by Rebecca York
He waved his hand and turned away. He struggled to separate his feelings about his wife’s death and Amy’s accident. If he were superstitious, he’d swear he was cursed.
“Well I’m going to ask the nurse about her,” Debra said, and marched toward the nurses’ station. Lucas watched the nurse take her toward the examination room. He walked closer to his brother-in-law and glanced at the basketball game Craig watched on the television.
“Rough night,” Craig said.
Lucas nodded, not taking in anything on the television. Hearing his sister’s voice, Lucas turned. Debra walked toward him. “Three broken ribs and the doctor says she’ll have some colorful bruises on her face.”
He felt a load of weight lifted from his chest. “Good,” he said.
“Come over here for a minute,” she said, pulling Lucas to the side. “Are you okay?” she asked in a low voice. “You don’t look so good.”
“I’m okay,” he insisted.
She surveyed his face and after a long silent moment, then the light of recognition dawned on her face. “It’s the anniversary of Jennifer’s death.”
He nodded but said nothing.
“Are you over her?”
“I’ve been over her,” he admitted. “I’ve just had a hard time getting over the fact that I wasn’t there to save her.”
Debra’s gaze gentled. “Superman complex.”
“Whatever.”
“You’ve gone and fallen for Amy.”
His heart squeezed tight. He wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t. “What makes you say that?”
“You came to my party. You haven’t been to my parties since Jennifer died.” She paused. “So what are you gonna do about it?”
“Nothing,” he said without hesitation.
Debra frowned. “Why?”
“Because I have nothing to offer her. She’s everything I’m not.”
“Opposites attract.”
“And eventually drive each other crazy.”
“So you’ve hated having her in your house,” she concluded.
“I didn’t say that.”
“And you’re perfectly willing to let her get away?”
He needed to be perfectly willing, but he damn well wasn’t.
“It’s okay to want someone, Lucas. It’s even okay to need someone.”
“Not if they die.”
“You’re going to lead a very empty life if you don’t do something. For heaven’s sake, Lucas, you saved Amy. Now save yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Replace your sad memories with happy ones. You’ve found something worth keeping. I dare you to go into that examination room and tell Amy that you love her.”
“This is none of your damn business, Debra.”
She was unimpressed. “You only swear at me when I’m right. I’m going home. If you don’t want to look after Amy, I’m sure I can find any number of male volunteers.”
“Forget the volunteers. I’m taking care of her. Now get your pregnant self home,” he told her gruffly.
She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“See how easy that was,” she said, moving toward her husband. “Just three little words.”
Lucas watched her waddle out the door, then turned toward the nurses’ station. His sister’s words echoed in his brain. You saved her. Now save yourself. He slowly approached the intake nurse and asked if he could go into Amy’s exam room. The woman nodded and escorted him.
Inside the room, he found Amy with a blanket wrapped around her. She was singing a slightly off-key rendition of “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.” He remembered how just a week ago Christmas music had made him feel grumpy and melancholy. Now the sweetness of her voice lifted his heart.
“Hi,” he said.
She glanced at him, her face coloring with embarrassment. “Oops. You caught me.”
He walked closer to her. “I hear you’ve got some bum ribs.”
She nodded. “I’m all taped up, but no snowball fights for me for a while. Thanks for coming to get me. I should have called 911, but I thought of you.”
“I’m glad you did,” he said and paused a moment. He felt as if he were jumping off a cliff. “I want you to always think of me.”
Her gaze searched his. “What about this morning?”
“I’ll tell you about that another time. Now, I have a confession to make.”
She looked at him warily. “You don’t have to confess anything to me. I think you confessed enough this morning.”
He shook his head, frustrated and nervous. “This morning was all wrong. I want to tell you that I lied about what I want for Christmas.”
She blinked and studied him with a confused expression. “Uh, okay.”
He moved directly in front of her and took the biggest step of his life. “What I really want for Christmas is for you to stay with me,” he said. “Always.”
She went perfectly still.
“You’ve given me back Christmas, Amy. You’ve given me back my life. I love you. I want you to marry me.”
Her eyes rounded in shock. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She lifted her arms, and winced at the movement.
The gesture was enough invitation for Lucas. He gently swept her into his arms and inhaled the sweet scent of her head tucked under his chin. His heart felt so full and alive, he thought it might burst.
“You really love me?” she asked in disbelief.
Her doubt pinched at him. He would make that doubt go away. “Yeah, I really love you.”
She glanced at him. “Gosh, I hope I’m not delirious. I hope this is true.”
“It is,” he promised. “And I’ll tell you again tomorrow if you forget.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “Oh, Lucas, I tried very hard not to love you, and I failed miserably.”
“Thank God,” he said, looking into the most precious, beautiful face on earth. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” she said, and smiled through her tears. “I am beautiful.”
