A Coyote Ridge Christmas (The Walkers of Coyote Ridge, 7) by Edwards Nicole

Author:Edwards, Nicole
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nicole Edwards Limited
Published: 2019-11-25T16:00:00+00:00

MACK WAS DAMN GLAD THEY HADN’T ASKED him to play Santa Claus. Oh, he’d done it before. Reluctantly, of course. Years and years ago at his wife’s insistence, back when Daniel was a baby, he’d donned the red suit and cheap white beard in an effort to impress his kid. Even though Daniel had been beside himself with glee, Mack had hated every second of it.

Story of his life, it seemed. The more he hated his own existence, the happier Daniel seemed to be.

“Hey, Mack.”

Mack turned to see Curtis motioning toward the chair beside him. The very one Lorrie had just vacated. She offered him a smile and a pat on the shoulder as she passed.

“Take a load off, boy.”

He smiled, more so at the man referring to him as a boy. Mack hadn’t been a boy in a long-ass time. In fact, he would be celebrating his fifty-seventh birthday in less than two weeks. Something he preferred not to think about.

“How’s your brother doin’?” Curtis asked when Mack settled into the chair.

“He’s good,” Mack told him. “Spendin’ Christmas with his wife on a Caribbean island.”

Curtis laughed. “Robert always was the adventurous one, wasn’t he?”

That was an understatement. And at sixty, the man acted as though he was still in his twenties. But he was happy. Genuinely.

“How’s the bar treatin’ you?” Curtis inquired.

Unable to look the man in the eye, Mack nodded. “Good.”

“I heard a rumor you’re thinkin’ about sellin’.”

Mack sighed. “Just a rumor.”

“Glad to hear that. Not sure what this town’d be without Moonshiners.”

Unfortunately, they’d likely figure that out soon enough. Unless, of course, the new owners decided to keep the name.

Watching the kids take turns talking to Santa, Mack tried not to think about it. Didn’t work. Every time he considered following through with Daniel’s request, his stomach twisted in knots. Moonshiners had once belonged to his brother, Robert, and Mack had come to think of it as their family legacy. Not that the place made much money, but it did enough to keep shelter over his head and food in his belly. These days, those were the only things he cared about anyway.

His attention was still lingering on the Santa setup, though he wasn’t seeing much of anything when he heard the familiar voice. It drew him out of his mind-wandering episode and back to the present.

“Sheriff,” Curtis greeted, getting to his feet, shifting his granddaughter easily, never interrupting her afternoon snooze. “Good to see you.”

The two men shook hands, as was customary for men in this town. Didn’t matter that Curtis and Jeff were related by the marriage of their children, they still showed one another the respect they deserved.

“I was just about to head upstairs,” Curtis stated. “Figured this one could use a little quiet.”

Curtis peered down at him and Mack met the other man’s steel-blue gaze. He didn’t have to be good at reading people to see what the eldest Walker was doing.

“Take my seat, Jeff. Help Mack keep an eye on those rug rats.

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