The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby (24 page)

“Oh, yeah.” He laughed. “And you don’t have to say it right now just because I did.
When you get ready, it’ll be the right moment. I can wait.”

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she looked around to see Sonia standing there
with a big smile. “Can I cut in for one last dance with my old boyfriend before I
get married?”

Natalie took a step back and Sonia shoved between her and Lucas. “I can’t believe
you married that woman without even telling me.”

“Can I have this dance, ma’am?” Noah asked.

She looped an arm loosely around his neck and put her hand in his. “Of course.”

The band kicked up the tempo with another Alan Jackson song called “Who’s Cheatin’
Who.” Noah was a fine fast swing dancer, slinging Natalie out and then pulling her
back to him in beat with the music.

“This ain’t your first rodeo, is it?” he said.

“Been dancin’ since I was old enough to walk,” she said.

“Lucas did good when he got you. You’ll be good for the ranch and for him. Some ways
I wish Sonia was more like you, but I knew what I was gettin’ when I fell for her.
It ain’t like I walked into it blind,” he said.

“Do I hear some doubts?” Natalie asked.

“Heart wants what it wants.”

“Child wants what he wants too, but that much chocolate will rot his teeth and give
him a bellyache. I’m just sayin’.” She smiled.

“Thanks for the dance, Miz Natalie.” Noah nodded.

Lucas circled her waist with his arm and led her toward the bar again. “That Noah
is a pretty good dancer.”

“I’d rather be doing a slow dance with you,” she said.

“Is that your best line?” Lucas drawled.

“No, darlin’”—she found her bar stool still empty and sat down—“my best lines aren’t
delivered in public.”

Sonia hopped up on a bar stool next to Natalie. “I heard that y’all eloped.”

“Who says it was an elopement?” Natalie asked.

“Maybe it was a beach wedding and we said our vows in our bare feet,” Lucas said.

“Or maybe we tied the knot in my part of Texas before I even came out here,” Natalie
played along. “Could I get a double shot of Jack Daniel’s, neat please?” Natalie asked
the bartender as he passed their part of the bar.

“God! Whiskey!” Sonia said.

“Don’t knock good Kentucky whiskey,” Natalie said.

“You got that pink pistol strapped to your leg?” Lucas asked.

“Might have and might have to use it if someone starts talkin’ shit about my whiskey,”
Natalie answered.

Sonia flounced off with a snort, grabbed Noah by the arm, and hauled him out to the
dance floor.

“That was fun,” Lucas said.

“I feel sorry for her, Lucas. She’s such a pretty woman and her friends adore her,
so she has to have some redeeming qualities. She’s settin’ herself up for a lot of
hard knocks, but tonight I’m not worrying about Sonia. She made her bed. Now she can
lay in it. And I feel real sorry for Noah. He’s a good solid man. But right now I’m
not worryin’ about him either. I’m here with the best-lookin’ cowboy in the whole
state and I’m going to dance half the leather off my boots, drink enough whiskey to
make me feel good, and then I’m going home to sleep with that cowboy,” she said.

“Sounds like a helluva plan to me, sweet cheeks,” he drawled.

***

They were on their way home when Natalie’s phone rang. She pulled it from the inside
pocket of her cape and said, “Hello. Is everything all right? Joshua isn’t sick, is
he?”

“Everything is fine. We just decided to take him to Jack’s place for the night. You
two are tired and us three have already set up our schedule. I’m going to watch him
until two o’clock and give him a bottle. Then from two thirty until four, Grady has
guard duty. Jack will take over at four and we’ll bring him home in time for breakfast.
Don’t cook. Jack done picked up two dozen of them doughnuts in town and we’ll have
them with coffee. We’re going to take him to see the livestock in the morning before
we come for doughnuts and coffee and while we eat y’all can tell us all about the
party,” Henry said.

“What is going on?” Lucas asked.

She held the phone out from her ear and said, “They want to keep Josh at Jack’s all
night. They’ve got a guard schedule set up.”

“Did they take the monitor?” Lucas asked loudly.

“Tell him that we did, but we got his little bed set up by the sofa so we can sleep
right beside him. I don’t trust that radio shit,” Henry said.

