Despite his desire not to hurt her, he saw pain flash in her eyes. “I’m worried about you. You have a new life now. Don’t let her pull you away from it.”
“She won’t.”
She locked eyes with him. “This is me you’re talking to, Zeke. I know how difficult it was getting over her.”
He had shared that. He’d been in a dark place over Kellyanne’s rejection and determined to make a change in his life. He’d shared that with Mandy and the group of friends he’d made at church. It was no wonder they were questioning how he was helping Kellyanne now.
“This has nothing to do with that, Mandy. She’s Josh’s sister, and I’m a cop. I have a responsibility to help her.”
“You need to be careful. This isn’t about jealousy. I’m concerned. We all are after hearing what Joanne had to say. Do you want to go back to how things were before?”
No, he didn’t want that. He wanted to move forward, to build a better life. The one he’d been on track to having before he’d gone to see Kelly in Austin.
Mandy’s eyes widened as she glanced behind him. He turned and saw Kellyanne standing in the doorway.
She held up her phone. “We need to get back. Mama says the baby is getting fussy.”
Irritation burned him, knowing that Kellyanne was showing her jealousy, marking her territory. Well, he wasn’t anyone’s territory. She was threatened at losing something she didn’t even want. Mandy was right. He needed to do a better job of protecting his heart. Just moments earlier, he’d been imagining a future on this ranch with Kelly.
He steeled himself. No more.
“We have to go.” He stepped back inside, grabbed his gun and his bag, then locked the door and headed for the car.
Mandy glared at Kellyanne for several moments before walking back to her car, sliding inside and starting the engine.
He didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He did care about her and was thankful for her friendship, but he couldn’t ignore the threat against Kellyanne. He couldn’t believe God would want him too either.
She rolled down her window for one last question. “Will I see you in church on Sunday?”
He sighed, again frustrated. He’d tried to make attending a priority, but lately, things kept getting in the way—his job and the crazy shifts he worked, the conference, now this. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.” That decision was still a few days away. This could all have blown over by then, and he wouldn’t have to choose.
Her face was drawn as she put the car into gear and drove away. She would report their conversation to the rest of their group of friends, and he expected to receive several more concerned messages from them. He didn’t want to push aside their concerns, but his priority right now was caring for Kelly and Brady. They had to be his number one priority until the threat was taken care of.
He turned to Kelly and sighed, then he motioned for her to get into the car. She did, and he headed back toward Silver Star.
Maybe he could convince her to attend services with him. He shook his head. He had to watch where his mind went. Kellyanne wasn’t interested in religion. He was getting ahead of himself, just as Mandy had warned him about.
Being around Kellyanne was dangerous to his heart and to the new life he was trying to lead. They were just headed in different directions.
FIVE
Kellyanne remained silent on the drive back home. She’d been stunned to see another woman show up at Zeke’s house. She’d never allowed herself to think that he might be interested in another woman. And she didn’t like the green-eyed monster that took root in her.
Zeke was free to date anyone he wanted. She had no ties over him...and never would once he discovered about the pregnancy and how she’d kept it from him.
When they arrived back at Silver Star, she jumped from the car and hurried into the house. Her mother was rocking Brady, and the baby was crying but it wasn’t a cry she recognized. Had she traumatized him by leaving him with people he didn’t know? He’d already lost his mother. Her heart broke at the thought that he might be afraid she’d left him too.
“He won’t settle down,” Bree told her. “Your mom and I have tried everything.”
“I think he probably just missed you,” her mom said, transferring Brady into her arms. “You’re the only stable thing he knows since his mom is gone.”
Her thoughts again landed on Lisa and finding her the way she had. Brady would never know what a wonderful person she had been and how much she had loved him. Usually, she could get Brady to calm right down, but he continued to fuss and cry.
Her mother put her arm around her shoulder, and Kelly fought to hold back irrational tears as the thought of losing Zeke to someone else pressed against her. “Honey, you have to settle down. He can feel what you feel. If you’re upset, he’ll be too.”
“I’ll be fine,” she told them both. “I’ll take him upstairs and see if I can get him to sleep.”
She hurried upstairs and closed herself in her room. She held Brady and tried to comfort him, but it was difficult when she was so upset. It didn’t make any sense to her. She didn’t want a life here in Courtland with Zeke. She didn’t own him, and she’d been away for so long that it didn’t make any sense for her to think she had any sway over him.
But it still hurt to think he might have moved on from her.
She did her best to push away all thoughts of Zeke and the incident with that Mandy woman. She had to concentrate on Brady now. He needed her.
She rocked him and sang to him until he finally settled down. She placed him in the portable crib, but he slept fitfully, and she heard him sniffle and cough. When she checked on him later, he was flushed and warm. No wonder he was so fussy. She took his temperature and discovered it was high. Brady was sick and needed to see a doctor.
She hurried downstairs and found Zeke talking with her dad. “The baby’s sick. We need to get him to the hospital.”
