watched as Rainy Jernagen’s face alternately paled and then flushed, a hot-pink color flaring on delicate cheekbones.
“Are we in trouble?” Will asked, his face alive with worry.
Rainy placed a hand on the boy’s narrow shoulder, and in a soft, calm voice asked, “Have we done anything to be in trouble?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Then we have nothing to fear from the police.” She dipped her head low, making eye contact. “They’re our friends, remember?”
From the way the boy’s eyes shifted away, Nate figured he didn’t buy that. Negative experience must have left a scar.
“Anything I can do to help?” he heard himself asking, though in reality, he’d had about all of the Jernagen house he wanted for one day. He was baffled as to why he wasn’t escaping out through the garage.
On second thought, the police wouldn’t look kindly on a male slithering out the back way while they stood on the front porch.
Rainy lifted blue-gray eyes to his, and he knew why he hadn’t already cut and run.
A few minutes ago, she’d gotten to him with the mere hint of tears—he was a sucker for a woman’s tears, as his sister well knew. And Rainy was kind and gentle and patient with the children, even though she was obviously running on adrenaline and little sleep. She was cute, too, now that her hair was brushed and she didn’t look like a troll doll about to explode with stress. If he was truthful, she’d been cute all along, though he’d not wanted to notice.
But he was a man, and admiring a pretty, sweet woman came naturally. He couldn’t change biology.
If she didn’t have this passel of kids, he might even have asked her out.
A chill tingled his nerve endings.
If was a big, big word. He and kids didn’t mix, and Rainy’s devotion to the children was obviously more than a do-good activity to make herself feel charitable. She was passionate, with a missionary zeal.
Nate Del Rio simply did not understand the sentiment. Kids were a pain. Trouble. He knew from ugly, tenacious experience.
The doorbell played another round of hideous rock music. Rainy jumped.
She gave Will a reassuring pat on the shoulder and a gentle push. “If you’ll check on Emma and Josh, I’ll talk to the policeman first and then I’ll be right in. Don’t worry. Everything is fine.”
She started into the living room, knees trembling. The nervous reaction made her almost as angry as the notion of someone intentionally frightening her kids. And she had no doubt this was the case.
Strong fingers caught her by the arm. “Why don’t I answer the door?” Nate said. “So you can take care of the little ones.”
She blinked her surprise, touched by his concern. “Thanks, but we’ve done this before. It will only take a minute.”
He dropped his hold. “The police come here often?”
“More often than I’d like,” she said grimly.
Kathy Underkircher and her hostility were wearing thin, for Rainy was certain that the woman who had decided to hate her for reasons that had nothing to do with these children had once again called the police.
“Why? You don’t seem the kind to cause trouble.”
“I’m not.” She waved him off. “It’s too complicated to explain right now.”
The doorbell screamed again and, under other circumstances, Nate’s flinch would have made Rainy laugh. The awful music had that effect on everyone.
“What is with the musical doorbell?” he asked.
“My brother installed it. His idea of a joke.” She pushed a stray lock of hair behind one ear and said a little prayer as she gazed around the living room. The place looked better, if not perfect. But who expected perfect with children?
“Not your kind of music?”
“What?” she asked. “Oh, the bell. Despise it. Don’t know how to dismantle it.” She reached for the doorknob as the raucous tune restarted. Through gritted teeth, she said, “If that thing wakes the babies, I’ll take a hammer to it.”
Behind her Nate chuckled. “Sounds like a handyman job to me.”
It occurred to her then that he was still here. By now the handsome cowboy—the handsome single cowboy—would be convinced he’d fallen into some alternative dimension filled with screaming kids, throw up, overflowing washers, irritating music and a policeman on the doorstep. Could her day get any worse? Might as well find out.
She ripped the door open with a little more force than needed.
A familiar officer in a blue uniform stood in the cool shade of the tulip-bordered porch. Sun glinted off his silver Summervale police badge.
“Miss Jernagen?”
“Hello, Officer Wagner,” she said with a sigh. “Kathy Underkircher again?”
The policeman’s head dipped slightly. “Anonymous caller. Sorry to disturb you but screaming was reported again. Is there a problem?”
The anonymous caller was Kathy, all right. The woman would never forgive her, no matter how she tried to mend the rift.
“None that needs police,” Nate said, stepping up beside Rainy to extend his hand to the officer. “Nate Del Rio. Rainy and I attend the same church. Don’t I know you?”
“Del Rio?” the young officer rubbed his chin. “Yeah, yeah. You got that ranch outside of town. Right?”
“That’s right. Crossroads Ranch.”
“My dad bought a heifer off you a while back for my little brother’s agriculture project at school. I came with him to pick her up.”
Nate’s head bobbed. “I remember. Good breeding stock.”
Rainy looked back and forth between the two men. It was considerate of Nate to be cordial but he had no idea she and Officer Wagner were old hands at this. She didn’t need anyone to soften up the policeman with chitchat.
“Listen, gentlemen, I have four frightened children in there to attend to. Could we have this little reunion later?”
Chagrined, the officer nodded. “Sorry, ma’am. Do you mind if I come in? Check things out?”
“You know there’s nothing wrong in here,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am, but I have to check.”
“I know. I know.” She rolled her eyes heavenward, as much to beseech the Lord’s help as for effect. “What a crying shame that Kathy can’t get a life of her own and leave mine alone.”
To let the officer in, she stepped back…and collided with the cowboy.
