Second Chance Christmas (The Colorado Cades) Read Online Free PDF Page A

needed distance from Arden, who now had her own child and was about to become a wife? No matter how sincerely Colin wanted his sister’s happiness, her bliss couldn’t be easy to be around.
    After a moment, she joined him at the sink, her earlier sadness replaced with an air of determination that never boded well. She smiled. “Speaking of your abysmal dating habits—”
    “We weren’t. We were discussing our drifter brother and how we should save him from himself. Let’s explore that further.”
    She ignored him. “Christmas is a special time.”
    It was eerie how much she sounded like their mother. Arden had only been four when their mom got sick. Did she remember that Christmas had been Rebecca Cade’s favorite time of year? Did Arden recall any of the traditions that had faded once their mom was gone? For a second, the kitchen around him seemed filled with the aroma of spicy sausage balls and the sharp sweetness of lemon bars. He recalled the music of his mom’s laugh after she routinely tried—and failed—to hit the high note in “ O Holy Night.”
    “It’s a time,” Arden continued, “of reconnection. Even if you haven’t spoken to someone in months, you can send them a card.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “Why do I think you mean ‘someone’ specific?”
    “You never should have let her go.” Arden’s voice was soft, but the reproving note echoed all around him. “As I’ve said many times before, you and Elisabeth were great together.”
    “You have a point. Not about us being great, but about you saying it many, many times. Give it a rest, will you?”
    “Colin has gone God knows where, so I can’t help him. Maybe I still have a shot at getting you to fix your messes before I move to the ranch. I know we joke about your love life, but breaking up with Elisabeth Donnelly was the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.”
    It hadn’t been stupidity. It had been self-preservation. But he couldn’t explain to his happily engaged sister the claustrophobia he’d experienced during dinners with the Donnellys or the clawing panic as Elisabeth watched her friend Michelle succumb to the same disease that had taken his mother. His growing attachment to Elisabeth and her family had been uncomfortable enough, but then Kaylee had started visiting during some of her mom’s hospital stays...
    He cleared his throat, shoving the memories aside. “You don’t have to worry about Elisabeth Donnelly. She’s found some businessman. You can bet they have more in common than she and I ever did.”
    If Elisabeth decided to enter the corporate world, she was bright enough to fast-track herself to a fancy corner office and well-dressed minions. Meanwhile, Justin worked three different jobs in the course of a year to compensate for the off-season and lived in a rented house. His ambitions were about conquering black diamond trails, not making money or building a legacy.
    “She has a boyfriend?” Arden frowned. “It’s a small town, and I haven’t seen her with anyone. Maybe it’s not serious.”
    “Serious enough that he proposed and she said yes.”
    “ What? ”
    He leaned against the counter, his pose relaxed. It was important that Arden saw how unbothered he was by Elisabeth’s engagement. “They have a long-distance relationship—even longer distance than you and the cowboy. I ran into Lina on Sunday, and she filled me in on the details.” He omitted the part about how Lina thought the engagement was a mistake and blamed Justin for her sister’s rash decision.
    “Oh.” Arden’s forehead furrowed into pensive lines. “I was so sure you and she...”
    “Sis, I’m glad you found true love, but that doesn’t give you magical insight into everyone else’s personal lives.” No matter how fervently she insisted he and Elisabeth belonged together, stubbornness did not equal truth. “No more unsolicited opinions, okay?”
    She snorted. “Yeah, that’s gonna happen.”
    As she brewed coffee to go