by Mary Leo
When Jet walked back into the kitchen, Drew busied herself playing with Lily and asking way too many questions, questions that sounded more on the nosey, gossipy side rather than the friendly, getting-to-know-Lily side.
“So, Lily’s name was written on the back of a receipt from Sammy’s Smokehouse?” Drew asked Coco. “That’s mighty curious.”
“Yeah, and when I first took Lily out of her bassinet, she smelled of barbecue,” Coco said.
“You told me about the receipt, but you never told me she smelled of barbecue. Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Jet asked, miffed.
“I didn’t think it was important.”
“It’s real important,” Drew alleged. “This means whoever had Lily, probably the mom, ate at Sammy’s right before she dumped Lily on your front porch. The curious element in all of this is why didn’t this distressed mom leave her at the jail? Unless she knew how you take in strays, which would make the mom a resident of Briggs. Only a resident would know about your stray policy.”
“For one thing, a baby is hardly a stray,” Jet countered, then he turned to Coco. “You have a stray policy? And here I thought these folks left their animals on your doorstep because of convenience. The nearest pound is thirty miles away. If you have an actual policy for strays and didn’t register it with the sheriff’s department, your fines could be doubled.”
“You would do that?”
“It’s the law,” Jet told her, expecting her to understand...although, from the acerbic look on her face, he didn’t think that was the case.
“Fine. You just keep doing what you have to do or how else could you possibly sleep at night?”
“I don’t, remember?”
“That’s not what I saw last night.”
“Sheriff Wilson spent the night?” Drew asked with a teasing grin.
“That’s none of your business,” both Coco and Jet said in unison.
Drew held up a hand. “Chill, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Jet didn’t have anywhere else to go. The snow was too deep.”
“Jet?” Drew asked. “You call the sheriff Jet?”
Jet stepped in front of Coco, facing Drew. He’d caught the look of anger on Coco’s face and decided he needed to de-escalate this situation before she admitted that she and Jet had slept in the same bed together.
“Here’s what happened, not that it’s anybody’s business, but just to get the record straight. Baby Lily was left on Doctor Grant’s doorstep sometime right before ten last night. Soon thereafter, the doctor phoned me about an abandoned baby, and after stopping at Whipple’s for supplies, I arrived to take the child. By the time we had her changed and fed, the snow inhibited me from leaving, so I spent the entire night on the sofa while Doctor Grant and Lily slept in her bed.
“As far as the mom or whoever left the baby on Doctor Grant’s doorstep rather than mine goes, I can only speculate that Sammy’s is on this side of town, and with all the snow that fell last night, driving any farther was next to impossible. And besides, I didn’t get back to the jail until after ten thirty.”
“Where were you?” Drew asked like she was trying to solve a mystery.
“On official business.”
“No, you weren’t. You were ahead of me in line at the pickup window at Sammy’s.”
Jet suddenly hated living in a small town.
Normally, Jet ate at Sammy’s three times a week, and he always ate inside. He’d been worried about the snow buildup last night, so he’d decided on takeout instead. He wondered if he’d eaten inside the restaurant last night, would he have seen the mom or whoever had Lily? Things might be a lot different right now if he had...especially given the third degree by Drew Gillian.
“Look, we can’t speculate on who left Lily or why. That’s not our concern. All we can do now is keep her fed and safe until I can drive her over to Child Protective Services in Idaho Falls so the right people can take care of her. Thus far there’s nothing coming in about a stolen baby, or a missing baby. The woman I spoke to is waiting for her, and will handle the case.”
Drew shook her head. “Then she’ll be a ward of the state?”
“Something like that, yes.” He turned to Coco. “Deputy Sheriff Nash Young will be by soon to pick me up. Do you think you can take care of Lily until later today? By then, the roads should be open and I can drive her over. You’re free to join me if you want to.”
“Thanks, but I can’t.”
“I know how you feel about Lily, and this is tough for both of us, but it’s something we have to do. It might make you feel better if you can see where she’ll be going.”
