Page 7 of Deck the Halls with Cowboys
Denver’s eyes narrowed. “Is that her onlyreason for going into town?”
Pop and I shared a look.
Denver wasn’t supposed to know about the Christmas dinner until Val told him about it this afternoon. When she came to Abbie and me a few weeks ago, the last thing we expected was for her to ask us what our holiday plans were. Since Abbie had moved into our cabin, we’d been so busy trying to catch up that we’d forgotten about the holiday season. If Valerie hadn’t come over, we probably would have spent Christmas tangled together in our sheets, fulfilling old promises.
“Sorry I’m late.”
All heads and bodies turned to face the entrance of the barn where Mason stood, shoving his truck keys into the pocket of his Wranglers.
“Nice of you to finally join us,” I drawled.
He flipped me off as he greeted my father and then slapped his brother on the back. “Look, it’s cold as balls and I have a wife I really want to get back home to. So let’s cut the chitchat and get to work, yeah?”
His older brother looked to the ceiling and muttered something about not having any more patience.
“So you just waltz on in here—late, by the way—and start barking orders, huh?” Lance asked from the back of the group.
“Your brother left his chores to go chase his Christmas baking dreams,” Mags clipped. “Shut the hell up.”
Lance pointed at his twin. “My brother’s incompetence don’t got shit to do with me.”
Pop grunted as he pushed off the wall and shook his head as he went to grab his saddle. “Those boys are never quiet,” he muttered.
A rough chuckle left me. Even though I loved living with Abbie in our cabin, I missed the pointless bickering that happened every day in the bunkhouse. It was free entertainment. “Mags could make them quiet,” I said, grinning at Mags.
“Denver, what’s up your ass?” Lance asked as he pulled his judgmental glare off his brother.
And just like that, all the fun was sucked out of the barn, leaving behind a heavysilence.
I refrained from pinching the bridge of my nose and looked at Mason, who, for the first time in a long time, chose to remain quiet. That bull rider loved to run his mouth, but not about this. Then again, this was Mason’s first Christmas back home since high school. I assumed he wasn’t going to touch this subject with a ten-foot pole.
“It’s cold as shit and your twin, after five years on my ranch, still doesn’t know how to prioritize his fuckin’ chores,” Denver answered him before looking at Mags. “I told you on the phone to not kill him.”
“Not killing him, Kings,” Mags deadpanned as Lawson squirmed against the wall. “Just plottin’.”
“I-I’m sorry, okay?” Lawson breathed. “I wanted to get back to the bunkhouse and make the cookies before—” He shut up, snapping his mouth shut as his twin shook his head, scrubbing a hand down his face.
“Before what?” Mags pushed out on a growl.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with your little Harvard friend leaving late last night, would it?” Pop asked coyly, shooting me a smirk. “Did you think some holiday cookies would make her stay, Lawson? After what you said to her?”
My ears perked up. “What did you say?”
Lance pulled off his hat, running his hand through his hair. “Nothing. She’s just throwing a tantrum. This ain’t the first time she’s thrown one and it won’t be the last.”
The Harvard friend, a stranger to Hallow Ranch only a few months ago, was Destiny. She was an old friend of the twins and fearless as they came.
“I thought she was staying until the New Year.” This came from Denver. He was the one who’d invited her back to Hallow Ranch in the fall to help the twins with the herd tracking system.
“Plans changed,” Lawson clipped, still struggling against Mags.
Oh yeah, something went down.
I made a mental note to send Abbie to the bunkhouse for answers. The twins wouldn’t tell me shit, but they would tell Abbie. Then again, she had some specialjournalism mind powers.
Mason threw his arm out, laughing. “Would you let the man go?”
When Mags didn’t move, Denver sighed. “We need to get going, Mags.”
