Since it is almost Christmas, and I’ve got a Christmas novel available… I thought I’d share an excerpt with you today. Just for fun.
If you want to read the book, you can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords electronically or on Amazon in print!
The Cowboy’s Christmas Plan
“Cady, can you come here a minute, please?”
Going back to his room, he again gave himself a critical look in the mirror, not happy at what he was seeing.
“Trey?” Cadence asked, peeking into his room. “What did…”
Seeing him in the Santa suit, she burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Trey asked, turning to look at her with a scowl.
“You and that suit…” She was laughing so hard she couldn’t even stand and sank down on a corner of his bed.
Trey had on the entire suit from plush red hat to red velvet pants. Instead of looking jovial and fun he was starting to look mad and more than a little intimidating. The wig was bunched up on one side, the beard was on crooked and if she wasn’t mistaken, Cadence thought he might have the stomach pad on upside down which would explain why it looked so ridiculous. The pants fit him well and with his black cowboy boots on, they should work fine.
“I’m sorry, Trey, it just looks a little… humorous,” she said, reaching up to take off the hat and wig, then the beard. “Take off the jacket and let’s try this again.”
He pulled off the wide black belt, unbuttoned the jacket then removed it. While he did that, Cadence was busy fluffing the hair of the wig and straightening it out, then finger combing the beard.
When she turned around to look at Trey, she sucked in her breath.
“Oh,” was all she could say, as her eyes roved over Trey’s upper anatomy. He was wearing a white tank-style undershirt that accented every firm, impressive muscle in his shoulders, arms and chest. If that wasn’t bad enough, the red suspenders of the pants drew vertical lines across those rippling muscles that Cadence couldn’t help but follow both up and down and back up again.
Trey, watching her eyes get wide and stormy, was quite pleased at his ability to ruffle her feathers, even if it was unintentional. Not caring at this moment if he looked like an elf on steroids, he was feeling quite smug that Cady was obviously attracted to him. He wasn’t all that experienced when it came to wooing women, but he assumed her intense perusal coupled with her inability to say anything was probably a good sign.
Unable to stop himself, Trey placed his hands on his lean hips, drawing up his muscles in a way he hoped showed them off to his best advantage.
“What do you think, Cady?” he asked with a devilish gleam in his eye.
“Huh? Think? What?” Cadence asked, trying to bring herself back to reality. Blinking her eyes, she focused on the stomach pad Trey had put on upside down. Walking up to him, she gave the elastic band running over his shoulder a firm snap.
“Ow! What was that for?” Trey said, jumping back from her.
“You’ve got this thing on upside down. Turn it around and let’s see what it looks like.”
Cadence busied herself with the beard again while Trey took off the pad, turned it over and slipped it back on. He then pulled on the jacket and buttoned it and put the belt back on.
“Okay, does this look better?” he asked, noticing in the mirror that it looked much more Santa-like, even without the beard and hat.
“Much better. You don’t look so deformed now,” Cadence teased, putting the beard, wig and hat on Trey. She tugged the hat to a jaunty angle, then stepped back to give him a critical once-over.
“I think you’ll do.”
Trey looked in the mirror and was surprised to see Santa staring back at him. A young looking Santa with extremely bright eyes, but Santa none-the-less.
“Not too bad,” Trey agreed. “Now I guess I better work on practicing my ho-ho-hos.”
“No time like the present,” Cadence said, sitting down on the one chair in Trey’s room. “Let’s hear it.”
“I don’t think so,” Trey said, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable. It was one thing to do it for the kids at the program. But it was something else entirely to have Cady sit there and watch him.
“Don’t tell me big, bad, tough, take-no-prisoners Trey Thompson is scared to say ho, ho, ho,” Cadence teased.
“I’m not scared,” Trey said, getting annoyed.
“Then let ‘er rip.”
“No.”
“Come on, Trey, don’t be a baby. You’ve got to practice. The program is coming right up.”
“I’m not a baby and I’ll practice when I’m good and ready.”
“Is that so?” Cadence said, getting up from the chair and placing her hands on her hips, shooting him a determined look. Stepping directly in front of Trey, she stood toe to toe with him, refusing to back down.
“Yes, that’s so,” Trey snapped, breathing in her fresh scent and wanting to kiss her so badly his lips tingled.
“Maybe you need an incentive,” Cadence said, switching tactics.
“What kind of an incentive?” Trey asked, wondering what was flying through Cady’s head. He hoped it involved relieving his need to kiss her. Repeatedly.
“How about a kiss? If I kiss Santa, would that help?” Cadence asked as she glanced sideways at him with a flirty smile.
“Maybe,” Trey growled. “But I think two kisses would work better.”
“My goodness, Santa is a greedy little elf, isn’t he?” Cadence teased…
