A Cowboy Under the Mistletoe (3 page)

No, it wouldn’t. She’d seen the light in his eyes. He was looking forward to the evening as much as she was. They’d clicked from their first conversation on opposite sides of the coffee shop counter. But he’d had a girlfriend then.

For whatever reason, though, Theresa was out of the picture and Theresa’s loss was Whitney’s gain. Timing was everything, and meeting Ty yesterday felt like the hand of Fate. Those thoughts sustained her through most of Thanksgiving Day, but around five, when the touch football game was probably over, she gave in to a fresh wave of homesickness. Ducking into her small office, she pulled out her phone.

Her mom answered immediately. “Finally! I was so afraid you’d be too busy to call. We all miss you so much!”

Whitney swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. “I miss you, too, but it was either Thanksgiving or Christmas. I couldn’t justify leaving on both holidays.”

“I understand. We all do. But I wish you could have heard your young cousins rave about your legendary skill at touch football. You would have felt like a first-draft pick in the NFL.”

“Maybe by next year I’ll have an assistant I can trust to handle Thanksgiving here.”

“Maybe.” Her mother paused. “But honey, if Sheridan is where you’re supposed to end up, that’s not so bad. It’s not like the far side of the moon.”

“It feels a little bit that way right now.”

“I know, but this is your first Thanksgiving away from home. It’ll get easier.”

Whitney chuckled softly. “Are you trying to convince me or you?”

“Probably me. I knew you’d leave a big hole, but it’s a little bigger than I anticipated.”

It was a rare admission of vulnerability and Whitney sucked in a breath. “Aw, Mom, I’m sorry. This seemed like a good idea at the time, but maybe—”

“Don’t you dare consider giving it up, Whitney Lenore! It’s a terrific opportunity, and I’ll adjust. You’ll adjust. We’ll be fine, and stronger for the experience. Buck up, sweetheart. And so will I. Christmas is less than a month away.”

“Yeah, it is. That’s not long.”

“Not long at all. Do you have a tree for your apartment? That’s very important. Yes, you’ll be here for the actual day, but you need your own tree.”

“I do. In fact...” She hesitated. She hadn’t had the best of luck with guys and her mom worried. “Do you remember the lawyer I mentioned, the one who’s on the calendar you saw when you came up here in October?”

“I certainly do! That was a memorable picture.”

“He came into Rangeland Roasters yesterday and asked me out.”

“Oh, my. Are you going?”

“Sort of. I invited him to help me decorate my tree tomorrow night. He’s bringing Chinese.”

“Oh.” The silence on the other end was filled with her mother’s unspoken thoughts. “That calendar picture makes him look...”

“I know, but he’s not really like that. He’s actually very sweet.”

“He doesn’t look sweet.”

In her heart of hearts, Whitney hoped he wasn’t, either. She was ready for the sexual adventure promised by Ty’s rakish expression in the photo. But that wasn’t something she was about to admit to her mother. “Take my word for it. He is. He’s embarrassed by that picture.”

“If you say so. At least you know something of his background. I admire anyone who’s pulled himself up by his bootstraps.”

“And it’s not as if he’s a stranger. He patronized the Cheyenne location for months while I was still there. We talked a lot.”

“But he didn’t ask you out?”

“He was dating someone else.”

More silence. “I’m sure he’s a very nice young man.”

“He is.” Whitney could almost hear her mother’s questions. She wanted to know if Ty changed girlfriends as easily as he changed razor blades. She wanted to know if Ty understood that her daughter was an amazing woman not to be trifled with.

Whitney had no definitive answers for those questions. Her instincts told her that she could trust Ty, but she had no hard evidence to support her belief. And she’d been wrong before. Her mother had been there to pick up the pieces, so she could be forgiven for being suspicious, especially when her precious child was five hours away.

“He’d better treat you well,” her mother said at last, “or he’ll answer to me.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Even at twenty-six, she treasured the protective tone in her mother’s voice. “If he gets out of line, I’ll tell him that.”

“Be sure that you do. And now your cousins are dying to tell you about the disastrous football game. Do you have a few more minutes?”

“You bet.”

“Then I’ll walk into the living room and put you on speaker so everyone can talk. Is that okay?”

“That’s more than okay. And Mom?”

