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  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  The Wild Rose Press

  www.thewildrosepress.com

  Copyright ©

  First published in 2010

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  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  CONTENTS

  Kudos for Alicia Dean and...

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  A word about the author...

  * * * *

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  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Heath's eyes found hers in the gloom, and he placed a kiss

  on the back of her hand.

  "Truth is, you know another reason it bothers me? Another

  reason I don't want to meet my sister?"

  "Why's that?" Nicolette asked, trying to ignore the warm

  spot where his lips had touched her skin.

  "Because, it makes me wonder...makes me realize that I

  could be just like him."

  "Like your father?"

  She barely saw the nod.

  "Disloyal. To Rudy."

  "In what way?" she asked, but she thought she knew, and

  her heart seemed to beat loud enough for him to hear in the

  silence of the elevator. She waited breathlessly for his

  answer.

  He sighed heavily. "In the way I want you. In the way I

  wanted you even while you were married to my best friend."

  In spite of the guilt she heard in his voice, there was also

  longing. She turned her head just slightly. She wasn't sure

  exactly how it happened, but in the next moment, his lips

  found hers. He tangled his hand in her hair and pressed her

  more closely to him as his mouth moved urgently over hers.

  She moaned in the back of her throat, and he answered it

  with a growl.

  Dear God. She was kissing Heath King. Those were his lips

  on hers. They felt as good as she'd always dreamed they

  would. Firm and skilled, his tongue warm and seeking. Her

  heart lurched, and for a moment, all the angst of the past

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  A Knight Before Christmas

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  year flew away. This was it. This was what it felt like to be

  kissed by Heath King.

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  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Kudos for Alicia Dean and...

  HEART OF THE WITCH:

  "Alicia Dean has created magic with HEART OF THE

  WITCH. She's woven a riveting story of murder, witchcraft &

  the paranormal into a contemporary, heart-stopping romance

  and made me believe it. From the moment I sat down to

  read, to the very last page I was hooked!"

  ~Sharon Sala, best-selling author of The Warrior (Mira

  Books, April 2009)

  NOTHING TO FEAR:

  "Ms. Dean has written an explosive story filled with action

  and adventure. The action will have you sitting on the edge of

  your seat."

  ~Sherry, Coffee Time Romance

  TRULY MADLY:

  "The unpredictable storyline carries the reader through a

  whirlwind of emotions—not only from fear, to gratitude, but

  to downright hate. An amazing and powerful murder,

  romance, and more."

  ~Snapdragon, Long and Short Reviews

  POETIC INJUSTICE:

  "If you love a good police story filled with action,

  suspense, and some steamy romance on the side, you will

  like Poetic Injustice!"

  ~Steph B., The Romance Studio

  [Back to Table of Contents]

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  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  A Knight Before Christmas

  The Three Kings, Book II

  by

  Alicia Dean

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  8

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and

  incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or

  are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons

  living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is

  entirely coincidental.

  A Knight Before Christmas: The Three Kings, Book II

  COPYRIGHT (C) 2010 by Alicia Dean

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or

  reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written

  permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press except in the

  case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or

  reviews.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Cover Art by Angela Anderson

  The Wild Rose Press

  PO Box 706

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0706

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Champagne Rose Edition, 2010

  Print ISBN 1-60154-855-9

  Published in the United States of America

  [Back to Table of Contents]

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  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Dedication

  To my fantastic editor, Cindy Davis and my wonderful writing

  partners,

  Claire Ashgrove and Dyann Love Barr.

  I have so enjoyed working with you ladies.

  And,

  To my nephew, Jared. It's been a joy watching you grow from

  a terrific little boy into an amazing young man. I am so very

  proud of you. Love you much!

  [Back to Table of Contents]

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  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Chapter One

  Given a choice between smearing honey all over his naked

  body and leaping into a bear cave, or returning to Kansas City

  for Christmas, Heath King would have stripped off his clothes,

  popped the top from a bottle of Cloverleaf, and asked for

  directions to the nearest den.

