A Cowboy for Christmas Read online

  If Chance allowed his eyes to dip lower, he knew he would see the faint shadow between the slight swell of her breasts. But he didn’t allow himself that pleasure. It had been a long time since he’d been interested in a woman, physically or otherwise. He certainly wasn’t going to let a total stranger change his habits.

  “I called the wrecker service,” he told her. “It will probably be tomorrow afternoon before they can get your car to you.”

  Her dark eyes jerked up to his and Chance was taken aback by the desperation he saw in them.

  “Tomorrow afternoon!” she gasped. “But that’s—I have to be gone before then!”

  Chance exchanged glances with Doc, who’d also noticed the frantic sound in her voice.

  “Why?” Chance asked. “Do you have a family emergency?”

  Lucinda was in an emergency all right. But it had nothing to do with family and everything to do with getting as far away from Chicago as she could possibly get.

  “I don’t have any family,” she said.

  Chance had long considered himself tough hided and he intended to stay that way. As far as he was concerned, getting sentimental and soppy made a person vulnerable. But hearing Lucinda say she had no family tore right into him. A beautiful little thing like her surely had folks out there somewhere who loved and looked after her.

  “You don’t have anyone you need to notify and let know you’re safe?”

  Lucinda shook her head, wondering what Chance would think if he knew she’d just severed all ties with the only home and friends she’d ever had.

  “No,” she told him. “I have a friend who’s expecting to hear from me tomorrow or the next day. But that’s all.”

  Dr. Campbell eased her foot back onto the bed and stood up. “Well, you’re going to need to take it easy on that foot for the next few days. It isn’t broken, but the tendons around your ankle have had a pretty nasty wrenching.”

  Now that she knew her foot wasn’t actually broken, getting back on the road was her major concern. “How soon will I be able to drive?” she asked him.

  “I wouldn’t advise it for two or three days. Even then I certainly wouldn’t drive for long hours. Keeping your foot in that same downward position will only cause it to swell and ache.”

  What little bit of hope Lucinda had been desperately trying to hold on to vanished with the doctor’s warning. What was she going to do now? The nearest town with a motel was Hereford and that was probably a good twenty miles back toward Amarillo. Even if she had her car and was able to drive, the roads were probably already becoming impassable.

  Dr. Campbell moved to the nightstand and poured a small amount of brandy into one of the glasses. “Drink this,” he ordered, handing it to Lucinda. “And try to relax. In a few minutes Chance can find you some good old-fashioned aspirin for your pain.”

  Lucinda thanked him, then took a careful sip of the brandy.

  Satisfied that his patient was going to follow his orders, the doctor left the room. However, the moment he was out of sight, Lucinda sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  The authoritative tone in his voice took her by surprise. As Dr. Campbell had said, Chance might be the top dog here on the D Bar D, but he definitely wasn’t her boss. After the torment Richard had put her through, she wasn’t going to take any man’s orders.

  “I’m getting up. I’ve got to figure out how to get to a motel.” She took one last sip of the brandy, then placed the glass on the nightstand. “Surely some of your guests will be going home soon. Perhaps I could catch a ride with them to the nearest town?”

  His mouth compressed to a disapproving line. “Most of the ones who live in town have already gone home. The rest are ranchers who live even farther out. Besides, with weather like this, I’m sure all the motel rooms around here are already filled.”

  And you should have thought about all of this earlier, his expression said. Well, maybe she should have known better than to keep driving after dark and straight into a snowstorm, Lucinda thought, but her predicament wasn’t entirely her fault. She wasn’t familiar with Texas or its violent weather.

  “Then what do you suggest?” she asked.

  Before he could answer, her face brightened with another thought. “Could you get my car out of the ditch? I’d pay you double what a wrecker service would charge.”

  That desperate sound was back in her voice again, and Chance could only wonder who or what was making her so frantic to leave his home.

