Allie Pleiter - A Ranger For The Holidays

A Christmas to Remember

In Little Horn, Texas, Amelia Klondike is known as the Queen of Christmas. Her generosity and sheer joy during the holidays is contagious—to everyone except Finn Brannigan. The attractive, wounded stranger doesn’t know who he is or where he came from—and he isn’t feeling merry at all. It isn’t long before Amelia, her grandfather and their adorable dog begin to warm Finn’s heart. But when Finn’s memory starts to return, his past as a Texas Ranger—the one thing that might cause Amelia to withdraw from him—is revealed. And he worries that he may lose his chance for one perfect Western Christmas with the woman he can’t bear to forget...

“That’s all you remember? Just your name?”

“And my age.” Tell her you’re a Ranger, the honorable side of him scolded the other part that foolishly refused to confess. It felt as if everything would slam back into place once tomorrow dawned, so would it be terrible to just keep this one night as the happy victory it was?

“For a while there I was terrified it wouldn’t come back. That I’d end up one of those freak stories you read about in checkout counter tabloids.”

She laughed. “I can’t imagine you up there with the celebrity tragedies and alien babies. You’re far too normal.”

Normal? Nothing about him felt normal. The scary part was the constant sense that his normal wasn’t anywhere near as nice as right now was, sitting out under the stars near a roaring fire hearing Christmas carols.

Finn waited for his unnamed aversion to all things Christmas to wash up over him. Why couldn’t he grasp the big dark thing lurking just out of his reach?

* * *

Lone Star Cowboy League:

Bighearted ranchers in small-town Texas

A Reunion for the Rancher by Brenda Minton, October 2015

A Doctor for the Nanny by Leigh Bale, November 2015

A Ranger for the Holidays by Allie Pleiter, December 2015

A Family for the Soldier by Carolyne Aarsen, January 2016

A Daddy for Her Triplets by Deb Kastner, February 2016

A Baby for the Rancher by Margaret Daley, March 2016

ALLIE PLEITER, an award-winning author and RITA® Award finalist, writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion for knitting shows up in many of her books and all over her life. Entirely too fond of French macarons and lemon meringue pie, Allie spends her days writing books and avoiding housework. Allie grew up in Connecticut, holds a BS in speech from Northwestern University and lives near Chicago, Illinois.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

—Isaiah 43:18–19

To Barb

Welcome to the family

Special thanks and acknowledgment to Allie Pleiter for her contribution to the Lone Star Cowboy League miniseries.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text A Christmas to Remember In Little Horn, Texas, Amelia Klondike is known as the Queen of Christmas. Her generosity and sheer joy during the holidays is contagious—to everyone except Finn Brannigan. The attractive, wounded stranger doesn’t know who he is or where he came from—and he isn’t feeling merry at all. It isn’t long before Amelia, her grandfather and their adorable dog begin to warm Finn’s heart. But when Finn’s memory starts to return, his past as a Texas Ranger—the one thing that might cause Amelia to withdraw from him—is revealed. And he worries that he may lose his chance for one perfect Western Christmas with the woman he can’t bear to forget...

Introduction “That’s all you remember? Just your name?” “And my age.” Tell her you’re a Ranger, the honorable side of him scolded the other part that foolishly refused to confess. It felt as if everything would slam back into place once tomorrow dawned, so would it be terrible to just keep this one night as the happy victory it was? “For a while there I was terrified it wouldn’t come back. That I’d end up one of those freak stories you read about in checkout counter tabloids.” She laughed. “I can’t imagine you up there with the celebrity tragedies and alien babies. You’re far too normal.” Normal? Nothing about him felt normal. The scary part was the constant sense that his normal wasn’t anywhere near as nice as right now was, sitting out under the stars near a roaring fire hearing Christmas carols. Finn waited for his unnamed aversion to all things Christmas to wash up over him. Why couldn’t he grasp the big dark thing lurking just out of his reach? * * * Lone Star Cowboy League: Bighearted ranchers in small-town Texas A Reunion for the Rancher by Brenda Minton, October 2015 A Doctor for the Nanny by Leigh Bale, November 2015 A Ranger for the Holidays by Allie Pleiter, December 2015 A Family for the Soldier by Carolyne Aarsen, January 2016 A Daddy for Her Triplets by Deb Kastner, February 2016 A Baby for the Rancher by Margaret Daley, March 2016

About the Author ALLIE PLEITER , an award-winning author and RITA® Award finalist, writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion for knitting shows up in many of her books and all over her life. Entirely too fond of French macarons and lemon meringue pie, Allie spends her days writing books and avoiding housework. Allie grew up in Connecticut, holds a BS in speech from Northwestern University and lives near Chicago, Illinois.

Title Page A Ranger for the Holidays Allie Pleiter www.millsandboon.co.uk

Bible Verse Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. —Isaiah 43:18–19

Dedication To Barb Welcome to the family

Acknowledgments Special thanks and acknowledgment to Allie Pleiter for her contribution to the Lone Star Cowboy League miniseries.

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

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

P ine trees don’t wear gloves.

Amelia Klondike, like any sensible person on God’s earth, knew that. She was out here in the woods to find pinecones for a Sunday school project, not accessories. She set down the last of the lemon bar and coffee she’d brought for breakfast—Amelia didn’t believe in sensible breakfasts, ever—and picked up the glove from its place among the scattered pinecones. Large, well made, worn to a comfortable softness, it was definitely a man’s glove—one that would be missed, so she should try to find its owner. She chuckled as her mind made the connection; a woman whose life’s work was a charity called Here to Help ought to be able to help one glove find the man who owned it.

Not that Amelia was looking to find a man—gloved or otherwise—these days. Just over a year out from a publicly broken engagement, Amelia was barely starting to feel as if talk had died down and she could be seen as Little Horn’s best helping hand, not its saddest broken heart.

She was tucking the glove in her pocket when she spotted its mate ten feet away. Then a boot...and a leg...until there, lying under the largest of the pine trees, Amelia spied the owner of those gloves.