Risky Christmas (12 page)

“I'll help you,” Mason's father said, heading for the door.

Mason followed, casting a glance back at his mother and Chloe as though not sure he liked the idea of them getting acquainted. Chloe wasn't sure she did, either. Spending Christmas with his family was one thing, but getting too attached was quite another.

Bevy waved her toward the kitchen. “Come on. I'm getting ready for tonight.”

She followed her into the kitchen, where the smell of Swedish meatballs grew stronger. “Do you celebrate on Christmas Eve?”

“The big event is tomorrow. I'm throwing together some appetizers for tonight.” Bevy resumed rolling tortillas into spinach and cream cheese pinwheels.

“Mason said he met you at a grocery store.”

“In the parking lot.”

“I know he did what he had to at the time, running into one of those men he was investigating the way he did, but I have to tell you. I always hoped he would meet
a nice girl that way. Without planning it. Spur of the moment. Out of the blue. When he least expects it.”

Chloe began to pick up on some romanticized undercurrents. Did his mother think Mason had brought her here as his new girlfriend? Meeting him definitely hadn't been planned, but for him it was all business.

Just then, Mason and his dad came through the door along with the sound of many more voices. Boisterous voices. After everyone removed their winter coats, two blond-haired girls around six and eight roared with excitement and ran down the hall. An older, wiry blond-haired boy was slower and looked bored as he went to plop down in front of the television. Mason smiled as he talked to a man perhaps five to ten years older than him. His brother, the homicide detective. He was shorter than Mason and had light brown hair. A slender blond-haired woman in a soft green sweater followed beside Mason's father, talking rapidly with a big, toothy smile. She waved into the kitchen.

Then the four of them climbed the stairs, carrying shopping bags and luggage, loud chatter fading as they turned down the hall.

“It's not often Mason brings a girl home,” Bevy commented.

Chloe turned back to her, again picking up on the leading insinuation. “He thought it was best.”

Bevy eyed her briefly, appearing unconvinced that was the only reason. Her dark hair was a stylish bob around her aging face and her gray eyes were keen with intelligence.

Catching sight of Mason stepping down the stairs ahead of his father and brother, she found herself unable to stop looking at him. He moved smooth and strong, all man coming toward her. He noticed her and their
gazes held. When he reached the bottom, he gave her a subtle grin before turning to go into the living room.

The blonde came jogging down the stairs, still in jeans and the green sweater. Not as tall as Chloe, she had big breasts and hips that were probably hard to keep trim. She entered the kitchen.

“Deirdra, this is Chloe Bradford, Mason's friend.”

The way Bevy said
friend
clearly indicated she didn't believe for a minute they were just friends.

“It's about time Mason brought someone home,” Deirdra said, obviously having drawn the same conclusion as Bevy. She sat on the stool next to Chloe, blue eyes dancing, shoulder-length blond hair thick and shining.

“Any luck shopping?” Bevy asked.

“Yes. We found what you were looking for.” Just as Chloe began to wonder what that was, she continued, “Teddy bought four new movies.” She smiled over at Chloe. “Why is it that we always end up buying more than we plan at Christmastime?”

Chloe didn't know what that was like. She just smiled amicably and kept quiet.

The front door opened again and Chloe noticed it was dark outside. A woman appeared around the Christmas tree, rolling a suitcase to a stop and draping her fur-hooded jacket over the top as Mason reached her. After hugging him and talking a bit, she embraced her dad and other brother. In tight stretch jeans with colorful butterflies running down one thigh and a wild sparkly printed long-sleeved shirt, she had a vibrancy that matched her mother's. Her hair had a blond streak in the dark strands and her eye makeup was heavy around green eyes that were the same color as Mason's. She
ruffled the boy's blond head before heading toward the kitchen.

“CC.” Bevy moved around the kitchen island to hug her. “Are you okay?”

“I'm great. My husband is bonking a twelve-year-old.”

“You're only twenty-seven, Cees. She can't be that much younger than you.”

“I knew he was too in love with himself. I should have never married the weasel.”

“I won't say I told you so.”

“Thanks, Mom.” CC noticed Chloe then. “One of the neighbors come over for Christmas again?”

“No, this is Mason's girlfriend,” Deirdra said.

Breathing an entertained laugh, Bevy went to remove some shrimp from the refrigerator.

“I'm not his—”

“Chloe Bradford, meet Mason's younger sister, CC Jaffee,” Dierdra cut her off.

“It's not Jaffee anymore.”

“It will be again soon.”

