lifted Kylie out of her car seat.
Even as his heartbeat increased, Jake was startled to realize he’d been so involved with Sarah that he’d nearly forgotten Kylie was his main reason for coming back here. As she raced across the lawn to her mother, he fought to keep his features calm and controlled. Was Kylie his? Could she be?
“Hi, sweetheart,” Sarah said warmly, her voice shaking a little as she scooped her daughter into her arms. “Did you and Grandpa have a nice lunch at Aunt Ruby’s?”
“I had ice cweam!”
“I can see that,” Sarah replied. “It’s all over your shirt. We’ll have to change it before your nap.”
“Sorry,” the older man said, chuckling as he walked to them. “I should’ve asked Ruby for a bib. And before you yell at me, she had macaroni and cheese before the ice cream—I promise.”
“But more ice cream than macaroni, I’ll bet,” Sarah said, laughing. Her smile faded a little then, and after giving Jake a hesitant look, she put Kylie down. “Dad, this is Sheriff Russell. Sheriff, my father, Bill Malloy.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jake said, and they clasped hands.
“Same here.”
Sarah’s father was a good-looking man in his late fifties, and aging well, despite the fair amount of gray in his dark hair and mustache. His choice of vehicles—a sedan—as well as his gray trousers and yellow knit shirt, suggested that he didn’t ranch or farm.
“So what do you think of our little town, Sheriff?”
“I like it. Hope I have the chance to stay for a while.”
“You’re talking about the November election,” Malloy guessed. “Well, just don’t tick off Ed Cooper at the paper or any of our local busybodies in the next couple of months, and you shouldn’t have a problem.”
“Thanks for the advice,” he answered, thinking about the old man in the red truck. “But it’s hard to know what annoys people until you get to know them.”
“In this town, it could be anything,” Malloy returned wryly. “No matter what you do, you’re bound to rub someone the wrong way.” His devoted gaze fell to Kylie. “Except for Kylie, here. She loves everybody.”
Malloy’s statement seemed to invite a conversation with his pretty little granddaughter, and Jake crouched down and smiled. She wore black shorts and a gray knit shirt with black sleeves and Mickey Mouse ears stitched to the hood hanging against her back. Or maybe they were Minnie Mouse ears. Suddenly everything this tiny girl wore, every move she made, every silky black hair above her blue eyes and animated baby face were vitally important to him.
“Hi, honey,” he said.
Lightning quick, Kylie speared his badge with her index finger. “That’s a star!”
Jake’s heart took off running, and he wondered how he’d lived this long without feeling this many emotions at once.
Sarah tugged Kylie back against her legs. “I’m sorry,” she said hurriedly. “She gets rambunctious when she has too much sugar.”
“No, no, she’s fine,” Jake said, pushing to his feet.
“Let’s go to your house and pway!” Kylie piped up, and Jake wasn’t sure what to say. For starters, he didn’t have a house. But, by God, if Kylie was his, he’d find one.
“Dad?” Sarah said, looking pale again. “Why don’t you take Kylie inside? I’ll be right in to change her shirt.”
For a second, Malloy stared curiously at his daughter. Then he shrugged, grinned and scooped Kylie into his arms. “Sure. We’ll have a cup of coffee while we wait, won’t we, cupcake?”
“Dad—”
“Okay,” he said, chuckling. “We’ll have milk.”
When they’d disappeared inside, Sarah mustered a wobbly grin and sighed. “He spoils her rotten.”
“He probably can’t help himself. She’s wonderful.”
“Thank you.” Sarah glanced toward the door, a troubled look still clouding her eyes. “I’d better go. Dad can’t say no to her, and if he’s drinking coffee, she’s stealing sips. Between the sugar and the caffeine…well, you know.”
But Jake wasn’t thinking of sugar and caffeine; he was studying Sarah’s classic features again—her wide brown eyes and lightly tanned skin. Her sideswept bangs and shoulder-length blond hair.
He realized that his suspicions were still only that. But none of Sarah’s coloring had shown up in her daughter.
None of it.
Suddenly, every warning he’d given himself about taking his time and gaining her confidence deserted him. He had to know. His chest was on fire, and he had to know.
“Does her other grandfather spoil her, too?” he asked as she turned toward the house.
“What?”
He fell into step beside her. “You said your father spoils her. I asked if her other—”
“No, her other Grandpa passed away.”
“And by that, you mean your ex-husband’s father?” he persisted. Or did she mean his father? He’d told her that night that his dad had died before Jake had a chance to meet him.
Sarah moved faster through the grass. “My late husband’s father passed away, yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to change my daughter.”
No, dammit, he wouldn’t excuse her. He’d come here looking for answers, and he wasn’t leaving until he got them. Kylie waved from the screen door, and a small voice cautioned, Don’t press your luck. But he couldn’t listen. Just one question. Maybe two.
“How old is she, Sarah?”
She started up the steps. “She’s two.”
“When will she be three?”
On the porch now, Sarah whirled on him, her dark eyes full of fire and fear. But was she afraid because a lingering conversation might tip her father off that they had a past, or because she was keeping a secret she didn’t want Jake to know?
“What is this?” she asked in a low, shaky voice. “An occupational hazard? Do you interrogate everyone you meet?”
Jake raised his hands and backed off. He’d pushed too hard. If Kylie was his daughter, he didn’t want to antagonize Sarah, because he wanted to be part of her life. If she wasn’t, he didn’t want to look like a fool. He’d already shared too much of himself with this woman, and the last thing he wanted was to look weak in her eyes. Though why he cared, he didn’t know.
The radio in the Jeep squawked loudly, and a distorted voice hailed him. Jake sent a frustrated look at the car. “No, I don’t interrogate everyone I meet. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. I’d just like for
