Undercover Christmas Read online

  “What is it you’re trying to tell me?” she asked, pulling free of his hold.

  “She’s already jealous of your baby. If she thought you wanted her husband—”

  “Why would she think that?” Marni cried.

  Chase shrugged. “It’s not like the woman is rational. If she followed you to the barn—”

  “Hayes just wanted to talk about her.”

  “Or warn you about her?”

  Marni hugged herself, realizing that was probably more accurate. What had Hayes said? “I’m just worried that Lilly might—” What had he planned to say?

  “Get cleaned up,” Chase ordered. She bristled and he softened his tone as he reached to pick straw from her hair. ‘A hot bath will warm you up. You’re shivering. I’ll find you some clean clothes. Then we’re getting out of here before anything else happens.”

  Until that moment, Marni hadn’t realized she was shaking. She didn’t kid herself it was from the cold.

  MARNI WENT to her room and removed the maternity form with trembling fingers. For the last twenty-four hours, it had been almost her constant companion. Her body now felt slim. Streamlined. That should have made her happy. Instead, she felt so strange without “Sam” and tried to laugh at her own foolishness only to find herself in tears.

  Hormones. Wearing that silly maternity form had kicked in more than her hormones. Now she had maternal feelings she’d never known she possessed. There had never been a baby. And yet she was keenly aware of a feeling of loss as she stepped into the large claw-foot tub and sank into the bubbles.

  A day ago, she couldn’t have imagined how her twin could have fallen in love so quickly, so completely. A day ago, she couldn’t have imagined how anyone could have fallen in love with Chase Calloway. Now she knew. Marni’s heart ached with that knowledge.

  DESIRE. It hit Chase the moment he stepped through the adjoining door of their bedrooms and caught the sweet scent of bath crystals. He’d knocked several times, then, worried, he’d used the key to open the door. That’s when he heard the sound of water sloshing against the tub. Instantly he could imagine her, shoulder deep in bubbles. Her skin pink and soft. There would be a sprinkling of freckles across her chest above her breasts. Oh, her breasts. He groaned silently. Full, round, the nipples dark and hardening from the room’s chill.

  He knocked again on the bedroom door. “Marni?” He took a tentative step, balancing on his one crutch, telling himself all the reasons he should wait until she was out of the tub. But he’d brought her clean clothing. And the gentle lap of the water drew him, along with the sweet scent of the bubbles and the mere thought of Marni neck deep in the large, old tub.

  The bathroom door was open. At first all he saw was bubbles. Then her head came up out of the water, her shoulders, the tops of her breasts. A sprite, her body wet and slick, her russet hair trailing down her back.

  “Marni.” It came out a hoarse plea. Desire almost dropped him to his knees.

  She looked up, startled, then slid back into the tub until the bubbles were up to her chin.

  He moved toward her, wanting to throw himself into the water with her, the need to feel her against him overwhelming. What had this woman done to him in such a short period of time? All he knew was what she was doing to him right now.

  “Chase,” she whispered, eyes wide as if she could see how badly he wanted her. It was the pleading he saw there that stopped him. Until he could prove to her that he wasn’t her twin’s lover—

  With his free hand, he pulled a towel from the rack and held it out to her, turning his gaze away. “Get dried off,” he said, his voice husky. “Please.”

  She took the towel.

  He could hear her drying herself; the sound of the thick, absorbent towel on her skin skittered across his senses like a live electrical wire. “Get dressed.” He hadn’t meant it to sound so much like an order. “I borrowed these from Felicia,” he said, not knowing what to do with the clothes.

  He stood for a moment, a war going on inside him. He wanted to see Marni without the maternity form almost as badly as he wanted to hold her. But he couldn’t let himself. Even if Marni would have let him.

  He dropped the clothing on the small stool by the tub and stalked out of the room, cursing himself for the feelings tormenting him. He threw what little he’d brought here into the suitcase still open in the bottom of the closet and slammed the case shut with a finality that wasn’t lost on him. He couldn’t see himself ever coming back. This was his father’s house, a place as dark and warped as the man himself had been.

