cocky grin appeared on Trent’s face. “That’s all it took for me when I first saw Brooke.”
“Well, I’m not you, soldier boy.” He called him by his old nickname. Trent had spent a dozen years in the military before coming back here. “Let’s get back to the problem at hand. Do you want to toss a woman and a child out at midnight? Besides, by the looks of her vehicle, she doesn’t have much extra money for a motel. Why don’t you see if you can get ahold of your last tenant, the Donaldsons, and see if they can check out her story?”
Trent shook his head. “I’ll call in the morning. Now I’m going home and climbing back into bed with my beautiful wife.” He grinned, and Cullen wanted to slug him. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Cullen pointed to the house. “What about the guests?”
“I’ll let you handle the pretty brunette. If they rob us blind, I’ll send the sheriff after them.” With a laugh his brother walked off to his truck.
Cullen just shook his head. When his father had first married Leslie, he and his twin brother, Austin, had been barely ten. And they hated Leslie’s thirteen-year-old son, Trent, on sight. It took a few years, but they all got over it, and with his stepmother’s love they’d all become somewhat of a family.
He looked up at the house. Did he trust the woman? He used to rely on his cop instincts, but these days he wasn’t so sure. He walked up the steps, knocked on the door and waited until she answered.
The door finally opened and Miss Townsend motioned him inside. “Please, come in, Sheriff.”
He stepped across the threshold and caught a whiff of her fragrance, soft and clean like soap. Damn, if she didn’t remind him the past year had been a long and lonely one.
“You and the boy can stay for the night and I’ll come by in the morning to see about making other arrangements.”
“That’s not necessary, Sheriff. Ryan and I are planning to head west.”
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
She hesitated, then shook her head. “But I have a laptop and I can look for a job.”
“The B&B Café is looking for a part-time cook,” he blurted out.
She looked surprised at his volunteering the information.
He shrugged. “I only know that because I was in earlier for supper and Bill told me he and Betty needed to cut down their workload. They also run a catering business on the side. I know cooking for cowboys is different than cooking for a restaurant...”
“I am a chef, Sheriff.” She combed back her hair with long fingers. “I graduated from culinary school.”
“Then it shouldn’t be difficult to find employment.” He played with the hat in his hands. “If you do plan to stay and get a job maybe we can help you find a place to stay. There is the cottage out back. It’s a lot smaller, but there are two bedrooms.”
He saw the interest in her blue eyes.
“I’ll just need to talk to Trent.” His brother Austin was one of the owners, too, but wouldn’t care if he rented the place. “Not sure how the Donaldsons left it, but I’m sure it’s livable.”
“That’s very nice of you,” she told him. “I’ll have to think about it.”
“I understand. I should get back on patrol.” He didn’t move. Why did he hate leaving her alone? He could sense her fear and couldn’t help but wonder what was causing it.
“You and your brother are being very generous for letting us stay the night. I’ll make sure we clean up before we leave.”
“So you’re not staying in town?”
“Only if I get employment.”
He nodded. “Okay, if you want to try for that job, the B&B Café is just off Main Street on Aspen.”
She hugged her robe together. “Thank you again, Sheriff. I’ll think about my options. Of course, Ryan has to be my first consideration. I’ll let you know tomorrow.” She headed to the door, letting him know that he should leave.
He shouldn’t care, but he found he wanted to help. Why? Maybe it was because when he had trouble, there’d been few people who wanted to stand by him. Sometimes, it took a stranger to step up and give a person a hand.
He stopped at the door. “I’m new here, too, just a few weeks as the interim sheriff. Hidden Springs is a nice town.” What was he, the chamber of commerce? Then he realized what he said was true. Maybe he should take his own advice and give this place a chance.
The next morning, Shelby packed their suitcases. No matter what happened today, they weren’t going to be staying in the farmhouse.
By ten o’clock, Ryan had been fed his usual bowl of Cheerios and they headed into town. Shelby parked her compact car off Main Street and eyed the storefront building, the B&B Café.
Should she go in and see about the job? She glanced in the backseat and saw Ryan busy with his picture album. He kept looking at his mother’s photo. She had no way to explain to the boy about the evil of some people. How they could take another life.
“Look, Ryan, we’re going to go inside so I can see about getting a job.”
“Mama worked. She worked at my school.”
“That’s right, sweetie. She was a teacher.”
“She was going to teach me, too.” He blinked really fast. “Now, she’s in heaven with Daddy.”
“Yes, she is, and he’s going to take care of her forever and ever.” Shelby had trouble holding back the tears. “So don’t worry about her.”
Shelby got out of the car, went to the backseat and helped Ryan out, too. They walked into the café, and she opened the glass door. Here goes. She released a breath, hoping to relax a little.
Inside, Shelby looked around and decided she liked the down-home atmosphere. Several gingham-checked-cloth-covered tables were situated on a black-and-white-tiled floor, and black leather padded booths ran along the wall under the windows. There were pictures of the area’s skiing and hiking trails, and many just of the beautiful Colorado scenery.
A slight woman about fifty-five came out of the back. She had short gray hair, warm brown eyes and a big smile. “I’m thinking you might be Shelby Townsend.” She smiled down at the boy. “You must be Ryan.”
Her nephew hid behind her. “Yes, I’m Shelby.” So the sheriff had been here.
“Welcome to town, I’m Bess Cummings. My husband, Bill, and I own this restaurant and the catering business next door.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Cummings.”
“Please, call me Bess.”
