Page 21 of A Heart Falls Cowboy Christmas

If they made sense.

She sighed as she exchanged her essay for the one Jinx had completed, ready to proofread it for mistakes.

With barely three months to go before graduation, if their classmates didn’t know how to write an essay yet, chances were slim they’d figure it out in time. Yet their Language Arts teacher kept assigning one or two per class.

Beside her, Jinx snickered as she pulled Sasha’s essay in front of her. “You’re not pulling any punches, are you?”

“Nope.” Sasha grinned as she watched Jinx’s smile grow bigger the farther down the page she read. “If they don’t want creative essay topics, they shouldn’t offer D. Topic of your own choice as an option.

“The Decline of Educational Expectations in Alberta. That’s toasty, all right.”

They had just finished their homework when Tansy marched into the room. “Time to shake it up. Grab your coats, girls. We have places to be and mischief to make.”

“What places?” Jinx asked, smoothing a hand over the top of her golden retriever’s head when Dixie bumped her thigh, asking for attention.

“Notice she didn’t ask what mischief was planned?” Jake, Tansy’s fiancé, stepped over to the stove to give a massive pot of chili a stir.

“Mischief is always a good idea,” Sasha informed him as she put her books away in her backpack. “What time will we be done? I need to call my mom if I’m not headed home for supper.”

“I already talked to your Mom, Sasha, so let’s get rolling. Chop, chop.”

There was a flurry of goodbye hugs and kisses for each of them from little Jeffrey before he retreated to be scooped up by Jake. “Have fun, ladies.” Jake offered.

“We will,” Tansy assured him even as she herded Jinx and Sasha out the door and into Jake’s truck. “Goodnight, Dixie. You stay with the boys and be a good girl.”

Dixie pouted, but she knocked Jinx in the legs then obediently returned to the living room.

“When are you going to tell us what we’re doing?” Jinx leaned into Tansy’s side on the bench seat of the truck.

Tansy clicked her tongue. “So curious. You need to be patient for a little longer and all your answers will appear.”

“Ha,” Sasha declared. “Don’t try to pretend you’re uber-patient, because you know if you were in our shoes, you’d be chomping at the bit to find out what’s going on.”

A small laugh escaped Tansy as she turned toward Heart Falls. “You’re right. I’d be nagging on whoever was driving me, but let’s just say this is a good surprise that some people who really love you decided to put together.”

Jinx folded her arms over her chest. “Fine. We’ll wait, but next time please tell those people to send an invitation with a description of what’s planned. Then we can enjoy anticipating as well as the event.”

Holding her tongue was tough, but Sasha peered out the window as the truck moved away from downtown toward the outskirts. Not a store, then, not Buns and Roses…

When they closed in on her Uncle Walker and Auntie Ivy’s house, curiosity grew instead of retreating. Familiar cars and trucks lined the sidewalk, including her family’s SUV. “Okay, what’s happening?.”

Tansy pulled the truck into the open space right in front of the walkway. “Trust me.”

“Famous last words,” Jinx muttered.

“Hey.” Tansy poked her in the ribs gently. “You guys are going to have a blast.”

Every light in the house had to be on, and a soft glow spilled out onto the snow-covered lawn. As Sasha followed Jinx into the house, a wash of female voices and music flowed over them.

Sasha kicked off her boots and looked around the room. Familiar faces were everywhere.

All her aunts were there, not only Ivy. All of her mom’s sisters, plus all of the aunties married to her dad’s side—Ginny, Kelli, and Charity.

Well, Charity wasn’t an official auntie yet, and she was close enough in age to be more friend than adult figure, but still.

Fern crossed the room, and that’s when Sasha spotted all the Fields family. Or the female side of the family, including their mom and grandma.

At Sasha’s side, Jinx pressed close. “It’s a full house.”