A Cowboy For Christmas

A COWBOY FOR CHRISTMAS

Kristen James

Smashwords Edition

Copyright Kristen James

Discover other novels by Kristen
James on Smashwords:

The River People - Young Adult
Historical

More Than Memories –
Romance

Chapter One

If her name meant anything
to the tall cowboy who leaned against the porch rail, he didn’t
react. Instead, he appraised her with sky blue eyes while the
afternoon light slanted against him. She’d pulled up to the house
and introduced herself, and now waited for his name or a
hello.

“
The name ain’t ringing a
bell,” he said quietly, then looked her up and down. “And believe
me, I’d remember your face.”

Would you now?
It sounded like a compliment, but he didn’t smile
with it. Missy wasn’t sure what to make of him.

His voice carried like a
gentle breeze. The man, however, looked rough as the landscape
around them. Hard stance, set jaw, arms folded. His long, lean body
might be perfect for pressing against a woman, but his eyes were
distrusting.

The sign clearly said Ocean
View Stables, so she knew she had the right place.

“
Melissa Nelson,” she
repeated. This was awkward. “Ben may have called me Missy.” Come
on, nothing? She rubbed her arms through her jacket, chilled from
the cool Oregon weather and this overly warm welcome. “I’m Ben’s
sister. Aren’t you Mr. Hatcher?”

“
Nope.” He tilted his head
and stared some more, like he’d never seen a woman before. The
daylight darkened. Raindrops plopped on her while she waited for
some kind of answer. Any kind of answer would be nice. “Ben’s
lawyer called you,” he added, “And you came right over. I
see.”

He wore a tan Stetson on
his head, a rich blue shirt with sleeves rolled up, snug Wranglers,
and boots. He’d make a great bedroom poster, something to ogle on
lonely nights, but his too sexy look only distracted
her.

Did she really lose her
train of thought while checking him out? “I flew in from Nevada . .
. He asked me to come.” She almost added that Mr. Hatcher was
supposed to meet her here. Wouldn’t this guy know that?

“
Come on in, then.” Without
introducing himself, he turned to the front door and led the way
in. Inside, she fought off a shiver. It wasn’t the cold this time,
but a reaction to his nearness. His eyes were so intent on her, she
could scarcely breathe.

Scents of leather and pine
met her inside his home. A man’s home, for sure. “How did you know
Ben?” she asked.

He opened a closet door and
gestured to her coat. She wanted an answer, but decided to shrug
out of her coat, since it was thin and wet anyway.

With his brows creased at
her, he took it. “We went in fifty-fifty on this place.”

Oh, no. She hadn’t
considered there would be other investors. That explained why he
was here. “So you live here?”

“
Yup.” He faced her and
rested his hands on his hips in a lazy manner. Irritated, she
turned and glanced around at the open floor plan.

She spotted a kitchen nook
off to her left. What kind of man had a kitchen nook? To her right,
a fire smoldered in the large brick fireplace in the living room.
What she could see of that room gave an impression of comfort,
where a family could gather.

His house was beautiful,
but it looked more like a family home than a bachelor’s place.
Well, it could be with some personal touches. At least it was warm
and dry, unlike the misty weather outside.

Since he blocked her way,
she couldn’t ignore him any longer. “What?” The words burst out,
and sounded desperate to her own ears.

“
You look like
him.”

Well, he knew her late
brother, but she didn’t know enough about Ben’s life to guess who
this guy could be. She asked, “Were you close to my
brother?”

“
Friends, business
partners,” he said with a shrug as if it didn’t matter.

He moved toward the
kitchen, but turned back around and looked her over again. “Ben
never talked about any sister.”

Ouch.
“Well . . . We weren’t raised together. We didn’t even know
about each other until our father died three years ago.” Since she
could lose herself in the hurtful past, she tried to ignore
it.

“
Missed the funeral, you
know.” Arms folded, he leaned back against the counter. She
couldn’t pinpoint anything about him that would make a shiver race
up her back, though one did.

“
Ben’s lawyer didn’t get a
hold of me until yesterday,” she explained. He walked around the
counter and into the kitchen, a tidy space decorated only with a
lone marble horse statue on the counter.

Sighing, she rubbed her
temples while his back was turned. He couldn’t know she was
jobless, with an uncertain future, and had spent a pretty penny on
the airfare to come out.

She’d withdrawn some of her
savings to make the trip. The lawyer wouldn’t have asked her to
come unless there was something here for her. Now she wondered if
it would be worth it.

“
I get it.” He faced her,
planted both hands on the counter, and leaned toward her. “You
hoped to make out with some dough. Too bad you didn’t know about
me.” He ignored her gasp and pulled several things from the
refrigerator, then started lunch on the opposite counter, with his
back to her.

“
What kind of person says
something like that? You don’t know me!” Who cared if it might be
true? He had no right to be so rude, not when he didn’t know why
she hadn’t been able to get better acquainted with her
brother.

“
Exactly.” He didn’t turn
around to speak. It appeared like he wanted her to leave. He added,
“I don’t know you. I knew Ben, and you never came to
visit.”

How could she have known
they were out of time? “Listen, I don’t have to explain myself to
you. I was
asked
to come here, remember?”

