Page 17 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy (Home to Texas #2)

N icole had to get a grip on her feelings after leaving Garrett’s hospital room.

The kiss they shared was deliciously good, no matter how much she wanted to think otherwise and she felt herself melting inside regardless.

Garrett had been hurt, and she’d been there to make him feel better.

That was what he’d said. That she could make him feel better about anything put a smile on her face.

So many things were coming at her all at once, and she didn’t have room for this, for Garrett. She had her teaching career, the fundraiser, an ex-fiancé to contend with, and Christmas was just around the corner.

She met up with Taylor, who was keeping Cody entertained in the waiting room with videos of Cassie’s baseball games.

Nicole sat down next to him, and smiled. “The doctor says your uncle Garrett will be coming home in a couple of hours. He’s resting now. Would you like to come to my house for a little while?”

“Or,” Taylor said, “why don’t both of you come over to our house? I’m sure Cassie would love to see you.”

Cody didn’t smile, but his solemn eyes brightened. “’Kay.”

Taylor took his hand. “Come on, we’ll come back to pick Uncle Garrett up in a little while.”

“That’s right, Cody. We will.”

A short time later, Coop pulled up to the Jameson Hospital entrance with Cassie’s one-time car seat installed in the back seat of the SUV.

Coop’s thoughtfulness was amazing and certainly made for a safer ride.

They all climbed in and little Cody buckled himself in with deft hands. “Will Muffy be there?” Cody asked.

“Maybe. Sometimes, Cassie watches Muffin for a little bit during the day,” Coop said.

“I hope so.”

“Why don’t we see if that’s possible?” Nicole got out her phone and called Julie. “Hi, Julie. We have a favor to ask. Can we come get Muffy to help cheer up Cody? We’re taking him to the Cooper house.”

“Of course. Muffy could use a change of scenery and she loves playing with Cody.”

Then Nicole snapped her head up. “Hey, Coop. Can we make a doggy stop at Julie’s? Seems we need to pick up another passenger. One with four paws and a tail.”

“Sounds fine to me.”

“Julie, we’ll be driving right past your place. Be there in five. Thanks a bunch.”

A short time later, Muffy was sitting in Cody’s lap, licking his face.

Muffin’s white fluffy tail windshield-wiped the air.

The dog inspired Cody’s laughter and the jubilant sound filled her up with goodness inside.

Normally, she loved the sound of her students’ laughter, tried her best to keep them laughing when appropriate, but this time it was special.

Cody needed a happy distraction, and Muffy was it.

At Coop’s house, Cody disappeared into Cassie’s room with the dog. It gave Nicole a chance to take a good long breath and sit down with her friend.

“It’s been a long day, hasn’t it?” Taylor asked.

“Not gonna deny that, my friend.”

Taylor set a cup of steaming hot coffee in front of her. “I’d drop some chocolate liquor into your cup if you didn’t have Cody with you.”

She chuckled. Wouldn’t that be nice? “Next time.”

“Yeah. So, how’d you feel when you heard that Garrett was hurt?”

“Feel? I, uh, felt bad for him, of course.”

Her friend gave her the stink eye. “Really? That’s your answer?”

Nicole shrugged. “What do you want me to say? It was scary. I don’t like to see anyone hurt. And well, I was worried. For Cody.”

“And for Garrett?”

“Yes, okay, I was worried about him too.” She sipped her coffee and the warm brew soothed as it slid down her throat.

“You should’ve seen him. He looked so weak, he must’ve lost a lot of blood, but he tried really hard to keep Cody from worrying.

And after Cody left the room, he, uh, said some things. And then we—”

Her cell phone buzzed. “Excuse me, maybe it’s news about Garrett.”

She looked at the phone, read the text and then slumped in her seat. “Oh, no.”

“What’s wrong? Is it Garrett?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s a text from Johnny.”

She slid the phone across the table to show Taylor the text. She read it aloud. “Nic. I really miss you. I’m coming home. I want to see you. Please. Love, Johnny.”

She sat there quietly, too stunned to speak.

Taylor took her hand. “I thought he moved to Houston so he could start fresh and hook up with his ex.”

“That’s what I thought too. I never thought I’d hear from him again.”

“But, clearly, he wants you back. Why else would he be softening you up with flowers and gifts?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t know what’s going on.” He’d left her at the altar because he wasn’t sure about his feelings for her. It was more than just cold feet. He didn’t love her enough to resist the temptation of his ex-girlfriend. That should tell her all she needed to know.

