Falling for the Sheriff Read online

  A FRESH START

  Widow Kate Sullivan moved to Cupid’s Bow, Texas, to get her teenage son on the right path. But their new life in the small town gets off to a rocky start when her son is caught shoplifting by the sheriff. Kate is immediately attracted to Cole Trent, but she’s not ready to fall in love again, and certainly not with another cop.

  Cole should have known Cupid’s matchmakers would scramble to fix him up with a smart, beautiful woman like Kate. The single dad has managed to evade their efforts until now, so he and Kate come up with a plan to keep the matchmakers at bay. Pretending to be a couple was a good idea, until Cole realizes his feelings are anything but pretend. Can he convince Kate to give their romance a real chance?

  “Well played!” Admiration danced in Cole’s blue eyes. “You helped convince Becca I’m off the market—I could kiss you.”

  Kate inhaled sharply, but it didn’t seem to put any air in her lungs. “It’s, ah, probably best if you don’t.” She started to take a step backward.

  “Oh, I don’t know.” His voice dropped lower. “Becca’s got spies everywhere.”

  “Cole, I...” Her voice was husky, unfamiliar. Though he was no longer touching her, he stood so close her thoughts were short-circuiting. Could she allow herself to kiss him in the name of convincing Becca he was taken? A flimsy excuse, at best, but so tempting. She swallowed. “I have to go.”

  “Can I call you later? We didn’t finish our conversation.”

  She lifted up on her toes, pressing a quick kiss against his cheek. It was a peck, nothing more, but effervescent giddiness fizzed through her. She’d surprised herself—and she could tell from his sudden, absolute stillness that she’d shocked him.

  “Just in case any of Becca’s spies are watching,” she murmured.

  Dear Reader,

  Falling in love isn’t always easy. If it was, they’d probably use a different verb for it! And parenting definitely isn’t easy. Like the heroine in this book, I also have a thirteen-year-old son. (I don’t have small twins like the hero, but since my kids are only a year apart, they were often mistaken for twins in their preschool years.) The thing about love—and parenting—is that the hard work can yield amazing rewards.

  Kate Sullivan loves her son, but he’s become increasingly rebellious in the two years since her police officer husband was killed in the line of duty. After a school suspension, Kate decides to take drastic measures and move them to Cupid’s Bow, Texas. Kate hopes the fresh start will benefit both her and her son.

  But is there room in that fresh start for falling in love?

  Sheriff Cole Trent is a single dad with twin five-year-olds. He has his hands full and, much to his match-making mother’s chagrin, has declared himself too busy to date. But then he meets Kate Sullivan, a beautiful woman who understands his parenting woes and makes him smile. Their attraction is instant, their chemistry unmistakable. But after the devastating loss of her husband, Kate can’t imagine making her heart vulnerable again—especially not with another man in law enforcement. Can Cole convince her that the rewards are worth the risk?

  This book is my first set in Cupid’s Bow, and I hope you’ll come back for future stories about other townspeople! Meanwhile, you can learn more about what I’m writing—and what my crazy family is up to—by following me on Twitter @TanyaMichaels.

  Happy reading!

  Tanya

  FALLING FOR

  THE SHERIFF

  Tanya Michaels

  Tanya Michaels, a New York Times bestselling author and five-time RITA® Award nominee, has been writing love stories since middle school algebra class (which probably explains her math grades). Her books, praised for their poignan­cy and humor, have received awards from readers and reviewers alike. Tanya is an active member of Romance Writers of America and a frequent public speaker. She lives outside Atlanta with her very supportive husband, two highly imaginative kids and a bichon frise who thinks she’s the center of the universe.

  Books by Tanya Michaels

  Harlequin American Romance

  The Best Man in Texas

  Texas Baby

  His Valentine Surprise

  A Mother’s Homecoming

  “Hill Country Cupid ” in My Cowboy Valentine

  Hill Country Heroes

  Claimed by a Cowboy

  Tamed by a Texan

  Rescued by a Ranger

  The Colorado Cades

  Her Secret, His Baby

  Second Chance Christmas

  Her Cowboy Hero

  Texas Rodeo Barons

  The Texan’s Christmas

  Visit the Author Profile page

  at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  This book is dedicated to all my fellow parents out there also raising one of those wondrous and terrifying creatures known as a “teenager.”

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Excerpt from The Texas Ranger’s Bride by Rebecca Winters

  Prologue

  Kate Sullivan had barely spoken on the ride from the middle school to the house. She’d worried that if she opened her mouth to say something, she would start yelling. Or crying. Neither seemed like a good idea while driving.

  As they walked in through the garage door that led to the kitchen, her thirteen-year-old son, Luke, broke the tense silence. “I know you’re pis—”

  “Language!” She spared him a maternal glare over her shoulder.

  “I know you’re mad,” he amended. The patronizing emphasis he put on the word was the verbal equivalent of rolling his eyes. “But it really wasn’t my fault this time.”

