The boy had wanted to stay. Especially after Nate rode up on Uncle Buck, a buckskin gelding with a nose for cows and kids. Easy as pie, Nate had reached down, Wyatt had handed up Braden, and the four-year-old had looked like he’d won a trip to the North Pole to meet Santa.

Marley had smiled, a loving mom, happy for her son.

The mysterious pair tweaked a spot right in the middle of Wyatt’s chest. But now, two hours after their shared lunch, he watched the white Chevy disappear down the driveway of the Triple C and figured he’d seen the last of Marley and Braden.

He was sorry about that. For more reasons than his desire to unravel a puzzle.

Nate clapped a hand to his shoulder. “You did a good thing, bro.”

Wyatt had a quick memory from this morning of long hair curling down Marley’s back, the dark ends drippy from the shower. They’d left a damp spot on her red sweatshirt. She looked pretty in red.

He forced a smile. “Serve and protect.”

Nate puffed out a short laugh. “Isn’t that the cop’s motto?”

“Not a bad one for anybody.”

“Got that right.” His brother shaded his eyes. A trail of dust was all they could see of Marley. “Think they’ll keep in touch?”

“Why would they?” But he’d told her to keep his number. In case she got stuck again. She’d laughed. He hadn’t.

His antenna had twanged like a tuning fork, growing louder every time they talked. Something was amiss in her world. She was alone. Lots of things could happen. Including the abusive ex. If there was one. Whatever her problem, she needed someone to call.

Not that he expected to hear from her again.

He rubbed a fist against the center of his chest.

Nate swung into the saddle. “I liked them.”

So had he.

Uncle Buck’s ears twitched forward. Company was gone. He was ready to work.

Nate patted the buckskin’s neck. “Gilbert and I are moving pastures on Willow Road. Wanna saddle up and play cowboy?”

Wyatt waved a hand toward the tall ranch house eaves. He’d need the big equipment for this job. “Christmas lights. Promised Connie.”

“Whitney’s had our lights up for a month. It’s amazing how early people start Christmas these days.”

“Good for business, though.”

Nate’s wife ran an event venue animal farm. At Christmas, the place turned into a Christmas fairy land.

Braden would love it. Too bad they hadn’t stayed a few days. The boy would have had a good time. Maybe the mom, too.

He should have tried harder to keep her here. He’d bet his best horse she had nowhere else to go.

“The farm is packed every night and weekend from Thanksgiving on,” Nate was saying. “When school’s out, things’ll really get crazy.”

Wyatt smoothed his fingers over Uncle Buck’s muzzle. “Do you get any sleep?”

“Not much. But it’s good for the community, good for Whitney. She loves it. And me.” Nate grinned, tipped his hat down over his eyes. “And I love her.”

With that, he tsked to Uncle Buck. Wyatt took one step back and watched them canter away.

Lucky man. Blessed. Happy.

What would it be like to be part of a couple, to be in love and loved the way his siblings were?

Wyatt squeezed the growing tension at the back of his neck and headed for the storage shed. Those lights weren’t going to put themselves up.

---

Braden was rarely a whiner. This afternoon he bordered on revolt. He was sick of the library.

“I don’t want to read. I want to gooo.” He dragged out the final word until it scraped Marley’s last nerve. “Can we go back to the soldier man’s house and ride his horse? Pleeeease.”

“Braden, no!”

The words came out sharper than Marley intended.

Braden blanched. His chin quivered.

Marley softened. None of this mess was his fault. “Please, baby, can you listen to one more story for me, and then we’ll go somewhere and do something fun?”

“The soldier man’s house?”

Marley wanted to see Wyatt again, too. But she’d told him they were leaving town. She wasn’t. Not if she could find a rental. Why hadn’t she told him that?

Fear was a weird thing. She didn’t know who to trust.

“Please, Mommy. The soldier man said I could ride his horse.”

Braden’s face beamed with such hope, she couldn’t bring herself to reject the idea outright. “We’ll see. Right now, let me finish this work. Okay?”

He heaved a huge, put-upon sigh to let her know he wasn’t thrilled. “Okay.”

Then, like a trooper, he trudged to the children’s corner and slid the headphones over his ears. Poor kid. The last few days had been awful for him, too.

