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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 the top of the curved staircase, she held on to the oak banister and started down the wide steps covered in a dark brown runner. At the landing, halfway down she faced the entry at the front of the house and the solid oak door that had weathered over the years. She descended the remaining steps, thinking this place would make a wonderful home.
She headed for the kitchen in search of the new owner. In the doorway she stopped to see Holt Rawlins standing at the old stove, a towel tucked in the waist of his faded jeans. He wore a chambray shirt and scuffed boots.
She smiled. If only she had her camera.
A sullen Corey was busy setting the table and neither one were talking. Disappointed, she’d hoped that some sort of bonding would take place between the two. Obviously that was going to take a little more time. So as not to disturb them she was about to return to the bedroom when Corey looked in her direction.
“Leah,” the boy called. “You’re awake.”
Upbeat, she walked into the kitchen. “I sure am. I smelled breakfast and couldn’t wait to eat.” She looked at Holt. “What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing,” Holt said. “I have everything under control. There’s coffee in the pot.”
Even in his own home, he was a man of few words, she conceded. She went to the coffeemaker. Once she doctored her brew, she took a long sip. “It’s good.”
Holt continued cracking eggs into the skillet. “How can you tell? You add so much cream and sugar.”
“Not so much. It’s just most men make it so strong.”
He gave her a sideways glance. “I’m not most men.”
True, she’d never met anyone like him. Someone who was so stubborn, brooding…handsome.
“How did you sleep?” he asked.
“Not too bad.”
Their gazes locked, and Leah’s heart began to race. She doubted it had anything to do with the caffeine. “So, how long have you been up?” she asked.
“Since five-thirty.”
“You should have got me up. I could have helped with the chores.”
“We finished them fast,” Holt assured her.
“You and Zach?”
“And Corey.”
The boy walked to the cupboard and took down plates. “Holt woke me up to help feed the horses.”
She set her mug on the counter. “Well, on a ranch there are chores that have to be done. Animals have to be cared for.”
“That’s what Zach said,” Corey told her as he carried the plates to the table. “Do you know that Lulu is going to have a foal in a few weeks?”
“I remember Lulu,” Leah said, recalling John’s favorite mare. “A pretty chestnut.” A loaf of bread was on the counter. She took out four slices and dropped them in the toaster.
“Zach said that if I’m here I can watch the foal being born. He said it’ll be Holt’s first time, too, because he never lived on a ranch until four months ago. He came from New York.” The boy took a breath and went to get the flatware. “Have you ever been to New York?”
Leah glanced at Holt and saw him in a whole new light. So the man was trying. “Yes, I have, Corey. It’s a big place,” she answered.
“I only lived in Texas and Colorado. My dad used to work in the mines until they shut down.” The boy’s expression grew sad. “He couldn’t get a job after that and we had to move a lot.”
Before Leah could comfort him the back door opened and Zach walked in. “Hey, looks like I’m right on time.”
Corey went to him. “Breakfast is almost ready, Zach. After we eat can I go with you and Holt to feed the herd?”
The older man frowned. “That all depends. We still have to finish some chores around here.”
“I can help, too.” The boy’s eyes lit up. “I’m a good worker. I made my bed and cleaned up the bathroom like Holt asked.”
“That’s good, because everyone around here has to carry their weight.” Zach poked the boy in the stomach and made him laugh. “First, we need to eat so you can put some meat on your skinny bones.”
“Breakfast is ready,” Holt called as he carried a platter of eggs and bacon to the table.
Leah buttered the toast, then took her contribution and set the plate down next to a jar of jelly. After the food was distributed, Corey asked if she was going to come with them.
“I need to go into town this morning.” She caught a sad look from Corey. “Just to pick up some clothes. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a few hours. In fact, I’ll fix dinner tonight.”
“Promise?” the boy asked.
The panic on Corey’s face caused her pain. If she could help it, she’d never break another promise to a child again.
“That poor boy,” Claire Keenan said as she sat across from Leah at the inn’s kitchen. It was probably the first time her mother had been off her feet in hours.
“So I didn’t feel I had a choice. I have to stay at the ranch.”
“First thing this morning, I called Esther Perkins at the church. She’s rounding up some clothes for the boy.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’m also going to stop by the trading post and get him some underwear and socks—and a pair of shoes. He has a pair of old tennis shoes that I don’t think even fit him.” She thought about Corey’s former foster family and got angry all over again.
“I know you’ve wanted to help this child, Leah, but I’m concerned about you, too. You’ve gotten so involved in the situation…Are you going to be all right when he goes to a foster home?”
Leah wasn’t ready to talk about her own demons. She only knew that she couldn’t walk away from this boy…Not like she had before with another child in another place, another time.
“It’s Holt Rawlins who’s taken the responsibility for Corey. I’m just helping him out.”
“You’ve moved out to the ranch. I’d say you were helping quite a bit.”
“Mom, how can you talk when years ago you and Dad took us in.”
Claire Keenan smiled, tiny lines crinkling around her beautiful eyes. “Outside of marrying your father, it was the best day of my life. And from the moment we saw you, we fell in love with you, Morgan and Paige.”
Leah grasped her mother’s hand across the table. “And I love you and Dad. But please try to understand that since I’m the one who found Corey I do feel responsible.” She blinked back tears. “It sounds crazy, but it’s as if I were meant to help him.”
“And he’s lucky to have you,” her mother continued. “I’m just concerned about what happens when you have to leave for your next photography assignment.”
Leah didn’t want to think about that. “I’d never hurt Corey intentionally.”
“I know, but a lot of people deserted him in the past.”
She groaned. “I have six weeks off. Maybe he’ll be in a good foster home by then.”
“Or maybe Holt Rawlins will keep the boy with him.”
Leah frowned. “Well, they were getting along better this morning.” But Holt as a foster parent? That was too much to expect. “I assume Holt will be going back to New York.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
They both turned as Morgan walked into the kitchen.
Dressed in a far too long and loose fitting dress, her sister seemed determined to play down her beauty. She came to the table. “Mr. Rawlins has taken the Silver R Ranch off the market,” she told them.
“Holt Rawlins is going to stay and run the ranch?”
Morgan shrugged. “That’s what Susan Horan told me this morning. She’s the real estate agent who was handling the property.”
Leah had thought that Holt’s plan was to go back to New York…and his life there. She wondered if there was someone special in his life. Her thoughts took her back to what happened at the waterfall yesterday. How could there be another woman when Holt had kissed her like he had?
“So tell me, little sister, you’re home less than a week and you’ve already managed to move in with the best-looking man in town.”
She frowned. “Morgan, you know why I stayed at the ranch last night. Because a frightened little boy needed me.”
“I know.” She raised her hand. “But you have to admit Holt Rawlins is a good-looking cowboy.”
“Cowboy? Holt Rawlins is from the East.”
Morgan’s eyebrows rose. “Then let’s agree he’s got a lot of his father in him. The man could be on a billboard. Just ask any woman in town.”
No one had to tell that to Leah. She could still see his smile, feel his touch and taste his kiss.
“Of course the town council was hoping to get a section of the Rawlins property,” Morgan said.
“Why?”
“We’re interested in promoting more tourism for revenue. A new ski area and hiking trails are at the top of the list. The Silver R’s property cuts off access to what we have. I approached John about it, but we never really got down to the details before he passed away.” She smiled at Leah. “Since you know Holt better than anyone else in town, I thought maybe you could talk to him.”
“Oh, no.” Leah jumped up. “The man barely tolerates me. And I don’t know him that well”
“Sure. That’s why he asked you to move in and help him with a runaway boy?”
