A Cowboy Under The Mistletoe. Vicki Lewis Thompson

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      “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

      WHITNEY 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.

      She knew Ty liked coffee, but it didn’t seem like the right choice for Chinese food. What, then? Well, she sometimes drank tea when she ate at a Chinese restaurant, but mostly she considered it a weak version of coffee and not worth the bother. Consequently she didn’t stock it at home.

      About the time she’d decided water was her only option, her intercom buzzed. Showtime. Anticipation jacked up her pulse rate as she walked to the intercom and opened the connection. “Ty?”

      “Yep.”

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