Someone's Baby

by Dani Sinclair

  "He was drunk?"

  Stuckley nodded. His wizened face seamed in the middle with a broad grin. "Drunk as a fool and meaner than a Brahma with his nu— Beggin' your pardon, ma'am. Let's just say it took three of us to pull him off Lithcolm."

  "Cade attacked Zed?"

  "That's what everyone claimed. Neither of them will say a word about what started things. Sully agreed to drop the charges providing someone paid for the damage. Cade agreed."

  "But you're still holding Zed?"

  "Well, ma'am, it's this way. Cade was some kind of angry at Lithcolm and I'm not real sure he's calmed down yet. As of now Lithcolm doesn't have a job or means of support, no money and no place to go. That makes him—"

  "My responsibility," she said decisively. "He works for me now."

  The deputy couldn't get those shaggy brows any higher on his forehead. He gave a low, tuneless whistle. "Does he now?"

  "May I see him?"

  "Lithcolm? Sure. He's the only one back there right now. Follow me." He opened a door and led her down a hall where he unlocked another door. "Lithcolm? You got company."

  Zed stood up inside the tiny prison cell. His good looks had been supplanted by a black eye, a split lip, a bruised jaw and split and bruised knuckles. She was startled by the sight despite Stuckley's warning.

  Zed eyed her in masculine approval, but he didn't ogle or leer. Still, she wished she hadn't left that extra button undone.

  "Who won?" she managed to ask.

  Zed grinned. Some of the tension went out of his shoulders. "He did." And he pointed at the deputy.

  "That's my job. I'll leave you two to talk. You just holler when you're ready to leave, Miz Bateman."

  "What happened, Zed? Is Cade okay?"

  "That's a matter of opinion. He's too darn stubborn to see what's as plain as day to the rest of us."

  "Enlighten me. What was the fight about?"

  "Uh…" He looked down at his scuffed boots.

  "Zed?"

  He frowned uncomfortably. "I told him if he wasn't coming after you, I…uh, was."

  "What?"

  Zed knuckled his bruised chin. "Guess I should have waited until he sobered up but I'd never seen him drunk before. One, two beers, that's always been his limit. No hard stuff. Now I know why. He went from morose to furious in three seconds flat. It took four men to bring him down."

  Stunned, she tried to assimilate his words. "Was he hurt?"

  Zed gave a bark of laughter, shaking his head ruefully. "I don't think I laid a finger on him. And I'm just fine, thank you for asking." . She felt the blush work its way up her cheeks. "I didn't mean—"

  "It's okay. Any chance you could post my bail so I could get out of here? I think it's time I keep ridin' north. Looks like I overstayed my welcome."

  "I'll do you one better. My dad has a ranch in Bitterwater. How would you like a job?"

  Zed stared at her. "I think I'd rather continue livin' if you don't mind."

  "You'd be working for my father, not me."

  "I'm not sure Cade would differentiate."

  "He will after I talk to him. And if you'd rather not stay there, Dad knows all the local people. I'm sure we could find you some work on another spread."

  Zed stared at her, his dark gaze unreadable. "Funny. I was under the impression you didn't like me."

  Jayne thought about how to answer that charge and decided on the truth.

  "I don't like any man who uses looks and charm to get what he wants. And I'm not sure I trust you. Not entirely. But you did save my life so I owe you. And I figure if I get you a job over near Bitterwater, then you can't be over here causing havoc on Cade's ranch."

  Her words tightened his features, but he nodded. "You probably won't believe me, but I had nothin' to do with what's happenin' at Cade's ranch."

  "What about Bonita?"

  "That tramp?" His eyes grew angry and his fists gripped the bars. "I tried to warn Cade about her right from the start, but he wouldn't listen. I still think she slipped him somethin' that night they got married. That whole thing never did ring true. Like I said, Cade's not a drinker, but he got so lit that night he claimed he didn't remember anything."

  "Obviously, he can't hold his liquor."

  Zed shook his head. "I told you, he doesn't drink. He always claimed it was a family curse or somethin'.

  His daddy got drunk and shot his mother and her lover and then killed himself when Cade was a boy."

  "What?"

