Jennifer's Christmas Daddy Read online

  Jennifer’s Christmas Daddy

  Raisa Greywood

  © 2019 Raisa Greywood

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise - without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is unintended and entirely coincidental.

  Cover art by Golden Czermak. Editing provided by Maggie Ryan.

  Acknowledgments

  Special thanks to General G for my awesome cover, and to Maggie Ryan for her always stupendous editing.

  I tweaked the ending just a little, Maggie, to make up for the buckets you cried over the other project you worked on for me. I hope you love your baby dragon as much as I loved giving him to you.

  As always, my undying gratitude and love go to Engineer Hubby. Without your support and faith, I wouldn’t be writing at all. Love you to the moon and back, baby.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  About Raisa Greywood

  Also by Raisa Greywood

  Prologue

  Through the fogged window of a rural vet clinic, Miz Lulu peered at the woman she’d been assigned to watch. The snow fell hard, obscuring her vision, but thankfully didn’t mess with her best Sunday hat. That was one good thing about being dead. She wouldn’t ever have to worry about her hats being damaged by unruly weather.

  Whoo boy, it was cold as Beelzebub’s backside here, too. Lulu missed her Baton Rouge home something fierce. How did these northerners get around in such snow?

  She wiped the glass to clear it. The little girl inside the clinic was barely bigger than a minute, but she sure was a pretty thing. Lulu tutted under her breath. That girl needed herself a man, for sure.

  The file said Jennifer Dane was fast approaching her thirtieth birthday. She had no family to speak of, excepting for her no-account mama in Florida. Why, when Lulu was her age, she’d had a passel of kids, a good, God-fearing husband, and a boisterous house full of love and happiness. Jennifer had nothing but a clinic filled with other people’s pets and some tired decorations. No cakes or bourbon balls, or champagne punch…

  Her mouth watered at the thought of all the treats she’d never taste again. Patting her rounded midsection, she reminded herself that if she’d done a little less sampling of Miz Francine’s sinful amaretto cake and her ‘pray to Jesus’ punch, she might not be wandering around as an angel-in-training right now.

  Still, Jennifer was a good girl. She was sweet-natured and funny, and loved those mangy critters. She didn’t care none about what they were, neither. Jennifer was likely to doctor a possum like it was someone’s purebred dog, and she always had animal treats in her pockets.

  Clicking her tongue, she turned away from the clinic and floated away. By George, she’d find that little girl a man for Christmas, or her name wasn’t Lulabelle Penworthy.

  There was one problem, though. Where was she gonna find a man good enough for Jennifer in a raging snowstorm forty miles from anywhere?

  She followed the road leading to town. Most of her friends, other angels-in-training, earned points toward their wings by helping stranded motorists. It took forever to earn wings that way, but everybody did it. A stranded motorist was like a penny dropped into a jar. Though that path was a sure thing, it took a whole lot of them to amount to much, and Lulu had a better idea. Forget pennies, she was looking for a lottery win.

  True love. If she could get two folks together into the bonds of true love like she’d shared with her Remy, she’d get her wings.

  Lulu was about to give up when she saw headlights flashing ahead. In a blink, she was next to a car parked off the road, its engine whining as the driver tried to start it.

  Suddenly the car coughed and rumbled to life, and without Lulu’s help! She stood there, hands on her hips, as a man got out and brushed snow from the glass.

  The man wore snug jeans, the fabric tight over a gorgeous backside. Muscles on muscles swelled, making ripples in his sweater. He had dark hair cut very short, and was as pretty as a fallen angel. He had a few scars on his face, but if you asked her, they only added to his manly appeal.

  She fanned herself with a white-gloved hand. “Whoo, sugar! You’re a tall drink of water, for sure.”

  “Sorry, Miz Lulu. Captain McCleod is mine.”

  Lulu turned at the sound of her friend Devin’s voice. Devin had died young of the cancer, and he always looked frail, like a good gust of wind would blow him clean off his feet. He was the closest of all of them to getting his wings, but she didn’t hold that against him none. He deserved them, maybe more than the rest of the angels-in-training did.

  Lord knew she hadn’t been such a great candidate for wings when she’d first started, but Devin never missed a beat. Lulu reckoned when the cancer took you at seventeen, you didn’t mess around when it came to helping other folks find happiness.

  “Aw, dang it. I was figuring on getting him started for a piece, then letting him break down at the animal clinic over yonder.”

  Devin frowned. “What for? Let him get somewhere warm.”

  Biting her lip, Lulu looked at the man, then at Devin. An idea blossomed, but she wanted to make sure she wasn’t wasting her time. “What’s your Captain McCleod about?” she asked. “Is he a good, upstanding gentleman you might introduce to a fine woman?”

  “The file says he’s a military hero, and saved a bunch of people from a bomb. I just took the case over, so I haven’t spent much time at it, but you know we don’t get files on underserving people.”

  “True. Is he married or got a girl somewhere?”

