Wildflower Ridge

by Sherryl Woods

  The question seemed innocuous enough, no more than casual conversation, except the man was a cop. Patsy hesitated.

  He glanced her way and she cursed those reflective sunglasses that prevented her from getting a good look at his eyes.

  “Don’t you know?” he demanded. “What kind of mother leaves home with a sick baby if she doesn’t have to?”

  Her temper flared and she clutched Billy a little tighter. “He wasn’t sick when we left home.”

  “When was that?”

  “A few days ago,” she conceded.

  “And the baby’s father?”

  She’d known the question would come up sooner or later. She’d been praying for later, long enough to have manufactured a believable story. Forced to improvise quickly, she said only, “He’s not around.”

  “I see,” Justin said slowly, his expression thoughtful. “You know, if you don’t have a place to go, Los Piños isn’t a bad little town.”

  Startled by the suggestion, she stared. “You wouldn’t object? Under the circumstances, I was sure you’d want us as far from your town as possible.”

  He glanced over at her. “You ever stolen anything before?”

  “No.”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “Because it’s the truth,” she said fiercely. “If it hadn’t been for Billy getting sick, I wouldn’t have done it this time. I would have come here, found a place for us to stay, gotten a job. We’re looking for a fresh start, Deputy Adams, not trouble and definitely not a handout.”

  Even from behind those damnable sunglasses, she could feel his penetrating gaze. It was enough to make a liar squirm. Patsy sat perfectly still and withstood it.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Patsy Gresham,” she said, resorting to her maiden name. If he checked the car tags, he’d know better, but if not, if luck was on her side, she could preserve the illusion for a little while at least.

  He nodded. “Okay, then, Patsy Gresham. I suppose having you stick around won’t be a problem. Just know I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

  She could just imagine. He’d probably spread the word from one end of town to the other that Patsy Gresham couldn’t be trusted. What kind of life could she make for herself with a cloud of suspicion hanging over her head?

  “I won’t tell a soul about what happened today, if that’s what’s worrying you,” he said, his expression softening as if he’d read her mind and wanted to reassure her. “You’ll move into town with a clean slate.”

  “Why are you being so nice?”

  Once more, the suggestion that he was anything other than a tough, by-the-book lawman seemed to make him uncomfortable. “Damned if I know,” he said eventually. “Just don’t make me regret it.”

  If Patsy had her way, not only wouldn’t he regret it, he’d never set eyes on her again. Even in a town the size of Los Piños, it ought to be easy enough to disappear if she wanted to make it happen.

  Then she took another long look at the man beside her. Of course, Justin Adams struck her as the kind of stubborn, determined man who could find whomever he set out to find. She’d just have to make darned sure he never had any reason to hunt for her.

  * * *

  Justin was losing it. He knew because there was no way in hell under normal circumstances he would have let a criminal off the way he was letting Patsy Gresham go free, despite what Sharon Lynn wanted.

  What was it his cousin had asked? Was it the green eyes or the tears that did it? Neither, he had wanted to shout. Now he wasn’t so sure.

  Every time he glanced into the woman’s sad, wary eyes, he felt some subtle change deep inside him. He wanted to strangle whoever had brought such sorrow into her life. She was entirely too young to look so beaten. And yet there was a surprising strength and feistiness about her. She might be down, but she definitely wasn’t out. He found such resilience admirable.

  On the way back into town he’d reached a decision. Until he knew more, he wanted Patsy Gresham right where he could keep an eye on her. He could just imagine the kind of razzing he’d take for that. No one in his family would believe for an instant that his motives were altruistic. He could explain from now until every head of Adams cattle was counted that he was being cautious, trying to prevent a more serious crime from taking place, but they wouldn’t buy it. Not once they got a look at Patsy, anyway. They’d blame it on his hormones and his good nature and nothing he could say would change their minds.

  She was a beautiful woman, all right. Fragile and road weary as she was, there was a delicacy about her that brought a man’s protective instincts surging to life. And her mouth, those luscious, sensual lips, well, it was the sort of mouth just made for kissing. Justin’s gaze had been drawn to it again and again, wondering what those lips would taste like.

  Right. Like he needed to get mixed up with a woman who might be an everyday, common thief. No, what he needed to do was to send Patsy Gresham packing, send her into some other jurisdiction where she’d be another lawman’s problem.

  The words had been on the tip of his tongue, too. He’d been ready to tell her that the second her car was brought back into town and filled with gas, courtesy of the deputy sheriff, he wanted her gone.

  Instead, he’d encouraged her to stay. There were names a whole lot stronger than fool for the kind of man that made him. Jerk and idiot came to mind. It was also pretty clear which part of his anatomy had been doing his thinking.

  “Do you have any money at all?” he asked, trying to stay focused.

  “No,” she admitted after a long hesitation. “At least I won’t have any once I buy gas. But I’m willing to work for room and board. I just need a break, that’s all. I don’t want charity.”

  To his dismay, he realized what he was going to do the second he crossed into the town limits. A few minutes later he pulled to a stop in front of the house that belonged to his sister, Dani. She still operated her veterinary practice from one side of it, but the living quarters had been empty ever since her marriage. If he asked, Dani would agree in a heartbeat to let Patsy and the baby use the house.

