Protecting Holly by Lynn Bulock

Author:Lynn Bulock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2004-09-17T04:00:00+00:00

Jake felt like an utter, absolute fool. How could he have pressed himself on Holly? Given what she’d been through, it must have seemed like a terrible repeat of old nightmares. Here he was, looking like another wealthy, casual guy out for a good time at her expense. He wondered how long it would be before he could tell her all the things he wanted to tell her, now that he’d heard her story. Maybe once they got back to Colorado Springs…and maybe never.

His throat was so tight right now he could barely force words out. It would be quite a while before he’d be able to tell her how much this week meant to him, especially knowing what he did now about the beautiful woman sitting silently beside him as they drove the back roads of the ranch toward the house.

He was going to miss the quiet of working just with Holly and King in the cabin. Tomorrow he’d be surrounded by his family and by Sunday afternoon or evening, he knew that Rose was going to want to hear everything he had to say in preparation for the trial next week. Their time of relative peace at the ranch was over. As if to underscore that, they pulled up in front of the house where all the lights shone brightly and several cars and trucks clustered outside on the gravel drive.

“I’ll come in for a few minutes,” Jake said. “Help you carry in your things.”

There was a pause when he expected to hear Holly argue, but then she just said, “Okay. Thanks,” and started taking her suitcases from the back of the Jeep. “That box in the corner there is full of wrapped presents. If you want to carry that in, it would help.”

Jake nodded and did as he was told, marveling again at the forethought Holly had shown. While he was planning what files to bring this week she had been looking ahead to Christmas and wrapping her family’s gifts. He looked down at the contents of the box, conscious that he had a few problems in that category. While he’d had Holly take care of his mother’s present, he had fallen down on the job with everybody else. Here it was, late on Christmas Eve and he was presentless for virtually everybody he knew.

As he followed Holly into the warm, brightly lit house, she motioned toward the living room, where a magnificent tree stood near the fieldstone fireplace. “Just set them down there and I’ll put them where they belong later,” she told him.

She disappeared around the corner with her suitcases, and Jake could hear her calling to Dorothy and Mike. Then there were the happy noises of King and Molly bounding down a hallway toward each other, in greeting. Holly and King came back into the living room. “If you look in the Jeep in the same corner of the back that you just took that box from, you’ll find another one,” she told him. “I took the liberty while I was shopping to do a little more with you in mind.

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