Jingle Bell Blessings. Bonnie K. Winn

      Chloe choked back unexpected laughter, coughing to cover the sound. Gordon had told them he had a checkup scheduled with the foot doctor. He sure was milking the excuse for all it was worth. And clearly it was working.

      Concern filled Evan’s face. “You didn’t tell me.”

      Gordon shrugged, his face on the verge of woeful. “You’ve already got a lot on your mind.”

      Evan glanced at his father, then plunked a pile of papers down on his desk. “You want me to take you to the doctor?”

      Clearing his throat, Gordon shook his head. “Not necessary.”

      Reluctantly, Evan shifted his gaze to Chloe. “I’ll show them around the quarry. But I can’t spend all day.”

      Chloe knew his last words were directed at her. “I’ve never been to a quarry before.”

      “I’ve never met any women who wanted to before.”

      Tension bubbled through the air like hail stones.

      “So that’s settled.” Gordon turned to leave. “I’ll see you all back at the house.”

      “I told you I can’t…” Evan didn’t bother to complete the sentence since his father was walking away without listening.

      “Spend all day,” Chloe completed for him. “Jimmy and I understand, don’t we, big guy?”

      Jimmy, looking intimidated by Evan, nodded tentatively.

      For the briefest moment, Evan’s countenance turned utterly bleak. He shook the expression off as quickly as it had formed, then picked up his phone, punching in a few numbers. “Perry? Push the meeting with Alsom back two hours.” He listened a few moments. “Oh yeah, I’ll definitely be back in time for the bank.”

      Chloe got the message. The visit would be brief, but any time Evan spent with Jimmy would help.

      Outside, parked in front of the building, were a few shiny new SUVs and three double-cab trucks. At the end of the row was a beat-up pickup truck. Since all of the vehicles were emblazoned with Mitchell Stone logos, Chloe trailed behind Evan waiting to hear the chirp of doors unlocking.

      When he paused in front of the ragged old beater, Chloe couldn’t help staring.

      Evan walked to the passenger door and opened it.

      Jimmy immediately tugged on her hand. “You get in first, please?”

      Since he drew out please like a deathbed request, she reluctantly scooted over to the middle position in the single cab.

      While Evan slid in front of the steering wheel, Chloe scrunched over as close as possible to Jimmy.

      Glancing in the rearview mirror, Evan backed out on to the lazy Main Street. Even though it was near noon, not much traffic flowed through the quaint downtown area that looked as though it had stayed primarily the same since Victorian times.

      “Swell truck,” she commented.

      He darted a glance, obviously gauging her sarcasm. “It was my grandfather’s.”

      “It’s nice.”

      The corners of his mouth curled down.

      “That you kept it, I mean,” she added hastily. “A lot of people just want the newest model. I think sentiment’s more important.”

      “Hmm.”

      Chloe had already figured out that he wouldn’t be easily convinced of anything. Apparently, Evan was equally economic with his words.

      As they rolled out of town toward the quarry, the old truck bumped considerably. One especially large bump thrust her against Evan’s shoulder. Feeling as though she had hit heated rock, Chloe drew back, immediately scooting toward the passenger-side door.

      “Ouch,” Jimmy squeaked.

      “I’m sorry! I was…concentrating too much on the landscape.” At the moment she couldn’t have guessed if they were surrounded by mountains or desert.

      “You mean the trees?”

      Feeling smaller than the child at her side, she tried to look unaffected. “Pretty aren’t they?”

      Actually they were. Leaves had transformed into clusters of color. Standing next to sentinel green pines, this was the beautiful Texas hill country she’d heard so much about. But the squiggle in her stomach didn’t have anything to do with the surroundings—the nonhuman ones, that was. Still feeling the impression of Evan’s shoulder against her arm, she wanted to touch the spot, to see if the fire she’d felt was external. Ridiculous, she knew. A grown woman practically melting by the accidental brush of a man’s arm. A very handsome man’s arm.

      “We’re not far,” Evan announced.

      Still ruminating on her reaction, again she overreacted, jumping when he spoke. “Well… that’s good then.” At this rate she would reduce her conversational skills to a first grader’s level.

      “Look!” Jimmy poked her as his voice threaded with something close to excitement.

      Chloe followed his gaze. A beautiful horse trotted in a field, lifting its head in a royal motion.

      Evan didn’t take his eyes from the road. “He’s an Arabian. Belongs to the Markhams.”

      “That’s a neat trick,” she commented. “How did you know without looking?”

      “This is my home,” he explained simply.

      “Still….”

      “At the curve, there’s an old oak that’s got more notches on it than an outlaw’s gun. One of them’s mine. Most everybody in town’s hit that oak when they were learning to drive. Luckily, the tree’s over far enough that no one’s run into it straight on.”

      How could a man who obviously cared about his home and employees have absolutely no compassion for a parentless child? Burdened with the thought, Chloe didn’t ask any more questions as Evan drove farther from town. Jimmy, still intimidated, didn’t speak either. And Evan clearly wasn’t going to initiate a conversation.

      In the quiet, Chloe saw much more of the gently rolling hills, the yellowing of wild grass, the last wildflowers struggling to survive despite the bite of late autumn. The hill country really was a beautiful place for the holidays.

      Back home, they would have a wintry cold Thanksgiving and a guaranteed white Christmas. She wasn’t missing the weather. Or her job. Just her mother. And Barbara Reed had been insistent that Chloe accept this assignment. Still, she was so used to caring for her mother…visiting her in the long-term recovery facility, spending every spare minute with her. Intensely aware of the thousand-plus miles that separated them, Chloe sighed.

      “Something wrong?” Evan asked.

      Again, his unexpected speaking startled her. This time her hand flew to her throat to disguise the rapid pulse that must be visible. “No… of course not.”

      “Hmm.”

      How did the man run a business when he barely spoke? Feeling the opportunity, she cleared her throat. “Actually, I was thinking about my mother. Missing her.”

      Evan took his eyes from the road. “Then why’d you come all the way out here?”

      Because she needed the money Mr. Wainwright had offered to continue paying for her mother’s care.

      Jimmy looked up at her and she smiled for his benefit. “I wouldn’t miss this adventure for anything.”

      Evan snorted. “Adventure?”

      “Sure, neither of us has ever been to Texas.” Chloe struggled for something benign to say. “Or a quarry.”

      This time when he glanced at her, she met his dark eyes, sustaining