Santa in a Stetson Read online

  “Hey, it’s not your fault, Steve,” she said. “You tried to keep this from happening, but we’re both full-grown and allowed to mess up on our own. But if that brother of yours didn’t have any message for me, I have one for him, whenever you talk to him again. Tell him...” She paused, thinking of just what sentiments she wanted to leave Russ with, considering how he’d dumped her in the mud and walked away. “Tell him he was... passable, for an Arizona boy.”

  Ned winced. “He ain’t gonna like that.”

  “Too bad.” Jo gazed at Steve. “Will you tell him that for me?”

  “I’ve a mind to tell him a whole lot more.”

  “No, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t. Just give him that message. That’s the best you can do for me.”

  Steve nodded. “Okay. It’s your call.”

  JO SPENT most of her waking hours for the next few days thinking about Russ. If only he’d been a lousy lover. Even an average lover would have been easy to forget after the way he’d treated her. But he’d been the best she’d ever known, and if he showed up at the Roundup again, if he smiled that knowing smile and asked her to take him home with her, she might swallow her pride and do it.

  Most likely he was the kind of man who enjoyed keeping a woman off balance so she never knew what to expect from him. Considering the exams Jo had coming up, that would be the worst kind of man to have around. It would be another case of a cowboy bushwhacking her ambitions, and she couldn’t face herself or her folks if she allowed that to happen a second time.

  After all, she’d left Montana to get away from a man like that, so she’d look like some sort of fool if she hooked right up with another one.

  But she knew her weaknesses. Russ would be able to get past her resolve if he tried hard enough. Shoot, after the way he’d made love to her, he wouldn’t even have to try all that hard. He could just shove that Stetson back on his head, give her a wink and crook his finger. She needed a strategy, and she needed it in place before Russ showed up again, or she’d be kissing her education goodbye the minute she kissed that cowboy hello.

  She woke up one morning with the perfect answer. She hurried to her jewelry box. Sure enough, buried under a pile of junk jewelry was the wedding band she’d taken off her finger a year ago. She’d always meant to sell it, or melt it down and turn it into something useful, like a gold paper clip to hold her divorce papers together. She slipped it on the ring finger of her left hand. Next time Russ came into the Roundup, Josephine Abigail Cassidy would be a married woman.

  ONE THING JO could say for the cowboys who frequented the Roundup Saloon—they respected the bonds of holy matrimony. As soon as she announced her marriage, the tone of her conversations with every man in the place changed. Oh, they’d still kid with her, still leave nice tips, but that spark of interest she’d noticed in more than one gaze since she’d started waitressing was gone.

  With no social life, she had tons of study time. She made the dean’s list with room to spare, and another semester like this might earn her a scholarship. But as the Christmas holidays loomed, she began to feel very sorry for herself.

  She’d strung barbed wire to keep Russ out, and inside that corral she was one lonesome filly. All her college friends and waitress buddies thought she was a newlywed, and keeping up that fiction meant she couldn’t risk a close friendship with any of them. Going back to Montana to see her folks for the day or two she could spare from work wasn’t really possible on her tight budget, and the way her luck was going, she’d probably run into Tommy.

  She volunteered to work Christmas Eve to enjoy the holiday atmosphere and human contact for a little longer before facing Christmas alone. For the holidays Eddie had splurged on Santa’s-helper outfits for the waitresses and decorated the bar with pine wreaths and big red bows. Dressed in a short skirt of red velvet trimmed in white fur, a snug red velvet top and a Santa hat, Jo felt a little more in the spirit of the season as she moved through the jovial crowd.

  She wondered if there was any chance Russ and Steve might walk in, although Steve might be too busy getting ready to play Santa, and she knew Russ wasn’t big on Christmas. She didn’t want to see Russ, not really. But she’d thought she’d have at least one chance to flaunt her wedding ring in his face. He hadn’t shown up at the Roundup since that Friday after Thanksgiving.