  Zed nodded. "Cade always swore he'd never let himself get that out of control. Claimed alcohol makes the men in his family mean." Zed rubbed his jaw. "I guess he knew what he was talkin' about. Cade has a temper. I always knew that. But I never met a man with better control."

  She stared pointedly at his face. "You call that control?"

  The corners of his mouth lifted. "You may be right. Anyhow, despite your low opinion of me, I would never fool with another man's wife."

  "But he caught you—"

  Zed shook his head. "Bonita set that up. She called me into the room. Said Cade was in the bathroom and needed help. Only there was no one in the bathroom and when I turned around she'd unbuttoned her blouse and threw herself into my arms. I was tryin' to push her away when Cade opened the door. He never gave me a chance to explain."

  "Why would she do that?"

  "To make him jealous. And to pay me back for dumpin' her. She was a kid. A nasty, vicious, petty kid in a woman's body. She was dangerous as hell. I know he probably doesn't think so, but the best thing that ever happened to Cade was the day she walked out on him."

  "My, God, Zed. If you're telling the truth then—"

  "Everything all right back here?" Deputy Stuckley asked, opening the door.

  Jayne spun around, her mind whirling with the implications of what Zed had told her combined with her own nagging suspicion. "Everything's fine. I'd like to arrange for Mr. Lithcolm's release."

  "Are you sure about that, Miz Bateman?"

  Not really. She might be making the worst mistake of her life.

  "My father is going to give him a job."

  The deputy raised his bushy eyebrows again. "He know that?"

  She offered a weak smile and firmed up her voice. "Mr. Lithcolm helped save my life. The least I can do is help him in return."

  "All right, Miz Bateman, but I don't think Cade's gonna be real pleased about this."

  "With any luck, he won't even know."

  The deputy scratched his jaw. "That would have to be some powerful kind of luck, ma'am, because I'm going to have to tell him when he asks."

  Unfortunately, Jayne knew he was right. As they walked out into the afternoon sun, Zed stretched and took a deep breath. "You don't need to go to bat for me with your father. I'll settle for puttin' miles between me and Darwin Crossing."

  "And how do you plan to do that? I don't see Lafferry anywhere nearby."

  Zed closed his eyes as the realization hit him. "I rode into town with Cade."

  "I thought he fired you."

  "He did, but he changed his mind after you left. With Hap gone, he's so short-staffed he was even willin' to let me stay on."

  "Look, we need to talk, Zed. I meant it about the job. I'm sure Dad will take you on. Unless…you didn't really mean what you told Cade about coming after me, did you?"

  Zed grinned. A tiny prick of uneasiness replaced her calm.

  "You're one beautiful woman, Jayne, but I'm not stupid, darlin'. And I don't trespass. You belong to Cade."

  "I don't belong to anyone," she amended in annoyance.

  "I stand corrected. The point I was tryin' to make to him was that he was actin' like a damn fool. I wanted to get under his skin and make him think. I had no idea my words would lead to all-out war."

  "I'm not sure whether to thank you or tell you what an idiot you are. Where is Lafferty?"

  "With my gear," he said ruefully. "At Cade's place."

  "That's going to make things awkward."

 
"You do have a way with understatement I'll need to go out there and—"

  "Oh, no! I don't think so. Have you looked in a mirror? I'll pick up Lafferty after we get you settled at my father's place." She unlocked her car door and slipped behind the wheel. She wasn't sure she wanted to like Zed, but he was hard to dislike. And if he was telling the truth, Cade was angry over a misunderstanding that Bonita had deliberately created.

  "Somethin' botherin' you?" Zed asked.

  "Huh? Oh." She started to put the key in the ignition and stopped. "Zed, the other night when I saw someone out by the barn…were you really in the room across the hall in bed?"

  His gaze held hers, unblinking. "Yeah. I really was. Until I heard Cade go past the door."

  His expression said he didn't expect her to believe him, which was why she suddenly did. Jayne nodded thoughtfully. "I had a clear view of the person's face when they were coming toward the house. Did you ever meet Bonita's brother, Luis?"

  "No. I didn't even know she had a brother. She didn't talk much about her background."

