Andie shook her head. “Sorry! I guess we need to have a talk about not running to answer the door in someone else’s house.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“It’s Wynona and the police,” Will announced, just a moment before Cade walked in, accompanied by, shock of shocks, Wynona.
“Wyn!” Andie exclaimed. She jumped up and hugged her friend as if they hadn’t seen each other in years.
“I leave town for a few months and what happens? My brother breaks his leg and my dear friend and her kids end up on the streets. Maybe I better reconsider spring semester! Who knows what might happen next?”
His sister turned her attention to him next, giving his leg a fierce once-over, then reaching in and hugging him. “Hey, Marsh. I hear you saved the day when their tree fell down.”
“I didn’t do much. Just called Cade and he did all the legwork. What are you doing here? How’d you get here? Don’t you know we just had a blizzard?”
“I finished my last final yesterday and decided I couldn’t wait until the roads were clear to come home, so I caught a ride with a friend of mine who drives a plow through the canyon.”
Impulsive and focused. That was Wynona. She wanted something, so she went after it, however she could figure it out.
He turned to his friend. “Anything new on the situation at Andie’s place?”
“The power won’t be back on until tomorrow afternoon, I’m afraid, and that’s with crews working around the clock. With that wind and sleet, we’ve got over five hundred people in Haven Point alone without power, including two entire downtown blocks.”
“Oh no!” Andie exclaimed. “What terrible timing, the last few shopping days before Christmas.”
“Apparently the representative from the power company told McKenzie that fixing the outages that impact multiple families is the first priority, then downtown businesses. You’re a ways down on the list, I’m afraid.”
“I understand. Thank you for letting me know.”
“I also talked to your landlord. Gerald said he would have a crew out later today to work on cutting the tree that fell, so you can at least get your car out.”
“But even so, we can’t go back home without power and heat.”
“Does that mean we get to stay with Sheriff Marshall another day?” Will asked.
“You can stay as long as you need to,” he promised. “Even if it’s after Christmas before your house gets fixed, you’re welcome here.”
“Thanks! It would be cold if we really had to sleep in the streets.”
Will grinned and gave one of those quick, impulsive hugs Marshall had figured out were the kid’s specialty, the ones that never failed to make him smile.
When Will climbed down, Marshall happened to catch his sister’s gaze and found Wyn watching them with a baffled look.
What? Hadn’t she ever seen him interact with kids before?
“I still hate to put you to so much trouble,” Andie fretted. “I’m sure I could find a hotel room in Shelter Springs. You need to focus your attention on healing, not on entertaining a houseful of guests and pets.”
“Yes, it’s a real hardship, being forced to endure having someone around to put on a fresh pot of coffee and make me breakfast.”
He smiled at Chloe’s infectious giggle.
“Let’s not argue about this again, okay? You’re more than welcome to stay here. I insist on it. It’s the most convenient option and this way I don’t have to worry about you being on the snowy roads between here and Shelter Springs.”
He almost wished they indeed could stay through the holidays.
Okay, where did that come from? He was supposed to be keeping her at a distance, not finding more excuses to spend more time with the Montgomerys. He shouldn’t be imagining Christmas Eve around the fire with the kids in their pajamas, reading holiday stories and eating cookies and bouncing off the walls with excitement.
“Hey, since I had to ditch my car at the road department lot to catch a ride with the plow, I’m in need of wheels for a couple days,” Wyn said. “Can I borrow your truck, since you’re not using it?”
Wyn could outdrive most of his deputies, as she’d proved at the last high-speed chase training, when she was still Cade’s number one officer. She was an excellent driver and he could see no reason to refuse.
“The keys are hanging by the front door.” He paused for just a beat and had to add, “Just don’t scratch it.”
She finished the rest of the refrain along with him. “Or bring it home with an empty gas tank,” they both said in unison, and Wyn laughed.