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The Sheriff's Son
Barbara White Daille
Why Is Tanner Jones Back In Town?Seven-year-old Kevin has been a handful for single mom Sarah Lindstrom, and when the new sheriff walks through her door holding her son by the scruff of his neck for egging his car, she knows she's lost control. But can she control herself–and keep the secret she's kept for so many years?Tanner Jones has no idea Kevin is his son–he lost the right to that information when he abandoned Sarah soon after graduation. Just because he's back in town doesn't mean he can waltz into her life–and Kevin's–to pick up where they left off. But Sarah can't deny the feelings she still harbors for Tanner, and can't deny how her son is benefiting from his attentions.When Tanner finds out the truth, what is he going to do?
“I’ll cut right to the chase, Sarah. Let’s get married.”
After a long struggle she managed to find her voice, but could only sputter a shocked “Wh-what?”
“Just what I said.” Tanner rested an elbow on the railing and peered down at her. “We’d planned to all along, right? But life got in the way. Now things have settled down again—we’ve settled down. It only makes sense.”
Sarah cleared her throat and tried to speak again. “What about Kevin?”
“What about him?”
“You would adopt him?”
“Sarah, I’m willing enough to take care of you and Kevin. You know that. Stepfather, yeah, that I’ll agree to. But that’s it. I don’t want to adopt the boy.”
Tears stung her eyes, and a coldness settled inside her. “The offer’s tempting, Tanner. But you walked away from me once and I can’t take the chance you might do it again. So my answer is no. I won’t marry you.”
Dear Reader,
If you’re at all like me, you love being swept into a good book, where you can leave your cares behind—and get involved in someone else’s troubles for a change! Where you can learn how the characters handle life’s ups and downs. And, best of all, where you can watch them struggle against their feelings…until they finally admit their love and realize they’ve come home.
Again, if you’re like me, you’ve sometimes made mistakes in your life and watched them grow all out of proportion. That happened with Sarah and Tanner, whose story you’re holding right now. It took them years to find out—Well, I’ll let them reveal their tale in the following pages. Here, I’ll share my story with you….
Since the age of nine I’ve dreamed of telling stories of my own—and now I’m beyond thrilled that my first two books will be in print this year. Thanks for joining me in this adventure! As we take our first steps together, I hope you enjoy The Sheriff’s Son. And watch for Court Me, Cowboy, coming to you in November.
I love to hear from readers. You can reach me at P.O. Box 504, Gilbert, AZ 85299 or through my Web site, www.barbarawhitedaille.com.
All my best to you!
Until we meet again,
Barbara White Daille
The Sheriff’s Son
Barbara White Daille
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When she was very young, Barbara White Daille learned from her mom about the storytelling magic in books—and she’s been hooked ever since. Now thrilled to be an author herself, she hopes you will enjoy reading her books and will find your own magic in them! Originally from the East Coast, Barbara lives with her husband in the warm, sunny Southwest, where they love the dry heat and have taken up square-dancing.
This book is lovingly dedicated to Elizabeth Gallagher who started it all and to Rich who helps keep it going
Many thanks to a very special editor Kathleen Scheibling
Contents
Chapter One (#u700b6c83-02f7-5ce3-8ee4-69c90ab75bbf)
Chapter Two (#u1e18e1b6-dfa7-5396-a24d-faf160371b83)
Chapter Three (#u8a5d2bf6-73e1-518f-873b-ee59b5d0e7ae)
Chapter Four (#u26177014-61eb-52b1-9a37-c7ac4eebda6b)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
The eeny-meeny-miney-mo approach to paying bills wouldn’t keep creditors from her door much longer.
Sarah Lindstrom sighed, planted her elbows on the desk and buried her face in her hands.
What she wouldn’t do for some matches or a fireplace. But the only bookstore in Dillon, Texas, wasn’t the place to find either of those things, even if she were dumb enough to resort to drastic measures. Burning the bills would only add to her problems, not solve them.
If one more straw would snap the camel’s back, as Daddy used to say, then one more debt, one more unplanned doctor visit, one more call from Kevin’s school ought to bring down a whole herd of cattle.
The thought of her son made her sigh again. It was only a few weeks into the new school year, and in that short time, he’d given her more grief than in all seven years of his life combined.
At the sound of the bell over the door, she glanced at the clock. The Bookies had arrived a bit early.
She smoothed the loose curls escaping from her braid, ran a hand over the front of her dress and smiled. Nowadays, besides reading, her only form of entertainment came from The Book Cellar’s novel discussion group, an assortment of local women ranging from former schoolteachers to ranch wives to several of her own stay-at-home-mom friends.