  Chase felt sick at heart, less over his father’s death than his father’s life. Jabe had had three sons, three chances. As far as Chase could tell, he’d blown it with all three. No one would grieve his death. Except Chase’s mother, if she’d still been alive. She forgave Jabe everything. Jabe had been his mother’s one weakness. A weakness that had slowly killed her.

  Chase tried to concentrate on the problem at hand. Once Elise McCumber admitted that she and Chase had never been lovers, then Marni and her sister would be safe. The question was: Whose baby was Elise carrying? Someone who’d been driving the ranch truck that day and had used the name Chase Calloway to impress her, the fool.

  It would just be a matter of clearing up this misunderstanding.

  “I’m ready,” Marni said behind him.

  He turned to find her standing in the doorway, looking very pregnant. “What the hell are you doing still wearing that?” He couldn’t hide his disappointment. Or his concern that she’d continue this charade knowing how dangerous it was.

  “I’ve decided to stay Elise McCumber,” she said, lifting her chin with defiance.

  “Have you lost your mind?”

  “Elise is in danger. You said so yourself. I have to protect her and the baby. Until we can prove she isn’t carrying your child.”

  He stared at the woman before him, her face flushed from her bath, her damp hair hanging in tendrils on the soft whiteness of her neck, her eyes large as a doe’s. “You are without a doubt the most exasperating woman I have ever met.”

  She smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  He shook his head as he reached for his suitcase. “You would.”

  Chapter Twelve

  It was dusk by the time they left the ranch in Chase’s pickup, the bare cottonwoods stark against the winter sky. Marni had to drive, to Chase’s annoyance, because the truck was a stick shift and he couldn’t operate the clutch with his leg in a cast.

  They left quietly, none of the family around, it seemed, to say goodbye or good riddance. As they pulled away, Marni looked up at the tiny window under the third-floor eave but couldn’t tell if Lilly was there watching them leave.

  “Is it too late to go to your mother’s farm tonight?” Chase asked.

  Marni glanced at her watch. It wasn’t quite five but already the sky had turned a dusky deep blue. They could be at the farm in a couple of hours. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

  “Yes.” He shot her a look. “I want this over with.”

  Was he that sure? Or was it just the opposite? Either way, they were about to find out the truth.

  They followed Sixteenmile Creek out of the canyon. Walls of snow banked each side of the narrow road as they drove past Maudlow and on into Bozeman.

  They stopped at the hospital emergency room and had a doctor check Chase’s leg.

  “Since you seem intent on walking on it,” the doctor said, “why don’t we just get rid of the cast? It’s supposed to come off in a couple of days anyway.” The X ray showed that the bone had healed nicely.

  While she waited for Chase, Marni called the farm from the hospital pay phone. The sheriff had already let Elise know that her twin had been snowed in and was fine. Her mother quickly agreed it would be best not to tell Elise they were on their way to the farm because she was anxious enough as it was.

  Marni’s second call was to her boutique. Her manager sounded frantic wi
th all the Christmas shoppers. But, Marni had to admit, her crew seemed to be doing fine without her. Better than fine. Sales were up; everything was going smoothly. She felt a swell of pride in her workers.

  When she checked at the desk, the nurse said Hayes had regained consciousness and was sleeping. Marni walked away, relieved, but the memory of Lilly’s strange reaction to her husband’s accident still bothered her.

  “Ready?” Chase asked as he came out of the emergency room, walking a little stiffly.

  “How does it feel?” Marni asked.

  He smiled. “Great. I can’t tell you how glad I am to finally get that damned thing off. I want to look in on Hayes, then let’s get going.”

  She nodded, as ready as she was ever going to be.

  They drove over Bozeman Pass, a wonderland of snow and ice, then followed the Yellowstone River east from Livingston. The small western towns they passed looked like Christmas villages all decked out in snowcapped eaves, bright with Christmas lights and decorations.

