The Cowboy's Christmas Plan Read online

  Trey grinned at his brother. “And when did you go and get all philosophical? You been hanging out at the school again trying to get a date with Miss Lindsay? You’ve really got to stop mooning over that girl.”

  Trent turned a narrowed gaze to Trey. “I don’t hang out at the school and I certainly don’t moon over any female.” Trent rubbed the nose of his horse. “Except maybe this one. Lass is worth her weight in gold, aren’t you, girl?”

  The horse answered by bobbing her head and rubbing it against Trent’s chest.

  Trey laughed and tossed a rag at Trent. “You’re pathetic.”

  “Look who’s talking. When was the last time you had a date?” Trent questioned as he turned the horse loose in the pasture. “And escorting Mom and her cronies around does not count.”

  Trey refused to let Trent’s comments get to him and changed the subject as they walked toward the house.

  “Let’s get cleaned up and head in to Viv’s for dinner. I can’t stomach any more of your cooking or mine.” Trey held open the back door for Trent to walk in ahead of him. Inside the mudroom, they removed their dusty boots, hung their hats on pegs, and brushed at their dirty jeans.

  Realizing what they were doing, they looked at each other and grinned.

  “Guess we’ll never forget to remove our boots before going inside after Mom and Lois drummed that lesson through our thick skulls,” Trey said as they walked through the mudroom into the kitchen. After washing up at the sink, Trey pulled two cans of Dr. Pepper out of the refrigerator and slid one over to Trent. Wiping the beads of condensation running down the can onto his jean-clad leg, Trey popped the top and took a sip.

  “Why did Lois have to go and retire on us?” Trent asked, taking a deep drink of the soda pop. “It was bad enough when Mom up and moved to The Dalles, but to have Lois abandon us left us in dire straits.”

  Trey leaned against the counter and chuckled. “I don’t think we’re exactly in dire straits, although we could definitely use another housekeeper and cook. But it isn’t like they grow on trees out here.”

  Here as in Grass Valley.

  The middle of nowhere.

  The sticks.

  Last stop before the edge of the planet gave way to a black abyss.

  However, Trey and his brothers preferred to call it God’s country.

  The Thompson family settled in Grass Valley back in the late 1800s and had been there since. Located in central Oregon, the rolling hills of wheat and pastures filled with cattle were about as close to heaven on earth as Trey thought anyone could find. Especially on a day when blue sky stretched as far as the eye could see, interrupted by the occasional fluffy white cloud.

  When his father passed away six years ago of a heart attack, Trey wasn’t sure how he and his brothers would keep the ranch going. He was only twenty-four at the time, Trent was twenty-one, and their brother Travis was just eighteen. But they “put their backs into it,” as their father taught them, and kept things rolling along just like Drew Thompson would have done.

  Regardless, their mother, Denni, was heartbroken when Drew passed away and couldn’t stay on the ranch where they had lived and loved for nearly thirty years. She moved an hour away to The Dalles, went to work for one of her friends in a quilt and craft store, and started a new life.

  The boys tried to visit her every other Sunday. Sometimes she drove out to meet them at the little country church in Grass Valley or came out to the ranch on the weekends when they couldn’t make it into The Dalles.

  Trey often wondered if it hurt their mother to see them. All three brothers looked like their father - muscular and solidly built. Most people knew better than to mess with one of the Thompson boys.

  Although Trey was the shortest at five-eleven, what he lacked in height, he more than made up for with broad shoulders, sculpted chest, and a commanding presence.

  A few people had even referred to him as the best looking of the Thompsons.

  With a square jaw, thick wavy hair the color of fresh honey, and a strong chin, he knew he had more than a few admirers among the female population. The fact that he inherited his grandmother’s striking aquamarine eyes didn’t hurt one bit either when he set out to charm the ladies.

  Nonetheless, his charm had gotten him nowhere with Lois. He finally came right out and begged her not to leave. She had been a housekeeper and cook for the family for as long as Trey could remember.