  Lord, how she wanted to believe him. But the fact that he had to qualify his declaration of innocence with “this time” underscored the severity of his recent behavior problems. As an elementary school music teacher, Kate worked with kids every day. How was it that she could control a roomful of forty students but not her own son? Over the past few months, she’d received phone calls about Luke fighting, lying and cutting classes. And now he’d been suspended!

  If Damon were alive...

  Her husband, a Houston police officer killed in the line of duty, had been dead for two years. Sometimes, standing here in the familiar red-tiled kitchen, she could still smell the coffee he started every day with, still hear the comforting rumble of his voice. But no amount of wishing him back would change her situation.

  She didn’t need the imaginary assistance of a ghost. What she needed was a concrete plan. Maybe something radical, because God knew, nothing she’d tried so far had worked, not even the aid of professional therapists.

  “It wasn’t my knife,” Luke continued. “It was Bobby’s.”

  Fourteen-year-old Bobby Rowe and his hard-edged, disrespectful peers were part of the problem.

  “Which I tried to tell the jackass principal.”

  Kate slammed her hand down on the counter. “You will not talk about people like that! And you aren’t going back to that school.” It was a spur of the moment declaration, fraught with logistical complications—she could hardly homeschool and keep her job at the same time—but the minute she heard the words out loud, she knew deep down that a new
environment was the right call. She had to get him away from kids like Bobby and away from teachers who were predisposed to believe the worst of Luke because of his recent history.

  “Not going back?” His golden-brown eyes widened. He’d inherited what Damon used to call her “lioness coloring,” tawny blond hair and amber eyes. “I only got suspended for two days. I can’t miss the last three weeks of school.”

  “Maybe not,” she conceded, “but I don’t have to send you back there next fall.”

  “But it’s my last year before high school. All my friends are there!”

  “You’ll make new ones. Non-knife-wielding friends.”

  “You’re really going to send me somewhere different for eighth grade just because you don’t like Bobby?”

  No, kid, this is because I don’t like you—at least, not the person he was on the path to becoming. She loved her son, but on the worst days, she wanted to shake this angry stranger’s shoulders and demand to know what he’d done with her generous-natured, artistic Luke.

  “I won’t get in trouble for the rest of the school year,” he vowed desperately.

  “Good. But that won’t change my mind.” She glanced around the kitchen with new eyes. Maybe they could both use a fresh start, more than just a school transfer. She’d stayed in this house after Damon was shot because Luke had suffered such a jarring loss; she hadn’t wanted to yank him away from his home and friends. Yet, within six months, he’d found an entirely different group of friends anyway. He no longer associated with the kids who’d known the Sullivans as a whole and intact family. “We’re moving.”

  “What? Houston is our home. This was Dad’s home! He wouldn’t want us to leave.”

  “He’d want me to do whatever is best for you.” And Damon would have wanted her to have help. She wasn’t too proud to admit she needed some.

  Her father, a professor at the University of Houston’s anthropology department, was sweet in a detached, absent way, but he was better with ancient civilizations than living people. Damon’s parents adored her, but they’d retired to an active senior community in Florida a year before their son was killed. Since she and Damon had both been only children, that left her with just one other close relative. Gram. Affection and a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in a long time warmed her.

  She closed her eyes, breathing in the memory of summers past. When her father had gone on digs between semesters, she’d stayed with Gram and Grandpa on their small farm. Those idyllic months in the town of Cupid’s Bow, Texas, had soothed her soul. Chasing fireflies, tending tomatoes in the garden, fishing in the pond, helping make homemade ice cream to put on Gram’s award-winning apple pie...

  Although Grandpa had died last year, Gram was still in Cupid’s Bow and as feisty as ever. She’d mentioned, though, that it was becoming more difficult to take care of the place by herself and frequently complained that she didn’t get to see enough of Kate and Luke. What if they moved in with her? It could benefit all three of them.

  Or maybe it would be a horrible idea.

  Kate had to try, though. If things didn’t change, she could too easily imagine Luke growing into the same kind of thug who’d killed his father. It was time for drastic action.

  Cupid’s Bow, here we come.

  Chapter One

  When Sheriff Cole Trent walked into his house the second Saturday of June, he was met in the living room by three irate females. It was only six in the evening, but from the looks he was getting, one would think he’d been out all night. Mirroring their grandmother, his five-year-old twins had their hands on their slim hips and their lips pursed. The family resemblance was unmistakable, although the girls were blonde like the mother who’d run out on them instead of dark-haired like Gayle and Cole.

  He sighed. “I know I’m a little later than anticipated, but—”

  “A lot late,” Mandy corrected.

  Alyssa’s blue eyes were watery. “You promised to take us swimming.”

  “I didn’t promise. I said I’d try.” Lately, not even trying his hardest seemed like enough. Once the girls had started kindergarten, they’d become hyperaware that they didn’t have a mommy like most of their classmates. Last month’s Mother Day had been particularly rough. “Maybe we can go to the pool tomorrow. For now, how about I take you out for barbecue?” He made the offer not just to appease the girls but because he was too worn out to cook.

