A Cowboy For Christmas (A Copper Mountain Christmas) by Katherine Garbera Page B

both fear and hope much the same as she felt this year.
    “ What a wonderful memory,” Carson said.
    “ It is. I’d forgotten. I remember how bitter I was toward the ranch. I called it hell on earth. That wasn’t fair,” she said.
    He came over to her, standing way too close and looking way too good for her peace of mind. “You were young. At least now you can appreciate it.”
    “ I definitely can,” she said.
    They finished up the tree with her telling him a few more stories and Carson sharing how the Scott men always strung a lot of feet of popcorn and decorated the banisters in the big old ranch house that had been in their family for generations.
    “How long does that take?” she asked.
    “ An entire day. We eat almost as much as we string. Mom always used to make us say something we were grateful for.”
    “ How’s that work?” she asked. “You did seem to be fighting a lot with your brothers when you were younger.”
    “ Well, when mom was in the room we’d say things like I’m grateful Alec passed his old saddle on to me . But when she left I might say , I’m grateful Lane is such a wuss so I can beat him up .”
    She laughed and he shook his head.
    “Now I’m grateful Lane is home.”
    “ I bet. I heard he was wounded in Iraq,” she said. Flo had mentioned it at the diner after the Scotts had left last Wednesday night.
    “ Yes, he lost the lower half of his left leg. He wears a prosthetic now so you wouldn’t know, but for a while it was touch and go. We’re all just glad he’s home.”
    She hung the last ornament on the tree and stepped back as she did so. Carson stepped back too.
    “ What do you think?”
    “ Beautiful.”
    “ You’re not looking at the tree.”
    “ No, I’m not. I’m looking at you, Annie Prudhomme and thinking.”
    “ What are you thinking?”
    “ That I’m glad you’re home,” he said.
    She was glad too, especially when he snagged the thick wool blanket off the back of the couch and spread it out in front of the fire. He sat down, maneuvering until his back rested against the couch and he was facing the tree. Then he patted the blanket next to him. “Come sit with me. Let’s stare at the lights and pretend that Christmas miracles do happen and that this is the beginning of some very sweet traditions for both of us.”
    She hesitated as fear nipped at her again but then she looked into those big-sky-blue eyes of his and realized that there was nowhere she ’d rather be than in his arms. She sank down next to him and he put his arm around her shoulder and drew her close, resting his head on top of hers. Slowly the fear she felt in herself melted away, leaving nothing but the fact that she was being held by her very own Christmas cowboy.
     

     
    Carson tipped Annie ’s head back and she closed her eyes. He suspected she was trying to hide whatever she felt from him and he was okay with that. Holding her had convinced him that whatever happened later tonight, he wanted Annie and he wasn’t walking away from her.
    He touched her gently. One finger tracing the planes of her face, they’d dated and he’d been hot and horny back then but she’d been determined to not sleep with him. It was heady to have her in his arms now. The high cheekbones, that narrow nose of hers, and then that stubborn chin. Her neck was long and slender and he leaned down brushing his lips over hers, seducing her with slow, soft kisses. Because after waiting so long to have this one woman in his arms, the last thing he wanted to do was rush.
    Yet his body seemed to have other ideas. His fingers tingled where he touched her and a fire seemed to start deep inside him, spreading quickly through his entire body. He reached the small buttons at the top of her Henley shirt and slowly undid them, one by one. Three little buttons that ended in the heart of her cleavage.
    Her eyes opened and she looked over at him. That sexy-sweet look in her eyes, and he wondered if he’d ever be able to