Seaside Cowboy’s Christmas Wish (Seaside Cowboys #7)

Chapter One

“MOM, PLEASE STOP IT . At this point, my only chance to meet someone is if that someone falls on me from the sky. But sadly, nobody goes skydiving in this area,” the beautiful stranger at the pastry store said into her phone. “I’m not looking, anyway.”

Laredo Lawrence suppressed a chuckle and lingered in the store longer than he’d intended, even though he’d already gotten the pumpkin spice rolls his mother asked for. He wasn’t in the market for romance, either, but the stranger held his attention.

She had long hair and light-gray eyes, and something about the guarded look in those eyes and the stance of that petite frame in a turquoise-hued sweater dress and knee-high black boots intrigued him. Curls peeked out of an elegant wide-brimmed hat that matched her eyes. He’d never seen her before, so she must be another tourist, though it wasn’t exactly the busiest season. On the other hand, a lot of people liked to spend Christmas at the seaside, and where better to do that than in Port Sunshine?

Something about her made his protective instincts flare. Or maybe it was simple attraction. It’d be nice to have a reason to talk to her.

“I might not be able to call you for a while, sorry. I’ve got to go.” The woman disconnected, and their eyes met.

Then she looked away. Not even a flicker of interest, and disappointment tightened his rib cage. He should just leave and forget this chance encounter. He turned around and headed to the exit, his paper bag emanating its wonderful aroma.

She was the next in line, and he heard her say, “I’ll have baklava, please. Also, have you seen this woman before? She’s my friend, and she told me she would be vacationing in Port Sunshine. But she hasn’t answered her phone in three days.”

Laredo paused with his hand on the cold door handle. Strange things could happen in their small coastal town, and his family knew it all too well. But a missing woman two weeks before Christmas? He believed it was a first.

Hopefully, that missing friend just wanted some time to herself.

“Oh, that’s Samantha. I don’t know her last name,” Hailey, the salesgirl, said.

“Samantha? No, that’s not her name.”

“Well, that’s the way she introduced herself.” Hailey’s voice became irritated, probably because the line was being held up. The store was a popular place, especially around Christmas. “She worked at the local ranch for about a week. You can ask Laredo Lawrence right there. He’s one of the owners.”

He whirled around. Be careful what you wish for. Now he did have an excuse to talk to the intriguing stranger in town. “May I help you?” At least he didn’t stutter like his heart did.

“Please!” She rushed to him. “I’m so worried. I filed a missing person report, of course. But I don’t know if the police took it seriously because she has a history of, well, disconnecting from the world. At least, this time she went to South Carolina. The previous time she just flew to Bolivia.” She chuckled nervously.

He glanced at the photo on the phone she stuck out to him. Then he kept his voice low. “Yes. That’s her.” Though why would her friend use a fake name? Fake ID, too, but no reason to mention that yet.

“Oh, that’s such a relief.” She looked ready to hug him, and a part of him wished she did. “I can’t wait to talk to her.”

Too bad he had to be the one to disappoint her. “She left three days ago. Took her pay and said she needed to move on.”

“Oh no.” She slumped back. The cheerful “Jingle Bells” lyrics playing on the store’s sound system seemed way too hyper in contrast to her despair.

His hand shot out to steady her, but she already straightened out, her eyes huge and sparkling as if with unshed tears. He gestured to one of the two tables the pastry store owners set up for those who didn’t want to waste a moment before starting on the yummy pastries and deserved to do it in comfort. “Why don’t we sit and you tell me about your friend? And I’ll tell you all I know?”

“Sure. Yes, please.”

“Would you like something to drink with that pastry? Maybe a latte?” He pulled out a white chair for her.

She slumped onto it and shook her head. “No thanks. Frankly, I just bought this as an excuse to ask questions. I learned fast that people are much more likely to talk to me if I buy something from them first.”

“Good idea.” He sat down. “I’m Laredo Lawrence, by the way.”

“So I heard. I’m Diana Medina.” She glanced around at the gold and silver garlands decorating the walls and the tall tree in the corner where silver and gold ornaments nestled among freshly baked mini gingerbread houses and gingerbread men. Was she truly interested in the decorations or avoiding looking at him?

Mom would forgive him if one pumpkin roll was missing from the paper bag. Besides, it would give him something to do besides staring at Diana. He gestured to his bag. “Just in case you change your mind. And the coffee offer still stands.” The roll was yummy, just as he remembered it from last year. Really, the store should offer it more often than only during the Christmas season.

“Did... your friend often decide to disconnect from the world?” he asked, keeping his voice low. Diana wouldn’t likely want people to know the details. He also used the words your friend because it didn’t feel right to call the said friend by what turned out to be a fake name.

“Three times.” She broke off a tiny part of the baklava, but just fiddled with it absentmindedly. “She’s a freelance software developer, so she works from home and can rearrange her projects if she wants to.”

