Page 13 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy (Home to Texas #2)

The rolling wasn’t going too well. Cody’s face was dotted with flour, his hair was streaked white and his plaid shirt definitely needed a wash, but he was having a great time.

Once the dough was flattened out, Garrett grabbed the cookie cutters. “That’s about the best we can do, Code. How about we cut out the cookies now.”

“I get the snowman!” Cody announced. “And the star!”

“Okay, I’ll do the bell and the Santa.”

Cody did his very best, cutting out the cookies with as much precision a six-year-old could muster and once they were finished, they placed them carefully on parchment paper and put the pan into the oven.

“We did it.”

“Right, we sure did.”

“What do we do now, Uncle Garrett?”

“Well, I guess we wait for the cookies to bake and cool. In the meantime, you can pick out what decorations you want to put on your cookies.”

“I already know which one I want to give to Miss Russell.”

“You do?”

“Uh-huh. I’m making her a special one, ’cause she’s nice. You like her, don’t you, Uncle Garrett?”

“Oh, uh. Yes, I like her.”

Cody bobbed his head up and down. “I like her too. She’s fun.”

His nephew hit the nail on the head. She was fun and nice and probably still in love with her ex-fiancé.

“Are you making her a special one too?” Cody asked.

“I think I’ll leave that up to you, Cody. She’s really going to like the cookies you decorate for her.”

“When are the cookies gonna be done?”

Garrett glanced at the oven timer. “Looks like eight more minutes.”

“That long?”

“Sometimes, good things are worth waiting for.”

“Like the snow? I’ve been waiting a long time and when it snows, it’ll be a good thing.”

Garrett held his breath and his tongue. He was always warning the boy not to get his hopes up but he didn’t want to spoil the moment. “Hey, Code. I think these red and green sprinkles are pretty cool. I’m gonna use them on my cookies. I think bells should have sprinkles.”

“And stars too.”

“Right.”

“Uncle Garrett, what if… sprinkles are really colored raindrops?”

“That’d be neat.”

“Your turn.”

Garrett had to think fast. Cody was much better at this game than he was. “What if candy canes were really walking sticks for elves?”

Cody thought about that one and made a puzzled face. “Huh?”

“No?”

Cody shook his head. “Elves aren’t that small, Uncle Garrett.”

Of course, why didn’t he know that? “Right, right. I guess I forgot.”

“You can go again,” Cody said.

“No, no. You go. You’re better at it than I am.”

“What if… candy canes were walking sticks for mice?”

Now that made more sense. “Good one. You fixed it.”

Cody’s triumphant smile made Garrett’s lips twitch.

A few minutes later the oven timer dinged. “Hey, the cookies are ready.”

“Yippee. Now we can decorate them.”

“That’s the plan.” Garrett picked up a potholder and took the cookies out of the oven. They weren’t awful, in fact some of them actually held their shape. “Well now, look at these.”

Cody peered at them with little boy enthusiasm. “Are they supposed to be lopsided?”

“Well, no. But there’re some pretty good ones too.”

“We’ll only take the good ones to Miss Russell.”

“And we can eat the mess-ups.”

Cody nodded, his eyes filled with joy. “Oh boy.”

*

Nicole snuggled in her cozy gray sweats, her feet in fluffy pink slippers as she sat on her sofa, reading a novel.

The Christmas tree lights filled the room with a magical glow.

It was peaceful, quiet, and she was totally wrapped up in the story she was reading on her tablet.

Mystery novels kept her entertained, and as much as she tried, she could never figure out the ending.

For a mystery writer that was a good thing, and for a reader, it kept her coming back for more.

Her cell phone chimed and she jumped. Her concentration broken, she lifted the phone to find a text from Garrett.

“Cody and I would like to stop by tonight, for a little while. Are you free?”

Nicole nibbled on her lower lip. Was she free? As a bird. And her curiosity got the best of her. What was up with the two of them and why did they want to stop over? Could be nothing. Could be something.

For heaven’s sake, she’d been avoiding Garrett the past few days, trying to put some space and time between them.

This morning, she’d woken up thinking she was acting foolish.

So, she made a mistake about the flowers.

Big deal. She didn’t need to go into hiding about it.

This wasn’t high school. And time was running out.

She still had more work to do at Cottonwood Ranch.