However, this afternoon in Calypso’s library was proving fruitful. The flash drive still frustrated her, but she scanned folder after folder, always hoping. When nothing emerged, she turned to the internet searches. It was amazing the information people shared on social media. Just as amazing was the information available in public records.

Two employees had recently bought a new home. Another owed a mountain of back taxes. Yet another planned a Christmas vacation in Europe after he and his wife had already traveled to Alaska this year.

Marley scribbled in her notebook. A part of her felt horrible for delving into her friends’ private lives. The other part was relieved to find any information that pointed to someone else as the embezzler. Tips emailed to the police gave her hope that soon, she’d read news of an arrest.

So far, that hadn’t happened.

In short order, she sent in the latest list of tips. Then, after a brief look around to be sure no one was watching, she typed in her name and that of Welker’s Nursery and Landscape. A photo came up. Hers. Beneath it, a caption.

“A warrant for the arrest of Marley Diana Brannon has been issued in connection with the embezzlement of…”

Marley clicked the screen to black. She shot another glance around, her insides rattling loud enough to be heard on the next block. She was still the prime suspect.

Maybe she should change her identity. Move to a new location. Become a completely new person. Like witness protection. Only she’d have no one but herself to protect them.

She’d heard about things like that. A criminal with a fake identity could live in a small, unsuspecting town for years before being captured.

The last thought brought her up short. Eventually, they had been captured. That’s why she’d seen the story on the news.

Life on the run was no life, especially for Braden.

She wasn’t guilty and somehow she’d prove it. As long as she could remain out of jail.

She collected her son and started out of the cozy little library. A woman in a red coat approached from outside and reached the glass-front door first. She opened it, smiled, and held it while Braden and Marley passed through. Marley smiled back.

People here in Calypso were nice. No one looked at her funny or even mentioned the fact that she was new in town. Store clerks talked about the weather and Sooner football and asked Braden what Santa was bringing him. But not one person treated her with suspicion.

Yes, Calypso was as good a place to stay as any. A quiet, rural town off the beaten path. Warm, accepting people. A small, but sufficient library with free internet where no one looked over her shoulder or asked what she was doing.

She also had the phone number of a local, a friend. Sort of. A friend who thought she was leaving town. Except Wyatt was the one person who did seem suspicious. Yet, he’d promised she and Braden were safe here. And she’d believed him.

A breeze stirred the pine tree at the corner of the building. Multicolored lights twinkled from the branches. Christmas was coming on hard and fast. She and Braden couldn’t keep running. These few days had already been too hard on her son.

Anything for her boy. Anything.

Maybe someone in Calypso had a room to rent. A room they would rent for cash in advance to Marley Johnson, the name she’d given to Wyatt.

She still felt guilty about that and prayed God would understand.

Marley took her reluctant son by the shoulders and guided him back into the library lobby. A bulletin board covered a large section of one wall. She hadn’t bothered to browse it before, but now she did.

Various business cards, announcements, handmade signs and notices were push-pinned at random. The Freewill Baptists had a revival coming up. A glow-light 5K raised money for a young dad’s kidney transplant.

That one pinched her. Life could be hard on everyone. Thank God, she and Braden were healthy.

Reading through the ads, she searched for an available room in someone’s home. People did that sort of thing, especially older folks with big, empty houses who needed the extra income. Senior citizens were usually more trusting, too, particularly of a woman with a child. As much as she hated using Braden to weasel her way into a cash deal, lodging was not optional. Not after two nights in a cold car.

“Mommy!” Braden tugged her hand, the whiney voice starting again. He’d reached the end of his patience.

“Okay. Okay.” She snapped several photos of the board to study later. At the last second, she spotted an elegant, gold-and-white embossed business card, a sparkly crown in one corner. It looked out of place among the other flotsam and jetsam of small town life.

“Royal B & B.” She unpinned the card and slid it into her jeans pocket.

Back out on the sidewalk, Marley was tempted to hop in the car and head straight for the address on the card. But she’d promised Braden something fun first.

“Want to window shop?” She held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t mention the ranch. She wasn’t prepared to explain her erratic behavior to the sharp-eyed soldier.

Warm chocolate eyes gazed up. “For Christmas?”

Worry formed a knot in Marley’s chest. What would this Christmas hold for either of them?

