The Sheriff's Son Read online

  Blue eyes, as he’d noted before, and just like his own.

  For a minute, his imagination ran as wild as Kevin’s right-handed pitches. Supposing the boy’s eyes matched his because he’d fathered the kid? It could’ve happened, the one time he and Sarah…

  He stumbled to a halt, unable to finish the thought. Sweet Sarah, keeping something like that from him? He shook his head.

  But there were things she hadn’t told him, and he’d let himself get sidetracked instead of looking into her background, as he’d promised himself he’d do.

  Kevin succeeded in hitting a low branch of the tree and let out a yelp. He shot Tanner a triumphant, snaggle-toothed grin.

  Cute kid. Had to be, looking so like Sarah.

  “Attaboy.” He tipped his Stetson in salute.

  Kevin tilted his head in the direction of the tree and held out a stone.

  Smiling, Tanner took it. They’d become buddies of a sort, thanks to the pitching lessons. He’d take that, too.

  He’d take anything and do anything that, sooner or later, would get him all the answers he needed.

  Chapter Five

  The rest of the day passed in a blur of tension and worry as Sarah thought about Kevin. Sam Porter had recommended sending her son back into class so he wouldn’t miss any more school than necessary. She had agreed, preferring to handle her conversation with Kevin in private. But she wasn’t looking forward to it.

  She wore a path back and forth along the bookstore’s center aisle, checking the front window to make sure a certain brown sedan wasn’t in sight, then returning to the back office to play card games with her stack of bills.

  When the bell over the door rang mid-afternoon, she jumped to her feet and headed out into the store.

  Mrs. Gannett closed the front door behind her. She turned, saw Sarah, and smiled. “Hello, my dear. I had a few minutes and thought I’d stop by and see how you were doing.”

  “Just fine.”

  Mrs. Gannett’s eyes narrowed behind her glasses. “I hear they had a little excitement at the grade school earlier today.”

  Sarah clutched her skirt with both hands. “Oh, that Tanner. He just couldn’t keep it to himself, could he? I should have known. Anything to make things worse—” She stopped herself before she could say something incriminating.

  “Actually, I did run into Tanner at Delia’s just after he’d left the school. But he didn’t say a word to me about Kevin.”

  “Oh.”

  “It’s a small town, Sarah, as you’re well aware. People know more things than you would believe possible.” Mrs. Gannett gazed at her serenely, her blue eyes unblinking.

  “The Dillon grapevine, you mean?”

  “Of course.” The older woman gave her a sweet smile. “Only this time, I didn’t have to wait for the news to spread. Ella Byers told me when I dropped off the school board minutes. She said Sam had been obliged to call Kevin out on the carpet.” She chuckled. “He reminds me of Tanner at that age.”

  Sarah wanted to shout a denial, but the words caught in her throat. Had Mrs. Gannett guessed?

  The other woman went on, seeming oblivious to Sarah’s distress. “I recall him pulling something similar when he was a few years older than Kevin.” She paused, pursing her lips. “I also remember how inseparable the pair of you were. And, do you know, I’ve had a hand in it all. From witnessing your first scrap out in the school yard, to guiding you both through school, to attending your graduation.”

  Sarah refused to think about graduation, and the night she would always have cause to remember, for more reasons than she cared to note. The most glorious—and most heart-wrenching—night of her life.

  Mrs. Gannett beamed at Sarah. “It’s so lovely to see the two of you together again.”

  “We’re not together.”

  The other woman frowned. “Working as co-chairs, I mean.”

  “Oh.” Heat filled her face. If Mrs. Gannett hadn’t ferreted out any secrets on her own, Sarah’s obvious overreactions would certainly give them away.

  “You know how much I would like to see you settled, Sarah. You’ve been alone so long.”

  “I’m not alone.” She heard the snap in her voice but couldn’t help it, just as she couldn’t prevent her shoulders from stiffening. “I have Kevin. And we’re fine. He’s fine.”

