A Fortune's Children's Christmas Read Free Page B

the world-wide conglomerate, where the children and grandchildren of Kate and her late husband, Ben, were anything from reed-thin models to pilots, authors to lawyers, chemists to ranchers. And there was something more to him, as well—a haunted look that he tried to hide.
    Another contraction was beginning to squeeze her in its painful grip, and for the next few seconds she closed her eyes and breathed in shallow gasps, unable to think about the Fortune family or her new neighbor.
     
    Life just wasn’t getting any easier, Chase decided. He gave the gelding an extra ration of oats and listened as the wind ripped through the thin walls of the stables. The seventy-year-old siding was giving way, knotholes and gaps between the boards allowing the frigid air to seep inside.
    Who was the woman who was lying in his bed? Where was her husband, the father of the baby about to enter the world? The last thing he needed in his life right now was another complication. The pregnant woman was that and so much more. He latched the door behind him and jogged through the snow to the back porch, where he kicked off his boots and hung his hat on a peg.
    Inside, he took off his jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair that was near the fire, then he checked on the woman. She was settled into the bed, her coat and scarf on the floor, her red-brown hair damp and feathered around her head like a cloud on his pillow.His gut clenched for a minute. It had been a long time since there had been a female tucked under his blankets; no one since Emily. Her suitcase, now open to display folded clothes for a woman and infant, lay open on the bureau.
    An old ache tore at his heart when he thought of his own son, born healthy, or so they’d been told, only to die before his first birthday.
    “Hi,” the woman said weakly, and some of the ice around his heart cracked a bit. She looked so pale and drawn.
    “How’re ya doin’?” he asked.
    “Compared to what?” Her smile was weak, her eyes wary as he approached the bed.
    At least she had a sense of humor. “I’m Chase Fortune.”
    “I figured you were connected to Kate one way or another.” She smoothed the blanket over her stomach.
    “Her grandnephew.”
    “I’m Lesley Bastian.”
    Bastian, he thought. She was somehow related to the man who’d bought his father’s place.
    “I live next door. To the north.”
    The muscles in the back of his neck tightened. So she still lived in the old ranch house he’d called home when he was a kid. Well, that was great, just damned near perfect. He shifted from one foot to the other. Was she Aaron Bastian’s daughter? His much younger sister? Or…he felt a chill as cold as all of December invade his soul. She couldn’t be married to him. Aaron Bastian was much too old for her. Or was he?
    “I can’t call anyone to tell them you’re here,” he said. “The phone lines are down, and the electricity’s out.”
    She nodded, then sucked in her breath. “I know.”
    “You picked a helluva time to deliver.”
    “I didn’t pick anything.”
    “Does your husband have any idea where you are?”
    “I don’t have a husband. Oh…oh, dear God…” She pierced him with those wide green eyes. “I think this is it. I can’t be sure…I, oh…this is my first.” She moaned, and Chase took hold of her hand. Her fingers were tiny and white against his, but she squeezed his hand hard enough that he thought she might crush his fingers.
    When the contraction eased, he straightened and ignored the rush of emotion that ate at him. “Hang in here for a few minutes, okay? I’ll get some towels, warm water, antiseptic and a few other things. I’ll be right back.”
    She didn’t argue and already looked spent.
    Chase walked briskly to the bathroom and heard her moan again. The contractions were coming closer together. He rolled up his shirtsleeves and washed his hands in hot water. As he toweled off he caught a glimpse of himself in the steamy mirror. Hard