“What are you going to say to him?” Taylor’s voice was soft and cautious. She was a good friend, trying to protect her without imposing her will.

“I’m… I’ll have to think about it.”

She put a hand to her tummy. It ached like crazy, the vice-like grip causing cramps.

She steadied her breaths several times, willing herself to calm down.

She’d deal with her own troubles, later.

Today, her first priority was Cody. The boy was relying on her so she straightened up and put a smile on her face.

“I’m not going to worry about that right now. ”

Taylor smiled back. “Good. I’ll make us a quick dinner.”

“Need some help?”

“Sure, you can put together a salad.”

“I’ll meet you in the kitchen after I check on Cody.”

Nicole rose from her seat and turned to walk away. “Hey, Nic?”

She swiveled around. “Yeah?”

“Anything happen between you and Garrett at the hospital?”

She put her head down. She didn’t want to lie to her friend. “Why do you ask?”

Taylor gave her head a tilt. “You were just about to tell me something, before you got that text.”

“Oh, right.”

“So, I’m not wrong.” There was hope in Taylor’s voice.

“Okay, yes. Something happened.” She buttoned her mouth after that admission.

“Well? Are you gonna make me drag it out of you?”

Nicole scrunched up her face, ignoring the rush she felt thinking about Garrett’s kiss, and decided to come clean. “We, uh, kissed. But it was just a little good-bye kiss. He was… grateful and, and drugged up.”

Taylor grinned. “Something tells me Garrett’s kisses would be pretty great, drugs or not.”

Nicole let go of her defensive stance, relaxing her shoulders. “And you’d be right. It was pretty great.” And that was all she was going to say for the moment.

She had enough on her plate. Getting that text from Johnny had tossed her completely off-balance. She didn’t trust anything she was feeling right now.

Taylor sat straight up in her seat, and Nicole could almost see her matchmaking wheels spinning around inside her head. “That’s awesome.”

She sighed. Taylor meant well, but Nicole didn’t want to encourage her. “It would be, if things were different, but they’re not.”

With that, she left the room to check on Cody.

*

Garrett stood on the steps at Cottonwood, feeling a bit helpless as Coop took a sleeping Cody out of the car seat and carried him into the house.

Garrett could hardly do it himself. He had twelve stitches in his left arm, the pain still there, though greatly reduced thanks to the painkillers.

His wound was wrapped in bandages that went up to his elbow and he’d been warned not to do too much for a few days.

Cody had conked out almost immediately on the way home from the hospital. Who could blame him? The boy had had a long worrisome day. Nicole had been great, making sure Cody had people around that cared about him. She’d taken him in and with the help of Taylor and Coop, made sure Cody was okay.

Nicole walked past him and went into Cody’s bedroom, turning down the bed. Garrett hated putting her out any more than necessary, but she’d insisted on coming to Cottonwood to help. Besides, she’d argued, Coop was her ride home.

Tiny colorful Christmas tree lights cast Cody’s room in a cheerful glow. It made for a pretty great night-light. Coop laid Cody down on the bed and strode out of the room.

Nicole walked over, bent down, and brushed a strand of hair from Cody’s face. She whispered something and then blew his nephew a kiss. Turning to him, she asked quietly, “Can you manage getting him into pajamas?”

Garrett stared at Nicole. She was quickly becoming a large part of his life.

She’d been a godsend lately, and he didn’t know how to repay her kindness.

He wasn’t sure what to say to her, or how to decipher the feelings he had for her.

At times like these, thoughts of staying on in Last Stand entered his mind for a few fleeting moments.

It was a nice fantasy, but that was all it was.

Cody needed stability, and if things didn’t work out with Nicole, Cody would get hurt again.

Garrett wasn’t willing to chance it. There’d been too much heartache already in his young life.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Luckily, if he could call anything lucky about today, his left arm had been injured and not his right.

Nicole walked out of the room and he met her in the hallway. “Thanks for all you’ve done. I… don’t have words.” He swallowed hard.

“You don’t need words. I know, Garrett,” she said.

He nodded his head.

“How’s your arm?” she asked.

“Feels like I dropped a hunk of granite on it.”

Nicole couldn’t hold back a smile. It lit up her face and her pretty brown eyes twinkled. “Glad you didn’t lose your sense of humor.”

“No, just a few liters of blood.”

She made a face. A cute little wrinkling of her nose and her expression softened even more. “I should go. Let you get some rest.”

Coop was waiting in the other room. Garrett couldn’t keep them any longer. “Sure.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.