Free How to Handle a Cowboy by Joanne Kennedy Page B

Their parents might have been in trouble with the law, but the kids are innocent.”
    Oh, so she was one of those. She must not have dealt with juvenile delinquents for long. “You know what they say,” he said. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the pear.”
    â€œThe apple—what?”
    â€œIt’s an expression,” he said slowly. The woman seemed kind of dimwitted to be running a halfway house.
    â€œDid you go to school here? In Grigsby, I mean?”
    â€œSure did. And then right to the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas.” He crossed his legs. “But I’m not here to talk about me,” he said. “I’m here to talk about your boys.”
    â€œRight. We were talking about giving them nightmares by showing them the old jail cells.”
    â€œIt would be a start.”
    â€œIt would be a disaster.” Her voice got all hard and shrill. “Sheriff, these kids have seen far worse places than those jail cells. Their lives have already been nightmares. What they need is normalcy. And they need people to believe in them.”
    Another bleeding heart. He’d seen it before. “Oh, I see.” He chuckled, as if they were both in on a joke. “I realize it’s your job to defend the children, but if we work together, we might be able to minimize the impact of this institution on the other residents of Wynott.”
    â€œIt’s not an institution. It’s a home. ”
    â€œWell, whatever it’s called, you should probably know, the neighbors are concerned.”
    She frowned. That made little lines form between her eyebrows, and lines bracketed her mouth. If she kept that up, she wouldn’t be nearly so pretty in a few years.
    That was the trouble with women working. It was too stressful and ruined their looks.
    She took a deep breath, like she was about to say something important, and he braced himself for a lecture.
    â€œSheriff, I know it’s important that you and I have a good relationship.”
    At least she had that part right. He wondered what kind of relationship she meant. He wasn’t sure he liked her much, but she sure was pretty.
    â€œIf we’re going to work together, I need you to believe these boys are worth saving. If we love them and trust them, they’ll do their best to rise to even the highest expectations. I’ve seen it happen.”
    He doubted that, but she was on a roll, so he wasn’t about to interrupt.
    â€œMy goal is to make Wynott a hometown they’ll come to care about, and I’m hoping the community will help. Certainly you, as our local law enforcement, can make a big difference. I’d be very, very grateful if you’d assure folks that the kids aren’t going to be a problem.”
    She had a point. Without his leadership, she’d never succeed in her little project. But he wasn’t sure he could get on board. After all, there had to be some reason these kids’ families had given up on them.
    â€œTell you what,” he said. “I need to meet the kids, I think. See what they’re all about.”
    Was that panic he saw on her face or just a little anxiety? In either case, he was pretty sure she didn’t want him to meet the kids. His instincts were right. They were probably a bad bunch, rude and uneducated.
    She smoothed her hair and got ahold of herself, flashing him a smile he could tell had nerves behind it.
    â€œI think that would be a great idea,” she said. “Someone like you could be a really good influence on them.”
    â€œRight.” And it was. He was the kind of guy every boy should aspire to be. He’d been a pretty good student, even if some of his teachers were a little stingy with the grades. And he’d been good at sports—a football hero in high school and danged good at baseball too. And now? Well, now he was sheriff of a whole town. Those kids would probably be in awe of him. He’d