  After a morning testifying in county court and an afternoon of mind-numbing paperwork, Cole’s plans to get home early were derailed by the Breelan brothers, three hotheads who never should have gone into business together. The shopkeeper who worked next to their garage had called Cole with a complaint that the Breelans were trying to kill each other. After throwing a few punches—and an impact wrench—Larry Breelan was spending the night in a cell. Deputy Thomas was on duty to make sure neither of Larry’s younger brothers tried to bust him out. Or tried to sneak in and murder him, depending on their mood.

  Gayle Trent shook her head. “Out to eat again? When was the last time these poor girls had a home-cooked meal?”

  Lifelong respect for his mother kept him from rolling his eyes at her dramatic tone, but just barely. “I made them fruit-face pancakes for breakfast. And two nights ago we had dinner at your house. With Jace and William,” he reminded her. She’d spent so much conversational energy trying to fix up Cole with various single women that she might not have noticed his brothers were even there.

  She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Speaking of home-cooked meals... Do you remember my friend Joan who owns the little farm down by Whippoorwill Creek? We’re in quilting club together and she’s signed up to help me inventory donations for the festival auction.” The four-day Watermelon Festival every July was one of the town’s biggest annual events.

  Cole had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. From the gleam in his mother’s eye, she clearly wanted something, and he doubted it was for him to donate an item to auction.

  He cleared his throat. “Girls, why don’t you go brush your hair and find your shoes so we can leave?” As they scampered off to the far-flung corners of the house to search for the shoes that were always mysteriously disappearing, he returned his attention to his mother, as wary as if he were investigating suspicious noises in a dark alley. “So, what’s this about your friend Joan?”

  “Her granddaughter, who used to summer here as a kid, is moving to Cupid’s Bow with her son. We thought it would be neighborly if you and the girls joined us at the farm for a nice Sunday dinner tomorrow. Joan’s inviting other people, too. It’s a welcome party,” she added, “not a romantic setup.”

  “Would you swear to that during a polygraph test?”

  “Are you calling your own mother a liar?” she asked, looking highly wounded while evading his question. “Not everything is about your love life, you know. Joan’s great-grandson won’t have many chances to meet kids until school starts again in the fall. I’m sure he’d love to meet the girls. And they’d have fun, too. They were bored silly cooped up in the house with me all afternoon. Joan’s farm is like a petting zoo.”

  “Mom, I—”

  The cordless phone on the end table rang, temporarily cutting off his words. Gayle glanced at the display, then smirked in his direction. “Becca Johnston.”

  His stomach sank at mention of the PTA president who’d been relentlessly pursuing him since her divorce was finalized. “Tell her I’m not here.”

  “And I can also tell Joan you’ll be there for the dinner party tomorrow?” Without waiting for his response, she picked up the phone. “Hello? Oh, hi, Becca.” She paused pointedly, one eyebrow raised.

  Later, he and his mom were going to discuss the laws prohibiting extortion. For now, he gave a sharp nod, exiting the room to change into civilian clothes and get his girls out of there before his mother tal
ked him into anything else.

  Behind him, he heard Gayle say, “Sorry, dear. You just missed him.”

  * * *

  “WE’RE GOING TO live out here?” Luke’s voice reverberated with horror as he stared through the passenger window.

  The movie he’d been watching on his tablet had ended a few minutes ago and he seemed to be truly registering their surroundings for the first time. During the peaceful stretch when he’d had his earbuds in, Kate had taken the opportunity to remind herself of all the reasons this relocation was going to be wonderful for them. Sure, Kate didn’t have a job yet—and Cupid’s Bow Elementary wasn’t exactly a rapidly growing school—but she still had paychecks coming through the summer. She could give voice lessons or piano lessons if she got Gram’s old upright tuned.

  “Yep.” She smiled at the picturesque pastures and blue skies. It was after six o’clock, but the June sun was shining brightly. “No traffic, no constant city construction—”

  “No internet connection, no cell phone reception,” Luke predicted.

  “That’s not true. Last time I visited Gram, I used my cell phone.” She didn’t volunteer the information that she’d had to stand with one foot in the laundry room and the other on the attached porch, leaning forty-five degrees to the left while holding on to the dryer. Maybe service had improved since then.

  “This is the middle of nowhere! Nobody could possibly live here.”

  She jerked a thumb toward the side of the road. “The mailboxes suggest otherwise.” She appreciated that the mailboxes they’d passed were spread out at roomy intervals. They’d had a nice enough home in the suburbs, but the yards were so small that when Damon used to throw a football with Luke, they spent half their time knocking on the neighbor’s door to retrieve the ball from the fenced backyard.

  “You’re going to love it here,” she told Luke. “Lots of community spirit and camaraderie, plenty of home-cooking and fresh air.”

 
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