Carol Arens - Christmas Cowboy Kisses

“Well, get him ready for bed and send him down to me if he’s still wide-awake. I’ll read to him for a while from Black Beauty and see how he likes it. It’s a good story, for sure,” Joy said.

So it was that she curled up on the sofa with a lamp on the table next to her on one side and a small boy gathered to her on the other. The book lay open on her lap and she found herself with an audience as Gideon joined them, sitting on the floor by her feet as she read. Joseph snuggled close as if he hadn’t been cuddled in a long while and his head drooped against her, finally dropping to her lap as he snoozed while she read.

Joy closed the book after inserting a bookmark she’d knitted, a miniature scarf, only an inch or so wide.

Gideon smiled as he saw it. “You’re just full of talents, Joy,” he said. “You not only cook and clean, but you know how to tend to a family in every way possible. I’m in awe at your abilities.”

Joy flushed, nodding her thanks for the compliment, placing the book she’d been reading on the table beside her. “This boy is about out for the night,” she whispered to Gideon as he approached.

“I’ll take him up now. And I think I’ll crawl in beside him. We’re both nearly tuckered out. Will you being going up, too, Grandpa?” he asked the older man.

Grandpa nodded and headed for the stairs, dropping a quick kiss on Joy’s cheek as he passed her chair. “Good night, Grandpa. And you, too, Gideon. I’ll lock the doors and be on my way, too,” Joy said, stifling a yawn as she spoke.

“It was the most beautiful Christmas I’ve ever had,” Gideon said as he paused by her chair. “And you made it possible, Joy. You and your grandfather. I can’t thank you enough, both from me and my son. I’ll bank the fire in the kitchen and be right back to tote my boy upstairs.”

Joy looked up into his eyes and felt warmed from within. Gideon’s smile was one she’d never seen before, filled with more than affection, for he bestowed upon her a smile that spoke to her heart.

“I’ll be turning in, too, once I make sure all the candles are out,” she said.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Joy. God bless you, for you’ve been a real blessing to me. And to Joseph.” He bent, leaving the touch of his lips against her cheek, then went into the kitchen where she heard him lifting a burner on the stove, preparatory to banking the fire for the night. By the time she’d gone to her own room he was back in the parlor, picking up his son and carrying him to the stairs, where she heard his footsteps touch each step. She watched from her bedroom doorway as he climbed, looking down at the lad he carried, lifting him close to his heart as he reached the top of the stairs and headed to the first room on the right.

The house was quiet as Joy found her bed. Before she snuggled beneath her quilts, she lifted herself up a bit to blow out the candle she’d brought to light her way. Her fingers touched the spot on her cheek where Gideon had left his warmth. The man seemed to have crept into her life and her heart in a way she’d never have dreamed possible. He was the very image of what she had long harbored in her heart as the perfect man for her future. Not only tall and strong and handsome but a wonderful father to his son. Perhaps it would be her Christmas gift from the powers that be, that Gideon would find her pleasing. For though he’d told her she was to be admired, she could only wish for more.

Her head swam with images from the whole day as she sank into slumber. And all of them included the tall man who had swept into her life and somehow...into her heart.

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