Gram adjusted her straw hat for a better look at her wristwatch. “We should go in soon if we want enough time to eat lunch and clean up. I’ve got that festival meeting today, and you’ve got your big date.”
“It’s not—” Oops. She probably shouldn’t sound so defensive if she and Cole were going to make his plan work. Though she wouldn’t lie to make it sound as if they were swept up in the romance of the century, she could at least give the impression she was open to possibilities. “I mean, we’ll have the kids with us. It’s hardly a candlelit dinner.”
“And would you say yes if he asked you out for one of those?” Gram pressed.
No way. The thought of staring across a table into Cole’s blue eyes made her palms sweat and her stomach knot. “I... He’s an attractive man.” Too damned attractive. “And charming.” If a woman didn’t have an aversion to dating a law officer. “But I’m just dipping my toes back in the water. I’m not ready to think about cannonballing into the deep end.”
“All right.” Gram studied the tomato plants, choosing a few that were ready to be picked before adding slyly, “But am I forgiven for not telling you he’d be at the cookout?”
“Just this once. No sneak attacks with other men.”
“Well, of course not.” Gram looked baffled. “Why would I try to introduce you to anyone else when you and Sheriff Trent are getting to know each other?”
Cole’s assessment of the situation had been spot on—without the protection of a few outings with him, Kate might find herself under siege. And once they stopped those outings to make sure none of their children misread the situation? Gram could invite whomever she wanted to the farm, whenever she wanted.
“I’m going to head inside,” Kate said. “The heat and the empty stomach are starting to make me queasy.” As was the prospect of a dozen gentleman callers, invited for Sunday dinner or to repair the barbwire fence or to check out an imagined sound Gram thought her car engine was making. Frankly, Kate was feeling a little nervous about the message she’d left this morning for the piano tuner. Was he single?
She went into the house and showered off the gardening grime, then started preparing lunch. When the phone in the kitchen rang, she reached for it, wondering if it was the piano tuner returning her call. “Hello?”
The last voice she’d expected to hear was her father’s.
“Katherine?” He sounded similarly puzzled. “Is that you?”
“Yeah.” It was funny—now that Kate was an adult, Gram still called her by the childhood nickname Katie; meanwhile, her father had always used her full name, even when she was a toddler. He’d been young when he became a dad, a college TA who hadn’t shirked his responsibility when a former girlfriend left their baby on his doorstep, but he’d always seemed older than his age, treating Kate with formality. There had been hugs and bedtime stories, usually about indigenous peoples, but she couldn’t recall him ever tickling her the way she’d seen Cole Trent do with his girls at the cookout. “Is everything okay?” she asked, startled to hear from her dad out of the blue.
“Right as rain. I call one Sunday each month, to check on Mother.”
“It’s Tuesday.”
“Ah. Time gets away from me some between semesters. Now that I’ve got you on the phone, I can check on you, as well,” he said, sounding pleased with his own efficiency. “How long will you be visiting Cupid’s Bow?”
“Luke and I moved here, remember?”
“Yes, of course. And are the two of you all settled in?”
“Getting there. Gram threw a welcome party for us, and we made some friends. We’re going to meet them at the community pool after lunch.”
“Good, good. Your grandmother always did know what was best for you.”
Once Gram had taken the phone from her and Kate resumed dicing up boiled eggs for salads, her thoughts returned to Cole Trent. He’d commented that people kept telling him the twins needed a mother, but he obviously adored his girls. She couldn’t envision him dumping his children on Mr. and Mrs. Trent, relieved to wash his hands of parenting for a few months. Plenty of fathers out there weren’t trying nearly as hard as he seemed to be. She was confident Cole could raise his daughters successfully as a single parent.
It was important she believe that. Because maybe, if he could do it, she could, too.
