Cowboy Who Came For Christmas. Lenora Worth
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decided to mess with her a little bit. “Until that storm clears, I got nothing but time, darlin’. And you got nobody else to talk to tonight.”
She whirled to give him a feminine frown. “And what makes you think I’m lying? Haven’t I tried to cooperate with you and answer all of your questions?”
He had to grin again at that. “You held a gun on me and tied me up but yes, you’ve been very cooperative. But as I said before, I couldn’t help but notice you got scared, extremely scared, when you found that wanted poster on your back door.”
She lowered her head then crossed her arms over her stomach. “That was silly and I shouldn’t have reacted that way. Probably one of our neighbors went down the mountain and ran into someone passing those out. Any one of my friends could have left that on my door just to warn me.”
“A passable explanation, but not on a night like this.”
She peeked out the kitchen window. “Criminals don’t care about the weather.”
“True. But why would a neighbor wait until so late in the day to leave posters on doors? And why didn’t Bettye mention having one on her door?”
Sophia whirled around and took her time putting fresh pillowcases on the two pillows she’d pulled out of the hallway closet. “I don’t know. I just reacted to seeing that right after you showed up here. Too much excitement and you with all your talk of some dangerous man on the run.”
Adan stared over at her with purposeful intent. “A dangerous man who obviously came to Crescent Mountain for a reason.”
She got that fearful look again but quickly cleared it and gave him a defiant chin lift. “Maybe he knows someone around here.”
A roundabout confession? “Maybe so.”
The room grew uncomfortably quiet.
Deciding to back off for now, Adan stifled a yawn. “Sorry. I guess I’m more beat than I realized.”
“Me, too,” she said on an eager sigh. “I hope this will be okay.”
He nodded toward the blanket and fluffy pillows. “Looks like heaven.” He took off his hat and laid it on the coffee table then shrugged. “I’ve slept in worse places.”
She gave him an appraising glance. “I guess you have at that.”
“I’ll be fine.”
He wanted to say more, but it had been a while since he’d been in a forced confinement with a woman. Adan’s rule was to keep moving fast so no woman would ever try to tie him down the way his ex-wife had. And yet this one had already tied him up. He’d have to bear that in mind until the snow stopped falling. No telling what she’d try if he actually fell asleep.
“Okay, then, I’m, uh, going to bed.” She motioned toward the bathroom. “I’ll just be a minute then you can take a shower if you’d like. Towels underneath the sink. And I think I have several unopened toothbrushes from our many trips into town. Jacob always brings everyone a new toothbrush. He’s a retired dentist.”
Adan nodded and grinned. “He did have white teeth.”
She put a hand to her mouth and reminded him of his daughter, girly and giggly. But this particular girl was all grown-up and way too enticing.
“I guess I have missed a few clues around here,” she admitted. “Did not see that one coming.”
“I think they make a cute couple,” he replied. “But I’ll have to question them again. And everyone else on this mountain, too. I need you to understand that, Sophia.”
“I guess I don’t have much of a choice,” she replied, her playful expression changing as an aggravated frown arrowed its way up her forehead. “You do what you need to do. And we’ll do the same.”
“Is that a threat?”
“I have no reason to threaten you.”
“Then be honest with me so I don’t have to threaten you.”
“I’m tired,” she replied. “And I’m going to bed.”
And the moment was gone.
In a whirl worthy of an award-winning actress, she turned and strutted into the bathroom and slammed the door.
But the warning had been very clear.
Sophia and her merry band of followers would not make his job easy. He’d have to do some investigating when this weather cleared. If this weather cleared.
Something wasn’t right about Sophia’s reaction to that poster. Either she knew the man in the picture or she’d seen him recently. Why would she withhold information on a dangerous man?
Maybe because she might be the reason that man had come to this mountain?
Adan grunted and sank down on the sofa and removed his boots. Sometimes, his job really got the best of him.
But at no time on a case had a woman ever gotten the best of him.
Not yet, at least.
ADAN DOZED WITH one eye open.
He must have finally fallen into a deep sleep only to wake up to sunshine and the smell of coffee. With a grunt, he sat up on the sofa and looked around. In the light of day, this place was cozy and comfortable even if it wasn’t much bigger than a horse stall. The room was colorful and full of little woman things—embroidery and lace, fluffy pillows and crocheted quilts, vases and picture frames. Dainty things. Which only made him feel like a stallion in a henhouse.
When he heard noise in the kitchen, he first checked his hands and feet for any ropes or tape. None there. Then he checked her for signs of a weapon. Nothing there, either. She wore a too-big flannel shirt and slim gray sweatpants and fuzzy boots. Her hair, caught up in a haphazard twist, was a loose rich auburn that burned bright in the light of day. Sophia looked earthy and right at home as she scooted around the small U-shaped efficiency kitchen.
He hitched a breath then got aggravated at himself. This woman was lying through her pretty white teeth and somehow, he had to get around all that cuteness and find the truth. He didn’t like lying women. Only reminded him of Gaylen’s absent mother, Helena. She’d lied to him from the day they’d met and she’d lied even as she’d walked out the door, never to return. Helena hadn’t wanted a baby and she sure hadn’t wanted him. She’d used him as a means to an end—to get out from under her powerful father’s thumb. Well, now she was living high on the hog with the rich man she’d always wanted. Good for her.
He missed Gaylen with the kind of ache that brought a man to his knees. He’d get home to her soon. Somehow.
Adan scowled over at the woman in the kitchen, trying to associate that pretty countenance with that of a liar.
Hard to do.
“You’re up,” she said, her smile not so sure-footed.
Adan realized he’d been staring and pushed at his hair and grunted. “Yes, and... I’m still alive.”
“Don’t worry, I thought about doing you in but decided against it since I didn’t want to drag you out there and leave you like a frozen lump.” She smiled and brought him a huge cup of steaming coffee. “I have biscuits and ham in the oven.”
Her serene attitude threw him. It was completely opposite of her skittish, worried mind-set last night. If she was hiding something she sure didn’t seem too worried about it this morning. Or maybe she’d successfully helped Pritchard escape and she was bluffing until she could figure out how to get rid of Adan. In the meantime, he’d bide his time and get some answers out of her. And watch her like a hawk.
He