Only sixteen more shopping days until Christmas,” the DJ on the store radio said. “For all you folks on the road trying to get some shopping done this morning in central Texas, drive safe and keep your radio tuned to…”
Fiona blocked out the DJ’s voice and tried to decide if she liked blue or green better, or if one color made hotter sex than the other, when Sharlene came out of the women’s bathroom at the convenience store and threw her hands up in anger. “Are you aware that the condom machine in there is empty?”
“Try the men’s bathroom,” Fiona said without taking her eyes off the coffee stains she was washing from the table.
“I did and it’s empty, too.”
“Must be this weather. Folks got to stay warm somehow,” Fiona laughed.
Maybe she should ask the man who filled the dispensers once a week if he had some in Christmas red and green.
“Well, dammit!” Sharlene huffed. “I’m out and my boyfriend is planning to be here tonight and tomorrow. I’ve closed down the day care until Monday with this weather and that leaves us lots of time to play around in the bedroom. Don’t suppose you’d share any of your personal stock, would you?”
“Why would I have any? I don’t have a boyfriend.” Fiona skirted the issue. “And why doesn’t he buy them?”
“He usually does, but I’ve always kept a backup stock on hand. Oh! Oh! I forgot about Nadine’s. There’ll be some in the machines in her bathroom and I have a key.” Sharlene wiped her brow in a dramatic gesture.
“Well, aren’t you lucky?” Fiona said at the same minute the bell above the door let her know someone was entering the store. She glanced over her shoulder and caught Jud’s gaze and wicked little crooked grin. The blush started at the base of her neck and rapidly traveled to her cheeks.
“You are flushed,” Sharlene said. “That heater vent right above you has made you too hot or maybe”—she lowered her voice—“it’s the customer. You want me to buy a few extra things from Nadine’s bathroom so you’ll be prepared?”
“No, thanks,” Fiona whispered.
“Hey, Jud Dawson, what are you doing in town?” Sharlene asked.
“On my way to Lizzy’s for a pickup load of feed and thought I’d take her a cup of hot chocolate,” he said smoothly.
“I’m amazed that she’s keeping the store open in this weather,” Sharlene said as she dropped her hand and reached for the doorknob. “Does she have a machine in her bathroom, Fiona?”
“Of course. The deliveryman has to have at least two stops to even drive all the way up to Dry Creek. You should put one in the bathroom at the day care,” Fiona said.
“I’m sure that would go over real well with preschoolers.” Sharlene left the store and hurried on down the street to Nadine’s café.
“I don’t think she’s talking about a candy dispenser, is she?” Jud continued to grin.
“I think you know what kind of machine she needs.” Fiona started toward the front of the store and he opened his arms.
She walked into them and inhaled slowly, taking in the remnants of that morning’s shaving lotion on his face, the cold air still lingering on his coat and the smell of coffee on his breath.
“Last night was amazing,” he whispered.
“I think we need some red and green for Christmas day. I could wrap them and put them under the tree,” she teased.
“When I open them, will you blush?”
“Probably but then so would you.” Fiona took two steps back when a truck pulled up to the gas pumps. In a minute, she was at her place behind the counter and Jud was heading back to the coffee machines. He pumped out two cups of hot chocolate and took them to the counter.
He was putting the change from a five-dollar bill into his pocket when Deke pushed his way into the store.
“Man, this warm feels good. I’m never complaining about the heat of summer again. This chills a grown man to the bone. At least in the summer, we just sweat a lot and drink more beer. I want a big cup of hot chocolate,” he said. “And I need to make a run through the bathroom.”
“Machine is sold out. Sharlene tried both bathrooms and said there’s none left,” Fiona said.
“Looks like folks are finding one way to stay warm,” Deke chuckled. “I’ll just have to leave early tomorrow night and drive into Wichita Falls to a drugstore and stock up. Y’all want me to get you a box while I’m there?”
One of Jud’s sexy eyelids slid shut in a sly wink. Fiona could feel the high color in her cheeks but there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.
