A Christmas Wedding For The Cowboy. Mary Leo

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СКАЧАТЬ be one tiny little way for Carson to get even. His family would absolutely love it, especially his four sisters, Kayla, Coco, Kenzie and Callaghan, who each year showered the family with presents they either made themselves or found in one of the local craft stores.

      Zoe beamed as Amanda reached across the table and tapped his shoulder. “Oh, go on, Carson Grant. You know your fiancée has to make the final decisions on the cake. It’s like some kind of unwritten rule or something. The bride always picks out the cake.”

      “Marilyn Rose is busy in Vegas at the National Finals,” Zoe said, coming to his rescue. “She left Carson in charge, and so far, he’s doing one heck of a job.”

      “Wow, that’s some kind of confidence in your man. I love my man to heaven and back, but I doubt I could trust him to pick out a breakfast cake let alone our wedding cake. She must love you very much.”

      Carson nearly choked on the bite of cake he’d just put into his mouth, and Zoe ended up slapping him on the back to make sure he was breathing again. “Drink some water,” she suggested. As she patted his back, he tried to relax so his throat would open and allow air to get into his lungs instead of cake.

      Finally, after several gulps of water, he could breathe again.

      “Are you okay?” Zoe asked, looking concerned.

      “Fine,” he squeaked out. “I’m fine, thanks. Must’ve gone down the wrong pipe.”

      He cleared his throat, drank a little more water and finally was able to sit back in his chair.

      “Great,” Zoe said. “Because I certainly don’t want the groom dying on my watch.”

      “I’m fine. Really. Just a little tickle is all.”

      Amanda turned to Carson. “It must be killing you not to be able to compete in Vegas with your girl.”

      “Yeah, really killing me,” he said, but he knew he didn’t sound very convincing. The thought of his competing in Vegas right now instead of sitting in the safety of Holy Rollers under the ruse of planning his wedding sent a chill up his spine. He didn’t know which lie was worse: the one about how eager he was to get back to competing or that he was getting married on Christmas Day.

      He took another bite of cake, careful this time not to suck it into his throat, but to chew it slowly, as he’d been taught when he was a boy. Back then he inhaled his meals in less than five minutes flat, much to his mother’s chagrin. She liked long, lazy dinners with plenty of conversation. Those were precisely the reasons why he hadn’t been by for Sunday dinner. He hadn’t been willing to talk about the accident or anything that concerned his future. And he knew for a fact his family would grill him on both.

      Sugar always made him feel better, and he found he particularly liked the lemon cake with the lemon filling. If he had to pick out a cake, albeit a cake that would never be served to anyone and probably never get made, at the very least he could decide what he liked for his future wedding...if he ever had a future wedding. At the moment, it seemed doubtful.

      “So, what’s your decision?” Amanda asked, once again all smiles and sunshine.

      “I’m really liking this here lemon cake the best.”

      “With the lemon filling?”

      “Absolutely,” he said. “And don’t go easy on that filling. Layer it on heavy.” He took another big ole bite, wanting the sugar to sweeten up his mood...which it had.

      Amanda looked stunned for a moment. “Well, then, I’ll draw up the order form for the cakes and have someone drop it off at your house in a day or two, no later than Monday. You’ll pay for half of the cost when you sign the paperwork, and the other half on delivery. You’re still living in the house in town, right?”

      “Yes,” Carson said, thinking by then this entire charade would be over and he would simply cancel the order.

      “No need for that,” Zoe said, interrupting his reverie. “I can drop by later today for the paperwork and take it over to Carson’s house to sign and then secure the down payment. His wedding will sneak up on us faster than you think, and I don’t want to take any chances of anything falling through the cracks, especially since December is your busiest month.”

      “You got it,” Amanda told her, then jumped up when one of her employees waved her over to help behind the glass counter. “We’re shorthanded right now. I’ve had that sign in the window for help wanted for two solid weeks, and so far, no one has put in an application. If either of you hear of someone looking for a job, please send them my way.”

      “Sure will,” Carson said right before Amanda slipped away.

      “You know you don’t have to go out of your way for that contract,” Carson said to Zoe. “It can wait until Monday.” He would have liked for it to never get to his door, but he knew as long as he kept up this charade, he’d have to start paying for more and more of the wedding.

      Zoe shook her head as she scooped up the last bite of lemon cake on one of the many plates on the table. “We should firm this up ASAP, and I’m thinking you’re right, the top tier of this cake should be lemon. It’s amazing.”

      “Yes...amazing. It’s all amazing.” Carson pushed his hat back on his head, then readjusted it. Between the two women, he had just signed up for two cakes with a price tag that outdid a pair of handmade boots.

      “Believe me, we’re just getting started. There’s still a long list of decisions to be made.”

      Carson wasn’t in the mood for any more decisions, especially when those decisions were going to cost him more money. Both he and Marilyn Rose had agreed to pay for their own wedding. Her parents couldn’t afford to pay for such a fancy event. And Carson’s parents had four daughters, one of whom was still working on paying them back for a wedding that never happened.

      “What’s the rush? I thought all the big stuff had been chosen already. Can’t these smaller decisions wait for a few more days?”

      But Zoe didn’t answer. Instead, she headed out of the bakery. He stood, quickly grabbed his coat off the back of the chair and followed her to the front door past several customers ordering their sugar fixes. One of them was Doc Blake Granger, the local pediatric dentist, and his daughter Scout, who had won more trophies and ribbons at the county fair last summer than anyone had in its history.

      Everyone said their hellos, and then Carson hurried to catch up to Zoe. Out in the bitter cold, he secured his hat on his head, buttoned up his coat, slipped on his thick wool gloves and mentally prepared himself for the rest of his day with one very determined wedding planner.

      * * *

      “I REALLY DON’T care what color roses are on the dinner tables or what color the tablecloths are and I especially don’t give a hoot if there’s a disco ball hanging from the ceiling when I take the bride out on the dance floor,” Carson said to Zoe. Connie Bates, the events coordinator at Pauline’s Inn, a two-story Victorian on the outskirts of town, and the only place in all of Briggs that Marilyn Rose would even consider for the reception, headed out of the room to check to see if they still owned a disco ball.

      Carson had reached his breaking point, and Zoe knew it. “You only have one more decision to make and we’re done here.”

      “The СКАЧАТЬ