Ryelee's Cowboy (11 page)

Ryelee smiled. Penny had always been
kind to her. The bells above the door jingled as Clint opened it
for them. Clint winked at her, making her feel special.

“Well, howdy folks. I haven’t seen
y’all in a while,” greeted Penny, a robust woman who always had a
smile for everyone. She looked old enough to be a grandmother but
her hair was always a cartoonish shade of red.

Penny came around from the counter and
offered Rheenie a candy cane, and Rheenie smiled and thanked her.
Penny turned to Ryelee and handed her one as well. “We redheads
need to stick together.”

Ryelee heart lifted, and she knew her
happiness mirrored Rheenie’s. Penny’s small act of kindness was one
of the few Ryelee had experienced in this town. Her smile and eyes
glowed as she turned to Clint.

He smiled at her in return. “Well,
Miss Penny, we need just about everything for a Christmas
tree.”

“Decorations and lights are against
the right wall,” she said. “The tree you can get next-door at
Floyd’s Feed and Grain.”

“Thanks,” Ryelee said with a
smile.

“Don’t forget an ornament for the town
tree. It’s tradition,” she called.

A tradition that Ryelee never
participated in before. Of course, she’d known about Christmas. She
just didn’t know where to begin. Rheenie picked out many ornaments,
and Clint took care of the lights.

The cart looked full.

“Rye, did you pick out one for the
town tree?” Rheenie asked. “It has to be a special one picked out
all by yourself.”

With so many choices, Ryelee didn't
know where to begin, but when she saw a tan Stetson with mistletoe,
she knew it was the one for her. It reminded her of Clint. “Can I
get two of these?” she asked hopefully. “One for the town tree and
one for ours?”

“Oh, honey, you can have anything your
generous heart desires.”

Ryelee gave him a surprised smile, so
pleased that she shook her head and then kissed him on the
cheek.

“Uh um.”

Ryelee turned to see Dottie Long
glaring at her with disgust. “Found a daddy for your brat, did
you?”

Clint made a move toward the other
woman, but Ryelee held on to his arm. “Clint, no, please?” she
pleaded. “Don’t let her have anything bad to say about
me.”

“Dottie.” Clint greeted her in a
clipped voice and then shrugged Ryelee’s arm off. “Always a
pleasure,” he said with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.

Dottie eyed the threesome and scowled.
“Clint, I feel it’s my duty to warn you…” she began.

“Dottie, I don’t want to hear it,”
Clint said, his voice low and threatening as his eyes flashed with
anger. “I don’t need you or anyone else to tell me anything.
Understand?”

Dottie took a step back and gaped in
surprise. “Sure, doll, we’ll talk another time.” She turned and
walked out the door.

Ryelee heaved a sigh of relief. Her
concerned eyes met Clint’s hard ones. “I’m sorry,” she
said.

* * * *

Clint grabbed both ends of her green
scarf and reeled her in for a kiss. Her lips were silky soft and
cherry red. He knew it would have to be a quick kiss, but he
couldn’t resist. Clint thought she looked adorable. He wanted to
give her so much. Right now, he knew he could give her
Christmas.

Rheenie laughed at the adults. “My
turn, Daddy, kiss me too!”

“Of course I have to kiss both of my
best girls.”

They pushed their cart up to the
counter, and Penny smiled brightly at them. “I think you make a
cute family, if you were asking that is,” she said, as she totaled
up the bill.

“You know, Miss Penny, I’m thinking
along the same lines.” Clint winked at her.

Pleased as punch, Penny blushed like a
schoolgirl, making her face even redder than her dyed
hair.

“Don’t forget to make a Christmas wish
as you put your ornament on the town tree,” she called to them as
they started out the door.

“A Christmas wish?” Ryelee
asked.

“A tradition around here.” Clint
paused and looked at her. “You really haven’t had a Christmas
before.” He put his arm around her and hugged her to his side.
“Rheenie and I are going to have a great time showing you about
Christmas.”

