Yuletide Cowboy. Debra Clopton

had no interest in men. Not yet. She’d come a long way since she’d escaped with her sons to the shelter over two years ago, but she hadn’t come far enough along to think about bringing a man into the mix. She was building a life with her boys and that was all she cared about doing.

      That was what she needed.

      Gavin dropped another messy coil into the box, then put his hands on his hips and looked Chance straight in the eyes. “If you’re a preacher we need one.”

      Jack nodded. “In the worstest of ways.”

      Lynn smiled at his word choice. Jack had heard Applegate Thornton, one of the more colorful older men, saying that at church on Sunday.

      “Yeah, the worst,” Gavin repeated. “Are you going to fill the puppet?”

      Chance laughed in a rich baritone. “No, I’m not preaching right now. I’m taking some time off.” The box was full and he picked it up. “Where would you like me to put this?”

      She was startled by his answer. “In here.” She led the way into the office and he followed her inside as the boys trailed in behind him. She couldn’t remember them being so taken by a man before.

      He set the box on the table and looked around the office. It was a cozy room with a dark oak desk that gleamed from the polish she applied to it every week. The double bookshelves were full of reference books for a new pastor, who would call this his office when he showed up.

      She wondered what Chance thought about the room. He didn’t quite fit here. He was too rugged, too masculine—not that a pastor couldn’t be both those things. It was simply that rodeo pastor fit Chance Turner. “Thank you for bringing the Christmas lights to town,” she said, not sure what else to say.

      He swept his hat from his head, revealing jet-black hair with a hint of wave. “You’re welcome.” His gaze was strong and steady as it took her in, causing her pulse to drum faster—despite her will. There was a charge in the room between them that left her breathless. He broke the moment by letting his gaze drift about the office again.

      Gathering her wits she took a deep, shaky breath. “It’s a bit sad to me.” She felt disconcerted by him but tried to seem unaffected. “It just seems wrong for this office not to belong to someone. Ever since Pastor Allen retired we’ve had a problem finding a pastor who feels called to fill our pulpit.”

      “That’s what I’ve heard. The right man will come, though,” he said, then added, “in God’s time.”

      “Why cain’t a rodeo preacher preach here?” Gavin asked, moving to stand right beside Chance so he could look straight up at him.

      “They can if they aren’t preaching a rodeo,” Chance explained.

      “Are you preaching a rodeo this week?” Jack asked. For nearly five he and his brother were pretty smart.

      She didn’t miss the troubled look that shadowed Chance’s blue eyes. He shifted uncomfortably as if biding time while he searched for answers. Odd.

      She decided to help him out. “Hey, guys, why don’t y’all go back outside and play. I’ll be out in just a minute. And don’t run over any more visitors.”

      “Okay, Momma,” Jack said solemnly. “You want ta come swing with us?” The question was his way of making up to Chance for knocking him down. A child’s innocence.

      Chance looked surprised and a little pleased. “I’ll come watch you before I leave. First I need to talk to your mom.”

      Jack nodded. “You promise?”

      “I promise.”

      Gavin stopped at the door, holding it open for his twin. “We’ll be waitin’. Remember you promised.”

      Chance smiled at her as they stampeded off but their singsong voices told her how much a promise meant to them.

      “You’ve got good boys,” he said the minute the door closed.

      “I think so. Rambunctious, but then that’s just boys. So, I know you said you weren’t preaching right now. But are you doing weddings? I know you did Wyatt and Amanda’s. And my friend is really needing a preacher right now.”

      He shook his head almost too quickly. “No. I’m not doing any pastoral duties right now.”

      “I guess I didn’t think about a pastor taking a vacation,” Lynn murmured, not exactly sure how to handle the information. “From what I’ve heard you’re a dedicated man of the Lord. It’s just one wedding and it would mean so much to her.”

      “I’m sorry but I’m taking time off.”

      He didn’t say the words unkindly, but still the man act ed as if she’d just asked him to stand in front of an oncoming train. “Maybe if you met Stacy and Emmett. They are—”

      “I’m sorry, I really am, but I’m taking time off right now,” he said and his tone firmly shut the door on that discussion.

      Baffled, she was at a loss for words. The man wasn’t thirty yet and he’d been a rodeo pastor for about four years—at least that was what she’d heard someone say down at the diner. And he’d seemed so content when she’d watched him at Wyatt’s wedding. Maybe he just needed a rest. Pastors took time off, didn’t they? She didn’t know what else to say so she just waved a hand to ward the lights. “Then, I guess that’s a wrap. Thanks for bringing this by. I’ll give Melody a call and find out who they’re for.” She picked up her purse and strode to the door. The man had a right to do what he wanted, but his refusal, without even hearing Stacy’s story, irritated her. Really fried her bacon, and that didn’t happen often. After all, this was sweet Stacy she was talking about.

      “Look, I’m sorry.”

      She couldn’t help hiking a brow at him. “I’m sure you are. Don’t let it bother you. I’m sorry my boys accosted you.”

      “They didn’t mean to. I should have been watching out. It was a hard shot to my pride, that’s for certain.” He held the door for her and she walked past him, more than a little aware of him as she went.

      “I can lock up. You go ahead.”

      He pulled his hat from his head and met her gaze full on. “Is it all right for me to go watch the boys swing for a minute like I promised?”

      “Sure.” Some of her irritation at him eased as she watched him saunter off in the direction of the boys’ shouts of laughter. Chance Turner might not want to pastor right now, but he’d promised her boys he’d watch them swing and he was doing just that.

      Such a promise was worth more than most people could even fathom to a pair of boys who’d never had that from their dad.

      Lynn didn’t want to think about that though. She took a deep breath, walked to the side of the building and watched the looks on their little faces as Chance strode their way. When their eyes lit up she had to fight the lump in her throat and a sudden flood of tears from a past that she had no intention of revisiting.

      When the women’s shelter in L.A. had burned she’d been thrilled that it had relocated to the sleepy ranching town of Mule Hollow, Texas. Here the cowboys and small-town folks had rallied around them and made a safe haven like nothing she’d ever dreamed of. Her little boys had been too young to remember the life they’d been living before she’d gotten them out. Here in Mule Hollow they had role model after role model of what real men were supposed to be like. Here her sons had the chance to grow up with loving, loyal, honest men and women surrounding them.

      What they didn’t have was a father. And they wouldn’t. Lynn had already come to understand that falling in love wasn’t an option she was willing to explore. The safest way to give her boys a good life was to keep it uncomplicated. Besides, she didn’t have what it took to cross that line and start looking for love. To love meant to trust and trust wasn’t in her anymore. Not trusting with her heart anyway.

      But…Chance