  Pulling a bottle of aspirin from a drawer on the nightstand, he shook three of them into her palm. “Here, take these and forget about your car. It wouldn’t do you a bit of good tonight, anyway.”

  Clutching the aspirins tightly in her fist, Lucinda stared at him. “But I can’t stay here!”

  She’d barely spoken above a whisper and, if anything, her face had gone even whiter. Chance was beginning to wonder if she was one of those women prone to hysterics. If she was, then she’d come to the wrong place.

  “Why not? The D Bar D isn’t the Ritz, but it’s comfortable. And we have plenty of room.”

  Lucinda couldn’t remember one person back in Chicago being so generous to her. Nor could she think of anyone who would trust a total stranger to stay overnight in their home.

  Chance could see that his invitation had overwhelmed her. Along with gratitude, there was a lost, wary look on her face that made Chance want to take her in his arms, smooth his hand over her long hair and assure her that she would be all right. It was an awkward feeling for him and one that he didn’t welcome, but it was there just the same.

  “But you don’t know me,” Lucinda pointed out. “I could be a dangerous person.”

  Chance figured Lucinda Lambert was dangerous. But not in the way she meant. The only thing around here she might be a threat to was his common sense. But he could hardly tell her that. No more than he could send her out in a blizzard to find her own way to Roswell, or wherever the hell she’d been headed for tonight.

  One corner of his mouth cocked upward into a wry grin. “I’m a big guy. You don’t scare me too much.”

  He was trying to ease her mind, and for the first time since he’d pulled her out of the car, she felt a little better. Surely Richard couldn’t track her down tonight, and tomorrow afternoon she’d have her car back. By then the sun might even be out and the snow would begin to melt.

  Lucinda had to look at things positively. More than anything she didn’t want to fall apart in front of Chance Delacroix and have him thinking she was a totally helpless female.

  Moistening her lips, she lifted her eyes back up to him and was immediately struck by how familiar he already seemed to her. No matter where she went in the future, or how much time passed, she had a feeling she would never forget this man’s gray eyes or slow, sensual voice.

  She cleared her throat, then said quietly, “Thank you for—helping me like this. I—”

  Her words trailed away in awkward silence and Chance suddenly realized he didn’t want her to be grateful, he wanted her to be happy.

  “Don’t think anything of it. Christmas is just a few days away,” he said, “and I’m in a generous mood. If you want to thank me, take those aspirins and eat the food Mother fixed for you.”

  “I will,” she promised, then smiled at him. A wide, generous smile that lighted her green eyes and dimpled her cheeks.

  Chance didn’t smile back. He was too struck by her beauty and the knowledge that he really didn’t want to leave the room. He wanted to stay here, keep looking at her, talking to her. He wanted to know exactly where she’d come from and where she was going. Most of all, he wanted to know why she was alone and why he cared that she was.

  “Good night, Lucinda.”

  “Good night.”

  Chapter Three

  So what now, she asked herself after he’d closed the door behind him. Are you supposed to stay here in this room? In his bed? Even if it was
nearly Christmas, she didn’t think he intended to be that generous.

  It finally dawned on her that she was still holding the aspirins Chance had given her. She swallowed them down with a sip of brandy, then reached for the plate of food on the nightstand. There were several finger sandwiches filled with an assortment of meat, crackers slathered with dip, several types of cheeses and a slice of chocolate cake.

  She’d started one of the sandwiches when the door opened and a tall, auburn-haired woman stuck her head inside the room. “Do you feel like company?” she asked.

  “Of course,” Lucinda told her while thinking the woman could only be Chance’s mother. Other than the color of their hair, the resemblance between the two was very strong.

  “I’m Dee, Chance’s mother. I’m sorry I haven’t been in to see you earlier, but my daughter’s engagement party was going on and most of the guests decided to say their goodbyes about the time you and Chance got here.”