  Devin grimaced. “No. He had a girl, but they broke up today. And if you ask me, she didn’t deserve him. She was embarrassed that his face is a little scarred up.”

  “Damned stupid woman, if you ask me,” she muttered, wincing as a trickle of icy snow dripped on her nose, punishment for her swear word. “Sorry.”

  Devin chuckled as the moisture dried. “It’s okay. I agree with you.”

  Coming to a decision, Lulu asked, “What would you say if I told you my file is for a sweet little girl in that animal clinic? She’s all by herself on Christmas Eve.”

  Looking doubtfully at his charge, Devin said, “I dunno, Miz Lulu. He’s awfully angry right now.”

  “Leave everything to me,” Lulu replied, a wide grin on her round face as she rubbed her hands together. “We’re gonna make some true love happen.”

  1

  Kaden had no idea where he was going, but wherever it was, it was going to be far away from Montgomery, Vermont, and a certain red-haired snake of a woman.

  Looking back on things, he had to wonder what he’d seen in her. Sure, she was hot as fuck and had the right mixture of brat and sweet little girl that got his motor running, but when push came to shove, she wanted someone who looked good on her arm and catered to her whims.

  And Brittany Carter had a lot of whims that had turned into demands when she realized how much money he had. He’d made the mistake of mentioning his family home in The Hamptons when they’d started going out.

&nb
sp; Because he was lazy, or maybe just that stupid, he’d put up with it until she’d asked him to duck below the dashboard of his car as they drove past her friends. He didn’t want to know how she thought that was going to work since he’d been the one driving.

  She’d happily sleep with him and let him spend money on her, but was too vain to be seen in public with him. He’d turned right around and taken her home, then informed her she’d have to find another human ATM.

  Honestly, he wasn’t even angry anymore. Just tired and a little disgusted with the whole thing. Sighing, he turned on the four-wheel drive as the snow got heavier.

  The engine groaned, making a grinding noise that didn’t bode well for his continued travels. Sputtering, the car stalled, and he eased it off the road with the last bit of inertia remaining.

  Engine lights flashed as he tried to start it again, but aside from a few clicks, the car didn’t respond. Lowering his head to the steering wheel, he wondered who he’d pissed off in a previous life.

  Sitting up, he tried again to start it, and to his surprise, it caught. Hurriedly, he brushed the snow off the windshield and drove back toward town. It wasn’t his first choice, but he wasn’t going to trust the car to take him any further.

  Before he’d gone three miles, a deer darted in front of him, barely missing his fender as he spun the wheel to avoid it. As his car careened toward a tree, he wondered if it was possible for his day to get any worse.

  He braced himself for the impending meeting with the large maple, but it didn’t help. The car slammed into the tree, throwing him forward as the air bag deployed. His head caught the edge of the door frame, and his vision swam and darkened.

  Shaking away the ringing in his ears, Kaden looked outside and saw an elderly woman in a flowered dress. A large, feathered hat was perched on her gray curls, and she held gloved hands in front of her mouth. A teenaged boy, bald and ghostly pale in blue hospital scrubs, stood next to her, his mouth open in horror.

  He shook his head and looked outside again, but the strange people were gone. His last thought was a prayer that they’d go find help.

  Jennifer finished her rounds and retreated to her office, desperate for a little sleep. The boarders had settled in and were quiet, but she had three dogs and a cat still under observation after surgery, plus in the barn out back, she had a horse being treated for a laceration.

  This year hadn’t been her busiest Christmas, but it was pretty close. Matt, the other vet in her practice, had a family, so she always volunteered to take the holidays. It wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go.

  She had her books, a good coffee pot, and a fridge full of delicious snacks from Matt’s wife, Lorraine. That was all a single girl really needed, right? Well, aside from BOB – the trusty battery-operated boyfriend. But Bob was at home where he belonged.

  She had Caleb, too. The golden retriever was stretched out on her lumpy, but surprisingly comfortable couch, his head draped over the arm rest.

  “Budge up, ye great lump,” she said, doing her best Hagrid impression.

  With a groan worthy of a movie star, Caleb got off the couch, his reproachful brown eyes watching her every move when she took his spot. Kicking off her shoes, she laid back and picked up her Kindle from the table. She was halfway through a book about aliens who picked human brides when the women read a specific romance the aliens had written.

  The sex was filthy hot, the concept was hilarious and so fantastically out there, she was wildly entertained. There was even a disclaimer telling people to read at their own risk, and that the authors took no responsibility if they were kidnapped.

  “If only,” she muttered, picking up where she’d left off. Her life was so utterly boring, she’d almost welcome getting swept away to another planet. But she’d never leave her animals—not even for cocks with very useful tentacles.

  Caleb stood up and growled as he paced in front of her office door. Putting down her reader, she slipped her boots on and grabbed her coat. He’d already been out, but maybe he needed to go again.

  She opened the back door and Caleb dashed out, running toward the tree line. Lights flashed in the distance, and she heard the faint noise of a car alarm.

