The Sheriff Gets His Lady. Dani Sinclair

he was the one who compelled her attention. He grinned down at his companion affectionately. Sky turned away.

      What was it with older men and blond girls young enough to be their daughters? She found her perfectly manicured nails digging into the leather strap on her briefcase and forced her fingers to relax.

      Another jerk. An extremely compelling-looking jerk, but a jerk nonetheless.

      Unless the girl was his daughter. Sky froze at the thought.

      Good news, Ms. Diamond, the woman from Finders Keepers had said. We located your daughter in a tiny town called Darwin Crossing. She lives there with her father, the town sheriff.

      An eerie expectancy settled over her, leaving her momentarily deaf and unable to draw a breath. It couldn’t be. Sky took a grip on her vacillating emotions and strained for a clear view, but too many people stood between her and the young woman.

      Blood thundered in her head. She was shaking. Visibly shaking! This would never do. It couldn’t be her daughter. Sky would look like an absolute fool if she went charging over there.

      But what if it was? What if that was her daughter standing there only a few yards away?

      Sky stepped forward, trying to follow their progress through the crowds. She felt hot and cold at the same time. If it was her daughter, what would she do? Oh, God, she wasn’t ready for this. Her gaze flew to the man’s features. Smile lines crinkled the corners of his eyes and bracketed his mouth. They softened the strong planes of his face as he leaned into the young woman, intent on what she was saying.

      He really was an extremely good-looking man. More important, he didn’t touch the girl like a lover, but rather the way she thought a caring father would do. Not that she had any experience of her own to base that judgment on. Still, her daughter had a man she called her father. This could be them.

      But what if her daughter didn’t know she’d been adopted?

      Sky’s heart continued its erratic thumping as she moved again, trying for a view of the girl’s face, silently urging her to turn around.

      But the girl turned in the opposite direction to speak to another young woman standing there. Sky watched the sheriff as he hoisted a heavy-looking bag without effort from the carousel. Unlike her former lover Ted, of the sagging middle and soon-to-be flabby forearms, this man had a lean, sleek grace and easy strength that hadn’t come from any gym. He moved with the suppleness of someone who used his body in physical ways.

      What would he do if she approached them? What if he denied her claim? What if this wasn’t her daughter?

      A large family group walked in front of Sky and came to a halt. Quickly, Sky moved around them, walking closer to where the couple stood. But other than the mass of long, shimmery blond hair, she still didn’t have a view of the girl’s face.

      Sky’s body felt brittle from the tension of not knowing.

      A little boy broke away from his sister’s hand and darted in front of Sky. The stroller he’d been pushing would have hit her if she hadn’t jumped back in time. The boy’s older sister screamed at him. The child screamed back. An adult stepped into the fray, scolding both children.

      Sky tried to move around the group and found her path blocked momentarily. When she looked toward the sheriff and the girl, they were heading down the concourse, away from her. Sky nearly cried out in protest. The girl still had her back to Sky. She flipped her long straight hair over her shoulder and kept up a steady monologue of chatter.

      “Ma’am? I think I got them all.”

      “What?” She stared blankly at the skycap who’d tapped her shoulder.

      “Your suitcases. Is this all of them?”

      Reluctantly, impatience beating at her soul, she glanced over the contents of the skycap’s long, flat cart. Her computer case now rested precariously on top and she mentally ticked off the seven bags.

      “Yes. That’s all of them.”

      The girl and the sheriff were well down the concourse, moving briskly. The family was also on the move. The sister gave her little brother a smack when she thought no one would see. The tyke let out a wail and the group came to a halt again.

      Sky exhaled a shaky breath of disappointment and turned away. Maybe it was just as well. This crowded, noisy airport was hardly the best place to meet her daughter for the very first time. Besides, it probably hadn’t been her daughter. The coincidence would be far too incredible.

      “You must be plannin’ to stay awhile.”

      Looking at the skycap’s pleasant face, she forced a smile in return. “Perhaps.”

      She followed him outside, breathing deeply of the temperate weather while she tried to calm her jangled nerves. If only she’d gotten a decent look at the girl’s face.

      “Imagine our weather is a nice change after that cold, rainy slush they’ve been saying you New Yorkers are having.”

      “What? Oh. Yes.” She tried to focus on her companion instead of the rushing thoughts filling her head. “They are predicting snow for New York City this week.”

      He shook his head. “I’ll take Texas weather any day. Taxi, ma’am?”

      His warm Texas drawl was a pleasant change from the frequent nasal snarls of busy New Yorkers. Her own voice held almost no hint of the twang she’d grown up with.

      “Yes, thank you.”

      The car company had suggested she check with them again once she landed, but even if they did have a luxury car available now, she wasn’t up to dealing with driving at the moment. They could just deliver the car as promised in the morning.

      “The Grand Hotel, overlooking the River Walk,” she told the cabbie who leaped forward to claim her as a passenger.

      The sidewalk was jammed with people and someone jostled her with force. She hit the cart full of suitcases, which were already shifting. Turning indignantly, Sky glared at the offender.

      For an instant, her gaze locked with pale-blue eyes spaced too close together. The handsome man from the plane swept her with a chilling stare. Without a word of apology, he strode past clutching a black laptop computer case.

      A ghost of unease made her watch as he hurried away. From out of the crowd, a uniformed security person followed quickly in his wake. The two were swallowed by a throng of people intent on their own goals.

      Was security chasing the man from her plane? Come to think of it, she didn’t remember him holding a computer case earlier when he’d offered her that come-on smile. Of course, she hadn’t really paid him that much attention but...no, she was pretty sure his hands had been empty. Suddenly, edgy, she turned back toward her own computer case, only to see the black bag being lifted by the driver.

      “Did you want this up front with you, ma’am?”

      Sky forced herself to relax and shook her head. “No. You can put it in with the other luggage.” She wouldn’t be working tonight.

      She turned back to the skycap, tipping him generously. She allowed him to open the taxi door for her and slipped inside. The unpleasant scent of stale food lingered in the air. Obviously the driver had eaten in here recently. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she was hungry, too. Well, the hotel boasted a five-star restaurant so she wouldn’t have far to go once she checked in.

      As she settled back into the seat, attempting to maintain the cool facade she’d perfected over the years, she decided what she needed was a long soak in the room’s Jacuzzi tub to unwind and see if she could get her nerves to calm down. Maybe then she would enjoy room service overlooking the River Walk.

      Very soon now, she’d learn what her actions all those years ago had wrought. She needed to stay calm and in control before meeting her daughter for the first time. It would never do to give in to the rising excitement bubbling inside her.

      Staying