CC smirked at the unwanted truth and then went to the refrigerator. “Mason didn't say anything to me about a girlfriend.” She closed the refrigerator door, holding a beer.

“We're just friends,” Chloe insisted.

“She posed as Mason's girlfriend to help him protect his cover,” Bevy said, arranging the shrimp in a pretty bowl. “But they met at a grocery store before that.”

CC used a bottle opener to remove the cap and then came to sit on the other side of Chloe. “He still in that dumpy part of Chicago?”

“That's where Mason met Chloe,” Bevy informed the blunt-speaking woman. “She lives there.”

“Oh.” CC looked apologetically at Chloe. “Sorry.”

Mason's rich laughter made her look into the living room. The sight of his still-smiling face stole her concentration. Catching her watching, his smile faded and his eyes took on a telling smolder.

Forcing her attention back to CC after a notable delay, she said, “Don't be. It
is
a dumpy part of Chicago. That's why I'm moving here.”

After following Chloe's gaze, Deirdra lifted her brow speculatively.

“You're moving here?” CC asked.

“Yes. But not because…not because…” Why couldn't she say not because of Mason? She wasn't moving here for him. But these women thought…

“Why did he bring you home with him?” CC asked.

“The FBI is still looking for one of the men Mason was investigating. It's a precautionary measure,” Bevy said. “He didn't want to leave her in Chicago.”

It was more than precautionary. And it had nothing to do with his interest in her. He wasn't interested. Was he? She glanced over at him again but he was busy talking to his dad.

No. He was worried Axel would find them here. That was why she'd agree to stay with him. She looked out the dining room window, darkness peering in between the swooping curtains. She'd seen how he had scanned their surroundings on the way here. His family thought the danger was left behind in Chicago, but Mason was afraid of bringing danger to their door.

“I think that's what he'd like us all to believe,” Deirdra said, reeling her back into the conversation. “I bet he likes her.”

“Oh, I doubt—”

“I saw the way you look at each other,” Deirdra teased. “It's obvious.”

Was it? Mason didn't seem open to letting another woman into his heart.

CC laughed lightheartedly. “This is going to be a great Christmas. Exactly what I need.”

“Really, I don't think—”

“You're different than the other three he brought here,” Deirdra interrupted again.

Bevy was smiling in that way again. “She does seem different.”

Chloe checked each woman's face and settled on Bevy, relenting to curiosity. “How so?”

“Not as fancy,” CC said. “They all made more money than him.”

The woman didn't know when she was insulting. Chloe found it refreshing, though.

“CC, stop,” Bevy said.

“What?” her daughter queried.

“It's okay,” Chloe said. “I won't always live in the slums.”

CC's eyes went round with appall. “Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I totally didn't mean it that way. It's just that Mason…well, he always falls for such stuffy women. I mean, they're pretty and all, but they don't have personalities. He can't pick them very well.”

“That's the problem,” Bevy said, “
They
chase
him
down, he doesn't get a chance to pick them himself. Chloe he met in a grocery store parking lot and dating wasn't even on his mind.”

“That's true,” CC agreed, nodding. “The first one worked with him and she was all over him.”

“She was an FBI agent?” Chloe asked, too curious for her own good.

“No, she was some kind of director or something.”

“She was a bitch,” Deirdra said. “When she discovered she couldn't ball-break him, she left him for someone else.”

“The second one was a college professor,” CC went on.

Deirdra rolled her eyes. “Yeah, physics of all things. Why was he interested in a woman like that? And how did he meet her? She was weird. Quiet and self-conscious, like she felt she had to bring herself down an intellectual level just so she could be around us.”

“No wonder that didn't last,” Bevy said.

“She picked him up at a trendy bar,” CC said, tucking her blond-streaked hair behind her ear. “I think she was looking for a stay-at-home dad. So when he told her he wouldn't change jobs…”

“And then he met that engineer,” Bevy said.

The third one. The one Chloe could tell had hurt him the most. The one he'd said he should have married.

“She was actually nice. I liked her,” CC said.

“Yeah, me too,” Deirdra said. “She was normal.”

Chloe didn't like the sound of this, especially since it made her feel the same way her boyfriend had when he broke up with her. Second-best. Not his number one choice.

“Talking about me?”

With a sparkle of awareness, Chloe turned along with the other women to see Mason approaching, sexy in jeans and a blue knit sweater. She wished she didn't find him so attractive, and all the leading inflections from the female population of his family were getting to her. He must have heard a good portion, if not all of the conversation and she wondered if that's what had
drawn him in here. He probably wanted to put a stop to it.

“We were just asking Chloe why you brought her here,” CC said, not missing a beat.

