Cowboy Christmas Rescue

by Beth Cornelison

  She chuckled and rolled to her feet. “Good.” Aiming a thumb toward the kitchen, she asked, “Want one of those pumpkin spice muffins I made?”

  “I thought you’d never ask. I’ve been smelling them all afternoon and drooling.”

  She lifted one corner of her mouth in a grin. “I know, right? They make the house smell great.”

  As she approached the kitchen, a loud thump sounded from the laundry room, beyond the kitchen. Jerry came scampering out from the dark back room, and Kara paused, casting a frown toward her cat. “Jer, what’s wrong? What happened?”

  Brady sat up, pushing his laptop aside as he focused on Kara. “Something wrong? Want me to—”

  With a loud crash, the window in the door to her carport shattered. Brady jumped to his feet, drawing his gun, even as Kara screamed and backpedaled.

  But not before a large man in dark clothing shouldered through the door, his pistol aimed at Kara. Dennis Cobb.

  Adrenaline spiked in Brady’s blood as he dropped to the floor behind the sofa and leveled his sidearm on the intruder. “Sheriff’s department! Drop your weapon!”

  Spinning toward Brady, Cobb fired a wild shot. The bullet flew wide and sent a Santa decoration tumbling from the mantel.

  Brady returned fire, aiming for Cobb’s leg.

  In the next second, the sniper had seized a handful of Kara’s hair and dragged her up against his chest. While holding his pistol under her chin, he released her hair to snake his other arm around her waist. His grip pinned her arms to her sides, anchoring her in front of him as a shield.

  Under his breath, Brady cursed at how quickly the situation had deteriorated. His gut pitched, seeing the muzzle jabbing Kara’s throat, angled to put a bullet in her brain before he could blink. “Let her go!”

  Cobb barked a humorless laugh. “Why would I do that? I came to kill her.”

  Kara gasped, her face draining of color. Her body was rigid in deference to the gun pressed to her neck.

  “You don’t want to do that.” Brady kept his tone firm and unyielding, despite the buzzing in his ears, the unsteady beat of his heart. God, please, not Kara! “Police around the state are already looking for you.”

  “Because this bitch fingered me. She earned a bullet for that.” He jerked his arm tighter, and Kara winced, wheezed.

  Brady drew a slow breath and exhaled evenly. He had to stay in control of the situation. Had to save Kara... “Just put your gun on the floor and step back with your hands up.”

  Cobb snorted and sneered. “Naw. You first.”

  “Put. The weapon. Down.”

  “Go to hell.” Cobb poked harder with the pistol and snarled. “She got in my way yesterday, and she put the cops on my scent. She will pay.”

  “You harm one hair on her head, and I swear, it’ll be the last mistake you ever make.”

  A dark, ugly chuckle rumbled from Cobb’s chest. “Mighty big talk, lover boy.” He walked Kara forward, out of the kitchen and to the end of the hall. He cut a quick look toward the bedrooms, as if checking for someone hiding, ready to ambush him.

  Yeah, Brady thought, backup would be nice about now. But his phone was lying on the coffee table out of his reach, and he didn’t want to make a move that would set Cobb off.

  Cobb leaned forward and sniffed Kara’s neck. “You know, bitch, you smell nice.” He eyed her with a side glance that bought Brady time to shift from behind one end of the sofa to the other. He had a better angle on Cobb now...if only Kara weren’t in the line of fire.

  Cobb slid his hand from Kara’s waist to fondle her breasts. “Maybe before I kill ya, I oughta enjoy the goods.”

  “You’re a pig,” she growled.

  For her efforts, Cobb knocked her in the temple with the butt of the pistol, then rammed the barrel in her ear.

  “Kara!” Brady shouted, his gut churning an icy fear that jolted his heart. He braced his arms and realigned his shot, waiting for the split second of opportunity he needed.

  “What’d you say?” Cobb barked at Kara.

  She struggled against her captor’s grip, her eyes panicked...until her gaze met Brady’s. Even from his position in the living room, he could see the peace and assurance that filled her eyes. She held his stare and gave a tiny nod.

