Her Christmas Cowboy (5 page)

Daisy did one of the hardest things she’d
ever done. She leaned close, kissed Trey gently on the mouth, and
said, “I will. I will think about it.”

If Trey was disappointed, he didn’t show it.
He set the open ring box on the coffee table and said, “Until the
New Year.”

*****

Trey walked Daisy to her car since she
wouldn’t be spending the night. She’d said she wanted to spend
Christmas morning with her sister. It would be Rose’s first
Christmas without her husband, and Daisy didn’t want her to be
alone. Though he would have liked to wake up with Daisy beside him,
he understood her reasoning.

Under the circumstances, her decision to
leave was probably best. The uncertainty of their future had taken
the shine off his Christmas Eve, and his parents and grandmother
would be knocking on his door mid-morning to help him with
Christmas dinner preparations. He didn’t want their first meeting
with Daisy to be morning-after awkward, and he had things to do at
the ranch before the remainder of his guests arrived.

Trey kissed her before she climbed into her
Jeep and closed the door behind her. “See you at noon.”

He watched Daisy drive off and then made his
way to the porch to turn off the twinkle lights he’d hung just for
her. Shady Lady scurried up the stairs behind him and climbed into
the rocker closest to the door. Trey gave the cat a thorough
petting and then headed inside.

He finished cleaning up the kitchen, closed
the glass door on the fireplace, and turned out the lights on the
Christmas tree. His holiday spirit waned and his heart grew heavy.
If he’d told Daisy he loved her months ago, maybe she wouldn’t have
considered going back to Pennsylvania. Maybe she’d have adjusted
quicker to life here. And maybe she’d have his ring on her finger
and be sleeping in his bed.

The house that had been warm and filled with
possibilities an hour before turned dark and cold with each step he
took up the stairs.

Chapter Six

“So what do you plan to do?” Rose asked.

Daisy’s sister set tableware on the kitchen
breakfast bar, poured cups of coffee, and took the stool beside
her. Despite neither of them sleeping much, Rose still looked fresh
compared to Daisy’s bleary-eyed, ratty-haired self. Rose had creamy
white skin, silky black hair, and sky-blue eyes that made men trip
over their feet to get close. Her late husband, Mike, had loved her
something fierce, and Daisy could only imagine the pain of that
loss. It could take years for Rose to heal.

She grimaced. “I know what I
want
to do, but I’ve come to see that I hate change,
and that’s about the only thing that’s been constant the past year.
Everything I knew has gone.”

Rose covered Daisy’s hand with hers.
“Starting over is hard.” She blinked and took an audible breath.
“Even the thought of moving exhausts me.” She offered a subtle
smile. “Mike’s family and I remained close after the funeral, and
then kismet brought you here. Despite everything that’s happened,
Houston has become my home. Don’t you feel it too?”

Daisy felt like a jerk for pouring her
problems on her sister, who’d lost her husband and the love of her
life to war. Love and separation were an impossible mix. She turned
her hand over and gave her sister’s palm a squeeze. “I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t complain.”

Rose shook her head. “You’ve been mourning
the biggest losses of your life; you have a right to complain. But
you’re young and so am I. Our lives are far from over. That thought
keeps me going.”

Rose reached across the breakfast bar for the
plate of blueberry muffins she’d baked just after dawn. She placed
one on a dish for Daisy and took another for herself. “I loved Mike
more than I ever thought possible, and I don’t know when I’ll
recover from his loss.” She dug the tines of a fork into her muffin
and chewed. “Mmm, he would have liked these. Probably eaten half
the batch by now.”

Daisy took a big bite of her muffin and
sipped her coffee. “Delicious.”

Rose swallowed another piece and shot Daisy a
sidelong glance. “As devoted as I was to my husband, and as hard as
it is to imagine being with another man, I still hope to love again
someday. I don’t want to live the rest of my life alone. You know
me; I’m not cut out for that.” Her mouth quirked and she tilted her
head in Daisy’s direction. “Unless you intend to live with me until
we become parodies of our younger selves.”

Daisy smiled at Rose’s little joke but
shivered at the empty picture that painted. They might be modern
women, but they both needed romance. To love and be loved was the
greatest gift on earth. Everyone knew that.

