Accidental Father

Then…this conversation wasn’t about Kylie? Were all of his questions the other day idle curiosity, and not the threat she’d thought them to be? Had she overreacted?

“Maggie’s helping her get cleaned up and giving her the standard orange jumpsuit for now, but the girl’s parents are on their way. She shouldn’t have to face her folks dressed like a criminal.”

Finally seeing where this conversation was headed, Sarah hid an enormous sigh of relief and nodded in complete agreement. “No. No, she shouldn’t. If we’re about the same size, I’m sure there’s something in my closet—”

“Thanks, but all I’m asking for is a few minutes of your time. I need someone to shop for her.”

He took a sheet of paper from his breast pocket and unfolded it on the table. And without warning, the detailed signet ring he wore on his strong, capable right hand sparked a memory that brought a flush to Sarah’s face. In his haste to be rid of her panties that night, his ring had caught on them and they’d torn. But she hadn’t cared…and Jake hadn’t known.

Sarah pushed away the image and jerked her attention back to his face. But in glancing up so quickly, she caught a flash of heat in his eyes—something he obviously hadn’t intended her to see—and she swallowed. Was this the way chemistry worked? she wondered. One lover had a thought…and the other automatically received it?

Clearing his throat, Jake got back to business. “Maggie listed the sizes for me, but shopping for a young girl isn’t my strong suit. Would you mind? Maggie’s not feeling well today, or she’d do it.”

Nerves still thrumming, Sarah nodded. Like Kylie, this young girl had once been some mother’s toddler, some mother’s joy. Sarah hoped that if Kylie ever needed help someone would step in for her. But after buying the clothing, she’d have to deliver them, and that made her uneasy. They didn’t need more contact with these disturbing undercurrents between them.

Jake stood and pulled several bills from his wallet.

“You’re taking care of this?” she asked. “You personally?”

“Yep.”

“May I ask why?”

“Because she’s a nice girl beneath the attitude, and she needs them.” He handed her the money. “Try to find her something soft-looking.”

Sarah tingled as his gaze fell to the light pink sweater that topped her jeans, then lingered a bit longer than necessary.

“Something like you’re wearing,” he continued. “It has to dull the impact of a dyed-black Mohawk and a dozen earrings.”

Jeannie called to him from the lunch counter and raised a take-out bag, and Jake called back that he’d be right there.

He swept back his hair and tugged his hat on. “Thank you,” he said quietly, and Sarah felt that tingle again.

“Glad to help.”

Just then, Kylie raced back to them and hurled herself onto Sarah’s lap. Her face was clean and glowing, and looking at her brought back the anxiety Sarah had momentarily forgotten. Who wouldn’t want this child for his own?

“We won’t be long,” she said, standing and taking Kylie’s hand. “We’ll drop the clothes off at your office.”

“Great,” he said, then bent down to grin at Kylie and tap her nose with his fingertip. “Bye-bye, funny face.”

Giggling, she jabbed a tiny finger right back at him. “You’re a funny face!”

Sarah’s heart nearly stopped. Then to her relief, Kylie’s father waved, collected his order and left.

She didn’t move again until she was sure he’d stepped off the wooden boardwalk outside and headed for his office. Then she reclaimed Kylie’s hand, paid her bill and left, conflicting emotions stirring her up again.

On one hand, that silly, nose-tapping moment was a frightening thing. On the other, she’d just watched Kylie interact with her daddy, and it had evoked feelings of tenderness and warmth she’d never expected.

She would tell him. As soon as she was absolutely certain that Jake Russell was father material, she would tell him.

But what would he do with that knowledge? she wondered.

She wondered something else, too, as they walked the boardwalk, passing restored 1890s storefronts and stone buildings that recalled Comfort’s early days as a booming gold and cattle town.

She wondered about his generosity in paying for the girl’s clothes. She’d learned some things about him the night he’d let his guard down…the night they’d made love. In some respects, she knew more about Jake than she’d known about her own husband. Certainly, Vince had never opened up to her emotionally. Was helping a young girl Jake’s way of repaying a kindness done to him when Jake was the young runaway?

Or had there been no one there for Jake…and he wouldn’t see another child do without the things he’d needed?

When she arrived at the jail thirty minutes later, Sarah hoped that Maggie Dalton would be the one to greet her. Just approaching the door had made her anxious again. But it was Jake who stepped out from his private office as she entered. And Sarah was helpless to stop the shivery attraction that raced through her. He wasn’t just good-looking. Jake Russell was everything it meant to be heart-stoppingly, breathtakingly male.

“Did you lose your little helper?” he asked, taking the package she offered.

“Just for a while,” Sarah replied, faintly guarded again. “She ate most of her lunch, so I told Ruby she could have ice cream.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly—just more recently accomplished than he had to know. The closer they’d come to the sheriff’s office, the less inclined Sarah was to bring Kylie with her. “Your change is in an envelope inside the bag.”

“Thanks.” Jake fished out the envelope. “Can I ask one more favor?”

“I guess.”

“Would you mind delivering the clothes? Maggie’s in the lockup with her, and I think there’s some girl talk going on. They’re in the last cell.”

Sarah felt her jaw drop. “You locked up a fifteen-year-old girl?”

“No,” he answered, his brow creasing in annoyance. “She needed some privacy, and I gave it to her. Why are you always so quick to believe the worst of me?”

Shamed, Sarah met his eyes in apology. Before she could make amends, the door to the lockup flew open and crashed against the wall. Maggie rushed out, holding a hand over her mouth and heading for the rear of the office. A second later, a thin teenager with a terrified expression came out after her.

The girl’s defiant green eyes shot to Jake. “I didn’t do anything! We were talking, and she just jumped up and ran!”

Sighing, Jake shook his head and went to her, his rangy frame dwarfing hers. She looked waif-thin in the baggy orange jumpsuit. “I know you didn’t do anything. Maggie’s just a little under the weather today. Come on, I want you to meet someone.”

The girl obviously had no interest in being cordial. Nevertheless, she let Jake nudge her to the dispatcher’s desk where Sarah waited. “Lisa, this is Sarah Harper. Sarah picked up some clothes for you. Sarah, Lisa Sheldon.”

The girl’s belligerent gaze never left Sarah’s face, though she spoke only to Jake. “Why would she want to buy me clothes? She doesn’t know me.”

Sarah extended the bag. “The sheriff paid for them, Lisa. I just picked them out. Maggie gave him your sizes.”

She cut a look at Jake. “Yeah, well I can’t pay you back. Bryan took all of my money.”

“I’m not asking you to repay me.” Sarah didn’t miss the brief chill in his eyes that said “Bryan” wasn’t one of his favorite people. “I just want you to look nice when your mom and dad get here.”

“Oh, I’ll look lovely.” Without mousse or gel, her hair parted in the center and hung on either side of her shaved scalp. “They’ll kill me when they see this.”

“I doubt that,” Jake replied.

“You don’t know them.”

“I know your mom cried when I told her you were safe. Give them a break. These past two months haven’t been a cakewalk for them, either.”