“I cannot believe we are discussing condoms like we would doughnuts and coffee. And the answer is no. I do not need a box.” She hoped that her comment would justify the crimson in her face. She hadn’t blushed in years, so it had to be living in Dry Creek that brought it on so often.
“You should stock some on the shelves. I bet you’d make a lot of money.” He pulled out a couple of dollars and handed them to her to pay for the hot chocolate that he’d drawn up.
“And get sued for causing the old ladies in town to drop dead with heart attacks in my store,” Fiona said. “It’s a wonder any of them even use the bathrooms.”
“Maybe they don’t know what those machines are dispensing,” Jud said.
Deke chuckled. “Don’t fool yourselves. I bet they’re the ones guilty for the machines being empty. Can’t you just see Truman wearing one of those new glow-in-the dark—”
Fiona leaned all the way across the counter and put her hand on Deke’s mouth. “Enough! It’ll take all day to get that image out of my head.” She shivered.
“I was thinking about Dora June’s face if he rolled on—” Jud started.
“Both of you”—Fiona pointed at the door, her face burning red hot—“out, right now!”
Their laughter still echoed in the store five minutes after they’d gone. She refilled her coffee cup and carried it to the back room, where she turned on the computer and went to work on her second job.
The weather in Texas is as predictable as a seven-month pregnant woman. It changes its mind constantly and is never happy, so when the sun came out that Thursday afternoon, no one was surprised. There was more than one sigh in Throckmorton County and lots of hopes that they’d seen the last of snow, sleet, and ice for a long time.
In spite of the sun, no one else came into town that whole day after Deke and Jud had been thrown out of the store, so Fiona got completely caught up on her work by closing time. The roads were still slick, so she drove home slowly, glad that she’d be there in time for supper since she’d missed lunch and was starving.
The sweet smell of cinnamon welcomed her into the house, but neither Dora June nor Truman were anywhere in sight. She sniffed the air again and sure enough, it was cinnamon, so she followed her nose to the dining room where she found a note propped up beside a platter stacked high with snickerdoodles.
“They’ve gone to a Christmas party at Henrietta’s, whoever that is, and we have the house all to ourselves for about two hours,” Jud said from the shadows.
Her heart leapt into her throat and the note fluttered to the floor. “You scared the hell out of me.”
In a blur he was across the room. He scooped her into his arms and carried her up the stairs. “I had something better in mind for our time than scaring you,” he whispered.
She laid her head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart. She gasped when he opened the bedroom door. Curtains had been drawn, a dozen jar candles were burning around the room, casting their yellow glow, and there were rose petals strewn on the bed—there was no way in hell she could back out of a deal like that. She could hardly even hear for the humming noise her hormones made in her ears. When he laid her on the bed, the fresh smell of roses washed away every sane thought in her head.
“How did you do that? These smell like roses but they are silk.”
“Magic.” He kissed her long, lingering, and hard. “Only our lips can touch.”
“Who said?”
“We are going to make love, Fiona Logan, not have sex,” he whispered.
“Is there a difference?” she asked.
“You tell me in two hours.”
“How many times have you made love instead of having sex?” she asked.
“Never, and this time we are going to take it slow. It’s going to last all night,” he said in a husky voice as he bent forward to kiss her on the lips.
Her hands ached with desire to tangle themselves in his hair. Her body wanted his hands to roam over her like they had two nights before. She promised she wouldn’t even laugh at glow-in-the-dark protection if he’d take her clothes off and satisfy the deep need threatening to devour her.
“One article of clothing at a time,” he said. “You first.”
She thought about it, wanting it to be his jeans, but she’d never get them down past his boots. She decided to start with his shirt. Two could play this game even if she was a beginner.
She undid the three buttons at the top of the oatmeal-colored thermal knit shirt and slowly tugged it free of his jeans. Then she pulled it up over his head, stopping to kiss each nipple and his neck on the way. When it was fully off his body, she took time to fold it perfectly and lay it on the end of the bed.
“Aha!” He grinned. “Trying to torment me?” He flashed one of those devastating, heart-stopping smiles that heated her insides. “Just remember, darlin’, don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.”
He removed one of her boots and then the other and was starting to take off her socks when she shook her head. “That would be two articles, so only the boots.”