Her face darkened, and Jet suspected something else troubled Coco other than just giving up Lily.
“Jet, it’s not that I don’t want to go with you... It’s that...I have a date with Russ tonight.”
Jet quickly took a step back, feeling as if she’d just slapped him. He should’ve realized that call from Russ earlier meant more than just a friendly good-morning greeting. “Oh, but I thought... Yes. Of course you do. Why wouldn’t you? I simply assumed... But you know what they say about anyone who assumes. Anyway, I’ll be going. I’ll call you before I stop by to pick up Lily. By then I should have a car seat, as well. Okay, I guess I’ll be heading out.”
“Jet, I...”
“No. My mistake. We’re good. All good.” A horn sounded from outside, signaling that Nash had arrived. Jet faced Drew. “For Lily’s sake, it might be best if you kept all this to yourself.”
“Whatever you say, Sheriff,” Drew told him, her phone only inches away from her arm as she sat in a kitchen chair with Lily resting on a soft pillow positioned carefully on Drew’s lap.
Jet knew that gossip about Lily and most likely about his spending the night at the doctor’s apartment would be all over town before Jet drove away from the front door.
He’d wager Drew’s fingers were itching to start texting.
* * *
INFANT SUPPLIES STARTED coming in almost before Coco knew what was happening, and soon it looked like a baby shower had exploded inside her once modest single woman’s apartment. Gone were the assortment of scented candles and silk throw pillows, and in their place were tiny coats, chew toys, boxes of diapers, blankets of all sizes and colors, onesies, tiny dresses, tights, itty-bitty shoes, handmade knit sweaters, caps and even mittens. A variety of bottles lined her kitchen counters, along with electric bottle warmers, blenders, plastic baby dishes and tiny spoons. There wasn’t one flat surface that didn’t have some sort of baby item on it, not one flat surface that even slightly resembled what was once her apartment, her home.
Now it was all about Lily, and no amount of reasoning could sway the good folks of Briggs, Idaho, not to contribute to this tiny abandoned baby. They made the trek through the heavy snow on snowshoes, by sled and by sheer willpower. Even when Coco would try to tell them that Sheriff Wilson would be taking Lily to Child Protective Services later that evening, no one seemed to listen. Even her sister-in-law, Zoe, had made the journey over to bring cloth diapers, which she explained had a myriad of uses. Kenzie was stuck on the ranch, so she couldn’t stop by, and Kayla and Callie were snowed in on the other end of town...which was fine by Coco. All this fuss over a baby she couldn’t keep seemed a bit silly.
But people just kept bringing gifts over. Mostly items that their babies had grown out of, but there was the occasional new item in the mix, as well.
“Really, Mrs. Walker, these blankets are lovely, but I already have several. You can bring them back to Hess’s Department Store and get a refund,” Coco told her, but Mrs. Walker, wife to Mr. Walker, who owned Sole Man Shoe Repair, wouldn’t hear of it.
“You can never have too many blankets. Go on and keep them,” she said as she gazed over at a sleeping Lily all tucked into her bassinet that now
sat on the sofa. “Poor darling. Her mom was probably passing through. Sammy has a couple of big signs out on the main road. I bet that’s why her mom stopped.”
“But how did she know to leave little Lily on Doc Grant’s doorstep?” Kendra Myers asked. Kendra, a petite woman with long black hair and a ready smile, had six kids of her own, but still managed to work a couple shifts at Belly Up each week. She’d contributed more of the bottles that Lily liked, along with a cradle and several packages of baby wipes, which Coco truly appreciated considering she went through them like sand slipping through an hourglass.
“That’s the puzzler,” Amanda Gump said. Not only had Amanda brought over the infant car seat, but she’d brought an assortment of scones, muffins and cookies, as well as an entire chocolate cake from her bakery, Holy Rollers. “She either still lives in Briggs, or she used to live here. Beyond that, I can’t imagine who it can be.”
