by Tina Leonard
Dustin shook his head. “She was too frightened that day. And she doesn’t say anything, but I’ve noticed she doesn’t stray far from the house with the baby anymore. Used to be you couldn’t keep her indoors. Today she’s like a hearth cat.”
“I saw two blankets in front of that hearth. Maybe she likes the company.”
“Shut up. I told you, we kissed, no mountains moved, it was no big deal. The woman was scared and I took advantage of it. Not that it’s any of your business, but it’s been a helluva long time for me.”
“Me, too,” Marsh agreed. “Still, there just aren’t any other suspects. Why wouldn’t the Benchleys at least come to me?”
“Because they were afraid? Because Sadie might have been ashamed? Because they hadn’t taken the threat seriously, and once the boyfriend caught up with the baby, they took off without thinking about asking for help?” Dustin snapped his fingers. “Because Sadie was at risk, too.”
“Okay, I can go with that. But how hard can a guy with no hair be to track down?”
Dustin walked over and grasped his horse’s reins. “I don’t know, but something’s got to give. I think Mother’s arthritis is flaring up again, and that’s going to be another problem. Jill’s so afraid for the baby she won’t go to the grocery with her anymore, which is right, but Mother won’t be able to watch the baby if her hips act up.”
“You may have to stick her in the saddle with you.”
“Nah. I don’t think Jill rides.”
Marsh laughed loudly as he got on his horse. “Man, you are out of control. I meant the baby, bozo.”
He snorted and got on his horse, too. “You’d best watch your mouth because I’m not sure you’re still my friend after today. As I recall, the only way you eat is at my table.”
“Yeah, well, you just count yourself lucky I don’t haul your ass into jail for assaulting an officer of the law.”
Marsh turned his horse toward the house, letting the beast have his head, but Dustin followed more slowly. Whether he liked it or not, the fact that his friend didn’t believe in Jill the way he did wasn’t a good sign. Always before they’d been inseparable, like two sides of a coin. Now they were on different sides, and it was hard to tell which side was right.
Jill waited nervously for Marsh and Dustin to return. Whatever the lawman had wanted to speak to Dustin about, it wouldn’t wait for him to return. Usually, the sheriff made himself comfortable in the kitchen with a snack. Today, he’d thanked Jill politely enough and gone to saddle himself a horse. He hadn’t even nabbed a gingerbread man.
It was a bad sign when Marsh’s stomach couldn’t waylay whatever was on his mind. Now she was jittery.
She’d put Joey down for his nap and checked on Eunice and baby Holly. Both were fine and Eunice insisted she didn’t want any help with the baby. The two of them looked cozy, so Jill went into her room and thought about packing her suitcase. She even went so far as to drag it out of the closet, knowing that there really wasn’t anything Dustin could do about the situation except ask her to leave. She’d seen the look in his eyes as he stormed through the kitchen.
Then she put the suitcase back, telling herself she was being fatalistic. Her feelings were going to get hurt, and she’d have no one to blame but herself, of course. But she might as well look on the bright side and hope that there was the slimmest chance she could stay.
She sat in the kitchen, staring at a cookbook and not registering anything it said about the roast she needed to put in the oven. When the front door opened and shut with a resonating boom, her heart leapt into her throat.
The two men entered the kitchen, filling it with their big-shouldered height. She swallowed, looking from one to the other.
“I see you found him,” she said lamely.
“That I did.”
Marsh sat down across from her. Dustin leaned against the kitchen counter before pouring out a tumbler of tea.
“If you want one, you’ll have to get it yourself,” he told Marsh.
“Naw. Thanks.” Marsh pinned her with a look. “The Benchleys left town, Jill. There’s no sign of when they left, or when they’re coming back.”
“Oh, no.” Her mouth dried out. “How do you know they left town?”
“They stopped their mail and newspaper.”
“Oh, dear. I suppose this means they were really frightened. That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“No?”
She couldn’t fathom the look in Marsh’s eyes. Dustin watched from his corner, but didn’t make an effort to join the conversation.
“Maybe they’ll be back soon,” she said lamely. What did he want her to say? Suddenly, she realized she was on edge, and it was because of the sheriff. He was watching her too closely. “Maybe the baby wasn’t theirs,” she offered. “Maybe it was someone else’s.”
“Maybe it was.”
“But I saw the look in that girl’s eyes, Marsh. She was dying to touch Holly, but then she looked terrified when that boy came. I would swear with my last breath that she was the mother.”
“I haven’t been able to locate the boyfriend.”
“He shouldn’t be too hard to spot in a crowd,” she said thoughtfully. “I would recognize him immediately.”
“Would you?”
Her temper flared. “Yes, I would! That was the most frightening moment of my life! I have nightmares about that nasty look on his face, and the meanness in his eyes.”
“Dustin’s been a strong shoulder for you to lean on.”
“Yes, he has. He—wait a minute.” Jill stopped, leveling a stern eye on the sheriff. “I don’t like the tone of your voice, Sheriff.”
“Easy, Jill. There are a lot of questions that haven’t been answered. I’m trying to find out if you remember anything else that you haven’t mentioned.”
