Susan Mallery - The Best Bride

He laughed. “Deal.” They shook hands. He finished putting on her other shoe, then stood up. “I’ll tell the nurse you’re ready to go.”

Elizabeth watched him leave. In his cowboy boots and Stetson hat, he looked more like a cow town lawman than the sheriff in a sleepy California town. She wanted to trust him. Desperately. She sat up straight and shifted to the edge of the bed. It wasn’t possible. She would never trust any man again. Worse, she would never trust herself.

Travis was right. He was her best choice. Right now her options were extremely limited. But when she could drive and move into her rented house, she would pay him what she owed him and disappear from his life.

She heard conversation in the hall. Travis came in, followed by a nurse pushing a wheelchair.

“All set?” he asked.

“Yes.” She stood up and stepped toward the wheelchair. When she was settled, he put the small bag containing her personal belongings on her lap and pushed her out of the room.

She was surprised to see the T-bird parked in front of the hospital. “This is my car.”

“I know. Did you want to go home in the patrol car? You’re just like your daughter. She’s always trying to trick me into using the siren.”

She laughed. “I don’t need a siren. I’m just surprised. I was afraid my car was still parked on the side of the road.”

He set the brake on the wheelchair and opened the passenger door. “I had it moved to the sheriff’s station. Not that we get much car theft up here.”

She stood up slowly. He offered his hand and she took it. His fingers felt warm and strong as he guided her toward the car.

“Watch your head, darlin’,” he said, wrapping his other arm around her waist and easing her down.

The incision pulled slightly and she winced. “I’m fine,” she said, before he could ask. She looked up at his eyes and the thick, dark lashes framing them. For a heartbeat, his gaze dropped to her mouth. She had a fleeting thought that he was going to kiss her, and her body tensed in anticipation. Then he stepped back and the feeling disappeared, leaving her surprisingly disappointed.

What was wrong with her? she asked herself as Travis gave the nurse the wheelchair, then came around to the driver’s side of the car. She wasn’t interested in him or in any man. Dear God, hadn’t she learned the biggest lesson of all?

Travis didn’t glance at her as he slid inside. She wondered if he’d seen the expectation in her face. Embarrassment filled her. She slumped in the seat and closed her eyes.

Something warm brushed across her breasts. She jumped and her eyes flew open.

“Seat belt,” Travis said, pulling the belt down and locking it into place.

She stared at him and her heart fluttered foolishly. He’d simply bumped her when he’d grabbed for the restraining device. Why me? she wondered and sighed.

“I thought we’d go straight to the house,” he said, tossing his Stetson to the back seat. “I want to get you settled. Mandy is at the park with Kyle.”

“Kyle?”

He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. “One of my deputies and my youngest brother. She’s already twisted him around her little finger.”

“How do you know?”

Travis shot her a grin. “When he left the office, he turned on his siren. Something tells me that was Mandy’s doing.”

“She can be stubborn.”

“I guess she gets that from her mother.”

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but he was staring at the road. She relaxed in the seat and watched as he drove through the small town. As they neared the park, traffic became heavy. She saw families walking together. Her stomach clenched, not from the surgery, but from envy and regret. She and Mandy should have been part of a family like that. It had all been taken away from them. Stolen. She stared out the window and willed the tears away. No. Not stolen. They’d never had it in the first place. It had all been a lie.

As they passed the duck pond, she saw the motel. “Wait, I have to get my things.”

“Already done,” he said, not bothering to stop. “I went there this morning and checked you out. Your suitcases are in the trunk.”

She didn’t know whether to thank him or yell at him for invading her personal space.

“Before you get huffy and start hollering at me,” he said, as if he could read her mind, “I knew you would want your things with you even if you’d made other plans. So I didn’t assume you would take me up on my offer.”

It took too much energy to get angry, so she simply leaned back in the seat and went along for the ride. He’d been right. She couldn’t have made it work at the motel. They passed a sheriff’s car parked on the side of the road by the park. Elizabeth looked around but she didn’t see Mandy.

“When will Kyle bring her back?” she asked.

“I’ll bring her home about four-thirty. There’s a parade today, and a big barbecue. Games for the kids. I thought she might enjoy it and you need the rest. I’m going to have to drop you off then head back to the park myself. Have to make an appearance. Between Kyle and myself, we’ll keep an eye on Mandy. Louise is off until Monday so you should have plenty of peace and quiet.”

He entered a tree-lined residential area. Elizabeth recognized it from her house hunting. He drove around the high school and along a narrow two-lane road she’d never been on before. The houses got larger and farther apart from each other on oversize lots.

“You mentioned Kyle was your youngest brother,” she said. “How many are there?”

“Four, counting me. Craig is the oldest, then me, then Jordan and then Kyle.”

“So Kyle is a deputy. Are you all cops?”

“It’s a family tradition. My dad used to be the sheriff in Glenwood. All his brothers are in police work. Jordan is the only rebel. He’s a fire fighter up in Sacramento.”

“A real black sheep.”

Travis grinned. “We give him a hard time about it. Yup, the Haynes family grows boys and cops. Not a girl in the last four generations. What about you?”

“I’m an only child.”

“Too bad.”

“Why? It’s all I know. My parents were older when I was born and they only wanted one child.”

“They got a pretty one.”

Elizabeth chuckled. This man could charm milk out of a snake. She would do well to remember talk was cheap. But she had to admit Travis Haynes had a certain amount of style to recommend him, and his heart was in the right place. She resisted glancing at his firm body so close to hers in the confines of the car. From what she had seen, everything else was in the right place, too. But the last thing she needed was to get involved with a heartbreaker. Her heart hadn’t recovered from what Sam had done.

They pulled off the road and onto a long driveway. Maple trees and oaks grew on either side of the path. Up ahead she saw a peaked roof, and more trees. Then the path curved around and they drove up into a clearing and parked in front of a beautiful three-story house.

He’d told her he was restoring an old house, but he hadn’t said it was a mansion. Big windows opened up onto a wide front lawn. A porch wrapped around the front. The columns holding up the porch covering had been painted white, as was all the trim. The rest of the building was dove gray, soft and light in the morning sunshine.

“You could get lost in there,” she said, staring at the masterpiece.

“I did, the first couple of days. Stay in that seat and don’t even think about moving.”

He got out of the car and came around to her side. He opened the door, then helped her to her feet. Before she could take a step, he bent over and slid one arm behind her back and the other under her thighs.