Montana Skies (You, Me and the Kids) (Harlequin Superromance, No 1395) (12 page)

“Dad, Mandy—”

“I said whatever. I'll do it, just drop the whole good cop, bad cop routine already.”

Rissa brought her hand to her mouth to cover her gasp of relief.
Thank God.
Jonas's tough love tactic had worked. She'd hoped, prayed, Skylar would accept, but she'd honestly thought her daughter would tell Jonas where he could stick his demands.

“Sure you're not agreeing because it's what your mother and I want to hear?”

“Like I'd do it for that,” Skylar snorted. “You got an ego or what?”

“Skylar tells it like it is, Dad. She's not two-faced like Mandy.”

The admiration in Carly's tone reinforced Rissa's
flagging spirits. Despite the attitude she was presently giving Jonas, somewhere in her Goth-girl teen a nice girl stayed hidden. Carly saw her. Had touched her.
Now if only she could.

“But…what about Grandma? Do I have to go live with her this summer?”

All three of them looked to Jonas for the answer, and for the first time since he'd entered the diner, Rissa saw his expression soften.

“Two weeks, that's all.
Unless
you two do something that makes me think your spending the summer there would be a better solution. Understood?”

Carly quickly nodded, Skylar rolled her eyes and Jonas frowned across the table at them all, clearly unhappy with the compromise.

Rissa sighed. Why did she get the feeling things were going to get worse before they got better?

R
ISSA HAD EXPECTED
Jonas and Carly to leave the diner after coming to the agreement, however, Jonas stayed and ordered dinner. Forty-five minutes later she grabbed her keys and purse from atop the counter and followed them out the door. “G'night, Porter! See you tomorrow!”

“Be careful driving home,” Porter called from the kitchen before coming out to lock the door behind them. “See you tomorrow.”

Outside the girls stood huddled beneath a streetlight, whispering back and forth.

“We'll walk you to your car.”

Rissa stared up into his tense features and smiled gently. He was worried about his daughter, something she understood well. “It's okay, we'll be fine.”

Hands tucked in his pockets, he scanned the nearly abandoned surroundings. “Might not be New York, but there is crime here, too, Rissa. Better safe than sorry.”

Imagine that, chivalry wasn't dead after all. Feeling inordinately awkward and still acutely conscious of whatever had passed between them when they'd shaken hands, Rissa walked down the street toward the alley. Jonas shortened his longer strides to stay at her side, the girls up ahead of them.

How long had it been since a man had looked out for
her? Larry had opened doors and done the look-at-me-I'm-a-gentleman thing when needed, but more often than not, she'd fended for herself. A practice learned from working in a field where the majority of pilots were male. Walking with Jonas was nice even if he still scowled every few moments at his thoughts.

Head down, she sidestepped to avoid a puddle. Jonas gently snagged her arm and held it, slowing her to allow the girls to get a little farther ahead of them.

“Caroline is different around her,” he murmured, his gaze fastened on the girls. “More talkative and…out-going.”

The streetlight allowed her to notice the way little lines were beginning to creep out from the corners of his eyes, the way his jaw was strong and blunt. Jonas was a man's man. Raw. Big-boned and muscular, and the complete opposite of Larry. Her husband had been softer, more polished.
Slick
her dad often said. Her father had never particularly liked Larry, something she now understood.

Sensing this was the sheriff's way of making amends, she nodded. “I think they bring out the best of each other. Skylar…softens, seems more relaxed. Not so angry.” She caught the slight smirk he couldn't hide. “Don't believe me if you like, but I know it's true. That's why I think it's so important to nurture this friendship of theirs instead of ending it.”

Jonas didn't comment, and Rissa turned her attention back to putting one foot in front of the other. She was so tired. Convincing Jonas to give Skylar a chance had taken the last of her energy reserve. All she wanted was her comfortable pajamas and bed.

Moments later they caught up with the girls at her car
and Rissa covered her yawn with her left hand and unlocked the door with her right. “Thanks,” she murmured. “For everything.”

His gaze slid to where Skylar and Carly stood on the other side of the car discussing a movie soon to be released, and stepping closer, Jonas lowered his head toward hers. “Rissa,” he asserted, his voice pitched low, “I have nothing against you personally, it's just—”

“It would look badly if your position and image were somehow compromised by the antics of two teenaged girls?”

His surprised expression told all. “Yeah, that's right.”

