Safe In The Lawman's Arms

“Katy needs to be as far from the Cruises as possible.” Mike clenched his jaw.

“I mean, would you just walk away once she was placed with someone else?” Malory asked.

He sucked in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “Emotionally, I’d have to, but I’d still keep an eye on her … make sure she stayed hidden.”

She nodded. He’d made his decision before she’d ever arrived, and she wasn’t about to change his mind.

His dark eyes moved back up to meet hers, and for the first time his guard was dropped. This wasn’t the sheriff looking down at her, this was the man— strong, solid, uncertain. She had to stop herself from stepping closer still.

“I should, um—” She blushed. What she wanted right now was to slip into those muscular arms and rest her cheek against his chest. She wanted to tell him that everything would be okay because she could help him, and he wouldn’t be facing this alone.

But that wasn’t true, and this was dangerous territory.

Safe in the

Lawman’s Arms

Patricia Johns

www.millsandboon.co.uk

PATRICIA JOHNS writes from northern Alberta, where she lives with her husband and son. The winters are long, cold and perfectly suited to novel writing. She has a BA in English Lit, and you can find her books in Mills & Boon’s Love Inspired and Mills & Boon Cherish lines.

To my husband, who inspires my romantic side. After ten years of marriage, he still makes my heart race.

Contents

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

The small girl looked up at Lieutenant Mike Cruise with unblinking blue eyes. One sticky hand clutched his badge—the gold six-pointed star that identified him as a sheriff in Hope, Montana. Her flaxen hair was still tousled from sleep, since she wouldn’t let him comb it that morning, letting out a shriek as loud as a siren every time he came near her with a hairbrush.

He wasn’t used to combing the silken curls of little girls. He was used to pushing himself to the brink on the weights at the gym, patrolling the streets of Hope and breaking up fights outside the local saloon. He was not used to this—a tiny person with more grit than he saw in the toughest ranch hand drinking away his paycheck.

“Katherine.” Mike squatted down next to the little girl. “Can I have that, please?”

She shook her head, small pink lips pursed in disapproval.

“That isn’t a toy, Katherine.” He held out his hand, and the preschooler took a step back. “Please, give it to me.”

Again, she shook her head, then wiped her nose down her sleeve, leaving a snail trail across her cheek.

Yuck. He still had to figure out how to get this child into a bathtub.

“Katherine...” He reached to take the badge from her and she opened her mouth, her shrill wail mingling with the sound of the doorbell. He heaved a sigh and pushed himself to his feet, forfeiting his badge for the moment.

He needed a nanny. Today.

Katherine watched him distrustfully as he turned toward the front door, then stepped over a pot, a sieve, an empty plastic juice jug and a small teddy bear—her favorite toys of the day. He could feel her gaze boring into the back of his T-shirt. Katherine hadn’t warmed up to him and it had been two days already—two very long days.

Mike opened the door. A young woman stood on the stoop, her sandy blond hair pulled away from her face in a ponytail. A smattering of freckles across her nose brought out the chocolate brown of her eyes, making her look a little more girl-next-door than he’d been expecting of a nanny. She wore a loose pink tunic-style top and a pair of blue jeans.

“Hi,” Mike said. “Miss Smythe?”

“Call me Malory.” She shook his hand firmly. “Do you have my résumé?”

“Yes, the agency emailed it.” He stepped aside and gestured her in. She paused in the doorway and looked around the sitting room in silent appraisal, her gaze falling on little Katherine. She bent down to the girl’s level.

“Hello, sweetie,” she said quietly. “What’s your name?”

Katherine didn’t answer, big blue eyes fixed on Malory’s face dubiously.

“This is Katherine,” Mike said. “She’s three.”

“Katherine,” she said with a nod. “That’s a very big name for a very little girl. Can I call you Katy?”

A smile flickered at the corners of the toddler’s lips and she sidled closer to Malory, holding up Mike’s badge. Malory’s eyes widened in admiration and she let out an exaggerated gasp.

“What do you have there?” Malory asked, pointing at the badge. “Can I see it?”

Katy held out the badge and Malory took it, then looked up at Mike, one brow raised.

“Thanks,” he said sheepishly, accepting the badge from her. “I’ve been trying to get that back all morning.”

“Thank you, Katy. That was nice of you,” Malory said and stood up.