  But before taking Patsy Gresham and her baby inside, there were a few more questions he needed answered.

  “That car of yours is pretty expensive,” he said carefully, watching her intently. “Also, I’m no fashion expert, but I have enough female cousins with expensive taste to know quality when I see it.”

  Her chin tilted up a notch. “So?”

  “The two things combined make me wonder why you appear to be in such dire straits.”

  “Haven’t you heard? Appearances can be deceiving.”

  “Meaning that those things aren’t expensive or meaning that you’re not in dire straits? Maybe you didn’t need to steal that Tylenol. Maybe you were just doing it for kicks. I’ve heard there are rich ladies who get their thrills that way.”

  Indignant color flared in her cheeks. “Of course not. You’ve seen for yourself. Billy is sick.”

  “And you don’t have the money for the medicine.”

  “Right.”

  Her lower lip quivered and she looked as if she were about to cry. Justin really didn’t want to deal with a flood of tears, but he had no choice.

  “Hand me your purse,” he said quietly.

  She stared at him. “Why?”

  “So I can see for myself what shape you’re in financially.”

  She hugged the white leather bag almost as tightly as she clutched her son. “I don’t think so.”

  “I’m ordering you to.”

  “And I’m telling you, you’ll have to get a search warrant if you want to go poking through my things.”

  To his regret, she had a point. He had been hoping it wouldn’t come to that, that she’d cooperate voluntarily.

  “Look, if you’ll just get my car back here and loan me
the money for some food, I’ll buy my own gas with the money I have left and be on my way. I can see that staying here isn’t such a good idea. For all the pretty words, Officer, it’s clear you don’t really trust me.”

  “If you’d let me take a look in your purse, it would go a long way toward changing that,” he cajoled.

  “Not a chance,” she said, her gaze clashing with his.

  Justin debated the meaning of her resistence. She could just be a woman who knew her rights and intended to protect them. Or else she was hiding something. Maybe both. He was going to have to decide quickly whether it would be smarter to encourage her to leave town or to stay right here where he could keep an eye on her until he knew more. He gambled on the latter. It was probably better that he not examine his motives too closely.

  “Okay, come with me.”

  Her gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Where?”

  “We’re going to talk to my sister Dani about using the other half of this house. It’s fully furnished and, other than crashing here occasionally after a late night with an injured animal, she doesn’t use it.”

  There was no mistaking the quick survey she did of the white house with its neat lawn, nor the flaring of hope in her eyes. The house was small and tidy. Something told him it was nothing at all like what she was used to. He waited to see how she’d react.

  “Do you really think she’d let me use it for a few days, just until I get on my feet?” she asked eagerly.

  Her reaction went a long way toward reassuring him. “If I know Dani, she’ll insist on it.”

  “Maybe you should go ask her first. It’ll be easier for her to say no if I’m not standing there with Billy staring her in the face.”

  Justin grinned. “Which is precisely why I want you to come along. One look at you and the baby and she’ll be running out to stock the refrigerator for you. Dani is a very soft touch when it comes to taking in strays. You’ll see what I mean when you keep tripping over all the kittens underfoot.”

  “Kitty?” the boy echoed happily, coming awake again. “Where kitty?”

  Justin reached down and took him from his mother’s lap. The boy came to him eagerly. Justin grazed his cheek with his knuckles and noted that whatever fever he’d had seemed to have come down. “Inside, son. Want to see?”

  His dark eyes regarded Justin somberly, but he nodded at once. “See kitties.”

  Justin started up the walk, leaving Patsy no choice but to follow.

  “Hey, sis, you around here someplace?” Justin called out, striding straight through the crowded waiting room and into the back, where there was a cacophony of sound from the animals being boarded here while families went on summer vacations. A cat promptly wound between his legs, almost tripping him.

  “Dani, dammit. Get these cats away from me.”

  His sister poked her head out of one of the tiny examining rooms. “Justin, why are you raising such a ruckus?” she demanded, then spotted Billy. “Oh, my, isn’t he darling? Where’d you find him?”

  Justin nodded over his shoulder. “He came with her.”

  His sister’s gaze shifted at once to Patsy. “Ah, yes, I see,” she murmured.

  Justin regarded her suspiciously. “What does that mean?”

  “It means Sharon Lynn mentioned you were hot on the trail of a woman and a baby.”

  “Sharon Lynn has a big mouth.”

  “I had to pry it out of her,” Dani assured him. “After I’d heard about it from three other people.”

  Justin sighed. There were no secrets in Los Piños, not when it came to an Adams. “They need a place to stay.”

  “And you were thinking that they could use this place,” she guessed.

  He grinned sheepishly. “Well, you’re never here. Maybe Patsy could look after the animals for you at night. I’m sure your husband would appreciate having you home all night long for a change.”

  “An interesting deal.” She glanced at Patsy, who was hovering in the doorway. “How do you feel about it?”

  Justin waited uneasily. There was no predicting how she would react. Patsy had been surprising him from the second they’d met. So far he’d seen no evidence of uppity, high society ways, but maybe she’d draw the line at caring for a bunch of sick animals. A part of him hoped she would.

