My Christmas, My Crooked Bend: Men of Crooked Bend Book 6 Read online

  “Why was it that we didn’t just fill a cart the first time we were here?” I asked as we unloaded the bags from the cart and put them in the back seat of the truck.

  “Well, the way I see it, we needed to go to a different store in order to realize just how great this one was. Actually, I have no clue. We like to make things difficult?”

  I nodded in agreement before I covered my mouth because all of a sudden, I started yawning.

  “Come on. Let’s get some caffeine in you,” Ty said as he placed the last bag in the back seat. I pushed the cart over to the return and climbed into the passenger seat of the truck.

  “I know I said none of that drive-through stuff, but what do you think about going to that burger joint we ate at once?” I asked Ty as he backed out of the parking space.

  “You’ll have to be more specific, as I don’t know which burger joint you’re referring to.”

  “You know, the one with the really good fries?”

  “Oh yeah. I know that one.” And he did. Ty drove us to the exact restaurant I had wanted to go to. The burgers were greasy, and the fries were fresh cut and hot. Yep, that hit the spot because sometimes, you just needed a big, greasy burger.

  After lunch, instead of climbing back into the truck, Ty laced our fingers together and pulled me down the strip mall. It was cold out, and therefore I didn’t really want to go walking around in the cold.

  “What are you doing?”

  “There’s a shop down here I wanted to show you. It has a hat that I was interested in.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?” I asked. I was always up for watching Ty try on new hats. Maybe if I got lucky, he’d model it for me when we got home. It and nothing else.

  “Oh my god. How adorable!” Ty said as he jerked on my arm, and suddenly I was being pulled into a store that certainly wasn’t a western wear shop.

  “Huh? What?” I asked looking around. We were in a pet store. That’s right, a pet store, and my husband thought something was adorable. I was in trouble. There was no other word for it. He immediately let go of my hand and took off to the right, stopping at a clear box that had what I thought were puppies in it. I couldn’t exactly be sure.

  “Can I help you?” a young woman asked as she approached me.

  “I’m with him so…” I said as I pointed at Ty’s back. The woman smiled at me and walked over to my husband. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I knew it couldn’t possibly be good with the way Ty was nodding his head. When he reached in and picked up a little black and white…furball, my heart sunk. No. He couldn’t pick it up because if he did…fuck. I cringed when Ty turned toward me with a huge-ass smile on his face.

  “No. Absolutely not. What is it?”

  “It’s a papillon. Isn’t he adorable?”

  “No. He’s a rat. With wings. One that would get stepped on at the ranch. You can’t possibly be serious, Ty. No.”

  “Please? He’s so cute and cuddly.”

  “Darlin’, I’m cute and cuddly. If you want a dog, we’ll get one that’s actually a dog,” I told him. There was no way we were taking that thing home. I meant it. It fit in Ty’s hands, and it would be in danger of getting stepped on at the ranch.

  “They’re actually quite hardy and friendly. They love to be near you and are happy to be carried around.”

  “See, that right there isn’t happening. You want a dog, we’ll talk to the breeder that Isaac got Ivan and Nanuk from. Or we’ll go to the shelter and see what they have,” I argued, but it was no use. When Ty’s face fell, my heart fell with it. “Dammit. Fine. I don’t know what we’re going to do with it though.”

  “Take him with us everywhere.”

  “We can’t take him to Hawaii, so you have two weeks to figure that out. I’m not canceling the trip because you decided you wanted a tiny little dog all of a sudden.”

  “Mom will watch him. And I’m sure Mack would love to play with him.”

  “I don’t know, Ty. Mack is used to Ivan and Nanuk. They’re both bigger. I’d be afraid he’d hurt him.”

  “If he’s going to be around young children, just be careful. If they fall on him, he could seriously be hurt,” the young lady told us. I watched as Ty brought the thing up to his cheek and nuzzled it. Just great. I’d been replaced by a furry rat. I was never going to live this down. Ever.

  I followed Ty up to the counter, and it was then I realized there weren’t any other dogs in the place. “Where’s the rest of the dogs?” I asked as the young woman pulled out some papers.

