The Strong Family Romance Collection

by Cami Checketts

  Rushing into the side door of her brother Gavin’s spacious garage, she found the snowshoes and headed outside to strap them on. She left the poles, not liking carrying something extra.

  When she’d first met Jed, she’d been immediately drawn in by his bright blue eyes, forming the sort of connection she hadn’t felt with a man since Kellen. She reminded herself of the way things had ended with Kellen to try to keep from being interested in Jed. Not that it mattered if she was drawn to Jed. From what she understood, he had planned to fly back to Park City in Heath’s private jet yesterday evening, around the same time that Heath had headed for the Denver airport to catch a commercial flight to London. She’d overheard Jed and Heath’s pilot arguing with her brother, but Heath had been insistent that he didn’t want his pilot, Gary, to miss Christmas with his family and that he’d be fine. She worried about her brother. Heath hadn’t flown commercial in a while. He was in for a miserable couple of days trying to get flights and living in airports until he made it to England and Hazel.

  She slid into the snowshoes, secured them, and started across Gavin’s backyard. A little exercise in the winter landscape was exactly what she needed this morning. As she spent her life on one humanitarian mission or another, she very rarely got the solace she craved. She was dedicated to giving her life to help children across the globe and only occasionally wished for this. She glanced back at Gavin’s huge, gorgeous house and then forward at the trail winding through pine trees covered in snow. She was deluding herself. She ached for this all the time—family, safety, and quiet—but her path was set and she couldn’t be selfish enough to detour.

  Pacing herself, she made her way steadily up the trail toward the lake. It had been packed down really well. If she’d gotten the story right, this was where Hazel had been abducted yesterday. Cassie wasn’t very concerned about that happening to her; she had her Sabre red pepper spray gel, which was police strength and could allegedly shoot up to eighteen feet. In reality, it was more like ten, but that was enough. With a fresh canister on her at all times and her training in self-defense, she had fended off people who wanted her wallet or just wanted to hurt someone. She’d be fine here. The men who’d abducted Hazel were either dead or in prison, and Cassie was currently in one of the safest spots on the planet.

  She reached the lake and didn’t slow down, planning to bypass it and make her way up the mountain on one of the unbroken trails. It would be a fabulous workout and give her the chance to be in God’s most beautiful creation. When she reached one of the peaks, she’d say more prayers of gratitude. As it was, she simply murmured, “Thank you, Lord, for a healthy body, a semi-sane mind, and your beautiful creations.”

  As she made her way around the lake, she looked across its frozen beauty. Numerous cuts in the ice showed somebody had been skating on it. She’d heard that Jag Parros, the famous NHL star, was back in the valley for Christmas. He’d always loved this lake and had quite possibly been up here. More likely, her ten-year-old brother, Austin, had dragged their oldest brother, Gavin, up here for extra practice. Austin was adorable, and they all struggled not to spoil him. Gavin was his hockey coach, and the little man was certain he’d be the next Jag Parros.

  A man strode out of the trees across the lake, coming down from the mountainside. Cassie’s eyes widened and she let out a little yelp of surprise. Quickly ascertaining it wasn’t one of her brothers, she turned to hurry back down the trail to the house when her mind registered exactly who the stranger was. Detective Jed Beckham. No!

  “Cassie!” he called out, sounding happy and excited about the run-in.

  Cassie didn’t want to be rude, but only a very obnoxious part of her wanted to be alone with this handsome man. That part was an irrational voice that she tried very hard to never listen to. That part never kept her, or her heart, in safe spaces.

  She turned back reluctantly and raised a hand in greeting. He was on snowshoes as well, and he hurried around the lake to greet her. She debated fleeing down the trail, but she still had to get her workout in and she wanted to explore this pristine wilderness. She could greet him coolly, figure out what in the world he was still doing here when he should be back in Park City, and then hurry up the trail. He’d obviously already been going for a while if he was coming down from the mountain, so there was no reason for them to stomp through the snow together.

