Snowfall on Haven Point (12 page)

He followed the kids back to the den. They had turned all the lights off and only the tree was illuminated, glowing bright and cheerful.

“Oh, kids,” Andie breathed. “It's beautiful!”

He had to agree. As far as Christmas trees went, it wasn't exactly a professionally designed job. Some of the ornaments were clustered in bunches and there were a few uneven spots, but it was clear the two kids had taken great care to hang the ornaments.

It touched him to the core that they had done such a kind thing for him.

“Your mom is right,” he said gruffly. “That is, without a doubt, the prettiest tree I've ever had.”

“Really?” Chloe looked as thrilled as if he had told her Santa Claus lived upstairs.

“Honest. It looks like a different room in here. I can't help but catch a little Christmas spirit, with such a beautiful tree.”

The children grinned at each other and at their mother, who gave him a bright smile that hit him like a sunbeam in July.

“Thanks a lot for going to all this trouble for me,” he said, his voice gruff. “I feel really honored, especially since you made so many of the decorations yourself.”

“It was fun. I'm glad you like it,” Chloe said.

“Yeah, because if you didn't, we would have to take all the ornaments off and that would be a lot of work and I'm already starving,” Will said.

Andie brushed a hand across her son's head. “Let's clean up the bag and the boxes now and leave Sheriff Bailey to enjoy his tree in solitude.”

That's what he wanted, right? For everyone to leave him alone so he didn't have to work so hard to be nice.

Right now, it somehow didn't seem at all appealing.

“You don't have to rush off,” he said on impulse. “Why don't you stay for dinner? I was thinking pizza sounded good. We could order from Serrano's—and we've got apple brown Betty and ice cream for dessert.”

“Pizza and ice cream!” Will exclaimed.

“Can we?” Chloe implored her mother.

Andie looked caught off guard at the invitation. “I think we've bothered Sheriff Bailey enough for the evening.”

It was an obvious reference to his words of earlier in the day, the ones he suddenly would have given just about anything to take back.

“But he invited us!” Will pouted.

“I did. And I meant it. Think of it as my way of repaying you for all the trouble you just went to.”

“Please?” Chloe entreated.

Andie looked down at her children, then at him with an expression that managed to mingle puzzlement and suspicion. She was probably wondering how he could flip so abruptly from telling her basically to stay away to inviting them for dinner.

If she figured it out, he would like to know the same thing.

“Serrano's pizza is delicious and I haven't figured out any other plans for our dinner,” she finally said. “I suppose that would be okay, if you're sure.”

“Positive. To be honest, I get tired of eating by myself. My own dinner conversation is pretty boring.”

This made Chloe giggle but was nothing less than the truth. He spent a great deal of his free time in solitude. Unless he was grabbing lunch with Cade or one of his deputies or having family dinners at his mother's, most of his meals were spent at his desk or in front of the television set on low for background noise while he worked on reports.

He had always thought that a perfectly acceptable state of affairs, but suddenly it seemed a pretty isolated way to live.

CHAPTER NINE

W
HOEVER
WOULD
HAVE
guessed the serious, gruff sheriff of Lake Haven County was lonely?

Andie sat across from Marshall Bailey at Wynona's kitchen table and finished her final bite of the basil-and-mozzarella goodness that was Barbara Serrano's margherita pizza, trying to figure out the man who seemed to be more layered than some of Barbara's famous tiramisu.

Even before he was injured, Marshall Bailey had come across to her as stiff and unapproachable, a hard, solemn, dangerous man who didn't have time for things like children and little dogs and silly women who seemed to become increasingly flustered around him.

As early as that morning, she would have been convinced he was fiercely proud, the type of man who refused to rely on anyone else. He hated needing help; he'd said so himself. Yet as she listened to him interact with her children over pizza and crusty bread sticks, she was forced to reevaluate her perception.

So many adults claimed they liked children, but they quickly tired of them. Marshall seemed patient at their endless questions and genuinely interested in their opinions.

He was even cute to Sadie. Andie had caught him more than once reaching down to pet her. The dog, in turn, seemed enamored and had plopped beside his chair on the opposite side from his broken leg.

Andie didn't want to be attracted to him, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to deny.

After dinner, she and the children cleaned up while Marshall took a call from one of his deputies in the den. When she served up dessert on a plate and carried it in, she found him looking pensive, lit only by the lamp beside the recliner and the glowing Christmas tree.

“Thanks. It looks delicious. I'm a sucker for dessert.”

“I believe I've noticed,” she said. “The kitchen is clean. I put the rest of the pizza in the refrigerator for you to heat up tomorrow. The kids and I are going to take off, unless you need something else.”

“No. I'm good. Thanks again for everything.” He hesitated and she had the distinct impression he wanted to say something else. Finally he sighed.