“You sure about this?” Natalie asked.

“Of course I’m sure. Y’all are wore out. Go home and get some rest. We’ll see you
long about eight tomorrow mornin’,” Henry said and hung up.

***

Lucas parked in front of the house, rounded the front of the truck, opened her door,
and scooped her into his arms like a bride. “Don’t want to get those new boots all
muddy,” he said.

He didn’t set her on the floor until they were in his bedroom. He brushed a few errant
strands of hair back with his fingertips, ran a hand down her jawline and around to
cup her neck, then his lips found hers in a sizzling kiss that jacked the heat up
inside the house and inside them at least twenty degrees.

He carefully unhooked the collar of her dress and then skimmed his hands down her
bare back to the point of the heart-shaped cutout where he undid the zipper. He kissed
her again, tasting the remnants of Jack Daniel’s and the black forest cheesecake they’d
eaten for dessert.

He tasted her body as he peeled the dress from her curves one inch at a time. When
it was lying in a puddle at her feet, he walked her backward and with a gentle push,
she landed on her back right in the middle of the bed. He pulled her boots off and
tossed them off to one side.

He did love her, all of her from the few stretch marks on her tummy to her long, long
legs and her blue eyes. Thinking about being in love was so intoxicating that he could
scarcely breathe.

She sat up, wearing nothing but an off-white lacy bra and bikini underpants, and said,
“Okay, it’s my turn.”

That’s the way it would always be with Natalie. She’d meet him toe-to-toe and give
as much to the relationship as he did. He knew it in his bones and all the way to
the bottom of his heart.

She quickly undid the buttons on his shirt and unbuckled his belt. Her hands were
cool on his warm skin and everywhere they touched brought him into further arousal.
He wanted to flip her over, take her right now, and own her forever. But no one would
ever own Natalie. She would give her whole heart someday and he hoped to God that
he was the one she handed it to.

He groaned, “All you have to do is touch me with your little finger and I’m ready
to make love to you.”

“Like this.” She dragged her finger from the hollow of his throat down his chest and
into his pants. “Aha, you’re ready, all right. I been ready since that first shot
of Jack Daniel’s. I forgot to tell you that whiskey, the smell of Stetson, and slow
dances turn me on.”

“I’ll remember that.” He flipped her backward and peeled her underwear off in a couple
of swift motions. In another minute his jeans and boots were in a pile with her clothing
and they were under the sheets, rocking together as he made love to her.

“It’s different than sex, isn’t it?” she whispered.

“What is different?” he asked.

“Making love.”

“Yes, ma’am. I really do love you, Natalie,” he said.

She wrapped her long legs tightly around him and quivered from head to toe. “That
was fabulous, but I want more.”

“Number two on the way.” He increased the thrusts both in intensity and speed until
they were both panting.

“Condom,” she remembered.

“Too late,” he groaned as he brought them both to a mind-blowing climax at the same
time. “I’m sorry, Natalie. I just flat forgot.”

He thought she’d throw a fit but she purred.

He rolled to one side and inhaled deeply until he could breathe again like a normal
person. Life with Natalie would be just like sex with her. Wild and passionate. Sweet
and loving. He wanted her forever in his world, not just until Christmas. After sharing
life with her the past three weeks, he couldn’t imagine living it without her—or Joshua.

He pulled her to his side and wrapped the comforter tighter around them. Her legs
tangled with his and her arm crossed his chest. He could hear her heart thumping as
fast as his.

“Lucas,” she whispered.

He didn’t answer. He was afraid that she would tell him that she didn’t feel the same
about him and he didn’t want to hear it. He wanted her for Christmas, ribbon or not,
dressed or undressed. He just wanted Natalie in his life.

“I love you too,” she said.

Several elderly folks turned and smiled at Lucas and Natalie when they arrived at
church that Sunday morning. He carried a diaper bag on one shoulder and Joshua laid
on the other one with a blue blanket thrown over him. Natalie’s arm was looped through
his and she was dressed in her long denim skirt, new boots, and a Western shirt with
the cape she’d bought for the Angus party thrown around her shoulders.