  When she became a grandmother in July, she decided she was ready to retire and moved to Boise to be close to her one and only daughter. At least she waited until after the wheat harvest to pack up and leave.

  For the last month, Trey and Trent did the best they could at housekeeping and cooking. Their hired hands realized right away they could do better fending for themselves in the bunkhouse and had not been back to sample a meal at the main house since Trent set a pan of pre-made lasagna on fire.

  It was past time to get serious about looking for a cook.

  The ringing of the house phone brought Trey out of his musings. He crossed the kitchen and answered on the third ring.

  “Thompson Ranch.”

  “Trey! How’s it going?” asked a familiar voice that sounded a million miles away.

  “Great! How are you doing? Where are you at?” Trey was surprised to hear the voice of his youngest brother on the line. Travis was on his second tour of duty in Iraq and they hoped he would be home in time for Christmas.

  “You know I can’t give you specifics, but I wanted to let you know I’m doing fine and I got the package you sent. Everything was appreciated.” Travis’ voice echoed across the line.

  “You’re welcome.” A smile lifted the corners of Trey’s mouth. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  “Yep. The only way I could be better is if I was there to give you and Trent heck for letting Lois leave. Who’s going to feed me when I finally get home?”

  Trey laughed. “We were just discussing that very thing when you called. I’m working on some ideas.”

  “Work faster,” Travis joked. “I don’t want to come home and have to eat your cooking. That is a guaranteed death sentence. Now let me talk to Trent.”

  Trey passed the phone to Trent and listened to the one-sided conversation.

  They all were proud and scared when Travis came home and told them he had enlisted in the Army. The day he left stateside for Iraq, Trey wasn’t sure their mother would be able to handle her baby heading to a war zone. She surprised them all by calmly wishing Travis well, reminding him to wear clean underwear and call home when he could.

  As Trent said goodbye, he passed the phone back to Trey.

  “You be careful, Trav. We expect to have you home for Christmas.”

  “I plan on being there, but you get busy finding a new cook. I’m not coming home if you two are doing the cooking.”

  Trey laughed. “And just where do you get off being so bossy?”

  “It’s all part of my job. Bye, Trey. Give Mom and Nana a hug for me.”

  “Will do. You take care.”

  Trey hung up the phone when he heard Travis disconnect. Turning to Trent, he gave him a thoughtful look.

  “Well, you heard our little brother. We'd better find a new cook and housekeeper before he gets home. It’s time to get busy planning where we’re going to find one.”

  ><><

  Occupied as they were by ranch work, the Thompson brothers hadn’t made a trip into town for dinner for a few weeks. They walked inside Viv’s Café during the dinner rush hour. It took them a few minutes to wander to an empty booth, stopping to chat with neighbors and catch up on the local news.

  They hung their cowboy hats on the hooks at the end of the booth, took a seat, then picked up the laminated menus that were kept in a wire holder between the ketchup and mustard bottles on the surprisingly shiny table. Viv didn’t usually worry about keeping a high shine on anything. She figured if it was sanitized, it was good enough.

  “What do you think?” Trey surveyed t
he menu that hadn’t changed since Viv took over the café fifteen years earlier. “Chicken fried steak or meatloaf?”

  “Hmm. Good question.” Trent’s stomach growled as he thought about eating a decent meal.

  The sound of ice and water glasses hitting the floor drew their attention to the table across from them.

  A flustered woman bent to pick up the tray of water glasses she had dropped. Dark brown hair was styled in a severe bun and her face was a bright shade of red.

  “I’m so terribly sorry,” she said in a quiet voice to the family seated at the table. “Please accept my apologies.” She hustled around the table with the tray of glasses firmly in hand only to slip on a chunk of ice and slide right into Trey.

  The one glass that hadn’t yet spilled tipped over and ran down his front, soaking his shirt and jeans.

  Aware of her humiliation, Trey reached out an arm to steady her. A flash of fire shot through his fingers and up his arm. Swiftly jerking his hand away, he started at the woman as she drew in a startled gasp.

