Close To Danger (Westen #4)(41)
Lexie shook her head. “They were too pretty.”
“They are very pretty,” Dan said, staring into her eyes with all the honesty he believed a five-year-old could handle. “Here’s the thing, Lexie. It’s so cold outside, that if we don’t keep your fingers and toes warm, well, it could be really bad.”
She just stared right back at him.
God, he didn’t want to scare her. “I’m thinking this would be a perfect day for you to wear these beautiful pink socks. We’ll put one pair on your feet and cover it with some of your other socks. The more we put on the warmer your toes will be. And then this pair,” he held up one of the pink socks, “we’ll put on your hands as warm mittens.”
She grinned at him, a one-missing-tooth grin that hit him smack in the middle of his chest. “Mittens without thumb holes.”
“That’s right,” he said as he pulled back the covers to see her little feet in holey socks. Her toes weren’t too cool to his touch. He rubbed his hands together to create some friction heat, then put them on her feet.
Lexie giggled. “Your hands got hot.”
“Yes, they did, didn’t they? My dad taught me that when I was little.”
“I don’t got a daddy.”
Of course she didn’t. He wasn’t surprised and tamped more of the anger building inside. Such a sweet little girl needed parents to protect her.
Holding her feet for a moment, he let his body heat warm them, then slipped the thick pink socks on each one, adding two pair of white socks on top just to add insulation and padding. He wasn’t even going to bother with the damn shoes.
By the time he’d finished bundling up her feet, Cleetus had returned from his search of the house. Dan looked at him, the other deputy shook his head. No sign of Lexie’s mother. Well, at least they wouldn’t have to deal with a dead body in this disaster of a home.
“We’re going to bundle her up in one or two of the quilts for the trip out to our trucks,” he said to Cleetus. “I don’t know how I’m going to carry her on the snowmobile to the truck.”
“Not a problem,” Cleetus said. “I’ve got that covered.”
Daniel wanted to ask him what he was talking about, but he needed to get Lexie out of the house and to someplace warm more than he needed to quiz Cleetus. He’d just trust the big guy.
Focused on his job, he pulled several of the quilts off the bed and wrapped them around Lexie’s back, leaving some to drape up over her head. “Since your shoes aren’t going to fit over all these socks, I’m going to have to carry you, if that’s okay with you?” He wanted her permission to carry her, and he wanted her to know anyone touching her should have to get her permission first.
She nodded and finished off the last of the chocolate. “You better put this back on.”
“Yes, I should.” He handed the cup and thermos back to Cleetus.
“Thank you, Lexie,” Cleetus said. “Miss Lorna would be pretty mad at me if I didn’t bring her back her thermos just the way she gave it to me.”
“Anything you want to take with you?” Daniel asked.
Lexie turned and dug under the covers, coming out with a teddy bear that looked ten times older than her. “Just Mr. Bear.”
“Okay, time for your thumb-less mittens.” Daniel helped her get her hands in the socks, then gave her the teddy bear to hold. “Hold Mr. Bear right up against your chest. That way he can keep warm between you and me.”
She did as he instructed. Tucking the quilts around her legs, and back, he gathered her up against him and headed to the front the door. Outside stood Cleetus and Thomas Yoder. Behind them, next to the snowmobiles was the wagon, horses and Thomas’ eldest son, Joseph.
“We can carry her in the wagon with us to your trucks, Deputy,” Thomas said as Cleetus closed up the house and left a note on the door for Rosie to contact the Sheriff’s Department for information about Lexie.
“Appreciate it, Mr. Yoder,” Daniel said. Flipping the blanket up over Lexie’s head, he stomped through the snow to the wagon then settled her snuggly between the two men. Thomas settled another thick wool blanket on Lexie and clicked the reins for the horses to start back down the drive area toward where the road should be. Daniel climbed on his snowmobile and headed around them wanting to get the truck warm for when Lexie arrived.
He also wanted to call Lorna over at the café and make sure they had some soup and grilled cheese for the little girl. He doubted Lexie had many people keep their promises to her in her young life. He’d be damned if he’d be one of them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The snowball hit Chloe smack in the middle of her butt. She dropped the shovel and came up screaming.
“Ahh. I can’t believe you did that!” She shook off the snow and ducked behind the SUV.
Grinning, Wes slipped behind the oak tree and scooped up snow to rearm himself. For the past half hour they’d been working in tandem to get a path dug to and around the vehicle. They’d also made a path between the trees down to the turn in from the road. Most of her pent-up anger expended in all the physical activity, she’d stopped to clean off the SUV, her ass wiggling to some tune playing in her head. The target was just too tempting.
“You chose the wrong girl to pick on!” she yelled, just as a snowball splatted into the side of the tree level where his head had just been.