The Lawman's Christmas Proposal

by Barbara White Daille

  A Husband for Christmas?

  Mitch Weston’s back in Cowboy Creek, and self-proclaimed matchmaker Jed Garland has his single granddaughter Andi on his mind. Mitch is a lawman, good with the little ones and easy on the eyes. He and Andi were high school sweethearts, for heaven’s sake! Why can’t they see they’re perfect for each other?

  Because Andi already lost one husband to a dangerous job, and now she’s all about playing it safe, for her sake and her children’s. Being a cop is everything to Mitch. After discovering Jed’s plan, Mitch and Andi come up with their own: they’ll pretend to get engaged and then break up due to irreconcilable differences. Jed’s got his work cut out for him—because this match needs a Christmas miracle!

  Up ahead, she could see the final turnoff to the road leading to the Hitching Post. In just minutes, they would call off their engagement, as planned.

  Admitting the engagement couldn’t be real, that she had no hope left for a chance with Mitch, made her feel empty inside. The feeling only confirmed what she had known from the minute she had seen him again. She had always loved him.

  But now, she needed to walk away.

  When they reached the hotel and he began to turn his truck toward the parking area, she said, “Just drop me off in front, please.”

  He kept driving. “I’m not letting you go in to break the news to your family on your own.”

  “It’s all right—”

  “Not by me, it isn’t.”

  “I can handle it, Mitch.”

  “It was my idea that got you into this,” he said stubbornly. “Besides, I’m going to have to face your family sometime, too. I might as well do it now.” He parked the truck and took her overnight bag from the rear seat.

  She would always regret this morning.

  But she could never forget last night.

  Dear Reader,

  One of the many things I love about the writing home I’ve found here is I’m able to share my favorite kind of stories with you. Small towns and families. Softhearted yet strong heroines. Sexy and even stronger heroes. Quirky but sometimes interfering characters. When I settle down to write—or to read—a book, those story elements are at the top of my list. I hope they’re favorites for you, too.

  The Lawman’s Christmas Proposal has all of the above, along with Grandpa Jed up to his matchmaking tricks again and the entire town joining in on some holiday fun. Enjoy this visit to Cowboy Creek!

  I always love to hear from you, so please feel free to get in touch through my website, barbarawhitedaille.com, or mailing address, PO Box 504 Gilbert, AZ 85299. You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter.

  All my best to you.

  Until we meet again,

  Barbara White Daille

  THE LAWMAN’S CHRISTMAS

  PROPOSAL

  Barbara White Daille

  Barbara White Daille and her husband still inhabit their own special corner of the wild, wild Southwest, where the summers are long and hot and the lizards and scorpions roam.

  Barbara loves looking back at the short stories and two books she wrote in grade school and realizing that—except for the scorpions—she’s doing exactly what she planned. She has now hit double digits with published novels and still has a file drawer full of stories to be written.

  As always, Barbara hopes you will enjoy reading her books! She would love to have you drop by her website for a visit, barbarawhitedaille.com.

  Books by Barbara White Daille

  Harlequin American Romance

  The Sheriff’s Son

  Court Me, Cowboy

  Family Matters

  A Rancher’s Pride

  The Rodeo Man’s Daughter

  Honorable Rancher

  Rancher at Risk

  The Hitching Post Hotel Series

  The Cowboy’s Little Surprise

  A Rancher of Her Own

  Texas Rodeo Barons

  The Texan’s Little Secret

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  To all my readers,

  thank you for your support,

  and Happy Holidays—no matter

  which ones you celebrate!

  And of course, to my number one reader, Rich.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from A Christmas Wedding for the Cowboy by Mary Leo

  Prologue

  “Don’t look now, but here comes trouble,” Jedediah Garland said to his old friend Paz.

  He had driven her into town to pick up a food order for the Hitching Post, the hotel he owned and where she worked as his cook. On the way, they had made a quick stop for coffee at SugarPie’s, Cowboy Creek’s popular sandwich shop. As usual at this early hour, they found the place filled to capacity.

  The woman approaching their table owned SugarPie’s, which consisted of both the shop and the adjacent bakery.

  Paz looked over her shoulder, then turned back. “Why do you say trouble, Jed? Sugar is smiling.”

  “That she is. And that smile’s telling me she’s got something more than today’s menu on her mind. Haven’t you?” he asked as the woman came to a halt beside their table. He gestured to an empty chair. “Take a seat, and let’s hear whatever load of gossip you’ve got for us this morning.”

  Sugar grinned at him. She plopped into a pink-cushioned chair beside Paz, who scooted her chair over to allow the sturdy businesswoman a little more elbow room.

  “Now, Jed,” Sugar said in her soft Southern drawl, “how did you ever know I had something to say?”

  He shrugged. “That not-so-sugar-sweet smile on your face is a dead giveaway.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s have it.”

  “Well...” After a quick look around the crowded shop, she leaned forward and said, “Lyle stopped in this morning.”

