Caught by the Sheriff--A Clean Romance Page 24
He stepped over the fence, shining the light, and saw nothing but ice-covered weeds and grass. The wind stung his face, but he kept walking.
“Hey, anybody out there?” he called over and over with no response.
He could see the light from Grandpa’s house from where he stood. The driver had to be close. That’s when he saw someone sprawled on the grass facedown. Oh, man!
He fell down beside them and tried to find a pulse, but the woman had on so many clothes. She was soaked from the sleet, and he had to get her to shelter. Supporting her neck, he gently tried to turn her over.
She moaned, and relief washed over him. She was alive!
“Can you hear me?”
A fur-lined hood was over her head, and a thick scarf covered her face up to her nose, so all he could see were her eyes, and he couldn’t even see those very clearly.
“Can you hear me?”
“O-h.”
“Talk to me.”
A gloved hand went to her head. “Stop yelling at me.”
“Listen, lady, we don’t have—”
Suddenly, she sat up straight and looked around. “Where’s Zoe? Where’s Zoe?”
“She’s safe, and now we have to get you out of this weather.”
“Where is she?”
Cole got to his feet. “I’ll explain later. Right now we have to go. Can you stand?”
She tried, but she couldn’t.
“Can you hold the flashlight?”
“Y-yes.”
He lifted her into his arms and carried her toward the fence to the truck. She held the light so he could see. When they reached the truck, he asked, “Do you think you can stand?” The wind grabbed his words and threw them into the darkness, but she heard them.
“Yes.”
He carefully lowered her to her feet, and they were in the truck in minutes. Turning up the heat, he said, “I’ll get your things out of the car.”
“Thank you,” she muttered through chattering teeth.
He had to get her home and soon. He jammed all of the baby stuff and the suitcases into the back of his truck. He didn’t know where she was headed, but she was prepared to stay awhile.
* * *
GRACE BENNETT SHIVERED from head to toe. She was so cold, but she had to concentrate. She had to focus. This man had just saved her life and, yet, she was nervous. He had a commanding voice, like he’d been in the military or something. She didn’t know him, and she didn’t know where he was taking her. Unsettling thoughts floated through her head, and sleep pulled at her brain. But one thing was persistently tapping her consciousness.
“Where’s Zoe?”
“She’s at my grandpa’s house. You can see the light through the trees.”
She remembered seeing the light and making the decision to walk there to safety and warmth. But it didn’t make sense why Zoe was there and she wasn’t.
“How did she get there?”
The man looked at her, and she noticed his eyes were bright blue. “You took her there. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t stay instead of going back to the car.”
She shook her head. “No.” Her thoughts became clear. “I didn’t make it to the house. I bundled Zoe and myself up and then I started walking up the hill. I slipped on the icy grass, but I had the carrier tight in my right arm. My last thought was I had to keep her safe.”
“I think you’re disoriented. The baby was left at the front door of my grandpa’s house.”
“I wouldn’t leave her out in the cold at a stranger’s house.” The words came out angry between chattering teeth. She was so cold.
“We’ll sort this out later. My goal now is to get you someplace warm. I’m sure you have hypothermia, so just sit tight and you’ll see your daughter in a minute.”
Daughter. Tears welled in her eyes. By fleeing she’d put both their lives in jeopardy. But she couldn’t stay in Austin. If she had, they would’ve taken Zoe away from her. She would do anything to keep that from happening, even butting heads with this take-control stranger.
She just hoped he wasn’t a cop.
Copyright © 2020 by Linda Warren
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ISBN: 9781488061943
Caught by the Sheriff
Copyright © 2020 by Rula Sinara
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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