Page 38 of Cowboy Friend Zone for Christmas

“You’re bored out of your mind, though.” Nash shifted from one boot to the other. “Don’t try to deny it.”

Ames shrugged. “I’ve been a lot less bored with this town since breakfast.”

Nash smirked at him. “You gonna ask her out?”

“Nah. Not yet.” Ames shook his head. “Think I’ll follow your lead and take the time to get to know her better first. I like what you and Noelle have going on. Y’all have been through thick and thin together and built something solid in the process. Something that’ll last when you stop being such a chicken and finally ask her on a real date.”

Nash, who’d been watching both Mr. and Mrs. Lee for several minutes now, was pretty sure Mrs. Lee’s face twitched a few more times — especially during Ames’ impassioned declaration about taking the time to get to know her oldest daughter better before asking her on a date.

He took out his cell phone and texted his working theory to his brother. Pretty sure the Lees heard every word we said. Must have mics mounted out here somewhere. It made sense. If they were shorthanded due to lunch breaks or what not, it was wise to be able to hear what was going on outside the glass.

Instead of waiting for Ames to pull out his own cell phone, Nash angled the screen in his brother’s direction.

Ames read his message and gave a low whistle. He glanced up, down, and around the glassed-in wall before stating, “You are correct. Mr. and Mrs. Lee heard every word that I said about wanting to date their daughter someday. I hope they don’t object, because Laura is one of the nicest, coolest people I’ve ever met. I promise to always treat her with respect. And not just because her father could probably murder me in my sleep without leaving a trace with one of those minuscule blades he’s using to carve that nutcracker with.”

Mrs. Lee, who was in the process of gluing a tiny Christmas tree to the hand of the Santa nutcracker, glanced at her husband and started chuckling. Mr. Lee didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. He did, however, lift a pointy-looking object and pretend to stab the nutcracker in front of him in the heart.

“Point taken, sir,” Ames chuckled. “Point taken.”

Nash returned to the Jack Frost suite to spruce up for his lunch date with Noelle. He buttoned on a navy shirt and switched his belt buckle to the one he’d earned during his most recent bronc ride. He couldn’t wait to share the news about the extended contract at Castellano’s. Thanks to the Lee sisters, he’d bet his boots on the fact that neither of his brothers would put up any resistance to signing it.

Thank you, Lord, for my brothers, for Noelle, and for everything else you’ve given me — right down to my next breath.

Of all the things in Nash’s life that hadn’t gone right, his trip to Pinetop wasn’t one of them. For the first time in months, he was close to being at peace with his retirement from bronc riding. It was one of the toughest decisions he’d made in his life, and he wasn’t entirely confident he’d have made the right decision without Noelle weighing in. But she had, and he was grateful for it.

Before leaving Santa’s Toy Factory, he strolled around the showroom floor again and selected a hand-carved wooden pony to give Noelle. A young girl was on her knees beside the pony, bandaging a boo-boo on its right front leg. Someone had painted the outline of lips on top of the bandage to show that she’d sealed her tending with a kiss.

The message wouldn’t be lost on Noelle. She’d stuck to him like a cocklebur during his convalescence. He couldn’t wait to have her seal all that TLC with her first kiss.

Flint came nosing around while Laura rang up the gift and packaged it for him. “Bro, you’ve got it bad for her,” he mocked. “You might as well go down on one knee and put a ring on her.”

“Don’t you have someone else to bother?” Nash shook his head, wondering if there was any point in keeping the newest phase of his relationship with Noelle a secret from his brothers for an entire week. Apparently, both of them could read him like a book.

“I’m making Lucy jealous by spending some time with Laura,” Flint joked.

“This is my flattered look.” Laura snickered, crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue as she finished wrapping Nash’s gift in a white box with a gold ribbon.

“She told you to get lost, huh?” Nash glanced over at Lucy, who was frowning in concentration over the final details of the music box drawing.

Instead of answering, Flint gave a loud, long-suffering sigh.

To cheer him up, Nash pulled him aside and gave him the highlights of their new indoor rodeo routine. “Assuming you and Ames agree to sign, there’s no reason you can’t head down to the ring to start working on the new material right away.” Flint was the king of comedy. They’d let him run point on the script.

“I’m on it!” Looking relieved to have something to do, he swaggered across the room to collect Ames. He made a quick detour to whisper something to Lucy that made her throw one of her pencils at him. Unless Nash was mistaken, a faint blush stained her cheeks. She wasn’t completely immune to his youngest brother’s charms.

Flint was accustomed to attention from the ladies. Guys who won buckles on the rodeo circuit could have a dozen dates a night if they wanted to. However, this was the first time Nash had seen his youngest brother working so hard to get the attention of a woman who wasn’t falling over herself to capture his attention in return. It was a friendship that would bear watching. Underneath Flint’s endless shenanigans was a cowboy with a very big heart. Nash didn’t relish the idea of seeing him get hurt.

He left the store with his brothers, intending to offer them a ride before departing for the ranch.

“Nah!” Ames waved away his offer. “Walking down Main Street will allow us to get another look at those socks with bells on ‘em.”

“Not if you don’t want me to torch your man card,” Nash warned as he reached his truck.

“Says the guy still living in a snow globe,” Flint taunted. “When you get tired of counting snowflakes to get to sleep each night, feel free to join us at the chalet.” They’d been fortunate to secure a short-term lease on a newly renovated ski lodge.

Nash was glad they’d found a decent spot to kick off their boots at night. “Any chance you’ll be able to extend the lease if we decide to stay another month?”

Ames shrugged. “If we can’t, we’ll be sleeping under the stars in the bed of your truck, bro. I honestly don’t know how you stand all that blue recessed lighting. Gave me a headache before I even stepped into the room.”

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