Cowboy Who Came For Christmas (Harlequin Romance) Read Online Free Page B

she wasn’t even sure she deserved anyone’s attention or concern. She turned and hurried off the porch before Bettye could add any more information.
    “Keep your porch light on,” Adan called to Bettye. “Just in case.”
    Bettye chuckled and nodded. “I’ll do that, Mr. Ranger-Man.”
    Then she shut the door and turned off the light.
    As they shuffled through the ankle-deep snow, he turned to Sophia. “So who else lives on this mountain besides two stubborn women?”
    Sophia didn’t want to trust this man, but even though he hadn’t charged in on a white horse, she could tell he was one of the good guys. She wished she could ask him who he was looking for, but if she showed too much interest he’d see the truth in her eyes. But she could be honest with him about Crescent Mountain.
    “This spot was named by a trapper who traveled the summit of the hills and decided he’d walked in a curve that made him think of a crescent moon. That somehow stuck and so this curved hillside became Crescent Mountain.”
    Adan had studied several maps of the area. “It circles west of the lower White River. I can see how it got that name.”
    “Yes, and it also has a reputation for being a kind of retreat since it’s so near a big national forest. Few people know about our little community. We’re pretty self-sufficient. We take turns going down the mountain to town for supplies and groceries and if someone is in need, we either take care of them or get them help at the regional medical center about forty miles from here.”
    Adan didn’t respond. Maybe he thought she was issuing him a warning. Good. He needed to back off and leave her alone. She’d only give him as much information as she thought he needed.
    They followed the beam of his flashlight and stayed on the path, retracing their earlier footsteps. When they reached Sophia’s yard, he moved the light over the path and out into the nearby woods. The eerie yellow glow shined brightly against the stark ghostly white curling around the trees, making Sophia feel as if shrouded fingers were reaching for her.
    Sophia shuddered, the cold wet wind piercing her skin. How could anyone survive out here tonight? The temperatures had dipped well below freezing.
    “We don’t normally get snow this heavy,” she said, glad to have a warm place to stay. “A rare winter storm right here before Christmas.”
    She was about to go inside when she thought she saw a moving shadow just past Adan’s beaming light. He must have seen it, too. He stopped, held up the light again. Then he walked toward the encroaching woods and held the light up and out.
    Nothing but trees and snow. The blanketed woods held no sounds except that of the occasional dripping of snow off drooping branches.
    Sophia didn’t want to think about who might be out in those dark woods. She’d escaped death once and this isolated mountain community had taken her in, no questions asked. The Crescent, as the locals called the mountain, was known for accepting quirky characters who wanted to get away from the world. She wasn’t all that quirky, but she did want to stay hidden. She had no other choice.
    Now a mountain of a man had come pushing into her quiet, safe world. And he was a man of the law. Which could only mean trouble was sure to follow. If Adan Harrison found out the real story about her, he’d haul her off in handcuffs without another word.
    “What did you see out there?” she asked, trying to sound brave. But her teeth chattered from the cold. And from that deep fear she’d tried to hide for so long.
    “I don’t know. Probably nothing.” Adan stomped the snow and mud off his boots. “Just the wind pushing at a tree.”
    Sophia cast one last look out into the darkness. The hills and valleys beyond the level lane glistened in an eerie shimmer against the dark night. The woods were hushed and still and the snow fell in soft lacy threads that covered the ground like an icy white blanket.
    How could