Something didn’t add up. He took another bite of the pumpkin roll to fortify himself. “Hold on, please. Why would a software developer show up at a ranch and apply for a seasonal job as a maid?”

“Oh, wow.” She rubbed her temples, then made a half-hearted attempt to eat her baklava. “I don’t understand why she’d want to apply for a job here to start with. She told me she was going on a vacation.”

“Could she be low on cash for some reason?” The question remained unanswered, so he just continued. “My mother had the idea of renting out our barn for different venues. She does bookings for weddings, birthdays, and so on. My sisters-in-law do the decorations, and my brothers and I usually do the cleanup. We all help with catering, if needed. But Mom hired your friend to help for the Christmas season as we had more weddings than anticipated.”

“I understand less and less. She has many fine qualities, but decorating and tidiness aren’t among them. She’s never worked as a maid before.” She did look confused. Pretty and confused.

Maybe he shouldn’t concentrate on the pretty part. They seemed to have a mystery on their hands. “Mom had many applicants for the job. Then, um, your friend showed up and pleaded for the job because she needed it desperately. So Mom chose her.”

“Would it be okay if I talked to your mother?” Diana turned her own pleading gaze at him.

If her friend had looked at Mom that way, no wonder Mom had given in and given her the job. His heart shifted. “Um, sure.”

“Let’s go then.” She leaped to her feet, and the chair scraped its complaint against the tile but didn’t topple over.

“Oh. Now, already?” He got up as well and picked up the pastry.

“I mean, if she won’t mind?”

While he sent a quick text to his mother, Diana stood looking out a window painted with frosty snowflakes. He stared at her profile until his phone chimed with an incoming text, which was soon.

Sure. Bring her over.

Diana met his gaze, and he nodded. Her lips curved up in the slightest smile of gratitude—just half smile, really—and yet his heart almost melted.

He hurried to open the front door for her.The cold air met him, and he wished he could shield her from it. He did his best to, once they were outside.“I can drive you to the ranch.”

“Thanks, but I rented a car. I’ll follow you.” She huddled against the wind and pulled her stylish wide-brimmed felt hat lower.

“Okay.” He had an urge to hug her to keep her warm, to protect her from the cold and whatever bad news about her friend might be awaiting her. Of course, he stifled it.

Diana waved to the row of cars on the opposite side of the street.“I parked across the road because there were no spots near the store.” She pointed at a small bright-blue sedan tucked near the toy store that had closed early today. There were a few empty spots there.

“I’ll walk you to your car.”

Her eyebrows rose. “I’m quite capable of walking there on my own. Thank you, though.”

Had he crossed her boundaries? He backed off. “Of course.”

He watched her walk to the car—purely for protection purposes. Then he spotted a figure in a hoodie on the toy store building’s roof. Right above Diana’s car. Premonition tightened his rib cage. Was something sinister going on?

“Diana, watch out!” He shouted out to her.

Diana flinched, glanced to the right, and jerked forward. She looked back at him, eyes wide, then shrugged, and hurried to cross the street faster. She reached the boardwalk. At least, no other pedestrians were there, so nobody else would get harmed if, let’s say, the person on the roof had sinister motives. But he didn’t want her harmed, either.

“No, above you! Wait!” He was almost there.

“Wait for what?” She glanced back again, her gaze confused.

The next moment, her arms flailed, and her legs went forward as she fell. She might’ve slipped when he’d distracted her. Just great. He groaned.

“Are you okay?” He missed catching her by seconds. He pulled her up, praying no bones were broken. “Anything hurt? Can you walk?”

“I can walk. What’s happening?” Her eyes narrowed.

“There is...” He waved toward the roof, but the person was already gone. And maybe they’d had a legitimate reason to be there. Because he couldn’t have just imagined it, right? “Never mind. I might’ve been seeing things.”

He tried to dust her off, but she batted his hand away. “No thanks.”

He swallowed hard, then checked the roof again. Empty.

He’d wanted to be a hero in her eyes. Instead, he’d caused her to fall and most likely bruise herself. Had he made a big deal out of nothing? Maybe all the dangerous things that had happened to his family had made his protective instincts flare. “Are you sure you’re not hurt? Maybe I should take you to the hospital to check.”

“I’m a nurse. I’m positive. Looking for my friend is more important than a few bruises.” So she did get hurt. She wobbled toward the sedan, then clicked on the fob. “I’ll follow you to the ranch, please.”

Though he knew he needed to get inside his truck, he still made a few steps after her, then looked up, just in time to see something large thrown off the roof.

“Watch out!” There was no time to do anything besides push her out of the way, which he did. He braced for the impact. Still, the excruciating pain blinded him as he sagged onto the asphalt. And then he couldn’t feel anything at all.