“Me, neither,” Kitty Sullivan added. She had contributed onesies made of organic cotton, along with a couple of organic cotton receiving blankets. Everyone knew that Kitty Sullivan was into everything organic and wouldn’t even consider anything artificial getting anywhere close to her. Last year she’d opened up her own organic shop, The Green Scene, which carried a bit of everything that had an organic source. “All the pregnant women I know are still pregnant.”
“I wish we could figure this out,” Cindy Whipple said. “When the sheriff stopped by last night, he was being very tight-lipped about the whole thing.”
“That’s because Idaho has laws to guard the identity of the mother and protect her during the first thirty days,” Coco warned, wanting everyone to leave now. “She has the right to full anonymity, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Maybe so,” Cindy said, “but wouldn’t you like to know?”
“No,” Coco told her. “It’s the law.”
“Oh, you sound just like Sheriff Wilson,” Drew said, dismissing Coco, then going about speculating with the other women as they sat around Coco’s dining room table, sipping on coffee and tea while enjoying the assortment of baked goods Amanda had contributed.
But for the first time since Coco had met the sheriff, she appreciated what his strict adherence to the law was all about and felt very protective of Lily’s mom, whoever she might be.
“And speaking of the sheriff, Drew says he spent the night,” Cindy said, just after she took another sip of tea.
“Did she happen to mention he slept on the sofa? He was trapped here because of the snow. Nothing we could do about it,” Coco said.
Coco flashed on the warmth she’d felt cuddled up in Jet’s arms, but that was no one’s business.
“A good-looking man like that, and you let him sleep on the sofa?” Kendra chided.
“You all know I’m dating Russ Knightly,” Coco told them.
“Does Russ know Sheriff Wilson spent the night?” Amanda asked. “’Cause snow or no snow, my Milo would be pacing the floor.”
“Nothing happened,” Coco said, knowing full well that was the honest truth.
“Well, why not?” Kendra asked, sounding put out. “You’re not married...yet. And from what I hear, Russ ain’t no saint.”
Coco took offense. She knew that Russ had been out with a number of women, but all that had changed once they’d started dating...at least, that was the impression she had. “That’s not... He... I...”
Kendra shrugged. “All I’m saying is keep your options open...at least until there’s a ring on your finger...if that’s something you really want.”
“Is Russ going to propose?” Cindy Whipple asked, almost choking on her tea. “Who told you that?”
Then everyone started to speculate about Coco’s pending engagement to Russ Knightly even before the search for baby Lily’s mom had been settled. All Coco could do was sigh, while she hoped that Jet was having a better day than she was. Rescuing stranded motorists seemed like a much more useful way to spend the afternoon than gossiping about Coco’s nonexistent love life...in front of her, no less.
Chapter Five
It had been a long, arduous day for both Sheriff Jet Wilson and Deputy Sheriff Nash Young. Not only had they dug out five cars and two pickups, but they’d helped the fire department rescue the entire senior center when the center lost their electricity from a downed power line due to the storm. He and Nash were able to use a couple generators to keep the heat going for the more immobile residents, but most everyone else had to be evacuated to St. Paul’s church hall until that line was repaired. Needless to say, getting all those seniors comfortable on cots and folding chairs proved to be a real project.
Fortunately, Father Beau, along with several volunteer parishioners, were real lifesavers, distracting everyone with songs and games and hot liquids. Father Beau deserved a medal of some kind.
Then when the electricity was restored in the center, everyone had to be transported back, which was helped out by Travis Granger and his sled pulled by his two magnificent Clydesdales.
All in all, it was one heck of a day, and it wasn’t over yet. They both had to remain ready to act if there were more needed rescues that night, so Nash would try to get some shut-eye at the jail while Jet took care of Lily. At least, that was the plan. Jet made an appointment to meet with a Marsha Oberlin at eight o’clock in Idaho Falls. She’d agreed to be available whenever he was ready to drop off Lily, but on a night like this, everything could change in a heartbeat.