She got to her feet. “No, you’re not. You’re suggesting that I’ve got a thing for my employer. You also don’t believe me about the hood who was hanging outside of the bakery. I’m beginning to think you’re a sad excuse for Lassiter’s law.”
Angrily, she turned her back to him, and started putting the cookies on a flat tray. She waited to hear Dustin come to her rescue, but he didn’t. Wrath built inside her.
“I knew there had to be something hidden behind that sweet exterior of yours, Jill. You’ve got a feisty mouth on you.”
“I’ve got a real feisty mouth on me when I know that a baby’s in danger and the sheriff’s too lazy to look farther than his best friend’s kitchen to find the guilty party.”
“Whoa, you two are going at this the wrong way. Marsh, damn it, ask the questions you want answers to, and…”
Jill whirled on Dustin. “I’ll answer nothing else. That is not my baby. I did not steal her, I did not have her, I am not a woman with a ticking biological clock.”
“Are you pregnant?”
Staring at Dustin, Jill could feel her mouth hang open. “Pregnant? What makes you ask that?”
He shrugged, infuriating her.
“Because my ex showed up one day? You really are frightened some woman’s going to rope you in again, aren’t you?” She knew that Nina’s pregnancy had been the reason he’d gotten married because he had told her himself. She had basically thrown herself at him the other night. No doubt his very manly boots were shaking that he might find himself the recipient of another trip to the altar.
“You’re the last man on earth I’d set my sights on, Dustin Reed,” she told him. “You’re mean. You’re moody. You haven’t got anything going for you except a nice family. You aren’t anything like the man I’d want for myself.”
Suddenly, to her extreme mortification, she burst into tears. The last few hours spent worrying about her future had taken their toll. To find out that she apparently was on everybody’s suspect list was demoralizing.
“Aw, Jill, don’t do that,” he said.
“Why not? Because it’s a true expression of emotion? Because you’re too macho to have a good c
ry as much as you’d like to? Because it’s embarrassing?”
Over his shoulder, Marsh handed her a tissue, which she accepted, jerking it from his hand. Dustin hadn’t bothered to answer her question. Backing away, she tore her gaze away from Dustin, before hurrying up the stairs.
“What a couple of jackasses we are,” Dustin said.
“That got way out of hand,” Marsh agreed.
“It didn’t get us anywhere, either, except on Jill’s bad side.” He looked sorrowfully at the defrosting roast. “I’d better take the family out to dinner tonight, if I know what’s good for me.”
“Damn it,” Marsh said, getting to his feet. “She’s telling the truth.”
“I told you.”
“But she didn’t answer your question about being pregnant.”
“No, and she shouldn’t. It isn’t any of my damn business. It’s just that if she’s pregnant, she couldn’t possibly have recently given birth. I want badly to know the answer, so I didn’t ask it right. Truth is, it doesn’t matter whether she is or isn’t.”
“You going to tell her she has to go?”
“No. I’m going to hell with the devil on this one. Maxine can drag all the accusations into court she likes. Jill stays, if I haven’t made her so mad she can’t stand to see my face.”
“You better watch that temper of hers. I think you’re going to be in big trouble with Jill for a while.” He picked up a gingerbread man, but didn’t bite into it. “I wish that guy would surface so I could nail him.”
“Could be he’s gone into hiding, too.”
Marsh straightened. “Or he followed the Benchleys. Knew where they were going.”
Dustin sighed. “Get to work, buddy. So far, all you’ve managed to do is piss off my housekeeper and me.”
“Well.” Marsh sighed heavily. “Guess it’s time for me to go, then. The weather report said the roads were going to start freezing again around twilight.”
“Watch the porch when you leave; there’s still some slick spots from the last freeze. I don’t want to take your sorry butt to the hospital when you slip off the steps.”
“I’ll let you know if I find anything else out.”
Marsh walked outside as Dustin watched from the door. He was steamed with his friend, though he wasn’t going to talk about it. Their friendship had taken a major hit with his attitude toward Jill. Of course, Dustin knew he had no one to blame for his own asinine behavior.
A second later, the cruiser pulled down the lane. A piece of paper flew off the car and onto the ground where it blew toward the porch in the wintry wind. Dustin turned to go inside before halting. He thought for several seconds, his skin tightening from the cold.
Not from the cold. Some strange sensation pulled him back outside. Reaching down to pick up the piece of paper, Dustin told himself it was good to retrieve it so it wouldn’t blow into the area where some of his stock might get it. He’d cut open far too many a good steer that had died without seeming cause, only to find a bottle cap or six-ring plastic some idiot had thrown out a car window and that had then wound up inside his cattle.
He told himself he was being cautious even as he unfolded the small piece of blue-lined, white paper. The kind any school kid might use for class work. The writing was round and uncertain, as though written by a teenager who hadn’t quite crossed the threshold into adulthood.
Dear Mr. Reed, Please protect Holly. Curtis Lynch is going to steal her.
Chapter Fourteen
Dustin stared at the piece of paper. “Curtis Lynch?” he muttered to himself. The wind picked up, blasting chilly breezes against him, but he didn’t move. It wasn’t a family name he knew. Dissatisfied, he thrust the paper into his jacket pocket and went inside to leave a message for Marsh to call him.
