Matt

by Lori Wilde

  Anxious to distance herself from Matt, Savannah allowed Aunt Pearl to hold Cody while she went to oversee the buffet setup. Matt positioned himself out of the way, his arms crossed over his chest, his eagle-eyed gaze missing nothing. Various friends and relatives came up to Savannah to offer their congratulations, and she used the opportunity to ignore Matt Forrester.

  Ginger and Todd returned to the gathering, flushed and beaming. Savannah suspected they’d exchanged some heavy-duty kissing while in the house. A trace of lipstick clung to Todd’s collar, and her sister’s hair was attractively mussed.

  They formed a receiving line, and to Savannah’s dismay, Ginger tugged Matt over to join them. Sandwiched between Matt and her sister, Savannah plastered a smile on her face and endured.

  “I’m not enjoying this any more than you are,” Matt mumbled out of the corner of his mouth.

  “What do you mean? I’m thrilled,” she growled, low and gruff so only he could hear.

  “Liar.”

  “Why did you come here today?” she asked through clenched teeth, forcing a smile as she shook a stranger’s hand.

  He slid a sideways glance in her direction, nodded at the row of guests extending their hands in congratulation. “Soon as these folks leave, Savannah, you and I are going to have a serious discussion.”

  His reply, and the look on his face, alarmed her.

  “So you did come for some other reason besides Ginger’s wedding. I knew it.” Savannah’s facial muscles ached from smiling. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Bedford, glad you could make it.’ ’

  The Bedfords responded but Savannah didn’t hear a word. She kept thinking about what Matt had said. What did he want to speak to her about? The sun beat down, suddenly no longer merely warm, but uncomfortably hot. Her mouth went dry. Something was wrong, she sensed it.

  Thankfully, the procession of well-wishers ended and everyone dispersed to enjoy the refreshments. The photographer called for the wedding party to assemble themselves while the guitarist broke into a lively tune. Whimsical chords filled the garden.

  “Come on, folks, gather round,” the photographer said. “You too, sis,” he called to Savannah. “Don’t go running off, I’m sure Ginger wants you in the pictures, as well.”

  Savannah rolled her eyes as Todd’s family crunched close on the lawn.

  “Let’s get your husband over here, too.” The cameraman waved at Matt.

  “He’s not my husband.”

  “Can Matt be in the picture anyway, Vannah?” Ginger asked.

  Savannah sighed. She could refuse her sister nothing today, and Ginger knew it. “Sure. Why not?”

  Matt moved over and joined them. The wedding party stood in the broiling sun, following the photographer’s instructions—changing position, posing, pasting smiles on their faces. First Matt’s arm across her shoulder, then around her waist, finally him holding her hand. Savannah gritted her teeth and endured.

  Thirty minutes later, the photographer clapped his hands. “Okay, folks, that’s a wrap.”

  Relieved to escape, Savannah searched the crowd for Aunt Pearl, eager to retrieve Cody and distance herself from Matt.

  “Why, he’s the most precious angel,” Aunt Pearl cooed as she relinquished Cody to her. “But I must be getting old. Holding him for so long has worn me to a frazzle.”

  “Thanks for watching him, Auntie, why don’t you go get some cake and punch and sit down? I’ll come visit with you in a sec. I think Cody needs changing.”

  Aunt Pearl fumbled in her pocket for a blue tissue, pressed it to her eyes. “Your mama would have been so proud. It was a lovely wedding, Savannah. You outdid yourself.”

  She patted her elderly great-aunt’s shoulder. “That’s nice of you to say so.” Head down, she scurried through the throng and finally made it to the house.

  “Let me get the door for you.”

  Matt stepped from nowhere to open the screen. Damn him. Why couldn’t he simply go away and leave her alone?

  Without another word, he followed her through the house and into Cody’s bedroom. Savannah flicked on the light, settled her son in his crib and grabbed a fresh diaper.

  Matt leaned against the wall, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his arms folded across his chest. “Savy, we’ve got to talk.”

  Her hands trembled slightly as she eased the wet diaper off Cody and wiped his bottom with a moist towelette. She cleared her throat. “What about?”

  “That Santa Gertrudis herd.”

