A Ranger for Christmas Read online

  No romance on the job!

  Arizona park ranger Vivian Hollister is not having a holiday fling with Sawyer Whitehorse—no matter how attracted she is to her irresistible new partner. Not only is a workplace romance taboo, she has a daughter to raise. So why is she starting to feel that the Apache ranger is the one to help carry on her family legacy? A man to have and to hold forever...

  “Stella Bagwell is a master of the cowboy romance.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller

  A hard gust of wind suddenly whipped across the ledge and caused Vivian to sway on her feet. Sawyer swiftly caught her by the arm and pulled her back to his side.

  “Careful,” he warned. “I wouldn’t want you to topple over the edge.”

  With his hand on her arm and his sturdy body shielding her from the wind, she felt very warm and protected. And for one reckless moment, she wondered how it would feel to rise up on the tips of her toes and press her mouth to his. Would his lips taste as good as she imagined?

  Shaken by her runaway thoughts, she tried to make light of the moment. “That would be awful,” she agreed. “Mort would have to find you another partner.”

  “Yeah, and she might not be as cute as you.”

  With a little laugh of disbelief, she stepped away from his side. “Cute? I haven’t been called that since I was in high school. I’m beginning to think you’re nineteen instead of twenty-nine.”

  He pulled a playful frown at her. “You prefer your men to be old and somber?”

  “I prefer them to keep their minds on their jobs,” she said staunchly. “And you are not my man.”

  His laugh was more like a sexy promise.

  “Not yet.”

  MEN OF THE WEST:

  Whether ranchers or lawmen,

  these heartbreakers can ride, shoot—

  and drive a woman crazy...

  Dear Reader,

  I’m excited to recommend another Harlequin Special Edition book this month to encourage readers to discover these compelling contemporary romances. This series has always been a personal favorite. The heroes and heroines are dynamic and relatable, trying their best to resist their attraction to each other while resolving the conflict that keeps them apart. But the undeniable chemistry that simmers between them cannot be denied. These books will pull you in and take you on an emotional and satisfying journey. Each story ends with a marriage proposal or wedding—delivering the happily-ever-after, because the love and security of family is the ultimate promise of Special Edition.

  Stella Bagwell is a master of the cowboy romance. Her long-running Men of the West miniseries has delighted readers for a decade with her rugged, intense heroes and equally amazing heroines. And A Ranger for Christmas is a great, holiday-filled place to start!

  December has arrived in Yavapai County, which means the Hollisters of Three Rivers Ranch are getting Christmas celebrations on their minds. As for Vivian, a local park ranger and the eldest daughter of the family, she has more than gift buying and tree trimming on her holiday agenda. Until she begins working with her new partner, Sawyer Whitehorse. Tall, dark and sexy, Sawyer rarely meets a woman he doesn’t like, and he definitely takes a liking to Vivian. No matter that she’s a ranching heiress and six years older than him, or that she’s divorced and raising a daughter of her own.

  I hope you enjoy A Ranger for Christmas, and have a warm holiday season.

  All the best,

  Linda Lael Miller

  A Ranger for Christmas

  Stella Bagwell

  After writing more than eighty books for Harlequin, Stella Bagwell still finds it exciting to create new stories and bring her characters to life. She loves all things Western and has been married to her own real cowboy for forty-four years. Living on the south Texas coast, she also enjoys being outdoors and helping her husband care for the horses, cats and dog that call their small ranch home. The couple has one son, who teaches high school mathematics and is also an athletic director. Stella loves hearing from readers. They can contact her at [email protected].

  Books by Stella Bagwell

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Men of the West

  Her Man on Three Rivers Ranch

  The Arizona Lawman

  Her Kind of Doctor

  The Cowboy’s Christmas Lullaby

  His Badge, Her Baby...Their Family?

  Her Rugged Rancher

  Christmas on the Silver Horn Ranch

  Daddy Wore Spurs

  The Lawman’s Noelle

  Montana Mavericks: The Lonelyhearts Ranch

  The Little Maverick Matchmaker

  Montana Mavericks: The Great Family Roundup

  The Maverick’s Bride-to-Order

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

  Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!

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  With much love to my brother, Charles Cook,

  and my sister-in-law, Denise Cook.

  Contents

  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

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from The Firefighter’s Christmas Reunion by Christy Jeffries

  Chapter One

  “How many times do I have to tell you, Mort? I don’t need another partner. I’ve got this.”