“What, honey?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart.” There was a telltale catch in her mother’s voice. “So here’s the group.”

* * *

W
ITH
NINE
PEOPLE
sitting down for Thanksgiving, Ty’s foster mother, Rosie, had moved the festivities to the rec room. A wooden cover turned the pool table into a dining table. Although the original tablecloth had worn out, she’d used the same red-and-white-checked material for the new one. Tradition was important to Rosie.

She was in her element on a day like this, surrounded by friends and family. She’d had her hair freshly cut and colored its usual blond, although she’d added some sassy red streaks. Herb looked fit and his gaze was clear and untroubled. Ty loved seeing his foster parents happy and relaxed after the drama of almost losing the ranch.

Yet the crisis had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It had brought Cade Gallagher and Damon Harrison, the first two boys Rosie and Herb had fostered, back home. Then Cade had reunited with his high school sweetheart, Lexi Simmons.

Rosie had to be thrilled about that. Lexi was like a daughter to her and Lexi’s parents were dear friends. Judging from the dinner table banter between Cade and the people who could turn out to be his in-laws, Janine and Aaron Simmons had forgiven him for breaking their daughter’s heart five years ago.

Like most of the boys at the ranch, Ty had once had a huge crush on Lexi. Petite and curvy, with wavy brown hair and hazel eyes that sparkled most of the time, she’d been a welcome sight whenever she’d come out to visit, either alone or with her folks. But after she’d hooked up with Cade, all the guys had backed off, especially Damon, who was probably Cade’s best friend in the world.

For years Damon had acted as if he’d never settle down, but now he’d apparently found the perfect partner in Philomena Turner, a feisty redhead. Or rather Rosie had found him the perfect partner. It was obvious to anyone who knew Rosie that she’d deliberately thrown those two together last July. She wanted her boys to find true love and she was always willing to lend a helping hand whether they wanted her to or not.

Ty had been thinking about that. Living in Cheyenne had kept him a safe distance from Rosie’s machinations, but yesterday he’d made a date here in Sheridan right under her nose. He wouldn’t attempt to keep it a secret, either.

Yeah, like he could. Sheridan was a small town and even though Whitney was new here, chances were good that Rosie had met her. Rangeland Roasters must have contributed to the Kickstarter campaign or they wouldn’t have the calendar hanging on the wall.

“Who’s up for some boot scootin’ tomorrow night?” Cade glanced around the table laden with the remains of their feast. “Lexi and I thought we’d check out the new band.”

“I’m game.” Damon pushed back his chair. “That’ll give me twenty-four hours to recover. At the moment I can barely move, let alone do the two-step.” He turned to Phil. “Are you willing to have me steer you around the floor tomorrow night?”

“I’m willing, but you’d better wear your steel-toed boots. I haven’t danced since August and I doubt I’ve improved since then.”

“I can’t remember the last time Rosie and I danced,” Herb said. “How about it, Rosie? Think we can keep up with these kids?”

“Ha.” Rosie grinned. “They’ll have to keep up with us. Janine, you and Aaron should go, too. We’ll show them how it’s done.”

“I claim a dance with Ty.” Lexi smiled at him and ignored Cade’s eye-roll. “I remember how you cleared the floor at prom doing all that fancy stuff with Nancy Bennett.”

“Nancy’s married with a baby on the way.” Rosie looked at Ty and shrugged. “But that’s okay. She was a good dancer but she wasn’t right for you.”

“Then I guess we have a plan.” Cade pushed back his chair, too. “Let’s take care of the dishes and then rack up the balls. I feel a pool tournament coming on.”

“I won’t be able to make it tomorrow night.” Ty figured that would be a conversation stopper, and sure enough, everyone sat back down and turned to stare at him.

Rosie frowned. “Please tell me you’re not driving back to Cheyenne so you can work the rest of the weekend”

“No, I’m not. I... I have a date.”

“Oh.” Rosie’s frown transformed into a smile. “How nice.”

“So bring her,” Cade said.

“Yeah, you should.” Lexi studied him with obvious interest. “Anybody we know?”

“Probably. She’s the manager at Rangeland Roasters.”

“Oh,
Whitney
.” Rosie said her name as if announcing the new Miss America. “What a sweetheart. She’s the one who talked her boss into contributing to our Kickstarter campaign. Now I get it. You probably know her from the Cheyenne location.”

