“You know what’s even stranger?” he murmured. “I knew you were comin’.”
“You did?” she gaped at him.
“I knew I had to stay here through the Christmas holidays because you were comin’ back. I didn’t know when, and I sure didn’t know it would be the way it was, but I knew I had to stay put.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she muttered.
“I’m sure glad we both listened to whatever it was that was guidin’ us.”
“Me too,” she sighed leaning against him. “I have no idea what those Churchill’s had in store for me, but, uh, should I tell you what I think?”
“Please do.”
“Everyone was constantly telling me how wonderful life was at the Chateau and how much they enjoyed having me there. Even the few times I spoke to the children they said they really liked me and hoped I’d stay. I think I was about to be made Richard Churchill’s wife. I think I was going to be kept there and brainwashed somehow.”
“I can’t imagine anyone brainwashin’ you,” he said skeptically.
“Who knows what they would have done to me, but what happens now? They didn’t do anything criminal. There’s no law against being odd, but I’m still scared.”
“You need a couple of days to catch your breath. Do you want me to take you straight to the airport and put you on a plane?”
“I doubt I’d be able to get a flight. It’s Christmas, not to mention there are storms all over the place.”
“That’s a point,” Connor nodded. “At the very least you should call your family and let them know you’re all right and you’ll be home soon.”
“Yes, I definitely want to do that,” she said firmly, “but I won’t tell them what happened. I don’t want to ruin their Christmas.”
“That’s up to you. You’re safe now,” he said warmly, taking her hand.
“I feel safe,” she said gratefully. “I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me. You’re the best.”
“All I did was let you sleep in my bed and give you breakfast.”
“You’re being too modest.”
“I need to shovel my driveway,” he said feeling a bit embarrassed by her praise. “If you want you can call your folks while I do that, and then we can leave and go back to my house. I have a guest room with your name on it, and if those guys come back here they’ll find McBride’s Bar and Grill closed up and empty.”
“That sounds perfect,” she said gratefully. “You know what you are? You’re my Sir Lancelot!”
“In that case,” he grinned, “you, beautiful girl, are my Guinevere”.
“Are we getting totally sloppy right now?” she giggled.
“We are, but it’s Christmas day, and considering everything you’ve been through and what a miracle this is, we deserve to be.”
As he gazed into her brilliant blue eyes, he had an overwhelming need to kiss her. The power of their attraction was cloaking them, drawing them together, and gently leaning forward he watched her eyes flutter closed in expectation, and heard her soft gasp of anticipation. As he touched her lips with his, he felt his cock stir in his jeans, and a moment later, as he twirled his fingers through her hair, he felt a rush of sparkling energy.
April felt it too.
The flapping of a bluebird in her belly, the inability to get enough oxygen, the tiny sparks that danced before her eyes, and the all-consuming hunger for more, was sweeping through her as his mouth glided over hers. Moving her arms around his neck, abandoning any restraint, she clung to him, crushing her lips into his kiss. His fingers locked in her hair was making her heart pump like crazy, and when he finally pulled back and released his hold, she dropped her head into his shoulder.
“My gosh,” she mumbled breathlessly.
He wrapped her up and held her, but he couldn’t find his voice, and he was aching to rip off her clothes and carry her to his bed.
“April,” he finally muttered, “I think, if I don’t go shovel that snow, it’s not gonna get shoveled.”
“I think you’re right,” she whispered.
Sitting back he stared at her flushed face and vibrant blue eyes. Swallowing hard, he kissed her again, lightly and quickly, then rose to his feet.
“Phone’s over there,” he said pointing to a desk in the corner of the room. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
She watched him as he strode away. His wide shoulders and the muscles wanting to burst through his tight black sweater told her why she’d felt so protected in his arms, but her mind flashed back to the night before.
When she’d stood in the doorway of his living room after her bath, he’d been laying on the couch naked from the waist up, and though she’d been bone weary, the sight of his ripped abdomen and strong arms had sent a warm thrill through her body. Now she’d felt his touch and experienced his kiss, and she knew she was totally hooked.
CHAPTER FIVE
Connor had cleared the driveway, April was safely ensconced in his 4WD SUV, and he was about to pull out of the garage when he had a sudden thought.
“I think you should duck down. If those guys are still cruisin’ around lookin’ for you…”
“Good thinking,” she declared. “Do you think I should call Richard and let him know I’m okay and where their car is, assuming they haven’t already found it.”
“That’s a very good idea, but I think you should text him, not call. Do you have your phone?”
“No. I left it in the car. I didn’t trust it after it disappeared that day, and when I ended up in that ditch I deleted everything and left it there. It didn’t occur to me at the time, but as I was walking through that wretched storm I thought he might see it as a message to leave me alone.”
“I doubt it. More likely he’d have figured you knew it had been tampered with,” he remarked. “You can use mine. I’ll just turn off my caller ID. Do you want privacy?“
“Privacy? Heavens no.”