  Her stomach fluttered ominously. He seemed so serious.

  “So talk,” she said lightly.

  “Not here,” he replied.

  “Where?”

  He moved across the room, reached out and took her elbow. Spinning her around, he forced her to look him in the eyes. “I’m sorry to do this to you, Savannah, but I’m going to have to take you back to the department for questioning.”

  Chapter Five

  Savannah blinked. Had she heard him right?

  Cody gurgled, pulling her attention away from Matt and back to her son.

  “Did you hear me, Savy?”

  “I have to diaper Cody,” she said, her mind whirling with the implications of Matt’s statement.

  “You have to go to the sheriff’s office with me.”

  Tears misted her vision, and she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying. “Am ... I under arrest?”

  “No,” he said. “Not yet.”

  “But... what didido?”

  “We need an official statement from you, but I can’t discuss the details here. Please. Let’s just see your guests off and then we’ll leave.”

  “That’s why you came here in the first place, wasn’t it? To arrest me?”

  Matt sighed, threaded his fingers through his hair. No point lying to her.

  “I came to take you in for questioning, yes.”

  She fastened the sticky diaper tabs securely around Cody’s body. What had she done wrong? Did Matt suspect her in some way? She didn’t understand. Confusion clouded her mind and she couldn’t think straight.

  “I’d forgotten it was Ginger’s wedding day,” he continued.

  “Well, thank you for waiting. It would have ruined everything for Ginger if you’d interrupted the ceremony.”

  “I know.”

  “We don’t have to tell her about this, do we?”

  Matt shook his head. She picked Cody up and held him to her shoulder. Matt stuffed his hands into his suit pockets. He appeared weary, exhausted, A five o’clock shadow shaded his jaw and a worried furrow creased his brow.

  “Okay,” she said quietly.

  Because she felt confident the whole matter woula be straightened out in a few minutes at the station house, she refused to get hysterical. No cause for panic. She’d done nothing wrong.

  They joined the group outside. Less than two hours later, Todd and Ginger left for their honeymoon trip to Cancun, while the guests slowly filtered away. By dusk only Matt, Savannah, Clem, Cody and the caterers remained.

  “You ready?” Matt asked, dangling the Jeep keys from his index finger.

  Her satin dress was crumpled. Her new high-heeled shoes bit at her toes. She wanted to ask him if she could change, but he’d been kind enough to postpone this ordeal until after the wedding. She didn’t feel right asking for more favors.

  “What am I going to do with Cody?” she said fretfully, pushing back a lock of hair that had fallen from her elaborate hairdo.

  “Bring him along. I’ll watch him during the questioning.”

  “You won’t be conducting the interrogation?”

  “No,” he said. He heard the anxious keen in her voice and the sound burned his gut. “I can’t. I’m not impartial. And it’s not an interrogation, Savy. Just an interview.”

  “Are you sure, Matt?”

  What could he tell her? That by the end of the night she might very possibly find herself locked in a jail cell? Matt shuddered at the image. Despite evidence to the contrary, he simp
ly could not believe she was guilty of deliberate fraud.

  The trip into Sweetwater was a solemn one. Rays of dying sunlight slanted in through Matt’s window. He snatched occasional sidelong glimpses of Savannah as they drove. She looked beautiful in spite of her wrinkled dress and bedraggled hair. Her pale ivory skin glowed like a beacon as she leaned over Cody’s car seat and dropped small kisses on the top of his head. Her full, lush lips turned down in a sad expression. The sight snagged strings of loneliness deep in Matt’s soul. When they were a couple, he’d never thought of her in the role of mother, but now, seeing her with Cody, he knew motherhood fit her perfectly.

  How he wanted to draw her into his arms and comfort her, to kiss her and tell her not to worry. But he couldn’t. His position as a lawman demanded professionalism, and already he’d gone too far in allowing his emotions to affect his judgment.

  He picked up the radio receiver and told Midge, the dispatcher, he was bringing Savannah in. The radio crackled and Sheriff Jameson’s voice came on the line. “ ’Bout time, son. I was fixing to put out an APB on the both of you. Thought you got lost.”

