“Is Laramie always like this?

“Everyone helping everyone else? Or is that just because it’s Christmas?” Noelle asked.

“I think,” Kevin answered, “Christmas inspires everyone to be generous. But Laramie is a great place, year round. People here take care of each other.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“You being a big-city girl and all,” he teased.

“Houston has its perks, but a small-town feel is not one of them,” Noelle replied. Then she changed the subject. “What kinds of cases are you working on?”

“Yesterday, there was the case of the missing leaf blower,” Kevin said with exaggerated seriousness. “Turned out to be in the caller’s backyard. He’d just forgotten to bring it in, and panicked when he didn’t see it in his garage.”

A mixture of amusement and respect sparkled in her eyes. “That sounds…”

“Pedestrian? I guess it is. But compared to things I saw when I worked on other police forces—let’s just say I prefer small-town problems.”

“And small-town women?” Noelle asked. “Do you prefer them, too?”

Dear Reader,

Christmas is a holiday that stirs strong emotions, and mine have run the gamut. There was my first Christmas as a new bride—very romantic. My first Christmas hundreds of miles away from my family—highly sentimental, and not necessarily in a good way. Our Christmases with our children when they were young and impossibly excited were very joyous indeed. The Christmas immediately following the passing of my father was achingly bittersweet.

There are years when the holiday spirit seems determined to elude me—although I always find it eventually—and years when I am overrun with merriment and anticipation weeks before the actual day. I never know how the season is going to start—that sort of depends on what is going on around me. I always know how it’s going to end, with celebration and appreciation, love and family. And the same is true of the residents of fictional Laramie, Texas.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. For more information on this and other titles, please visit me at www.cathygillenthacker.com.

Happy holidays and best wishes,

A Laramie, Texas Christmas
Cathy Gillen Thacker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cathy Gillen Thacker married her high school sweetheart and hasn’t had a dull moment since. Why? you ask. Well, there were three kids, various pets, any number of automobiles, several moves across the country, his and her careers and sundry other experiences (some of which were exciting and some of which weren’t). But mostly, there was love and friendship and laughter, and lots of experiences she wouldn’t trade for the world.

For my buddy Regan, the best canine companion this writer could ever have. And definitely my best Christmas present ever.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Chapter One

Kevin McCabe knew thirteen-and-one-half days of pure unadulterated bliss were too good to be true. It figured that on his way back to Laramie, Texas, he would see something that just had to be investigated. And that the unmarked white van currently backed up to the rear door of the Blackberry Hill mansion would be in an area with no cell phone connections. Had he been driving his work vehicle he’d have had a way to communicate his concern. Instead, he was driving the battered four-wheel drive Jeep he’d owned since high school. It had no two-way radio or emergency communication system.

After pulling over to the side of the winding rural road and watching a woman carry armloads of stuff out of the house, stash it in the van, then dart back into the residence via the side door, he decided to scope out the situation himself. If it had been just material possessions in question, Kevin would have waited for backup. But an eighty-five-year-old woman owned the property. And Miss Sadie had had a bad year already, losing her husband of sixty-two years. Kevin wasn’t sure if she was back yet from that six-week recuperative cruise she had been on, but he knew, as did everyone else in the close-knit community, that she was due home any day. Chances were, she wasn’t there now, hadn’t walked in to witness the theft, or worse, been there when the thieves arrived. But if she was there, Kevin couldn’t drive off and leave her. Not without first making sure Miss Sadie was okay.

Keeping an eye out for anything else suspicious, he drove slowly toward the pink brick Georgian house with the weathered gray shutters, stopping just short of the white van. Wishing he had a way to check the license plates, he cut the engine and got out. He walked down the long, tree-lined driveway toward the open side door, then paused to look in the windows of the rented van. It was loaded with Miss Sadie’s valuables, all right, he noted grimly. Everything from a Tiffany lamp to her jewelry box and favorite rocking chair.

“May I help you?” a feminine voice asked coolly from the top of the steps. Christmas music floated merrily from the interior of the house.

Time to appear clueless about what was going on. Kevin turned away from the loot with his best “Aw, shucks, ma’am, I’m just a dumb country boy” grin, and immediately noticed several things about the woman standing beneath the portico. She wasn’t a local. He was sure of that because had he ever encountered this very beautiful woman, even in passing, he definitely would have remembered her. She was dressed in a pair of olive wool slacks that lovingly gloved her slender hips and long lissome legs. A white cotton shirt, open at the throat, lay beneath an argyle sweater vest and tweed blazer. Her accent said Texas, born and bred. Her boots were the high-heeled, soft-leather type city slickers wore, their only purpose to change the tilt of her posture and make her legs look damn good. Which they did.

Reminding himself he would need to make a positive ID later, Kevin estimated the interloper was around five foot six, one hundred and twenty pounds, close to his own twenty-seven years in age and, as previously noted, curvy in all the right places. Her copper hair fell to her chin in a riot of springy curls he found incredibly sexy. And his attraction to the perpetrator didn’t end there. She had an angelically round face with a straight, slender nose and a thin upper lip countered by a full lush lower lip, just right for kissing. Her peachy skin was fair and flawless save for the sprinkling of freckles; her savvy blue eyes were intelligent, wide-set and long-lashed.

Not surprisingly, she was incredibly nervous—and pretending not to be, even as she stood there with a five-foot-high plastic candy cane beside her, cupped loosely in her right hand. Although he couldn’t fathom what she was doing with that ridiculous thing. The faded red-and-white plastic lawn ornament didn’t look like something anyone would want to steal.

Reminding himself she could be a lot more dangerous than her sweet and sexy appearance indicated, he paused at the bottom of the stairs. Tipping his hat in her direction, he acted every bit as oblivious to the criminal wrongdoing going on as the situation demanded. “Hello. I’m Kevin McCabe.”

THAT WAS THE PROBLEM with agreeing to do a last-minute job like this, in an unfamiliar part of the state, Noelle Kringle noted, not buying the name he had given her for one instant. She didn’t need this kind of trouble two weeks before Christmas. And the six-foot-tall hunk in front of her was heartache personified.

Or at least he would have been if he’d bothered to clean up. The golden-brown hair peeking from beneath the brim of a bone-colored Stetson hat and falling haphazardly across his brows, over his ears and down the nape of his neck needed to be combed and cut. She estimated it had been weeks since his boyishly handsome face had been shaved. And that, she couldn’t help but note a little wistfully, was a shame. The scraggly, dark brown whiskers on his face detracted from his nicely chiseled features and the sexy cleft in his chin. Not that she needed to be admiring the sensual lips, square masculine chin and arresting brown eyes of a man in ripped jeans, and a grime-smeared flannel shirt and gray Henley that had both seen better days. Especially when she feared she knew exactly why he was surreptitiously scoping out everything about the place—and her. He’d heard the rumors, too.

He moved closer, drawing her attention to the implicit threat in his broad shoulders and street-fighter’s build. This was not a man she’d want to meet in a dark alley. This was a man she would want on her side. Although for whatever reason, despite his outwardly laid-back manner, he did not seem to be. “I stopped by to see Miss Sadie, if she’s available,” he began, casually enough.

After the way she had been raised, Noelle could spot a pretender a mile away. Not that he needed to know she was onto his game. “Actually, she’s not,” Noelle replied with another cool smile, urging him to hurry on back to wherever he had come from.

He kept his eyes on hers. “Do you know when she’ll be back?”

“No.” Noelle chanced a look behind her toward the interior of the house and, to her immense relief, heard nothing but the strains of “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.”

“I don’t.”

“I see.” He propped one boot on the bottom step. Leaning forward, he rested an elbow on his thigh. Settling in for the duration, he charmed her with a smile. “And you are…?”

Noelle ignored the shiver of awareness that sifted through her. There was no way she was giving out that information in this day and age. She glanced at the wintry gray sky, wishing for a burst of rain that would send him running. “Too busy to stand here chatting with you.” She finished his sentence for him, turning to go back in the house.

He straightened and moved along the outside of the railing. He walked right next to her so she couldn’t avoid looking at him, even as he peered past her at the closed draperies and blinds that obscured the windows of every room of the house. He seemed to be tactically assessing the situation even as he formulated his next move. Another very bad sign, she thought as her pulse picked up even more.

“You seem stressed,” he stated.

You don’t know the half of it.

“Is there a problem in there?”

She listened hard and, to her continued relief, still heard no “suspicious” sounds coming from inside.

He paused, offered another ingratiating look. “Anything I can help you—or Miss Sadie—with?”

Noelle stopped at the edge of the landing and gripped the big plastic candy cane in front of her. “No. And there won’t be a problem if you leave now.” She made no effort to disguise the warning.

As she had suspected, the sexy stranger did not respond well to the veiled threat. “And if I don’t?”

Noelle scanned the drive for the help that should be coming. Any minute now. All she had to do was stall… And if that meant take her bravado to the next level, so be it. She let him squirm for a few minutes. “Then I’ll be forced to make a citizen’s arrest.”

Something shifted in his gaze, and his choked laughter turned into a cough. “On what grounds?” he asked in obvious disbelief.

She held her head high and kept her expression composed. “Coming onto Miss Sadie’s property without an invitation and then refusing to leave when asked.”

He tipped his hat back, letting her see his insulted expression. “I am not trespassing.”

