A Cowboy for Christmas Read online

  It was a big truck. A black burly diesel extended cab with a familiar pro-rodeo bumper sticker.

  Uh-oh…

  “I’m so sorry.” Ty Forrester got out and came jogging down the sidewalk. “I didn’t even see you there until it was too late.”

  Darla stopped dead in her soggy tracks. No. Not Ty. Anyone but Ty. “It’s fine,” she called, lowering her voice so he wouldn’t recognize it. “No worries.” Leave. Turn around and get into your truck. But Ty was a cowboy, and if there was one thing a cowboy couldn’t stand, it was leaving a damsel in distress.

  “It’s not fine,” he said, making a fast approach. Of course he had to look good. Ty always looked good. He wasn’t tall, but his upper body had a lot of brawn, which didn’t seem to fit the classically handsome structure of his face. Maybe it was the flawless angle of his jaw or inviting curve of his mouth, or the magnetic energy in his deep-set blue eyes. Yes, those eyes. They happened to be the perfect contrast to his dark hair.

  “You’re soaked—” Ty’s eyes went wide and he skidded to a stop two feet away. “Darla? Is that you?”

  Leave it to her to try to hide right under a streetlight.

  “Damn, it is you,” he said when she remained silent. “I thought that looked like your car. What’re you doing here?”

  “Noth—” she started, but Josie butted in.

  “We just finished our bereaved spouses support group meeting,” her friend offered. “I’m Josie Wilken, by the way. And you are…?”

  “Ty. Ty Forrester. I’m a friend of Darla’s. From Topaz Falls.” He quickly wriggled out of his winter coat and wrapped it around Darla. “I’m sorry. Did you say bereaved spouses group?”

  “Yep. As in dead spouses,” Josie said helpfully.

  “Spouses?” A look of pure shock bolted his gaze to Darla. “Wait. You were…? You’re a…?”

  “Yes,” she huffed through a putout sigh. And that overly sympathetic look on his face, along with the awkward silence, was the exact reason she didn’t talk about it with anyone back home.

  “Wow.” Ty diverted his disbelieving stare to the ground. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

  “But you said you were a friend.” Josie turned to Darla and crossed her arms. “Surely you tell your friends about your husband.”

  “‘Friend’ can mean a lot of different things.” In her and Ty’s case, it was supposed to be fun and casual. He was single, she was single—and it was slim pickin’s in Topaz Falls—so of course certain things had happened between them. A few times. Isolated incidents, if you will. “I was married a long time ago,” she informed Ty. “And I was a completely different person back then.”

  That didn’t seem to alleviate the concern that pulled at his mouth. He was likely thinking back through their sexy encounters to figure out how he’d missed the fact that she was a widow.

  “She’s coming up on her ten-year anniversary,” said Josie, aka the informant. “I was telling her that’s one of the toughest.”

  Aaannd that was her cue. “Josie, why don’t you go ahead and get into the car?” Darla found her keys and hit the Unlock button. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “Right.” Her friend suddenly seemed to realize she’d overstepped. “Nice to meet you, Ty,” she mumbled before she scurried away.

  “Yeah. Nice to meet you too.” He didn’t even look in Josie’s direction. The man was obviously trying to wrap his head around the new information he’d learned, but Darla would stop him right there.

  “You never said what you’re doing here.” Other than exposing a perfectly good secret.

  “Oh.” Ty seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts. “I had to get a part for my truck. The auto shop here was the only location that had it in stock.”

  Of course it was. The universe loved her like that. “So what’s it going to take for you to keep this quiet?” she asked, getting down to business.

  “Keep what quiet?”

  “The support group. No one knows. And I’d like to keep it that way.” If her friends found out, they’d realize she wasn’t over her past. They’d be scheduling weekly coffees to try to counsel her about her unresolved grief. But none of them knew what it was like. They wouldn’t understand the extra layers of protection she’d had to build around her fragile heart. They couldn’t grasp the traces of fear and anxiety that still lingered even all these years later.

  Ty continued to stare at her with that damned frown. “I won’t tell anyone, Darla.”