Natalie smiled at those who caught her eye. Lord, but the rumors traveled fast in
small towns. No doubt about it, by the expressions on their faces, they thought that
Natalie and Lucas had eloped.

She moved down past the middle of the family pew and sat down, took the diaper bag
from Lucas, and set it beside her. The four men lined up in the same order they did
every Sunday: Grady at the end of the pew, Jack, Henry, and then Lucas.

The preacher took his place behind the podium and nodded right at them. Heaven help
them all if he decided to bless their marriage right there in front of God and all
the cheerleaders of days past.

“I’m going to tell you the story of the birth of our Lord and Savior this morning.”
He opened his Bible and read several verses. “Now think about Mary and the situation
she was in. Married, but Jesus was not Joseph’s son. And think about Joseph and the
trust he had to have in Mary. Then he raised Jesus as his son, taught him his trade,
and loved him as a father would love a son even though more children arrived after
him. We think we have complicated lives these days, but folks, let me tell you, whatever
we face wasn’t one bit more complicated than that little family starting out.”

Lucas propped his left knee over the right one, making a cradle for Joshua. The baby
spit out his pacifier and cooed. Natalie picked it up from inside the folds of his
blanket and put it back in his mouth, but not before he grabbed her with his chubby
little hand. Lucas nudged her with his elbow and held up Joshua’s other hand to show
that Joshua was clasping his hand tightly with his right hand.

Tears welled up in Natalie’s eyes, but she kept them at bay. She damn sure didn’t
need for Sonia to see her mascara running in black streaks down her cheeks that morning.
It didn’t keep her from wondering if maybe Jesus had stolen Joseph’s heart in much
the same way.

“And now for a few announcements,” the preacher said when he’d finished his sermon.

Natalie inhaled deeply. Surely he wouldn’t announce a marriage that hadn’t even taken
place.

“There won’t be a service next Sunday morning since that day is Christmas and most
of you will be spending the morning with your families. Don’t forget as you are opening
presents and enjoying the time that it’s Jesus’s birthday. And for those of you who
haven’t heard, Sonia has decided that the wedding on Christmas was too rushed, so
they’re postponing it for a few weeks so she can get everything ready. She’s saying
maybe by Valentine’s Day she’ll have it ready. If there are no more announcements…”
He paused and looked right at Lucas.

“Okay, then,” he went on, “Henry Allen, will you deliver the benediction for us this
morning?”

While Henry prayed, the preacher made his way to the back of the church to receive
the members of the congregation as they left that morning. Two ladies who sat in the
pew in front of the Allen family turned around as soon as Henry said, “Amen,” and
reached for the baby.

Lucas handed Joshua off to the nearest one and picked up the diaper bag, threw it
over his shoulder, and grabbed Natalie’s hand. A whole group of ladies gathered around
the queen bee that had possession of Joshua. They all talked at once, but the general
train of thought appeared to be that Joshua was the very image of Lucas when he was
a baby from the color of his eyes to his hair. He must have gotten that cleft in his
chin from Natalie’s side because they’d never known an Allen man to have one. The
charm, now that came from Henry for sure, and those ears were Jack’s without a doubt.

Grady, Henry, and Jack went on ahead and were soon swallowed up in the crowd approaching
the doors at the back of the church.

“You should have used that time to tell them the truth. The longer we wait, the harder
it’s going to be,” Natalie scolded him on the way home.

“Honey, I don’t care if they never know the truth. Me and Josh, we don’t plan on tellin’
nothing, do we?” He glanced back in the rearview at the baby. “Did you hear what the
guys are saying about Josh?”

“Only that he’s the smartest, cutest little cowboy since you were born.” She giggled.

He told her about the animals.

“Grady told me yesterday morning while we were doing chores. What do you think of
that?” he asked.

“Well, Josh sure stole my thunder if that is what is happening. I thought I had a
built-in sonar radar thing that drew strays to me. Momma said that I did when I was
a kid. I was always bringing home some kind of varmint.”

“Skunks?”