“Then we'll think positive that it won't be an issue, and pray for the best. Deal?”

“Deal.” He opened her door for her. “Drive safe.”

She mumbled her thanks and slid behind the wheel, sticking the key in the ignition before she leaned over to unlock Skylar's door. That done, she tossed her purse and apron off her lap into the back and twisted the key. The lights and the radio came on, but nothing else. Hitting the button to turn off the sound, she tried starting it again. And again. Nothing.

“Don't worry,” she said with a strained laugh, “it always starts.”

Jonas raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Doesn't sound like it's going to tonight.”

She twisted the key again.
Come on.
It had been a long week, a long year. She couldn't deal with anything else right now.

“Mom, give it up. The thing's finally died.”

No. No way, it couldn't have. How would she get to work? How would she pick up Skylar from school? Drive to an interview when she finally landed one? She
couldn't borrow from Maura and Jake or the ranch any more than she already had. It wasn't right.

Overwhelmed, she said a silent prayer and tried again. Nothing. Unable to cope, she reared back and hit the steering wheel with her palm. She didn't need this on top of everything else. It wasn't fair. It wasn't—

Skylar said something to Carly and the girl laughed. When Carly responded, Skylar's startling burst of laughter echoed off the buildings and into the car where she sat.

A strangled sob caught in her throat. Sudden. Out of nowhere. Uncontrollable. She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Jonas heard. He leaned down, into the car, one hand on the open door, the other on the roof, his gaze intense and concerned and taking in every detail of her face. With a single look he understood exactly what he saw. It was all there in his gaze. In the expression that said he related to her present state. Even sympathized.

It was his sympathy that had tears flooding her eyes faster than she could blink them away. Oh, please. She could
not
have a meltdown here. Not in front of—

“Come on,” Jonas ordered softly. He reached into the car and grasped her elbow, gently but firmly pulling her out. He ignored her averted eyes and tug of protest. “Rissa, let's go. We'll give you a ride home, and tomorrow I'll get Spencer over at the garage to take a look at your car.”

“I'll do it myself,” she said, her voice choked.

“Fine. But let's go. Skylar, get your things and your mom's. Caro, lock up the car.”

“Okay, Dad.”

Giving in, Rissa allowed Jonas to pull her ahead of the girls, thankful he either didn't hear or else ignored Skylar's mumbling complaints about Jonas giving her orders.

They retraced their steps back down the alley, Rissa acutely conscious of Jonas's presence at her side. When they were far enough away from the girls that they wouldn't be seen, he grabbed her hand and pressed something soft into her palm. A handkerchief? What kind of man carried one of those in this day and age? She said as much to him and a husky laugh filled the air.

“I've learned it pays to have one ready. You never know when you'll need it. Better now?”

She sniffled, but nodded. Jonas opened the police cruiser's passenger door and she got inside, hurrying to pat her face dry before the girls caught up and noticed the waterworks.

The first few minutes of the drive proved awkward. Silent, there was a distinct tension between them. In the backseat the girls whispered nonstop, seemingly oblivious, and for that she was grateful. Then the town's few streetlights faded and Rissa found herself staring out the window, up at the star-studded Montana sky.

It never failed to amaze her. How could something be so big? The expanse of twinkling lights never looked the same, and she wished with all her heart to be up there right now. Night-vision goggles in place, the wind, the steady drone of the engine, the power and control and freedom she felt while she skimmed the treetops and soared. That's what she needed to de-stress.

Settling more comfortably into the seat, her thoughts drifted, back to happier days when Skylar resembled her and everyone commented on how sweet she was. Larry was conspicuously absent, but it hadn't mattered, not after a while. She and Skylar had only grown closer as a result.

Too close, she realized. When had she crossed the
line? She'd had few women friends to talk to because they'd always come on to Larry, feeling that they knew him since he was in their homes via television nearly every day of their lives.

She should've known he'd eventually give in to temptation. The signs were there, but she'd purposely ignored them, and made up for the lack of female companionship with Skylar's company. Shared too much with the daughter she'd treated more like a sister.

The car bounced, startling her, and Rissa realized despite her jumbled memories and erratic thoughts she'd actually dozed off. Jonas had turned onto the long driveway leading to the ranch, and she glanced at him, even more embarrassed.

He drove up to the main building without comment, reminding her he didn't know which cabin they lived in. Thankfully, none of the cabins were that far and, tired as she was, she didn't have far to walk.

