Dreaming of a Christmas Cowboy by Brenda Harlen

Author:Brenda Harlen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-09-12T21:06:21+00:00

Chapter Eleven

It was a question that Susanna had asked herself on numerous occasions. Though she enjoyed reading all kinds of books and watching movies from various genres, when it came to her own writing, there was always—aside from the one play she’d only ever shared with Callie—a happy ending.

She shrugged, as if she didn’t know how to respond to his query. “Maybe I watched too many Disney movies as a kid.”

“That’s not an answer, it’s a deflection,” he chided.

“Perhaps,” she acknowledged. “But I didn’t think you wanted to hear about my dysfunctional childhood.”

“Actually, I do,” he said. “Because I’m only now realizing that, as good as you are at getting other people to talk about themselves, you’re equally reluctant to talk about yourself.”

“Because my life isn’t really that interesting.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“Okay,” she agreed, albeit with reluctance. “I guess I’d say that I write happy endings because I want to believe they can exist.”

“Why do you doubt it?” he asked.

“Because my parents’ marriage fizzled like a can of soda left out overnight—and almost as quickly.”

He winced at that. “I forget sometimes how lucky I am to have grown up with two parents who are not only still together but still love one another, even after forty-five years of marriage.”

“Not only do you have two terrific parents, but you’ve also got four pretty great brothers.”

“The brothers you can have,” he said, making her laugh.

But her expression quickly turned serious again. “For as long as I can remember, it’s just been me and my mom. And we’ve done okay,” she hastened to add. “But sometimes, when I’m around your family, I can’t help but wonder how different things might have been if my dad had stayed—or if I’d had a brother or sister.”

“How old were you when he left?”

“Five.” She guided him through the wings to the stage. “And this—” she spread her arms wide “—is our set.”

She turned to Dean then, and found his gaze on her, his expression thoughtful.

“We’re going to get back to this subject later,” he told her.

Susanna threw her arms out again. “Our set.” Her tone was firm.

This time, he took the cue and glanced around. “It looks like a living room.”

“It’s Holly’s living room,” she told him. “What we call a box set.” She crossed the set to open a door, then walked through it to another door and opened that one, too. “And this is Noel’s office.”

“All of the action happens in those two rooms?”

“Most of it. We do the outdoor scenes in front of a painted front cloth. Not only does it keep the cost down, but it allows set changes to happen at the same time behind it.”

“I see the Christmas tree that you mentioned decorating,” he said. “Does that mean you have to undecorate it after every performance in preparation for the next one?”

“Thankfully no,” she said. “Because decorating—and undecorating—a tree is actually very time-consuming.”

“Believe me, I know,” he assured her. “My mom demands all hands on deck when her tree is ready to be decorated, and it still takes several hours.

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