Jessica's Cowboy Daddy

by Melinda Barron

  “So what’s the plan,” she asked after she’d cleaned her plate.

  “All you need to know is I hope he comes to Bookman Springs,” Jackson said.

  “I can’t know the plan, but they can?” She pointed to the retirees.

  “We’re the bodyguards,” Marty said.

  “If Dobbs has been watching you, and I think he has, he’ll know the retirees are regulars.” Jackson took a sip from his coffee. “Having the retirees there won’t raise any flags. If Hawk, or any of his brothers, are there, Dobbs won’t come in to talk with you.”

  “Listen, that’s true,” she said after a few moments. “But I don’t want to put the retirees in danger. If Grant has killed once, there’s every chance he’ll do it again.”

  “We’ll be packing,” Marty said.

  Jessica put her head in her hands, partly to hide her smile, but mostly to wonder what in the devil was happening here. This was supposed to be a happy day for her. She’d agreed to marry the man she loved, and here she was, trying to get a murderer to confess.

  “Do you think he’ll come in tomorrow?” she asked.

  “I hope so,” Jackson said. “But that’s part of the plan I can’t script. He may not even fall for it.”

  “What happens if he doesn’t?” Jessica asked, lifting her head to look at the ranger.

  “Then we go to Plan B.”

  “Which is what?” she asked.

  “I’m still working on it.”

  “That’s good to know,” Jessica said.

  The room quieted as people helped themselves to more food. Jessica had eaten all of her first plate, but now she felt as if it all might come up again. She hated the thought of seeing Grant again, especially since he would be angry. She’d only seen him like that when she’d broken up with him, and that had been a horrible time. When she’d given him the ring she thought he would hit her. Instead he thrown the bottle of wine he’d been holding against the wall, and she’d run from the room. She hadn’t seen him since then, and she really didn’t care to.

  Suddenly she was glad the retirees would be with her when—if—Grant showed up. She’d been angry with them for spreading gossip about her, but they were correcting that mistake, and she was happy about it.

  Hawk put his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. Their gazes locked and she knew he could tell she was upset about everything. But he would be there for her, she knew that.

  “So you’re going to take her to the station tonight?” Hawk asked.

  “This afternoon would be better, and we will keep her there for a while,” Jackson said.

  Jessica feared her expression must have been one of horror, because Jackson held up a finger. “No interrogation, I promise. In fact Hawk can come with you if you’d like.”

  She nodded. She definitely wanted him there.

  “It would work better that way,” Jackson said. “Hawk could bring you, and then you leave with him. After that I go talk to Grant.”

  “And he comes to the bakery tomorrow,” she said. “Is he going to plant the ring at the bakery?”

  “We’ll keep an eye on him,” Frank said. He pointed at his eyes as if to emphasize his words.

  “We hope he does,” Jackson said. “But we shall see.”

  In the end, no one had to do the dishes. Austin packed everything up and said he’d run it all through the dishwasher at the bakery.

  “Tell the girls I’ll see them in the morning,” Jessica said. When people started to leave she realized she hadn’t signed the papers, or even read them. She watched a few cars pull out, and turned toward the kitchen. It was empty. She went to the dining room where Leslie sat with Hawk and Reed.

  “This doesn’t seem like a good idea somehow,” Jessica said as she sat down at the table. “What happens if Grant flies off the handle?”

  “He needs you as a scapegoat,” Hawk said.

  She understood that, but… “He could still hurt the retirees, or the girls.”

  “They’re all willing to take that risk,” Hawk said. “I’ve talked to them all.”

  “Do I need to read these over?” Jessica picked up the papers.

  Leslie nodded. “I wrote them, and they’re good, but never, never, never sign something you haven’t read. We’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you have any questions.”

  Leslie and Reed left the room, and Jessica leaned into Hawk. “I don’t want to do this anymore. Can you invent a time machine where, with the information I have now, I meet Grant and tell him to go to hell?”

