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“I reckon so,” Porter said. “They’ve got harnesses and can pull a wagon. A sleigh wouldn’t be much different. But you’d need snow for a sleigh. And anyways, where could you get a sleigh around here?”
Trevor grinned. “Abner has a sleigh, and I’m going to help him finish building it. If we lived here, it would be easy for me to get to his place. Right, Dad?”
Emotion welled in Cooper’s throat. “We’ll need to work out the terms, Mr. Porter,” he said. “But I think we just might have ourselves a deal.”
Chapter 6
Afew nights later, Cooper loaded up on pizza from Buckaroo’s and invited Grace, Sam, Maggie, and Jess to celebrate his purchase of Clem Porter’s ranch—as well as Sam’s victory in the recent election for mayor.
Now that the papers were signed and recorded, and Clem Porter was packing up for his move to Mexico, Cooper was feeling twinges of buyer’s remorse. Everything had happened so fast. What if the ranch turned out to be a bad idea? Or what if he’d taken on more work and responsibility than he could handle?
But a few misgivings were to be expected, Cooper told himself. Besides, apart from his natural doubts, all the signs were good. Even Trevor seemed happy about the coming move. And transferring his lease on the house in town had been no problem. Wynette and Buck had jumped at the chance to take it, with an option to buy the house.
He hadn’t been sure that Jess would come. She’d been making herself scarce since their tense parting after Trevor’s misadventure on Halloween. Cooper still wasn’t sure what he’d said or done. If she didn’t like him, why would she have shown up at his house to help him find the boy? But at that last minute next to her car, when he’d told her she was becoming important to him, something had set her off.
Was it that? Or was she just concerned about what Trevor would think if she came to yet another family event?
Taking a chance, he’d left a voice mail on her phone. She’d responded later with a voice mail of her own, saying she’d be happy to come. That had to be a sign of something good.
She arrived ten minutes after Grace’s family did. Was that a ploy to avoid being alone with him? Cooper resolved not to dwell on it as he opened the pizza cartons and passed out the iced canned sodas he’d bought.
They sat around the kitchen table, eating on paper plates since most of the dishes were already packed. There were three different kinds of pizza to choose from and plenty of cold sodas. Maggie, an accomplished young cook, had even brought her special chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
“Have you started working on the sleigh yet?” Maggie asked Trevor, probably hoping she’d be asked to come and help.
“Not yet,” Trevor said. “Abner needs to get more sandpaper and varnish from the hardware store. The varnish is a special kind. They use it to waterproof boats. It has to be ordered in. We’ll need enough for at least three coats, and it has to dry and be sanded in between. It’s going to be a lot of work.”
His son’s enthusiasm made Cooper smile. This was what he’d hoped for—if only it would last. Trevor was capable of losing interest and careening off in some other direction, not always a good one. All he could do was encourage the boy, provide what Trevor needed, and keep his fingers crossed.
Glancing to one side, he caught Jess watching him. Her lips twitched in a self-conscious little smile before she looked away. Cooper cursed silently. What he really wanted was to get the woman in his arms and take things from there. Why did she push him away every time he tried to get close to her?
“Will the sleigh be ready in time for the Christmas parade?” Maggie reached for a second slice of pepperoni pizza. “The parade’s supposed to be on December twentieth, the same Saturday as the Cowboy Christmas Ball.”
Sam groaned. “Enough about the parade, Maggie. I told you there’s no time to put a parade together.”
“There’ll be time if we start on it soon, and if everybody helps. The high school band can march, the stores can make little floats, and Santa can ride in the sleigh. If there isn’t any snow, we can put the sleigh on a hay wagon. We’ve even got horses to pull it, haven’t we, Uncle Cooper?”
Cooper chuckled. “Leave me out of this, Maggie. The parade is up to your dad.”
Sam sighed. “I know you want a parade, Maggie. But right now, we don’t even have a Santa for the Christmas ball.”
“What?” Maggie’s jaw dropped. “What about Archie McNab? He’s always done it, except for last year when he had that hip operation.”
“Archie and his wife moved away last month. They left us his old Santa suit, but we don’t have anybody to wear it.”
“Well, you wore it last year. You could do it again.”
“That’s enough, Maggie. I said I’d only play Santa one time. I’m the mayor now. I’ve got other things to do. Christmas in Branding Iron will be just fine without a parade this year.”
“But what about the Christmas ball? We’ll need a Santa for the little kids.”
“Well, maybe somebody will volunteer. You can be in charge of asking around. How’s that?”
Maggie scowled at him over her can of root beer. “I love you, Daddy. But you were a lot more fun before you got to be mayor.”
“I love you, too, Maggie,” Sam said. “But some things are what they are. You’ll just have to accept that.”
“No, I don’t.”Maggie spoke in a low voice, maybe to herself. But Cooper, seated next to her, heard her words. And so, evidently, did Jess. She gave the little girl a conspiratorial smile.
