind her to mind her manners and to be a little less honest about her color preferences clashing with other people’s wardrobes. But it didn’t matter, ’cause in a twist, Tanner was good with kids.

“I like red licorice more, but I love black cats. We have a few on the ranch, and I have two black Labs, Gordy and Lila. They’re the best.”

“Can I meet them?” she asked.

“Anytime.”

“Yay! Do reindeers live in Christmas Town?”

Tanner rested his forearm on the center console. The earthy scent of woods and cardamon wafted in my direction.

“Not real reindeer,” he replied. “But Santa does.”

Phee gasped in delight. “Really? Will he be there?”

“Yep, but it’s not Christmas yet, so he might not be wearing his red suit,” Tanner said.

“Whatwillhe wear?”

“It’s a nice day, so…maybe shorts.”

I sneaked a glance at Phee in the rearview mirror and snickered as her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Shorts?” She repeated incredulously.

“Uh-huh. Last year he wore a Hawaiian-print shirt with cargo shorts to the parade. Like every other middle-aged suburban dad in the area.” Tanner chuckled, gesturing at the signage. “This is our exit.”

I veered onto Reindeer Lane, a two-lane road lined with evergreens and a row of trees in resplendent fall foliage, the reds, oranges, and yellows casting a brilliant backdrop against the crystal-blue sky. Picturesque cottages were set far from the street, their lawns bathed in autumnal hues. And seemingly out of nowhere, a gigantic evergreen came into view.

Phee gasped. “Look! It’s a Christmas tree! That’s the biggest tree I ever saw!”

She had that right. The tree grazed the atmosphere, poking a hole through low-lying clouds. Red and white geraniums surrounded its base like a festive skirt or holly berries on a bed of snow.

“It’s the biggest one in the West.” Tanner explained. “That’s a statue of Santa at the bottom of the hill. And straight ahead is Holiday Lane.”