Her Colorado Sheriff. Patricia Thayer

doubt that he had the means to find her. Why? What did he want from her? Well, he wasn’t getting any more. He’d already stolen her sister.

      Out of the blue, Ryan asked, “Can I ride your horse, Sheriff?”

      Shelby started to answer, but Cullen was faster. “I’m not sure. The horses just moved in to their new home. They might be a little scared right now. So we better wait for a while so we can see how much they like little kids.” He looked at Shelby. “And your going riding is a decision your aunt has to make.”

      They both looked at her. Great, now what should she do? Oh, Georgia, I wish you were here.

       Chapter Five

      After dinner, Shelby helped Ryan bathe and get ready for bed. Once he was tucked in, she kissed him and let him play on the tablet for his allotted twenty minutes. She closed the door, but stood in the hall, thinking about the good-looking man still in her kitchen. While doing dishes earlier he’d discovered a leaky faucet and offered to fix it.

      She couldn’t just leave him alone in there. She walked back to find the man stretched out on his back under the sink, his Levi’s riding low on his narrow hips. He had removed his Western shirt so as not to get it dirty, and so he was working in his undershirt. When he reached up to turn something, the fabric rode up, revealing his flat stomach and a swirl of dark hair.

      She closed her eyes, trying not to let this man affect her. It wasn’t working.

      Suddenly there was a clang, then a chain of curse words. He lifted his head, then she heard the thud and more curse words.

      She squatted down next to his prone body. “Cullen, are you okay?”

      He slid out from under the sink, and sat up. His face was close to hers. Yet, she couldn’t seem to move away.

      “Yeah, just bumped my head.” He rubbed the sore spot.

      “Here, let me see it.” She leaned closer and began to look for blood on his crown. Dear Lord, the man smelled good, a mixture of soap and a hint of aftershave. Had he put on aftershave for her?

      “So what’s the verdict? Did you find anything?”

      “No, it looks okay, but I could get you some ice.” She was once again zoned in on his rich hazel eyes.

      He finally broke the hold with a shake of his head. “I don’t need any ice, just another-size wrench. I’ll get it when I come by tomorrow to fix the pipe.”

      “You don’t have to do that.”

      “As your landlord, I need to have everything in working order.”

      She sat back on her heels. “Really, I’ve lived in a lot of places and a lot of things broke, but none of the landlords rushed to fix them.”

      He didn’t hide his smile. Wow, another heart-stopper. She wasn’t going to survive this man living next door.

      “I guess you’ve been living in the wrong places.”

      “You can say that again.”

      She stood up. She was entirely too close to this dangerous man. She saw that he was interested in her, too. No. Men were out of the question. She had Ryan to think about. So for now, Cullen Brannigan was off-limits.

      “Look, what I mean is, just take your time to fix it. It’s not so bad that you have to spend your day off doing the repair.”

      He stood and wiped his hands on a towel. “No, I’ll probably be spending it feeding and caring for my new boarders, Sassy and Dakota.”

      She smiled. “They are beauties. I’d say you are pretty lucky to have them.”

      “Yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve had horses around. Do you ride?” he asked.

      She nodded. “A long time ago on my grandmother’s farm. When she died they sold the place and the stock.”

      “I take it you were too young to inherit the place.”

      She glanced away. “Her brother, Harry, got it.” He gladly took possession of the property, but no thoughts of taking her grandkids.

      “I’m sorry,” he said.

      She looked up to see the concern on his face. “It’s okay, I was only twelve and it was a long time ago.”

      “Did you spend a lot of time on the farm?”

      “Georgia and I lived there with our Nonnie permanently.” She glanced away. “Our mother had died in a car accident.”

      He folded the towel and set it aside. “So you went to live with your dad?”

      “No, he couldn’t take us.” She didn’t want to talk about this. “Oh, my, look at the time. I need to go to work early in the morning. I won’t be home all day, but you’re welcome to come in and fix the faucet. If you really want to.”

      He looked at her like he wanted to ask more, but nodded. “Sure.” He gathered up his tools and headed out of the kitchen. At the front door he stopped and said, “Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.” He frowned. “I’m a little disappointed there weren’t any oatmeal raisin cookies.”

      She couldn’t stop her grin. “I apologize. I was running late.”

      Cullen smiled, too. “I’ll tell you what. If you bake me some of your famous cookies, I’ll let you ride Sassy.”

      Excitement rushed through her. “You have tack for the horses?”

      “Yes. They could use some cleaning, but there’re bridles, halters and saddles.” He raised a hand. “First, I want to try out the horses to see what their temperaments are.”

      “From what I saw today, those horses are as gentle as lambs, and happy to have a home. Your brother must be a real softy for rescuing them.”