The Sheriff and the Troubled Bride Read online

  Keith snorted. He didn’t need to guess what Megan’s response would have been to that.

  “And I bet she turned you down, didn’t she?” He sneered.

  “She did.”

  “I’m not surprised. Megan’s a selfish woman who doesn’t think of anyone but herself.” Keith was too angry to realize what he was really saying. “Having my children away from me is to give her some power. And she likes to be in control. She’s not going to soften up just because you asked her to.”

  “I wanted to give it a try.” Simone protested. “I thought…”

  “What did you think?”

  Simone swallowed. She looked like she was about to cry. As she looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears, Keith had an urge to hold her and comfort her. But he didn’t; his anger was holding him back.

  “What did you think, Simone?” he demanded.

  Simone chewed her lower lip.

  “I thought I could make you feel better,” she whispered. “Make you smile.”

  That almost had Keith crumbling. It hadn’t been for anything bad – that was not Simone at all – but he couldn’t forgive her for making a situation worse.

  He had to get out of there before he did something he regretted. Like kiss her. Keith could hear Simone shouting his name and Beth demanding to know what was going on, but he simply left the boarding house. He had to get out of there to clear his head.

  Chapter Eight

  Several hours later and a bottle of whisky hadn’t cleared his head. If anything, Keith felt worse. Buying that bottle to help soothe himself had not been the best idea. Keith didn’t know what he was thinking other than he wanted to drink his sorrows away.

  Now he was feeling sick and his head was throbbing. All Keith could do was go to his bed and fall into it still fully dressed. The world was spinning, pressing down on him. And his dreams were filled with Megan walking out of his life over and over again. Different scenarios, but they always finished with the same ending.

  When Keith opened his eyes, the sunlight was shining through the uncurtained windows. And his head was pounding. Keith felt the nausea well up in his belly. Then he realized the pounding wasn’t in his head.

  It was coming from downstairs.

  Growling, Keith rolled out of bed and managed to get to his feet. The room was spinning a little, but not as bad as it had been. Even then, Keith found himself leaning against the wall as he made his way downstairs. Whoever it was at the door was not planning on going away.

  Keith flung open the door, planning on giving whoever had disturbed him a piece of his mind. The angry words died on his lips when he saw Megan standing on the threshold. She was looking tired, a little worse for wear, but she still looked lovely.

  “Megan? What are you doing here?”

  “I…” Then Megan sniffed and wrinkled her nose. “Have you been drinking?”

  Keith snorted.

  “It’s not a regular occurrence. You know that. I’ve just had some bad news.”

  Megan’s expression softened. She sighed.

  “Can I come in, Keith.”

  “If you want a fight, you can forget it.”

  “I’m not here to fight.”

  From her body language, she was telling the truth. Keith decided to risk it. He didn’t want his former wife anywhere near him – bad feelings were stirring up again – but he wanted to hear her out. He stepped aside and let Megan come inside. It had been two years since she had lived in the house they had shared together, and now it felt strange seeing her standing in the middle of the lounge, looking around her.

  “Things don’t seem to have changed much,” she commented.

  Keith shut the door.

  “I haven’t got much time for décor at the moment,” he grunted. He moved to lean against the wall. His legs were still feeling a little wobbly. “Where are Toby and Lucy?”

  “At home.” Megan turned to him. “They don’t know that I’m here. They think I’m on some errands.”

  “Then why are you here, Megan? And where have you been for the last two years?”

  “Not far away, actually.”

  Of course, she wouldn’t be. Megan didn’t like change at the best of times. She wouldn’t have moved too far. But Keith had completely missed her. He wasn’t a tracker like Richard, and Megan had taken advantage of that.

  “You covered your tracks well.”

  Megan snorted.

  “Well enough for you, but not well enough for Miss Cartwright and Richard Baxendale.”

  “I know about that.” Keith covered his mouth as he belched. “It’s the reason I’m drinking. I thought she had screwed everything up.”

  Megan regarded him thoughtfully. Keith didn’t like the way she did that. When she wanted to be, his former wife was an astute woman. And she seemed to know him better than he knew himself. It was unnerving.

  “What is Miss. Cartwright to you, Keith?”

  “Why do you want to know?” Keith shot back. “It’s nothing to do with you anymore.”

  “I just want to understand her motivations. I have a pretty good idea why, though. Not every woman would hire someone to try and find another man’s former wife.” Megan smiled. “She loves you, and she just wants you to be happy.”

  Simone loved him? Keith had wanted to believe it before, but he wasn’t sure. To have it confirmed like this…

  “She’s misguided,” he said lamely. “I am happy.”

  “Really?” Megan arched an eyebrow. “Do you really believe that?”

  The woman was infuriating. Keith gritted his teeth and looked away.

  “No, I’m not. Would you like to gloat over that?”

  “No, I won’t. I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Really?”

  “Keith, please. I said I’m not here to fight.” Megan sighed. “Miss Cartwright’s sudden appearance and her insistence that you see Toby and Lucy struck a chord with me. She showed to me how much she cares about you, even though she has no invested interest in the children.”

  Keith was confused. Megan was sounding more like an adult than the sulky child he had once loved, once been married to. He frowned at her.

