into the kitchen. “Sorry it took me so long to get here,” he told Kevin. “I wanted to stay until I was sure that Aunt Sadie was settled for the night.” He glanced at Noelle. “Were you able to find all the paperwork Detective McCabe needed?”
Kevin lifted a hand, interrupting, “You can both call me Kevin.”
“I don’t know if that is such a good idea,” Noelle interjected coolly. Temper still simmering, she looked at Dash, confiding, “It seems we’re all suspects in the identity theft.”
“As it should be,” Dash replied, obviously in total agreement. He crossed to Noelle’s side and put a companionable arm about her shoulders. “Not that it will take Kevin long to eliminate you.” He grinned, switching from lawyer mode to Southern charm in the time it took to draw a breath. “Me, on the other hand, well, we all know what a disreputable character I am.”
Noelle smiled. Dash was one of the most honest, caring men she had ever met. He also knew the secrets of her past. If he didn’t think she had anything to worry about, she probably didn’t. Getting his silent message to relax and let things unfold as they would, she forced the tension from her limbs.
His mood abruptly all-business, Kevin gathered up the papers on the end of the table. “Do you want to make copies for me now, or drop them off at the station tomorrow?”
Noelle hesitated. Neither option appealed to her.
“I’ll do it right now on Aunt Sadie’s copier in the study upstairs,” Dash said. He looked at Noelle with easy familiarity.
“Thanks,” Noelle said quietly, glad for the help.
“No problem. Any chance I could get a mug of very strong coffee before I hit the road?”
Noelle had expected Dash would not stay in Laramie for long. Still, she was disappointed. She could have used someone to run interference between her and Kevin. Thus far, Dash had proved very adept at it. “You have to go back to Houston tonight?”
He nodded. “I’ve got to be in court again tomorrow, so I’ll need to leave as soon as I get these copied for Kevin. Be right back.” He exited the kitchen.
Once again, Noelle and Kevin were alone. Noelle could feel him sizing her up. Trying to figure out the exact nature of her relationship with Dash. Maybe it was petty of her, but she hoped he stayed confused.
“Is there anyone in Houston you think I might need to investigate?” Kevin asked matter-of-factly.
“Besides me and Dash, you mean?” Noelle retorted sweetly.
He waited, unsmiling.
Okay, she was overreacting, given the circumstances. But darn it all, Kevin didn’t know what she had been through in the years before she had been rescued by Dash and his legal expertise. “I can’t think of anyone,” she said finally, forcing herself to remain detached.
“Thanks, anyway.”
Noelle made a show of wiping down the table. “I do have a question.”
He leaned against the counter. “Fire away.”
Wishing she weren’t so aware of his presence, Noelle retreated into scrupulous politeness. “I’d like to get the steps repaired and painted before Christmas. Do you know of anyone who could do it for me on short notice?”
Kevin nodded. “I’ll have someone here tomorrow evening to tear down the rotten wood. The steps can be rebuilt Saturday morning, a coat of waterproofing put on. Primer and paint can be applied the following day—as long as the weather holds and there is no rain.”
That would certainly take care of it. “Thank you,” Noelle said grudgingly.
“In return, I want something from you.”
It figured. “You’re kidding,” she said sarcastically.
He held out his hands, palm up. “Nothing in life is free.”
Especially when it came to Kevin McCabe. “What do you want?” she demanded, on edge again.
“The sheriff’s department organizes a Blue Santa operation every year. It’s a good cause. A lot of residents volunteer. We gather up toys and donations of food and clothing that are distributed to the needy throughout the county. We schedule an exciting appearance by Santa. For the record, I got tapped for that this year.”
Now that would be something to see. “Should have kept your beard,” she taunted lightly. “Although you would have had to do something to make it white.”
He let her remarks pass. “We also hand out presents to the kids and gift baskets for the adults, and then we have a potluck dinner for everyone—volunteers, their families and the folks we help—over at the community center on the evening of December twenty-third.”
Noelle was impressed despite herself. “That sounds laudable.”
“And fun. Anyway, every year we split up the work. Because I was out of town fishing for the first two weeks of the drive, I ended up being responsible for two things, in addition to playing Santa. The decorations for the dinner…”
Noelle shrugged, aware that every time she got near him, her heart beat faster, her senses got sharper and the isolation she’d felt since her husband’s death became a little more acute. She thought she had been living fully. Obviously, she hadn’t been.
Deciding she had looked into Kevin’s eyes far too long, she turned away once again. “That doesn’t sound too hard.”
He watched her wipe down the counters and the inside of the microwave. “Maybe not for you,” he chided. “You make your living putting together events.”
Promising herself she was not going to fall prey to the attraction simmering between them, she forced her gaze back to the rugged contours of his face. “What’s the second thing?”
His mouth flattened into a grim line. “Baby doll revitalization.”
She couldn’t help it. She began to laugh.
His eyes narrowed. “It’s not funny. People are very generous about donating. And we appreciate it, as do the kids who receive the gifts. But some of these dolls aren’t in the best of shape, to put it lightly. And I’m in charge of making sure they all seem like new.”
Noelle looked him up and down. “I can see this would be tough for you.”
Kevin rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You have no idea.”
“Didn’t spend a lot of time playing with dolls when you were a kid?”
“Can’t say that I did. I’m begging you to help me out.”
Twisting her arm was more like it. “There must be someone else you could ask,” Noelle replied. “A sister, mother, some woman who is terribly interested in you.”
“True—except they’ve already volunteered and are set to help out in various other ways.”
“Maybe they wouldn’t mind taking on another
