Page 10 of Between a Rock and a Hard Cowboy

He sighed. “Deal.”

Partnered with the Grinch for the family Christmas challenge. That sucked especially much after missing being there for last year’s because he’d been deployed.

This wasnotgoing to be fun. It felt as if he was right back in battle. Except Eva was a whole lot more attractive than any enemy he’d fought while on active duty, but he had a feeling she might be just as dangerous.

“Wait. I thought of a question.” Eva raised her hand.

“Yes, Eva.” His father paused in his passing of the hat to call on her as if they were in school.

“What does the winner of the challenge get?” she asked.

Ethan grinned. “That’s the best part. The person, or in this case team, with the most votes gets to make the person or team with the least votes do whatever they want and they have to do it.”

“No matter how embarrassing…” Linc added, thinking back to past Christmases when they’d all been much younger. And stupider.

“Or how ridiculous it is,” Wyatt finished.

“I can work with that,” Eva said. An evil smile that started small and grew curled her lip.

For the first time since learning they’d be partners Linc was glad he’d been paired up with Eva, because the thought of being up against this woman with the sharp wit and even sharper tongue was a little frightening.

ChapterFive

“Your father-in-law is quite the character,” Eva commented, glancing across the bedroom at her ever-expanding pregnant friend.

Sprawled in the chair in Olivia’s bedroom with the Wilder Challenge guidebook open before her, Eva wondered if she should get a highlighter and pen and start taking notes.

“I just feel bad for Wyatt. I’m his teammate but with me laid up on bed rest until this baby is born, he’s going to be doing all the work mainly alone. He got stuck with a dud partner,” Olivia bemoaned.

“He did not.” Poppy shook her head to disagree. “You have amazing talent to contribute to the team. Just because you won’t be able to get on a ladder to hang garland or schlep boxes of ornaments out of storage or whatever, doesn’t mean you can’t contribute. You can design. You can make a plan. All from your bed.”

“And these Christmas games are his crazy-ass family tradition so he should be used to doing this shit by now anyway,” Eva added.

Eva had wanted to hate the whole idea of the family challenge, but she had to admit, the thought of kicking some smug Wilder ass in competition was compelling.

She focused back on the spiral bound pages in her hand.

It read like a Hallmark Christmas movie script. One she was going to be starring in, whether she liked it or not.

There were the mandatory group family events. Tree trimming. A cookie baking slash decorating night. Something referred to as the Yule log lighting taking place at the lodge—wherever that was. A Christmas morning breakfast and gift exchange in the mansion’s living room—where she imagined there would be a fire in the hearth and a decked out tree to gather around.

If one of the Wilders played piano--or if Poppy did, which was probably more likely—they could all gather round and sing Christmas carols. Then the cheesy, sickeningly picturesque cliche of a happy holiday scene would be complete.

The one event that might save Eva’s sanity was the Christmas Day cocktails followed by dinner at the Wilder hotel, which she was actually looking forward to. Besides the boozy theme—she’d need a drink after this competition was over—that gathering would be when the voting would take place and the winning team announced.

Then there was the matter of the team assignments for the events they’d be judged on. She and Linc were assigned the decorating and planning for the yule log event, so she guessed she’d find out soon enough what the lodge was.

Poppy and Ethan were in charge of choosing, cutting and setting up the Christmas tree, with lights, in the big house. And they had to plan the tree trimming party which is when the family got to gather for the fun part—the hanging of the ornaments.

William Wilder, aka Grandpa, and Darcy were in charge of making the dining room and kitchen look festive and planning the Christmas morning breakfast.

And Wyatt really was getting the brunt of the work.

He had to decorate the entryway of the big house—both inside and out, and plan the cookie night, including getting the snacks and refreshments and cookie decorations.

Wyatt was nota cook at all, which was one reason he’d hired Olivia to be his live-in nanny to begin with.Beforethey’d started doing it, and he’d knocked her up, then married her.

Olivia was a great cook and she knew food, but what she could do while confined to bed was limited. She’d probably have Wyatt get everything from Rosie at the Cafe—if she were smart.

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