  “I beg your pardon, sir. I’m so sorry.” She took a step back, horrified by what she’d done.

  “Well, I reckon its fine.” A slow grin spread across his face. Although one side of his shirt was ice cold and clinging to his chest, and it would look like he couldn’t hold water if he stood, he was incapable of wiping the smile from his lips. “I’ll dry out by the time I’m finished eating. Don’t worry about it. I…”

  Viv hustled out of the back to see what caused all the commotion. She hurried over to their booth, rested a hand on the woman’s shoulder, and gave it a squeeze.

  “If it isn’t the Thompson boys, come to grace my fine establishment. I haven’t seen you two in so long I thought maybe your hired hands revolted and left you tarred and feathered on the back forty.” Viv teased. “What happened? You get tired of your own cooking?”

  Trent laughed. “Yes, ma’am, we did.”

  “That’s just what I thought,” Viv smiled at the two men. “Did you meet my niece? She’s helping me out for a while.”

  Trent and Trey shot each other a look, but neither one said anything.

  Trey nodded his head in the woman’s direction and continued to smile.

  “Nice to meet you Mrs…”

  “It’s Miss Greer,” Viv said, looking between Trey and Cadence. “But you can call her Cadence. No need to be formal out here, is there?”

  “No, ma’am,” Trent agreed. “No need at all.”

  Trent stood and stuck out his hand. “I’m Trent Thompson and this is my brother Trey.”

  Cadence looked up and then looked up some as Trent towered above her five foot, six inch frame. She managed to work up a small smile and take his hand without dropping the tray again. She turned her head and offered her hand to his brother. When he rose to his feet, she was glad to see he wasn’t quite so tall.

  As she dared to dart a glance at his face, his eyes captivated her. Their color was the exact same brilliant shade as the Sea of Cortez, or at least how the water looked in the photo her parents had emailed her the previous day.

  Laugh lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes and his lips parted to show even, white teeth. She felt her own lips curl into a smile as she studied the cowboy named Trey. To say he was handsome would be a gross underestimation of the truth. He was steal-your-breath-away gorgeous.

  When he took her hand in his warm callused one, she felt hot tremors shoot up her arm again and forced herself not to yank her hand back.

  Angry for feeling attracted to any man, Cadence slammed the brakes on her emotions and put her cool demeanor back in place.

  “It was very nice to meet you both,” she said politely before returning to the kitchen.

  Trey and Trent both watched her hurry away, gawking at how well she filled out her jeans. Viv pushed Trey back into the booth and handed him a napkin.

  “What’s that for?” he asked as she shoved the paper square into his hand.

  “To wipe the drool off your chin.” Although her tone was serious, she gave him a playful wink. “Don’t you two go getting any bright ideas about my girl. She came here to get away from one of the most despicable examples of manhood you’d ever hope to meet. I don’t need either one of you breaking her heart in any more pieces.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Trent raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Trey, wondering what type of man would let a beautiful woman like Viv’s niece get away.

  Viv motioned for Trey to scoot over and slid in beside him, fanning herself with her apron.

  “As much as I love that girl, she is going to be the death of my diner,” Viv whispered to the two boys she had watched grow up into fine men. “She can’t wait tables to save her life. She’s broken more glasses in the last week than I have in a lifetime. Just today, Cadence spilled hot soup on Ermil Wright and dumped a platter of Buffalo wings on Fred Noder. I don’t know what I’m going to do with her.”

  “Can she cook and clean?” Trey asked, surprised when he heard himself blurt out the question.

  Viv slowly turned her head to look at him and took a moment before answering. “Can she cook and clean? That girl is fanatical about cleaning. She keeps running around with bleach wipes and a mop, scrubbing anything that doesn’t run away from her. Have you ever seen the front windows so spanking clean?”

  Trey and Trent looked at the windows. They were so clean they actually held a bit of sparkle from the fading evening light.

  “What about cooking?” Trent noticed the direction of Trey’s thoughts and honed in on the potential of finding a replacement for Lois.

