Mistletoe & Marriage: Snowbound Cowboy. Patricia Thayer

girl,” Amelia spoke to her patient as she wiped off each new arrival. “Here comes another,” she said, then amended that. “Oh, and another.”

      Boone handed Jesse the light and instructed him how to hold it. Then he jumped in and assisted Amelia so none of the puppies would be lost.

      By the end, the litter count added up to eight healthy puppies. Amelia gently helped clean the last arrival, and gave it to the mother to begin nursing. Then she worked quickly to removed the soiled towels and replace them with fresh bedding.

      Boone took the dirty towels and set them aside, then helped Jesse bring some food and water for the new mother.

      “Mom, can we keep one this time?” Jesse pointed to the yellow pup that was busy trying to find a vacant nipple to feed on.

      “Honey, we talked about this. You know we have to sell them. Besides, Mr. Clevenger might want that one to keep.”

      The boy hung his head. “What if I don’t want to go to college?”

      Amelia looked at Boone. “We started breeding Izzy when our neighbor, Ralph Clevenger, approached us because he had a registered Labrador, too. After Ralph takes his pick, I plan to sell the others and put the money in Jesse’s college fund.”

      Boone wanted to tell Amelia that she didn’t have to worry about money for college. Russ had left everything to his son, along with a hefty life insurance policy. But that wouldn’t mean much to a little boy who wanted a dad. Instead, Boone spoke to Jesse. “Your mom will make sure they all have good homes with other boys and girls.”

      Amelia glanced down at the new mother. “This is Izzy’s third litter. I usually have the vet come out to check her. That’s not going to happen this time.”

      He could hear the worry in her voice. “They should be fine for a few days.”

      “I hope so.” Amelia walked to the kitchen sink, then turned on the water and washed her hands and forearms. When she turned, Boone held out a clean towel for her. Even in the shadowed light, he could see her fatigue. But nothing took away from her beauty.

      “I can keep an eye on Izzy,” he said.

      She peeked back into the pantry. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her.”

      “The sofa isn’t that far away. You take Jesse and at least lie down. I’ll stay here.”

      “You need sleep, too,” she said.

      “Yeah, Boone,” Jesse said. “Come sleep with us.”

      Boone glanced at Amelia and saw her uneasiness. No way was he intruding any more. “How about if I come sit with you until you fall sleep?”

      Jesse let out a yelp, ran to the sofa and dove under the blankets.

      Boone followed, but added more logs to the dying fire before heading to the opposite sofa. With the heater running, the room was warmer. Boone sat down and looked across the large coffee table as Amelia tucked her son under the covers, then she moved to the opposite end and took off her boots. She lay back, her brown hair spread against the pillow, making him think about anything but sleep.

      “Good night, Boone,” Jesse said on a yawn.

      Boone jerked his gaze away. “’Night, Jesse.” He shut off the lantern, leaned his head against the high-backed sofa and closed his eyes. Just for a minute, he told himself.

      The wind howled outside, the cracking of the warm fire combined with the boy’s soft snores was like a symphony. The feel of Amelia’s presence, so close but so untouchable, made him ache. He shifted, trying to push away any wayward thoughts. He didn’t even know this family twelve hours ago. They didn’t know him either, but that didn’t seem to matter.

      Amelia woke up surprised to see it was daylight. Suddenly thoughts of last night ran through her head.

      The blizzard. Izzy! Snowed in with a stranger.

      She sat up to see she was alone. The scent of coffee teased her nose as muffled voices came from the kitchen. No doubt it was Jesse and Boone. She glanced at the clock on the mantel. Eight-fifteen!

      She got up and walked to the window. Looking out at the beautiful winter scene, she tried to gather her thoughts. A mountain of snow covered everything. She could barely see the barn, and Boone’s truck was buried up to the bumper. At least it had stopped snowing. She glanced at the threatening gray sky. For now.

      How long before it started again? Would they be able to plow the roads? Restore the power? Get her truck?

      Suddenly the isolation bothered her even more. She and Jesse were here with a stranger. A man she was drawn to. In the last twenty-four hours, she’d been thinking about Boone Gifford instead of her grandmother’s heart procedure. It was today, and she couldn’t even find out how Ruby was doing.

      Had Kelley tried to call her? With the utilities out, her sister would be worried about not being able to reach them. Had the storm knocked out power in Helena? She shook her head. She had to stop worrying. Kelley could handle Gram.

      Laughter came from the kitchen and she smiled. At least Jesse was happy to be snowed in with a stranger.

      And so was she.

      Boone wasn’t much of a cook, but he could whip up some scrambled eggs when he had to. And this morning he had a good reason. Jesse needed to eat, and so did Amelia. She’d already provided him with two meals yesterday. It was his turn. Besides, with the electricity on only periodically, he wasn’t sure how long the food would stay fresh.

      He set a plate on the table in front of Jesse. “Here you go, bud.”

      The boy smiled. “Thanks.” He took a big bite. “Why did you call me bud?”

      “It’s just a friendly term. Short for buddy.”

      Those brown eyes widened. “I like you calling me that.” The boy scooped up a forkful and took a big bite. “This is good.”

      Boone sat down across from Jesse and began his meal. After a minute the boy had more questions. “Boone, do you think it will stop snowing before Christmas?”

      “I expect so. I’m not an expert, but it will probably stop in a few days.”

      “Oh.” Jesse looked disappointed.

      “You don’t want it to stop?”

      Jesse shook his head. “I want you to stay here.”

      The boy climbed off his chair and went to a calendar hanging on the wall that revealed the month of December, with big Xs marked through half of the days. “See, we have eleven days before Christmas. I don’t want you to leave.”

      “Jesse, I can’t stay until Christmas.”

      “But what about my wish? And I wrote Santa.”

      Boone had no idea how to answer him. “I just happened along, bud. I have to go back to Texas.”

      Tears blurred the boy’s eyes. “Who’s going to help me cut down a tree?”

      Lost childhood memories flashed into Boone’s head. He and his dad used to do that while his mother was home cooking. He blinked and focused on Jesse. “You cut down your own Christmas tree?”

      The boy nodded and wiped his eyes. “Yeah, Gram, Mom and Aunt Kelley and me. This year Mom said I’m old enough to use the saw. What are we going to do if it doesn’t stop snowing?”

      “It’s going to stop.” He hoped that was true. “And you’ll get your tree.”

      “Oh, boy, can you help us this year?”

      “Can Boone help us do what?”

      They both turned to see Amelia stroll into the kitchen. She was wearing the same jeans and sweatshirt, now wrinkled from sleep. Her hair was mussed and hung against her shoulders.

      “Hi,