She regarded him dubiously, letting him know that she wasn’t stupid, either. “We’ll let the sheriff’s department decide that. Frankly, I think they’re going to be on my side.”

The corners of his lips crooked up. “Doubtful, since I work for the sheriff’s department.”

She tilted her head and gave him the look she reserved for anyone who tried to snow her. “Really.”

“Yes.”

She scanned him quickly, beginning to enjoy this verbal sparring match. “Then they must have some very peculiar uniforms.”

He took off his hat and shoved his hand through clean, rumpled hair. “Obviously, I’m not on duty now.”

“If you ever were,” Noelle muttered beneath her breath, wondering why coming outside to let this potential felon know the house was indeed occupied and thereby not available for any yuletide plundering had ever seemed like a good idea. She should have just stayed inside and hoped he didn’t do anything crazy—like break a window or jimmy a door lock—while she waited for help to arrive. Instead, she was out here, with only a plastic candy cane to protect her, chatting with a smooth-talking hottie whose self-confidence apparently knew no bounds.

“Hey—” he angled a thumb at his chest, looking harmless enough for the moment “—no need to insult me.”

Noelle refused to let down her guard. Still trying to buy time and keep him from figuring out she was not alone, she bantered right back, “You started it.”

His brows knit together. “How?”

Telling herself she was definitely not enjoying their repartee, Noelle gave him a look that let him know she was not impressed. “By insulting my intelligence.”

Frowning, he waited for her to go on.

Noelle studied his hands, wondering how his body could be so clean when his clothes were so impossibly grungy. “Pretending to be a McCabe, for starters.”

“What makes you think I’m not?” he asked.

Because, as she had learned very early in life, the first rule of thumb when it came to running a con was to gain trust—and entrée—to your mark, find common ground and get close any way you could. A swift way to do that was by selecting a respected last name and claiming a familial connection. Rule number two—most people never doubted the name you gave upon introduction. It simply didn’t occur to them to question it. When a con met a mark who did, he or she usually just saved themselves the trouble and moved on. “The McCabes are one of the most well-respected families in the state.” Noelle gave a phony smile. “They don’t have a slacker among them.”

His spine stiffened. “I assure you I am quite hardworking and successful.”

“Not to mention a member of law enforcement.”

The scowl on his face deepened. “I am a deputy with the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department.”

She nodded in exaggerated agreement, aware he hadn’t so much as flashed a badge. Another telltale sign. “Sure you are. They always employ unkempt and unshaven—” although not unwashed “—bums in filthy clothing.”

He looked as if he didn’t know whether to laugh or strike back. “So now I’m a trespassing bum?” He rubbed his jaw with the flat of his hand in a parody of thoughtfulness. “Is that a technical term?” He tilted his head. “Maybe you should call that in and let them know you’ve got a vagrant on your hands. And while you’re at it, that the bum’s name is Kevin McCabe.”

Noelle tapped her foot on the landing and felt the rotting wood shift uncertainly beneath her feet. “No need,” she announced, “since they’ll be here at any minute.”

He swept off his hat and started up the first two steps. They creaked beneath his weight, shedding splinters of wood and aging paint. “Look, you can dis me personally all you want, later. Right now I want to check on Miss Sadie.”

“I told you she’s not here,” Noelle said impatiently, wondering whose idea it was to put wood steps where they would be exposed to the rain, and then fail to keep them waterproofed and painted.

“Well, guess what?” The wood creaked again as he climbed yet another step. “I don’t believe you.”

“Then you’re wrong.” Noelle took one step down.

“In fact—” he came up one more “—I think you’re hiding something.”

Only the most important thing in the world to me. Only the reason I took this opportunity so close to the holidays—against my better judgment. Only the reason I’m now so very sorry that I did.

He lounged against the railing, studying her openly. “And I’m not leaving until I find out what you’re trying to keep me from discovering.”

Panic swept through her. Noelle went down another step, the candy cane held in front of her like a battering ram. “I don’t care who you are or what you think. There is no way you are getting past me into this house,” she told him.

He abruptly became reasonable again. “Look, I just want to make sure Miss Sadie and her property are all right.”

Part of Noelle—the part that had already looked deep into his eyes and found them to be inherently kind—wanted to believe that. The cynical side of her that had learned not to trust anyone, said otherwise. “If you were really with the sheriff’s department,” she reminded him, “you would already know the answer to that.”

He went completely still. For a split second, Noelle could have sworn that was genuine alarm in his eyes. “Has something happened to her?” he asked, concerned.

Either he truly cared about Miss Sadie or he was one hell of an actor. Noelle regarded him skeptically. “Everyone around here knows what occurred here the day before yesterday. I know, and I don’t even live in the area!”

He frowned. “I’ve been out of touch for the past two weeks. I’m on my way home from a fishing trip.”

That might have rung true, in summer. Not December. Although it did explain the clothes…. Resolved not to accept anything he told her without due scrutiny, she lifted a brow. “Fishing for what?”

“Speckled trout, red drum and white bass. I’ve got my catch on ice in my Jeep if you want to see it.”

Okay, that had the ring of truth. However, that didn’t mean it was a good idea to let him any closer, especially given whom she had hidden inside Miss Sadie’s house. Darn it all. Where was that patrol car? She fixed him with her most threatening glare. “Once again, you need to leave.”

His mouth twitched with suppressed amusement. “Or what?”

Obviously he was not used to being ordered around.

“I’ll be forced to use this.” She waved her “weapon” threateningly in his direction. “To defend myself.”

“Well—” he lifted both hands in a mock display of surrender “—now I’m scared.”

“You should be,” she lied, gripping the large plastic ornament more tightly.

“Oh, I can see you’re armed and dangerous.” He started toward her once again, wicked speculation gleaming in his eyes.

She backed up ever so slightly, aware the rest of her was suddenly shaking as much as her knees. “I know how to use this.”

“What are you going to do with it?” he taunted. “Decorate me?”

“You wish. Now get back!” She lunged toward him.

Probably figuring she was going to aim for his head, he brought his hands up to shield his face. She faked him out and swung low instead. He jumped left, swearing as the candy cane whacked his thigh with a dull thud.

“Hey! Watch what you’re doing with that thing!”

Okay, maybe she hadn’t actually hurt him, but she had annoyed him. And now that she had the upper hand… “Now do you take me seriously?” she asked.

He grimaced, eyeing the candy cane, yet still refused to back down the steps. “Ma’am,” he drawled, tipping the brim of his hat, “I have from the first.”

“Stop calling me ‘ma’am’.” She prodded at him like a cowpoke herding cattle into a pen.

He gave her a pitying look, then retreated down the steps.

It was a conciliatory move, one she’d be a fool to trust.

“What would you like me to call you?”

Figuring she was going to have to go through with the citizen’s arrest after all, since it was taking the sheriff’s department so darn long, Noelle followed him down the steep, rickety steps toward the van. Using the candy cane, she motioned for him to keep moving back, until his spine grazed the side of the vehicle. Summoning up every police procedural she had ever seen, Noelle barked, “Get down on your knees.”

His brows lifted. “Now, that’s a thought.”

“And put your hands behind your head,” she commanded.

“Even more interesting.” He gave her a look that made her flush. “But no.”

Ah, heck. Now what? Trying not to think what a ludicrous situation this was, Noelle brandished her “weapon.” “Don’t make me hurt you—”

“Momma!” a familiar, high-pitched voice cried.

Noelle turned in time to see her two-year-old son stumbling out of the house, carrying a book that was half as big as he was. Noelle jerked in a terrified breath. This was exactly what she had been trying to prevent. “Mikey—!”

“Momma!” Still smiling, her son raced awkwardly across the landing, his feet getting tangled as he reached the top of the stairs.

Aware it would take both hands to catch the twenty-eight-pound toddler, Noelle leaped toward him. “Mikey, no—!”

Too late. He was already pitching forward, tumbling head over heels. Desperate to protect him, Noelle took another leap, cast the candy cane aside and bounded up the stairs in a single vault. She caught her son in her arms midtumble, just as her full weight landed hard on the rickety wooden steps. There was a crunching sound and a sick, scared feeling in her gut as wood splintered beneath them and then gave way. Noelle was sure she was going to break a limb, even as she tried her best to cradle her son protectively to her chest.

And then it was the interloper’s turn to save the day. He caught both her and her son in his arms before they could sink all the way through the wood, and pulled them to safety. Wide-eyed, Mikey let out a startled sound that was half cry, half laugh.

“Mikey!” Noelle murmured again, this time shuddering in relief.

Her little boy beamed up at her before reaching over, gently patting Kevin’s beard and staring hard into his brown eyes. “Santa?” he asked.

Chapter Two

“He’s not Santa, honey.”

“Beard,” the cute little boy with the copper curls and same vibrant blue eyes as his mother said.

“Yes, he has a beard,” she confirmed, squirming in Kevin’s arms, even as he tried to help her back on her feet. Not an easy task, since she was still slightly off balance and had a child in her arms. “But this man is not Santa Claus.”

“No kidding,” a low male voice agreed. Kevin relaxed at the sight of the uniformed lawman coming around the corner of the house. Rio Vasquez had his hand on his holster, but when he spotted the three of them tangled up on the partially collapsed wooden stairs, he dropped his arm and quickened his steps.

