Page 44 of Home Town Knight
That, and a handsome face paired with an apparent heart of gold. And a great body… And that sexy dip in his voice when he whispered,Let me have you.
I really had to stop.
I jumped when I heard a small noise. Two eyes appeared in the darkness, and I sucked in a sharp breath until I realized who it was. The little girl I’d seen earlier with the pregnant mom, who were staying in the cabin a few down from mine.
“Hello?” I asked.
She stepped forward, waving. “Hi, what are you doing out here? Were you looking at stars?”
“Some. What are you doing out? Where’s your mom?”
“She’s sleeping. She gets real tired because my baby sister is in her belly. My name is Cece. That’s short for Cecilia. What’s yours?” All of that had come out in a rush while she hopped her way over to the porch in front of my cabin. She was maybe seven years old, with her hair in two messy pigtails. She wore a sweater with the buttons closed but not lined up correctly.
“I’m Gen.”
Cece bowed, arms swooping outward like she was a princess in a movie. “I’m enchanted to meet you.”
I held back my laugh because I didn’t want her to think Iwas laughing at her. “It’s pretty late to be out. You’d better get back to your cabin before your mom sees you’re gone and worries.”
Cece’s pigtails bobbed as she jumped up and down. “But I’m not far. All she has to do is look out the window and she’ll see me. I come out here all the time. Do you have any candy?”
That time, I couldn’t hold back my laugh. I did have all those desserts Jessi had packed up for me, and it probably wouldn’t do any harm to visit a little. Especially since Cece was right, and her mom would see her right away if she looked out the window.
“Wait right here, okay? I’ll be back.”
I went inside and grabbed the box of desserts, along with the quilt from the end of my bed. I brought both outside, draping the quilt around Cece’s shoulders. She made herself at home on one of the wooden stools on my porch. I took the other.
“Why did you give me a blanket?”
“Oh, it’s not a blanket. It’s a royal cape for a princess.”
Cece grinned. “Queen,” she corrected.
“My apologies, your majesty.” I opened up the container and held it out. “A selection of our finest tarts from the royal baker. No allergies, right?”
“No.” Giggling, she picked up a mini pecan tart and thanked me. I selected one that looked like lemon meringue, which was confirmed when I took a bite. It was a perfect balance of sweet and tart, with just a hint of lavender for a floral twist. Owen had been right. These were delicious.
Cece gobbled up a tiny cake, and we played royalty until she asked, “Are you here because you needed help too?”
My chest tightened, and I set down the rest of my dessert in the box. “I am. But I feel safe here. Do you?”
“Yes. Miss Jessi is really nice. And Miss Scarlett too. AndAiden and Trace and River. Oh, and Sheriff Owen. I like his cowboy hat.”
I smiled. “I like it too.”
“I never met my dad, but I think he would wear a cowboy hat.” She nodded, as if confirming that to herself. “Yep, he would. And he would be a lot nicer than my mom’s boyfriend, Ernest. Ernest is mean, and he yelled a lot.” She shrugged. “We had to come here to hide from him because he didn’t want to let us go.”
She’d said all of that so matter-of-factly that it broke my heart. “That sounds scary.”
“It is. I’m scared sometimes. I don’t want him to find me or my mom or my baby sister.”
This brave little girl. “It’s okay to be scared. And it’s very important to get help from nice people like Jessi and Sheriff Owen.”
“We’re just visiting until we can move to live with my mom’s cousin in Florida. But I wish we didn’t ever have to leave. I like it here.”
Me too, I thought.
A door slammed in the main building, and the sound of running footsteps reached my ears. I stood, my brows drawing down as I tried to see who was coming.