  Jo gave up on seeing either of the Gibson brothers when Ned arrived alone and walked over to sit with the Bascomb brothers. Ned hadn’t spent many evenings at the Roundup since his wedding two weeks ago, and Jo certainly hadn’t expected to see him tonight.

  “Don’t tell me you had a spat with Sharon on Christmas Eve,” she said, serving Ned a beer.

  “Just the opposite. I’ve been coming in here for a Christmas Eve drink ever since I was legal, and she insisted I keep it up—didn’t want to ruin none of my traditions.” He lowered his voice and leaned closer to Jo. “But the real reason is she plans to be waitin’ in some sexy nightgown when I get home. She needs some time alone to set the scene with candles and such.”

  “How sweet, Ned.” A pang of longing shot through Jo. Christmas was a wonderful time to be in love. It seemed so long since... A picture of Russ flashed through her mind. But that wasn’t love. That was...she didn’t really know what it had been except a huge mistake.

  “Reckon you’ll be spending Christmas with your husband.”

  “What?” Jo pulled herself out of her mental fog.

  “Your new hubby. I didn’t think you’d be here tonight Thought you’d be home with him.”

  “Oh. He’s...he’ll be coming in later.”

  “He’d better not be comin’ in too much later. This snowstorm’s liable to make travel real difficult.”

  “I’m sure everything will be fine.” For a moment Jo allowed herself to fantasize about how nice it would be to have a man coming home to her this Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, the man in her fantasy bore a strong resemblance to Russ. “You and Sharon have a merry Christmas,” she said, squeezing his shoulder.

  “Same to you, Jo. And to—doggone, I keep forgetting your husband’s name.”

  Jo had a hard time remembering it, herself. “Ronald,” she replied, hoping that was the same name she’d given out last time the question came up.

  “Boy, my brain must be turning to mush. I was about to say it was Richard.”

  Richard. That was it, not Ronald. Damn. “Oh, Ronald’s his middle name, so I call him that sometimes, just for fun.”

  “He must hate them two names together. Richard Ronald.”

  “I’m sure he does. Well, gotta get back to work, Ned. Drive careful on those snowy roads, you hear?”

  Not long afterward, Jo had to take her own advice as she inched home, the chains on her truck tires jingling and crunching on the snow-packed roads. The bar had closed early due to the storm that had turned Prescott into a winter wonderland. People said they couldn’t remember ever having this much snow on Christmas Eve. Jo hoped Steve and Claire would be extra cautious making their rounds tonight.

  She turned up the heat on the old truck and wrapped her wool coat around her bare legs as she drove. Inside the warmth of the bar, the skimpy red velvet skirt had worked out just fine, but she should have brought along some leggings for the drive home. When she got to her duplex, she’d climb into her favorite sweats, make hot chocolate and settle in with It’s a Wonderful Life. Her family had watched that movie every Christmas Eve since she could remember. Her mom had sent her a copy as an early gift, considering she couldn’t be home for the holidays.

  Pulling the truck into the garage, she wrestled the door down and hurried through the connecting one into the kitchen. In no time she’d switched on the Christmas-tree lights, punched the button on her CD player so Clint Black could sing her a few carols and headed into the bedroom to change clothes. By God, she was going to do Christmas up right, even if she had to whip up the cheer all by herself.

  Just as she finished hanging up her coat and was about to take the
Santa hat off, the doorbell rang. Her first thought was that Steve and Claire had delivered the kittens to Lucile and spilled the beans about who’d come up with the idea. She hoped her neighbor wasn’t angry with her. The poor woman had said no cat could ever replace her Pookie, so she might as well have nothing. But Jo thought one look at two little bundles of fur would change all that in a hurry.

  She decided to leave the Santa hat on because it would make Lucile laugh. In fact, she’d invite Lucile and the kittens inside to watch It’s a Wonderful Life. She should have thought of it sooner. Lucile was special for another reason—living right next door she’d have been hard to fool, so Jo had trusted her with the knowledge that her marriage was a fake.

  Jo opened her door with a grin on her face and nearly toppled backward in surprise. Russ stood on her front stoop. Under the shadow of his Stetson his cheeks glowed pink from the cold, and he wore his heavy sheepskin jacket with the collar turned up.

