Page 14 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy (Home to Texas #2)

T aylor brought in hot deli sandwiches for Nicole and Julie and they all sat together in the teacher’s lounge having lunch. The room housed five round tables with windows facing the snow-laden playground. The girls insisted on having lunch with her after she’d told them about hearing from Johnny.

Both were no longer fans of her ex, but today they were being overly careful in their opinions for her sake. “So, Nic. Do you have any idea what you’re going to do about him?” Julie asked.

She shook her head. “Not really.”

“You really don’t have to do anything. It’s up to him to make the next move,” Taylor added. “I mean, you owe him nothing.”

“That’s right,” Julie said, after taking a sip of soda. “You don’t have to give him the time of day if you don’t want to.”

“But if he calls or shows up, do I hear him out?” Nicole asked. She wasn’t sure she wanted to face him. She’d tried to put the past behind her. She was trying to move on with her life.

“Depends on how you feel about him now,” Julie said. “But the guy closed up shop in Last Stand and moved to another town to be near his ex. That should tell you something, Nic.”

“Do you think you could ever trust him again?” Taylor asked.

All good questions. “I don’t know. I have to think this through.”

“Forget about thinking,” Taylor said softly. “What is your gut telling you to do?”

“Well, if I’m being honest, my gut is saying to hear him out. And then make my decision.”

Julie squeezed her eyes shut.

Taylor groaned.

“Okay, so obviously, you don’t agree.”

“No, no. We do. It’s just that…” Julie said. “And I think I’m speaking for Taylor too, we don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“Tell me about it. I don’t want to get hurt again either.” She thought about the way Johnny had signed the note. Love, Johnny and her stomach ached.

“And, well,” Taylor said, darting a glance at Julie, “we thought you were moving on from Johnny, toward someone else.”

Nicole wasn’t going to take the bait. They were speaking about Garrett, and even though they were developing a friendship, he had nothing to do with this. He wasn’t going to be the reason she didn’t hear Johnny out. It was about her and her ex. “There’s no someone else.”

But Garrett had been very kind to her last night. They’d stayed for dinner, Garrett ordering a pepperoni pizza and after the meal, they played Old Maid with Cody. Their presence kept her mind off Johnny and when she’d gone to bed, she wasn’t as troubled as she thought she would be.

The girls gave her a skeptical look and so she broke with her norms and spilled the beans. “Okay, so you’ve seen us together a few times.”

Her friends nodded.

“But that’s only because we made a pact.”

“A pact? What kind of pact?” Julie’s voice elevated.

Taylor scrunched up her nose. “Yeah, what does that mean?”

“It means that, and I shouldn’t be telling you this , Garrett and I did a little bit of an exchange.

He lets us use his property for the fundraiser, and I help with Cody, showing him the wonders of Christmas in Last Stand.

Oh, I know the way I’m saying it doesn’t sound super great, but it all happened sort of organically.

It wasn’t this ruthless, tit for tat kind of thing.

And actually, I’m enjoying showing Cody and his uncle how to experience the holiday.

The poor boy lost his mother last year around this time. ”

“And Garrett lost his sister,” Julie said. “Must’ve been hard on him too. One minute he’s the doting indulgent uncle, the next he’s Cody’s father and mother .”

“Exactly,” Nicole said. “And he’d been working hard out at Cottonwood, without really experiencing what Last Stand has to offer.”

The girls grinned at her.

“I mean, in terms of Christmas, you two goof heads.”

“And I bet it’s causing quite a stir with the town, seeing you finally move on, supposedly.”

“There is that,” Nicole replied. “It came as an extra bonus. I’m not getting too many pitying stares anymore.”

“No, now you’re getting, you-go-girl nods of approval. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Julie added.

“It’s true,” she said. “But this is only between the three of us, right?”

Her friends nodded. “Right,” Julie and Taylor chorused.

“But you have to admit, it’s exciting, having a secret pact with a gorgeous guy, and all,” Taylor said.

Nicole pinned her with a look.

“What? I’m just saying…”

“Honestly, with this Johnny thing hanging over my head, I’m just not in any frame of mind for… men.”

The school bell rang; it was the end of lunch. Everyone rose from their seats, packing up their leftovers. Nicole had hardly eaten a bite but was grateful for the company. “I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”

The girls gave her hugs and words of encouragement.

“Thanks, my friends. Now, back to work.”

Although, Nicole loved what she did for a living, she didn’t believe teaching was work.

It was an honor to be able to give her students a positive first impression of school.

