Single Dad Sheriff (Harlequin American Romance) by LISA CHILDS

the front.
    She restrained herself from chasing after him. After what she’d just revealed, she understood that he neededsome time alone to calm down. And she needed a moment to dash away her tears and compose herself.
    He didn’t mean it. Her loving, sweet son couldn’t really hate her, not like she hated herself right now. Her legs shaking, she walked back into the house where their dinner cooled on the kitchen table. She’d made his favorite: lasagna with extra cheese and a salad he claimed he didn’t like but then always ate seconds. She picked up the cordless phone and dialed the Johnsons’ number, then cradled the receiver between her ear and her shoulder as she put the food away in plastic containers. Tommy would be hungry when he came home but maybe too tired from his emotional outburst to eat.
    The Johnsons’ phone kept ringing before going to voice mail. They had a no answering phones during dinner rule; Tommy had told her about all their family rules. She needed to take notes herself since she hadn’t done much right with her parenting. After the beep, she said, “This is Jessie. Please call me back and let me know that Tommy’s at your house. He’s really mad at me now, so if you wouldn’t mind keeping him for the night, I’d appreciate it. I’ll be over in a bit with his pajamas, toothbrush and clothes for school tomorrow. Then I’ll explain what’s going on.”
    Since tomorrow was Friday, they’d probably be happy to have Tommy. After putting away the food, she headed upstairs to pack his overnight bag. In the morning, after he’d calmed down, she would talk to him. She’d tell him everything and hope that he wouldn’t really hate her.
    Â 
    C HANCE LEANED against the jamb of Matthew’s new bedroom. He crossed his arms over his chest and felt his heart thump hard and fast. Would the room be okaywith Matthew? Would he like it enough to want to stay the entire week?
    He had no idea anymore what his boy liked. Kids grew up so fast, changed so much in just a little while. And it had been over a year since he’d seen Matthew. Thanks to Tommy’s help, though, Chance had learned what Matthew probably wouldn’t like, what he’d be too old for. So they’d decided on skateboards and snow-boards and surfboards for his room. They’d found wall clings and complemented the bright colors of the boards with dark-colored paint.
    Jessie had worked hard to make the room vibrant and cool. Closing his eyes, he remembered the smear of navy blue on her nose and along her cheek. And the shimmery silver paint sprinkled through her red hair. Disheveled and slightly flushed from her exertion, she’d been even more beautiful to him.
    She hadn’t had to help him. The way he’d treated her since Tommy had stepped into his office, she shouldn’t have helped him. But her heart was too soft, her spirit too generous to refuse him assistance. He uttered a ragged sigh and ran his palm over his face. Without her and Tommy, he wouldn’t have had a clue about how to get ready for his son’s visit. Maybe Robyn was right about him. Maybe he wasn’t cut out to be a father.
    But then he remembered Tommy’s smiling face as the little boy had swung the hammer against the nail Chance had held for him. He grimaced and glanced down at his black thumbnail. That hadn’t been the nail Tommy was supposed to hammer into the wood.
    â€œMom can kiss it better,” Tommy had offered.
    Chance bet she could. And he’d come so close to kissing her over the past week and a half. But he’d heldhimself back every time he’d been tempted to lean in, to close the distance between her lips and his. He’d gotten so close a few times that he’d tasted the sweetness of her breath and had felt its warmth whisper across his skin. But he wanted to be a good father this time. He couldn’t put anything—or