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| Christmas Is In the Air |
A Christmas to Remember!
Clear Springs’ new schoolteacher,
Gemma Starling, feels as if she’s been given a fresh start. So long as no one
discovers her dark secret—she once shot a man in self-defense!
Sheriff Craig Parker has forsworn
love, but delightful Miss Starling intrigues him. And when events at the school
turn dangerous, Craig won’t let her face it alone. Gemma might just be the one
woman he could ever love, but will the secret she’s hiding tear them apart or
bring them together by Christmas?
Excerpt ~ Christmas Kiss from the Sheriff
“I’m new to the community by most counts, miss, but I
gather that you’ve been here even less time than I have.” The sheriff studied
her pert nose which she had notched up stubbornly in the air. “You don’t strike
me as someone who grew up in the country. Can you tell me which way we are
headed? North or west?”
She was quiet.
“This isn’t like a city where there are names for
roads and easy-to-remember storefronts. It’s easy to get lost in these hills.
One boulder starts to look like another. One tree the same thing. I can’t have
you walking…or riding…all over the mountain. You’ll be lost within half an
hour.”
“You can’t have
me walking…” she echoed, a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
Guess she didn’t care much for his interference. It
couldn’t be helped. He wasn’t about to let her wander the mountains on her own.
He walked another half a block with her in silence, hoping she was absorbing
the truth of the matter.
Her steps finally slowed and then came to a stop.
“What do you propose?” she asked, facing him.
“To go with you.”
“I don’t think…” She shook her head doubtfully.
“That’s really not necessary.”
“Not. Necessary. Hmm. Then tell me which way you are
facing now.”
She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “I
can’t.”
“Well, until you can, you need an escort. I’m
offering.”
She frowned. “Sheriff…I doubt the etiquette of the
situation allows for you to accompany me.”
So that’s what was bothering her. “It doesn’t allow
for a woman to go alone either. Sometimes out here you have to be practical.”
She started walking toward Mrs. Birdwell’s again “Do
all the other women here know their directions?”
“If they were raised in the country they do.”
“Day or night?”
“While the sun is up for the most part. There are a
few who know the stars too.” He couldn’t imagine growing up without that
knowledge. His father had impressed it on him by the time he was ten. “Just
where are you from anyway?”
“Obviously not here,” she grumbled.
“So…?” He prompted.
She eyed him with a speculative look. The light
through the saloon window danced in her eyes. “Guess.”
He hadn’t expected that. He raised his brows. A
challenge. “Big city. North, I think.”
She smiled slightly.
“Your clothes are fancier than most. Your shoes
wouldn’t last more’n a day on a hike.”
“My shoes?” She stopped and looked down at her feet.
“When did you check my…? Humph.”
“San Francisco? No…” he answered himself. Not with the
way she said certain words. “Back East somewhere.”
“I have a feeling not knowing the answer will trouble
you immensely,” she said smugly.
“It may take me awhile, but I don’t back down from a
challenge.”
They turned down the side road that led out of town. Widow
Birdwell’s boardinghouse was the last house on the road. The light from her
parlor blinked dimly through the rustling pines.
“May I ask you something, Sheriff? You’re a man…I mean
that you understand boys a tad better than I would. Why would two boys old
enough to know better, get into a fight? They should be setting an example for
the younger children—not fighting.”
“I take it you don’t have brothers.”
“No. And I’ll admit that I was so intent on stopping
the fisticuffs before more bloodshed occurred that I didn’t think to get the
real reason for the fight out of them.”
He slanted a glance at her. “The best time to wrangle
an answer out of them is while they are still fighting mad. Things tend to
spill out from the gut.”
She sighed. “Then I’ve lost my chance.”
“Sounds like you did okay. You stopped the fight. No
one died.”
She stepped up on Mrs. Birdwell’s stoop. “An
interesting way to put it.”
He reached for the door handle. “Just out of
curiosity… How did you make
those boys stop fighting? Hard to believe they’d stop just because you told
them to.”
Her lips twitched and then those dimples appeared
again as her smile grew. “I threw a bucket of cold, dirty water over them.” She
stepped inside. The parlor lantern lent a yellow glow to the right side of her
face. “Good night, Sheriff.”
He tipped his hat even though she was already closing
the door in his face. “Night, Miss Starling.”
The woman might have no idea about staying safe on the
mountain but that smile of hers could sure pack a
wallop.
Text Copyright © 2016 by Kathryn Albright
Cover Art Copyright 2016 by Harlequin Enterprises
Limited
Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books
S.A.
All rights reserved.
Kathryn Albright
writes sweet western historical romance. Her stories celebrate courage and hope
with a dash of adventure. Kathryn’s stories have been
finalists in the distinguished RWA Golden Heart®, the HOLT Medallion and the Colorado Award of Excellence, as well as
several other industry awards. An enthusiast of country
living, she resides with her family in the Midwest.
AMAZON: https://amzn.com/B01FD3A152
HARLEQUIN:
http://bit.ly/2e6sc3y
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Love this excerpt. Looking forward to reading the rest.
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