Both men stomped the caked snow off their boots right outside the front door of the station, then shrugged out of their coats and hung them on the coatrack next to the door. They each took their hats with them to their desks.
“Are you really going to make that hour’s drive to Idaho Falls with Lily?” Nash asked once he sat in his wooden swivel chair and leaned back, the chair squeaking with his weight.
Nash’s desk was located right outside Jet’s office, and unless Jet shut his door, Nash could look right in, which he did. Normally, Nash was an easygoing guy, who stayed out of Jet’s business and took to police work like a fish to water. Nash was young and had a backbone, which Jet appreciated a lot. He wore his brown hair extra short, his uniform pressed and his outlook positive.
“I don’t have a choice. I can’t impose on Doctor Grant for another night, and I certainly can’t bring Lily here.”
“Why not? You seem to like it here. Oh, there’s that letter for you. It’s on your desk.”
But Jet didn’t care about a letter, which was probably someone asking for some kind of favor. Right now, he was defending his logic concerning baby Lily and Doctor Grant.
“I don’t like sleeping here, but for right now, with the water problems going on in my apartment building, it’s been fine. But this is no place for a baby. There’s no telling what can happen.”
“This is Briggs, Idaho. Nothing ever happens.”
Nash had a point. They ran a small Sheriff’s department, one sheriff, one deputy and an answering service. There was one jail cell that so far had only held a handful of perps since Jet came to work there. One of them was Cindy Whipple’s husband sleeping off a night of binge drinking. Another perp was a friend of Russ Knightly’s, but he’d been in and out so quickly he’d hardly spent any time at all inside that jail cell.
“There’s always a first time for everything. I don’t want that first time to happen while there’s a baby around. It’s not safe.”
“Want me to drive you? From what I hear, the roads still have some ice.”
Jet could go a few miles in Nash’s monster truck, but after that, the suspension bounced him around too much. Plus, all that bouncing wasn’t safe for a fragile infant. “Thanks, but the SUV will be fine. I’ll stop off and pick up a car seat somewhere first.”
“Not much open, and besides, I understand that half the town stopped by Doctor Gran
t’s place today with baby stuff. Somebody may have already donated a car seat.”
Jet leaned on his desk and stared at Nash. “How do you always know everything that’s going on and I don’t?”
“I’m Facebook friends with Drew Gillian and she...”
“You can stop right there. I just met Drew this morning and I can tell she likes to keep everyone informed.”
Nash smirked. “There’s some stuff on there about you spending the night at Doctor Grant’s. Now, if I didn’t know you better, I’d say Russ Knightly might have a run for his money.”
Jet instantly felt a pang of irritation that Drew had spread gossip about himself and the doctor, even though he’d known she would. Still, was there nothing sacred? No friendship that outweighed gossip?
Apparently not in Briggs.
“Nothing happened. I was stuck there because of the snow.”
“Convenient, ain’t it? I was stuck at Drew’s house.”
Somehow Jet didn’t think that encounter had turned out the same as his. “How’d that go?”
“I was a complete gentleman. Besides, she lives with her parents, and her dad is about six foot four and probably weighs in at well over two hundred and sixty pounds. Believe me, I slept on the sofa. Where’d you sleep?”
“On the sofa,” Jet said, but he wasn’t very convincing.
“Huh, maybe I needed to send Brick Gillian over... That’s his name, Brick, because he’s as solid as a brick.”
“Both the doctor and I are adults.”
“Legally, so are Drew and I, but in Brick’s mind, no one shares a bed unless they’re married.”
“I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m snowbound over at Doctor Grant’s.”
Nash grinned. “Ha! Then you admit that you—”
Jet stood. “I don’t admit anything. You’re jumping to conclusions that can damage her reputation. She’s in a relationship with Russ Knightly, soon to be our new mayor if he has anything to say about it, and come to think of it, they have a date tonight, so I better get going.”