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“Did all the Whos finally realize it was you?” I call out in a teasing tone. It’s no secret that everyone thinks he resembles a certain green monster who destroys the holidays for those who do find joy in them.
He pauses and turns back to me, a half-smile playing at his lips. This has got to be a new record of near smiles for me. “It was that damn Cindy Lou.”
“She spoils everything. Is that why you’re here? Are you trying to get new toys to clear your name?”
“Not exactly.” He pulls off his Stetson again and spins it in his hands, the way he does whenever he’s not sure what to do next. I’ve spent a lifetime studying this man, learning his habits and quirks.
“I could use a bride for Christmas,” he finally announces.
“I don’t make those kinds of toys here,” I quip at him even as my chest feels too tight. West is getting married. I didn’t even know he was dating. He’s never brought a woman home to meet his parents and that’s just not how things are done in Courage County. So, who is the mystery woman and why am I already jealous of her?
“I need a real woman. Someone to help me out.” He’s not looking at me anymore.
Finally, I understand what he’s saying. He doesn’t have a woman. He’s looking for someone to help him. I don’t think I want to know the task he has in mind.
“Maisy might be willing to do it,” I answer. She and I recently became friends. She moved back home to Courage to care for her adoptive brothers after her parents passed away this summer.
He snorts. “Striker would have me strung up by my thumbs before noon.”
OK, so that is true. Striker runs the Cardinal Ranch and he’s fiercely protective of anything that’s his. Including Maisy. He kidnapped her one night and they fell in love. Not long after that, they were married.
“I had someone else in mind for the job.” His voice has that dark, raspy note that makes me want to close my eyes and listen to it again and again, like a beloved song.
“What do you need her for anyway?” West has always been handsome and even though I try to ignore their looks, I see the way other women pay attention to him. It doesn’t matter if they’re locals who have known him all his life or women visiting the farm for holiday cheer.
My stomach hurts when I see their looks because I know that some woman will eventually snag his attention then he’ll be hers. I’ll have to sit across from her at family dinners and pretend that I don’t think about her husband.
The coffee pot makes a noise to indicate it’s finished brewing. I pull two chipped mugs from the cabinet. They have holiday puns on them because Dad loves puns and he’s always giving me gifts with them.
I pour West his coffee and pass it to him, careful not to touch his fingers. I’m always worried that my face will give me away. Mom says my eyes tell the truth and West is the one person I can’t afford to tell the truth to.
He takes a long sip of his coffee and I watch his throat work. “Mom wants Dad to sit out of everything this year, so it looks like I’ll be putting on the big red suit.”
An important part of the Christmas festivities every year is the Santa’s workshop event that Dad and Mom put on here. He dresses up as Santa and she’s Mrs. Claus. They hand out gifts to all the kids in town and donate groceries to needy parents. Their goal is to make sure every family in Courage County has a beautiful Christmas day and I love them for it. They aren’t just interested in Christmas as a business. It’s a way of life for them and that means giving back to those less fortunate.
Still, I can’t help the giggle that manages to escape when I imagine West in the big red suit, trying to smile down at the babies and take pictures with the sugar-hyped children who come to sit on his lap. “You’re going to pretend to be jolly this year?”
“Oh, it gets better,” he drawls. “You’re going to be Mrs. Claus.”
2
WEST
Cassie would haveyou believing that I’m the big green guy. The one who steals Christmas and disappoints children. But well, I’ve always thought they had him a little bit wrong in the movies. Maybe the fellow with the shoes too tight is just lonely. Maybe he’s always been a little bit in love with someone who doesn’t return his feelings.
I grew up hearing my parents talk about how they met one Christmas, and it was love at first sight. The same thing happened to me too. Only she was my best friend’s little sister. She was fifteen and standing there in a pair of red tights and a short dress looking like a dream straight out of my fantasies.
I was eighteen and even if my parents hadn’t warned me away, I wouldn’t have pursued her. I was best friends with Micah and besides, my folks adopted both of them. We spent every day mucking out horse stalls together and every night sharing a dinner table.
Now Christmas is a reminder that she doesn’t see me as anything but her adopted brother. I can’t think too much about that or my gut gets all twisted up. Mainly, I just try to avoid her and everyone else. Hell, maybe I am the green guy.
She puts a hand on her curvy hip. “I’m not playing Mrs. Claus to your Santa.”
When my folks told me they wouldn’t be putting on the usual Santa and Mrs. Claus costumes this year, I did the logical thing. I suggested my brother don the red suit. Ledger is the real crowd-pleaser. He already does the tours around the farm, keeping tourists and locals alike entertained as they’re driven around the grounds.
But he can’t do that and manage to be Santa at the same time. The next less logical solution was my brother, Micah. But he drives the tractor that attaches to the wagons. Each wagon is decorated to look like a train car. It’s a Christmas train that delights our visitors year after year.
That only left yours truly for the part. I would have balked, but I knew that would make my mom sad. If there’s one thing a Southern man won’t stand for, it’s disappointing his mama. So, I agreed to do this for my parents and for the kids that still believe Christmas is magical.
