Acclaim for the authors of ALL A COWBOY WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS:
JUDITH STACY ‘Opposites attract in this sexy, passionate Western about a fighting man insistent on getting his way and a courageous woman who is not afraid to best him at his own game.’ —RT Book Reviews on JARED’S RUNAWAY WOMAN
‘These light, charming, heartwarming novellas bring the style of Western courtship to light, and deliver just enough romance, Western aura and engaging characters to satisfy a reader’s appetite for a taste of the wild and tender West.’
—RT Book Reviews on Stetsons, Spring and Wedding Rings anthology, featuring Judith Stacy
DEBRA COWAN ‘Cowan does an excellent job of bringing her characters to life and keeping the readers guessing about the bad guys.’ —RT Book Reviews on WHIRLWIND REUNION
‘Three talented authors prove there’s nothing quite like a wedding, or the feelings of optimism and love that go along with the celebration. With their different outlooks on the occasion they deliver stories connected to their single-title series with pathos, tenderness and humour. These sweet, gentle, emotional tales will lift your spirits and your heart.’—RT Book Reviews on Happily Ever After in the West anthology, featuring Debra Cowan
And introducing new and exciting voice
LAURI ROBINSON.
You can find her sexy and unforgettable cowboy heroes and heart-racing romances in Mills & Boon® Historical Undone! eBooks
All a Cowboy Wants for Christmas
Waiting for Christmas
Judith Stacy
His Christmas Wish
Lauri Robinson
Once Upon a Frontier Christmas
Debra Cowan
About the Author
JUDITH STACY fell in love with the West while watching TV Westerns as a child in her rural Virginia home—one of the first in the community to have a television. This Wild West setting, with its strong men and resourceful women, remains one of her favourites. Judith is married to her high school sweetheart. They have two daughters and live in Southern California. Look in on Judith’s website at www.judithstacy.com
Dear Reader
For me, the best part of Christmas is the gifts. Not the kind that come wrapped in colourful paper with big bows—though those are always nice. The gifts most meaningful to me are the ones that don’t come in packages. They are the joy I feel from donating to the homeless shelter, hearing the sweet voices of the children’s choir performing traditional carols, and seeing my loved ones gathered around the red and green lights twinkling on our Christmas tree.
In WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS, this same joy is experienced by Marlee Carrington, who reluctantly travels to Texas to spend the holidays with distant cousins and meets handsome businessman Carson Tate. They’re drawn together by the town’s Christmas festival, yet Marlee’s past makes her reluctant to commit to a future with Carson. All of that changes when Marlee receives a special, long-awaited gift that only the man who loves her can bestow.
WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS also brings the return of Ian Caldwell and Lucy Hubbard. Readers met this troubled couple in MAGGIE AND THE LAW, and again in A HERO’S KISS, and have anxiously wanted to know how things turned out for them. Their story is concluded here.
Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a warm, happy holiday season.
Judith
DEDICATION
To David, Stacy, Judith, Seth and Brian.
Thanks for always making this fun.
Chapter One
Harmony, Texas, 1889
Five weeks. Just five weeks, then she could leave.
Marlee Carrington gripped the handle of her carpetbag and reminded herself that five weeks wasn’t so very long. She’d certainly managed to live longer than that in places far worse than this wild, uncivilized land called Texas.
Around her on the platform the passengers she’d spent the long journey with hurried to meet friends and loved ones, their expressions bright with joy despite the gray winter sky. Porters carried luggage from the baggage car. The locomotive hissed, shooting steam into the cold, crisp air.
Marlee stepped away from the crowd, keeping to herself.
The town of Harmony, what little she could see of it from the railroad station, spread westward. The wide dirt street was bordered by watering troughs and covered boardwalks, and lined on both sides with wooden buildings, a few of them two stories tall. She’d expected as much, but seeing it sent a tremor of uneasiness through her.
The arrival of the train had attracted a great deal of attention. Townsfolk flocked to the station. Young boys and girls raced through the crowd. Several dogs followed them, barking.
All manner of people moved about. Rugged-looking men dressed in coarse clothing, some with long, unkempt beards. They hustled about, intent on their work, driving horse- or mule-drawn wagons to the train station, yelling, cursing. And all of them had pistols strapped to their sides. Some carried rifles—right out in the open, in broad daylight.
Marlee gasped. Good gracious, what sort of place was this?
Four weeks. Maybe she would only stay four weeks.
Shouts drew her attention to a group of men near the baggage car involved in a heated discussion over something. Marlee glanced at them, then looked away, not wanting to draw their attention by staring, afraid—
Well, she didn’t know what, exactly, she was afraid of. She was just afraid.
In the crowd of people still streaming toward the train station, Marlee spotted a number of men who, judging by the nicer clothing they wore, were probably merchants and businessmen. They joined the fray around the platform, shouting directions to their drivers and the porters unloading the box cars.
Clutching her carpetbag tighter, Marlee ventured to the edge of the wooden platform and craned her neck, searching for a familiar face in the crowd. She expected her aunt and uncle to meet the train. She’d hoped her cousins, Audrey and Becky, would come, too.
A jolt of unease shot through Marlee. Would she recognize them? Years had passed since she’d seen them—she’d been only a child when they’d made the trip to Pennsylvania to visit.
The sea of strange faces seemed to double, the shouting intensified, the children raced faster, dogs barked louder. A wave of anxiety crashed over Marlee.
What if her aunt and uncle had forgotten she was coming? What if they’d left town? What if they hadn’t really wanted her to visit them, after all? What if they were just being nice when they’d invited her here? What if they’d changed their minds and fled, leaving her stranded here in this frightening place amid a town full of strangers?
Marlee drew in a quick breath, forcing herself to calm down.
No, of course her aunt and uncle hadn’t left town. They simply were late arriving at the train station to meet her. That’s all it was.
Surely.
They’d asked her to come here and spend the Christmas