Epilogue
Despite the short notice, the little white church in the center of town was packed for Lucas and Amy’s wedding on Christmas Day.
Amy still wasn’t sure how all the preparations had been accomplished so quickly except for the fact that everyone seemed thrilled that Lucas, the favored town son, was to be married. Debra had even found a beautiful white lace dress for Amy.
The brief ceremony was made even sweeter by a song sung by Amy’s students. Every minute Amy felt Lucas’s gaze on her. The joy and love in his eyes took her breath.
At the casual reception held at the Community Center, raspberry-sherbet punch and good wishes flowed freely. A local guitar trio even volunteered to play music.
Lucas took her in his arms for the opening number. Her ribs still sore, Amy tried to hide her wince.
“You’re hurting,” he said, sliding her arms down to his waist to lessen the pain. “We don’t have to dance.”
“Oh, yes, we do. I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life.” She looked up at him and saw an incredible future for herself. “You’ve given me something I’ve only dreamed of.”
“What’s that?”
“A home,” she said. “It’s more than a house. I belong to a person I love more than anything.” She covered his heart with her hand. “I belong with you.”
Amy could see the emotion brimming from his eyes. He was nearly overcome, and the knowledge that she could be so necessary to such a strong man humbled her. “And I belong to you,” he said, lifting her hand to his lips and making promises that would fill her for a lifetime. “Forever.”
The End
A Note from the Author
Dear Reader,
What would you like in your stocking this holiday season? Do you remember what you wished for as a child? I was blessed to have a warm, close-knit family, and holiday seasons were filled with Christmas car
ols, delicious food, cold weather, a warm home with a tree all of us decorated and the anticipation of the big day. I remember that my parents put candy, little toys and sometimes little-girl jewelry in the Christmas stocking my mother made with my name on it. I also remember making a Christmas wish list with toys and dolls. As I’ve matured, my wish list has changed, and my appreciation for my family has grown. I’ve learned the secret that giving makes me feel like I’m receiving at the same time.
In “A Rancher In Her Stocking,” the heroine is determined to experience and spread the spirit and joy of the season despite some tough obstacles. Unfortunately, she didn’t always have a wonderful childhood holiday experience, so now she’s made a promise to herself to always make the best of the holidays. Her unsinkable attitude won my admiration…along with the heart of a tough loner rancher. She found the best surprise of all in her stocking: love.
During this holiday season, I’m hoping you get all the really good things in your stocking—safety, good health, joy and love. If you enjoy this story or any of the other stories in this collection, I would be thrilled for you to leave a review.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
www.leannebanks.com
Other books by Leanne Banks
The Five-Minute Bride
We Need A Little Christmas
Sweet and Sassy: The Best Kind of Romance
Unforgettable Romances: Unforgettable Heroes
About The Author
LEANNE BANKS is a national number-one-bestselling author of romance. She lives in her native Virginia with her husband and family.
Recognized for both her sensual and humorous writing with two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times magazine, Leanne likes creating a story with a few grins, a generous kick of sensuality and characters that hang around after the book is finished.
Leanne believes romance readers are the best readers in the world because they understand that love is the greatest miracle of all.
PLEASE KEEP ME
Please Keep Me
Holiday Heartwarmers Book #1
Mimi Barbour
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 Mimi Barbour
Book Description
In this beautiful holiday love story, Belinda Page, a single mom of a very intelligent four-year-old daughter, is at her wits end trying to keep up with the baby genius. When the child throws herself into a lake to rescue a puppy, Belinda is frantic. Turning to the man who saves both babies, she seeks his support - until she finds out he’s one of those hated Carltons. After all, it was at their home where she’d gone to a party, been drugged, raped and left to deal with the consequences.
Praise and Award
New York Times Bestselling Author
USA Today Bestselling Author
“Delightful, adorable, and fun. Please Keep Me is a great feel good novel. It has all the elements of a heartwarming story with a real twist. Puppy, super bright and adorable little girl, hard working mother who sets standards for her daughter and a hot, wealthy and kind doctor! Mimi Barbour always brings hope and happiness into her readers lives, even if it is only for the length of the book, but for me that feeling that she shares lasts much longer than the book.” ~ Jeanie Jackson
“This is such a wonderful story about love found. It is also a story of betrayal but not from the usual suspects. Big party, Ecstasy, pregnancy, and finally the truth and love.” ~ Mary Rhonda Marquez
“I bought the whole Series! I loved the Books! The endings kinda left you hanging, so you could make up your own continuous story. So all good. Enjoyed them so much bought another series of books.”~ Kindle Customer Glo
Prologue
Dark and frightening, the night sounds of busy birds, buzzing insects and muted traffic from the faraway streets created a surrounding racket that disturbed the terrified, abandoned puppies. Rustling of the tree branches added to the discord, as did the wind sweeping up dry leaves and forcing them against solid objects where they splattered and crumbled.
