The Christmas Stranger

by Beth Cornelison

  Then she saw it. In the snow, just over a yard from her feet. Hovering at the edge of the icy rock outcropping.

  Robert’s gun.

  Matt’s tackle or the impact of Robert’s fall had knocked the weapon from her brother-in-law’s hands.

  But as she edged toward the revolver, Robert struggled free of Matt’s grip and shoved to his feet. Turning, Robert narrowed a menacing look on her, followed the line of her gaze.

  And lunged for the gun.

  The weapon skittered over the edge, clattering on the rocks below.

  Landing on his back, Robert slid on the ice and scrambled to find traction. Holly gasped as his feet skidded off the edge, flailing over the sharp drop to the valley below.

  “Robert!” she screamed.

  In a blur of motion, Matt dove toward Robert. He grabbed for Robert’s coat, but only caught the hood. The snap-on hood pulled free of the coat, but in the split second that Matt’s grab slowed Robert’s fall, her brother-in-law snagged hold of Matt’s sleeve.

  Robert’s weight jerked Matt to the rim of the icy ledge.

  “No!” Holly’s strangled cry echoed off the trees, reverberating in the cold winter night.

  With all his strength, Matt planted the palm of his hand on the icy ledge, caught a ridge of rock and braced. Prayed.

  He slid a few more inches before stopping, hovering over the edge of the abyss. He peered down, into Robert’s panicked eyes.

  “Hold on!” he gritted through clenched teeth. “I’ll pull you up.”

  Matt took a second to assess the situation. With the slightest move, he could lose his handhold and careen over the edge with Robert.

  “Matt!” Holly crawled toward him, her own feet skidding and scrambling on the slick ice and snow.

  “Get back! It’s too dangerous.” The last thing he needed was Holly risking her neck to rescue him and falling to her death.

  She ignored him. Dropping to her bottom, she grabbed his legs and braced her heels to keep him from sliding farther toward the edge.

  “Randall,” Robert rasped.

  Matt found the man’s gaze again. But Robert’s expression was different.

  Calmer. Peaceful. Resigned.

  “Tell Jana I’m sorry.”

  A tingle of premonition prickled Matt’s nape.

  And Robert let go.

  Holly sucked in a sharp, sobbing breath. “Oh, God.”

  Free of Robert’s weight, Matt used his handhold to push safely back from the ledge. He pulled the flashlight from the waist of his jeans and, easing forward, shone the beam into the crevasse below.

  The unnatural angle of Robert’s neck attested that he hadn’t survived the fall. With a sigh, Matt snapped off the flashlight and scooted safely back from the edge.

  “Is he—?” Holly’s voice warbled, and he carefully drew her into his arms.

  “I’m sorry.” He absorbed the shudder that raced through her and squeezed her tighter. When she winced, he remembered the blood he’d seen. He jerked back, scanning her for injury. “I found blood in the snow. Where are you hurt—?”

  She tugged at her sleeve. “My arm. It hurts, but I don’t think it’s deep.”

  After helping her peel her coat off her shoulder, he flicked the flashlight back on to examine her wound, while her gaze drifted back toward the drop-off. She drew a quivering breath. “How do I tell Jana? Losing Robert will be hard enough for her without knowing what he did, how he—” She swiped at tears, beading on her cheeks. “He killed Ryan. By accident. But then he covered it up and—tried to frame you.”

  Matt raised his gaze to meet hers. “The truth will be hard for her to hear, but…you know better than anyone that healing can only start when you know the truth.”

  She nodded, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  As she’d thought, Holly had no more than a flesh wound, though she’d need stitches to close the gash. He dug in his pocket for her scarf and, his hands numb from the cold and shaking from post-adrenaline aftermath, wound it around her arm to staunch the bleeding. “When I heard that gunshot, I was so scared, Holly. Terrified that I was too late again. That I’d lost another woman I loved, because I hadn’t been there when you needed me—”

  Emotion rose in his throat to choke him, and she cupped his cheek with a cold hand.

  “You’ve been there every time I needed you. You’ve saved my life twice and…you’ve given me a reason to be happy again.”

  Matt’s breath stalled in his lungs. He searched her tearful gaze in the shimmer of moonlight. “I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for hurting you.”

  Wrinkling her nose and tilting her head, she drilled a piercing gaze on him. “Well, that’s a problem then. Because I forgive you. And I was hoping we could start over…with a clean slate.”

  Matt’s heart clenched, and he struggled for the breath to answer. “Hi. I’m Matt Randall. I’m a pediatrician. A widower. Father of two wonderful kids.” He sucked in a ragged breath and smiled. “And I love you, Holly.”

  Rising on her toes, she pressed a warm kiss to his lips. “I love you, too. So much.”

  Epilogue

  Christmas Eve—One year later

  “You look beautiful, Holly Noel.” Standing in the narthex of the Morgan Hollow Methodist Church as the pre-wedding music signaled the ceremony was ready to start, Neil Bancroft brushed a kiss on his middle daughter’s cheek and beamed at her proudly. “Are you sure Matt can’t set up his medical clinic in Lagniappe? I’d underwrite it, if it meant having my girl back home.”