  God, even the way he said her name had changed. It was so solemn. They used to joke around, poke fun at each other, banter back and forth, but now he obviously felt sorry for her.

  “I know you’re surprised, but it was a long time ago,” she said.

  “You still attend a support group,” he pointed out.

  “Because they’re my friends.” She didn’t know why she even tried. There was obviously no talking him out of the sympathy he suddenly felt for her. She would simply have to work extra hard to convince him—and everyone else—she was fine.

  Chapter Two

  Darla Michaels was a widow. How the hell had he missed that?

  During the entire drive back to Topaz Falls, Ty had analyzed every encounter he’d had with Darla over the past few years—there were plenty. And yet there hadn’t been one single clue that she’d been married before. Married and widowed because…her husband had been killed in a car accident? Or he’d had a heart attack? Or he’d been an adrenaline junkie and had fallen off a cliff?

  Their brief encounter on the street back in Glenwood Springs hadn’t given him a chance to ask for the details. Scratch that. Darla hadn’t given him a chance to ask. Right after she’d pleaded with him to keep his discovery about her group a secret, she’d shoved his coat back into his hands and then hotfooted it to her sports car and driven away, leaving him standing on the slushy sidewalk wondering what the heck had just happened.

  He wondered the whole drive home.

  Ty slowed the truck to navigate a glossy patch of ice that stretched across the highway on the outskirts of Topaz Falls. On both sides of the narrow, two-lane road, snow had piled up a good three feet already, and they weren’t even through November. He was used to it, being from Montana. Snow didn’t bother him any, but most people hated making the drive to Glenwood Springs in the wintertime. Even at nine o’clock, the road was pretty much deserted. Darla had to be cruising around somewhere nearby though. Driving back to Topaz Falls in her impractical roadster. Knowing the way she drove that sports car around, she’d likely beat him back to town by a good half hour. And there she was again, hijacking his thoughts. Had she made it home? Should he stop by her place to check on her?

  For some reason after Darla had asked him to forget what he’d learned about her, he only wanted to know more. He felt like he should know more about her. He’d slept with her just over a month ago. They did that occasionally—hooked up after attending a party or an event in town. They never planned it, but it had become a regular occurrence. You’d think she would’ve mentioned a marriage. Even if it had been a long time—

  Sirens whirred somewhere behind him—faint at first, but quickly gaining momentum. He checked the mirrors, noting a whole line of fire rescue vehicles from the volunteer fire department trucking up the highway at an alarming speed. Within seconds, their lights lit up the interior of his cab. Quickly, he eased a foot onto the brakes and nudged the truck over to the shoulder to let them pass. Man, looked like they had everyone out on the call. That couldn’t be good. Worry reared up and kicked him in the chest. Was it Darla? Had her roadster slid on the ice and wrecked somewhere in front of him?

  Nah. He couldn’t think like that. He wasn’t a worrier. Hell, he was a bull rider; he’d learned to ignore every worry and plow right through life taking risk after risk without considering the what-ifs. This whole widow thing was messing with his head, that’s all. He’d never admit it to her, but it did change the way he saw her. He couldn’t help but feel ba
d for her. Last year he’d watched his grandmother grieve for his grandfather, and even though they knew the cancer would take him, it had been hell saying goodbye.

  Another rescue vehicle went clipping by, this one from the next town over. They were calling in the big guns. Ty let the truck pass, and then sped up to follow it—just to be sure there was nothing to worry about.

  Right as he rounded the curve, the town of Topaz Falls lit up the sky. It seemed everyone in town went all out in the decorations department, putting up lights and wreaths and those cheesy inflated lawn ornaments that blinked and spun and played tone-deaf musical numbers. And he’d thought his hometown had been Christmas crazy.

  His phone rang. It was his best friend, Levi, according to his Bluetooth. Ty hit the button to answer. “Did you know Darla was a widow?” he asked without even saying hello. Yeah, that shock wasn’t going to wear off anytime soon.

  “Huh?” His friend paused a second. “Yeah. She was married a long time ago. But we’ll have to have the conversation another time. We need you at the Farm Café. There’s a fire.”

