Rodeo Sheriff Read online

  Tightening her hold on Madeline, she huffed out a frustrated sigh. What a burden he was placing on her. She might be a favorite with the children of Rodeo, Montana, but she wasn’t a miracle worker.

  His intensity, while understandable given the situation, unnerved her. He wasn’t thinking rationally.

  “Oh, Cole.” Her voice eased out of her on a breath of soft air. “It’s too early. There’s nothing that will make them happy. All I can do is make them comfortable.”

  “Do that? Please?” The rawness in his voice held her still.

  How could she resist a plea so sweetly asked?

  “Okay. You make the calls and get those women in here to interview. I’ll take care of the children.”

  She squeezed his hand, meaning to move on quickly, but he turned his palm up and grasped her like he never meant to let go. His grip became painful.

  He closed his eyes. Misery etched deeper those brackets of character on his face.

  When he looked at her again, moisture shimmered on his pale lashes.

  Tenderness welled inside Honey.

  She did affection really well, especially with children and friends, but affection toward men? Not so much. She had her reasons, all balled up in an amalgam of passionate love and too much loss...as well as being a female bar owner.

  She straightened and put distance between herself and that dangerous tenderness.

  He dropped her hand.

  All business, she offered, “Would you like coffee? Food?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t want to put you out.”

  Used to dealing with recalcitrant drunks, she slammed her fist onto her unoccupied hip. “When did you last eat?”

  He turned inward but couldn’t seem to come up with an answer. “I don’t remember.”

  “And the children?”

  “Breakfast this morning.”

  “It’s two o’clock. I’ll put on the coffeepot and get food in here.” She pointed a finger at his face. “When the children sit down to eat, so will you.”

  She snagged the phone and walked to her bedroom at the back of the apartment, hitching Madeline a little higher on her hip.

  Rachel answered on the second ring. “Hi, Honey. What’s up?”

  “Are you and the children available this afternoon?”

  “Sure. Travis is out checking on the herd. What do you need?”

  “Come over.”

  “Now? Beth is napping.”

  Aware of Madeline listening in, Honey said, “Can you come anyway? Right away? There are a couple of children here who need someone to play with. They need Tori. I’ll explain when you arrive.”

  Despite how little Honey was actually telling her, Rachel responded with an immediate, “Okay, we’ll be right over. I’ll have to wake Beth, so she might be grumpy.”

  Honey considered baby Beth’s discomfort a small price to pay for providing Evan and Madeline with small-fry company.

  “See you soon.”

  Next, Honey called Violet Summer, who owned the Summertime Diner.

  After a few rings, Vy answered. “Hey, Honey. To what do I owe the annoyance of this call interrupting a perfectly fine Sunday afternoon with my man?”

  Honey laughed. God, she loved Vy’s irreverent sense of humor. On the other hand, Vy might be serious considering how recently her relationship with newcomer Sam Carmichael had begun.

  Honey explained that she had children and a couple of adults who needed to be fed, and that it was an emergency. She could almost feel Vy coming alert like a bird dog sensing prey.

  “I’ll head over to the diner and see what Will has left over from yesterday. It might not be much. We were busy. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

  Once Vy arrived with food, Honey would assess what was needed and call in her cook, Chet, to make up burgers and fries if necessary. Honey didn’t have enough food in the apartment for everyone. She didn’t think Madeline would let go of her long enough for Honey to buy food, let alone cook it. A good guy who liked children, Chet wouldn’t mind cooking for them.

  Honey had forgotten to ask Cole whether she could share his story, but it would be naive of him to think he could hold on to this forever. The second he’d brought the children home with him to Rodeo, they’d become part of the community.

  Hold up, Honey. You don’t even know if this is permanent. But Cole mentioned guardianship and a will, so probably?

  She would just have to get the full story at some point.

  Back in the living room, she replaced the phone in its cradle. Cole sat staring at his cell, but at least there’d been some progress. He’d made a list of the women with their contact information.

  Honey picked up the sheet of paper. “You know their phone numbers?”

  Cole’s eyebrows shot up. “I contacted the office. The deputy on duty accessed the town’s database.”

  “Oh. Of course.” She pointed to Tanya’s name and said, “Call her first. Tell her to be here in an hour if she can.”

  “Not right away?”

  “No. You’re going to eat first.”

  She tried to put Madeline down on the sofa again, but the little girl still clung.

  Honey hitched her a bit higher. Good thing she was strong from running her bar and hauling around cases of liquor and beer.

  One-handed, she put on a pot of coffee to brew and got out mugs, cream and sugar.

  She poured a cup of coffee for Cole and brought it to him.

  “You look numb,” she said.

  Cole stared at her.

  Frowning, she returned to the kitchen to pour a mug for herself.

  The front doorbell tinkled. Company. Honey ran down the stairs to let in Rachel, Beth and Tori.

  Thank God. The cavalry had arrived.

  Four-year-old Tori threw herself against Honey’s legs. “Mommy said you gots kids here. Who’s that girl you’re holding? Can I meet her?”

  “You sure can.” This, Tori’s boundless excitement, was exactly what these two waifs needed, but Madeline burrowed into Honey’s hair. “You can meet her upstairs.”