  But no one had given him
a choice, so here he was, driving

  along I-35, sixty miles north of Wichita, his dread ratcheting

  up with every click of the odometer.

  He looked forward to seeing his mother and his brothers,

  Alex and Clint, but the memories he left behind were still too

  raw. The last two trips to Kansas City had been for funerals,

  his father's this past July, and his best friend's in January.

  His friend, Burke, was looking out for Heath's security firm

  during his absence, so at least he didn't have to worry about

  that. No, it wasn't concern over his company that had Heath's

  stomach tied in a knot the size of Texas. It was the news he'd

  received nearly two weeks ago.

  Heath, we have a sister.

  Just like Alex to come right out with it, no softening the

  blow.

  Dad conceived a child with another woman. When he was

  in Viet Nam.

  Translated: the father Heath grew up believing could move

  mountains, could part the sea, would be the one person he

  could always trust, the one he learned his values from, was a

  cheating liar.

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  Loyalty schmoyalty.

  What really pissed him off was that his mother seemed

  okay with it. Well, maybe not okay, but accepting, forgiving.

  She actually wanted to meet this woman, this mascot of

  betrayal.

  He'd done a background check on his sister, Keeley

  Jacobs, and he didn't mind admitting he'd hoped to dig up

  some dirt. His quest had been unsuccessful. She was either

  on the up and up or good enough not to get caught.

  He tilted a Pez dispenser to his lips and tapped a couple of

  candies into his mouth. Out the windshield ahead, a few

  snowflakes fell. It hadn't snowed at home in Oklahoma City

  yet, but it looked like there was a good chance they'd have a

  white Christmas in Kansas City, something he used to enjoy

  and hope for. Now he could care less. He just wanted it to be

  over.

  The radio was dialed to a country station, the volume low,

  but Heath still heard the start of "Blue Christmas" and

  punched the power button to Off. He might have suffered

  through the song in spite of his uncharacteristic Grinch-ness

  had it been the version by Elvis. This one was by the

  Chipmunks, and their squeaky voices grated on his already

  frayed nerves.

  His cell phone rang, and he checked the display, managing

  a smile as he answered. "Hey, Jesse, what's up?"

  Jesse was a childhood friend who'd grown up with the King

  brothers. She was more of a sister than some stranger could

  ever be.

  "Just checking on you," Jesse said. "How's the trip going?"

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  "The usual, long and uneventful, just enjoying the

  spectacular scenery."

  She laughed. "Yeah, the plains of Kansas are breathtaking.

  What do you have planned for tomorrow night?"

  Heath's only plan for the entire visit was to get through

  each excruciating moment as painlessly as possible. "Nothing

  yet."

  "Great. Wasn't sure if you knew yet, but they're holding a

  dedication ceremony tomorrow night to honor Rudy Morgan. I

  knew you'd want to be there."

  Did you now? Well, what would you think if I said it's the

  last place I wanted to be? The last place and the first,

  actually, which he had to admit, was pretty fucked up.

  "Heath, you there?"

  "Yeah. I'm here. Thanks for letting me know."

  "So you'll go?"

  "I'll try."

  "I'm sure Nicolette would love to see you."

  And there it was. Nicolette. The person he both dreaded

  and desired to see more than anyone else in the world. His

  best friend's widow. The woman Heath had been in love with

  since college.

  He tried not to reveal his turmoil as he said, "Yeah. It'd be

  great to see her."

  "I'll let you go so you can get your attention back to your

  driving. See you when you get here."

  He flipped his phone closed and turned the radio back on.

  He felt marginally better after Jesse's call. Not because of the

  news she'd delivered, not by a long shot, but somehow, just

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  hearing the voice of his childhood pal brought a small

  measure of peace.

  Now that the call had ended, though, the peace filtered

  away like smoke in a wind gust. The only thing left was

  silence. Unwelcome silence. Too much temptation to let his

  thoughts roam...to Nicolette and to the new sister he hadn't

  known about and didn't want.