Halfway through the office doorway into the large, overflowing bookstore, she froze. Her mouth hung open, the greeting she’d intended to call out shriveling on her tongue, sliding back down her throat, curdling in her stomach.
Her “one more straw” had arrived.
Instead of the group of women she’d expected to see, a man stood at the front of the store, framed between a pair of ceiling-height bookcases.
Tanner Jones seemed to fill her vision, standing taller and more broad-shouldered than she ever remembered, but looking, unfortunately, all too familiar. Except for the deputy sheriff’s badge decorating his chest, and the gun resting on his hip.
A frown rumpled his brow and his hand gripped the back of a bright blue T-shirt, pulling up with just enough pressure to keep the boy inside the shirt dancing on tiptoe.
A single mother’s worst nightmare. Doubled.
The son she never wanted to see in trouble.
The man she’d once loved. Once lost. And never wanted to see again.
“Mom! I—”
“Hold it, son,” Tanner broke in.
Her stomach dropped. His voice had deepened with the years, but his once well-loved drawl triggered a fully illustrated volume of unwanted memories.
Sarah focused instead on Kevin, whose yelp revealed much more than his missing front tooth. What had he done? And why did Tanner have to be the one to catch him?
Half of her wanted to scream at Tanner to let her son go; the other half wanted to behave like a calm, rational human being who understood the importance of law and order.
Well, she’d never been rational around Tanner before.
“Put him down this instant.”
He laughed. “C’mon, Sarah, I outgrew that tone in grade school with Mrs. G.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t you think you ought to hear what happened first?”
“No. First, I think you ought to unhand my son.” Her voice wobbled. She took a deep breath. She had to be strong for Kevin. They had no one else but each other. “Let him go, then we’ll talk.”
To her relief, Tanner shrugged and released his hold on the T-shirt. Kevin’s heels dropped to the floor.
“Mom!” He rushed across the room to wrap his arms around her waist and bury his face against her.
“It’s all right.” She kept a reassuring arm around him but shifted him to her side so they could face the enemy together.
Normally, she had a healthy respect for the law. But this was Tanner Jones, and that made all the difference. “What happened, Kevin?”
Tanner whipped a leather-covered notebook out of his pocket. As he started toward them, her son trembled against her.
“Nothing happened, Mom!”
Tanner snorted. “You call defacing a sheriff’s car nothing?”
“Oh, Kevin. You didn’t.”
The bell over the front door rang again, and Kevin’s friend Billy poked his head into the room. “Hey, Kev, what happened to ya? The bus is late and Mom told Gary he had to drive us to school and he’s yelling to hurry up.”
Kevin slipped from her encircling arm and looked at her with pleading eyes.
She nodded. “You go to school, and I’ll speak with Deputy Jones. Be prepared, though. We’ll talk about this when you get home.”
“Wait a minute—” Tanner began.
Her son bolted, sneakers pounding across the wooden floor, down a side aisle and through the front door, which he slammed shut behind him.
The bell jangled so hard, she thought it might fly off and break a window.
“Damn, the kid’s fast,” Tanner muttered.
Fast and long gone—while she stood there, trapped.
Kevin had done plenty to concern her lately, from smart-mouthing her and his teachers to acting the clown in class. He would face the consequences eventually. She would have to face her consequences right now.
Tanner started down the center aisle toward her. She had no plan, but instinct knew what she needed. Distance and a sturdy barrier. Immediately.
Sidestepping, she put the long, waist-high counter between them. With shaking fingers, she straightened the pile of bookmarks near the cash register. Wishing for a more time-consuming chore, she glanced around the store, through the windows, everywhere but at Tanner.
Where were the Bookies when she needed them?
Reluctantly, she looked back to find Tanner standing across from her. Sunlight glinted off the badge pinned to his shirtfront, threw golden highlights into his sandy-colored hair. He’d been blonder back in their school days. Butterscotch, she’d tease, tug on a handful, then run away. But he’d always catch her.
Today, he’d caught Kevin.
She leaned against the shelves lining the wall behind her, bracing herself.
“What are you thinking, Sarah, letting your boy run off like that? Don’t you even want to know what he did?”
“Of course, I do. But first, I want to know what you’re doing here. Why did you come back to Dillon?”
“What’s this look like?” He tapped a finger against his badge. “I’m Deputy Sheriff in this great state of Texas, sent to guard the good folks of Dillon.”
She took a closer look. “You’re County?”
He nodded.
At least he wouldn’t have an office in town. She’d grasp at any spilled straw, though Daddy would’ve told her you can’t fix the camel’s back once it’s snapped.
“I still don’t understand why you’re here. What happened to Deputy Worth?”
