Yuletide Cowboys. Arlene James

the time they reached the farm several minutes later, the ground was already covered with a fresh blanket of snow and there was no end in sight. The already snow-packed roads would be extra slick, with dangerous patches of black ice lurking just under the white blanket. Marcus’s truck was a four-wheel drive, but she doubted that would help him navigate the difficult landscape, especially with a trailer attached. Winter driving was tricky for those experienced with the conditions. She didn’t know where Marcus had been in the past twelve years, but if he still lived in Oklahoma, he wouldn’t be familiar with the ferocity of this weather.

      Reaching the barn, she threw her leg across Mag’s flank and jumped to the ground, then set her heels and tugged on Crash’s rope, urging her toward the barn. One would have thought the errant reindeer would be easily tempted by the prospect of warmth and food, but apparently not. The crazy animal planted her four hooves and straightened her neck and pulled her entire weight backward.

      Stubborn, stubborn reindeer.

      She was still mumbling a few choice words about fur rugs and venison steaks when Marcus exited his truck. He chuckled. “Need a hand?”

      Sarah’s first instinct was to refuse. She didn’t need Marcus’s help with anything. But then common sense took over and she tossed him the rope. It wasn’t his fault she was mad at the world and everything in it.

      “Knock yourself out.”

      “Well, I hope not, darlin’. It’ll take more than one feisty reindeer to sweep me off my feet.” He winked at her and her treacherous heart fluttered.

      Marcus was six foot two and built like a brick wall, but it still took a great deal of tugging on his part to get the stubborn reindeer moving again. Sarah directed him to Crash’s stall and then put up Mag, giving the Percheron a good rubdown and a bucket of oats to help tide him over for the long journey ahead.

      Marcus could probably use a good pick-me-up as well, maybe a stout cup of coffee for the road, but Sarah hesitated to invite him up to the house.

      For one thing, Onyx and Jewel and her parents-in-law, Carl and Eliza, were inside the cabin. There would be the obligatory introductions and Marcus, ever the social butterfly, would no doubt get caught up in the moment after finding himself accosted by the friendly elderly couple, the enthusiastic three-year-old and the unquestionably adorable baby.

      Another reason she had qualms about bringing Marcus around had to do with the state of her house. It was in dire need of repair, from the missing tiles on the roof to a kitchen cabinet half falling off the hinges. Then there was the starkness of the decor, or rather, a lack of any sort of decor whatsoever. She’d pawned nearly every piece of furniture and all of the artwork to pay the most pressing of recent bills. There was only a smattering of pieces left—such as a beat-up old olive-green armchair and a hideaway sofa that had seen better days.

      It would be obvious to even the most dispassionate of observers that she was in dire straits, and of all the people on planet earth, Marcus was the last man she’d want to have discover her this way. Her cheeks heated. Oh, the humiliation of it all.

      The whole reason she’d broken up with him on the day after their high school graduation was so that she could go out and make a success of herself. They were headed in different directions and she couldn’t be held back by a long-distance relationship. She needed to stay focused on her studies so she would never end up sending her kids to school wearing secondhand clothes as she’d had to do when she was a child. She was going to make something of herself.

      Ha. What a joke that had turned out to be. She was dangling precariously by a thread right now, and it grew thinner all the time. But Marcus didn’t need to know that—any of it. A woman had her pride, after all.

      Marcus stood near the stable door, his hat in his hand and his brow drawn in an unusually solemn expression as he stared out at the landscape. She was about ready to suggest they load up the Percherons so he could be on his way when he turned to her and threaded his fingers through his thick golden hair.

      “The weather has taken a turn for the worse.” She knew he was trying his best to sound conversational, but she could hear the note of worry underlying his tone.

      She stepped up beside him and peered out over the landscape, already knowing what she was going to see but still hoping beyond hope that he was overreacting.

      He wasn’t. His truck was already covered with a half inch of heavy snow. She couldn’t even see the tracks the truck had made driving in. Perhaps worst of all, the wind was lashing the snow sideways, leaving zero visibility. She could barely make out the lights from the cabin, even though it was located only a few hundred yards from the stable.

      “You’re right. This doesn’t look good,” she agreed tightly, her throat going dry.

       Oh no.

      Her worst-case scenario was rapidly becoming her only option. What else was she to do?

      Marcus frowned and settled his hat on his head. “No, it doesn’t look good at all. I’d best load up the horses and head out of here before the storm gets any worse.”

      As much as she didn’t want to do it, she laid a restraining hand on his arm. “I’m afraid we’re too late for that. It looks like you’re going to have to take your hat off and stay awhile.

       Chapter Two

      Was it his imagination or had Sarah’s shoulders slumped when she’d suggested they go up to her house? Did his presence bother her that much?

      It was a disheartening notion, but she was right about one thing—he wasn’t going anywhere, at least not for a few hours yet. He’d never seen anything like this sudden turn in the weather. The already snow-packed roads were receiving a double wallop of the white stuff. Snow on snow. He didn’t even want to think about trying to drive in it, especially towing a trailer with Grandma Sheryl’s precious equine cargo. Odd, though, that he hadn’t seen any quarter horses. Only the two Percherons, and Grandma wouldn’t have any use for those.

      For the moment a steaming-hot cup of black coffee and the opportunity to catch up with Sarah sounded great to him, even if she didn’t appear equally enthused.

      As they approached the house, Marcus darted around her to get the door, but it opened before he could get his hand around the knob, nearly sending him careening into the cabin.

      Startled, Marcus stepped back. A white-haired old man with a bushy beard greeted them and hastily ushered them inside. The guy was a dead ringer for Santa, from the rosy cheeks and the glitter in his eyes to his round belly. The only thing missing from the picture was a bow-like smile, which had been replaced by a worried frown. No bowl-full-of-jelly laughter here.

      The fellow fit right into the surroundings, seeing as this was a Christmas tree farm and all. But what was he doing in her cabin? Sarah retained her very own Santa Claus and the man lived in her house?

      “Thank the good Lord you’re safely home,” the man exclaimed in a booming bass voice. “Eliza is in a tizzy. She was just about ready to send me out after you in this blizzard. I’m grateful you came back when ya did. I wouldn’t want to have had to chase ya through the snow.”

      “Sorry, Pops.” Sarah brushed the white flakes from her dark hair and removed her snow boots and down jacket. “Pops, this is Marcus, one of Sheryl Ender’s grandsons. He’s here to pick up the horses, but unfortunately, the storm waylaid him. Marcus, this is my father-in-law, Carl Kendricks.”

      “Good to meet you, sir,” Marcus replied automatically, shaking the older man’s hand. He was glad he didn’t have to think about the effort because his mind was busy wrapping itself around what he’d just learned.

      Sarah was married. There was no reason why she shouldn’t be. She was a beautiful woman with a heart of gold. He didn’t know why the news came as a surprise to him, except that—

      He