Her curriculum combined learning with fun and it brought her joy seeing their sweet innocent faces in the morning.

Oh, she’d had some troublemakers along the way, but she took it as a personal challenge to turn them around before the end of the school year, hopefully even earlier than that.

On her way back to class, she pulled out her cell phone and called, Coop, Taylor’s husband. “Hi, Coop,” she said. “I hope I’m not catching you in the middle of something.”

“Nope, just finishing lunch. Hey, isn’t Taylor there with you?”

“She was, she just left. We had a nice lunch together. I have a favor to ask, Coop. And it’s okay if you can’t do it, but it’s for the fundraiser. And for little Cody.”

“The answer is yes.”

“I haven’t asked the question yet.”

He laughed. “Shoot, I’m listening.”

“I need to borrow you and your truck sometime.”

“Okay, you got it. What’s up?”

“What’s up, is that I’m hoping to make one little boy very happy.”

“I’m all in for that.”

*

After school the next day, Coop and Nicole pulled up to the house at Cottonwood, a ten-foot Christmas tree tied down in the bed of the truck.

The Douglas fir pine branches were full and nearly perfectly symmetrical.

Nicole thought it was the prettiest tree on the lot and would make for a glorious Christmas wishing tree.

The wishes would be written on thin white cardboard stock cut into coupon-sized rectangles and decorated with glitter and stickers by whomever was making their wish.

Those wishes would be attached to the tree with ribbon tied into bows.

This was a first. And it was something Nicole really wanted to do this year. It was a special way for the children to learn that Christmas was about wishing good things for others with love in their hearts.

As soon as Coop killed the engine, Cody came running out of the house. “Is that the tree?”

Cody’s big, exuberant smile filled her with joy. “Yes, that’s the one. Coop was nice enough to help me pick it out. What do you think?”

“Looks big.”

“It is. Ten feet tall.”

“Where are you gonna put it?”

“Well, we thought it would be perfect right in the center of the corral. This way no matter what booth you’re at, you can still see it. Does that sound like a good idea?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Coop pulled down the tailgate and began lifting it out. It was heavy, and Nicole tried to help too, but she couldn’t quite get a grasp of it. Her arms just weren’t long enough. It had taken two men, plus Coop to get the tree into the truck at the Christmas tree lot earlier.

“I’ll get that,” Garrett said, coming out of the house and down the steps. In his rush to help, he nearly shoved her aside.

“Thanks.” She was grateful for the assist and tried to ignore the pesky little pangs of excitement rumbling through her belly, seeing Garrett again.

He was dressed in work clothes, jeans and a chambray shirt, his tool belt slanting around his waist. Every time he entered a room or came upon a scene, she had a moment.

Just a moment of heart-stopping thrill. And then reality would return.

“Miss Russell wants to put it in the corral,” Cody said.

“In the center, if that’s okay?”

“Yep.” There was strain in his voice as he helped Coop with the base of the tree.

“Glad you’re here to help,” Coop said, once they got the tree out of the truck bed.

“You bet,” Garrett said. “Nicole texted me, wanting to keep this a surprise for Cody. The second he saw the truck with the tree in the back, he dashed out of the house.”

Nicole smiled. She was happy to surprise the boy. But she had one more surprise left.

The two men carried the tree to the designated spot with Nicole and Cody following close behind. “Right here?” Coop asked, setting the tree upright.

Nicole nodded. “That looks great.”

Their shoulders sagged in relief and Coop managed to get the tree situated in the tree stand until it stood upright on its own.

“Oh, boy!” Cody danced around the tree.

“It is pretty,” Coop said, nearly out of breath.

“Is it the wishing tree?” Cody asked.

“It’s going to be. Yes.”

“Awesome.” Cody grinned from ear to ear. “And I get to make a wish too?”

She exchanged a glance with Garrett, and she could see the pain behind his incredible eyes. He was worried over Cody, fearing that the boy could get hurt. “Yes, of course you do. But the wish has to be for someone else. That’s the only rule.”

Cody took that in, gave it some thought, and then nodded. “Okay.”

Nicole faced the two men that had been a big help to her.

“You guys are the best. The kids are going to love this tree.” When it was all said and done, she didn’t know how to properly thank her friends for coming to her aid and, yes, she was including Garrett in that.

“Garrett would you mind, if I take a minute of your time? I mean, another minute.” She smiled, hoping she wasn’t overstepping his good nature with her other surprise.

“Uh, sure.” He glanced at Coop and Cody.