A Christmas Baby For The Cowboy

She cleared her throat. Her chocolate-brown eyes were glassy, but no tears fell.

“Like all of us, he’d depended on Mom for practically everything. She didn’t just run the household. She supported everyone with her internal strength.”

Alyssa sighed wearily. “Dad can’t get along without her. I didn’t know it at the time, but he recently admitted to me that he barely ate anything the first few weeks after Mom was gone. He lost a lot of weight, and it was only then that Eddie and I started noticing the changes in him. He can’t sleep without a sedative. His health has taken a major nosedive and he’s only a shell of the man he used to be.”

“I’m so sorry. To lose your mom that way...”

Twin clefts appeared between her eyes. “We didn’t lose her. She isn’t gone. She walked away. And she didn’t look back. I don’t even know if she considered how her actions would affect the family. She selfishly thought only of herself. Aaron’s death might have been the last straw for her, but I suspect the situation went much further back than that.”

“I’m so sorry,” he repeated, not knowing what else he could say. No words could possibly act as a salve on Alyssa’s heart. Cash of all people knew that.

Alyssa was in an even worse predicament than Cash had originally imagined. It was more important than ever that she agreed to accept his help. If Aaron hadn’t died, her mother might not have left. Eddie might still be working in the store alongside Alyssa and their father. Cash had to try to make right the misery he’d caused, not that he would ever be able to do that.

“I’m surprised Eddie didn’t stick around to help you,” he said.

She scoffed. “I wish. Eddie spent last summer wrangling at a local ranch and decided that was what he wanted to do with his life, rather than running our family business as Dad had always intended. I’m happy for him, but—”

“But that leaves you high and dry.”

She nodded. “Exactly.”

“Which means you really do need my help.”

She looked uncertain. He slid his hand down her arm and reached for her hand. Her gaze dropped to where their fingers met but she didn’t remove her hand.

“You could have bid on anyone, but you bid on me. Let me help you.”

“I want to,” she said hesitantly. “But what about the photographer? The publicity? You must realize I don’t have room in my life for extra hassles right now, however small.”

A lightbulb went off in Cash’s mind.

“Maybe that’s precisely what you need.”

She lifted her gaze to his and raised a brow. “Excuse me?”

“Publicity. Free promotion for your store. Pete’s photos can do as much good for Emerson’s as they can for my career. Surely that would be a boon to you, getting your face in front of the masses, so to speak. Let them know about the changes you’re making.”

Her face went from white to flaming red in a single breath of air.

“Not in this lifetime.”

“What? Free publicity?”

“No. My face in front of people. That’s not something I want to do.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” he pressed, as the notion formed into solid concept. “You know all of those car salesmen and ambulance-chasing lawyers on television? They get their clients by using themselves to sell their products and services.”

“I’m pretty sure everyone in Serendipity already knows I run Emerson’s Hardware.”

“Maybe so, but isn’t part of the reason you’re doing the renovation to bring in customers from surrounding towns? To be the go-to store for Kickfire Western wear products?”

“True,” she admitted.

“It’s solid marketing. Giving your store a face is a great way to personalize it,” he said, “and draw in customers. That’s the reason sponsors use me in their commercials. To give their products a face.”

“Yes, but—”

He could see he wasn’t convincing her. She didn’t appear shy or introverted, but it had been a long time since they’d interacted on a personal basis. Maybe he was pushing her out of her comfort zone.

Whereas Cash—well, he loved the limelight.

“No, wait. I’ve got a better idea. I can do it,” he crowed as the lightbulb in his head beamed brighter than the sun.

For the first time since Aaron’s death, he felt excited about an idea, allowing it to break through the black cloud of his meager existence. He embraced the feeling. He wanted to do something other than nurse a tumbler of whiskey to numb his pain.

“Look. I’m trying my best to repair my reputation. If I clean up my act and become a positive influence—and wear Kickfire products—I can be your spokesperson. It’ll help you gain more leverage with the store, and it will help me find new sponsors, once they see what a difference I’ve made for you and Kickfire.”

“Maybe,” she hedged.

He squeezed her hand. “It’s the perfect plan. I help you, you help me.”

He had every intention of helping her with far more than just offering his face for the camera and his public persona for the store. He aimed to receive inventory, move displays around, stock shelves and sweep the floors.

But she didn’t have to know he’d be looking for extra ways to make her life easier.

This was the perfect way to redeem himself. He had developed his own set of moral principles to help him stay on the straight and narrow and he intended to follow those values to the letter.

Not that he ever could.

Not with the burden he carried.

He made a silent promise to himself. By the time he left Serendipity and went back to the rodeo, Alyssa would trust him.

If he couldn’t win her over, there was no hope that the rest of the world would embrace him. Until he proved himself with her, he wasn’t ready to go back to his old life.

“I can see what you’re saying about my marketing plan,” she acknowledged. “But before we go any further, there’s one other issue, and I need you to tell me the truth.”

His heart beat so hard he thought it might leap out of his chest.

“What do you want to know?” he finally asked, his voice raspy with emotions.

She stared at him for a long moment before speaking.

“How many of the rumors I’ve heard about you are true?”

* * *

Alyssa believed asking Cash about his recent past was reasonable, especially if she took him up on his offer to become the face of Emerson’s Hardware. She couldn’t have surprises lurking under every stone, revelations that could potentially harm the good name of Emerson’s Hardware.