Free Single Dad Sheriff (Harlequin American Romance) by LISA CHILDS Page A

blame it on the gas that had escaped the air bag. But he was too overwhelmed to bother lying to himself. After all this time, was it possible that he’d be seeing his boy again? “When?”
    â€œHis spring break from school,” Trenton replied. “Middle of April.”
    Chance’s breath caught; it was only a couple of weeks away. “Oh, my God. How’d you manage that?”
    Trenton’s brown eyes twinkled slightly. “What makes you think I had anything to do with it?”
    Because Trenton Sanders earned his high fees with a reputation as the lawyer who had never lost a case. “Because you probably did.”
    â€œI can’t claim any credit for this one,” Trenton insisted. “Not without getting disbarred. But really, Matthew’s the one who talked to his mom.”
    â€œYou talked to him,” Chance said—with gratitude and jealousy. He hadn’t spoken with his own son, in person or on the phone, since Robyn had refused him visitation. She’d moved to an unlisted address with no landline. The only contact information Chance had for her was her cell phone, which she let go to voice mail whenever he tried to call. That was why he’d hired Trenton.
    â€œThat conversation never happened,” his friend insisted. “The important one is the one he had with his mother when he told her he wants to spend his spring break from school with his father.”
    â€œAnd Robyn agreed?”
    Trenton sighed. “Not easily. And only to this one visit. She won’t agree to regular visitation.”
    â€œThat’s why we have to take her to court,” Chance said. He hadn’t wanted to, but she’d left him no choice since she wouldn’t even speak to him. “I want more than one week with my son.”
    â€œThis is a great opportunity to prove to Robyn and to the judge that you’re ready for Matthew,” Trenton pointed out. “That you have room in your house and your life for him.”
    â€œOf course I do.” Everything he’d done since coming back from Afghanistan had been for Matthew. “This house—this town—is perfect for raising a child.”
    â€œBut your future here isn’t secure, according toRobyn’s lawyer. That’s what they’re going to argue when we go before the judge.”
    â€œI own this house free and clear.” he reminded the man who’d helped him negotiate probate. “I inherited it.”
    â€œBut the job is only interim,” Trenton said with a sigh. “The mayor and city council hired you on a trial basis only.”
    And since Chance had taken the mayor’s mother’s driver’s license that afternoon, that trial was probably over. The mayor had showed up at the accident scene, and he had been furious to find out that Chance had impounded her car and suspended her license. “If they don’t elect me in the fall, I can apply for a job with the state police.”
    â€œYou want to wait until fall to go before the judge?” Trenton asked.
    â€œOf course not.” He’d already been denied a relationship with his child for too long.
    â€œThen you’ll need to be able to prove that your future in Forest Glen is secure. Now.”
    â€œI’ll prove it,” he promised, grateful that he hadn’t kissed Jessie Phillips. He needed to focus on building a life for his son—not letting a woman disrupt his own life.
    Â 
    J ESSIE SLIPPED into the back of the meeting hall, noticed her cousin waving and headed over to the vacant chair next to Belinda. “Since when do you attend town council meetings?” she asked.
    â€œSince the yummy new sheriff’s on the agenda,” Belinda replied with a wink.
    Jessie glanced around the crowded room andwondered how many other women, single and married, were there just to ogle the sexy young sheriff, too. She caught several people staring back at her. Her