Merry Cowboy Christmas (10 page)

The old fart was enjoying the company whether he'd admit it or not. Jud settled back into the seat, glad that Truman didn't have hogs to feed or horse stalls to muck out in the cold weather. Hoping that the snow didn't fall any faster—or worse yet, make a reverse and decide to turn into sleet—Jud hoped that he didn't kill Truman with the hike through the mesquite when they got back home.

Truman backed his truck into the barn, stopped right inside the big wide doors, crawled out, and grabbed his hip with a wince. He limped a little as he made his way around the truck to lower the tailgate, but he'd worked the kink out fairly well by the time he picked up a bale. He did fairly well until he reached the truck, where it took two tries before he got the sixty-pound bale onto the tailgate.

“I reckon we'll need about ten bales today,” he huffed.

No wonder Dora June worried about him and wanted to get out of the ranching business. Jud had a bale of hay in his hands and was about to suggest that he do the heavy lifting but the voice inside his head told him that would offend Truman.
He'll take three steps back instead of two forward,
Jud thought as he brought a bale to the back of the truck.

“Hey, Truman, it would go faster if I carried the hay over here and tossed it into the truck bed and you stacked it up so I could get at it easier out there in the field.”

Truman nodded and pulled himself up into the truck bed. Never in his life had Jud wanted to help someone so much, but he held back and let the old guy do it on his own. Then Jud went to work, carrying the rest of the hay.

“First bale ain't so heavy but this tenth one wears on a man,” Jud said.

“You younguns ain't got what it takes to ranch. You got all that fancy machinery and all you got to do is sit in an air-conditioned cab all day,” Truman panted as he stacked the last bale.

“We still make small bales over on the Lucky Penny. I'm kind of lookin' forward to hauling hay next summer,” Jud argued.

“Well, when you're so sore you can't move that first night, you call Dora June and she'll send over some of her liniment, but you'll have to send one of your kin after it because I ain't bringin' it to you,” Truman declared.

“She make a good kind, does she?” Jud rubbed at his arm even though it wasn't a bit sore.

“Everything Dora June makes is good. We going to stand around her jawin' or are we goin' to feed the cattle? And since you are workin' for me this mornin', we do things my way,” Truman said.

“And that is?”

“I like to go down to Katy's store for a cup of hot coffee and a little visitin' with the men folks after chores.”

“You aren't afraid to be seen with a Dawson?”

Truman narrowed his eyes at Jud. “I ain't afraid of nothing but losin' Dora June.”

“Then why do you fuss at her so much?” Jud asked.

“It's our way,” Truman said bluntly.

“Folks might think you are changing your mind about the Dawsons if we go to Katy's store.”

All he got in response was another grunt.

Jud wished he could have taken a picture of Fiona's face when he walked into the store with Truman and headed back to the table where half a dozen old geezers were discussing the weather over their morning coffee.

She raised an eyebrow.

Jud smiled and said, “Two cups of coffee and bring us a dozen of those doughnuts. I'll treat the guys this morning.”

“You got a new runnin' buddy?” Herman Hudson asked.

“Hell no! I ain't about to start runnin' with a Dawson. He needs my help, so he had to work to get it.”

“If I could get him to work for me, I'd pay him whatever he asked,” Herman said.

Fiona set a tray with two cups of coffee and a dozen doughnuts on the table. “Any of y'all need a refill?”

“Not me. I got to get out to the Lucky Penny and do some wood cuttin'. I swear, all that mesquite they've been clearing has been a gold mine to me and mine these past two winters.” Herman picked up a doughnut and shoved it in his mouth, holding it there while he put on his coat. When he finished, he bit off a third of the doughnut and asked Fiona to put his coffee on his bill.

“I'll take care of it all,” Jud said. “It's my first day to sit here with you fellers, so I'll buy it all today.”

“Thank you,” Herman said seriously. “You'd do well to get to know these guys, Truman. They're the hardest workin' crew I've ever seen.”

