Faith's Sheriff (Montgomery Family and Friends) (7 page)

She felt reassured by the steady beat of Cole’s heart.  There was only one problem.  Being that close to him was sparking her body to life and making her have very wicked thoughts.  Heat stirred in her lower abdomen and began to spread throughout the rest of her body.  She so didn’t need this right now.  She took a hasty step away from Cole and out of his arms.

Cole missed the warmth of her soft and sexy curves against his hard flesh, but he let her go.  Faith was a lot stronger than she gave herself credit for being.  She’d come out on the other side of this mess just fine, he’d make sure of that.  She’d placed her trust in him and he wasn’t going to let her down.

Suddenly Faith let out a gasp and her hand flew to her mouth.  “Oh my God I almost forgot!  Have you heard anything about Jasmine’s dad?  And how are she and that precious baby doing?”

Cole was glad for something to distract her from the vandalism of the house and the written threat issued against her. He was also glad of something to distract his wayward thoughts and aroused body.  It wanted more of Faith, but Cole knew that right now much to his regret was not the right time.

 Instead of concentrating on her he concentrated on answering her question.  “Deputy Owens the baby’s father has been contacted and he’s arranged emergency leave.  He should be here soon. His wife Susan is stable but still critical. He’s probably going to be spending most of his time at the hospital when he does get back to town.  She hasn’t regained consciousness yet, so we still don’t know if she can identify the shooter.”

“Oh that poor man,” Faith exclaimed.  She’d never met the deputy, but any normal person would feel empathy for him and this horrible situation. “And the children,” she insisted on knowing.  “I hope that Child Protective Services was able to find a nice place for them to stay and that they are together.”

“They’re fine and yes they are together.  You’ll be happy to know that Joyce Montgomery has taken both of them into her home.  They will be well loved and taken care of until Robert gets back to town.”

Faith had absolutely come to adore the matriarch of the Montgomery family.  “It’s very sweet of Joyce to do that.  I didn’t know she was a foster mom, but I couldn’t think of a better person to take care of those two children.”

“I agree.  Mike Thomas, the director of Child Protective Services approached Joyce about becoming a foster mom about six months after her husband died, but Abigail and her two children were still living with Joyce then.”  Cole shrugged.  “I guess she kept the offer in the back of her mind.  When Abigail married Mason and her and the children moved in with him, Joyce got in touch with Mike.  She went through the training to be a short term foster mother in emergency situations just like this one.”

“That sounds exactly like Joyce,” Faith agreed. 

“Luckily we don’t have much of a demand for emergency foster care in this county, but it’s good to know Joyce and a few others like her are there when they are needed.”

Faith let out a little wisp of a sigh.  “I’m just relieved to know that Jasmine and her baby cousin are in such capable and loving hands.”  The smile on her face slowly slipped, “any word on Richard Tome?”

“Nothing yet,” Cole replied.  “At this point he’s been moved to the top of the suspect list.  If you catch a glimpse of him anywhere Faith, don’t try to approach him.  Call the sheriff’s department immediately.”

“Absolutely,” she agreed.  “I’m not one to go chasing after a suspected murderer especially on my own.”  She gave Cole’s arm an awkward squeeze.  “Thank you once again for all your help last night.  I’m going to go ahead and pack a few more things while I’m here and then drive over to Caroline’s house.  I locked up at your house before leaving, so I’ll just pick up my things later on if that’s okay.”

Cole gave her an absentminded nod.  Someone from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had come over to ask him a question and he had immediately switched his concentration from Faith to the job.  The quicker the person responsible for this was apprehended the safer Faith would be.

Faith didn’t want to interfere with the investigation and she didn’t want a long and drawn out awkward goodbye.  Things were subtly shifting between them, and she needed to put some distance between herself and Cole.  She went to her bedroom and filled one of her larger suitcases with enough clothes and toiletries to last at least a week.  Hopefully by the end of that time the window would be fixed and the murder suspect would be behind bars. 

Faith slipped out of the house while Cole was deep in conversation with one of his deputies.  And if her feet moved a little slower the further she got from Cole well that was just because it had been a very trying twenty-four hours.

