“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T know where they are?” Walker stared at his aunt in disbelief. She wasn’t the most reliable babysitter, but she was all he had. He and his aunt had inherited the general store in High Cotton, and they lived next door to each other in homes their ancestors had built.

      His aunt had never married and was set in her ways. She wasn’t fond of children, either. He was going to have to make other arrangements because this was unacceptable.

      “Did Haley get off the bus?”

      “Of course.” Nell Walker rang up a sale and handed Dewey Ray his change. “She took Georgie to the back room to do her homework. When I went to check on them, they were gone. That’s why I called you. They’re your responsibility—not mine.”

      The bell jingled over the door and Frank Jessup came into the store. “Hey, Walker.”

      Walker nodded. He was too worried to say much of anything else.

      “Did that part come in I ordered, Nell?”

      “It sure did,” his aunt replied. “I’ll get it.”

      “See you later, Frank.” Walker charged outside before he lost his temper. God, he was doing a lousy job of caring for his kids. Haley hated High Cotton and skipped school regularly. She didn’t fit in with the other kids. Instead she hung out with the Grubbs girl, who was so much older. That was unacceptable, too.

      Talking to his daughter was a waste of his breath, though. She had so much anger in her that at times he thought she was going to explode from the sheer magnitude of it. And his son cried constantly for his mother. If he ever saw his ex-wife again he might just strangle the life out of her. Leaving him was one thing, but leaving her kids was something entirely different.

      He drew a long, tired breath. High Cotton was small, with barely five hundred people. Someone had to have seen them. First, he’d check with Earl Grubbs to see if they were there. Since the kids made fun of Ginny and her pregnancy, Haley had somehow become her champion. Two outcasts facing the world.

      As he reached for his cell, it rang. “Yes,” he answered.

      “Is this Walker?” a very feminine voice asked. A voice he recognized. Madison Belle. His nerves tightened.

      “Yes, what is it, Ms. Belle?”

      There was complete silence.

      “Ms. Belle?”

      “I just wanted to let you know that your children are here at High Five.”

      “What!”

      “Haley, Georgie and a girl named Ginny.”

      “How did they get there?”

      “I’m guessing they walked. You really need to keep a closer eye on your children.”

      He gripped the phone so tight it almost came apart in his hand. “I’ll be right there. Do not let them leave.”

      Running for his car, he cursed under his breath. Madison Belle had taken an instant dislike to him, and now he had to face the woman and see his failings as a father in her blue eyes.

      He’d rather take a bullet.

      CHAPTER TWO

      MADDIE HUNG UP THE PHONE and made her way to the kitchen. On the way she thought about Walker. He was an enigma for sure. She didn’t even know his first name and she’d never heard anyone mention it, either. He was just Walker to everyone.

      She’d met him four times; at the party, at High Five, at the convenience store, and at Cait and Judd’s wedding. Funny how she remembered every encounter. He always said hello, but little else, and she couldn’t blame him. Avoid crazy lady, she could almost hear him thinking.

      He seemed very stern, very disciplined—a by-the-book type of man. Cait had said he’d been in the marines and later had joined a search-and-rescue team in Houston. He’d only returned to High Cotton because of his children. Cait hadn’t said anything about the mother, but she must be a fine piece of work.

      Her sister Skylar thought Walker was a hunk. Maddie rolled that around in her head for a moment. He was tall and impressive, with broad shoulders, caramel-colored eyes like Georgie’s, brown hair that curled into his collar, lean, sculptured features, and a body that rivaled Arnold Schwarzenegger’s.

      Her taste ran more to indoor guys in tailored suits and J. Crew shirts, who didn’t wear cowboy boots, Stetsons or risk their lives in the line of duty.

      That described Victor, the man she’d been dating in Philadelphia. Tall and thin, Victor never got his hands dirty. As a doctor, he was very meticulous and fastidious in everything he did, even away from the hospital. He was fifteen years older than Madison and at times he made her feel like one of his children, which irritated her. But he was a compassionate, caring man and that’s what had attracted her.

      Wasn’t it?

      Victor wasn’t a muscled, gun-toting-hero type like Walker. The constable was all muscle and raw power.

      He was too…too manly.

      She almost laughed out loud at the description. Could a man be too manly?

      As she entered the kitchen, Gran was telling the kids about Solomon, their pet bull. Maddie and Cait had raised him from a baby when his mother had died. Solomon was now quite large, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to be at the back door waiting for her in the mornings. He wanted feed and he didn’t like waiting.

      She never knew how he got over the board fence until she saw him jump it one morning. Solomon’s father had had the same bad trait, and it had led to his demise. Maddie wanted to break Solomon of the habit. So far she hadn’t had any luck.

      “Can I see him?” Georgie asked. His upper lip sported a milk mustache and his cheeks were smeared with chocolate from the chocolate chip cookies. He was so cute. How could his mother leave him?

      “No, Georgie,” Haley told him. “We’re going to find Mama.”

      “Oh.” Georgie stuffed more of the cookie into his mouth.

      Ginny saw her standing in the doorway. “Did you get Ms. Belle?”

      “Yes,” she replied, walking farther into the room. “She hasn’t seen Brian since he left High Five for the oil fields and she doesn’t have an idea where he might be.”

      “Oh.” Ginny hung her head and Maddie’s heart broke for her. It was time for a heart-to-heart and she didn’t want Georgie to hear them.

      “Gran, would you take Georgie to the veranda? Solomon might make an appearance.”

      “Oh, boy.” Georgie bounced up and down in his chair.

      Gran took his hand, which was covered in chocolate, and quickly reached for a napkin to wipe his hands and mouth.

      After that, Georgie wiggled one arm into his jacket, but seemed unable to get the other one inside the sleeve. Maddie came to his rescue and zipped the Windbreaker.

      “Come on, little one,” Gran said, leading him to the door. The screen banged behind them.

      Maddie took his seat. “Ginny, I’m not trying to pry, but is Brian the father of your baby?”

      “Yes, ma’am.” She still hung her head.

      “And you think he’ll take responsibility for the child?”

      “Oh, no, ma’am.” Ginny raised her head, her voice sincere. “It’s not like that. I mean, Brian dropped me after…well, you know. I just want the money to get us to Lubbock and Haley’s mom. I’m planning to keep my baby.”

      The