Jonas pulled to a stop and the girls scrambled out of the backseat saying something about retrieving a CD for Carly to borrow. In a flash, they disappeared into the stand of woods separating the main area from what was once Seth Rowland's first wife's art studio.

“Rissa—”

“I'm sorry,” she said before he could say more. “I'm…embarrassed. First my car… I can't believe I fell asleep.”

“Don't be. You were out before we got to the city limits, a sure indication that you're exhausted. Everyone is emotional when they're worn out. I'm just glad you trust me enough that you could rest. A lot of people can't sleep when someone else is driving.”

His comment stopped her cold.
Trust him?

Maybe. But only because he understood what it was like to be a single parent. Understood how hard it was to cope with the physical and emotional demands. But trust intimated more. A lot more.

Rissa shook her head at herself, at the craziness of her thoughts. She had enough problems without adding into the mix romantic fantasies about a man who couldn't stand her daughter.

“Rissa, what happened back there? Why the tears?”

She fiddled with the handkerchief in her hand. The girls were so different. How could she make him understand? “Skylar laughed.” His blank stare brought a weary smile. “Yeah, I know, it's silly, but I—I couldn't help it. Skylar laughed, and…it's been such a long time since I've heard the sound of real laughter from her. Derision, sarcasm, snorting, I hear those daily, but not laughter.” Rissa opened the car door and shifted to get out, uneasy with her convoluted emotions when it came to the handsome sheriff.

Maybe she trusted him a little. He was the sheriff, after all, a man whose profession garnered trust. But it was more than that and she knew it. Jonas appealed to her as a woman, and yet he held a power over her and her daughter she didn't like, even though she'd allowed it,
encouraged it
. At this point all she could do was deal with the consequences.

“Rissa, wait. How long?”

The car's dim interior lights played over his features, made them harsh and hard and shadowy. She ignored the part of her that wanted to stay with him and slid out of the car. “A year.”

Jonas turned the cruiser off and got out as well. They slammed the car doors shut about the same time, and she
watched warily while he walked to the front of the vehicle and waited for her. She opened the door to the backseat, but one glance proved the girls had already gathered up her purse and apron. She shut the door, hesitant.

The night surrounded them. Horses snuffled in the paddock, and a breeze laced with the smell of horses and hay and the slightest citrusy tinge of the sheriff's cologne lifted the bangs framing her face. In that moment, she no longer saw the creased uniform, or the overly protective father wanting to keep his daughter a child. She simply saw a sexy man who was…a man. The kind some lucky woman could count on, be able to lean on in times of trouble. Strong and hard and very, very likeable.

Unless her daughter screwed up.

And that was why she moved away from him even though she wanted to step closer, why she headed toward the cabin before she did something more embarrassing than she already had.

Skylar's behavior over the last year ended all the outrageous thoughts creating havoc in her head. Thoughts that maybe, possibly, her interest in Jonas might be more.

“Rissa?”

The sound of her name on his lips brought her out of her stupor. “Thanks for the ride, Jonas. I've got to…I've got to go.” She lifted a hand and brushed her hair back from her mouth when the wind blew it over her lips. “Good night. I'll send Carly right back.”

She set out down the driveway toward the path leading to her cabin, and her heart skipped a beat when Jonas fell into step beside her once again. She looked at him in surprise. Jonas smiled, his teeth flashing white in the darkness. Not a polished grin like Larry had per
formed for the news cameras every night, but a friendly, charming smile that didn't last long enough.

Shaking her head at herself, she left the driveway and entered the shadows of the pines. The ranch house, cabins and bunkhouse all had large utility lights illuminating the grounds, but they didn't penetrate the trail separating her cabin from the rest. Darkness enveloped her, them, a haven of calm quiet.

Her steps slowed. The pine scent soothed her, made her feel protected. She paused, not sure why, simply unable to take another step. Then Jonas was there.

Heat scorched her in all the places he touched. His chest to her back. His hands slowly smoothing up her arms, the moist heat of his breath caressing her temple.

After the day, Rissa knew she was on overload because she couldn't catch her breath, couldn't move. The awareness there that she was way too tired, truly exhausted, if she considered being held by him a solution to anything. Yet still she wanted—

“You okay?”

She nodded and her mouth parted to draw in more air. She wasn't a masochist who wanted more pain. Under the circumstances, how stupid would she be if she let Jonas get to her?

“You're trembling…” His voice lowered, became husky. “Rissa?”