Page 12 of Deck the Halls with Cowboys
His pen stopped gliding across the cream-colored paper. Still, he didn’t look at me.
I went on. “I always assumed it was you trying to bond with all of us.”
“All of us bonded in other ways, Mags. No need to do it around a damn decorated tree,” he replied, his voice dark.
Yes, we bonded over bloodshed and scattered ashes across his mountain.
“That’s not how the cowboys bonded, Kings.”
Finally, he rose up and leaned back in his chair, letting the pen fall onto the desk. The air around us shifted, cold and dark now. “If you’ve come here to give me a holiday pep talk, there’s no need. Valerie’s plan will go off without a hitch.”
I scratched my beard. “How rehearsed are you for this?”
“It’s the same every year.”
I took off my hat and propped it on my knee, settling in. “It has been, yes, but this year is different.”
His gray eyes flashed with a cold indifference. “It’s just a fuckin’ day, Mags.”
“It’s different because we’re all here, at Hallow Ranch, happy and safe,” I countered. When he said nothing, I added, “I’ll remind you that what you and I have right now is something both of us never thought we would get.”
“Enough.”
I ignored him. “Valerie and Diana gave us happiness, Kings. Our women gave us peace.”
“We don’t need to—”
“Your brother has found that same happiness with Harmony, and they’re here for the holidays. They stayed instead of going to celebrate somewhere else. Do you not see how monumental that is?” I asked, my voice sharp.
Surely, he had to see it.
I knew—hell, everyone on this ranch knew—there were some unresolved issues around this fuckin’ day between the Langston brothers. It was the one thing those two hadn’t had a chance to work out.
Kings stared at me, the years of hardship lingering between us. My next words came out gruff and forced, as if my body didn’t want me to say them. “Pain stays as long as you allow it.”
“You of all people don’t get to lecture me on pain.”
Shaking my head, I leaned forward. “I held on to my pain because I thought it was all I had, all I deserved.”
He continued to stare at me, silent.
“Diana isn’t the reason I’m letting go of that pain. No one else can make you let go. That’s a choice you have to make for yourself.”
Breaking our gaze, he looked out the window, focusing on his home just up the hill. It was picture perfect, standing tall and proud, the white paint blending in with the snow, the black roof and red bricked porch like beacons.
“No one is telling you how to feel or what to do, Kings,” I said softly. “We just want you to be happy.”
I left him with that, murmuring goodbye before heading out to my truck. The normal ten-minute drive out to my cabin took twice as long and, thankfully, Diana was home when I arrived. As I got out of the truck, the snow crunching underneath my boots, she emerged, wrapped up in a dark red sweater, with jeans covering herlong legs and hot pink socks on her feet.
“Is there a reason you’re out in the cold, Firefly?” I asked, climbing the steps.
Her eyes flickered with delight as she gave me a breathtaking smile. “You telling me I can’t greet you on the front porch?”
I stopped right in front of her, bending my head so I could hold her eyes. “Not when it’s freezing out and you’re carrying my baby, beautiful.” I reached out, grabbing a lock of her honey blond hair. “Don’t need you both getting sick.”
Before she could mouth off, I jerked my chin in a silent command. She spun on her heel and led me inside. Once the heat of our home hit me, I let my shoulders relax as I took in the holiday decor. My once cold and lifeless cabin now looked like something out of a cheesy fuckin’ movie. There was a small tree in the corner by the fireplace, wrapped in bright red ribbon. Dark green balls hung from the branches and glimmered in the firelight, and a large golden star sat at the very top. It was perfect. My leather couch and chairs were dotted with snowmen pillows and holiday-themed throw blankets. My firefly had even changed out the rug underneath the coffee table for a red and green one.
“You still think it’s too much?” she asked as she came into my arms.