  “A fire?” His stomach dropped. All those fire trucks…they were headed to Mateo and Everly’s café? “I can be there in ten minutes,” he said, stomping on the accelerator. “What happened? Is everyone okay?”

  “They weren’t there when it started,” Levi said. “Mateo doesn’t know what happened. They’re thinking gas explosion. Fire department’s on the way, but it sounds like we’re gonna need all hands on deck.”

  “I’ll meet you there.” Ty hung up and focused on driving. Levi and Mateo were his two best friends. Years ago, they’d all trained together under famed rodeo champion Gunner Raines. They’d had each other’s backs through injuries and crushing losses and all the drama that goes with traveling the circuit. But a fire? How could the café be on fire? Mateo and Everly had completely renovated it just over a year ago. It was an old farmhouse that Everly had converted into a restaurant, but they’d updated everything.

  He sped through town, and it soon became obvious he wasn’t the only one headed out to the café. A traffic jam clogged the road a few blocks away, so he parked his truck at the curb, got out, and slipped on his coat and hat and gloves. He jogged down the block and turned the corner.

  The scene before him looked like something out of one of those TV dramas. Flames were devouring the modest building, shooting upward toward the black sky. Acrid smoke hung heavy and thick in the air. It took him a second to move—to remember this wasn’t some terrible dream. His friends’ place was on fire. Ty sprinted over to where the fire trucks were mobilizing. It was complete chaos. People were running and shouting. The flames were snapping and crackling and sizzling against the eerie music of a low roar. Ty moved close enough in that he could feel the heat of the flames.

  He spotted his friend talking to a fireman nearby. “Mateo? What can I do? How can I help?” Adrenaline spiked through him the same way it did when he climbed on the back of a bull.

  “I don’t know.” Mateo stared at him blankly, dark soot tinging his jaw and forehead, as though he was stuck in his worst nightmare. “For right now, you all need to stay back. Let us do our job.” The firefighter charged away to join his comrades, who were already pulling out hoses.

  Ty laid a hand on Mateo’s shoulder. An overwhelming sense of helplessness recoiled through him. He was used to doing things, not sitting back and watching while all hell broke loose. “Where’s Everly?” he asked, searching the crowd that had gathered.

  “She’s with Darla. Checking on the animals.”

  If he hadn’t had to pick up the part for his truck, he would’ve been back already too. Maybe he could’ve helped. Ty scanned the west side of the farm where they had stables and enclosures for the chickens and goats. Their brand-new farmhouse sat higher up on the hill. Thank God there was so much snow. It had likely prevented the fire from spreading to the other buildings.

  “Everly’s devastated.” Mateo stared into the fire. “All that work we just did…”

  Ty watched the firemen attack the flames with the water hoses. “Maybe they can save it.” Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as it looked. Damn, he hoped that was the case. That café was their main source of income now that Mateo had scaled back on riding to settle into family life.

  “They won’t be able to save it. There won’t be anything left,” Mateo said, his voice hoarse. “I heard the explosion. That’s why I ran over here. Everything’s already gone.”

  Ty said nothing. Sorry wouldn’t be enough. And he wasn’t good with words anyway. He had to do something, take action. “I’ll be back,” he said, already trotting toward the front lines. “How can I help?” he asked one of the firemen who was calling out orders.

  “You can’t.” The man pulled him away from the flames. “It’s too dangerous. We need everyone to stay back.”

  Ty fought the instinct to push him out of the way. “I want to help.” He had to help. He couldn’t stand there and watch his friends’ place go up in smoke.

  “You really wanna help, go get some supplies. We’re gonna be here awhile.” The fireman walked away.

  Ty hesitated a few more minutes before heading for his truck. His boots crunched through the snow, the sound competing with the fire’s growl behind him. When he’d made it to the truck, he jumped in and drove around town, stopping at the gas station and the outdoor gear shop, which reopened to let him in. When he drove back to the café, the flames were still raging. He got out of the truck and made three trips over to the crowd with the various items he’d bought—blankets and bottled water and energy bars for the firemen. When he had everything unloaded he joined the growing support group clustered around Mateo. Everly and Darla had come back, and it seemed their entire group of friends had gathered to be with them. Charity and her sheriff’s deputy husband, Dev; Levi and his two brothers, Lance and Lucas.