And the man she loved wanted to marry
her.

Daisy pushed the muffin plate aside. Love and
separation were an impossible mix. Maybe she’d been looking at her
situation all wrong. Maybe Houston wasn’t a weigh station on the
road to resuming her life. This
was
her
life. Could she really turn her back on Trey and give him up? That
loss might really be the one that did her in.

The realization brought her out of her seat.
She could have it all. She could build a career in law enforcement
here as well as anywhere, heal her emotional scars, and be happy
with the man she loved in the process. As to the rest…she’d learn
to adjust. She was a strong and capable woman.

Daisy kissed Rose on the cheek. “Thanks for
breakfast. I’m going to wrap Trey’s Christmas gift.”

*****

The noontime temperature Christmas Day soared
into the sixties, with clear blue skies that gave Daisy a new
appreciation for year-round outdoor living. She and Rose arrived at
Trey’s place a few minutes after twelve carrying a side dish,
homemade bread, apple pie, and a bundle of gifts. Two little
blond-haired girls dressed for Christmas ran in circles on the
lawn, squealing with laughter while they chased Shady Lady. Big
Blue munched clover by the fence in his pasture without looking
up.

A tall, sandy-haired man who looked slightly
older than Trey but just as handsome exited the house and made his
way down the porch steps toward them. His gaze homed in on Rose and
his eyes lit up.

Daisy introduced herself and her sister and
noticed Rose had perked up too. The man reached for the covered
dish Rose carried and lifted the bag holding homemade bread and
wrapped packages from Daisy’s hand.

“I’m Brent, Trey’s brother. It’s great to
meet you both.” He nodded toward the girls. “Those two are
mine.”

Trey had mentioned his brother’s wife was no
longer in the picture, but he hadn’t provided details.

Brent tore his gaze from Rose and met Daisy’s
eyes. “Trey’s in the barn. He’ll be right out.”

The women followed Brent to the porch, where
Daisy hesitated outside the front door. She pulled a package from
the bag Brent held and pressed it to her chest. “Would you two mind
going in without me? I’d like to see Trey before I meet the rest of
his family.”

Brent nodded. “Sure thing.” He eyed the
brightly wrapped gift she held and passed her an easy smile.

Daisy took a seat on one of the wicker
rockers, her heartbeat pumping with every sway. She smoothed the
front of her evergreen sweater, brushed imaginary lint from her
slacks, and checked her flats for scuffs while her fingers tapped
the chair arm.

Just when she thought she couldn’t stand
waiting another second, Trey appeared at the barn door. Daisy
watched as he kicked off his barn boots and slipped into moccasins.
When he spied her, he offered a casual wave. She swallowed her
nervousness and pinned on a smile with his approach.

“Merry Christmas,” he said. Tightness around
his mouth and his bloodshot eyes belied his cheery greeting.
Evidently, he hadn’t slept much either.

Daisy held out the gift like a peace
offering. “I wanted to give you this before…” She glanced at the
front door. “While we had some privacy.”

Trey accepted the package with barely a
change in expression and took the rocker beside her. He tore away
the Christmas paper and held up the square black object. The
tightness around his mouth relaxed, his eyes brightened, and his
lips curved into a grin.

“You’re sure about this?” he asked.

“I haven’t thought about anything else since
I left last night. Yes, I’m sure.”

Trey stared at the framed photograph of her
dressed in full police regalia, sitting atop Musket. The picture
was taken by a Houston newspaper photographer during the
Thanksgiving Day Parade. “You do look amazing in uniform.”

He stood, set the picture on his chair, and
pulled her from her seat for a kiss. His lips were warm and
welcoming, like his embrace. When they broke the kiss, he said, “I
like the inscription as much as I love you.”

She’d written:
Yes, I will
marry you
across the bottom of the picture before she framed
and wrapped it that morning.

He pressed his hands to her shoulders. “Stay
right here.”

