A Cowboy's Christmas Promise (15 page)

“Guess what? I made you guys something!” She dug in her carry-on and came out with a little container of chocolate chip cookies.

“Yum!” Gracie and Bryn chorused.

“
You
made these?” Daniel's eyebrows went upward as she opened the container and handed one to each of the girls.

“I was completely supervised.”

“Okay, then. I'll try one.” He grinned as he plucked one out. “Girls? Did you have something you wanted to give Hayley?”

They stuffed the cookies into their mouths and reached into a bag Gracie was carrying strapped over her shoulder. Bryn pulled an obviously kid-wrapped package out of the bag and handed it shyly to Hayley while Gracie fished through the stuffed animals crammed into the bag, finally pulling out an almost-identical present.

“We made these for you,” Bryn said as Hayley crouched down in front of her to open the gifts.

“You made me something? I'm so excited!” Hayley weighed both packages in her hand, trying to guess what was in them. “Don't tell me one of these is a baby elephant. They'll never let me on the plane.”

“No.” Bryn giggled.

“A goldfish?”

“Nope. We
made
it, we said.” Gracie jumped up and down. “Open them!”

Hayley slid her fingers under the seventeen layers of tape on each package, trying to open them at the same time. When she was finally able to slide out the contents, she gasped in surprise. The girls had taken pink headbands and what must have been an entire bucket of glue, and had attached little plastic jewels all over the bands. The result was two super-sparkly, super-sticky headbands.

“You guys! These are
awesome
!” She turned them over and over, watching the light sparkle against the plastic gems.

Bryn leaned closer. “We wanted to buy you a new sparkly headband, but Daddy thought you would like homemade ones better.”

Hayley looked up at Daniel, and couldn't miss the warmth in his eyes as he watched his girls crowd close to her. “Well, your daddy was just right about that. I will treasure these forever.”

Trying not to think about just how much shampoo it was going to take later tonight in Boston to get the glue out of her hair—not to mention getting the headbands themselves out—Hayley slid them both onto her head, then stood up and struck a model's pose.

“Well? What do you think?”

Daniel's eyes went wide. “Oh, God. You didn't just—seriously, you didn't have to put those—oh, boy.”

Gracie nodded happily. “They're pretty!”

“Sparkly!” Bryn added.

“I can't believe you just put those on your head.” Daniel winced.

“As long as it's not the permanent glue, we're okay.” She reached into her bag. “Girls, guess what? I have something for you, as well.” She'd been planning to send them once she was home, but this was better. Much better.

She pulled two packages out of her bag and handed them to the girls, who squealed as they made quick work of the wrapping paper and ribbons. Gracie ripped through hers first, squealing when she saw the stuffed momma dog and pups in her package. Bryn matched her volume when her package revealed a stuffed cat and kittens.

As the girls hugged Hayley tightly, she had to fight a prickling feeling behind her eyes. She leaned down so Daniel couldn't see, kissing Bryn and Gracie on top of their heads and trying to blink back the tears that threatened.

“I'm gonna miss you two monkeys. Thanks for being in the wedding with me.”

Gracie scrunched up her face. “You should come back.”

“Yes!” Bryn nodded fiercely. “Daddy, she should come back, right?”

Daniel's eyes met hers for a long moment, and then he gathered the girls back to him. “Hayley has a job in Boston, girls. She has to go back and help the animals back there now, just like I have to help the ones here.”

“But she can come visit, right?” Bryn's eyes were watery. “Like this time?”

Hayley smiled. “I would love to come back sometime. Maybe next summer I can take some time off again and come back to see you guys.”

Gracie frowned. “That's too long. Kyla said you should come here at Christmas. Christmas is awesome.”

“Hey, girls.” Daniel tapped them both on the head and motioned toward the window just a few feet away. “I think if you look out there, you'll be able to see some planes. See if you can find Hayley's.”

The girls' eyes brightened as they turned around and headed for the window. Daniel turned to Hayley, keeping one eye on the girls. “Sorry about that. Promise I didn't pay them to pressure you.”

