Mistletoe & Marriage: Snowbound Cowboy

“Jesse. I think it’s time to put the cards away.”

“Ah, Mom, I’m winning.”

“You’ve been playing for the last hour. I need your help to prepare for tonight.”

Boone glanced over. As the afternoon turned toward evening, she seemed to grow nervous. Was it only the threatening storm, or was it him?

“Your mom’s right.” He got up from the table. “Besides, I need to check the animals.” He headed to the coat hook, pulled on his sheepskin-lined jacket and wrapped the scarf around his neck.

“Boone, would you mind bringing up Izzy’s food?”

“Sure.” He reached down and petted the dog. “You want to go with me, girl?”

The large animal walked to the back door and waited.

Boone tugged his hat low on his head and pulled on his gloves. He went out the back door noticing the snow had slowed but not the wind. He grabbed hold of the anchor rope he’d rigged earlier and began to traipse through the knee-high snow toward the barn.

Inside, he stomped off the clinging snow before he fed and watered the horses, then retrieved the dog’s food and headed back.

Izzy finished her business and didn’t have any trouble finding her way to the house. Boone set the food in the mud room, then went to his truck and got his duffel bag.

Back on the porch, he found a bundled-up Jesse waiting.

“Mom said I can help you carry in some wood.”

“Good. I can use a strong helper.” He glanced toward the window, not surprised to see Amelia. He nodded to her and went to load up the boy’s small arms with split logs. Once inside, they stacked it neatly beside the fireplaces. After three trips, he decided they had enough to get through until morning.

Amelia had been working, too. She had a pot of homemade stew simmering on the stove, filling the kitchen with a heavenly aroma. He carried his duffel bag into the small room off the kitchen where he found the double bed already made up with snowy white sheets and two heavy blankets.

Amelia appeared at the doorway. “My grandfather stayed in here during his long illness. Gram Ruby never changed the room back to her sewing room.”

“I won’t disturb anything,” Boone told her as he set his bag on the cedar chest at the end of the bed.

“It’s okay,” Jesse said as he walked in. “’Cause when I’m sick I get to stay here. I even throwed up all over the blankets.” He made a face. “It was gross, but Mom didn’t even get mad.”

Boone hid a smile. “That’s good to know.”

“Jesse, why don’t we let Boone get settled in?” She motioned for her son to come with her.

The boy obeyed, but paused at the doorway. “Can we still play cards later?”

“If it’s okay with your mom.”

The boy swung around to Amelia, looking for the okay.

“We’ll see, Jesse. Come on, you can help me with the bread.” She looked at Boone. “Supper will be ready about six, unless you get hungry before that.”

“I’ll be there at six.” He looked at Jesse. “Why don’t you come and get me, so I don’t miss your mama’s stew?”

When the boy smiled he could see a strong resemblance to Russ, but the physical likeness was where it ended. Did he have a right to burst in here and intrude on their lives? Yes, the boy needed to know that his father had cared about him and wanted to come and meet him. He had to at least tell the kid’s mother, then she could decide what to do. What would Boone’s announcement do to Amelia Hughes?

Amelia tugged her son’s arm. “We’ll see you at supper.” She stepped back, leaving the door open to help circulate the sparse heat.

Boone sat down on the bed and lit the candle on the nightstand. The daylight was quickly fading. He pulled off his boots, rubbing one foot over the other. Once he’d stimulated warmth back into his toes, he lay down and rested his head against the feather pillow.

He couldn’t help but think back to six months ago. It had never been his dream to work as a roustabout on an oil rig off the coast of Galveston, Texas. And that was where he’d met Russell Eldon.

Boone hadn’t cared much about making friends, only about making money to buy back the ranch he’d lost. Russ wanted to give something to the child he’d abandoned, and he couldn’t stop talking about it.

Sharing close quarters, Boone had listened to Russ’s story. How at twenty-one he’d gotten a girl pregnant. In a panic, he’d taken off, even before he knew if she had the baby or not.

About a year ago, Russ had learned that he had a son. For the past months he’d worked on the oil rig to make fast money so he could help with support before he came to meet his child. Jesse Hughes.

It wasn’t to be. Last summer they’d been evacuated when a hurricane headed for the platform, but the last helicopter crashed and they all ended up in the gulf.

A shiver went through Boone as he recalled that awful night. The rough waters that kept pulling him under. The excruciating pain in his injured shoulder. His struggle to stay conscious. Through it all, he kept hearing Russ’s voice, telling him not to give up. The guy had been there with him, keeping him afloat until help came.

Boone shut his eyes, seeing Russ’s face as the rough waters took him down, all the time knowing it should have been him who died that night.

If Russ hadn’t had to rescue him, Jesse wouldn’t be without a father.

Chapter Four

THROUGH THE FOG Boone heard a feminine voice whisper his name. A rush of sensations drifted through him, and his body stirred with longing. He groaned, wanting the dream to go on. Then came the gentlest of touches, and warmth shot through him.

She spoke his name again and he blinked, aching to see her, praying reality would be even better. When he opened his eyes, he saw Amelia Hughes’s face in the dim candlelight.

She smiled shyly. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he returned.

Her gaze was guarded and she stepped back from the bedside. “Sorry to wake you, but you said you wanted us to let you know when it’s suppertime. Jesse wasn’t sure what to do when he found you asleep.”

He wiped a hand across his eyes, taking time to ease his racing pulse. “Thanks, I’m glad you woke me.” He swung his legs off the bed and sat up. “I don’t usually fall asleep on the job.” He checked his watch to see that two hours had truly passed.

“It’s probably the boredom,” she said. “There isn’t much to do trapped in the house.”

He definitely hadn’t been bored since coming here. The brisk chill in the room made him realize he wasn’t going anywhere, not for a while, anyway. He noticed Amelia wore a long sweater that covered her all the way down past her shapely hips. On her feet were heavy, wool socks.

“How’s the wood holding out?”

“I’ve been keeping both fireplaces going, but even after closing off the upstairs, it’s still chilly. We’re managing for now, but tonight the temperature is predicted to drop well below freezing.”

Boone pulled on his boots, trying not to think about the intimacy of her watching him. He stood and walked toward her. At six foot three, he towered over most women, but Amelia was also tall. He liked that. She tilted her head back slightly as her emerald eyes met his gaze. Suddenly his mouth went dry. There wasn’t much about this woman that he didn’t like. She was definitely trouble.

“I’ll bring in more wood.”

“It can wait until later,” she said. “I don’t want your supper to get cold.”