No Mistletoe Kiss for a Cowboy by Alexa Verde

Author:Alexa Verde [Verde, Alexa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Alexa Verde
Published: 2023-12-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

COURTNEY TOSSED AND turned the entire night, disappearing into a fitful slumber from time to time, then waking up to check her phone for emails from Lowell. There were other emails, but none from that address. When she did manage to sleep, she dreamed of a little girl with chocolate-brown pigtails screaming for her mommy, a little girl lost and scared. A thousand thoughts roiled in Courtney’s mind like angry wasps, disturbed from their nest and ready to sting, some stinging already.

What if Lowell had only been teasing her, trying to lure her back in? What if her hopes would be crushed? How could she survive losing her daughter a second time?

But if there was even a minuscule chance—the size of the wasp’s stinger—that her daughter was alive and might need Courtney’s help, Courtney would crawl to the other side of the earth for her.

By early morning, her head was pounding, and she slipped out of the bed with its sunshine-yellow bedsheets. It was anything but sunshine in her soul. Could this still lead to sunrise not just of a new day but of a new life with Sean? She couldn’t even hope for that while all her attention had to concentrate on her daughter possibly being alive.

She switched on the light, and her distorted reflection stared at her from a gold-tinted ornament on the pine branch. The pine aroma was supposed to be calming, but now a whole forest of pine trees wouldn’t calm her. Especially after she’d seen Lark running through such a forest in the darkness, terrified.

It was still dark outside, but according to Courtney’s watch, it was six in the morning. She couldn’t stay in bed any longer. Her entire body was pulsing with the urgency to find her daughter, to ensure she was all right.

That was, if her hopes weren’t another illusion she’d told herself, like Lowell’s love. As fleeting as her dreams.

Tears burned behind her eyes, but she held them in as she drew her crutches carefully. She didn’t want to drop them and wake Sean. Even though yearning filled her heart at the mere thought of him.

She couldn’t permit that yearning to claim her. She brushed her teeth furiously in the bathroom, the toothpaste’s refreshing mint flavor not enough to distract her. Searching for Lark had to consume her.

Then she splashed some cold water on her face. She needed a clear mind today more than ever, but just cold water couldn’t help. Maybe a pond of coffee would.

After a million overnight thoughts, she had a new reason to tamp down her growing attraction to Sean, no matter how supportive he was, or how desperate she was to lean on his broad shoulders. Or, let’s face it, how drawn she was to him. Her pulse quickened as if anticipating seeing him in a few minutes.

If they couldn’t find Naomi Bricker but found Lowell’s location, Courtney would have to go to him alone. She could risk her own life, not Sean’s. She’d have to leave without letting him know.

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