  Park ranger Vivian Hollister rose from a wooden chair and began to pace around her supervisor’s small office. Beyond the open blinds, she could see the parking lot in front of the headquarters building was empty. Her fellow rangers had already headed out to patrol their allotted areas, while she’d been ordered to remain behind for a private meeting with Mort.

  “Look, Viv, I’ll be the first to admit that you’re damned good at your job. You’ve been here at Lake Pleasant for a long time and I’ve never had to worry about you slacking off, or making a wrong decision about handling problems. But—”

  Vivian didn’t allow him to finish. “But what? I’ve been here nine years, Mort. Going on ten. And by that length of time, you should know I have the routine down. Why bother bringing someone in to fill Louis’s place when I can handle the job on my own?”

  The sixty-year-old man with red hair was tall and rawboned, with blue eyes that crinkled at the corners. He’d been Vivian’s supervisor from the day she’d been hired on at Lake Pleasant State Park in Arizona. Since then, he’d not only been a great boss, but he’d also become her friend, and she’d expected him to understand her reluctance to work long days with a stranger. Instead, his patient smile made it clear she was wasting time trying to argue her point.

  “If Louis was only going to miss a day or two of work, I’d say fine, Viv. Go ahead and handle it on your own. But at the very least, it’s going to be four to six months before Louis’s broken leg will be ready for work again. And with the Christmas holiday coming up, the park is going to be brimming with extra campers. Like it or not, you’re going to need help.”

  Vivian’s jaw dropped as she turned to stare at her boss. “Six months! I talked to Louis over the phone yesterday morning. He told me he’d be back at work in two or three weeks!”

  Mort shook his head. “That was before the doctor discovered the tibia bone in Louis’s leg was more than a stress fracture. It’s going to require surgery to fix it. If things go well and Louis takes care of himself, he’ll be back to work by spring.”

  Vivian stifled a groan. Today was the second day of December. Spring seemed like eons away. She couldn’t survive without Louis for that length of time.

  Completely deflated by this turn of events, Vivian wilted into the chair she’d vacated moments earlier. “Oh, no,” she muttered. “Six months. Poor Louis.”

  “No need to worry about Louis. While he’s laid up Inez will spoil him rotten. It’s filling his spot here at work that’s my concern right now.” Mort glanced at a large clock positioned on the wall to his right. “And I’d say your new partner should be arriving any minute now.”

  His unexpected announcement caused Vivian to bounce up from the chair. “This morning? Now? Are you kidding me?”

  Mort was about to make some sort of reply when a knock had Vivian whirling away from the supervisor’s desk to stare in horror-like fascination at the door. How could he have sprung such a surprise on her? Why hadn’t he warned her that she’d be meeting a new partner today? At the very least, she would’ve had time to mentally prepare herself.

  “Come in,” Mort called out.

  With her hands behind her, Vivian unconsciously wrapped her fingers around the edge of Mort’s desk in an effort to brace herself. Man or woman, young or old, this couldn’t be good, she thought. Louis was the only partner she’d ever had. He’d always been like a father figure to her and she trusted him implicitly. She didn’t want to share long working hours with a stranger.

  She sensed Mort rising from his desk chair, but after that everything in the room suddenly faded, except for the man walking through the doorway. Even if she’d had time to think, he was like nothing she could’ve imagined for a partner.

  Somewhere in his late twenties, he was tall and lean, with bronze skin, blue-black hair and black eyes hooded beneath a pair of black brows. High cheekbones and a hawkish nose dominated his angular features, yet it was the faint curve of his thin lips that caught and held her attention.

  Who was this man? Rangers from other areas of the state sometimes visited Lake Pleasant headquarters, but if this man had been one of them, she would’ve definitely remembered. Just looking at him made her feel hot all over.

  “Sawyer, good to see you,” Mort greeted as he went to shake the man’s hand. “And right on time, too.”

  “Nice to see you again, Mr. Woolsey,” he said as he gave Mort’s hand a hearty pump. “I had planned to be here earlier, but a rancher on the res decided this morning was a good time for a cattle drive down the highway.”

  “No worries about the time. And you needn’t bother with the Mr. Woolsey. Just call me Mort, like everyone else around here. Except for Viv. She calls me Mort, plus a few other things I’d rather not repeat,” he joked, then motioned for Vivian to join them. “Come here, Viv, and let me introduce you to your new partner.”

