The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby (26 page)

From there he went to the children’s books and picked up three for Josh that had bright
colors and few words. And he intended to tell Josh all about them. If Henry wanted
to read something new to the boy, then he could buy his own books.

The music section of the store caught his eye next and he bought a silly CD with all
the children’s songs on it that he remembered from childhood. Then he went to the
country music section and picked out two different CDs for Natalie. One was an instrumental
of an assortment of slow love songs that made him think of long, lazy nights of slow
lovemaking.

“With candles,” he said aloud.

He paid for his purchases, bemoaned the fact that they did not offer gift wrapping,
and put the bag in the truck before he went to the store specializing in all kinds
of lotions, candles, and bath items. He smelled dozens of candles before he settled
on the one that smelled sexy to him. He bought bubble bath, lotion, and bath powder
all in the same fragrance.

From there he meandered through a clothing store and bought funny socks with toes
in them and fuzzy slippers in black and white zebra stripes to keep her feet warm
when she had to get up at night with Joshua. When he found out that they wrapped for
a small fee, he added a soft blue scarf the color of her eyes and a sweater to match
it.

“And now to find those fancy little gold-wrapped chocolates and some miniature Snicker
bars for her stocking. After that I’ll go get her big present, or is it my big present?
I guess it depends on what she says when I give it to her.” He loaded two more bags
in the truck and drove south toward Walmart.

The toy aisle was so much fun that he bought a mobile with cute farm animals on it
that played “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” when it was wound up. Josh would love that
above his crib.

“Crib.” Lucas slapped his thigh.

He steered his cart toward the baby section and couldn’t find a thing that suited
him. Then he got the bright idea that he’d take his old crib out of the storage barn
and refinish it. Grady and the guys would have to help, but they’d be willing. And
they could take all the furniture out of the spare bedroom and make a real nursery
for Josh. Lucas’s rocking horse was still out there and the chair that Hazel had rocked
him to sleep in until he was in kindergarten. Plus the stick horse that Henry had
carved special for him when he outgrew the rocking horse.

It wouldn’t be easy to pull it all off, but with help from the guys, they could make
Josh his own room by Christmas morning. He noticed a complete bed in a bag set for
a crib that had the same barnyard animals on it as the mobile. He tossed it into the
cart, paid out, and made one more stop on his way home for Natalie’s big present.

When he got to the ranch, he kept driving down the back lane to the bunkhouse where
he unloaded the baby presents. Grady was snoozing in his recliner in the living room
and jumped when Lucas called his name.

“Got some shopping done, I see,” he said.

Lucas nodded. “I need help. Lots of it. You and the hired hands up for some hard work?”

“What do you have in mind?” Grady asked.

The more Lucas talked, the bigger Grady’s grin got. “I’d say that you mean to keep
Natalie and Josh on the ranch if you’re willin’ to let him sleep in your bed. That
was supposed to be given to your first son. Henry slept in it when he was a baby,
then Jack, and then you.”

Lucas nodded. “It was and it is and he is. Y’all think you can strip all that white
paint off it that Hazel put on it when I was little and refinish it in brown like
it was when Dad had it?”

“I reckon we could do that as well as putting a fresh coat of varnish on the rocking
chair and hobbyhorse. You just worry about a way to get Natalie and Josh out of the
house for a few hours the day before Christmas and we’ll do the rest. Fine present
for a boy, Lucas. You done good,” Grady said.

“Thank you,” Lucas threw over his shoulder as he disappeared out the door and headed
back to the house. He wanted to get the presents wrapped and under the tree before
Natalie got home. All but one, and that one he carried in his pocket.

“Hey, you beat them women back home,” Henry whispered.

“Josh sleeping?” Lucas asked.

Henry pointed to the port-a-crib beside his recliner. “We both were until you and
all them rattling sacks that you hauled in here woke me up.”

“Sorry, Gramps. Let me tell you what I’ve got in mind for him while he’s asleep and
can’t hear.” He set the bags down and hauled the wrapping paper from Natalie’s room
into the living room. He sat down on the floor and talked as he wrapped and cussed
the paper and tape all at the same time.

“Sounds like a mighty fine idea to me. I’ve got something special for Natalie and
for you, but you can refuse them and I won’t be hurt a bit. Ella Jo thought I should
offer, and I never could tell her no.” Henry’s old eyes grew misty.

“What’s that, Gramps?” Lucas asked.

