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Chapter Twenty-Two
Jill untucked the long piece of black hair, letting it fall from under her pointy elf hat. Even she could admit that she was tired of dressing up and playing a part, and she normallyloveddoing so.
But it had been four long weekends of work to host the Howdy Holiday Festival at the ranch. Profitable, yes. Ginger had given Jill a bonus of a thousand dollars for coming up with and executing the idea that had brought families to the ranch from all over the Coastal Bend region of Texas.
But tiring at the same time. “Ultra tiring,” Jill said as she took in the bags under her eyes. And if she was tired, Slate was probably downright exhausted.
He’d said last night that he could ho-ho-ho for one more afternoon. He’d said the he was ten times happier here, doing this, than he’d been in Vail, and Jill believed him. She’d been pretty miserable without him in her life too.
But he was back now, and he’d moved right back into the bedroom he’d been living in before. No one had taken Luke’s room either, and Slate said he hated looking through the bathroom and finding a dark bedroom on the other side.
Jill knew he missed Luke powerfully. She knew the five of them texted constantly, though, and she knew Luke would be in town for a few days over Christmas. Or maybe before Christmas? Maybe after.
She wasn’t entirely sure; she only knew he was coming. Right now, Jill didn’t even know what day it was, other than the last day she had to wear this elf costume.
Turning away from her reflection, she picked up the basket of candy canes and headed outside. Down the lane and near the stables, the festival was already in full swing. Hannah led the class on holiday sweets, and today, they were making fudge in plastic zipper bags.
Jill watched the kids kneading, smiling as she passed them. Jess had a dozen horses out today, and she was currently giving a demonstration on how they could learn to prance and walk sideways. She’d been dressing them up with red flowers and sprigs of ivy for the festival, and today she’d added white ribbons to their manes.
They’d had over fifty new registrations for horseback riding lessons during the month of December, and Ginger had gushed about that too. Jill loved it when an idea came together, and she loved that she’d been able to do something to help the ranch.
Truth be told, she’d never felt very useful around the ranch, because did it really matter if the honeybees died off? Probably not. It was one of their more popular after-school programs, and their summer camps usually sold out too.
Awareness of the ranch had risen, and they’d been getting sign-ups for all of their programs as more people came to the ranch, and as Jill continued to strengthen their online presence.
“All right,” she said in a loud voice as she approached the line of people waiting to meet Cowboy Claus. “Who’s ready for Santa to ride in on his horse?”
The kids cheered and the adults wore polite smiles. A few of them clapped, and Jill surveyed the crowd. “Around these parts, we don’t just have candy canes.” She lifted one of the treats out of the basket. “We have peppermint horseshoes.” She started handing them out, telling the kids that the horses here at Hope Eternal never went anywhere without the proper footwear.
“And neither does Cowboy Claus,” she said. “Let’s see if we can get him to show up. I know he doesn’t like to be late.” She turned toward the stable and added, “You have to yell, Giddy up, Cowboy Claus! as loud as you can. If he hears us, he’ll come.” She faced the children again. “Are you ready?”
One little girl bounced on her feet, her face bright. Jill had seen children like her go from excited to terrified the moment Cowboy Claus appeared, and she hoped there would be no criers today. There had been every other day of the festival, but Slate had handled them all like a champ.
“Here we go,” Jill said. “On three. One…two…three! Giddy up, Cowboy Claus!” she yelled with the kids. They kept at it, calling for him a couple of times before Slate came flying from behind the stable, decked out in the full, furry red Santa suit. He held the reins in one hand while his other pressed his snowy white cowboy hat to his head.
“Yeehaw-haw-haw!” he yelled instead ofho ho ho!
The kids and their parents cheered and clapped, and the line grew as more people joined it from the other activities.
“Whoa, there, Prancer,” Slate said to Scalloped Potato, and she slowed to a stop. He jumped from her back like he was made of springs, and he swaggered toward the children with a bright smile on his face. “Well, howdy partners. Howdy, little girl. Howdy, my elf.” He slipped his arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze.
Jill giggled and moved to the front of the line. She handed out the coded cards that parents could use to buy pictures for the next three days. Each child got a couple of minutes with Slate to tell him all they wanted for Christmas. Jill got a picture. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
She couldn’t have said how many times she’d heard Slate say “Yeehaw-haw-haw!” He said it with almost every child, and as the line moved and he pulled little boys and little girls onto his lap, Jill fell more in love with him.
Finally, the event ended—and not a moment too soon, as she only had two peppermint horseshoes left in her basket.
“Well, that’s a wrap,” she said, starting to take down the tripod.
“Do you have time for one more?”
She looked over at the familiar voice and found Luke standing there, decked out in a red and white vest, jeans, and his cowboy hat.
“Luke,” she said, rushing toward him. “It’s so good to see you.”
He chuckled as he hugged her. “Good to see you too, Jill.” He stepped back and ran his hand down his clean-shaven face. “I was right about him, wasn’t I?”
“Took forever though,” Jill said, giving him a playful swat on the upper arm. “Why no beard?”