She forced a smile. “You bet.”

“Okay!” He was himself again, perky and uncomplaining. Love for this easy-going guy welled in her.

To their left was the downtown area with cute shops and the usual necessities. Somewhere up there was a bakery. Marley winded it like a hound dog in search of the family grill. The hot scent wafted through the crisp afternoon, fragrant fingers pointing the way.

“I smell doughnuts. Don’t you?”

Braden lifted his nose high and sniffed loudly, his lip curling upward in the cutest way. “Can we get one?”

“May we?”

“Yes!” he shouted.

She smiled at his enthusiasm. “When we find the bakery, we’ll stop and have a snack.”

Marley leaned down, tugged his hood-tie for good measure, and pointed up the street. “The dollar store is right up there. Want to shop first?”

“Yep. They gots cars and stuff.”

“Lots of stuff.” Even though they wouldn’t buy a thing today, Braden would be satisfied to look and dream.

Swinging hands, she listened to her son chatter about toys and tried to relax. The sooner they got to the Royal B & B, the better, but she hated broken promises, had lived through too many. She never broke a promise to her son. Play first. Room rental after.

They reached the dollar store and Braden pulled her to the display window. Silver garland dripped snowflakes above a Christmas tree surrounded by the latest and greatest in this year’s toys.

Braden put a finger against the pane. “See that big truck? It’s like soldier man’s. Can I get it?”

“You can put it on your Christmas list. How about that?”

“Santa might bring it?”

“He might.” She tapped his pink nose. “If you’re super good.”

His mouth curved, his baby teeth flashing. “Was I good today?”

She crossed her eyes at him. “Maybe a little whiny. But today was an unusual circumstance.”

He scrunched up his face. He had no idea what she meant, and that was fine with Marley.

She flopped out a palm. “Ready to go in?”

Braden slapped his hand into hers. “Yep.”

Marley reached for the door. It opened. She stepped back, pulling Braden with her.

A man exited.

A man in a fatigue jacket. With a military haircut. And lots of muscles.

Wyatt Caldwell.

---

Nothing much surprised Wyatt Caldwell. He’d seen humanity at its most dishonest. But he had to face a serious pinch of disappointment to run into Marley Johnson on the streets of Calypso. Disappointment and a giant surge of pleasure and attraction. Bizarre how that happened.

Hours ago, the curly-haired woman had looked him almost in the eye, promising that all was well and she would be with family within in an hour.

Unless she and Braden had suddenly discovered relatives in Calypso’s dollar store, she’d told a bare-faced lie.

As he studied her startled brown eyes, the thought gave him pause. Maybe they didn’t have any family. Perhaps they were totally, completely alone, and Marley was too proud to admit it.

Regardless, he didn’t appreciate being lied to. Why not just tell the truth?

“We meet again.”

Braden had already tangled himself around Wyatt’s legs, his upturned face rosy and eager.

Wyatt patted the kid’s small back. “Hey, bud. What are you doing?”

“Mommy had to work on the computer at the library. I had to read a lot of books. Now we’re Christmas shopping. Want a doughnut?”

Wyatt looked at Marley. Her gaze slid away. Her cheeks pinked.

Obviously, they were not on their way out of town. And every bit as obviously, they had not expected to run into him.

“We, uh…”

“Free country.” And he aimed to see it stayed that way. “You don’t need to explain anything to me.”

“I want to. You’ve gone out of your way to help us, and I can’t tell you how much that means right now.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “What I mean is, we stopped in Calypso to run a few errands, and it’s such a nice town and Braden was restless and bored, the dollar store was right here, and I got to thinking maybe we could find a place to rent…”

She was rattling. His antenna twanged loud enough to blast off into space.

Wyatt extended a hand. He didn’t touch her but he sure wanted to.

“Hey.” He said softly. “It’s fine. As long as you’re okay.”

“We are. Really. We are.”

Then why did her eyes get glassy when he’d asked?

None of his business. Say hello, goodbye, and get back to the ranch.

He didn’t move. Neither did Marley. As if they were each locked in indecision, they stood outside the dollar store, a cold wind swirling around their legs.

She was worried about something or someone. Really worried.

So was he. He was worried about her.

Call him an arrogant, chauvinistic male, but if he ignored the possibility of a woman in distress and something happened, he’d never forgive himself.

