Clandestine Christmas

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“I’d like for you to go to the hospital with me today to check on Sadie.”

“Should someone keep an eye on things around here?” Kate asked.

“I’ll have William and Frances keep a close eye on the boy. I want you to go with me. Two heads are better than one and I might make a trip into Denver after the hospital.”

“Why Denver?”

Before he could answer, the dog let out a string of deep-throated woofs alerting Chase to the arrival of visitors to the ranch.

Chase leaned his pitchfork against the stall, wiped his hands down the front of his old blue jeans and stepped out of the barn into the gray light of morning.

“Expecting guests?” Kate asked, following him out of the barn.

“No.” After all that had happened the night before, he hurried around the house, determined to head off anyone who might be there to hurt the Quaids or Jake.

Kate kept pace, half walking, half jogging beside him.

Barkley had beat them to the front of the house where a truck pulled up in the driveway and parked. A man wearing a cowboy hat eased out of the driver’s seat and limped to the back door of the four-door truck. Barkley stopped barking and ran to greet the visitor, bumping his nose against the man’s leg.

No sooner had the man opened the rear door then a tiny pair of jean-clad legs appeared below the open door and a little boy dropped to the ground. He rounded the side of the truck, a huge grin on his face.

“Mr. Marsden, we came to play with Jake. Mrs. Quaid said it would be all right.” The little boy ran to Chase.

Chase dropped to his haunches and almost fell back when the boy flung himself into his arms. “Hey, there, Tad.” He chuckled. “You’re in good spirits.”

“Mom said I could stay all day if you’d let me. Angus is going to stay, too.”

Chase rose with Tad in his arms, his gaze meeting the cowboy’s. He held out his hand. “Good to see you, Angus.”

The cowboy took it in a firm grip. “Had word from a mutual friend you could use a little temporary help on the ranch.” His gaze shifted to Kate and he stuck out his hand. “Name’s Angus Ketchum.”

Kate took his hand. “Kate Rivers.”

“My fiancée,” Chase added.

Angus nodded toward Chase, the corners of his mouth lifting. “Congratulations. Reggie will be excited to know there will be another female close by.” To Kate he said, “Welcome to the high country. It has a way of growing on you.”

“That mutual friend you mentioned wouldn’t happen to be a guy by the name of Hank?” Chase asked.

Kate’s held out her hand. “Hank mentioned you. It’s good to have another CCI agent out here.”

Angus nodded. “I agree. But I’m only here to help for the short term. I have to be back at the Last Chance this evening. Reggie’s got me meeting with her and the contractor rebuilding her house since the fire.”

“You know you’re welcome to stay here until the house is complete.”

“Thanks, but Reggie and I don’t want to be a bother to anyone. The folks of Gold Rush Tavern have been good to us during this whole ordeal and we’ll be moving into a rental house in town just before Christmas. We’ll be all right there until the construction is complete.”

“The offer’s open if your plans fall through.”

Angus tipped his head. “In the meantime, Tad’s been champing at the bit to get together with Jake since he heard someone his age moved in nearby.”

Chase’s lips curled. “News travels fast around here.”

Angus grinned. “I’m sure your engagement has hit the grapevine by now.”

The boy in Chase’s arms squirmed. “Can I go play?”

“Of course. I’ll bet Jake’s awake and eating breakfast. If he isn’t, wake him up. He’ll be happy to have someone to hang out with.”

“Can I pet the bear?” Tad asked.

“Sure.” Chase set Tad on the ground and he was off like a shot.

Once the boy entered the house, Chase faced Angus. “Thanks for coming. I didn’t like the idea of leaving Jake. The Quaids don’t know that Kate is a bodyguard. I fed them the line that she’s my fiancée. I love them and trust them, but Mrs. Quaid has a hard time keeping secrets. I didn’t want to put her in the position to keep any more than she has to.”

“Understood.” Angus turned to Kate. “Hank wants you two to send any information you can find on the vehicle that hit Sadie and any clues big or small that come up. He’ll get his computer guy, Brandon, to dig into anything and everything he can. He already has him looking into Sadie’s and her daughter Melissa’s background to see if anything pops up.”

“Good.” Chase let out a long, slow breath. “In the meantime, Kate and I will be paying a visit to Sadie in the hospital. From there, we might take a drive up to Denver. I have something I need to check on.”

“I understand Sadie’s house burned down.” Angus snorted. “Seems like too much of that going around.”

“I only got involved in this when Sadie called in a favor. We got confirmation from the Leadville fire chief that they’d ruled the cause of the fire to be arson.” Chase’s lips thinned. “Had I suspected it was more than an accidental fire, I’d have called Hank sooner.”

Kate weighed in, “The sooner we figure out who started the fire and tried to make roadkill out of Sadie, the sooner Sadie and her grandson will be safe.”

Chase nodded. “You’re right.”

“I can help with the chores if you want to get to the hospital,” Angus offered.

“Thanks. We got a start, but there are more horses needing to be fed. William can help.”

“We’ll take care of it and I’ll keep an eye out for Jake and Tad,” Angus said.

Chase led Angus to the barn and showed him the chores needing finished.

William joined them. “We’ve got it covered. You two go check on Sadie. Frances is worried about her.”

“Thanks.” Chase met Kate’s gaze. “Ready to clean up and head to the hospital and then Denver? There’s something there I want to check on as well.”

She nodded.

He grabbed Kate’s hand and left the barn. She’d been quiet through it all. When they were alone between the house and the barn, she pulled her hand free.

“If Hank has Angus here, there’s no need for me to be around.”

“You heard Angus—he’s only temporary to help us out while we do some digging of our own.”

She hesitated. “Okay, but I just don’t think I’m the right person for this job.”

When she started for the house, Chase stepped in front of her. “Why do you think that? You were fine with it until we kissed Jake good-night. What happened in there?”

“It’s nothing.” Kate tried to step around him, but he refused to let her past.

“How can it be nothing when you want to run as fast and far away from here as you can? What is it that has you wound up tighter than a rattlesnake with a new button on his tail?”

“I’m not running and I’m not wound up,” she said, her voice rising. “We’re wasting time.” She turned away, her body shaking.

He gripped her shoulders and forced her to face him again. “It’s not a waste of time if I can get to the bottom of what’s eating at you. Maybe I can help.”

“You can’t,” she said, her shoulders sagging. “Nobody can.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Please leave me alone,” she whispered.

“At least tell me what it is.” He cupped her chin, brushing his thumb across her cheek. When her bottom lip trembled, it was all he could do not to lean forward and capture it between his teeth.

“It’s none of your business.” A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye. “It doesn’t matter, anyway.”

He pressed his lips together, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms. When the tear reached his thumb, he caught it. “Let me be the judge.”

“I don’t like to be around kids.” She jerked her chin away from his hand. “There. Satisfied?”

Chase shook his head. She wasn’t telling him something important and he refused to let go of her until she gave him the whole truth. Even if he had to kiss it out of her.

Chapter Four (#ulink_bd5ce13e-4e14-5603-892a-002231164d97)

Kate wanted to run, to hide from the truth. If she just told him, she’d be done with it, but she couldn’t. Because saying it out loud made it too permanent, too real.

She shrugged, trying to shake loose from Chase’s grip, but he wasn’t letting go. Short of taking him down like a perp, she was stuck with him.