  “Of course, you are,” Mrs. Gannett said gently. “You’ve done a wonderful job raising him. No one’s disputing that. You shouldn’t take his antics as a personal reflection, if that’s what you’re doing. Most parents blame themselves when their children start acting out in public.”

  “They do?”

  “Oh, my, yes. You’ve just had Kevin so well behaved, you haven’t experienced it until now. And it’s sure to happen again. That’s the nature of children. I just wish you didn’t have to face it alone.”

  “Kevin and I are fine,” she repeated. “We have the house and store and each other.”

  “But is that really enough? You’re a young woman. Kevin’s a growing boy. There are things you can’t provide for each other, no matter how close you are. Think about it.” She gave Sarah a bright smile. “After all, anything can happen, now that Tanner is back again.”

  When she exited the store, Sarah closed the door quietly, then slumped back against it, shaking her head. Mrs. Gannett meant well, but Sarah hardly needed to be reminded of the past.

  She had almost managed to forget how she and Tanner had met, outside on the dusty play yard during recess on the first day of kindergarten.

  They weren’t much younger than Kevin’s age now….

  Tanner Jones had pushed her off the jungle gym, claiming he was bigger and badder—and a boy. So she’d just have to go play on the swings with the other girls. Sarah had promptly spit on his sneaker, socked him on the nose, and scrambled to the top of the jungle gym, where she sat with her legs dangling, ready to defend her territory against anyone who dared to come near.

  All the girls, who’d been drawn to their side of the playground by the sound of the argument, returned to their swings. All the boys suddenly developed a keen interest in an anthill near the foot of the school stairs.

  All, that is, except Tanner, who stayed behind, staring up at her, eyes wide, as if he found her even more fascinating than a colony of ants. He climbed the jungle gym, keeping well out of kicking range, and settled on a crossbar opposite hers.

  For a few tense minutes, they sat glaring at each other.

  Then he had grinned, tossed her an outlawed stick of bubble gum, and become her friend from that day forward.

  In later years, he had become so much more….

  She shook her head again. Thoughts like that could only lead, like Hansel and Gretel’s trail of bread-crumbs, to a place she never wanted to go.

  THAT AFTERNOON, SARAH stood waiting outside the bookstore when the school bus pulled to a stop two doors away. Kevin climbed off, followed by his best friend.

  “Hey, Mom.” He waved. “I’m going over to Billy’s house.”

  “No, I’m afraid you’re not.”

  His face clouded. “But, Mo—”

  “No, Kevin. Come inside, now. Billy, you head on home.”

  The other boy punched Kevin’s shoulder. “See ya later.”

  After watching his friend trudge away, Kevin looked back at Sarah, his eyes watchful and face wary now.

  She gestured to him, went down the steps to The Book Cellar’s front door and entered the store. Behind her, she heard Kevin dragging his sneakered feet along the cement sidewalk, then slapping them against the slate steps. Deliberately not looking back, she led the way to her office, took a seat at her desk, and waited.

  Kevin’s sneakers squeaked against the hardwood floor.

  A moment later, he stood in the doorway, peering up at her from beneath his fringe of hair, a tactic that would normally have won her over completely.

  Not this time.

  She gestured to the rocking chair across from her.
/>   He dumped his backpack on the floor and took a seat.

  “Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  He shrugged.

  “That’s not an answer, Kevin.”

  “I don’t know, Mom.”

  “But you do know what you did at school this morning was wrong, don’t you?”

  He gave a barely perceptible nod and pushed his feet against the floor, setting the rocker in motion.

  “Whoever put it into your head to pull a trick like that?”

  “Nobody.”

  She knew all his friends, boys his own age, but couldn’t imagine any of them thinking up the stunt. Could Kevin really have come up with it on his own?

  “Where did you get the glue?”

  “Just found it.”

  “Mm-hmm…. And what did you expect would happen when you got caught?”

  “Didn’t think about that.” He grinned, and she saw a fleeting glimpse of Tanner’s face in the school yard. She didn’t know which upset her more.

