Cowboy Who Came For Christmas (Harlequin Romance) (16 page)

Sophia remembered that day and how Bettye had taken her into her arms and comforted her. “I... I don’t know what I’d do without all of you,” she said. “I don’t deserve this but—”

“But we’re going to help you,” Adan said.

Sophia’s surprise had to have shown on her face. Bettye winked at her with a knowing smile. “See there. You’ve got one more in your corner now.”

Sophia laughed through her tears. “What can we do?”

“A lot,” Adan replied, his eyes holding hers and giving her strength. “But you all have to follow my instructions and do exactly as I say, okay?” He went on to explain. “We wait and we prepare but I don’t need any hotshots out there trying to bring him in. He’ll come to us, and if he decides not to, well, soon every lawman in this state is looking for him. They probably are already, since the state of Texas put out a BOLO on him.”

“Got it,” Jacob retorted, his head bobbing. “No heroes and let the lawmen do their jobs.”

“I’m in,” Bettye said, her hands on her gingham apron.

“I’ll help,” Melissa said, suddenly very interested.

“We’re all willing to help,” David said. “Just tell us the plan so we can get on with things. We still have a Christmas feast to prepare.”

Adan nodded. “First, we aren’t going to do anything. You all need to go about your business.”

“That ain’t no plan,” Jacob said with a huff. He crossed his arms over his chest in agitation.

“It’s the best plan,” Adan explained. “If we act like nothing is going on, he’ll slip up and we’ll trap him.”

Bettye chuckled. “So you want us to pretend everything is fine but in reality, you want us to be watchful and alert.”

“That’s right,” Adan replied. “Watch and wait. It takes time and patience to trap a raccoon, but sooner or later this one will take the bait.”

“Humph, more like a skunk to me,” Jacob shot back. He shrugged. “At least we done set some traps around certain areas that seem to attract mangy varmints. He’ll trip up sooner or later.”

“Is Sophia the bait?” Melissa asked, her eyes wide.

“She’s not bait,” Adan said, shaking his head. “We’re not going to put her in danger. But if a wild animal wants something bad enough, it’ll usually find a way to get it.”

“We won’t let that happen,” Maggie replied, her determined gaze reassuring Sophia.

“No, we won’t,” Adan said. “But we’ll let him think he can get to Sophia.”

Bettye sat up straight. “Then we’ll take him out?”

“No,” Adan replied. “We’ll take him to jail and he’ll stand trial and with testimonies from Sophia and most of you, hopefully he’ll be convicted and then he’ll be in prison for the rest of his days.”

“Or we could just shoot him and call it a day,” Jacob replied with his arms crossed again.

“Only as a last resort,” Adan said. “Remember that. I don’t need any vigilantes around here. I want all of us to come out of this unscathed.” He glanced down at Sophia. “Especially you.”

She couldn’t speak. So she just nodded.

How would she ever be able to sneak away from all of these people so she could give Joe what he’d really come here for—something that was much more valuable to him than she’d ever been? How would she ever find the courage to leave Adan?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

T
HE
SNOW
BEGAN
to melt.

Adan once again tried his cell phone and pumped his fist when he had two puny bars. Checking his watch, he saw it was only eight o’clock. Gaylen wouldn’t be in bed yet.

He hit the number for his parents’ home, waited and hoped he’d at least get to tell one of them that he planned to be home by Christmas. He couldn’t miss yet another holiday.

His mother answered on the first ring.

“Mama, it’s Adan.”

“Adan, where in the world are you? You know we worry when you don’t check in.”

“I know. Look, I’m in Arkansas on a mountain and a snowstorm knocked out the power to the landlines and made cell phone calls sketchy for a while. It’s hard to find service on a good day around here, but this storm was bad.”

“We know. We’ve been watching the weather.”

Their favorite pastime, Adan thought with a smile. “It’s getting better,” he said. “I wanted to let y’all know I’m going to be home by Christmas.”

His mother’s sigh told him she didn’t believe him. “Gaylen has been asking for you.”

“Is she still up?”

“Yes. Reading a Christmas story with Grandpa. Do you want to talk to her?”

The emotion choking Adan made it hard to form the one word. “Yes.”

He heard his mother call out and then the sound of little feet padding across the room almost brought him to his knees.

“Daddy!”

Adan swallowed the lump in his throat. “Sweetheart, how you doing?”

“Miss wou.”

“I miss you, too, honey. I told you I’d be there by Christmas, remember?”

“I know, but come home now. We’re weading a story about wain-deers.”

“Reindeers? That sounds like a good story for Christmas.”

“Can a rain-deer bring you home?”

“No, honey. We have to let the reindeer help get Santa where he needs to go with all those toys. So I can’t get there right now, but I’ll be there before you know it.”

“Before Santa comes?”

“Way before Santa comes, I promise.”

Gaylen launched into the world of a child—going to the mall to talk to Santa again, reading Christmas stories with Grandpa in the big, comfy chair. His father’s recliner. Making cookies with Grandma with “spinkalls.” All the things he’d missed out on so many times.

No wonder his wife had left him.

