Duty Or Desire. Brenda Jackson

scream and all but jumped out of his arms into Ms. Hollister’s. He tightened his hold on his niece as she tried twisting out of his arms.

      “You can let her go. I have her,” Myra Hollister said. Ciara not only went to the woman but wrapped her arms around her neck as if Myra Hollister was her lifeline.

      He’d seen the interaction between Bonnie and Ciara numerous times and had seen the bond developing between them over the months. But he hadn’t been prepared for this, although he’d been forewarned.

      “Hey there, Ciara, how are you, sweetie?” Myra asked her, and that’s when Ciara pushed back to look up at the woman while smiling brightly.

      Myra Hollister lifted her eyes over Ciara’s head to look at Pete, who could only stare back at her. Today she looked even younger. The legal drinking age in Colorado was twenty-one, and he could see her getting carded easily. Few would believe she was twenty-four without proof. She was wearing her hair down and around her shoulders as she had the other day, and he wondered if the curls were as fluffy as they looked.

      “Would you like to come in, Sheriff Higgins?”

      “Yes, if you don’t mind.”

      “Not at all,” she said, stepping aside for him to enter, propping Ciara on her hip.

      “She’s heavy,” he said, reaching for his niece once they were inside. Again Ciara rebuffed his outstretched hands and clung to Myra.

      “She’s fine. Come in by the fireplace. Glad to see you have her dressed properly.”

      “Of course,” he said, taking off his Stetson and hanging it on the hat rack by the door.

      It was October and the temperature was below freezing. Did she think he didn’t know to dress his niece for the cold weather? Granted, he would admit Bonnie had made it easy for him by laying Ciara’s clothes out the night before.

      “Would you like something to drink, Sheriff Higgins? I have tea, hot chocolate and coffee.”

      When she sat down on the sofa with Ciara, he sat in the chair across from her. “No, I’m fine.”

      He knew from Bonnie that Myra was leasing this home. He liked the community and recalled it had once been his area to patrol when he was a deputy. The people were friendly and because of a neighborhood watch program, crime had been practically nonexistent.

      “I want to apologize for my behavior the other day. I didn’t mean to offend you.” He decided to get it out there. He wished he wasn’t noticing how good she looked sitting there in her leggings and pullover sweater. Or how at eleven o’clock on a cold Monday morning she reminded him of a bright ray of sunshine.

      After removing Ciara’s coat, hat and mittens, she adjusted his niece in her lap, looked him dead in the face and said, “Yet you did offend me, Sheriff.”

      He blew out a slow breath. He needed to explain his actions as best he could while leaving out a couple of vital details. Like his intense attraction to her. He’d hoped it had been a fluke, but when she’d opened the door just now, he’d seen that it hadn’t been. At least he was doing a better job of controlling his reaction today than he had last week.

      “I apologize for offending you. When Bonnie told me about you, I assumed you were an older woman. I hope you can understand my surprise when you walked into the kitchen.”

      “Even if I wasn’t what you expected, I’m sure Miss Bonnie told you about my qualifications. I still don’t understand why there would be a problem even if I’m considered young to you. I used to work in a day care. I worked in a nursery at a hospital taking care of newborns and I’m getting my PhD in child psychology. What else did you need, Sheriff?”

      He had to tighten his lips to keep from saying he didn’t need anything else, but it would help tremendously if she didn’t look like a goddess. And then, as if things needed to get more interesting, his niece took hold of the front of Myra’s sweater. That caused a dip in the fabric, exposing a generous portion of Myra’s cleavage. He nearly swallowed his tongue when he said, “I don’t need anything else. I think that would do it…if you’re still interested.”

      She didn’t say anything for a moment, like she was mulling it over, trying to decide. Then she said, “Yes, I’m still interested.”

      He felt relief at that. “Good. However, there are a few questions I need to ask to finish the interview process.”

      “Ask away.”

      “First, I want to offer my sympathy in regards to your parents. Bonnie told me what happened.” He saw the sadness that appeared in her eyes. She and her parents must have been close. A cop was trained to read people even when they didn’t want to be read.

      “Thanks, Sheriff.”

      He wished he didn’t have to ask the next question but there was no way around it. She needed to know what her working environment would be like. “You will need to move in with me for two months.” He paused, deciding he didn’t like the way that sounded. “Let me rephrase that.”

      “No need,” she said, smiling. “I know what you meant. And yes, I’m aware that because of your unorthodox work hours, I’ll have to move into your place as a full-time nanny to Ciara. In fact, moving into your place works better for me.”

      He lifted his brow. “Why is that?”

      “Because my lease on this place expires in a week, and I would have had to find someplace else to stay. I won’t have to do that if I move into your place to take care of Ciara. Then around the time Miss Bonnie will be returning, I’ll be heading back to South Carolina.”

      He nodded. She was right. It would work out well for her. That meant she would leave Denver around the holidays. She’d mentioned her birthday was on Christmas…just like his.

      She shifted positions on the sofa and Ciara shifted with her, without taking her eyes off the flames in the fireplace. Funny, she’d never been so attentive to his fireplace. Then he saw the colorful flames emitting from the logs. He smiled his understanding about why such a thing was holding his niece’s attention since it was now holding his.

      “Did you know, Sheriff, that babies have the ability to recognize colors at eighteen months?” Evidently she noticed he was staring at the flames as much as Ciara.

      He glanced back at her. “Is that a fact?”

      “Yes. However, I suspect Ciara has a jump start since it’s quite obvious she can detect colors now. I also suspect it won’t be long before she notices similarities and differences in shapes, sizes and texture of objects.”

      He nodded again. “She’s already begun talking and thinks I’m her daddy. She’s even called Bonnie Momma a few times.”

      “Does that bother you? That she calls you Daddy?”

      He had to be honest that yes, it did. “I don’t ever want her to forget Matt and Sherry.”

      She shifted in her seat again, in a way where Ciara could still keep her gaze on the flames. “Can I be blunt with you, Sheriff?”

      He nodded his head. “Yes.”

      “Chances are she’s already forgotten them.”

      His jaw clenched and unclenched. He preferred she not say such a thing because he definitely refused to think it. “You don’t know that.”

      A hint of sadness appeared in her eyes. “Yes, I do. She was only three months old at the time of their accident, right?”

      “Yes.”

      “Then what she remembers most is their scent.”

      Although he didn’t want to agree with her, he knew what she said made sense. “Like I said, I don’t want her to forget them.”

      “What you mean is that you want her to remember them.”

      As