  Her stomach gave a little hitch as he approached. Why did this hard-nosed detective have to have a face crafted by the angels, and why did those bright blue eyes light her up from the inside out?

  “Hey,” he said as he approached. “It’s great to see you.” He grinned as if they were old friends, as if during their one interaction she hadn’t yelled at him and then turned turkey and run so she didn’t throw herself at him.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, flexing her fingers in her gloves. As she stopped moving, she felt chilled and disjointed. At the same time, his warm gaze and her unrealistic feelings of attraction had her plenty hot. The contrast was enough to make her feel decidedly unsettled. She hated that. She’d been so uncertain of herself and so trusting in others when she’d done her first humanitarian mission weeks after high school graduation. Over the years she’d learned how to be assertive, keep herself safe, and never let anyone intimidate her. Jed didn’t really intimidate her, though she could see how he could be seen that way with his strong, tall frame. She simply felt flustered around him. For some reason, he made her want to be the trusting, innocent girl she’d once been. That wasn’t going to happen.

  His welcoming smile faltered at her cold reception, which was good. Very good. She didn’t want to call that smile back, or she might melt into a puddle of longing right here in the snow, begging the gorgeous Jed Beckham to please have mercy on her heart. She tilted her chin up and folded her arms across her chest. She wasn’t afraid of him, even without using her pepper spray or her self-defense tactics; she knew any friend of Heath’s would be an impressive person and a respecter of women. Though she’d called Jed a bully the first time she’d met him, she could sense he was a good man.

  “I asked Heath if I could spend Christmas with your family.” His smile was meeker now, like he was begging for her approval and hoping she wanted him to spend Christmas with them.

  Cassie’s breath hitched. She stumbled backwards, tripped over either the huge snowshoes or a log or something, and landed on her butt in the snow, dizzy as she imagined what such a Christmas would be like. They would snuggle by one of the Christmas trees and fires either at Mama’s or Gavin’s, and then they’d go snowshoeing together, skiing together, ice skating together, anything together. They would sneak kisses under the mistletoe. Her face flamed red, and she wanted to run.

  Jed quickly crossed the distance, bent down, wrapped his hands around her waist, and lifted her to her feet. Her fitted running shirt was an ineffective barrier, allowing her to feel the gentle pressure of Detective Jed Beckham’s touch. His bare hands were strong and large enough to make her feel all feminine and desirable, dwarfing her smaller waist.

  She was back on her feet, but for some unfathomable reason, he did not remove his hands; they lingered on her waist, sending fire shooting through her where they touched. Cassie was standing much too close to him, and both of them were breathing as if they’d just run a hundred-yard dash.

  She should have asked him to remove his hands or figured out why he was spending Christmas with her family. Heath was currently flying across the country and then the ocean, on one of the busiest travel days of the year, and Jed didn’t even know the rest of the family. Why on earth would he want to stay here and how on earth was she going to keep from falling for him?

  None of those questions came out. Instead, she stared into his incredibly blue eyes and breathlessly asked, “Where are your gloves?”

  Jed glanced down at his hands and then back up at her. “In my back pocket,” he answered. “I got warm breaking new trail up the mountain.”

  Cassie nodded
and then tried to shuffle backwards. He caught the hint and finally dropped his hands. They were still standing much too close for comfort. She shook her head; that was silly. She barely knew the man, and his hypnotic eyes were no match for her self-determination. Good-looking men were not for her, and she would never settle down with a man anyway. She couldn’t entertain visions of dating anyone, especially not a police detective from a small, wealthy town in the Rocky Mountains. That was the opposite of her life mission.

  She folded her arms over her chest to try to create another barrier, but she didn’t dare back away and end up on her rear again. She’d thought she was pretty proficient on snowshoes, but it’d been a while since she’d been in snow. Most of her travels had her throughout South America, the Caribbean, and sometimes Africa. She was usually sweating, not chilled. Jed’s gorgeous eyes had her sweating aplenty. Oh, stop, she chided herself.