  “We actually don’t sell dogs regularly. We have the birds, fish, and the small rodents, but any puppies we have are brought in after the store owner verifies that the breeder is a reputable one. The puppies brought in are only ever pet quality, and part of the contract here is that you’ll have it fixed.”

  “Huh,” I replied as I looked through the paperwork. Sure enough, the breeder’s name and complete contact information was listed on the form. They lived in Sulfur Springs, and they were happy we were giving one of their babies a furever home. Oh. My. God. I did not just read that. I double-checked, and sure enough, I had. I sighed as I looked over at my husband, who was talking gibberish to the damn thing. I couldn’t believe I’d been replaced by a dog. And not even a real dog at that. No. A tiny little purse dog.

  “Thanks, babe. I love you so much,” Ty said as he wrapped an arm around me and gave me a tight squeeze before peppering my neck and cheek with kisses. The lady that was helping us sighed and covered her mouth.

  “What?” I asked as I looked back at her.

  “That’s so sweet. I didn’t realize you two were together. Aw. I know how low the breeder is willing to go, so I’m going to charge you two that amount. I just can’t…you’re too adorable together.”

  I didn’t quite understand what she was saying when she continued to babble on, but when I looked back at Ty, the smile on his face made everything worth it. When I glanced down at the little thing in his hands, I sighed. My life just got turned completely upside down. What was it we had just said about not having kids?

  When I reached over to give the little fella a pet, he growled and barked at me, effectively causing me to pull my hand away.

  “What the? Oh no, you’re going to have to fix that shit in a hurry,” I said as I looked at Ty. He started laughing so hard he bent over at the waist. When he looked back up at me, there were tears on his cheeks, but he looked beautiful. I loved it when my guy was happy, and if getting him a dog, albeit a tiny one, made him happy, then that’s what I’d do.

  I pulled out my wallet, and after I handed over my bank card, I glanced back at Ty, who had put the damn thing inside his coat. Only the black-and-white head was visible.

  “You’re seriously going to…you know what, never mind. I love you and if you want little Cujo there, then just remember who wanted him at two in the morning when he needs to go outside to pee.” Ty gasped and gave me a dirty look. “What?”

  “He’s not going outside. We’ll get him some of those wee-wee pads or something.”

  “No, we won’t. He’s going to learn to go outside like any other dog. You, my dear husband, will be walking his tiny ass outside in the cold.” Ty smiled at me before he gave me another kiss, this one a little longer.

  What was it I’d said about Ty being the one to walk Cujo at two in the morning? Yeah, famous last words. I’d dubbed him Cujo, and Ty thought it was cute since he decidedly didn’t like me and growled at me every time I tried to pet his tiny ass. But guess who was up, freezing their ass off, at three in the morning when Cujo started whining? That’s right. I was while my husband was naked and warm in our bed. That was okay—I had plans for revenge when I got back upstairs. That was entirely why I wasn’t wearing gloves. And the flannel pajama pants I’d thrown on did nothing to keep the cold wind out. Fuck. But that’s okay, because Tyler was about to have very cold hands wrapped around his dick.

  I picked up Cujo once he’d squatted and left a
pathetic amount of yellow on the snow. Maybe those little pads weren’t such a bad idea. Hmm, could you litter train a dog? That’d be even better.

  I had mischievous thoughts as I went back inside, and after quickly shucking my coat and boots by the back door, I climbed the stairs. Once Cujo was back in his box, I crawled into bed and put my frigidly cold hands exactly where I said I would: right on Ty’s nice, warm dick. His responding yelp made my cold trip outside worth it though.

  “What the fuck!”

  I laughed so hard, I fell off the bed and landed on the floor, which only caused me to laugh harder.

  “Dammit, Graham, why are your hands so damn cold?”

  “Because, my love, your puppy was whining and needed to pee. You on the other hand wouldn’t budge and just kept on sleeping.” I crawled back into bed and curled up under the warm blankets. I shrugged off Ty’s hand when he tried to start something.