“You know your grandma was a tall woman like Natalie and about the same size. Well,
since you’re accepting this boy, I think it’s time to turn loose of these.” He opened
his clenched hand to reveal two gold wedding bands.

“Gramps, I couldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t offer them if I didn’t think you’d made the right choice, son. Ella Jo told
me it was the right thing to do right here at Christmas and all. Said it would make
her happy if you’d wear them and that she really likes Natalie but she loves Josh.”

Lucas held out his hand.

Henry dropped the rings into his palm. “Love her as much as I did your grandma and
don’t never let no one get in the way of that love.”

“I don’t even know what to say,” Lucas said.

“Don’t say nothin’, son. I’m glad to pass them on to you and Natalie. Y’all kind of
remind me of me and Ella Jo. Only she didn’t have a baby. You’re luckier than me in
that respect. Put ’em in your pocket and get to wrappin’. Them women won’t stay out
past suppertime.”

Four days before Christmas, Natalie awoke to the sound of pots and pans rattling in
the kitchen. She sat up on the side of the bed, grabbed her pajama bottoms and underpants,
and jerked them on.

“Where are you going?” Lucas rubbed his eyes.

“Hazel is here early.”

“She won’t ground us.” Lucas chuckled.

“No, but I’d be so embarrassed that I’d go up in flames and die if she caught me in
your bed,” Natalie whispered. She pulled a tank top on and kissed him on the cheek
on her way out of his bedroom.

Josh was waking up for his six o’clock bottle by the time she reached her room. When
she picked him up, he was so wet that his pajamas were dripping and there was a ring
on the sheet in his port-a-crib. The smell gagged her, but she swallowed hard. Strange
that it would bother her that day since messy diapers, wet ones, or even curdled spit-up
had never turned her stomach before.

In case she was coming down with a flu bug, she didn’t smother his face in kisses.
Instead she talked to him and reminded him that it was only a few days until Christmas
and then a week after that they were going home to Silverton to the New Year’s party
at the ranch. “Your grandma isn’t any too happy with me right now. I probably should
go on home for Christmas, but I just can’t break the guys’ hearts. I said I loved
him, Josh, and he said you were the son of his heart, but he hasn’t said a word since
then. Maybe he’s got second thoughts about us. After Christmas we’ll have a long talk
with him and see where this relationship is going.”

She picked him up and carried him down the hallway. Jack was already at the kitchen
table and he held out his arms. She handed Josh off to him and got a big whiff of
the coffee at the same time. Her stomach did a couple of flip-flops before it settled
down.

Dammit all to hell on a platter! It wasn’t a bit fair to get sick right at Christmas.
Hopefully it was just a twenty-four-hour thing that would be over by tomorrow morning.

Oh
my
God! Is it, could it be morning sickness? I never had it with Josh, so I don’t have
any idea what it feels like
, she thought.

She wasn’t due to start her period until… oops! She should have started three days
before, but still, that was way too soon for her body to feel nauseated, wasn’t it?
Besides, the doctor said sometimes after giving birth it took a while to get the time
clock reset, and she’d never been real regular anyway. She could not be pregnant.
She just couldn’t! She’d made a mental note to look up the symptoms and time frame
on her laptop as soon as breakfast was over.

“Good mornin’. I hope I’m not steppin’ on your toes. I just need to get back in the
groove or else I’ll get old and die,” Hazel said.

“Not a bit, but what’s my job now that you are home?”

“You help Lucas run this ranch, and I might let you do some of the housework. Cooking
will belong to me until I die, unless I’m off at a church function and then you can
step in and do whatever you want,” Hazel said.

“But I like to cook,” she said.

“I might let you take a couple of nights a week.” Hazel winked.

The aroma of sausage and eggs combined with the strong coffee scent should have made
her stomach growl, but instead it rolled in protest. She made an excuse and hurried
down the hall to the bathroom where she hugged the toilet and tried to bring up her
toenails.

“God, if this is morning sickness, please let it be over in one day. I can’t take
care of Josh and do this every morning,” she prayed.

After she washed her face with cold water and brushed her teeth, she waited another
few minutes to be sure she was done. When she slung open the bathroom door Lucas was
standing in front of her with a hand on each side of the jamb.

“You look a little pale. That business with Hazel still got you spooked?” he asked.

She did her best to smile. “Yes, it does. Breakfast is almost ready, and I’ve gotten
my orders. I’m supposed to help you on the ranch and do a little bit of housekeeping.”