“Thank heaven you’re here!” Kevin’s would-be jailer said.

Rio gave Kevin an odd look that gave nothing away before turning back to the copper-haired beauty. “You’re the woman who called in to report an attempted burglary on Miss Sadie’s property?”

“Yes. I’m Noelle Kringle,” she stated firmly, agitated color flooding her cheeks as she squirmed out of Kevin’s arms.

He told himself he wasn’t sorry to let her go, that he hadn’t really enjoyed holding her soft warm body next to his, any more than he had enjoyed inhaling the lavender scent of her perfume.

“I’m glad you’re here, Deputy…Vasquez,” Noelle said haughtily, reading the name on his badge. “I was trying to make a citizen’s arrest.”

Kevin had to give his buddy credit—Rio didn’t so much as flinch, even at the phony-sounding name. Instead, he merely lifted his brow and waited for “Noelle Kringle” to go on.

“I saw him checking out the stuff in my van,” Noelle continued, with an accusing look aimed Kevin’s way.

“Which is when you called the sheriff’s department and then hung up on the 9-1-1 operator,” Rio guessed.

Noelle nodded. “I came out to stop him from taking anything. He wouldn’t leave when I asked him to. So I decided to detain him until you arrived.”

Rio made a few notes on the pad in front of him while Noelle shifted her son to her other hip. Noting that the little boy was looking at the holiday storybook he had dropped, Kevin leaned forward to retrieve it. After making sure there were no splinters clinging to it, he handed it back to the kid and was rewarded with a beaming smile.

“Not to mention the fact that he scared me half to death sneaking up on the house that way.”

“I would hardly call it sneaking. I turned off the road, drove up the lane and got out of my Jeep.”

“Only after sitting out on the berm for a good two or three minutes, casing the property.”

Kevin shrugged. “Things looked suspicious. I know Miss Sadie’s been out of town. I figured I’d come on up here and figure out what was going on.”

Noelle turned back to Rio. “He also claimed he was a lawman, if you can believe that!”

Rio played along. “Really.”

“Of course he didn’t have a badge.”

Kevin wasn’t sure whether he was more irked or amused. “I didn’t take it with me. I usually don’t when I go fishing for two weeks. I mean, who am I going to arrest—a recalcitrant bass?”

Rio narrowed his black eyes in typical enough-with-the-monkey-business manner. “What do you have to say for yourself, McCabe?” he asked.

“Well…” Kevin took his time coming to any conclusions. “I was pretty scared.” He pointed at the discarded “weapon.” “She was threatening me with that plastic candy cane over there.”

Unable to help himself, Rio grinned, then began to chuckle.

Realization flooded Noelle. She did not look pleased by her conclusion, Kevin noted.

“You two know each other?” she asked.

Rio nodded slowly. “Kevin is a deputy with the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department, too. Although you’d never know it by looking at him now.”

Some of the color left Noelle’s face. She blinked at Kevin in astonishment. “So you were telling the truth!”

She didn’t need to look quite so amazed. “Ah—yeah.” Kevin looked at Rio. “Can you believe it? She didn’t think I was a McCabe, either.”

Rio swept off his hat and ran his fingers through his black hair. A commiserating smirk dominated his handsome features. “Is that right?”

“She said I looked too disreputable to be a member of that clan.”

“Well.” Rio sighed and set his hat back on his head. “It is an upstanding family. You do not look the least bit respectable.”

“Right.” Kevin turned back to Noelle, whose eyes were alive with emotion as she cuddled her toddler close to her chest. “What was it you called me—a trespassing bum?”

She flushed a becoming pink, while Rio laughed. “In her defense, you do look pretty seedy at the moment,” he teased.

Kevin pretended to be irked. “Speak for yourself.” He paused, ready to get down to business. “So what’s going on with Miss Sadie?”

“Do you mind if we go inside?” Noelle interrupted, shivering. “It’s a little chilly for my son.”

“Sure.”

Because of the state of the side staircase, they had to enter through the front door, which she unlocked with a key. The last time Kevin had been inside the home had been to pay his respects the previous January, after Miss Sadie’s husband, Alfred, died. It had been immaculate. Now, it was dusty and bore the faintly stale air of a house that had been unoccupied. More alarming still, the formal living room was covered with ripped envelopes, and papers were scattered across the floor. Half a dozen suitcases stood in the foyer, and it looked as if a pot of tea had splashed against one cream-colored wall. “What the heck happened here?” he said in shock. “Did someone break in while Miss Sadie was on her cruise?”

Noelle and Rio exchanged a glance that left Kevin feeling he was the one on the outside looking in.

“The property was fine when she arrived home from her cruise day before yesterday,” Noelle said. “The problem occurred when she made herself a pot of tea, sat down to catch up on her mail and found out she’d been the victim of identity theft. She got so upset she forgot her suitcases were in the hall, and she tripped as she was headed back to the kitchen to make another pot of tea and telephone the authorities.”

Rio added grimly, “She broke her leg and had to have surgery yesterday.”

“And now she’s been moved to the nursing home across the street for the next six to eight weeks,” Noelle continued.

“Your brother Riley is her family doctor and is taking care of her,” Rio said.

Kevin looked at Noelle. “How did you get involved?”

“I’m good friends with her great-nephew, Dash Nelson, and I’ve done a lot of work as an event planner for Miss Sadie in Houston.”

That made sense. Kevin knew Miss Sadie split her time between her place in the city and her country home in Laramie County, spending equal amounts in each. Sadie Nelson was a noted philanthropist, always masterminding one charity event or another.

“Dash asked me if I would come up and pick up some things to take over to the nursing home for her. Dressing table, favorite rocking chair…things like that. I didn’t think her jewelry—much of which is very valuable—should be left out here under the circumstances, so I put that in the van, too. I figured I would give it to Dash for safekeeping when he gets here later this evening, until Miss Sadie is feeling better.”

Kevin had a passing acquaintance with the Houston-based attorney. He was a nice guy. Upstanding. Devoted to his aunt Sadie and late uncle Alfred.

Noelle set her squirming son down on the floor. He took his storybook over to the sofa, climbed up on the cushions and began to “read” to himself. The sweetly voiced chatter about Christmas and snow and Santa Claus had them all smiling.

Kevin turned his attention back to Noelle. She looked even lovelier in the warm light of the home’s interior. “Where is Dash?”

Her lower lip curved into a smile. “He’s in Houston. He had to be in court today but should be here later this evening. I’m supposed to meet him at the nursing home.”

“Laramie Gardens Home for Seniors,” Kevin ascertained.

“Right.”

The facility was a combination assisted living and nursing home, the best in the area. Sadie would be well taken care of there.

“Anyway…” Noelle took a deep breath that lifted the soft swell of her breasts. “Sorry about the misunderstanding earlier.”

He grinned at her feisty tone, liking the warm flush of color that had come into her cheeks as they talked. “It was entertaining, to be sure.”

“Only wish I had been here,” Rio interjected good-naturedly.

Kevin knew that was true. He was going to be living this one down forever.

“But I need to get going,” she said firmly, taking charge of the situation once again. “If you two would be so kind and help me take these last three items out to the van, I’ll lock up. I want to get to town and back before dark.”

It had been a long time since Kevin had encountered a woman with such spunk and vitality. However, he wasn’t quite sure yet that he could trust her as Miss Sadie and Dash Nelson apparently did. “You’re staying here?”

She stooped to pick up some of the mail scattered here and there. “Yes.”

Kevin and Rio bent down to help. “For…?” Kevin asked.

Noelle Kringle’s eyes locked with his. “However long Miss Sadie needs me.”

CHRISTMAS HAD ALWAYS BEEN a holiday that reminded Noelle of everything she didn’t have, but she was determined her son was going to have a better life. She hadn’t done right by him in the past, choosing to work nonstop through the festive season in order to bring in as much money as possible for them. But this Christmas was going to be different. She had passed on many of the holiday jobs sent her way, and had scheduled time off for herself until after the new year. And she had begun talking to Mikey about what Christmas meant well in advance, explaining everything from mangers to jolly old St. Nick. Noelle knew Mikey didn’t quite get it all yet, but by the time the season was over, he would have a much greater understanding of the rebirth and renewal, hope and happiness that the holiday brought. And they would both be better for it.

Her plans hadn’t included running into a sheriff’s deputy who set her heart racing. She hadn’t been attracted to a man since her husband had died, but she was attracted to Kevin McCabe, even if she didn’t want to be. She felt the undeniable physical pull every time she looked into his mesmerizing eyes.

Not that anything was going to happen. The last thing she needed was to get involved with anyone in law enforcement. And that went double for someone as inquisitive as Kevin McCabe, Noelle thought, as she got out of the rented van and moved around to extract Mikey from his car seat.

To her delight, the Laramie Gardens Home for Seniors was a bright and cheerful facility. A huge Christmas tree sparkled in the common room off the lobby. The high school choir was squeezed in against one wall, singing carols to residents seated on the comfortable chairs and sofas. Mikey watched, spellbound, as Noelle checked in at the front desk, then started back to Miss Sadie’s room with him perched on her hip.