******

Faith slowly sipped the refreshing sweet iced tea Caroline had made especially for her.   Then she continued with her story aware that her longtime friend was shocked speechless for once.  “The good news is both children are fine, probably better than fine.  They are staying with Joyce Montgomery until Robert Owens can return.” 

Caroline just nodded in wide-eyed agreement.

“Anyway, I want to thank you one more time for letting me stay here.  I just hope that trouble doesn’t follow me.”

Caroline finally snapped out of her silence.  “Well of course, where else would you stay?  I am going to love having you here for an extended stay.  My stepdaughter Sarah is a senior this year and she’s never home.  She spends most of her time over at Abigail’s house hanging out with her son Jay or horseback riding.”

Faith was glad to have something to talk about other than her recent ordeal.  She laughed out loud.  “I noticed that Sarah and Jay like to spend a lot of time together.”

Caroline nodded her head.  “I swear those two are probably going to end up getting married one day.  Every time I say something like that Kyle growls at me.  He knows Sarah is growing up, but he does not like having other people point it out to him.   He’s a typical male.  He doesn’t like hearing about things he can’t control.  I imagine Cole is much the same way.”  She arched a brow to give Faith a questioning look.

“Cole did take charge last night when everything started to deteriorate.” And Faith was thankful for all he’d done.  She would never have been able to sleep in her little rental house after the rock came crashing through the window shattering her illusions of comfort and safety.  “I imagine you’re right about things he can’t control.”  It had taken an act of vandalism, but he’d gotten his way.  She’d ended up spending the night in his house instead of her own.

Faith should have known that it wouldn’t take Caroline long to start asking about Cole.  She’d gotten the idea early on that her friends would love to see her and Cole have a go at a relationship.  They often found themselves invited to the same social functions and they always attended alone, so they usually ended up paired together.  

“That’s enough about Cole and all the unpleasantness of yesterday.”  Faith brought up the one thing sure to get her friend’s mind off of any matchmaking schemes she might be harboring.  “So tell me how everything went at the doctor yesterday.  I hope everything is going well with your pregnancy.” 

It worked and Faith listened for several minutes while Caroline enthusiastically shared the latest progress and updates of her pregnancy. 

Faith listened with nothing but happiness for the love that Caroline had found with Kyle.  And if her heart was just a little heavy, well that had nothing to do with her own loveless and childless state as she neared her thirtieth birthday.

FIVE

Cole clutched a bouquet of daisies in his left hand and pressed the doorbell to the Wakefield house with his right hand.  The flowers had been an impulse buy.  He’d been in the grocery store looking for something quick to fix for dinner when the lovely pink, yellow, and white flowers caught his attention.  His mind had gone straight to thoughts of Faith.  Instead of buying food for dinner he bought the flowers and then found himself driving out to Kyle and Caroline’s place to see Faith.  Now he was standing on the Wakefield’s front porch like a nervous teenager waiting for his first date.

He heard movement on the other side of the door and tensed in anticipation.  Even though it had only been a few hours since he’d last seen Faith he couldn’t wait to see her shy smile and those beautiful warm brown eyes.  He smiled at his friend Caroline when she finally opened the door. 

“Well hello there Cole.  Those sure are some pretty flowers you’ve got there, but somehow I doubt they’re for me.”  She softened her teasing with a big welcoming smile.

“Hello Caroline.  No I’m afraid not.  I would never tempt Kyle’s temper by bringing you flowers.  He still looks like a linebacker and I remember how hard he tackled the man that tried to kidnap you about three years ago.  I’m sure I could hold my own against Kyle, but why would I want to try!”

Caroline winked at him.  “That’s probably a wise choice Cole.  I bet you’re here to see Faith.”  She opened the door wider.  “Come on in.  We’ve been enjoying a nice gossip session and cool iced tea on the back patio.”  She motioned him inside.  “You know where the patio is, go on out back and keep Faith company.   I will get another glass and more tea and join the two of you shortly.”

“I’d love that, thanks Caroline.” 

