Clandestine Christmas

When the doors closed on the ambulance, the sheriff’s deputy touched Chase’s arm. “You should ride with her to the emergency room and have the doctors check you over, too.”

“I can’t.” The man shook off the deputy’s concern. “I have to get back to the ranch.”

“Do you want someone to drive you there?” the EMT asked.

“No. I can get there myself.” He turned to face Kate, his face pale and haggard for such a young and vibrant man. “Thank you for doing what you did for Sadie.”

Her body trembling from the cold, Kate forced a casual shrug, ruined by the full-body tremor that shook her to the core. “I’d have done it for anyone.”

“That’s good to know. If you hadn’t come along when you did, no telling what the driver of that SUV might have done next.” He held out his hand. “Anyway. Thank you for saving Sadie. She’s a good friend.”

When Kate clasped the man’s hand an electrical charge zipped up her arms and into her chest. “I’m just glad I decided to push on, rather than stopping back in Albuquerque.”

“Where are you headed?”

She nodded toward the Lucky Lady Saloon, stomping her feet to keep warm. “I’m hoping to find a room at the Lucky Lady tonight. I have a reservation for tomorrow night, but, like I said, I decided to drive through instead of stopping.”

The man’s brows dipped. “Are you here on vacation?”

She glanced around at the Christmas lights and decorations on the buildings and streetlamps. “Though it’s a pretty little town, from what I can see in the dark, I’m here on business.”

“Meeting anyone I might know?”

She shrugged, not sure she wanted to share information with him. Kate figured she’d better jump into her role, the sooner the better. “I’m auditioning for a singing position on the stage at the Lucky Lady Saloon.” Her hand still warmly clasped in his could feel the instant tightening of his fingers.

“Auditioning for who?”

Never having sung on stage in her life, she figured, performers had to be personable and outgoing to attract a crowd. She forced a friendly smile when she’d rather be on her way to her room, a warm blanket and a recharging night of sleep. “I’m meeting with the owner, a Mr. Marsden. Do you know him?”

“I do.” The man’s hand squeezed hers once and he let go, his face grim, his lips pressed tightly together. “What’s your name?”

“Kate Rivers,” she answered.

“Is your talent agent Hank Derringer?”

She nodded, her brows furrowing. How many people in Fool’s Fortune knew she was coming and that Hank Derringer had sent her? Immediately on guard, she sized up the man in front of her. He was tall, darkly handsome, with a face that could have been on the silver screen. “As a matter of fact, Hank is my agent.” Or rather, she was Hank’s secret agent. “Your name is Chase. It wouldn’t be—”

“Chase Marsden.” The man’s lip curled upward on one side, his blue eyes dancing with the reflection of the streetlights. “Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Rivers.”

“Oh, dear.” Her heart fluttered and butterfly wings beat against the insides of her belly. She glanced around as the sheriff’s deputy jotted notes on an electronic pad. Kate lowered her voice. “I guess you needed...a singer more than I realized.”

“I wasn’t the one I was hiring you for. I wanted you to provide backup to Sadie. She’s the star.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “Sadie, the woman on her way to the hospital as we speak?”

He nodded.

“I take it the situation has gotten a lot more dangerous than you’d originally let on.” She glanced around. “Looks as though I’m a day late.”

Chapter Two

Chase had asked for Hank’s help in finding a woman who could blend in with Sadie’s everyday life.

The brown-haired, green-eyed woman standing in front of him was not what he had in mind for blending in with Sadie’s world. Her hair was pulled back in a low, no-nonsense ponytail at the nape of her neck and she wore little, if any, makeup around her brilliant green eyes fringed by thick, naturally dark lashes.

This woman intrigued him. What woman was gutsy enough to take on the job of bodyguard? Especially one who looked as if she could chew nails with her teeth and still have enough warmth in her heart to help a wounded animal. Kate was attractive in a girl-next-door way, not the typical female type Chase usually went for. But then, he’d never dated a woman longer than a month and usually was the one to break it off, finding them boring with only enough ambition to find the next great fashion statement to wear.

Chase tore his gaze away and asked, “Can you even sing?”

Her spine stiffened and she drew herself up to her full five feet eight inches. “I sing in the shower all the time.”