“Well, one would never guess you had surgery yesterday.” Noelle smiled as she walked in. The elegant eighty-five-year-old woman—who bore a striking resemblance to Katherine Hepburn, right down to her auburn-tinted hair and lively eyes—was sitting up in bed. She wore a pale blue hospital gown and robe, and her cheeks were a little more pale than usual, but her hair had been brushed and twisted up into its usual stylish knot on top of her head. As always, the kindness that had drawn Noelle in exuded from the woman in waves. In the seven years Noelle had known her, Miss Sadie had become the grandmother she had always wanted but never had. The way Miss Sadie doted on Mikey, he might as well have been her great-grandson. Noelle wasn’t sure how she would have survived in the three years since Michael, Sr., had died if it hadn’t been for Miss Sadie’s stabilizing presence in her life. And Noelle owed Sadie’s nephew, Dash Nelson, a lot, too. The two were the closest thing she and Mikey had to family these days.

Relieved to see the older woman looking so well, she leaned down to give her a hug.

Miss Sadie pointed to the cast that went from midthigh to instep on her left leg. “Can you believe it? All those years skiing and never one broken bone…”

“You’re lucky it wasn’t more serious.”

“So the doctors said. Hello, Mikey darling.”

Mikey grinned and waved both hands frantically. “Mah Sadie!” He lurched far enough out of Noelle’s arms for Sadie to deliver the traditional kiss on his small cheek.

“I’ve got all the things you wanted in the van outside,” Noelle said.

“Good.” Miss Sadie motioned for her to take a seat. “I’ll have Dash carry them in when he gets here. Meantime, let’s talk about the party I’m supposed to be throwing in Houston next week.”

Noelle put Mikey on the floor. She reached into her carryall for a miniature Santa sleigh and two toy reindeer and handed them to him. He sat down and began playing. “You sure you’re up to that?” In the past, Miss Sadie had divided her time equally between Laramie and Houston. But Christmas Eve and Christmas Day she’d always spent at Blackberry Hill, in the neighborhood where she and her late oilman husband had grown up.

“Oh, yes. It’s all I’ve been able to think about all day.”

Noelle plucked her notepad from her shoulder bag. “Any chance you can go back for your traditional open house in Houston?” The party was a hugely popular bash. Noelle had been helping Miss Sadie plan and execute the annual black-tie event for the last seven years.

She shook her head. “My doctors want me here where they can keep an eye on me until the cast comes off in six weeks. Although I did get them to agree to let me spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Blackberry Hill, as usual.” She sighed. “So you and I have our work cut out for us. First, we’re going to need to notify all the guests that the party in my Houston home is canceled. I’d like to donate all the food and flowers to the Texas Children’s Home. And see if the brass quintet we had hired to play at the party would be willing to play there also.”

“No problem.” Noelle wrote rapidly on the pad in front of her. “I think I can get that done tomorrow.”

“Second, since I can’t get around on my own right now, I’m going to need your help getting ready for Christmas here.”

“I can do that, too.” Noelle smiled.

“And then…” Sadie’s lower lip trembled. She looked as if she was about to cry. “There is the identity theft to be dealt with.”

“Not to worry, dear Aunt Sadie,” a voice called warmly from the doorway. “Your nephew Dash is already on the case.”

Noelle looked up in time to see Dash Nelson saunter in. As usual, the accomplished attorney was wearing a suit and tie that perfectly suited his trim, athletic frame. Exuding every bit as much kindness as his beloved great-aunt, Dash paused to pat Noelle’s shoulder affectionately and ruffle Mikey’s hair, then continued on over to the hospital bed where Miss Sadie sat. “I just got off the phone with the sheriff’s department,” he informed her, bending to kiss her forehead. “They’re sending their fraud expert over to talk to you right away.”

Unbidden memories sifted through Noelle. Keeping the smile fixed on her face, she pushed them away. Thankfully, this mess wasn’t about her. She could help manage it without worrying about ending up in the middle of it. And in the process she could help repay Miss Sadie and Dash for all they had done for her.

Miss Sadie beamed at them both. “What would I do without you two?”

Dash settled on the end of his aunt’s bed. “That’s not something you need to worry about, since the two of us aren’t going anywhere.” He reached over and playfully squeezed Noelle’s hand. “Right, Noelle?”

She smiled. Was it her imagination or was Dash suddenly acting a little different around her?

She had no chance to dwell on it, as footsteps sounded in the hall outside Miss Sadie’s room. A rap on the door frame preceded a very handsome deputy sticking his head in.

Noelle took a calming breath as she and the interloper regarded each other in contemplative silence.

“Why, Kevin McCabe!” Miss Sadie cried in delight.

His dark eyes alive with interest, Kevin sauntered into the room. “Feel up to talking to me?” he asked without missing a beat.

Miss Sadie nodded and made introductions.

Noelle blushed as Kevin McCabe moved closer, his glance roving over her upturned face. “We’ve met,” she murmured, thrown by the lawman’s deliberate proximity to her.

“Although I daresay I wasn’t nearly this presentable at the time,” Kevin teased, scrubbing a hand across his freshly shaved jaw.

He cleaned up well; Noelle grudgingly gave him that. His tan uniform was crisply ironed, his leather boots bore a subtle glow. And he smelled great, too—like soap and woodsy cologne. She tore her eyes from the cleft in his chin that had been obscured by the beard he’d had just an hour or so earlier. He still needed a haircut, but his thick, golden-brown hair had been brushed into order, and looked just as soft, clean and touchable as ever.

“You must be the department expert on fraud,” Dash stated, standing to shake his hand.

Kevin nodded, even as Noelle refused to let him intimidate her with his I’m-in-charge-here body language. She had nothing to hide, at least as far as Miss Sadie’s case was concerned.

Mikey looked up from his toys, stared at Kevin curiously—as if trying to reconcile the clean-shaven Kevin with the bearded Kevin—then smiled and went back to playing with his Santa sleigh and reindeer. Noelle knew exactly how her son felt. There was the rough-hewn Kevin who had shown up fresh from a fishing trip, seemingly bent on giving her a hard time, and the good guy lawman standing in front of her. She didn’t know which version she found more alluring. She only knew being close to him threatened her peace of mind. And that was something she tried very hard to avoid.

She liked dull. Predictable.

Life, she was sure, would never be those things with Kevin McCabe anywhere in the vicinity.

“I specialize in computer fraud and identity theft,” he continued, oblivious to the nature of her thoughts. To her relief, he swiftly got down to business. While Kevin and Miss Sadie went over the specifics, Dash carried her belongings in from the van. Noelle worked on hanging up her clothing, setting up her vanity table and toiletries, favorite antique rocking chair and footstool, side table and reading lamp.

One minute Mikey had been playing nicely near the register beneath the windows. The next time Noelle turned around he was standing next to Kevin, running the sleigh and reindeer from the detective’s knee along the outside of his thigh and back again. Kevin continued talking with Miss Sadie, completely at ease.

Embarrassed, Noelle went to intervene. “Mikey, honey—”

“It’s okay.” Kevin lifted a hand. “I’m used to kids. I don’t mind.”

Noelle could see he truly didn’t, which only made him all the more appealing.

Dash walked back in, carrying Miss Sadie’s favorite Tiffany lamp. “Where do you want this?”

“Bedside table,” his aunt replied.

“I’m going to need copies of those credit card and debit card statements,” Kevin said, rising.

“They’re all at Blackberry Hill.” Miss Sadie looked at Noelle. “Could you make copies of the statements for him on the copier in my office, dear?”

Noelle told herself she was not at all disappointed that her time with Kevin McCabe had once again come to an end. “No problem.”

“Meantime, I assume all the companies involved have been notified.” Kevin rocked back on his heels.

“I did that while my aunt was in surgery yesterday, using the credit and debit cards in her wallet,” Dash confirmed, every bit as serious about protecting his aunt as Kevin was. “We still have to notify the companies who opened fraudulent accounts in her name without her knowledge or permission.”

“I can help with that.” Kevin handed over the police report for Sadie to sign.

Noelle noted that Sadie was looking tired. Mikey was beginning to get cranky, too. “I better get this little one some supper,” she said.

“I’ll stay with Aunt Sadie,” Dash promised.

By the time Noelle got back to Blackberry Hill, it was dark and Mikey was starving. From the groceries she had brought with her from Houston, she heated up a toddler chicken-and-noodle casserole and a jar of bite-size green beans in the microwave, poured milk into a sippy cup and cut up a banana. She put on some Christmas music and sat with her son while he ate.

Tired as he was, he had no desire to cut short his bath, so it was another forty-five minutes before she had him in his pajamas and tucked into the pack-and-play crib she used when they traveled. Noelle stayed with him until he went to sleep, made sure the baby monitor was set, then headed back downstairs in time to see headlights arcing across the front of the big house.

Figuring it was Dash, she opened the door and saw Kevin McCabe getting out of a patrol car instead.

Chapter Three

“Expecting someone else?” Kevin asked, surprised by how good it felt to see her.

“Certainly not a trespassing bum.”

He grinned at her self-effacing tone, glad she had concluded he really was no threat to her or her son. He wasn’t used to being regarded with suspicion. He rubbed a hand across his jaw. “I clean up good, huh?”

“Apparently so.” The wind whipped up, sending a chill through the front hall. She waited for him to wipe his feet on the mat, then ushered him inside. Her eyes glimmered with a combination of mischief and warm hospitality he found very appealing. “What can I do for you, Detective McCabe?”