Her mother stepped in from the next room, obviously having overhead Kellyanne. “What’s the matter with him?” She hurried upstairs with Kelly to check him out. She felt his forehead and smiled. “Honey, it’s just a little sniffle. He’ll be fine. Just give him some Tylenol to bring that fever down.”
Kellyanne bit her lip, unsure. “I would feel better having him checked out by a doctor.”
“I’ve raised six kids. I know how to treat a baby’s fever. All new mothers overreact the first time a baby gets a little temperature. Trust me, I know.”
Her mother was probably right, but she didn’t want to take any chances with Brady. Maybe if she’d gone to the doctor earlier, her own child would be here now.
She turned to Zeke, who was standing in the doorway to her bedroom, having followed them upstairs. “Please, will you drive us to the ER?”
She hoped he wouldn’t dismiss her concerns the way her mother had. She’d acted foolish and jealous earlier, but surely he wouldn’t hold that against her, not when Brady needed him.
He didn’t hesitate. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Her mother sighed. “All that’s going to happen is you’re going to waste hours in the emergency room.”
“Well, it’s my time to waste, Mama. I just want to be sure.”
She bundled up Brady and met Zeke outside. He buckled Brady into the car seat, slid into the car and started the engine.
It felt good to have him on her side. It wasn’t a competition, but her mother’s comments had made her doubt herself. She should listen to her, but her instincts were telling her to do something else.
Don’t listen to your instincts, Kelly. They’ve led you wrong before.
Remember the baby? You don’t know how to care for a child? Listen to those who do.
She pushed those thoughts away. What harm was there in having a doctor examine Brady? Her mother might think she was overreacting, and may
be she was, but she felt better having made the decision to go to the ER.
Zeke reached across the seat and squeezed her hand. “You made the right choice.”
She checked on Brady. Zeke was right. His coloring was off and heat radiated from his body. He needed a doctor and maybe an antibiotic.
They raced into the ER, and thankfully, it was a slow night. After only a short wait, the nurse came in and checked him out. “He doesn’t seem too bad. Maybe he’s a little dehydrated, but that’s normal with babies his age. Is he up-to-date on his vaccinations?”
Kellyanne glanced at Zeke, realizing she had no idea how to answer that question. “I—I’m not sure. I just got him. His mother died a few days ago and I became his guardian.”
“Well, he needs to be checked out by a pediatrician.” She picked up a chart. “The doctor will be in to see you soon.”
She walked out, and Zeke stepped behind her, placing his hands reassuringly on her shoulders. She touched his hands, thankful he was here with her. She glanced at Brady still fussy but trying to sleep. “He’s so little, Zeke. How can someone so little have so many problems?”
“He’s got you, Kelly. That’s one thing in his favor.”
She turned and dug her face into his chest. After a brief moment of hesitation, he put his arms around her.
“He has you, too, Zeke. He may not be old enough to know to be thankful for all you’ve done for us, but I am, and I’m thankful.”
She was still in his embrace when the door opened and the doctor stepped into the room. Zeke pulled away from her, and she moved to the bed as the doctor examined Brady and diagnosed a viral upper respiratory infection. He assured her that antibiotics weren’t necessary and that Infants’ Tylenol should bring his fever down.
“Thank you,” Kellyanne told him, grateful for his advice. Her mother would surely notice that it was the same thing she’d told Kellyanne before she left, but she didn’t care. She felt better knowing she’d done all she could to make certain he was okay.
The nurse returned and administered the medicine to Brady. “That should make him feel better soon. The doctor says I can go ahead and start on the discharge paperwork. It shouldn’t take too long.”
“Thank you.”
After she left, Zeke pulled two chairs close to the bed, and Kellyanne sat down. She leaned across the bed and covered Brady’s hand with hers as he slept. He looked so little and fragile as he struggled to breathe easily, and her heart broke that Lisa wasn’t here to comfort him. She’d been such a good mother and had never seemed to doubt herself the way Kellyanne did.
Zeke’s hand found hers, and when she looked at him, she saw awe and concern in his expression. “He’s so little,” he whispered. “So helpless.”
“It not fair that he has to grow up without a mother,” Kellyanne stated. “It’s so unfair.”
“Yes, it is.” He let out a weary sigh, and Kellyanne remembered Brady wasn’t the only one who had lost his mother.
“You two have that in common,” she told him.
“And more.”
If they were right that Brady’s father had killed Lisa, then he and Zeke definitely had similar origin stories.
His face was grim. “I wish we didn’t. At least he has the opportunity to be raised by another mother who loves him.”
He was speaking about her. Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away. “I—I can’t.”
He reached for her hand and gripped it. “Kelly, you would be a wonderful mother to Brady. It’s obvious how much you care for him.”
She did. She’d loved this little boy since the first moment she’d seen him. She’d helped Lisa rock him and care for him since day one, but she could never be a mother to him after how she’d failed her own child.
Zeke didn’t know. He couldn’t know what a truly terrible mother she actually was.
He pulled his hand away, stood and stretched. “Why don’t I go find us some coffee or hit up the vending machine?”
