Hitched by Christmas by Jule McBride

Author:Jule McBride
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-08-27T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

I’D DO ANYTHING FOR YOU, LUKE. The words were echoing in Claire’s mind hours later. Flexing her fingers on the Wrangler’s steering wheel, she squinted anxiously into the pitch darkness. Even in the best weather, trees encroached on this forgotten corner of Lost Springs, their gnarled roots sprawling onto the narrow dirt-and-gravel road, making it scarcely navigable. Now winter had claimed the road, too, burying it beneath ice and snow while the canopy of trees blotted out the moon. So far, she’d gotten stuck twice. Fearing she’d have to walk, she’d spread kitty litter and salt beneath the tires, until she got traction again. It was definitely too cold to hike to Luke’s cabin from here, besides, there were bobcats and wild dogs.

Suddenly she saw a flash of soft tawny hide and white back legs. Gasping, she slammed on the brakes just in time. “A deer,” she murmured as it disappeared into the woods. Her heart thudding against her ribs, she slowly pressed the gas again.

At least she knew this was the right road. Claire was loathe to admit it, but she’d wound up here countless times over the years, never intending to come, but always secretly hoping to see Luke. Each time, she’d kept her camera slung around her neck and practiced what she’d say if he caught her sniffing around his territory. “Just doing a little off-roading,” she’d say casually. “Taking pictures to paint from.” She’d always imagined pointing at her paint box, which she kept plainly visible in the front seat.

But she’d never seen Luke.

“And now I’m lost.” She was truly beginning to believe it when she saw a light glimmering through the trees. Moments later, she was parking her Jeep behind his. Icy air seeped through the open vents as she turned off the engine, chilling her stocking-clad knees. She stared through the thick snowflakes melting on the windshield, toward the one-story log cabin.

Feeling a sudden attack of nerves, she reminded herself that she’d come here because Luke was hurting. He was still processing the conversation with Slim, and spending time with the Stoddards this afternoon probably hadn’t helped. No matter how it seemed sometimes, Luke’s occasional, impulsive gestures of affection said he cared for her; sometimes she could swear he felt much more. Seeing how well she’d bonded with her future in-laws couldn’t have been easy for him. Not that Claire could profess to know what went through Luke’s impenetrable mind. All she knew was that the complexity he tried to hide drew her to him, just as the light shining from behind the cabin’s closed curtains pulled her like a moth to a flame.

Well, maybe she hadn’t come only to comfort Luke. Or to find out if he’d heard any news about Clive. Those things were true enough. She was worried sick about Clive, but if information was all she’d wanted, she could have called. She hadn’t needed to come out here, or to change from jeans into a skirt. Or to wear makeup and let her hair flow loosely around her shoulders.

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