She gave him a shaky smile. “Thanks. I guess I’ll have to try to locate my parents, if they can be found, which is unlikely. They’re on an excursion in Africa somewhere.”
“No cell phones there, huh?”
“No. Which means any decisions regarding Hannah are my responsibility.” She sighed. “And I promised her no more Vermont Acres, so I’ll have to feel her out and see what kind of school she’d be happy in come fall.”
“Sounds like a good plan. I mean you wouldn’t want to tie yourself down to anyone or anything.”
She stiffened her spine and glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Rick shook his head. “Nothing.” Damn his big mouth. “It’s just that staying in Yorkshire Falls is another possible solution to Hannah’s problem.”
“Oh, no.” She shook her head. “No. New York City was my last permanent gig for a while.” She glanced away as she spoke, unable to meet his gaze.
Because she was fighting her urge to stay? He hoped so. Because sometime during the night, despite his good intentions, he’d fallen hard for Kendall Sutton. Oh, hell. He’d fallen from the minute he’d seen her in her wedding dress on the side of the road.
With her sister’s arrival, Rick was given the chance to convince Kendall that Yorkshire Falls was her home and the small town provided the perfect place to put Hannah in school and settle down. In his dreams.
Well, he’d damn well better begin rebuilding those walls if he wanted to walk away with his heart intact.
* * *
Kendall thought teenagers were supposed to chatter nonstop. But the silence in the car was deafening. As soon as Hannah had walked off the bus and sidestepped her attempted hug, Kendall knew she was in trouble. When Hannah had looked past Kendall to Rick’s uniformed presence, Kendall realized she’d made a huge mistake bringing him along for this first meeting.
“What’s with the cop?” her sister had asked, complete and utter disdain in her voice.
“He’s not a cop, he’s my . . .” Kendall’s voice had trailed off. Rick was a cop, just not here because of anything Hannah had done. And Kendall had no idea how to categorize her relationship with Rick to herself let alone to her fourteen-year-old sister. She settled on what she thought was a benign term. “Boyfriend.”
“Oh, gross.”
“Speaking of gross, just what did you do to your hair?”
Hannah grabbed one of the purple kinked strands. “Cool, huh?”
Biting her tongue hadn’t been easy but Kendall managed. She couldn’t afford to alienate her sister even more. Now they all drove back to Yorkshire Falls in silence except Hannah’s incessant cracking of her gum.
“So what’s there to do in this town?”
Kendall turned toward Hannah and faced Rick while he drove. “Rick? You’d know more than me.”
He glanced over, one hand on the wheel. “The kids like Norman’s and there’s an old movie theater, and there’s the town pool during the day.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “See what happens when you ask a cop for hangout places? I might as well stay home.”
“Thank you would be more appropriate than complaining,” Kendall said. “Actually I was hoping I could teach you some beading or if that doesn’t interest you, I thought we could do some sketching together.”
Hannah merely glanced at her warily, as if she didn’t trust Kendall’s word that she wanted to do anything with her.
Well, Kendall would just have to convince her. “I’ve seen your artwork and I know you’ve got talent.”
“Whatever.”
Hannah’s words sounded indifferent but her gaze clung to Kendall, giving Kendall hope that all her sister needed was time and patience before she came around.
“As soon as you make some friends you’ll be fine,” Rick assured Hannah. “I’d be happy to introduce you to some kids your age.”
Kendall shot him a grateful glance.
“As long as they aren’t geeks,” Hannah said and sat back in her seat, arms folded over her extremely cropped top. After commenting on her sister’s hair, Kendall clamped her mouth shut on the subject of her clothes. But there was no doubt her sister looked like a Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera wanna-be.
Rick pulled up to the house and parked. “This is it.” Hannah sat up and grabbed the headrest of Kendall’s seat so she could get a better look out the front window. “Aunt Crystal lived here?”
“Before she had to move to a nursing home.”
“It’s huge.”
Her sister’s eyes opened wide, giving Kendall a glimpse of the young girl she remembered, not the angry teen she’d retrieved from the bus depot. “We’re in the guest house in the back.” Kendall hoped the news wouldn’t burst her sister’s spontaneous excitement.
“A guest house? Cool!” She jerked open the back car door but turned before climbing out. “Who’s in the main house?”
Before Kendall could answer, Pearl and Eldin came down the driveway to greet them, Pearl in all her house-coat glory and Eldin in his splattered painter’s overalls and cap.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Hannah rose out of the car and stared just as Pearl began a quicker walk down the drive.
“Oh, Eldin, look,” Pearl said, pointing to Hannah. “Crystal’s other niece.”
She grabbed Hannah in a huge hug, then pulled her back for a good look. Kendall glanced at Rick and winced while Rick just shook his head and groaned.
“I hope Hannah watches her mouth,” Kendall muttered.
“Don’t get your hopes up, sweetheart.” He yanked the keys out of the ignition. “I’m not sure which one of them needs rescuing but we’d better get out there.”
Kendall nodded but grabbed his sleeve first. “Rick?” He turned.
Just his smile lent her a shoulder she hadn’t realized she needed, which made her next words that much harder. “I know you didn’t sign on for this so if you want to bail now I wouldn’t blame you.”
“We have a bargain, don’t we? I’m not one to dishonor an agreement, so you’re stuck with me.”
Her stomach cramped at his words. When had she reverted to a mere bargain in his eyes? After last night, she’d thought much more existed between them.
But you pushed him away,
