The Cowboy's Christmas Courtship. Brenda Minton

      Brandon handed him a pair of boots, beautiful deep brown leather with perfect stitching. Gage took them with a grumbled thank-you. While the truck warmed up, he jerked off his mud-covered boots, grimacing as he pulled the shoe off his left leg. Layla started to tell him he didn’t need to fix fences, babysit her brother or drive them to church. He needed to slow down and get better.

      But she let it go. If he worked off whatever he was going through, whatever he wanted to change in his life, he’d soon ride off into the sunset and leave her alone. Again. The sooner he was out of her life, the better she’d be.

      She grabbed the mud-covered boots he’d taken off and handed them back to Brandon as Gage pulled on the other pair. He now looked like a cowboy who’d been riding range in his best boots. The image made her smile.

      A few minutes later they were pulling into the parking lot of the Dawson Community Church. People turned to look at them. Layla resisted the urge to slump down in the seat.

      “Are you trying to hide?” Gage pulled into a parking space. Killing the engine, he looked at her.

      “I’m not.” She sat up straight.

      “Yeah, you are. Worried about how it will look, you showing up to church with someone like me?”

      She shook her head and reached for the door handle. Brandon was already out and headed across the parking lot. Layla watched him go, focusing on his retreating back and not the man sitting next to her, smelling of the outdoors, soap and ranch.

      “Layla, I get that I’m the last person you want to be seen with.” He laughed a little. “Sometimes I’m the last person I want to be seen with. But you need a little help with your brother and with the farm. I know people have tried to help you over the years and you’ve said you could do it all yourself. Well, I’m not as willing to believe that as everyone else. Or maybe I’m just not as willing to be run off.”

      “I’ve noticed.” She smiled and opened her door. “They’re ringing the bell.”

      He wasn’t willing to be run off. Yeah, she got it. But she was counting on the fact that eventually he’d get bored. Or the lure of the road would pull him away.

      As she walked across the parking lot to the pretty country church that she’d attended most of her life, she thought that maybe he wasn’t the worst thing that had happened to her. Brandon was in church this morning. He’d stayed home last night. And he’d talked about his plans for the week, about going to Cooper Creek Ranch after school and what he’d learned from Jackson Cooper about cattle.