Chase glanced at the saloon and thought better of it. He wanted to get back to the ranch and check on Jake. “Skip the saloon. I know of a place you can stay and not put up with the noise of the bar.” He hooked her arm and started back across the street, sure to look for any oncoming, insane drivers before he took one stop off the sidewalk.

Kate dug her heels into the ground. “If it’s all the same to you, I don’t know you. You say you’re Chase Marsden, but for all I know, you’re someone else.”

Chase dug his wallet out of his back pocket, wincing at the sting of road burn on his palms. He flipped open the bifold and held up his driver’s license.

Kate leaned closer to read the printed name. “Okay, so you are Chase Marsden, the man Hank sent me to meet.”

“I’d take you back into the saloon and fill you in on everything that’s happened, but I really need to get back to the ranch and check on Jake.”

“Jake? That’s the name Sadie called out several times.”

“Jake is Sadie’s grandson. He’s with my housekeeper right now and I want to make sure whoever hit Sadie doesn’t head out to the ranch for Jake.”

“You think someone is targeting Sadie and the child?” Kate asked.

“I moved Sadie and Jake to Fool’s Fortune a couple weeks ago after their house burned down. They narrowly escaped.”

“Accident?”

Chase shook his head. “The fire chief of Leadville said it was arson. They didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I brought them to Fool’s Fortune.”

“Why would someone target Sadie and her grandson?”

“I wish I knew. Then I might have a clue as to who was doing it.”

“All right, we’ll have to do some digging to find out who might be targeting them. In the meantime, let’s get out to the ranch and check on the boy,” Kate said. “We can go in my truck, since it’s right here and you look a little worse for the wear, having been run over by a speeding SUV.”

Chase glanced at the big black truck. “That’s your truck?”

Kate shrugged. “Comes with the job when you go to work for Hank.”

“I don’t mind letting you drive.” He rubbed a hand through his hair and winced. “I must have hit my head harder than I thought.”

Kate tilted her head toward the truck. “Get in.”

Chase climbed into the passenger seat while Kate slid behind the wheel. “The roads can be tricky at night in the Rockies.”

“Then you’ll have to stay awake long enough to guide me.” She shifted into Drive and pulled away from the curb. “Which way?”

Chase got her going on the correct highway. He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the hospital before they got completely out of town and lost cell phone service.

Sadie had arrived at the county hospital and the doctor was working with her. So far she was holding on, but she hadn’t woken up since she’d last spoken with Chase. Because of sketchy vital signs and possible internal injuries, they’d intubated her and placed her in a medically induced coma.

With the connection crackling in his ear, Chase thanked the informative nurse and rang off.

“How is Sadie?” Kate asked.

His jaw tightened and he stared straight ahead. “They’ve intubated her and she’s in a coma.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Kate glanced his way. “Are you related to Sadie?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Most hospitals won’t give out that much detailed information about a patient unless it’s to a close relative.”

Chase shrugged. He’d donated a considerable amount of the fortune he’d inherited from his grandfather to the little hospital to give the locals a place they could trust for their medical needs. Everyone in the hospital knew that. “Sadie gave the hospital and her primary care physician a medical power of attorney for me to inquire about her medical conditions and needs. I’m the only family she has.”

“Everybody needs somebody,” Kate muttered.

“What did you say?” Chase asked, sure he’d heard her, but giving her a chance to expand.

“Nothing.”

“Hank told me he was sending a former Texas Ranger to help out.”

“And he did.” Kate’s gaze never left the road in front of her. She wasn’t offering much in the way of information. If he wanted to learn more, he’d have to drag it out of her.

Chase had the advantage, sitting in the passenger seat. “Why did you give up the Texas Rangers?”

“It wasn’t my choice,” she said, her voice flat, unemotional.

“Were you fired?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Then what happened? Surely they aren’t downsizing like so many corporations in America.”

“No.” She let out a long breath. “I was medically retired from injuries received on the job.”

Chase nodded. He’d noticed a little hesitation when she’d risen from Sadie’s side, but had attributed it to the situation.

Having been in several car wrecks during his younger, more daredevil days, he knew the pain of old injuries.

Kate shot a narrow-eyed glance his way. “If you’re worried I can’t handle the job, don’t. In hand-to-hand combat, I can still take down a man twice my size and I fired expert on Hank’s range using the .45, nine millimeter and .40-caliber handguns.”

