Tomorrow's Promise (The Hawks Mountain Series) Read Online Free Page A

moved to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and then pulled out a child’s car seat.
    “For the smaller prisoners?” she asked with a smile.
    He returned her smile with a broad grin that made her heart beat faster. “My sister Karen has me fetch my nephew from daycare a couple of times a week, and it’s easier if I have my own baby paraphernalia. So, I keep a car seat in the patrol car.”
    Still smiling at the idea of a baby seat perched in the back seat of a patrol car, Faith nodded and watched him secure the seat in place. Then he turned to her and lifted Lizzie from her arms. Gently, he strapped her and the bear in, and then ruffled her hair. Lizzie looked up at him with adoring eyes and flashed her toothy grin.
    “She likes you,” Faith observed.
    That surprised her. Normally Lizzie shied away from men, especially big men. The sheriff seemed to be quickly becoming one of her daughter’s favorite people in a very short time. It didn’t look like Lizzie would have a problem settling into Carson. Faith had a funny feeling it wasn’t going to be quite that easy for her.
    “That’s good. I think I can get pretty fond of her, too.”
    Before Faith could say anything, a female voice interrupted her. “Lord, I don’t know where my mind is these days.” They both turned to find Harriet rushing down the front walk toward them carrying a facecloth. “Just hang on a minute. We need to wipe that baby’s hands off.”
    Faith stepped forward to take the cloth, but Cole beat her to it. He bent back into the car, and gently cleaned Lizzie’s sticky fingers. As he worked, Lizzie gazed up at him with worshipful, bright eyes. Faith couldn’t help but notice how good he was with her small daughter. Sloan had barely acknowledged his daughter’s existence. He’d been too busy looking for ways to get rich.
    When Cole tickled the child under the chin, then kissed her forehead, Lizzie giggled out loud. Well, Cole had certainly charmed one female in this family. And one was more than enough, Faith decided, then abruptly got into the car.
    Cole returned the cloth to Harriet, who waved at them both before turning back to Doc’s office. After slipping behind the wheel, Cole inserted the key in the ignition. The powerful engine roared to life, and the car eased away from the curb. Faith plastered herself against the passenger’s door, as far as the confining space would allow her, to distance herself from the big magnetic man behind the wheel.
    KEELER’S MARKET was crowded with shoppers picking up last-minute items before going home for supper. Cole had placed Lizzie in the baby seat of the shopping cart and pushed it toward the end aisle. The front wheel chattered like a nervous cat in a room full of pit bulls. That he took this chore for granted ruffled Faith’s feathers. She wasn’t used to a man helping her shop. Sloan had never even gone in a grocery store with her.
    “Woman’s work,” he’d say, and then he’d sit in the car while she and Lizzie did the shopping. He hadn’t even gotten out long enough to help her transfer the bags to the trunk of the car. His big contribution had been to push the button on the dashboard to open the trunk.
    Faith, who had sworn she wouldn’t let anyone take over her life again, roused from her memories and placed a hand on the handle of the cart. “I can do that.”
    Without interrupting his forward movement, he grinned down at her. “No need. You’re probably tired and want to get this done so you can settle in at the house. If I push this cantankerous thing and you put the groceries in it, we can be finished in a flash.”
    He continued down the aisle. Unable to summon a reasonable argument for his logic, Faith watched him maneuver the cart in and out of shoppers, leaving her no choice but to follow helplessly behind. By the time she’d caught up to him, he already had milk and bread in the cart, along with a bag of red lollipops.
    “How do you know I want this stuff?”