The Rancher's Christmas Bride. Brenda Minton

important. She fingered the sleeve of the jean jacket and her gaze slid to the window.

      “He picked the caterer,” she said with meaning. “Not the chicken or the beef—the caterer. He picked her. Over me.”

      She pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes and breathed. The tears disappeared but they’d left streaks down her cheeks. They’d left marks, the way this wedding would leave marks, he knew with certainty.

      Another reason he was single and planned to stay that way. People had a tendency to hurt one another. His dad had hurt everyone in his path. His mom had walked out on her own children.

      He shifted and pulled back onto the road, trying to find the right thing to say. A few minutes later he drove into Dan Wilson’s driveway.

      “I’m sorry,” he told her, knowing his apology wasn’t the one that mattered. She’d been left at the altar by the man she had planned to spend her life with. He could tell her hard lessons about being let down by people who should have cared, but she didn’t need to hear it from him.

      He’d let down people, too. He’d let down his siblings. He’d let down his best friend. He guessed he’d let down himself a few times, too. That made him the last person who could really help the woman sitting next to him in the dim light of his truck. He reached to turn down the radio and told himself it didn’t mean a thing. This moment would pass, like so many moments in his life. For these few minutes, though, maybe he could be her hero, the person she could count on.

      “He was a fool. If he picked the caterer, he didn’t deserve you.” He parked next to Dan’s old farm truck.

      She leaned across the truck in a rustle of white satin and lace and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I don’t even know your name, but thank you.”

      He held out his hand. “Alex Palermo, at your service.”

      She took his hand and again he was surprised by the way it felt, as if he should cherish the moment a little longer. “Marissa Walker.”

      The rain was steady now and the light of early evening had given way to darkness. She peered through the windshield and frowned. “Is that my grandfather’s home?”

      Alex glanced away from the bride sitting next to him and nodded as he looked at the little camper, hay bales stacked underneath to keep out the winter wind. “That’s Dan’s place.”

      “He lives in a camper?”

      “For as long as I’ve known him. He’s always been ornery and he’s always lived in this camper. Don’t let it fool you. He’s one of the best horse trainers in the country and he raises some mighty fine Angus cattle.”

      A gunshot split the night, ending the conversation. The woman sitting next to him screamed. “He’s shooting at us!”

      “Nah,” he said with a grin. “He’s just warning us to get off his land.”

      * * *

      Marissa couldn’t help it; she cowered in the seat, close to the cowboy. He was a stranger, but at the moment he was the only thing she had to hold on to. The day was catching up with her. She’d been awake since sunrise, because it was her wedding day and there’d been so much to get done. And then she’d stood in the dressing room of the wedding venue waiting for Aidan. And waiting. Until he sent the text that he was on his way to Hawaii. With Linda, the caterer. Unable to face her family and friends, she’d taken off with the limousine, leaving her mom a note that she needed time.

      The limousine had broken down and the driver had told her he was done. The tow truck would take him back to the city and she was on her own unless she wanted to go to Austin.

      And now this. Her grandfather was a madman with a gun.

      The cowboy sitting next to her rolled down his window and leaned out. “Dan, stop shooting. You’re a little shaky these days and you might accidentally shoot someone.”

      “Is that you, Alex?”

      “Yeah, it’s me. And you don’t usually shoot at me when I pull up.”

      “Cattle thieves have hauled off three of my best heifers, Alex. I ain’t taking no chances.”

      “Yeah, but I’m your neighbor, not a cattle thief. And I’ve got your granddaughter in the truck with me. This isn’t the best way to introduce yourself.”

      That was her cue. Marissa got out and walked tentatively through the dark and the mud to the front of the truck, where headlights illuminated the trailer and the man standing on the rickety porch. She glanced around, looking for the cowboy, and he was there, joining her. He grinned and winked and she felt as if he was her lifeline for the time being. A stranger with dark flashing eyes, dimpled cheeks and a flirty smile. A black cowboy hat covered his head but she thought she saw dark curls peek out from beneath.

      His hand touched her back, between her shoulder blades, giving her strength to move forward.

      “I’m Marissa. I’m your granddaughter.”

      Her grandfather leaned against the porch as a fit of coughing hit. She wanted to tell him they’d be better off inside, but she wasn’t sure yet that it was true. Or even that he’d let her inside. Her grandmother had walked out on him, taking his only child, Marissa’s mom. He probably wasn’t going to feel too charitable to his only grandchild.

      “I thought you were getting married today,” he said, surprising her. “What are you doing here?”

      “I wanted to meet you.” She couldn’t very well tell him that she was twenty-six and she’d basically run away from home. That she’d run from a wedding that would have been the social embarrassment of the decade.

      “You wanted to meet me?” He barked out a harsh laugh. “On your wedding day? Where’s your groom?”

      “Hawaii.”

      “Shouldn’t you be with him?” he asked, his voice softening a bit.

      “I would have been if he hadn’t left with the caterer.”

      He sighed. “That’s too bad. But that doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

      She bit down on her lip, unsure of what she should say. “I need a place to stay.”

      “I’m sure you have a home and parents to go to.”

      “Dan, it’s just for a night,” Alex Palermo said with a confident tone as he winked at Marissa.

      She hadn’t said a thing about it being for just one night.

      Dan’s hand was on the doorknob of the camper. “I don’t have an extra bed. And I don’t think a princess like her, in a dress that cost more than this camper, is going to want to stay here.”

      “I do want to stay.” She took a few cautious steps forward.

      “You don’t have to,” Alex said out of the corner of his mouth. “We can find somewhere else for you to stay.”

      “Didn’t you hear the girl, Alex? She’s my granddaughter. She’s welcome to sleep on the couch. Tonight.” Her grandfather started to take a step inside but he wobbled a bit.

      Alex hurried up the steps and steadied the older man. Marissa watched, unsure.

      “Dan, are you okay?” Alex asked.

      “I’m fine.” Marissa’s grandfather shook loose from the hand that steadied him. “A little light-headed from this cold. Get on in out of the rain, girl.”

      “You’re sure about this?” Alex asked again.

      “I’m sure,” she answered. Nervous or not, she was staying.

      “Nobody’s asking if I’m sure,” her grandfather grumbled but he pushed the door open and motioned her inside. “Go on, Alex. We’re fine. You can come by tomorrow and check on her.”

      Alex