Jessica's Cowboy Daddy

by Melinda Barron

  “Thank you.” That reminded her Hawk was the most loving, generous man she’d ever known. She could trust him, and that thrilled her to no end.

  “Good. Now I want to eat more before the pizza gets colder.” He refilled his plate and went back to the living room.

  Jessica ran her hand over the cover of the composition book. It was purple, her favorite color. It made her smile that he knew that. She took it into her bedroom, then came back to the kitchen, added a slice of pizza and a few breadsticks to her plate, then went into the living room.

  “We need some ranch dressing for these breadsticks,” she said after she took a bite of one.

  “You know where it is,” he said. She went back to the kitchen, filled a bowl with the dressing, then sat down next to him. She picked up a breadstick and had just started to dunk it when he pulled it away from her and dunked his own.

  “Hey!” She reached for the bowl but he held it out of her reach.

  “Mine,” he said.

  “Share!” She reached for it again, and couldn’t help but giggle when he held it out of her reach.

  “Say please.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and Jessica laughed.

  “Please, Daddy, may I have the dressing?”

  “Wow, that was as weak as last week’s tea.”

  She was tempted to crawl over his lap and grab the bowl, but that would probably end in a mess of ranch dressing on the floor. It was obvious what he wanted, but she didn’t like to beg, even in Daddy/Little time.

  But she could be bratty.

  “Give it to me now.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me,” she said. “I. Want. The. Dressing.”

  “Do you?” He leaned over and put the bowl on the end table. “Then go and get it.”

  She had pushed him too far, she could tell. There was an edge to his voice that told her this would end in a spanking, but not one that would end in good sex. Damn it. She had two choices. She could spring herself across his lap and grab the bowl, or could get up and go around the coffee table. There were good and bad reasons to follow one way or the other, and she wasn’t exactly sure where to go.

  So she took the bull by the horns and launched herself over his lap, even though he had a plate full of pizza and breadsticks on his lap. She heard the plate crack as she landed, and she winced. Her knee landed on his thigh as she tried to crawl toward the bowl.

  He slapped her ass and she cried out. The plate crunched again, and a sharp pain sliced through her thigh.

  “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”

  He must have recognized the tone of her voice because he lifted her as if she were a feather and put her on her feet. A small sliver of plate stuck out of her bare leg, right below the hem of the pajamas she wore.

  “Oh crap.” There was blood, but not a lot of it. He jumped up and pushed her down on the sofa before he dropped to her knees. “It’s not bad. Maybe I should call Kyle.”

  “He’s a vet!” Her voice was much louder than she thought it should be. She reached for the piece of plate and he grabbed her hand.

  “Don’t.” He stared at her in concern. “We have no idea how deep it is, or if it’s cut a vein. There’s just a little bit of blood, but if we pull it out it could get worse. Stay where you are; I’m calling Kyle.”

  “Okay.” Her leg throbbed a little, not enough for her to think there was a lot of damage from the plate, but enough for her to not argue with him anymore. As Hawk spoke on the phone a thought occurred to her. What if it wasn’t just Kyle and Reed?

  “They’re on their way,” he said.

  Visions of all six Coleman brothers, plus Holt’s future wife Aurora, filling her living room made her shiver. And then she said, “They’re going to see me in my pajamas.”

  “Stay there.” Hawk went into her bedroom and came back with her robe.

  “I’d rather a shirt and bra,” she said.

  “And I’d rather you not move around so much.” He sat down next to her. “Relax.”

  “You don’t have a shard of crockery sticking out of your leg.”

  He squeezed her hand, and she focused on the TV. Her leg throbbed, and she wondered if he was right, if the shard was deeper than she thought. What if blood squirted out when they removed it? She didn’t care for the sight of blood.

  “Relax,” Hawk said. “I’m here.”

  “Thank God,” she said. “It looks small, but it scares me.”

  “We’re here,” Reed called out. She looked up to see him and Kyle come into the room. She was glad they hadn’t brought the third triplet, Wyatt, with them. They both had a black bag in their hand.

