The Cowboy Sheriff. Trish Milburn

settled into the back of the Tahoe before she froze. As they snapped the seat belt into place, Hannah’s eyes opened. She blinked her bright blue eyes a few times before letting out a wail that would wake the comatose.

       Keri jerked back and stared at her niece. Simon was worried he’d been wrong about her being able to care for Hannah, but then something seemed to register in her mind. She dug in the diaper bag until she found a pacifier, a very girly pink one with a flower design on the end.

       “Look what I found,” she said to Hannah as she waved the pacifier in front of the little girl’s grasping hands. She allowed Hannah to snatch the pacifier and shove it into her mouth.

       Keri smoothed Hannah’s wispy blond hair with a gentleness he didn’t know she possessed. His breath caught midway through an exhalation. Why had that simple gesture moved something inside him, something way too darn close to his heart?

       He shook his head and made his way to the driver’s seat. “We better get to the hotel before the streets get slick again.” No way was he driving on frozen roads with a baby in the car, one who’d already cheated death once.

       They all were due some sleep. He’d slept like crap the night before, and he doubted that sorrow and anger had let Keri sleep, either.

       And it was the God’s honest truth that he needed to get away from her for a few minutes to let the wildly inappropriate and unexpected sliver of attraction he’d felt toward her fade away. To let his common sense make a reappearance and remind him that what he was feeling was no more than sorrow for her loss, for all her losses.

       Even the one for which she still blamed him.

      * * *

      KERI WANTED TO RUN AWAY. Maybe if she moved fast enough, she could outrun the past. And if she headed in the right direction, maybe she could bring Sammi back. Her mom. Her dad. Life before Carter went down the wrong path.

       Her jaw clenched at that thought, especially considering who was sitting next to her. She stared out the side window at the frozen landscape instead of at Simon Teague. If she looked at him now, it would only add to the pain ripping her to shreds inside. She felt like wailing but that would wake up Hannah, who’d fallen back to sleep as Simon eased the car along the dark and largely deserted streets. Ice hung heavy from trees and the edges of the buildings they passed, and she had no doubt that black ice lurked on the dark surfaces of the streets where what had melted during the day had refrozen.

       People with any sense weren’t out in these kinds of conditions. But then most people didn’t have to pick up their orphaned niece and make arrangements for their sister’s funeral.

       She swallowed the jagged, lemon-size lump in her throat, pushed away the need to fall completely apart. She didn’t have that luxury. Hannah needed her. Plus, Simon was the last person she wanted seeing her turn into a blubbering mess.

       The only reason she was allowing him to chauffeur her around was the complete and utter lack of options. Though it had galled her to accept his help, she’d convinced herself he was just doing his job, ensuring the safety of the citizens of Blue Falls. And despite the haze of pain, she had enough sense to know she shouldn’t be driving on icy roads in her current state.

       The Spencers had offered to let her stay with them, probably more because they didn’t want to be parted from Hannah than anything, but Keri couldn’t face being trapped inside four walls with that kind of deep sorrow. She had enough of her own to carry without exposing herself to even more. She couldn’t crack, and witnessing that kind of raw loss might just do the cracking.

       Some people looked to fate as a shining beacon of hope. She knew better. Fate was a cruel, heartless bitch who did nothing but take.

       Just as she was thinking fate was probably getting extra giggles out of the fact that Keri had been left with no one better than Simon Teague to turn to, he pulled into the parking lot for the hotel.

       As he switched off the engine, she hopped out of the car, eager to have some space between them. She had Hannah unbuckled and the carrier removed from the car seat base by the time Simon reached the back of the SUV for their bags. She had to give him credit for one thing—he wasn’t forcing her to talk. This streak of silence had to be some sort of record for him.

       Normally, he’d talk to anyone about anything. Didn’t matter if it was politics with the morning coffee crowd at the Primrose Café or feigning lovesickness amongst the members of the local Red Hat Society. She’d even seen him wink at Girl Scouts selling cookies, making them giggle and hide their faces in embarrassment. Though she doubted even he could find an opening for teasing or flirting in their current situation.

       As she carefully placed her feet one in front of the other on the icy parking lot, Simon hurried up next to her.

       “I can carry her.”

       “I’m okay.” She shifted the carrier to her side and gripped the handle firmly.

       Simon strode ahead then held the hotel’s door open for her. She mumbled a thank-you without meeting his eyes, then stepped into the warmth of the lobby. She scanned the grouping of cushy chairs next to a faux fireplace and a rack full of tourist brochures as Simon headed for the registration desk.

       Hannah woke and began to fuss. Did she know her mother was gone? Would her crying get worse the longer Sammi didn’t make an appearance?

       Keri shook her head. She couldn’t think about that now, couldn’t think about anything more than the next few minutes. By the time she dug Hannah’s bottle out of the diaper bag, Simon had them all checked into the hotel.

       He nodded to his right, then headed down the corridor. “I got you a room at the end of the hall with mine next door,” he said.

       What he didn’t say made her pause for a moment. Was he positioning himself as a shield between a potentially cranky baby and the rest of the guests on the floor? That seemed even more likely when she realized that there wasn’t a room across the hall from hers, just the doorway to the stairs leading to the upper floors.

       Simon used one of the key cards to open her door and waited for her to enter the room before carrying in her bags. After he placed them in the corner, he turned toward her and extended the key.

       “Would you like something to eat?” he asked.

       “No. I’m not hungry.” That wasn’t exactly true. Her stomach had been grumbling like a bear for several hours, but she didn’t think food and the spinning in her middle could coexist for long.

       Keri took the key card to her room, but Simon made no move to leave. When she looked up, she realized she hadn’t been this close to him in years. They crossed paths, of course. Hard not to in a town the size of Blue Falls. But they weren’t exactly dance partners at the music hall. She’d forgotten just how blue his eyes were, a striking blue-gray.

       She swallowed against the memory from when they were fourteen and she’d finally acknowledged to herself that he was passably cute. Not that she’d ever in a million years admit that to anyone else, least of all Simon. She’d rather run through a cactus patch naked.

       It’d been one of those sticky hot days. After a baseball game in which Simon and Carter’s team had trounced a team from Fredericksburg, they’d had a party at her house. Pizza, sodas and cold slices of watermelon. And a surreptitious game of spin the bottle. She’d just taken her turn and landed on Simon when her mother had figured out what they were doing and put a stop to it. His lips remained a mystery.

       At the time she’d been secretly disappointed, though she’d feigned relief. Two years later, she’d counted herself lucky.

       And yet she couldn’t deny his eyes were just as enticing now as they’d been across that empty bottle.

       Simon broke eye contact first, snapping her back to the present. He shifted his gaze to where she’d placed Hannah and her carrier on the bed.

       “If you need anything, just call or knock on my door,” he said.