Lucas chuckled. “Want me to talk to her?”

“Hell, no! We’ve always had a cook and housekeeper, so I’m used to the arrangement.
And I wouldn’t hurt her feelings for all the dirt in Texas,” Natalie said.

Lucas threw his arm around her shoulder and they walked in perfect step all the way
to the kitchen. One whiff of the food and her stomach did another roll. She looked
at Lucas in time to see him grab his mouth with his free hand.

His boots sounded like canon blasts as he ran up the hallway and there was no doubt
what was going on in the bathroom. Natalie wanted to dance a jig right there in the
kitchen. She and Lucas both had a stomach bug, and she was not pregnant. She could
handle a weak tummy for a couple of days. Three months of it might turn her into a
really mean bitchy woman that Lucas would kick off the ranch.

“Well, hell, I didn’t know my cookin’ would make a problem,” Hazel said.

“It’s not your cookin’. I just did the same thing. We must have gotten a bug. I hope
you don’t get it, Hazel,” Natalie said.

“She’s too mean to get anything,” Jack said. “You and Lucas go on in the living room
and settle back in the recliners. I’ll bring you some dry toast and hot tea. That’ll
keep your strength up without upsetting your stomach even more.”

“Thank you,” Natalie said weakly.

“I’ll take care of Josh today in the den. We don’t want him to get sick and spoil
his first Christmas,” Henry said.

Natalie nodded.

Grady followed her into the living room, pointed to a recliner, and covered her with
a soft throw when she laid back. He looked up at Lucas when he came from the bathroom
and pointed to the chair beside Natalie’s. “That one belongs to you. We’ll take care
of chores this morning. Got to get y’all well for Christmas.”

***

The next morning, rattling pots and pans and the aroma of coffee and bacon woke Natalie
again. When she opened her eyes Lucas was propped on an elbow staring down at her.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“I’m starving,” she answered.

“Me too.”

“Must’ve been a twenty-four-hour bug like we thought,” she said.

The monitor let them know that Josh was awake and fretting for his morning bottle,
so she slid out of bed, hurriedly threw a robe around her naked body, and eased the
door open. The coast was clear, so she padded barefoot to her bedroom, slipped inside,
and gathered Josh up from his bed.

“We’ve got to get you something bigger if we’re staying past Christmas, son. You’re
about to outgrow that little thing.” She stripped off his pajamas and changed his
diaper. “What should you wear today? We’ve got to go to town this morning and do some
last-minute shopping. When we go to Silverton, we’re supposed to take our presents.
Your grandma said not to waste postage mailing them, to just bring them with us then
and she’ll have ours ready at that time too. You’re going to have a big Christmas
and you won’t even remember it. We’ll take lots of pictures though and when you are
older, you can look at them.”

Josh spit his pacifier out and stuck his thumb in his mouth.

“Well, that’s a trait from your father. He sucked his thumb until he was five years
old,” she said.

Lucas poked his head in the door. “Is he dressed? I’ll take him to the front of the
house while you get ready. The two of us can even get his bottle ready before you
make it to the kitchen. You sure you’re feeling better? You still look a little pale
to me.”

“I’m fine. After breakfast Josh and I are going to Sherman to do our last-minute shopping,
though. You want to go?” she asked.

He helped by putting socks on Josh and then he picked him up. “Come on, cowboy. Your
fan club is waiting for you. I’d love to go with you, but I’ve got too much going
on here to get away until after the holiday. I’m glad I’ve got all my shopping done.”

“So how do we do our presents? Hazel told me how y’all do all the other ones,” she
asked.

He stopped at the door. “It’s our first Christmas together. I think we should open
our presents on Christmas Eve night so that it’s just us. That work for you?”

“I like that idea,” she said.

The words
our
first
Christmas
together
ran through her mind in a continuous loop. Did that mean that he was planning on
a second, third, or more? He’d told her that he loved her that one time but hadn’t
mentioned it again. And he hadn’t mentioned plans after Christmas, either.

She’d counted the presents under the tree that had her name on them. She needed to
buy two more small gifts for Lucas so that he’d have the same amount, and that was
the real reason she and Josh were shopping again that day.