  “Really? You’re saying no?”

  “I’m cold and tired. Cujo is going to need to pee again in a few hours, but if you get up with him then, we’ll talk. Good night, Ty.” I rolled over, and after Ty curled up behind me, his arms going around my chest, I finally warmed up enough to fall back asleep.

  Ty

  I couldn’t help it. That little black-and-white puppy was absolutely adorable, and when I’d seen it in the window, I had to have a closer look. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think Graham would say yes when I asked if we could bring him home. And honestly, I didn’t really expect to want to. But when I held him in my hands, my heart melted.

  I honestly intended to go to the western wear store and look at the hats, but I got distracted. Sadly, we never made it to the shop. No, we ended up going straight home with Cujo, as Graham had named him, safely tucked away inside my coat.

  When he whined in the middle of the night, I never heard a peep, and that was something I would have to sort out. How did one develop parent hearing all of a sudden? I felt terrible because I had assured my husband that I would be the one that got up with the puppy, yet Graham was the one who stood outside in the freezing wind while our new addition went to the bathroom.

  I had figured since we were both awake, why not show my hubby some love? I mean, a middle-of-the-night blowjob wouldn’t be turned down, right? I was quite surprised when he pushed me away, but I did understand. The make-up sex we had this morning more than made up for the brush-off in the middle of the night.

  I was still sore, but nobody seemed to notice I was limping a bit because I was walking around with a goofy grin on my face and a fluffy puppy in my shirt. Yep. Cujo was safely tucked into my shirt and appeared to be as happy as a clam hanging out there.

  Isaac laughed and pointed his finger at his brother, shaking his head in disbelief. I stuck my tongue out at my office mate before I gave Graham a kiss and he turned to go to his own office.

  “You know, the greatest payback we could ever give you is getting Mack the most annoying and loud toy we can find,” I told Isaac. That shut him up in a hurry, and he gave me a horrified look.

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Wouldn’t I? Besides, how could you say no to this adorable widdle face? He’s so cute. Yes, he is. So cute.”

  When I glanced up at Isaac, he was watching me with a what-the-hell-has-gotten-into-you expression.

  “I swear, if you two got Mack anything loud or noisy, I’ll make your lives hell.”

  “Naw, we just got him the stuff on your list. Then after lunch we were walking to the western wear shop so I could look at hats and I happened to see this little guy in the window. I seriously never intended to bring him home, but I couldn’t leave him there after I held him.”

  Isaac came over, and after letting the little nose sniff his hand, a tiny pink tongue gave him kisses and I had to chuckle.

  “What?”

  “Cujo growls at your brother every time he comes near him.”

  “Cujo? Really?” Isaac took my little bundle from me and held him up to his own face and did exactly the same thing I had done yesterday. He nuzzled him.

  “See. That right there is exactly why I had to bring him home. Isn’t he the sweetest thing ever? And actually, your brother is the one who named him. I think because he growls and snaps at him every time he gets near him, he thought it would be funny to call him Cujo. I don’t know, the irony is pretty good actually.” Isaac smiled at me before he held the little bundle out and looked at him.

  “Well, if you two need a sitter when you’re in Hawaii after Christmas, just let us know. Jacob would actually go nuts over this little one.”

  “Do you think Mack would be okay? I thought of you two first, but that was really my only concern about asking you. You two already have two dogs, so I know you know what to do with one. I was actually going to ask Mom if she would watch him.”

  “Mack does really well with Simon and Sean’s cats, so I think he would be fine. He’s gentle with Ivan and Nanuk and never pulls their hair or anything. Besides, I honestly don’t think Jacob would let this little guy down. You can ask Mom, but I think she and Dad were going back to Texas with Uncle Joe and Aunt Fiona.”

  “Really? Why haven’t I heard that?”

  “I don’t think anything is set yet. And after Logan and Rhett’s news the other night, I think Uncle Joe and Aunt Fiona might stick around longer than they intended. I mean, knowing they’re getting two new grandbabies right around Christmas has to be a great present.” Isaac smiled as he snuggled up with Cujo. I knew who was going to be our puppy sitter. And if he wanted to say Jacob was the one who walked around holding him all day, so be it.

