A Family for the Holidays Read Free Page A

“In St. Joseph, our mom had a whole couch just for fainting. She kept it in the parlor.”
    Which was probably a better explanation than anything an adult might concoct.
    â€œExactly.”
    â€œYou never answered Peter’s question,” the older boy spoke. “Are you an outlaw?”
    â€œThat depends on what you consider an outlaw.”
    Peter cupped his hand over his brother’s ear and whispered loudly, “I think that means he’s an outlaw.”
    Jake rolled his eyes.
    He’d done his job well. Everyone in town thought he was a gun for hire, and he’d never corrected the assumption. Gazing into the troubled faces of these two young boys, he loathed his deception.
    Except this was not the time to dwell on the subject. “Let’s get Miss Lily out of the cold.”
    The boys were wary, but with no other choice, they reluctantly agreed.
    Avoiding the restaurant entrance, Jake made his way toward the hotel lobby. The fewer people who saw them together the better. The desk clerk rarely left the back room unless she was summoned by the bell.
    Anonymity was key in his profession.
    As a marshal for the United States government, he’d traced a shipment of faulty guns sold to the Cherokee back to Frozen Oaks. He had a hunch, but no proof. The man he suspected, Vic Skaar, never sullied his own hands. Vic hired others, rarely using the same outlaw twice, which made his illegal activities difficult to track. For the past eight weeks Jake had cultivated his reputation as a hired gun.
    Holding an unconscious woman while being trailed by two youngsters was bad for his false reputation.
    He carried Lily across the foyer and into a small parlor. As he rested her on a mustard-colored damask settee, her eyelids fluttered.
    The two boys hovered over her, and a band of guilt tightened around his chest. Admitting his true identity risked all their lives, which meant there was little he could say to put them at ease. In order to be a good guy, he had to play a bad guy.
    â€œIs Miss Lily your sister?” Jake asked the older boy.
    â€œShe’s our chaperone. Miss Lily Winter.”
    â€œI see.”
    He should have realized immediately she wasn’t related. She was too young to be their mother and her coloring was far lighter than the brothers’ dark hair and eyes.
    â€œShe traveled with us from St. Joseph,” Peter said. “To keep us safe.”
    They should have sent a fourth person along to keep Lily safe. Jake brushed a wisp of blond hair from her pale forehead. The wool collar of her coat had bunched beneath her chin and he released the top button. The thread was darker, indicating a recent mending. The new porcelain button with its painted yellow daisy was a dash of color and extravagance that didn’t match her drab wool coat.
    Much like the whimsical fastening, Lily didn’t belong among these plain surroundings either.
    To begin with, she was tiny. The older boy, Sam, nearly topped her. Her clothing was simple and purposeful, which might have dulled another woman. On Lily, the unadorned style perfectly showcased her elegant features. Her heart-shaped face held enormous blue eyes and a mouth in the shape of a bow. Her flaxen hair was shot through with lighter and darker strands, creating a cascade of molten color. In a town where the men outnumbered the women five to one, Lily stood out like the first flower of spring.
    His gut twisted. Lilies tended to get trampled underfoot around here.
    Peter sniffled, yanking Jake back to his current dilemma.
    Jake placed a comforting hand on the child’s shoulder. “Has Miss Lily been ill?”
    Surely he hadn’t felled her with his threatening stance alone.
    â€œMaybe. I don’t know.” The boy shrugged. “We’ve been traveling for days and days. I don’t think she slept very well last night. She read my book and lost my page.” A guilty flush spread across the boy’s