Kevin swept off his hat and held it close to his chest. He reminded himself he was there on business. Not pleasure. “I wanted to go ahead and get copies of all Miss Sadie’s theft-related mail. The sooner we get this situation sorted out for her, the better.”

Noelle sobered at the mention of the crime. She pointed wordlessly to the coat rack next to the door, and Kevin hung his Stetson there. “Do you think you’re going to be able to figure out who did this?” she asked, leading the way to the formal living room.

Kevin tore his gaze from the alluring sway of her hips. “The culprits are smart. But criminals always trip up eventually. And a single mistake is all we need to arrest them.”

Noelle stopped in front of three large stacks of mail. She looked over at Kevin with a frown. “I haven’t had a chance to go through any of her mail yet.”

Kevin had been hoping that would be the case. “That’s okay. I can sort it out.”

She ran her teeth across her lush lower lip. “Maybe the kitchen table would be better?”

He eyed the antique settee and the small oval coffee table. She was right. No way was that going to be comfortable. “Probably. Thanks.”

Noelle helped him pick up the letters and discarded envelopes. She led the way to the kitchen. While he began sorting the mail into piles, she turned on a baby monitor and set it on the corner of the counter. “I was just about to have dinner.” She looked in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator and studied a stack of glossy white cardboard boxes, the exact thing he would have been doing had he been home alone tonight. “Can I get you anything?”

Yes. You.

Where the hell had that thought come from?

“I don’t want to intrude.” Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.

She waved off his protest. “We have chicken fettuccini and broccoli, beef and broccoli and lemon chicken and broccoli.”

Kevin detected a theme. “Got a thing for broccoli, do you?”

Her blue eyes gleamed at his teasing tone. She tilted her head to one side and regarded him with mock gravity, declaring stubbornly, “I’m not admitting to anything, Detective.”

He grinned at her playful attitude. This was a woman who could be a lot of fun. Another reason he needed to watch his step. “You’re sure it’s no trouble?” he asked casually, doing his best to stay on task.

She shrugged a slender shoulder. “I can heat two dinners in the microwave as easily as one.”

“Thanks, then,” Kevin said over the rumbling of his stomach. “I’d appreciate it. I haven’t had time to grab dinner this evening, either.”

She went back to studying the selections. “And your choice is?”

He sorted credit card statements in one pile, what looked to be party invitations and Christmas cards in another. “Whichever broccoli dinner you least want to eat. It doesn’t matter. They all sound pretty good.”

She took out two and began unwrapping them. “You eat a lot of frozen dinners?”

Kevin made a third pile for junk mail while she set the microwave timer. “Doesn’t every single person who’s too lazy to cook on a regular basis?”

She lounged against the counter and folded her arms in front of her. “So you really were fishing.”

Trying not to note how delectable she looked in the soft kitchen light, with her mussed hair, flushed cheeks and lively blue eyes, he drawled, “That’s right.”

She looked him up and down. “By yourself.”

“Well…” He warmed at her skeptical tone. “There were a few fishes there. But I can’t really call them friends.”

Her smile widened. “Especially the ones you caught and plan to eat.”

“Exactly.”

Their eyes met. Held. Kevin felt another jolt of physical attraction.

Noelle sobered before his thoughts could go from reality to fantasy in three seconds flat. “I feel pretty foolish about what happened earlier,” she told him softly.

He pushed away the memory of her body caught against his. So her breasts were soft and full, the rest of her slender and fit. So she smelled like crushed lilacs on a sunny day. That didn’t mean he had to desire her, any more than he had to notice the scent of baby powder clinging to her now. “It was understandable,” he assured her, “given the fact Miss Sadie’s identity had been stolen. For all you knew, I was the thief come to cause even more mischief.”

The timer dinged, and Noelle pivoted toward the microwave. She peered inside, checked the contents of the dinners and started the oven up again. “Is Miss Sadie going to be liable for the massive amount of debt whoever did this ran up in her name?”

Kevin noted it seemed important to Noelle that Miss Sadie not suffer. That alone proved nothing. A lot of white collar criminals felt they were stealing from businesses that were reimbursed by insurance companies, not people, and therefore justified it on some level because the victim was a faceless corporation.

Kevin tackled the last stack of mail. “On Miss Sadie’s own credit cards, there’s probably a set limit she’ll be liable for, possibly as low as fifty dollars, depending on the terms of her agreement with the bank that issued them. But she won’t be liable for the cards that were fraudulently applied for and issued during her absence. Unfortunately, it is going to take awhile to prove that was done by someone other than Miss Sadie herself, and get all this straightened out…and during that time her name is going to be mud at all the banks. It looks like she is maxed out on all her current cards.”

Noelle filled two glasses with ice and water. “How can this happen?”

Kevin leaned back in his chair and watched her slice up a lemon. It was a simple domestic act, yet it filled him with pleasure. “Someone got hold of Miss Sadie’s personal information, signed her up for cards and used a Houston post office box as her mailing address,” he explained. “Once the cards were issued and activated, it looks like the thieves began ordering goods off the Internet and had them delivered as “gifts” to other people at post office boxes around the state.”

Noelle’s brow furrowed. “Shouldn’t someone have figured this out?” she complained.

Kevin noted that this woman was either innocent of any wrongdoing, or an Oscar-caliber actress. He leaned back as she put the beverage in front of him. “Obviously, given the volume of letters Miss Sadie received at her permanent Laramie and Houston addresses, people were questioning what was going on and putting holds on various accounts until they heard from her. Unfortunately, because she was on her cruise, no one was able to reach her. It looks like most of the activity took place in a three-week period at the end of November. Do you know what day she left on her cruise?” he asked curiously.

Noelle nodded. She plucked silverware out of one drawer, napkins from another. “October twenty-ninth. I met with her right before she left.”

“And she got back…?” Aware they were about to eat, Kevin moved the stacks of sorted mail out of the way.

“Three days ago,” Noelle replied. “Miss Sadie spent the night in Houston, then picked up her mail at the nearby post office the following morning. She had her regular driver bring her out to Laramie, where she stopped at the post office, picked up that mail, and headed out here to Blackberry Hill. She said she waited until she got to the house to start going through it all, so she had no idea what was going on.”

The microwave dinged again. Noelle removed the dinners from the oven and handed him the beef and broccoli, keeping the lemon chicken and broccoli for herself. They peeled off the plastic covers. Steam curled through the air, giving the kitchen a distinctive Asian aroma.

“How are you going to track the thieves?” Noelle asked, taking a seat opposite Kevin.

“I’m going to start by talking to everyone close to Miss Sadie, and have her fill out some forms about who works in her home, or on the property, or has occasion to see her private papers. Whoever did this had to have access to her birth date, social security number, bank information and so on. In all likelihood it’s someone close to her she would never suspect, which is why I’m going to be taking a hard look at the background of everyone around her.”

Noelle seemed nervous again. “Couldn’t it have been a stranger?” she asked, a troubled look in her eyes.

Kevin struggled to contain his disappointment. He did not want Noelle to have anything to do with this. “It could have been,” he agreed carefully.

She released the breath she had been holding. “But you don’t think it is.” She kept her eyes on his.

Kevin debated how much to tell her. “I find the timing odd,” he said finally. “Miss Sadie goes off for a six-week cruise, and two days later, a flurry of bank card applications are entered in her name. She has a stellar credit rating, so the cards are issued promptly—probably all within hours of each other. Ten days later, purchases begin. And then magically stop right before she gets home from her cruise. Common sense says it was no accident that this happened while she was out of touch.”

Noelle’s expression turned contemplative. She put her fork down and dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “So what next?”

I try like hell to remain objective. “I talk to my friends in Houston who specialize in identity theft for the HPD. There may be others in the area who are reporting similar fraud.”

“Maybe people on the same cruise?” Noelle asked hopefully.

Clearly, she was looking for an easy solution to the puzzle. “Or people who all used the same travel agency to book vacations. Then again, a common thread could be people whose homes are all monitored by the same security company, companies that would have been informed of the prolonged absence of the residents. And we can’t rule out that it could be an isolated incident—just someone close to Miss Sadie who wanted to give their family a good Christmas.”

Noelle picked up her fork and toyed with her food once again. “I find it hard to believe anyone close to Miss Sadie would do this to her,” she said stubbornly.

“You prefer the stranger angle.”

“Yes.”

So did he, truth be known. However, Kevin had learned the hard way that not everyone could be trusted. “Desperation makes people do awful things.”

Noelle shook her head in frustration. “But to take advantage of an eighty-five-year-old woman who is one of the sweetest, most generous people I’ve ever met…”

“I agree. It’s awful. But I can’t let my personal feelings for Miss Sadie hamper my investigation, which is why I’m going to take a hard look at everyone around Miss Sadie.” Kevin paused. “Including,” he said meaningfully, looking straight at her, “you.”

NOELLE HAD EXPECTED she would be investigated, given all Kevin had just said about the likely suspect being someone with easy proximity to Miss Sadie. She hadn’t expected it to hurt so much. Temper igniting, she pushed away from the table and headed to the sink. “Don’t forget Dash.”

Kevin finished his meal. “I won’t.”

“Or my son, Mikey,” Noelle continued heatedly, dumping the remains of her dinner into the disposal, her appetite gone. “He could have done it, too.”