The overwhelming, surrounding scents were tantalizing and yet not familiar and therefore, not comforting. Only the smell from the teats and the warmth of their mother’s body was yearned for and missed.
Inside the cardboard box, the one female puppy communicated with her two brothers; he’s gone!
Scampering to the corner of their flimsy prison, she thought back to the fight that had ensued between the man and her mistress before she and her brothers had been thrown here.
“Amelia, you kept those mutts? Before I left last week, I told you to get rid of them.”
“But, Jim, they were too little to be weaned from Bella. I was waiting until this weekend to try and sell them.” Her mistress’s lovely voice had sounded placating and miserable all at the same time.
“Who’s going to buy these three? Their mom is a fat, ugly, overly-friendly lab with no guard skills; don’t know why I let you talk me into keeping her. And that vicious Samoyed brute across the way, who’s no doubt their father, is meaner than the devil who owns him.”
“Jim, they’re cute pups. I bet I can get a few dollars for them.”
“Sure, and until then we have to listen to them kai-yiying all the time, clean up their messes and feed them. No more! I want them gone. It’s bad enough we’re constantly tripping over that bag of bones without having to deal with her stupid offspring too. Never mind! Since you’re as useless as a garden hose in a forest fire, I’ll take care of this myself.”
He yanked the three pups out from under the tummy of the keening dam where they’d burrowed in fear. Grabbing a nearby box, he threw them inside. After a short drive in a car, he carried the carton for a few minutes and threw it down.
“Good riddance!” Those were the last words the puppies heard from him. The fading sounds as the man crunched away were terrifying.
Whimpering at the memory, after multiple tries, the female puppy bounced until her front paws gained purchase on the box’s edge. Straining her neck, she peered out.
The moon, riding high in the starlit sky, provided illumination for the snoopy pup. There’s grass and trees and it’s dark, she told the other two, whining, sharing her thoughts.
Chubs, her roly-poly brother, subsided lazily in his corner, his furry body falling over and staying there. What are we going to do? Little beady black eyes watered as he howled pitifully.
Stop that caterwauling! It hurts my ears. His brother’s normal cranky manner was evident in his insensitive attitude. We’ll sleep now, and in the morning, Sis can go and find us some help.
Okay! That’s a good idea, right, Sister? Chubs yawned and curled up next to his brother. Both were asleep in seconds. Only the female snoozed with one eye open, guarding their new dwelling.
In the morning, sounds of human voices woke the three. Again, the female bounced in the corner until she had her front paws clinging to the side of the carton. In the distance, she saw a lot of water. There were people running along the edge. To her left, there was a grassy field where humans were playing a game with a big brown ball.
Cranky wanted to see the world she was describing. When he got close, she used his butt as a ladder and worked her way up and over his head, landing ungraciously in a heap on the grass outside of their container.
Go, Sis. Find us help! Chubs and Cranky whined together.
Chapter One
Reed Carlton couldn’t believe that his three brothers had talked him into a game of touch football, and on Thanksgiving yet. A day he’d normally be working. Or at home recuperating from too many shifts at the hospital where, as the youngest and easiest-going of the staff, he worked as a surgeon.
Since they’d recently opened the new surgical wing at the local clinic, he’d been playing catch-up with all the cases that had been put on hold for months. It seemed that everyone over the age of fifty and within a hundred mile radius had been waiting for some form of surgery. There were so many hip and
knee replacements scheduled, it was a wonder anyone could still move around.
Carlton Grove, Washington, the small town where he’d grown up had become quite a thriving metropolis in the last decade and their hospital had had no choice but to expand and include facilities that the population demanded.
“Reed, throw it here.” Gathering his drifting thoughts, he looked over at his youngest brother and grinned. Harley was the most energetic and he normally managed to wear the rest of them out. Reed tossed the ball and watched as Harley, making a wily maneuver, snapped it from the air, dodged the three on the other team and headed for the goalpost. A line drawn in the dirt with a couple of branches planted at either end signified its importance.
In the next play, Reed received the ball and headed to the same goalpost, hoping to get in the clear so they could score again. This time, Harley, overly enthusiastic, heaved the ball way over Reed’s head in the direction of the lake. Hurrying to retrieve the slippery object, Reed raced over the hill and his heart slammed into his throat at the scene playing out below him.
A furry white puppy ran to the top of the slope by the edge of the lake and had lost its footing. It slid and then rolled, ass over tea kettle, over the bank and into the water.
Meanwhile, a small child in jeans and a hoodie raced into the water with no hesitation, obviously intent on saving the puppy. As Reed watched, he could see they were both in trouble. One minute the little one was waist-high and reaching for the dog, and the next, he was in over his head struggling to find footing. And the pup, now in the kid’s clutches, fought to free itself, which only made matters worse.