Rheenie skipped in front of them.
“It’s gonna be the bestest Christmas ever and ever!”

“Best. Going to be the best.” Clint
corrected.

“I know!” Rheenie continued to
skip.

He glanced at Ryelee. She gazed back
at him and put her hand over her mouth muffling her laughter. He
winked at her and smiled.

Clint put the packages in the
trunk—all except for the ornaments for the town tree. He handed
each one out, and they walked the block to the
firehouse.

Old Gus greeted them. “It’s a perfect
day for a Christmas wish.” He stood admiring the tree with Hank and
Bo, all three men fixtures in the town.

Clint watched Ryelee turn her head
away. His heart broke for the little girl who never had Christmas
before. She looked so uncomfortable, and he wondered if any of the
people in town had been nice to her in the past.

When she did look up, all three men
were smiling at her, and she smiled back.

Clint picked Rheenie up so she could
put her angel ornament high up in the tree. He placed his Texas
star ornament next to Rheenie’s. Then it was Ryelee's turn. She
closed her eyes and her lips moved as she made her wish. She placed
her Stetson ornament next to Clint’s.

Clint couldn’t help but feel love for
the woman next to him. Every time he looked at her, his chest
tightened. She was amazing. He wanted her with a ferocity he hadn’t
felt before.

He grabbed her cold hand in his and
led her to the diner. "Let's grab something to eat." He hoped
Noreen was going to be nice to him this time.

His worries went out the window as
soon as they entered.

Noreen whisked right out from behind
the counter, gave Rheenie a big hug, and positively gushed. “My, oh
my, you have grown so much! Just look at you, and so pretty
too.”

Noreen looked at Clint and put her
hands on her hips as if she were going to lecture him yet again.
“It’s about time you brought the right filly in here. I was getting
worried about you when you were here with that that…well, I can’t
say in mixed company, if you know what I mean.”

Rheenie looked from one adult to
another. “I don’t know what she means.”

“I mean that Ryelee Snyder is the
sweetest girl I know, and you are lucky to have her,” Noreen said,
squeezing Ryelee’s hand.

She led them to a booth and let them
get settled in. “I’ll bring one coffee and two hot chocolates.” She
bustled away, trying to put her straying gray hair back into a
bun.

Ryelee’s eyes lit up when Noreen had
greeted them. She shrugged out of her new red coat and took off her
green scarf. She wore a green shirt with the jeans that Annie had
given her. She stood up to arrange all the coats, provoking gasps
from the next table.

Ryelee turned toward a table of
busybodies staring at her belly.

“I told you,” an aging blonde woman
said.

“What a disgrace,” another woman said.
“I thought it was just a rumor, but you were right. Blood always
tells. Her father is trash.”

The women all nodded as they continued
to study Ryelee.

Ryelee’s eyes glistened as she glanced
over at Clint and Rheenie. She took a step toward the
women.

Clint got up from the table and took
Ryelee into his arms. He held her tight and rubbed her back up and
down. “Don’t let those old biddies get to you. I love
you.”

Ryelee nodded.

Noreen came over and glared at the old
biddies. She walked up to them and handed them their check. “Don’t
let the door hit your big butts as you leave.”

Ryelee smiled as the women gasped and
sputtered, but she kept her gaze on the menu until they left.
“Don’t lose customers because of me,” Ryelee said.

“No one treats my friends like that.
Now what can I get you? And do not say a salad, missy. Your baby
needs a good burger or meatloaf or…”

“Fine, a burger it is.” She
laughed.

“Make that two.”

Rheenie looked at Noreen. “Make that
tree, and I want a shake–um strawberry. Do you think that
Princesses drink strawberry?”

“Absolutely,” she answered, with a
smile. “Cute as a button,” she murmuring as she hustled
away.

“One more stop and we can go home,”
Clint said.

“What more do we need?” Ryelee asked
with a puzzled frown.