  The DJ finally played an Elvis Christmas song, but it was

  "I'll be Home for Christmas" and again, Heath shut off the

  radio.

  He'd be home for Christmas all right, but home would

  never be the same again.

  Nicolette Morgan peered out the window, scanning the

  street. She couldn't see the car now, but it had been behind

  her when she pulled into the neighborhood. The dark blue

  Crown Victoria had shadowed her, off and on, for nearly a

  year.

  The car didn't belong to her blackmailer. For one, his calls

  hadn't started until August, four months ago. Besides, as long

  as she did as he asked, as long as she made the payments on

  time, he had no reason to follow her.

  No. The occasional tail she'd glimpsed had to be the police.

  They wanted to monitor her activities and see if they could

  gather enough evidence to file charges. Even though they

  hadn't bothered her much since their initial questioning

  almost a year ago, she was still the prime suspect in her

  husband's murder.

  The thought seemed like such an abomination, especially

  here, at Louisa's home where Rudy had grown up. Memories

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  of Rudy were everywhere in this house. Rudy as a smiling

  infant; Rudy in a peewee football uniform; Rudy graduating

  from high school. Rudy and Nicolette on their wedding day,

  faces smiling with an assurance that their life together would

  be perfect, that nothing could touch them. Boy, what naive

  fools they'd been.

  Leaving her post at the window, Nicolette retrieved the

  watering can from the utility room. After filling the can, she

  made her way through the house, watering plant after plant

  until she worked her way into the living room where Louisa

  sat glued to the TV screen.

  Nicolette's heart warmed at the sight of the sweet old lady.

  Louisa was still lovely, even though the ravages of severe

  osteoporosis had taken a toll. The disease had engraved deep

  wrinkles in her once flawless skin and caused her stately

  bearing to bow until she nearly doubled over. Most of Louisa's

  waking hours were spent in a wheelchair.

  Louisa still had a sparkle in her eye, still had a zest for life,

  in spite of her condition and the fac
t that she'd lost her only

  child less than a year ago. Which brought up a question

  Nicolette hadn't really thought about before. Was Louisa still

  considered her mother-in-law, when the connection, the tie

  that bound them, the son, was no longer living?

  All that mattered was what they felt in their hearts, and

  Louisa loved Nicolette as much as Nicolette loved her. They

  would always be family. However, being around Louisa was

  bittersweet, not only because of losing Rudy, but it reminded

  Nicolette of the other things she didn't have.

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  Her own mother died when she was a teen. She hadn't

  seen her father since she'd gone off to college. She had no

  idea if he even lived in the same town. At the time, she'd

  wanted to forget about everything that happened, forget

  about the hell her family went through. Now she would give

  anything to have her family again, even if her father was all

  that was left of it.

  Nicolette smiled, infusing her voice with mock irritation. "If

  you had any more plants, your house could be declared a

  rainforest."

  Louisa spoke without pulling her attention away from the

  episode of Dr. Lawrence, a talk show host/psychologist who

  Louisa watched religiously. "Since you kill a few of them a

  week, I thought I should keep back-ups on hand."

  Nicolette laughed. Unfortunately, Louisa was right. A green

  thumb was not one of Nicolette's attributes.

  "Be right back with your dinner," Nicolette said.

  After returning the can to the utility room, she went into

  the kitchen where beef stew simmered in the crockpot. She

  dished up a bowl and a slice of the cornbread she'd made

  from a Jiffy mix. In the living room, Louisa still watched her

  television show.

  "That Doctor Lawrence is one smart cookie," Louisa said

  proudly. "They can't pull the wool over his eyes, no siree."

  "That's for sure," Nicolette agreed automatically.

  Louisa's worshipful attitude toward Saint Doctor Lawrence

  was the same every time she watched him, although the

  cliches changed a bit from day to day. Sometimes it was,

  "you have to get up pretty early in the morning to fool Dr.

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  Lawrence," or "that Dr. Lawrence is sharp as a tack," or "Dr.

  Lawrence cuts right to the chase, doesn't he?"