His lips quirked and he couldn’t contain his smile. “That’s all good to know. Have you ever worked undercover?”

She didn’t answer at first. “No, but I’ve worked on SWAT-type ops several times, infiltrating and neutralizing several large meth labs.” Her fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly, her knuckles turned white.

“Is that where you were injured? On one of those missions?” he asked softly.

For a long time, she didn’t answer, but the tightness of her lips gave her away.

“In another mile you’ll turn off the main highway onto a small road. There will be two big stone columns with a sign arched over them in wrought iron.”

Kate slowed the car, turning in at the gate to the Lucky Lady Ranch.

For a gate that had stood for almost one hundred and fifty years, it was still in good shape with a coat of black paint applied every other year to the ironwork. The only change had been the addition of an automated gate opener with a keypad.

Had Chase thought ahead, he’d have grabbed his remote control from his truck before they’d headed to the ranch. He gave Kate the code, trusting her from the moment she’d thrown herself into saving Sadie’s life.

After she punched the number in, Kate waited for the gate to swing open. “To answer your previous question, yes. The last meth lab sting was also my last mission as a Texas Ranger.”

The drive up to the ranch house was completed in silence. As they cleared the twisting mountain road and emerged on the hilltop, the moon overhead shone down on the mansion his great-great-grandmother had built from the proceeds of the Lucky Lady Gold Mine before it had run dry.

The huge structure loomed three stories above them with its colonial-style verandas and double layered porches wrapped around the entire house. The only concession to the deep snow and frigid winters of the high country in Colorado was the steep roofline. Though the original roof had been of split shingles made of hardened hickory, the new roof his grandfather had installed consisted of highly polished aluminum. The snow never stuck, simply sliding off.

Frances Quaid opened the front door and Barkley bounded out. The giant black-and-tan Saint Bernard raced across the ground to the truck.

Kate remained in the driver’s seat, the door closed. “Yours?” she asked.

“That’s Barkley. He’s friendly as long as you don’t try to attack me, the Quaids or Jake.” He climbed down from the truck and braced himself.

Barkley reared up on his hind feet, standing nearly as tall as Chase and weighing almost as much. He planted his paws on Chase’s shoulders and gave him a big sloppy kiss.

“Okay, okay, you’ve said your hellos. Behave yourself now, or you’ll scare Ms. Rivers away.”

Kate stepped down from the truck and rounded the front.

Barkley dropped to all fours and loped over to sit at her feet, his big tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. He barked once, the sound deep and booming. Then he nudged her hand with his nose. At first stiff, Kate reached out a hand, allowing the dog to sniff. When Barkley nudged her again, she ruffled his ears, a small smile curling her lips.

Chase watched in amazement as her expression transformed. From tense, almost pinched features, her entire face lit up as she smiled down at the dog.

Seeing her happy for the first time, tugged at Chase and made him look at her in a different light. Not as an agent sent by Hank, but as a beautiful woman who stirred his blood and made him want more than he should from a bodyguard.

“He’s not shy, is he?” she asked.

“Not in the least. And he knows what he wants, which is more than I can say about most people.”

Kate bent to run her fingers through the dog’s long coat and to scratch his head. “Not much of a watchdog, are you?”

“On the contrary, Barkley would lick any intruder to death before they could get to the front door.”

The big dog proved Chase’s point by laying a long wet tongue along the side of Kate’s cheek.

“Ugh.” Kate straightened and scrubbed the dog slobber from her skin.

“Consider yourself initiated into the family.” Chase dragged his gaze away from Kate and glanced up at the porch where Mrs. Quaid stood.

“Mr. Marsden, Jake refused to go to sleep until you got home. Will you come in and tuck him in so that he can finally close his eyes?”

Chase nodded. “I’ll be right in. Seems Jake will be staying with us longer than we first thought.”

Mrs. Quaid frowned. “Is everything all right?”

“No. But we’ll discuss it after Jake goes to sleep.” Chase hooked Kate’s elbow and leaned close. “I’d rather no one but you and I knew why you’re really here. I’d like to initiate the undercover op now.”

Kate ground to a halt. “What do you mean?”