Clint and Rheenie looked at each other
and laughed.

“We need the tree silly,” Rheenie told
her.

“Oh, yes, I suppose that would be
nice.”

* * * *

They unloaded the tree that they’d
purchased at Floyd’s Feed and Grain and brought it into the family
room. Ryelee laughed and laughed as Clint tried to get it into the
stand and get it straight.

More laughter ensued as they all tried
to help with the Christmas lights. At one point, Rheenie became
strapped to the tree by a string of colorful baubles.

Ryelee’s whole heart expanded as she
helped decorate the tree—her first Christmas tree—and she treasured
each moment. The colors of Christmas washed over her—red, green,
silver, and gold. She was in awe. She finally had what she’d wished
for as a child each December.

“Don’t forget the angel, Daddy,”
Rheenie said as the last of the ornaments graced the
tree.

Clint lifted Rheenie up to put the
angel at the top of the tree. Ryelee gasped when she saw that the
angel had red hair like hers.

Both Clint and Rheenie turned toward
her when she reacted, and they gaped at her in surprise as tears
flowed down her face.

Rheenie hugged her around the waist.
“Don’t be sad,” she said.

Ryelee looked down at her. “Oh,
sweetheart, I’m not sad. I’m happy.”

Rheenie shook her head. “Just like
Annie. She cries when she’s happy.”

Ryelee glanced out the window and was
shocked. “Look! It’s snowing! I’ve only seen snow a few times
before.”

Clint went to the window followed by
Rheenie. “Well, look at that. It’s coming down pretty hard. The
ground is already covered.”

“Let’s go outside!” Rheenie
cried.

“Yes,” Ryelee agreed. “Put your coat
on and mittens we need our mittens.”

“All right!” Rheenie exclaimed as she
raced around the kitchen trying to find all her gear.

“You two go ahead,” Clint said. “Be
careful.”

They both smiled at him as they ran
out the door. Rheenie had never seen snow before, and she beamed as
the snowflakes fell heavily. She tilted her head back and put out
her tongue.

“What are you doing?”

Rheenie glanced at her, rolled her
eyes and went back to it. She laughed in delight when she caught a
snowflake on her tongue. “I saw it on TV,” she explained. “Try it,
Rye.”

Ryelee felt a bit foolish standing in
the yard with her head tilted back and her tongue out, but
excitement flickered through her when the first snowflake hit her
tongue. “You’re right—it’s fun.” She hugged Rheenie. “I’ll show you
how to make snow angels.”

Rheenie shook her head. “I want to go
sledding.”

Ryelee knew they didn't have a sled.
“Let’s go into the garage and see if there is anything we can
use.”

They both ran to the garage. Ryelee
looked around and didn't see anything that would work until she saw
the blue plastic cover on one of the storage bins. She picked it up
and, after a bit of examination, she decided to try it.

Rheenie grabbed her hand and they
slowly made their way up the hill behind the house. It wasn’t a big
hill, but it should do, Ryelee decided.

“I’ll go first to see if it works,”
she told Rheenie.

Rheenie refused to be left behind. She
put up such a fuss that Ryelee gave in and let her ride on her
lap.

It took some effort to get it going,
but as soon as it started down the hill, they were flying. Ryelee
panicked when she realized she had no way to control the improvised
sled, and they were gaining momentum. They were almost to the end
with the snow whipping through their hair and the biting cold
reddening their cheeks when they hit a bump. Both flew into the air
landing hard on the ground.

Rheenie laughed aloud tumbling into
the snow, obviously loving the adventure of it all. She immediately
got up ready to tell Ryelee that she wanted to go again. Ryelee
wasn’t getting up.

Ryelee lay in the snow, wondering if
she should move. Rheenie’s leg brace had hit her in the side as
they tumbled, and she was in pain. She wasn’t sure if there might
be a problem with the baby. She didn’t think so, but she told
Rheenie to run and get Clint anyway.