He needs a miracle...
A favorite to win at this yearâs rodeo championship, Montana cowboy Toly Clayton should be flying high. Instead, heâs been handed the worst kind of Christmas giftâa diagnosis that could spell an early end to his rodeo career. Hiding his secret proves harder than Toly thinks...especially from stunningly sexy barrel racer Nikki Dobson.
The twin sister of Tolyâs emotionally unpredictable roping partner, Nikki is completely and totally off-limits. Yet attraction still simmers, and the line between âfriendsâ and âmore than friendsâ is fading fast. With secrets piling up around him, Tolyâs career, friendships and even his heart are on the line. But sometimes it takes a champion cowboy to wrangle one heck of a Christmas miracle.
She had been secretly waiting for this moment for a long time...
Nikki had never been this close to Tolyâs rock-hard physique. They were both tall, and they fit together as if they were made for each other.
Toly smelled wonderful. Nikki loved the feel of his hard jaw against her cheek. It sent darts of awareness through her body. The temptation to turn her head and kiss his compelling mouth was killing her. Toly didnât let her go and she could have stayed in his arms all night.
âIf you hadnât been involved with someone else, we could have relaxed like this before an event long before now,â he whispered into her hair.
Her heart jumped to think he might have been thinking about her on a more intimate level over the last few months, too. Still, heâd never let her know. They were all friends and she knew Toly kept his cards close to the chest.
But with the way she was feeling right now, he had to know she didnât want to be anywhere else...
Rebecca Winterswhose family of four children has now swelled to include five beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. Living near canyons and high alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favorite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels, because writing is her passion, along with her family and church.
Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to email her, please visit her website, www.cleanromances.com.
Chapter One
âCome in my office and sit down, Mr. Clayton.â
âThanks, Dr. Moore.â Toly Clayton had driven the half hour to Missoula from the Clayton Cattle Ranch outside Stevensville, Montana, for an appointment with a neurosurgeon. Heâd just undergone an electromyograph to get to the bottom of the numbness that had attacked his lower right forearm and hand.
âThe needle I inserted in your arm muscle recorded electrical activity when it was at rest and when it was contracted. The procedure helped me determine that you have a nerve, not a muscle disorder. How long did you say youâve been team roping?â
âIâve done that and tie-down roping since my early teens.â
âThat would explain the numbness that has come on. The constant strain over the years from roping has caused the nerves to be partially compressed or stretched. You say it has happened twice in practice?â
âYes. Once in October, and again a few days ago. It was frightening to experience that loss of feeling. It only lasted a few minutes, but it was enough to prevent me from throwing the rope with any accuracy.â
âDid you feel sharp pains or discomfort in your forearm just before the onset?â
âNo. Thatâs what worries me. Both times when it happened, I had no warning.â
âYou told me in the examining room that youâve had no sign of this affecting your feet or legs.â
âNone. Does that mean I can expect that to happen too? Whatâs wrong with me?â
âYou have a very mild form of peripheral Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a slow growing motor sensory neuropathy. Itâs inherited through a gene carried down in the family. Do you know if youâve ever had it in yours?â
âNot that Iâm aware of.â
âSome people donât even know they have it.â
âIf it should happen while Iâm throwing the rope during a performance at the National Finals Rodeo in December, everythingâs over for that round and, of course, my partner suffers. We donât get second chances.â
âI understand, but if such an incident occurs, youâll still have strength in your upper arm.â
âIâm afraid that wonât be enough. Is there a medicine to stop this from happening?â