Texas Christmas Bride: The Gallaghers of Sweetgrass Springs Book 6 (14 page)

“One cookie recipe, I remind you,” Penny said, holding up an imperious finger. “One. You can count, right?”

“They only taught about butter and crap in Paris, Sissy,” Rissa snickered. “City Girl doesn’t do numbers.”

Scarlett glared at her. Ian grinned and nodded his thanks. Rissa snickered. “You’ll get your turn. For right now, sit down or we’ll send you home.”

“It’s Cookie Day,” Scarlett pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m a Gallagher, just like you.”

“We’re all Gallaghers today, Cousin Scarlett,” chimed Eric. “But in school they tell us it’s important to be polite and wait our turn. Right, Mom?”

Rissa grinned proudly and gave her son a thumbs-up.

Mackey clapped him on the shoulder. “Good one, son.”

The door opened, and in trooped Jackson, Veronica and the girls.

“Good morning. Where’s Ben?” Penny asked.

“Outside with Bridger,” Jackson responded, “Learning Barbecue 101. They’re practicing for the Community Christmas.”

“I was thinking cookies for lunch,” Scarlett protested.

“You have a baby to grow. Can’t do that on cookies,” Ian reminded her.

“I know that. I ate.”

“Not enough.” He crouched before her, clearly worried. “Anything I can bring you to help out?”

“Coffee,” she whimpered.

“So sorry. Seriously. I’ll get you some decaf.”

“Not the same…” She sighed dramatically. “Thank you,” she said to him, stroking his face. “For putting up with me, taking care of me. Not strangling me in my sleep.”

Ian rose on his knees and pulled her toward him. “No problem. It’s this love thing. Can’t help myself.”

She dropped her head to his shoulder and whimpered. “I want this baby so much, but dang…”

Ian’s face split in a wide grin. He winked over her shoulder at Rissa. “She said
dang
. She’s a real Texan now. I won’t have to teach our baby two languages.”

As the group chuckled, he gathered her in and rocked side to side. She burrowed closer. “Sure you’re okay being here? I could take you home. Put you back to bed.”

“Will you come with me?” she spoke into his neck. And wriggled against his body.

His eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. “Well, now.” A grin as wide as the horizon. “Penny, I think I’d better—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…it’s Cookie Day. You can do that anytime.”

Half the heads in the room whipped in her direction.

Bridger had just walked in, and faces turned in his direction. “What?” he asked.

“Dude, this is not a good sign. Your woman thinks there’s something more important than s—oof!” Mackey took an elbow in the belly from Rissa. She pointed to the kids in the room.

“Than what, Uncle Mackey?” asked Abby.

“Than, uh…”

“Than sarsaparilla. Or sopapillas, maybe,” contributed Arnie. “I’m old, so I don’t hear real well. What kind of cookies are you making, Miss Abby?”

The kids switched gears on a dime as they took turns calling out the cookie recipe they intended to make.

It was going to be a long day, Penny thought.

A deep voice spoke behind her as a kiss landed on her nape. “Did I do such a poor job this morning you’ve forgotten already?”

She grinned over her shoulder at Bridger, surprised to discover she could still blush. “That thing you did?” She kept her voice soft. “With the bath gel?” She fanned herself a little. “Not hardly. I only meant—”

Her mouth was seized in a hot, hard kiss that softened to sweetness. She turned in his arms, ignoring the jeers and cheers coming from behind them.

And she felt once more the sting of what she was denying him.

She wasn’t sure what she was waiting for. There was no question she wanted this man for the rest of her life. She couldn’t imagine loving anyone more.

“Uh-oh. I really am falling down on the job if you can still think while I’m kissing you.”

“You don’t know what I’m thinking,” she protested.

“What? No. But that you are? Oh, yeah.” He drew back. “You okay?”

She didn’t know what to do with her confusion, but she was not marring this day he’d been looking forward to as much as the kids. She cradled his strong jaws in her hands. “How could I not be, looking at this face?” She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the love she felt for this remarkable, generous man who was so much better at love than she feared she would ever be.

He picked her up and began walking toward the door.

She laughed against his lips. “Bridger, stop that!”

Around them fond laughter arose.

She smacked his shoulder. “Put me down. I’m working.”

“Break time,” he said. “Carry on, people. She’ll be back.”

And he carted her outside as, once out of the view of the children, she hitched her legs around his waist.

Back inside, Jackson drew Veronica into his side while Mackey wrapped his arms around Rissa’s waist. Ian picked Scarlett up and replaced her in the chair, holding her on his lap.

Click-clack click-clack.

A growl rose from Rissa’s throat. Scarlett groaned.

“Hey, Hayley,” greeted Mackey. “You here to make cookies?”

A few minutes later, Penny returned without Bridger, her color high, her hair in disarray. When everyone looked at her, she merely lifted a smug eyebrow.

Then she spotted the newcomer. “Fab shoes, Hayley.”

The little blonde preened. Then her gaze dropped to Penny’s feet. “Yours, too—oh.”

Penny looked down and realized just how far she’d gone native.

“You should see my red cowboy hat to match.” She turned to go to her former station.

Ben stepped in her path. “Aunt Penny?”

“Hey, Ben. Great to have you here.”

“As if I could miss.” But he didn’t seem too worked up over it. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Not here.” His voice was barely a whisper.

“Oh. Sure.” She thought for a second, then spoke louder. “Ben and I are going to see if Aunt Ruby needs anything.”

