Clandestine Christmas. Elle James
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in front of him was not what he had in mind for blending in with Sadie’s world. Her hair was pulled back in a low, no-nonsense ponytail at the nape of her neck and she wore little, if any, makeup around her brilliant green eyes fringed by thick, naturally dark lashes.
This woman intrigued him. What woman was gutsy enough to take on the job of bodyguard? Especially one who looked as if she could chew nails with her teeth and still have enough warmth in her heart to help a wounded animal. Kate was attractive in a girl-next-door way, not the typical female type Chase usually went for. But then, he’d never dated a woman longer than a month and usually was the one to break it off, finding them boring with only enough ambition to find the next great fashion statement to wear.
Chase tore his gaze away and asked, “Can you even sing?”
Her spine stiffened and she drew herself up to her full five feet eight inches. “I sing in the shower all the time.”
Chase glanced at the saloon and thought better of it. He wanted to get back to the ranch and check on Jake. “Skip the saloon. I know of a place you can stay and not put up with the noise of the bar.” He hooked her arm and started back across the street, sure to look for any oncoming, insane drivers before he took one stop off the sidewalk.
Kate dug her heels into the ground. “If it’s all the same to you, I don’t know you. You say you’re Chase Marsden, but for all I know, you’re someone else.”
Chase dug his wallet out of his back pocket, wincing at the sting of road burn on his palms. He flipped open the bifold and held up his driver’s license.
Kate leaned closer to read the printed name. “Okay, so you are Chase Marsden, the man Hank sent me to meet.”
“I’d take you back into the saloon and fill you in on everything that’s happened, but I really need to get back to the ranch and check on Jake.”
“Jake? That’s the name Sadie called out several times.”
“Jake is Sadie’s grandson. He’s with my housekeeper right now and I want to make sure whoever hit Sadie doesn’t head out to the ranch for Jake.”
“You think someone is targeting Sadie and the child?” Kate asked.
“I moved Sadie and Jake to Fool’s Fortune a couple weeks ago after their house burned down. They narrowly escaped.”
“Accident?”
Chase shook his head. “The fire chief of Leadville said it was arson. They didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I brought them to Fool’s Fortune.”
“Why would someone target Sadie and her grandson?”
“I wish I knew. Then I might have a clue as to who was doing it.”
“All right, we’ll have to do some digging to find out who might be targeting them. In the meantime, let’s get out to the ranch and check on the boy,” Kate said. “We can go in my truck, since it’s right here and you look a little worse for the wear, having been run over by a speeding SUV.”
Chase glanced at the big black truck. “That’s your truck?”
Kate shrugged. “Comes with the job when you go to work for Hank.”
“I don’t mind letting you drive.” He rubbed a hand through his hair and winced. “I must have hit my head harder than I thought.”
Kate tilted her head toward the truck. “Get in.”
Chase climbed into the passenger seat while Kate slid behind the wheel. “The roads can be tricky at night in the Rockies.”
“Then you’ll have to stay awake long enough to guide me.” She shifted into Drive and pulled away from the curb. “Which way?”
Chase got her going on the correct highway. He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the hospital before they got completely out of town and lost cell phone service.
Sadie had arrived at the county hospital and the doctor was working with her. So far she was holding on, but she hadn’t woken up since she’d last spoken with Chase. Because of sketchy vital signs and possible internal injuries, they’d intubated her and placed her in a medically induced coma.
With the connection crackling in his ear, Chase thanked the informative nurse and rang off.
“How is Sadie?” Kate asked.
His jaw tightened and he stared straight ahead. “They’ve intubated her and she’s in a coma.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Kate glanced his way. “Are you related to Sadie?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“Most hospitals won’t give out that much detailed information about a patient unless it’s to a close relative.”
Chase shrugged. He’d donated a considerable amount of the fortune he’d inherited from his grandfather to the little hospital to give the locals a place they could trust for their medical needs. Everyone in the hospital knew that. “Sadie gave the hospital and her primary care physician a medical power of attorney for me to inquire about her medical conditions and needs. I’m the only family she has.”
“Everybody needs somebody,” Kate muttered.
“What did you say?” Chase asked, sure he’d heard her, but giving her a chance to expand.
“Nothing.”
“Hank told me he was sending a former Texas Ranger to help out.”
“And he did.” Kate’s gaze never left the road in front of her. She wasn’t offering much in the way of information. If he wanted to learn more, he’d have to drag it out of her.
Chase had the advantage, sitting in the passenger seat. “Why did you give up the Texas Rangers?”
“It wasn’t my choice,” she said, her voice flat, unemotional.
“Were you fired?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Then what happened? Surely they aren’t downsizing like so many corporations in America.”
“No.” She let out a long breath. “I was medically retired from injuries received on the job.”
Chase nodded. He’d noticed a little hesitation when she’d risen from Sadie’s side, but had attributed it to the situation.
Having been in several car wrecks during his younger, more daredevil days, he knew the pain of old injuries.
Kate shot a narrow-eyed glance his way. “If you’re worried I can’t handle the job, don’t. In hand-to-hand combat, I can still take down a man twice my size and I fired expert on Hank’s range using the .45, nine millimeter and .40-caliber handguns.”
His lips quirked and he couldn’t contain his smile. “That’s all good to know. Have you ever worked undercover?”
She didn’t answer at first. “No, but I’ve worked on SWAT-type ops several times, infiltrating and neutralizing several large meth labs.” Her fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly, her knuckles turned white.
“Is that where you were injured? On one of those missions?” he asked softly.
For a long time, she didn’t answer, but the tightness of her lips gave her away.
“In another mile you’ll turn off the main highway onto a small road. There will be two big stone columns with a sign arched over them in wrought iron.”
Kate slowed the car, turning in at the gate to the Lucky Lady Ranch.
For a gate that had stood for almost one hundred and fifty years, it was still in good shape with a coat of black paint applied every other year to the ironwork. The only change had been the addition of an automated gate opener with a keypad.
Had Chase