Pulling his phone from his pocket he blocked his information then handed it across to her, and after thinking for a moment she typed in her note.
Richard, it’s April. Don’t try to reach me. Your car is on the Ellison Highway near the Five Peaks turnoff.
Hitting send, she stared at the screen waiting to see if he responded, and a moment later he did.
I’m so sorry if I upset you somehow, but you shouldn’t have run off. Tell me where you are. I’ll pick you up and we can talk.
“Asshole,” she muttered.
“What did he say?”
“That I should tell him where I am so he can pick me up and we can talk. I’ll talk to him all right.”
How stupid do you think I am? I borrowed a car and bolted because I overheard your father asking you if I was drunk enough, and your mother saying something about preparing a room for me. Drunk enough for what? Just what were you going to do to me, Richard? Never mind, I don’t want to know. Don’t ever contact me again.
Before hitting send, she read the text to Connor.
“I’m not sure you should tell him you overheard that conversation.”
“I am,” she exclaimed, and firmly hit the SEND button, then handed the phone back to Connor with a relieved, satisfied sigh.
“I guess that’s that,” he declared, dropping the phone in his pocket, “but you didn’t tell me you walked all the way from the Five Peak turnoff. How the heck did you that?”
“Slowly,” she said with a shiver at the memory.
“You must have had an angel on your shoulder to make it all the way to my place from there,” he said staring at her, amazed that she’d fared as well as she had.
The garage door rolled up, and as he drove out into the cold, bright day, he made sure she’d slid down before turning on to the main road. It was only about five minutes to the town’s main street, and as he drove past the shops he saw a few people strolling along wearing Santa hats and enjoying the rare sunny day.
Bert’s Diner, as it did every Christmas, had opened its doors for a fe
w short hours. For some it had become a tradition to stop in for coffee and pie, or to meet up with friends, but as Connor approached he was startled to see a white Range Rover with the license plate 5CCHILL sitting out front.
“Stay down,” he warned as he rolled past.
“What is it?” April asked urgently.
“I’ve just spotted their car.”
It was easy to see through the windows of the diner, and he spied two dark-haired, clean cut men sharing a booth. They shared a resemblance to each other, and were both staring intently out into the street.
“The brothers, do they both have short black hair?”
“Yes. All the brothers do.”
“They’re in Bert’s Diner.”
“There’s a diner open? It’s Christmas day.”
“Bert opens it every year from ten until around one.”
“Are you sure it’s them?” she asked, panic in her voice. “Sorry, stupid question. How would you know?”
“Their Range Rover is parked out front. I think I’m gonna pull over.”
“What? Why?”
“There may be another way to handle this,” he murmured, driving a short distance down the block before pulling into the curb and parking.
“What other way?”
“I’m think we should walk on in there. Maybe they’ll stop messin’ with you if they see you’ve got a friend in town.”
“But, Connor, that family has a lot of money, which means they probably have a lot of influence around here.”
“They hardly ever come into this town. They spend their dollars over in Clearview, half-an-hour in the opposite direction from their house. There’s a mall there with big name department stores.”
“I know all about that,” she grimaced.
“You do?”
“Richard took me to that mall. The next day just about everything I’d said I liked arrived on the doorstep.”
“Damn.”
“It was absurd.”
“If you don’t wanna go into the diner, it’s okay, but I think it would be good idea.”
“Could you tell me why?”
“It sounds to me like these guys are bullies, and the best way to beat a bully is to push back. The other thing, and this is even more important, if they see us together they’ll know you’re not here by yourself. Like I said earlier, it might make them think twice.”
“You might be right,” she said thoughtfully.
“As far as them havin’ influence, I’ve got a lotta friends in this place, good friends, important friends, and I’m not sure those two fellas sittin’ in that diner have any. So? Are you game? You wanna go get some coffee and pie?”
“I am game!” she exclaimed. “I’d love some coffee and pie, well, coffee anyway. I’m not sure I could handle any pie after that french toast.”
“I hear that,” he chuckled. “Let’s walk. No reason they should know what kinda car I drive.”
“Worried?” she winked.
“Not at all, just bein’ smart about things.”
“You’re right again,” she quipped. “It’s becoming a habit.”
“Yep. One you should get used to.”
She shot him a look, then broke into a laugh, and climbing from the car Connor wrapped his warm, strong fingers around hers. She felt a rush of happiness. He was real, their togetherness was real, and she twinkled a smile back at him as they started up the sidewalk.
“Ready?” he asked as they neared the diner.
“With you at my side, I’m ready for anything, though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a teensy bit nervous.”
“That’s understandable, but, April, I want you to listen carefully. This is important. If they come up after we sit down, look out the window. Totally ignore them. Let me do the talkin’, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Nothing escalates things in this kinda situation more than the girl speakin’ up.”
“You’ve been through something similar before?”
“Not exactly, but I’ve seen enough standin’ behind my bar to have a pretty good idea about how things go.”
“Ooh, yes, I’ll bet you have.”
