Branded by the Sheriff

by Delores Fossen

  “He might have fathered her,” Beck mumbled. “But Nolan was never her father.”

  Faith couldn’t have agreed more. If the man hadn’t been dead, his DNA connection to Aubrey would have caused her stomach to go into a tailspin. Because Nolan would have spent the rest of his life trying to figure out ways to use Aubrey to get what he wanted.

  “Get my brother out of here,” Beck instructed the deputy.

  Pete didn’t protest. He looked straight ahead as he was escorted out. Nicole was next. She didn’t even try to say anything. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she made a series of hoarse sobs.

  However, Deputy Gafford did stop. “On the way over, I got a call from the hospital. Darin Matthews is back there. He’s not hurt, and he wanted me to check on Faith, to make sure she was all right.”

  Faith was so glad that Beck was holding on to her. Her brother was safe. Pete hadn’t hurt him. And better yet, he was receiving the medical treatment he needed. She would check on him as soon as things had settled down.

  Whenever that might be.

  It might take her years to forget how close she’d come to losing Beck and Aubrey.

  “The other Texas Ranger is with Darin now,” the deputy continued. “Will there be any charges filed against him?”

  “No,” Beck quickly answered. “But I want him to have a thorough psychiatric evaluation.”

  The deputy nodded and escorted Nicole out.

  Faith looked around and realized they were alone. The house was quiet. Her heart rate was slowly returning to normal.

  “Are you really okay?” Beck asked.

  But the silence didn’t last. Before she could answer, there was the sound of hurried footsteps, and she automatically braced herself for the worst.

  Roy came rushing through the front door.

  He looked at Beck. At Aubrey. Then at her. He’d no doubt passed his other son and daughter-in-law and knew they were under arrest. But his concern seemed to be aimed at Beck.

  “Son, you’re bleeding,” Roy greeted him.

  “Just a scratch,” Beck assured him.

  “He needs stitches,” Faith insisted.

  Roy agreed with a nod, and he put his hands on his hips. He looked around, as if he didn’t know what to say or do. “I just spoke to Corey and the nanny, Marita. They told me what happened in here.”

  “Yeah,” was all Beck said.

  “’i,” Aubrey babbled to Roy.

  There were tears in Roy’s eyes, but he forced a smile when he returned the “hi.” He hesitated. “I’m sorry. So sorry for what Pete did. I knew about the blackmail and the payoff, but I swear I didn’t know he’d killed those people. And I didn’t know he would come after the three of you. I’m sorry,” he repeated, aiming this one at Faith.

  She gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “Thank you.”

  Roy turned those tearful eyes to Beck. “What can I do? Give me something to do. I can’t go home and sit there.”

  “You can go to my office and call Pete and Nicole a lawyer. They’re going to need one.”

  “Of course. I’ll do that. And if you need anything, just let me know.”

  “I will.”

  “Make sure he sees the medics,” Roy whispered to Faith. He gave her arm a gentle squeeze as well and went back out the door just as the medics were coming in.

  Beck held up his hand to stop them. “Could you give me a few minutes?” he asked.

  That halted the two men in their tracks, and they looked at her for verification. “Just a few minutes,” she bargained. But only a few. She wanted that gash checked.

  Aubrey fussed and babbled, “Bye-bye,” but Faith didn’t think she wanted to go with Roy or the medics. She smeared her fist over her eyes again and whimpered.

  “It’s okay,” Beck said to Aubrey, and he lightly circled his fingers over her back.

  “Da, Da, Da, Da,” Aubrey answered. Not in a happy tone, either. But it was a tone Faith recognized. Her baby was on the verge of a tired tantrum.

  Beck must have sensed that because he caught onto Faith’s arm and led them to the sofa. Once he’d sat down, he moved Aubrey so that her tummy was against his chest. She dropped her head onto his shoulder and stuck her thumb in her mouth. Within seconds, her eyelids were already lowering.

  Faith smiled. “Tantrum averted,” she whispered. Good. She didn’t have any energy left to deal with anything. “I might have to call you the next time she gets fussy.”

  Beck angled his eyes in her direction and stared at her. She’d thought the light comment would have given him some relief. It was certainly better than the alternative of her falling apart.

  “You said you loved me,” Beck reminded her.

  That kicked up her heart again. She’d planned on having this discussion later. After some of the chaos had settled. “Yes, I did say that.” Because she wanted to dodge eye contact with him, she checked Aubrey. Sound asleep.

  “You meant it?”

  But before he let her answer, he leaned in and kissed her. He winced because his lip was busted. Hers, too, she realized when his mouth touched hers. She didn’t care. That kiss was worth a little pain, and it was the ultimate truth serum. She was going to lay her heart out there and let him know exactly how she felt about him.

  She hoped he wouldn’t laugh.

  Or run the other direction.

  “I meant it,” she answered. “I love you.” Beck and Aubrey were two things in her life that she was certain of. “I’m crazy in love with you.”

