Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy - Diana Palmer Page 0,104

unbiased source.”

“He’s charming,” Veronica added as she signed the receipt and placed it back on the counter. “Must run in the family.”

Luckily for Ted, who was definitely starting to blush, the door behind him opened and he turned in relief to greet whoever was coming in.

“Hey.” Tucker Hayes, who was the general manager of his family’s historic hotel and Ted’s best friend, nodded at him. “You ready for the big day? I was just going to knock on your door so you saved me a trip. Avery said to come by and pick up your shirt tomorrow.”

His interested gaze went past Ted and focused on his companion.

“Veronica, right? Vic’s niece.”

“Wow, you have a good memory.” Veronica stepped forward and shook Tucker’s proffered hand.

“It helps in my business.” Tucker shrugged modestly. “Are you here for the holidays?”

“Yes, I was supposed to be staying with my uncle, but he’s gone off on a cruise, so I’m staying with Ted.” She smiled at him. “I hear Avery’s getting married?”

“Yeah, to Ry Morgan. They’ve been engaged for ages. Avery wanted to get through her last set of surgeries, and make sure she felt one hundred percent before she walked down the aisle.”

“I remember her barrel-racing accident,” Veronica said softly. “I also remember how sweet Ry Morgan was on her at school. I’m not surprised they’ve fallen in love.”

“You should pop by with Ted tomorrow and say hi. She’d love to see you,” Tucker said.

She looked hopefully at Ted and he nodded. “We’ll walk over after breakfast.”

As they left with the pizza, Ted realized how nice it was not having to explain everything and everyone in Morgan Valley to his companion. She knew all his friends and most of his family. And they all had a sense of her because she was already part of their community.

“Everyone’s being so nice,” Veronica said as if aware of the direction of his thoughts. “I feel like I’ve never been away.” She sighed, her breath frosting in the frigid air. “I wish I’d come back sooner. Jason, my ex, wouldn’t let me go anywhere without him. If I’d brought him here, my family would’ve seen what a miserable excuse for a human being he was, and defended me.”

Ted tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow as they crossed the street, the snow crunching beneath their booted feet.

“Was he afraid you wouldn’t come back if you went alone?” Ted reached the side door and took off his glove to find the key in his pocket.

“I’m not sure I would’ve gone back.” Veronica followed him inside, wiped her feet on the mat, and took off her knitted hat. “But he didn’t let me have any money or access to the bank account so I couldn’t go far without him.”

“That’s . . .” Ted tried to think of something that wouldn’t come out as a curse and failed miserably. “Awful.”

“Yes, it was.” She unbuttoned her coat and followed him up the stairs, her cheeks red with cold. “He told me his first wife left him for another man, and that he was just being extra careful with me. It didn’t matter how many times I told him I’d never do that, he’d made up his mind.” A wry smile tugged at her lips. “The funny thing is, that in the end, it turned out he was the one who was having an affair, not me.”

“Wow, what a piece of shit.” Ted was done trying to be polite.

“She turned up at our house one day, and told me to set him free so that she could love him properly.” Veronica hung her coat on the hook. “She was so young, and so deadly earnest that it was really hard not to laugh in her face.”

“What did you do?” Ted asked.

“I started making the plans I should’ve made years before. I set up my own bank account, made sure my employer started sending my checks to it, and went out to find an apartment of my own.” She grimaced. “It was hard because I didn’t have much of a credit history, but my employer stood by me, and I lucked out with a rent-controlled apartment in a decent neighborhood close to work.”

She walked into the kitchen, her head held high. “I retained a divorce lawyer, moved out, and served Jason the papers before he even knew what hit him.”

“Good for you,” Ted said, his admiration increasing with every second. He got two more beers out of the refrigerator. “It sounds like