The Deputy's Holiday Family

Shielding her eyes from the sun, she watched as the deputy exited his Tahoe and started toward her. Somewhere around six foot and well-built, he wore a black ball cap embroidered with a gold sheriff’s badge over his short dark hair, but sunglasses made it impossible to see his eyes. A tactical vest with a plethora of pockets covered his tan shirt and she caught the name on his badge as the sunglasses came off.

Stephens.

One look at his dark gaze and her insides cringed. Obviously, she was wrong, because things had just gotten worse.

Out of the five Stephens brothers, why did it have to be Matt? The one who’d been her good friend through most of high school and the one she’d secretly crushed on...until he started dating her sister.

She sank lower into her seat. Their friendship was never the same after that.

“I thought that was you, Lacie.”

She had to force herself to look at him, though when she did, his smile made it impossible to turn away. “Yep, it’s me, all right.” How could it be that he was even more handsome than she remembered when he hadn’t really changed at all, save for the slight creases around his almond-shaped eyes. And those lips with that perfect Cupid’s bow—

Whoa! Wrong train of thought for Matt Stephens or any other guy. While Marissa may have thought it fine to have a bunch of men traipsing in and out of her life, Lacie wanted better for Kenzie. She deserved security, a good home and a happy life. Which was why Lacie had to find another job and get back to Denver as soon as possible.

Matt rested a forearm against the roof of her vehicle and glanced toward the back seat. “You doin’ okay? Looked like you were having a little problem back there on Main Street.”

“Yeah.” She brushed a wayward hair away from her face. “I got distracted, that’s all.”

“That’s all?” He straightened then, crossing his arms over his chest. “You almost took out Mrs. Wells.”

“I know.” Her shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry. My niece was having a problem and I—”

“Could have killed somebody.”

Was he deliberately trying to make her feel worse?

“Lacie, you know you’re supposed to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk.”

“Yes, yes, I do. And it won’t happen again. I promise.”

“I’m sure it won’t.” His breath puffed in the cold afternoon air. “But I’m afraid I’m still going to have to give you ticket.”

Indignation had her sitting taller. “A ticket? Why? Nobody got hurt.”

“I’m sorry, Lacie, but you broke the law.”

“It wasn’t like I did it on purpose.”

“Nobody ever plans to have an accident.” He pulled a pad from his vest. “I’ll need to see your license, registration and proof of—”

“Yeah, yeah.” She shoved the documents toward him.

“You know, you could cut me a little slack. I’m just doing my job.”

She forced herself to smile. “Or you could cut me some and let me off with a warning.”

Chuckling, he patted her on the arm. “I’ll be right back.”

She could hardly wait.

“Aunt Lacie?”

“What is it, sweetie?” Turning, she noticed that not only was Kenzie no longer crying, but her deep brown eyes were as wide as she’d ever seen them.

“Are we going to go to jail?”

She couldn’t help smiling. “No, we are not going to jail. As soon as we’re done here, we’re going straight to Grandma’s to get you cleaned up and into some dry clothes. Okay?”

The little girl grinned. “Okay.”

“All right. Here you go, Lacie.”

She twisted back toward the door to accept her documents from Matt.

“And if I could just get you to sign here.” Pointing with his pen, he handed her his ticket pad. “You two in for Thanksgiving?”

And then some, but he didn’t need to know that.

“We are, yeah.” She scrawled her name. Why did he make her so nervous? After all, it wasn’t like they were in high school anymore. She was thirty-four years old, for crying out loud.

Must be the uniform.

She handed him his pad.

Or the fact that he’s every bit as good-looking as you remembered.

He tore off her copy then bent to hand it to her, his seemingly curious gaze drifting from her to Kenzie. “Be safe and I hope you guys have a happy Thanksgiving.” With a wink, he walked away.

She looked at the ticket in her hand. So much for old friends.

No telling how much it was going to cost her for almost killing someone. Yet as she continued to study the paper, she suddenly found herself smiling.

It wasn’t a ticket at all. He had given her a warning.

* * *

Matt couldn’t seem to get Lacie out of his mind. And, for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. Nonetheless, he’d spent the last twenty-four hours thinking of little else.

Was it the frazzled state she seemed to be in? Or the way she’d glared at him with those pretty gray-blue eyes?

Perhaps it was the little girl in the back seat. Though he may have been much older, he knew the pain of losing a mother. And with no father in the picture, Marissa’s death had likely rocked the kid’s world.

Memories of the child’s mother played across his mind. The last time he’d seen Marissa was six years ago, when he was stationed in Hawaii with the navy. Her visit had been a pleasant surprise. And for a brief time, he’d even thought their failed relationship might have a second chance. Instead, he’d gotten burned, and discovered the kind of person Marissa had really been. Evidently the old adage was true. Beauty is only skin-deep.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. The Collier women were the last thing he should be dwelling on. Not when he had plenty of other things to worry about. Like work, his father and the town’s annual Christmas play. He could only imagine what Dad would think of him taking on the role of director.

Something Matt wasn’t 100 percent sure of himself. He was just a deputy sheriff who barely knew stage right from stage left. Yet when he heard rumors that they were thinking about canceling the play, he’d felt compelled to do something. He couldn’t let the event his mother had begun over a decade ago die. That would be like losing Mama all over again.