  “Oh hell.” Grabbing the keys to her snowmobile, she jogged behind the barn. She’d used it to come to work this morning, knowing the snow would be too deep to drive. It would get her to the road faster than running would, and she would need it and the travois behind it if someone was injured. She refused to consider that someone might have died in the accident.

  Slapping her helmet on, she started the motor and soon was racing across the field to the road. When she reached the accident, she slowed and grimaced. The driver had probably spun out on the curve, and he’d done a number on his car.

  “Hush, Caleb,” she said, quieting her barking dog as she pushed him out of the way. Peering inside, she saw a man leaning against the door, his head bleeding profusely, though he appeared to be breathing.

  She eased the door open, thanking God it wasn’t locked. He fell to the side, but his seat belt kept him in the seat. Grabbing a pocket knife, she cut the straps and eased his big body to the snow.

  He opened his eyes, making her sigh in relief as she wiped the blood away to check the cut. It didn’t look very deep, but might need a couple of stitches. Other, older scars marred his face, but Jennifer was more concerned with the one that was actively bleeding.

  “Sir, can you hear me?” she asked.

  Smiling, he lifted his hand and touched her face. “Yeah. Are you an angel?” His eyes closed and he fell unconscious.

  Standing up, she put her hands on her hips. “Well, shit.”

  She moved the snowmobile close enough that she could roll his big body onto the travois. Covering him with several blankets, she puttered back to the clinic, unwilling to risk bouncing him. Without a good idea of his injuries, she had no idea what to do.

  His cut was the least of her worries. Sutures were easy, and he’d probably be a lot less likely to kick or bite than most of her patients. But if he was injured more severely, it would be beyond her ability.

  Stopping the snowmobile by the clinic door, she pondered how she was going to get him inside and bent down to check on him. His eyelids fluttered, and she breathed a sigh of relief. If he regained consciousness, she could help him inside. “Sir, can you hear me?” she asked.

  “Yeah, angel.” He grinned drunkenly and tried to sit up. “You’re awful pretty, but I don’t think heaven has this much snow.”

  Definitely a concussion, she decided, trying not to laugh. “Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re still in Vermont. Let’s get you inside.”

  2

  Kaden blinked, his vision fading in and out with the pounding in his head. The woman who had gotten him out of his car looked too small to hold his weight, but despite her diminutive size, managed to support him well enough that he could lean on her as she walked him carefully through a medical office.

  Maybe things were looking up for him. Who got lucky enough to wreck right outside a hospital? But instead of taking him to a treatment room, she helped him into a shabby office with a battered brown couch and a metal desk.

  When she helped him to the low couch, he sank into it gratefully. His head swam and he thought he might be sick.

  “Lie down, sir. Let’s take a look at the cut on your head. I think you also have a concussion, but the only thing I have for pain is some acetaminophen.”

  “What kind of hospital is this?” he muttered, lifting his hand to his aching forehead.

  “It’s a veterinary clinic. I can try to call for an ambulance, though.” She pressed a button on the multi-line phone on the desk and cursed.

  “Problems?” he asked, closing his eyes. Shit, his head felt like it might explode.

  “No service, and I know my cell doesn’t work out here.”

  Maybe he hadn’t been so lucky, after all. “Awesome,” he growled. “I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere with a dog
sitter.” He rubbed at his eyes, knowing he’d been unconscionably rude when she’d only been trying to help.

  She arched a dark brow and her pink lips twitched up into a smile as he looked at her properly for the first time. Whoever this woman was, she was a knockout. She had big brown eyes fringed with thick lashes. Her dark hair was tied into braids on both sides of her head, making her look like a teenager. She wore jeans and a sweatshirt with a logo stitched over her left breast. He found the utter lack of artifice very attractive, certainly more so than Brittany’s too-heavy makeup and constant trips to the salon.

  “Sorry, no offense. What’s your name, honey?”

  “Dr. Jennifer Dane,” she replied, still giving him that half smile. “Though I do walk dogs in my free time.”

  He let his head fall back to the arm of the couch. “Is there any hope you have a hole somewhere out back that I can crawl into?”

  Dr. Dane laughed, the sound of her mirth like bells, right up until she snorted. “It’s okay,” she said, rummaging in a cabinet over her desk. “I’m almost thirty and still get carded for booze. A police officer even stopped me for truancy once. He thought I was in high school. I had to show him my ID, and my work truck before he decided I wasn’t skipping class.”

  He could believe it. She didn’t look anywhere close to thirty. “I’m really sorry I said that, though. It was rude, and you were just trying to help. I guess we can just put a bandage on it and hope it stops bleeding.”

  “I can stitch it if you want, or I have surgical glue. It’s veterinary grade, but it’s about the same.”

  “The glue is good. It works well,” he said, pointing to the scars on his face. Brittany had had such a negative reaction to them, he wondered what Dr. Dane would do.