“Oh, hell, no! After smelling like one for a week, believe me, I would not drag one
of those home and feed it scraps.”

“You think they are right?”

“Skunks?”

“No, the guys. You believe in stuff like that?”

“I believe in the possibility of anything. I think Fate and Mother Nature are sisters.
Sometimes they are sweet and sometimes they are bitchy, but they’ll use anything at
their disposal to get what they want. And believe me, there’s a lot at their disposal.”

***

Natalie had just pulled the hot rolls from the oven when the doorbell and Natalie’s
phone rang at the same time. She looked across the kitchen at Lucas who’d helped her
by setting the table.

“You get your phone. I’ll take care of the door,” he said.

“Hello, Hazel,” she answered the phone.

“I heard that Sonia couldn’t get the wedding arranged in time. That is a load of hog
shit. Noah laid down the law and Sonia told him that she wasn’t going to do no compromising.
She said she wasn’t about to have a bunch of snotty-nosed kids, so he said they’d
better rethink the Christmas wedding.” Hazel finally stopped for a breath.

“Natalie, are you still there?” Hazel asked.

“Oh, yeah! Sonia is here,” Natalie whispered.

“Well, shit! Go in there and shoot her,” Hazel said.

“My gun is in the bedroom.” Natalie laughed nervously.

“Oh, honey, I do like you. What are they saying?” Hazel whispered.

“Sonia is asking where Noah is. She can’t find him and she’s been crying. Oh, Hazel,
I feel sorry for her. She probably realizes she made a mistake and now she’s saying
something about me and Lucas getting married in Hawaii and that’s what she wants.”

“You are married? When were y’all going to tell me?” Hazel wasn’t whispering anymore.

“We aren’t. Sonia kind of started both rumors. The one that Joshua belongs to Lucas
and the one that we are married. Lucas didn’t dispute them. Jack just stood up. Huh-oh!”

“Dammit to hell. I’m coming home. That place is going to ruin without me,” Hazel declared.

“Jack told her that she could look for Noah at the bunkhouse, but that he wasn’t here,
that I had dinner ready, and he was hungry.”

“And?” Hazel asked.

“She left,” Natalie said.

“Good. I’ll call later on this afternoon and talk to Jack and to Lucas. Y’all go eat
your dinner. I’m bookin’ a flight home this week. I was coming on Friday anyway, but
I’ll be there soon as I can get from Memphis to Dallas,” Hazel said.

“Guess you heard that?” Jack said as the four men filed into the kitchen.

“I did,” she said.

“What did Hazel want?” Lucas asked.

“She’s coming home,” Natalie said.

“Joe O’Malley told me that Noah laid down the law to her and said if she didn’t want
no kids then by golly they were going to postpone the wedding because he wanted a
family,” Henry grumbled.

“Let’s forget all about Sonia and eat this wonderful dinner Natalie has fixed up.
What else did Hazel say?” Lucas asked.

“Just that she’ll be home probably tomorrow or the next day. She said that she’d call
Jack later this afternoon. She was checking on flights into Dallas as soon as she
hung up.”

“Good. I miss her,” Jack said. “Hot rolls look great, Natalie. And that pot roast
looks tender enough to melt in my mouth.”

***

Natalie and Joshua went to their bedroom after the dishwasher was loaded. She called
her mother and told her about the whole week, rumors, mothers, and ex-girlfriends.
Every bit of it, leaving out nothing—except the sex after the party and the argument
she and Lucas had had earlier in the week.

“Sounds like you got a lot on your plate,” Debra said when Natalie finished. “I can’t
stand to see you livin’ that far away. If you decide to stick with that man, then
you do it right. I taught you how to take care of yourself, so don’t be lettin’ that
two-bit bitchy cheerleader intimidate you.”

“I feel sorry for Noah and Sonia both. If she would just grow up and think outside
of herself, she could be a good wife. Noah loves her so much, and she could be the
adored, petted wife for all her life. I can’t imagine being Sonia’s age and seeing
the whole world like a teenager,” Natalie said.

Debra laughed. “Always were a bit softhearted like your father.”

“And you,” Natalie said. “What if I were to stay here, Momma? Are you going to throw
a fit and cry?”

