The Sheriff and the Baby

by C. C. Coburn

  “If you’re sure it’ll be safe…”

  “It will be. I promise. I can’t let Sash down.”

  “How do we transport Sarah?”

  “Lucy brought a car safety seat that I can fit into my vehicle. She also brought over one of those baby slings. I’ll wear it and Sarah will be safe and snug.”

  “Will your parents be there, too?”

  “No, Mom and Pop travel a lot since they retired and handed over running the ranch full-time to Luke. They’re sailing around the Caribbean with some friends of theirs.”

  Beth tried not to tell herself what a relief that was. Meeting Sarah O’Malley, having her know she’d named Sarah after her, could be seriously embarrassing.

  “All right,” she finally agreed, reluctant and yet oddly excited, too.

  MATT FOUND THAT being cooped up in the cabin with Beth was testing his resolve. Taking a drive in the fresh mountain air would clear their heads, but still keep Beth safe by his side.

  After fitting the baby seat in his truck, Matt left the engine running and the heaters going full blast. He went back inside, dressed Sarah in a snowsuit with built-in mittens and a hood and put on the baby sling. He adjusted the length of the straps and slipped it on, then lifted her into it. “Perfect, my little angel, just like you.” He walked into the living room where Beth was waiting.

  Pleasure filled him when she grinned and said, “That’s adorable. She looks so contented.”

  Matt wished Beth could look half as contented as he unfastened the sling, gently lifted Sarah from it and transferred her to the safety carrier, which would fit directly into the seat.

  Satisfied that she was secure, he picked up the carrier and headed for the door. “Ready?” he asked and opened it for her.

  BETH ZIPPED UP HER JACKET and stepped outside into the crisp air. Overnight snow carpeted the landscape beneath clear, sunny skies. The pines surrounding the cabin drooped heavily beneath their white burden.

  “It’s so pretty,” she said, smiling as a pair of squirrels chattered noisily in the pines above them, chasing each other from branch to branch and sending showers of snow onto the driveway. “I haven’t really had a chance to appreciate this.”

  Matt locked the front door and held her gloved hand to help her toward the car. “Is it any wonder I choose to live here?”

  “None whatsoever,” she told him as she climbed in, then turned in her seat to watch as Matt fitted Sarah’s carrier neatly into its base, all accomplished without disturbing her sleep.

  Beth settled back in her seat, taking in the scenery as Matt drove. It felt slightly surreal. She hadn’t been outside in the sunshine for almost a week, yet it seemed months.

  The plows had already cleared the mountain road, and Matt went at a leisurely pace. As if reading her thoughts, he said, “I couldn’t imagine staying in that tiny cabin for weeks on end. I love the outdoors too much.”

  “Me, too,” she agreed. “I’m looking forward to the day when I can go for some long walks in the snow. I think Sarah would love that.”

  At the bottom of the road, he made a left and headed away from Spruce Lake.

  “I’ve never been this way before,” she remarked after they’d gone about two miles.

  Matt glanced over at her, a dark eyebrow raised. “It’s the way to South Ridge.”

  Beth could feel herself blushing and reached to turn down the heater. She’d forgotten her earlier lie about having been in South Ridge to visit a client. Matt chuckled.

  “You didn’t believe a word of what I said back at the hospital, did you?”

  “Sweetheart, the only thing I knew for sure was that you’d had a baby and you were hiding something. Pretty much everything else was distinctly fishy.”

  Beth crossed her arms. “Frankly, I’m impressed at how creative I was.”

  He grinned across at her. “Creative…but not particularly convincing.”

  The valley opened up a little wider and hills rose gently toward the snowcapped mountains on either side.

  Eventually the valley widened until there were several miles of undulating valley floor between the foothills. Matt turned off the main road and drove over a cattle grate. The name Two Elk was emblazoned in wrought iron above it.

  A half mile farther on, he pulled up in front of a substantial ranch-style house. Even before he’d gotten out of the car, the door was flung open and three young girls came racing toward them.

  “Uncle Matt! Uncle Matt!” they all squealed in unison.

  Beth opened her door and climbed out, delighted by their obvious affection for their uncle. The girls were so involved in greeting Matt, they didn’t notice her. She was about to get Sarah out, but Matt beat her to it. “I’ve got her,” he said and lifted Sarah’s car seat out of its base.

