Page 46 of Cowboy Friend Zone for Christmas

“Ooo, someone else is catching the baby bug,” Shelly chortled tiredly from her pile of pillows and blankets. She wasn’t looking at Noelle, though. She was looking at him, and she wasn’t wrong.

He wanted it all with Noelle —marriage, babies, and the happily-ever-after she’d helped him believe was possible. The next step was popping the big question, and he already knew exactly how he was going to do it.

June

Not once had Noelle ever anticipated a birthday with this much pent-up excitement. Her childhood had been a lonely one. Her college years had been spent studying her brains out and working her fingers to the bone on one internship after another. This year’s birthday, however, she was going to get to spend with her dearest friends in the world.

And Nash. The man her heart belonged to.

She’d been unashamedly clinging to his new bionic hand the entire drive to Bear Mountain Ranch, trying to ignore his younger brothers’ endless string of pithy comments from the backseat.

“Just friends, huh?” Flint leaned over the seat cushion to give their joined hands another mocking look.

“Very good friends,” Nash assured with a wink at Noelle.

“Friends who hold hands,” Noelle tossed in a demure voice over her shoulder. She nearly spoiled it by bursting into laughter.

“And kiss now and then,” her boyfriend drawled.

“So, it’s official?” Ames quirked his eyebrows at them in confusion. “You two are finally dating?”

“I didn’t say that.” Nash caught her eye.

“You implied it,” Flint growled. He sounded like he was fast growing tired of their game. He wanted answers.

“We agreed to a friendship pact before I left the hospital in Phoenix.” Looking back now, he was overwhelmed with gratitude over the timing of her proposal. She’d given him something positive to think about in the middle of so much pain and grief. She’d also given him something to look forward to. Something that had led them to a much brighter here and now.

“You agreed to what?” Ames sounded dubious. He lifted his Stetson to run a hand through his tousled blonde waves, tousling them even further.

“Basically, it’s been my job to protect your brother from the perils of a rebound relationship,” Noelle explained, chuckling. “And he’s been doing the same for me.” That was the understatement of the year. She shuddered at the memory of Ellison Faust forcing her into his car at gunpoint.

“For you? That’s understandable.” Flint jabbed a thumb in his oldest brother’s direction next. “For him?” He made a scoffing sound. “Just for the record, he’s never gotten this sweaty and cranky over any other woman he’s dated. You’re the first.”

Though Nash looked ready to throttle him, Noelle blushed hotly at the implication of his words. In his own way, Flint had just revealed to her that this was the first time Nash had ever truly been in love. It was both humbling and breathtaking.

“I love him, too,” she confessed softly. It was time to put Ames and Flint out of their misery. They’d been kept in the dark long enough. “So much,” she added, gently squeezing her boyfriend’s fingers.

He laced them together, anchoring her hand more fully against his. His new bionic arm felt more lifelike than the last one. He’d been chosen to participate in some cutting edge medical treatment group. His new prosthesis felt so real that sometimes she forgot that it wasn’t. The special formula used to make the outer sleeve was just the right balance of suppleness — a near perfect match to the skin on his left arm. The internal elements contained a heating mechanism that adjusted the temperature of his arm to match that of his normal body temperature. Even more remarkable was the fact that the arm had been programmed to interact with the nerve endings in his bicep to send messages to the bionic elbow, wrist, and hand below. He now had much better control over his movements, a truly miraculous medical advancement.

“Oh, wow! That’s an awful lot of cars!” Noelle stared in amazement out the window as they reached the Hofstetter residence. It was located adjacent to the Bear Mountain Ranch grounds. Two other farmhouses shared the same street —the one Brady and his wife owned and the one Brady and Shelly’s parents lived in.

Though Shelly was still on maternity leave, she’d insisted on hosting what she promised would be a small, cozy birthday gathering. From the number of cars crammed into her and Chad’s driveway, plus the additional cars lining the road in front of her house, Noelle wasn’t sure that her idea of small and cozy matched Shelly’s idea of small and cozy. She could only hope that the new mama of three wasn’t overdoing it.

Nash parked on the street at the head of the long line of cars. He, Noelle, and his brothers walked together to the front door of Shelly and Chad’s home. Shelly pulled open the door before they could knock or tap the doorbell button — a much slimmer, less swollen version of her. She was fast recovering from her pregnancy.

“You made it!” She threw her arms around Noelle. “Happy, happy, happy birthday to you, my friend!” She was still hugging her as she tugged her further inside the house.

“Surprise!” A roomful of voices chorused the word as her friends jumped like jack-in-the-boxes from their hiding places behind a scattering of couches and chairs across the great room.

Noelle jolted in amazement, then started chuckling. “Thank you, everyone! Thank you so much for coming.” She gave Shelly another squeeze hug before letting her go to gaze around them in awe. It felt like half the town had shown up for the occasion. Brady and Adeline were there, of course. So were Laura and Lucy, plus Angel and Willa Castellano and several of the rodeo riders from the dinner theater cast. It was a full house.

Noelle was deeply moved by how much trouble Shelly had gone to on her behalf. She’d ordered a massive three-tiered confetti cake and a charcuterie board for their guests. Noelle suspected they’d been prepared by the five-star culinary staff at Castellano’s. It was a feast fit for royalty.

Gift bags and boxes erupted like a small volcano from a table to the right of the cake. Just looking at all the brightly wrapped packages made her heart swell. Never before had she felt so adored. So accepted. Unlike the first time she’d lived and worked in Pinetop, it felt like she finally belonged there.

Though she wasn’t the least bit hungry, her friends insisted she grab the first plate and start the food line. She made herself take a few small token bites, too excited and happy to consume more. It was like a dream she never wanted to end.

After everyone finished eating, Nash nudged her into a chair by the gift table that Shelly had tied an enormous red bow around, a clear sign that it had been designated for the birthday girl. He handed her an oblong box about a foot and a half long and nearly as tall. “I want you to open my gift first.”

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