“Hell, yeah! But then I’ll make you promise to come see me every other month, and
I’ll come see you the ones when you don’t come here. My grandson isn’t going to grow
up without knowing his grandparents. Got to go. Your dad’s calling the house phone.
Talk to you later. Send more pictures. Joshua will be drivin’ a tractor before I see
him again.”

“In a month? He’ll hardly be big enough to drive a tractor in just a month.”

She laid the phone to the side when she realized her mother had hung up and drew her
knees up in the rocking chair, wrapped her arms around them, and watched Joshua sleep.
Her eyes grew heavy and she had almost nodded off when she heard a soft rap on the
bedroom door.

Lucas poked his head inside. “The guys have all gone home. Could we talk?”

She motioned him inside.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. “I talked to Noah. He says that he loves her,
but that they’d both be miserable living together. He’s wise enough to see that they
want very different things in life. He has no intentions of leaving the ranch. She’d
rather live in a big city. He wants kids. She hates them.”

“Maybe they’ll compromise and they’ll be happy.”

“Sometimes it’s too late to do what you should have been doing all along, Natalie.
Sometimes you run out of time.”

Natalie set the rocking chair into motion. “Have they known each other long?”

Lucas blushed. “Since grade school. We all grew up together. Noah is a year younger
than she is and she’s a year younger than I am.”

He kicked his boots off and stretched out on her bed. “She always thought she could
talk me off this ranch. And she probably thought the same thing about Noah. Dad says
she reminds him of my mother, who, by the way, called a couple of days ago and told
me very quickly that she and her husband were going to Paris this year, so she wouldn’t
be coming to Texas.”

“Tell me about your mother.”

“You want the long version or the short one?”

“I’ve got all afternoon.” Natalie left the rocking chair and joined him on the bed.
His arm went around her and she laid her head on his chest.

“I overhead Hazel and Dad talking when I was a kid or I wouldn’t even know the story.
Seemed that Mother hated the ranch and wanted Dad to leave it. That wasn’t happening,
so she threatened to divorce him every week for months and take me with her if he
didn’t agree to sell it or at least move away from it. Gramps insisted on a prenup
before they were married, so she couldn’t have half the ranch, but finally Dad offered
her a settlement big enough that she signed the papers and left me behind,” he said.

Natalie shivered. She couldn’t imagine selling Joshua for any amount of money. “Didn’t
she have visitation rights?”

“Oh, yes. Dad was very generous. She could see me any time she wanted but not alone.
Grady or Hazel would take me to wherever she was and stay with me, but she never asked,
not one time.”

“How did that affect you?” Natalie asked.

“I never thought about it. I had Hazel, and you see the way the guys dote on Joshua.
It was the same with me. I never really knew her, so I didn’t miss her. She came at
Christmas and brought me a present. I had lunch with her in town, mostly with Hazel
or Grady right there beside me until I got my driver’s license.”

He massaged her neck as he talked. “Dad was so nervous the first time I went by myself
that Grady said he walked the floor the whole time I was gone. He never talked about
her to me. Never said bad things about her or anything. It’s like she just left me
on the porch and disappeared out of his life. And he worried about me and Sonia winding
up the same way. He was right even though I didn’t see it until I went to Kuwait.”

Natalie kissed him on the cheek. “Jack is a good man.”

“You didn’t ask for all my baggage,” he said.

“Did you ask for mine?”

“You are handling mine better than I did yours.” He tipped her chin up and kissed
her. The first one was sweet, the second one searching, the third, devouring.

Joshua whimpered a few times and then howled when no one picked him up.

“Best birth control there is,” Natalie said.

Lucas chuckled and rolled off the bed. He picked the baby up and laid him between
them on the bed. “The guys have spoiled him. He’s dry and he’s not chewing on his
fingers, so he’s not hungry. He just wants to be entertained.”

“Spoiled so bad the coyotes wouldn’t even nibble on those precious little toes,” she
crooned to him.

Joshua cooed and grinned.

“I see what you mean about not missing your mother. I bet they fought over who got
to watch you sleep,” she said.