  Beth collected the bag of baby paraphernalia and went around to join Matt. The three girls still hadn’t acknowledged her as they were now scrabbling to get a look inside the carrier. “Let me see! Let me see!” demanded the youngest, who Beth guessed to be three or four.

  “Patience, Celeste,” Matt said. “Let’s get Sarah out of the cold first.” He turned to Beth and slid his arm about her waist, drawing her against the shelter of his body. “Girls, I’d like you to meet my friend Beth.”

  The girls all chimed, “Hi,” and smiled at Beth, then went back to peeking at Sarah. Beth couldn’t help laughing at their enthusiasm as Matt, his arm still encircling her waist, drew Beth along with him.

  They mounted the four steps onto the porch and the door was flung open yet again. Luke stepped out, a wide grin on his face. “Hello, Beth,” he said, clasping her shoulders and bending to place a kiss of welcome on her cheek. He held her away from him, looked knowingly at Matt, then back at Beth. “I’m glad to see my brother tracked you down,” he said and ushered them all inside.

  Anything else he had to say was drowned out by the girls’ squealing and demands to hold Sarah.

  Matt put the baby carrier on the living-room sofa and asked Beth, “Do you mind? I’ll make sure they don’t kill her with kindness.”

  He looked so endearing trying to fend off the girls while he waited for Beth’s answer.

  “Of course they can,” she said and bent to pick up Sarah. She was lying awake and gazing out at the sea of faces.

  “Me first!” the youngest cried.

  “No, me!” the oldest yelled. “It’s my birthday!”

  Beth glanced at the middle girl who seemed the least interested in Sarah, although her eyes still shone with excitement.

  “By the way, I don’t think you’ve all been properly introduced to Beth,” Luke boomed above the racket. “The little dynamo is Celeste. This is Daisy—” he rested his hand on the middle girl’s shoulder “—and the birthday girl is Sasha.”

  “Since I haven’t brought a gift to celebrate your birthday, Sasha, perhaps I can make up for it by letting you hold Sarah first,” Beth offered.

  This brought howls of anger from Celeste, who immediately threw herself on the floor and started screaming. Sasha paid no attention to her sister whatsoever and stepped over her to grab Sarah.

  Matt interrupted Sasha and said, “Whoa, there! How about if you sit down, Sash? Don’t want you dropping her.”

  Touched by Matt’s concern, Beth smiled at him and then waited until Sasha was settled on the sofa to put Sarah in the girl’s arms.

  Sasha sighed with gratitude. Daisy frowned, muttering, “Babies are dumb, anyway,” and stalked out of the room. Celeste continued to make a commotion on the floor.

  Matt bent down to pick her up and swung her in the air. The sobs of anguish soon turned to shrieks of delight as he spun her around above his head.

  “You know you’re supposed to ignore her when she carries on like that,” Luke admonished him. Matt shrugged and went on spinning Celeste around.

  Luke turned to Beth and raised his eyebrows. “Can I get you a drink?” he asked, then walked into the adjoining kitchen, indicating Beth should follow.


  She found herself in a large country-style kitchen that looked out at the mountains rising in the distance behind the house.

  “Juice okay?” Luke asked.

  “Yes, thanks.”

  He produced a glass pitcher of orange juice from the fridge, poured two glasses and gave one to Beth. He leaned back against the counter and studied her. Beth refused to flinch under his scrutiny. Finally he said, “My brother was like a lost bull calf when you took off from the hospital without a word. Turned the whole family upside down, I can tell you.”

  Warmth infused her at the knowledge that Matt had been searching for her so diligently, and she felt a surge of gratitude that he’d found her. With trembling fingers, she raised the glass to her lips.

  At that moment, Sasha burst into the room brandishing a fifty-dollar bill. “Look what I got from Uncle Matt, Dad!” she announced and danced around the room.

  “Matt!” Luke yelled in the direction of the living room. Sasha raced out the back door and waved the bill at Daisy, who was perched on the corral railing.

