Holding Out for Christmas (The Christmas Tree Ranch #3)(9)

What if he’d revealed too much, mentioning his self-destructive past? What if he’d already scared her off?

Now what was he supposed to say?

He was saved from an awkward moment by the sight of her car, a short distance down the highway, buried in snow. If he hadn’t remembered where it was, he might have driven right past it.

“Oh no!” Megan exclaimed as he pulled the truck onto the shoulder of the road. “What if we can’t get it out?”

“If worse comes to worst, we can call for a tow,” Conner said. “But I think we can manage. Just be glad you didn’t have to spend the night in there.”

“I’d be frozen by now. Thanks again for the rescue.” She unfastened her seat belt and opened the door of the truck.

“Whoa! Where are you going?” Conner demanded. “You stay put. I can manage this.”

“But you’ll need help clearing the snow off the car. At least I can do that.” She climbed to the ground as he came around the truck. She was warmly dressed in snow boots, wool mittens, and a quilted parka, but last night’s wind had blown the snow into deep drifts around and over the car. Clearing it would be hard work, especially for a woman. But it was her car, and he sensed she wouldn’t take no for an answer. He had to let her try.

Conner had brought a snow shovel and a broom with him in the truck. He handed her the broom. “All right, if you want to help, you can sweep the snow off the car while I shovel around it. If you get too cold or tired, get back in the truck.”

“I’ll be fine.” With the broom in one hand, she crossed the road’s narrow shoulder, walked off the snowy edge, and, with a startled cry, sank past her knees. Struggling to stand on the steep embankment, she lost her footing and tumbled forward, landing with a plop, facedown in the powdery snow.

She wasn’t moving.

“Megan!” Alarmed, Conner lunged after her, bracing himself upright as he slid down the bank to where she’d fallen. As the snow settled, he could see her dark hair and her red parka. Supporting her head with one hand, in case she’d injured her neck, he eased her upright.

She was giggling.

“Are you okay?” He checked the urge to shake her for giving him such a scare.

“I’m . . . fine.” She was breathless with laughter. “Did you see me? It was so . . . funny!”

“But you’re all right?”

“Of course. That snow was like falling into feathers.” She studied him, her head cocked like a little bird’s. “What’s the matter, Conner? You look out of sorts.”

“Damn it, you scared me half to death!”

She grinned, her brown eyes as effervescent as homemade root beer. “Come on. Help me up. Let’s get my car back on the road.”

He took her hands, pulled her to her feet, and handed her the broom, which was sticking out of a drift. Using the handle to balance, she waded through the deep drifts to the car and began sweeping the snow off the windshield.

Conner retrieved the shovel from where he’d dropped it and started by opening up a path up the embankment. If Megan wore herself out and needed to rest, she’d at least have a clear path back to the truck. That done, he began shoveling around the car to clear the wheels. In the front and rear, he hollowed out enough space to attach the tow chain to the axle. Now he needed to decide whether to pull the car forward or back it out. Forward, maybe, since the slope was gentler in that direction.

Megan had finished sweeping off the car. She was covered in powdery snow. Where she stood in the sunlight, it sparkled like diamonds in her dark hair.

“Here.” Conner used his gloved hand to brush the snow off her coat. “You must be frozen. Get back in the truck to warm up. Once the tow chain’s attached, I’ll need you in your car.”

“I’m fine here.” Her teeth chattered slightly, but arguing with her would only take time. If all went well, the car would be back on the road in a few minutes.

“We’ll need your keys.” Conner remembered giving them to her after locking her car last night.

“No problem. I’ve got them right here in my pocket.” She pulled off a glove and fumbled in her coat. “I just—oh, drat!” She reached deeper into her pocket, then into her other pocket, her hand coming up empty. She looked like she was about to cry. “I know I had them with me when I left the house. Maybe they fell out in the truck.”

“Or maybe you lost them when you fell down in the snow. You check the truck while I look around down here. Don’t worry, we’ll find them.”

She clambered up the embankment, leaving Conner wondering where to start looking. He’d moved snow to clear a path after her fall. If Megan’s keys had tumbled out of her pocket, they could be anywhere by now.

On his hands and knees now, he began pawing through the shoveled snow. Megan was an intriguing, challenging woman. He’d have welcomed an excuse to spend more time with her. But this was not what he’d had in mind.





Chapter 3


“I couldn’t find the keys in the truck.” Megan scrambled down the embankment to where Conner was digging through the snow. “I looked in the seat, under the seat, and in my purse. I even looked under the truck. I’m sorry. I feel like a fool.”

“It could happen to anybody,” Conner said. “You don’t have a hidden key on the car, do you?”