The Christmas Ranch (The Cowboys of Cold Creek) Read online

  HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

  Hope Nichols has never felt like she belonged anywhere except her hometown of Pine Gulch. So when she hears that her family’s property, Christmas Ranch, is set to be shut down forever, a determined Hope heads home. She refuses to let anything ruin her holiday—this will be the most memorable ranch Christmas ever! And thanks to hunky former navy SEAL Rafe Santiago and his adorable nephew, she might just pull off that miracle.

  Rafe is undeniably drawn to Hope and her passion for rebuilding her family home. But he knows more about Hope’s tragic past than even she herself could imagine. And though she didn’t know it, she owed him her life. And all he wanted in return was for her to spend it with him…

  Praise for New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne

  “As always Ms. Thayne writes a fascinating story

  that will keep readers interested from beginning to end…

  a feel good romance that takes place over the holidays

  in snowy Idaho, with sleigh rides and sparkling Christmas trees.

  It is sure to meet with readers’ approval.”

  —Romance Reviews Today on A Cold Creek Noel

  “I love RaeAnne Thayne. She is the best when it comes to

  crafting an engrossing mystery and characters you’d love to know

  personally… She deftly creates a love story that makes us believe

  that true love, such as that which happens to the characters in this

  story, can and does happen in the real world.”

  —Idaho Statesman on A Cold Creek Christmas Surprise

  “A sometimes heartbreaking tale of love and relationships in a

  small Colorado town…. Poignant and sweet, this tale of second

  chances will appeal to fans of military-flavored sweet romance.”

  —Publishers Weekly on Christmas in Snowflake Canyon

  “Once again, Thayne proves she has a knack for capturing

  those emotions that come from the heart…. Crisp storytelling

  and many amusing moments make for a delightful read.”

  —RT Book Reviews on Willowleaf Lane

  “Thayne pens another winner by combining her huge, boisterous

  cast of familiar, lovable characters with a beautiful setting and

  a wonderful story. Her main characters are strong and three-

  dimensional, with enough heat between them to burn the pages.”

  —RT Book Reviews on Currant Creek Valley

  “Hope’s Crossing is a charming series that lives up to its name.

  Reading these stories of small-town life engage the reader’s heart

  and emotions, inspiring hope and the belief miracles are possible.”

  —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author,

  on Sweet Laurel Falls

  “Thayne, once again, delivers a heartfelt story

  of a caring community and a caring romance between adults

  who have triumphed over tragedies.”

  —Booklist on Woodrose Mountain

  “Thayne’s series starter introduces the Colorado town

  of Hope’s Crossing in what can be described as a cozy romance…[a] gentle, easy read.”

  —Publishers Weekly on Blackberry Summer

  Dear Reader,

  Those of you who have followed my Cowboys of Cold Creek series surely know how very much I love this time of year. Of the eleven Cold Creek books to date that span several different miniseries, six stories take place during the holiday season.

  The Christmas Ranch is the first in an all-new Cowboys of Cold Creek trilogy featuring the Nichols sisters, Faith, Hope and Celeste. This time, all three stories will be centered around this most magical of seasons. The Nichols sisters have faced some tough times in their lives and are desperately in need of a few Christmas miracles…and a little holiday spirit along the way.

  Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays, filled with laughter, joy, family and books, of course.

  All my very best,

  RaeAnne

  THE CHRISTMAS RANCH

  RaeAnne Thayne

  Books by RaeAnne Thayne

  Harlequin Special Edition

  **Christmas in Cold Creek #2149

  **A Cold Creek Reunion #2179

  **A Cold Creek Noel #2228

  **A Cold Creek Christmas Surprise #2299

  **The Christmas Ranch #2371

  Silhouette Special Edition

  **Light the Stars #1748

  **Dancing in the Moonlight #1757

  **Dalton’s Undoing #1764

  ◊The Daddy Makeover #1857

  ◊His Second-Chance Family #1874

  ~A Merger…or Marriage? #1903

  ◊A Soldier’s Secret #1918

  **The Cowboy’s Christmas Miracle #1933

  §Fortune’s Woman #1970

  **A Cold Creek Homecoming #1996

  **A Cold Creek Holiday #2013

  **A Cold Creek Secret #2025

  **A Cold Creek Baby #2071

  ¤A Thunder Canyon Christmas #2083

  Harlequin Books

  Special Edition Bonus Story: The Anniversary Party—Chapter One

  Silhouette Romantic Suspense

  The Wrangler and the

  Runaway Mom #960

  Saving Grace #995

  Renegade Father #1062

  *The Valentine Two-Step #1133

  *Taming Jesse James #1139

  *Cassidy Harte and the

  Comeback Kid #1144

  The Quiet Storm #1218

  Freefall #1239

  Nowhere to Hide #1264

  ∆Nothing to Lose #1321

  ∆Never Too Late #1364

  The Interpreter #1380

  High-Risk Affair #1448

  Shelter from the Storm #1467

  High-Stakes Honeymoon #1475

  *Outlaw Hartes

  ∆The Searchers

  **The Cowboys of Cold Creek

  ◊The Women of Brambleberry House

  ~The Wilder Family

  §Fortunes of Texas: Return to Red Rock

  ¤Montana Mavericks: Thunder Canyon Cowboys

  Other titles by this author available in ebook format.

