The Cowboy's Christmas Courtship. Brenda Minton

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      When he entered the kitchen she turned, watching as he sat at the rickety old table that had been in the house since before her birth. The wood had faded. The chairs wobbled. She’d tightened them dozens of times over the years but they were close to being firewood.

      “So, how’s...”

      She cut him off. “Let’s not make small talk and pretend to be friends.”

      The microwave beeped and she pulled out a cup of hot water, dropping a tea bag in before chastising herself for sounding like a shrew. But the stern lecture didn’t last long. He deserved her anger.

      She looked at him as she dunked the tea bag. He had settled on one of those wobbly chairs, his left leg straight in front of him. His hat was on the table and he’d folded his arms over his chest.

      “I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

      “I think you’ve said that before.” She put the second cup of water in the microwave and brought the finished cup of tea to Gage.

      “I was a kid, Layla. I was spoiled and thought I could do no wrong. I didn’t think about your feelings.”

      The words stunned her because he sounded so amazingly sincere. His face looked sincere. His eyes looked sincere. She was not a good judge of character. She was the person who kicked the dog out of the house for chewing up shoes and then let him back in, thinking he wouldn’t do it again.

      The few relationships she’d had in her teen years had been with the wild ones her mother had warned her to stay away from. But then, at sixteen her mom had told her to fall in love with a Cooper, a man who would treat her right.

      Layla didn’t want to think of all the reasons her mom had said that to her. The list had been long. Her mom’s life had been hard. She hadn’t wanted her daughter to follow in her footsteps. Layla’s mom had wanted her to marry someone who would take care of her, who wouldn’t hurt her.

      “Layla, I mean it. I’m sorry.”

      “Right, I know. I’m no longer a naive kid, so thank you for the life lesson and now for the apology but...”

      He grinned again. “But you’d rather hold the past over my head.”

      I’d rather keep my heart safe. “I’d rather you drink your tea and go.”

      Because if he sat there any longer, she’d remember how it felt when they studied chemistry together, and how she’d discovered chemistry of a different kind when he kissed her, a sweetly chaste kiss but one that had changed her life. And then she learned that he’d been using her to get to her best friend. At sixteen, it had felt like the worst thing that could ever happen. If only she’d known how much more life could hurt, she would have cried less over him.

      As for her best friend, Cheryl, the friendship had ended. Not because of Gage, but because Cheryl had stayed in college when Layla had come home to raise Brandon. Cheryl married a man from Texas, and she had a baby now.

      From outside she could hear the loud engine of a truck. She heard laughter and then doors slamming. Brandon was home. After a few minutes he tumbled into the kitchen, bringing cold air and the strong odor of alcohol.

      “What’s for supper, sis?” He glanced in Gage’s direction, grinned and plopped into a chair that nearly collapsed. “What’s he doing here? Got yourself a new man? One with money?”

      Before she could stop him, Gage Cooper jumped out of his chair. He grabbed her little brother by the front of his shirt and pulled him to his feet. Gage’s face went red and Brandon’s went a few shades paler.

      “Don’t talk to your sister that way.”

      “Or you’ll what?” Brandon slurred. “What’ll you do, Gage Cooper?”

      “I’ll mop the floor with your sorry hide.”

      “Oh, right, because you always do the right thing.”

      Gage let him drop into his chair. Layla hurried to separate the two of them.

      “Gage, you should go.”

      Gage looked long at her brother and then at her. “Layla, you deserve more respect than that. More than either of us has shown you.”

      “He’s a kid. He’s made mistakes.”

      “He needs someone to yank a knot in his tail.”

      “It won’t be you. He’s my brother and we’re handling things.”

      “Of course you are.” He looked around and she knew that he was seeing the ramshackle house for what it was. The kitchen appliances were on their last legs. The floors were sagging in spots. Insulation was nonexistent. Wind blew in through the windows strong enough to move the curtains.

      “We are.” But she was barely holding it together at the moment. She knew how to be strong. But she didn’t know how to accept his sympathy.

      Gage leaned over Brandon again. “If I ever hear you talk to your sister like that again, you’ll answer to me.”

      “Whatever.” Her brother turned his head.

      Gage let out a long sigh and pushed his cup in front of Brandon. “I’ll take a rain check on the tea.”

      Layla nodded, too stunned to find the right words. She watched Gage shove his hat back on his head and walk slowly down the hall to the front door. A minute later his truck started, and she knew he was gone.

      The fight left her in one fell swoop. She sat down at the table and reached for the steaming cup of green tea. Brandon leaned forward and lost his lunch all over the kitchen floor.

      She was handling things.

      She was handling being a single parent to a rebellious teenager. She was handling the bills that had to be paid. And somehow she would handle Gage Cooper being back in town.

      Chapter Two

      Gage rolled up the drive to Cooper Creek. He breathed in and out slowly, trying to let go of the urge to go back and beat some sense into Brandon Silver. But that would put him smack-dab in the middle of Layla’s life, and that obviously wasn’t where he wanted to be. Layla was the kind of woman a man married. He made a habit of staying away from the marrying kind.

      He parked next to his brother Jackson’s truck and got out. For a minute he stood in the driveway looking up at the big old house where he’d grown up. In a week it would be hung with lights and trimmed with red bows. His mom sure loved Christmas. And she loved her family.

      He took off his hat and scratched his head. He didn’t know why that love had been feeling like a noose for the past year or so. Maybe because it had felt like he couldn’t meet any of the expectations placed on him. As he walked up the steps, the front door opened. His mom stood in the doorway, her smile huge. She wasn’t a big lady but sometimes she seemed like a giant. She had a way of being strong and in control, even with a bunch of men in the family towering over her.

      “It’s about time.” She smiled, and he smiled back.

      “I СКАЧАТЬ