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She lowered her camera and he caught a flash of sadness in her eyes. His chest tightened and he wanted to go to her, but decided it wasn’t wise to pursue it.
“What do you say we have some lunch? Maria made sandwiches.”
He made his way to his horse and returned with a saddlebag and blanket. He found a big flat boulder and spread out the blanket. Leah sat down on the far edge…keeping her distance. Was she really so afraid of him? Maybe she was wise to be afraid.
“Is there anywhere else we should look?” he asked, handing her a wrapped sandwich.
Leah was getting discouraged. Where had the boy gone? She prayed he was safe. “I can’t think of where he’d go.”
“He must be a pretty bright kid to outsmart adults,” Holt said.
She looked him in the eye. “Or he doesn’t trust them.” She took a bite of her sandwich. “Maybe they’ve let him down. But surely his parents would put out a missing persons report.”
“Not all parents are like yours,” he said, looking at her. “Some don’t have time for their kids.”
Leah saw the pain on his face, the sudden distant look in his eyes that suggested his childhood wasn’t ideal. Before she could speak, he moved toward her.
“Don’t turn around but your little friend is hiding just behind the falls.”
Leah gasped as Holt’s arms encircled her shoulders. “I’m going to try to get a better look, so go along.”
She nodded. “Okay, but don’t frighten him off.”
Holt smiled. “Then you better help.” His head lowered as his arms went around her back and drew her closer. She tried not to react, but he radiated heat, and there was the feel of his muscular chest. When he nuzzled her neck she had to fight her response.
“The little thief is moving closer to the edge of the water.”
Holt shifted so his mouth was close to her ear. She could feel his warm breath, the brush of his lips as he spoke. Agonizingly sensitive to even such a slight touch of his mouth, the delicate outer curve of her ear seemed to tingle and burn.
“You were right, he’s only about eight or nine, dirty blond hair.”
“That’s him,” she whispered. “How are we going to convince him we’re here to help?”
His lips moved to her cheek, then her jawline. She shivered as an ache started in her chest and began to shift lower. She didn’t need this complication. A man like Holt wasn’t good for her. “Is this a good idea?”
He raised his head just inches and stared down at her. “I’m not sure…you tell me.” Just then his mouth closed over hers.
Leah was totally lost in the kiss as Holt drew her closer against his body. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she forgot everything but the feel of Holt’s mouth against hers. Then slowly he lifted his head, breaking the intimate contact. He sucked in a shaky breath as his eyes drifted open and locked with hers, revealing the heat in the emerald depths.
Suddenly he blinked and turned his attention over her shoulder. “Damn. He’s gone.”
Before Leah could clear her head, Holt took off after the kid. She scrambled to her feet and hurried along the edge of the pond behind Holt. There was no sign of the boy.
“We lost him.”
“I thought you were watching him,” she said accusingly, hating that she let this man affect her.
He combed his fingers through his hair. “I was until you decided to be a participant in the kiss.”
“Me? You’re blaming me for distracting you? It was your idea.”
He came up to her, displaying the heat in his eyes. “Yes, and it was a really bad idea.”
Holt was silent all the way back to the ranch. Fine. Leah wasn’t taking the blame for losing sight of the boy. And she was still blaming herself for losing herself in the kiss, no matter how incredible. But just because there were sparks didn’t mean they should do anything about it.
Outside the barn, they dismounted. “Okay, now I have to call the sheriff,” she told him.
“Go ahead, but I’m telling you that kid doesn’t want to be found,” Holt argued.
“Then we’re going to have to persuade him we want to help him.” She tugged on the reins and led her horse into the barn. Once in the stall, she began to unfasten the cinch straps, then she lifted the saddle off and put it away in the tack room. They’d had three days, and hadn’t been able to find one young boy. It was time she called the sheriff.
After putting everything away, she returned to the stall. That was when she saw Zach and Holt at the other end of the aisle and went to tell them of her plans.
