A Little Country Christmas - Carolyn Brown Page 0,30
costs money, and Mama needed her cigarettes and beer.”
“Well, get ready for a surprise.” He sat up, and Sally crawled over into his lap. “I don’t expect this to be as big as the one in Hollywood, but I’m looking forward to sharing it with you and this sweet little girl. All you have to decide is whether we have pizza and ice cream before or after the show.”
“Maybe before, so Sally doesn’t turn into a whiny monster,” she suggested.
“This baby?” Landon carried her out to the truck. “Never happen.”
“Oh, yes, it can. If she’s hungry, she’s unbearable. They do have pasta at the pizza place, don’t they?” she asked. “She doesn’t do well with pizza, but she loves pasta.”
“Yep, and they have an ice cream machine so we can either put some in a cup or make cones,” he answered. “I didn’t think about her not being able to eat pizza. We can go somewhere else if you think we need to. There’s a buffet on the same road that will have vegetables and ice cream too.”
“Pasta is great, and I love pizza.” Dixie opened the rear door and helped him get Sally into the car seat. “I think we’re ready.”
“Doggie?” Sally cocked her head to one side.
“No doggies tonight, sweetheart,” Landon told her. “They might have a Snoopy dog in the lights, but it won’t be a real one.”
Dixie sucked in a lungful of air and let it out slowly. She knew exactly what Sally was talking about, and it wasn’t a real doggy, but an image on a quilt. In another year, the baby would be talking enough to tattle about Christmas presents. Dixie would have to be careful about what she showed her.
“Are we ready?” Landon got behind the wheel and started the engine.
Dixie picked up her purse and nodded. “Let another wonderful adventure begin.”
“Have you really enjoyed all the events, even though most of them were catastrophes?” Landon asked.
“More than words can say,” she answered. “Simply going out for pizza, pasta, and ice cream is like getting a Christmas present to me. Add in getting to experience a light show for the first time”—she stopped before she said, with you—“makes that two big presents.”
“For real?” Landon put the truck in gear and backed out of the driveway. “If you could have anything in the whole world for Christmas, what would it be? Money wouldn’t even be an issue, so would it be diamonds, a fancy new car, or what?”
“You want the truth?” she asked.
“Yes, I do.” He made a right turn toward Bowie.
“I’d want one more week like this last one,” she answered. “This has been the stuff that dreams are made of. When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of having a perfect Christmas like all the other kids at school talked about, and now you’ve given me just that. I’ve never had so much attention poured on me in all of my years combined, Landon. And I just love our little Christmas tree.”
“An ugly tree that is already getting dry and shedding. Next year, we’re having an artificial tree with soft needles, so it doesn’t bite the baby,” he declared.
Dixie held her breath for a minute, letting hope get a toe in the door. “And you helped me make my first snowman.”
“It wasn’t even a foot tall,” Landon laughed, “but we did have fun playing in the snow.”
“And we’ve got lots of cookies made,” she went on.
“After we burned a few in the process,” he reminded her.
“You’ve come to see us every night this week,” she finally said.
“That was the stuff dreams are made of for me, Dixie.” He reached across the console and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Why would you only want one more week? Why not a lifetime?”
“That would be asking for too much, and I’d feel selfish,” she answered. “I’ll just be happy with what I’ve had and count every minute of this Christmas as a blessing and a miracle. Especially when I know you’ll be moving on soon. Have you decided what day you are leaving?”
“Pretty much,” he replied.
“You wouldn’t leave without sayin’ good-bye to us, would you?”
“I promise I won’t.” He took her hand and gently squeezed.
Driving to Bowie took only ten minutes, and Dixie let her thoughts wander, reliving the moments she’d had with Landon. The most beautiful things in life weren’t perfect. They were feelings and memories and smiles and laughter. Landon had made her believe there were good men in the