  Jo blinked, wondering if she’d fallen asleep in front of the television and was dreaming that Russ was here. Either that or she’d been a fool to stop believing in Santa Claus.

  5

  “SORRY TO DISTURB your Christmas,” Russ said. “I didn’t know what else to do. Your neighbor won’t let me in the house. She thinks I’m drunk. I wonder if you could—”

  “Why do you need to get into Lucile’s house?”

  “Because I—ouch.” He winced and clutched at his jacket. Something was squirming beneath it.

  “What’s under your jacket?”

  “Kittens.” He glanced at a water-stained list in his free hand. “Your neighbor is the one who’s supposed to get ’em, right?”

  Understanding dawned, although she still found the whole thing hard to believe. “You’re helping Steve, aren’t you?”

  “Appears so.”

  “Did you divide up the job with Steve and Claire?”

  “Nope. I’m the whole show. Steve and Claire took sick yesterday. Flu or something. I came up from Tucson to help out, because they didn’t have anybody else they could call to take over, and the presents have to get delivered.” He winced again as a muffled squeak came from beneath his jacket.

  “Come inside.” She took his arm and tried to pull him through the door. “I think we need to get those kittens out before they either smother or claw you to death.”

  Russ resisted her. “I doubt your husband would appredate it, me bargin’ in on Christmas Eve. But if you could call your neighbor, I’d be much obliged.”

  So news of her marriage had found its way to Russ, after all. “My husband’s not here right now. Come in while we sort this out.”

  He finally stepped over the threshold, although he looked ill at ease. “I had to put them inside my jacket Steve had this little carrier for them, with red bows and all, but I thought it was way too cold in there. Then when I got here, the little rascals wouldn’t go back in that cold little cage. Can’t say as I blame ’em.”

  Jo closed the door behind him and reached for the zipper on his jacket. God, he smelled wonderfully male. “Here.” The minute she pulled the zipper partway down, a fuzzy little head poked out, and the first kitten, a tortoiseshell, scrambled free. Jo caught her in one hand and cupped her other hand under the kitten’s bottom. “Oh, you little darling! Lucile will love you.”

  Russ reached inside his jacket and pulled out the second kitten, a tiger-striped gray. “This one’s my favorite. No tail.” He held the mewing kitten backside out for Jo’s inspection.

  “For heaven’s sake. Must be a manx cat somewhere in her family tree.”

  “Yep.” He cradled the kitten against his chest. “Hush, now, tiger. I’m not hurtin’ you none.”

  No matter how she struggled against it, Jo couldn’t help thinking of the last time Russ had stood in her living room, and the magic touch she’d received from the hands that now cuddled a tiny kitten. Desire rushed through her, hot and strong. Very unseemly for a married woman.

  To hide her reaction, she inspected the little tortoiseshell. “This one sure looks healthy. Do you know if they’ve had their shots?”

  “Steve took care of that.”

  “Good. That will help Lucile with the expense, considering there’s two.”

  “That’s what Steve figured.” Russ’s gaze traveled from her Santa hat to her little white boots. The flash of interest in his eyes was brief but unmistakable. “You musta just got home from the Roundup.”

  Her body responded to that tiny spark. She’d been right about how susceptible she was to him, even though they’d only spent one night in each other’s company. It had been, after all, a memorable night. “We closed up early because of the snow.”

  He surveyed the room, which she’d decorated with a few pine boughs and pinecones along with some sprigs of holly. “Looks nice in here. Smells good, too, with the real tree and all.”

  “That’s the only kind to have.” She kept talking to stave off her erotic thoughts. “I decided to get a tree, even if it would only be me enjoying it.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean, only you? Isn’t your husband coming home for Christmas?”

  In the excitement of having Russ appear on her doorstep she’d forgotten about the story she’d made up for his benefit. “Uh, no, he won’t. He had to work.”

  “On Christmas? Steve said he was some kind of traveling salesman. Surely people wouldn’t want to see a salesman on Christmas.”

