Her Small-Town Sheriff. Lissa Manley

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СКАЧАТЬ To Phoebe’s relief, his comment seemed to break the ice, and the tension in the room eased a bit more.

       And Carson Winters rose a notch in her eyes.

       “Daaaaad,” Heidi said, wiping at her eyes with the tissue Phoebe had given her. “Don’t be so weird.”

       “Who, me?” he said, his voice brimming with teasing, exaggerated innocence. Then he waggled his eyebrows and made a goofy face. “Are you sayin’ I’m a weirdo?”

       Heidi’s lips curved into an itty-bitty smile. “A big one,” she said, rolling her eyes, but in what looked like a playful way.

       He gave Phoebe a rueful look, shaking his head. “I’m sure I’m not the first father to be called weird, and I’m sure I won’t be the last.”

       “No, I’m sure you won’t,” Phoebe replied, glad to see the stress level between father and daughter evening out. At least temporarily. “So,” she said to Heidi. “Just come here after school tomorrow, all right?”

       Heidi nodded her assent, and then all three of them rose. Phoebe gestured for Heidi to precede her out, and as soon as Heidi was out of earshot, Carson snagged Phoebe’s elbow with a gentle hand.

       Warmth spread in tingles up her arm as she turned a questioning gaze to him.

       “Listen,” he said, “I really appreciate you working with Heidi on this.”

       Up close, she saw that his brown eyes were flecked with the barest hint of gold. Fighting the urge to stare, she focused her gaze on his nose. “I sense she’s a good kid who’s had a tough time lately. As I said before, the move had to be hard on her.”

       Nodding, Carson ran a hand through his hair, then put his hat back on. As he did, he said softly, “Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to it than that.”

       Phoebe blinked, so surprised by his unexpected comment she wasn’t sure what to say.

       At her silence, he continued on, his voice low and taut. “Heidi’s mom took off over a year ago, divorced me, and we haven’t seen her since.”

       Her heart knotted. “Oh, wow, I’m so sorry.” She touched his arm briefly, trying to offer even a small amount of comfort. Obviously they’d been through the wringer. “That explains a lot.”

       “Yeah.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have said anything…”

       “No, I’m glad you did.”

       “I guess I just wanted you to know why Heidi is having such a rough time, and why she’s acting out. She’s not a bad kid.”

       “Thank you for your honesty, and for the record, I never thought she was a bad kid.” She knew it hadn’t come easy for him to admit the truth.

       “You’re welcome,” he said, looking right at her.

       She met his tawny gaze, and for just a moment, she couldn’t look away, could barely even breathe. Her stomach dropped, and her legs trembled. Oh, wow. Where in the world had he gotten those unbelievable eyes…?

       “C’mon, Dad. I have homework,” Heidi called impatiently, breaking the spell.

       Carson looked away, clearing his throat. “Guess I gotta go.”

       All Phoebe could do was nod.

       She followed him out to the front of the store, her cheeks warm. Phoebe stood there for a long moment after they left, unable to forget the tears in Heidi’s eyes and the worry lines creasing Carson’s face.

       Empathy gushed through her.

       Granted, she wasn’t a parent, and wouldn’t presume she could give Carson much advice on that front. But she had been a twelve-year-old girl once. And even though she hadn’t been through the heartbreaking childhood trauma Heidi had, Phoebe had lost someone she’d loved fairly recently, just as Heidi had essentially lost her mom.

       And Phoebe sure knew how much such a devastating loss could tear a person apart and leave them feeling as if nothing would ever be the same again.

       As if their world had crumbled into a million pieces.

       Maybe she could help them through their troubles in the coming weeks. Talk to Heidi, commiserate a bit. Offer a shoulder to Carson…

       Horrified by her thoughts, she closed her eyes and shook her head. No. Absolutely not. What was she thinking? Getting too involved with the Winterses would be a huge mistake, and would definitely force her into a personal space she didn’t want to be in.

       With that thought forefront in her mind, she straightened her shoulders and headed back to her office to return to the paperwork stacking up on her desk.

       As she fired up her computer, she promised herself that she would work with Heidi because Carson had asked her to and because presenting a consequence to Heidi was the right thing to do. But after that, Phoebe would be content to say hello to them casually around town once in a while. Nothing more.

       No matter how much the tension between father and daughter pulled on her heartstrings and made her want to help chase their worries away.

      Chapter Three

      Two days after Sheriff Winters and Heidi visited Phoebe’s store, she stood in back of the soda fountain, serving George and Lela Raggs.

       The bells above the door jingled and a moment later, Molly breezed through with some flowers in one hand. Wedding samples, Phoebe presumed.

       Phoebe waved a greeting and Molly gestured back, then hung at the front of the store while Phoebe finished doing business.

       Phoebe handed George and Lela their cones. “Let me know how you guys like that new mango ice cream,” she said. “Feedback so far has been positive.”

       “Sure thing, Phoebe,” Lela said. “Although you know my favorite will always be Rocky Road.” George and Lela, newly retired and loving it, came in every Tuesday and Thursday at precisely two in the afternoon. Today marked the only time in recent memory that Lela had ever ordered anything but a single scoop of Rocky Road. George, on the other hand, was all over the ice cream board, and rarely ordered the same thing twice.

       “Lots of people like Rocky Road,” Phoebe said. Including the sheriff—but she wasn’t thinking about him. “Don’t worry. I’ll always have that flavor around.”

       “Excellent,” George said. “We’d hate to have to go somewhere else for our ice cream fix.”

       “I’d hate that, too,” Phoebe replied with a smile, even though she was the only dedicated ice cream store in Moonlight Cove proper. “You two are some of my best customers.” Sure, lots of tourists frequented her store. But she also had a core group of locals who came in on a regular basis, even when the rain started and the tourist season took a nosedive. Without them, her business would languish in the off-season.

       “Say,” Lela said, her forehead crinkling. “We didn’t see you at church on Sunday. Everything okay? You’re usually a regular.”

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