  “I trust you,” she mouthed, and he knew instantly what she was planning.

  Chapter 11

  After the shock of having the gunman break into her home and seize her in his vise-like grip, the lightning pain of Cobb’s strike to her head shook Kara from her fear-induced paralysis. This was her home, and she would not let this creep manhandle her and terrorize her without fighting back. Cobb might have a gun on her, one she knew all too well he would use, but she had Brady.

  She knew the bead Brady had on Cobb with his service weapon was the only reason she was still alive. Cobb was smart enough to know he’d be dead the second he pulled the trigger to kill her. He was repositioning himself, closing in on Brady, checking escape routes, looking for means of distraction, cover...

  But Kara was planning, too. Brady gave her a subtle nod, saying he’d read her intentions, was ready for her next move.

  Kara wanted to laugh, to cheer. Hooray for the unspoken connection, the synchronicity they shared! Brady really was the missing piece of her soul.

  Then, without any other warning or provocation, she slammed her head back into Cobb’s nose. She followed this instantly by driving her elbow into the startled man’s gut. While he sputtered for air, she stomped his instep, kicked back into his kneecap. A bam-bam-bam assault. One move after another, then...she dropped to the floor. Overwhelmed by her surprise attack, Cobb lost his hold on her, and she rolled away from his feet. Covered her head.

  As soon as she cleared the shot, a loud blast echoed through the house.

  Cobb screamed in pain and answered Brady’s fire with rapid shots into the living room.

  “Brady!” Kara cried, unable to swallow her dread during the short volley of gunfire.

  Then silence fell.

  Cobb made a strange gasping sound and staggered back against the hall wall, knocking a picture of her father to the floor where the frame splintered.

  Blood streaked the wall as Cobb slid to the floor, his eyes fixed and blank.

  Kara struggled to draw air into lungs frozen with horror. Then one thought, one person surged to the fore in her mind. “Brady!”

  “Are you okay?”

  She scrambled to her hands and knees, rose on trembling legs, desperate to reach him.

  Boots thundered across her floor, and he was at her side in a heartbeat. “Kara, babe, are you okay? Your head...how bad did he hurt you? Are you shot?”

  His hands were everywhere, gently searching, checking, then pulling her into a tight hug. “I’m okay. My head hurts, but...it’s not...” A choking sob cut her off, and her hands groped for him. She curled her fingers into his back, clutching him close. “Oh, God, Brady! I was s-so scared!”

  “You’re safe now, babe.”

  “N-no! Scared for you!” She pulled back and searched his face, needing him to understand. “If anything had happened to you... I don’t know how...how I’d live without you!”

  He was shaking, too, she realized as he rested his forehead against hers. “Ditto, beautiful. When I saw him shove that pistol in your ear, I—” He expelled a harsh breath. “Babe, I think I have a whole new perspective on what you went through with your father’s death. Your fears about my job...because when I thought of losing you, of him hurting you—”

  She slid her hands to his face and smoothed her fingers over the stubble on his cheeks. “Not something that’s easy to forget, huh?”

  He shook his head. His eyes were suspiciously moist. “I’m so sorry, Kara. About your dad, what you lived through, and...for not listening earlier. I—”

  She pressed her lips to his, holding the back of his head with her fingers splayed in his hair. He reciprocated in kind, his tongue plundering her mouth. Their kiss was dee
p, desperate. Two souls clinging to each other and savoring the gift of life, the miracle of second chances.

  When Kara pulled back, gulping oxygen, she rasped, “I love you, Brady. I never stopped loving you.”

  His expression melted in relief and joy and affection. “And I love you. So much.” He pulled her back into a secure, lingering embrace. Finally he stepped back. With a side glance to Cobb’s still form, he sighed. “I need to call this in. I’ll drive you to the hospital to get your head checked, then...can you stay with Hannah until the scene here is processed and cleaned up?”

  She held his gaze. “I’d...rather stay with you.”

  The corner of his cheek twitched in a small smile. “Done.”