  “Punishment with broken plates?” Kyle called. “That’s a new one.”

  Jessica blushed and looked away.

  “Cut it out,” Hawk said. “Take a look, see if we should go to the emergency room or not.”

  Kyle pushed his way past Hawk. “Back up, dork and let the professionals through.”

  The two veterinarians knelt, one on each side of her. They took her pulse, probed around the wound, and then Reed cleared his throat.

  “It’s in deeper than it looks, but not too deep,” he said. “I don’t think it’s nicked any major body part. What do you think, Kyle?”

  “I think we can take it out and if it bleeds too much we’ll go to plan B.”

  “What is that?” Jessica asked.

  “The emergency room,” Kyle said, just as a sharp pain spread through her thigh. Reed had pulled it out while she’d been talking to Kyle. She looked down at the sharp piece of crockery Reed held in his hand. It was sharp and covered in blood.

  She gasped, and then promptly fainted.

  When she woke she was in bed, with Hawk next to her. She pushed up on her elbow and looked down at her thigh. It didn’t hurt, but it was wrapped in a gauze bandage.

  “It’s not even four,” Hawk said. “Go back to sleep.”

  “What happened?”

  “It was a little deeper than they thought,” Hawk said, sleepily. “They took advantage of you being unconscious to clean it, then gave you four stitches. They also gave you a shot of antibiotics to ward off a possible infection, since there was food on the plate when it broke.”

  “They had antibiotics they can use on a human?”

  “I didn’t ask, but I trust them, implicitly.”

  “I don’t do well around blood,” Jessica said. She lay her head against Hawk’s chest, since he hadn’t moved from the bed. He was still flat on his back.

  “I noticed,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you bleed.”

  “Hopefully, you won’t see it much.” She snuggled against him. “I sort of ruined Little night, didn’t I?”

  “We’ll try tomorrow.” He wrapped her in his arms and she felt warm and cared for.

  “Tomorrow is Friday,” she said. “Are you coming to the cake testing?”

  “Nope,” he said. “It’s just Holt and Aurora.”

  “So we’ll do it again tomorrow?” she asked. They didn’t have a set time for Little play. It just sort of came as it may.”

  “Sounds like fun,” he said. “How about burgers and fries… and paper plates?”

  Jessica playfully swatted at his arm. He held her close, and when she heard his even breathing she knew he’d fallen asleep. She was always up early to get to the bakery by six so she could pull dough out of the refrigerator after she’d taken it out of the freezer before she left the day before.

  She tenderly pulled herself away from him and stood. Hawk slept through her movement. Once in the living room she realized he’d cleaned up. The empty pizza boxes were in the trash. Sitting on the table was the composition book he’d brought her. Jessica picked it up and flipped through the pages. Then she found a pen, sat down at the table, and started to write.

  Chapter 6

  At ten minutes to four on Friday, Jessica started setting out the cakes for the tasting. Business was always slow at this t
ime, since many of Bookman Springs citizens headed to larger towns to eat dinner and enjoy their Friday evenings. The Coleman brothers had set up a barbecue for this evening. Austin was doing ribs and steaks, and while there was a lull in business today, Jessica had made a huge tub of potato salad. She was going to make the coleslaw after the cake testing.

  She had just put out the chocolate cream cake when the front door opened. Since she had her back to it she didn’t see who it was, but she kept her sigh of frustration inside her. “We have a few cookies left, but not much else.” She turned to see Ranger Willis standing there, hat in hand.

  “Ms. Barker, how are you today?”

  The use of a formal title didn’t bode well for her.

  “Ranger Willis.” She took a few steps forward and limped a bit. Her leg ached just a little. Seeing him made her insides hurt, too. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t suspect her of hurting Matilda Dobbs.

  “Did you hurt yourself? I didn’t notice that limp on Wednesday.”

