The Lawman's Christmas Proposal. Barbara Daille White

have to lay things out for him. And hopefully, once she had finished here, she would never again have to face a sneak attack on her pitifully weak defenses. “When I left you that summer, it wasn’t my decision. But I am making the choice to walk away now.”

       Chapter Five

      So much for the shy little Andi he had once known. The girl he’d had to coax out of her shell had grown into a strong woman whose still-quiet manner hid one heck of a sucker punch. He could use her as the bad cop to his good cop during an interrogation. He could even admire her skill—if not for the fact that she’d used it against him...and then walked away.

      He had changed from the day he first met her, too, in more ways than he wanted to deal with at the moment. But despite everything, he still had a few skills of his own, including his bulldog tenacity when it came to getting to the truth of a matter.

      He glanced after Andi, whose hip-swaying departure just about wiped her words from his memory bank. It definitely overrode any annoyance he’d felt at getting sucker punched.

      Besides, he’d faced a hell of a lot worse and was still standing. He wasn’t about to let her knock him down. Or to let her get away.

      He followed her across the Hitching Post’s backyard toward the cabins a few hundred yards ahead. “Looks like Jed’s had the honeymoon havens fixed up, along with the rest of the place.”

      “Yes,” she said shortly, not looking at him. “I’m surprised you noticed the improvements, considering you didn’t seem to recall much about the cabins.”

      He laughed. She had seen through his ruse. No big deal. He’d never hoped to get away with claiming he didn’t know the location of the site—not when they’d once spent a rainy afternoon making out in one of those honeymoon havens.

      In two strides, he caught up to her. “I recall plenty. But you want to help jog the rest of my memories?” When her cheeks turned pink, making her eyes look even more blue, he couldn’t hold back a smug smile. Yeah, she remembered that day, too.

      Up ahead, Jed and his granddaughter Tina came around the side of one of the cabins. Jed hailed them with a wave.

      They met halfway, in the shade of a few pines that would protect the cabins from the sun of a long New Mexico summer.

      “How’s everything?” Andi asked Jed.

      “Looking just fine.”

      “The contractors only finished up the remaining cabins this past week,” Tina explained.

      Mitch nodded. “My mom said you’ve all done a lot of renovations inside the hotel, too.”

      “We sure have,” Jed said. “You’ll have to get Andi to take you on the grand tour.”

      He sensed more than saw her stiffen beside him.

      “Of course,” she said too politely. “But right now I’ve got to get back and take care of business.”

      “Right,” Tina said. “We need to get our order ready for the wedding favors. I’ll go back with you.”

      Again, he felt rather than saw Andi’s reaction—relief as she instantly turned away. He went to follow her, then paused, recalling why they had come out this way to begin with. “I got word you wanted me to stop by again,” he said to Jed.

      The older man nodded. “Yeah. Let’s sit. You girls go on ahead. Your old grandpa can’t keep up.”

      “Oh, you—” Andi cut herself off, but Mitch had picked up on her tone. She’d held back a teasing response—because of him?

      “Okay, Abuelo,” Tina said. “See you both later.”

      As the women left, Jed gestured to a wooden bench on the porch of the nearest cabin.

      He nodded. Though he hadn’t been on his feet for that long, he felt grateful for the chance to sit again.

      No matter what Andi had begun to say about Jed’s ability to get around, he had to admit, at the moment, the older man’s healthy stride would put his to shame. It wasn’t pain that drove him to the bench but the stiffness that locked up his knee from time to time. Sitting was the worst danged thing he could do for it, but he’d rather have the opportunity to get limbered up again before he had to cross the yard with Jed. With luck, he would manage a few stretches stealthily enough to keep his former boss from noticing.

      He gave thanks Andi had left. Her denial hadn’t carried much weight, not when her eyes had filled with pity, something he refused to accept from anyone and especially not from her.

      After they took their seats on the bench, he watched the women cross the yard, Tina’s dark, waist-length braid contrasting sharply with Andi’s flowing blond waves. No doubt in his mind which sight he preferred. The thought of running his hands through Andi’s hair made more than just his bad knee suddenly ache from stiffness. Made him realize how hot he’d gotten over the girl who’d left him behind.

      More than anything, his reactions made him see staying close to her might be more of a challenge than he had anticipated.

      “Nice view, isn’t it?”

      Startled, he turned to stare at Jed. He’d forgotten he had company on this bench.

      Jed waved his hand. “A pleasant view of the ranch for any honeymooners who stay out here instead of in the hotel.”

      “Yeah...it’s nice scenery.” Especially over near the hotel, where the women were climbing the porch steps. “So, you wanted to see me again.”

      “I do.” Jed ran his hand over his pure white hair.

      An unmistakable tell. Mom had been right. Something was up with Jed. And the familiar gesture told Mitch his former boss was about to clue him in. “What’s up?”

      “Your mama says your time is pretty much your own, and I could use your help.”

      “Anything I can do, you know I will.”

      Jed smiled. “I figured that. Well, you know we tend to get busy here around the holidays.”

      “I remember.” The dude ranch had always been popular with folks wanting a break from colder climates.

      “Now we’ve got Christmas and a wedding to prepare for, both coming up in less than a month. My girls are doing most of the work on their own, and they could use an extra pair of hands.”

      Mitch nodded slowly.

      “Normally, I’d get a couple of the boys in here to give them some assistance. But we’re shorthanded, and Pete’s up to his eyeballs in work as it is. If you could manage to spend some time around here, you’d be doing us all a favor.”

      Mitch nodded again. Compared to some of Jed’s plans, this one sounded harmless. And he had meant it when he said he would do anything to help Jed.

      To tell the truth, he would be doing himself a few favors, too.

      He could avoid his family’s hushed voices and averted gazes.

      He could bypass some trips to the sheriff’s department in town. No matter how often his dad encouraged him to drop in, he knew how all those visits would make him look. He’d seem no better than an old retired cop who took his vacations anywhere from Maine to Alaska but spent those days hanging out with the local law.

      Most of all...best of all...he would have a reason to hang around the ranch. A chance to be near Andi and to find out what was up with her.

      If she wouldn’t tell her family what was worrying her, she’d have to tell someone. She needed an outlet, as his department-assigned shrink would say. Considering her decision to walk away from him, getting her alone had presented a problem. Jed had just handed him the solution.

      With all those perks attached to