“This is awkward, but I need a favor and I don't know who else to ask.”

She did her best to hide her shock. Had he come so far in one evening that he could not only tolerate someone helping him but actually
ask
for it?

“Of course,” she said quickly. “Whatever you need.”

The words hovered between them, for some strange reason. She hadn't meant anything sexual, of course, but when she heard the echo of them, she felt her face heat. What
did
he need? And why did her mind immediately go there?

After a charged moment, he cleared his throat. “I've got to take care of a few things I left hanging at the sheriff's office in Shelter Springs tomorrow and I'm not cleared to drive. I could probably manage it with my left foot on the gas, but I guess that's not the example I should be setting for my department, let alone the community at large.”

“You need a ride,” she said.

He looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Yeah. If you can manage it. If not, there's a taxi service in Shelter Springs. I can call them out here.”

“I thought you were ordered to take time off until after the holidays.”

“I was, but I'm in the middle of a couple of investigations and I don't want to lose momentum. Some of the secured files are on my computer at work and I can't access them from the network, only in person. And it has to be me.”

His jaw tightened. “Not to mention, if somebody in my department did this to me, I want them to see I'm still fighting.”

He was a stubborn man. She found it surprisingly attractive.

“What time?” she asked.

“We typically have a weekly briefing at ten every Thursday. If you could run me in on time for that, I was thinking I could catch a ride back later when the shift is over.”

That would mean hours of him sitting at his desk in an uncomfortable chair when he was still only a few short days out of surgery. She didn't think that would be good for him.

“Or what about this?” she proposed, thinking quickly. “I have some Christmas shopping I've been meaning to do in Shelter Springs. I could drop you off at the sheriff's department and take care of my shopping while I'm in town, then pick you up and bring you back here a few hours later.”

He frowned. “I don't want to take up your whole morning.”

“You wouldn't be,” she assured him. “This will be a good excuse for me to wrap up some errands. Really, you'd be doing me a favor.”

He somehow managed to look grateful and uncomfortable at once. “I'll pay for your gas and time.”

“You will not,” she exclaimed. “I have things of my own to take care of in Shelter Springs. It's no trouble at all to drop you off while I'm there. Since I've come to Haven Point, I've learned these are the things neighbors do for each other.”

“I have a feeling I won't win an argument with you over this.”

“Smart man.” She smiled, but it slid away when she thought for a crazy moment that he was staring at her mouth.

“You said the briefing starts at ten,” she said, trying to pretend she wasn't suddenly flustered. “I can pick you up at nine thirty—or earlier, if you need it.”

“Nine thirty works.” He didn't look particularly thrilled about it. “Somehow when this is all over, I'll figure out a way to pay you back.”

“Not necessary,” she said, her voice soft. “My debt to your family is larger than I can ever repay.”

He looked as if he wanted to reply, but the children came in arguing about who was the better elf, Buddy or Hermey, the elf with dreams of dentistry from
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
.

“I'd better go before this breaks down into open warfare,” she said. “Kids, grab Sadie. And what do you say to Sheriff Bailey?”

She was gratified when Chloe and Will instantly stopped arguing and came to Marshall's recliner.

“Thank you for the pizza, Sheriff Marshall,” Chloe said.

“It was super-duper delicious,” Will added.

To Andie's surprise, her son threw his arms around Marshall and hugged as much as he could reach. The sheriff looked more than a little nonplussed but patted the boy's back.

“Thank
you
both for doing such a good job at Christmas decorating.”

As she said her own goodbyes and ushered her kids out the door, Andie was rather horrified by how badly she wanted to do the same thing—just throw her arms around the man and hug him.

She knew the impulse was completely ridiculous, and so was the excitement fluttering through her at the prospect of seeing him again the next day.

* * *

T
HE
ANTICIPATION
DIDN
'
T
abate overnight, as she had hoped.

The entire time she prepared breakfast for Chloe and Will, signed permission slips, found boots and hats and mittens, she was aware of it bubbling just under the surface. She did her best to ignore it, to tell herself she was being ridiculous, but all her internal lecturing didn't seem to matter.

The day was cold but gloriously beautiful as she pulled into Marsh's driveway, the snow a startling white against the brilliant blue sky and the dark pines along Riverbend Road. The driveway and sidewalks had been cleared of the few inches of snow dropped by the storm during the night. At least he wouldn't have that worry to contend with, though ice would always be a treacherous concern for a man on crutches in the wintertime.

He opened the door before she reached it, as if he had been waiting there for her. Andie almost lost her own footing and it was all she could do not to gawk at the jarring change in him.

For days, she had seen him wearing only T-shirts and basketball shorts or sweats over his orthopedic boot, but now he wore a pressed shirt and tie, blazer and slacks. His hair was neatly combed and he was clean-shaven, without the usual dark beard stubble that, in combination with his assorted scrapes and bruises, gave him the look of a wounded, disreputable pirate.