  “Why would you want to spend Christmas with our family?” she demanded.

  Jed’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t comment on her rudeness. Heath or Mama would say plenty if they were here. “I thought maybe I could remedy your opinion of me.”

  Now it was her turn for her eyebrows to go up. She wasn’t touching that one, so she said, “I thought you were going back to Park City on Heath’s plane last night.”

  “I was able to do the needed paperwork at the FBI’s office in Denver, and my chief gave me the next nine days off for the holidays and for solving a huge case. Remember the cousin who was attacked and in the coma?”

  She nodded. The news had put out a story that Hazel had pushed Brigham London’s cousin down the stairs, but later it became apparent that the real attacker was the mafia-affiliated Brigham.

  “He gave the investigators all kinds of names yesterday, and dozens of arrests were made, including some in our own department. Chief’s feeling like we busted open a huge crime ring, and he and I deserved a break.” He smiled. “So I asked Heath if I could stay here for my vacation, and he and Gavin were more than happy to make it happen.”

  “Where are you staying?” She felt weak and shaky. This was her one respite from her tough and demanding reality, and she did not want to spend it avoiding this intriguing man.

  “Gavin’s house.”

  Cassie closed her eyes and willed it to not be true. He must’ve arrived later last night, after she and Ella were back at Mama and Papa’s, chatting late into the night. Oh my, oh my. She and her twin, Ella, were staying at Mama and Papa’s, and all of the boys, including Ella’s fiancé, Trey, were over at Gavin’s huge new house. Jed would be welcomed into the family and be part of every activity. “Do you ski?” she demanded.

  “I can hold my own.” His appealing smile suggested that he was amazing at it.

  “Ice skate?” She tilted her head to the lake.

  “Never tried it.” He leaned in closer and said in a deep timbre, “I think you might need to teach me that one.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened at the appeal in his voice. As if he was asking her to teach him something much more intimate than ice skating. She was not teaching this man anything, nothing at all. Despite her determination, stupid visions started going through her mind: they would skate around the lake, fall and land in each other’s arms, and his blue eyes would captivate her as he leaned in for a kiss … No! “Sorry,” she managed to mumble. “I’m a horrible teacher.”

  He simply smiled at her as if he knew exactly where her rogue thoughts were taking her.

  “Why would you even want to spend Christmas with us? Heath’s gone, and I doubt he’ll make it back anytime soon. Don’t you have your own family who wants to see you?”

  The light and warmth in Jed’s eyes dimmed. He was the one stepping back now. He muttered, “Are you heading back down the trail or going up?”

  “Up,” she said. Guilt and worry plagued her gut. He didn’t have a family. He would’ve been alone for Christmas. As a natural nurturer, she wanted everyone to have the happiness that she’d known growing up. It hurt deep inside to realize that Jed hadn’t had a childhood like hers. Yet if that was true, why had he given that little boy, Will, such a hard time a few months ago when she’d first met them both? Crazily enough, she hadn’t been able to get either one of them out of her thoughts. Jed’s blue eyes and handsome face had even appeared in her dreams.

  She tilted her chin to him and hurried around him, plowing her way across the trail and then darting between some trees to head up the mountainside. She needed distance from Jed Beckham, and she needed it now. She shouldn’t want to know his story, want to comfort him, want to feel those firm lips on her own. Rolling her eyes at herself, she upped her pace, even though it was difficult with the deeper snow. The faster she went, the harder she tried to push the desire for Jed out of her mind. Unfortunately, she got out of breath and sweaty from her exertion, but it did nothing to relieve her of her Jed demons.