He disappeared into his house and returned
moments later with the blue velvet ring box. Daisy watched while he
opened the lid and took out the stunning diamond engagement ring.
“Daisy Phillips, I know I already asked you this, but I’m asking
again. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Her hands shook and she forced herself to
stay calm while she replied. “Yes, I’ll be happy to marry you.”

He slid the ring over the third finger of her
left hand, and they stood close, admiring the ring and taking
pleasure in the milestone moment. Daisy wrapped her arms around
Trey’s neck and kissed him. “I love you,” she said. “So much.
Wherever you are is where I want to be.”

She kissed him again, but before she did saw
flickers of movement in her peripheral vision. Giggles followed.
Two little girls ran up the porch steps and through the front door
into the house.

Trey grinned down at her. “I think our
private time just ended.”

“I’ll give you your other Christmas present
later,” Daisy replied. When Trey’s grin grew wider, she fake
punched his shoulder. “Not
that
one.”
Although he could count on that too.

“A real one. Wrapped with a bow,” she
said.

He waggled his eyebrows, not letting the
innuendo go, and she had to laugh. She hoped he’d love the
custom-made alligator-and-leather cowboy boots she bought him
almost as much.

He touched a hand to her hair. “I’ve got
something else for you too.”

There was no time to ask what he could
possibly have gotten her beside a diamond engagement ring, because
the front door popped open and the girls came spilling out onto the
porch. “Uncle Trey’s getting married!” they sang. “We told
grandmom!”

“Oh, you did?” Trey pretended to lunge at
them and the girls screamed with delight. Their curiosity about
Daisy brought them closer, and they stared up at her with their big
blue eyes.

Trey touched the top of the taller girl’s
head. “This is Katie.” He turned toward her sister. “And this
little nugget is Camille.”

“I’m older. I’m six,” Katie said. “Camille is
four.”

Daisy shook the girls’ hands in proper
fashion, which brought a fresh round of giggles. The front door
cracked open and a small group of people gathered behind the gap to
peek through. Trey waved them onto the porch and the door opened
wide.

“Come on out and meet my fiancé.”

A good-looking couple, who appeared to be in
their fifties, and an elderly woman about seventy stepped onto the
porch with welcoming smiles. Trey introduced his parents and
grandmother, who hugged Daisy in turn. Brett and Rose joined them
to admire her ring and congratulate them on their engagement. A few
ranch hands Daisy recognized from Breezy Meadows pulled up in a
truck to join the party.

“I was just about to give Daisy her
engagement present,” Trey said to them. He turned to her and
winked. “I was ready, in case you said
yes
.”

He walked off toward the barn.

Moments later, the barn doors opened and Trey
appeared, holding the reins to the most beautiful black
thoroughbred Daisy had seen since Big Blue. A collective gasp of
approval sounded from the small crowd behind her. The mare was
young, maybe two years old, with long legs and blue sunlit patches
that shone across her back in the afternoon light.

Daisy crossed the porch to the stairs and
walked toward the barn to meet them, her heart pounding. Could this
magnificent horse really be a gift?

Trey spoke first. “Meet the newest member of
the Houston Mounted Patrol.”

Daisy reached out to stroke the animal’s
head. “What are you saying?”

Trey handed over the reins. “I’m saying this
is my horse. Her name is Cobalt. She’s reached the age for training
and I promised her to the mounted police with the stipulation she’s
partnered with you. All we need to do is sign the paperwork. If you
agree, and if you want her, she’s yours.”

It took a moment for the weight of his words
to sink in. The dazzling horse she held belonged to her! If the
mare was as clever and bold as her sire, Big Blue, she’d be the
greatest police horse on the face of the earth. Daisy could only
imagine the meaningful work they’d accomplish together.

She looked over at the man she loved but
found she couldn’t speak. There weren’t enough words to describe
Trey’s kindness and care. He obviously wanted her to succeed on the
job with a reliable equine partner like Cobalt. Off duty, he’d
arranged for her to ride Musket, knowing that would make her happy.
Could life with him in these beautiful surroundings and the home
he’d built be better at Christmas…or at any time of year?

She watched the children run toward them and
imagined her own little ones playing in the yard one day. A sense
of rightness swept over her. Tragedy might have brought them
together, but joy had met them on the other side.