A Hero for Tonight Read online

  Leaning against the wagon, he watched for a second until everyone had scampered off, then pulled out his phone, and typed, Last wagon will be back in twenty minutes. Any coffee left?

  When there was no response, he figured Krista must be busy with customers. There’d been a pretty steady stream of people all day, which was unusual for this early in the season, but they’d managed with just the two of them. If this kept up, it would keep the whole family busy the entire month, every evening and every weekend. They all breathed a sigh of relief when Halloween came and things slowed for a couple of weeks before the big Thanksgiving push.

  What was it about the chill in the air that made people want to go look at leaves, pick apples, and ride wagons? What people would spend their money on amazed him. What also amazed him was how friendly and warm Krista was to each and every one of them. She truly loved talking with the hordes of people and helping them find just the right item whether it was a pumpkin or a loaf of apple bread. She never seemed to be rushing anyone, even if she had a store full of customers.

  Not him. He couldn’t stand being in there with the throngs of people. Even now, several years since he’d been deployed, being in a large crowd made him nervous. He was constantly watching, waiting for something to happen.

  Driving the wagon was enough. But he did enjoy being out in the fresh air even if he had to deal with the apple pickers.

  Ten minutes later, he pushed away from the side of the cart and yelled through the orchard, “Everyone in the wagon.”

  Once the last rider was on board, it was only a short ride back to the store.

  Shane jumped down to help everyone out of the wagon. The last was a pretty blonde dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. She was with a small girl who looked to be her miniature. The little girl seemed unsure of the big drop to the ground, so he stepped over and opened his arms.

  “Here, I’ll help. Set your bag down.”

  With a big grin, she did as told and eagerly fell into his arms. Shane swung the young girl high in the air, and then down to the ground as she giggled. Looking back at the wagon, his gaze collided with identical blue eyes in a far more grown up face.

  He tipped his head and held his hand out to help the woman down the large wagon step. She set her hand in his, and as he expected, it was soft and feminine and brought out all of his protective instincts.

  “Thank you. And thank you for the ride. We both enjoyed it very much.”

  “You’re welcome. Was this your first time here?” He reluctantly released her hand.

  Around them, the other customers wandered off either into the farm market or out to their cars.

  She brushed the hair back from her face. “Yes, we just moved here from Rochester.”

  Shane followed her gaze to the little girl who stood patiently by. “Well, then, welcome to town. I’m Shane Donovan. Besides giving apple orchard tours, I’m also the town’s deputy sheriff.”

  The woman placed her hand on the little girl’s head. “I’m Melissa Steeple, and this is my daughter, Brittany.”

  Shane smiled at Brittany. “You must be in the first grade then. You might even know a friend of mine, Connor?”

  Brittany frowned for a second and then her eyes widened. “Does he have really, really red hair?”

  Shane nodded. “Yes, he does.”

  Connor, Krista’s youngest step-sibling, wanted to be a marine; anything Shane said the kid hung on.

  “He’s in my class, but I don’t sit next to him.”

  “Well, when you see him Monday, tell him that you met Shane. I guarantee you’ll have a new friend.”

  He stared back to Melissa once more, feeling the familiar tug of definite interest in his gut. “If I can do anything for you, or answer any questions about the area, you can reach me at the sheriff’s office. Feel free to call.”

  Although there wasn’t a ring on her finger, and she didn’t mention Brittany’s father, he didn’t want to presume too much. If she was interested, she’d find an excuse to call him.

  He rocked back on his heels. “If you ladies will excuse me, I need to put the tractor away. Looks like the market is still open; there’s probably still hot cider inside.”

  “Thank you. It was nice to meet you.” Melissa smiled.

  Once more, Shane hope like hell there was no Mr. Steeple.

  “Bye.” Brittany waved.

  Shane waved as he swung back into the tractor seat and put it into gear. He resisted the temptation to see if they went into the farm market or directly to their car.

  Krista glanced to the door as it opened yet again, but this time Shane walked in. He raised an eyebrow in her direction, and she knew he wasn’t happy at the amount of customers still in the store well after closing. Even though the sign on the door clearly indicated they closed fifteen minutes earlier, Krista wasn’t about to shoo the stragglers out the door.

  As she bagged a customer’s purchases, she noted Shane flip the CLOSED sign over on the door. Around the store, people began to notice, and she sighed as they hustled to the register with their items.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were closed.” The customer set her items on the counter. “I so enjoy just browsing around in here. It’s so cozy.”

  “It’s no problem,” she offered as she rang up the order. “I don’t close the store until everyone has had time to make their purchases. Only Deputy Donovan over there is on a tight schedule.” She tucked a leaflet into the bag with the woman’s purchase. “Here’s a flyer with some of our upcoming activities. Please come back and see us again.”

  The older woman took the bag and smiled. “Oh, I will, honey. In fact, I think our senior center is planning an outing here next month.”

  The news sent mixed emotions through Krista. A busload of seniors was always a lot of work, and sometimes the sales didn’t quite equal the amount of fussing they required. Still, she enjoyed having them in the shop, and this kind of heads-up notice was a relief. She smiled warmly. “That’s wonderful. If you can have someone call ahead and give us the date, we’ll plan some extra special activities for you.”