No answer.
Figures.
She tapped the
toe of her shoe as she sought another angle to try. “So who are
you?”

His face, when he glanced
back at her, had softened. Those blue eyes could melt a woman’s
will, but she doubted he’d use them on her. All the better, because
she didn’t need another man using her and then tossing her
away.

“
Brent Williams. Ben and I
started this place together.”

Brent meant the ranch, the
hills and paths she’d seen when she drove in, and the horses that
grazed and ran in the pastures. Maybe she’d get somewhere now. “Is
the lawyer coming?”

“
He’s on his way over.” He
turned around and pushed a plate across the counter. “Might as well
join me for lunch.”

“
Lunch?” At the word, her
stomach growled. After the flight into Oregon and the drive west to
Florence, she felt starved. She’d been too distracted to eat as she
thought about the past and worried about her future. “Umm,
thanks.”

“
You look like you need
some good food in you.” He poured her a glass of milk to go with it
before he walked around the counter with a stool for her to sit on.
She didn’t know what to make of the sudden hospitality from the
cold cowboy, but once she bit into the sandwich, she didn’t care.
“Wow.”

He sat on a stool on the
opposite side. They ate without discussion, and the passing minutes
grew more tense.

When she couldn’t take the
silence, she asked, “How did Ben die? The lawyer didn’t tell
me.”

Brent’s gaze dropped down
to the counter. “You can ask him when he gets here.”

Okay, so no more playing
nice. While he didn’t look distraught over Ben’s death, he sure
closed up when she asked about it.

Why did he have to be so
brutally attractive? Why was he rude to her, and then fixed her
lunch? She contemplated his actions while she nibbled on the last
of her sandwich.

He drained his glass and
set his plate next to the sink, then stood in the kitchen and
looked at her. And, boy, did he look at her. After he searched her
face, his gaze slid down her throat. She tried to keep the color
from her checks, thankful she hadn’t worn anything
low-cut.

“
Are you sure Mr. Hatcher
is on his way?” She couldn’t take much more of this.

“
Yeah, he called right
before you showed up.”

Now why didn’t he mention
that before? She glared. He glared back. Someone
knocked.

“
That’d be him.” He left
her trembling with anger and answered the door, where a middle-aged
man in a suit waited. She stayed by the kitchen counter.

Brent greeted the shorter,
dark haired man by saying, “Did you know Ben had a
sister?”

“
He mentioned some family,”
the other man said with an easy-going smile as he came in and
offered a hand to Missy. “Nice to meet you in person, Miss Nelson.
I’m Nick Thatcher. Looks like you found the place without
problem.”

“
The problems started after
I got here.” She spoke coldly and threw a look at Brent.

Nick turned to Brent. “Are
you giving her a hard time?”

Brent gave him a
what can I do?
shrug.
Nick sighed and said, “Ah, he’s rough on the outside, but he’s a
good man.”

“
You two are buddies?” she
asked. Great, a big conspiracy.

“
That doesn’t mean anything
bad for you, Miss Nelson.” He looked at Brent and held up his
briefcase. “Is there somewhere you’d like to sit down and go over
this?”

Brent led the way into the
living room. He sat on the couch across from her and sank back, his
eyes once again on her like a hawk about to strike. Did he look at
her because she reminded him of Ben, or did he think of the
quickest way to get rid of her?

She took a deep breath and
decided to pretend indifference. In reality, she hoped this would
give her a way to start over, somewhere new. After her last
relationship, and her job, crumbled, she needed
direction.

“
Ben left no children, as
you both know, and no other relatives but you, Miss Nelson,” Nick
started. “As such, his interest in Ocean View Stables goes to
you.”

“
No!” Brent sprang to his
feet. “That’s just not right. This is my ranch, built by my own
sweat and blood. Ben’s interest should go to me now.”

Nick sat forward. “Now,
hold on and let me talk. Miss Nelson didn’t come here to take over
your ranch. There’s no reason why you can’t buy her
out.”

That’s what she wanted to
hear. Brent glared at her as if she’d set the place on
fire.

“
Brent,” Nick started, “Is
there a possibility you can buy her out?”

Brent went to the window
that overlooked the pastures outside and spoke. “We just got
started two years ago, and we’re not turning much of a profit yet.
So, no, there isn’t the capital to do anything like
that.”

Missy yanked in a breath.
Now what? “What does that mean?”

Nick’s brow furrowed and he
puffed out his cheeks. “Well, you have half interest in these
stables. Do you like horses?”

Brent spun around. “This is
my place and it’s staying that way.”

Her and horses? Could today
go any worse?

“
I’m sorry, Brent, but you
own the back forty acres. Miss Nelson now owns the front forty,
along with Ben’s six horses.” Nick weaved his plump fingers
together. She guessed he might be considering the options for them,
but she didn't plan to sit back and let them decide.

“
I can take over Ben’s work
here.” Now where did that wonderful idea come from? Just because
Brent didn’t want her here didn’t mean she had to stay and spite
him. Did it?

Both men looked at her with
blank faces. Okay, so maybe she should have dressed in something
besides her silk suit. And stilettos.

Nick coughed, but it
sounded suspiciously more like a laugh to Missy. “I don’t think you
understand what’s involved in caring for horses. And what about
your job back home?”