So far, she hadn’t bought him a book, so she planned to go to the bookstore first,
and after that, she intended to buy the biggest bottle of Stetson that she could find.
Walking past him in the hallway after he’d shaved set her hormones into something
between a whine and a hum. By late evening when they crawled into bed together, sometimes
for a bout of steamy hot sex, sometimes just to cuddle, she could still catch a whiff
of the remnants of Stetson if she nuzzled his neck. And her reaction was always the
same.

Hazel had made waffles that morning with melted butter and warmed maple syrup. Natalie
didn’t touch the bacon or sausage but had two helpings of waffles. She’d never had
a problem with any foods when she was pregnant with Josh, so it must be the aftereffects
of that violent stomach flu.

“Weatherman says that north Texas is going to have a white Christmas. We’re due for
about five inches of snow on Christmas Eve. But then it’s supposed to warm up the
day after Christmas and kick back up into the forties by New Year’s Eve,” Henry said.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing Josh and I are going to town today. When is it supposed
to start?” Natalie asked.

“It’s already dumping a load out in the western part of the state,” Grady said.

“Probably be here by tomorrow night and when we get up Christmas morning we’ll have
that five inches,” Jack said.

“Well, that don’t mean our plans will change. We got four-wheel drive trucks and chains,”
Hazel said. “I’m kind of lookin’ forward to it. We ain’t seen a white Christmas since
Lucas was about ten years old.”

“Nine,” Lucas said. “Noah and I built a snowman. He was seven and we thought it was
the grandest thing ever. Lookin’ back, it was only about three feet tall.”

“More’n twenty years ago then,” Hazel said. “Natalie, I’ll watch over the baby while
you shop. You can do it in half the time if you don’t have to get him in and out.
Besides, after you and Lucas both being sick yesterday, I don’t think he ought to
be out amongst sick people. They’ll be coughing and sneezing on him.”

It wasn’t until Natalie was halfway to Sherman that she realized how much control
she’d lost with Joshua when she came to Cedar Hill. Her mother didn’t tell her what
to do the way Hazel did. There wasn’t a cowboy on the whole ranch in Silverton who
could waltz into her bedroom and carry the baby out to breakfast. Even her grandpa
didn’t tell her that she was going to help with chores while he read books to the
baby.

She slapped the steering wheel. “Dammit!”

She parked in front of the bookstore and braced herself against the bitter north wind.
The sun was shining but the rays couldn’t do a thing to warm her as she put her head
down and jogged from the truck to the store.

The clerk looked up from straightening an aisle where children had evidently been
and raised an eyebrow.

“Mysteries?”

“One aisle over from romance.” She pointed.

She picked up the newest James Lee Burke and a John Sandford and wandered into the
romance section. Several caught her eye but she never bought for herself in December.
Her brothers, her Aunt Leah, and her mother always put them in her stocking. She picked
up one with a bright yellow cover and hoped one of them bought it. She loved Shana
Galen’s writing and that one looked so good.

Then she saw the display with the little coupon books and stopped in her tracks. The
one about kisses would be a wonderful present for Lucas. She especially liked the
coupon that said they’d spend the day together and no matter what they were doing
or where they were they would stop to kiss each other every thirty minutes.

“What a wonderful way to watch the clock,” she muttered. “But this would make too
many presents.”

“Put them all in one box,” the sales clerk said behind her. “I gave my boyfriend one
of those coupon books for his birthday last week. We can’t wait until this bad weather
goes away so we can see the stars. Look at the next one in the book. It says it’s
good for a long and wonderful kiss under the stars.”

“Great idea,” Natalie said.

She made a quick trip through the Western-wear store and picked up a big bottle of
Stetson and was blowing warm air on her hands in her truck when her phone rang. She
looked at the ID and took a deep breath.

“Hello, Daddy,” she said.

“Are you in love with that cowboy? Really, really in love with him?” Jimmy Clark’s
deep voice boomed.

She took a deep breath.

“Yes or no? It’s not a discussion, just a question, Natalie.”

“Yes, I am,” she said.

“I don’t like that you didn’t tell us about him, but I can live with it. With all
this damn tomfoolery technology these days…”

“Daddy, if it wasn’t for technology we’d still be picking cotton by hand and sowing
wheat by broadcasting,” she reminded him.

“Don’t you interrupt me, young lady,” he said. “I’ve thought about this a lot these
past few days. I was mad as hell at first, but your momma said I couldn’t come out
there and get you and Joshua. I had to let you stand or fall on your face all by yourself
since you made the decision without talkin’ to us about it.”