was in-between,” she said. “I’m sure my grandmother would tell you that I had some wild moments and like your Smokey, she didn’t hesitate to burn my butt if I needed it. But I never broke any laws or anything like that.”
“That’s a relief. I wouldn’t want to be harboring a criminal in my house,” he said, his green eyes teasing.
She returned his smile. In different circumstances she had a feeling it would have been easy to like Dalton…
really like him. Although he seemed reserved, when he smiled at her she wanted to break through that reserve and get to the heart of the man.
But she couldn’t afford to be attracted to him. As soon as the streets were cleared she’d be out of his apartment and as far away from Cotter Creek as she could get.
This was nothing more than a temporary respite from the drama that her life had become on the afternoon that Sheriff Brandon Sinclair had walked into the café.
“I’ll bet you spend a lot of time with your family,” she said.
“Not really. Oh, we get together for the usual holidays, but most of the time I’m perfectly satisfied alone.”
“Still, I imagine it’s a good feeling to know that they’re there if you need them,” she replied.
Sammy cooed like a dove as he found his own fingers, his legs kicking with happiness. She watched Dalton as his gaze went to her son. Dalton looked back at her. “You’ve got a tough road ahead of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“A single mother, no father in the picture and you mentioned that you don’t have your GED yet. You’ve got an uphill battle ahead of you.”
“I know,” she agreed, suddenly sober as she gazed down at Sammy. “I might have grown up poor in a trailer park, but I’m going to make something of myself so that Sammy has everything he needs.” She heard the angry resolve in her own voice, a resolve that had strengthened when Sinclair had told her that she was nothing but trailer trash and nobody would believe her if she told what he’d done.
“There’s nothing wrong with being poor, or growing up in a trailer park,” Dalton said softly.
She smiled. “Spoken like a man who has never known what it’s like to be poor.”
“You’re right,” he conceded. “I was lucky never to have to worry about finances. The bodyguard business pays well and we all share in the profits of both the business and the ranch.”
“Did you always want to be a bodyguard?”
“When I was ten I wanted to be a rodeo clown,” he said. “When I was twelve I wanted to be an astronaut, then a treasure hunter and a gold miner.”
She laughed. “For me it was a movie star, a ballerina then a princess.” She sobered. “It never entered my mind that in reality I’d be an abused woman on the run with a small baby.”
“Your sister will take you in?”
“Of course,” she replied around the lump of fear that swelled in her throat. She had no idea where she was going, no idea what she’d find when she arrived. Her only support system was a sixty-eight-year-old woman with a bad heart.
Dalton ran a hand through his thick dark hair, not breaking eye contact with her. “Why do I get the feeling that you aren’t telling me everything?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said and looked down at Sammy, who had begun to fuss. “I’d better get him a bottle,” she said as she got up from the sofa.
It was a relief to escape those piercing, intelligent eyes of his. She didn’t know what he saw that made him think she was keeping secrets, but there was no way she could tell him the truth. And in any case, it didn’t matter. She would be gone soon enough.
She fixed Sammy his bottle, then picked him up off the floor. “I think I’m going to go ahead and call it a night,” she said.
He nodded. “Unless it will freak you out entirely, I’m planning on sleeping here on the sofa tonight. I like George a lot, but his sofa is small and last night he kept me up until long after midnight telling me stories I’d heard a dozen times before.”
She was surprised to realize the idea didn’t freak her out. She trusted him to remain the perfect gentleman he’d already been. “Would you rather stay in your own bed? Sammy and I could bunk in here,” she offered.
“No, I’ll be just fine. Good night, Jane,” he said.
She wished she could hear her real name on his lips, but fear still ruled her decisions, including the decision to tell him little white lies, as much as she hated it. “Good night, Dalton.”
Even though it was relatively early, Janette breathed a sigh of exhaustion as she got ready for bed. It was hard work watching every word that fell from her mouth and being careful not to say too much or too little.
When she was in her nightgown she moved to the window and stared outside. The street in front of Dalton’s had been plowed, leaving piles of snow on either side that glistened in the streetlights.
The sooner she got on the bus the better she’d feel, but escaping this part of the country certainly didn’t ease the fear that was a constant inside her.
She might escape Sinclair but then she’d have to face settling into a new place, finding work and taking care of Sammy and earning enough money to send for Nana. Dalton was right. She had a tough road ahead of her.
Sammy finished his bottle, and she sang softly to him until he fell asleep. It took her longer to sleep and when she finally succumbed, the dream began almost immediately.
“Well, well, don’t we look all sexy in that little skirt,” Sinclair said, and there was something in his eyes that made her suddenly afraid.
Janette held out her driver’s license, but he didn’t take it from her. Instead those cold, blue eyes of his swept leisurely down her body. “You were going awfully fast. You doing drugs?”
“I don’t do drugs, Sheriff,” she exclaimed.
“I’m going to have to frisk you to make sure you have nothing illegal on you.” He stepped closer to her and she smelled the scent of him, a stale sweat odor mingling with an overly sweet cologne.
Unconsciously she took a step backward, heart pounding painfully hard. He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you fight me, girl. I’ll have you in handcuffs so fast your pretty little head will spin.” He grinned. “Or maybe I’ll just have to shoot you for resisting.” And then he put his hands on her.
Hands. Everywhere on her. And hot breath on her face. And in her dream she did something she hadn’t been able to do that night.
She screamed.
* * *
The scream pulled Dalton from a dream of a naked Jane in his bed. He shot upright on the sofa, for a moment not knowing