  Certain she’d suddenly walked into some sort of hazy dream, Vivian drew in a deep breath and forced herself to move toward the two men.

  “Viv, this is Sawyer Whitehorse. He’ll be working with you until Louis is back on his feet. And, Sawyer, this is Vivian Hollister.”

  The man flashed a smile at her and extended his hand. Vivian fought off the urge to wipe her sweaty palm on the hip pocket of her twill pants and offered him her hand.

  “It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hollister,” he said. “From what I hear, it’s going to be tough trying to fill Louis’s shoes. But I’ll do my best.”

  In spite of the cold weather outside, his hand felt as warm as a sunbaked rock and just as hard.

  “Hello, Mr. Whitehorse. I—uh, didn’t learn until just a moment before you walked in that I was getting a new partner. But now that you’re here, welcome to Lake Pleasant State Park. I hope you’ll enjoy your time here.”

  As he was still hanging on to her hand, his smile deepened and Vivian didn’t miss the dimple carving his right cheek. Was there anything unattractive about the man? she wondered. So far she’d not seen it.

  Beneath the hunter green jacket with ranger patches adorning the upper arms, she could see that his shoulders were very broad, while his chest narrowed down to a trim waist. The trousers of his matching green uniform hugged narrow hips and long muscled thighs that evoked images of strength and stamina.

  Darn it. Sawyer Whitehorse was wearing the same uniform that every other park ranger at Lake Pleasant wore, so why did he make it look so downright sexy?

  He said, “Thank you, Ms. Hollister. I’m looking forward to it.”

  Seemingly pleased with this new pairing of employees, Mort grinned. “Don’t you two think you ought to lighten things up and make it Vivian and Sawyer? The park guests might find it a bit odd to hear you addressing each other as Ms. and Mr.”

  “That’s fine with me,” Sawyer said with another wide grin aimed at Vivian.

  Was that a gleam in his dark eyes? Dear Lord, what was this man thinking? Didn’t he realize she was several years older than him? Besides that, she was going to be his working partner for the next six months, not a sex object.

  “Please call me Vivian,” she said, while purposely extricating her hand from his warm grip.

  “Well, that’s better,” Mort said with approval. “I think—” Before he could finish, the phone on his desk rang. “Excuse me. This call is important. You two don’t need me to tell you what to do. Viv, show him around and get him acquainted with everything.”

  Mort left them to go deal with the phone call and Vivian walked over to fetch her jacket and hat from a hall tree standing near the front entrance of the office.

  As she started to jam her arm into the sleeve, Sawyer quickly came up behind her to assist her with the garment. As his hands smoothed the fabric over her shoulders, an odd flutter attacked the pit of her stomach.

  None of her fellow rangers had ever done such a gentlemanly thing for her. To them she was no different just because she was a female. And that was the way she wanted it. Until this moment. Until Sawyer Whitehorse had walked through the door with his long, lean body and sinfully sexy grin. Something about this man treating her like a lady made her feel ridiculously special.

  Get a grip, Viv. You haven’t had a man on your mind in years. You sure don’t need to let yourself start thinking about this one. He’s nothing but tall trouble.

  “Thanks,” she murmured, then turned to face him. “Are you ready to head out, or is there anything you need to deal with here at headquarters first?”

  “I’m ready. Just lead the way.”

  When he’d first walked through the door, she’d thought his eyes were black like his hair. But now that she was up close, she could see they were the color of a rich coffee bean polished to a warm brown hue. The lashes surrounding them were thick and black and matched the brows that were presently arched with something very close to amusement.

  Vivian levered her hat over her long, chestnut hair and tightened the stampede string beneath her chin. “I hope Mort told you that I rarely come back to headquarters for lunch. Mine and Louis’s section of the park is too far away to waste the time and gas. I hope you brought something with you.”

  “It’s in my vehicle. I usually try to think ahead.”

  He jammed his hat onto his head, then opened the door and gestured for her to precede him. As Vivian brushed past him, she caught the faint scent of soap and sage and some other spicy scent that was uniquely male. The fragrance evoked images of wild wilderness and making love next to a low-burning campfire.

  Oh, my, where did that kind of erotic thought come from? And how was she possibly going to survive one day with Sawyer Whitehorse? Much less four to six months?