  Chapter 12

  After the nearest emergency room cleared her as concussion-free and Deputy Wilhite finished taking her statement about Cobb’s break-in, assault on her and subsequent death, Kara accompanied Brady to his house on the outskirts of Rusted Spur. Settling on his couch, surrounded by his masculine decor, Kara felt a sense of peace and homecoming. She knew, deep in her heart, her place was with Brady, whatever it cost.

  “Brady,” she started as he handed her a bottle of water and settled next to her. “I know it won’t be easy, watching you head off to work every day, but if you want to be the sheriff or an undercover police detective or an overseas CIA agent, I’ll deal with it. Being apart from you is harder by far. I’ll manage my worry somehow. But... I need you in my life.”

  He flashed a lopsided smile and stroked her cheek. “That’s good to hear, but...because I shot Cobb, I’m on mandatory leave while the shooting is investigated.”

  “Oh, right...”

  “Just a formality. But until then...” He kissed her nose. “I plan to do lots of making up for lost time...with you.” He drew a slow breath. Released it. “And then I plan to throw my support behind Wilhite as the next sheriff of Trencher County.”

  She jerked back and blinked her surprise. “What? Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive. I miss forensics. And I hate paperwork! I was honored to be asked to serve the county in the interim, but forensics, the science, is where my heart lies.” He grinned and added, “After you, of course.”

  She leaned in to brush his lips with hers, whispering, “I like the sound of that.”

  His phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. “I need to take this.” His expression serious, he lifted the phone to his ear. “Hi, Nate. Everything okay?” He blew out a breath and nodded to Kara. “That’s good.”

  Another degree of tension inside her released its hold.

  “Yeah,” Brady said, “He’s dead. He came after Kara, and I had to shoot him.” His face darkened. “No. He died before we could ask him who hired him.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I guess I don’t have to tell you that Cobb’s death doesn’t mean the threat to April is gone. Until we know who hired him, you need to stay vigilant.”

  Kara shivered. She hadn’t considered that aspect of this nightmare. Her friends were still in grave danger. Cobb had just been a pawn in this deadly chess game.

  Brady scrunched up his face in frustration. “Right. I’m on leave, but...keep me posted anyway, okay?”

  Kara grabbed his arm to get his attention. “Tell him I love them, and I’m praying for their safety, too. That I’ll call April later.”

  He nodded and passed on the message. When he hung up, he pulled Kara closer, and she snuggled against him.

  Tipping her head up, she brushed a kiss across his lips. “Now...what were you saying about lost time?” She deepened their kiss and started unbuttoning his shirt.

  And they didn’t come up for air for a very long time.

  * * *

  Two nights later, Brady escorted Kara back to her house, and she entered the house where she’d grown up with a quiver of reluctance in her gut. Would she ever forget the fact that a man had been killed in her home? Would she ever look at that spot by the bathroom door and not remember how it felt to have a gun pressed to her ear, to know the bone-chilling fear when Cobb had fired at Brady?

  Maybe. Maybe not. But this was her home, and she had more good memories than bad here. She wouldn’t let the terror Cobb had inflicted on her ruin the warmth and the happiness she’d shared in this house with her parents.

  She strolled toward her bedroom to put away the overnight bag she’d taken to Brady’s and studied the spot where Cobb had fallen. No visible trace of blood remained. Only the faint lingering scent of the cleaning solution the cleanup crew had used remained.

  “Wow.” She turned full circle, taking in the rest of the house. The hole in her wall was patched, the broken picture frame replaced. “The crew did a great job.”

  “Well, not all of it was them. I asked Anderson and Wilhite to patch the hole, and Earlene bought the new frame. She said to tell you it was her Christmas present to you.”

  Kara smiled. “That’s so sweet of her.”

  After putting her bag in her room, she joined Brady on the couch. He’d turned on her Christmas tree lights, and Kara gave a contented sigh as she snuggled against him and gazed at their soft glow. “I can’t believe Christmas is just two days away.”

  “I know. Right?” He smoothed the hair back from her forehead and dropped a kiss on the bridge of her nose.