  “I’m on it,” Hawk said. “I know this makes you nervous, but how about we do this, then we have a Daddy/Little party tonight, just the two of us? We’ll have an indoor picnic, play games, do whatever you want to do.”

  Jessica nodded. “Can we bake cookies?”

  “Chocolate chip?”

  “Peanut butter,” she countered.

  “Both.” He leaned over and kissed her temple. “You have to do what’s right on this one.”

  “You’re right,” she said. There were only three pages to the papers, and she read them all, and then Hawk did the same. She wasn’t exactly sure of some of the words, but she knew what it said. The cops didn’t think she killed Matilda Dobbs, but they wanted her help to trap the man they think did—Grant Dobbs.

  Jessica signed at the x.

  The plans changed as the afternoon dragged on. A huge thunderstorm built up, and flooded the roadways, making a trip dangerous. Since Jackson wanted to get this done tonight he decided on a different tactic… a phone call.

  “I’d prefer to do it in person so I could see his expressions, but I don’t want to wait until tomorrow,” Jackson said. “We need to wrap this up.”

  Jackson let her and Hawk stay in the room while he called Grant, and the sound of her ex-fiancé’s voice almost made her gag. She had to hold it in because she’d promised to be quiet.

  “Did you arrest her?” Grant sounded so smug that after she’d fought back the gag, Jessica had flipped off the phone that sat in the middle of the table.

  “I know she did it, but I don’t have enough evidence,” Jackson said.

  “You have the phone recording,” Grant said. “What else do you need?”

  “A murder weapon would be good,” Jackson said. “And so would the ring. Neither of those items showed up in our searches.”

  The phone got quiet and finally Grant said, “Did you check her cop boyfriend’s house?”

  “We did,” Jackson said. “They have a lot of guns and rifles there, but no .38 Specials.”

  “Then use the tape,” Grant said in exasperation.

  This time Jessica shot the phone a double bird.

  “She has a good lawyer.” Jackson had a smile on his face. “The lawyer will tear the tape up in court and win. There’s such a thing as double jeopardy. If we try her on the case, and the DA won’t do it I promise you, and we lose then she really does get off scot free.”

  We’re going to have to accept the fact that unless we get more evidence, she might get away with it.”

  “That’s unacceptable.” Grant had the same tone of voice he’d used when he’d thrown the bottle of wine against the wall. “Arrest her.”

  “I’ll do my job and arrest her when it will stick,” Jackson said. “I’m sorry this upsets you, but there is nothing more I can do except continue to search. I’m sorry.”

  Grant said a few choice words, and Jessica fought back a laugh. She glanced at Hawk and could see he was smiling.

  “I’ll let you know when I have more information, but it might be a while,” Jackson said.

  “That is unacceptable,” Grant repeated, his anger apparent. “I want her ass in jail. Now.”

  Jessica stood, she bent so her rear was near the phone and pointed a finger at it. Then she turned around and mouthed, “Kiss my ass.”

  “I will talk with you again,” Jackson said. “Good night, Mr. Dobbs.”

  He hung up and then pointed his finger at Jessica. “You
almost made me laugh, and that would have ruined the whole thing.”

  It was the first time she’d seen any amount of humor from the ranger, and it made her smile. “Sorry, I’ll behave.”

  “Unlikely,” Hawk said.

  “She’s a handful,” the ranger said. “Where are the two of you staying? Back at the cabin?”

  “Not sure,” Hawk said.

  “I have units on the house, and on the bakery just in case he surprises me and shows up tonight. I don’t think he has the guts to do that personally, and there’s no way he’s getting into the ranch.”

  “You got that right,” Hawk said. “I don’t think he’s the type to fight men. He will go after the weaker sex.”

  “Who you calling weak?” Jessica asked.

  “Sorry, babe.”

  “You should be,” she said. Then she grinned and turned to Jackson. “What happens now?”

