Page 39 of Cowboy Stolen Kiss for Christmas

The Crackle and Pop Parade was already forming on the crossroads at the top of Main Street. Lucy parked behind a small plaza strip that neither of them had visited before that housed a set of law offices. Behind the building, Ames had already parked his two-toned silver pickup. He’d somehow finagled a second parking pass for them.

He stood behind his truck, waiting for them. Flint dashed into their parking spot and pretended to wave them into it like a runway attendant.

Lucy looked like she was fighting a smile as she slowly backed the Jeep in his direction. “I should run him over,” she joked.

Ames jogged up to the passenger door and pulled it open for Laura. His whole face was lit up with excitement and anticipation. “How many suitcases you got with you?”

“Two, though I could’ve easily gotten away with one.” She shot an exasperated look at her sister. “Blame it on Lucy. She made sure I overpacked.”

“You’re welcome.” Lucy didn’t bother looking their way. She was too busy glowering at Flint, who’d elbowed her out of the way to grab the suitcase she’d been about to lift from the Jeep. “Thanks to me, you’re prepared for all contingencies.”

Ames drew Laura into his arms while Lucy bickered with his youngest brother over the suitcases. “I’m so glad you’re coming with me,” he muttered in her ear, hugging her tightly.

“Me, too.” For the briefest of moments, it didn’t feel like he was preparing to move hundreds of miles away from Pinetop. “I promise I’ll change out of my costume before we take off.” Because of the Christmas in July theme of their float, she and Lucy were back in their elf dresses and stockings.

“Doesn’t matter to me one way or the other,” he assured her huskily. “In case I haven’t told you yet today, you’re my favorite elf.”

She drenched him with a smile, wondering how he always seemed to know what to say to her.

The four of them walked in a cluster to the floats at the front of the parade. The staff and crew at Castellano’s were manning the first three. The mayor of Pinetop was standing next to Angel Castellano in the first one. Ames and his brothers were expected to ride on the second one. They would be taking turns horsing around on a mechanical bull mounted to the center of their float.

Laura and Lucy were running the Christmas in July toy making station on the third float. The Pinetop High School student council was in charge of tossing small toys into the crowd to share “samples” of what Santa’s elves were hard at work preparing for next Christmas. Nearly a dozen shop owners on Main Street had donated the miniature plush animals, squeeze balls, and other small items filling their enormous red toy sack.

The parade commenced with a spectacular performance from the Pinetop High School drum line. Darkness continued to fall as they played, enhancing the stunning display of lights on the floats following behind them.

Laura and Lucy’s float was ablaze with festive strands that outlined every detail of their toy making station. In the next float, Bear Mountain Ranch had dancing bears with shimmering fur on their costumes. The North Pole Candy Depot was rolling behind them with a life-sized gingerbread house. It had animated icing on the eves, sparkling candy discs mounted to the outside walls, and a fire glowing in the hearth inside the windows. Their prancing employees tossed candy right and left into the crowd. Both local and visiting children shrieked in delight as they gathered up all the toys and goodies flying their way.

In took between twenty and thirty minutes for the parade to move at a snail’s pace down the full length of Main Street. As soon as the last float cleared the finish line, the mountainside behind the shops exploded with fireworks.

A sharp whistle drew Laura’s attention away from the fireworks. She discovered Ames hovering in the shadows beside the float she and Lucy were standing on.

He held out his arms to her and angled his head, indicating he was ready to depart.

Laura quickly caught her sister’s eye.

Lucy mouthed a single word to her. “Go!”

Ames lifted her down and tucked her inside a waiting golf cart. Slinging an arm around her, he bent his head closer to be heard above the crack of fireworks. “I want to show you something, but we have to move quick!”

He drove through a back alley behind the shops and quickly arrived at the plaza strip where they’d started their evening. He left the golf cart parked beside the Jeep. “Flint will return it to its owners.”

As soon as they were buckled into his truck, he set their course for the airplane hangar.

“You’re in an awfully big hurry.” Laura alternated between studying his profile and twisting around to continue watching the fireworks.

“You’ll see why in a minute.”

They arrived at the hangar in a little over a minute. His airplane was already idling on the runway. An attendant jogged their way to help load their suitcases.

“Already got clearance from air traffic control, sir. Your trip is a go.”

Ames thanked him and tipped him. Then he bustled Laura up the stairs into the cabin.

While he folded the stairs in place and locked the door, she gazed around the interior of the luxury jet. It was faintly aglow with recessed lighting. Creamy leather seats faced each other, two on each side of the main cabin.

Ames reached for her elbow to reclaim her attention. “We’ll explore the plane later.” He nudged her into the cockpit, hanging his Stetson on a wall hook behind them. “You get to ride shotgun for this next part.”

She gave a nervous chuckle as they strapped themselves in. In the past, she’d been prone to motion sickness. Hopefully, this front-of-the-plane view wouldn’t spark a new episode of it.

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