  In the living room, Tori ran to the sofa and stared at Evan. “I’m Tori. I live in Rodeo. Who are you?”

  “I’m Evan. That’s my sister, Madeline.”

  “I like your names.” She pointed to the sofa. “Can I sit here?”

  From behind the curtain of Honey’s hair, Madeline studied Tori, not emitting a sound.

  Tori wasn’t bossy by nature, but she was friendly and exuberant. As far as Honey could tell, she had decided to take control.

  “You look nice,” she said to Madeline. “Sit here.” She curled up beside Evan and patted the sofa beside herself.

  Madeline merely stared.

  “We be friends,” Tori said. “I brought games. We can play.”

  The tiniest of smiles hovered on Evan’s lips. Madeline rested her head on Honey’s shoulder and stayed where she was.

  Tori frowned, not used to resistance.

  Honey frowned, too. If Tori couldn’t break through Madeline’s shell, who could?

  Chapter Two

  Numb.

  Honey thought Cole was numb.

  If only.

  Cole wished to hell he was truly numb all the way through to his core. He wished he never had to feel another emotion in his life again. Then he wouldn’t have to be this raw, pain-ravaged creature.

  This aching, furious, grief-stricken man with every nerve exposed and crawling.

  His reactions might be slow, but numb? No.

  Sandy. His baby sister was gone. Her bright-burning presence would no longer illuminate this world. A shining star of a woman had been snuffed out too early.

  He couldn’t wrap his head it. He couldn’t accept that he would never see her again.

&nbs
p; Never.

  Dennis Engle, her husband, had been a good guy. Cole had liked and respected the man. Gone too young, too.

  Cole’s parents were still alive, but he hoped never to see them again in his lifetime.

  His family had been reduced to those two orphans on the sofa.

  He wasn’t up to this. He’d faced every challenge life had ever thrown at him and had survived. But this?

  God.

  How—?

  God.

  There were no words.

  Numb?

  A bitter laugh burst out of him. If freaking only.

  No anesthetic in this world could kill his pain.

  He dredged up every trace of strength he had left inside his hollowed-out shell of a soul.

  As sheriff, he knew everyone in town. Tanya was good people. He phoned her. She answered on the third ring.

  He told her why he was calling. “You wouldn’t start for at least a week, but I need—I need—”

  “To get things settled and planned,” she said. “I understand. I’ll see you in an hour, Cole.”

  He ended the call.

  What now?

  What was he supposed to ask her and the other women?

  Studying the children, he tried to imagine what they would need on a day-to-day basis while he was at work.

  Discipline? Strong, but loving.

  Education? Age appropriate and not overwhelming.

  Fun? God, yes.

  Affection? Hell, yeah. Plenty of it. As much as their little hearts could hold.

  He wanted things settled. Now.

  Despite the sun streaming through Honey’s windows, he shivered.

  He’d never felt so alone.

  How was he supposed to raise those children on his own?

  * * *

  HONEY LED HER friend to her bedroom, where Rachel took off Beth’s tiny sweater and hat.

  “Spill,” Rachel ordered. “What’s going on?”

  Honey patted Madeline’s back. “Evan and Madeline are Cole’s nephew and niece.” She glanced at Madeline, who continued to hide behind Honey’s hair. “Isn’t that nice?”

  Rachel must have caught Honey’s warning look that said we’ll talk later, because she murmured, “I see.”

  “Cole is interviewing caregivers for the children today. If Tanya Mayhall agreed, she should be here soon.”

  Rachel stared at Madeline with a worried frown and pointed discreetly. Honey glanced down. A wide frill decorated the neckline of Honey’s white blouse. Madeline had a small piece of it in her mouth, sucking on it. “Oh... I—”

  Honey covered her lips with her fingers and fought tears.

  “It will be okay,” Rachel said, too loudly. “Tanya’s a great woman. She loves children.”

  “Yes.” Honey cleared a sudden huskiness out of her throat.

  Rachel nodded toward the child, whose hands still grasped bunches of Honey’s hair.

  “She likes being held by you.”

  Honey nodded and gave a rundown on the other two women she’d also suggested.

  “All perfect candidates. I would trust my children with any of them.”

  “I hope he can do a good job of interviewing,” Honey said. “Cole’s even worse than usual because of this.”

  Puzzled, Rachel asked, “Worse than usual? How so?”

  “You know Cole. So quiet.”

  “Quiet? What do you mean?”

  “He’s like one of those monks who makes a vow of silence.”

  Rachel frowned and lifted Beth into her arms. “I’ve never noticed that. He chats away whenever we meet, always asking about the children and curious about how Travis’s herd is doing.”

  “Um, is he like that with Travis, too?”

  “They’ve become great friends. He’s like that with everyone. Haven’t you ever seen him in the diner when he goes in for breakfast?”

  “With the hours I keep at the bar, I usually sleep through Vy’s breakfast hours.”

  “Oh, right, of course. Anyway, he does the rounds before sitting down to have breakfast.”

  Curious. Cole had always been quiet with her, and she didn’t know why.

