“Not when it comes to cowboys, right?”
“Something like that.” He grinned as if remembering lots of things he wasn’t ever going to tell.
“Guess we’d better get this show on the road.” She picked up her phone and put it in her pocket. She reached behind the seat and got her Gene’s Boot Hospital sack that held her athletic shoes and the small fire extinguisher she’d borrowed from Trey.
“Yep. Christmas won’t wait.”
She watched as Trey got out of the truck, walked around, and opened her door. She stepped down into his arms and he hugged her tight. She inhaled his scent and felt his strong body surround her. Images of him naked above her, bringing her to peak after peak of pleasure, filled her mind.
He kissed her earlobe. “Better be good while I’m gone.”
She decided to tease him. “Can I only be bad with you?”
“Absolutely.”
She chuckled as she walked over and patted Big John’s trunk. “Hey there, you big, handsome boy.”
Trey joined her laughter. “Now don’t go making me jealous or I’ll start thinking chain saw.”
She quickly turned back. “Don’t you dare think such a thing, particularly not in Big John’s presence.”
Trey laughed harder as he put an arm around her shoulders. “Okay. So long as he doesn’t get any ideas about stealing my gal.”
“‘My gal’?”
“You know it.”
“That’d make you ‘my guy’.”
“In a heartbeat.” He gave her a hot look before he opened the sliding glass doors.
She stepped indoors, caught the scent of cinnamon, and trailed her fingers up and down the poinsettias wrapped around the swing’s chain.
“Ruby knows how to make a place feel like home, doesn’t she?” Trey said.
“She’s not the only one.” Misty tucked her hand around Trey’s arm as they walked to the inside door.
She hesitated with her hand on the doorknob, savoring their last intimate moment for a while, before she opened the door and stepped inside. She walked into the living room, saw the beautiful peacock tree, and smelled spice cake.
“Hey, Ruby.” Trey closed the door behind him.
“Welcome home,” Ruby called. “We’d about given up on seeing you two ever again.”
“Been a little busy,” Trey said.
“Busy enough to keep you out of trouble?” Ruby grinned as she looked from Trey to Misty and back again.
“Never that busy.” Trey chuckled as he walked deeper into the room.
Misty moved over to the tree, nodding in greeting to J.P. and Charlene, who were sitting together on the sofa. Ruby sat in a recliner near the fireplace with a Santa Claus mug in her hands.
“J.P. and Charlene have been asking after you,” Ruby said.
“We’d hoped you’d join us for dinner.” Charlene uncrossed her legs, drawing attention to her shapely legs—revealed by her short skirt—and her black-and-white spike heels, then crossed her legs again.
“Sorry we couldn’t make it,” Misty said.
“Ate a bite at the ranch,” Trey added.
“If you grilled bison steaks and didn’t bring me any, I’m gonna pout.” Ruby took a sip from her mug.
“Catfish. Delicious, too.” Misty smiled at the group. “Trey’s a great cook.”
“You didn’t try to impress her with steak?” Ruby appeared puzzled.
“She wanted fish,” Trey said in a neutral tone.
Ruby shrugged a shoulder. “Glad you’re here. Time to touch base on the chili cook-off.”
“We’re so excited about the benefit. We wouldn’t miss it.” Charlene turned to J.P. “We like to help animals. Don’t we, sugar?”
“Sure do, sweetkins. And I never turn down a good bowl of chili.”
“That’s great,” Misty said.
“Let’s see.” Ruby set down her mug and held up a hand to count items off on her fingers. “Slade volunteered to oversee the chili entries. Teddie’s putting your Wildcat Bluff Chili Cook-Off announcement in tomorrow’s paper. Notices are up in stores across town, not to mention word of mouth. Everybody’s excited as all get-out.”
“It’s all coming together so fast.” Misty realized the town had put on a lot of benefits so they had a system in place.
“You and Trey are judges,” Ruby added. “That’s important work, too.”
“I’d sure like to be one,” J.P. said.
“Misty?” Ruby asked.
“Why not?”
“Thanks,” J.P. said, grinning. “That’ll be fun.”
“Guess you know I got the school cafeteria squared away,” Trey added.
“Yep,” Ruby agreed. “You won’t need to do much there. Staff will take care of setting up, cleaning up, and taking down.”
“Sounds perfect,” Misty said. “Y’all are making this seem easy.”
“That’s what comes from experience.” Ruby smiled as she glanced around at the group. “We’ve danced to this tune a time or two.”
“What about decorations?” Misty asked, suddenly realizing she hadn’t even thought about that important part of an event.
“No problem. Place is already decorated for the holidays.” Ruby patted herself on the back. “And I even got my vendor to accept a special order and overnight trophies for the event. That took some doing, but Wildcat Bluff is a good customer.”