Colorado Christmas Read Free

long-buried desires. She’d been so busy with her career and raising her young son—the result of her short-lived marriage—that sex and romance simply weren’t on her agenda. Yet from the moment Will O’Malley had looked up at her and smiled, she’d felt a bolt of sexual awareness she hadn’t experienced in a very long time—if ever.
    She checked his details. He was thirty-two—four years younger than she was. Definitely not what Becky wanted in her life—a younger man, especially one who was irresponsible and had no respect for authority or the law. A charming rogue was not the answer to her sexual frustration. Not that she was aware she had any until he’d walked into her courtroom. She needed to get him out of there, fast. “If there’s nothing further—”
    “Well, I do have a question…”
    “Yes, Mr. O’Malley?”
    “Would you have dinner with me tonight?”
    Becky blinked. Surely she hadn’t heard him correctly. “Excuse me?” she said, and tried to ignore the warm flush climbing up her chest.
    “I asked if you’d go out with me tonight.”
    The court audience leaned forward, eagerly anticipating her response.
    Will O’Malley was without doubt the best-looking defendant who’d ever stood before her. The fact that he’d pleaded guilty straight up—rather than offer a host of excuses—impressed her. But he was a defendant and strictly off-limits.
    Furious that her body was telling her one thing, while her brain told her another, Becky answered him more harshly than she’d intended. “No, Mr. O’Malley, I won’t,” she said and slammed down her gavel. “Get out of my court!”

Chapter Two

    “That went better than I expected,” Will said as he and Matt walked outside into the crisp winter morning.
    Snow had fallen overnight, turning the town into a perfect Christmas card scene. Skiers trudged along the sidewalks, headed for the slopes, while sightseers gazed into shop fronts, admiring the Christmas displays. Carols sounded merrily from the tourist office. The holidays were only a couple of weeks away—Will’s favorite time of year.
    Matt sighed. “Define better than you expected. You’ve been assigned fifty hours of community service and had the judge very publicly turn you down for a date. Doesn’t anything ever get you down?”
    Will shrugged. “Nothing I can think of at the moment—apart from losing those old buildings.” He couldn’t tell Matt about the avalanche and the nightmares. Not yet.
    “Don’t you feel humiliated?”
    “Nope. I deserved the punishment and I’ll enjoy spending time at the old folks’ home. Lots of interesting characters there. As for the delectable judge, she’ll come around.”
    Matt rubbed his chin. “I’m not so sure. She keeps to herself.” He paused. “And don’t you dare even think of pursuing her and then take off on another one of your crazy adventures, leaving the rest of us to pick up the pieces.”
    Will opened his mouth to answer the accusations but, as usual,Matt hadn’t finished telling him off. “And what the hell was all that, ‘I’m going to marry that woman someday,’ nonsense?”
    Will grinned and said, “Bashert.”
    Matt’s eyes narrowed. His voice dripping with mock sarcasm, he said, “You spent two weeks skiing in Israel last winter and now you speak fluent Hebrew?”
    “Actually, it’s Yiddish. And I’m far from fluent. Bashert is the instant recognition of one’s soul mate.”
    “I’m aware of what it is! It happened for me with Sally,” Matt said testily, referring to the deep and instant love he’d felt for his wife. But a drunk driver had killed Sally two years earlier. She was seven months pregnant at the time.
    “And Dad with Mom,” Will said, trying to distract Matt from grieving over Sally. He wasn’t comfortable with deep emotion. “Seems like bashert ’s an O’Malley tradition.”
    “Not where Luke’s concerned.”
    Their oldest brother’s ex-wife, Tory, had made Luke’s life a