  “What are you saying, Megan?”

  Megan briefly closed her eyes with a heavy sigh.

  “I’ve been pathetic about this, Keith. Don’t agree with me on that,” she added quickly, “I know you’ve been thinking that of me for a long time. And so much more, and I don’t blame you for that. I wanted to be in control of the situation, yes, but it’s been to the detriment of everyone, including Toby and Lucy. They’ve missed you, always asking me when they’re going to see you again. I ended up in a fight with Lucy not long ago.”

  “What did you say to her?”

  “That you were never seeing them again. She hated that.” Megan’s mouth twitched in a slight smile. “She’s nearly thirteen and she’s so much like you that it’s frightening.”

  Keith felt some warmth at that. He had loved both his children, but Lucy was certainly his little girl. She was smart and talented, a real sweetheart. And as stubborn as him, which was why they often butted heads. Toby was placid compared to his sister.

  “Do you want to see them?” Megan asked.

  Keith didn’t need to think about it. He was already nodding.

  “More than anything.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Aunt Simone?”

  Simone looked up. Luke was sitting across from her, looking at her with a concerned frown. Then she realized they were sitting in a café with their cups of coffee in front of them. Luke’s was half-empty, while Simone had barely touched hers.

  “Huh?”

  “You’ve been stirring your coffee and adding so much sugar I’m surprised there’s not more sugar than coffee.”

  “Oh.” Simone put the spoon aside and pushed her coffee cup away. “I’m all right, Luke. Really.”

  But Luke was shaking his head. He clearly didn’t believe her.

  “No, you’re n
ot. You’ve barely said a word since we left the boarding house.”

  This was not how Simone wanted to spend her day. She had been despondent and upset over Keith shouting at her. All she had tried to do was do something to help him. Keith clearly wanted to see his children again, and Simone had thought someone else’s point of view would help. It hadn’t and now Keith was furious with her.

  Simone didn’t want to think about how much sleep she had lost the night before.

  She gave Luke an apologetic smile.

  “Sorry, honey. I’m just not very good company right now.”

  “You could say that.” Then Luke was looking past her towards the door. He sat up. “Look, Sheriff Dickinson’s coming in. Who’s that with him?”

  Simone stiffened. She didn’t need Luke to tell her that Keith was there; she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She didn’t want to turn around, just in case he rejected her in public. That would break her heart.

  But when Simone turned around, she ended up doing a double-take. Keith was coming into the café with two children, aged about twelve and ten. The girl was tall and had brown hair like Keith, with a heart-shaped face and almond-colored eyes. She was holding Keith’s hand and laughing at something he had said. On his other side, hanging off his arm, was a boy with reddish-brown hair, almost as tall as the girl. He was also laughing.

  As was Keith. Simone’s heart momentarily stopped. She had seen Keith smile a few times, but she had never really heard him laugh. Not a carefree laugh like that.

  These two had to be his children. Toby and Lucy.

  What was going on? Why…?

  Then Simone saw the woman coming into the café behind them as Keith led Toby and Lucy towards a nearby table. She stood hurriedly as Megan approached them.

  “Megan?”

  “Miss Cartwright.”

  Simone glanced over at Keith. He was watching her now, his children chattering away to each other on either side of him. Simone tore her eyes from him and focused on Megan.

  “You brought them, then.”

  “I did.” Megan sighed. “I won’t admit it too freely, but your insistence touched me. I found it surprising that someone with no connection to any of us would try and bring it all together.”

  Simone shrugged lamely.

  “I wanted Keith to be happy. It’s not often that anyone sees him smile.” She couldn’t help but look over her shoulder at Keith. He was still watching her, but he was smiling. “And seeing Toby and Lucy seems to have brought it back.”

  Megan’s mouth twitched in a slight smile.

  “You’ve certainly got him smiling again. And it’s not just because of the children.” She cleared her throat and adjusted her coat. “I’ve got some errands to run. It will take a couple of hours. Keep an eye on them, will you?” She shot Simone a wink. “Make sure they don’t get into trouble.”

  Simone smiled back.

  “I can do that.”

  Megan grunted assent. Then she turned and left the café. As the door closed behind her, Simone heard the scraping of a chair and footsteps. She didn’t need to turn around to know that Keith was standing directly behind her. Her heart was suddenly pounding in her chest, Simone turned. Keith was standing by her table, watching her with a smile that made her weak at the knees. His children were standing beside him, the boy watching her curiously. The girl was looking at Luke, who was blushing and looking everywhere else but at her.

  “Simone.”

  “Keith.” Simone licked her dry lips and turned to the children. “I take it this is Toby and Lucy.”

  Keith beamed. “It sure is.” He ruffled Toby’s hair. “You two, this is Simone and her nephew, Luke.”

  “Are they friends?” Toby asked.

  Keith’s eyes glinted as he looked at Simone.

  “Absolutely.”

  Simone didn’t know what to say to that. Lucy then gave Luke a pretty smile.

  “Do you want to come and sit with us, Luke?” she asked shyly. “Pa said we could sit together while he and your aunt talked.”