“Go along with what I say.” He tugged her arm, escorting her up the stairs. “Mrs. Quaid, I’d like you to meet someone special.”

The older woman turned a welcoming smile on Kate.

Chase performed the introductions. “Mrs. Quaid is my housekeeper, and in charge of keeping me sane. Her husband is my foreman-overseer and my right hand when it comes to all things to do with the ranch. I inherited the Quaids when I inherited the Lucky Lady Ranch from my grandfather. And believe me, they were the best part of my inheritance. Without them, I would probably have sold the Lucky Lady.”

Mrs. Quaid’s cheeks pinkened. “Oh, go on, Mr. Marsden.”

“I really wish you’d call me Chase. You’re more like family than just a housekeeper.” Chase faced Kate. “Speaking of family... Mrs. Quaid, this is Kate Rivers...my fiancée.”

* * *

KATE NEARLY TRIPPED on the step she had been climbing when Chase announced her as his fiancée. Chase had invoked the undercover op, but playing the part with his own employees seemed to be overkill. Kate struggled for something to say when her tongue was tied with the surprise of her engagement. “Mrs. Quaid, happy to meet you.”

The older woman gripped both of her hands in her own and grinned. “Oh, my. And I didn’t know Mr. Marsden even had a girlfriend. How did you keep this from us over the past two years?”

Chase smiled and circled Kate’s waist with an arm, cinching her snugly to his side. “You know all those monthly trips I took to Denver?” He tipped his head toward Kate. “Let’s just say, I wasn’t alone.”

What the hell was he trying to prove? If these people were as close as family, he’d just lied to them.

“What a surprise. I can’t believe our own Mr. Marsden is engaged.”

Mrs. Quaid pressed her hands to her cheeks. “When did you arrive in town?”

Kate leveled her gaze on Chase. “I came over from Denver today for the first time and bam. I’m just as surprised as you.” Which wasn’t far from the truth. Mrs. Quaid seemed like a nice lady, but Chase must have his reasons for lying to his housekeeper.

“I’m so happy for you both.” Mrs. Quaid touched Chase’s arm. “But you better check in on Jake. He’s missing his grandma. I’ll put on a kettle for tea. When’s Ms. Sadie coming home?”

“She’s been in an accident. She’s in the hospital.”

Mrs. Quaid pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh, dear. Is she going to be all right?”

“I hope so.” Chase touched her arm. “Jake only needs to know she’s staying in town for a few days.”

The older woman nodded. “Understood. If there’s anything I can do for her...”

“There’s not much any of us can do for her. She’ll have to get well on her own.” Chase glanced around. “Where’s Mr. Quaid?”

“He’s checking on the horses. He thought he heard something. He should be back by the time you tuck in Jake.”

“Good. I need to talk to you two about some issues that have arisen.” He grabbed Kate’s hand. “Come on, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Her heart thundered in her chest and her belly clenched, the scar tissue seeming to tighten around a wound that would never heal. “No, really, I can wait in the kitchen with Mrs. Quaid.”

“It will only take a minute and it will be worth it. I promise.”

The big warm hand holding hers, tugged her toward the staircase.

Once out of earshot of Mrs. Quaid, Kate asked, “Was it necessary to introduce me as your fiancée?”

He didn’t let go of her hand as he climbed the stairs. “I thought it might make it easier for you stay here and be seen with me and not generate more questions.”

Kate trudged up the steps, her breathing abnormally fast for the little amount of exertion. She had already worked back up to her usual three-mile jog every day. A few stairs shouldn’t have had a debilitating effect on her lungs. As much as she’d like to blame it on the stairs, she knew it was the thought of tucking a little boy into bed that had her breaking into a cold sweat and struggling against the desire to run right out the front door and all the way back to Texas.

She thought she was ready to face the world. But she really wasn’t. Sure she could fire expert, shoot a perp and perform physical training all day long, but being around a child was beyond her endurance.

At the top of the staircase, Chase made a left turn and hurried down the hallway to the second door on the right. He pushed the door open and peered into the shadowy interior. “Jake?” he whispered softly. “Are you asleep?”

Chase let go of her hand and opened the door wider, allowing a beam of light to cross the bedroom floor to the full-size bed in the middle.

“No, I’m awake,” a small voice called out. “I was waiting for you and Grandma.”

