Kathryn Albright - Christmas Kiss From The Sheriff

A Christmas to remember!

Clear Springs’ new schoolteacher, Gemma Starling, feels as if she’s been given a fresh start. So long as no one discovers her dark secret—she once shot a man in self-defense!

Sheriff Craig Parker has forsworn love, but delightful Miss Starling intrigues him. And when events at the school turn dangerous, Craig won’t let her face it alone. Gemma might just be the one woman he could ever love, but will the secret she’s hiding tear them apart or bring them together by Christmas?

“Maybe you have a guardian angel.”

“No,” she said. If she had an angel watching over her she would be safe and comfortable at home. Perhaps by now she would even have finished law school. “I’ve found I must depend on myself and my wits.”

He snorted lightly.

“Glad you haven’t had any trouble,” he said. “Part of my job is to make sure people in town stay safe.”

“I thought your job was to uphold the law.”

“Figure it’s the same thing.”

His words only served to make her feel guilty. How would he feel if he knew Clear Springs harbored a fugitive from justice?

Author Note

Gemma, my heroine in this story, strives to do her best—even though things happen to derail her plans. Isn’t that how it is for many of us? Unexpected obstacles thwart our best-laid plans. Some are good. Some are difficult. How we choose to face them is up to us, but always the choice takes us on a new path.

I hope you enjoy Gemma and Craig’s story, which is set in Southern California’s gold country. If you have read my other stories you may recognise some familiar names and faces in Clear Springs.

I love to hear from my readers. You can write to me at kathryn@kathrynalbright.com.

Christmas Kiss from the Sheriff

Kathryn Albright

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KATHRYN ALBRIGHT writes American-set historical romance for Mills & Boon. From her first breath she has had a passion for stories that celebrate the goodness in people. She combines her love of history and her love of stories to write novels of inspiration, endurance, and hope. Visit her at kathrynalbright.comand on Facebook.

Books by Kathryn Albright

Mills & Boon Historical Romance

Heroes of San Diego

The Angel and the Outlaw

The Gunslinger and the Heiress

Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs

Christmas Kiss from the Sheriff

Stand-Alone Novels

Texas Wedding for Their Baby’s Sake

The Rebel and the Lady

Wild West Christmas

‘Dance with a Cowboy’

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk.

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I’d like to dedicate this story to my sister-in-law, Marlana—a constant supporter of my writing ever since I married into the family. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for always being there for me through life’s ups and downs. You light up my life. Love you!

I’d also like to acknowledge my editor, Julia Williams, for her encouragement and help in honing this story to a much better version of the original draft. Thank you for all your hard work, Julia!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Author Note

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Southern California—1876

Gemma’s warm breath turned to ethereal vapor in the frosty air as she marched determinedly toward the one-room schoolhouse. Unruly! That was the word. The children had been so full of energy yesterday that they had scarcely settled the entire day. Whether they had learned anything at all in the space of the seven hours was a mystery. The closer the days drew to Christmas, the more challenging it was to keep their attentions. Did all teachers suffer this problem or was she somehow lacking in the correct process of discipline?

Of one thing she was well aware—her education by tutors had not prepared her in the least for the life she now led.

Thank goodness for the one year she attended the university in Boston. Teaching was not so very different from being a lawyer or judge—particularly in the area of divvying out discipline. Her father had prepared her well in that regard.

She adjusted her small lunch pail and the books she carried to a more comfortable position in her arms and turned from the main road to the dirt path that led to the new school building. Fresh tracks marked the tall damp grass—an oddity this early in the morning. Unease rippled through her, making her shiver as she stared at them. The sun glistened on a thin layer of frost, but where the imprints occurred, the weeds and grass were crushed down and wet. The footprints circled from the front steps of the building around to the small attached woodshed at its side. They were large enough to be those of a grown man.

Now who would be lurking around the school at this hour?

She climbed the two front steps and pushed the skeleton key into the lock when the door moved freely. Odd... She had locked it last thing yesterday. Quietly she opened the door and glanced about the one large room, taking in the vague lingering scent of varnish that still clung to the new benches and the loose clump of pine garland that she had deposited on her desk before leaving yesterday.

To her left, in the back corner of the room, one of her older pupils sat at his desk slouched over a book. Fingers from one hand threaded through his stringy blond hair as he rested his head on his hand, completely absorbed in whatever he was reading. He hadn’t even noticed that she had entered the room. “Billy!”

He jumped in his seat.

“How long have you been here?”

“Got my chores done early and skedaddled afore Ma could find something more for me and Tara to do.”

She walked over to stand beside him. He was halfway through the book Robinson Crusoe.

Even though she was pleased to see him reading she couldn’t pretend to be happy about him breaking into the school. “How did you get inside? The door was locked.”

The excitement of the story dropped from his expression and he swallowed. “I didn’t hurt anything, Miss Starling. Honest.”

“That’s not the point. You shouldn’t have come inside at all. That is what a locked door indicates.”

“It weren’t locked all the way,” he said, his chin raising.

She cringed a little. “The proper use of the verb is wasn’t locked. And this isn’t open for debate.”

His confidence wavered slightly. “Maybe it was just half locked and when I jiggled it, it opened.”

She studied his earnest expression. No matter how he’d entered, rules were rules and he needed to follow them. “You are not to do it again. Understand?”