“Okay, darlin’, if that’s the way you want it.” He massaged her calves through the fabric of her skinny jeans and her feet through her socks.
She’d had massages of all kinds. Full body, hot rocks, the whole works. But nothing affected her like sinking into the depths of his brown eyes as he worked all the kinks from her lower legs and feet. Lord, if the look in his eyes really held the promise of what was to come, they might really wake Dora June with all the noise. Her soul hovered up there near the ceiling somewhere and her heart told her repeatedly she was a fool if she ever let this man get away from her.
“Do we have a time limit between takeoff and the next turn?” She gasped when he bent and strung soft kisses from the top of her sock to below her knee.
“Three minutes or we’ll lose too much time,” he drawled.
“My turn.” She sat up, pushed him back on the bed, and straddled his waist. The silver buckle of the leather belt hooked into a hole, so it was easy to undo. Getting it through the loops with him lying on his back was another thing but she managed with thirty seconds to go. She covered the bulge behind his zipper with her hand and massaged gently.
“Oh. My. God. That’s not fair,” he groaned.
“All’s fair in love and war.” She leaned forward and claimed his lips with a long, hot kiss.
“Love and war?” He teased his tongue between her lips.
“Right now the lines are pretty blurred,” she said breathlessly when the kiss ended.
He chose her shirt next and proceeded to kiss every inch of flesh above her bra. She fought the urge to shuck her bra and throw it across the room. A few more minutes of that and she was fully well ready to forget about making love and go back to plain old cowboy hot sex.
By the time they were both fully naked, every nerve in her body tingled. Every hormone hummed.
“Please,” she said.
“Now?”
“God, yes.”
He pulled a condom from the nightstand and she watched him unroll it onto his erection.
She slid into position and locked her legs around him. “I want you, Jud.”
With a firm thrust, he entered her and they rocked together in perfect tempo to the buzzing in their ears. Then, just as she was ready to dig her fingers into his back and squeal his name, he slowed down.
“No!” she whimpered.
“We still have thirty minutes.” He smiled.
“I’ll be nothing but a pile of ashes on your sheets in thirty minutes,” she said breathlessly.
The tempo sped up. The noise in her ears got louder and louder. Sparks bounced off the walls and then he said something that had the word love in it, or did he? She might have imagined that part in her flight to the top of the sex mountain, where she plunged off the side of the cliff into the cool lake below.
“Holy shit!” she muttered.
“Beats the hell out of sex.” He rolled to one side but kept her in his arms.
All the sparks in the room blended together to make a blanket of satisfaction that surrounded them like the warmth of a hot summer night under the stars.
“I’ve never…,” she said.
“Me neither.” His lips closed over hers.
Her last thought as she fell asleep in his arms was that she never wanted to leave, not this bed, this house, or Dry Creek.
On Friday, Jud awoke and watched Fiona sleep for several minutes before he eased out of bed, took a quick shower, dressed, and went to breakfast. He would have far rather spent the whole day in bed with her than have breakfast with Truman and Dora June and then go feed goats.
This thing he felt for her went deeper than anything he’d ever experienced. If this was love, no wonder his cousins were willing to hang up their party boots and settle down. He wanted to awake every morning with Fiona curled up beside him. He wanted to talk to her every night before they went to sleep. Did that mean he was falling in love?
Love!
His fork stopped midway to his mouth.
“What’s the matter with you?” Truman asked gruffly. “Got something stuck in your craw?”
Jud downed half a glass of orange juice before he stopped. “Yes, sir, I did but it’s better now.”
“Well, don’t go gettin’ sick on me just because the sun is out a little bit today. That don’t mean it’s not cold as ice cubes out there.”
Dora June giggled softly. “You are spoiled, Truman. In two weeks you are spoiled rotten to having someone help you and listen to your stories while y’all work.”
“I am not,” he protested loudly.
“Yes, you are, whether you admit it or not. Frankly, darlin’, I like you better and better.” She dropped a kiss on the top of his near-bald head.
Jud bit back the laughter when high color filled Truman’s cheeks.
