Harlequin Superromance October 2014 - Box Set 1 of 2: Reclaiming the Cowboy\His Kind of Perfection\Married One Night by Kathleen O'Brien

Author:Kathleen O'Brien
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

STELLA’S HEART MADE a giant leap into her throat at the sound of the doorbell. All week she’d prayed for a Christmas miracle that Bob Fremont would lose his stubbornness and find his heart again—for both her and his daughter, but mostly for Lanie whose desperate attempts to have a man in her life were leading her down dangerous paths.

She hurried to the door and tried to keep the disappointment from showing when she opened it and found Ray and Ollie. The disappointment did a one-eighty and became sheer delight at the sight of Ray’s smile, showing off a mouthful of new dentures.

“Ray!” She clasped his cheeks in wonder, marveling at the fullness in his face and the years that dropped from him because of it. “You look...amazing!” It wasn’t Bob Fremont, but the proud new man standing before her was a Christmas miracle all his own.

The men laughed at her exuberant response. “Ollie’s Christmas present to me,” Ray explained as Ollie held out the gift basket laden with homemade pickles. She thanked them both with a hug, insisting they come in for some of Lanie’s homemade eggnog.

“Bree. Lanie,” she called up the stairs. “Company.”

Ollie tilted his head, nodding thoughtfully. “It’s nice to hear the bustle of activity upstairs, Stella. Since Isaiah passed, I’ve often thought how silent the house must be, and how powerfully lonely that must make you.”

“But not this year.” She patted his hand. “I’ve got a full house.”

“We both do.” He gave a satisfied smile.

Lanie appeared on the steps...at least she assumed it was Lanie. The person looked so different from the girl she knew, she had to do a double take to be sure. Well, there was still the ever-present makeup, but the black hair had been curled and hung loosely around her face, and the head-to-toe black clothing had been replaced by a cream-colored lace dress with layers of tulle edging the bottom of the skirt. A denim jacket and cowboy boots finished the ensemble to perfection.

“Oh, my goodness!” The shock wave that had run through Stella at Ray’s appearance passed through her again. “Lanie, you look beautiful.”

The girl rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smile played on her lips. “Bree’s present to me. She insisted I go ahead and open it in case I wanted to—” she made quotation marks in the air with her fingers “—‘use it’ tonight.”

“I’m glad you decided to.” Bree bounced down the stairs, all smiles. “It’s perfect on you, if I do say so myself.”

Ollie and Ray agreed as Bree greeted them with hugs.

Lanie looked around. “Kale’s not here yet?”

Stella thought she detected a note of disappointment in Lanie’s voice. “No. Not until about six. But I think it’s time we shared some of that eggnog.” Lanie and Bree had set up a table in the corner earlier that evening with a punch bowl, cups and platters of cookies, candies and sweetbreads that Lanie and Stella had made, all ready and waiting for the guests and carolers who traditionally dropped in throughout the evening.

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