Page 9 of Cold as Hell

The next morning, Dalton “lets” me sleep until five minutes before Sebastian arrives. In other words, he fails to wake me in time to shower and such, but I’ll give him this because I probably wouldn’t have showered anywayandhe has my clothing ready and a mug of hot chocolate waiting when he does rouse me. Then he helps me dress, which is very thoughtful and efficient but also humiliating.

Someday, I remind myself. Someday, in my relatively near future, I will be able to yank on clothing in thirty seconds again.

Sebastian doesn’t arrive until 8:34, clearly finding the sweet spot between annoying Dalton by being early and annoying me by being late. We eat as we talk. The young man doesn’t have anything to offer, really. Had he seen Kendra’s attacker, he’d have said so last night.

As he told us then, his focus was on Kendra. He saw a figure, dressed dark, possibly wearing a balaclava, which is issued to everyone for the winter weather. If he had to guess, he’dsay it was a man, though he won’t rule out the possibility of a woman. The figure had been bent, dragging Kendra, so it was hard to tell sex or size.

Really, the most important thing he has to tell me is that he stopped by the clinic and Kendra is doing well. Sebastian might lack a natural conscience and struggle with empathy, but his brain has done an excellent job of filling in the blanks. He likes Kendra, therefore he is concerned for her well-being, and he knows I will be, too, and that it is considerate to check on her.

Dalton and I leave shortly after Sebastian does. Dalton heads to talk to Phil, as the town manager—we’d call him the mayor if that wouldn’t suggest he was our boss. Yes, Phil is still here. It’s been six months since he last reminded us that he’s only staying until the town is settled. I’d love to think Haven’s Rock and our mission have finally won him over, but I know the truth. He’s accepted that Isabel isn’t leaving, and as long as she isn’t, neither is he.

I put off speaking to Kendra again—I don’t want her to feel as if I’m hovering in hopes she’ll remember something. First I’ll talk to those who were with her last night, starting with Anders, who needs to know what happened as soon as possible.

Right now, we don’t have overnight policing in Haven’s Rock. At some point, we’ll need it, mostly for the sake of having a town official available around the clock. With my pregnancy, we’ve decided to hold off. That means Anders—who often got the night shift in Rockton—doesn’t start until ten. I should be able to catch him leaving his apartment over the town hall. When I get there, though, I can see his blinds are drawn, which means he’s left for the day.

Storm and I pop into the town hall. No sign of him there.

Damn. We should have left him a report last night, so he’d know about the attack before he went out.

As chill as Anders is, the power dynamics are awkward. He was the deputy to Dalton’s sheriff, just the two of them, and then I came along, wedging in with a newly created position equal to his… and then shacking up with the boss. Anders and I are still equals, two law-enforcement officers working under Dalton, but I’m the one with the direct line to the boss. I hate anything that might make Anders feel out of the loop.

I’m turning to go find him when the door opens. In walks a dark-haired woman with light brown skin, leading a snowsuited toddler by the hand.

“Storm,” I say. “Look who’s here.”

The dog immediately lies down, and Nicole and I both laugh. At Storm’s size, she isn’t worried about being knocked over by a rambunctious two-year-old, but she knows the routine. As soon as she’s on the floor, so is Stephen, as the toddler screeches loud enough to set Storm’s ears back. He launches himself at her and drops onto her, mittened fists clenching fur as he buries his face in Storm’s side… and hopefully doesn’t bite her in his enthusiasm.

Nicole makes sure the door closes and lowers her voice. “I heard about Kendra.”

“She’s okay. Nothing happened.”

“Good. I still—”

Stephen shrieks and strangles Storm in another hug. Nicole waits for the noise level to drop and tries again, only to have him shriek over her. Nicole slumps her shoulders with a deep sigh, and I try not to laugh.

There are many reasons why I love having Dalton’s brother, Jacob, and his wife in Haven’s Rock for the winter, but one of the best is that I get a preview of my life to come. Not having younger siblings—and having avoided babysitting whenever possible—I lack experience with small children.

With Stephen in town, I’m learning fast. He’s recently learnedto screech and loves the sound of his voice. He also has discovered the existence of the word “no,” which can be used whenever his mother tells him not to do something like screeching. And from Nicole, I’m learning that even with toddlers—maybeespeciallywith toddlers—you pick your battles. If she tells him to stop screeching and he doesn’t want to, then she needs to enforce her decision, which means she might have to take him home when she wants to speak to me.

“Jacob took off this morning to get in some hunting while it’s warm,” she says. “Or that was his excuse. I really need to up my hunting—”

A shriek cuts her off, and she slumps again, her shoulders sinking dramatically.

“Hey, bud,” I say to Stephen. “How about throwing Storm’s ball for her?”

“Ball?” He perks up and looks around. “Where ball?”

I smile. “You need to find it. I think it’s hiding.”

He toddles off, snowsuit swishing.

I’m turning back to Nicole when the door opens tentatively. At first, it doesn’t seem as if anyone’s there. Then I see the head poke in about a foot below where I expect one. It’s Max, our second-youngest resident.

“Sorry,” Max says, looking from me to Nicole. “I was looking for—”

“Mac!” Stephen shouts. He can almost get Max’s name, but the X is a little tough. He races over and Max smiles and crouches with his hand out for a high five, which Stephen enthusiastically returns.

“I was looking for Sheriff Eric,” Max says. “We were going to walk Storm this morning.”

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