“When hell freezes over, I might think about it.”

Jud caught Fiona's eye and winked. He could hardly wait until everything settled down that night so he could tell her about the morning.

“So is there anything I can do for you so I could get you to work for me some morning?” Herman asked.

Jud took a sip of his coffee. “Nothing I can think of, but I'll keep it in mind.”

“I'm ready now to show you that I'm not too old to take a hike. Where is it we're goin'?” Truman said abruptly.

“Back behind Audrey's Place,” Jud said. Truman was jealous of Herman and that was something Jud could file away for later use for sure.

“On the Lucky Penny? I said I wouldn't step foot on that place,” Truman declared.

“You goin' back on your word to help me after I did my part?” Jud asked seriously.

“I give my word and I'll do it, but I think you tricked me and I don't like that.”

“You don't have to like it, Truman. I didn't like getting out there in that goat pen or lifting all that heavy hay, but I did it anyway, so we'll be even when we take care of this. Right now I'm going to pay our bill and I'll meet you in the truck.”

Fiona figured up the amount and made change for the twenty-dollar bill Jud laid on the counter. “What is going on?” she whispered.

“I'm melting ice.” He grinned.

“By fighting with him?”

“Can't be too easy on him or he'll figure out what I'm doing. Bring cookies to my room and we'll talk later,” Jud said.

“Deal,” she whispered, and placed the change in his hand.

Truman drove back to the house, parked the truck, and glared at Jud. “It's your party from here. Where do we go?”

“See that clearing over there behind the yard fence?”

“Why's it there?”

“Because Toby wanted to make a path for some reason. I expect he found that old well and wanted to check things out,” Jud answered.

“That where we're going?”

Jud nodded.

“Then let's get on with it. Can't imagine why you'd want to talk about that place. It's as unlucky as the rest of your ranch.” Truman bailed out of the truck, turned up his shirt collar, and pulled his black felt hat down tight on his head. His ears stuck out the sides like Elmer Fudd's. Judd half expected him to start stuttering as he took off at a pace that kept Jud moving right along.

The old coot was trying to prove that he was still twenty years old. If he dropped dead from a heart attack, Dora June would shoot Jud.

“Hey, slow down. It's not that far that you have to run,” Jud yelled.

Truman stopped until Jud caught up. “Younguns! Y'all can't keep up with us old folks in anything. I know exactly where we're going,” he panted. “There's an old well back here and it ain't good for nothing. Never was. Just another thing that went wrong on the Lucky Penny. What do you want me to tell you about it? That it produces water. Well, it don't.”

Jud led the way back to the clearing where the well sat over in the far corner. He removed the board and looked down into the blackness. “Why doesn't it have water in it? Why drill a well if you haven't done your homework and know there's a water table down there that's got good water?”

“Because the folks that live on this ranch ain't got sense. It was back before I was born when they sunk this well. My daddy told me the story about it. The folks had notions of building a house here for some of their kin. A grandma or a mother-in-law. I don't remember that part. I remember wondering why in the devil they'd want a house this close to that old brothel, though.”

“Why did they stop drilling or digging or whatever they were doing?” Jud asked.

Truman cut his eyes around at Jud. “Why are you so interested in this old well?”

“It's part of the Lucky Penny history and I want to know all I can about the ranch.”

“My dad said they hit rock. Limestone about forty feet down and plumb give up. They should've filled it in but I guess the next owners used it to hoodwink their buyers into thinking there was water over on this part. Ain't never been water in that thing, so if you're planning on irrigatin' with it or pumpin' water out for your cattle, you're shit out of luck.”

“Some days you get good news; some days you get bad news. Thanks, Truman, for telling me about it,” Jud said. “I'm going on over to relieve Blake from the bulldozer now. You want to come help us mow down mesquite? I'll let you drive my equipment. I'm not stubborn and mean like you.”

“Hell no! I ain't helpin' y'all do a blessed thing and I'm moving out of that old brothel soon as the damned insurance settles and Dora June and I decide whether to build or buy a house,” he said.