“Yep.”

“Did you date when she was down there?”

“No, but—”

“Doesn’t matter.” Rosie waved a hand in the air. “You’ve reconnected with her, and that’s the important thing. I can see you and Whitney together. Hadn’t thought about it before, but I’ll bet you two will get along like a house afire.”

“I can see that,” Lexi said. “I like Whitney a lot. Very personable.”

“Yeah, she’s great,” Phil added. “Damon and I go in for coffee all the time and she’s always friendly.”

Ty shifted in his chair. “Look, it’s just a date. No big expectations.”

“Does she like to dance?” Damon had been watching the proceedings with a little smile, as if he enjoyed having someone else take the heat for a change.

“I don’t know, but she’s set aside tomorrow night to decorate her tree and she asked if I’d help. I’m bringing Chinese.” He probably shouldn’t have added the last part. Better not to offer extra details.

“Cozy.” Rosie’s blue eyes lit with excitement.

“Casual.” Ty should have lied and said they were going to the movies, except he had no idea what was showing. Besides, no one ever got away with lying to Rosie. She could spot a fib at twenty paces.

“Well, you know where we’ll be,” Lexi said. “If you finish up and want to head over and join us, tell her we’d love that. I think she’d fit right in.”

“She definitely would.” Rosie was beaming. “You should have seen her face light up when I brought in the calendar.”

“Oh,
yeah
.” Cade leaned forward and gave Ty a wicked-ass grin. “I forgot all about that. She’s been staring at your manly chest for months, hasn’t she? Nice job. Way to work it.”

“That—” He caught himself before he said
damn calendar
.
“It had nothing to do with anything.” Which wasn’t quite true. Whitney had looked at him differently yesterday. She’d toned down her reaction after she’d realized he wanted her to let it go, but the calendar had been a factor.

“Leave the poor guy alone,” Lexi said. “He’s been a good sport about his extended run.”

“Good point, Lex.” Cade attempted to look apologetic but it didn’t quite work. “You took one for the team, bro, and we all appreciate it.” Then his grin reappeared. “But you have to admit it’s turning out quite nicely.”

3

W
HITNEY
HAD
GIVEN
herself very little time to get ready, which was just as well. All day she’d been telling herself this date was no big deal. But as she quickly changed out of her uniform into jeans and a white cable-knit sweater, she admitted to being nervous. Her heart raced every time she thought about Ty appearing outside her door.

She’d straightened her small apartment before leaving for work and she’d pulled out the box of tree ornaments. The fragrant Scotch pine she’d bought early this morning was medium-sized, a little over six feet, but that was plenty big enough for her living room. It looked great tucked in the corner.

A futon doubled as a couch because she’d wanted extra sleeping space when her friends or her folks visited. Besides the futon, the living room furniture included two end tables, two lamps and a bookcase that held her TV. Oh, and the rocker from her mother, who believed every home should have one.

Other than that, she owned a small kitchen table and matching chairs, a queen-sized bed and a dresser. Decorating wasn’t her thing and she was grateful that Rangeland Roasters had a template for each holiday. Her boss Ginny shipped the materials and Whitney let her staff go crazy.

The one exception to her lack of interest in decorating was her Christmas tree. Her mom had faithfully bought dated ornaments every year since Whitney and Selena had been born. Selena’s sixteen ornaments were packed away in her parents’ basement, but Whitney had all twenty-seven of hers, including the newest one her mother had mailed last week.

Whitney’s box of decorations included two strands of lights plus the glass icicles and snowflakes she’d added a couple of years ago. She used wired red-and-gold ribbon instead of a garland and was still debating her options for a tree topper. Her parents had a lovely star, but she favored angels. She hadn’t found one she liked, so for now she used a small teddy bear she’d had since she was four.

Five minutes before Ty was due to arrive, she thought about what they’d drink with their Chinese food. A good hostess would have a couple of bottles of wine available, or a six-pack of beer. What if he liked soda? She didn’t have any of that, either. Mostly she had...coffee.

Apparently she’d stumbled into the right profession because she loved coffee—caffeinated, decaffeinated and flavored. She had an espresso machine and a professional-grade blender that could mix up an iced coffee drink that would melt in your mouth.