  “You must be freezing.” Ty wrapped one of the heavy fleece blankets he’d bought around Everly’s shoulders.

  Her surprised eyes lifted to his. “Thank you.” Tears glistened on her cheeks, but she offered him a grateful smile. “I didn’t realize how cold I was.”

  “I brought water too. And some food.” He glanced at his friends. “You want to help me hand it out to the firefighters?”

  “Yeah, let’s go.” Levi moved in, followed by Lance and Lucas, along with Dev. The four of them loaded their arms with supplies and hurried off, leaving Ty standing there with Mateo, Everly, and Darla. He noticed a controlled shudder in Darla’s shoulders, so he found another blanket he’d laid on the pavement nearby. “You still haven’t changed,” he murmured as he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. She had on the same jacket he’d splashed with muddy slush from the road back in Glenwood Springs. It seemed to have dried, but it still had splatters of grime everywhere.

  “No time.” Darla stared past him. “I got the call from Everly before I could make it home.” She gathered the blanket tighter around her shoulders. Ty couldn’t remember ever seeing her face so expressionless. Darla was the life of every party, the wind in everyone else’s sails. She had this red-hot energy that always seemed to charge everyone and everything around her. But now her eyes were empty and her cheeks had hollowed.

  Once again, Ty wondered how she’d lost her husband. Was this scene bringing up bad memories? Would she ever tell him?

  “The firefighters said to tell you thanks.” Levi jogged over, empty-handed. “It sounds like they’re expecting to be here all night.”

  Ty shared a look with Darla. They didn’t talk much when they were together. They laughed and joked and did crazy things like jump in the snow and then back into her hot tub. They had fun. But maybe it had solidified more of a connection between them than he’d realized. Because he knew exactly what she wanted to say but couldn’t seem to get out. “Why don’t we all go to the wine bar? Get out of the cold? There’s nothing we can do here anyway.” Except for watch their beloved café crumble.

  “Yeah.
I guess we should go somewhere warm.” Mateo turned to his wife, taking both of her hands in his. “I’m so sorry, love. Everything you’ve worked for.”

  Fresh tears slipped down Everly’s cheeks. “I’m not sorry,” Everly murmured, stepping into her husband’s embrace. “We may have lost the café, but I still have you. We have our home and our friends. That’s all I need.”

  The intimacy of the moment pushed Ty back a step. He’d never been able to say that. If he ever lost his dream—everything he’d worked for—if he ever got injured and had to quit riding, what would he have? A few good friends. A crappy relationship with his family. But nothing intimate, nothing that bonded him to another person.

  Everly turned to Darla. “Is it all right if we all head to your place?”

  “Of course,” she said. “Then you’ll be close by in case the firemen need you. Everyone’s welcome, actually.”

  That was Darla for you. She had a gift for bringing people together. Ty had never appreciated it more than he did right then.

  “We’ll get the coffee pots going and I can grab some muffins from the Butter Buns Bakery as soon as Ginny opens.”

  “I can run to the store,” Ty offered. He had too much adrenaline going to go sit at some table all night.

  “That’d be great.” Darla smiled at him as the group dispersed. Mateo tucked Everly under his arm and led her down the driveway toward their truck.

  “Come on.” Darla nudged him. “Let’s go warm up.” She took a step and started to slip on the ice.

  Ty reached for her hand to steady her and then held on, but after a few steps she pulled away from him and walked briskly to her car.

  * * *

  The charred skeleton of the Farm Café still smoldered, looking eerie in the early light of dawn. Darla walked the perimeter of the foundation, which had been reduced to a jagged concrete rectangle. Blackened debris filled the middle—fragments of stools and chairs and tables. There were melted Christmas garlands and the scorched artificial tree with Everly’s huge collection of locally made festive ornaments baked to the branches in unrecognizable blobs. Even the sleek, stainless steel ovens and refrigerators Mateo and Everly had purchased during the renovations had been melted down, and were now misshapen and half their original size.