  Jed nodded, knowing she meant Lyle Weston, Cowboy Creek’s sheriff.

  “Is there something wrong?” Paz asked.

  Sugar shook her head. “No. Well...there is and there isn’t. Mitch is home.”

  Attention caught, Jed leaned forward. “Home? You mean to stay?”

  Sugar shrugged. “Lyle doesn’t know for sure himself. But he’ll settle for having the boy here till the holidays.”

  No wonder the woman had been grinning like a fool. Mitch was the sheriff’s oldest son, now an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. While Lyle was fit to bust with pride over all the boy’s commendations, no one in town liked the idea of him living so far away.

  Trouble was, nobody knew what had been to blame for Mitch’s departure. And at the moment, Jed didn’t know what had led to the boy’s return.

  One of the waitresses signaled to Sugar from over near the kitchen. She hustled away, leaving Jed and Paz staring at each other.

  “Oh, Jed,” Paz said in a low voice. “I know that look. You’re at it again.”

  His grin must have rivaled Sugar’s, and no doubt Paz had accurately read his mind.

  A self-proclaimed matchmaker, he’d had some success bringing two of his granddaughter
s together with the men meant for them. “Well, why not?” he demanded. “The Christmas season’s almost upon us—and isn’t that the time for miracles? Besides, no sense putting myself out to pasture when I’m on a winning streak on the track. And when I’ve got one granddaughter still unattached.”

  “But, Jed...you can’t think Andi is ready for a relationship yet.”

  “I don’t think she knows what she’s ready for.” He looked down at his coffee cup rather than meet Paz’s eyes. He couldn’t admit she had a point.

  As her gaze caught his again, the tears in her eyes told him he didn’t have to confess a thing. She was as much a part of his family as Tina, the granddaughter they shared and who was now happy and settled, thanks to their efforts.

  Paz knew as well as he did that the entire family feared his widowed granddaughter, Andi, would never be happy again.

  Chapter One

  Two days later

  With the finesse of a well-trained pickpocket, Mitch Weston snagged a carrot from the vegetable tray his mother was preparing. Of course, a skilled pickpocket wouldn’t have been dumb enough to flash the stolen goods—at least, not until he put them up for sale on some street corner.

  Mitch, on the other hand, chomped down on the carrot in full view of his mom.

  “You don’t eat enough,” Nancy said.

  “I do,” he countered. “But I’m betting while I’m here, you’re going to do your best to fatten me up.”

  In the two days he’d been home again, this was the first chance they’d had to talk alone, and he instinctively knew the direction she would take any private conversation between them.

  With a long oak table large enough to fit the family, the kitchen didn’t offer much room to hide. With his four younger brothers and sisters living at home, there wasn’t much privacy in the entire house. And with the way he had been feeling lately, he’d rather have solitary confinement.

  “Your father mentioned he’ll try to be home early tonight for a change,” Nancy said. “But you know how hard it is to get him away from the office. About as difficult as it is to get you back here for a visit.”

  His mom hadn’t intended it, he knew, but her gentle nudging only reminded him he shouldn’t be here now. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his family. He just didn’t enjoy coming back to his hometown. And this time, he didn’t want to think about the circumstances that had brought about his return. The disaster that had left him lying on a cold concrete floor next to his partner’s body.

  “I hope you won’t have to rush off too soon.”

  He had missed Thanksgiving by just a few days, and already both she and his dad had hinted they hoped he’d stick around for Christmas. He hadn’t had the heart to disillusion them. Hell, he didn’t have a reason. Yet.

  This enforced time away from the job could end in an instant. Before the holidays, he had appointments scheduled with both the surgeon who had patched up his knee and the department shrink who thought his mind needed some patching, too. Good reports from them would put him right back where he belonged.

  Bending down, he kissed her temple. “Let’s not get into my visits again right now, Mom, okay?”

  “Your lack of visits, you mean.” She shot him a glance from eyes the same shade of blue he’d inherited from her. Since he’d gotten his height from his dad, she had to reach up to rest her hand on his shoulder. “I’m worried about you, sweetheart. We’re all worried about you.”

  “Don’t be.” Unable to handle seeing her tears, he turned to grab a stalk of celery he had no taste for. “I’ll be fine in no time, just as soon as the last of the stitches dissolve.”

  Yeah, he’d be all fixed up and ready to get back to work.

  Nancy returned to chopping vegetables. “You had a call while you were out to SugarPie’s for coffee.”

  He tensed. “From the department?”

  She shook her head. “No, from Jed Garland. He heard you were back in town and wants you to get in touch.”

  He nodded. As with most of the guys from his high school, he had once worked as a wrangler on Garland Ranch. He hadn’t seen his old boss for a while...the same length of time he’d been away from his family. The look in Nancy’s eyes said she’d just had a similar thought. That, and knowing why he’d returned now, added fresh layers of guilt.

  “I’m surprised it took him this long to find out I’m back in town,” he said. “He’s usually right on top of everything that happens in Cowboy Creek. A regular old gossip, that’s Jed.”