No wonder his parents had raised his daughter in more hours and more ways than he could ever make up.

“I made wou a special cookie, Daddy.”

Adan pinched two fingers against his nose. “What kind of cookie did you make me, sweetie?”

“A star one—like your badge, ’cept we put red spinkalls on it. It’s weally big.”

Adan glanced down at the badge on his jacket. Sometimes he wondered about that badge and what it had cost him. But a man had to do his job, he had to support his family, and that meant helping his parents and taking care of Gaylen’s future.

But for now, he just wanted to get to his truck and get home. The tear in his gut tugged and pulled from both ways.

He glanced around, glad Sophia wasn’t nearby.

“That sounds wonderful,” he said, blinking away his homesick silliness. “You save me that cookie, okay? Don’t give that one to Santa.”

Gaylen’s giggle sounded like little bells jingling. “Silly, we made some for Santa, too.” Then, “Daddy, come home, okay?”

“I will, pumpkin. I love you.”

“I wuv wou, too, Daddy.”

He heard rustling while he cleared his throat.

“She’s still smiling,” his mother said. “Will you be okay, Adan? Are you safe?”

“I’m okay, Mama. I’ll make it home in time.”

“Okay. You take care. Daddy sends his love.”

“I love you both,” Adan said before he ended the call. “Thanks so much for being such good grandparents.”

“No thanks needed,” his mother said. “We love having Gaylen with us. She keeps us young. You stay safe and hurry home.”

Adan put his phone back in his pocket and turned to find Sophia leaning against the doorjamb from the hallway, tears in her eyes.

* * *

S
OPHIA
HAD
NEVER
seen such tenderness in a man. She’d never seen that kind of tenderness in anyone until she’d stumbled across the people on Crescent Mountain.

But in a man that she was attracted to—never.

This big giant of a man who commanded respect and attention each time he entered a room had been reduced to a puddle of mush by his little girl’s charm.

Something inside Sophia’s heart shifted and broke open to reveal such a fierce longing that it almost hurt to breathe. Tugging all that emotion back into a safe place, she stood there and tried to get herself together.

“I didn’t see you there,” he said, his right hand automatically going to the sling on his other arm.

“I wasn’t listening,” she replied, aware of the many currents that ran through them like the waters from the mountain stream. “I mean, yes, I heard. I was listening, but... I couldn’t help but hear.” She let out a frustrated breath. “I mean, I wasn’t deliberately eavesdropping.”

“I get it,” he said, his tone resigned. “It’s a small cabin and growing smaller by the minute.”

Sophia advanced into the den, trying to imagine this place through the eyes of such a wide-open-spaces kind of man. Adan probably felt a stifling and too close intimacy that made him want to get out of here right away. He wanted to be with his little girl, not stuck here trying to capture a crazy criminal.

And yet he’d stayed. He could have taken off to find Joe, but he had made a decision to stay here to protect Sophia and her friends in case Joe came back.

And he would come back. They all knew that. Adan could fuss and fume and accuse her all he wanted, but he’d stayed because he was that kind of man. He wouldn’t leave anyone in danger.

Everyone on this mountain, including Adan, had become twisted up in her messy past. A past that had come back to haunt her in a big way. She wished with all her heart she could have met Adan in a different way. But Sophia had also learned that she could only control the here and now.

And here in this moment, she was glad Adan was standing across from her.

“I like small,” she admitted to disperse these random feelings, one hand touching on the tiny spruce tree she’d found in the woods and asked Bettye to help her decorate one rainy night. “I told you I grew up moving from home to home and sometimes... I got scared, especially in big foster homes where lots of kids crowded around and bullied me. I went for weeks at a time wondering if my mother was still alive or if I’d ever see anyone from my family again.”

Adan turned then, his eyes full of compassion. “Since things have settled down for now, why don’t you tell me about your life?”

“Trying to take the heat off yourself, Ranger?”

“Maybe.” He walked over and sat down on the sofa, but his gaze held hers. “C’mon. Let’s enjoy the quiet for tonight. First thing tomorrow I’ll write up my report and then check in at headquarters, but for now let’s just talk.”

A man wanting to talk? Adan would never quit surprising her. But then, he probably hoped to interrogate her more instead of actually talking to her.

“Sophia?”

His eyes had gone a rich burning gold that reminded her of the sunset hitting the mountain hills and valleys. That color also reminded her of his determination, too.

“What?”

He lowered his head but kept his eyes on her. “We’re done with the hard part. At least now I understand why you thought you couldn’t tell me the truth.”

A trace of guilt nagged at her, but she was still unsure and afraid to admit the one glaring mistake she’d made. A mistake of omission, but still...

Sophia swallowed that trace of guilt. “So what are you expecting me to tell you now?”

He motioned to her in a way that made her heart turn all warm and trusting. Sophia couldn’t resist that commanding gesture, couldn’t resist him.

When she reached the sofa, he tugged her down, his good arm pulling her close. “That fire feels pretty good.”

“Yes. Do you want anything? Food? Pain pills?”

“No.” His eyes said yes.

