Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger / Once Upon A Christmas Eve: Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger

Lilly turned back around and saw a happy look on her daughter’s face when they drove through the large, iron gate that read, A Bar A Ranch. They stopped beside the ranch hands standing on either side of the road, greeting each carload of guests and giving directions.

Noah continued on past the ranch compound to the wooded area that was Cherry’s Camp.

The summer camp for handicapped kids was opened a few years back by Alex and Allison. Their eldest daughter, Cherry, had been in a wheelchair after a childhood accident. Now she was fully recovered and walking.

The facility wasn’t scheduled to open until the following week, so there was plenty of room for today’s barbecue.

Once parked, they all got out and walked past several of the family cabins to the large two-story structure where several barbecues and smokers were set up on the deck.

Inside the main hall there was a huge common area with a wonderful stone fireplace. Already friends and neighbors were milling around the area. The building also housed an exercise room, an indoor pool and a large kitchen and dining area.

Along the walls were tables of food; everyone brought a dish to share. By the looks of the limited space left, no one would go hungry.

“Lilly.”

She turned to see her friend and new mother coming toward them. In her arms was her new son. “Jenny. I was hoping you would be here.”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

Lilly smiled down at the baby. “Oh, and look at this guy.” The baby was dressed in a little shirt that read, Cowboy In Training along with jeans. “Oh, could I hold him?”

With Jenny’s nod, Lilly scooped up the infant in her arms. She inhaled the baby’s scent, the warmth of having his sweet weight against her. She rocked him and kissed his head as she smiled and cooed at his sweet face, then looked up and caught Noah watching her.

She glanced at her mom and Jenny. They were talking and not paying attention to her. “I get a little carried away,” she finally said to him. “There’s something about new babies.”

Coop nodded in agreement, but in truth he had never thought much about babies. He had a niece, but with his work, he’d never been around her much. Yet something about Lilly holding the kid got to Coop. He didn’t like that, reminding himself he needed to stay focused on his job.

Lilly looked away when her kids were asking her questions, then Kasey and Robbie quickly took off.

Beth was looking around. “Jenny, have you seen Sean?”

“He’s in the kitchen, dropping off his barbecue beef and chicken. He’ll be out here soon.”

“So I’m finally getting to sample some of this famous sauce I’ve heard about,” Coop said.

“You haven’t been to Rory’s Bar and Grill?”

Coop shook his head.

“Well, you’re in for a treat,” Beth said. “People come from miles for a taste of his sauce. He’s been talking about marketing it.” Then she realized how much she was giving away. “Well, he’s talked about it a little.”

“What a great idea,” Lilly said.

It didn’t take long before Sean Rafferty came out of the back followed by two younger men. Coop recognized one as Jenny’s husband, Evan. Seeing the close resemblance to the other male, he guessed him to be Matt Rafferty. The one who had quite the reputation with the ladies.

Sean grinned when he spotted Beth. “Beth. You made it.” He kissed her on the mouth, then hugged her close. “I missed you.” He had no trouble showing affection, and he wasn’t the only one in the family. His sons followed suit, hugging Beth. So everyone was happy with the couple.

“Hello, Coop.” Sean shook his hand. “I’d like you to meet my sons, Evan and Matt. Boys, this is Noah Cooper. He rents Beth’s cottage and works for Alex.”

“Good to meet you,” Coop said to Evan. “I saw you at the hospital, but I guess you were a little preoccupied.”

Evan laughed and hugged his wife close. “Yeah, Jenny has a tendency to distract me, along with this little guy.”

“Can’t say I blame you. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Coop looked at Matt. “Hello, Matt. I hear you run a vineyard and a cattle ranch.”

The younger brother put on a grin. “Among other things. So you’re working for Alex?”

“I’m a carpenter.”

He nodded. “And a lucky man to be staying with Beth and Ms. Principal here?”

“I’m renting the cottage out back.”

Beth jumped in. “Coop is also helping out with some repairs on the house.”

Matt nodded, but didn’t respond. Was the guy wondering if there was something going on between him and Lilly? Had the two dated before?

There were loud voices and they all looked to see more people coming. “Oh, the Merricks are here,” Lilly announced. “Look at Louisa, doesn’t she look great? I hear her and Clay are off on another trip soon.”

Coop recognized the older gentleman as Senator Clayton Merrick, soon to be retired after he finished this last term. He wasn’t sure who the others were.

“I didn’t expect to see her here,” Matt Rafferty murmured.

Coop turned around to see a petite raven-haired woman. She was beautiful. Seemed Matt Rafferty wasn’t exactly happy.

“Of course Alisa would be here,” Beth said. “She’s the project manager on Vista Verde.”

“What’s the matter, Matt?” Evan asked as he nudged him. “Wouldn’t Alisa give you the time of day?”

“I don’t need her to give me anything.”

Jenny stepped in. “Oh, come on, Alisa’s not like that. You just don’t know her.” She smiled at her brother-in-law. “It couldn’t be anything you said or did to her, could it?”

Matt shrugged, but Coop could see that the woman got under his skin. “Doesn’t matter,” he said. “There’s too many other women around.” He wandered off and found two willing females to spend time with.

Beth patted Sean’s hand. “He just needs to find that special one.”

Sean didn’t look convinced and suggested, “Why don’t we go and see Clay and Louisa and find out about their latest travels?”

Beth looked at her daughter. “Would you mind?”

“Of course not. Go and enjoy yourselves.”

The baby had fallen asleep and Lilly gave him back to Jenny.