DONNA ALWARD: The Cowboy's Christmas Family

“Maddy’s had a rough time, that’s for sure.” She nodded. “Losing her husband, finding out he was cheating. She’s one strong girl, picking herself up the way she has. But the whole situation has to be hard.”

“I got the impression that she doesn’t appreciate a lot of pity,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Would you?” his mom asked simply. “If your dad had stepped out on me, and the whole town knew about it? I’d be humiliated. And really angry. Honey, Maddy hasn’t got anyone to be angry with anymore, except herself, really. I’m sure she’d rather forget all about the whole thing.”

He hadn’t thought of it in quite that way before. The one person she’d probably like to ask most about the affair couldn’t answer. And as far as he could gather, Laura wasn’t talking. Which was to her credit, really. But it didn’t help stop the gossip.

“Son,” she said, taking the last drink of her milk, “this is one time I’m not going to do any urging or matchmaking. Maddy has a truckload of baggage to sort through. But if you ended up in a position to give her a helping hand, that wouldn’t be amiss, either. The holidays are coming up and she has those two babies to think about. Maybe your committee can think about that, too, amid all the festival stuff.”

It wasn’t a half-bad idea, though the idea of Maddy accepting any form of charity was ludicrous. She wouldn’t even accept his help in cleaning up the room tonight, which was just dumping some garbage cans and emptying the coffeemaker.

It would have to be something secret, something she wouldn’t expect, something that seemed random.

What in heck would that be?

“I’m a guy. I don’t do well with this sort of thing.”

His mom laughed, got up and put her mug in the sink. Then she came over to him and dropped a kiss on top of his head. “You’re probably better at it than you think. And now I have to get to bed. I have a lot of packing to do tomorrow. I’m not letting your father anywhere near those suitcases.”

After she left the room, Cole fussed with the corner of the magazine pages, thinking. It wasn’t a bad idea, actually, helping one of their own. Besides, up until the last few months, Maddy had always been active in Gibson, helping out with fund-raisers and activities with a smile.

Life had handed her some huge lemons. Maybe it was up to them to give her the lemonade. It was the season of giving, after all.

What could go wrong?

Chapter Two

Maddy was trying to space out her shopping and minimize her babysitting bills, so she hit the town’s rather small department store on a Tuesday after work to pick up a few things before she was due to get the boys.

She had forty dollars today. That was it. And there was another payday before Christmas where she might be able to squeeze a bit more out of her check. It wasn’t as though the boys were old enough to know they were getting less than most other kids. It was that she knew. She knew she couldn’t provide the type of Christmas she wanted to and it bugged her to no end.

As she pushed the metal cart toward the baby section, she took a deep breath. Thinking about finances just made her angry at Gavin again, and that didn’t serve any purpose. In the new year, she was going to make a new plan, that was all. Maybe downsize to a smaller house, for one. The three of them didn’t need two thousand square feet, really. A smaller bungalow would suit them fine and the upkeep would certainly be easier.

She stopped by the baby clothes, searching for discounts. Pajamas were on sale, cute little blue and green ones with the feet in them and a brown-and-white puppy on the front. She put one of each color in the cart. She picked up fuzzy socks, new slippers with the traction dots on the bottom and two soft white onesies.

Calculating in her head, she had about fifteen dollars left. Barely.

At the toy section she was utterly daunted. How could she buy two toys with what she had left?

She’d decided on the rock-a-stack rings she knew the boys loved from the church nursery, and was deliberating the wisdom of wooden alphabet blocks when a voice startled her.

“I just need help getting it down from the top shelf.”

Maddy looked across the aisle and felt her face go red-hot. Laura Jessup was smiling at an employee, pointing at a crib set on a high shelf. She was everything Maddy wasn’t, it seemed—petite, red haired, creamy complexioned, young.

And carrying Maddy’s husband’s baby. There was no mistaking the roundness at her middle. At Maddy’s best guess, Laura had to be close to seven, eight months along. Not that she was about to ask the exact due date. Gavin had died five months ago, which meant that he’d been seeing Laura pretty much since she’d showed up in town last spring.

With the plastic case containing the comforter in hand, Laura turned around and caught Maddy staring at her. For a brief second she looked embarrassed and awkward, but then she put on an uncertain smile. “Madison,” she began, and started walking toward Maddy.

Hell, no , Maddy thought, her throat tightening and heart pounding. This is not going to happen.

She wasn’t going to have a panic attack, but it was damned close, and she hustled the cart across to housewares, down the center and straight to the cash registers.

A quick glance behind her as she put her items on the belt reassured her that Laura hadn’t followed her. Thank God. Maddy wasn’t interested in anything Laura had to say.

“Is that all today, Mrs. Wallace?”

She nodded at the girl behind the counter. Young and fresh faced and wearing a Santa hat, she looked innocent and happy. “Yes, that’s it, Stephanie. Thanks.”

“It’s forty-one dollars and ten cents,” Stephanie said, and Maddy dug out the extra dollar and change. She’d stayed pretty close to budget after all.

“Is the library still having the tree lighting?” the cashier asked, chatting as if unaware that Maddy wanted to be just about anywhere else right now.

“Yes, on the thirteenth,” she answered. “To kick off Snowflake Days.”

“It’s so much fun every year. Last year when I went, I—”

Maddy grabbed the shopping bags and flashed a hurried smile. “Sorry, Stephanie. I was supposed to pick up the boys ten minutes ago. I’ve gotta run.”

“Oh, sure, Mrs. Wallace. Have a nice day.”

The air outside the store was bitter, a distinct change from the crisp bite of earlier. It felt as if snow was in the air. She’d like to get home before it started, since she didn’t have her winter tires on yet. She should probably do that soon...

“Afternoon, Maddy.”

She had her head stuck in the trunk, stowing the bags, and the sound of her name being spoken prompted her to stand up too quickly and smack her head on the hood.

She now understood why people called it seeing stars. Little dots swam in front of her eyes as she held on to the lip of the trunk for support.

“Whoa, there!” A strong hand gripped her arm, steadying her. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Sorry about that.”

She blinked a few times and her vision cleared, though the pain was still sharp in her head. Cole Hudson stood before her, a frown of concern on his handsome face.

“I’m fine. You just scared me, is all.” She pushed away from the car, and then reached for the hood, giving it a good slam.

“Maddy, hold still.” He reached into his pocket and took out a handkerchief. “I think you cut your head.”

Now that he mentioned it, there was a funny feeling on the right side of her head, as if a raindrop had fallen on her hair and was trickling toward her ear.

He reached forward and pressed the cotton to her head with a firm but gentle touch. “Wow, you really smacked it.”