Holt took her by the arm. “We need to go up to the house and talk.” He started to walk, pulling her along with him.
Leah resisted. “What do we need to talk about?”
His eyes narrowed. “Things.”
This time Zach joined in. “Yeah, things.”
Leah allowed the two men to lead her outside and up to the house. Once in the kitchen, she swung around.
“You’re not going to talk me out of calling the sheriff. We can’t find the boy on our own, and it’s going to be pretty cold tonight.”
“He’s living in the barn,” Holt said calmly.
“You’re kidding.” She could believe their good luck. “Really?”
Zach nodded. “I had to go up to the loft earlier. I found a blanket, some clothes and a stash of food.”
“That kid has been stealing things right from the house,” Holt said accusingly.
“He’s trying to survive the only way he can,” she pleaded, wondering if this man actually had a heart.
“Well, he can’t do it in my barn.”
Leah shook with anger. “Of course not. That would be too much trouble for you. That child needs help and you’re only worried that he’s taken a few of your precious things. I bet you didn’t even miss them.”
Holt glared. “You know I’m getting tired of being the bad guy. I just meant that a barn is no place for a kid to live. Go ahead, call the sheriff and tell him to come out here.” He walked out, letting the back door slam shut.
She looked at Zach. “What’s he going to do?”
“Nothing as bad as what you’re thinking. He’s probably going to find the boy.”
“Great,” she grumbled and had started after him when the phone rang.
Zach answered it and called her back. “It’s your sister.”
Leah took the receiver. “Hello, Morgan.”
“Leah, the sheriff is on his way out. There’s a report of a missing boy from Durango. The boy that fits your description is Corey Haynes. He ran away from his foster home.”
“He’s been hiding in Holt’s barn, in the loft. I’ve got to go.”
Leah hung up and ran for the door. “His name is Corey,” she called to Zach.
Running down the steps, she saw Holt with Corey in tow. His hand was around the boy’s skinny arm, pulling him toward the house. His clothes were filthy, shirt and jeans were torn, and his white tennis shoes nearly black. The child cursed as he resisted their forward progress.
Leah ran to meet them. “Corey, it’s okay. You’re safe now,” she told him.
He continued to fight Holt. “Just let me go and I’ll leave.”
Holt finally managed to get the kid into the kitchen. Pulling out a chair, he parked him there, but he jumped up. Holt pushed him back down, feeling the tender spots on his shins, knowing he’d probably have bruises tomorrow.
“Sit down, or I’ll tie you down.”
Fear filled the kid’s blue eyes, but also defiance. Then surprising Holt, he sat down. Holt grabbed another chair, swung it around and straddled it in front of the boy. “Okay, kid, I need a name and where you came from.”
“I’m not going to tell you shi—nothin’.” Head bent, he stared at the kitchen floor.
“Is it Corey?” Leah asked. “Corey Haynes?”
The boy looked at her and blinked those innocent blue eyes at her. “I don’t know any Corey.”
Leah squatted down beside the boy. “Corey, you don’t have to be afraid. We’re here to help you.”
“Yeah, I heard that before,” he muttered. “Just let me go.”
“No way,” Holt said. “You can’t live in caves.”
“Why not? It was a lot better than where I was.” Tears flooded his eyes and he swiped them away.
Leah gave Holt a pleading look. He could see she’d already lost her heart to this kid. “Were you mistreated?” She touched the boy’s arm and he didn’t pull away.
“What difference does it make? Nobody cares.”
“I care, Corey,” she insisted. “I want to help you.”
He looked up and his dirty face was streaked with tears. “Why?”
“Because you deserve better than you’re getting.” She moved in closer and pulled the child into an embrace. Her nurturing touch seemed as natural as her next breath. “No child should have to live in a cave, or a barn. You should feel safe and secure. And clean.” She wrinkled her nose. “You don’t exactly smell too great.”
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?”