  RAEANNE THAYNE,

  New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, finds inspiration in the beautiful northern Utah mountains, where she lives with her husband and three children. Her books have won numerous honors, including RITA® Award nominations from Romance Writers of America and a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews. RaeAnne loves to hear from readers and can be contacted through her website, www.raeannethayne.com.

  To my wonderful readers,

  for sharing this amazing journey with me.

  I consider myself extraordinarily blessed that

  I can spend my days spinning stories with

  happy endings, while hoping that my words might

  make someone’s day a little brighter. Thank you!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

&nb
sp; Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Excerpt

  Chapter One

  Though Thanksgiving was still a week and a half away, Christmas apparently had already rolled into Pine Gulch, Idaho, in all its snowy glory.

  Hope Nichols looked through the windshield of the crappy old Ford pickup truck she had picked up for a cool thousand dollars at the edge of a Walmart parking lot in Salt Lake City. On a late afternoon in November the storefronts of the small but vibrant downtown area were alive with Christmas displays—trees, lights, toy soldiers, the occasional Nativity scene.

  As she drove through more residential areas on her way to Cold Creek Canyon, she saw the holiday spirit extended here. Nearly every house had decorations of some sort, from inflatable snowmen to a full-fledged Santa and reindeer display.

  She didn’t mind even the kitschiest of decorations, even though to some it might seem early in the season. Considering she hadn’t spent the holidays at home for the past five years—or even in the country—she couldn’t wait to embrace the whole Christmas thing this year.

  She supposed that was a good thing, since her family’s Ranch was the holiday epicenter around here.

  This area of eastern Idaho already had a few inches of snow—not much, but enough to cover everything in a lovely blanket of white and add a bit of seasonal charm to the town she remembered with such warmth and affection.

  While Pine Gulch wasn’t exactly her hometown, it was close enough. Hope and her sisters had lived here through most of their formative teen years, and she loved every inch of it, from the distant view of the west slope of the Tetons to the unassuming storefronts to the kind people who waved at her even now, though they couldn’t possibly recognize her or the old blue pickup truck with the primer on the side.

  She had come to be pretty fond of the old Ford. It didn’t exactly drive like a dream, but it had four-wheel drive and all its working parts. Buying it had been an impulsive decision—she had intended to rent a car in Salt Lake City to drive home after she flew in from northern Africa, but had suddenly realized she would need transportation permanently now. This truck would get her through the gnarly winter season until she figured out what she would do next. After a decade of wandering, she was ready to stay put for a while.

  Nerves in her stomach danced a little, as they had been doing throughout the five-hour drive from Salt Lake, while she tried to anticipate the reaction she would find at the Star N Ranch when she showed up out of the blue with her duffel bag.

  Aunt Mary would probably cry, her older sister, Faith, would be shocked and her younger sister, Celeste, would smile in that quiet way of hers.

  The children would at least be happy to see her, though she knew Louisa and Barrett—and everyone else, for that matter—were still reeling from the death of their father. Travis, Faith’s husband and childhood sweetheart, had died four months earlier in a tragic accident. Hope had come back for his funeral, of course, but her correspondence and video chats with her family since then had mostly been superficial.

  It was time to come home. Past time. Since Travis’s death, she couldn’t shake the feeling that her family needed her, despite their protests that all was fine. The holiday season was insane at The Christmas Ranch and all hands were necessary, even when those hands belonged to the wanderer in the fam—

  Whack!

  With a noise as loud as a gunshot, something hit the passenger-side window of her truck, jerking her thoughts back to the present. In the space of a heartbeat, the window shattered as Hope slammed on the brakes, ducked and instinctively yelled a curse word her mostly Berber students taught her.

  What the...?

  Who would be shooting at her? For a crazy moment, she was a terrified, desperate thirteen-year-old girl again, heart pounding, adrenaline pulsing. She didn’t have flashbacks very often, but when she did, they could roll over her like a bulldozer.

  She drew in a breath, forcing away the panic. This was Pine Gulch. There were no snipers here, no rebel factions. Nobody would be shooting at her. She glanced at the window. Because the truck was older, it didn’t have tempered glass and the entire window had shattered. All she found was a melting pile of snow amid the shattered glass—and a healthy-sized rock.