Sophia swallowed again and tried to stop the tremors of need moving through her body. “I have hot chocolate. With marshmallows. Freshly made hot chocolate—I can make it from scratch. Bettye won’t let me use the boxed kind anymore.”

He chuckled. “Bettye is a woman of principles.”

Sophia smiled at that. “She’s taught me so much about unconditional love. About being true to myself and being real. I admire her honesty and wisdom.”

“She seems like she’s the real deal,” he said, his breath tickling her earlobe. “What’s her story, anyway?”

Sophia accepted the closeness and savored the warmth of the fire and the warmth of his hand on her arm. “We don’t ask each other too much around here, but when she does volunteer things it seems she had a family. A husband who loved her and a daughter who gave her a hard time. I know she and her daughter were on the outs for a long time and that when her daughter died, something inside Bettye died with her. From what she’s told me, it caused a break between her husband and her. Their marriage never recovered. After he died, too, she came here. And stayed.”

“And Melissa?” he asked, his lips now hovering near her temple. “I should alert someone about her, but she seems to like it here and for the time being, I can’t focus on getting her back to where she belongs.” Then he frowned. “I’m pretty sure she’s got some big secrets, too.”

“I haven’t heard the whole story,” Sophia replied, wondering what he meant by that. “Too much else going on. But I get the impression that Melissa’s mother was a lot like mine. I think she died of an overdose. Hard to believe Bettye had no idea where her granddaughter wound up.”

“I can’t imagine not being close to my folks,” he said. “I’m in my mid-thirties and my mama still wants to hear from me.”

“She loves you.”

He pulled her closer then. “Some people get to have that experience and...take it for granted. I never will again.”

“I’m sorry you’re not there with your little girl.”

“I’ll be there soon enough. I promised her I’d be back by Christmas Eve.”

She smiled up at him. “If we’d all just let you go, right?”

He turned to her then and lifted her chin so she had to look into his eyes. “A few minutes ago, I was ready to rush out that door and find my way home. Right now, I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

“You mean, not even chasing Joe Pritchard or tucking in Gaylen?”

“I’d like to do both of those things, but since I can’t be two places at once, I can be in the moment. I also really like this. I haven’t sat in front of a fire holding a pretty woman in a very long time.”

Sophia didn’t want to be anywhere else, either. “Do you think we’re safe for a while?”

He shook his head, but his eyes held a certain strength. “Pritchard didn’t get what he wanted. He’ll try again, but he’ll get careless and we’ll nab him once and for all.”

Sophia wanted to shout out that Joe wasn’t just here for her. That he needed her as a means to an end.

And it wouldn’t be a good end.

Deciding she could at least be honest about Joe, she gazed up at Adan. “I fell for him because I thought I was worthless, because I got kicked out of my house one time too many. When I turned eighteen, I went back home hoping my mother would let me stay with her again until I could get things together.”

Adan’s hand moved from her chin to her cheek. “Why would you do that, knowing she wasn’t good to you?”

“Because any mother is better than no mother—or so I thought.” She’d also thought the same thing about her husband, too.

“I’m guessing that didn’t work out so great.”

“No. She wouldn’t let me stay there since her boyfriend and his friends all flirted with me—I told you that’s how I met Joe—so I stayed with friends for a few days and then one night I went to a bar and I ran into Joe again. He made me feel special and safe until I realized I’d exchanged one form of abuse for another.”

She shrugged. “I never knew what real love was like until I came to this mountain. So yes, I fought against telling you the truth. I couldn’t face being dragged back into that world again.”

Adan moved his hand through her hair and tugged her close. “You don’t have to go back into that world—I won’t let him take you there. He’s not getting his hands on you, ever again.”

“You can’t—”

“I can,” he said, his mouth moving over hers to silence her. He kissed her in a deep, intimate way that made Sophia feel like the only woman on the planet, in a way that should have scared her with its intensity.

But Sophia wasn’t scared. She returned the kiss over and over, her heart growing stronger with each touch of their lips. Her hope emerging out from behind a wall of protection to allow him into her world.

He finally pulled away and held her head with one hand. “I can and I will. It’s not only my job, but now it’s something I have to do. For you, Sophia.”

“You’re a good man, Adan.”

He chuckled. “But I’m thinking very bad thoughts. But in a good way.”

She grinned at that. “I guess your shoulder is better.”

“Getting better every minute. I think kissing you is helping a lot.”

“Then kiss me again,” she said. And this time she pulled his head down to meet hers.

Sophia had never experienced such a feminine power, either. She hadn’t learned that a woman could kiss a man and still be respected. Adan wouldn’t push her, wouldn’t expect anything more of her than what she was willing to give.

There would be no force here, no punishment from an immature coward of a bully. This man was strong enough to be gentle, man enough to be tender and noble enough to show restraint and self-control.

So instead of stealing away in the night as she’d planned, Sophia later got up and made hot chocolate with marshmallows and shared Christmas cookies with Adan between kisses. And she also made the sweet mistake of falling asleep in his arms.

Too late to get away when she woke up the next morning and instead, found Adan gone.