  “I…” Luke’s mouth opened and closed. “I…”

  Simone held back a giggle. She had never seen Luke like this before. Bashful. It was rather sweet.

  “Go on, Luke. Have a bit of fun.”

  Luke hesitated. Then he nodded and stood. Beaming, Lucy took him by the hand and led him over to their table. Toby joined them as they sat down. Simone turned to Keith, who had drawn out a chair for her.

  “I think Luke’s already smitten.”

  “Same with Lucy.” Keith chuckled. “I have a feeling they’ll be talking for a long time.”

  “Why aren’t you sitting with your children? Aren’t you pleased to see them?”

  “I am.” Keith sat beside her. “But I told them I wanted a word with you first.”

  Simone sighed. He was going to chastise her, she was sure.

  “If you’re going to tell me that I was a fool…” She began, but Keith held up a hand.

  “It was foolish what you did, yes, but you did it for perfectly good reasons. I understand why you did it. And it did work. Megan’s allowing me to see Toby and Lucy.”

  “Regularly?”

  “Yes. We’re going to take it slow, and I need to make sure I’m well and truly off-duty when I do see them. But I cannot tell you how much we all cried when I saw them this morning.”

  Simone could very well believe it. If she had children and she hadn’t seen them for two years, she would be in a similar state. Keith was looking at her curiously.

  “Why did you do it, Simone?” he asked. “Why did you go to Megan?”

  Simone could feel her face going red. She shrugged.

  “Because I wanted to.”

  “You didn’t do this on a whim, Simone. And you could have done it with anyone else.”

  “No, I couldn’t.”

  But Keith was shaking his head. His expression softened, and he reached for her hand.

  “You don’t do yourself enough credit, Simone. You’re a good person. Nobody’s noticed it, but I certainly do.”

  “At least you have,” Simone muttered.

  Keith smiled. His thumb was making circles around her knuckles, leaving a trail of heat behind.

  “Megan was dropping a lot of hints that I should have a mother for the children on my end, just to keep us all in line. And Luke does need a father…”

  He tailed off. It took Simone a little longer to realize what he had been saying. Her mouth fell open and she stared at Keith. Had he…?

  “Is this your way of proposing to me?”

  Keith gave a lopsided shrug.

  “I guess. I’m not very good at proposals.”

  He was asking her to marry him? Simone felt like she was in a strange dream. And the way he had worded it made it sound like something less than what she wanted. Simone shook her head.

  “I don’t marry someone for convenience, Keith. I’ve told you that. That’s why I turned previous proposals down.”

  Keith winced.

  “That came out badly. But this isn’t for convenience.”

  “How do I know that?”

  Keith reached over and cupped her jaw in his hand. He smiled, his eyes warming. Simone was not able to misinterpret the look in his eyes.

  “I love you, Simone. Why do you think I was around you all the time? You just won’t let me go, no matter what happened, and so I’m going to find a way not to let you go as well.”

  “Strange way of showing it.”

  “Well, I’m a strange person.”

  Simone giggled.

  “I’m not going to argue with that.”

  Keith chuckled. Then he looked a little pensive.

  “So, will you?”

  Even with how he proposed, he was sweet about it. And Simone didn’t need to think about it. She just knew she didn’t want Keith to leave her. He was hers, and Keith knew it.

  She leaned forward and kissed him. They were in a public place, bu
t Simone didn’t care. She wanted this. Keith slid his fingers into her hair and kissed her back, his fingers seeming to massage her scalp. The feel of him finally kissing her had Simone practically falling into his arms. She didn’t want this to end.

  It was only when someone whistled and there were some cheers across the room that Simone pulled away. A few men on the other side of the café had seen them and were cheering and jeering at them. Keith rolled his eyes and ignored them. Simone grinned.

  “Ask me properly,” she said as she stroked his cheek, “And I’ll give you my answer.”

  Keith took her hand, kissing her fingers.

  “I think you already have.”

  Chapter Ten

  James headed back from the wedding with a smile. Simone had been sure, more than the others, that she wouldn’t be able to find a husband. Not when she was close to turning thirty. But James had noticed as soon as the two were in the same room that Keith would be a perfect choice for her. He hadn’t been able to look away from Simone the whole time during their first meeting.

  Now Keith’s children were back in the picture, and they were already looking like a proper family. Luke was clearly smitten with Lucy, who seemed to be just as taken with him. It was sweet to watch, and James couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

  Three women had now been married in just a few months. Not too bad. Maybe Ruth was right, and he really could be a matchmaker. It was certainly enjoyable, although James didn’t think he could make much money out of it.

  Better to stick to the day job for now.

  He was still in thought when he arrived at the surgery. Someone was at the locked doors, banging desperately on the frame. James couldn’t see them well in the dark, but he could see two shadows. One smaller than the other.

  Then, as he got closer, the taller shadow turned to him. Even in the dark, James recognized her immediately.

  “Frederica!”

  Frederica was panting. She hurried towards him, throwing her arms around his neck.

  “James! Thank God! We thought you were asleep.”

  “I was at the wedding, remember?” James tried to ignore how much he was enjoying Frederica holding onto him and turned to the smaller shadow still by the door. “Colin?”