Christmas with a Cowboy

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2013 Vanessa Devereaux

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-663-8

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Melissa Hosack

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  CHRISTMAS WITH A COWBOY

  Love Cowboy Style, 3

  Vanessa Devereaux

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter One

  If the jerk following her would only hold back a few more feet she’d be able to concentrate on the road ahead. She knew he—yes, she knew it was a man because she could see the outline of his broad shoulders—was itching to pass her, and had been for the last mile or so. But they were in a no passing zone and visibility was almost zilch. No one but a complete idiot would attempt passing another vehicle.

  He moved his car closer to her fender.

  Shit, just who the hell did he think he was? Not everyone was used to driving in snow.

  Hang back, buddy, and we’ll all get to wherever we’re heading in one piece.

  Sophie gripped the steering wheel, feeling the car slide a tad to the left. Bile rose in her throat as her stomach flipped. She’d never been so scared driving before, and hoped she’d make it back to the airport in one piece.

  Music always settled her nerves, but she was too nervous to take her hands off the wheel to turn the knob in this strange to her car. Maybe she’d provide her own music and sing instead. A Christmas tune perhaps.

  Just as she’d hummed a few bars into Winter Wonderland, the car skidded slightly, forcing her to slow down even more. That action brought about a long blast of a horn from the car behind.

  She couldn’t take his tailgating any longer. Maybe this was risky in these slick conditions, but she was going to pull over to let the asshole pass her.

  Sophie turned the steering wheel, feeling the back of the car spin a little as she eased over to the shoulder. Within seconds he’d sped by, not taking his hand off the horn as he did so.

  If it wasn’t so damn cold and snowing she’d stick her hand out the window and flip him the bird.

  “Yeah, hope you have the jolliest of Christmases, wherever it is you’re in a hurry to get to.”

  She took a deep breath, realizing she’d let him get to her more than she’d thought. She pulled out onto the road again. If it was at all possible, it looked like the snow was falling faster. What a fool she’d been to say yes to flying to Colorado for a photo shoot this time of the year.

  She began humming again, relieved when she spotted the snow splattered sign for the Denver airport. All she had to do was return the car, hopefully without a dent on it, and the shuttle would take her to the terminal where she’d board her plane and get out of this winter wonderland.

  Growing more confident as she moved closer to her final destination, Sophie whistled a medley of holiday tunes. She pulled up at the stop lights and tapped her fingers on the wheel.

  Well, well, well, if it wasn’t the asshole’s car in front of her. Yeah, like he’d gotten that far ahead despite his rush. With the overhead lights shining downward, and the glow of the snow reflecting off his car, she could now see he was wearing a cowboy hat.

  She’d never met a real cowboy before; not that he probably was one. There was something alluring about a guy in those hat and boots. She wondered if he was a real one or a wannabe.

  The light changed to green and she was ready to put her foot on the accelerator when she noticed his car having trouble getting traction. It caused the back wheels to spin, sending snow flying in the air.

  It had to be Karma, or this being the season of miracles, revenge, because it was Sophie’s turn to grow impatient with him. She maneuvered her car around his, getting the nerve to momentarily take her eyes off the road to give him a disapproving look. Not that she saw much of him. When she checked in the rearview mirror, he was still stuck and the light had changed to red again.

  What goes around comes around.

  She glanced up and remembered that the car rental return was to the left. She signaled and headed into the lane and then exited. She was finally undercover and out of the snowstorm. She’d made it and hopefully wouldn’t have to drive in those conditions ever again. She got out and walked back to the trunk and retrieved her bags. She pulled up the handle on one of them, slung the other over her shoulder, and headed inside to hand over the keys and then waited for the shuttle.

  ****

  Flynn swore under his breath as he waited for the car rental shuttle to take him to the main terminal. He glanced at his watch. Getting to the airport had taken hours and not just because of the heavy snowstorm that had suddenly moved into the area. It had been his bad luck to get stuck behind the slowest driver in the world. And no, he wasn’t exaggerating one tiny iota.

  The shuttle pulled into the car rental return area. Flynn lifted his bag and got on through the rear door along with two other passengers. He sat down, glancing at his watch again. Hopefully he’d make his flight in time, but he was cutting it close.

  Glancing up he saw the back of someone’s head. It looked like the same one he’d seen in the car ahead of him on the drive to the airport. It was the old biddy who’d been driving at zero miles an hour. He recognized the coat collar he’d seen peeking out over the seat. It wasn’t hard to miss because it had some fancy black stitching on the back.

  For an old lady, she looked in pretty good shape, well from what he could see above the seat. She obviously dyed her hair, because it was dark brown and not grey like he’d expected.

  She turned around as if she sensed he was studying her.

  When he looked at her face, it threw him completely. She wasn’t old, but a pretty woman, probably not even thirty.