  Jed watched Cassie stride determinedly away from him. For the past few minutes, his life had been touched again by light and joy, thanks to the woman placed right in front of him on this snowy trail. After he’d met her that fateful day in Park City, he’d changed. He’d kept a better watch on Will and other boys in that situation, buying them food and playing games of basketball or soccer with them. He’d been happier and more optimistic about the future. Most of all, he’d looked forward to the day that he’d run into Cassandra Strong again. Yesterday, she’d avoided him, and he’d been too busy finishing up the case to do anything about it. Today, she was right here. Her long, dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but it still swished across her back like a fan, drawing his attention to all the curves her fitted workout clothes displayed.

  He forced himself to look away and not ogle her. She was gorgeous; there was no doubt about that. As he’d held her tiny waist in his hands a few moments ago and her deep brown eyes had locked on to his, he’d felt that connection all through him. He’d had a flicker—no, a roaring fire of hope that she could forgive him for his hardness and their awkward interaction in September. He’d wondered if she could feel even a hundredth of the light and happiness he felt around her. He was doubting that now.

  He should go back down the trail and get in the shower of the spacious bathroom attached to the bedroom Gavin was so generously letting him use during his stay. Gavin had told him there’d be a family breakfast at their mama’s house, and then they were all going snow-skiing. Jed had looked forward to being part of a large family and he loved to ski, but the person he’d dreamed of spending time with wasn’t thawing toward him.

  Would he be intruding on their family Christmas? Without Heath here, he didn’t know anyone very well, but his reception from the men in the family had been great last night. Gavin, Trey, Stetson, and the hilarious little brother, Austin, were all great guys, and they’d bonded over a college football bowl game with Florida State and Auburn last night. They’d bickered over who would win, razzing each other, and Austin had taken it good-naturedly when his team, Auburn, came up the losers.

  Jed’s eyes were drawn to where Cassie had disappeared between the thick trees. He found himself slowly following her. He probably shouldn’t be chasing her, but how could he resist? He was a natural protector, and she was a smaller woman navigating the mountains on her own. What if she ran into a bear or a mountain lion? He smiled to himself, knowing that both species were probably in hibernation. Yet at this very spot just yesterday, Hazel Longhurst had been attacked. It might seem peaceful and untouched by man’s ugliness, but you never knew.

  From what Heath said, though, this woman had traveled the world and dealt with people in more countries than Jed could identify on a map. She probably didn’t need his protection. It was crazy, as he hardly knew her, but he hadn’t stopped thinking about her for months and felt this driving need to grow closer to her. If only there was a possibility of talking her into needing him. He’d do anything to get to know his dream woman.

  Chapter Two

  Cassie pushed hard, and when she
reached one of the lower mountain peaks, she took a break. Gazing around at the incredible view—a snowy slope rolling down past her family’s homes, through the valley below, and then to the mountains beyond that—she shared her prayers of gratitude and breathed deeply of the fresh air. After drinking in the peace that this remote spot of earth offered to her, she forced herself to head back down. The downhill trip was much easier, not only because of the decline, but also because she’d already broken trail.

  She was about halfway to the lake when suddenly she heard movement and caught a glimpse of something unnatural through the trees. Maybe a blue shirt or coat? Would Jed have followed her? She’d been so focused on his eyes that she couldn’t remember what he’d been wearing. A trace of fear darted through her. Hazel had been attacked by the lake just yesterday. Cassie thought all those men had been apprehended, but what if they hadn’t? Ella had a couple of nasty encounters on this very trail with a man who’d been staying at the lodge last summer. Cassie hated thinking she wasn’t as safe here at home as she wanted to believe.

  She debated turning around and heading back up the mountain, but that wouldn’t ensure her safety; it would strand her in a position no better than her current one. Even as she reminded herself that this was her happy valley, she remembered all the times that men in different countries had come after her, especially when they would steal her wallet or give her scrapes and bruises. In many countries like Ecuador, a woman even making eye contact with a man was considered an invitation. She’d been naïve and trusting when she’d first started doing her missions, but now she was not. She had trained and prepared herself and made certain to never be alone, yet here she was: alone and dumb.