Everything she knew about him told her he was wrong for her. Everything he did for her proved that he was the perfect man. Which was she supposed to believe? Which was right? Could she risk it again? What happened when things got rough? What happened when he had to make the hard choices? How could she trust him to think of herself and her children before he thought of himself? Did she even have the right to expect that?

She turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She wanted a partner, not a playmate. Was she wishing for the moon?

Kyle shifted toward her in his sleep, as if he missed her closeness.

"Sandy?" he mumbled, obviously not fully awake.

"I'm right here," she said, reaching over and touching his short dark hair. The individual strands felt like silk through her fingers.

"Love you," he whispered as his eyelashes fluttered against his cheek.

Her fingers froze. What had he said? That he loved her? She continued to stroke his head, all the while fighting back her tears. What a way for him to tell her. When she couldn't ask him to repeat it, or if he'd even meant it. She didn't know which would be worse. For the words to be true, or for them to be a lie.

Chapter 14

Life was good, Kyle thought as he picked up the next report. He studied the name on the folder, then searched through the file cabinet until he found where it went and slid it in place. He continued to whistle tunelessly as he worked on the filing. He could feel the sun shining through the office window and onto his back. It was another beautiful day in Glenwood. The last bright moments of summer before-

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Travis grumbled as he came into the room. "You're whistling, for God's sake."

Kyle grinned at his older brother. "You look like hell."

"I feel like hell. Mandy ate something bad yesterday and I was up all night with her. What are you so cheerful about?"

Kyle closed the top drawer and pulled open the second one. "Just life, big brother."

"That's disgusting." Travis squinted at him. "You're doing the filing?"

"Dottie had a doctor's appointment."

"You hate the filing."

Kyle shrugged. "It's not so bad."

Travis stared at him for a second, then shook his head. "You're not a well man," he muttered as he left the main office.

Kyle didn't bother pointing out he'd never felt better. His life was perfect. He reached for the next report and chuckled. Okay, it could be a little more perfect if he and Sandy could find some privacy and make love. Since the kids had come home from camp the previous week, they'd all spent time together. He was crazy about her children, but there were times when he wanted school to start so they would go to bed early and leave Sandy and him with enough of the evening left to have some adult fun. Still, he wasn't complaining. Sandy hadn't shut him down and he'd thought she might.

He walked to the front window and stared out at the park across from the sheriff's department. All the way to the park to pick up the children from camp, he'd been terrified that she was going to tell him it was over. But she hadn't. After collecting the kids, they'd gone out to dinner and heard all about their time away. Everyone had had fun. Even Lindsay made a couple of friends. That night, he'd left Sandy and her children at their house and made the solitary walk back to his own place. For the first time in three nights, he'd slept alone in his bed. He'd used her pillow so he could smell her sweet scent and pretend she was with him.

He knew now that was what he wanted. He'd thought long and hard about it, and he'd decided to risk it all. He loved Sandy and he wanted to marry her. All he was waiting for was the right moment to tell her how he felt.

He wasn't sure if he was going to propose right off. She might need a little convincing. After all, on the surface, he was as bad or worse than Thomas. But he'd learned the truth about himself. He didn't just skate by on his good looks. There was more to him on the inside. He was willing to be there for Sandy and her children, no matter what it cost him personally. He returned to the file cabinet and started whistling again.

The phone rang. Not the main business line which would be picked up at the front of the station, but the private line businesses often used if there was a problem but it wasn't urgent.

"Glenwood Sheriff's Department," he said. "Deputy Haynes speaking."

"Kyle, it's Wilson Porter, from the Ragged Elephant. I've got a problem."

Kyle grimaced. The Ragged Elephant was a trendy boutique at the mall. Teenagers loved the exciting new fashions, but the store had more than its share of trouble. "Let me guess. Shoplifters checking out the new fall line."

"You got it. I'm holding the kids in my office. They're pretty young and scared, but I'm not going to let them off."

"I understand. I'll be right there."

He hung up, then reached for his cap. As he walked down the hallway, he called out to Travis. "Shoplifters at the Ragged Elephant. I'll radio you and let you know how many I'm bringing in."

