Cowboy Who Came For Christmas (Harlequin Romance) (19 page)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“I
DON
’
T
LIKE
WAITING
.”

Sophia heard Adan’s grunt on the other end of the phone after she made that remark. He’d called to tell her they’d be late getting back home since the gas station people were working on country time, according to Jacob. The garage attendant wasn’t in any hurry with airing up tires.

“Waiting is part of my job,” he said, “but I know how you feel. It’s been a long day.”

She chuckled into the phone. “The odd couple driving you nuts?”

His groan changed to a laugh. “You could say that. But those two are good at unearthing information. I think their constant badgering wears people down.”

Sophia was used to that badgering, but she hoped David and Jacob hadn’t dug too deeply. “Did they find out anything we can use?”

“Just stuff to confirm that Pritchard is in the area.”

“Such as?”

“Several people reported seeing an abandoned car at the foot of the mountain. The sheriff had already impounded it but he let me take a look at it. Surprise—it’s stolen.”

“I can believe that,” Sophia said, unease making her stare out the windows at the front of Bettye’s house for about the tenth time. “Joe’s never owned a car in his life—except the one I stole from him.”

“Consider that poetic justice,” Adan retorted. “We’re waiting to identify the prints they found but we’re pretty sure they’ll be Pritchard’s. Just takes longer here to get them back from the lab. The sheriff said he’d update me on that one when he hears.”

“Anything else?” she asked, hoping they’d find enough evidence to put Joe away for good. Hoping she wouldn’t have to tell anyone anything else and that Joe would find what he was looking for and then just leave.

“Some receipts that prove he was at the same truck stop as Melissa. They show the time and how much gas he bought, along with the fast food he purchased, too.”

“That’s good. Melissa can vouch that he was there and brought her here.”

“Yep. These things take a lot of tedious footwork but when we put it all together, it’s called evidence. We’re building a case.”

Then he sighed. “I’d better go. Jacob and David are getting in a heated discussion about football with the garage mechanic.”

“Okay,” Sophia said. “I’ll be right here with Bettye and Melissa. They’re making Christmas cookies.”

“Save me one,” Adan said. “And, Sophia?”

“Yes?”

“Maybe you can make us a batch of that good hot chocolate when I get home.”

Sophia hung up but held Bettye’s old phone to her heart and had to swallow back the awareness that grabbed at her throat. He’d called her place home. But she had to remember they’d been confined in a too-small space together during an extreme event in both of their lives. Would things between them cool off once Pritchard was out of the way and they could relax?

Did she really know Adan? And would he like the real her once he got to know her more? Would he forgive her for not being completely honest with him about things? She could be temperamental and hard to deal with at times. But if she had someone like Adan around, her mood would probably improve drastically.

Over the last few days, Sophia had learned not to interrupt Adan when he scribbled notes on his notepad or typed things into his phone app. But she loved watching him doing his job. She was intrigued by the way his brow creased when he stewed over some new grain of information regarding Joe Pritchard and the way his eyes changed colors depending on his mood.

Since they’d become more intimate, she’d look up and find him watching her, too. Not that she’d had much of a chance to get back to her art. He mostly watched her while she moved around the kitchen preparing meals or trying to look busy.

But she was anxious to get her life back. Taking buttons and hot gluing them onto an old mirror made her feel less alone and less of a failure. Her button-and jewelry-encased mirrors were popular with what Bettye called the festival folks who attended any art fair or bazaar in Arkansas.

Art had saved her and made her less lonely. How would she deal with the loneliness after Adan left?

Her place had been special to her from the day Bettye had offered it to her. They’d cleaned it and decorated it piece by piece and Sophia had given Bettye rent money after her first big art sale down in the village.

Bettye had never told her how much the rent would be.

Her friend had just said, “Whenever you get ahead and whatever you can give, honey.”

Sophia checked on Bettye and Melissa, her thoughts on her own solitary life. Did she have anything left to give in a relationship? What could she offer someone like Adan?

“You’re mighty quiet over there,” Bettye called from the kitchen. “What did your Ranger-Man say?”

Sophia pushed away from the windows and joined Bettye and Melissa, the sweet smell of cinnamon filling her senses. “They found a car they think Joe was driving—a stolen car.”

