She was obviously ready to turn the subject to a less personal topic. “Quite a while I’d guess. Certainly since before I wound up in Faith Glen, back when Ben was sheriff himself instead of stepping back to be deputy.”
That expressive brow of hers rose. “Oh, I didn’t realize you weren’t raised here. Where are you from?”
Now it was his turn to shift uncomfortably. Trust his sharp-witted housekeeper to pick up on that. “I was born in Boston. I didn’t move here until I was nearly sixteen.” And that was all he was going to say on that subject. “So why the interest in Ben and Esther?”
“Oh, just something I noticed today that made me wonder if they were more than just casual friends.”
“Ben and Esther?” He grinned at the thought. “Now wouldn’t that beat all?”
She waved a hand. “Oh, I’m probably wrong. Weddings just tend to bring out the romantic in folks.”
“Speaking of Ben,” Cam added, “he and Gavin pounced on that last slice of the pie you left for me Friday. Thought I was going to have to wade in and referee when they started arguing over who got the biggest piece. They said to tell you it was the best they’d ever tasted.”
He saw her cheeks pinken and her blue eyes light up at the praise. Delight looked good on her.
“That was nice of them to say. Maybe I should stick an extra pie in the oven come baking day. Wouldn’t want Faith Glen’s fine, upstanding lawmen to be found squabbling over a bit of pastry.”
Was no-nonsense Nora making a joke? “You won’t get an argument on that score from me. Just add the ingredients to my tab at the general store when you do the marketing.”
They rounded the last bend and the cottage came into view. Just as he had every time he’d been here since the incident with the horse thief, Cam carefully studied the area around the cottage for anything that might look suspicious or out of place. But, just as before, nothing seemed amiss.
Still, he’d make his rounds before he left, same as always.
He didn’t intend to take any chances. As sheriff, it was his duty to protect Nora Murphy, whether she wanted that protection or not. The memory of another time, of another young mother he’d let down intruded, but he determinedly pushed it aside.
There was no way he’d ever allow such a thing to happen again on his watch. He didn’t think he could survive such a tragedy a second time.
Chapter Three
Nora leaned back and inhaled a breath of in-this-moment contentment. The sight of the cottage as they rounded that final bend always filled her with such joy and pride. Already this felt like home to her. How could her sisters believe she would ever want to leave it?
She glanced down at Grace and made a silent pledge. I promise you that, whatever else shall be, in this home you shall never want for love.
“You know, I was thinking,” her companion said slowly, “most of the urgent repairs are done on the place. Before you spend all your money on additional repairs, you might want to look into getting yourself a horse and wagon of your own.”
Nora’s cheeks heated in embarrassment. Had she overstepped on his kindness somehow? Since the day she’d moved into the cottage a few weeks ago, he’d insisted on bringing his wagon around to pick her up in the mornings and bring her back in the evenings. She’d protested at first, but as usual he’d ignored her. He’d said at the time that it was no trouble, but she wondered now if perhaps he’d changed his mind.
“Of course,” she said quickly. “I didn’t intend to take advantage of your kindness. You’re a busy man and it’s an easy walk into town from here—”
“Hold on,” he said, interrupting her. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t mind one bit giving you a lift into town on workdays. In fact, it gives me an opportunity to start my rounds by checking things out on this side of town.”
She wasn’t entirely convinced that he was being completely honest. “Then was there some other reason you brought this up?”
“What I was thinking was that if there’s ever any kind of emergency out here it would be handy for you to have your own transportation.”
“Emergency?”
“You know, like if one of the Coulters or Grace got hurt or took ill.”
“Oh, I see. I hadn’t really thought of that.” But she was thinking of it now. The Coulters were quite frail. And if something should happen to Grace…
“I can find you a good deal,” the sheriff assured her. “I’ll even loan you the money and you can pay me back a little at a time.”
Seemed he was always doing that—loaning those in need the means to get by. Well, she wasn’t one of his charity cases. “That’s very kind of you but we’ve managed to make do this long, we can get by a bit longer until I can save up the funds.”
“No offense, and I know you have your pride and all, but I really think we should go ahead and take care of this now.”
Of all the high-handed— “Sheriff Long, I appreciate your concern, but this is really not your decision to make.”
Her not-so-veiled reprimand failed to have the desired effect. “Now don’t go getting all prickly on me.” His tone contained the barest hint of amusement, setting her teeth on edge.
“Because,” he continued, “as a matter of fact, this does concern me. I’ve worried about Agnes and James out here on their own for years now, but haven’t been able to do much more than check on them regularly. If you had a vehicle—”
“Well, they’re not on their own any longer,” she interrupted. “I’m here to keep an eye on things.”
“Yes you are, and that does relieve my mind a bit. But that doesn’t change the fact that James and Agnes are getting on in years and you have an infant to take care of which limits your ability to just take off and go for help if help’s needed. So, being the conscientious lawman that I am, I’d still feel obligated to come out here on a regular basis to check in on things. Now, if I knew you had a means to go for help if something…unexpected happened, then I wouldn’t feel as if I had to come out here and check on things so often.”
She clamped her lips shut and glared at him. He was trying to manipulate her but it wouldn’t work. “I apologize,” she said stiffly. “I had no idea you were inconveniencing yourself on our account.”
She brushed at her skirt with her free hand. “Well, you can set your mind at ease. James and Agnes may be unable to get around very well, but I’m perfectly capable of running to town for help if an emergency should arise.” She lifted her chin. “So there’s no need for you to continue to check in on us any more than you do any other citizen of Faith Glen.”
“But that’s my job. You wouldn’t want me to shirk my duties, would you?”
She held back her retort, settling for merely glaring at him. Not that he seemed at all appreciative of her restraint.
“Tell me,” he asked equably, “how would you feel if James or Agnes got hurt or took ill while you were in town and they were alone out here with no way to go for help? I know I certainly wouldn’t want something like that on my conscience. Especially if it was just a bit of pride that kept me from providing them with the means.”
She felt her resolve fade, but glared at him resentfully. “You, sir, do not play fair.”
The sheriff’s little-boy grin reappeared, signaling that he knew he’d won.
But she wasn’t going to let him have his way altogether. “I don’t want anything fancy mind you. A serviceable cart and pony