Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy - Diana Palmer Page 0,16
denim jacket.
He chuckled. “Who’s been talking?”
“Teddie. She heard you talking to somebody about a cat in a box and an Einstein-Rosen bridge.”
“Heavy stuff.”
“Very heavy. Way over my head.”
“Mine, too, at first. But I loved the concept of invisible numbers and tangents and cosine and stuff like that. Ate it like candy.”
She drew back and looked up at him. He seemed different and she couldn’t decide why until she realized that his hair, his thick, soft, black hair was loose. It flowed over his shoulders and down his back like silk.
“Your hair’s down,” she murmured.
He shrugged. “I was getting ready for bed when Sarge called. He’s missing an arm and sometimes it bothers him at night. He asked if I’d go hunt for Two Toes, so I left supper hanging and came running. Driving. Whatever.”
“Supper at this hour?”
“I don’t live a conventional life,” he said. “Supper’s whenever I feel like fixing it. But tonight it was oatmeal.” He made a face. “I think I’ll pass on reheating it.”
“If you’ll come in, I can make you a nice ham and cheese sandwich. I even have lettuce and mayo.”
His eyebrows arched. “All that on one sandwich?” he asked with a smile.
“All that.”
“Okay. Thanks. But I have to take sweetums home to Sarge first.”
“I’ll be making the sandwich while you’re driving. Want coffee?”
He nodded. “Strong and black, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“I’m grading papers,” she replied. “Strong and black is how I take it, too.”
He smiled. “Okay. I’ll be back in a few.”
“Sounds good.”
“Is Parker coming back?” Teddie asked excitedly when her mother came inside.
“Yes, he is. He doesn’t really want to reheat the oatmeal he left to go find his sergeant’s wolf.” She laughed.
“He’s so nice.”
Katy nodded. “And smart,” she added with a wink.
Teddie smiled back.
* * *
Later, Parker knocked at the door and Teddie let him in.
“Warrior hair,” he teased. “It’s my ‘medicine.’ I’ve never cut it, except once.”
Teddie’s eyes asked the question.
“When my mother died,” he said softly. “It’s an old way of expressing grief.”
“Gosh,” she said, fascinated. “Well, I’m glad it grew back. It’s beautiful!”
He chuckled and ruffled her hair. “You’re good for my ego.”
She made a face at him.
“Sandwiches and coffee,” Katy said, bringing out a platter of them and going back for the coffeepot. The small table was already set. “Teddie, want a sandwich?”
“No, thanks. I have to finish my homework,” she moaned.
“Feel okay now?” Katy asked gently.
She nodded. “I was just a little scared. He’s a very big wolf.”
“He’s a big baby,” Parker said as he took off his jacket and sat down at the table. “Sarge loves him to death.”
“I guess he’s just scary to people who don’t know him,” Teddie amended.
He smiled. “I’ll take you over to Sarge’s one day and you can get acquainted. He likes people. Loves girls.”
She laughed. “That’s a deal. I’ll go do that horrible math.”
“Math is not horrible,” Parker pointed out. “It’s the basis of all engineering.”
“I don’t want to be an engineer. I want to fly jet planes. Fighter planes!”
He rolled his eyes. “And here I’m teaching you to ride horses!”
“One step at a time,” Teddie said with a grin. She turned and went down the hall to her room.
“Fighter planes.” Parker shook his head as he bit into a sandwich.
“She’s adventurous,” Katy said, nibbling at a sandwich of her own.
“When I was her age, I wanted to be a cowboy and live on a ranch,” he said.
Both eyebrows went up.
“Of course, when I was a little older than her, I was a cowboy and lived on a ranch.” He chuckled, swallowing down a bite of sandwich with coffee. “Coffee’s good,” he said as he put the cup down. “Most people don’t get it strong enough.”
She laughed. “I like a spoon to stick up in mine.”
“Me, too.”
“You wanted to be a cowboy, but you already were one,” she prompted.
“My point is, I’m happy with my life. So many people aren’t,” he added. “They’re always chasing something they can’t find, wanting things that are impossible to have. It’s important to be satisfied not only with who you are, but where and what you are. After all, life isn’t forever. We’re just temporary visitors here. Tourists, really.”
She burst out laughing and almost toppled her coffee. “Tourists! I’ll have to remember that one.”
He grinned. “I stole it from a pal, when we were overseas. He was a great guy. He was going to medical school when we got out of