Melissa’s eyes widened. “He told me he’d bought that car. Said it was practically new.” She shrugged. “That explains why it quit working when he tried to get up the mountain road.”

“He lies a lot,” Sophia retorted. “You can’t trust anything Joe Pritchard tells you.”

Bettye gave her a sympathetic stare. “You look tired, honey. Why don’t you go take a nap in Melissa’s room?”

“I can’t rest,” Sophia admitted. “I’m worried about...everyone. We should call Karen. She’s probably getting concerned about David being away.”

“I’ll go get her,” Melissa said, whirling to head to the back door. “She’ll want to try some of our awesome cookies.”

“Take Bandit with you,” Bettye called after her. “Tell Karen we’re having a girls’ night in. Safety in numbers.”

Sophia agreed with that logic. After Melissa was gone, she turned back to Bettye. “She seems to love being with you.”

“I sure love having her here,” Bettye admitted. “But I wonder if she’ll want to stay here even if she could. Teenagers get so bored these days.”

Sophia hadn’t considered Melissa sticking around. She hadn’t considered Adan sticking around, either. They’d both kind of wandered in underneath the shadow of Joe’s crimes.

“Has she told you anything about her time with Joe? I mean, are you sure he didn’t try something with her?”

Bettye’s expression was serene in spite of the flare of fear in her eyes. “She has assured me that he was in a big hurry to get here so he didn’t bother her much. I think once they got going from the truck stop they mostly compared notes on the map and who they both knew here. Besides, she also said she would have decked him if he did try anything.”

“Well, she did just that after she realized how crazy he is,” Sophia said. “Thank goodness.”

“I’m so thankful she found me,” Bettye replied. “I shouldn’t have let her mother go, should have loved her through everything, but I didn’t know how to handle things back then. I had a nervous condition and stayed doped up on antidepressants.”

Bettye was now adamant about not taking any prescription drugs. She preferred natural remedies—most of which she could find in the woods if she looked long enough.

“Did you ever try to find Martha?”

Bettye nodded. “After Walter died, yes. But it was too late.” She took the spatula and lifted up the cooling cookies to place them on a big platter. “We didn’t do right by our daughter and...we didn’t forgive her or each other. I had to get away.”

“But you’ve made a life here.”

Bettye put down the spatula and glanced toward the door. “When I first came here, I was so lonely at times, I wanted to die. I’d failed my only child and I’d ruined my marriage.” She reached out to touch Sophia’s hand. “The day you came, honey, I was close to just throwing myself off the side of the mountain. You...you saved me.”

“Oh, Bettye.” Sophia hugged the older woman close. “You’re like a mother to me. The best kind of mother.”

“Maybe we’re both getting a second chance,” Bettye replied. “I’m sure trying with Melissa.”

“If she could stay, would you want that?” Sophia asked while they finished cutting the last batch of cookies.

Bettye stood still, her gaze lost in the past. Finally, she nodded. “I think I’d like that. But I doubt she’ll stay. She’s waiting for her
one true love
to come and get her.”

“Sean?”

Bettye nodded. “I fear he got lost somewhere. On purpose.”

“I fear the same,” Sophia replied. “Has she heard from him?”

“No, and she checked her phone an hour ago.” Bettye glanced toward the door again. “She should have been back by now.”

“I’ll go out on the porch and see if I can find her,” Sophia said. They’d always been watchful around here, but now it seemed they had to stay in groups in order to make it through the day. She hated Joe Pritchard all over again for causing this.

She eyed her rifle and decided to take it out the door with her. But when she got out on the porch, she saw Karen coming up the path by herself.

“Hi,” Karen called. “Melissa said y’all were having a good time making Christmas cookies. Thought I’d join y’all. I’m working on Christmas cards so I brought them with me to address.” She patted a floral tote bag.

“C’mon on over,” Sophia said. “Hey, where are Melissa and Bandit, anyway?”

Karen nodded toward the road. “She saw a car pulling up and jumped for joy. Something about her boyfriend finally finding her.”