F
iona hummed Christmas carols all day long as she waited on customers at the store and worked on the accounting in the back room. It had been years since she'd been home on the evening they decorated the tree, and her spirits were high, even when she had to enter miles and miles of numbers into the computer.

At noon, Katy went up to Nadine's and brought back a couple of big juicy burgers and they had lunch together at the yellow table. “You are in one fine mood today,” Katy said.

“I can't wait to decorate the tree, and Dora June said she was making cookies.” Fiona bit into the burger and groaned. “I love good burgers. This is amazing. Nadine should have put in a café years ago.”

“She's doing a good business. Speaking of businesses—do you remember my friends Trudy and Janie?”

“Those are the women you went to supper with the other night, right?”

“Yes,” Katy said. “They're both retired and they're going to Florida for three months. They asked me to go with them. They've rented a condo right on the beach where a bunch of retired folks go for the winter. Trudy has done this for years but it's Janie's first time to go with her.”

“And?” Fiona held her breath.

Katy laughed. “Don't panic. I told them no. I can't be away from Audrey for three months or your grandmother, either.”

“But you could be away for a week or maybe even two. Are they flying?”

“No, they're driving in Trudy's van,” Katy answered.

“You want to go, don't you?”

“I haven't been away like that in…” Katy paused.

“Did you even have a honeymoon when you and Daddy married?” Fiona could never remember a time that her mother had been out of Dry Creek for more than a day.

“We went to Dallas for the weekend but he had to be back on the job Monday morning and I was helping Mama run this store so…” Katy shrugged.

Fiona shoved some paperwork to the side and reached across the table to lay a hand on her mother's. “Go with them. Stay a week or two and then fly home. You can be back in plenty of time for Christmas, and I'll see to it that Audrey gets lots of love and I'll check on Granny every Sunday afternoon that you are gone.”

“But…”

Fiona gently squeezed Katy's hand. “You told us girls no buts, so I'm sayin' the same thing to you. I can hold down this place for a couple of weeks. Getting away will do you a world of good. When are they leaving?”

“Tomorrow,” Katy sighed.

“Perfect. The tree will be up. Granny can spend the evening with us, so you'll get to have that time with her and then you can leave in the morning. That's only two Sundays and I'll visit her both of them, I promise, and take care of anything that comes up with her. You're only a phone call away and if something drastic happens, you can be home in a few hours. Planes go from there to Dallas every day.”

“You should have been a lawyer rather than an accountant. You present a strong case.” Katy smiled.

“Then you'll do it?”

“I'll think about it.”

“Fair enough,” Fiona said.

Fiona was not one bit disappointed when she and Katy came home that evening. The lights coming from the windows of Audrey's Place cast a yellow glow on the falling snow, creating a picture fit for a Christmas card. The warm house smelled like pine and sugar cookies mixed in with something chocolate and was that chicken? A blaze crackled in the fireplace and Christmas carols were playing. Fiona removed her coat, hat, and gloves and took it all in like a thirsty person who'd just crossed the desert with no water.

“Well, let's get started decorating the tree?” Irene started to unbutton her coat.

“I'll help you.” Fiona hurried to her grandmother's side.

“Bein' forgetful is a bitch, but it don't make me helpless.” Irene pushed Fiona's hand away. “I'm hungry. I hope there's Christmas cookies with icing on them in the kitchen.”

“I bet there is.” Fiona stood back and let Irene hang up her own coat.

The whole family was there to help put up the decorations and supper was laid out buffet style on the dining room table. Chicken salad sandwiches, chips, three kinds of dip, and all kinds of cookies and finger foods. Dora June was bustling around like she did at a church supper, playing with Audrey one minute and fussing about no one eating enough the next.

“What in the devil are you doing here, Dora June?” Irene asked as she removed her coat and hat. She handed them to Fiona and went straight for the table, where she picked up a cookie. “Did you make these?”