  It seemed incredible to Lucinda that this woman would even think it necessary to apologize to her. “Oh, please—don’t think you need to treat me like a guest. I’m more of an intrusion than anything.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Dee said with a smile. She took a seat on the bed beside Lucinda. “Anyone who’s a friend of my son’s could never be an intrusion.”

  “But we’re not friends,” Lucinda felt obliged to point out. “I just met Chance when he stopped on the highway to help me.”

  Laughing, Dee reached over and patted Lucinda’s hand. “Doc says you need to rest your foot for a few days. By then you’ll be a friend to the whole family.”

  It was on the tip of Lucinda’s tongue to tell Chance’s mother she had no intention of staying on this ranch for a few days, but she kept the words to herself. Dee Delacroix was being warm and gracious, and right now Lucinda thought it best to simply accept her hospitality.

  “I told your son I didn’t want to be a bother.”

  A smile still on her face, Dee shook her head. “And you won’t be. What with getting ready for my daughter’s wedding in May and Christmas and having you as a houseguest, well, this is going to be an exciting place for a change. I love it,” she said happily.

  Yes, but would Chance? was all Lucinda could think about.

  “Now,” she said, rising to her feet. “I’ll go get you some things of Sarah Jane’s so you can change and be more comfortable. There’s a private bathroom right through that door.” She pointed to Lucinda’s right. “And while you’re changing, I’ll start getting the spare bedroom ready for you. Is there anything special you need in the meantime?”

  At the moment, Lucinda felt so bewildered by all that had taken place this evening she could hardly think, period. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

  *

  Out in the kitchen, Chance poured himself a cup of coffee and carried it over to the breakfast counter. The entire room was a mess. Dirty plates, glasses, cups and partially emptied containers of food took up every available inch of counter space, besides filling the sink and covering the top of the cookstove.

  Chance cleared a spot for his elbow, then straddled one of the bar stools. He was just lifting the cup to his lips when his mother came into the room carrying a tray loaded with party leftovers.

  “There you are,” she said brightly. “I hadn’t seen you in the past few minutes. I thought you might have already gone to bed.”

  He couldn’t go to bed. Or at least not his own bed. The Chicago snowbird was in it. He’d have to carry her to her own room first. “Not yet. I thought I was hungry, but after seeing this mess I’ve changed my mind.”

  Dee emptied the tray into a garbage pail. “There’s some chocolate cake left around here somewhere.”

  “What about the lamb fries?”

  Dee laughed. “They ate them as fast as I could fry them. Not a crumb left.”

  Chance frowned. “Well, it was sweet of Sarah Jane to remember and save some for me. I guess it slipped her mind that I was the one who braved a blizzard to go get them for her.”

  Still chuckling, Dee began to fill the double sink with warm water. “A lot of things slip Sarah Jane’s mind here lately. But that happens to a person when they’re in love and about to get married. Or have you forgotten?”

  Chance grimaced. It wasn’t like his mother to bring up Jolene. She knew it brought back painful memories to him. “I’ve made a point to forget, Mother.”

  Dee looked over at her son. “You know, I used to think you were right. That you should try to forget everything that happened with you and Jolene. But after your father died I learned that trying to block out memories just doesn’t work.”

  He didn’t say anything. Dee squirted liquid soap into the water, then tossed in a sponge. After a moment she said, “You know, it was a good thing Sarah Jane begged you to go to the grocery store. Otherwise, that young lady would have more than likely froze to death.”

  “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. Someone else would have probably stopped to help, eventually,” he told his mother. But to be honest, each time Chance thought of Lucinda being stranded in such dangerous weather, it sent a shiver down his spine. He did thank God that he had stopped to look in her car.

  “Someone else didn’t. You did.” She picked up a scouring pad and scratched at the skillet. “She sure is a pretty little thing.”

  “There’s pretty women around here, too, Mother,” Chance pointed out.

  “That’s true. But Lucinda is one of those with true beauty. She doesn’t need to paint it on.” She glanced at her son. “Did she tell you much about herself?”

