The Sheriff’s Christmas Surprise by Marie Ferrarella

Author:Marie Ferrarella [Ferrarella, Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-12-22T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Olivia discovered that she was hungrier than she’d realized. The moment she put a forkful of the beef stew that the sheriff had insisted on paying for into her mouth, she could feel her taste buds cheer. She ate with gusto, something she couldn’t remember doing in the recent past.

She was almost finished when she became aware of Rick observing her. His eyes almost seemed to be smiling as he watched her.

Lowering her fork and raising her guard, she met his gaze. “What?”

“Just nice watching you enjoy something,” Rick replied.

She thought of how he’d insisted that she eat. He was the one who had put the stew on her tray, guaranteeing that she’d like it. “You just like being right.”

“That, too.”

He finished the cup of coffee he’d been nursing. The roast beef sandwich he’d ordered had become history quickly. The dispute over payment of the tab was taking longer to die.

She was accustomed to paying for everything or, at the very least, her own way. For the past ten years, she’d been adamant about not being in anyone’s debt in any manner, shape or form. “I still feel I should pay for my meal.”

He wasn’t about to get roped into another discussion about this. The price of the stew and her soft drink was not going to break him. Besides, when he came right down to it, he kind of liked sitting across from her at the small table.

“That horse has already been ridden and put away,” Rick told her. “A person who really feels in control lets other people do a few things once in a while.” She put down her fork, finished. Rick nodded his approval. “Now then, you want dessert or are you ready to go?”

“Go?” The way he asked made her feel that he wasn’t referring to making their way back to the ICU and Tina.

“Back to Forever.”

That was what she was afraid he was saying. She shook her head. “I can’t leave Tina.” Not when her sister was like this, unconscious and vulnerable.

The woman was overprotective, he thought. Could be why her sister ran off the way she had. But it wasn’t his place to say that. Besides, he had the feeling Olivia would only get her back up if he did. “Seems to me that your sister’s in good hands. Her son needs you more than she does right now.”

Bobby.

Oh God, she’d forgotten all about him. A huge wave of guilt washed over her, drenching her as it momentarily stole her breath away. How could she have forgotten about the baby?

Olivia pressed her lips together, vacillating, trying to sort things out in her head. The fact that the little boy was some sixty plus miles away presented a definite problem in logistics. She knew she couldn’t be in two places at once, but where was she most needed? Tina had always been her first priority, but now there was Bobby. Bobby had no one to take care of him except for her. And to complicate matters more, she didn’t even have a running car.

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