The Lawman's Christmas Proposal. Barbara White Daille

to pick up a food order for the Hitching Post, the hotel he owned and where she worked as his cook. On the way, they had made a quick stop for coffee at SugarPie’s, Cowboy Creek’s popular sandwich shop. As usual at this early hour, they found the place filled to capacity.

      The woman approaching their table owned SugarPie’s, which consisted of both the shop and the adjacent bakery.

      Paz looked over her shoulder, then turned back. “Why do you say trouble, Jed? Sugar is smiling.”

      “That she is. And that smile’s telling me she’s got something more than today’s menu on her mind. Haven’t you?” he asked as the woman came to a halt beside their table. He gestured to an empty chair. “Take a seat, and let’s hear whatever load of gossip you’ve got for us this morning.”

      Sugar grinned at him. She plopped into a pink-cushioned chair beside Paz, who scooted her chair over to allow the sturdy businesswoman a little more elbow room.

      “Now, Jed,” Sugar said in her soft Southern drawl, “how did you ever know I had something to say?”

      He shrugged. “That not-so-sugar-sweet smile on your face is a dead giveaway.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s have it.”

      “Well...” After a quick look around the crowded shop, she leaned forward and said, “Lyle stopped in this morning.”

      Jed nodded, knowing she meant Lyle Weston, Cowboy Creek’s sheriff.

      “Is there something wrong?” Paz asked.

      Sugar shook her head. “No. Well...there is and there isn’t. Mitch is home.”

      Attention caught, Jed leaned forward. “Home? You mean to stay?”

      Sugar shrugged. “Lyle doesn’t know for sure himself. But he’ll settle for having the boy here till the holidays.”

      No wonder the woman had been grinning like a fool. Mitch was the sheriff’s oldest son, now an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. While Lyle was fit to bust with pride over all the boy’s commendations, no one in town liked the idea of him living so far away.

      Trouble was, nobody knew what had been to blame for Mitch’s departure. And at the moment, Jed didn’t know what had led to the boy’s return.

      One of the waitresses signaled to Sugar from over near the kitchen. She hustled away, leaving Jed and Paz staring at each other.

      “Oh, Jed,” Paz said in a low voice. “I know that look. You’re at it again.”

      His grin must have rivaled Sugar’s, and no doubt Paz had accurately read his mind.

      A self-proclaimed matchmaker, he’d had some success bringing two of his granddaughters together with the men meant for them. “Well, why not?” he demanded. “The Christmas season’s almost upon us—and isn’t that the time for miracles? Besides, no sense putting myself out to pasture when I’m on a winning streak on the track. And when I’ve got one granddaughter still unattached.”

      “But, Jed...you can’t think Andi is ready for a relationship yet.”

      “I don’t think she knows what she’s ready for.” He looked down at his coffee cup rather than meet Paz’s eyes. He couldn’t admit she had a point.

      As her gaze caught his again, the tears in her eyes told him he didn’t have to confess a thing. She was as much a part of his family as Tina, the granddaughter they shared and who was now happy and settled, thanks to their efforts.

      Paz knew as well as he did that the entire family feared his widowed granddaughter, Andi, would never be happy again.

       Chapter One

      Two days later

      With the finesse of a well-trained pickpocket, Mitch Weston snagged a carrot from the vegetable tray his mother was preparing. Of course, a skilled pickpocket wouldn’t have been dumb enough to flash the stolen goods—at least, not until he put them up for sale on some street corner.

      Mitch, on the other hand, chomped down on the carrot in full view of his mom.

      “You don’t eat enough,” Nancy said.

      “I do,” he countered. “But I’m betting while I’m here, you’re going to do your best to fatten me up.”

      In the two days he’d been home again, this was the first chance they’d had to talk alone, and he instinctively knew the direction she would take any private conversation between them.

      With a long oak table large enough to fit the family, the kitchen didn’t offer much room to hide. With his four younger brothers and sisters living at home, there wasn’t much privacy in the entire house. And with the way he had been feeling lately, he’d rather have solitary confinement.

      “Your father mentioned he’ll try to be home early tonight for a change,” Nancy said. “But you know how hard it is to get him away from the office. About as difficult as it is to get you back here for a visit.”

      His mom hadn’t intended it, he knew, but her gentle nudging only reminded him he shouldn’t be here now. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his family. He just didn’t enjoy coming back to his hometown. And this time, he didn’t want to think about the circumstances that had brought about his return. The disaster that had left him lying on a cold concrete floor next to his partner’s body.

      “I hope you won’t have to rush off too soon.”

      He had missed Thanksgiving by just a few days, and already both she and his dad had hinted they hoped he’d stick around for Christmas. He hadn’t had the heart to disillusion them. Hell, he didn’t have a reason. Yet.

      This enforced time away from the job could end in an instant. Before the holidays, he had appointments scheduled with both the surgeon who had patched up his knee and the department shrink who thought his mind needed some patching, too. Good reports from them would put him right back where he belonged.

      Bending down, he kissed her temple. “Let’s not get into my visits again right now, Mom, okay?”

      “Your lack of visits, you mean.” She shot him a glance from eyes the same shade of blue he’d inherited from her. Since he’d gotten his height from his dad, she had to reach up to rest her hand on his shoulder. “I’m worried about you, sweetheart. We’re all worried about you.”

      “Don’t be.” Unable to handle seeing her tears, he turned to grab a stalk of celery he had no taste for. “I’ll be fine in no time, just as soon as the last of the stitches dissolve.”

      Yeah, he’d be all fixed up and ready to get back to work.

      Nancy returned to chopping vegetables. “You had a call while you were out to SugarPie’s for coffee.”

      He tensed. “From the department?”

      She shook her head. “No, from Jed Garland. He heard you were back in town and wants you to get in touch.”

      He nodded. As with most of the guys from his high school, he had once worked as a wrangler on Garland Ranch. He hadn’t seen his old boss for a while...the same length of time he’d been away from his family. The look in Nancy’s eyes said she’d just had a similar thought. That, and knowing why he’d returned now, added fresh layers of guilt.

      “I’m surprised it took him this long to find out I’m back in town,” he said. “He’s usually right on top of everything that happens in Cowboy Creek. A regular old gossip, that’s Jed.”

      To his relief, his mother laughed. “Gossip and more. He’s in the matchmaking business now.”

       “What?”

      “They’ve restored the Hitching Post’s banquet hall and reopened the honeymoon cabins. Tina and Cole were married from the chapel in June.