* * *

A
DAN
AND
THE
other men pulled up to his truck just as the sun was starting to make its descent over the mountains to the west. In an hour, dusk would hit and they’d have to use flashlights to get the tires remounted onto the truck.

“Best get right to it,” Jacob said, eyeing the sun. “Dark comes early these days.”

David lifted the collar of his heavy barn jacket. “And when that sun goes down, it gets cold out here.”

Adan glanced at the sky and then back to the vehicle. “At least the snow’s melted enough that we can get it out of this mud hole.” The front end of the truck was sitting in the mire.

David’s SUV had a winch to help pull the truck back onto the road once they had the tires back on... “Let’s get going.”

After using the jack to painstakingly lift the truck to put each tire back on, with Adan at the wheel of the truck to gas it out of the bog, David worked the pulley cable attached to the winch into tugging Adan’s truck onto the road. That accomplished, they checked each tire to make sure they were secure.

“Ready?” David asked while Adan stood there stewing.

He glanced at the sun then back at the messy road ahead. “I’ll get the window fixed once I get home... We need to hurry and get back to the cabins.”

The men had spent their time together talking about fishing and hunting and having a big Christmas dinner. Now, they were covered in mud and dirt, but Adan had enjoyed the comradery at least. David and Jacob had insisted Adan stand back and let them take care of the tires since his gunshot wound was still painful.

“Hey, we need to throw you a party before you head back to Austin,” Jacob told Adan when they were about to leave.

“I’d like that,” Adan said. “I have to admit, you’ve all been real good to me.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Jacob asked, his white hair sticking out around his face. “You can’t help what brung you here.”

“I came in here ready to do battle,” Adan retorted. “I didn’t want to be here. The weather was lousy and so was my mood.”

“Why?”

Adan glanced at Jacob’s ever-hopeful features. Giving that one-word question a lot of thought, he said, “I guess I wanted to be home with my little girl.”

“That’s understandable,” David said. “Me and Karen will head out after our celebration here to see our grandkids in Tennessee.” He shook his head. “My wife can’t go over two months without seeing her grandbabies.”

Jacob grew quiet. “I never had any children. We just couldn’t bear fruit. But since I lost my wife, I’m learning to take my family where I can get it. Bettye and me, we understand each other and we respect each other.” He winked at Adan. “You could have a good mama for that little girl.”

Adan grunted and started putting away tools. “I told y’all to stop with the matchmaking. It takes more than three days together to decide about a lifetime commitment.”

“Maybe you ain’t into committing to anyone,” Jacob suggested. “I believe in love at first sight but maybe you can’t see what’s right in front of you.”

“Maybe you’re correct there,” Adan retorted. “I do have blinders on for a reason, though. My wife didn’t stick around long enough to work things out, so I’m kind of gun-shy about ever marrying again.”

“Sophia wouldn’t run off on you,” David said on a pragmatic note.

Adan didn’t bother pointing out that she’d been forced to run from her first husband. She had good reasons for that.

“I like Sophia,” he admitted. “But... I can’t do anything about that right now. Pritchard won’t give up now that he knows where she’s living. I’ve seen his kind before. He’ll be back.”

“And you need to be here when he does come back,” David said. “Let’s get up the mountain. The sun’ll be gone by the time we get home.”

Adan looked at the bright golden glow coloring the trees. It was good to see sunshine and warmer temperatures even if it was still in the forties during the day.

I’ll be home soon
, he thought. He missed Gaylen so much it hurt him to breathe, but he’d talked to her and his parents this morning. They were all okay but he’d taken advantage of his parents time and time again. While he knew they didn’t mind, he feared if Helena ever did come back she’d try to win custody based on how much time he spent away from home.

Was he any better than his ex? He’d left his daughter with other people way too much lately. Thankful for his accommodating parents, he got back to business so he could see them again soon. He did a check of the surroundings to make sure he’d cleared out everything and that his bruised vehicle was intact.

The men kicked the caked mud off their boots and tried to clean their hands with some old grease rags from the toolbox on the back of the truck. Adan searched the toolbox for his prized Bowie knife but couldn’t find it. Had Pritchard taken it? Or Melissa, maybe? He made a note on his phone pad. Just another puzzling variable to deal with.