Santa In Montana (Calder Saga 11)

“You should have stopped somewhere.” But now that he was here, Cat was glad he hadn’t. And it showed in her face as she moved to help him off with his coat.

“By the time that occurred to me, I was already past the point of no return. And stopping in the middle of nowhere didn’t seem too wise either.”

“You could have ended up in a ditch somewhere.” She made quick work of hanging up his coat.

“I nearly did. More than once.”

“It’s a damned good thing you didn’t,” Chase stated, announcing his presence.

Cat was about to take issue with the gruffness of her father’s voice when she saw the beam of approval and pride in his regard of Wade. He sounded gruff, she realized, because he was overcome with emotion. She wondered if Wade could see it. The way he smiled back at Chase told her he did.

“I told you I’d be here in time,” Wade said simply.

Chase nodded in approval. “And you’re a man of your word.”

“I am.” Wade reached inside his jacket and pulled out an envelope. “Here it is. Signed, sealed, and delivered.” He passed it to Chase.

For a moment, Chase simply held the envelope, his gaze fixed on it. Then his chest lifted with a deep breath and he raised his head. “Thank you.” His low voice trembled with a wealth of emotion.

Jessy came striding out of the living room, then halted when she saw the man facing Chase. “Wade. When I heard Chase talking to someone, I thought it was one of the hands, bringing me word of—With a storm like this, it could be anything. Don’t tell me, you drove through it?” she said as Laredo wandered up behind her.

“For about the last fifty miles.” Wade nodded. “Which took me almost two hours to cover.”

“I guess you know how lucky you are without me telling you.” She gave a marveling shake of her head. More footsteps signaled the arrival of Quint and Trey. “There’s a fire going in the living room. You’d better come get warm.”

“Not yet,” Chase asserted, checking any movement toward the living room. He made a slow turn, something in his body language conveying a desire for all to remain. His solemn expression added weight to the moment.

Unconsciously Cat held her breath, sensing he was about to make an important announcement. She was without a clue as to what it might be. Or what Wade’s involvement in all this was. Judging by the attentive way Jessy, Laredo, Trey, and Quint waited for him to speak, they shared her awareness of the moment.

Strangely, when he spoke, all Chase said was—“This is for you, Laredo.” He extended the envelope to him.

Bewilderment flickered across Laredo’s face. He hesitated, then stepped forward to take the envelope. He looked at it, but made no move to open it as he lifted a questioning look to Chase.

Something Cat could only call affection gentled Chase’s hard, lined face, his eyes warm with understanding.

“Maybe I should have said the document inside is for Scott Ludlow, Jr,” Chase said.

Immediately Trey took a backward step and motioned for the others still in the living room to join them. And there was a sharpening of Laredo’s questioning look. “How—”

Chase cut across his words. “Does it matter?” A near smile softened the line of his mouth. His glance flicked briefly to the onlookers, taking note of Sloan’s arrival, followed closely by that of Dallas, Laura, and Sebastian. Then again his attention centered on Laredo.

“In that envelope, you’ll find a full pardon from the Mexican government. Any and all previous charges against you have been wiped from their records.”

An audible gasp came from Sloan. She tried to smother it with her hand as she looked up at Trey, who smiled back. Jessy laid a quick hand on Laredo’s arm, her expression alive with happiness for him.

Laredo wore a stunned look. “How did you manage that?”

“With Wade’s help,” Chase replied.

Cat felt a swelling of pride in her chest. Discreetly she slipped her hand into Wade’s, linking fingers with him, pleased and proud of the role he had played in this.

Deeply moved, Laredo shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”

“After all you have done for this family, this is the least we can do for you,” Chase replied. “Merry Christmas.”

“Open it,” Jessy urged in a low voice.

Laredo obliged and removed the official looking paper, holding it so Jessy could see it too. “Scott Ludlow,” he murmured. “I don’t even know who that is anymore.”