He stopped behind Chloe and Deirdra at the island. “I already told Mom. I have to be sure the investigation is officially closed. She was seen with me. I don't want anything to happen to her.”

There was nothing personal about his answer, but she noticed a flicker of something in his eyes that hinted to the possibility of more. Was it a struggle to keep this professional? Was he struggling like her?

“Chicago is a long way from here,” CC said.

Mason blinked and the possibility vanished. “Right, and that's why I brought her here.”

That was true. Protecting her had been his initial motivation, but something else was brewing between them, something neither of them was ready for. Checking the darkened window, he quickly covered any sign of concern, but not before his mother noticed.

Bevy searched her son's face but he didn't satisfy her curiosity.

“Well.” Bevy dried her hands on a towel. “It's good you brought her here. It doesn't matter why. No one should be alone on Christmas.”

“I'm not alone. I have a lot of friends in Chicago.”

Crap. Why had she said that? She could see each and every one of them looking at her curiously. They all wondered the same thing. Why had she uprooted her life to come here? If she wasn't alone in Chicago, she'd most certainly be alone here.

“What matters is you're here,” Bevy said with a clever and delighted smile in her eyes. “You just…
popped right into Mason's life. Anything else will resolve itself.”

“Mom…” Mason warned.

“You know what they say about love,” Deirdra said.

“It happens when you least expect it,” CC supplied the answer with a brief laugh.

Chloe looked back at Mason and speculation passed between them. What if something did start between them? A fleeting shimmer of heat entered into the exchange, quickly followed by wariness.

Mason cleared his throat and stepped back.

Chloe picked up a pinwheel and pretended nothing had happened. As alluring as finding love and a family like this one was, along with the possibility of truly belonging to it, she could not risk the repercussions. Not now. Not yet.

A
fter breakfast on Christmas morning, Chloe descended the stairs. Christmas music played and she could hear the snap crackle of a fire. The door at the bottom of the stairs was open. There was a rec room in the basement and she could hear the kids down there. Voices and clattering dishes confirmed at least some of the family was in the kitchen, the hangout for the holidays. She was looking forward to today.

Last night she'd eaten appetizers with Mason's family and watched two of the movies Teddy had picked up while the kids kept asking if they could open presents. Bevy had made fried mushrooms and shrimp scampi on French bread that was dripping with butter. Chloe had been in heaven with the fried mushrooms and bread. She'd been in even greater heaven with Mason sitting across the room from her. Every once in a while she caught him watching her, and each look sizzled more
than the last. She wondered if hearing his mother and sisters talking about how different she was than his previous girlfriends had gotten to him.

She'd tried to dismiss the significance by striking up a conversation with CC. She learned she was a hair-dresser and that her mother thought she'd move on to something else. Something better. They'd bonded and if CC didn't live in L.A., Chloe would want to keep her for a friend.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she collided with none other than Mason on her way into the kitchen. Her hands came against his dark green heavy cotton shirt and she felt his on her hip bones. Eyes she hadn't been so close to since they'd kissed flared with the same affliction that had been in them last night. He was freshly shaven and smelled sweet and spicy.

“I was just coming to get you,” he murmured.

“Here I am.” An awkward response, but hopefully it hid the heat that consumed her being this close to him.

He dropped his hands and stepped back. “Everyone's ready for the sleigh ride.”

A sleigh ride? Chloe had only painted them.

“It's a family tradition,” he explained with a note of dread. “Every year on Christmas morning, we go for a sleigh ride.”

Could this Christmas be any more enchanting? Chloe decided not to stop herself from enjoying every second. She'd have a fond memory. It might come with bittersweet regret later, but what harm would it bring? It didn't have to be any different than those spent with her friends' families. She was with a family on Christmas. So what if it was Mason's?

Just then, Bevy emerged from the kitchen and saw them. With a knowing smile, she handed Chloe a
Thermos of hot cocoa and then a blanket to Mason. “Share that with her.”

He grumbled something and started for the coat rack. Chloe followed. Outside, a sleigh and four Clydesdales waited in the snow. The horses were adorned with brass bells and the sleigh was garnished with pine branches and big red boughs.

“Oh,” she couldn't help exclaiming.

Mason lifted her up to the step of the sleigh. She climbed in, tingling from where he'd touched her. He climbed in after her. Deirdra and her family were already sitting on the two middle seats.

Chloe sat in the back, feeling like a kid again. The seat was smaller back here and only fit two, like the front seat. The two middle seats were wider with the shape of the sleigh.

