Table of Contents

      In The Spirit of…Christmas

       By Linda Goodnight

      The Christmas Groom

       By Deb Kastner

      One Golden Christmas

       By Lenora Worth

      In The Spirit of…Christmas

      By Linda Goodnight

      Contents

      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

      Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Leaning over the steering wheel of his blue-and-gray Silverado, Jesse Slater squinted toward the distant farmhouse and waited. Just before daybreak the lights had come on inside, pats of butter against the dark frame of green shutters. Still he waited, wanting to be certain the woman was up and dressed before he made his move. She had an eventful day ahead of her, though she didn’t know it.

      Aware suddenly of the encroaching autumn chill, he pulled on his jacket and tucked the covers around the child sleeping on the seat beside him, something he’d done a dozen times throughout the night. Sleeping in a pickup truck in the woods might be peaceful, but it lacked a certain homey comfort. None of that mattered this morning, for no matter how soul-weary he might be, he was finally back home. Home—a funny word after all these years of rambling. Even though he’d lived here only six years after his mother had inherited the farm, they were formative years in the life of a boy. These remote mountains of southeastern Oklahoma had been the only real home he’d ever known.

      Peace. The other reason he’d come here. He remembered the peace of lazy childhood days wading in the creek or fishing the ponds, of rambling the forests to watch deer and squirrel and on a really lucky day to spot a bald eagle soaring wild and regal overhead.

      He wanted to absorb this peace, hold it and share it with Jade. Neither of them had experienced anything resembling tranquility for a long time.

      The old frame house, picturesque in its setting in the pine-drenched foothills of Oklahoma’s Kiamichi Mountains, was as it had always been—surrounded by green pastures and a dappling of scattered outbuildings. Somewhere a rooster heralded the sun and the sound sent a quiver of memory into Jesse’s consciousness.

      But his memory, good as it was, hadn’t done justice to the spectacular display of beauty. Reds, golds and oranges flamed from the hills rising around the little farm like a fortress, and the earthy scent of pines and fresh air hovered beneath a blue sky.

      “Daddy?”

      Jesse turned his attention to the child whose sleepy green eyes and tangled black hair said she’d had a rough night too.

      It was a sorry excuse of a father whose child slept in a pickup truck. And he was even sorrier that she didn’t find it unusual. His stomach knotted in that familiar mix of pain and joy that was Jade, his six-year-old daughter.

      “Hey, Butterbean. You’re awake.”

      Reaching two thin arms in his direction, she stretched like a kitten and yawned widely. “I’m hungry.”

      Jesse welcomed the warm little body against his, hugging close his only reason to keep trying.

      “Okay, darlin’. Breakfast coming right up.” With one eye on the farmhouse, Jesse climbed out of the truck and went around to the back. From a red-and-white ice chest he took a small carton of milk and carefully poured the contents into a miniature box of cereal.

      Returning to the cab, he handed the little box to Jade, consoling his conscience with the thought that cereal was good for her. He didn’t know much about that kind of thing, but the box listed a slew of vitamins, and any idiot, no matter how inept, knew a kid needs milk.

      When she’d eaten all she wanted, he downed the remaining milk, then dug out a comb and wet wipes for their morning ablutions. Living out of his truck had become second nature for him during fifteen years on the rodeo circuit, but in the two years since Erin had died, he’d discovered that roaming from town to town was no life for a little girl. She’d been in and out of so many schools only her natural aptitude for learning kept her abreast of other children her age. At least, he assumed she was up to speed academically. Nobody had told him different, and he knew for a fact she was smart as a tack.

      But she needed stability. She deserved a home. And he meant for her to have one. He lifted his eyes to the farmhouse. This one.

      A door slammed, resounding like a gunshot in the vast open country. A blond woman came out on the long wooden porch. Of medium height, she wore jeans and boots and a red plaid flannel jacket that flapped open in the morning air as she strode toward one of the outbuildings with lithe, relaxed steps. No hurry. Unaware she was being watched from the woods a hundred yards away.

      So that was her. That was Lindsey Mitchell, the modern-day pioneer woman who chose to live alone and raise Christmas trees on Winding Stair Mountain.

      Well, not completely alone. His gaze drifted to a monstrous German shepherd trotting along beside her. The animal gave him pause. He glanced over at Jade who was dutifully brushing her teeth beside the truck. She hadn’t seen the shepherd, but when she did there would be trouble. Jade was terrified of dogs. And for good reason.

      Running a comb through his unruly hair, he breathed a weary sigh. Dog or not, he had to have this job. Not just any job, but this one.

      When his daughter had finished and climbed back into the cab, he cranked the engine. The noise seemed obscenely loud against the quiet noises of a country morning.

      “Time to say hello.” He winked at the child, extracting an easy grin, and his heart took a dip. This little girl was his sunshine. And no matter how rough their days together had been, she was a trooper, never complaining as she took in the world through solemn, too-old eyes. His baby girl had learned to accept whatever curves life threw her because it had thrown so many.

      Putting the truck into gear he drove up the long driveway. Red and gold leaves swirled beneath his tires, making him wonder how long it had been since anyone had driven down this lane.

      The woman heard the motor and turned, shading her eyes with one hand. The people in the nearby town of Winding Stair had warned him that she generally greeted strangers with a shotgun at her side. Not to worry, though, they’d said. Lindsey was a sweetheart, a Christian woman who wouldn’t hurt a flea unless she had to. But she wasn’t fool enough to live alone without knowing how to fire a rifle.

      He saw no sign of a weapon, though it mattered little. A rifle wouldn’t protect her against the kind of danger he presented. Still, he’d rather Jade not be frightened by a gun. The dog would be bad enough.

      He glanced to where the child lay curled in the seat once again, long dark eyelashes sweeping her smooth cheeks. Guilt tugged at him.