  He swallowed. Maybe this wasn’t the shitty driver. But no, it was, he’d looked at that head and the emblem on the upturned collar for a long time when he’d been trying to pass her. It would be etched on his brain for months.

  She gave him a quick glance but then looked back to the front of the shuttle as they pulled into the terminal. Had she recognized him? Probably not. Not that had cared or was embarrassed if she had. She was a road hazard and had deserved the blast of horn he’d given her.

  He stood when the doors opened and then moved toward the front exit. Just as he got to her seat she stood, ready to leave. Although he was in a hurry, he was gentlemanly enough to let her out ahead of him. When she got to the steps she dropped her gloves and bent over to pick them up. While he enjoyed the view of her very nice ass, once again she was delaying him from his flight. He tapped his cowboy boot. He usually wasn’t this impatient, but he couldn’t afford not to be back in Helena tonight.

  She swooped up both gloves, shook the snow from them, and headed toward the terminal, pulling her bag behind her. They were some high heeled fancy shoes she was wearing. Bright red soles flashed with each step she took. Maybe they were Christmas ones.

  He couldn’t spend more time observing her or her fancy shoes. Flynn maneuvered around her, and then sped up so he could get to the check-in desk. He wasn’t sure if she was traveling on the same airline and didn’t want to risk her getting in front of him and taking as much time choosing her seat as she did driving along the road. Lucky for him, the line was empty.

/>   “Flynn Whelan checking in for the flight to Helena,” he said, slapping down his ticket.

  “I’m sorry sir all flights out of Denver are now cancelled due to the snowstorm.”

  Shit. No, this couldn’t be.

  “Cancelled. You mean the Mile High City can’t deal with snow at its airport?”

  “It’s a slow moving storm and it’s hit most of the Western states, so even if we could get you out of here, other airports are closed, with Helena being one of them.”

  He took a deep breath. Surely Jonie wouldn’t penalize him for the wrath of Mother Nature. Oh yes, she could, and would.

  He strummed his fingers on the counter.

  “What time do you think flights will resume?” he asked.

  “It’s hard to say, but when the storm does stop it might take a while to get back to the regular schedule.”

  He looked outside. If he rented a car he could make it back to Helena in time for Christmas Eve, but even for someone who was used to driving in snow, it was beginning to look like blizzard conditions out there. And he doubted the rental place had anything near as good as his pick-up truck to hold the icy roads.

  “We’ve been sending everyone to the Twinings Inn. It’s the only hotel with a few rooms left. If you hurry you might get the last one. The shuttle leaves in about ten minutes,” said the girl behind the desk.

  Better than trying to get some shut eye on the floor of the airport.

  “Thanks for the tip and I’ll call first thing tomorrow morning to check on my flight.”

  He hoped by the time he got to the hotel there was a room left for him.

  ****

  A cancelled flight was the last thing she needed. Stuck in Denver during a blizzard. Maybe even spending Christmas here and not on the beach back home liked she’d planned.

  At least there was a hotel room waiting for her. A blast of cold air and snow hit her as she walked outside and boarded the Twining’s Inn shuttle bus. She sat down and shook the pieces of ice from her hair.

  Her first choice would have been to board the flight home, but the second best thing was a comfy hotel room where she could soak in a nice tub of warm water. After that she’d order room service and forget about the mess and chaos outside.

  The shuttle pulled away but then stopped suddenly, almost sending her flying off her seat, when a man wearing a cowboy hat ran beside it and banged on the door, shouting for it to stop.

  The driver opened the door for him and the cowboy rushed inside. She tried not to stare, but the guy was gorgeous. She’d chosen to sit on the horizontal seats by the driver and the cowboy opted to sit on same style seat on the opposite site of the aisle.

  He was out of breath and shook the snow off his hat, splashing her legs in the process. He glanced over at her. She looked out the window and didn’t look back until she thought it was safe to do so.

  The sexy cowboy now had his legs spread apart, his boots securing the bag between his feet. She glanced upward, noting how his tight jeans clung to his calves and thighs, and the hard to miss bulge in his crotch.

  If only there was someplace else to look, but it was getting dark outside and the bus held nothing of interest. Also, her eyes were too lazy to move. All she could do was zero in on his groin, wondering what he looked like naked.

  The cowboy glanced over at her. Shit, he must have seen where her eyes were focused. She coughed. An obvious thing to do, but it’s all she could think of on the spur of the moment.

  Even the bus’ wheels spun as it turned into the entrance of the Twining’s Inn. She glanced out of the window. A hotel had never looked so good to her.

  She stood and grabbed her bags as soon as the bus stopped. She wasn’t used to wearing gloves and had bought a pair earlier that day when it had started to snow. Like she had on the car rental shuttle bus, she dropped them as she was heading down the steps and had to bend over to get them.