“Don't apologize. It's sweet.”

“Montana
is
nice at Christmastime. They were right about that.”

“I'm sure it is.” Hayley fingered her bag nervously, knowing she needed to get into the security line if she was going to get to her gate in time. She was practically ripping her own palms to shreds with her fingernails, trying hard not to put her arms around Daniel.

“I should—I guess I should really get going here.”

You know, before you say something I don't want to hear.

Time to call in distraction reinforcements. She turned to Bryn and Gracie. “Hey, girls! Can I have one last hug? I have to get in line now.”

The girls flew over to her and wrapped their little arms around her shoulders as she crouched down. She pulled away, then tapped both of them on their noses, making them giggle.

“Now you two be good, okay? Take care of your stuffies, and always eat your vegetables.” She winked.

“You mean always eat our fruit snacks!” Gracie crowed.

“Shh! That's our little secret.”

Hayley stood back up, but before she could decide whether to risk giving Daniel a hug as well, he'd pulled her firmly into his arms. She told herself it was just a friendly airport good-bye hug, but as she gave herself an extra couple of seconds to inhale the spicy, warm scent that was all Daniel,
friendly
wasn't the primary emotion she was feeling.

He pulled back, hands on her upper arms.

“Travel safe, okay? We'll miss you around here.”

She nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak—and seeming to sense that, he pulled her back to his body, squeezing tightly. She let herself lean on him, hating the feeling of weakness that made her want to stay right there, nestled into him.

And then he spoke, and the sound of his voice in her ear, the feel of his warm breath on spots he'd kissed only a week ago, just about sent her to her knees.

“Come back for Christmas, Hayls,” he murmured into her ear. “Come back.”

“You want to turn your dog purple?” Hayley felt her eyebrows practically hit her hairline. “May I ask why?”

Mrs. Winger tsk-tsked. “Why, it's all the rage. Haven't you seen
Doggie Styling 101
?”

“I'm sorry, no. I don't even know what that is.”

“It's a show. Mondays at two o'clock on—oh, gosh. I can't remember the channel right now. I have it DVR'd. But anyway, they do all the latest styles.”

“I'm not sure I'm big on the poodle industry
having
styles.”

“So can you do it?”

“Can
I
do it? Turn your dog purple?”

Mrs. Winger nodded. “Yes. I want to be responsible about it and do it safely. Only organic dyes and all.”

“I, umm, I don't carry dyes here, to be honest. Organic or otherwise.”

“Well, you really should. But only the organic ones. They're so much easier on the coat than those other kind.” She shivered dramatically. “Have you seen
Animal Primping Disasters
?”

“No. That one, neither.”

Hayley sighed, trying not to think back to a scene three weeks ago when she'd been sitting in a pile of straw with a newborn foal in her arms.

Just then, there was a knock at the exam room door, so Hayley excused herself into the back hallway. Dixie pointed her toward her office.

“You have a call on line three.”

“It better be about the lab supplies.” She indicated the door she'd just come through. “Any chance you could finish up with her?”

“Nope. She's all yours.”

“I need a new assis—”

“I know. We can talk about that later. Go do battle with the lab first.”

Hayley headed to her office and sat in her rolling chair, taking a deep breath. She hated battle. She picked up the phone and tucked it to her shoulder while she shuffled some paperwork that had piled up on her desk.

“Kit-n-Kapoodle. This is Doctor Scampini.”

There was a pause at the other end, and then a chuckle that made her throat go suddenly dry.

“How do you say that without laughing?”

Daniel.

She stopped shuffling. “Umm, two years of practice?”

He laughed again. “I don't think that would be long enough for me.”

“It grew on me. Plus, I had no choice.” She paused, feeling her pulse trip in her throat. “So. Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I didn't know you had my work number.”

“Wonders of the Internet. Oddly enough, there aren't a lot of Kit-n-Kapoodles to sort through.”

