Free Her Christmas Cowboy by Adele Downs Page A

Bear hat,” the
smaller girl said. She had a freckled nose, green eyes, and bright
red hair, and she smiled, showing shiny braces.
    Daisy smiled back. The girl could be her
miniature.
    “I want to be on horseback patrol someday,
too, and wear a cool uniform like yours and carry a gun. I’m glad
girls can join.”
    Except for support staff, Daisy was the only
female member of her unit, but she didn’t mention that. Time
changed all things. “I bet you’ll be great.”
    “Can we pet your horse?” the other girl
asked. She looked taller than her friend, but just as lean, with
long black hair, dark eyes, and olive skin.
    “Sure,” Daisy said. The mounted police were
trained to allow citizens access to their horses and barn, so she
brought Musket to a halt while the girls parked their bikes. Musket
flipped her ears and made contented chuffing sounds while the
children hugged and petted her. Daisy’s heart sank at the reminder
that she’d no longer have this gentle equine partner by the end of
shift.
    The girls finished oohing and aahing over the
mare and returned to their bicycles. “Merry Christmas!” they
shouted. They waved good-bye and rode away.
    Daisy waved back and continued her trek to
the barn. Christmas . With only a week to
go, the holiday spirit had failed to find her. Houston was a nice
place to live and work…but it still didn’t feel like home. Though
the lampposts in the city park were wrapped with garlands, the
trees were strung with twinkle lights, and the shops were draped
with green and red, she longed for the crisp, cold air of a
Pennsylvania winter. Hot chocolate by the fire after a day of
skiing, warm gingerbread from the oven after building a snowman, or
a simple walk around the park with snowflakes spinning through the
air spelled Christmas. The temperate winds and Texas sunshine
warming her cheeks couldn’t compete with old Jack Frost.
    Her only Christmas bright spot was Trey.
    But…she wasn’t sure he loved her back. They’d
been dating since her summer riding lessons, and though their
passion burned white hot, the biggest L word in the universe hadn’t come up. Daisy had bitten her tongue
more than once to keep from saying it first. After her partner was
killed, she was blamed and vilified until her emotions bled and she
learned to hold tight to her surviving sliver of pride. Dignity was
the guardian of shame—and all that she had left. Telling a man she
loved him without knowing if he loved her too was an emotional risk
she couldn’t take.
    Daisy squared her shoulders. “I’m banning the
word ‘but’ from my vocabulary.” She raised her face to the sun and
submitted to its warmth before stepping inside. “We have to believe
things will work out the way they should.”
    She gave Musket an affectionate scratch
behind the ears before removing the mare’s saddle, inspecting under
her coat for bruises, and checking her hooves for stones or burrs.
When she was satisfied, she brushed the animal from head to tail.
Then she rested her cheek against Musket’s soft mane.
    “Merry Christmas, my friend. Be happy.”
    She guided the animal to the pasture behind
the barn to graze. Musket turned her head and gave it a shake, as
if returning a farewell wish before joining the other off-duty
horses.
    A lump formed in Daisy’s throat and heaviness
surrounded her heart at their parting. Once again, she’d let down a
partner who needed her.
    Daisy swallowed, raised her chin, and made
her way to her car past busy fellow officers without making eye
contact. It wasn’t until she sat behind the wheel that she allowed
her tears to fall.

 
    Chapter Two
    Treymont Woods stripped off his shirt before nailing
another porch rail into place. The muscles in his arms and torso
flexed with the movements, reminding him how good it was to be
whole again. Beads of perspiration trickled down the hollow between
his pectorals, over his stomach, and along the hairline leading
into his low-slung cutoffs. He