  As she studied the twinkling lights on her tree, she noticed a small package under the branches that hadn’t been there before. “What’s that?”

  “Hmm?”

  She swung her feet to the floor and scurried over to examine the tiny box. “There’s no name on it.”

  “Open it,” he suggested, an odd look in his eyes.

  “But it’s not Christmas yet.”

  “Close enough. Open it.” He patted the sofa cushion next to him, inviting her to return.

  A tingle of anticipation and curiosity swept through her as she carried the small box wrapped in red paper and topped with a white ribbon back to the couch. With trembling hands, she untied the ribbon and tore off the thin paper to reveal a jeweler’s box. Her breath caught. “Brady?”

  He took the box from her shaking hands and cracked open the lid. A sparkling oval solitaire diamond ring winked at her.

  “Kara Pearson, I love you with my whole heart. These past months without you have been the longest and loneliest of my life, but they’ve taught me to value the treasure that you are. I promise to love you, to listen to you and to respect everything about you from this day forward. Will you marry me?”

  Tears welled in her eyes, and she threw her arms around Brady’s neck. “Yes! Oh, goodness, yes!”

  He slipped the ring out of the box, and the diamond caught the colored lights from her tree, sending a rainbow of dazzling shimmers on her walls. She chuckled and whispered, “The rainbow.”

  He glanced up. “What?”

  “A few days ago, we were lost in a terrible thunderstorm. A storm that kinda represented what my life felt like the last few months.”

  He twisted his mouth in regret. “Mine, too.”

  “But now the storm has passed, and a rainbow has come out.” She wiggled the ring, directing his attention to the spectrum of lights that danced on the walls and ceiling.

  He pulled her close, laughing, and kissed her lips. “Yes, it has, babe. Yes, it has.”

  * * * * *

  RESCUING

  THE BRIDE

  Colleen Thompson

  Dear Readers,

  Some of the deepest, longest-lasting relationships I’ve been fortunate enough to witness didn’t begin as romances at all. Instead, they took root in platonic friendships, relationships that grew and flourished over months or even years before one or the other recognized the fragile new buds forming, buds with the potential to blossom into something that cannot be ignored.

  In Rescuing the Bride, paralegal April Redding is the first to understand that her feelings for Nate Wheeler, the champion bull rider she’s known since childhood, have deepened into undeniable attraction. But fear and
the geography of their diverging paths keep her from acting on those feelings until one lonely night following her mother’s death.

  Though Nate is certain he’s doing the right thing by proposing to the friend now carrying his child, April balks at settling for a groom who’s merely going through the motions out of a sense of obligation. Shaking her head at an altar decorated for the coming holidays, she summons the courage to hold out for the love she’s always longed for.

  Moments later, the stunned silence erupts with a burst of gunfire from an unknown source. Desperate to save the woman he’s taken for granted for so long from a ruthless killer, Nate is forced to come to grips with feelings that run far deeper than he’s ever before realized. Feelings that have him putting everything, including his own heart, on the line.

  I hope you’ll enjoy spending a few hours with April and Nate as they struggle to survive the most dangerous of secrets and fight their way toward a future that will stand the test of time.

  Colleen Thompson

  To Michael, who has taught me that

  a best friend can be so much more.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 1

  As her uncle walked her down the aisle, the tears in April Redding’s vision made the scene a blur of color. Red and green, for all the Christmas poinsettias that festooned the makeshift outdoor altar. Blue and a deepening charcoal gray for the unseasonably warm Texas sky, which was quickly being overtaken by the cold front heading their way, a “blue norther” preceded by a low rumble of thunder.

  But why shouldn’t the weather open up on them, since everything else had gone wrong? Already a broken pipe had flooded their original venue and left their friends scrambling to set up and decorate an outdoor space at Nate’s parents’ ranch this morning. Overwhelmed by all the chaos and unfamiliar people, April’s intellectually disabled brother Rory had gone into full meltdown mode. As excited as he’d been to be their ring bearer—no matter that he was three years April’s senior, heavyset, and six feet tall—she’d been as relieved as he was when her aunt had taken him home before he accidentally hurt himself.