Food sounded good, and she nodded, glad he was making an excuse to leave the room so she could have a few moments to pull herself together.
“I’ll be right back.”
She was so thankful he was here with her. She couldn’t have endured all this without Zeke by her side, but allowing him to get this close was dangerous to her heart.
The door opened again, and, at first, she thought Zeke must have forgotten something or the nurse had returned with their paperwork. She wiped her face, trying to gather herself together. She didn’t look up for several moments, and when she did, she caught only a glimpse of the man standing beside her before he slammed something at her.
She fell off the chair and hit the floor, pain ripping through her head. Her vision blurred, but she fought losing consciousness long enough to see the man scoop up the baby and rush from the hospital room.
* * *
Zeke rounded the corner from the vending machine and saw a figure dart out of the exam room where Kellyanne and Brady were. A chill rushed through him as he dropped his newly acquired items and pushed through the door.
The bed was empty, and Kelly was sprawled on the floor. He rushed to her and turned her over. She was breathing, but a gash on her head was bleeding. He pressed the call button and took off after the man who’d grabbed Brady.
She would want him to chase the man even though it meant leaving her. Brady was in danger, snatched by a stranger, and he wasn’t going to allow the man to get away with him. He spotted the closing of a side door and rushed through it, close on the kidnapper’s heels. Brady was crying as the man ran, and that helped Zeke keep up with his location.
Good job, Brady. Keep it up so I don’t lose you.
He ran from the front of the hospital and saw the man. He didn’t want to draw his weapon and get into a gunfight with Brady in the mix, so he chased after them on foot. He caught up with the man and grabbed the back of his jacket with one hand and snatched Brady from his arms with the other. The man stumbled but kept going and Zeke didn’t pursue him. His first priority was Brady. He glanced down at the baby, who seemed unhurt. He was probably merely frightened by the abduction attempt.
The squeal of tires alerted him to a car screeching to a stop in front of them. The kidnapper jumped into the car, and it took off and disappeared out of the parking lot, taillights shining in the night. Zeke couldn’t catch up to the car on foot and by the time he reached his truck, they would be long gone, but he did manage to grab the license plate number.
Zeke tried to soothe Brady as his face scrunched up and he delivered loud, hitching gasps.
“It’s okay, little man,” Zeke whispered, gently tapping his back to help settle him. Brady was his main concern, and he needed to get him back inside and checked out, and he needed to make certain Kellyanne was okay. Plus, he needed to phone Josh and update him on what had just happened.
This man had brazenly come into the hospital and snatched Brady. How had they known to find Kellyanne and Brady here? How could they have possibly known that Brady would get sick and need to go to the ER? Only one explanation made sense. They had to have been watching them, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
He pulled out his cell phone to call Josh. He needed to know about this attack, and Zeke would let him attend to the police matters while he went and tended to Kellyanne and Brady. They were targets, and he should have known better than to leave them alone even for a few moments. It was a mistake he wouldn’t be making again.
He returned inside. When he walked back into the examination room, Kellyanne was sitting on the bed having the gash on her head tended to by the nurse. They both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him. Kellyanne jumped up and reached out her arms for Brady.
He gladly handed him over, happy to see them reunited and thankful the men had not gotten away with the child. Brady seemed to calm down once back in her arm
s, proof of the bond they’d made. Even though she said she intended to find him a good home, he thought Brady had already found one with her. She would be an amazing mother to this little boy if she could only believe in herself the way he believed in her.
“She’s going to need stitches on this cut,” the nurse stated. “I’ll go get the doctor.”
An overwhelming sense of gratefulness flooded him that these two were safe, and he struggled to breathe at the idea that someone could snatch them away so easily. He sat beside her and put his arm around her as she held Brady, and she leaned into him as the nurse exited the room. Walking away wasn’t an option for him.
He kissed her head and placed his hand over hers and Brady’s. He wasn’t letting them out of his sight again.
* * *
Kellyanne was still in Zeke’s embrace when her brother rushed into the room. Josh stopped at the sight of them but seemed to shake off his surprise quickly. “What happened?”
She hated the way it felt when Zeke removed his arms from around her, and it suddenly made her feel very lost and alone with the baby in her arms.
He stood and faced Josh. “I went to the vending machine. When I came back, I spotted a man darting from the room with the baby in his arms. Kelly was unconscious on the floor.”
“He hit me with something,” she said. She couldn’t believe she’d allowed someone to get so close to her. She should have been paying better attention. She’d allowed them to get to Brady. That shouldn’t have happened. They were supposed to have been safe here in Courtland, but somehow, whoever was after her had found them.
“I chased him down to the front entrance where I grabbed Brady from his arms. A car approached, and he hopped inside and they took off.”
“Did you get a license number?”
“I did.” He rattled it off. It amazed Kellyanne that he could remember that even with all that had happened. “The car was a black four-door Nissan. It had Dallas tags, so I’m guessing it will come back reported stolen.”
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