Kevin dropped his own black plastic dish into the trash and carried the silverware over to the dishwasher. “You’re offended.”

Noelle glared at him. “I’d like to say I understand you’re just doing your job.”

He took the disposable dish out of her hand and threw it away, too. “But you can’t.” He turned back to face her.

Trying not to notice how fit and handsome he looked in his starched khaki uniform, Noelle shook her head. “No. I can’t. I don’t like being accused of something I did not do.” It brought back too many memories of a time she would rather forget.

He gave her a steady, assessing look.

Noelle jerked in a breath, aware she had inadvertently revealed too much. To her relief, the front door opened and then closed.

Seconds later, Dash strolled into the kitchen. “Sorry it took me so long to get here,” he told Kevin. “I wanted to stay until I was sure that Aunt Sadie was settled for the night.” He glanced at Noelle. “Were you able to find all the paperwork Detective McCabe needed?”

Kevin lifted a hand, interrupting, “You can both call me Kevin.”

“I don’t know if that is such a good idea,” Noelle interjected coolly. Temper still simmering, she looked at Dash, confiding, “It seems we’re all suspects in the identity theft.”

“As it should be,” Dash replied, obviously in total agreement. He crossed to Noelle’s side and put a companionable arm about her shoulders. “Not that it will take Kevin long to eliminate you.” He grinned, switching from lawyer mode to Southern charm in the time it took to draw a breath. “Me, on the other hand, well, we all know what a disreputable character I am.”

Noelle smiled. Dash was one of the most honest, caring men she had ever met. He also knew the secrets of her past. If he didn’t think she had anything to worry about, she probably didn’t. Getting his silent message to relax and let things unfold as they would, she forced the tension from her limbs.

His mood abruptly all-business, Kevin gathered up the papers on the end of the table. “Do you want to make copies for me now, or drop them off at the station tomorrow?”

Noelle hesitated. Neither option appealed to her.

“I’ll do it right now on Aunt Sadie’s copier in the study upstairs,” Dash said. He looked at Noelle with easy familiarity.

“Thanks,” Noelle said quietly, glad for the help.

“No problem. Any chance I could get a mug of very strong coffee before I hit the road?”

Noelle had expected Dash would not stay in Laramie for long. Still, she was disappointed. She could have used someone to run interference between her and Kevin. Thus far, Dash had proved very adept at it. “You have to go back to Houston tonight?”

He nodded. “I’ve got to be in court again tomorrow, so I’ll need to leave as soon as I get these copied for Kevin. Be right back.” He exited the kitchen.

Once again, Noelle and Kevin were alone. Noelle could feel him sizing her up. Trying to figure out the exact nature of her relationship with Dash. Maybe it was petty of her, but she hoped he stayed confused.

“Is there anyone in Houston you think I might need to investigate?” Kevin asked matter-of-factly.

“Besides me and Dash, you mean?” Noelle retorted sweetly.

He waited, unsmiling.

Okay, she was overreacting, given the circumstances. But darn it all, Kevin didn’t know what she had been through in the years before she had been rescued by Dash and his legal expertise. “I can’t think of anyone,” she said finally, forcing herself to remain detached.

“Thanks, anyway.”

Noelle made a show of wiping down the table. “I do have a question.”

He leaned against the counter. “Fire away.”

Wishing she weren’t so aware of his presence, Noelle retreated into scrupulous politeness. “I’d like to get the steps repaired and painted before Christmas. Do you know of anyone who could do it for me on short notice?”

Kevin nodded. “I’ll have someone here tomorrow evening to tear down the rotten wood. The steps can be rebuilt Saturday morning, a coat of waterproofing put on. Primer and paint can be applied the following day—as long as the weather holds and there is no rain.”

That would certainly take care of it. “Thank you,” Noelle said grudgingly.

“In return, I want something from you.”

It figured. “You’re kidding,” she said sarcastically.

He held out his hands, palm up. “Nothing in life is free.”

Especially when it came to Kevin McCabe. “What do you want?” she demanded, on edge again.

“The sheriff’s department organizes a Blue Santa operation every year. It’s a good cause. A lot of residents volunteer. We gather up toys and donations of food and clothing that are distributed to the needy throughout the county. We schedule an exciting appearance by Santa. For the record, I got tapped for that this year.”

Now that would be something to see. “Should have kept your beard,” she taunted lightly. “Although you would have had to do something to make it white.”

He let her remarks pass. “We also hand out presents to the kids and gift baskets for the adults, and then we have a potluck dinner for everyone—volunteers, their families and the folks we help—over at the community center on the evening of December twenty-third.”

Noelle was impressed despite herself. “That sounds laudable.”

“And fun. Anyway, every year we split up the work. Because I was out of town fishing for the first two weeks of the drive, I ended up being responsible for two things, in addition to playing Santa. The decorations for the dinner…”

Noelle shrugged, aware that every time she got near him, her heart beat faster, her senses got sharper and the isolation she’d felt since her husband’s death became a little more acute. She thought she had been living fully. Obviously, she hadn’t been.

Deciding she had looked into Kevin’s eyes far too long, she turned away once again. “That doesn’t sound too hard.”

He watched her wipe down the counters and the inside of the microwave. “Maybe not for you,” he chided. “You make your living putting together events.”

Promising herself she was not going to fall prey to the attraction simmering between them, she forced her gaze back to the rugged contours of his face. “What’s the second thing?”

His mouth flattened into a grim line. “Baby doll revitalization.”

She couldn’t help it. She began to laugh.

His eyes narrowed. “It’s not funny. People are very generous about donating. And we appreciate it, as do the kids who receive the gifts. But some of these dolls aren’t in the best of shape, to put it lightly. And I’m in charge of making sure they all seem like new.”

Noelle looked him up and down. “I can see this would be tough for you.”

Kevin rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You have no idea.”

“Didn’t spend a lot of time playing with dolls when you were a kid?”

“Can’t say that I did. I’m begging you to help me out.”

Twisting her arm was more like it. “There must be someone else you could ask,” Noelle replied. “A sister, mother, some woman who is terribly interested in you.”

“True—except they’ve already volunteered and are set to help out in various other ways.”

“Maybe they wouldn’t mind taking on another task.”

“But then I’d owe them,” Kevin retorted, as if that would be the worst thing in the world.

“And you wouldn’t owe me?” Noelle asked curiously.

“Not if I fix Miss Sadie’s steps for you. Then we’d be even.”

“Whoa. Who said anything about you repairing the steps?” Noelle said.

“I did.” He palmed his chest. “I’m a very handy carpenter, and truth be told, I feel a little bad about the way that all unfolded. This way, if I fix what I helped you break, I don’t have to feel guilty.”

“Or worry about your karma,” Noelle guessed, trying not to be amused…and failing mightily.

“Right.”

She blew out a gusty breath. “You are one complicated man.”

“So what do you say?” He moved closer, hands spread, and blasted her with a hopeful smile. “Do we have a deal?”

Noelle had never been one to swoon over a man in uniform, but there was no denying Kevin McCabe made an impression she was not likely to forget. One minute he was saving her and her son from sure injury, the next flirting. The man practically exuded honor, audaciousness and the determination to do right no matter what the cost. She didn’t know what he was up to now, but didn’t like it one bit.

Clearly aware he was annoying her terribly, he looked her over from head to toe, taking in the delicate hollow of her throat and the shadowy hint of cleavage in the open V of her white shirt. His gaze moved lower still to check out the fit of her tailored slacks before returning to her eyes. “You’re very sure of yourself.” She regarded him perceptively.

He gazed back with a charming smile, still holding her gaze. “Not so sure.”

The way he looked at her then—as if he was thinking what it might be like to make love to her—sent tremors of awareness tumbling through her. “What do you mean?” Noelle demanded, hanging on to her composure by a thread.

“For example—” he leaned toward her conspiratorially “—I’m not certain you want to kiss me, but your body language says you do.”

“Detective.” Noelle lifted her chin, drew a deep breath. “You’re not really thinking of putting the moves on me just now.” She inched back.

“Not thinking.” He stepped toward her, laced his hands around her waist and tugged her against him. “Which is,” he continued thoughtfully, looking down at her intently, “perhaps the problem.”

KEVIN HAD KNOWN he was in trouble the minute he accepted Noelle’s dinner invitation and entered the cozy confines of the kitchen. But he’d done it anyway, hoping the casual intimacy of the situation would seduce her into revealing all sorts of things about herself and her relationship with Dash and Miss Sadie. Kevin figured he could put his considerable attraction to her aside long enough to investigate her connection, or lack thereof, to the case he was working on. He’d intended to figure out why he had seen flashes of guilt and fear in her eyes whenever the subject of the identity theft came up.

However, he hadn’t expected to see raw vulnerability in her eyes in her most unguarded moments. She had the same hunted, despairing look the bullied kids had always had in school. The look that said they knew they had done nothing to deserve the treatment they were getting, but were braced to suffer all sorts of indignities anyway. Kevin had never been able to stand by while an underdog was suffering then, and he couldn’t do it now. To his chagrin, he found himself wanting to protect Noelle, not investigate her. He found himself wanting to get closer. Not as law enforcement. As a man. He found himself wanting to satisfy her obvious desire to be kissed. To bring her closer yet. To investigate the softness of her lips….

