Free Christmas in Texas by Rebecca Winters, Tina Leonard

if there’s never a lead in the case?” Jack asked. “Your
divorce is final soon and you’re out on your ear. Then what?”
    Seagal knew the pressure was on. Christmas Day was his last day
to be under the same roof with Capri and the children—she’d made no bones about
it. “I have a pretty good idea what’s happened. It’s a local job—some of the
Bridesmaids Creek loose cannons have too much time on their hands. They were
making a handoff and decided Christmastown was the best place to do it. And
there were Capri’s big, beautiful Christmas arrangements, with vases big enough
to hold stash.”
    “How do you know this?” Jack asked.
    “Daisy sort of told me.” Seagal leaned back in the pink vinyl
booth. “When she came to the hospital to see Capri, I looked out the window as
she left. She rode off on the back of Taylor Kinsler’s motorcycle.”
    “Oh, that’s bad,” Jack said. “Nothing good can come of
that.”
    “Nope. He’s been spoiling to get in trouble for years. Things
haven’t gone well for him at rodeo, mainly because he doesn’t like to work hard,
which is a shame because his father, Judge Kinsler, is one of the
hardest-working men I’ve ever known. I heard through the grapevine that Taylor
picked up a bit of a weed problem when he was on the circuit. Probably thought
it made him look cool to the ladies.” Seagal shrugged. “Him and his boys are
trouble, always have been.”
    “The Bad.” Jack nodded. “I remember when Taylor and his friends
called themselves the Bad in high school. They loved having a bad rep. Even in
football, they wanted to make a blood sport out of it. It wasn’t about winning
for the team—it was about who they could hurt.”
    Seagal nodded. “I guess nothing’s changed, except sometimes bad
kids grow up to be criminals. It’s a slippery slope.”
    “And Daisy’s mixed up with them?”
    Seagal shrugged. “Daisy likes all the guys. You know that.”
    “Yeah, but she’s never been bad. She’s more like—”
    “Edgy.” Seagal got up from the booth. “I can’t worry about
Daisy. She’s a tough girl—she can take care of herself.”
    “Shame. All that beauty and an angel face going down the road
to nowhere.”
    “Yeah, but it’s not your problem, either. Unless you’re into
bad girls. I’ve got to head back. It’s one of my last nights at the hacienda.
I’m praying for a miracle, or I’ll be in Judge Kinsler’s court. This Santa’s
probably going to be sent right out on my sleigh, unless my wife experiences
some kind of epiphany.”
    “Remember what I said,” Jack called after him. “Women are
different from men!”
    Seagal waved as he absorbed Jack’s nonsensical advice. Of
course women were different from men—Jack was a softhearted knucklehead. And not
as wily with women as he thought, or he’d have figured out that Kelly was all
about him.
    On the other hand, Seagal would take any advice if it would win
his wife back. It was the only Christmas gift he wanted.
    * * *
    A N HOUR LATER , Seagal was still giving Capri space. He’d
texted her once, and she’d texted back not to rush to return. That sounded like
wife code for “I’m really enjoying the peace and quiet,” so he drove around
Bridesmaids Creek’s courthouse another time, looking at the bright Christmas
lights and decorations around the square.
    Wasn’t the season supposed to be about hope, about
miracles?
    He parked his truck across from Capri’s shop and shut the
engine off. Though it was dark outside, he had a fairly good view of her store.
There were lights on under the pink-and-white-striped awnings that most shops
had over their storefronts. He remembered Capri had ordered the new awning when
she took over her grandmother’s florist shop—it was the one thing she’d
changed.
    She’d said there was no reason to change what was working.
    Not long after that, Capri had said she thought it would be
better if they separated. He’d been working in Dallas,