Cowboy Who Came For Christmas (Harlequin Romance) by Lenora Worth Page A

on her hat now. “We don’t. Do we, Arnie?”
    “No, we haven’t seen a soul. Just out here for our annual smoochfest.” He gave his wife a big peck on the cheek for emphasis.
    “Cut the charade,” Adan retorted, stomping closer. “I need somebody to tell me the truth.” He called out to the trees. “And someone better start talking or I’ll haul all of you to the nearest police station.”
    He waited, hoping he’d finally get somewhere.
    And heard nothing but the echo of his suspicions.
    Maggie and Arnie had both become quiet, which was kind of amazing in itself.
    Adan stomped his boots, causing Maggie to jump. “What? Nothing? No words of wisdom, no other explanation for the two of you being out here in the freezing cold?”
    Arnie shot a panicked glance at Maggie. “Hey, man, we’re renters. We only come up here about twice a year. At Christmas, to celebrate our engagement and anniversary, and a week or two during the summer to get away from Dallas and do some hiking.” He shrugged and tugged his down jacket close. “We don’t want any trouble.”
    “We got married here,” Maggie added, her hat now firmly on her head. “This is a special place to us. The people here are special. Tight-knit.”
    Adan took in their meek expressions and quiet confessions and then it hit him. “So you two aren’t protecting Joe Pritchard at all, right?”
    “No, sir,” Arnie replied, clearly relieved to have that notion out of the way. “We’re kind of concerned that he might still be here, but...”
    “So you’ve heard of Joe Pritchard?” Adan retorted, his gaze moving between the two of them.
    “Only just in the last twenty-four hours or less, even,” Arnie said, clearly wishing he hadn’t messed up on that one.
    “Who mentioned him to you?”
    “Uh... I don’t recall.”
    Adan snorted. “Right.”
    Maggie piped in. “But we had to come to our special spot and we’ve been extra careful and...”
    “And you’re actually protecting someone else, right?”
    Maggie bobbed her head before she realized she’d been tricked. Then she gave her scared husband a quick, apologetic glance and leaned close to Adan and started in a rather loud whisper, “We also have a lookout.” She did a quick point and lifted her head. “Up there on the ridge.”
    “Who?” Adan asked, thinking his mind was so befuddled he couldn’t even spot a sniper in the snow.
    “Jacob,” Arnie said in a manly whisper, followed by a confused shrug. “It’s a way to protect ourselves.”
    Adan almost laughed out loud. “Jacob?” The man had to have cataracts in both eyes. “How would Jacob be able to stand as lookout?”
    Maggie twisted her hat. “Because he’s an expert—”
    A shot rang out and Adan heard a distinct whiz about six inches from his left ear.
    “Marksman,” Arnie finished, still ducking.
    Adan grunted and waved a hand in the air. “Sorry, Jacob. No offense.”
    “None taken,” a wizened voice called out. “How ’bout we all just go on home now?”
    Adan couldn’t agree more. “Is it safe?”
    Jacob chuckled. “I reckon it is by now.”
    * * *
    S OPHIA CHECKED ALL the windows again and went back over her new exit plan. If Joe tried to double back from whatever hidey-hole he’d crawled into, she’d be ready. And if Adan tried to stop her from escaping to save her own hide, she’d be ready.
    She didn’t know whether to cry because her hopefully dead ex-husband had finally found her or to laugh because she had a Ranger marking her every footstep to protect her—or make her confess.
    If she could just figure out how to trust Adan, she might make it out of this predicament alive.
    “All okay?” Bettye asked, doing her own covert visual at the back door.
    “I think so,” Sophia replied. “We’ve checked every cabin, every shed and every cave close by. Joe is not anywhere in our little area of the mountain. We’ve hidden any evidence of what I did before. And we’ve done as much as we can to catch