* * *
THE PARKING LOT at the pool was pretty packed for a weekday afternoon. Kate climbed out of her car, glad she and Cole had agreed to meet there. His picking her up would have made no sense geography-wise, since Gram’s farm was in the opposite direction, and it would have made the outing feel too much like a date. Tugging the hem of the V-necked bathing suit cover that had bunched up while she drove, she turned to Luke.
“You’re okay with joining Cole and his daughters for a couple of hours, right? He was just being neighborly when he invited us. That’s the kind of town Cupid’s Bow is.”
Her son stared at her, one eyebrow raised. “It’s fine. But you’ve asked me three times. Why are you being weird?”
Excellent question.
“Sorry.” She reached into the back seat for the massive beach bag that held their towels, Luke’s goggles and enough sunscreen to protect a small village.
“Luke!” The high-pitched greeting preceded the slap of footsteps on the pavement.
Kate glanced up to see Alyssa barreling toward them in the same flip-flops she’d worn Sunday. Cole and Mandy followed at a more leisurely pace. Alyssa stopped in front of Luke, holding up her hand for a high five. Kate worried that, at some point, her jaded thirteen-year-old might decide it was uncool to have a five-year-old girl as a friend. Thankfully, now was not that point.
He smacked his palm against Alyssa’s. “Ready to go swimming?”
“Yep. Daddy has my goggles and my floaties and I’m wearing my favorite bathing suit.” It was a rainbow-colored bikini top with a matching swim skirt.
Her sister was in a sportier one-piece. Kate tried not to think about her own bathing suit. She and Luke had been swimming half a dozen times in the past year, and she’d never once considered the teal tankini immodest. Now, however, she couldn’t stop obsessing over the sliver of abdomen that would be exposed once she removed her hooded cover-up. She was a woman who’d given birth; her midsection was no longer the taut skin of a twentysomething. But so what? She wouldn’t exactly stand out at the pool.
Yet the idea of being in front of Cole in so little clothing was irrationally alarming. She couldn’t even say whether her apprehension was because he wouldn’t like what he saw...or because he might like it just fine.
There’d been a couple of times at Gram’s farm when his gaze had locked with hers, and she’d felt tingly, as if parts of her that had been long numb were slowly buzzing back to life beneath his notice. It stung, like trying to stand on a foot that had fallen asleep. She wanted no part of the accompanying pins and needles.
So she didn’t quite meet his eyes when she said, “Afternoon.”
“Kate.” His voice was warm and rich. “Good to see you, again.”
As the five of them crossed the parking lot, he explained that he and the girls had season passes to the pool. They waited off to the side while Kate purchased admission for her and Luke. On the other side of the ticket hut came the sounds of splashing and laughter and a classic rock standard being played through speakers above the concession area.
No sooner were they through the turnstiles than Mandy kicked off her shoes. “High dive, Daddy?”
He chuckled. “Let’s work our way up to that. And let’s find some chairs so we can put all our stuff down.”
“What about my floaties?” Alyssa asked, sounding anxious.
“They’re here.” Cole patted the side of his duffel bag. “But are you sure you don’t want to try going in the water without them first? You w
ere getting really good at swimming.” To Kate, he explained, “We went with some friends to the river a few weeks ago. The current was stronger than she bargained for.”
“She swallowed so much water she puked!” Mandy said. “It was gross. She—”
“That’s enough, Amanda.”
“But I didn’t even get to tell how...” She wilted beneath the blistering force of her father’s glare. “Okay, okay.”
“Kate? Is that you?”
Kate turned to see Crystal Walsh. “Hey!” She hugged her friend. It was the only time she’d seen the brunette as an adult when she wasn’t pregnant. “I take it everyone’s feeling better?”
Crystal nodded. “It was just one of those twenty-four hour bugs, thank goodness. The weekend was pretty miserable, but we’re all okay now. The kids were getting stir-crazy so I asked Mom to stay at the house with the little ones during naptime so I could run the older two to the pool.” She gestured toward a group of kids shouting in the shallow end. “‘Marco’ belongs to me. One of the ‘Polos,’ too. I wasn’t expecting to see...you.”