And yeah, maybe he had an ulterior motive. He was attracted to her.

He dropped a look at Braden and then returned his gaze to her, choosing his words carefully. “Tell me to back off if you want, but I’m going to ask this. I’m a pretty smart guy. I get paid to figure out things people don’t want me to know, and I think you’re running from something.”

When her face paled to white, Wyatt knew he was right. He jumped in with the thought that kept bugging him.

“Are you in danger? Is someone trying to hurt you? Because if they are, I can help.”

Her eyes widened. She swallowed. “Why would you think such a thing?”

“Bad relationships happen. So do custody issues.” He gentled his voice, still watching her brown eyes grow bigger and glassier, still prying into something that was absolutely none of his business.

He should take his new extension cord, head home to those unfinished lights, and forget Marley and her son.

The fact that he couldn’t aggravated him. And it also proved a man couldn’t control his heart. His head, yes. His heart, not so much.

He shifted his stance, tamping back his emotions while letting his suspicions hang in the chill.

Marley looked toward Braden. The boy had drifted to the display window and now stared, open-mouthed and mesmerized, at the pile of shiny toys.

“I…well, as a matter of fact, my ex and I…we’re not together. Haven’t been for a long time. Braden’s never met him.” She stared at her son, her jaw tightening. “And I plan to see it stays that way. No one is going to take my son. Not now or ever.”

Wyatt saw the situation clearly then. Her absent ex had suddenly woke up one morning to the fact that he had a son and decided he wanted to play daddy. When Marley’s job loss came, he saw his chance to gain custody without much resistance. He must not have known lion-hearted Marley very well to think she’d let go of Braden without a fight.

“And running away is the answer?”

Her chin tipped up. “When they can’t find us, they’ll give up.”

All right. Made sense. The fact that she might be running from a court order crossed his mind, but he decided the less he knew about her legal business, the better.

“Guest house invitation is still open. You can lay low there for a while.” He didn’t know why he was doing this, other than his insatiable need to sort anomalies into their appropriate boxes.

And that darned tug in his chest every time he saw Marley and her son.

“You’re kind, but I need to handle this on my own.”

Kind? Not hardly. He was suspicious, attracted, aggravated, and still not convinced that she was telling the whole truth. Kindness had nothing to do with it.

He shifted the plastic shopping bag.

“Your call.” He’d done his duty. His conscience could shut up. He should walk away and not look back. He started to do exactly that.

Her voice stopped him. “There is one thing….”

He spun around, too eager. “Name it.”

She fished a business card from her back pocket. “Can you direct me to this bed and breakfast? Maybe they have a vacancy.”

Wyatt took the card, though he’d recognized the logo the moment she held it out. An unreasonable thrill radiated through him. She was serious about staying in Calypso.

“I know the place. And the owner.”

“Do you know if she takes cash? I sort of lost my credit card.”

Sort of? “I doubt Dooney will resist cash. Her mattresses are probably stuffed with it.”

“Dooney?”

He motioned toward his truck parked at the curb. “Hop in. I’ll drive you over and introduce you.”

“No need. Just tell me how to get there. My car’s at the library.”

“Dooney’s…eccentric, but a good sort. If she likes you, you’re in.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“No vacancy.”

“Oh.” Marley sucked in a cold breath. “Do you think she’ll rent to me, with a child?”

Braden had wandered back to the adults, his wind-reddened face tilted up at Wyatt.

Wyatt put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “A fine boy like this?” Braden’s grin tickled Wyatt’s chest. “She will when she hears he’s a friend of mine.”

“Okay, then, great. I’d appreciate it if you’d come along, but I have to drive. I’ll need my car. And I promised Braden a doughnut.”

“You wanna a doughnut, too?” Braden’s big brown eyes were wide with friendliness. “He can come, can’t he, Mommy?”

If Marley objected, she didn’t let on. “What do you say, Wyatt? Want a doughnut?”

“You sure you don’t mind?”

“Positive.”

Wyatt decided to believe her, all the while examining his motives. The fact that he wanted to spend an extra few minutes with her before going to the Royal wasn’t lost on him. Marley Johnson pulled at him with the strength of an electromagnet. So did the boy.

And he wasn’t in the mood to resist.