“I'm staying here for a while,” Dora June answered. “My house burned down and Katy is letting us stay with her. And, yes, I did make the cookies.”

“You ain't lost your touch.” Irene picked up a second one. “Allie, you need to take that baby into the living room. She won't remember today when she's old as I am but we will remember the look on her little face when the tree is lit up.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Allie crossed the room and hugged Irene. “How was your ride down here tonight? Were the roads clear?”

“They were. According to the weather report, the snow stops just north of us and is going to the east,” Katy answered.

“Hey, y'all, I hear there's a tree decoratin' goin' on tonight.” Deke swept into the house through the kitchen door, hung up his coat and hat, and grabbed two sandwiches on his way to the living room. “Granny! I didn't know you were going to be here.”

“I'm always here when it's time to decorate,” Irene said.

“It's a Christmas miracle,” Dora June whispered to Fiona. “She's good tonight.”

“I know.” Fiona nodded.

For someone who had put up such a fuss about Allie and Lizzy marrying those two Dawson brothers, Dora June sure was acting like a loving grandmother that night. Maybe since she'd figured out she couldn't lick them, she'd join them as the old saying went. Truman was nowhere to be seen, but then Fiona didn't expect him to come out of his cave and be civil.

“We've been waiting for y'all to get home,” Lizzy said. “The guys brought down all the Christmas decorations, and we're ready to start putting up the tree. The outside will have to wait until the weekend. We can't get the lights up out there in this blinding snow.”

Fiona picked up a sandwich and ate it on the way to the living room. “Holy smoke, Allie! There's enough stuff in here to decorate half the state of Texas.”

“Ain't it wonderful.” Dora June almost swooned. “This is the most exciting day I've had in as long as I can remember. Give me that baby and let me sit in the rocker and just watch. Come and sit beside me, Irene, and we'll talk about old times.”

Irene stacked three more cookies in her hand and followed Dora June to the living room, sat down on the end of the sofa, and asked Dora June to tell her about the fire.

Allie put Audrey in Dora June's lap. “When it comes to putting on the ornaments, you have to help.”

Fiona sat down on the other end of the sofa and watched the guys put together the eight-foot artificial tree. Thank goodness they built houses with high ceilings in the early part of the previous century.

“I can't believe Allie and Lizzy are nice to me. I've been so nervous about this all day that I almost spent the evening in the bedroom with Truman, but I want to watch the Christmas decorations going up and I do love holding a baby. This is my favorite season of the whole year,” Dora June whispered behind her hand to Fiona.

“Us Logans don't carry grudges…not for very long,” Fiona said softly. “Besides, it's Christmas and miracles happen at this time of year.”

“Thank you, Lord.” Dora June looked toward the ceiling.

“I love Christmas,” Irene said.

“You think if I invited Truman to join us it might help?” Fiona asked.

Dora June shook her head. “If he comes out of the room, it has to be his decision. He didn't help with decorations, but he did sit in his recliner and eat cookies the day that I put the tree up. He's not much of a shopper, but he does pick out a card every year and he puts a hundred-dollar bill in it for me to spend on whatever I want. He might have been different if we'd had kids, but the mumps fixed Truman right before we married.”

“I'm sorry. You would have made a good mama and grandma,” Fiona said.

“I wanted a family but we've done all right except for the Christmas thing. Maybe it was because he had the mumps at Christmas and that soured him on the holiday. But I love it and I've had my tree and my decorations every year. I'm glad y'all are putting up one here since mine burned,” Dora June said sadly.

“Fiona, Jud needs help getting the lights on the tree,” Katy said. “I do believe y'all will have to wait until the weekend to get the outside stuff up and running. That wind is getting fierce out there.”

Fiona whipped around to lock gazes with her mother. “You've decided to go?”

“I have. I called Trudy while you were tidying up your paperwork and told her to pick me up in the morning,” Katy answered. “And thank you.”

“Go where?” Allie asked.

Fiona draped an arm around her mother's shoulders. “She is going on a two-week vacation to Florida with her friends.”

