by Lois Richer
Clint considered the elderly man carefully. A sense of doubt assailed him, a nagging suspicion he’d been fighting off for some time now. But he didn’t want to embarrass Frank. Before he could act on his hunch, he’d have to get rid of the cop.
Reaching up, he clapped the policeman on the back. “Officer Wilkins, I appreciate you coming over here. But I believe it was a false call and I can take care of the situation from here on out.”
“Are you sure, Ranger?” Tim drawled, his chest puffing out with importance. “I can haul the suspect down to the jail for more questioning, if you like.”
“Suspect!” The word burst from Josie’s mouth like a nuclear explosion. “Timmy Wilkins, this is my grandfather you’re talking about. And you know perfectly well that you used to steal candy from Milton’s Grocery Store when we were eleven years old. Who are you to accuse my grandfather of theft?”
“I, um, don’t recall that.” Tim ducked his head, his face flushing red as a new fire engine.
Clint shot Josie a quizzical look, wishing she wasn’t here right now. He felt out of sorts around her. Around any woman, for that matter. Ever since Karen had died. But Josie had made a good point. Officer Wilkins wasn’t without faults. None of them were.
“We’re not arresting Frank.” Clint’s voice nailed the final verdict.
“There’s no need to mollycoddle Frank just because we’re all friends and neighbors. The law is the law and it can’t be broken, even in a small town like Camlin,” Tim said.
Josie shook her head, not accepting his sudden lapse in memory. “My grandfather has not knowingly broken any law. You’re not taking him anywhere.”
“Of course he’s not.” Clint tried to show a tolerant smile. “Officer, I’m sorry to have dragged you away from your busy day. Merry Christmas.” He gave Tim’s shoulder a gentle nudge toward the squad car, then turned his back on the policeman and indicated the house. “Frank, can I speak with you inside for a few minutes? Alone.”
Clint sure didn’t want Tim around for what he had to say next. Unfortunately, he had a feeling about Frank that would undoubtedly upset the elderly man and his fuming granddaughter even more. It’d be best to deal with the problem in private. Without anyone else present, including Josie.
But Clint couldn’t back down. The issue was too important. He just hoped that, when he was finished with what he had to say, he and Frank Rushton were still good friends.
Copyright © 2014 by Lora Lee Bale
ISBN-13: 9781460341155
North Country Dad
Copyright © 2014 by Lois M. Richer
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com