  “I can’t believe those two kept something that big from us for so long. I mean, that’s huge news,” I said as I sat down at my desk. I had to get the feed order in, or we wouldn’t have anything to feed the horses come mid-January.

  “True. But there’s so much that can go wrong with a pregnancy,” Isaac said while looking off in the distance.

  “You sound as if you are speaking from experience. I didn’t think you knew anything about Jessica’s pregnancy?”

  “I didn’t. Hell, I didn’t even know about Mack until he was a few months old. But this past summer, Jacob and I started looking into surrogacy. We’ve made it no secret that we want another one.”

  I looked at Isaac with surprise. “No way. Are you two doing it?”

  “Since I know that Jacob spilled the beans the other night, yeah, we are. Our new addition will arrive in the spring.”

  “Oh my god. Are you shitting me? Seriously?”

  “Yeah. We were going to mention it at Christmas. We didn’t think there was a big rush since she’s just now at the five-month mark. The ultrasound is next week, right after Christmas. But now that Logan and Rhett have announced they are expecting, I don’t want to take away from them. I mean, we already have Mack, but their surrogate is pregnant with their first, even though they’re having twins.”

  “Holy shit. That’s amazing, Isaac. Congratulations,” I told him as I offered a genuine smile.

  “Thank you. We’re so excited, and I’m tickled that Jacob agreed to provide the sample.”

  “Can you imagine if your little one has his red hair?”

  “Secretly, I hope he or she does. I’d love nothing more than a little redhead. But the surrogate is Native American, so there’s a very real possibility that the baby will look more like me.”

  “Whoa. That is just awesome. I think that’s the closest you two could get to having a baby together. So you used her egg, then?”

  Isaac got up and brought the now sleeping puppy back over to me and placed him on the little dog bed I’d made from a box on the side of my desk.

  “Yeah, that’s one of the reasons why we chose her. I was really surprised when her name was on the list, but after we discussed it, Jacob didn’t give me much of an option if he was going to be the donor. Besides, I’d do anything for him, and this really seemed like such a small thing.”

  “Th
at I fully understand. I’d do anything for your brother. Apparently, he’d do the same for me,” I said as I looked at my sleeping puppy.

  “He’s loved you for a long time. He was lost when you two broke up for that little while,” Isaac said with a sad look on his face. I watched as Isaac turned and left the office without saying anything else.

  I knew he had several horses he had scheduled to be working with today—so did I actually—but first, the feed order. An hour later, my ass was sore for more than one reason, and I had to get up and walk around before I went crazy. But we’d have our feed for the animals, and that was more important than my sore ass. Since I needed to walk around, I picked up the box with my precious cargo inside and left the office.

  “Hey, darlin’. I’ll take him from you,” Graham told me when I ran into him in the hallway. “I know you have a couple of geldings you were supposed to be working with today, so I’ll watch our little one.”

  I smiled at my husband before I leaned in and stole a kiss. “Thanks, babe. I was just going to set him off to the side, but it’s better if he’s with you. I don’t want anything to happen to him, and really, he’s kind of a distraction.”

  “You don’t say?” Graham said sarcastically. “It’s no problem. I’m going to be in my office for at least another hour. Come find me for lunch?” Graham reached out and carefully took the box from me and tucked it under his arm.

  “Lunch sounds great. Oh, Isaac said they would watch Cujo while we were in Hawaii, so that’s covered.”

  “Great. Don’t forget, Rhett’s birthday party is tonight.”

  “I haven’t forgotten. How could I when everyone is leaving early? That’s all they’ve talked about for the past few days.”

  I gave Graham another quick kiss and turned, following his movements when he walked back to his office. If I happened to stare at his ass in the jeans he was wearing, it couldn’t really be helped. My husband had a very fine ass. One I planned on giving quite a bit of attention to tonight after we got home. But for now, I had horses to work with. One of my favorite things about my job.