A Thunder Canyon Christmas Read Online Free Page B

won—he had been stepping in to protect her from the world.
    She was twenty-six years old. Surely it was high time she found the gumption to fight her own battles. Still, the idea of somebody else taking care of her for a few minutes sounded heavenly.
    â€œDon’t you ever get tired of rescuing me?” she asked.
    Instead of answering, he laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His hand was warm in the cold December air and she wanted to lean into him, close her eyes and stay there forever.
    â€œCome on. Let’s get you out of the snow.”

Chapter Three
    T hough Matt only lived a few blocks from The Hitching Post, Elise dozed off beside him in his pickup truck before he reached his house—a small, run-down cottage on Cedar Street he had purchased a few months back to rehab in his spare time away from his work at Cates Construction.
    Before the first snow a few months earlier, he’d rushed to put new shingles on and managed a new coat of white paint and green shutters. From the outside, the place looked fresh and tidy.
    Inside was an entirely different story.
    He thought about driving around for a while to let her sleep off the alcohol in her system, but he had a feeling she probably needed food more than sleep. Back in theday when he used to enjoy the wild weekend here or there, that’s what always helped him most.
    He pulled into his driveway and put his truck in gear, though he left his engine running to keep the heater blowing. He shifted his gaze to her and shook his head.
    Elise Clifton.
    She was still as sweet and pretty as she had always been, blonde and petite, with delicate features, a slim little nose and her cupid’s bow of a mouth.
    She always looked a year or two younger than the rest of their grade. Now she probably considered that a good thing, but when they were kids, he knew she had hated being mistaken for a younger kid.
    Maybe that was why she always stirred up all his protective instincts. She was right, it seemed like he was always coming to her rescue. He hadn’t minded. Not one damn bit. He only had brothers—a twin and two older ones—and didn’t know much about dealing with girls back when he was a kid. But his father had taught them all that a guy was supposed to watch out for those who were smaller than him.
    Elise certainly fit the bill—then, and now. She looked small and fragile with her blond hair fanned out on the pickup’s upholstery and her bottom lip snagged between her teeth.
    Elise had always seemed a little more in need of rescuing than others. Even before the terrible events when she was thirteen, something about her seemed to stir up all his protective impulses.
    Her long lashes fluttered now as she blinked her eyesopen. For a brief instant, she smiled at him, her eyes the soft, breathtaking blue of the Montana sky on an early summer morning. As he gazed at her, he felt as if he’d just taken a hit to the gut from a three-hundred-pound linebacker.
    He drew in a breath, trying to shake off the unexpected sensation. This was Elise, he reminded himself. Little Elise Clifton, whose junior-rodeo, barrel-racing belt buckle had nearly been bigger than she was.
    Except she wasn’t little. She hadn’t been in a long, long time. Though still petite, he couldn’t help but notice she was soft and curvy in all the right places.
    â€œFeeling better?” he spoke mostly to distract himself.
    Her brow furrowed a little, as if she were trying to figure that out herself. After a moment, she nodded a little shyly, a trace of color on her cheeks. “Actually, I think I am. At least there’s only one of you.”
    â€œUntil Marlon shows up,” he joked about his identical twin, and was rewarded with her sweet-sounding laugh.
    â€œI hope he’s with Haley right now, tucking her in and bringing her tissues and chicken soup. She and I were supposed to have a girls’ night out to see the band at The