The Cowboy’s Curvy Honey
Lila
Putting up a Christmas tree wouldn’t make most people cry. But here I am, sitting on the floor at the base of the tree, with ornaments in my lap, sobbing like there’s no tomorrow.
It’s the fifth year celebrating in our gorgeous home and each year, the place looks like something straight out of a magazine. It’s warm and inviting. A happy, peaceful haven.
Four identical stockings, decorated in our family tradition with glue and glitter, hang in a row on the fireplace mantel. There’s Wyatt’s, mine, Alex’s and one for our three-year-old daughter, Charlotte.
I guess I’m crying this year because it hit me I have so much more than I ever allowed myself to hope for all those times I had to run.
I married a dream of a husband who adores me and is an amazing father to our children.
Living the life of a cowboy’s wife isn’t always easy. The days can be long and the work hard. But every single second is worth it, and I have no regrets.
My handsome husband strides into the living room carrying an armful of firewood and stops when he sees me. Wyatt quickly deposits the wood and comes to kneel beside me. Reaching out, he wipes away my tears.
“Hey…What’s wrong, honey?”
“Nothing. That’s what’s wrong. Everything is perfect.”
He frowns. “Then why are you upset?”
“Because it’s perfect.” I pat the area over my heart. “Everything is so beautiful that it makes me ache.” I sniff. “I used to feel like I was standing outside in the cold looking in a window at what I wanted but could never have.”
A lump forms in my throat. “Someone to love me. A place I didn’t have to leave.”
His face clears. “Come here,” he says, moving aside the ornaments and pulling me into his lap. “I’ll always be your warmth and the place you never have to leave.”
He lowers his head to kiss me, and I get lost in it.
He tastes like sweet…like buttercream.
I pull back. “Did you eat some of the cake?”
He grins. “Only a tiny bite.”
“That’s for the party.”
Party. That reminds me that in a few minutes, the house will fill with family and friends.
“The birthday boy should be allowed to have a sneak taste.”
I fix him with a stare. “Don’t try to defend yourself. Alex is the birthday boy, not you.” It’s hard to believe he’s twelve today. It feels like he was a baby just yesterday.
I get to my feet and hold out a hand to help Wyatt up. “Where is he?”
Before Wyatt can answer, the back door opens and footsteps race toward the living room.
Alex skids to a stop. “Alright! The tree is up.”
I bend to pick up the box of ornaments. “Do you want to help hang these?”
“Yeah. I’ll see if Charlie’s awake from her nap.” He runs from the room.
Alex dotes on his little sister. She’s his little shadow and he’s fiercely protective.
“We have a couple of minutes,” Wyatt whispers, coming up behind me to wrap his arms around me.
I turn in his embrace. With our busy household, we’ve learned to take our moments when we can.
Wyatt kisses me deeply, pulling me closer against his muscular body.
I kiss him back, hungry for his touch. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of my cowboy.
“Incoming,” Wyatt warns against my lips.
We break apart as Alex returns carrying his sister. She doesn’t look happy.
“I goed to sleep,” she says, reaching her arms out for me.
“You went to sleep,” I say.
“Uh huh.” She snuggles her head against my shoulder.
I smooth her riotous curls.
She peeks around my arm and her face lights up. “Daddy!” Then the tree catches her attention, and she squirms, wanting to be free.
I set her down and she races for the ornaments.
“No.” Alex catches her hand. “Some of those are breakable. You’ll get hurt.”
“Brudda!” she scolds, trying to snatch her hand back.
“Take this one.” Wyatt intervenes and hands her a wooden one.
We take turns moving around the tree with Charlotte handing her ornaments to hang.
After she hangs each one on the tree, she pauses in between to clap her hands and laugh.
When a truck door slams outside, Charlotte and Alex abandon what we’re doing and take off.
Wyatt’s brother Mack never fails to bring them a treat. He’s as bad at spoiling them as their father is.
“I swear he better not bring another puppy,” Wyatt says.
I can’t help but laugh. Last year, Mack had given the kids matching black Lab pups that were all paws and mischief. One of them had chewed up Wyatt’s favorite Stetson.
We follow the kids to the front door.
Mack and Penelope walk up onto the porch, their arms full of bags.
A car pulls up behind their truck and my friend Madison gets out.
Then one by one, more people arrive until the house is full.
As everyone gathers, I hang back and take Wyatt’s hand to look into his eyes. “I know it’s Alex’s birthday, but every year, I feel like I’m the one who keeps getting the gift of this family.”
“I can give you another family gift later tonight when we’re alone.” He winks.
I swat his arm playfully. “It’s a deal.”
Hand in hand, we go join the others.
***
Wyatt
Alex exclaims as he unwraps the remote control helicopter he’d wanted. “Thanks, Mom.” He holds the box aloft, then meets my gaze across the kitchen table. “Thanks, Dad.”
I smile at my boy while he continues to go through his gifts. When Alex had first come to live on the ranch, he’d been a little skittish, always bracing, asking if he was going to have to leave.
No matter how many times I’d reassured him, he’d tried hard to be perfect and never complained.
Finally, one day when we were mending a section of fence line, I’d asked him what was wrong.
“I want to be good because I don’t want you to not want me,” he’d said. “Or be sorry you became my dad.”
That had nearly killed me. I remember squatting down at his eye level and saying, “You’re my son forever and nothing you do or don’t do will ever change that. And what did I tell you about being a cowboy?”
“A cowboy is a man of his word. When he makes a promise, he keeps it,” Alex had said.
“I will never let you go, understand?”
He’d nodded, then stood a little straighter after that and as the weeks had passed, he’d relaxed and stopped trying so hard to be perfect.
“Your dad’s the best,” Alex’s friend, Noah exclaims as Alex unwraps a new gaming system.
I feel Lila’s gaze on me, but don’t look her way. She thought he had enough gaming stuff, and technically, I hadn’t said I wouldn’t get that for him.
My wife comes to stand closer. “And when did we agree to get that for him?”
I chuckle, knowing she’s not really upset about it. We don’t always agree or see eye to eye on things, but we don’t fuss and fight about it. We talk through everything.
How I live now is so different from the environment I grew up in. Then, I knew pain and fear and a lot of loneliness.
Now I have joy and happiness. Laughter and love. Because that’s my family.
My greatest gifts.
I’m proof that family really is everything.
***
If you loved Wyatt and Lila’s story, you’ll enjoy reading The Cowboy’s Curvy Sunshine with Callan and Madison. Preorder the book now!