  “Just be on the lookout,” Jackson said. “He’s cornered, so to speak, and desperate.”

  They said their goodbyes and when they were in the truck, Jessica said, “Back to the cabin?”

  “Not tonight,” Hawk said. “I thought we’d have a Little party, just the two of us.” He started to drive, and as he missed turns and headed out of town she knew exactly where he was going.

  “I don’t think you understood me when I said I wouldn’t stay there. Snakes. Remember, snakes?”

  “We’ll be inside,” he said.

  “He was under the house,” she said. “What if he made it into the house?”

  “You mean what if he unlocked the door?” He turned onto the farm-to-market road that led to the Spellman’s house. “I called the realtor and told her we were interested. She gave me the key, and she had the electricity turned on. I set up a TV and DVR, and there is a cooler full of food. The refrigerator was nasty and needs replacing. I also set up a bed so we’re not sleeping on the floor.”

  “I’ll be sleeping in the truck,” she said.

  “You don’t think there’s snakes near the cabin?”

  She hadn’t thought about that. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Take me to my house.”

  “If I do that you’re going to miss what I have set up for you.”

  Jessica didn’t respond, and he put his hand on her thigh. “Babe, I’m not going to let a snake get you. I promise.”

  “When it slithers into the bed and bites me in the middle of the night I’m never talking to you again.”

  “I’ll take my chances,” he said. “I’ve already been out there, as I said, and I checked every room. No snakes.”

  She really didn’t care what he’d experienced earlier, because she’d seen those things move like the wind. He pulled up next to the Spellman house. It wasn’t quite dark, but the lights were on inside, and it gave the place a whole new perspective. It didn’t look as rundown, or as old.

  “It needs a new porch, and some siding,” she said.

  “All things that are easily taken care of.” He opened his door. “Do I need to carry you in?”

  “That works for me,” she said.

  He came around to her side of the cab and opened the door. Once she’d wrapped her arms around his neck he picked her up. He kicked the door close and carried her inside. This was her first time inside, and it was obvious to her that the Spellmans had taken care of their house. The walls were nicely painted and the hardwood floors were beautiful.

  “Who helped you?” she asked as he set her on her feet. Someone had obviously done it because there was a picnic table in the middle of the room, and the TV was large and looked like it needed two people to set it up. When he didn’t answer she said, “Tell Holt I said thanks.”

  “He said to tell you he’s going to set up a rattlesnake petting zoo, just for you.”

  “Jerk.”

  “Sit down at the table, sweet pea,” he said.

  She did as he asked, then watched as he took wrapped plates from the cooler. She took off the foil as he filled the table. There were plates of cheese, mini corndogs, mini pigs in a blanket, and mac ’n’ cheese.

  “Thank Austin for the food,” she said as she unwrapped the last plate, which was full of fruit.

  “I brought out a microwave and will warm things up. You stay there.” He pushed the remotes in her direction and she turned on the TV and DVD, and started the disc. It was roadrunner cartoons and she laughed as she picked at the cheese.

  After they’d eaten, and laughed at the cartoons, she moved toward him and nestled her back against his chest.

  “How do you feel out here?” he asked.

  “Better than I did at first,” she said. “But what happens if we move in and the snake comes to visit again?”

  “You let me worry about that,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  He jumped up from the table and headed toward the door. “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “Stay right there,” he said.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not moving.” Jessica glanced around the room, expecting the snake she’d seen the last time to pop out of the floor and say hi. Hawk was back moments later with two large dress boxes.

  “What’s this, Hawk-Daddy?”

  “Open them and find out,” he said after he’d set them on the bench beside her. She pulled the ribbon from the first one and tossed off the lid. Inside was a Cinderella costume. She clapped her hands in delight and then jumped up and threw her arms around his neck.

  “Thank you, Hawk-Daddy!” She kissed him on the cheek, and then on the lips.

  “Open the other one.”

