Page 18 of Chasing Shelter

Keely nodded, tears tracking down her cheeks. “My hair’s sad.”

The sentence didn’t even make sense, but that didn’t stop Ellie. “We can’t have sad hair now, can we?”

Keely shook her head, and one of the rubber bands at the end of a braid slipped free, falling to the stone pathway.

“How can we make it happy?” Ellie asked, eyes only on my daughter.

“I-it needs to be spunky.”

“I got this,” Ellie said, pulling two rubber bands from around her wrist.

“We’re gonna be late?—”

“Daddy, pleeeease. I don’t want sad hair.”

Ellie’s gaze flicked to me, her fingers already running through Keely’s hair. “How much time we got, Chief?”

My mouth thinned. “I’m a sheriff, but—” I mentally calculated. If I drove five miles over the speed limit… “Five and a half minutes.”

“No problem. I’ll have you out of here in four.” Ellie’s fingers flew through Keely’s hair, first creating two pigtails and then beginning to braid them in a style I’d never seen before. “These are called fishtail braids. They were my favorite when I was about your age.”

“Who did them for you?” Keely asked.

The innocent question was like a knife to the chest. I was no good at this sort of thing, and her mom thought it was a frivolous waste of time. Leah’s idea of loving Keely was trying to get her into a French fluency program at the age of six.

Shadows swept through Ellie’s eyes. “My mom when she was up to it. Sometimes, my nanny.”

“My mom says braids are silly.”

Ellie’s gaze cut to mine, searching. But I blanked my expression, not giving anything away.

“I guess they are silly, but they’re also super fun. And I love braiding my hair. See?” Ellie ducked so Keely could see the thin braid serving as sort of a headband in her hair.

Everything about the woman was a work of art. From the braid in her hair to the outfit that looked perfectly put-together but uniquely her. She wore wide-leg pants in an olive green that hit mid-calf, showing off tan, toned flesh. Her sleeveless white top hit just above the band of those pants, revealing a sliver of skin I wanted to trace with the pad of my thumb. And countless necklaces ringed her neck, bringing in colors that felt moreherthan the rest of what she was wearing. Reds, pinks, blues, and turquoise in delicate beads I wanted to grab hold of to pull her close.

Hell.

“I love your braid, bestie,” Keely said with a grin.

Ellie’s fingers deftly wove a design I couldn’t have mastered, even with hours to spend on it. “Thank you. It makes me feel like a princess in hiding.”

“Can I be a secret princess, too?” Keely asked, wonder replacing the earlier sadness in her voice.

“I’m pretty sure you already are.”

Keely giggled at that. “What were you doing at Mrs. Henderson’s? Hiding from an evil queen?”

Ellie’s lips twitched. “I actually live there now.”

“For reals?” Keely squealed.

“For reals.” Ellie fastened the second braid with a rubber band and straightened. “There we go. Two minutes to spare, Chief.”

“Sheriff,” I bit out.

Ellie beamed at me, and damn if that didn’t hit somewhere in the vicinity of my chest.

“Daddy, look how spunky I am!” Keely twirled in a circle, sending her braids flying around her.

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