“I can…”

“We will…”

Jud and Dora June both spoke at once and then stopped.

“Nothing needs to change. The only difference in the routine is that I won't be here,” Katy said. “Now let's get started on this tree. Fiona, you help Jud. Lizzy, you and Allie unpack the other boxes of decorations.”

“Are you sure?” Dora June asked.

“Absolutely. You'll need to keep an eye on these two kids I'm leaving in your care.” Katy grinned. “And you two kids will have to keep a watch out for Dora June and Truman. Don't let them work too hard.”

“Well, I think it's a great idea for you to get away for a little while—long as you don't decide to stay down there,” Allie said.

“Me too. I'd sure want you here for Christmas,” Lizzy chimed in.

“The timing is perfect.” Fiona started clipping lights to the tree. “Mama can have the fun of the trip and be home a few days before the holiday. Don't go so fast, Jud. This part takes time and patience.”

“Oh, honey,” Jud whispered for Fiona's ears only, “I can go fast or I can have patience, depending on whatever you want.”

“Hush.” She blushed.

“Dora June can hold Audrey while we do all this,” Allie said.

“No, that's my job since I won't see her for a couple of weeks.” Katy took the baby from Dora June and sat down on the sofa with her. “We are going to watch this whole process together. Dora June, darlin', will you unpack the ornaments and line them up on the coffee table so that they'll be ready when the time comes?”

Dora June clapped her hands. “I love looking at the pretty ornaments and it's a special year when me and Irene can put them on the tree together.”

When she turned around to pick up the box that had been marked
ORNAMENTS
, Fiona noticed that she wiped a tear from her eyes.

Fiona felt a sting of sadness for Dora June. She'd never had a big family around her as she decorated her tree. Even with Truman sitting in the background enjoying her cookies, it had to be lonely. Then another shot filled her heart as she watched Irene struggling to hold on to everything she held dear. Two old ladies: one with family that she didn't even know some of the time, the other who wished she had family.

Lizzy bumped Fiona on the shoulder. “Time to get busy if we're going to get this done tonight.”

“What are you and Allie going to do while I'm doing the hard work?” Fiona asked.

“We're unpacking the boxes with the stuff in them like Mama said.”

“Mama lets me help with the ornaments,” Irene said.

“You can help tonight,” Katy told her. “You and Dora June can do that job together.”

“I think I'm supposed to be mad at Dora June but I can't remember why,” Irene whispered.

“Y'all aren't mad at each other anymore.” Katy patted her on the shoulder. “The miniature nativity scene goes on the mantel and the collection of snowmen goes on the top of the bookcase and the secretary and wherever you can find a place,” Katy said. “This is the last year we'll put them on the end tables. Next year Audrey will be walking and she might hurt herself if she knocked one off and broke it.”

“And the snow globes?” Lizzy asked.

“Exactly in all the traditional places this year. We may have to rethink things next year since Audrey will be walking by then,” Irene answered.

“Have the lights been tested?” Fiona asked before she clipped another one to the branches. “This tree is artificial but I swear I smell pine.”

“I lit a pine-scented candle,” Dora June said. “And thank you, Katy for letting us continue to stay here while you are gone.”

Fiona's hand brushed against Jud's bare arm and the electricity was nothing short of pure static. How no one else saw it was a complete mystery.

“To answer your question about the lights, Fiona, the guys and I did that before you got home,” Jud answered.

Tradition: that's what her mother said years ago when she asked why they still used the ancient lights on their tree when everyone else had gone to the flashing twinkle lights.

He stopped and she took another step, her whole body plastering against his, sending little spurts of heat from her toes to the ends of every red hair.

“Where does a person even buy the bulbs for these antiques anymore?” she murmured breathlessly as she took a step back.

“Anywhere,” Jud answered. “They sell every color imaginable for night-lights now. Same size as these are. My grandparents still use this kind. I saw a place online last week that's selling strands of these again and I plan to buy some when I have my own home and Christmas tree.”