“You could, but if you want a good hard ride, I’ll bring over one of my saddle horses.”
He found he was excited about the idea. “We’ll see.”
A familiar compact pulled into the driveway. Shelby and Ryan were home. Cullen felt a little kick start around his heart. He was anxious to see how the boy would be around horses.
Once they were out of the car, he motioned for them to come over. Shelby took Ryan’s hand, and they started toward him. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her sexy walk in those formfitting jeans.
She reached them, and she looked first at Trent. “Hi, Trent.” Then she turned to him and smiled, and his gut tightened. “Hi, Sheriff.”
“Hello, you two.” He leaned down to the child. “Want to see who moved in today?”
The boy nodded and reached up so Cullen could lift him. He hoisted the boy up and put him on the railing of the wooden fence. He called to the horses, and soon they came to the railing. So they’d been trained well.
Cullen reached out his hand and stroked the horses. “This is Dakota and this is Sassy. They’d like you to pet them.”
The boy looked at Shelby to see her nod also. “Go ahead, Ryan.”
Cullen was a little surprised that Shelby wasn’t more protective. Then he got a bigger surprise when she came to the railing and greeted the horses herself.
“Here, like this, Ryan.” She rubbed her hand over Dancer’s face, and the gelding loved it. “He’s gentle,” she said. “Now, you rub Sassy.” She took the boy’s hand and ran it over the horse’s face.
Ryan giggled. “Tickles.”
“It’s a good tickle,” Shelby said.
With Ryan busy with the horses, she asked Cullen, “You’re boarding horses now?”
He nodded to his brother. “It’s more like Trent rescued them.” He shrugged, admitting he wasn’t the hero in this story. “And we have room here in the barn.”
She smiled, and Cullen felt the impact deep in his gut.
“Good job, Sheriff,” she said. “Come on, Ryan, I need to fix us some dinner.” She said goodbye to Trent, then started off toward the cottage, but stopped and looked back. “Sheriff, it’s only leftovers, but there’s plenty if you’d like to come by about six.”
Without waiting for an answer, she walked off.
“Whoa,” Trent said and slapped Cullen on the back. “Nice invitation, bro. You gonna go?”
“I shouldn’t.” Yet, he couldn’t take his eyes off her cute rear end. “I can’t get involved.” There were too many unanswered questions about Shelby Townsend.
Trent nodded. “I went through the same thing about two years ago with Brooke. Some of us just don’t trust easily. But hey, you’d be a fool not to take a second look at her.”
He thought back to the past year of his life. “It won’t be the first time I’ve been called that.”
* * *
AN HOUR LATER, Shelby was calling herself every kind of crazy. What had she been thinking? She had no business asking the sheriff to dinner. Her time here was temporary. She might need to move on just to keep Ryan safe. He was her first and only concern. She was the child’s only family, and Georgia trusted her to be his guardian.
The picture of her sweet new employers, Bess and Bill Cummings, came to mind. She knew she’d impressed them with her skills at the restaurant. She loved that the diner was filled up most of the day with customers wanting to eat her food. And she couldn’t wait to do her first wedding reception. A couple had a tasting in a few weeks, and Shelby wanted to come up with something special. If the truth be told, she didn’t want to leave here.
There was a knock on the door, and her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t have time to analyze the reaction, and went to answer the door. She stopped in the kitchen doorway to see that Ryan had let Cullen in.
The sheriff had crouched down to her nephew’s size. “Hey, buddy. It might be a good idea if you ask who is there before you open the door.”
The boy’s blue eyes widened with fear. “Because of monsters?”
“Just because there might be a stranger.”
The boy nodded. “Okay.”
“Good.” Cullen stood and looked across the room to Shelby. “Hi. I hope I’m not too early.”
“No, I’m just heating up the lasagna in the oven.”
He inhaled a long breath, causing his already-developed chest to expand more. “I thought I smelled something garlicky.”
“Probably the bread.” She motioned for him to follow her. “Come into the kitchen. I’m finishing up the salad.”
“Need help?” he asked.
Need help with what? He sure didn’t need any more help being sexy, or too handsome for his own good, or for being too nice to Ryan. He was guilty to all the above. She needed to keep her radar sharp, because this man made her forget all her instincts. Not good.
“I think everything’s just about ready.”
He stepped up to the small table. “Wow, this all looks pretty good for leftovers.” He looked down at the red-checkered tablecloth, and white plates set out with a wooden bowl filled with salad greens. Candles. Had she overdone it?
“I should have brought some wine.”
She shook her head. “Don’t you have to work tonight?”
“No, I’m off tonight. Of course, I’m on call. So you’re probably right, I shouldn’t drink. I don’t like to have any alcohol if I’m going to get behind the wheel.”
Not every law enforcement officer felt that way. She recalled seeing Gil drunk when he showed up at Georgia’s door. She shook away the bad memory.
“I’m glad. There are too many crazies out there already.”
He nodded in agreement. “Well, I’m hoping I don’t have to go any farther than from here to my bed next door.”
“Long week?”
“A long two weeks getting acquainted with the area and the way they do things here. These men love Sheriff Carson. I’m an interloper in their community.”
“You’re only doing your job.”
“Law enforcement is a special brotherhood. We take care of each other... Or most of them do.”
She knew all about the close connection. She slipped on pot holders and took the pan of lasagna from the oven, then set it on the hot plate on the table. She called for Ryan, then motioned for Cullen to sit down.
After a short blessing, Shelby picked up the plates and began dishing out helpings of the Italian dish. “Are the other deputies not cooperating with you?”
“No, but I’m the temporary new guy. They’re ready to tell me when I do something different from the sheriff.”
She enjoyed watching him eat so...enthusiastically. “How do you handle that?”
He tore off some bread. “I just let them tell me how things are normally done. Unless it sounds so off-the-wall I’ll go along with them, or I go ask Connie Lara, our dispatcher, and the sheriff’s sister.” He grinned and took a big bite and chewed. “This is great.”
“Thank you.”
“Another of Grandma’s recipes?”
She nodded. “What can I say? She was a good cook.”
Ryan picked up his fork,