Page 25 of The Sheriff and the Outlaw

Daxton took it from her. “Here. I’ll take it.” He let out a deep breath. “Josey, don’t feel as if you have to earn your keep while you’re here. Just be yourself.”

“I know, but you don’t understand. I want to.” She bit her lower lip, thinking. “I haven’t been around a real family in a very long time.”

Daxton gave her a one-armed hug. “I meant it when I said that you could stay as long as you like. Besides, I’m enjoying you being here.” He realized what he was doing and released her, then took a step back.

She smiled up at him. “Thank you. Let me get ready and I’ll be out in a bit.”

“Don’t take too long.” One corner of his lips curled into a smile. “We want to get there while the fish are still biting.”

“They’ll really be biting at sunset,” Josey replied as she headed toward the bedroom.

It amazed Daxton that she liked to fish and wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. One thing was certain: Josey Denning was a woman full of surprises.

Chapter 7

Josey

Josie hurried into Daxton’s bedroom to look for a suitable hat, where she had found the few dresses that his ex-wife had left behind. For a moment, she wondered why his wife had left and how long Daxton had been alone with his children. Her heart went out to him, raising his children—a boy and a girl—alone. It would have been hard enough for a man to raise a son alone, but a girl would have been very hard. After all, who would teach her how to be a woman? As she cleaned the house, she didn’t mean to snoop, but she could see that his children had been well cared for and that they were definitely a family.

But a girl needs a mother. If anything happened to her, Josey just hoped that someone would look after her little one and raise him or her as their own. She pushed the thought from her mind, knowing that she wouldn’t be there long enough to find out. She had to think of her child, to protect the baby at all costs… even at the expense of her own life.

She looked through the closet and at the top was a wide-brimmed hat that his ex-wife had obviously used while working outside or in the garden. It was brown and didn’t really match her outfit, but it didn’t matter. She needed to hurry while the fish were still biting.

Josey smiled to herself. It had been a while since she had gone fishing. Her life with Logan hadn’t afforded such luxuries.She had spent most of her time cleaning, defending herself, or living in fear, leaving little room for fun. Josie slipped on the hat, in a hurry to go fishing with Daxton and his son. She would deal with everything else later.

When she entered the living room, Daxton had changed his clothes, looking dapper in clean jeans, a medium-blue shirt, and a black vest. The collar was left open at the neck, revealing a few dark chest hairs. And his eyes were filled with interest.

Although he was a wonderful man, she didn’t want him to be interested. Josie thought it unlikely, but she didn’t want to get mixed up with another abusive man and jump from the frying pan into the fire. But in the few days that she’d known Daxton, he had shown her nothing but kindness and respect. But it was too soon to think of such things. He was just a nice man who had cared for her in her time of need.

“You look lovely.” Daxton smiled, offering her his hand.

“Thank you.” She smiled, taking it. “You look pretty good yourself.”

He tucked her hand into his arm and led her outside. Just then, Andrew walked out of the barn, carrying three fishing poles and a fishing tackle box.

“What are you using for bait?” Josey asked, walking between Andrew and Daxton.

“I’m not.” He smiled at his father. “I’m fly fishing with artificial lures, like my father taught me.”

Josey grinned, glancing over at Daxton. “It looks like your father has taught you well.”

“Yes, he has,” Andrew agreed.

“Had any luck lately?”

Andrew nodded. “I’ve caught a lot of fish this week.”

Daxton laughed. “And you didn’t bring any home?”

“Hey, I brought you two. You know, you could have gone fishing with me and earned your keep,” Andrew teased, sounding more grown than Josie would have expected.

Daxton laughed. “Hey, watch it, son.”

“Sorry, Pa, but the truth is the truth.” A devilish gleam appeared in his eye as he teased his father.

Daxton ruffled his hair. “Oh, it is, is it?” He reached over and tickled his sides as Andrew squirmed.

“Hey, now. Not in front of a lady.” Andrew looked over at Josie as a broad grin spread across his face.

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