  Feeling edgy and restless, thinking about carrying Lucinda from his bed and into another, Chance left the bar stool and carried his coffee over to a plate glass door that looked out onto the back porch. “Not really. Just that she was headed south. And she seemed to be in an all-fired hurry to do that.”

  “Hmm. Well, she’s probably anxious to join her family for Christmas. It’s so lonesome to be away from your loved ones at this time of the year.”

  Chance stared at the thick, blowing snow, but in it he was seeing Lucinda’s face when she’d confessed that she had no family. “She doesn’t have any family. She did say that much.”

  “You don’t mean it?”

  Chance nodded grimly at his mother’s shocked question. “That’s what she said, and I can’t think of why she would lie about such a thing. But then people are strange these days. She might be on the run from the law or something and just doesn’t want anyone to know where she is.”

  Her dish washing momentarily forgotten, Dee frowned at her son. “You’d never make me believe that. She’s as innocent as a lamb. I can see it in her eyes.”

  “You think everyone is good,” Chance told her.

  “They are. I made a point of taking you to Sunday school year after year just so you would know that.”

  Chance didn’t bother asking his mother if she thought rapists and murderers were good, too. She’d merely remind him that all human beings had to have some redeeming qualities hidden away in them.

  “You’re too trusting, Mother. It’s a good thing we don’t live in a high-crime area. You’d be in trouble before you turned around.”

  Dee made a clucking noise with her tongue. “Chance, you’ve gotten so cynical. Your daddy would hate that if he knew it.”

  Stan Delacroix had died ten years ago. Chance had just turned twenty-one at the time. And though he hadn’t been emotionally ready to take on the responsibilities of running the D Bar D, he’d made himself rise to the task. His mother and sister had looked up to him, depended on him to make sure their home and financial security would always be there for them.

  It had been a big task for a young man who’d already had his hopes and dreams shattered with the loss of his young wife and child. If Chance was cynical, as his mother had said, then he felt he had a right to be.

  “I’m not cynical, Mother, just realistic.” Turning away from the glass door, he placed his cup wit
h a pile of dirty dishes on the end of the cabinet counter. “By the way, where’s Sarah Jane? Isn’t she going to help you with this mess?”

  “I sent Sarah Jane to bed after she helped me get the spare room set for Lucinda. She was tired.”

  Chance groaned. “You spoil that girl rotten. It wouldn’t hurt her to do a little work around here.”

  “She worked like a dog getting things ready for this party tonight. Besides, she’ll be gone in a few months and I won’t get to spoil her anymore,” Dee said wistfully.

  “Well, don’t stay up too long.” Chance leaned over and kissed his mother’s cheek. “I’m going on to bed. Feeding tomorrow is going to be hell. I just hope I don’t find any dead calves.”

  Dee patted his shoulder. “You worry too much, son.”

  It was his job to worry, his responsibility to see that the ranch and his family remained intact. And sometimes the load made him feel very old.

  “Chance?” Dee twisted her head around to her son as he started out of the room. “Do you think the highway will be passable tomorrow?”

  “Maybe in a Jeep, but not for regular car travel. Why? Did you need something from town?”

  “No. I was just wondering about your new friend’s car. I’d like her to stay a few days. It would be nice to have a fresh face around here at Christmastime.”

  Fighting the urge to smile, Chance rubbed his hand over his chin and jaws. His mother would never change. She was hopelessly lost with a checkbook, she never remembered dates or appointments, and after thirty-some years on the ranch she still wouldn’t climb onto a horse, but she loved people and if she could manipulate them to her way of thinking she’d go at it gung ho. In spite of all that, Chance wouldn’t change a thing about Dee. He loved her just as she was.

  “She’s not my new friend, Mother. And as for her staying, I wouldn’t put any stock in it. She’s got all the markings of someone on the move. As soon as the highway clears, you can bet she’ll be gone.”