Amy. Now what’s that toy you’re pushing?”
She immediately started moving it around, showing him she understood.
“That makes a fun noise,” he said, encouraging her.
Pretty soon she’d circled the room. When she looked to see his reaction and smiled, it tugged on his emotions.
“Cow,” she said and ran out of the den on her sturdy legs.
Natalie eyed him in amusement. “She’s gone for her favorite animal in her toy box.”
While they exchanged a silent glance, Amy came back clutching the brown-and-white-spotted plush cow in her hand. She toddled over to Kit, almost stumbling, and held it up. “Cow.”
“That’s right. It’s a cow.” Kit took it. “Moo.”
“Moo-oo,” she repeated with all the earnestness in her then hurried out of the den.
“Oh, Kit. I’m sorry. Now that she’s got a captive audience in you she’s going to bring you all her farm animals.”
“I’m not complaining.” He sat on the couch and put the cow on the coffee table. Before long the golden-haired cherub returned and handed him a purple pig. “What’s this?” he asked her.
“Pig!”
Her enthusiasm caused him to burst into laughter. “That’s a colorful pig. What sound does it make?”
Amy tried to imitate the oink. He couldn’t believe she was so adorable.
“Oink, oink,” he grunted. Her giggle delighted him. “You’re without a doubt the cutest, smartest little girl on the planet. That’s because you’ve got a terrific mother.” Though her father had been a criminal, he’d done one thing right in his life to have helped create this angel.
“Come on, sweetie.” Natalie swept her up in her arms. “Let’s go out to the kitchen and give you a little snack.”
Kit followed them, enjoying the interplay between mother and daughter. After Amy had been put in her high chair, Natalie fastened a bib around her neck. Then she sliced half a banana into small pieces and put them on the tray. He took a seat at the table to watch while the little girl took her time eating each mouthful of the fruit.
He glanced at Natalie. “Since you weren’t expecting a guest to stay with you, I thought I’d fix us some lunch with the groceries I bought. How does that sound?”
“I was just going to ask if you’d like a sandwich.”
“Sounds good, but I’ll do it.”
She smiled, but he didn’t know what else was on her mind because her cell phone rang, reminding him of the reason he was here.
“Go ahead and answer it, but put it on speaker.”
Her smile faded before she reached for the phone and checked the Caller ID. “It’s Jillian.”
“Good. Let her know a cousin is visiting you and you won’t be going to work for a while, so you won’t be needing her services. The less she knows, the better.”
“I agree.” Her voice trembled. She clicked on. “Jillian—”
“Hi. I just want to know if you’re okay.”
“I’m much better today.”
“That’s good. You sound better. I saw a car in your driveway earlier. If you have company, call me when you have time to talk.”
“It’s all right, I have time now. I was going to call you today, anyway. My cousin Todd is here from Wyoming for a few days, so I’m taking more time off of work and won’t be needing you to look after Amy next week.”
“Oh. Okay... I’m glad you have family with you.”
“Me, too. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Jillian. I’m hoping life can get back to normal soon.”
“I hope so, too. Take care, Natalie.”
“You, too. I’ll call you soon.”
“Okay. ’Bye.”
She’d done well. The plan was in place.
Natalie disconnected and turned to Kit, who was making sandwiches. “Jillian knows there’s a lot I haven’t told her.”
“But you told her enough so she won’t be planning on babysitting for you next week. This way she and her daughter will be safe.”
“Thank heaven for that. If anything were to happen to her because of Rod...”
“It won’t. That’s why I’ve taken precautions.”
While he assembled cold cuts and cheese, she reached for a paper towel and got busy cleaning up the pieces of banana Amy had thrown on the floor. Natalie darted the Ranger a look of frustration. “A week in my house and you’ll find that half her food doesn’t make it to her mouth. If you have any little nieces or nephews, you know what I mean.”
“Not yet. My brother, Brandon, is a professional steer wrestler—he’s headed for the championship competition in Las Vegas in December, as a matter of fact. One day he’ll settle down and have a family.”
“How old is he?”
“Twenty-eight. Two years younger than I am. This will be his last year on the circuit.”
“How exciting! Are you a rodeo fan, too?”
“I used to be a steer wrestler myself. We took turns being wrestler and hazer for a long time. But I quit when I went into law enforcement.”
“From steer wrestler to Ranger. Both put your life at risk.”
He studied her features. “Have you ever been to a rodeo?”
“Many times while I was in college. Remember my friend in Phoenix? She used to be a barrel racer. We rode horses on her parents’ property and it was fantastic to watch her speed around the barrels. I tried it, but I was a complete failure. She taught me about the various events. Steer wrestling is incredibly dangerous.”
“But you liked it?”
“I loved it all!”
Kit was enjoying their conversation so much he almost forgot he should be working on her case. Talk about crossing the line. Already he was getting too close to it.
Within ten minutes they sat eating lunch while Natalie fed Amy some Cheerios. Kit chuckled to watch her tease her daughter. She’d move her hand around and Amy’s little mouth would follow, open in anticipation.
“Tell me something, Natalie.