  “Just a little cut,” she said. “Can I get you some coffee? I’m afraid it’s a little stale this late in the day. I do have soft drinks, though. Or water.”

  “Water would be nice.” He surveyed the room and walked over to where she’d set up two tables with the cakes. “Are you having a party?”

  “Cake tasting,” she said. “Hawk’s brother is getting married, and I’ve been hired to make the cakes.”

  “Sounds delicious.” He took a seat at an empty table and set his hat down. She handed him the water and moved back to the cakes. “Don’t let me interrupt. I just wanted to chat for a moment.”

  “About what?” she moved behind the counter and brought out more plates.

  “Right now I’d like to know how you hurt your leg.”

  The suspicion in his voice made her heart race.

  “Hawk and I were horsing around last night, and I fell and landed on a plate that was on his lap.” That sounded so much better than saying, I was being a brat for my Daddy and I broke a plate.”

  “Did you need stitches?”

  “Four, from what I hear,” she said. “Two of Hawk’s brothers came over. They’re vets. Cheaper than going to the emergency room. I owe them free donuts for a month.”

  The ranger chuckled. “Interesting. You don’t know how many stitches they gave you?”

  “I fainted at the sight of the blood. I don’t do blood.”

  “Good to know.” He rolled his bottle of water between his hands.

  Jessica turned toward the cakes, then whirled back around. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here.”

  “Fair enough.” He opened his water and took a big swig. “Grant Dobbs tells me you hated his mother since the day the two of you met.”

  “Hate is a very strong word.” Jessica went back behind the counter, poured herself a diet soda, then sat down across from the ranger. “Matilda Dobbs let me know from the first day I met her that I wasn’t good enough for her son.”

  It didn’t surprise her that Grant was trying to make her look bad. He hadn’t taken their break-up well.

  “How long were you engaged?” Willis asked.

  “About four months,” she said. “We met in Dallas, at a bar. He lived in Bringham where he was expected to take over the family business.”

  “And you lived in Dallas?”

  “I worked at a bakery on Harry Hines,” she said. “I wanted to own my own bakery, and I thought Bringham could use one. But every banker there turned me down for a loan. I found out later that Mrs. Dobbs was blacklisting me. She told them if they helped me she would make sure their banks failed. People are scared of her.”

  “I got that impression,” Willis said. “He took another drink of water. Grant tells me you never returned the ring to him.”

  “He’s lying,” she said. “I swear it.”

  Willis stared at her for a moment, then he said, “There’s something fishy about him. The first thing he did was throw you under the bus. That makes me suspicious.”

  That made her feel better about life. “He’s such a mama’s boy that I can’t see him doing anything to harm her.”

  “Or maybe he did something to harm her to get out from under her thumb,” Willis said.

  The door opened and Hawk came in. “Health inspector,” he announced with a laugh. “Ranger Willis. I thought that was your truck.” The ranger stood up and the two men shook hands

  “Checking up on her?” Willis asked.

  “I trust her with my life,” Hawk said. “I’m really here to harass my brother while he eats cake.” He winked at Jessica. “He said to tell you they’ll be about ten minutes late.

  “Okay.” She indicated the table. “Sit and I’ll bring you a soft drink.”

  Hawk sat down, and Jessica went behind the counter. She felt better with Hawk here, as always.

  “Have you found the missing woman?” Hawk asked.

  “Not even a trace of her,” Willis replied. “Her son keeps pushing me toward Jessica.” He turned to her as she put Hawk’s drink on the table. “You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?”

  “Not at all.” She sat down next to Hawk, who turned toward her and gave her a peck on the lips.

  “Tell me, Jessica, did you live with Grant on the family compound, that huge place outside Bringham?”

  “No.” Jessica grasped Hawk’s hand. They had never talked about their previous lovers, and she didn’t really want him to learn about it while she was being interrogated about the disappearance of her former lover’s mother. “Mrs. Dobbs said it would be unseemly for us to live together. She got angry if he was not home by midnight.”