  Not a gunshot, then. A dirty trick. Tentatively, she raised her head to look around. At first, she didn’t see anything, until a flurry of movement on that side of the vehicle caught her gaze.

  A young boy stood just off the road looking shocked and not a little guilty.

  Hope pulled over to the side of the road then jumped out of the driver’s side and headed for him.

  The kid stared at her, eyes wide. He froze for only a moment as she approached, then whirled around and took off at top speed across the snow-covered lawn just as a man walked around the side of the house with a couple of snow shovels in hand.

  “You’re in luck, kid,” he called. “I found shovels for each of us.”

  The man’s voice trailed off as the boy raced behind him, using what were quite impressive muscles as a shield, as if he thought Hope was going to start hurling snowball-covered rocks right back at him.

  “Hey. Come back here. Where do you think you’re going, young man?” she demanded sternly in her best don’t-mess-with-me teacher’s voice.

  The big man frowned and set the snow shovels blade-down on the sidewalk. “Excuse me, lady. What the he—er, heck is your problem?”

  She told herself her heart was racing only from adrenaline at her window suddenly shattering. It had nothing to do with this large, muscled, gorgeous man with short dark hair and remarkable hazel eyes. Somehow he seemed even bigger as he bristled at her, overpowering and male.

  She, however, had gone against bullies far worse than some small-town cowboy with a juvenile delinquent and an attitude.

  She pointed to the pickup truck, engine still running, and the shattered passenger window.

  “Your son here is the problem—or more accurately, the rock he just tossed through my window. I could have been seriously hurt. It’s a miracle I didn’t run off the road.”

  “I’m not his son,” the kid snapped. He looked angry and belligerent at the very idea.

  She supposed it was only natural her mind immediately went to kidnapping, especially after the sudden flashback.

  “You’re not?”

  “I’m his uncle,” Sexy Dude said, with a frustrated look at the boy. “Did you see him throw it? I’m sure you must be mistaken. Joey is not the kind of kid who would throw a rock at a moving vehicle—especially a stranger’s moving vehicle.”

  Was he trying to convince her or himself? His words rang a little hollow, making her wonder if Joey was exactly the kind of kid who would vandalize a vehicle, whether he knew the owners or not.

  “Then explain to me why my window is shattered and why he took off the moment I stopped my truck to talk to him about it.”

  The guy frowned. “Joe. Tell the nice lady you didn’t throw a rock at her window.”

  The boy lifted his chin obstinately but after meeting her gaze for just a moment, he looked down at his snowboots. “I didn’t throw a rock,” he insisted, then added in a muffled sort of aside, “It was a snowball.”

  “A snowball with a rock inside it,” she retorted.

  He looked up and gave his uncle an imploring look. “It was a accident. I didn’t mean to, Uncle Rafe. I swear.”

  “Joey.” The uncle said the single name with a defeated kind of frustration, making her wonder what the situation was between the two of them. Where were the boy’s parents?

  “It was a accident,” he repeated. Whether it was gen
uine or an act, Joey now sounded like he was going to cry.

  “An accident,” she corrected.

  “Whatever,” the boy said.

  “Using proper English is important when you wish to convey your point.” Yes, she sounded prim but six years of combined experience in the Peace Corps and teaching English across the globe had ingrained habits that were probably going to be tough to break.

  “Okay. It was an accident,” he spoke with such dramatic exaggeration that she almost smiled, until she remembered the crisis at hand.

  “That’s better, but I’m still not sure I believe you. I think you were aiming right at my truck.”

  “I didn’t mean to break the window. I wasn’t even trying to hit the window, I was trying to hit the hubcap. My friend Samantha and me are playing a game and we get five points for every hubcap.”

  “My friend Samantha and I,” she said. She couldn’t seem to help herself, even though she noticed the correction only made the uncle glower harder, making him look big and rough-edged and even more dangerous.

  She suddenly felt small and not nearly as tough as she liked to think.

  “Can we deep six the English lessons, lady, and focus on your window?”

  She was nervous, she suddenly realized. Was it because of his military haircut or the muscles or because he was so great-looking? She pushed away the uneasiness and forced herself to concentrate on the real issue.

  “Sorry. Reflex. I’ll stop now. I’ve been teaching English in northern Africa the past few years and was in the Peace Corps before that. I’m just returning to Pine Gulch to visit my family. They live in Cold Creek Canyon and...”

  Her voice trailed off. He didn’t care about that. She cleared her throat. “Right. My window. It was a very dangerous thing you did, young man. Tell your friend Samantha it’s a bad idea to throw snowballs at cars, whether the snowballs have rocks in them or not. You could distract the driver and someone could easily get hurt—maybe even you.”

  The boy gave her a pugnacious sort of look but said nothing until his uncle nudged him.