She should have been ready for it. He was the sheriff of Lake Haven County, after all. He certainly couldn't go to a briefing of his deputies wearing a Broncos T-shirt.

She drew in a breath, trying her best to gather her thoughts, which had scattered like snow geese. “Hello. I'm sorry I'm late.”

“You're not. We said nine thirty. It's just a few minutes past that.”

“I got hung up at Will's preschool. They're having a Christmas party next week and I'm supposed to take cupcakes, but I didn't know how many or what kind. Plus, there's a girl with gluten allergies, so I needed to ask if I should bring something she could eat and the mom who is organizing the party was busy talking to another one of the mothers who is on the game committee and I didn't want to be rude and break into their conversation and...”

She stopped, mortified when she realized he'd taken on a slightly glazed look. “Sorry. I'm rambling. It's a bad habit of mine when I'm nervous.”

He gave her a curious look. “Why are you nervous?”

Rats. Had she really just said that? Running off at the mouth and spilling inner thoughts she absolutely shouldn't were apparently
also
bad habits of hers when she was nervous.

She certainly couldn't tell the man he left her tongue-tied and jittery, like a junior high school girl with a crush on the cutest boy in school.

“It's not every day I chauffeur the local sheriff to work,” she improvised quickly. “Maybe I'm worried you'll find fault with my driving. Are you allowed to give me a ticket when you're a passenger in my vehicle?”

“Don't worry. I'm not officially on duty.”

“Well, that's a relief.” She managed a smile, though she still felt completely ridiculous. “Are you ready to go?”

“I think so.”

That was a stupid question. Would he be waiting at the door for her if he wasn't?

“What can I do to help?”

“I just need a little room to maneuver these things.”

“Of course.” She stepped to the side as he reached to pick up a brown leather laptop case hanging on the doorknob.

“I'll grab your bag,” she said.

Though he looked as if he would like to argue, he handed it to her and she again told herself to ignore the little current of electricity that passed between them.

He had only a few outside steps to maneuver the crutches off the porch, but she couldn't help hovering, muscles tensed and ready to spring into action if he stumbled.

He handled the steps as if he'd been doing it for a long time, which again made her feel foolish. He easily made his way to the car and opened the passenger door before she could reach around and do it for him.

“I can set those in the back,” she offered, gesturing to the crutches. He handed them over and she slid them and the laptop case into the backseat on top of the children's boosters.

“Thank you again for doing this,” he said after she walked around the vehicle and slid into the driver's seat.

“It's no problem,” she said. She couldn't let it be. The actual driving time between their neighborhood on Riverbend Road and the sheriff's office and jail in Shelter Springs couldn't be more than fifteen minutes. Certainly she could handle thirty total minutes in the man's company, no matter how nervous he made her.

Always a careful driver, aware she usually had children to protect in the backseat, she drove more cautiously than usual, pausing at stop signs a second or two longer than she would under normal circumstances and signaling well in advance of her turns.

She hadn't lied when she said driving with him made her nervous, even though she knew it was silly.

Haven Point rarely had much traffic and she reached the town limits without delay and took off around the lake and north toward Shelter Springs.

The beautiful blue waters and soaring, snow-covered mountain range on the other side managed to soothe some of her nerves. Conversely, the man beside her seemed to grow more tense with each passing mile.

“Are you okay?” she finally asked, wondering if he found the seat position or angle uncomfortable for his leg.

“I hate this so damn much,” he muttered.

He wasn't talking about her seat or her driving, she suddenly sensed. Depending on someone else for something as basic as his own transportation couldn't be easy for a man like Marshall.

Poor guy.

She had a feeling he was going to be driving his own vehicle long before his doctors advised it wise.

“You're already getting around better than you did a few days ago,” she pointed out. “Soon enough, these few weeks will just be a bad memory.”

He didn't look at all convinced. After a few more minutes, he glanced in the backseat at the empty boosters.

“No Will today? I thought he would be along for the ride. I guess you said he had preschool.”

Her son and his sweet personality and constant chatter would have provided a very welcome buffer right about now. “Yes, and a playdate afterward with a friend that we arranged earlier in the week. I told you the timing was good for me.”

Ty Barrett had quickly become Will's best friend after they moved to Haven Point. The two of them were always begging to play at each other's houses.

“I guess you probably wouldn't drag him along Christmas shopping anyway.”

“He's not crazy about shopping for anything,” she said. “Speaking of shopping, it occurred to me this morning that you might need some help with your own Christmas presents. Is there anything I can pick up for you while I'm in town?”

“Thanks, but online shopping has been my friend this year. I would have been sunk, otherwise. I'm envisioning a constant parade of deliveries between now and Christmas.”