  Holly twisted her lips in a crooked grin. “Thank you, Dad. But I’ve told you, Morgan Hollow is my home now. And getting the grant for the new clinic is a big deal for Matt, a new beginning. This is where we belong.”

  Neil pressed his lips in a taut line of resignation and nodded. “I just hate that my girls are all leaving the nest.” He sighed and glanced to the door of the sanctuary where Zoey and Paige were queued to walk down the aisle. “First you, now Zoey’s off roaming the country with that bum—”

  “Dad,” Holly scolded, “you promised.”

  He gave her an apologetic grin. “Well, at least Paige and Brent will be close by after they marry. One out of three is better than nothing.”

  The organ played the first notes of the processional, and Holly’s pulse kicked. She gave one last worried glance toward the front door of the church. Her specially invited guests hadn’t shown. Shoving aside her disappointment, she looped her arm through her father’s. “I think that’s our cue.”

  Paige waved Holly over impatiently. “Come on, Hol. It’s time!”

  “Like they can start without her,” Zoey said. “Chill, sis.”

  Holly grinned at her sisters, so opposite in personality yet both stunning in their Christmas green dresses. Beyond choosing Christmas Eve for the wedding, Holly had picked the dress color knowing it would complement both Zoey’s auburn hair and Paige’s raven tresses.

  Holly took a deep breath as she watched her sisters take their place at the front of the church, then hugged her father’s arm tightly as they started down the aisle. Only then did she steal a glimpse of her groom.

  Matt met her eyes, and the smile he sent her said so much. She read the depth of his love, the breadth of his happiness—and the hole in his heart, not having his children with him to share this day.

  Her heart ached for Matt, despite all the happiness they’d found together and the progress he’d made toward opening the new health clinic at the Community Aid Center.

  As she passed Jana, her sister-in-law gave her a bittersweet smile. The year had been rough for Jana, but she was healing, even dating again.

  With a final peck on the cheek from her father, Holly took her place beside Matt and laced her fingers with his.

  “Happy birthday,” he whispered.

  She blinked and grinned broadly. “With all the wedding events, I almost forgot.”

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to witness the marr
iage of Holly and Matthew,” the minister began, and Matt squeezed her fingers. “Marriage is a sacred union—”

  The crash of the narthex door interrupted the minister, and Holly jerked her gaze to the back of the church, hoping…praying.

  An older couple with two small children stood at the end of the middle aisle, glancing awkwardly about for a seat. Beside her, Holly felt Matt stiffen, draw a shaky breath.

  The older child, a girl, gasped as she looked toward the altar rail. “Daddy!”

  Matt dropped Holly’s hand and ran to swoop his daughter into his arms. “Palmer! Oh, God, I’ve missed you!” The emotion in Matt’s voice, the tears of joy streaming down his cheeks were the best wedding present, the best Christmas present Holly could have asked for.

  Clutching Palmer in his arms, he strode over to Jill’s parents and gathered Miles into his embrace as well. “Thank you,” he told them hoarsely.

  Jill’s mother cleared her throat. “Thank your bride. She’s the one who convinced us it was time to put hard feelings behind us and do what was right for Palmer and Miles. We’re returning custody to you and your new wife…if you’ll promise us visitation rights.”

  Matt shot a look of stunned disbelief to Holly before nodding to his in-laws. “Of course. Any time you want.”

  A happy murmur rippled through the congregation as more hugs were exchanged and Matt kissed both of his children’s heads over and over again.

  Holly waited patiently at the altar, tears streaking her makeup and her heart bursting with joy as she watched Matt’s reunion with his children.

  Finally, Zoey called to the back of the church, “Hey, Matt, did you forget something? Say…your wedding?”

  Matt laughed with the congregation and, one child in each arm, he marched back to the front of the church. Paige and Zoey each claimed one of Matt’s kids to hold as he turned back to Holly, wiping his wet cheeks with his palms.

  He tugged Holly close and captured her face between his hands. “You did this?” he whispered, his blue eyes bright with moisture and jubilance.

  She nodded, whispering back. “I’ve been in touch with Jill’s folks off and on for months, working toward a compromise, convincing them to give you a chance.”

  “But you never said anything to me—”

  “Because I didn’t know if I could change their minds. You’d been trying for years without luck, and until they walked into the church, I wasn’t sure what they’d decided about custody.”

  Matt looked past her to his children again, his expression stunned—but happier than she’d ever seen him. When his gaze shifted back to her, the love in his eyes flooded her with warmth and joy. “I have everything now. Because of you. How can I ever thank you?”

  She flashed him an impish grin. “Marry me?”

  Matt laughed and turned to the minister. “I think we’re ready now.”

  Holly clung tightly to Matt’s hands as they exchanged promises of forever love and faithfulness, and when the minister pronounced them man, wife…and family, Palmer and Miles rushed forward to join them.

  With his children bouncing excitedly beside him, Matt drew Holly close and sealed with a kiss the vows he’d made to his Christmas bride.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4133-0

  THE CHRISTMAS STRANGER

  Copyright © 2009 by Beth Cornelison

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  *The Bancroft Brides