watching out for her. She hoped she never had to find out just how good he would be defending someone. The very thought sent a shiver down her.
“Cold?”
She nodded, although her chill had nothing to do with the weather.
“It’s getting nippy. So, Jayden, you might get that snow after all. I’ve learned not to take the forecasters too seriously.” He mounted the stairs to the porch that wrapped around one side of the house and pressed the bell. “It’ll take Sara a bit to get to the door.” He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. “What do you think of our little town?”
“I’ve never seen so many Christmas decorations in one place.”
He quirked a grin. “Yeah, it does take some getting used to for newcomers. We go all out for a good three months a year. Personally, I like what Christmas stands for. We could use it year round.”
“What? Rampant commercialism?”
He laughed, a warm sound that Annie responded to. “A cynic. Before you pass judgment on the town, you need to experience the holidays here.” He straightened as the door opened. “And I wasn’t talking about the commercialism of Christmas but the celebration of Christ’s birth. It all started something awesome.”
All words fled Annie’s mind at his answer. She hadn’t expected it. But the appearance of her cousin in the entrance gave her a reprieve from making any comment.
A small woman, about five feet, her totally white hair pulled back in a bun, pushed open the screen and smiled at the police chief. “Goodness, I didn’t expect you for another hour, Caleb.”
“I’m not here to fix the leak in the sink, but I’ll be back later to take care of it. Right now I brought you Annie and Jayden Madison.” He gestured to each of them when he said their names.
Sara’s gaze took both she and her child in, a puzzled expression on her face.
“I’m your cousin. Alice’s daughter.” Annie held her breath, hoping Sara remembered.
“Ah, it’s been years since I’ve seen you or your mother. How is Alice?”
“She died seven years ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. We lost touch when y’all moved to Miami.” Her forehead wrinkled in thought, Sara studied Annie with a sharp alertness in her brown eyes. Then she swept her attention to Annie’s daughter. “What an adorable little girl. You and your mother look a lot alike. I think I’ve got photos from her visit when she was a little girl. If I can find them, I’ll show you. “ She grinned at Jayden and stepped to the side. “Come in. It’s getting cold.” After Annie and Jayden entered, Sara asked Caleb, “Coming in?”
“No, I have to get back to the station.” The police chief peered at Annie, who stood next to Sara in the entrance. “Nice meeting y’all.”
When her cousin closed the door, she faced Annie. “Hon, what brought you to Christmas, Oklahoma?”
Annie’s stomach constricted, her grip on her daughter’s hand tightening. She didn’t know how to answer Sara. The woman’s kind eyes made her long to share what happened, but words refused to take hold in Annie’s mind. How could she explain anything to Sara when she herself didn’t understand? This was her problem, not Sara’s. She’d always managed on her own in the past. This would be no different.
Sara waved her hand. “When you’re ready, you’ll tell me.” Then using her cane, she headed toward the room off to the right of the foyer. “Come in, and make yourself at home.”
Annie remained rooted to the floor.
Finally Jayden tugged on her hand. “Mommy, okay?”
Annie blinked and glanced down at her daughter—her whole life. Everything she did she did for Jayden. If they were in danger, she had to protect her daughter at all costs. “Yes, I’m fine. Let’s go see what Miss Sara has to say.”
“We could tell her we’re on an adventure.”
“Let’s keep that a secret between us.” Annie placed her forefinger over her lips.
Jayden pulled her down so she could whisper, “This house is big.”
“Yeah, it is. I bet there are great hiding places in here.” She just hoped she never had to use them.
TWO
As Annie checked the meat loaf and placed the vegetable casserole in the oven, the doorbell rang. Jayden was so absorbed in her new coloring book she didn’t even notice when Annie hurried from the kitchen.
Earlier she and Sara had talked and the older woman had shown Jayden the photos of Annie as a little girl and then given her one to put in her treasure chest. Annie had volunteered to cook dinner. Although Sara was a relative and had opened her home to her gladly, she wouldn’t freeload off her. She was determined to help her cousin as much as possible in exchange for giving her a place where she could decide about her future.
A few seconds later, she swung the door open to the police chief standing on the porch with a puzzled expression creasing his forehead. His gaze locked on hers.
“Did something happen?” she asked, trying not to react to the man. But for some reason her heartbeat accelerated, and it really had nothing to do with the assessing look he sent her. Although no longer in his uniform, the man commanded a person’s attention even wearing jeans and an Oklahoma University sweatshirt.
His features smoothed into a grin. “No, just surprised to find you here.”
“You are? You brought me here.”
“Yeah, I did,” he said in a thoughtful tone. “Your car isn’t out front.”
“I parked it around back by the detached garage.” No sense leaving it on the street for anyone looking for her to find. Little by little she was trying to learn caution, but she’d never even watched a crime show on TV or read a suspense book.
“When I didn’t see it, I thought maybe you’d left.”
“Nope. Sara insisted Jayden and I stay with her through the holidays. Come in.” Annie opened the door wider and stepped to the side. “Sara’s in the living room resting her eyes, she says, but I think she’s really taking a nap.”
Caleb entered with his toolbox. “Ah, in her lounge chair, which she calls her command post.” He sniffed the air. “You’re cooking dinner?”
“Yes, meat loaf.”
“It smells great.” He followed Annie to the kitchen. “What are you coloring, Jayden?” Stopping next to the table, he peered over her daughter’s shoulder. “You like animals?”
“Yes. We were gonna get a puppy for Christmas. I guess we won’t since we’re on an adven—” Jayden’s gaze flew to Annie, and her daughter snapped her mouth closed.
Caleb glanced from her daughter to Annie. For a few seconds his forehead crinkled as though trying to come up with the right question to ask. Then a smile leaked