“Hmmph!” The old guy grunted and kept his eyes on his plate until his food was totally gone.
After breakfast, they bundled up and set about doing Truman’s chores before Jud went over to Blake’s place to work on his own property. Truman acted as if nothing happened and prattled on about the weather, the new president who’d be taking office in a few weeks, and the state the world was in. Jud nodded at the right times, took care of the goats and fed the cattle, chipped ice from the watering troughs, and listened sporadically so if Truman asked a question, he might be able to answer it.
But his mind was on that one word that stunned him that morning as well as sleeping with Fiona. Not having sex or making love but sleeping with her in his arms all night. He’d slept with women before on occasion when he couldn’t figure out a tactful way to leave, but not a single woman in his past had stirred him like Fiona. And it wasn’t just the amazing sex. She was dependable, kind, hardworking, loved her family, and then there was the way her smile lit up the whole room and that cute temper when something like a tire blew out. Just exactly the kind of woman Jud needed: sass and love all rolled into one beautiful woman.
“Where’s your mind? I asked you three times if you wanted to go have some dinner with me on Sunday. Seems the womenfolks is goin’ to see Irene again and then they’re going to buy a bunch of shit for this ranch party next week,” Truman said.
“I’m sorry. I was—”
“Thinkin’ about Fiona. I know. I know,” Truman interrupted. “But you got to get a hold of yourself, son. That woman wasn’t never the settlin’ type and if you are ever goin’ to make a go of the Lucky Penny, you’d damn sure better not tie yourself up to a woman who’s half bird.”
“Bird?” Jud asked.
“You heard me. Soon as she can she’ll fly out of this nest again. Ain’t nobody, not even her mama, been able to clip her wings for very long. One time when she was about eight years old, she packed a bag and made it to the outskirts of town before they found her.”
“What happened?”
“She told Katy that she was going on an adventure. That was Fiona, always looking for something out there beyond Dry Creek. Now, are we goin’ to eat at Nadine’s together on Sunday or not?”
Jud cut his eyes around to Truman and rubbed his chin with the palm of his hand. “You buyin’ or am I?”
“This time it’s my turn. After we get done, we’ll have us another go at dominoes and you can invite your two cousins if you’ve a mind to. They might be getting tired of all this Sunday shit, too.”
Jud could hardly sit still and drive. This was a big step for the old scrooge. He might turn Truman O’Dell around by Christmas yet. “Well, I ain’t never turned down a free meal yet, so I’ll go with you. Reckon we could ask Blake and Toby to meet us there.”
“That’d be okay, but I ain’t payin’ for their dinners, too,” Truman said.
Fiona and Dora June watched reruns of NCIS that night on television. Truman had voiced his opinion about folks who watched those crazy cop shows and spent the rest of the evening in his room, probably watching a fishing show and wishing it were summer.
At ten o’clock, Dora June yawned and stood up. “It’s an hour past my bedtime, but I wanted to see one more. I expect Truman is already snoring like a grizzly bear, so I’ll get on to bed. Wonder what’s kept Jud out so late?”
“He called a couple of hours ago and said they had a heifer giving birth out of season. They’ve got her in the barn and all three of them are out there with her, trying to save the calf,” Fiona said with a long sigh.
“Y’all talk up there a lot at night, don’t you?”
If you only knew what we do up there at night, Fiona thought.
“Sometimes.”
“You like him. I can see it on your face when he’s around. I ain’t meddlin’, but be careful, honey. He’s slicker than his cousins. He comes across all sweet and sensitive, but he probably don’t even know that he’s leadin’ a woman on until she gets serious and then he bolts like a jackrabbit in huntin’ season.”
Fiona frowned. “You think he’s leadin’ me on? I’m the one who’s been ready to bolt. He’s the one who wants to put down roots.”
Dora June shook her head slowly and pursed her mouth tightly. “Lord knows I love that boy, but that’s what he’d have you to believe. Maybe he even believes it himself. But if you told him that you’d changed your mind and was goin’ to stay on here in Dry Creek, he’d be livin’ in that travel trailer in half an hour.”