  In fact, she seemed about to argue, then she glanced his way and sighed. “I’d be grateful,” she said with apparent sincerity. “And of course I’d be willing to look after the animals in return, at least until I can get a job and pay you rent.”

  “No need to worry about that,” Dani replied. “We’ll try it for a few days and see how it goes.” She reached for Patsy’s hand. “Come with me. I’ll show you around.”

  Justin would have followed, but Billy patted his cheek. “Want to see kitties,” he reminded Justin.

  “So you shall,” he promised, pausing in the kitchen where several cats were sprawled in patches of sunlight. He hunkered down so Billy could see. The boy’s coal black eyes lit up.

  “Kitties,” he whispered with obvious satisfaction. “Nice kitty?”

  Justin nodded and set the boy on his feet. “You can pet them.”

  Billy toddled to the closest one and bent down until he was practically nose to nose with it. “Kitty,” he pronounced, and petted it gently on the head. The cat, used to the comings and goings of Dani’s rambunctious stepsons, merely yawned widely and stretched before curling up again with its head resting on its paws.

  Billy toddled on unsteady legs toward another and went through the same routine again. Not until he’d greeted every cat in the kitchen did he come back to Justin and hold out his arms to be picked up.

  “Mama,” he whispered, as if he’d just noticed she was missing. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

  “It’s okay, fella. Your mama’s right here. We’ll go find her, okay?”

  A thumb went into his mouth and he nodded. “’Kay.”

  His mother might be all bristly caution, but Billy was so thoroughly trusting it made Justin’s heart ache with unexpected longing. He’d never given much thought to marriage and kids. If he wanted to hold a baby, there were plenty to choose from in his family. If he wanted to be surrounded by laughter and love, he could invite himself to dinner at any number of homes.

  There was something very different about holding a child that belonged to you, though. He’d seen it in the awed expressions of his cousins’ husbands. Something told him that it might feel a whole lot like the sensation rushing over him now. And that, given how very little he knew about Patsy Gresham and her true circumstances, was a very dangerous reaction.

  Chapter Three

  Justin saw to it that Patsy Gresham and her baby were settled at Dani’s. He made sure her car was filled with gas and parked out front. He even had the Italian restaurant down the block send over dinner.

  And then he washed his hands of the entire situation. He’d done his good deed for the week. Maybe even for the whole year. He predicted if word got around that he’d not only let a shoplifter get away, but that he’d taken her under his wing, he’d never hear the end of it.

  As it turned out, it didn’t take long for word to get around. He was the butt of a fair bit of good-natured teasing from his uncles and cousins at the poker game that night at White Pines. Obviously Sharon Lynn had decided to spill the beans, after all. She must not have taken his threat to have a revealing talk with her fiancé all that seriously.

  “Don’t pay any attention to them, son,” Grandpa Harlan advised, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “They’ve gotten so old now, they don’t recall what it’s like to be captivated by a pretty face.”

  “Except for me, of course,” Harlan Patrick said. “I’m younger than Justin.”

  “And you’ve never been known to miss a pretty face,” Justin retorted. “Is there a woman in this town you haven’t chased a
fter at one time or another?”

  “Not since I met Laurie,” Harlan Patrick said piously. “She’d poke my eyes out if she caught me looking at another woman.”

  “She just has you thinking she would,” Grandpa Harlan corrected. “Laurie is the sweetest little gal you’ve ever brought around. She has a mighty nice voice, too.”

  “Yes, indeed,” Justin agreed. “One of these days Laurie’s going to run off to Nashville and leave Harlan Patrick pining away back here.”

  His cousin scowled at him. The remark had cut a little too close to Harlan Patrick’s greatest fear and Justin knew it.

  “How’d we get on my love life, anyway?” Harlan Patrick grumbled. “We were talking about you and the shoplifter.”

  “Don’t call her that,” Justin said harshly.

  “Why not? Isn’t that what you and Sharon Lynn caught her doing?”

  “She was desperate,” he countered defensively. “Besides, unless a person’s tried and convicted, you shouldn’t go throwing names around. She could sue you for slander.”

  “And probably hire my wife to do it,” Grandpa Harlan warned. “Janet would just love to get her teeth into a case like that. She hates being retired from her law practice. One of these days she’s going to stir up a mess of trouble, just so she can get herself into the thick of it.”

  “From what I’ve seen over the years, Daddy, you’re all the trouble Janet can cope with,” Justin’s uncle Cody said.

  Grandpa Harlan scowled. “Watch your tongue, boy. I’m not too old to throw you out of here. Maybe I’ll cut you out of the will while I’m at it. White Pines can skip right past you and go straight to Harlan Patrick.”

  Cody took the good-humored teasing in stride. “Daddy, you’ve been threatening to take this ranch from me since I can remember. One of these days I’m going to call you on it. I’ll hire Janet to contest the will.”

  “Can’t do it,” Grandpa Harlan said triumphantly. “It’d be a conflict of interest.”

  “Is anybody actually going to play poker tonight?” Justin inquired with a wistful glance at the hand he was holding. “I’m feeling lucky.”