A Thunder Canyon Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne Read Free Book Online Page A

only thinking of her, he told himself. Not about how terrifyingly perfect she felt in his arms.
    Â 
    So much for good intentions.
    When Matt awoke, Elise was still asleep snugged up against him, her arm across his chest, her hair brushing his chin and one of her legs entwined with his.
    As he slid back to consciousness, he became aware of her first, small and soft against him. Not a bad way to wake up, he thought, with the sweet scent of raspberries surrounding him and a beautiful woman in hisarms—and then he heard a little well-mannered whine and noticed Tootsie stretched out in front of the door, waiting to go out, something she usually only did first thing in the morning.
    He shifted his gaze to the window. That couldn’t be right, could it? It looked as if the first pink rays of dawn were sneaking through the slats of his window blind. Had they really slept here all night?
    He was going to have a crick in his neck all day from sleeping like this and he could only hope he would regain feeling in his arm one day. Working construction might be difficult if he didn’t have the use of his right arm.
    Tootsie whined again and Elise made a soft little sound in her sleep and he decided all his discomforts didn’t matter—a small price to pay for the pleasure of holding her.
    As he watched, her eyelashes fluttered against her skin and a moment later her eyes opened. She gazed at him for a long moment and her brow furrowed.
    â€œMatt? What are you…”
    The words were barely out before she groaned. “Ow,” she muttered and squeezed her temples.
    He suddenly remembered her excess the night before and winced in sympathy.
    â€œHeadache?”
    She sat up and opened one eye to glare balefully at him. Her hair stuck up a bit on one side and her cheek was creased with a funny little pattern from the material of his sweater but he still thought she was just about the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.
    â€œHeadache,” she groaned. “That’s one word for it. If you like understatements. I don’t suppose you’ve got coffee?”
    â€œSorry. I’ve been a little preoccupied all night.”
    She looked at him and then at the couch and color rose up her cheeks in a rosy tide. “I fell asleep.”
    â€œWe both did. I hadn’t planned a sleepover. Sorry about that.”
    She looked at the pale light outside the window with something akin to panic. “What time is it?”
    He glanced at the clock above the gas fireplace. “Early. Looks like it’s not quite six. I need to put the dog out.”
    â€œOh. Of course.”
    He winced a little as he stood on numb legs but still managed to make it to the door without falling over. A few more inches had fallen in the night, but not enough to be more than an annoyance. Tootsie bounded out when he opened the door and he turned back to find Elise looking distressed.
    â€œI’ve been gone all night. Mom must be frantic. And Grant is going to kill me.”
    He had a feeling if Grant had anyone on his hit list, Matt’s name would be right there at the top after last night.
    â€œYou’re twenty-six years old, Elise. Surely you’ve been out all night before.”
    â€œOf course I have.” She spoke the words with more than a trace of defiance. “But not when I’m staying with my mother and my brother. Or at least not without letting them know I’ll be late. Maybe they’ll just think I stayed over at Haley’s.”
    He sighed. “When I let Tootsie back in, I’ll run a comb through my hair and then I’ll take you back to Clifton’s Pride. We’ll just explain what happened. I took you home to feed you after we left The Hitching Post and we both fell asleep.”
    â€œI’m sure that will go over just great.”
    â€œIt’s the truth. Or most of it, anyway.”
    She pressed her fingers at her temples again. “It’s the ‘or