“They may not approach us, but if they do, you sit there quiet as a church mouse and stare out that window. No eye contact, nothin’.”
“Okay, cowboy, I won’t look, and I won’t make a peep.”
“That’s my girl,” he said softly, squeezing her hand.
They’d reached the door to the restaurant, and April stood back as Connor pushed it open, then followed him inside. She was tempted to scan the tables and see if it actually was Richard and Edward he had spotted, but resisted the temptation.
“Hi, Connor,” the waitress said with a smile as she approached. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too, Becky. Can we have that booth by the window at the end?” he asked, wanting to walk right past the Churchill brothers.
“Sure, come on back.”
Gripping April’s hand, Connor followed the hostess as she led him past the tables. As they neared the two men, one of them casually glanced up, and Connor caught the startled look of recognition on his face.
“April!” the man said urgently.
April continued walking, and Connor released her hand and put his arm around her shoulder. It wasn’t just to make her feel protected, but to send a message. She was with him.
Making sure April’s back was to them when they sat down, he settled opposite her, and as Becky placed the menus on the table and walked away, Connor saw one of the two brothers stand up and move towards them.
“We’re about to have a visitor,” he muttered. “Remember what I said. Look out the window. Ignore him.”
Connor studied the menu pretending not to notice the man’s approach, and even when he stopped beside the table, Connor kept his eyes fixed on what he was reading.
“Hello, April.”
Connor lifted his gaze and studied his opponent. He was average in build and height, but the man’s determination and anger were obvious. Anger added to a man’s need to fight, and a fight was something Connor wanted to avoid. If he could intimidate the man verbally, everyone would be better off.
“Apparently the young lady doesn’t wish to speak to you,” Connor declared.
“I’m Richard Churchill, maybe you’ve heard of me and my family?”
“Nope, can’t say I have,” Connor said easily. “Not that it would matter. Now would you please excuse yourself? We’re gonna have some Christmas coffee and you’re not welcome to join us.”
“I don’t know who you are,” Richard snarled, “and I don’t give a shit, but April is coming home with me.”
“Here’s the thing, Dick, can I call you Dick?” Connor said calmly, his eyes unwavering. “If you don’t walk away I’m gonna have to hurt you, and I’d rather not do that. Don’t get me wrong, it would give me a great deal of pleasure to hurt you, but there are some real nice people here havin’ a real nice Christmas mornin’, and some with their kids. Why would I wanna spoil that? Why would you…Dick?”
“The name is Richard,” he growled, “and like I said, April is coming home with me.”
“I’m gonna count to three,” Connor said, fixing the angry man with a threatening steely gaze. “If you’re still standin’ there…”
“I’ll see you around the back,” Richard hissed, “then we’ll see who’s going to hurt who,” and with a last glare at April he marched away.
“Oh, my, gosh,” she breathed as she turned around and stared at Connor. “Dick? You called him Dick? I couldn’t believe my ears.”
“His name is Dick, and he is a dick,” Connor chuckled, “so if the shoe fits…”
“I’m shaking like a leaf right now.”
“I reckon I can fix that,” Connor said reassuringly, and swiftly scooting around the booth and sitting next to her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Not a light, quick peck, but a deep, loving, gliding of the lips that took her b
reath away.
“Connor,” she breathed, her eyes glassy as they broke apart, “you’re amazing.”
“Amazin’ is walkin’ through a snow storm to my door,” he murmured.
“I don’t want you to go around back and fight them,” she mewled with a worried frown.
“Who said I’m goin’ anywhere?”
“But-“
“Did you hear me say I’d go meet him?”
“No, but-“
“But nothin’. If I’d said I’d meet him, I would, but I didn’t. If he wants to assume I’m goin’ back there that’s up to him, it’s not my problem. Now let’s have some coffee and share a piece of pie.”
“Oh, my gosh,” she exclaimed, her eyes wide. “They’ll be standing out there waiting for you.”
“Yep, like a couple of morons, and they’re gonna have a long wait.”
“Won’t that tick them off more?”
“April,” he said patiently, “they’re ticked off at you, but now they’re gonna be even more ticked off at me. They don’t know it, but their focus is already shiftin’ and that’s what I wanted.”
“I don’t want the Churchill family ticked off at you! That’s the last thing I want.”
“Shush. I knew plenty of guys like him back in the city. They’re all the same. At some point they’ll get bored and go away.”
“Have you decided what you’d like?”
Turning around, Connor looked up at the waitress’s smiling face.
“Sure. Coffee, and one slice of your apple-rhubarb pie, hot, with a scoop of ice-cream.”
“You got it.”
“Can I have tea?” April piped up.
“Sure,” Becky grinned. “I like that pie with tea myself. I’ll be right back.”
“Tea?” Connor asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Coffee peps me up, but tea calms me down.”
“I’ll remember that, and now I’m gonna go slip back on the other side so I can look at you,” he said, kissing her softly.
“But I like sitting close to you like this.”
Her Christmas Cowboy Page 4