The Heartbreak Sheriff. Elle Kennedy

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СКАЧАТЬ lawyer wouldn’t show up for two hours, and even then, he might not be able to get her out of here in time.

      “I … I need to call the center,” she said, urgency lining her tone. “Maybe Maggie can take Lucy home with her when the day care closes. Or maybe …”

      She trailed off, her terror amplifying. What if Maggie called social services when Sarah told her where she was? The owner of the day care might be gentle and kindhearted, but she probably wouldn’t be pleased to hear that the mother of her three-month-old charge was locked up. Maggie had mentioned during their initial interview that she had a legal duty to inform child welfare if the kids under her supervision weren’t being taken care of.

      Sarah had only adopted Lucy three months ago, and it had been an arduous two-year process. Financially, she’d been in a good position to raise a child, what with the handsome inheritance she’d received from her aunt and the prosperous art gallery she owned and ran. But her history with depression had raised a red flag at the adoption agency. Sarah had endured dozens of home interviews, therapy sessions and surprise visits from her caseworker before finally being approved for the adoption.

      But if social services were called … they would take Lucy away from her. God, she couldn’t let that happen. She’d waited two long years for Lucy—she refused to have her baby snatched out of her arms, not after everything she’d gone through in order to have the chance of being a mother.

      She leaped off the cot and practically launched herself at the bars, wrapping both hands around the cold steel. “You need to do something for me,” she whispered.

      Finn’s expression darkened with suspicion. “What do you need?”

      “Bring Lucy here.”

      He balked. “What? No way, Sarah. I can’t bring a baby to lockup!”

      “Please,” she begged. “Please do this. If I tell Maggie what’s going on, she’ll have to inform social services. They’ll take my baby, Finn!”

      Tears spilled down her cheeks, and her hands begun to shake, vibrating against the metal bars. “Just bring her here, and then we can figure out what to do with her.”

      Suddenly Finn’s large hands were covering her own, his warmth seeping into her cold, white knuckles. “Sarah. Sarah. Calm down.”

      She realized her breathing had become shallow, as her head spun dizzily from the panic coursing through her blood. She was also aware that this was the first time Finn had touched her in four years, and as her heart rate slowed and she regained her senses, she yanked her hands away and pressed them to her sides.

      She couldn’t let him touch her. Physically, or emotionally. Just being around him sent her back to that dark place, the hole she’d fallen into after he’d abandoned her.

      “The mayor would have my head if he found out I brought a baby here,” Finn mumbled, averting his eyes. “I can’t do it, Sarah.”

      “Please,” she said again. “I’ll call Maggie and tell her that I’m giving permission for Anna to pick up Lucy from day care. I’ll say I’m tied up at work. I’ll find somebody to leave her with, maybe …” A thought entered her mind. “Jamie. Jamie can take her home with her until I get out of here.”

      “That could work,” Finn said grudgingly.

      “Of course it will. You know Jamie won’t say no.”

      He scratched his head. “Let me give her a call. I know Cole was released from the hospital today, so they should be at the cabin by now….” He removed his cell phone from the black case clipped on to his belt, edging away. “There’s no service down here. I’ll go upstairs to make the call.”

      Sarah watched him go, relief flooding her body, mingled in with the gratitude over the fact that she’d befriended Jamie Crawford. A profiler with the FBI, Jamie had come to town two weeks ago to help Finn solve Teresa’s murder, and Sarah had immediately hit it off with the auburn-haired federal officer. She knew that Jamie would take care of Lucy in a heartbeat, even with Cole still recovering from the gunshot wound he’d incurred while saving Jamie from one of his ex-wife’s crazed lovers.

      It floored her, the madness that had enveloped Serenade after Teresa’s death. Not only had Cole been a suspect, but Jamie had nearly been killed by a man who believed Cole had taken Teresa from him.

      Damn that woman. Sarah had never been fond of Teresa in all the years she’d known her, and now she loathed her even more. If Teresa hadn’t gotten herself killed, Sarah wouldn’t be in this position right now.

      But Teresa was dead, and now Sarah was framed for murder, stuck in a jail cell and separated from her child. Oh, and in close quarters with the man who’d broken her heart—might as well throw that tidbit on her growing list of Why My Life Is a Total Mess.

      “Oh, my sweet girl. I’m sorry Mommy can’t take you home, but I promise you, Auntie Jamie will take good care of you.”

      Finn’s heart ached as he watched Sarah cooing to her baby, as she held the child close to her breast and planted a gentle kiss atop Lucy’s head. They were in Finn’s office, since he hadn’t been able to stomach the thought of bringing the infant into Sarah’s cell. Sarah had spoken with the day care owner and arranged for Anna to pick up the child, and she hadn’t said a word to him as they’d waited, not even a thank-you.

      Though he didn’t particularly blame her for not expressing any gratitude toward the man who’d arrested her.

      But now she did speak, her eyes fixed on him as she asked, “When is Jamie getting here?”

      “Any minute now.”

      Satisfied, Sarah focused on the baby again, and Finn couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between mother and child. It was odd, considering that Lucy had been adopted, yet the baby had the same almond-shaped brown eyes as Sarah, the same creamy-white skin. Watching them together was almost mesmerizing, the way Sarah’s features softened as she gazed down at the baby, the way Lucy’s chubby little fingers wrapped around a lock of Sarah’s lustrous brown hair.

      Finn forced himself to turn away, unable to fight the helpless feeling rolling around in his gut. He remembered a time when Sarah had looked at him with that same adoration. Before he’d broken her heart and ran as far away from her as he could, coward that he was.

      But he’d grown up since then, and not a day went by that he didn’t regret his decision to leave Sarah. These past two weeks had opened his mind to the grave error he’d made. Watching Jamie fall in love with Cole Donovan had made him reassess his own empty life, made him realize that the only way to fill that gaping void was to win Sarah back.

      Now any possibility of doing that had been squashed. Because, really, what the hell was he supposed to say to her?

       Hey, I know I just arrested you, but how about getting back together?

      Not likely.

      “What happens when the lawyer comes?”

      Sarah’s quiet voice jarred him from his thoughts.

      “Can he get me out of here?” she continued, her voice quaking. “Will I be able to go home tonight?”

      Pain СКАЧАТЬ