“Points for originality, right?”

“Definitely. So, I'm actually calling in an official capacity here.”

“Okay? Need me to help deliver another foal?”

“I wish. No. Believe it or not, I've got a Himalayan out here who found his way into a barn, and he's got some serious skin erosion going on. Thought I'd call someone who actually knows how to treat these kinds of beasts and see if you have any ideas.”

Hayley smiled softly. Daniel was perfectly capable of looking up anything he needed to know about Himalayans with skin issues. Had he used the cat as an excuse to call her?

“And before you think this is just an excuse to call you, my Internet connection is down, so I can't research it properly.”

“Oh. But I thought you looked up my num—”

“Skin erosion,” he interrupted. “Tell me what you know.”

For the next fifteen minutes, they discussed the cat, Daniel asking questions and Hayley giving the best answers she could come up with, short of flying out to examine the feline herself. Finally, he admitted confidence in his ability to handle its treatment, while at the same time seeming boggled by all Hayley had told him to watch for.

He chuckled, and Hayley's stomach warmed at the sound. “Y'know, for a critter so small, he sure does have a lot of issues.”

She smiled as she sat back in her chair. “This is why my appointment slots are always full. The tinier they are, the more they break down.”

“Well, your practice might be more lucrative, but mine is more fun.”

“This is not something I would ever argue.” She sighed. “While you were probably doing something useful and intelligent this morning, I was trying to talk someone out of dyeing her poodle purple.”

He laughed out loud. “Please, no.”

“Oh, yes. Your call was a very welcome diversion. Thank you.”

“You're very welcome.” There was a pregnant pause, and to Hayley it felt like neither of them wanted to hang up, but both of them were too awkward to say so.

“Well,” he finally said. “I'm sure you have a waiting room full of freakishly small animals. I should let you go.”

“Do you have to?” Hayley winced as the words came out before she could stop them. “I mean—never mind.”

“Is there a very scary Chihuahua waiting in exam room three?”

Hayley laughed. “Something like that. Poppy the Pomeranian. He has shark teeth, and it's shot day.”

“I'm so sorry. Good luck with that.”

Hayley heard a whinny in the background, and part of her felt suddenly sad that she was here instead of still out in Montana where the air was fresh, the sky was crazy blue, and the animals were the size of normal.

“Sounds like your patient is getting
im
patient.”

“Yeah, I guess that's my cue. But thanks so much for your help. I owe you one.”

“Perfect. If a cow wanders in, you'll be first on my call list.”

“Take care, Hayls.”

“You, too. Say hi to the girls for me, okay?”

“I know it's going to sound like I'm making yet another excuse to call you, but you know that cat I talked to you about a few weeks back? He won't eat, and I need an expert.” Daniel's voice came over Hayley's phone just as she sat down to watch
Nashville's Next Idol.
She'd just shut her window against the chill of the mid-October night, and was enjoying the relative peace of her apartment without the car horns and blaring bass from the street below.

“Did you adopt him?”

“No. This is definitely a temporary, foster care situation. I am not a show cat guy.”

She smiled as she clicked mute, trying not to notice that her pulse was tripping along faster than a hummingbird's.

“How long since he last ate?”

“This morning.”

“Um, if he ate this morning, why are you worried?”

“Because he's been eating like a, well, horse since I found him, but the last day or so, he really hasn't been eating nearly as much.”

“Is he eating what would be considered a normal amount for a cat his size?”

“Huh. I guess so, now that I think about it.”

Hayley bit her lip, picturing a raggedy little Himalayan training his new owner. “It could be that he's just realizing he's not actually starving anymore. Feeling secure, maybe. Do you have him in the house with you?”

“Yes.” Daniel sighed. “I tried the mudroom, but he made like a monkey and found his way over our homemade barricade. Living rooms are more his style.”

“The girls must love him.”

“Not as much as he loves them. He rotates between their beds all night long, when I don't find him curled around my head.”

