Her Christmas Protector by Terri Reed

remained focused on each other. Not awkward, but active. Two people finding something of interest in the other. Luke liked looking at her, seeing the beauty within her made his heart beat harder.
    She slightly raised one eyebrow, bringing an end to the intimacy of the moment. “What made you join the military?”
    He gave a mirthless laugh. “I didn’t want to turn into my father.”
    A crease appeared between her eyebrows. “Why?”
    Pride . He shrugged. “At eighteen, I guess I wanted a different, more adventurous life than my parents.”
    “And did you find that life?”
    With a nod, he answered, “Yes. I started—”
    Brandy raced into the kitchen barking wildly, the hair at her nape raised. She skidded to a stop at the back door, her nails scraping on the tile. Her barks deep and guttural, frantic.
    Faith scrambled out of the chair. “There was someone at the window.”

SEVEN
    H eart pounding, Luke moved swiftly to the door and turned off the kitchen light, then turned on the outside porch light.
    “Don’t go out there,” Faith pleaded.
    His gaze searched the dark for the trespasser.
    After a few moments, Brandy’s barks tapered off and she paced, the fur on the back of her neck still raised.
    Faith, her complexion pasty white, stood in the doorway of the kitchen, her body shaking. He went to her and took her hands. “Do you remember what the man looked like?”
    “I don’t know. I just saw a flash of movement.”
    “Could it have been Reva?”
    Her brow furrowed. “I suppose. But why would she—?”
    “She was angry when she left.”
    Faith looked unconvinced. “Should you call the police?”
    “Luke?” Dottie called from the top of the stairs.
    “Here, Mom.” Luke moved into the entryway.
    His mom stood on the landing, her robe hastily thrown on. “What’s got Brandy in such a twitter?”
    “Someone was outside,” Luke replied.
    “One of the hands? Is there a problem?”
    “I don’t know, Mom.”
    Faith touched his arm. “You go make your call. Dottie and I will be upstairs.”
    He could see fear lurking in her hazel gaze. “You’re safe. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
    She nodded and ascended the stairs and led Dottie back to her room.
    Luke called the sheriff’s station. Thirty minutes later, Sheriff Bane and a young deputy arrived. After shaking hands with the sheriff and being introduced to Deputy Art Unger, Luke said, “Faith thought she saw someone at the kitchen window.”
    He told him about his conversation with Reva.
    “Nothing like a woman scorned. Let’s take a look.” The sheriff grabbed a long, black-handled flashlight from his car and walked around the back of the house. The bright beam revealed footprints in the snow beneath the window. Sheriff Bane shifted his weight on to one leg and hovered his other foot over a clear print. “I’d say a size eleven or twelve boot. Too big for Reva. These are pretty deep, so I’d say a heavy man.” He peered through the window. “Tall, too, to be able to see through this window.”
    The young deputy scribbled notes on a small pad.
    Sheriff Bane swung the beam along the ground. “Prints disappear on the gravel drive. Who else is on the property?”
    “My foreman and the hands live in the four apartments above the stables.”
    “Could it have been one of them?” the sheriff asked.
    Shaking his head, Luke answered, “I don’t think so. Brandy wouldn’t have flipped out the way she did. Except—”
    “Except?”
    “I have two new hands, but Brandy knows them.”
    “Let’s go see if they noticed anything or anyone lurking around,” Sheriff Bane said. “Art, take a post outside.”
    Luke led the sheriff to the second-floor apartments in the bigger of the two barns. A light shone under the first door. At their knock, the door opened and Leo stood there in stocking feet. His frame was lean and lanky in jeans and a plaid shirt hanging open over a white T-shirt. His graying hair stuck up in tufts and