Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Dana Mentink (novels to improve english txt) 📗

his past held him in a tight grip. Would he ever share it with her?

She breathed in the smell of crackling wood. One of her favorite scents. She could get used to this. A handsome man and a sweet boy at her side.

And then she remembered.

It would never happen for her. No husband or child would call her blessed like she’d read in the Bible. Why, Lord? Doubts of her identity in Christ threatened to encompass her again as thoughts of motherhood were stolen from her future. Why did she associate her status with whether or not she could have children? Didn’t God love her for who she was?

She quenched a sigh. She’d deal with that hurt later. “You’re next, Layke.” She grabbed another marshmallow.

He raised his hands in a stop position. “No, no. I don’t need one.”

“Oh, yes, you do.” She stuck it over the coals.

He grinned as the fire reflection danced in his beautiful blue eyes.

Her heartbeat quickened and her throat clogged. Stop thinking of Layke in that way, Hannah.

Not only was he off-limits, but he also lived in Calgary. She would not do long-distance.

Besides, he probably had a girlfriend.

Plus, it was said that relationships formed under intense circumstances never last. She wouldn’t be another statistic.

Once the marshmallow appeared golden, she held it over to Layke. “Here you go. It’s hot.”

He touched it and snapped his hand back. “Ouch!”

“Told you.” She giggled. “Gabe, it’s time—”

A snore interrupted her sentence. She glanced over at the boy. He’d curled up on the floor with the blanket and had fallen asleep.

Layke followed her gaze. “He’s had a rough day. Time for bed.” He lifted Gabe and held him over his shoulder, blanket and all. “Which bedroom?”

Did he know how adorable he looked with the boy?

Stop, Hannah. She stood. “Follow me.”

She led him down the hall and opened the middle room’s door in the three-bedroom cabin. Her friend was a doctor, so this amazing cabin gave her an oasis away from a hectic schedule. This room was decorated in a nautical theme. A single bed, adorned with a white comforter and blue-striped pillow, sat in the middle of the room. The headboard contained a shelf holding a buoy and sailboat. The nightstands held matching lighthouse lamps. The white-and-navy-striped walls added to the ambiance.

“Wow. This is every sailor’s dream room. Nice.” Layke’s soft voice broke the silence.

“I know, right? Wait till you see your room at the end of the hall.”

His forehead crinkled.

“I’ll let you discover it for yourself.” She removed the throw pillows from the bed and tugged the comforters back.

Layke tucked Gabe under the covers and pulled them tight to his small body.

They tiptoed out of the room and Hannah closed the door. “How about you change and then we can talk about the case?”

“Sounds good.” He headed down the hall.

Hannah walked back into the living room, stoked the fire with the poker and added a log. Even though they had turned on the cabin’s heat, the room still held a chill to it. She closed the screen and went to the window to check the storm.

She pulled the drapes and peered out but could only see darkness. She turned on the porch light to check the surroundings. Snow fell hard as the wind whipped around the fir trees. A branch close to the cabin slammed against the window.

She gasped and jumped back.

Calm down, Hannah. You’re safe here.

At least she prayed they were.

Her cell phone buzzed and she grabbed it from her lounge pants pocket. She peered at the name. Her boss.

“Doyle. Good to hear from you.” Outside of work hours, she always referred to her superintendent as Doyle. He’d helped her through many trying times over the years as she trained with all men. He was the only one who understood how it felt to be an outcast. His sister had been bullied as a child and he’d tried to protect her, which alienated him from the other kids at school.

“You sound chipper. You’re safe?”

“Yes. For now anyway.”

“Where are you?”

“You remember my friend Taryn?”

“The doctor?”

“Yes. She and her hubby have a cabin thirty minutes north of Beaver Creek. We’re hunkered down here during the storm.”

“You and the boy?”

“And Layke.”

“Oh…so it’s just Layke now? Not Constable?”

His tone revealed the smile he probably had plastered on his face. He’d been trying to set her up with guy after guy for years. “Stop. It’s not like that.”

“Hannah, you deserve happiness.”

She rubbed her belly. No, she couldn’t put a man through the pain. “You find out anything about possible child smugglers from other border patrol stations?”

“Nice dodge.” He laughed. “I’ve contacted them all and they are aware of the situation but haven’t seen anything suspicious. Yet. I asked them to contact me if they do.”

“Good.”

“You find out anything from the boy?”

Hannah told him about their interview with Gabe. “He gave a description of one of the masked men and it sounds like the same man I saw at the station.”

“No names?”

“Nothing. He’s holding back on us though. Seems scared to trust us.”

“He will in no time with your charm.”

“Funny.”

Layke walked into the room wearing jeans and the buffalo plaid flannel shirt she’d found earlier. She sucked in a breath. The tight fit revealed his protruding muscles.

“What’s wrong?” Doyle asked.

Oops. She hadn’t realized she’d gasped out loud. “Nothing. I gotta run.”

“Stay safe and keep me updated.”

“Will do.” She clicked off. “Hey, that red and black looks good on you.” Had she just said that out loud? Rein it in.

“Thanks. It’s a bit tight but okay.”

She bit her tongue to avoid saying something she’d regret. “I was just talking to my boss. He said he didn’t get any further info from the other border stations.”

He sat on the plush couch and took out his notebook. “I’ve called in a forensic artist, plus Elias told me one of the assailants was injured in the gunfire at the station. He got away though. Constables are searching nearby hospitals and clinics.”

“Good. Let’s talk about what we have so far.”