“You gotta stop doing that. Young bodies need sleep to help them grow.” Chase entered the room and settled on the side of the bed. He brushed his hand across the boy’s forehead, pushing back a swath of dark brown hair, almost the same color as Kate’s.

Kate fingered the long ponytail over her shoulder, her heart gripped in her chest. She didn’t want to move into the room, afraid the walls might close in around her.

Barkley the Saint Bernard pushed past her and sprawled on the floor at the end of the bed.

“Where’s Grandma?” Jake leaned up on his elbow and stared straight at Kate. “Who are you?”

Ignoring his first question, Chase answered the second. He held out his hand to Kate, an invitation to step into the room. Somehow, she managed to move one foot in front of the other until she stood beside the bed and glanced down at a little boy with green eyes, who looked entirely too small to sleep in such a big bed by himself. “Hi,” she said.

Chase clasped her hand and drew her closer. “This is Kate Rivers. She’s coming to stay with us for a little while.”

Jake smiled and settled back against the pillow, a huge yawn splitting his little face. “Are you staying for Christmas?” he asked, his eyelids drifting closed.

Kate shook her head, but the boy didn’t see her through his closed eyes. She shifted her gaze to Chase, trying not to stare at Jake, his little body buried beneath the sheets and a thick goose down quilt.

Despite being a tomboy from the moment she could strut around in her own cowboy boots, Kate had pictured herself with a big family of her own, she’d wanted half a dozen boys for her dad who’d gotten stuck with three froufrou girls and a tomboy.

The day the meth lab sting went down, she’d lost not only her partner, but she’d been shot in the gut, the bullet damaging both her uterus and ovaries. Having been a Texas Ranger from the time she’d graduated college with a degree in criminology, she’d hardly slowed down long enough to consider what she wanted next in life. In the back of her mind, she’d always known she eventually wanted kids.

After her last botched mission with the Texas Rangers, Kate’s injuries had cut off any chances of her ever having children. Those kids she’d pictured having would never be.

“Miss Kate will be here through Christmas,” Chase assured the boy. He let go of Kate’s hand, pulling her back to the present, and brushed the hair out of Jake’s face once more, then stood.

Jake’s eyes opened. “Grandma always kisses me good-night. Where is she?”

“She had to stay in town for a few nights.” Chase leaned over the child and pressed his lips to the boy’s forehead. “There, that will have to do for now.”

He blinked his eyes open again, his gaze shifting from Chase to Kate. “Can’t Miss Kate kiss me, too?”

Chase turned to Kate, his brows raised. “It’s totally up to Miss Kate.”

Kate took a step backward, ready to make a run for the door.

Jake captured Kate’s gaze with his own green-eyed one. “Please.”

Frozen to the spot, she couldn’t leave. Not with that trusting gaze gluing her to the floor. She wanted to run, but couldn’t. Her feet carried her forward to the bed, where she leaned over the little boy.

He closed his eyes, a smile curling his sweet lips.

Her pulse pounding in her ears, Kate had to follow through. She brushed his forehead lightly with her lips.

“You’re pretty, Miss Kate,” Jake said on a sigh.

Kate straightened, the warmth of the little boy’s skin seemingly imprinted on her lips. How could one little boy have so much impact on her?

She opened her mouth to tell Jake good-night, but a lump the size of her fist lodged in her throat and her eyes blurred.

Chase shot a glance her way.

Kate turned, hoping he didn’t see her moment of weakness.

“Good night, little buddy.” Chase tousled the child’s hair and reached over to switch off the lamp on the nightstand.

Glad for the darkness, Kate gulped to force the lump back down her throat. She nearly stepped on a teddy bear lying on the floor. With a sob rising up in her chest, she bent, retrieved the bear, crushed it to her chest and ran for the door.

What was wrong with her? She hadn’t cried when she’d bent over her partner’s inert body, performing CPR while she bled from her own wounds. Nor had she cried when the doctor entered her hospital room after they’d performed surgery on her, only to tell her Mac had died on the operating table in the room next to her, despite all his efforts. She hadn’t cried when the doctor told her she’d never have children.

In the shadowy room, her eyes swimming in unshed tears, she didn’t see Chase until she crashed into the solid wall of muscles.