  Several patrons later, she glanced up to realize the last customer was gone. Krista moved in front of the counter once more and began to straighten the displays, mentally ticking off inventory as she worked. The travel mugs had sold well, especially with the free hot cider. Smiling, she straightened the rest of them. Mary would be pleased.

  Shane emerged from the men’s room with a large trash bag.

  She headed toward him. “Thanks. I’ll grab the women’s room.”

  “I got it. Do whatever else you need to do so we can get going.” His voice was gruff as he disappeared into the empty bathroom.

  Krista bit back a comment at his orders, but shrugged. If he wanted to clean the ladies’ room, it was one less thing she had to do. “There should be plenty of cleaner in there. Let me know if you need anything,” she called to him.

  Moving around the store, she picked up items that had fallen and turned off the large coffee pot. Grabbing a mug she poured a last cup of the steaming liquid.

  “I put cleanser in all the toilets, so don’t drink that and have to use the bathroom.”

  Of all the…Before she could snap a response, there was a knock at the door. Setting down her drink, she headed to the front of the store.

  “We’re closed. Make sure they don’t talk you into opening up for one more candy apple or some nonsense!” Shane’s voice rang in her ears as she reached the door.

  A blonde woman smiled tentatively through the door window. A little girl stood next to her. Krista recognized the pair from earlier.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, pulling open the door.

  “I’m so glad you’re still here. I’m sorry, I lost my cell phone. I think it may have fallen out on the wagon ride. I know it’s a bother, but well, it’s one of those new expensive ones and…” The woman glanced past her and the blue eyes widened.

  From behind Krista, Shane had
appeared. The frown and grouchy face from earlier miraculously replaced by a warm smile.

  “Come on in,” he invited, pressing past Krista.

  She stumbled slightly as he brushed against her to open the door wider.

  “It’s supposed to snow tonight. I know it will be ruined, but I didn’t know what else to do.” The other woman sounded on the verge of tears.

  Krista felt bad, but it would be impossible to even begin to know where to look. Shutting the door, she turned around. “It’s dark now. The best I can offer is that I’ll look first thing in the morning and let you know immediately if I find it.”

  “No point waiting until tomorrow,” Shane offered quickly. “We’ve got plenty of flashlights; we’ll find it.”

  Krista’s mouth dropped open. Five minutes ago, he was on her about getting out of here. It wasn’t as if this was life or death and had to be tonight. It was just a cell phone, for goodness’ sakes.

  “My parents bought the phone for us before we moved. I know they didn’t put insurance on it.” The blonde glanced at Krista. “I’m sorry to be such a bother.”

  “No problem at all,” Shane said. “If your cell is out there all night, it’ll be ruined for sure. These days, it’s a safety factor to make sure you have your phone with you all the time.”

  Krista bit her bottom lip. He’s acting as if the woman’s daughter was lost instead of her cell phone.

  “My parents have probably already called and wondered why we aren’t answering. I was so confident not getting a land line, but now I feel, well, so vulnerable.” Her big blue eyes lifted to Shane’s face in appeal.

  Krista wanted to hurl. Was the woman seriously upset? Or was this a ploy to get Shane’s attention?

  “I’ll grab my coat.” He hurried to the back of the store.

  The woman held out her hand. “I’m Melissa Steeple and this is Brittany. I know you and your husband probably want to get home. I’m so sorry for this burden.”

  Krista shook her hand. “Shane is definitely not my husband.” She almost added that she was more than welcome to him, until she saw the way the woman’s eyes lit up at her announcement. Instead, she waved her arm toward the coffeemaker. “There’s a bit of cider or coffee still warm. Would either of you like something hot to drink?”

  The little girl glanced up at her mother with a shy smile.

  Krista grinned. “How about you and I get some cider while your mom goes with Deputy Donovan and looks for her phone?”

  “Oh, I couldn’t impose. Really, she’ll be fine with me.”

  “It’s no problem. I mean, I understand if you don’t want to leave her with a stranger.” Krista shrugged. “But seriously, Shane is the deputy sheriff, he can vouch for me.”

  Melissa’s face reddened slightly. “I didn’t mean I don’t trust you. I just well, I feel like I’m bothering you enough.”

  “Melissa, you will quickly find out that in this town, we all help each other. Come on, Brittany. Let’s get a cookie while your mom finds the phone.”

  Brittany scampered alongside her as Shane came out of the backroom with enough flashlights to light a runway. Krista’s gaze met his, but she didn’t bother to comment that finding a phone, if it was even in the orchard, was going to be as hard as the proverbial needle in a haystack.

  “We won’t be long,” he muttered without even looking at her before turning to Melissa with a bright smile. “Why don’t you give me your number, and I’ll put it in my phone. Then we can call it while we ride the path we took earlier.”

  Smooth, Donovan. Krista shook her head. Shane now had the phone number for the young mom, who was more than likely single from the lack of a ring or mention of a husband.

  Turning her attention back to her young charge, she pulled out a chair at one of the small tables. “Have a seat. I’ll get us some cookies, and you can tell me all about yourself.”