  "I found a picture of the two of them in that box of her stuff Cade still has. Except for the age difference, they could almost be twins."

  Zed frowned. "What are you thinking?"

  "I know it sounds crazy, but I keep wondering, what if Bonita isn't really dead?"

  His mouth fell open as he gaped at her.

  "You can't be serious."

  "Cade let her brother claim the body. What if it wasn't her? Or what if she didn't really die? What if she's terrorizing Cade for the sheer satisfaction of doing it? You said she was petty and vicious."

  "For cryin' out loud, Jayne."

  "If she is still alive, then they're still married. Guess what happens if Cade dies?"

  Zed sat in stunned silence, broken only by the drumming of his fingers against the dashboard.

  "The person I saw that night could have been a boy or a woman," Jayne persisted. "At least your reaction tells me one thing. I'm certain you weren't the one she was meeting over at the barn."

  Zed stared at her shaking his head. "This is crazy. Only…you know, this would be just like her. She'd love toyin' with him like this. There must be some way to find out if you're theory is right."

  "There is. My brother the judge, or my brother the cop, should be able to check the records for me. But if I'm right—"

  "Cade's in danger."

  "Yes."

  "I think maybe we ought to go pay a visit to one of your brothers."

  "Agreed."

  She started the engine and pulled onto the street. As they passed the feed-and-grain store where it had all begun, a battered, rust-streaked pickup truck passed them and turned into the parking lot.

  Zed swore. "Turn around!"

  "What?"

  "Turn around! Bonita or her double is inside that truck."

  Jayne braked so sharply Zed was thrown against his seat belt. She spun the car in a wild U-turn.

  "Where'd you learn to drive?"

  "Police academy," she said tersely. As she tore into the lot, a person with long dark hair stepped from the truck and started for the building. Jayne pulled up behind the truck, blocking it in.

  "Hey there, take it easy," Zed warned.

  The dark-haired man with Bonita's features whipped around to stare at them. "What do you think you are doing?" he asked querulously.

  Jayne was out of the car before Zed had unfastened his seat belt.

  "Are you Luis D'Angelo?" she demanded in her most officious voice.

  "Si." His gaze flew from her to Zed and back again.

  "We want a couple of words with you."

  "Who are you?"

  "We'll ask the questions," she told him. "You were out at the Circle M four nights ago."

  The boy turned to run. Zed moved with deceptive speed. He grabbed the youth. Luis spun around and lashed out with his fist. Zed ducked. Then he did something with his feet that Jayne couldn't follow and brought the boy facedown in the dirt. In an instant he had the youth in a hold with his knee against the boy's back, pinning him to the ground.

  "This arm'll snap like a twig if you don't hold still," Zed warned the boy.

  Jayne swallowed her surprise. How had Cade managed to inflict so much damage if Zed could move like that?

  "Call the sheriff, Jayne."

  She reached inside her purse for her cell phone.

  "Wait! Wait! What do you want to know?"

  "Where's your sister?" Zed demanded.

  "My sister? My sister's dead."

  "Wrong answer, boy."

  "She's dead, I tell you! You're breaking my arm."

  "I'm gonna do a lot worse than that."

  "But she's dead! She died in a car accident almost a year ago."

  "I think he's telling the truth, Zed."

  "Nah, he just needs the truth shaken out of him."

  "No, I swear it on my mother's grave. Bonita is dead."

  "Is that why you were out at the Circle M terrorizin' Cade?"

  "Si. I wanted him to pay."

  Zed stood back and yanked him to his feet. His features were sullen, and angry, but if he was lying, she couldn't tell.

  "You wanted to pay Cade back for what?"

  "He beat my sister and he threw her out."

  "He did not!" Jayne asserted.

  "You're wrong, Luis," Zed said more softly. "Your sister ran off with one of Cade's men when he refused to go back on the rodeo circuit."

  "You lie."

  "No," Jayne asserted. "He's telling you the truth. Bonita didn't want to be a rancher's wife. When Cade wanted to settle down, she left him."

  "Senor Ramirez said they fought all the time. Mc-Govern beat her."

  "Who's Senor Ramirez?" Jayne asked. It had to be Hap or Rio. Hap, who wanted to buy the Circle M. What did Rio want?