  To his relief, his mother laughed. “Gossip and more. He’s in the matchmaking business now.”

  “What?”

  “They’ve restored the Hitching Post’s banquet hall and reopened the honeymoon cabins. Tina and Cole were married from the chapel in June. They’re planning to hold the first guest wedding there around Christmas.”

  “Jed, a matchmaker,” he said with a laugh. “Who’d have believed it? Then again, he’s always had a knack with people.” His former boss had always been there for him, too, especially in those days right out of school when Mitch felt he couldn’t talk to his dad. “I should stop by and check in with him.”

  “You certainly should. He’s eager to see you.” She set the vegetable platter in the refrigerator. “And when I saw Paz at the L-G Store yesterday, I promised her some of the surplus I’d canned from my garden last fall. Just give me a few minutes to box up a few jars, and you can take them along with you.”

  Fighting yet more guilt about his need for space from his family, he nodded. He knew how much they all loved him, but he had to have a break from seeing them tiptoeing through the house and talking in hushed voices, as if they were attending a wake.

  Yet why wouldn’t they act that way in his company?

  Thanks to him, a damned good cop was dead.

  * * *

  LATER THAT AFTERNOON, a warm one even for the tail end of November in New Mexico, Mitch parked near the barn on Garland Ranch. He found Jed Garland standing in the sunshine near the corral. As he loped across the yard toward his former boss, Jed smiled.

  Since he’d last seen him, the other man’s face had developed a few more wrinkles, and his hair had turned completely white. But he still had the same piercing blue eyes and the firmest handshake around.

  “Good to see you again, boy.” Jed’s fingers kept his trapped for another long beat before he let go.

  Mitch nodded. “You’re looking good yourself. So is the Hitching Post. I see you’ve made some changes around here.”

  “Yep. Got the signpost redone and the whole place painted.”

  “Yeah, my mom said you’re in the wedding business again.”

  “That we are.” Jed’s guileless expression put Mitch on alert. “We’ll be all set whenever you’re ready for our services.”

  “For a wedding?” Laughing, he shook his head. “Thanks, but I’m not the type to settle down.”

  “That’s not what you once said about staying in Cowboy Creek, though, is it? You’d always planned to follow in your dad and granddad’s footsteps and join the sheriff’s department—yet you went and became a big-city policeman.”

  “Yeah. I’m a big-time LA cop.” Mitch said the words with a hint of bitterness backed by the knowledge of how drastically his plans had changed.

  Jed nodded as if he’d read his mind, something he’d always been good at. Mitch found the trait much more disconcerting right this minute than he ever had years ago.

  Probably because now he had things to hide.

  “With your family’s connection to the sheriff’s department, I reckon it was a given you’d get involved in law enforcement even after you left town.”

  He nodded. “Upholding the family tradition.” As he’d always known he would.

  “Yep. Much as you liked horses and ranching, you never had a doubt about what you wanted to do.”

  “No.” He still hadn’t, but his decision now had repercussions he couldn’t bring himself to confess to his parents or Jed. His
long-held certainty, his downright arrogance that he could handle anything, had let him down when he’d needed it most. Clamping his jaws together, he hooked his biker boot on the lowest fence rung and stared across the corral.

  “Let me say, son, I’m sorry about your troubles.” Jed’s clap on his shoulder hadn’t lost any of its strength, either. “I can understand if you’re finding your recuperation painful in more ways than one.”

  His vocal cords seized up, overpowered by the lump in his throat. Looked as though his former boss was still here for him.

  Jed Garland was one mighty smart man, but he couldn’t know about all his doubts. No one could.

  Jed rested his forearms on the fence and linked his fingers together. “I’m sure you realize a man doesn’t reach success without some failure along the way.”

  “Yeah,” he said harshly, “but my failure resulted in someone dying.”

  “And in your line of work, you think that makes you stand out from the crowd?”

  He shot a glance toward the other man. “You’ve been talking to my dad.”

  “’Course I have.” Jed sighed. “I’m not saying what happened wasn’t a tragedy. I’m not saying it’s something you can ever shake off. But you’re too good a cop—too good a man—not to get past this.”

  Looking away again, Mitch gripped the rail and squinted into the lowering sun. The bright light made his eyes water.

  “Meanwhile,” Jed said, “it’s good you’ve come home.”

  “Temporarily.” He hoped he sounded convincing. He lived and breathed law enforcement, had done ever since he was a kid watching his dad and grandpa pinning their badges to their uniforms. There was nothing else he wanted to do with his life. Nothing else he could do.

  “You’ll have to hang around till Pete and Cole get in from the northern pastures. And Paz will have my hide if I don’t get you to stop in to see her. While you’re here, you can say hello to the girls.”

  “The girls?” He gripped the rail even harder.

  “Yeah. Tina started off handling the contractors for the upgrades to the Hitching Post, but Jane’s been helping out since she moved in a few months ago. And now we’ve got a wedding booked, Andi’s here to pitch in, too.”