Noelle saw the kiss coming and could have avoided it, if she had wanted to. She didn’t. Maybe because this was the kind of kiss she had always dreamed about and never received. Gentle. Tender. Evocative. Maybe because she had known instinctively that the touch of his lips to hers would rock her to the core. And the reality was even better than she had ever imagined. Noelle was inundated with so many sensations at once. The hard warmth of his body. The yummy taste of his mouth. The clean masculine fragrance of his skin. Heavens, the man knew how to kiss, she thought, letting herself be drawn into the erotic moment. He knew how to exact a sensual response from her. Knew how to make her want and need. Knew how to…draw back.

Startled, she hitched in a breath and stared into his eyes. To her surprise, he looked as taken aback as she felt. Who knew what would have happened next had it not been for the sound of swift footsteps overhead, forcing them farther apart? Seconds later, Dash bounded down the back stairs, two stacks of papers in hand, one of which he handed to Kevin. “I made two copies of everything, one for me, one for you. The originals will stay here with Miss Sadie.”

“Good thinking,” Kevin said.

Dash smiled at Noelle, his presence effectively breaking the mood. “Coffee ready?” he asked cheerfully.

Noelle feigned normalcy. “It will be in a minute.” Just as soon as she put it on.

Kevin looked at Noelle, no sign of what had transpired between them on his handsome face. Instead, he seemed to be wondering what had come over him, as surely as she was wondering what had come over her! “I better be going, too,” he said.

Her throat dry, she nodded. “I’ll tell Miss Sadie you’re working hard to solve her case.”

“And I’ll tell her you’ve agreed to help with the Blue Santa holiday drive this year. That will please her. She’s one of our biggest contributors.”

Except I didn’t quite agree, Noelle thought as Dash walked Kevin to the front door before returning to the kitchen. You just sort of volunteered me. And I was too distracted to say no….

“Nice guy,” Dash remarked, returning to her side.

Complicated. And Noelle had always had a thing for complicated men, even though she rarely acted on it.

“And dedicated,” Dash continued.

“Not to mention suspicious,” Noelle said out loud, meeting Dash’s eyes. Telling herself she had to work harder to keep her defenses in place, she got out the coffee and filters. She could not end up flirting with Kevin McCabe again. Never mind kissing!

“You’re worried he’ll find out about your stay in juvie?” Dash guessed.

Her spine stiffening at the memory of that awful time in her life, Noelle put beans in the grinder and turned it on. “As well as what happened after I got out.”

Dash shrugged. “You could just tell him.”

And have Kevin McCabe look at her the way others had when they’d found out she’d spent time in lockup? “No. I’m not going back there, Dash, not even in my thoughts.” She looked him straight in the eye. “Not ever again.”

“SO HOW ARE THINGS OUT at Blackberry Hill?” Rio asked when Kevin walked into the station.

As out of control as ever, Kevin thought. What had gotten into him, anyway? Seducing a woman he had yet to eliminate as a suspect? He had meant to catch her off guard and get her to open up a little bit this evening. Instead, he had ended up letting his guard down, flirting, allowing the simmering attraction between them to flare up. He had given in to impulse and actually kissed her. And there had been nothing official at all about that move. That had been pure desire on his part. Passion was not something that typically drove his actions. He had much more control over himself than that. And yet there was something about Noelle Kringle that drew him like a bee to nectar. Despite her made-up name.

He had to do better.

Rio elbowed him in the side. “Did you ride off again somewhere? ’Cause you sure look like you’re standing here.”

“Sorry.” Kevin set the stack of papers on his desk and powered up his computer.

Rio went back to his hunt-and-peck typing. “I should be making you write up this danged report,” he complained, “since you’re the one who caused the problem this afternoon.”

Everyone knew how much Rio hated paperwork. Although, in Kevin’s estimation, his colleague made the process much more painful than it had to be by procrastinating forever before getting down to business. Of course, Kevin admitted, that was probably due to the fact that, like him, Rio had no one to go home to after work. Sometimes being single in a two-by-two world really bit. Never more so than during the holidays, which was why Kevin had decided to stop feeling sorry about the lack of a wife and kids in his life and go off fishing for the first half of December. So he wouldn’t have to think about the glaring void in his existence.

“You look more unhappy than I do.” Rio stopped typing abruptly and got up. He went over to refill his coffee cup with a brew that was thick as molasses and had all the aromatic qualities of used motor oil.

“I see you made the coffee again,” Kevin noted.

Overhearing, several of the other deputies chuckled.

Rio perched on the edge of Kevin’s desk. He took a sip of coffee and somehow managed not to wince. “So how long are Miss Sadie’s nephew and that babe—what was her name again—?”

Like Rio didn’t know. “Noelle Kringle,” Kevin said, for the benefit of everyone else in the room.

“—going to be around?” Rio finished curiously.

Kevin checked his e-mail and found 228 messages waiting for him. After deciding to get caught up later on what had happened while he was on vacation, he moved his cursor to the Background Check function. “Dash Nelson was going to head back to Houston this evening.” Kevin couldn’t say he was sorry about that. It would be a heck of a lot easier to investigate Noelle without her protector around.

“And what about Noelle?”

Kevin pushed aside the memory of her incredibly soft lips…and how sweet they had tasted. He had a job to do that did not include kissing her—or even dreaming about doing so—again. “I’m not sure how long she’s going to be here.” He got up to get himself some awful coffee. “At least a few more days.” Until the side entry steps were finished, he guessed.

“Is she hooked up with Dash?” Rio asked when Kevin had sat back down again.

“Not sure.” He took a sip and found the coffee as hot and bitter as he had expected. “There’s definitely an intimacy between them.”

Rio’s eyes lit up curiously, along with every other deputy’s in the room. “Sexual?”

Kevin shook his head. “Not that I saw, anyway. Dash Nelson treats her more like a wife he’s had around for a while and sort of relies on to fetch and carry.”

“Hmm.” Rio studied him. “You calling dibs on this one?”

Guilt swept through Kevin, even as he denied the possibility. “Rio, I’m investigating her.”

“So?” He shrugged. “I assume you’ll clear her eventually.”

Kevin hoped so. Otherwise, he was headed down a road he had traveled before, hankering after a woman who was nothing more than a very accomplished criminal.

Rio’s eyes gleamed cynically. He knew why Kevin was so reluctant to get involved on a personal level. “Did you run a background check on her yet?”

“I’m about to.” Kevin typed in the appropriate commands and waited. No Prior Arrests flashed on the screen. There wasn’t so much as a single traffic ticket attached to her record.

“That ought to make you feel better,” Rio said, reading over his shoulder.

Kevin lifted a brow.

“I assume you would prefer—as would I—that whoever did this to Miss Sadie be a stranger, rather than a close and trusted acquaintance or family friend?”

Kevin knew what he meant. It felt less invasive if the perpetrator of a crime was someone who had selected a victim at random. If the injured party knew it was nothing personal. Because when the “mark” knew the perpetrator of the crime, and trusted or loved the person, it was pure torture.

Rio slapped Kevin on the shoulder. “So Merry Christmas, partner. You’re free to pursue her.”

Kevin thought about Noelle Kringle’s less than innocent reaction and then scoffed, his emotional armor back in place. “Are you kidding?” He wasn’t pursuing anything until he knew exactly who he was dealing with. “I’m just getting started.”

Chapter Four

“So what’d you find out?” Rio asked the following afternoon.

Kevin leaned back in his desk chair. “Noelle Kringle was born and reared in Houston. Her parents were Bert and Norma Smith. They died eight years ago in an automobile accident, when Noelle was just nineteen. Bert was an electrical engineer, employed with the same company for twenty years. Her mother was a homemaker. The family owned one modest home in Houston that has since been torn down to make way for a shopping mall.” Which made it impossible to go and talk to any of the Smiths’ former neighbors—easily, anyway. “There’s nothing to report on any of them. No traffic tickets, criminal records, legal disputes or credit problems. Nothing on her late husband, Michael Kringle, Sr., either.”

“How about Miss Sadie’s nephew?”

“Dash Nelson is a respected member of the Texas bar, an ace litigator who also does a lot of pro bono work for disadvantaged youths. He’s got plenty of money of his own, and a close relationship with his aunt, so there’s no motive there. If he wanted or needed money from Miss Sadie, all he would have to do is ask.”

Rio pulled up a chair. “What financial shape is Noelle Kringle in?”

“Not great.” Aware that Noelle had had a harder time than she let on, Kevin frowned. “Her parents left her only a few thousand dollars when they died, after their estate was settled. She worked minimum wage jobs—waitress, banquet server—before getting on with a catering firm as an event planner. She stopped working for that company when she married, and became self-employed, doing solo events for Miss Sadie and several other prominent families. She lives in a town home in a respectable neighborhood with her son. Her bank account shows no unusual activity. She seems to have enough to get by, but nothing that would indicate she’s involved in any kind of scam.”

“So she’s off your suspect list?” Rio asked.

“Not quite.”

Rio cocked a brow.

“Something about her just doesn’t feel right,” Kevin added.

“You think she’s a crook?”

Kevin’s wary nature kicked in. “I think she’s hiding something.”

“Like…?” his buddy pressed.

