Thirty minutes later as Jared fell into bed, he was still holding that happy image in his mind.
Kerry waited patiently at the back of an ambulance while a petite, blond-haired, blue-eyed nurse named Jenna Elliot checked Peggy over for any sign of injuries.
Kerry had never met Jenna before, but she knew of her family. Her father was a powerful businessman and politician in Black Arrow, and though corruption had been linked to his name, he was still an influential man. However, from the moment Kerry had walked up to the ambulance with Peggy, Jenna had seemed sincerely compassionate and caring. She also seemed to be casting more than a few furtive glances at Sheriff Bram Colton, too.
“Your daughter seems to be perfectly fine,” Jenna said to Kerry as she handed Peggy back to her. “However, if it would make you feel at ease you could have her pediatrician check her over, too. But I’m sure you don’t have any worries. She seems like a very healthy little girl.”
“And very adventurous,” Kerry added jokingly. And she could joke now, thanks to Jared Colton, she thought as she turned to go home, clutching a sleepy Peggy in her arms.
Jared Colton. Of all the men in Black Arrow, Kerry wouldn’t have thought of him as a hero. Eight years ago, before she’d left for Virginia, he’d been a frequent diner at Woody’s Café where she’d worked as a waitress on the evening shift. For a man that was part Comanche, he’d done a lot of talking. Most of it directed at the adoring females who’d always seemed to flock around him. But Kerry hadn’t forgotten the small part of his glib tongue that had been aimed at her.
For the most part, Kerry had tried to keep the conversation between them cool and impersonal, but there had been times she’d felt him looking at her in the same way a red-tailed hawk would look at a juicy little field mouse. On those occasions she’d always scurried back to the kitchen, her head down so that no one might see the scarlet color stinging her cheeks. No man had ever made her feel so naked and vulnerable. And eight years later she could safely say that hadn’t changed. He still left her breathless and rattled.
“Kerry? Are you listening?”
At the sound of Enola’s voice, Kerry pulled her eyes away from a nearby open window and looked up to see her mother standing at the entryway to the small living room of the WindWalker home.
“Sorry, Mom. I was—lost in thought. Were you asking me something?”
Her forehead furrowed with a frown, Enola stepped into the room. A dishtowel was twisted between her hardworking hands.
“I was wondering if we should wake Peggy for supper. She hasn’t eaten hardly anything today. With everything that happened yesterday, she should get something in her tummy.”
“I know. But I think she needs to rest more.”
Enola moved closer to her daughter. “She’s been like a different little girl today. I doubt she’s said twenty words altogether. I couldn’t even get her to help me dig in the garden.”
Kerry didn’t need to be reminded that Peggy was still suffering emotionally from the horrible experience she’d gone through. Her daughter had hardly left her side all day. And though the paramedics had found her physically unharmed, Kerry realized her daughter had been traumatized.
“She just needs time to get over this, Mom. We all do.”
Enola briefly closed her eyes and Kerry realized her mother was still trying to deal with the guilt she felt over allowing Peggy to slip away unnoticed.
Rising from her chair, Kerry patted her mother’s shoulder. “I wish you would quit blaming yourself, Mom. None of this is your fault. Peggy has pulled disappearing acts on me before. It just so happened that this time she wandered farther off than she’d intended.”
Enola sighed. “She’s only three, Kerry. She doesn’t understand the dangers. She wants to see everything. Learn about everything. I should have known not to turn my back. Even for a second.”
Kerry shook her head. “Mom, that’s ridiculous. No child can be watched that closely. And maybe in the long run, this horrible experience has taught her not to stray from the house or yard.”
“I hope you’re right. But it’s heartbreaking to see my granddaughter so quiet and withdrawn.”
Looping her arm through her mother’s, she urged her toward the kitchen. “Peggy is brave. Like her grandmother and great-grandmother Crow. She’ll get through this. Now come on and let’s eat.”