  Matt poked his head around the kitchen doorway, glanced back to where Celeste was sitting on the sofa holding Sarah, then grinned at Beth, giving her a wink. “Hey, how often does a guy’s niece turn twelve?” he asked. “Also it helped bribe her into letting Celeste have a turn with Sarah,” he whispered.

  Beth and Luke exchanged grins when he’d returned to the living room. “He’s incorrigible,” Luke said. “He always gives them money for their birthdays. I figure it’s because he hasn’t got enough imagination to buy them suitable gifts.”

  “I heard that!” Matt called out.

  Beth laughed. She was enjoying the friendly banter and all the chaos of Luke’s family. This was how a family should be, she thought. Full of fun and love and noise. A tiny pain dug at her in the region of her heart. She’d never had a family like this…and probably never would. Instead, there’d just be Sarah and her. She made a silent vow that Sarah’s life would be filled with as much love as this family possessed—if not as much noise.

  The back door banged and Sasha came inside, closely followed by Daisy, bringing with her the chill of the snow-covered ground. Matt reappeared in the kitchen doorway, his attention half on what Celeste was up to in the living room and half on what was going on in the kitchen.

  Daisy glared at her uncle as though it was somehow his fault that it wasn’t her birthday and therefore she wasn’t getting any money. Matt pulled out his wallet and withdrew two crisp new ten-dollar bills. “Happy unbirthday, Daisy,” he said and handed her one. Her face lit up and she dashed into the living room. “Thanks, Uncle Matt!”

  Luke shook his head. “You’re pathetic,” he said with a smile, then turned to stir a pot of soup on the stove.

  Matt went back to supervise the cuddling of Sarah. Beth moved to gaze out at the mountains.

  “My brother’s stuck on you,” Luke said.

  Beth glanced back at him, trying to control the flush of pleasure she felt creeping up her face.

  Luke folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the kitchen counter again. “The question is, what d’you think of him?”

  “W-well, I hardly know him. I haven’t really formed an opinion.”

  “Hogwash!” Luke snorted. “I saw the way you were looking at him just now.”

  Beth started to deny what he thought he’d seen in her eyes but Luke held up his hand. He fixed her with a glare. “I don’t want you breaking his heart. He’s a good man. He paid your hospital bill so you wouldn’t be facing charges.”

  Beth felt the breath whoosh from her lungs. “H-he what?”

  “He didn’t tell you?”

  Beth could only shake her head. Matt had paid her hospital bill? All of it? She felt sick to her stomach that her dishonesty had led to this.

  “I have no idea why you lit outta there without paying your bill and without letting anyone know where you were going, Beth, but if you’ve got some kind of problem, I suggest you share it with the rest of the family. We’ll see if we can’t find a solution to it. Together.”

  Although she was initially taken aback by his harsh tone, Beth knew Luke had Matt’s best interests at heart. If only her problems were that easy to solve.

  Stunned by Luke’s revelation about Matt’s paying her hospital bill, she was saved from having to respond by more excited squealing from the living room.

  “I think everyone else has arrived by the sound of it,” Luke said and escorted her out of the kitchen.

  The scene that greeted her was nothing short of pandemonium. The room seemed full of adults and children laughing and greeting one another and pushing forward to take a look at Sarah. She recognized Becky and waved to her over the noise and children.

  Becky stepped nimbly toward her, carrying a baby on her hip. She kissed Beth on the cheek, her green eyes alight with speculation. “I didn’t expect to see you here!” she cried. “So Matt found you, after all.”

  Before Beth could answer, the baby held out a chubby hand to Beth and gave her a toothy smile. Beth was captivated, envisioning Sarah at this age. “This is Lily, I assume? She’s gorgeous!”

  “Thank you. Fortunately, she takes after me,” Becky said as she caught hold of a slightly less muscular version of Matt and drew him over. “Beth, I’d like you to meet my husband, Will.”

  Will shook her hand warmly and said, “I’m the thorn in Matt’s side.” He spoke with total candor. “And I’m delighted to meet you at last, Beth.” Deep dimples creased his cheeks and his eyes glittered as he gestured a young boy toward him. “This is our son, Nick.”

  Beth noticed that the boy walked with a little difficulty but he had a lovely smile and vibrant blue eyes. “Pleased to meet you, Beth,” he said, shaking her hand. “Have you met my uncle Jack?”