  “This is not a joke, Kevin. I’ll bet you didn’t plan on spending the weekend at home, either, but that’s just what you’re doing. Starting right now.”

  “Now?” He shot forward, planting his feet on the floor and stopping the chair in mid-rock. “But, Mom, me and Billy have to meet the guys in a little while.”

  “Billy will meet them without you. You’re not going anywhere, except to church on Sunday. And maybe out in the yard for some fresh air.”

  “Can Billy come over tonight?”

  “No.” She sighed. “Kevin, do you realize how serious this is? Mr. Porter won’t let you off lightly. He’ll speak with you Monday about how you’re to pay back the school for what you did.”

  Considering her tight budget, she’d almost wept in relief that morning, when the principal told her his plan. For a youngster with no money of his own, Sam said, giving his family a bill for repairs wouldn’t teach the child the error of his ways. Kevin himself had done the damage to the school, and Kevin himself would have to do something to make up for it.

  “I don’t know what Mr. Porter will decide, but it’s a certainty you won’t find it to your liking.”

  Kevin’s brow furrowed, and an anxious look filled his eyes. Then he straightened his shoulders and shrugged. He started rocking the chair again, staring off into space.

  She nearly wrung her hands. What had happened to the sweet, gentle child she had raised? Was Mrs. Gannett right in telling her such behavior was normal? She’d have to consult the books in the childcare section yet again. Meanwhile, what could she do to get through to Kevin?

  Whatever lecture Tanner had delivered, she’d bet his words hadn’t made any more of an impact on Kevin than hers had.

  “What did Deputy Jones have to say?” she asked, partly out of desperation and partly—now that she’d thought of it—out of pure curiosity.

  His eyes lighted and focused on her again. “He showed me how to throw lefty, Mom!”

  She blinked. “That’s not exactly what I meant.” She waited, but he said nothing. “Is that all you talked about?”

  “He showed me a knuckleball, too. That didn’t work too good ’cause we were using rocks. But he’s gonna show me for real sometime.”

  “Oh,” she murmured. “How nice.”

  Wait till she got hold of Tanner. He didn’t hesitate to tell her she didn’t know how to discipline her child. Yet he didn’t seem to have any better ideas.

  Kevin stilled the chair, slid to the edge of the seat, and kicked his backpack aside. “Can I go out in the yard now?”

  “Yes—to do your chores. I left the wastebaskets by the door. Once they’re emptied, it’s upstairs and homework for you.”

  “Aw…all right.” He hurdled the backpack and took off. A minute later, the front bell clanged again and again, as Kevin made his trips outside with the trash. The noise warred with the tight, throbbing pain inching its way across her forehead.

  With both hands, she pushed hard against the edge of the desk. The rollers of the scarred captain’s chair squealed across the bare floor, sending the pain up another notch. Time for the oilcan and a clean cloth, another of the never-ending jobs of single-motherhood.

  With a sigh, she moved to the rocker, kicked off her flats, and rested her feet on the leather seat of the captain’s chair. Slumping back, she rubbed her temples lightly.

  “Headache?”

  At Tanner’s unexpected voice in her ear, she shrieked and shot to her feet. The point of one rocker blade caught her ankle, and she lost her balance and stumbled over Kevin’s forgotten backpack. She landed against Tanner with a bone-jarring thump.

  He wrapped his arms around her, bracing her against his strength and enclosing her in his heat. A heat that melted her instantly from her head down to her toes. That made her forget where they were and how much he had once hurt her and what she had just done to injure herself.

  Drawn by that radiating warmth, she put both feet solidly on the ground in an effort to get closer. And felt a sharp, shooting pain in her ankle. This time, at least, she managed to muffle her shriek.

  Against Tanner’s solid chest.

  He tightened his arms around her.

  “Let me go,” she mumbled, unable—unwilling—to raise her head to look up at him.

  “Uh-huh. And watch you fall on your face?”

  Plastered together as they were, she couldn’t miss the vibration of his deep voice rumbling through his chest. It matched the tremor that now suffused her ankle and made her reluctant to set her foot down.

