of the house, carrying a book that was half as big as he was. Noelle jerked in a terrified breath. This was exactly what she had been trying to prevent. “Mikey—!”
“Momma!” Still smiling, her son raced awkwardly across the landing, his feet getting tangled as he reached the top of the stairs.
Aware it would take both hands to catch the twenty-eight-pound toddler, Noelle leaped toward him. “Mikey, no—!”
Too late. He was already pitching forward, tumbling head over heels. Desperate to protect him, Noelle took another leap, cast the candy cane aside and bounded up the stairs in a single vault. She caught her son in her arms midtumble, just as her full weight landed hard on the rickety wooden steps. There was a crunching sound and a sick, scared feeling in her gut as wood splintered beneath them and then gave way. Noelle was sure she was going to break a limb, even as she tried her best to cradle her son protectively to her chest.
And then it was the interloper’s turn to save the day. He caught both her and her son in his arms before they could sink all the way through the wood, and pulled them to safety. Wide-eyed, Mikey let out a startled sound that was half cry, half laugh.
“Mikey!” Noelle murmured again, this time shuddering in relief.
Her little boy beamed up at her before reaching over, gently patting Kevin’s beard and staring hard into his brown eyes. “Santa?” he asked.
Chapter Two
“He’s not Santa, honey.”
“Beard,” the cute little boy with the copper curls and same vibrant blue eyes as his mother said.
“Yes, he has a beard,” she confirmed, squirming in Kevin’s arms, even as he tried to help her back on her feet. Not an easy task, since she was still slightly off balance and had a child in her arms. “But this man is not Santa Claus.”
“No kidding,” a low male voice agreed. Kevin relaxed at the sight of the uniformed lawman coming around the corner of the house. Rio Vasquez had his hand on his holster, but when he spotted the three of them tangled up on the partially collapsed wooden stairs, he dropped his arm and quickened his steps.
“Thank heaven you’re here!” Kevin’s would-be jailer said.
Rio gave Kevin an odd look that gave nothing away before turning back to the copper-haired beauty. “You’re the woman who called in to report an attempted burglary on Miss Sadie’s property?”
“Yes. I’m Noelle Kringle,” she stated firmly, agitated color flooding her cheeks as she squirmed out of Kevin’s arms.
He told himself he wasn’t sorry to let her go, that he hadn’t really enjoyed holding her soft warm body next to his, any more than he had enjoyed inhaling the lavender scent of her perfume.
“I’m glad you’re here, Deputy…Vasquez,” Noelle said haughtily, reading the name on his badge. “I was trying to make a citizen’s arrest.”
Kevin had to give his buddy credit—Rio didn’t so much as flinch, even at the phony-sounding name. Instead, he merely lifted his brow and waited for “Noelle Kringle” to go on.
“I saw him checking out the stuff in my van,” Noelle continued, with an accusing look aimed Kevin’s way.
“Which is when you called the sheriff’s department and then hung up on the 9-1-1 operator,” Rio guessed.
Noelle nodded. “I came out to stop him from taking anything. He wouldn’t leave when I asked him to. So I decided to detain him until you arrived.”
Rio made a few notes on the pad in front of him while Noelle shifted her son to her other hip. Noting that the little boy was looking at the holiday storybook he had dropped, Kevin leaned forward to retrieve it. After making sure there were no splinters clinging to it, he handed it back to the kid and was rewarded with a beaming smile.
“Not to mention the fact that he scared me half to death sneaking up on the house that way.”
“I would hardly call it sneaking. I turned off the road, drove up the lane and got out of my Jeep.”
“Only after sitting out on the berm for a good two or three minutes, casing the property.”
Kevin shrugged. “Things looked suspicious. I know Miss Sadie’s been out of town. I figured I’d come on up here and figure out what was going on.”
Noelle turned back to Rio. “He also claimed he was a lawman, if you can believe that!”
Rio played along. “Really.”
“Of course he didn’t have a badge.”
Kevin wasn’t sure whether he was more irked or amused. “I didn’t take it with me. I usually don’t when I go fishing for two weeks. I mean, who am I going to arrest—a recalcitrant bass?”
Rio narrowed his black eyes in typical enough-with-the-monkey-business manner. “What do you have to say for yourself, McCabe?” he asked.
“Well…” Kevin took his time coming to any conclusions. “I was pretty scared.” He pointed at the discarded “weapon.” “She was threatening me with that plastic candy cane over there.”
Unable to help himself, Rio grinned, then began to chuckle.
Realization flooded Noelle. She did not look pleased by her conclusion, Kevin noted.
“You two know each other?” she asked.
Rio nodded slowly. “Kevin is a deputy with the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department, too. Although you’d never know it by looking at him now.”
Some of the color left Noelle’s face. She blinked at Kevin in astonishment. “So you were telling the truth!”
She didn’t need to look quite so amazed. “Ah—yeah.” Kevin looked at Rio. “Can you believe it? She didn’t think I was a McCabe, either.”
Rio swept off his hat and ran his fingers through his black hair. A commiserating smirk dominated his handsome features. “Is that right?”
“She said I looked too disreputable to be a member of that clan.”
“Well.” Rio sighed and set his hat back on his head. “It is an upstanding family. You do not look the least bit respectable.”
“Right.” Kevin turned back to Noelle, whose eyes were alive with emotion as she cuddled her toddler close to her chest. “What was it you called me—a trespassing bum?”
She flushed a becoming pink, while Rio laughed. “In her defense, you do look pretty seedy at the moment,” he teased.
Kevin pretended to be irked. “Speak for yourself.” He paused, ready to get down to business. “So what’s going on with Miss Sadie?”
“Do you mind if we go inside?” Noelle interrupted, shivering. “It’s a little chilly for my son.”
“Sure.”
Because
