Close To Danger (Westen #4)(40)

A faint sound came from northeast of the house. The motor of a snowmobile. Cleetus was on his way. Not waiting for the big man, Daniel tried the knob again. Still locked. He took a step back, turned slightly then rammed his left shoulder into the door. The wood around the jamb was old and splintered under the force of his weight. The door slammed back against the wall.

He shook off the snow and stamped his feet out of habit, then hurried through the clutter and debris straight back to Lexie’s room. Careful not to scare her, he slowly opened her door. “Lexie, it’s Deputy Dan again. Remember me? I helped at the school safety program in the fall.” Thank God, he had, maybe she’d remember him.

He moved further into the only clean place in the house. “Lexie, honey can you hear me?”

Slowly, like a little bear coming out of hibernation, she moved the covers down off her head. Her lips trembled and her body shook. She appeared to be about five or six. “Where’s…mama? Did…she…bring…you?” she said between shivers.

“Your mama’s not with me, sweetie,” he said, coming over to squat in front of the bed.

Removing his glove from one hand, he stroked her head and her cheek. Her skin was cold. Gripping her hand in his, he warmed her little fingers with his body heat. He prayed she hadn’t gotten frostbite.

“When was the last time you saw your mama?” he asked, counting the blankets on the bed. There were five quilts piled on top of her. Smart girl.

“Before the snow started falling,” she whispered, her eyes going past him and growing bigger, if that was possible.

Glancing over his shoulder he saw Cleetus filling the doorway, and holding his thermos. He looked back at Lexie. “That’s my friend, Deputy Cleetus. He’s here to help, too. Would you like to go someplace warm for a while? At least until we can find your mama?”

The frightened child glanced from him to Cleetus, who gave her his best nice-guy smile, then back again. She nodded.

“Okay. It’s awful cold outside. Do you have a coat?”

She nodded, then gave him a half smile. “I wore it to bed last night.”

“That was a very smart thing to do,” he said, scooting back as she sat up. “Would you like some hot chocolate? Cleetus has some in the thermos.”

She nodded.

Cleetus handed it to him then leaned in close to whisper so only he could hear. “I’ll check the rest of the house.”

Daniel nodded.

They both knew what he was looking for—either her mother injured or worse in the basement. Daniel wasn’t sure which he preferred the big man find. Instead of contemplating the idea that the child’s mother was dead or had abandoned her in a blizzard, he focused on pouring some hot chocolate into the mug. He held it steady as Lexie wrapped her hands around the thermos cup and sipped the now warm, but not scalding hot liquid.

“Pretty good, huh?” he asked and was rewarded with a smile. “That’s Miss Lorna’s special hot chocolate for brave girls. She sent it especially for you.”

“Miss Lorna with the yellow hair at the Peaches ’N Cream?”

Daniel nodded, not surprised that the café owner made an impression on the little girl. Lorna had a way with children, teens and adults. “That’s the one. What’s your favorite thing to eat at the café?”

“Ice cream,” she said then drank more of the chocolate.

Daniel smiled. “But maybe not on a cold day like today, huh?”

She nodded.

“What would you like to eat today?”

The tiny little brunette twisted her mouth and stared up in the corner of her room as if giving the question great consideration. “I like grilled cheese.”

“Me, too. And I like tomato soup with mine,” he said, looking around and finding her tennis shoes on the floor. His heart broke more and his ire grew when he saw their battered, holey appearance. How could a mother not provide the barest of necessity for her child? He doubted she’d even considered the kid might need boots for the cold Midwestern winters.

When he turned back to her, Lexie had drawn her brows together and studied him over the brim of her almost empty cup of hot chocolate.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What’s tomato soup?”

“You’ve never had tomato soup?” he asked, actually surprised. It had been a staple of his childhood, especially in winter.

She shook her head.

“Oh, man, it’s the best stuff, especially with grilled cheese. I bet Miss Lorna has some over at the Peaches ’N Cream. Would you like to have some when we get there?”

“If I can have grilled cheese, too.”

“Well,” he said standing and walking to her dresser. “The first thing we have to do is get you out of this house. Problem is, it’s really cold outside.” He tugged open her top drawer and found several pairs of thin, holey white socks. Tucked in behind them was two pairs of pink hand knitted socks that appeared to never have been used. He gathered them and some of the less flimsy ones, an idea forming in his head.

“My nana gave me those,” Lexie said when he came back to kneel in front of her.

“Have you ever worn them?” he asked as he poured some more hot chocolate in the cup. She was so skinny, the milk and chocolate would be just as good for her as the warmth of the liquid.