Tears burned behind her eyes. She used to have a crush on a one-dimensional image on the screen, gorgeous and strong and heroic. But she was very much afraid she had lost her heart to the man behind that image. Even through her absolute horror as she had listened to Ruby’s scheme, as the girl had talked about how much she wanted a mommy—how much she had wanted Ashley for a mommy—she had wanted it, too.
She still did. She ached with it, with the possibilities he had stirred up inside her by the tender heat of that kiss. She indulged in those possibilities—okay, those impossibilities—for only a moment then she dropped her hands and squared her shoulders.
It was over. She had shared one wonderful starlit night with him and with Ruby and that was all she would ever have. She just needed to put the whole humiliating experience behind her, forget about her teenage crush and the wonderful man she had found in real life, and figure out how to move on.
* * *
The weather turned cold and grim the next day as an icy rain blew down out of Montana to soak the mountains. It matched her mood perfectly, but did nothing to help lift her spirits.
As promised, Monday saw a dramatic turnaround in the Ruby Problem. The girl reverted to the sweet, sunny child she had been the first few days of school. No more belligerence or defiance. She handed in perfect assignments, she answered more questions than anyone else in class, she sat as still as a five-year-old could possibly manage during circle time.
The only black mark Ashley could have put in the Ruby column was that the girl apparently hadn’t given up her ridiculous matchmaking. Every day at recess, she would hover around Ashley, filling her ears with stories about her father that only made Ashley fall deeper for him. She tried her best to discourage her, but Ruby wouldn’t be deterred.
She could only wonder what kinds of stories about her Ruby was carrying back to Justin.
She had to admit, she was always glad to see the last of the girl when her great-aunt Lydia arrived to pick her up every afternoon in a sleek Range Rover.
On Friday, though, Ruby was the last child waiting at pickup and Lydia and her Range Rover were nowhere in sight. The cold, relentless rain dropped in sheets and even under the awning in front of the elementary school, it was miserable.
“Let’s go inside and wait,” she said to Ruby. “We can go back to the classroom and call your great-aunt to find out what’s going on.”
To her dismay, Ruby looked thrilled for a little more time in her company and Ashley sighed. She was growing to care far too much about the little girl, too. She set Ruby up with crayons and paper and looked through her files for Ruby’s contact information so she could dial Lydia’s cell number. She had just found the right paper and pulled it out when she heard a noise by the door and Ruby shrieked with delight.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Chapter 19
ASHLEY JERKED HER GAZE UP, just in time to see Justin standing in the doorway, looking strong and masculine and wonderful, before Ruby rushed to him and threw her arms around his waist.
“I missed you so much, Daddy. Did you buy a new horse on your trip?”
“A couple of them.” He hugged his daughter, but his gaze rested on Ashley and she felt hot and cold at the same time.
“Are they pretty?” Ruby asked.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, but his gaze never left her. A wild heat flared inside her and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Try, she ordered herself harshly. The last thing she needed right now was to hyperventilate and pass out at his feet. Then he would really think she was an obsessed fan.
“I was really good for Miss Barnes all week,” Ruby told him. “Wasn’t I, Miss Barnes?”
She cleared her throat and tried to force her oxygen-starved brain to function again. “Uh, yes. You were wonderful.”
“Oh!” Ruby said suddenly. “I forgot my leaf pictures. I left them in Mrs. Cook’s classroom in art class so they could dry, but I need to take them home and show Aunt Liddy.”
In a heartbeat, she rushed out the door, leaving the two of them alone.
Ashley couldn’t look at Justin, but she was aware of him moving into the classroom and walking closer to her desk.
“How are you?” he asked.
She finally lifted her gaze at the quiet sincerity in his voice. “Still more embarrassed than I’ve ever been in my life,” she admitted.
“You have no reason to be embarrassed. It was my daughter who tried to play matchmaker.”
“Ruby would never have gotten the crazy idea in her head if I hadn’t been talking about you with Marcy.” She sighed, knowing she had to confront this or she would never be able to look him in the eye again. “Marcy has been my best friend since second grade. She knew all about my silly crush on you. Everyone knew. I’m afraid I was a little obsessed. I was fourteen and you were, well, you. You were heroic and passionate and...and gorgeous.”
Her face flared with color and she knew she had to be beet-red, but she cleared her throat and plowed on. “Marcy thinks it’s a hilarious twist of fate that I’m teaching your daughter, all these years later, and she’s been teasing me about it since school started. That’s what Ruby overheard, just two old friends remembering something that seems another lifetime ago.”
He was quiet and she thought she saw something like pain flicker in his eyes.
“You know I’m not that man, right? I hated being a celebrity. I never wanted it. Everything just sort of fell into my lap. I was more surprised than anybody when I turned out to be moderately good at making movies, and for a while it was heady and addicting and I got sucked into the whole thing. But for my own survival, I had to get out when I did and I’ve never been sorry.”
“I know. I don’t see that heartthrob anymore when I look at you, Justin. Not after the other night.”
He seemed to absorb that for a moment, then to her shock, he reached for her hand. “What do you see?” he asked, and the sudden intensity in his voice snatched away her breath again.