  He might share a conversation with someone on a bar stool beside him, but he certainly didn’t talk to her. She’d assumed it was because she was so busy and he didn’t want to intrude. Looked like she was wrong.

  Come on, Honey, you’ve seen him chatting with the townspeople. You knew he avoided you outside the bar.

  She’d kind of ignored that.

  It hurt that Cole wasn’t friendly with her—only a little, but even so. What on earth did Cole have against Honey that he was talkative with the rest of the town, but not with her?

  Then he shows up here today with children, trusting me to take care of them. Cole, who the heck are you?

  “Come on,” Rachel said, leaving the bedroom. “Let’s go see what we can do for him.”

  When they returned to the living room, Rachel put Beth down on the short end of the L-shaped sofa and surrounded her with pillows.

  She approached Cole, who accepted a long hug.

  Honey watched him wrap his strong arms around her friend and close his eyes, dipping his chin onto Rachel’s hair.

  Downstairs in the bar, he’d stepped away from Honey’s attempt at sympathy.

  Tori spoke up, breaking into her thoughts. “Can we build a fort, Honey?” She pointed to Madeline. “Would she like it?”

  Honey’s eyebrows shot up. “I don’t know. We could build one and see?”

  Tori smiled. “’Kay.”

  Honey kissed Tori’s cheek. “Love you, sweetheart.”

  “I love you, too, Honey, but we needs to build our fort now.”

  Madeline peeked between strands of Honey’s hair and watched the interchange between Tori and Honey with a frown furrowing her small brow.

  * * *

  COLE PAYETTE LOVED Honey Armstrong.

  He couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t.

  He’d been careful to never show his feelings to her. Years ago, he’d made big mistakes with a woman. Deep in his soul, he knew that wasn’t a path he could take again. It was even more important now that he had the responsibility of raising two children.

  No matter how great she was with kids, Honey was too much a free spirit for him.

  She might be good at making children laugh, but those kids were going to need a firmly measured guiding hand.

  Honey, pretty and generous and fun, was so achingly attractive to Cole that he had trouble not giving in to his need for her. He’d resisted her allure for years while she ran her bar—a bar, for God’s sake—made friends with all of her customers, and kept unconventional hours.

  Her business was important to Honey. He suspected it was everything for her. How could she possibly have a family? How could she spend her evenings running a bar, go to bed at two in the morning and then be there for her children the next day? It would never happen.

  It could never work.

  But look at how she held Madeline and rested her chin on the girl’s head while she smiled and kissed Tori.

  Honey messed with Cole’s head, and had done so for at least a decade.

  He heard her murmur, “I have to put you down to make a fort.”

  Madeline turned her face into Honey’s chest.

  Honey shot him a look that said, Help.

  He stood and took Madeline from her.

  Honey rushed around the apartment gathering afghans and blankets, tearing her place apart to make an indoor playground for the children.

  She pushed two armchairs together and threw a couple of afghans over their high backs. A third armchair joined the first two, leaving the side facing the windows open. She tucked cushions inside.

 
She disappeared down the back hallway. Cole heard her running down the stairs.

  Across the room, Rachel smiled at him. “Whirlwind,” she said.

  He nodded.

  A minute later Honey returned, carrying a pair of microphone stands. She collapsed them to their shortest heights and hooked the corners of each afghan onto them, effectively creating a cozy, private nook for the children.

  “Yay!” Evan jumped up from the sofa and ran into the fort. “Madeline, come on. This is great!”

  Only once her brother had invited her in did Madeline climb down from Cole’s arms and sit in an armchair in the cozy alcove.

  Tori sat in the last empty chair and spread her hands. “Do you like it? Honey makes good forts.”

  Subdued, Madeline sat still and self-contained, while Evan punched pillows into comfortable shapes. Tori’s chatter cracked their shells. Infinitesimal fissures, but there nonetheless.

  Good instinct on Honey’s part to get Tori here.

  Madeline still sucked her thumb. Evan beat an edgy tattoo with his heels against the armchair.

  They’re mine.

  God above, how was Cole to cope?

  Before he fell into that trap of despair again, he called the last two women and set up their appointments an hour apart. Best to get this all over with today for his own peace of mind.

  Tori peeked around the corner of an afghan and asked, “Honey, can we have snacks?”

  “In a few minutes. Vy’s bringing food from the diner.”

  “Vy’s coming over!” Tori clapped her hands. “Is Chels coming, too?”

  The town had welcomed Sam Carmichael and his daughter, Chelsea, just a couple of months ago, and already they were fast friends with the entire group of women revitalizing the town fair. For over a hundred years, it had drawn people from miles around for a full week every August, but it had closed down fifteen years ago when the owner had grown too old to keep up with the work.

  Now, six local women, including Honey, were reviving it and restoring the rides for a new run for a week in August, hoping to bring in tourists and locals alike, and much needed income for the town.

  Honey was in charge of refreshment stands and had already ordered the supplies and hired local women and students to prepare the food and run the booths.

  As sheriff, Cole made a point of keeping up-to-date on everything going on in town, particularly the arrival of strangers.