Cowboy Who Came For Christmas (Harlequin Romance) by Lenora Worth Read Free Book Online Page A

pushed up off the chair and shook Adan’s hand. “Hear you’re tracking a nasty criminal.”
    “Yes, sir.” Adan explained what he was doing here. “Have y’all seen or heard anything?”
    “Not a peep until you two showed up,” Jacob said on a grin.
    “Hey there,” Jacob said to Sophia after grasping Adan’s hand, his ever-present pipe hanging like a leafless tree branch out of his whiskered mouth. What little bit of hair he had stood out around his head in white tufts that reminded Sophia of snow caught against limbs. “We’re just sitting here enjoying the fire.”
    “Without any lights on, apparently,” Adan replied on a dry note. He turned to Bettye. “Sophia was concerned and when we went around to the side, we found one of your window screens lying in the bushes.”
    Bettye brushed at her braid. “Been meaning to replace that.”
    “Remind me when spring comes and I’ll take care of it,” Jacob said, his gray beard dancing. “A mite too cold out there tonight.”
    Bettye eyed Adan and Sophia. “It’s late, but you’re both welcome to come in and sit awhile.”
    She didn’t offer up anywhere to sit, however.
    “Uh, no, we won’t stay,” Sophia replied, unable to hide her smile. “As long as you’re okay, Bettye.”
    “She’s just fine,” Jacob said with another big grin and a strong bobble of a nod. “We were reminiscing about when we were young and in love.”
    “With other people,” Bettye replied in a rush of words. “We both were married long ago, before the mountain claimed us.” She glanced down at her house booties, a sly smile hanging off her cheery face. “Now we enjoy sitting by the fire.”
    “Uh-huh,” Adan replied, his lips twitching. He glanced at his watch. “It
is
late. Sophia, I think we should leave these two young’uns alone.”
    Bandit meandered out of the bedroom, his ears flopping and his nose in the air. After sniffing at Adan and then stopping in front of Sophia for a fur rub, he sauntered over to the hooked rug in front of the fireplace and plopped down.
    “Some watchdog you are,” Sophia said, walking over to bend and pet him again. After giving Bandit a thorough belly rub, she stood and said, “Okay, now that I’ve embarrassed everyone, I’m going back to my own cabin.”
    Bettye came over to give her a hug. “Jacob and I’ll sit a bit longer, then I’ll send him on his way.” She leaned in. “I did hear a noise earlier, honey. I used the old-fashioned message system. I flicked the porch light three times. Jacob saw it and came over straight away.”
    “You should come home with me,” Sophia said, her gaze scurrying toward where Adan was making small talk with Jacob. She’d wondered if Jacob had been climbing in and out of that window, but that image just didn’t jive with his arthritic arms and legs. Maybe he was a back-door man.
    Bettye shook her head then lifted a hand toward Jacob. “Are you kidding me? I been waiting for this man to catch me—this man sitting in the rocking chair, that is—for about three years now. Fate has a way of working in our favor sometimes.” She shot a covert glance at Adan. “Bad guy on the loose, nice-looking Ranger in the house, Jacob in my rocking chair. Fate.”
    “I don’t need this kind of fate,” Sophia retorted, her gaze hitting on Adan. Then she looked Bettye in the eye. “Maybe we can talk in private tomorrow.”
    “Sure thing,” Bettye said, stepping back. “Sorry about scaring you,” she said a bit louder for Adan’s benefit.
    After a few more questions from Jacob about Adan’s being a Ranger, Sophia and Adan left to face the brutal cold once again. Adan had given them a description of Joe Pritchard before urging them to be alert. He did one more thorough check on the bushes around Sophia’s cabin, but turned up nothing.
    Maybe the prowler was gone, or worse, frozen in the snow. Sophia could hope that, right?
    When they were safely inside her cabin, she turned to give Adan a