The two women made their way back to the small kitchen where Enola had prepared pinto beans, corn bread and wilted salad. Inside the room, they were greeted with the aroma of cooked food joined by the scents of cut grass and sweet lilac wafting through the open screen door.
While her mother took a seat at the dining table, Kerry went to the cabinet to fill two tall glasses with iced tea. When a knock sounded at the front of the house, the two women exchanged glances.
“I’ll go see who it is,” Kerry said to Enola. “You go ahead and eat. It’s probably just another neighbor wanting to make sure Peggy is okay.”
Not bothering to hunt for her shoes, Kerry padded barefoot over the cool linoleum until she reached the front screen door. Since no one was standing directly in view, she pushed it open and stepped onto the porch.
“Hello Kerry.”
The deep voice hit her before she spotted him standing at the south end of the porch. Slowly she turned to see the man who had continued to linger in her thoughts today.
“Hello,” she said quietly as he walked toward her.
Although he was dressed casually in jeans and boots and a pale blue polo shirt, she felt sloppy in comparison. Her white shorts were stained with tiny splotches of blue paint and the red T-shirt topping them had been washed so many times it had turned the color of a half-ripe watermelon. Greeting her neighbors in such a getup was one thing, but letting Jared Colton catch her like this was quite another.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said as his eyes roamed appreciatively over her face, then lowered to her bare brown legs. “I just happened to be in the neighborhood this evening and I thought I’d check to see how Peggy is doing.”
There it was again, Kerry thought, that strange feeling of being exposed in front of this man. What was it about him, she wondered. She’d been around nice-looking men before. But none of them had affected her like this one. Not even Peggy’s father.
His dark bronze features were rough-hewn, but classic male. The strong, hawkish nose, carved cheekbones and black hair edging over the back of his collar were distinctly Native American. Only his gray eyes and the faint shadow of a beard hinted that there might be white blood flowing through his veins.
She tried not to stare at his striking face or the long, strong body attached to it as she replied, “We were about to eat supper. Peggy is asleep right now. But you’re welcome to join us.”
Kerry was trying to be polite, but Jared could see that the last thing she wanted him to do was join her and her mother for supper. The fact left him feeling vaguely hollow. Though he didn’t understand why. There were plenty of women in town that would be thrilled to find him on their front steps. Once he left here all he had to do was pick up his cell phone and make a call to one of them. And maybe he’d do that, he promised himself. It was foolish to let this single mother change his normal behavior.
Giving her his best smile, he shook his head. “Thank you, Kerry, but I wouldn’t want to impose.”
Disappointment flashed through her, catching her completely off guard. She didn’t want to entertain this man, she silently argued with herself. It would be like inviting a stick of dynamite into the house. And she’d already had too many explosions in her life to risk another one.
Feeling incredibly awkward, she tucked her bobbed hair behind her ears and darted a glance toward his face. “I hope you’ve had a chance to get rested up from yesterday’s ordeal,” she said.
He shrugged as though the part he’d played in Peggy’s rescue had been superfluous. Kerry could only wonder if the gesture was an attempt to appear humble or if these past year
s had honestly changed him into a more modest man than the Jared Colton she remembered.
“I’m fine,” he said with a quick grin. “What about you? How are you holding up?”
It was a beautiful spring evening. The sun had dipped below the bare hills that skirted the edge of town and a warm breeze was blowing the scent of honeysuckle across the porch. If this man had been anyone except Jared Colton she might have enjoyed having male company for a change. She might have invited him to take a seat and drink a glass of tea with her. Instead, she was afraid to trust him and afraid to trust herself.
“I’m okay. It’s Peggy and Mom that worry me. Peggy is—well, she’s hardly spoken to anyone today. And she’s eaten even less than she’s talked. Mother blames herself, of course. I’m not sure how to help either one of them.”
“I hate to hear that. I was hoping Peggy would be the sort of child that would bounce right back.” A rueful grin suddenly twisted his lips. “I mean, there’s not many little girls her age that would have enough courage to go exploring a deep dark place like she went into. Especially without another child with her.”