The mischievous lilt in her tone and sparkle in her green eyes made it clear she wasn’t necessarily surprised to run into Kate; after all, the two women had spent so much of their adolescent summers here Gram had teased them about growing gills. The surprise was that Kate was here with Cole.
Crystal peered past Kate, waggling her fingers in a small wave. “Afternoon, Sheriff.”
“Nice to see you, Mrs. Walsh. We missed you on Sunday.”
It wasn’t until Kate turned to include Cole in the conversation that she realized he’d removed his T-shirt. He’d balled it up and was in the act of tossing it atop their other belongings. Holy abs. She’d noticed at the cookout that he had a well-muscled chest and forearms, but her imagination hadn’t done him justice. Now that he was standing there, shirtless and tanned, she found herself relieved he already knew her friend. Because there was no way Kate could find her voice to make introductions. Her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. Her eyes felt frozen. She couldn’t look away.
Blink, woman.
“Mom?” It took her son’s voice to break through the trance. “Can we get in the water now?”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Cole said, as he checked to make sure Alyssa’s water wings were secure. “In another ninety seconds, Mandy’s going to start climbing me like a deranged chimpanzee.” The little girl was already impatiently shifting her weight from leg to leg, her face screwed up in consternation.
“What’s ‘deranged’?” she asked.
Luke laughed. Although Kate couldn’t hear his response as they headed toward the pool, Mandy’s subsequent shriek of outrage carried. With the four of them out of earshot, Crystal slugged Kate in the arm, smirking her congratulations.
“Girl, you work fast! Two days ago you’re asking for information about him, and now you’re on a date? There are women in this town who’ve tried for years. Becca Johnston’s gonna hate you,” she said gleefully.
Oh, good. Because one of Kate’s goals for her first week in Cupid’s Bow was to antagonize the town’s cross between Watermelon Queen and the Godfather. “It’s not like...” She chewed the inside of her lip, trying to decide what to say. If she assured her friend that Becca Johnston was welcome to him, then she wasn’t living up to her end of the bargain. Kate was supposed to be Cole’s shield against soccer moms and predatory divorcees.
Finally, she shrugged. “He mentioned that he was taking his girls swimming. I’d wanted to bring Luke here to prove there was something he’d like about Cupid’s Bow, and Cole was nice enough to invite us along.”
Crystal’s expression faded from impish to sympathetic. “Luke’s not too excited about the move, huh? I’ve never lived anywhere but here and neither have my kids, but I imagine starting over must be tough.” She reached out to squeeze Kate’s hand. “I’m here if you ever need to talk. I actually called your Gram’s house this morning to invite you to lunch this week, but there was no answer. Then one of the twins starting crying before I could leave a message.”
“How about lunch this Saturday?” Kate asked. Luke would be busy with his version of community service, giving Kate a couple of hours to herself once she dropped him off at the hospital.
“Perfect. My husband will be home with the kids. If you want, I can check with my sisters and see if they’re available? Reconnecting with old friends is bound to make the move easier.”
“Sounds great, thanks. And there might be one other thing you can help me with,” Kate said. “Could you mention to other moms you know that I’ll be offering piano lessons soon? If anyone’s looking for a teacher...”
“Will do.” Her smile turned sly. “You know, it might help you drum up students if word gets out that you and the sheriff are an item. All the women in the area will be super curious about you.”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s accurate to call us an ‘item.’ This is our first...date.” The word was simultaneously awkward and exotic on her tongue, as if she were attempting to speak a foreign language.
“Yes, but it took you only two days to get this far! He didn’t waste any time. And who can blame him? You look fantastic,” she said, her reassurance easing the misgivings Kate had experienced since shrugging out of her bathing suit cover.
“So do you,” Kate said.
