“Saddle?” Dixie laughed.
“She’s not a princess who rides in a low-slung sports car. She’s a cowgirl princess who shows up all the boys on the ranch. She can outride and outshoot them and is prettier than the whole lot of them too.” Landon got out of the vehicle, rounded the front end, and opened the door for Dixie.
Just that small gesture made Dixie feel like a queen. Sally’s father had been Dixie’s only boyfriend, and he had not had an ounce of chivalry. Truth be told, he was a selfish bastard who had left her high and dry when his mother offered to let him come back home if he would leave her and that brat behind.
“Thank you.” Dixie grabbed the diaper bag and hurried up on the porch to get away from the howling north wind. “Good thing we got the tree when we did,” she said as she unlocked the door. “If we’d waited until now, we would have had to put rocks in the princess’s pockets to keep the wind from blowing her all the way to Dallas.”
Landon carried Sally into the house, set her on the floor, and removed her little snowsuit. “That’s funny, but so true. Maybe we should carry a bucket full of stones in the bed of the truck for both of you. I’d hate to try to find y’all if you got carried off to Dallas. That’s a pretty big place.”
“So, you’d come lookin’ for us?” Dixie removed her coat.
“Of course I would. Your roots are here, not in the middle of a big city.”
The baby’s little lower lip quivered when Landon walked back out the door without even sitting down for a few minutes. After all the excitement of the evening, Dixie might have felt the same if she hadn’t known he was coming right back. When he brought the tree into the shop, Sally’s blue eyes got as big as saucers, and she clapped her hands. She watched as Landon removed his coat and hat and then got busy putting the tree in the chipped and rusted metal stand. When it was upright, Sally pointed at the top, walked all around it, and jabbered words that even Dixie couldn’t understand.
“I think she’s looking for the squirrel,” Landon said as he lopped the ends off a few branches in an attempt to give it a better shape. “Maybe we should make a stuffed squirrel first.”
Dixie headed toward the kitchen. “Before we do anything, we’re goin’ to have some supper.”
She had been out to the ranch for Sunday dinner after church many times, but she’d never had anyone sit down to a meal with her here in the shop. Her hands shook as she took three bowls from the cabinet and set the table.
Settle down and enjoy his company, Sarah’s voice scolded in her head.
A picture of the elderly woman, tall and thin with chin-length gray hair, popped into Dixie’s head. She was part of the Fab Five, as the group of senior citizens called themselves who lived not far from the shop. No one would ever guess that she or any of the other members of the Fab Five were past seventy. They were active in everything in town and had been on a couple of long cruises since Dixie met them. They all spoiled Sally terribly, bringing her prizes and toys every time they went anywhere, even if it was only into Bowie for groceries. Sarah was Dixie’s pick of them all, and if she had a problem, she often went to Sarah for advice.
“What are you thinkin’ about?” Landon asked.
His deep voice startled Dixie so badly that she jumped. “Sarah was fussin’ at me.”
“On the phone?” Landon picked up Sally and carried her into the kitchen.
Dixie tapped her forehead with a finger. “Right here. She gets into my head sometimes and scolds me.”
“The whole bunch of them meddle in all of the folks’ lives out at the ranch, but it’s just because they love all y’all. That reminds me. We’ll have to go to the church program Sunday night. They’re going to put on a skit.” He settled Sally into her high chair. “What can I do to help with supper?”
“Pour the sweet tea. It’s already made up in the refrigerator,” Dixie said. “I’ll slice the bread and set the pecan pie in the oven to warm up.”
“Holy smokes!” Landon grabbed Dixie around the waist and spun her around a couple of times before setting her feet back on the floor. “This ain’t just supper. It’s a feast.”
Her heart pounded, and her pulse kicked up a dozen notches. “No, a feast”—she stopped to catch her breath—“is what we have at the ranch for Thanksgiving.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree,” he told her. “If you ate whatever the cowboys cook up at the bunkhouse all week, you’d understand. I can’t wait to tell them about this meal. They’re going to be so jealous. Merry Christmas to me,” he singsonged as he put ice and tea into the glasses.
Dixie couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed an evening so much. Usually, after closing the shop, she and Sally had supper, and then she spent the rest of the evening with the baby before her seven-thirty bedtime. After that, she either cut out the pieces for a quilt or maybe watched some television before she turned in. Tonight, Landon had given her and Sally a taste of the joy of the season. They had a tree. Ugly as the poor thing was, standing over there in the corner with too many branches in some places and gaping holes in others, it was theirs, and Landon would be sharing in the fun of making decorations.
She hummed as she spooned the dumplings into a large crock bowl and put it in the center of the table. Then she added a platter of sliced bread and a small divided plate with two kinds of cheese. Landon seated her before he took his place and then waited for her to say a simple prayer.
“We didn’t say grace when I was growing up, and we didn’t go to church,” she said after she finished. “But after the fire, I decided that I needed to go to church, and that I’d raise my daughter to respect God.”
“We didn’t pray over our food either,” Landon said. “But I got used to saying grace when I moved to Daisy to be near my two brothers. Everyone out there, and everybody here on the Longhorn Canyon Ranch, respects God, like you said.”
She dipped up small bowls full of chicken and dumplings for each of them, and then put a few spoonfuls on a saucer to cool for Sally. “She can eat a lot of things by herself, but not this.”
“I’ll help.” Landon cut a dumpling into pieces and blew on a spoonful until it was cool enough to feed her. “Here you go, princess.”
Sally closed her eyes and made an “mmmm” noise when she tasted the food in her mouth.
Landon put the first bite into his mouth and said, “I agree. These are great.”
Dixie could feel the heat rising up the back of her neck. Not once had her ex-boyfriend ever complimented her on anything that she cooked. More than once, he had come in from work, taken one look at the supper table, and said, “I’m not eating this crap. I’m going down to the convenience store and get myself a burrito.”
“Thank you.” Dixie kept her eyes on her plate and hoped he couldn’t see her scarlet-red cheeks.
I will not think about the past, she vowed. I will enjoy the memories I have already made today and look forward to what is ahead during this holiday season.
When they finished eating, she cleaned Sally’s face and hands, set her on an area rug with some of her toys, and turned around to find Landon clearing the table. “I can take care of that,” she told him.