“They’re amazing. They make me want things.” Dillon wiggled about, coming up face to face with him.
“Hey.” He grinned, took a kiss. “Happy?”
“Very. I love to dance for you.”
“Good. I love to watch.”
“I know! What a wonderful world.” That man was goofy as well as pervy.
“That it is, cowboy.” He cast his eye across the room. “Pansy’s fixin’ to get the lights.”
“Shit.” Dillon hopped up and went to rescue Christmas.
Chapter Eighteen
“Gramps? Gramps, she’s getting worse. The babies, there’s two of them. Two. And they’re talking about taking them.” AJ Gardner was on the line again.
Oh, damn. “Well, she’s in good hands, then. Those folks at the hospital, they got it.”
It was Christmas Eve and it was snowing, and Coke was getting the feeling he was fixin’ to spend some quality time on his knees, communing with the good Lord.
“I’m freaking out.” AJ sounded hunted. Exhausted.
“I bet you are, man. You got someone playing Santa for the babies?” They needed to head out there. Beau and Sam could wait.
“Yeah. Yeah, mom is doing that thing, but I… Jesus, Andy and Jason will be back soon, and…”
“I’ll get a flight out, day after tomorrow, okay?”
“Yeah?” Poor kid. Listen to that relieved sigh. “You’re the best, Gramps.”
“Yeah, yeah. You take care, baby those kids, and tell your Missy to hold on.”
“I will, Coke. Thank you. Really.”
“No problem, son.” He hung up the phone. “Cowboy, I got to get back to Texas, the day after Christmas, get to the Gardners’.”
“Huh?” Dillon’s rump was in the air, the man shoving something under the tree.
“Missy’s real sick, Dillon, and I think we need to go after Christmas is over.”
That got Dillon wiggling out from under the tree. “Shit. Okay. Okay, so do you need to fly while I drive down, or can we go together with the dogs?”
“Hrm. Let me think on that. It’s not that bad of a drive and we’d have our truck.”
“We would. I’d hate to have to leave the pups, and they don’t fly well.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll holler at AJ tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Dillon grinned. “We have to go to Susan’s for like, an hour. Then we’ll be just us tomorrow.”
“Sounds perfect. I… I got something for you. It’s not, like, a Santa present.” He pulled the ring box out of his pocket, tossed it over.
Dillon stared at him a moment after catching it in mid-air. “For me?”
“Yep.”
He’d had it made. Nothing fancy, but a pretty thing with a sapphire in it, an inscription. ‘Coke’s Cowboy’.