  Jo thought fast. “He also services what he sells, and so they needed him for that.”

  “What needs servicing on Christmas?”

  She scrambled through her meager knowledge of essential equipment. “Iron lungs.”

  “Iron lungs.” He stared at her.

  Judging from his expression, her tall tale needed some propping up. “I mean, just think of it It’s Christmas Eve and the iron lung malfunctions. Who’re you gonna call?”

  “Your husband, I reckon.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  Russ stroked the kitten with one hand and it began to purr. “When’s he showing up to celebrate Christmas with you, then?”

  “Oh, I don’t think he’ll be able to make it until later in the week.” Jo’s hunger grew as Russ continued to fondle the little animal. She had total recall of what that fondling was like. “And how can I complain? He’s doing such an essential job.”

  “What’s the point in having a salesman for those things? I mean, you either need ’em or you don’t. Can’t imagine standing around debating the subject.”

  Jo began to suspect he wasn’t going to buy her explanation, but she’d dug this hole and she might as well dig it a little deeper. “Well, there’s more than one company that makes them, you see. There’s competition, like with everything.”

  “What’s his company?”

  “Breath of Life, Inc.”

  Russ nodded, his gaze speculative. “I have to say, I was kinda surprised to hear you got married.”

  She forced a laugh. “It was sudden. But I’ve known—” Richard? Ronald? “—that crazy guy for years, and when he showed up and popped the question, we just flew to Vegas and that was that.”

  “He wasn’t the one you were tryin’ to forget, was he?”

  God, he’d really remembered the details of their encounter. She’d have to be very careful. “No, somebody from before that.”

  “Somebody you’ve loved for years, huh?”

  She hadn’t had this kind of third degree from anybody, and now it had to come from the one person she had to fool. “Well, you know how sometimes you can love somebody, and not really know you love them until something happens. Then all of a sudden, barn! You realize that person is the one for you.”

  “I can’t say I know about that” His gaze pierced hers. “After all, I’m just an Arizona boy.”

  She’d forgotten about that little zinger she’d asked Steve to leave him with. Apparently it had had some effect. “I suppose you’re wondering how I could be so...free with
you that night and go off and marry somebody else not long afterward.”

  “It crossed my mind, but then, bein’ just an Arizona boy, I must not have made much of an impression on you.”

  “You were...very nice.” What an expert liar she was becoming. Nice didn’t even come close. “You turned out to be my last fling—one wild time before I settled down.”

  He scratched behind the kitten’s ears. “And here I was worried about you bein’ all upset because I ran out on you, when all I did was clear the way for somebody else.”

  She looked into his eyes. “You were worried about me being upset?”

  “Some.”

  “Then why didn’t you leave me any kind of message?”

  He hesitated. “The truth is, I didn’t know what to say. I just—well, I guess it doesn’t matter now what I was thinkin’ or not thinkin’. Steve told me you’d found somebody, and I’m happy for you.”

  It mattered a great deal to her what he’d been thinking when he’d walked out of her house that night. Still, she couldn’t act too interested in that or she’d give herself away. Maybe it was time to change the subject. “And now you’re here delivering everything for Steve and Claire tonight.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Won’t that be kind of difficult, getting it done all by yourself?”

  “This is my first stop, so I’m not sure what it’ll be like from here on. Steve made out a whole list of instructions, but after dropping it in a snowbank, I can’t make out the writing. I let loose of it when one of the kittens scratched me real deep. And then your neighbor wouldn’t open her door when I told her I was Santa Claus come to visit”

  In spite of the tension of the moment, Jo laughed. “That’s what you said?”

  “That’s what Steve and Claire always say, so I thought I might as well give it a try. Your neighbor left the chain on and hollered through the crack. Told me I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places and to go find somebody my own age to pester.”

  Jo smiled as she pictured Lucile dealing with this tall cowboy who claimed to be Santa Claus. “I imagine the line worked better for Steve and Claire, because they appeared as a couple and most folks in Prescott know who they are.”