High Country Christmas. Cynthia Thomason

He tried to smile, but apparently realized the lack of humor in what he’d just said. “It’s not easy to find someone Sawyer will listen to.”

      “Where is Sawyer’s mother?” Ava asked.

      Noah frowned. “Currently in a small town outside of Barcelona I believe. Mary Kate and I divorced three years ago. She claimed to need peace and tranquility, and the tension around her relationship with Sawyer could never provide that. They argued all the time.”

      Ava remembered his confession that he was married when he left her house in the middle of the night six years before.

      Noah actually did smile this time. “You may find this hard to accept, but things have gotten easier for Sawyer since her mother left and we filed for divorce. We no longer hear from her, and we’re both okay with it.”

      “You sure about that?” Carter asked.

      “I’m sure. Ask Sawyer yourself if you don’t believe me. The last few years I was married, Sawyer did not grow up in a happy household. Her mother and I...” He paused. “Let’s just say, our family would not have made an ideal sitcom.”

      “So let me make sure I have this right,” Carter said. “Sawyer has no mother in her life, and her father is mostly an absentee parent who leaves her to be raised by a housekeeper.”

      Noah’s lips thinned. “I have to work, man. I make a good living. Sawyer has everything she needs.”

      Ava and Carter shared a communal look of understanding. Yes, Sawyer had material things.

      “Are there any other family members who could help with this situation?” Ava asked.

      Noah shook his head. His gaze was fixated on Carter and the hallway where Sawyer had disappeared. He obviously didn’t trust either one of them. “My mother is designated legal guardian if something should happen to me. I had to select someone since my profession involves pretty high risk. But right now my mother lives in Oregon. We rarely see her. Mary Kate’s mother kept Sawyer for a while. They weren’t a good match. She sent her back to me.” Noah stood. “If that’s all, we’ll be on our way now.” Turning to Ava, he looked at her for a long, uncomfortable moment and said, “Thanks again for taking Sawyer in last night and for contacting the authorities in Chapel Hill.”

      One look from Carter told Ava that he was not about to let this matter drop.

      “Mr. Walsh,” Carter said, “I’m not comfortable with releasing Sawyer to your custody.”

      Noah sputtered his amused disbelief. “Oh, you’re not? Well, sorry, Chief, but that’s not your call.”

      “Actually, I think it is,” Carter said. “I see a threatening situation here, and I’m bound by law to try and prevent it.”

      “Threatening? I’ve never touched that child!”

      “Maybe you’re not the threat, Mr. Walsh, but your daughter’s life is in danger from other outside influences. Every time she runs away, she is at risk.”

      Noah started to speak, but Carter raised his hand. “Not only that, but my wife is a social worker for the state of North Carolina. She works with children and families, and she would never forgive me if I turned Sawyer over to you since she has clearly and repeatedly shown the behavior of a runaway.”

      “I don’t care what your wife is,” Noah said. “No one takes my daughter away.” He sighed. “Look, Sawyer and I have our differences. I’ve already admitted to that, but we’ll work them out...”

      Ava sensed Noah’s anger escalating and realized the importance of keeping this situation calm. She spoke in a low, even tone. “Please, Mr. Walsh... Noah, think about Sawyer. Some type of intervention is needed to keep your daughter safe. Maybe you don’t realize what happens to kids on the street...”

      “Nothing is going to happen to her. I’ll keep a closer eye on her.”

      “Your techniques obviously haven’t worked,” Carter said.

      “I’ll set stricter rules. She won’t run away again.”

      “Yes, she will,” Ava said. “This is my profession, running a home for at-risk children, and I see the signs in Sawyer that I’ve seen in other kids. She will keep running away.”

      Noah stared first at Ava and then at Carter. After several tense moments he spoke to Ava. “Can I see you outside? Just for a few minutes.”

      Had he recognized her? She didn’t think so. There was nothing in his facial features to indicate the past had come back to him. “Yes, of course. We can step out on the back porch for a minute.”

      “Now, hold on,” Carter said. “Anything you need to say to my sister you can say to me.”

      Noah gave him a sharp look. “Why? Are you suddenly the administrator of this home?”

      “Stop it, both of you,” Ava said. “Carter, I’ll be fine just outside the kitchen door. You stay here and check on Sawyer.”

      “Yeah,” Noah said. “If she runs away this time, that’s on you.”

      Ava walked out ahead of Noah. When they were alone, she further convinced herself that he didn’t recognize her. She had looked much different then. Her hair had been long and highlighted with auburn. She’d worn glasses all the time. She’d been thinner. Besides, a man with his looks and what she remembered as charisma must have had several relationships with women in the last years. Why would he remember that one night with her? “What do you want to talk about?”

      He released a long breath. She could see the tension in his eyes, along with something else. Sadness, confusion. He was in over his head with his own daughter, and Ava had never felt a stronger need to help a family than she did at this moment. At the same time, her sense of self-preservation urged her to stay as far away from this situation as possible.

      He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again a new emotion made the hint of gold in his eyes seem a deep amber. She sensed his inability to cope with making a decision.

      She spoke calmly. “Look, Noah, I know this is difficult for you...”

      “Do you? Have you ever given up a child of yours to a complete stranger?”

      His question sent a pang of guilt deep into her stomach, the same pain she’d experienced for almost six years now. But she could not tell Noah that. She’d never told anyone, not even her family, about Charlie.

      She swallowed, took a calming breath. “I don’t want you to think of me as a stranger,” she said, avoiding a direct answer to his question. “I care about the children in this home. They are more than a job to me. They are everything. I want each one of them to feel safe and encouraged to succeed.”

      “I’ll bet they do with that brother cop around to back you up. Don’t think I didn’t see the looks passing between the two of you. I suppose next, a small army of security will enter the discussion.”

      “First of all, my brother does not come around to ‘back me up’ as you put it. He has a job, which he’s doing this morning, and it keeps him busy. Secondly, we don’t have an army of security.”

      “So you, a single lady, basically run this place by yourself?”

      “As the administrator, yes. Why? Do you believe that a woman isn’t capable of running a home this size? I’ll have you know...”

      He put his hands up defensively. “Okay, okay. I apologize. No insult intended.”

      Mollified, she gave him a brief explanation about how the Sawtooth Children’s Home operated. At least she was once again on firm emotional ground. Talking about the school was easy and comfortable. “We have a full-time medical person on campus. We have a cook, three on-site counselors, a gymnasium, school building with fifteen classrooms, each with a qualified teacher.” She waited until those facts had settled in before adding, “Each child lives