Once outside, she walked the long way around the courthouse. “What can I help you with?”

“Is it too late?”

“For what?”

“For Mom to marry Pops for Christmas.”

She studied him. “Does that mean you’re okay with it?”

“I was always okay with my parents getting married.” He shrugged. “A blind man could see how much they love each other. It was just—”

“The adoption thing.”

“Yeah.” He paused. “I mean, I know it was stupid, since I’m his real son, but—”

“But David was your father. He raised you.”

“Yeah. And it seems kinda disloyal to ditch his name.”

“Do you have to?”

“That’s what I was wondering. What if I just added Gallagher, and Butler stayed in my name, just not my last name?”

“Hey, you could be like royalty. They have a whole string of names. That’s what you mean? Keep your full Benjamin Edward Butler and add Gallagher?”

“That’s lame, right? I should ditch my middle name, but it’s my, well, Edward Butler wasn’t my real great-grandfather, but—”

“David’s grandfather was a kind man. Names are important, and yours should feel right to you. That’s your choice to make, and I know your folks would agree. You just need to talk it over with them, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, but…”

“But what?”

“Wouldn’t it be kind of a cool surprise for Pops? If he got his Christmas wish after all?”

“Is that what you’re asking? If we can pull off this wedding in time, only without your dad knowing?”

“Never mind. It’s too much. I shouldn’t—”

Penny laughed from deep in her chest, a laugh of pure delight. “I think it’s an awesome idea. And hey, a family tradition, surprise weddings, right?”

Ben grinned.

“But surprising your mom is a whole different level of issues.”

“I was going to talk to her because I know wedding junk is important to women. I just didn’t want to say anything if pulling this off was asking too much of everyone.”

“It’s a lot,” Penny admitted. “I won’t lie to you.”

“Then never mind. I know I screwed all this up. I should have—”

She placed a hand on his arm. “I’m not saying it can’t be done.” A smile spread. “This town adores your mom, and everyone is really happy Jackson’s back. He’s doing so much for everyone. We will get this done.” How, she wasn’t sure, but regardless, she was already making lists in her head.

“Really?”

“Really. You and I, young Jedi, are going to make this thing happen.” She stuck out a palm.

He high-fived it. “You’re the best, Aunt Penny.”

“I really am,” she said.

Over the next several days, Sweetgrass hummed with activity.

Construction proceeded on the two buildings on the square that Jackson had chosen for his Texas headquarters. He’d decided not to try to hold his company Christmas event in Sweetgrass this first year and chosen instead to bring a select few employees to town for the community Christmas. Thus he didn’t need as much housing in a hurry, but he wanted to have some enticing workspace for them to view when they got to town.

For their lodging, he’d asked locals to consider taking in a person or two, so that the employees—all of whom had no family with whom to celebrate—would experience the holiday in a more personal way. Volunteers had been plentiful.

The tree inside the courthouse was the Secret Santa tree, with names attached for those who faced an uncertain holiday. Day by day, those tags disappeared, ornaments springing up in their places. Tree trimming for the tall juniper on the courthouse lawn was a continuing event, as residents dropped by to hang new ornaments to accompany the lights that had been strung at the end of Cookie Day, accompanied by the singing of Christmas carols. Patrons at Ruby’s Diner had front row seats to the decorating process, and each day was a feast of discussions on which ornaments were most appealing and which had been contributed by whom. Diners caught one another up on the latest ornament count and composition.

Over in the construction zone, work continued on the new headquarters of Enigma Games and the studios on the floor above.

“You ever get tired of pulling a fast one on your buddies?” Ian asked as he measured window trim.

“Hell, no,” Mackey snickered. “Why would I?”

“Don’t be smug just because you’re already married. Springing this surprise on Jackson after doing the same to me…you ready to be zinged right back when you least expect it?”

Mackey’s grin was unrepentant. “You trying to tell me you’re not crazy happy with Scarlett?”

“Hell, no.”

“Do you mind that the surprise meant you had to get married again by the justice of the peace because you didn’t have a marriage license?”

Ian rolled his eyes. “Texas law says she had to be there to get one.” His smile spread. “But by then, she was committed.”

“Then I rest my case. Wiz will love this, you know. It’s one crazy great surprise. Ben’s such a good kid.”

“He is.” Ian glanced around them. The construction crews Jackson had hired worked all day, but the locals pitched in where they could, and many of them gave up their evenings to help out. The downstairs of the old dry goods store was taking shape, and up here, living quarters were emerging from what had been abandoned storage for longer than Ian had been alive. “It’s a good thing we’re doing.”

“Yep.” Mackey hammered in another nail. “I was thinking…Roundtree might want in on this.”

“The construction? Seriously?”

Mackey shook his head. “He’s out on tour. I meant the wedding. The community Christmas celebration. He doesn’t really have any family to speak of. He seemed to get a real kick out of being here and singing at your wedding.”

Ian smiled. “It was pretty amazing. Not a lot of folks can say they had a country superstar serenade at their wedding. Should we ask Josh to check with him?”

“Quinn’s over there working. Let’s see what he thinks. Roundtree and Josh have been friends a long time.”

Ian glanced over at the silent, watchful presence. Quinn Marshall had been through tragedy, had nearly died. But he’d come out the other side, marrying the former Lorie Chandler, queen of the daytime soaps, a beautiful blonde who’d been stalked by a sicko who’d murdered her first husband. Now they lived on Quinn’s ranch up on the Caprock where he raised horses, and she was a midwife, of all things.