Kevin shrugged and stood, feeling ready for action once again. “I don’t know. But I’m going to find out,” he vowed. “It’s the only way I’ll be able to rule her out as a suspect, once and for all.”

NOELLE WAS SITTING at Miss Sadie’s bedside, finishing up the latest round of notes for the parties Miss Sadie was planning to have in Laramie, when Kevin McCabe strolled in.

He was in full uniform again today. The starched khaki shirt and dark brown pants molded his athletic frame. He’d had a haircut and a shave. The faint hint of cologne clung to his skin. Her pulse quickened as their eyes locked, and then it leaped again as he hunkered down and gently greeted her son. “How you doing, sport?” Kevin said as he watched the boy play with his cars and trucks on a race track rug Noelle had brought in.

Mikey lifted the truck in his hand for Kevin to see. “Tick-up-puck!” The little boy looked at him, obviously wanting to be sure Kevin understood what he had said.

Noelle noted with amusement that the deputy hadn’t a clue.

“Mikey is showing you his pickup truck.” Noelle enunciated carefully, for benefit of her toddler son.

Recognition dawned. “That is a very nice pickup truck,” he agreed emphatically, looking Mikey straight in the eye.

The little boy beamed.

Kevin patted him gently on the shoulder, then stood up again.

The mood shifted as electricity arced between him and Noelle, generated no doubt by the memory of that sizzling kiss they had shared. She did her best to ignore it. As did he.

Smiling, Miss Sadie looked at the large cloth sack Kevin held in one hand. “What have you got there?”

He shrugged, his attention focused now on the genteel elderly woman. “A little elf told me you and some of the other ladies here at Laramie Gardens know how to sew.”

Miss Sadie nodded. “Why, yes, we do. It was an art taught to all the ladies of my generation. It was part of the school curriculum.”

Relief etched his handsome features and he handed her the sack. “We have a lot of baby doll clothing in need of tender loving care. And time is short, I’m afraid.”

Miss Sadie plucked a torn dress from the bag. “I see what you mean.”

Kevin regarded her hopefully. “Any chance I could get you to be in charge of the task, Miss Sadie?”

“Consider it done, Deputy McCabe. When did you need them?”

“By the morning of the twenty-third? That would give us the afternoon to get the dolls put back together and ready to give out to the children.”

“I’ll talk to the other ladies at dinner this evening.”

She handed the bag back and Kevin set it in the corner, out of harm’s way.

“Now,” Miss Sadie continued, “what have you been able to find out about my identity theft since we spoke yesterday?”

Kevin’s expression grew serious. “What happened to you was part of a big, elaborate scam, Miss Sadie. Twenty-five other Houston families, all socially and financially prominent, were hit. Same M.O. for all of them. New credit card accounts were opened. In some situations, the victims were traveling. In others, accounts were begun under the name of a person in a nursing home, or at a college.” He folded his arms in front of him. “Multiple e-mail accounts were then set up in each victim’s name on free e-mail servers on the Web, and goods were ordered from there as ‘holiday gifts’ for other people. Three addresses were used as drops for the goods—all rental houses whose residents have since moved out, if they ever really moved in. The ordered merchandise is probably being sold, or used to get store credit, as we speak.”

“Can you track it?” Miss Sadie asked.

“Not easily,” Kevin replied regretfully, “given the fact it’s the Christmas season, and much of the merchandise ordered on your account was for things like watches and iPods and laptop computers that are sold in high volume this time of year, anyway. But we are tracking the origin of the e-mail accounts. The host companies have pinpointed a public library close to a university in southwest Houston where the requests for credit cards originated, and they’ve set up a sting there to catch anyone who might come back to continue their criminal activity.”

Miss Sadie pressed a frail hand to her throat. “Well, that’s good to know. Isn’t it, Noelle?”

“Yes.” Noelle looked Kevin straight in the eye, letting him know once again she had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. “It is.”

“Thieves simply should not be able to operate during the Christmas season,” Miss Sadie declared emotionally. “And speaking of the holiday, did you hear my news?” she asked Kevin.

He shook his head.

“I’ve talked Noelle and little Mikey into spending the Christmas holiday with me at Blackberry Hill!” she announced enthusiastically. She clapped her hands and glanced at Noelle. “Dash is going to be so pleased when he hears you’ll be joining us this year for the entire event.”

Mikey stopped playing long enough to clap his hands, too. They all laughed. He grinned and clapped again, before returning to his trucks.

“I can’t wait to tell Dash this evening,” Miss Sadie said.

Noelle flushed. She didn’t know what it was about the yuletide season, but it seemed like everybody wanted all single people to be hooked up. She wondered if Kevin McCabe was getting the same pressure from his family and friends.

Eyes twinkling, Kevin scratched his ear. “Sounds like you’re doing a little matchmaking there, Miss Sadie.”

“I admit I wouldn’t mind if the two of them finally stopped dawdling and made a match,” Miss Sadie replied with customary frankness. “In fact, I can’t think of a better Christmas present for me.”

Noelle cleared her throat. “Back to your investigation, Deputy McCabe,” she said in a low, strangled voice, ignoring the faint hint of disappointment in his eyes. She was not taking advantage of Dash and Miss Sadie! “What else is being done to wrap this investigation up as soon as possible?” she queried, making it clear that she wanted the thieves caught as desperately as Miss Sadie did.

His expression all-business, Kevin directed his answer to both women. “The rest of the families are filling out the same questionnaire I brought you this morning, Miss Sadie. When we get them all back in, we’ll be comparing them, looking for similarities.”

“Such as…?” Noelle asked.

“What event planners and caterers they used.”

Okay, now he was really getting under her skin, Noelle decided. She leveled a warning glance his way and thought she saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

“Surely you’re not hinting that Noelle had anything to do with this!” Miss Sadie declared, incensed.

“I’m not hinting anything,” Kevin said. “I’m just explaining the way a theft investigation works.

Baloney, Noelle thought. “Don’t let him fool you, Miss Sadie. He’s investigating me. He told me as much last evening.”

Miss Sadie lifted an indignant brow. “That really isn’t necessary, Detective.”

“I’m afraid it is.” Kevin watched Mikey drive his pickup truck across the floor. “I’d be remiss in my duty if I left any stone unturned. Although you’ll both be glad to know—” Kevin smiled as Mikey passed him and continued toward his mom “—Miss Kringle appears completely innocent thus far.”

“I could have told you that,” Miss Sadie huffed.

“Don’t fault him for doing his job,” Noelle soothed. She reached down to pick up her son and hold him on her lap. “Detective McCabe has to look at everyone if he hopes to find the culprit.”

“I’m glad you understand,” Kevin replied as Mikey wreathed both arms around his mother’s neck and rested his head on her shoulder.

She stroked his downy curls. “I do understand.” It didn’t mean she didn’t resent it.

“Hungee, Momma,” Mikey interrupted, with quiet urgency.

Guilt flowed through Noelle as she realized time had gotten away from her. “Oh, goodness,” she said, consulting her watch. “It’s dinnertime.” She stood with Mikey cradled on her hip, and began gathering up her things.

Kevin helped by retrieving toys and slipping them into her diaper bag. “I’ll walk you out,” he said, taking the child in his arms while she put on her coat, and then Mikey’s, too.

“Thank you,” she said grudgingly before taking Mikey over to kiss Miss Sadie goodbye. “We’ll see you tomorrow,” she promised.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Miss Sadie beamed.

Kevin bid her adieu, too.

“I don’t suppose I could get you to look at the community center this evening,” he said as they left the building and walked toward Noelle’s white van.

She hit the remote button on her keypad and heard the locks click open. After Kevin got the side door, she settled Mikey in his car seat. “I already looked at it earlier this afternoon and took notes. As soon as you tell me what budget you have in terms of decorations, I’ll let you know what I think you should do.”

Kevin watched while she made sure the safety strap was centered just right across Mikey’s chest. “How about we discuss it over dinner?”

Noelle handed her son his blanket and a book to “read” while she drove. “I can’t get a sitter.”

“Bring Mikey with us. Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant is right down the street.”

Noelle shut the rear door and climbed behind the wheel. This man sure was persistent. As were a lot of men, when it came to wanting her to go out with them. What was different about this was that she actually wanted to go. Keeping her guard up, she smiled up at him pleasantly. “Mikey doesn’t eat Tex-Mex.”

“Doesn’t have to. They have a children’s menu with all the standard items. Grilled cheese, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers and fries.”

“Fries!” Mikey echoed eagerly from the back.

Noelle knew time was of the essence if she didn’t want to have a meltdown on her hands. Still… “Mikey can be a rather impatient diner, especially when he’s tired and didn’t have much of a nap, as was the case today.”

Kevin shrugged. “Luckily for us all, I can be very patient.”

“Fries!” Mikey said again, even more urgently.

Oh, what the heck… “You’re paying?” Noelle said, just to get under his skin.

“Of course.” He shut her door, then waited until she started the van and put down her window. “I am a gentleman.”

Noelle snorted, aware they were flirting again, even though they really shouldn’t be. “Could have fooled me last night,” she muttered, snapping her own safety belt into place.

His eyes held hers. “Because I kissed you.”

And had me kissing you back, Noelle thought, aware how just thinking about that embrace made her tingle. “That can’t happen again,” she warned.