  But she had to get away from him.

  “Let me go,” she repeated.

  This time, he did. She sank into the rocker again. “What’s the meaning of sneaking up on me like that?”

  “Just doing my job, ma’am. Heard a strange noise, didn’t know you were back here, and thought I’d check it out.”

  As he dragged the captain’s chair over toward the desk, causing another loud squeak from the rollers, she winced. The headache hadn’t gone away, and neither had Tanner.

  “Guess now I know what caused the noise.” The chair groaned in protest even though he eased into it. “Tomorrow’s my day off, and I wanted to make sure we had the roster squared away for the next few days.” He reached for the clipboard and pen sitting on the desk, tapped them against his knee. “We’ve had some more minor pranks reported, another incident of some vandalism—someone spray painted the sidewalk outside the market. I’m stepping up the evening watches.”

  “Fine.” Before he could take over, she reached for the clipboard and penned her name in a vacant slot. She couldn’t manage the weekend. Not now that she’d put Kevin on house arrest. “I’ll do Monday evening.”

  “What about the boy?”

  “I’ll make arrangements. Billy’s mother never minds keeping an eye on him—Billy’s at our house just as often.”

  Frowning, he sat back in the captain’s chair and ran a thumb along the crease in his uniform pants. He had something yet to tell her. Something she didn’t want to know?

  She waited, her fingers suddenly sweaty against the clipboard.

  “Sarah…”

  Her heart sank. She’d guessed right.

  “The two of us didn’t exactly get off to a good start the other day, and it put a few things out of my head. I’d meant to tell you how sorry I was to hear about your dad.”

  “Oh.” Of all the things she’d expected, this hadn’t made the list. “Thank you.”

  “It was sudden, his passing?”

  Even after all these years, a lump rose to her throat. She swallowed hard and nodded.

  “You left town awfully quick after.” He sounded almost annoyed. As if he had that right. “I called you again, you know. A little while after I’d left town. But you’d already gone.”

  “Did you?” Her heart ached. What if she had stayed long enough to get that call?

  What if Tanner had never left?

  “Yeah,” Tanner said. “
They told me you’d taken off. No one knew where. Heard later you went out to California.”

  “Yes.” She risked enough talking to Tanner about her current situation. Discussing the past could only increase the danger. She couldn’t let him put the pieces together and figure out the truth about Kevin.

  “You weren’t gone a very long time, though.”

  “No.”

  She swallowed again, this time against a surge of frustration. Earlier that day, Mrs. Gannett’s undisguised concern had raised all sorts of long-forgotten emotions. Now Tanner had done the same. She would not give way with Tanner as she had with her former teacher.

  Without a word, he reached over to take the clipboard.

  Maybe he’d noted her blunt responses and finally realized certain subjects had to stay off-limits.

  He stared down at the roster for a long moment, then finally looked up at her and held the clipboard aloft. “Looking good.”

  “Yes, perfectly workable.” She grabbed gratefully at the change of subject. “We’re in great shape for the next few days.”

  “Bet you wish you could say the same for that boy of yours.” He chuckled. “Ran into him outside. He told me he’s confined to quarters—stuck at home, that is—for the weekend.”

  “Maybe for life.” She frowned at the reminder. “Speaking of Kevin, what happened when you spoke with him this morning?”

  “We had a fine conversation.”

  “Yes, on the art of throwing a baseball. Just what did that have to do with teaching him a lesson? Or putting the fear of the law into him?”

  “One step at a time. I’ve got to get him to trust me before he’ll be ready to serve our cause.”

  “In other words, before you use him?”

  He leveled a stare at her. “In plain speaking, yeah, why not? Seems like his so-called friends don’t mind making use of him to do their dirty work.”

  That stopped her.

  Tanner frowned down at the clipboard, began studying the sheets.

  How could she argue with him, if whatever he had planned would aid her son and help bring an end to the problems around town? Kevin would be out of trouble. Safe.

  She’d give anything to have that happen.