“Pfft. What I look like is a woman who’s had five kids.” But she said it with the easy contentment of a woman who loved her life and was comfortable in her own skin. “Come to think of it, I should probably double-check that my kids aren’t trying to drown each other. I’ll call you about Saturday. Meanwhile, enjoy your...” Her words faded into nothingness as they both watched Cole hoist Mandy onto his shoulders. His biceps and chest flexed and rippled.
“Well.” Crystal sighed. “Just enjoy.”
Actually, Kate didn’t want to spend the afternoon enjoying her view. She and Cole had agreed it would be bad for their kids to get the idea that there was a real romance brewing. Staring adoringly at him would confuse the issue. If she talked long enough about the risks of sunburn, would he put his shirt on? Plenty of guys in the pool, including her son, wore swim shirts. Of course, if she hinted that she wanted Cole to wear a shirt, he might realize how much of a distraction she found his bare torso. That was a humiliating thought.
You are a mature woman. Get it together. She trudged into the water, annoyed with herself for acting as if she were the same teenage girl who used to hang out here with Crystal twenty years ago. You’ll be fine as long as you don’t look directly at his arms. Or shoulders. Or abs. Nothing below the neck. Except that still left his killer blue eyes.
Luke had been absorbed into the group game of Marco Polo. Encouraged to see him interacting with some kids in his approximate age range, she gave him his space, gravitating instead toward Cole and his girls. Cole was trying to convince Alyssa to give up her water-wings long enough to practice floating on her back.
“I’ll be right there with you,” he promised. “I won’t let you sink.”
“But...” Fear crowded her expression.
“Oh, stop being such a chicken!” Mandy scolded. “You’ve done it before.”
“Amanda, why don’t you sit out for a minute,” Cole said, “and think about how you’d feel if someone taunted you for being afraid of something?”
Kate half expected the little spitfire to retort she wasn’t scared of anything, but instead she paddled her way to the side of the pool. Cole turned to lift her onto the edge. At the top of his rib cage was a puckered circle, white against the rest of his sun-kissed skin, about the size of a half dollar. Kate sucked in her breath at the evidence of injury. Her pulse quickened. Had he been shot, too? Stabbed? Had—
“Kate, are you okay?” He came toward her, his usual stride hampered by the waist-deep water. “You’r
e pale.”
“You were hurt,” she said, her voice raspy as unpleasant memories and emotions churned inside her. “On the job?”
To her surprise, he laughed. “Nothing like that. This scar dates back to childhood. Horrible toy box accident caused by my brother William.” Understanding filled his eyes. “Was your husband... Hey, Luke? Can you come keep Alyssa company for a minute?”
Moments later, her son was cracking seahorse jokes with the little girl as Cole led Kate to some steps in the only shaded corner of the pool. The water was cooler here, and they had the illusion of privacy. Everyone else was frolicking in the sunlight.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Cole suggested.
“I’m fine,” she lied, feeling like a first-class moron. She’d nearly had an anxiety attack. And over what, a freaking toy box injury? She grated out a harsh laugh. “Thank God this is not a real date. Can you imagine what a date would be thinking about me right now?”
“That you were married to a man you loved deeply and that you’re still understandably sensitive about his death. That is who you were thinking about, right? Your husband?”
She nodded, covering her face with her hands. “Damon. He was shot.”
Cole sat on the step next to her, radiating compassion. Pity would have made her even more uncomfortable than she already was, but this felt different. He was just a solid, reassuring presence, ready to listen. Even though she hadn’t planned to say more, words spilled out of her anyway.
“I was always so proud of his job,” she said. “He took protecting and serving very seriously. Luke saw him as a hero. But ever since Damon died, I get jumpy around people in that line of work. I can’t stop thinking about how dangerous the job can be. I know you’re all carefully trained, but...”
“If it makes you feel any better, Cupid’s Bow is pretty low-key. Most of the crimes I deal with are drunk trespassers cow-tipping or the occasional loon trying to spray-paint a proclamation of love on the town water tower.”
Falling for the Sheriff Page 6