Hayley laughed, picturing the cat flopped on Daniel's pillow. “Sounds like true love to me.”

“Sounds like I'm the biggest sucker in the West, actually. We were not going to have a cat.”

“Guess the cat knows a softie when he sees one.”

“Bite your tongue.”

“It was a compliment.”

“Thank you. I think. At least the girls have stopped asking for a dog. He's enough of a novelty to entertain them right now.”

Hayley smiled. “And just think. You can practice your small-animal skills on him so you don't become a one-trick pony, y'know?”

“That. Was. Terrible.”

“I know. I didn't even know it was coming out until—there it was.”

“So,” he paused, and again Hayley had the distinct feeling he wasn't anxious to hang up. “What exciting things are you up to in the big city tonight?”

“Well,” Hayley looked around her tiny living room. “I thought I'd start with a bowl of fresh microwave popcorn, and then watch my favorite show.”

“That Nashville one? I, uh, I actually watched it last week.”

He had? For her?

“And? What did you think?”

“Have you ever noticed the color scheme?”

“Um, no.”

“It's really—green. And yellow. Is John Deere their corporate sponsor?”

“Are you insulting my show?”

“Just the color scheme.”

“Maybe if you watch it again, you'll notice something besides the colors.”

“Ha. We'll see.” He was silent for a long moment. “So, I have to ask. Do you miss it out here?”

Hayley stood up and looked out her dusty window to the street four stories below. It was nine o'clock at night, but a steady stream of traffic still plowed to and from downtown Boston. Horns sounded, mixed with the clatter of bikes and skateboards on the sidewalk. Voices called out, and a thrumming bass beat still filled the air from a car that was two blocks down the street now.

“Well, here,” she said as she pushed up the window. “Listen to what it sounds like in
my
world right now.” Yeah, she was avoiding the question, but it wasn't an easy one to answer just now. She held the phone against the screen, wincing when a cab blared its horn, then screeched to a stop just below her. She put it back to her ear, bracing for what Daniel was going to probably say.

“Do you live
on
the expressway? Or
under
it?”

“Neither.” Hayley laughed. “That's just my street, and I'm four stories up.”

“Okay, want to hear what it sounds like outside
my
house?”

“No. I'll be homesick, and that's not even my home.”

She heard him shuffle. “Come with me out to the porch.”

She heard the screen door squeak open and closed, and then a peaceful mix of tree frogs and crickets and birds.

“No fair,” she said. “You have a cruel streak, you know.”

“Shh.” His voice was low, husky. “Just listen. Picture it.”

Feeling only a little bit ridiculous, Hayley closed her eyes and tried to take herself back to Montana; pictured sitting on her little cabin porch listening to the horses settling down in the stable, to the birds calling their goodnights from their treetop nests, to the crickets warming up in the meadows surrounding the main lodge.

She sighed dreamily without meaning to, and with a startle, she realized he'd probably heard her.

“See? It's like your own personal spa phone. Admit it.”

“Maybe I find blaring rap music and random car horns incredibly relaxing.”

Daniel chuckled. “All right. And I've taken you away from your show for long enough.” He paused. “It's good to talk with you, Hayls.”

“You, too. Say hi to the gals for me, okay?”

“I will. I should probably warn you that they're still angling to get you back out here for Christmas.”

“Oh, boy.”

“They're trying to get Kyla and Decker in on the scheme, too, so beware any suspicious holiday invitations from Whisper Creek.”

“Thank you for the warning. Kyla's been talking about it since she got back from her honeymoon.”

“Well…if the tiny critters of Boston could survive for a week without you, you
could
always come visit over the holidays. And y'know, Cole would love it if you convinced Jess to come along, too.”

“Oh, really?”

“Man-code prohibits me from divulging anything further.”

“But bring Jess?”

“Totally bring Jess.”

Hayley grinned, looking out the window and picturing waving green grass, endless sky, and warm breezes instead of grimy cement, gray sky, and someone's haddock dinner downstairs.

“I'll think about it,” she finally said.