  ‘‘Did I get you into trouble?” Savannah asked after the sheriff signed off.

  “Nah.” He shrugged.

  “Thanks again for waiting.” She stared down at the floorboard. It disturbed Matt that she wouldn’t look at him.

  “No big deal.”

  “Not to you, maybe.”

  Lord, he felt like such a jerk. Sometimes his job was really the pits.

  They pulled into the parking lot of the sheriff’s office. Matt killed the engine, got out and held Cody for Savannah while she unbuckled her seat belt.

  Holding the boy on one hip, he took Savannah’s elbow and escorted her inside the building.

  “Hey, Joe,” he greeted a young officer lounging back in his chair at the front desk. “Why don’t you get your feet off the desk.”

  Joe dropped his feet to the floor, sat up straight, glanced from Matt to the baby to Savannah and back again, then hid a snicker behind his hand. “You look plumb fatherly, Forrester.’ ’

  “Something wrong with that?” Matt asked dryly.

  “Not a thing, sir.”

  “Then you won’t mind keeping your comments to yourself.”

  “No, sir. Sheriff Jameson’s been grumbling about you all afternoon,” Joe offered.

  “Yeah? Where is he?”

  “Right here, Matt.” Sheriff Patrick Jameson loomed in the doorway to the jail.

  “What are you doing here so late on a Saturday evening?” Matt asked his boss.

  Sheriff Jameson grimaced. “Mae’s out of town visiting her sister and to tell you the truth the house is pretty lonesome without her.”

  “Couldn’t you find a better place to hang out?” Matt asked.

  “You’re one to talk, Forrester. You work more hours than Ido.”

  Matt inclined his head in agreement. It was true. He readily confessed to his workaholic nature. No one waited for him in his empty apartment.

  The sheriff smiled. “You must be Savannah.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied.

  Pat Jameson stepped forward, extended his hand. “I knew your husband, Gary. Fine man. Sorry to hear about his passing.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And I’m real sorry to disturb you, ma’am, especially at this late hour.” He shot Matt an accusing glance.

  “Am I under arrest for something?” Savannah asked in a quiet, subdued voice that made Matt ache.

  Her slender shoulders slumped in defeat, and her satiny dress whispered sadly as she moved. He wanted to gather her close and erase her concerns and problems. There was no way he could question her, he’d totally lost all objectivity. But the sheriff seemed to realize that.

  “Oh, no, ma’am. We’ve just got to get a few things straight about your missing cattle. The facts just aren’t adding up.”

  “I see.” She twisted her fingers together.

  “Let’s go into my office and have an informal chat. Would you like a cup of coffee? Something to drink?”

  “What about Cody?”

  “Forrester can look after him for you.”

  Matt nodded. “Sure. I’ll watch him.”

  “He hasn’t had his supper yet.”

  “Don’t worry,” Matt insisted. “I’ll feed him.”

  Laying a hand on her shoulder, Sheriff Jameson guided her toward his office. She looked at Matt, abject fear reflected in her eyes.

  Damn. Damn. Damn. Matt spun on his heels, unable to bear her expression of despair.

  He hated this part of the job. When innocent people suddenly found themselves afoul of the law. What he liked was chasing the bad guys and seeing them get their just desserts, but this? Walking as swiftly as his legs would take him, Matt left the building for the fresh clean night air, Cody riding comfortably at his hip. The boy’s fuzzy halo of hair stirred in the breeze.

  “Da?” he asked, placing a tiny finger on Matt’s chin.

  “No, son, I’m not your Da.” Matt whispered. “But I sure as hell wish I were.”

  It was true, he realized. For a man whose job had always been everything, he suddenly wanted a wife and kids. And not just any wife and kids. He wanted Savannah. He wanted Cody. When had his thinking changed?

  Cody’s face wrinkled. He whimpered.

  “Now, now, little fella, don’t go changing your moods on me that quick.”

  Matt held him in both hands and jostled him gently.

  A sad, worried expression crinkled his eyes. His bottom lip quivered. Did the kid sense his mama was in trouble?

  “Come on, none of that.” Matt tucked him in the crook of one arm and started across the parking lot. Before he reached the Jeep, Cody exploded into a full-fledged howl.