  “Another piece of the puzzle,” Willis said. “Funny he never mentioned that to me. You may not have lived there, but you spent a lot of time there, didn’t you?”

  “Some, yes,” she said. “It’s an enormous spread.”

  “True.” Willis drummed his fingers on the table. “Do you know anyplace Grant Dobbs might hide his mother’s body?”

  Jessica felt the color drain from her face. “Oh my God. You don’t think… oh my God.”

  “Do you?” Willis asked.

  Jessica shook her head. “I never really made it past the house. I know there are old houses a few miles from the house, where their ancestors lived. Mrs. Dobbs said they needed to be kept for historical reasons, but Grant told me she never did any upkeep on them. He said they were all falling down. There’s two or three of them. I’m not sure exactly where.”

  Willis took a notebook from his pocket and jotted something down. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and the door opened. Holt and Aurora walked in, holding hands and laughing.

  “Smells good in here,” Holt said, then he stopped in his tracks. “Are we interrupting something?”

  Hawk made introductions, and Aurora hurried over to the table. “This looks so good.” She turned back to them. “Hi, Ranger Willis. Nice to meet you.”

  “You, too, ma’am,” Willis said. He was on his feet now. “I’m interrupting. Jessica, can we talk later?”

  “Come to the house for dinner,” Holt said. “We’ve got enough barbecue to feed an army, brisket, ribs, and sausage. It’s at seven.”

  “Well I don’t mind if I do,” Willis said. “I never turn down barbeque. Hawk, can I talk to you outside for a minute?”

  The two lawmen left, and Holt turned to her. “Something new happen?”

  “He suspects Grant,” she said. “They still haven’t found her.”

  “That’s awful,” Aurora said.

  Jessica clapped her hands together. “Well, let’s eat cake!”

  She kept one eye on the window, where Hawk and Willis stood talking, while she talked up the different cakes she’d made. In the end Holt and Aurora selected the Italian wedding cake for the main table, and a red velvet cake for the groom’s table. Jessica wrote out an order and couldn’t help but wonder what Hawk and Willis were talking about for so long.

  “I’m go
ing to take the leftovers to the house tonight,” she said. “I’m sure they will be gobbled up.”

  “I’m sure,” Aurora said. “By the way, you’re not limping as badly as I thought you would be. Kyle made it sound like they saved your life last night.”

  Jessica’s hands flew to her face and she groaned. “Does everyone know?” This was so embarrassing. It would have been better to go to the emergency room and pay a doctor rather than have the Coleman brothers talk about it with their family.

  “Yup,” Holt said.

  “I’m going to slap them both silly,” she said.

  Holt chuckled. “The vets aren’t the ones spreading the story. It was the man you slept with last night.”

  “That little jerk.” She stormed to the door and threw it open. “You told all your brothers how I cut my leg?”

  “Was I not supposed to?” Hawk pointed to Willis. “You told a Texas Ranger, and you barely know him. I’ve known my brothers all my life.”

  “You jerk!” She let the door go, and wished she’d slammed it as it slowly closed on its own.

  There was enough time for Holt to call out, “Looks like you might be sleeping on the couch tonight.”

  She heard the lawmen laughing as the door shut.

  “Let me get that for you.” Austin, the youngest of the Coleman brothers, grabbed the box of cake out of the back of her SUV before Jessica could lift it. He was the one who buzzed her through the gate, which meant he’d been waiting at the door for her as she parked.

  Because of the abused women whom the brothers sheltered on the ranch, the gate was always kept closed. There were strict instructions to anyone who arrived to drive through, and make sure it was closed behind them before they drove down to the house. The sign at the front of the ranch proclaimed it to be “The Rescue Ranch,” with words below that announced, “Where horses can reclaim their lives.” It said nothing about the ladies who sheltered here.

  “Thank you, Austin,” she said, just as Hawk parked beside her.

  Hawk rushed to her side and said, “I can get that.”

  “Got it already,” Austin said as he hurried toward the house.