After Dustin hung up the phone, he knew he could no longer avoid talking to Jill. He walked up the stairs and knocked on her door. There was no answer. He tapped softly again, but when she didn’t open the door, he got worried. Slowly, he turned the knob.
Only Jill’s nicely rounded, denim-covered rear end was visible from the doorway as she knelt inside the closet: Though that sight definitely got his attention, he was more interested in what the rest of her was doing, engaging in a task that looked suspiciously like packing.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
She shrieked and whirled to glare at him. “What are you doing in my room?”
He took a deep breath and reminded himself that he’d come to get himself off the hot seat and that she had every right to be mad at him. “I came to apologize for what happened downstairs.”
“I should think so! Do you think everything your friend thinks, particularly that I’m a baby-napper of some kind, and a liar—or do you just imagine I’m after you?”
“Neither. I didn’t butt in when Marsh was talking to you because I knew you could handle him. I thought it would be more convincing if I let you do your own talking. Apparently, you didn’t need me to intervene because Marsh believes you wholeheartedly.”
“Great.” She smiled sarcastically. “Now if only I could convince you that you’re not quite the catch you seem to think you are.” Angrily, she tossed a pair of shoes into the case.
He held his hands up in surrender. “Jill, I heard you throwing up the day your folks came out. It worried me.”
“But you kissed me anyway, even thinking I might be pregnant?” Her expression was questioning.
He wasn’t going to admit that he was attracted her, enough so that it didn’t matter whether she’d be buying booties in a few months or not. “Well, kissing wasn’t going to get you pregnant, if you weren’t already.”
“No, it’s not.” She lowered her gaze. “I’m not pregnant.”
He couldn’t explain the enormous relief that filled him, so he reverted to the attitude he knew best. “Good. Then I won’t have to pay you for maternity leave.”
Her head snapped up. There were fireworks in her eyes. “Dustin Reed, you’re somewhat of an ass.”
A chuckle escaped him. He did like this lady’s spunk. “Yeah, well. Would you care to be seen in public with an ass? I figured Marsh and I have about thrown you out of the mood to cook, and I have a suspicion Mother’s not feeling too well, so we might as well eat out tonight.”
“That sounds like an appealing peace offering, although I’m not ready to let you off the hook completely,” she said. “But what about Holly?”
“What about her?”
“Well, should she be out? Where anybody can see her?”
Dustin thought about the note in his pocket. After a moment, he handed it to Jill. She read it, her eyes widening.
“When did you find this?”
“A few minutes ago. It was stuck under the windshield wiper on Marsh’s cruiser.”
“Sadie’s been here, then! Not too long ago.”
He shook his head. “There are rain splatters on the paper, so it’s been there for a while. I don’t think Marsh saw it when he drove out here. They might have seen him checking out their house and put it on his car in a hurry before he left.”
“So Sadie and her mother are too frightened to visit the police station.”
“That would be my guess.”
“And this Curtis knows the baby is here.” The expression on Jill’s face was heartbroken. “I was so careful not to be followed. I must not be as good at high-speed getaways as I thought I was.”
Dustin crossed his arms. It wasn’t necessary for Jill to take the blame for some punk’s determined pursuit of Holly. “He could have found out she was here any other number of ways.”
She sank back on her heels. “No, he couldn’t have. No one knows I’m working here. Sadie wouldn’t have told, even if he tried to beat it out of her. I should never have gone into town. Now I’ve put that sweet baby in danger.”
“Of course I don’t agree with you, but I will say that them leaving town isn’t a good sign.”
“It does seem very desperate. Obvi
ously something’s scared them. I think Holly and I should just stay in tonight.”
Dustin nodded, although he hated what his problems were doing to Jill’s life. Basically, she was a prisoner in his house. He didn’t like that idea at all. Meeting her eyes, he tried another tack. “I feel like you deserve a night out though. It’s the least I can do for you.”
Sudden electricity hummed to life between them. Jill’s soft lips parted as she considered his suggestion. Then she shook her head, pulling her gaze from his.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Thank you, anyway.”
He felt relieved by her polite turn-down. The minute he uttered the words, he’d known he was making a mistake. They couldn’t afford any time alone together, not when they had so many strikes against them.
“How about a bucket of fried chicken, then?” he asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “With some mashed potatoes and salad?”
“That gets my vote. Ask your mother if chicken suits her, although I have a feeling she’ll be just as glad not to have a mess in the kitchen tonight.”
“You noticed she doesn’t seem quite herself?” Dustin wondered if Jill’s worry for his mother went past the housekeeper-employer relationship. They did seem to get along very well. That in itself was a comfort to him because he knew Jill would take care of Eunice in the event she fell or became ill. With Nina, there had always been a stiff distance between her and his mother. Two opposite sides, battle lines drawn sometime when he hadn’t even realized it.
“I’m not sure if she isn’t herself, or if it’s something else,” Jill said thoughtfully. “I know I’ve been ready to jump out of my skin ever since I saw that awful man.”