  Gritting his teeth, Matt settled the baby in his car seat. Huge crocodile tears rolled down the child’s cheeks.

  Oh, Lord. What had he gotten himself into?

  Get a grip, Forrester. If you can wrangle thieves and rapists and murderers you can definitely handle one tiny baby, he chided himself.

  “You hungry?” Matt certainly hoped it wasn’t the other obvious problem babies were notorious for. Just thinking about changing a dirty diaper left him feeling weak in the knees.

  Cody’s squalling increased.

  “Okay, okay. Food.”

  What in Sam Hill did babies eat? He certainly hoped Savannah wasn’t still breast-feeding the little tyke.

  “Want a hamburger?”

  Cody hiccuped a sob.

  “Does that sound good?”

  The kid stared at him and sniffled.

  “Right. Bad idea. You’ve only got two teeth and they’re both on the bottom.” He needed something soft and mushy. Mashed potatoes or a banana. He could stop by the grocery store, then take Cody back to his apartment to feed him. But what if the boy caused a ruckus in the supermarket? Matt shuddered at the idea. No, better stick to a convenience store despite the exorbitant prices.

  Matt drove until he found a Stop and Shop. Cody’s sobs dwindled to soft sighs. Matt undid the child from his car seat. Man, he thought, keeping up with a one-year-old was hard work. How did Savannah manage it and run a ranch, too?

  Lifting the boy onto his shoulders for a piggyback ride, Matt clamped his palms across those chubby little thighs. Instantly, tears turned to giggles as Cody clutched Matt’s hair in both hands. Matt grinned. Did he possess a natural gift with babies or what?

  “Okay, kiddo, what’ll it be?” He stood before a shelf of baby food and surveyed the limited selection. “Strained peas?” Matt made a face. “Carrots? Green beans? Apricots?”

  “Da!”

  “Yeah, that’s what you always say. We’re going to have to do some serious work on your vocabulary, son.”

  The front door of the Stop and Shop opened and two men slunk in. Matt noticed their scruffy reflection in the security mirror, but because he was so enthralled in finding supper for Cody, his sixth sense didn�
�t kick in immediately. As it was, by the time the hairs on the back of his neck prickled a warning, the men had yanked ski masks over their faces and drawn pistols on the store clerk.

  “Open the cash register. Give us the money. Now! Quick, unless you’re interested in eating lead,” the taller of the two men growled.

  Oh, hell, Matt groaned inwardly and swung Cody from his shoulders into the crook of his arm in one fluid motion. Crouching to the ground, he prayed the men hadn’t noticed him.

  Instinct had him reaching for the 9 mm Walther he wore in a holster under his clothes. His hand patted his unadorned chest. His duty weapon wasn’t there. He’d removed it for Ginger’s wedding and had neglected to strap it back on. Just as well. Best not have any gunplay with a baby in his arms.

  Cody whimpered.

  Hush, kid, not now.

  The baby stared at him wide-eyed.

  Matt had never dodged a fight in his life. But what could he do?

  He heard the jangle of coins hitting the floor, tasted the bile of his own frustration rising in his throat. He should be able to stop this robbery. Instead, Cody held him useless. Matt stared at the row of breakfast cereal in front of his face.

  Every muscle in his body corded, every nerve ending zinged on full alert. He duckwalked forward, Cody still clutched in his arm.

  “Hurry! Hurry!” one of the robbers barked. Matt listened closely to the voice, memorizing it for future reference.

  Matt heard the slap of running feet and the sound of the front door being slammed open. He popped to a standing position, Cody cradled next to his side like a football in a running back’s arms. He took off after the robbers, ignoring the startled, whey-faced clerk standing behind the counter with his hands still raised over his head.

  The two suspects leaped into a dented black TransAm and blasted out of the parking lot. Matt opened the door to his Jeep and fastened Cody into the car seat as quickly as possible, his gaze trained on the disappearing vehicle. By the time he got behind the wheel and roared after them, they had careered around a corner, narrowly avoiding an accident with oncoming traffic.

  Matt slapped the portable siren to the roof, trod on the accelerator and shot after the robbers.