She had to face Garrett again, the sooner the better.

So, she punched in her reply. “Sure, come over. Give me half an hour.”

A thumbs-up emoji was her reply. She rose from the sofa to set about getting dressed.

She opted for a pair of denim jeans and a super-warm beige knit sweater.

She took her hair out of the ponytail and fluffed it up a bit.

Then she straightened out her house, folding throw blankets, gathering up her mail and putting it away, and cleaning up the dishes in the sink.

After a bit of reflection, she grabbed the flower vase sitting on the kitchen counter and set them on her bedroom dresser to avoid any awkward moments between her and Garrett.

She was walking out of the bedroom when the knock came to her apartment door.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

“Hi,” she said, making eye contact with tall handsome Garrett first. He was hard to miss with his eyes on her, deep, blue and mesmerizing.

She pulled her gaze away to give little Cody her attention. “Hi, Cody.”

“Hi, Miss Russell.” He gave her a big smile.

“Well, both of you, please come in.”

“Thanks,” Garrett said, ushering Cody in first. “We brought you something,” Garrett said as they stepped into her apartment.

“Uncle Garrett got us a new oven and we made you cookies. To make up for the ones Uncle Garrett bumped out of your hands.” Cody handed her the dish.

“Oh, he didn’t… it was an accident.”

“That’s what I keep telling him,” Garrett said, his lips twitching. Was there a hint of a smile in there?

“Wanna see them?” Cody asked.

“Of course.” She walked the plate over to the kitchen table and lifted the aluminum foil.

“Oh, my.” The lopsided, overgrown and over-decorated, icing-layered attempt at cookies tore at her heart.

She took a swallow as tears welled in her eyes.

The gesture was so sweet, so endearing, she had trouble conjuring the right words.

“T-these are about the m-most perfect cookies I’ve ever seen. ”

“Really?” Delight filled Cody’s voice. “Uncle Garrett thought you’d like them too.”

“He did?” She looked over at him and he smiled. A real smile, one he rarely shared with her. It cut through any and all awkwardness between them, and suddenly, all was right again. “Well, he was right, Cody. I like them.”

“We gave you the best ones.”

“I can see that. These look very delicious. Have you had your dinner yet Cody?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Well, uh, Uncle Garrett? How about we break with tradition and have dessert before dinner? Just this once.”

“Can we, Uncle Garrett? Can we?”

“That’s only if we’re not interrupting Miss Russell from something.” Garrett gave her an inquisitive look. There was no way she wouldn’t eat cookies with them.

“Cookies come first,” she said. “With milk, and coffee.”

“Yay! I made you a very special one, Miss Russell.” Cody lifted up a snowman, covered in white icing, wearing a black licorice hat and buttons down his middle. An orange candy nose substituted for a carrot. It was a valiant effort on his part.

“You know what, Cody? I think it’s almost too beautiful to eat.” Nicole got out her cell phone and snapped a picture. “There, now I’ll always have a memory of it. How about you sit down and we’ll have a little treat break.”

“Are you sure?” Garrett said. “We only came to drop them off.”

“I’m sure. Cookies are meant to be eaten together. They taste better that way.”

“They do?” Cody looked puzzled. She never tired of seeing the sheer innocence on children’s faces.

“Sure they do,” she said. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Cody made himself comfortable on a kitchen chair while she went to the refrigerator. “I’ll get the milk,” Garrett said, walking over, “while you make the coffee.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said, handing him the carton of milk. And after they were all seated, with drinks in front of them, they indulged on the Christmas cookies making yummy sounds with each sugary bite.

“It’s my very first time baking cookies,” Cody said. There was pride in his voice.

“That’s very special. You and your uncle, making Christmas cookies together.”

Garrett met her eyes. It was hard not to get warm and gushy inside, having Garrett’s melt-your-heart blue gaze on her.

Imagining the two of them, uncle and nephew, muddling through baking and decorating cast him in a different light.

She didn’t see him as the rough around the edges, rarely to smile, aloof man with a broken heart anymore.

He was settling into his role as parent, trying his best to make a difference in Cody’s life. The cookies were proof of that.

“Um, Garrett, I was going to call you tomorrow. I’ve got a crew ready to come out to fix up the wagon. It needed more work than I originally thought. Is that okay?”

“No. Not okay.”

