A Laramie, Texas Christmas

“Meantime, I assume all the companies involved have been notified.” Kevin rocked back on his heels.

“I did that while my aunt was in surgery yesterday, using the credit and debit cards in her wallet,” Dash confirmed, every bit as serious about protecting his aunt as Kevin was. “We still have to notify the companies who opened fraudulent accounts in her name without her knowledge or permission.”

“I can help with that.” Kevin handed over the police report for Sadie to sign.

Noelle noted that Sadie was looking tired. Mikey was beginning to get cranky, too. “I better get this little one some supper,” she said.

“I’ll stay with Aunt Sadie,” Dash promised.

By the time Noelle got back to Blackberry Hill, it was dark and Mikey was starving. From the groceries she had brought with her from Houston, she heated up a toddler chicken-and-noodle casserole and a jar of bite-size green beans in the microwave, poured milk into a sippy cup and cut up a banana. She put on some Christmas music and sat with her son while he ate.

Tired as he was, he had no desire to cut short his bath, so it was another forty-five minutes before she had him in his pajamas and tucked into the pack-and-play crib she used when they traveled. Noelle stayed with him until he went to sleep, made sure the baby monitor was set, then headed back downstairs in time to see headlights arcing across the front of the big house.

Figuring it was Dash, she opened the door and saw Kevin McCabe getting out of a patrol car instead.

Chapter Three

“Expecting someone else?” Kevin asked, surprised by how good it felt to see her.

“Certainly not a trespassing bum.”

He grinned at her self-effacing tone, glad she had concluded he really was no threat to her or her son. He wasn’t used to being regarded with suspicion. He rubbed a hand across his jaw. “I clean up good, huh?”

“Apparently so.” The wind whipped up, sending a chill through the front hall. She waited for him to wipe his feet on the mat, then ushered him inside. Her eyes glimmered with a combination of mischief and warm hospitality he found very appealing. “What can I do for you, Detective McCabe?”

Kevin swept off his hat and held it close to his chest. He reminded himself he was there on business. Not pleasure. “I wanted to go ahead and get copies of all Miss Sadie’s theft-related mail. The sooner we get this situation sorted out for her, the better.”

Noelle sobered at the mention of the crime. She pointed wordlessly to the coat rack next to the door, and Kevin hung his Stetson there. “Do you think you’re going to be able to figure out who did this?” she asked, leading the way to the formal living room.

Kevin tore his gaze from the alluring sway of her hips. “The culprits are smart. But criminals always trip up eventually. And a single mistake is all we need to arrest them.”

Noelle stopped in front of three large stacks of mail. She looked over at Kevin with a frown. “I haven’t had a chance to go through any of her mail yet.”

Kevin had been hoping that would be the case. “That’s okay. I can sort it out.”

She ran her teeth across her lush lower lip. “Maybe the kitchen table would be better?”

He eyed the antique settee and the small oval coffee table. She was right. No way was that going to be comfortable. “Probably. Thanks.”

Noelle helped him pick up the letters and discarded envelopes. She led the way to the kitchen. While he began sorting the mail into piles, she turned on a baby monitor and set it on the corner of the counter. “I was just about to have dinner.” She looked in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator and studied a stack of glossy white cardboard boxes, the exact thing he would have been doing had he been home alone tonight. “Can I get you anything?”

Yes. You.

Where the hell had that thought come from?

“I don’t want to intrude.” Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.

She waved off his protest. “We have chicken fettuccini and broccoli, beef and broccoli and lemon chicken and broccoli.”

Kevin detected a theme. “Got a thing for broccoli, do you?”

Her blue eyes gleamed at his teasing tone. She tilted her head to one side and regarded him with mock gravity, declaring stubbornly, “I’m not admitting to anything, Detective.”

He grinned at her playful attitude. This was a woman who could be a lot of fun. Another reason he needed to watch his step. “You’re sure it’s no trouble?” he asked casually, doing his best to stay on task.

She shrugged a slender shoulder. “I can heat two dinners in the microwave as easily as one.”

“Thanks, then,” Kevin said over the rumbling of his stomach. “I’d appreciate it. I haven’t had time to grab dinner this evening, either.”

She went back to studying the selections. “And your choice is?”

He sorted credit card statements in one pile, what looked to be party invitations and Christmas cards in another. “Whichever broccoli dinner you least want to eat. It doesn’t matter. They all sound pretty good.”

She took out two and began unwrapping them. “You eat a lot of frozen dinners?”

Kevin made a third pile for junk mail while she set the microwave timer. “Doesn’t every single person who’s too lazy to cook on a regular basis?”

She lounged against the counter and folded her arms in front of her. “So you really were fishing.”

Trying not to note how delectable she looked in the soft kitchen light, with her mussed hair, flushed cheeks and lively blue eyes, he drawled, “That’s right.”

She looked him up and down. “By yourself.”

“Well…” He warmed at her skeptical tone. “There were a few fishes there. But I can’t really call them friends.”

Her smile widened. “Especially the ones you caught and plan to eat.”

“Exactly.”

Their eyes met. Held. Kevin felt another jolt of physical attraction.

Noelle sobered before his thoughts could go from reality to fantasy in three seconds flat. “I feel pretty foolish about what happened earlier,” she told him softly.

He pushed away the memory of her body caught against his. So her breasts were soft and full, the rest of her slender and fit. So she smelled like crushed lilacs on a sunny day. That didn’t mean he had to desire her, any more than he had to notice the scent of baby powder clinging to her now. “It was understandable,” he assured her, “given the fact Miss Sadie’s identity had been stolen. For all you knew, I was the thief come to cause even more mischief.”

The timer dinged, and Noelle pivoted toward the microwave. She peered inside, checked the contents of the dinners and started the oven up again. “Is Miss Sadie going to be liable for the massive amount of debt whoever did this ran up in her name?”

Kevin noted it seemed important to Noelle that Miss Sadie not suffer. That alone proved nothing. A lot of white collar criminals felt they were stealing from businesses that were reimbursed by insurance companies, not people, and therefore justified it on some level because the victim was a faceless corporation.

Kevin tackled the last stack of mail. “On Miss Sadie’s own credit cards, there’s probably a set limit she’ll be liable for, possibly as low as fifty dollars, depending on the terms of her agreement with the bank that issued them. But she won’t be liable for the cards that were fraudulently applied for and issued during her absence. Unfortunately, it is going to take awhile to prove that was done by someone other than Miss Sadie herself, and get all this straightened out…and during that time her name is going to be mud at all the banks. It looks like she is maxed out on all her current cards.”

Noelle filled two glasses with ice and water. “How can this happen?”

Kevin leaned back in his chair and watched her slice up a lemon. It was a simple domestic act, yet it filled him with pleasure. “Someone got hold of Miss Sadie’s personal information, signed her up for cards and used a Houston post office box as her mailing address,” he explained. “Once the cards were issued and activated, it looks like the thieves began ordering goods off the Internet and had them delivered as “gifts” to other people at post office boxes around the state.”

Noelle’s brow furrowed. “Shouldn’t someone have figured this out?” she complained.

Kevin noted that this woman was either innocent of any wrongdoing, or an Oscar-caliber actress. He leaned back as she put the beverage in front of him. “Obviously, given the volume of letters Miss Sadie received at her permanent Laramie and Houston addresses, people were questioning what was going on and putting holds on various accounts until they heard from her. Unfortunately, because she was on her cruise, no one was able to reach her. It looks like most of the activity took place in a three-week period at the end of November. Do you know what day she left on her cruise?” he asked curiously.