  Chase said little on the drive along the river. Marni wondered if he was worrying about the moment when he would meet her sister. She knew he must be grieving the death of his father, no matter how awful Jabe Calloway had been in life. She also knew Chase wasn’t happy about her still pretending to be Elise or the fact that he was still involved in her life as long as she was pretending to carry his child. But that could soon be over. Unless of course he was wrong. Unless Elise was pregnant with his baby.

  Marni tried not to think about that as the sky darkened to midnight blue above the whiteness. Stars studded the velvet, each a brilliant sparkling jewel in the night, making Marni think of the three wise men who had followed a star to a manger.

  Just as they reached Columbus, the moon rose, a fiery ball of orange over the mountains. Marni looked out into the winter night, unable to appreciate its stark beauty. Too much had happened in the last twenty-four hours and so much was still unresolved.

  They turned at Columbus and headed north into wheat country. Once on the snow-covered gravel road, they lost all other traffic. Still Chase kept checking behind them, just as he had since they’d left the ranch.

  “You really think someone would try to follow us?” she asked, watching the countryside open up and house lights become few and far between.

  He shrugged and kept looking behind them, his mood as dark as the lock of hair that fell onto his forehead.

  Marni tried not to think about who might be following them to the farm.

  She watched the dark landscape roll by, her thoughts returning to the one thing she couldn’t keep from her mind: the moment Elise saw Chase.

  CHASE WASN’T SURE what he’d expected as they came over the rise and the pickup’s headlights caught on the large old mailbox with McCumber printed on the side.

  “Can you stop here?” Marni asked. “I think it would be best if I didn’t make an appearance like this.” She placed a hand over the maternity form that had become such a part of her in his mind.

  He slowed the pickup and came to a stop, the mailbox in his headlights. Someone had tied a big red bow on it. He felt a lump in this throat and looked out at the wheat fields, gold stubble poking up through the snow in the winter moonlight, rather than look at Marni.

  “All set,” she said.

  He glanced at her. She looked small in the dash lights. Small, pretty. And afraid. He wanted to reassure her, but decided nothing he could say would convince either of them right now.

  Slowly, he turned the pickup up the long snowy rutted driveway, aiming it between the pine windbreak.

  He couldn’t help remembering the stories Marni had told about her childhood as he caught sight of the big old three-story farmhouse standing at the end of the lane. The place pulled at him, the same way Marni McCumber had done for the last twenty-four hours.

  Marni glanced over at him and must have misread the look on his face. “Having doubts?” she asked.

  He wanted to laugh. Doubts? He’d spent thirty-five years growing into the man he was. Now in just one day, this woman had him wondering who he was, what he wanted and just what he was capable of. He doubted everything about himself.

  “Let’s get this over with,” he said.

  The farmhouse was everything Calloway Ranch wasn’t. Bright, cheerful, inviting. From the moment he stepped onto the porch, he could smell something wonderful cooking inside the house. He passed the worn porch swing and could almost see Marni sitting cross-legged in it against a summer sunset. He started to knock, but Marni opened the door and stuck her head in.

  “Anybody home?” she called.

  Her question was answered with the frantic patter of feet, shouts and laughter. A half-dozen children, from toddlers to near teens, came flying to the door, several small ones threw themselves into her waiting arms.

  “Santa’s coming,” one of the younger ones proclaimed. “But look at all the presents already under the tree.”

  Marni smiled back at Chase and pushed her way into the house so he could close the door behind him.

  “These are my brothers’ children,” she said and made the introductions, introducing him as a “friend.”

  “You’re coming for Christmas, aren’t you?” one of the older kids said to Marni. “You always come home for Christmas.” Home it seemed was this house; each of her brothers had his own house on the family farm but it was the old farmhouse where everyone gathered.

  “And it’s only four more days,” interjected a young excited child.

