A Sweetheart For The Single Dad (The Camdens Of Colorado Book 8) Read Free

I’ll leave you two alone.”
    Then she left and Sawyer took a deep breath before he looked at Lindie again. All traces of amusement were gone from that handsome face. “There you go,” he said, like a lawyer who felt he’d proved his case.
    She must have looked confused.
    “Two examples right under your nose. The bankruptcy is a direct result of a small business not being able to compete since your store came in. And even the Murphys. Their dad died a little over a year ago, and with businesses going under or cutting back around here mom couldn’t get a job to support the family. I know she tried to get hired on with Camdens but was told you were bringing your own computer people in. I guess she went another route—one more side effect of ‘Camden prosperity.’”
    And by volunteering here Lindie was going to end up meeting the people harmed by those side effects.
    Sawyer Huffman had no idea just how susceptible she was to that kind of thing.
    I’m just going to have to be strong
, she told herself.
    “On second thought,” he said, “maybe it isn’t a good idea to have you coming around here even as a volunteer.”
    But if she didn’t she knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere near him.
    “No one needs to know who I am. I won’t give my last name. Or I’ll use a different one if I need to,” she said in a hurry, trying to maintain the ground she thought she’d gained.
    He didn’t answer immediately; instead he stared at her for a long moment as if weighing something.
    Then he said, “Knockout or not, if I didn’t know exactly who you are I doubt anyone else will recognize you, so I suppose it might be okay if you keep your identity under wraps. But you’d better tone it down some—there’re not a lot of silk and six-hundred-dollar shoes being worn in this part of town.”
    The shoes had cost her eight hundred and just the fact that he realized they were expensive made her feel ashamed of that fact.
    But again she wouldn’t let him see it. She tilted her chin defiantly. “That’s fine. I’m really not a prima donna.”
    “Yeah, I’ll bet you’ve spent a lot of time in the trenches,” he countered with biting sarcasm. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
    The challenge was back again and that, too, had an edge that made her think she was really in for it.
    But nothing was going to make her back down so she merely said, “When will you be handing out flyers tomorrow?”
    “After work. Probably around six. If, once you think about things, you still want in, I’ll meet you in the parking lot out front.”
    “I’ll be here,” she said.
    There was skepticism in the wry half smile that quirked up one side of his sexy mouth, but he didn’t say anything except, “I have to get back. You can find your way out?”
    “I can.”
    He nodded his head, slowly, his crystal-blue eyes steady on her face.
    Then, without saying goodbye, he went around her toward the chess tables, calling into the group, “Parker! How about a game to keep you sharp while you wait to play your next round?”
    “Yeah? You think you can handle it?” a boy who looked to be about twelve or thirteen called back.
    “Guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Sawyer answered, not giving Lindie as much as a backward glance.
    And leaving her wondering if she’d just bitten off more than she could chew both with the man and the situation.

Chapter Two
    “I won’t let it happen, Candy. Sam is my son and he isn’t moving to Vermont. I don’t care if Harmon’s practice here is hurting or that he wants to move closer to his family.
Sam’s
family lives here and it’s more important for the four-year-old to be with
his
family than for the thirty-four-year-old!”
    Sawyer had been trying not to raise his voice as he spoke to his ex-girlfriend on the phone on Tuesday but he’d lost the battle.
    “Maybe you should talk to Harmon,” Candy Ferguson responded as if she were only partially involved.
    “Maybe
you
should talk to Harmon! I