Snowbound Security. Beverly Long
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Название: Snowbound Security
Автор: Beverly Long
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
isbn: 9781474078931
isbn:
“No need. You can buy a few groceries if it makes you feel better.”
She’d be saving all the money that she’d spend on the hotel. “May I borrow your phone?” she asked.
If he was surprised by the request, he didn’t show it. Simply handed it to her. She opened the browser. Typed in Wingman Security. Quickly read the home page. Personal and property security. Discreet. Trusted. Recommended. All the keywords jumped out at her. She went to the bio tab.
There he was. Rico Metez. Former air force communications specialist.
He was what he’d said he was. He’d been polite, helpful, and he had a valid reason to be offering up a room in his cabin. She was going to have to take the chance.
“I’d really love to,” she said. But it was going to be impossible to continue the subterfuge about Hannah being a boy. “I have another confession,” she said. “I think I should tell you now so that you don’t think I keep springing these things on you. Hannah, that’s her name, isn’t a little boy. She’s a girl.”
He didn’t look too surprised.
“You knew?” she asked.
“I thought,” he clarified.
“I was worried that once you found out that we were in the cabin without permission, that you might call the police. You’d have sent them looking for a woman with a little boy, not a little girl. That would have given me a small advantage.”
“I could have easily described your car,” he said. “It’s unusual.”
Yes, she really wished Clovis Trane drove a tan Chevy. But that likely wouldn’t have been in storage and immediately available. Everything was a trade-off. “You’re right. I didn’t think of that. I guess I’m not all that skilled at this.”
He looked at his watch. “I hate to wake Hannah in the middle of her nap, but we should probably get going if we’re going to stop at the store first and then head back.”
“She’ll go back to sleep once we’re in the car,” she said. “It will take me just a minute to pack and then I need to stop by the hotel office.” She’d paid for three nights plus the security deposit. The woman could legitimately charge her for one night, since the room would have to be cleaned after them, but that still meant that she was due a healthy refund. A refund she was likely to need down the road. “Be right back.”
Rico had no idea how much of what she had said was true. But he was fairly confident that she wasn’t a danger to the child or to him. Neither of those things was proof that she had a legitimate right to have Hannah. That and the possibility that she might be in a very bad situation overrode any hesitation to simply wash his hands of them.
He sat in his SUV, watching over the hotel as she went back upstairs and once again came out with their meager belongings. She put those in her car. Then it was into the office. That took less than five minutes. Then it was back upstairs and when she came out this time, she was carrying Hannah.
He cursed his ankle. He wanted to get out and help, to carry the child. But because of the stairs, the little girl—thank goodness that had been cleared up, he’d thought he could tell the difference—was undoubtedly safer in Laura’s arms. Laura who? He had still not asked for her last name, and she had still not offered.
He started his vehicle and pulled up next to her. “For now, I’ll lead the way to the store. We can get whatever you need as well as stock up on some groceries.”
She nodded and got in the Mustang. They drove, with her staying close on his tail, as if she was afraid she’d lose him. When they got to the small shopping area and he got out, he saw that Hannah had already fallen back asleep. The alternative to waking her up again was for him to stay in the car with her and he knew Laura wasn’t going to go for that. Or Laura could stay while he shopped, but he really had no idea what she wanted or needed.
“We keep interrupting her nap,” he said, as he stood by the car, waiting while Laura got Hannah out of the car seat.
“I know. She’s a good sport about it, though,” she said. “She’s a really great kid.”
He heard something in her voice. Pride. Love. He was more confident than ever that she wasn’t a danger to Hannah.
Keeping up the pretense that his ankle was much weaker than it was, he reached for his crutches. When they went into Bratt’s Mercantile, which was Moreville’s answer to the looming presence of the superstores that were sixty miles away, in that it offered a hodgepodge of items, ranging from clothing to car batteries to sheets to fresh fruit, she reached for a cart.
“I’ll push,” she said. “We’ll try to keep things separated to make it easier to figure out who pays for what at the checkout.” She put Hannah in the up-front portion of the cart.
The selection was broad but not deep, and when she got to the children’s aisle, there were just a few snow pants and coats to choose from. Hannah, however, seemed delighted when Laura picked out size five snow pants and a matching winter coat. Purple with pink trim.
“For me?” the little girl asked, sounding very excited.
“Yes. It’s going to get cold and snow,” Laura said. “You’ll need these.”
“Snow?” repeated Hannah, as if it was something quite magical.
He understood. She’d probably seen snow on television but if she’d been in Tennessee her whole life, she had absolutely no idea of what was coming.
“We’ll build a snowman,” Laura promised. She moved over to the mittens and hats, then to the children’s boots. The cart was starting to fill up. After she added a couple pairs of pants and more socks, she looked up. “That should be good. We can get groceries.”
“What about winter clothes for you?” he asked.
He could see the indecision cross her face. “I suppose,” she said.
And when they got to the women’s aisle, she quickly found some black snow boots and a lined brown barn jacket. Here she checked prices before she put the items in her cart. As if she hadn’t cared so much what she was spending if it was for Hannah, but for herself, she was going to watch her pennies.
Mother bear. Putting her cub first.
She grabbed gloves and a scarf. “Okay,” she said.
“I need a couple things,” he said, pointing toward the men’s aisle. In minutes, he’d picked up insulated underwear and a hooded sweatshirt. All in a size much too small for him but he didn’t think she noticed. She likely had no idea how bitingly cold a Colorado wind could be, and he did not want her to be caught unprepared.
Then it was to the automotive area where he picked up a snow brush and an ice scraper. “You’re going to need these,” he said.
She nodded and put them in the cart. At the end of the aisle was a display СКАЧАТЬ