  “She can cook, but it’s fancy pants food.” Viv shook her head, looking somewhat offended. “She says the grease I use to fry food is going to kill you all graveyard dead. Despite that, the one thing the girl can do fine is bake. You’ve never had a pie like she can make. My Joe said her berry pie was the best thing he’d ever eaten. Old coot!”

  Trey smothered a laugh and patted Viv’s hand. “You know we’ve been left high and dry since Lois moved to Boise.” He hoped to play off Viv’s sympathy. “What do you think of Cadence coming to work for us?”

  “As your cook and housekeeper?” Viv considered the possibility. “I don’t know.”

  “What’s not to know, Viv?” Trey liked the idea the more he considered it. The girl might be a terrible waitress, but she wasn’t hard to look at, that was for sure. “We’d give her room and board and a wage on top of it. She’d be out of the café but still close enough you can see her anytime you want and keep an eye on her. We wouldn’t let anything happen to her, would we Trent?”

  “No, ma’am.” Trent quickly warmed to his brother’s plan. He could almost smell bread baking in their oven. “We’d treat her just like we would our own sister.”

  “See, right there is the problem.” Viv shot Trent a wary glance. “You don’t have a sister. You three hooligans are too much for even your own sweet mama to handle. I just don’t know if it would be proper for her to be living out there with all you bachelors. None of your hands are married are they?”

  “No, Viv, they aren’t.” Trey started to feel edgy under her continued resistance to his plan. “This isn’t the Stone Age and we aren’t a bunch of cavedwellers. She could have the whole north wing of the house to herself and we’d be clear over in the south wing. Come on. What do you say?”

  Viv was about to say no, but turned just in time to watch Cadence upend a breadbasket in old Mrs. Henkle’s lap. She rose from the table with a resigned look on her face. “If she agrees, you boys can hire her. But no funny business or you’ll answer to me.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Trey hurried to agree.

  The two ranchers watched Cadence spill, drop, and fumble her way through the dinner service. Viv personally hand-delivered a brimming plate of chicken fried steak to each of them. They’d just finished mopping up the last bit of gravy off their plates with a warm dinner roll when Cadence approached with two pieces of pie smothered by a crown of melting v
anilla ice cream.

  Although he had eaten his fill, Trey’s mouth began to water as she carefully slid a plate in front of him then set one down in front of Trent. Keeping her aloof façade in place, she said, “enjoy,” then walked back to the kitchen.

  Unable to talk while they were devouring the best piece of apple pie to ever cross their lips, Trey and Trent communicated by raising eyebrows, grunting, and nodding their heads.

  When the pie was gone, they didn’t care how much “fancy pants” food they had to eat, they’d do anything to be able to enjoy treats like that on a regular basis.

  When the café was nearly empty, Viv came out to their table and motioned for Cadence to join them.

  “Cadence, these two gentlemen have a business proposal for you,” Viv said as she gave Cadence’s shoulders a reassuring squeeze. Tall and lean with a head full of short gray curls and pale blue eyes, the woman was a near replica of Cadence’s own mother.

  Cadence leaned into her hug and tried to keep her heart from pounding. She knew she had to be the world’s worst waitress and wondered how long it would be before Aunt Viv sent her packing.

  “Miss Greer.” Trey smiled as he addressed the hapless waitress. “We’re in need of a housekeeper and cook. Your aunt thought you might be interested in the position. You duties would include preparing breakfast and dinner for us and our hired men, and keeping up the ranch house. The hired hands take care of the bunkhouse and do their own laundry. We’d pay you a thousand per month in addition to your room and board.”

  Surprised by the offer, Cadence thought the wages more than fair considering they were in the middle of nowhere. The inclusion of room and board was a bonus she had not expected at all. She would be close to Aunt Viv and Uncle Joe, yet would no longer have to be mortified every time she spilt something on a paying customer.

  Nevertheless, she wasn’t sure the idea of living close to two bachelors, especially two extremely good-looking cowboy bachelors, was a good idea.

  “How many men would I have to cook for?” She looked at Trent as she asked the question.