His remarks surprised Kerry. She’d not expected him to understand anything about the way a child’s mind worked. Especially a little female mind. But then females were his specialty; he ought to know how their minds worked, she quickly reminded herself.
“Peggy is very adventurous. I used to be proud of the fact that she was so curious about the world around her. But now I’m wondering if that curiosity is a curse. When I asked her why she left the yard, she told me that she went hunting birds with Fred. I don’t even know if she understands what the term hunting means. No one that I know of has talked about hunting birds or anything else to her.”
She looked weary, Jared thought. The harrowing hours she’d gone through yesterday and last night would have been enough to break any young mother. Much less one without the support of a husband. And suddenly he wished he had the right to try to comfort her with touches and whispered words.
“She’s probably heard someone refer to Fred as a hunting dog,” Jared suggested. “Or it could have come from television.”
Kerry nodded. “You could be right. Either way, I’m wondering now how to keep this from happening again. I don’t want to get rid of the dog. Losing her buddy would only make matters worse.”
His black brows pulled together in a thoughtful frown. “I don’t have any kids, Kerry, so I’m the last person to give you advice. But I used to be a kid with a dog and I know losing him would have broken my heart.”
Hearing one of Black Arrow’s most prominent playboys discuss children and dogs and broken hearts was as unsettling to Kerry as the potent sensuality that swirled around him. Because it made him more of a man somehow. A man that she could care about.
Alarmed by the soft thoughts running through her head, she glanced away from him and breathed deeply. “I’m—uh—I’ve been thinking I’ll go by the animal shelter and adopt a kitty for her, too. That way if Fred decides to take off again, she might decide it’s more important for her to stay behind and take care of her new friend.”
A grin lifted the corner of his lips, giving her a glimpse of snow-white teeth. “That sounds like a great idea. As long as Fred doesn’t decide he wants to make a meal out of the cat.”
Kerry actually laughed and the unexpected sound darted through Jared like a ray of golden sunshine. Of all the times he’d been in her presence he’d never heard her laugh before. It made him wonder if the years had loosened her rigid personality or if she was just now allowing him to see the woman she’d always been.
“I’m not too worried about that,” she said. “He loves all of our neighboring felines.”
Enola’s voice suddenly carried through the screen door. “Kerry? Who is it?”
Both Kerry and Jared turned to see Enola stepping onto the porch with a sleepy-eyed Peggy in her arms.
“Jared has stopped by to check on Peggy,” Kerry quickly explained to her mother. “I asked him to join us for supper—but he has other plans.”
“Good evening, Mrs. WindWalker,” Jared greeted the older woman.
She inclined her head in his direction but didn’t grant him any sort of semblance of a smile. Jared couldn’t help notice the woman’s eagle-eyed gaze was encompassing both him and her daughter as though she was trying to gauge the sort of conversation that had been going on before she’d arrived. Her attitude was faintly insulting, but Jared tried his best to ignore it. From what he knew of Marvin WindWalker, it wouldn’t surprise him if Enola despised all men.
“Evening,” she stiffly replied.
Jared’s attention zeroed in on Peggy, who was chewing on one finger while studying him with guarded interest.
Stepping closer, he smiled at the little girl. “Hello Peggy. Do you remember me?”
Peggy squirmed in Enola’s arms and demanded to be put down. Then to her mother and grandmother’s total surprise, she scurried across the wooden porch straight to Jared.
“You’re Jared,” she said, then held up her arms to him in a totally trustful gesture.
A rush of tender emotions filled his chest as Jared bent down and scooped up the child. After carefully balancing her with one arm against his chest, he touched a forefinger to her cheek.
“That’s right, little dove. I’m Jared.”
Peggy’s tiny fingers reached out and played with his shirt collar, a signal, Jared realized, that she felt comfortable with him.
“You got me out of that hole,” she said to him.
Jared was surprised at her clearly pronounced words. Last night she’d refused to say anything to him except that she wanted her mama. And those words had been muffled with tears.