  His face relaxed a bit. The corner of his mouth even lifted in a near smile. “Good. Because I’m crazy in love with you, too.”

  A sharp sound of surprise leaped from her mouth. “Really?” She heard her voice. Heard the shock. “You’re sure it’s not just the lust talking?”

  “The lust is there,” he admitted. He reached out and pushed her hair away from her face. “But so is the love. You did me the honor of letting me be your first lover. Now I’m asking if you’ll let me be your last.”

  Mercy. That was not a light tone. Nor a light look in his eyes. Still, Faith approached that comment with caution. “Are you asking me to go steady?” she joked.

  “No. I’m asking you to marry me.”

  Oh. Wow.

  Her heart went crazy. So did her stomach. Her breathing. Her entire body.

  Was this really happening? She wanted it to happen. Desperately wanted it, she realized. But she hadn’t expected it.

  As if to convince her, he kissed her again. And again. Until he was the only thing she could think of. Beck had that kind of effect on her. He could make even the aftermath of chaos seem incredible. Heat and love just rippled through her.

  “I don’t want you to call me when Aubrey’s fussy because I want to be there, close by, to hear her myself. I want to be her father, and I want to be your husband.”

  “You’re already her father,” Faith said. And it was true. “Aubrey chose you herself.” She had to blink back happy tears. “She made a good choice.”

  “I’m glad you think so. Now, to the rest. I want to be your last lover. Your only lover. What do you think about that?”

  Faith didn’t have to think. She knew. There was only one answer. “Yes.”

  * * * * *

  SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM

  A decade-old murder changed the lives of everyone in Blue River, Texas. Now, two people at the heart of the crime reunite when a killer returns…threatening their rekindled attraction all over again…

  Keep reading to get a glimpse of ALWAYS A LAWMAN, the first book in the Blue River Ranch series by USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen.

  She had died here. Temporarily, anyway.

  But she was alive now, and Jodi Canton could feel the nerves just beneath the surface of her skin. With the Smith & Wesson gripped in her hand, she inched closer to the dump site where he had left her for dead.

  There were no signs of the site now. Nearly ten years had passed, and the thick Texas woods
had reclaimed the ground. It didn’t look nearly so sinister dotted with wildflowers and a honeysuckle vine coiling over it. No drag marks.

  No blood.

  The years had washed it all away, but Jodi could see it, smell it and even taste it as if it were that sweltering July night when a killer had come within a breath of ending her life.

  The nearby house had succumbed to time and the elements, too. It’d had been a home then. Now, the white paint was blistered, several of the windows on the bottom floor closed off with boards that had grayed with age. Of course, she hadn’t expected this place to ever feel like anything but the crime scene that it had once been.

  Considering that two people had been murdered inside.

  Jodi adjusted the grip on the gun when she heard the footsteps. They weren’t hurried, but her visitor wasn’t trying to sneak up on her, either. Jodi had been listening for that. Listening for everything that could get her killed.

  Just in case she was wrong about who this might be, Jodi pivoted and took aim at him.

  “You shouldn’t have come here,” he said. His voice was husky and deep, part lawman’s growl, part Texas drawl.

  The man was exactly who she thought it might be. Sheriff Gabriel Beckett. And their attraction was as strong as ever.

  Look for

  ALWAYS A LAWMAN

  by USA TODAY bestselling author

  Delores Fossen,

  Available now wherever

  Harlequin Intrigue books are sold.

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  Copyright © 2016 by Delores Fossen

  The Granger siblings thought they’d left their ranching days behind, until fate sends them home to Wrangler’s Creek, Texas—and into the passionate arms of those they’d least expect…

  Don’t miss any of the stories in the irresistible Wrangler’s Creek series by USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen.

  Lone Star Cowboy (prequel novella)

  Those Texas Nights

  One Good Cowboy (novella)

  No Getting Over a Cowboy

  Just Like a Cowboy (novella)

  Branded as Trouble

  Order your copies today!

  “Clear off space on your keeper shelf, Fossen has arrived.”

  —New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde

  The McCord Brothers are the most eligible bachelors in Spring Hill, Texas. But these cowboys are about to get wrangled by the love of some very unique women—the kind who can melt hearts and lay it all on the line. Be sure to collect all of the titles in this series!

  What Happens on the Ranch (digital prequel)

  Texas on My Mind

  Cowboy Trouble (novella)

  Lone Star Nights

  Cowboy Underneath It All (novella)

  Blame It on the Cowboy

  Complete your collection!

  “The perfect blend of sexy cowboys, humor and romance will rein you in from the first line.”

  —New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels

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  ISBN-13: 9781488086366

  Branded by the Sheriff

  First published as Branded by the Sheriff by Harlequin Intrigue in 2009

  This edition published in 2017

  Copyright © 2009 by Delores Fossen.

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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