Travis followed him into the hallway and nodded, "I really want school to start," he said. "The teenagers are getting restless."

Kyle pushed open the door and glanced back. "Ten more days."

"How would you know?"

Kyle grinned. "I've been counting 'em myself."

He didn't bother waiting for a reply. Instead, he walked to his patrol car and headed for the mall.

Twenty minutes later, he took the escalator to the second floor and turned toward the boutique. Several teenagers were standing in groups on the sides of the walkway. The young boys gave him challenging looks, but the girls smiled and said hello. He nodded at all of them. Today, nothing was going to interfere with his good mood. He loved Sandy-all was right with the world.

He entered the store. Wilson Porter hurried to greet him. "Kyle, I'm really glad you're here." The short overweight forty-year-old who managed the boutique motioned toward the back of the store. "They're crying. I hate it when they cry."

"They usually do," Kyle reminded him.

"I know." Wilson sighed. "Why can't they put things on layaway? But no. They have to try and steal them. Don't they know everything is tagged electronically? Do they think I'm stupid?"

"They don't think." Kyle pushed open a door marked Private and entered the back storage room. There was a short corridor to the left. He turned there and walked to Wilson's office. He waited while the manager unlocked the door. Kyle stepped inside.

Three girls sat around the small room. Two looked up at him. He didn't recognize them. They must be summer kids. Glenwood didn't get a lot of tourists, but there were a few families who came up from the city and rented houses in the woods. These girls were young, maybe thirteen. Two were blond, one with short straight hair, the other with long curly hair to her waist. Both had obviously been crying. The third, the one who hadn't looked at him yet, had brown hair.

"Who wants to tell me what happened?" he asked.

As he spoke, the third girl raised her head. Kyle stared at her in disbelief. "Lindsay?"

Her face was wet with tears, her eyes red. She flinched when he said her name. "Wh-what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I got a call about some shoplifters."

The tears flowed faster. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean it. Please don't tell my mom."

"Your mom is the least of your problems," Kyle said, stunned by what he was seeing and hearing. "What were you thinking of? This isn't a game, Lindsay."

She seemed to fold in on herself. She pulled her knees up to her chest and dropped her forehead to her knees. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"You know this guy?" the short-haired blonde asked. Lindsay nodded miserably. "Cool." She looked at Kyle. "We didn't mean anything by this. Can't you talk to him and explain that?" She jerked her head toward Wilson.

Wilson glared at her. "Didn't mean anything? Honey, I've had my eye on you all summer. I know you took those dragon earrings a couple of weeks ago." He went into the hallway and returned with a shopping bag full of clothing. "This is what they were trying to steal. All this? Can you believe it? Not only do they think I'm stupid, they're greedy, too." He glared at the girls, then turned to Kyle. "I want to press charges. Against all of them."

"But it was an accident," Lindsay said for the third time. "I swear."

Kyle stared at the young girl in front of him. She was no longer the vamp in training who had trailed him the first month she'd been in Glenwood. She was a frightened child who didn't understand the consequences of what she'd done. But she was about to learn in a big way.

He leaned toward her. "You were the one carrying the bag, Lindsay. How was it an accident?"

"I didn't know they'd stolen the stuff," she said.

He waited. She fidgeted on the straight-backed chair he'd pulled up beside his desk. When the girls had realized he meant to bring them to the station, they'd all lost control. He'd had to hustle three hysterical crying pre-teens through the mall to the patrol car. The two blondes hadn't said much, but Lindsay kept apologizing. He'd called Travis with the details. As soon as they'd arrived at the station, he'd separated the girls. Travis and one of the other deputies were taking care of the two blondes, while Kyle had brought Lindsay with him.

He still didn't know what he was going to do with her. The part of him that cared about her, the part of him that understood how easy it was to get mixed up in trouble, wanted to ease her way. He thought about talking to Wilson. He could get the store manager to drop the charges. The other two girls were from out of town. They would be leaving soon and taking their trouble with them. Lindsay wasn't a bad kid. He could make Wilson understand.