The Cowboy's Christmas Gift by Donna Alward

Author:Donna Alward
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mills & Boon Western Romance
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Carrie stared mindlessly at the television. While it had been great having dinner with Quinn and Duke and Lacey, once she was back home her situation became disturbingly clear.

She didn’t normally mind being alone so much. She’d thought about it while she’d worked away in the barns after dinner. After her dad had vanished, she’d had her mom. And after her mom’s death, she’d had Joe, who’d stood in as a father figure in so many ways. But Carrie had no one. Quinn had Amber. Duke had Lacey—and other family out there if he was willing to swallow his pride and reach out. Make an effort. How she wished she’d had a brother or sister growing up. The only thing anchoring her life right now was Crooked Valley.

And even that was up in the air. Duke was making an effort, she could see that well enough. He might even choose to stay. But unless Lacey and Rylan came through, the only home she knew was still in jeopardy.

A commercial came on the TV and she burrowed farther into her blanket, but then a swath of headlights swept across the window. With the dark outside, and the lights on inside, she couldn’t see the vehicle. But the erratic beat of her heart told her she hoped it was Duke. And, oh, that was bad news.

She went to the door and peeked through the hole. Sure enough, Duke stood there, still dressed in his good jeans and his heavy jacket and Stetson, looking way sexier than she was comfortable with, carrying a bag of something in his hands.

She opened the door. “What are you doing out here?”

“Nice greeting. Makes a guy feel all warm and fuzzy.”

“Sorry. Come on in.” She stepped aside, feeling off balance. It had become a put-on-your-jammies-and-have-hot-cocoa night and not the optimal time to have an irresistible man show up on her doorstep. Especially a man she’d slept with. As if she could wipe those images from her brain...

“I brought you leftovers,” he announced. “Quinn took some home with him, and I took a dish with tomorrow’s lunch for me, but you didn’t get anything.”

“I could have gotten it tomorrow.”

“But then I wouldn’t be here.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Yes, that’s my point.”

He put the bag down on the floor. “Was it that bad? Do you really want me to go?”

He was talking about their night together. She knew it and he knew it and avoiding him for a few weeks had only postponed this conversation. A conversation she was scared to have. It would be so stupid to take on a relationship knowing it was probably temporary. And a very good way for her to get hurt.

“I don’t know what to say, Duke.”

“Try the truth.”

But the truth was the most difficult thing of all, making her vulnerable. “The truth is it’s easier to put things in perspective when you’re not around. When you’re standing right in front of me, logic flies right out the window.”

He chuckled. “I’m flattered.

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