Christmas in Cold Creek. RaeAnne Thayne

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ here?” He led her to a seven-foot Scotch pine with a nice, natural Christmas-tree shape.

      She gave the tree a considering sort of look. “I guess that would work.”

      â€œHere, you can help me cut it down then.” He fired up Ridge’s chain saw and guided his niece’s hands. Together they cut the tree down and Trace tied it to his own horse’s saddle.

      â€œI hope Gabrielle will love it. You’re going to take it to her tonight, right?” she demanded, proving once more that she was nothing like her selfish mother except in appearance. Destry was always thinking about other people and how she could help them, much like Trace’s mother, the grandmother she had never met.

      â€œI promise. But let’s get it down the hill first, okay?”

      â€œOkay.” Destry smiled happily.

      As they headed back toward River Bow Ranch while the sun finally slipped behind the western mountains, a completely ridiculous little bubble of excitement churned through him, like he was a kid waiting in line to see Santa Claus. He tried to tell himself he was only picking up on Destry’s anticipation at doing a kind deed for her friend, but in his heart Trace knew there was more to it.

      He wanted to see Becca Parsons again. Simple as that. The memory of her, slim and pretty and obviously uncomfortable around him, played in his head over and over. She was a mystery to him, that was all. He wanted only to get to know a few of her secrets and make sure she didn’t intend to cause trouble in his town.

      If anybody asked, that was his story and he was sticking to it.

      Chapter Three

      How did parents survive this homework battle day in and day out for years?

      Becca drew in a deep, cleansing breath in a fierce effort to keep from growling in frustration at her sister and smoothed the worksheet out in front of them. They had only four more math problems and one would think she was asking Gabi to rip out her eyelashes one by one instead of just finish a little long division.

      â€œWe’re almost done, Gab. Come on. You can do it.”

      â€œOf course I can do it.” Though she was a foot and a half shorter than Becca, Gabi still somehow managed to look down her nose at her. “I just don’t see why I have to.”

      â€œBecause it’s your homework, honey, that’s why.” Becca tried valiantly for patience. “If you don’t finish it, you’ll receive a failing grade in math.”

      â€œAnd?”

      Becca curled her fingers into fists. Her sister was ferociously bright but had zero motivation, something Becca found frustrating beyond belief considering how very hard she had worked at school, the brief times she had been enrolled. In those days, she would rather have been the one ripping out her eyelashes herself rather than miss an assignment.

      Not that her overachieving ways and conscientious study habits had gotten her very far.

      She gazed around at the small, dingy house with its old-fashioned wallpaper and the water stains on the ceiling. She had a sudden memory of her elegant town house in an exclusive gated Scottsdale community, trim and neat with its chili-pepper-red door and the matching potted yucca plants fronting the entry. She suddenly missed her house with a longing that bordered on desperation. She would never have that place back. Her mother had effectively taken it from her, just like she’d taken so many other things.

      She pushed away her bitterness. She had made her own choices. No one had forced her to sell her town house and use the equity to pay back her mother’s fraud victims. She could have taken her chances that she might have been able to slither out of the mess Monica had left her with her career—if not her reputation—intact.

      Again, not the issue here. She was as bad as Gabi, letting her mind wander over paths she could no longer change.

      â€œIf you flunk out of fourth grade, my darling sister, I’ll have to homeschool you and we both know I’ll be much tougher on you than any public school teacher. Come on. Four more questions.”

      Gabi gave a heavy sigh and picked up her pencil again, apparently tired of pitting her formidable will against Becca’s. She finished the problems without any noticeable effort and then set down her pencil.

      â€œThere. Are you happy now?”

      As Becca expected, her sister finished the problems perfectly. “See, that wasn’t so tough, now, was it?”

      Gabi opened her mouth to answer but before she could get the words out, the doorbell rang, making them both jump. The sudden hope that leapt into Gabi’s eyes broke Becca’s heart. She wanted to hug her, tell her all over again that Monica wasn’t likely to come back.

      â€œI’ll get it,” the girl said quickly, and disregarding all Becca’s strictures about basic safety precautions, she flung open the door.

      If ever a girl needed to heed stranger danger, it was now, Becca thought with a spurt of panic at the sight of the Pine Gulch chief of police standing on her doorstep. Trace Bowman looked dark and dangerous in the twilight and all her self-protective instincts ramped up into high gear.

      Gabi looked disappointed for only a moment before she hid her emotions behind impassivity and eased away from the door to let Becca take the lead.

      â€œChief Bowman,” she finally murmured. “This is … unexpected.”

      Not to mention unfortunate, unwelcome, unwanted.

      â€œI know. Sorry to barge in like this but I’ve been charged with an important mission.”

      She glanced at Gabi and saw a flicker of curiosity in her sister’s eyes.

      The police chief seemed to be concealing something out of sight of the doorway but she couldn’t tell what it was from this angle.

      â€œWhat sort of mission?” Becca was unsuccessful in keeping her wariness from her voice.

      â€œWell, funny story. My niece, Destry, apparently is in the same school class as your daughter.”

      She couldn’t correct his misstatement since she was the one who had perpetrated the lie. She shot a quick look at Gabi, willing her to keep her mouth shut. At the same time, she realized how rude she must appear to the police chief, keeping him standing on the sagging porch. She ought to invite him inside but she really didn’t want him in her space. On the porch was still too close.

      â€œYes, Gabi’s mentioned Destry.”

      â€œShe’s a great kid. Always concerned about those she counts as friends.”

      And he was telling her this why, exactly? She smiled politely, hoping he would get to the point and then ride off into the sunset on his trusty steed. Or maybe that pickup truck she could see parked in the driveway.

      To her surprise, he appeared slightly uncomfortable. She thought she detected a hint of color on his cheekbones and СКАЧАТЬ