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She gingerly walked between all of them and down the stairs to the patio. I stopped at the table with Sami, craning my neck to keep her in view.
Mason waved me off. “Gillian and I have her. She’s sleeping.”
I frowned. The urge to follow Bee warred with my responsibilities. “Are you sure?”
“Go. Take a walk with your girl.”
I lifted the blanket and Sami was still sound asleep.
“Go. I can handle it. Pops is on his way in anyway. He’s showing me how he makes his custard for the holiday menu. He’ll be thrilled to have time with his grandbaby.”
“I…”
Mason took me by the shoulders and shoved me out the door. “That beautiful woman is out there, and you need to go remind her that you’re more than insta-parents.”
I glanced back at him. “Well, that’s very intuitive, little brother.”
Mason shrugged. “I have moments. Besides, babysitting a sleeping baby is no biggie.”
“Just for saying that she’ll wake up as soon as I go down the stairs, you know that, right?”
But I picked up the pace. He’d made the offer and there were enough people in his employ to help out. Especially since I knew at least two of the waitresses had been struck by the Cove and had new babies at home.
I chased Bee down to the patio and out to the long grass right before the beach. The long reeds were still hanging on. It had been a fairly mild pre-winter for us, with the exception of a few random snow bursts, and any snowfall we’d had seemed to melt away within a day or so.
“Come on guys. Just a little farther.” She tossed some bread out on the beach and in the water. Finally, the ducks seemed to get the idea. She spotted me and slowed down. “Hello there, Sheriff. Where’s your daughter?”
“Uncle Mase and his waitstaff are watching her.”
She arched her brow. “Takes a village.”
“And my dad is coming in too. So, I’m not too worried about it. He managed to keep us alive this long.”
She laughed. The breeze kicked up and the skirt of her sweater dress wrap thing flirted with her knees as a corner flipped up. She started walking backwards, staying mostly on her toes in the shifting sand. There was a sway in the way she walked as if she was leading me away on purpose.
I reached into her bag and gathered large handfuls. “We have a few moments alone.”
“I see that. Whatcha gonna do about it, Sheriff?”
“I’m pondering.”
“Don’t ponder too long.” She picked her way up the incline to the rocky pier at the edge of Mason’s property. Luckily, I was wearing my hiking boots since I never knew what kind of situation I’d be in. My days off never seemed to fully be time off, and before Sami arrived, I’d taken as few as humanly possible. Christian didn’t seem to mind the change in schedule, but he’d not so gently reminded me that we still had to actually hire the deputy we needed.
I’d been resistant to adding another person to our small unit, but a lot of things were changing. Taking the time to train someone was always a pain in the ass, not to mention the hiring process. But then I looked at the ridiculously gorgeous woman standing on the dock in front of me and realized all of that was worth it.
Worth having more time with her.
More time for my daughter.
More time to have a life that didn’t revolve around this town. My dad was right about that. There was more to life than just my job.
I tossed the bread into the reeds and the marshy area at the top of the hill just away from the lake. Prime duck placement on a warm late fall day.
With those duties done, I hopped up on the deck. A few long strides later, I caught Bee around the waist and lifted her against me. Her laughter tasted like sunshine. With the wind blowing off the water and her cheeks ruddy from the small amount of exercise, there was no way I could resist her.
As if I had a chance in hell anyway.
Twenty
