Deputy Daddy. Patricia Johns

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СКАЧАТЬ glad,” he said, then cleared his throat. “So do you run this place by yourself?” He stepped back, then poked his head out the side door where a padded wicker chair waited invitingly.

      “I do,” she said. “Can’t afford employees yet.”

      She was proud of the title of sole owner—one she’d hardly dreamed possible. She would never have been able to save up a down payment to get started on her own, so she’d entered a contest for young entrepreneurs in Colorado with her business plan. She’d won first place—a check just big enough for her down payment on the old house and some supplies. Lily was certain it was an answer to her fervent prayers. A chance to climb out of the poverty she’d grown up in. And when God put an opportunity like this in her lap, she wasn’t about to squander it.

      “Taking care of this place alone—is that safe?” Bryce pulled his head back inside and fixed her with a steady look. His seriousness was almost comical. What did he expect happened in Comfort Creek, exactly?

      Lily laughed. “Of course. I know just about everybody in town, and we’re only three blocks from the police station.” She was also counting on most of her clientele being officers just like Bryce. Comfort Creek was probably the only town this size that had a regular influx of visitors due to the county’s training program.

      Bryce smiled ruefully. “Sorry. I’m used to a different pace in Fort Collins.”

      “Yeah, I imagine.” She switched the baby to the other arm, and Emily looked around in that cross-eyed way that newborns had.

      “So, if you know everyone in town, any guesses as to the mother of Piglet here?” he asked, reaching out to touch her hand. The baby closed her fingers around his thumb.

      Lily made a face. “A little piece of advice—never call a girl Piglet.” Bryce shot her a teasing grin, a little too much like her brothers did. “And no, I don’t know who the mother is. Maybe someone from an outlying community? I have no idea.”

      She paused. Professionalism must prevail.

      “Would you like me to show you to your room?” Lily asked. “Maybe you’d like to get settled before dinner.”

      “I’m starving, actually. Wouldn’t mind eating first,” he said.

      Lily gestured toward the rustic table, which she had set and ready for dinner. She looked down at the baby and back to Bryce. She couldn’t serve food one-handed.

      “Hold her, would you? I just need to get dinner off the stove.”

      Bryce froze for a moment, then awkwardly reached out to accept Emily from her hands. For a man who’d cared for the baby the entire morning, he was certainly acting strange. She eyed him curiously as she served up a heaping plate of fettuccine Alfredo, topping it with strips of lemon-marinated chicken breast. He settled Emily into the crook of his muscular arm, and she looked quickly away. He was a good-looking man, but she didn’t feel comfortable noticing that right now.

      “So what do you normally do in Fort Collins?” she asked.

      “Well, I don’t babysit,” he said. “There is a lot more actual crime-stopping.”

      Lily rolled her eyes. “Welcome to Comfort Creek. So what did you do to get sent here?”

      She caught a look of embarrassment cross his face, and she immediately regretted the question—at least the phrasing. She was still rather curious about why he was here. What had he done to merit two weeks in the dullest town in Colorado?

      “I had a little disagreement with another officer,” he said, smiling wanly. “It got...heated.”

      “Ah.” She was curious what “heated” looked like, but she wouldn’t ask. Bryce Camden was a big man with a broad chest and muscles that strained his shirtsleeves when he bent his arms. She could imagine that he’d be intimidating.

      She brought his plate back to the table and set it in front of him. A jug of pink lemonade sat within his reach, the clear glass fogged with condensation.

      “Aren’t you eating?” he asked.

      “I’ve already eaten,” she admitted. She hadn’t worked out how she’d feed her guests—leaving them be or sitting with them. Bryce seemed to want company, so she sat down in a chair opposite him.

      “Let me take her back,” Lily said, and lifted the baby from his arms. Child care was tiring, but there was something so sweet about little Emily that Lily found herself feeling strangely complete with the baby back in her arms. This hadn’t been part of her plan at all, but this tiny girl had her by the heartstrings already.

      “So tell me about this aunt’s wedding,” he said, pouring a glass of lemonade.

      “Pardon me?”

      “You said it’s the most interesting thing happening around here,” he said. “Besides rats.”

      Lily smiled and shook her head. “Well, Aunt Clarisse is widowed. She’s about sixty-four or so now. My uncle died ten years ago, and she’s been alone all this time. Then all of a sudden she announced that she’s getting married to some fellow she met online.”

      “Oh yeah?” He sat back in his chair and shot her a curious glance. “How long did they date?”

      “She says it was for a few months, but we’d never seen him before—or heard of him, for that matter. Last month, Aaron moved to town, and they started planning their wedding.” She nodded to his untouched plate of food. “Bon appétit.”

      “This looks delicious.” Bryce bowed his head for a moment, then sank his fork into the noodles without missing a beat. “So what’s the problem with Aaron?”

      “I didn’t say there was a problem,” she said with a small smile.

      “You didn’t need to. You don’t hide your feelings very well.”

      She never had been able to mask her true emotions. But when it came to Aaron, it wasn’t that Lily thought that a difference in age was that big of a deal. She’d watched enough crime shows to know that mature widows were a prime target for con men, however—a sentiment shared by half of her extended family.

      “He’s quite a bit younger than she is,” she said.

      “How much younger?”

      “About twenty years.”

      “It’s not unheard of,” Bryce agreed thoughtfully. “But I see the concern.”

      “So you’re right, we’re worried.”

      “Who’s we?” he asked, swallowing a bite.

      “About half the family,” she admitted.

      “And the other half?”

      “Thinks she’s making a fool of herself.”

      Bryce barked out a laugh. “So you get a feeling that something is up, do you?”

      Lily sighed. “If there were something suspicious going on, I’d never СКАЧАТЬ