Keeping Christmas

Keeping Christmas
B.J. Daniels

CHRISTMAS NEVER MEANT MUCH AT THE BONNER ESTATE…BUT COULD IT BECOME A HOLIDAY TO REMEMBER AT CHANCE WALKER'S MONTANA CABIN?Ten years ago Dixie Bonner was the favorite wild child of a powerful Texas oilman. But after uncovering a dark family secret that cast suspicion on everyone close to her, she took off for a new life and never looked back.Chance Walker was the cool-eyed cowboy hired to bring her home by Christmas. But after catching her, he couldn't decide if she was a blackmailer or a victim. Was he tempted to protect her because she told the truth–or was he falling for her? Holed up in a remote Montana cabin with the bad guys closing in, two stubborn souls needed to trust each other if they hoped to survive the season.

“Your father believes that the only place you’ll be safe is Texas…”

“Then you should listen to my father,” Dixie said, eyes blazing with anger before she spun around and headed out the deck door, slamming it behind her.

Chance swore as he watched her walk to the edge of the railing, her back to him. The light breeze stirred her hair. He could see her breath coming out in small white puffs. Forty-eight hours. Hadn’t Bonner told him not to let Dixie get to him? Just find her and take her to the plane. Period. Bonner had said it was a family matter. Let them work it out. It had nothing to do with him. Hell, what were the chances that anyone was really trying to kill her anyway…?

Keeping Christmas

B.J. Daniels

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

This one is for my Uncle Jack Johnson,

whom we lost this year. Jack will be greatly missed,

especially his big heart, his laugh and his Texas barbecue.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A former award-winning journalist, B.J. Daniels had thirty-six short stories published before her first romantic suspense, Odd Man Out, came out in 1995. Her book Premeditated Marriage won the Romantic Times BOOKclub Best Intrigue award for 2002, and in the same year she received the magazine’s Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense. B.J. lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, two springer spaniels—Scout and Spot—and a temperamental tomcat named Jeff. She is a member of Kiss of Death, the Bozeman Writers’ Group and Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing, she snowboards in the winters and camps, water-skis and plays tennis in the summers. To contact her, write P.O. Box 183, Bozeman, MT 59771 or look for her online at www.bjdaniels.com.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Chance Walker—Tracking down Southern spitfire Dixie Bonner before Christmas should have been easy for the private investigator.

Dixie Bonner—When she found some old snapshots hidden in her mother’s jewelry box, Dixie had no idea of the danger—or that the trail would lead her to Montana to the man she’d always loved.

Beauregard Bonner—He’d kept the truth from his daughters all these years. But now not only was the secret out, it had unleashed a killer and an even bigger secret.

Rebecca Lancaster Bonner—All she ever wanted was to shed her family’s white-trash past and be one of Houston’s high society. How far would she go, though, to make sure no one ever found out the truth about her?

Oliver Lancaster—There were only two things in the world that got his blue blood going: money and power. Unfortunately, he stood to lose both unless his luck changed.

Carl Bonner—He’d always lived in his younger brother’s shadow. Everyone thought Carl had reason to resent Beauregard. Others thought he was just biding his time until he could get even.

Ace Bonner—It was hell being the poor, looked-down-upon cousin of Beauregard Bonner.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Prologue

The rain had stopped, but the parking garage seemed unusually cold and dark as Dixie Bonner started to step from the elevator.

One booted foot poised on the edge of the concrete, she hesitated, sensing something was wrong. She stood listening for whatever sound had alerted her, only now aware of how late it was. The library had closed for the night as had all the other businesses around it except the coffee shop back up the street where she’d been the past few hours.

She hadn’t realized the time or noticed how dark and empty the streets were. All the holiday shoppers had gone home for the night. She’d foolishly paid no attention because she’d had other things on her mind.

Now she felt vulnerable. Not that she wasn’t used to taking chances. It went with her job. But taking chances was one thing. Just being plain dumb was another.

She let one hand drop to her shoulder bag as she eased back, but kept her free hand holding the elevator doors open as she scanned the parking garage.

Her fingers found the purse’s zipper and began to slowly glide it open, speeding up as she heard the scrape of a shoe sole on the concrete floor of the garage.

She was in danger, but then she’d suspected that the moment the elevator doors had opened. She’d been on edge all night, at one point almost certain someone had been watching her beyond the rain-streaked window of the coffee shop.

There were two vehicles left in the unattended garage. A tan cargo van and her fire-engine-red Mustang. The van was parked right next to the Mustang.

Her hand closed over the can of pepper spray in her purse as she debated making a run for her car or returning to the upper level of the parking garage. Neither seemed prudent.