“That’s right, sweetheart. And I’m glad I did. You’re just about the prettiest little girl I’ve ever seen.”
For a moment her lips twitched as though she might give him a smile. Then all of a sudden she threw her arms around his neck and held on tight. Since fathering skills were something Jared knew precious little about, all he could do was follow his instincts and pat Peggy’s back with gentle reassurance.
A few steps away, Kerry tried to swallow away the tightness in her throat as she watched her daughter’s reaction to Jared. Even though Peggy was usually a tiny tornado, she’d always been slow to warm up to the male gender. To see her clinging so trustingly to Jared, a man she’d only seen once, was somewhat of a phenomenon.
Across the porch, Enola cleared her throat loudly. “Peggy, it’s time for you to eat supper,” she said firmly. “Tell Mr. Colton goodbye.”
Peggy ignored her grandmother and continued to bury her face against Jared’s neck. At the same time, Kerry stared with an open mouth at her mother.
She gathered her wits and said, “Mom, I’ll handle this. Why don’t you go finish eating. We’ll join you in a few minutes.”
The surprise that registered on Enola’s face told Jared the older woman wasn’t accustomed to having Kerry intercede with her own wishes. Especially in such a blunt way. Enola opened her mouth to say something else. But instead, she threw Jared a withering look, then turned and headed into the house.
Once the woman was out of sight, Jared joked in an effort to lighten the moment, “I don’t think she likes me.”
Kerry sighed. “Her behavior embarrasses me. I don’t know what’s making her this way.”
Jared did. There weren’t many mothers in Black Arrow that welcomed the sight of him on the doorstep. He knew he had a reputation for dallying with women’s hearts, maybe even crushing a few. If that was true, he’d not done it intentionally. Of all the women he’d dated in the past, he’d never once led them to believe he was a serious suitor with marriage on his mind. They’d gone into a relationship with him knowing it would only be fun and games. But convincing Enola WindWalker of that would be as fruitless as talking to the wall.
“Forget it,” he told Kerry with a rueful grin. “I take no offense. Especially since I got such a nice gree
ting from my little dove here.” Placing his forefinger under Peggy’s chin, he lifted the angelic face up to his. “Are you going to be a good girl for your mother and stay in the yard from now on?”
Peggy nodded emphatically and Jared stroked the shiny black waves tumbling about her shoulders. He could see touches of Kerry in the girl’s proud thin nose, high cheekbones and faintly pointed chin. Yet her café au lait complexion made Jared suspect her father had been a white man. His own father had been half-white.
“That’s just what I wanted to hear,” he told her proudly.
“I have a dog,” Peggy said to him. “Do you have a dog?”
Jared chuckled as he found himself charmed by a set of big brown eyes and twin dimples. “No. But I met your Mr. Fred yesterday. And you know what, I think he’s almost as smart as you are.”
Peggy gave him another emphatic nod of agreement, then to Kerry and Jared’s amazement, she leaned forward and smacked a kiss on his cheek.
“I gotta go feed Fred,” she said suddenly, then squirmed, signaling that she wanted to be put back on her feet.
Jared complied, and smiled as he watched her scurry into the house.
“Looks like I need to be thanking you again,” Kerry said.
He turned his head in her direction and was instantly taken with the natural beauty of her face, the sensual curves, partially camouflaged by her loose clothing. She was not a glamour girl. So why did he wonder, as he had so many years ago, what she would look like in his arms with nothing on but a smile just for him?
“For what?” he asked, forcing his mind off the tempting thought.
“That’s the most Peggy has said to anyone today. She’s obviously taken with you.”
Jared was glad the child had warmed up to him. Yet it was her mother that he really wanted to charm.
Shrugging, he glanced down at the toe of his boot and wondered why this woman made him feel like a shy teenager wanting to steal a kiss. “Well, I’m kinda taken with her, too. That’s why I wanted to stop by and check on her.”
Kerry folded her hands primly in front of her. “Thank you. It was kind of you.”
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