  A half hour went by before the door opened again. From the smile on Melissa’s face, Krista could tell it had been a successful mission.

  “Found it?” she asked anyway.

  Melissa waved the phone in the air. “Yes.” Her face glowed as she cast an adoring glance back at Shane. “It was right in the wagon.”

  So then what took so long? She could guess, but didn’t want to.

  As the woman crossed the room to her daughter, Krista raised an eyebrow at Shane. He grinned; she rolled her eyes.

  “Come on, honey. We have to get home.” A cornflower blue gaze lifted to Krista. “Thank you both again so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” She smiled at Shane once more and turned away.

  He followed. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, closing the door slowly behind them.

  And two more females fall under his charm. Krista could have gagged as she turned away and started to pick up. Seconds later, Shane turned off the lights and drenched her in almost complete darkness.

  “Sheez, you could at least let me finish before you turn everything off,” she complained.

  He threw her jacket at her. “You’d keep poking around for another twenty minutes. I want to get going.”

  “Nobody said you had to wait for me. I’m perfectly capable of locking everything up and leaving.” Even so, she stepped outside.

  “Yeah, I’ve watched how you lock your house at night. I’m going to watch my mother’s business a bit more carefully than you do.”

  “First of all, it’s not just your mother’s business, it’s mine too.” She zipped her jacket and pulled her gloves out of her pockets. “And second, it’s not my fault. Your new friend conveniently dropped her phone and had to come back.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  She walked in front of him toward their parked cars. “Odd that she dropped an expensive phone like that, then came back for it to find it, oh yeah, not even damaged because it was tucked neatly under the hay.”

  Shane chuckled. “You could be right, but who am I to complain? I got her number and a promise for a date.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t ask me to baby sit. I’m busy,” she snipped, not sure if she was annoyed at Melissa for staging everything to get to know Shane or at him for not minding. Did women really think they had to play games to get his attention? He definitely wasn’t worth it.

  “No need for a babysitter. I’m taking them both out.”

  “The way to the mommy’s bed is by being nice to the kid, right?”

  “It’s not like that. Brittany’s cute, and she happens to like me. Besides, I don’t think I need to use anyone to impress Melissa. She thinks I’m a real hero for helping her find the phone.”

  “Of course she does. Everyone thinks Shane Donovan is a superhero.”

  Krista opened her car door and turned back. With the big harvest moon behind him, his face was half-shadowed. Okay, sure, Shane looked the part of a romance hero, but then she’d never said he wasn’t a good-looking guy—just an annoying one.

  As she slid behind the wheel, he held the door and leaned in. “Now, I never said superhero, but if that’s what you think…”

  He was so full of himself. How could anyone stand to be around him for more than two minutes?

  She yanked on the door. “Not hardly. Remember, I’m the one girl in this town who is completely immune to you and your superhero powers.”

  His laugh echoed in her ears as she slammed the door and pulled down the driveway leaving him standing in the dark.

  Chapter Three

  Climbing the steps to his house, Shane couldn’t wait to change out of his uniform and sit down with a cold beer. The morning frost had given way to a beautiful fall day, but he had spent most of it behind his desk doing paperwork.

  His cell phone chimed as he unlocked the front door. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

  Got any cold ones?

  Texting back an affirmative, he knew his neighbor would be over momentarily. Dave was one of his oldest buddies. Two years ago, the house next door to Dave and his wife w
ent up for sale. It didn’t take much persuasion to convince Shane it was time to move from his folks’ place to his own. Although his mother tried her best to “help” him with decorating, he’d held her off and done his own thing. Glad he did, too. The last thing he wanted was to come home every night to another version of his parents’ house. Not that there was anything wrong with it, just not what he wanted his to look like.

  After a quick change of clothes, he grabbed two beers and headed out the back door. Dave was already on the small deck. His buddy turned as he closed the sliding glass door.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself. What’s up? Where’s Karen?”

  “Her sister went into labor. She’s picking up her kids to bring them back here for the night.”

  “Fun.” Shane smirked and lifted his beer to his lips.

  “I don’t mind. We’ll probably take them over to the farm tomorrow morning. You running the tractor?”

  “Nope. I’ve got drill all weekend.”

  Dave sank to one of the lawn chairs Shane hadn’t put away for the winter yet. “How’re things going with Melissa?”

  Shane shrugged. “Okay, I guess. We’ve been out a few times.”

  “Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

  “What?”

  “You. You sound like you’re just going through the motions.”

  “Maybe…I don’t know. I don’t know that I’ve given it long enough. We hardly know each other.”

  Dave laughed. “What more do you have to know? She’s hot. She’s obviously intelligent. Is it the daughter?”

  Shane drank some more of his beer. He didn’t feel any driving need to take the relationship another step, but had no clue why.

  “Karen was going to see if you two wanted to come over for dinner this weekend, but since you aren’t going to be around…” Dave swatted at a bee that hovered nearby.

  “Maybe next weekend; we’ll see how it goes.” Shane followed the path of the bee, watching it land on the deck rail across from him.