The Texan's Christmas

“I’m aware of that. I don’t live under a rock. Cadde and Chance have moved back home and I see their wives all the time.”

“You know Shay and Jessie?”

“Yes.” Why did he seem so shocked? She supposed he thought the barkeeper’s daughter wasn’t good enough to socialize with the Hardins. She immediately pushed all that resentment away. “Darcy’s the only kid I know who would come into a bar to sell Girl Scout Cookies.”

“Shay let her do that?”

There was that note of concern again. In that moment she knew what she’d probably known for the past twenty years. That Kid had used her like all the other boys in school had tried. But he’d done it with words of I love you and forever. And she’d fallen for his lies like a child tottering on a cliff.

“Don’t worry, Kid, Shay was waiting outside. Chance had said that Darcy had to sell the cookies herself and she was determined to sell the most in her troop.”

“Yeah. I bought two cases. I munched on those things for months.”

She took a long breath, not wanting to get into a family discussion. That was too easy, too familiar.

“I have to get back to work.”

“Wait.” He held up a hand. “I’d like to talk about oil leases.”

“What?” She eased back into her chair.

“Shilah Oil would like to lease your land for oil and gas.”

She wanted to laugh and without realizing it she did. She had something Kid wanted. This was going to be fun.

“No,” she replied without having to think about it.

“Come on, Lucky. This could be good for you.” He glanced around. “Maybe you could get out of this place.”

That did it.

“The land is not for lease.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not leasing to a Hardin.”

He drew back as if she’d hit him. “Come on, Lucky.”

Come on, Lucky. That and his I-live-for-you smile were his trademarks. Come on, Lucky. He’d kiss her cheek. Come on, Lucky. He’d stroke her hair. Come on, Lucky. And she’d do anything he wanted.

But not anymore.

CHAPTER TWO

KID SANK INTO A COMFY CHAIR in Cadde’s den, feeling out of breath and sucker punched by a blue-eyed, short-haired blonde.

The land is not for lease. To a Hardin.

After that, Lucky put the lid on anything else he had to say. It was the first time in his life that his smile, his words, had failed, but it wasn’t over. Lucky just thought it was.

His chest tightened and he focused on Jessie playing on the floor with Jacob. The moment the baby saw him he fell to all fours and crawled over, pulling up on Kid’s jeans.

“Hey, partner.” Kid lifted the nine-month-old baby onto his lap. Jacob bounced up and down, smiling, showing off his two lower teeth. Kid had always thought he didn’t want kids, but the moment Jacob was born something changed in him. Instead of going on a date, he’d play with Jacob. He didn’t understand that. Maybe it had something to do with his thirty-eight-plus years, which he’d been reminded of more than once today.

The whirl of a helicopter sounded above. Before Roscoe Murdock, Jessie’s father, had died, he’d purchased a top-of-the-line helicopter for Shilah Oil so they could save time when traveling to oil wells. It was also an easy way for Cadde and Chance to go to work in Houston. Jacob’s eyes opened wide and his mouth formed an O. Quickly he scooted from Kid’s lap and crawled to his mother.

Jessie clapped her hands. “Daddy’s home.”

Excited, Jacob bounced up and down again on his butt. All he had on was a diaper and a T-shirt.

“What door does Daddy come in?” Jessie asked.

Jacob’s mouth formed another O. “Da, da, da, da,” Jacob babbled. Mirry, Jessie’s dog, barked and trotted to the back door. The baby zoomed after her.

“He’s understanding a lot,” Kid said.

“Yes, he does,” Jessie replied. “We read to him all the time and he loves animals.”

“Wonder where he gets that from?” Jessie had an affinity for animals. Besides Mirry, she had a one-eyed donkey, a ram with no horns, five abused horses that were now healthy and a fawn she’d raised from a bottle. She’d set the doe free, but she always came back for feed and pampering.

When he’d first met Jessie, she was standoffish, but a looker, like Bubba Joe had said, with dark tumbling hair and black eyes. Her father protected and sheltered her all her life. On his deathbed, the man had made a deal with Cadde—marry my daughter and keep her safe and I’ll give you my shares in Shilah Oil.

For ten years Cadde had worked his ass off for Roscoe. He’d earned everything he’d inherited, but Roscoe forgot to mention that Jessie received the largest part of Shilah. That set up the biggest test of wills Kid had ever seen. It had brought his strong brother to his knees and Jessie almost lost her sanity. But through it all they found the magic formula—love.

Love—what the hell was it?

“You look a little down,” Jessie remarked, picking up a toy.

Kid clasped his hands between his knees. “I just had to face my past and it was a little unsettling.”

“Cadde said you were trying to lease a piece of land from an old girlfriend.”

“Yeah. My high school sweetheart, Lucky Littlefield.”

“Oh.” Jessie paused in stacking Jacob’s toys on the coffee table. “I’ve met her.”

“That right?”

“Yes, at Walker’s General Store. I was browsing so long at the old neat stuff that Jacob grew fussy. He threw his stuffed dog out of the stroller. Lucky handed it back to him. Mirry didn’t bark or growl like she usually does if anyone gets near him. Mirry’s a very good judge of character. Lucky introduced herself and I liked her. She’s very pretty with a stylish haircut.”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you frowning?”

Was he? He hadn’t realized that.

“Don’t you like her hair?”