to lose herself in his touch. She tugged his shirt from his pants and let her fingers explore the skin of his belly, then up to the hair on his chest.
“You’re playing with fire,” he muttered.
“Then let me burn.”
A squeaking door erupted between them. Laurel’s eyes grew wide.
“Molly.”
* * *
“AUNT LAUREL, I’M BORED. There aren’t any toys here.” Molly shoved into the office, her little arms crossed. Laurel sprang out of Garrett’s arms, her face flushed.
“What are you doing?”
Garrett cleared his throat and tried to order his body under control. He glanced down at Laurel. She didn’t appear any less flushed. Her cheeks went red and she pulled her hands from beneath his shirt. He regretted the loss, but in some ways Molly had saved them both. He smiled at the little girl. “So, sugar, it’s almost lunchtime. How would you like to go on a picnic?”
Laurel stepped back, her expression stunned. “I don’t think—”
“What about the big kitty?” Molly asked, her voice tentative.
“Well, I’ll be there, and cats usually stay away from people. We’ll be fine.”
“Absolutely not.” Laurel shook her head. “It’s December.”
“December in West Texas isn’t the same as anywhere else,” Garrett said. “All she needs is a jacket. And we both need to run off some energy, take in a bit of brisk air.” He sent her a pointed glance.
“Oh, please, Aunt Laurel,” Molly said, tugging on her shirt. “I wanna have lunch outside and go ’sploring with Sheriff Garrett.”
Laurel’s face softened, and Garrett could see her indecision. Laurel loved her niece. He liked her fierce protectiveness. Laurel McCallister had a lot of her dad in her. Courage that started with a spine of steel. Courage that made her way too attractive for his peace of mind.
Besides, if they stayed in this cabin, Garrett didn’t know how much longer he could resist her. James would take him to the torture chamber if Garrett put the moves on his little girl.
“I need to take a look around and set a few pieces of equipment.” Laurel sent him a meaningful gaze. So she’d decided to work with him.
One surprise after another, this woman.
“Yay!” Molly twirled around and around. “We’re going on a picnic. We’re going on a picnic,” she repeated over and over again in a singsong voice.
She skipped around the small cabin.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Do you want to try to keep her inside all day and then get her to sleep tonight?” Garrett arched a brow.
Laurel’s gaze fell to Molly’s movements, and then she sighed. “I thought she’d grieve more,” she said. “I thought she’d be sad.” She reached into the box of staples Garrett had brought and pulled out the homemade bread, then grabbed the sandwich fixings Hondo had provided out of the small refrigerator.
“She will be. She’ll have a moment when she falls, but right now, something isn’t letting her process what happened.”
Laurel spread mustard over a piece of bread, then bent over the sink, clutching the porcelain. Her shoulders sagged. For a moment or two she fought the emotion. Everything inside Garrett made him want to hold her, comfort her, but he also knew sometimes grief needed space.
When her shoulders quivered, then shook, Garrett couldn’t stay away. He crossed the small kitchen in two steps and placed his hands on her shoulders. He bent to her ear. “It’s okay,” he whispered.
Molly entertained herself across the room. He turned Laurel in his arms. Tears streamed down her face. She buried her head against his shoulder to hide them.
“I miss Ivy. I miss my family.” Her voice had thickened with grief. Garrett rubbed her back, holding her close.
After he’d woken from the coma, alone in a hospital, with a new name, he hadn’t had time to cry. God, he’d wanted to, but there was no one left to comfort him or hold him. His family was gone.
He could hold Laurel, though. His arms wrapped tighter around her. He kept his gaze locked on Molly, who’d found an afghan and a small cardboard box and was creating a fort under a beat-up end table.
“Can she see me?” Laurel whispered, her voice thick with tears.
“She’s playing,” Garrett said.
Laurel trembled against him. Then a calmness flowed through her. She stood in his arms, soft, welcoming.
Comfort shifted to something more, something else. Something simmering beneath the surface. She cleared her throat and straightened, swiping at her wet cheeks. Through her lowered lashes, she looked up at him. “I’m okay now.”
He stroked a tear from her cheek. “You don’t have to be.”
She glanced over at Molly. “Yeah, I do.” Laurel pasted a smile on her face and strode over to Molly, hunkering down. “Whatcha doin’, Molly Magoo? Can I come in your fort?”
Garrett turned back to the half-made picnic lunch, thankful Laurel had crossed the room. She and Molly had reawakened his emotions, emotions he couldn’t afford to have.
He’d gone against his best instincts when he’d fallen in love with Lisa seven years ago. James had warned him, had told him that there would be secrets he could never tell his wife, lies he’d be forced to live. He’d even said there was a remote chance of danger from the enemy.
The enemy wasn’t who’d gotten him... He’d been framed by one of his own. Of that he was certain.
He snagged some bottled water and a juice box from the refrigerator, completing their lunch. “Ready, ladies?” he called out.
Molly scooted from under the blanket and ran across the room. She peered into the makeshift picnic basket Garrett had created using a box. “Cookies?” She blinked up at him, those baby blues innocent and hopeful.
“What’s a picnic without Hondo’s cookies?” Garrett said. “Can you take this?” he asked Laurel. She grasped the box and he strode into his room. He unlocked the closet and entered a combination into a hidden safe. Quickly, he pulled out his dad’s Remington.
He walked over to her. She tugged the box closer. “I’ll take this. I like your hands free. In case the big kitty shows up again.”
They walked out of the ranch house. The midday sun shone through a bright blue sky. Laurel gazed up. “I’ve never seen a color like that before.”
“Welcome to the desert,” Garrett said. “A little different from the East Coast, huh?”
“Considering they started today getting doused in snow, I’d say yes.”
Molly