Mason sat next to her and wrapped the blanket around them both. She snuggled close to him and played down the significance of his arm around her. His parents climbed up into the driver's seat and CC sat next to her little nieces. The older boy sat between his parents.

Karl urged the Clydesdales into a walk and the sleigh jerked into motion. Chloe would not be able to remove the smile from her face until the ride was over. She wanted to see everything, not miss a thing. Mason noticed and she saw his warming look.

The sleigh passed the old colonial house Mason's grandfather had built. Chloe vowed she'd design a Christmas card that would capture all of its cozy grandeur. She craned her neck to see it as they passed, and when she turned forward again, saw that Mason had taken notice of her appreciation.

He told her he'd take her there, but he hadn't yet.

They followed the snow-covered driveway until they reached the road she and Mason had driven in on. The overcast sky confirmed what she'd heard on the news this morning. Another storm was moving in.

The Clydesdales sped up into a trot, sleigh bells ringing. This would be a Christmas she'd never forget!

A truck passed them from the opposite direction and Karl and Bevy waved. They came upon a convenience store and gas station that also offered a few cabin rentals. Christmas lights glimmered. A man gathered wood in a wheelbarrow and paused to wave with a smile.

They all waved back.

Chloe tucked her hand under the blanket. It landed on Mason's thigh. She sensed him turn her way. Instead of moving her hand, she gave in to what her heart called for her to do and leaned her head on his shoulder. He went still for a second, but then she felt his hand cover hers and hold it. Chloe closed her eyes and concealed a contented sigh. This shouldn't feel as good as it did.

“Are you warm?”

Mason's deep voice was full of intimacy. “Yes.” Her sultry reply fueled the stirring desire between them.

She could kiss him right now. She wanted to. Badly enough to throw caution aside. She tipped her head up just a little, just enough.

What seemed like minutes passed before he touched her mouth with his. She felt flushed and out of breath. Fireworks burst and spread. Her heart raced.

Mason looked down at her as they both settled back to Earth, then turned toward the front of the sleigh, making Chloe do the same. No one had noticed.

Another vehicle approached, this one a sedan, driving slow over the snow-packed road. Karl and Bevy
waved again, but the driver didn't wave back. As the sedan passed, Chloe saw him.
Was that Axel?

Startled, she looked up at Mason.

“Don't look back,” he said. “He didn't see us.”

Oh God. It was him.
Her heart raced anew, but as a result of something far less pleasant.

“How did he find us?”

“He must have figured out my name. My parents don't hide their address.”

“Your partner must have told them. The other agent?” Even though Axel had said he hadn't talked before they'd killed him, what if he had? Now she understood why Mason had been so worried Axel would follow them.

“Donovan said he was waiting for Axel when he brought me to the room to question me. He said the party would get started then.”

Meaning, the party with Mason and her?

“One of the questions he asked me is what I thought the feds had on them. I told him they couldn't have anything. I doubt he suspected there'd be a raid as soon as that night, but I bet he knew about New Year's Eve.”

Tanner had told them? “Why wait for Axel, then? If he knew you were an agent…”

“No one in that organization wanted me dead more than Axel.”

So Donovan agreed to wait? She watched the passing landscape, but the enchantment was gone. “It's personal to him?”

“He hated that Donovan befriended me, favored me in some cases. Agreed with my ideas more than his. That always sent him over the edge. If it hadn't been for Donovan and his henchmen, Axel would have tried to kill me a long time ago.”

“And now that Donovan is out of the way…”

“Along with everyone else…”

There was nothing stopping him from killing Mason now. He was here in Woodland, Montana to do just that. He'd found them. Chloe shivered.

“What if he's on the way to the house?”

Mason adjusted his arm around her. “I doubt he'll try anything today. He'll probably find a warm place to stay for the night. It's Christmas. Besides that, my entire family is here. My brother's a homicide detective. Between the two of us, we could take care of him.”

She hoped so. She wasn't an easy target for bad men, but Axel was worse than any she'd encountered. He had a gun. Glancing behind them once more and not seeing Axel's car, she turned forward again.

“I won't let anything happen to you,” Mason said. “Or my family.”

Smiling, she leaned her head against his shoulder again. Knowing she had an FBI agent watching over her went a long way to ease her mind. Besides, she didn't want anything to ruin this wonderful day.

CC caught sight of them and elbowed her nephew under the blanket they shared. The boy pushed the blanket off him and gave it to her, not showing any interest in Chloe and Mason. A teenager alone in the middle of nowhere probably spelled boredom. That's when she saw him texting. Distracted, not bored. She hoped he didn't do that when he drove.