  Marni seemed to hesitate, then smiled broadly. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  Chase saw Marni blink back tears. He knew how much coming here for Christmas meant to her without ever having to ask. He knew this woman not with his head but his heart. And he wished to hell he didn’t He watched her look around at the Christmas decorations, knowing how much all of this meant to her. Decorations were everywhere, most obviously made by the passel of nieces and nephews now filling the entry hall. Past them, he could see the tree, a large spruce thick with homemade ornaments. Unless he missed his guess, most of them held special memories for Marni.

  Chase could imagine Christmas in this house, with this family. He felt those horrible pangs from his childhood when his only wish in life was for this kind of a family, this kind of Christmas. He brushed those thoughts away, trying to keep them where they belonged, with the lonely little boy he’d been. He no longer needed these things, he told himself. His life was just the way he wanted it

  He glanced over at Marni and was shocked by the thought that ricocheted through his head. He missed seeing her pregnant.

  MARNI COULD SMELL her mother’s famous Christmas cookies baking in the kitchen. “Silent Night” played on the radio and she smiled as she heard her mother begin to sing. The memory of all the other Christmases they’d spent here as a family warmed her the way the fire in the woodstove never could. Now all she had to worry about was this Christmas.

  “Come on,” her youngest niece cried. “Grandma just got through making fudge. She said we could have some as soon as you got here.”

  They all clambered toward the kitchen. “Maria, you cut each of the children one piece of fudge,” she heard her mother say.

  “One?” came the universal cry.

  “One,” Mary Margaret McCumber said sternly. “Behave while I see to your aunt Marni.”

  Marni felt her stomach roil, her nerves suddenly strung taut The moment of truth. She felt as if she might throw up.

  She looked at Chase. He stood inside the door, his hands at his side, his face set in stone. She recognized that expression, seen it enough times on his handsome face since yesterday. Stubborn determination. But there was something else about him that caused a fissure of concern to run through her as Mary Margaret McCumber came out of the kitchen. Worry. She read it in his eyes. Was he not as sure as he wanted her to believe? Or was something else bothering him?

  Mary Margaret stopped in the middle of the room to dry her hands on
her apron, give Chase Calloway the once-over, and a disapproving nod, then turned her gaze on Marni. Her mother was tall with graying blond hair that she kept long and in a no-nonsense braid down her back.

  “Your sister” was all her mother said with a wave of her hand down the hall toward the sewing room. With a shake of her head, she turned back to the kitchen. “I have to rescue the fudge. I made pot roast. I saved some for you, so of course you’re eating.”

  Leave it to Mother to think her cooking could solve all their problems. Marni only wished it could as she led the way to the back of the house and the sewing room.

  At the closed door, she hesitated, glancing over her shoulder at Chase to be sure he was still with her. Then she turned the knob and stepped in, leaving Chase in the hallway.

  Elise sat in the middle of the bed in the makeshift bedroom, propped up with dozens of pillows, surrounded by books, magazines, videos, a laptop, fax machine and beauty supplies. She looked bored—and very pregnant.

  When she spied Marni standing in the doorway, she smiled with an eagerness that made Marni’s heart hurt. “You’re back. I’ve been going crazy. Mother—” She waved a hand through the air with no need to continue along those lines; it was a McCumber form of communication all the women in the family understood. “What happened? Why didn’t you call? Or at least E-mail or fax me.”

  Just like El, the E-mail junkie. Just because she spent hours on E-mail with friends, she assumed everyone did. She didn’t realize some people didn’t even have a computer, let alone a fax machine.

  “Didn’t Mother tell you the snowstorm knocked out the phone and the electricity?” Marni said.

  “Well, yes, but surely there was something you could have done. Is Chase all right? You did see him, didn’t you? What did he say—”

  “I brought him with me,” Marni interrupted.

  “Here?” Elise cried, picking up the hand mirror from her pile of beauty supplies. “Oh no, I’m a disaster!”