  The sheriffs car pulled up before Luis responded to her question and they all turned their attention to the wizened deputy as he stepped from the vehicle.

  "Now I thought you two were leavin' town. You like the jail so much you looking for another stay, Lithcolm? Let the boy go."

  "But Deputy, this is Luis D'Angelo. Bonita's brother," Jayne protested. "He's the one behind all the incidents out at Cade's ranch. He cut the phone lines and slit the tires and—"

  "No!" Luis protested, struggling free from Zed's grasp. "I never did those things!"

  "All right now," Stuckley said, "I think we should all go back to the office and—"

  A dark sedan swung into the lot at a high rate of speed. The fender slammed into the deputy before he could turn around. His body was thrown over the hood to land like an empty sack on the hard ground, his back and neck twisted at an impossible angle. Zed shoved the boy to the pavement and ran toward Jayne, yelling at her to get down as the car swung to a stop and one of the baby-nappers aimed a gun out the window.

  Jayne crouched down, her skirt swirling around her.

  Her purse fell from her hand. The gun spat a stream of flame. She screamed as Zed fell to the ground, practically at her feet.

  She started to go to him when someone grabbed her from behind, wrenching her bad shoulder as meaty hands closed over her in a viselike grip she couldn't break.

  Jayne struggled as she'd been trained, but a blow to her head sent her senses reeling. She heard the gun discharge again. Luis fell back down beside his truck. As she was dragged, kicking and struggling toward the dark sedan, she saw Zed's bloody fingers closed over her cell' phone.

  "Where's the baby?" the thug demanded.

  He shook her hard, bringing tears to her eyes as pain stabbed her bad shoulder. His breath smelled of coffee and stale cigarettes.

  "I recognized that big guy with her," the other man said. "He was the guy with McGovern. The kid must be at the ranch."

  "No!" she cried in alarm.

  "Oh, yeah. I think that's exactly where you left the kid."

  "You're wrong! We turned her over to the authorities."

  "I don't think so, l
ady. Taking the baby was stupid, you know that. You want a kid that bad, you buy one like everyone else. You picked the wrong baby to steal."

  "Lou, what if she's telling the truth?"

  "She's not. Are you lady? 'Cause if you are, we'll have to put a bullet in this pretty little face of yours right here and now. We gotta have that baby back. The people we work with don't take excuses."

  Her brain numbed with fear. "You killed Zed and Deputy Stuckley and Luis," she whispered, stalling for time. She prayed she was wrong about Zed and Luis, but she'd seen the deputy's body and she knew for certain he was dead.

  "That's right sweetheart and if you don't tell the truth, you're next. Now where is the kid?"

  "We turned her over to the authorities three days ago."

  "Wrong answer, sweet lips."

  For a moment she thought she would black out or vomit from the force of his slap. Apparently, he thought so, too, because he let her go and she sagged bonelessly against the back seat.

  "Go to McGovern's place. We'll get the kid. Then we'll kill her and that smart-talking cowboy."

  Jayne shrank against the back seat while her mind tried to see a way out. Hap and Rio and Cade's men would be totally defenseless against these two ruthless goons.

  Jayne had never been so frightened or felt so helpless in her entire life. She'd never even gotten a chance to tell Cade she loved him.

  Please, God, don't let anyone be at the ranch house when they got there.

  Chapter Twelve

  Cade sat in his favorite chair brooding. Sheriff Beaufort had promised to drive out in a few hours to talk with Hap. He'd warned Cade to stay close to the ranch until he got there. That was fine by Cade. He had plenty of work to do right there at the house.

  But he didn't care.

  He'd been a fool and he knew it. He'd gone into Sully's bar because Sully told him the kid might come back that night. He'd gotten drunk because…

  Face the truth, no matter that it was painful. He'd gotten drunk because he wasn't paying attention. He'd been sitting there feeling sorry for himself and it was all Jayne's fault. Until she stormed into his life he'd been content. He'd had his life arranged exactly as he'd wanted it. His land, his work, his men…he hadn't needed any more than that. He hadn't looked at the house and seen the neglect. He hadn't missed a woman's companionship because he could have it whenever he wanted to.