LITMIR.BIZ

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      She rose and looked again at Holt. “He needs a shower. Is it okay?”

      How could he deny her? “Sure…why not.”

      “How about I take him?” Zach said.

      “Will you go with Zach, Corey?”

      The boy hesitated. “Will you be here when I get back?”

      Smiling, she brushed his shaggy hair off his forehead. “Yes. Just scrub from head to toe.”

      “I’ll make sure he does,” Zach said as he led the boy down the hall and into the bath.

      Leah turned toward Holt. “Oh, I never thought to ask, do you have anything Corey can wear?”

      “Zach will come up with something.”

      The last thing Holt wanted to do was get involved with this kid’s problems. But from the moment he’d found Leah on his property, she’d managed to draw him into her search. He’d followed her around, looking in every cave and mine shaft for a kid who didn’t want to be found. He’d gotten far more involved with her than was good for him, especially after the kiss. Not one of his best ideas.

      “You think just because he gets cleaned up that’s going to make things better?” he told her.

      “It’s a start,” she said, folding her arms over her chest stubbornly. “And I’m not going to abandon him.”

      “Looks like you might not have a choice,” he said. “The kid’s a runaway. And once the sheriff gets here he’ll have to go back to his foster home.”

      “The kid’s name is Corey Haynes. And he’ll never go back to an abusive home. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

      “You don’t know anything about his situation. And you won’t have anything to say about whether or not he goes back.”

      She stood there and stared at him. “What in your life has made you so bitter?”

      He didn’t need her snooping into his private life. “Not everyone has had a life as secure and charmed as the Keenan girls.”

      Leah started to speak when there was a knock at the back door. Holt went to answer it.

      “Hello, I’m Sheriff Reed Larkin,” the man standing outside said.

      Holt shook his hand. “Holt Rawlins.”

      “I knew your father,” the sheriff said. “Sorry for your loss.”

      Holt responded with a nod, and motioned for the man to come inside to the kitchen where Leah was waiting.

      “Hi, Reed.”

      “Hello, Leah. Looks like you’ve been busy since you got home.”

      Leah caught the good-looking sheriff’s grin. Tall and muscular, Reed had nearly black hair and dark brown eyes and he’d always been crazy about her sister Paige.

      “You know me, Reed, I get bored easily.”

      “You still should have called me to let me know about the boy.” He pulled out his notepad along with a grainy picture. “This is the runaway, Corey Haynes, age eight.”

      “That’s him,” Leah agreed. “But we can’t send him back to his foster home. The boy has been gone nearly a week. Why didn’t the foster parents report him missing until today?”

      Reed nodded. “They’re being investigated, so the boy has a reprieve…for now. But he’ll have to go to a shelter for a few nights.”

      “No,” Leah said, her gaze darted back and forth between the two men. “I promised Corey that I wouldn’t let you take him back.”

      “Leah, there isn’t much else I can do,” Reed said. “His mother is deceased and his father’s in jail on a robbery charge. There’s no one. And foster homes are overcrowded.”

      “He’ll just run away again,” Leah said.

      The sheriff was about to argue when his radio went off. “Excuse me, I need to take this.” Reed stepped onto the porch.

      Holt watched as Leah paced nervously. He knew from the beginning how involved she’d gotten in the boy. He told himself that he’d done his duty by finding the kid. That there was a nice foster home that would care for him. But seeing the frightened look on the boy’s face, he knew that wasn’t true.

      They both turned to the sheriff when he came back in the door. “Sorry, that was Social Services…they were letting me know that there are no foster homes available. So that means I have to take him to Durango to a group home.”

      “No, you can’t,” Leah cried. “Maybe my parents will let Corey stay—”

      “He can stay here …” Holt interrupted her. “We’ll give it a try anyway.”

      Leah’s gaze darted to Holt. “Here?”

      “No offence, Mr. Rawlins,” the sheriff began, “but I don’t know you. And if I were to recommend you for temporary foster care say for the next few days, I’d need more—”

      “I know him,” Leah jumped in. “We’ve spent the last three days together searching for Corey. And…Zach’s here, too. He’ll be around.”

      Holt watched as Reed contemplated the suggestion. “And Leah will be staying here, too,” he added.

      “You sure about this?” Reed Larkin asked.

      Leah tried to hide her surprise at Holt’s suggestion. She would do anything to keep the boy safe…even live under the same roof with this man. “It’s time Corey started believing in someone,” she said. “Besides, until we find a suitable home for the child, this is the best solution.”

      Reed looked at Holt. “I’ll get in touch with Social Services and they’ll be contacting you.” The sheriff paused. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

      Leah held her breath waiting for the answer.

      “I’m sure,” Holt said.

      “They’ll probably send someone out to your house.”

      “That’s fine. I have nothing to hide.”

      Just then Corey came into the kitchen. He was scrubbed clean. His hair was two shades lighter, and he was wearing an oversize white T-shirt that hung past his knees with a pair of socks on his feet. The boy’s smile disappeared when he saw the man in uniform.

      Leah went to him. “It’s okay, Corey. This is Sheriff Reed. He’s going to let you stay here with Holt for a few days. Is that okay with you?”

      Corey looked at her. “Will you be here, too?”

      “Sure, for as long as you and Holt need me.”

      CHAPTER FOUR

      LEAH rolled over in bed and opened her eyes to sunshine coming through the window. She wasn’t in her bedroom at the inn. Sitting up, she glanced around the space and slowly began to remember.

      She was in the guest room at the Silver R Ranch. In an old iron-framed bed covered in a wedding ring quilt, and wearing one of Holt’s white T-shirts. The panicked look on Corey’s face had prevented her from leaving last night, not even for the short time it would have taken to get some clean clothes. At least she’d called her family and told them about the situation.

      Leah pushed back the covers and got up. She retrieved her jeans from the chair in the corner, pulled them on, along with her blouse and stepped into her boots.

      After brushing her hair Leah walked down the hall of the big, old ranch house. Obviously the place had been neglected for years, but there was beauty hidden under the faded wallpaper and worn carpet. The hallway led into four bedrooms, and a bathroom and the master suite at the far end.

      At

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