“No? I’m sorry, are you working in the barn tomorrow?”

“No. There’s no need.”

“Of course, there’s a need.” She struggled to keep from showing her annoyance.

The wagon was full of splinters, sharp edges and the wheels needed greasing. The kids could get hurt, if work wasn’t done on the wagon. Didn’t he realize that?

Forget what she’d thought about him not being rough around the edges.

“Nic, there’s no need, because I’ve already done it.”

She laid down the cookie in her hand. “You did?”

He nodded.

“Why?” It shouldn’t be the first thing out of her mouth, a thank-you would’ve been better, but he’d taken her by total surprise.

“Because it needed to be done.”

“I know, but you don’t have the time.”

“It didn’t take that long, Nic. I worked on it after hours. It’s no big deal. The wagon is ready to go now.”

It was a big deal. He’d wanted no part of the fundraiser, and now he’d taken it upon himself to fix up the wagon on his own. First the surprise cookies and now this? She bit her lip and stared into his eyes. “Thank you.”

“Welcome,” he said, his lips turning up.

She smiled back and for a few seconds, they simply stared at each other.

Warm emotion rolled around inside her, but were these sweet tingles something more?

Was it something she should embrace or be wary about?

She wasn’t ready for this. He was leaving soon.

The reminders always pounding in her brain, did little to curb her feelings.

Garrett’s eyes flickered as if he just remembered something.

He cleared his throat and broke off their connection.

It was a good thing too, because little Cody had been watching them, looking a bit confused.

With Cody around, she had to remember her place.

She was first and foremost his teacher, and she’d never want to compromise that.

The doorbell rang, and she was saved from saying anything.

“I’ll get that. I’m expecting a package.

Excuse me,” she said, glad to have the reprieve.

She’d ordered special foil paper supplies for a Christmas project she wanted to do this week with her class.

So, the interruption served two purposes, and she was only too happy to open the door.

A delivery guy stood at her door, the same one from the other night. This time he held a heart-shaped Christmas wreath, decorated with tiny crystal ornaments and red roses, all tastefully done.

“Miss Russell?”

She nodded, dumbfounded again.

“This is for you.”

“Who are they from?” she asked, this time, taking a more proactive approach.

“There’s a card inside and no tip necessary. It’s all been taken care of.”

“Thank you,” she said, a lump forming in her throat. She closed the door and mumbled, “This is so strange.”

Garrett stood inside the kitchen, looking on. “Not from your parents, I assume?”

“I… don’t know. They didn’t send the last one.”

She walked over to the table to set the wreath down.

“Wow, it’s pretty, Miss Russell.”

“Yes… it is.”

She plucked up the envelope this time making no assumptions. She was fully baffled and read the card silently. “I miss you, Nicole. Please forgive me. Love, Johnny.”

Nicole’s knees buckled and her heart just about stopped. She slumped into the kitchen chair, staring at the note as her hand trembled. “I can’t believe this,” she murmured.

“Cody, why don’t you put a few cookies under Miss Russell’s tree for Santa.”

Cody looked at Nicole’s sad face and nodded. The boy had good intuition. He knew this was time for grown-up talk. “Okay,” he said.

Garrett handed him a few napkins and once he was out of the room, Garrett took hold of her hand. She was grateful for the comfort. “Nicole, what is it?”

She gave him the card to read. That seemed more than enough explanation. Garrett muttered something foul under his breath, but didn’t voice his opinion.

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“Do?” she said, searching his eyes. She was still reeling from the flowers and the note to think about anything else right now. She had no plan. She didn’t know what she wanted to do other than absorb all this for the moment. “I-I don’t know.”

“Do you want to be alone?” Garrett asked. “Should we leave?”

“No.” She really didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts.

She was mixed up and angrier with Johnny than she ever thought possible for doing this to her.

For contacting her out of the blue, by way of flowers no less, rather than mustering the nerve to talk to her in person.

It’d been three whole months, without a word, since the day he left her standing, waiting for a groom that wasn’t going to show.

“Please stay just a little while longer. If you don’t mind. ”

“Hell, no. I don’t mind.” Softness touched Garrett’s eyes. “We’ll stay until you kick us out.”

A tiny chuckle escaped. She hardly thought she was capable of it, which made her grateful to Garrett, for being a friend right now.