One corner of Fiona’s mouth turned up slightly. “You really think so?”
Dora June patted her on the shoulder as she passed by. “I know so. I know men folks. Good night, Fiona. You’ll unplug the Christmas tree lights before you go to bed, won’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am, and good night, Dora June.”
“There’s snickerdoodles on the cabinet if you want a snack.”
“Thank you,” Fiona called over her shoulder.
On Saturday morning, Jud opened the kitchen door to find Dora June at her regular business of making breakfast, Truman sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, but Fiona was nowhere in sight.
“Where you been all night? Out with some old hussy?” Truman grumbled.
“Truman O’Dell!” Dora June popped her hands on her hips.
“I stayed over at Blake’s. Didn’t want to wake y’all. Is that pancakes and sausage?”
“It is and omelets so you have some protein to stick to your ribs,” Dora June answered.
“You up to helpin’ me or do you need to get a rest?” Truman asked.
“I’ve had five hours of sleep, so I’m good,” Jud said, keeping the smile off his face. They’d both have an acute coronary if they knew he and Fiona had been running on about that much sleep all week.
“Well, sit down and eat your breakfast so we can get goin’. That calf a good one?” Truman asked.
“Fine-lookin’ bull calf. Want to go see it once we get the chores done?” Jud asked.
“I might. Why’d you breed a heifer so she’d birth in December? Ain’t you got any sense about cows?”
“Didn’t do it on purpose. Sometimes those hussies get around the best rancher. You ever had one calve in the middle of the winter?”
“Couple of times, but I sure don’t like it. Spring calves are the best and that’s when we’re ready for them. Not in the winter when we got to keep them in the barn for fear of ’em freezin’ to death,” Truman answered. “Is it goin’ to be a good breeder or just another one to throw in the auction this next fall?”
“A bit hard to tell so early but looks like a breeder. Maybe you could give me your opinion. But if you don’t want to set foot on the Lucky Penny, I could ask for Herman’s thoughts on it,” Jud said as he poured warm maple syrup on a tall stack of pancakes.
“Hmmph.” Truman almost snorted coffee out his nose. “Herman might raise cattle, but he ain’t got as much sense about breeders as I got. I’ll look at that calf. You don’t need to be askin’ Herman Hudson a damn thing.”
Jud tucked his chin and set about eating breakfast. Laughter was not an easy thing to keep in when it was determined to escape, but Jud managed to keep it contained. It had to be the spirit of Christmas had finally gotten past that tough exterior and found Truman’s heart.
“When you get done, Jud, will you plug in the Christmas lights for me?” Dora June asked. “It’s awful hard for me to get down on my knees and do that.”
“Sure thing.” Jud finished off the last of his coffee and carried his dirty dishes to the sink. “You about ready, Truman?”
“Been ready for ten minutes. Dora June, why in the devil do you want lights burnin’ on that tree when the sun is coming out and it’s daytime? It’s a waste of electricity,” Truman grumbled.
“I’ll pay the electric bill if that’s what’s worryin’ you.” Dora June patted him on the shoulder. “You can hate baby Jesus if you want, but I love him and I’m having Christmas every minute that I can.”
“I don’t hate Jesus,” Truman argued.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Dora June said icily.
Truman slapped his forehead. “Well, go plug in her lights so we can get on with our business. Women! Can’t figure them out and it’s against the law to shoot ’em.”
Jud managed to have his back turned before he grinned and he made it to the living room before a chuckle erupted. Next time he got to town, he intended to buy a cord that had one of those on/off switches attached to it. He would affix it to a tree branch at the right height for Dora June to reach. That way she could turn it on and off at whim.
When the lights were all shining brightly, he heard a slight noise behind him and whipped around to find Fiona curled up on the sofa. He drank in the sight of her for several seconds, red hair flowing over a throw pillow under her head, thick eyelashes resting on her cheekbones, one arm under her head, the other one clutching a second throw pillow. She was so damn cute that it took all his willpower not to awaken her with a kiss. But it wouldn’t be right to deprive her of another hour’s sleep, so he gently tucked a throw blanket around her. Tonight, he promised himself, they’d have some time together.