Cole had attended several dinners and barbeques at the Wakefield house, so he moved through the large home with the ease and confidence of someone familiar with his surroundings.   He was almost there when he came to a dead standstill.  He could see Faith through the glass of the French doors that led to the large covered patio and her image was enough to stop him in his tracks.  He fought to catch his breath and looked his fill.

She’d removed her shoes and her feet were curled up under her on the chair.  Her head was tilted back to catch a ray of sunshine that was angled just right to enter the side of the covered patio.  Her eyes were closed and she looked so beautiful that Cole couldn’t do anything but stand there and stare at her in awed silence. 

Faith felt the back of her neck tingle.  She had been relaxed, more than halfway asleep, but there was a new feel in the air.  Something had changed!  Unnerved by recent events Faith’s eyes popped open and her eyes darted around the room only to come to rest on a huge man standing nearby.  Faith opened her mouth to let out the instinctive scream, but she recognized Cole just in time and snapped her mouth shut.  Her hands flew to her chest to cover the heart that felt like it was about to pound its way through her skin. 

“Oh my God, Cole you almost scared me to death.”  He’d been doing that a lot lately Faith thought. 

Cole finally came to his senses.  He opened the doors and joined Faith on the patio.  “Sorry I probably should have said something to let you know I was here, but you looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to disturb you.”  He gave her a slow sexy grin and held out the flowers.  “I saw these in the store and thought about you.  They’re almost as pretty as you,” he added and was pleased to see her eyes light up and a smile take the place of the frown she’d been wearing.    

Wow, just wow!  Faith couldn’t remember the last time someone had given her flowers.  Before she even realized what she was doing she jumped up from the chair and flung her arms around Cole.  “Thank you so much!  They’re beautiful.”  She used the back of one hand to brush away a lone tear.

“Yeah, well so are you.”  Cole tightened his arms around Faith and pulled her just a little bit closer.

Faith felt Cole tugging her nearer and let him.  It felt good to be embraced by someone as strong and capable as the sheriff.  She felt safe and protected in the harbor of his arms.  This was different from feeling manipulated and controlled.  And after the night she’d just experienced safe and protected was nothing to scoff at that was for sure. 

She felt something else too, a slow burn of heat that seemed to flicker to life every time Cole was near.  She let out a soft groan and then quickly stepped away from Cole and the temptations he represented.  She had enough trouble with the threat of a potential murderer trying to run her out of town.  She didn’t need any more complications and Cole could be a very big complication if she let him.  She had no doubts about that.

Cole heard the groan and had to bite his tongue to keep from chuckling out loud.  No need to antagonize her.  She was already jumpy around him.  One thing was clear to Cole however.  She could deny it all she wanted, but Faith had to feel the electricity their bodies generated when they were near each other otherwise she wouldn’t react to him the way she did.

“Umm, so Sheriff Duncan,” she used the formal address in an attempt to back away emotionally as well as physically.  “Is there any news yet on Richard Tome or the vandalism of my house?”

“Afraid not,” Cole told her.  “We still have an APB issued for Tome, but we haven’t found him yet.  The department has been swamped with hundreds of tips from the hotline we established, but so far nothing.  Whether he’s the murderer or a victim, he’s doing a great job of staying hidden.”

Faith felt a chill settle over her despite the warm afternoon sun.  She wrapped her arms around her body and hugged herself.  “Nothing about the rock that ended up in the middle of my living room floor either I guess?”

“No there’s not.  I’m sorry, Faith.  I know it must seem like nothing is being done and everything is moving at a snail’s pace, but we will find out who did this to you and why.  I put in a call to law enforcement in your hometown.  I filled them in on what was happening down here.  They are going to round up Patrick Riley and ask him a few questions.  They’ll get back to me as soon as they’re done.  If he has an alibi then we’ll shift focus from him to Tome and the murder case the two of us inadvertently walked into last night.”

Faith shivered at the reminder of the gruesome events from the night before.

Cole noticed her reaction and lightly cupped her elbow.  It was time for a distraction.  “How about we go inside and see what’s taking Caroline so long with that tea she promised to make for me.”  He once again offered her the bouquet of flowers that had been forgotten when they hugged each other.  “That way you can find a container for your flowers.  They’re probably about ready for some water.”