and puppies.”
“Why puppies?” Dixie headed out of the room.
“Because that’s what I dreamed about my whole life. I asked Santa every year for a yellow puppy, and I also asked my mama for the same thing. I would have traded all the toys I ever got, and even the fancy bike with the special wheels, for a dog, but Mama said that she wasn’t having an animal in or around the house,” he explained as he followed her back to the shop part of the house. “If I ever have the privilege of being a father, the first thing I’m getting my child is a puppy.”
“So, you think fatherhood is a privilege?” Dixie asked.
“Just one of the greatest in the whole world,” Landon answered. “One of my favorite memories of my dad is the time he took me to the rodeo. I wasn’t much more than five, and I wanted to be a real cowboy when I grew up. The only sporting event my dad liked was golf, and he hated anything to do with animals. Looking back now, I can see that was a really big sacrifice for him to take me.”
If only. Dixie stopped her thoughts right there. She wouldn’t live in the past.
Landon bent and kissed Dixie on the forehead. “Thank you for a wonderful evening. I’ll be by tomorrow right after work to build a snowman out in the backyard if that’s all right with you.”
“You ever lived in a place where you could build a snowman?” she asked.
He shook his head. “How about you?”
“Nope, but I think it would be fun.” She grinned. “Oh, and don’t eat supper before you come over.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice. Can I bring anything?” he asked.
“Just a healthy appetite.” She walked him to the door.
“Will you wait to put the star on the tree until I get here?” he asked. “I want a picture of Sally’s face when we first put it on the top.”
“Sounds good.” She didn’t want him to go. What she wanted was another kiss or two, maybe even a little south of her forehead.
When he’d closed the door behind him, she slumped down in the rocking chair and touched her forehead to see if it was as hot as it felt. Surprisingly enough, it was cool.
“I can’t go there,” she muttered. “I can’t afford to get my heart broken twice. That was just a friendly kiss, not a romantic one, and I won’t make it into something more, no matter how much I want to do just that.”
She pushed up out of the chair and went to the cutting table where she deftly cut a green tree from a remnant of fabric and appliqued it to a twelve-inch quilt square. When she finished, she cut out a tiny little gold star and carefully stitched it to the top of the tree. After that, she created a red square with a snowflake in the middle and carried both appliqued squares to her bedroom.
“Day one,” she said as she tucked them away in a dresser drawer.
She took a quick shower and was in bed by eleven o’clock but tossed and turned until midnight. When she finally fell asleep she dreamed of a yellow puppy, with a red bow around its neck, chasing a squirrel across the yard toward a tree all decorated with cloth ornaments.
Chapter Four
Good mornin’.” Sarah threw her coat and gloves on a rocking chair when she entered the shop. “How’s my girl? Oh. My. Goodness. When did you get a tree?”
“Lan-Lan!” Sally said proudly.
“Landon says we need the whole Christmas experience,” Dixie said. “So, we cut down the tree and made ornaments last night, and tonight we’re going to build a snowman. Then we’re going to go see the Christmas lights and make cookies.”
“That’s wonderful,” Sarah said. “You should talk him into staying in this part of the world. Cade says he’s the best hired help he’s ever had, and that he could be a foreman of the Longhorn Canyon within a couple of years if he stuck around.”
“Not me.” Dixie shook her head. “What if he stayed and then resented me after a while?”
“Miracles happen during Christmas.” Sarah cocked her head to one side and then the other. “That is one ugly-ass tree. We’ve got an extra one at our house you could use.”
“Sally picked it out,” Dixie explained.
“Then it’s the right tree even if it isn’t the prettiest,” Sarah said with a smile. “Patsy threw a fit about me driving