By noon, they arrived back at the turn for the Jaffees' ranch. Chloe noticed a sign she hadn't seen on the way here the first time. Snowy Meadow Lodge. Nice. What a dream she was having. She wished she'd never wake up.

“Hey, Dad,” Mason called.

Karl turned along with everyone else except the two young girls.

“Stop here so we can shut the gate.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

His mother looked with concern at Karl, who slowed the Clydesdales to a stop. His quiet nature worked to keep the rest of them calm. Shrugging the blanket off his shoulders, Mason climbed off the sleigh and walked back to where the gate was chained open. His dad and brother joined him and Chloe could see them talking. Karl closed the gate without a fuss and locked it with the chain. There were steep ditches on both sides of the driveway and the snow was deep where it wasn't plowed. It would be difficult to get to the driveway in a vehicle. Axel had been driving a sedan. She looked for unfamiliar tracks in the snow. There were none. Just as Mason had predicted, Axel hadn't gone to the house. He'd only scoped out its location. Chloe tightened the blanket against another shiver.

“What's going on?” CC asked her mother.

“I don't know.”

Karl climbed onto the front seat and Teddy and Mason took their seats. For the first time since Chloe had seen him, Teddy wore a detective's mask, grim and deep in thought as he put their blanket back around them. His wife had noticed, too.

“Why do you want the gate closed, Mason?” CC asked.

“Just a precaution.”

Her head whipped around as she searched the surrounding landscape and road. “Do you think someone might come after you? That man you didn't arrest
during your raid? Axel or whatever his name was? He got away. Do you think he'd come all the way here?”

Deirdra exchanged another worried look with her husband, who kissed her briefly before turning to Mason. “We'll be ready just in case.”

“Oh, great. Just what we need. An armed Christmas.” CC shook her head.

“Awesome,” the teenager said.

Karl set the Clydesdales into motion.

The sky was grayer now, the clouds lower and a frigid breeze had picked up.

While Mason helped his dad and Teddy put away the horses, Chloe went inside with the others. She could smell the turkey cooking and wanted to savor the aroma. While the other three went into the kitchen, chattering away about the prospect of one of Mason's criminals coming after them, she went to the fireplace and added more wood.

“Do you think that man will come here? Are we all in danger?” Chloe heard Deirdra ask.

“And do you really think locking that stupid gate is going to keep anyone out?” CC added.

“Teddy wouldn't be concerned if he didn't think there was a reason,” Deirdra said.

“Enough,” Bevy demanded. “I need help making a green salad and scalloped potatoes. So come on, we could use the distraction.”

“I'll make the salad,” Deirdra said.

“CC, why don't you wash potatoes and peel them?”

Straightening from the fireplace, Chloe entered the kitchen last. “What can I do?”

“You can help me get the appetizers ready. They're in the fridge.” Bevy open the oven and took the turkey out to check it.

Chloe found the leftovers from last night and began to put them on the counter. CC got the potatoes out and began washing them next to her while Bevy basted the turkey at the oven. Deirdra took over the kitchen island with the salad prep.

“What happened on Mason's assignment, Chloe?” CC asked quietly. “Why is Mason so worried?” Her dark mascara popped out her crystal clear green eyes, and her long-sleeved red shirt with its colorful beaded front matched her personality.

“I don't think he's that worried.” Yet.

“Why did he want the gate closed, then?”

Chloe didn't know how to answer that.

“Were you two followed here?”

Again, she hesitated, remembering the SUV that had nearly followed them to the hotel.

CC dropped a wet potato onto the counter. “Oh, my God, you were!”

She faced the three women. “Not here. In Chicago. No one followed us to the airport and no one followed us here.” She didn't say what Mason had told her, that his parents were easy to find, or that Tanner could have talked after having the information tortured out of him.

“Stop worrying, Cees,” Teddy entered the kitchen ahead of Mason and Karl. “Nothing's going to happen tonight. And even if it does, do you think you're in the company of amateurs?”

CC resumed her work washing potatoes. “Don't be cocky, Teddy. You've seen more death than all of us in this room.”

Chloe saw how Deirdra looked at her husband and felt empathy for her. CC had aired something that bothered the woman. Her husband was a homicide detective. That meant he was sometimes in the line of fire
and when he wasn't, he must carry unimaginable horrors with him.

Seeing her look, Teddy went to his wife and rubbed her back, leaning down for a kiss. Deirdra smiled up at him, comforted.

First looking over at Mason, Karl went over to his wife and they exchanged words only the two of them could hear. Bevy nodded with a loving smile, his unruffled way clearly what soothed her.