The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby by Carolyn Brown Page B

crystal, china, and even a gorgeous one carved from wood.
    “Look at Josh,” Henry beamed. “He likes the shiny angel with the gold wings the best.
     That was Lucas’s favorite one when he was a little boy.”
    “I like the wooden one,” Natalie said.
    “Gramps, tell her about that one,” Lucas said.
    Henry picked up the figurine from the mantel. “Well, when me and Ella Jo was first
     married, we had bought the ranch and we was living in the little cabin. It was tough
     those first years until we got on our feet, so we made each other a Christmas present.
     That first year I got a good warm wool scarf and hat that she knitted special for
     me. And I carved that angel out of an old cedar stump for her because she was my own
     special angel. Look at this, Josh.” Henry held the angel out to him. “When you get
     to be a grown man, you find someone who just takes your breath away and looks just
     like an angel to you. When you do, you chase her until she says that she’ll be yours
     forever.”
    Tears welled up in Natalie’s eyes, but she kept them at bay with several blinks.
    “And now for the crowning glory,” Jack said. “I searched everywhere to find a bunch
     big enough to hang pretty this year.” He held up a ball of mistletoe as big as Lucas’s
     head. “The hook is still there from last time, and I tied a pretty red ribbon on it.
     It ain’t holidays without mistletoe.”
    “Hell, you wouldn’t ever get a kiss if you didn’t put that up there for the holidays.”
     Grady laughed.
    “Don’t I know it, and just think, Saturday night is the night.” Jack laughed with
     him.
    Lucas was standing under it when Jack hung it on the hook. He looked down at his son
     and motioned toward Natalie. “He’s in the right spot, girl.”
    “Dad!” Lucas exclaimed.
    Natalie walked right up to him, smacked a kiss on his cheek, and looked up at Jack.
     “Is that the way it’s done?”
    “It’ll do for starters.” He nodded seriously, but his expression was anything but
     serious.
    “And now it’s about Josh’s nap time, so Natalie can put him to sleep while we take
     care of the lawn stuff,” Henry said.
    She and Joshua watched from the window for a while, but he got fussy, so she gave
     him a bottle and he went right to sleep. He didn’t even wiggle when she laid him in
     the crib. While the guys argued about the outside lights and the right place to put
     the blow-up decorations, she cleaned up the kitchen and put a load of laundry in the
     washer.
    She’d never had a problem throwing her underpants in the same washer with her brothers’,
     but that day she blushed when her things and Lucas’s all went into the washer together.
     It seemed far too personal even though they had shared kisses and bumped into each
     other dozens of times.
    She thought about leaving and not looking back. Then she thought about staying. The
     work wasn’t any more or less than what she did at her folks’ ranch and the pay was
     a hell of a lot better. She and Joshua had a single-wide trailer on the back of the
     cotton farm out there; here they had a bedroom with a rocking chair and a nice view
     of trees and cows at Cedar Hill. The only con about the setup was that they had to
     share a bathroom with everyone else in the house whereas they had their very own in
     their small trailer.
    She fished her phone from her shirt pocket and slowly poked in the numbers rather
     than hitting speed dial. It barely finished the first ring when Debra said, “Did I
     miss something else? I don’t think you should stay at Leah’s all week. The weatherman
     says that it’s clearing off tomorrow, and if Joshua does something else that Leah
     gets to see before I do, she’ll never shut up about it.”
    “Are you sitting down, Momma?” Natalie asked.
    “Yes, I’ve spent the morning cleaning up the tack room and I just now made a pot of
     coffee,” Debra rattled on.
    “Get a cup of coffee and don’t say a word until I’m