  Sexy cowboy was right behind her tapping his foot.

  ****

  Who would have believed he’d be unfortunate enough to be riding in the elevator with painfully slow driver. She’d even pressed for the same floor as him. He’d gotten a good look at her when she’d sat opposite him on the shuttle bus. Pretty eyes, pretty hair…but couldn’t drive in snow to save her life.

  Had she been ogling his crotch on the bus? Sure looked like it.

  They glanced at one another and then quickly looked toward the elevator door.

  Man, he couldn’t wait to get in the shower, take a nice long hot steamy one to work out the kinks in his shoulders. After that he’d lie on the bed, order a beer and a steak, and watch some TV.

  The bell tinged and they both tried to exit the elevator at the same time, their shoulders brushing one another’s as they did so.

  He signaled for her to go ahead of him.

  Once out in the hallway, she seemed to be dithering as to which way she should go for her room. He, on the other hand, saw that 625 was to his left, and headed that way before she blocked his path again.

  He stuck his card in slot in the door and just as he did so a woman’s voice shouted to him.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  He turned to look at the lady now standing beside him. It was her, shitty, slow driver.

  “Going into my room. Is there a problem with that?”

  “Yes, there is because this is my room.”

  “I’ve just checked in. I’m in room 625. And as far as I know the numbers on the door say 625.” He tapped on the wood for extra emphasis.

  “I’ve just checked into room 625,” she said.

  “Sure you have the right hotel?”

  “Of course I do. Now would you please take your card out of my slot.”

  He bit his lip, trying not to laugh. Had she realized what she’d just said?

  “Miss, I’m very particular about where I stick my card. I’ve never been one to put it into a slot I’ve only just met. Now if you don’t mind I’m going into my room.”

  “Do I have to call security?”

  She tried to push him aside and in doing so, stepped on his boots.

  They were his best ones, and now a dirty wet outline of her shoe marred the suede.

  “Hey, do you mind where you’re treading, and just who the hell do you think you are pushing me like that?”

  “Okay, I’m calling down to reception to prove to you this is my room, but while I’m doing that you’re not to go inside until this is sorted out.”

  He took a big sigh as she turned to face the wall, pulled out her cell phone and began punching in the number that would connect her to the reception desk. All he wanted to do was go in and shower, but if it got her off his case, he’d do it. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she found out she was wrong. He’d even make her apologize.

  She looked at him while she waited for someone at reception to answer.

  Bossy, uptight, but the worst thing was he was attracted to her like crazy. A woman like this wasn’t usually his type, but every time he looked at her or she opened that mouth of hers, he felt his cock stiffen just a tad more.

  She turned away when she finally got someone to respond.

  “No, no, that can’t be true.”

  She was probably learning it was his room not hers. He grinned.

  “How could this have happened?”

  He grinned even more.

  “Yes, I know it’s been hectic, but still that doesn’t help me any.”

  He was about to smirk again when she turned around to look at him while she continued her conversation.

  “No, I don’t think that’s an option for either of us. Okay, well, thank you very much.”

  She ended the call as he was about to put his card in the slot again.

  “Wait a minute,” she said, touching his hand.

  That had sent his hormones racing.

  “It’s my room right?” he asked.

  “Nope, it’s both our room. With the rush they had,
they accidently doubled booked. Seems we checked in at almost the same time, so it didn’t get cancelled out of the system and showed it was still available.”

  Son of a bitch.

  “So that means you’ll have to find somewhere else for the night,” she said.

  “Me?” said Flynn. “I was here first.”

  “Only because I got lost.”

  “There’s always the janitor’s closet. I passed one on the way here. Might be a few brooms you can test drive.”

  “How dare you be so rude.”

  She was about to shove him again when he wedged his body firm against the door.

  “Push me one more time and I’ll take you across my knee and give you a good spanking.”

  “That’s sexual harassment.”

  “Nope, that’s a promise, and I can assure you, you’d enjoy it.

  Chapter Two

  If any other man had said that to her she would have slapped him across the face. But this wasn’t any man. Despite him being so domineering, and nabbing her hotel room, she wanted to kiss him, not hit him.

  “As this mess isn’t our fault and neither one of us is to blame, I think we could share the room for the night. And I can assure you I don’t bite,” he said.

  She wanted to say yes, and not because she was dead on her feet and wanted to soak in the tub, but the thought of spending a whole night in the same room with this cowboy both thrilled and scared her. Not that she thought he’d do her any harm. She had her usual canister of mace in her bag. But truth was he might have to use it on her. She’d never wanted a man so badly in all her life. Strange thing was, he wasn’t her usual type.

  “If you’d just hand me out a blanket and a pillow I’m sure I can find somewhere cozy for the night,” she said. I will not give in to temptation even if it’s the holiday season.

  “Suit yourself, but if you change your mind, just put your card into my slot.”