  Jessica totally forgot about the fact there might be snakes in the house. She pushed the opened box aside and pulled the ribbon from the second one. It was a Jasmine costume. Both were from two of her favorite movies.

  “Try them on,” he said as he sat back down at the picnic table.

  Jessica quickly stripped and tried the Jasmine one first. It was tight across the bust and hips, but she supposed it looked better that way. She flitted around the room, wishing she had a magic carpet that could take them both away, anywhere.

  “You look spectacular, sweet pea.”

  “Thank you, Hawk-Daddy.”

  “Try the other one.”

  She picked up the Cinderella dress and ran her hand over the satiny material. “Do I have to choose between them?”

  “No, they’re both yours,” he said. “I ordered them about a week ago. They came in yesterday.”

  Hawk stood and took her hand. When he kissed it she felt a wonderful tingle in her stomach.

  “I want to show you something,” he said. He led her down the hallway, and she wondered if he’d had someone clean it because it seemed spotless. They passed a bathroom, two bedrooms, and at the end of the hall he led her through a doorway. It was obviously the master bedroom. The room was large enough for a bed and sitting area. To the left was a bathroom that had a separate shower and tub. The only thing she thought needed to be changed was she’d like a tub with jets.

  When they were back in the bedroom he led her to a doorway. When he opened it she stepped into what was, she supposed, a smaller bedroom. There was no other doorway, but there were French doors that led to a small outdoor veranda.

  “This is amazing,” she said.

  “This could be our playroom,” he said. “We could add to it so we could have a Little space, and a BDSM space. I don’t think it would take much to knock out the back wall. And, as far out in the country as we are, we can make lots of noise. What do you think?”

  Was he kidding? She felt more at home in this space than she ever had in any place she’d ever lived.

  “Should we buy it together?” she asked. “That would sort of let our secret out before the wedding.”

  “I can buy it and Kyle and I can start the renovations. He’s good with a hammer.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She nestled her head against his chest after the kiss broke.

  “I want to redo the kitchen, too,�
� she said.

  His laughter made their bodies shake. “I thought you might,” he said.

  “And I want a soaker tub.”

  “Anything else?” he kissed the tip of her nose.

  “I’ll make a list.”

  Chapter 16

  A week later Jessica wondered if Jackson could read people or not. There had been no sign of Grant. True to form the retirees had shown up every day to eat donuts, drink coffee, and talk. The only difference was they stayed until she closed the doors at four. Jackson had shown up twice, saying he’d had little contact with Grant, and when he had it was for Grant to show his anger because Jessica was not behind bars.

  “I’ve told him the same thing over and over, but he’s not picking up on the bait,” Jackson said. “I might have misjudged him. I have men searching for other evidence against him, but we’re not finding anything. He may not push it.”

  “I know Grant, Ranger Jackson, and I can assure you he’s just planning something that he thinks will end with me going to trial and him laughing all the way to the bank. He’s not giving up. He’s strategizing.”

  “And I will plan accordingly.”

  After another week, Nate Willis showed up just as Jessica was turning the key in the lock. He was in his personal truck, and out of uniform.

  He honked at her, gave her a thumbs up, and then drove off. It was one of the strangest encounters she’d ever experienced. Marty still sat inside, although all the other retirees had gone home for the day. She’d told him earlier he could go, but his response had been he was staying until Hawk arrived. But Hawk, she knew, was out at the Spellman house measuring space with Kyle. His loan had been approved, and he was set to close on the house in three weeks’ time. His idea was to have all the plans in place so they could start remodeling the day they closed. She knew several of his friends were helping, too, although she wasn’t sure what they were doing.

  She pulled out her phone and sent him a text, asking if he knew what was happening. She described the drive-by from Willis, and then put her phone up.

  “Really, Marty, you can go,” she said. “The girls are gone. All I need to do is my day’s report on sales, and check and make sure we’re set for the morning.”