Chapter 20
ASHLEY’S HEART RACED AND SHE was certain Justin must be able to hear the blood pulsing loudly in her ears. “I see a man who loves his daughter. Someone trying to do his best by her. I see someone funny and sweet who cooks a mean steak and does a lousy John Wayne impression. And I see someone who made me forget my own name when he kissed me,” she added in a whisper.
His fingers tightened on hers. “I’ve spent six days thinking about that kiss, Ashley. Thinking about you.”
She blinked as his words soaked through her lingering discomfort. He had thought about it, too? About her, about the magic she thought she had only dreamed?
“Oh?” she managed.
“For years I’ve been telling myself I didn’t need a woman in my life, that Ruby and I were doing just fine on our own. Suddenly, I’m not so sure.”
“You’re...not?”
He shook his head and pulled her to her feet. “I don’t know how it happened, and I certainly wasn’t looking for it. But when you climbed the gates of my ranch, somehow you climbed through the walls I’ve built around my heart.”
As his arms slid around her, a heady kind of joy flooded through her like that rain outside, only this was sweet and cleansing. He kissed her, his mouth strong and warm, and she sighed a welcome.
This was real, she realized with shock. Real and right and worlds better than anything she could have imagined as a silly, giddy teenager.
She lost herself in the kiss, yanking off his Stetson and burying her hands in his thick hair as she poured all the emotions of her heart into her response. When he pulled away, they were both breathing hard. Through the delicious haze, she sensed movement in the doorway and they both turned to find Ruby standing there.
Her leaf pictures were scattered at her feet, her clasped hands were pressed to her heart and
her wide eyes glittered with a thousand stars.
“It worked,” she breathed. “It really worked!”
Justin groaned. “I think we’ve created a monster.”
Ashley smiled, happier than she ever dreamed she could be. “That’s all right. I’m a kindergarten teacher. Taming monsters is part of the job description.”
Epilogue
RUBY SIGHED WITH DELIGHT AS Ashley talked about how they had married the summer after Ruby graduated from her kindergarten class.
She had been so wrapped up in the familiar story that she hadn’t noticed others had gathered, too, while her mom and dad were taking turns telling the story. Her little sister Caitlin and Cait’s best friend, Addie Larrimore, and Addie’s mom, Faith, who was her mom’s best friend, were there along with Caroline Dalton and Emery Cavazos and a few of their kids.
She never got tired of hearing that story. She could only vaguely remember a time when Ashley wasn’t in their lives—when it was just her and her dad and her great-aunt Lydia.
Mostly, she remembered her dad had been far too serious. He worked superhard on the ranch and didn’t laugh much. Not as he did now, anyway.
They had made a pretty good team before, her and her father and great-aunt, but with Ashley in their lives and then the little ones, now they had a completely awesome family.
“You were right. That is a great story,” Gabi exclaimed. “Jeez, Rue, I can’t believe you told your dad that your teacher used to have his picture in her locker!”
“It was the most mortifying moment of my life,” her mom said, “but in the end, all that embarrassment was worth it.”
She smiled at Justin, who reached out and squeezed her hand and gave her one of those gooey looks they were always passing back and forth. Beside her, Ava let out an audible sigh.
Ruby wanted the very same kind of love story someday to share with her kids. A million years from now, of course.
“See?” she told Destry. “I told you I know what I’m talking about when it comes to romance.”
“Maybe you can be a matchmaker for me in fifteen years or so—after I graduate from college and travel through Europe and barrel race in the PRCA rodeo finals.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Ashley said with a smile. “But here’s a thought. Why don’t we focus on the joy and magic of Christmas first? I heard a rumor that a special visitor might be on his way later.”
“Is it Santa?” Caitlin asked, her eyes wide.
“Santa!” Jess clapped his hands, looking his completely adorable two-year-old self.
Ruby and her friends gave each other cynical looks. Even Ava, the youngest of them at twelve, didn’t believe in Santa anymore, but it was still fun for the little kids so they didn’t say anything to spoil it.
As the group broke up and the grown-ups and the little ones headed off in different directions, Ruby gazed at the tree beside her and her friends.
Yeah, she was excited about the new iPhone she was almost positive would be in her stocking and really hoped she would get the tooled leather saddle for her horse, Rita, that she had pointed out to her dad. But when it came down to it, she already had everything she needed.
She might not believe in Santa anymore now that she was thirteen, but she did believe in dreams coming true.
She had wonderful friends who would do anything for her, a more-than-comfortable house, a dog and a horse of her very own, and a family she adored—a family that never would have happened if not for her.
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin ebook. Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
ISBN-13: 9781460341605
Together for Christmas
Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
5-B Poppy Lane
Copyright © 2006 by Debbie Macomber
When We Touch
Copyright © 2012 by Brenda Novak
Welcome to Icicle Falls
Copyright © 2012 by Sheila Roberts
Starstruck
Copyright © 2006 by RaeAnne Thayne
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
Together for Christmas: 5-B Poppy LaneWhen We TouchWelcome to Icicle FallsStarstruck Page 30