  As he made the introductions, Beth surmised that the boy possessed an intelligence and maturity far beyond his years. Jack seemed the least outgoing of the brothers, a bit standoffish even. Beth didn’t have time to contemplate him further when Will turned his attention toward Sarah and asked Celeste, who was repelling all attempts by her sisters to snatch Sarah from her arms, “And who is this living doll?”

  Celeste dimpled and Beth could see the family resemblance between uncle and niece. “This is Sarah,” she said in a hushed voice, then more loudly, “She’s Uncle Matt’s new baby.”

  A deafening silence descended on the room. Beth wished the floor would open up and swallow her. Before she could speak, Matt was beside her.

  “I think she’s a little confused,” he said, then addressed Celeste. “Honey, I wish Sarah was my baby, but I only helped get her mom to the hospital.” Matt glanced at Beth, his eyes begging her forgiveness for Celeste’s remark.

  Beth’s heart squeezed with emotion and gratitude. He’d said he wished Sarah was his child! What a wonderful man. What a wonderful father he would’ve been, if he’d been given the chance.

  And then you never would’ve met him, she thought. You wouldn’t have had the chance to fall in love with him.

  Feeling lightheaded, she sat down on the nearest chair. Love? Was that possible? No! She tried to deny that what she felt for Matt was love. She’d promised herself she was never going to fall in love again. She’d never leave herself so vulnerable again.

  “Beth? Are you okay? Can I get you something?” She looked into Matt’s warm brown eyes as he hunkered down in front of her.

  She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I guess I’m not feeling as strong as I thought I was.”

  The adult occupants of the room watched the exchange in silence. Then, as though embarrassed to have been caught staring, everyone seemed suddenly galvanized into activity. Becky barked orders at the men, handed Lily to Matt and strode into the kitchen. Matt fussed over the children, trying to placate them about whose turn it was to hold which baby. Luke, Will and Jack disappeared out the front door and returned moments later, loaded down with food that they carried through to the kitchen
.

  Beth stared helplessly at Matt, unable to come up with a thing to say. Finally her tongue came unglued and she said, “I guess they’re having a party for Sasha. I should be going.”

  Matt looked at her curiously. “You’re invited, too. Why would you think my family wouldn’t want to include you?”

  Flustered, Beth cursed her limited and lonely upbringing. She’d never been invited to a big family gathering, never been a part of a big family get-together. Yet for Matt, family events were such a common occurrence that it was perfectly natural to be included. Matt had everything she’d ever wanted—a big, close and happy family. And she’d never be able to provide that for Sarah. She turned away from him to hide her tears. “Beth?”

  “Is there somewhere I can freshen up?” she asked without looking at him.

  Matt hesitated as though unsure of what to do next. That only made her heart break more.

  He gripped her elbow gently, led her down the hallway and opened a door. “We can go, if you’d rather not stay. I’ll understand if they’re all too much for you.”

  Beth met his eyes. His face was so full of concern, she was tempted to stroke his cheek to reassure him. “I’m fine. And I’d love to stay. I’m sure Sarah would, too. She seems to be enjoying all the attention.” She indicated the scene at the other end of the hallway, where Daisy was blowing bubbles against Sarah’s outstretched hand.

  The tension eased from his face and he grinned and threw his arms around her. “I’m glad,” he said softly, then bent to kiss her.

  At the first touch of his lips, heat infused her. Matt’s lips worked their magic and sent desire racing through her. This was madness! Matt’s family was less than twenty feet away, and here they were behaving like teenagers. She pushed away from him, glanced down the hallway to make sure no one was watching and forced her voice to sound normal. “Could you give me a moment to freshen up?”

  Matt seemed about to say something, then apparently thought better of it. Giving her a tiny salute, he went back to the living room.

  Beth closed the bathroom door behind her and leaned against it while she caught her breath. She looked at herself in the mirror and was shocked by her appearance. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with sensual awareness. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water over her face. What was wrong with her? She had no business falling in love with Matt O’Malley! No! She wasn’t in love with him. It was simply seeing him here with his family, seeing the love they had for him and for each other, that had her thinking along those lines.