Cowboy Christmas (A Henley Christmas Novella) (Down Under Cowboy series) Read Online Free Page B

to put together Oscar’s train set that goes around the base of the Christmas tree.
    “How you feeling, Ace?”
    “Good, baby,” she smiles up at me.  I smile back and kiss her forehead.  “Where’s my girl?”
    “Destroying Oscar’s bedroom,” she grimaces, but I know she’s only joking.  My little girl wouldn’t destroy anything!

Chapter 5
     
    The Pine Creek Sport and Rec Grounds is packed with people.  It’s Carols By Candlelight night.
    We find a clear space near the stage and I lay out a picnic rug and sit Olive down between my legs.  Jackson sits behind me with legs stretched either side of mine.  Jeremy, Ava and Oscar are beside us on their own rug.  We pull out the food from our baskets and lay it all out.  We’ve got sandwiches, fruit, cheese, crackers and dip.  Ava bought a bottle wine for herself, the boys have beer and I have soft drink.
    Jackson pulls out a lighter and lights our candles, and we begin singing along with the choir.
    “Okay, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, how about we sing Jingle Bells, Aussie style.”
    The kids all cheer and Skip’s wife, Rhonda, who is manning the piano for tonight’s festivities, begins pounding the keys to the tune of Jingle Bells.
    Everyone begins to sing.
    Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It’s summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs
     
    Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Christmas in Australia
On a scorching summer’s day
Jingle Bells, jingle bells
Christmas time is beaut
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a rusty Holden Ute.
     
    ~*~
    During a break in the singing, I make my way to the toilets.  Ava was busy talking to an ex-friend of her sister’s – Carrie someone, I think.  So, I head off alone. 
    Thankfully, when I make it to the bathrooms, there isn’t a line up.  I suspect it’s because the singing is about to restart and everyone is back at their spot.  I quickly do my business and then wash my hands, singing along quietly to “Away in a Manger”, with the Caroler’s outside.
    The main door to the bathroom opens, but I take no notice.  Grabbing some paper towel, I dry my hands and turn, tossing the rubbish in the bin.  I catch a glimpse of who walked in and I stop dead.
    Dannika.
    She glares daggers at me, while I stare back at her in shock.  I thought she left town.  She was fucking a married man, and from what Ava told me, the wife of the man hunted her out of town.  She threatened to shoot them if she ever saw them again.
    “Eden,” she snarls.  “So it is true,” she glances down at my stomach.  “You did trap Jackson with a baby.”
    What!
    “Pardon?” I splutter.
    “Thought I told you to stay the fuck out of town,” an angry voice sounds from behind me.  I feel my body stiffen and I watch as Dannika’s face drains of its colour.  I turn my head slowly, and standing behind me is a woman I’ve never seen before.  She’s about forty, with short hair and a roundish body.  And she looks livid .  My eyes dart to her hands, where she’s holding a silver pistol.
    Oh, fuck .
    “Eden,” she nods at me.  “I don’t think we’ve been formerly introduced.  I’m Sara James.”  Her tone is polite, and given the situation we’re in, that makes it unnerving.
    “N-n-nice to meet you, Sara,” I stammer.
    She smiles kindly at me, then she turns her attention back to Dannika and her features harden.  Slowly, I slide myself out from between them so I’m now standing off to the side.
    “What do you want, Sara?”  Dannika whispers.
    “Hmm, let me see.”  With the hand holding the gun, Sara taps her finger on her chin.  “Revenge, for starters.  You slept with my husband throughout our entire marriage.  I think you should pay for that, at least.  Then there’s the fact that you humiliated me beyond belief, and how you can’t listen to instruction. I told you