The Deputy's Baby

by Tyler Anne Snell

  “Things are about to get crazy,” he continued, voice lost to the strain of trying to figure out if he should keep his tantrum going. “And that chaos is the goal, the end game.” He fixed Paula with a look that kept whatever she was about to say behind her lips. “No more acting out of line in the name of revenge. No more taking shots because you have the opportunity. You’re here for more than something so insignificant.”

  Paula crossed her arms over her chest. She made no move to help Jason free himself. It was as if she’d already forgotten him.

  Which was even better.

  “What’s more significant than revenge?” she asked, cool and calm. “What’s better than making the people who wronged us and ours suffer?”

  He was quick to answer. “The power to prolong both.”

  For the first time since he’d summoned them both into his makeshift office, Paula’s expression went blank. Then, slowly, she smiled. “Then let’s go make some chaos.”

  Chapter Four

  The night ended without any more fuss. Cassie went home, showered and then took comfort in the arms of her padded duvet. But only after dropping the air-conditioning down a few degrees. She’d had a good pregnancy so far when it came to morning sickness, but she never stopped being amazed at how hot she got.

  Her sister Kristen called her a walking furnace.

  Cassie lived up to the name the next morning. She woke up sweating. It wasn’t until she made it to the kitchen for a glass of water that she fought through the haze of sleep and remembered everything that had happened the day before.

  She downed half the glass and went in search of her cell phone. It had also spent the night tangled in the bedsheets. Which meant her battery hadn’t been charged. A notification showed it was less than 15 percent. The one below it listed two new text messages. Cassie perched on the side of the bed. She didn’t give herself time to worry about what each message said before opening and reading both.

  The first was from Denise, the Caller ID reading Mrs. Beadle. Several hearts were on either side of the name. Cassie smiled. Her eldest sister and sibling was just as maternal as their mother. She’d actually been the first person Cassie had called after getting to the hospital to make sure everything was okay with the baby.

  Which hadn’t made Kristen happy, since she was local and Denise lived in Colorado. However, it was a force of habit to call the eldest Gates sibling and had been since she’d moved out of the house when they were younger. Denise had a gift for worrying about a person with all of her being while simultaneously helping comfort that same person with all of her being. And that was what Cassie had desperately wanted. Comfort, released of the fear and uncertainty that had just crashed back into her life. Both sisters said in their own ways to call them when she was up and moving around.

  Cassie sighed.

  It was only a matter of time before word got out to the rest of the Gates clan. Then her brothers would be the ones filling her inbox.

  It came with the territory of being the youngest of six siblings. The baby. Which, by default, meant she received the full weight of their worry and less and less of their confidence. Never mind Cassie was twenty-nine, had a mortgage and was a few months shy of becoming a full-fledged mother.

  She placed a hand on her swollen belly.

  A love she didn’t think was possible consumed her entire heart and soul at the touch. Relief cascaded down until she felt like crying.

  The sound of gunfire shot across her thoughts.

  If anything had happened to her son at the diner...

  Cassie fisted the sheets in her hands, suddenly as angry as a kicked hornet’s nest.

  Then she was picturing gray eyes and feeling the warmth of a body protecting hers.

  Henry. Henry Ward.

  The rage at the most horrific what-if about her son lessened into a different kind of anger. One that, if she was being honest, was backed up by insecurity.

  After a night of connection so deep with the man that it had surprised her, he had promised to call when he got back home.

  Yet he never had.

  No call. No text. No anything.

  What’s more?

  He’d told her his name was Henry Smith.

  How idiotic she found that now. Of course the gorgeous man she’d had a wonderful night of passion with after meeting in a bar had given her a fake name. She should have taken it as a hint he didn’t want to see her again after he’d told her he couldn’t give his number out because he didn’t have one yet. But, boy, if she hadn’t believed him then. Hung on his every word.

  She had been a sheep, like normal. He, a lion.

  Embarrassment began to burn in Cassie’s cheeks. She shook her head.

  “Nothing’s changed,” she said out loud, stern with herself. “You have this baby and this baby has you. You don’t need strangers who lie. No matter how sexy that stranger is.” She patted her stomach. “You can do this, baby mama.”

  It was a good little talk that mostly did the trick.

  She went around the house trying her best to get back into any semblance of a routine. She ate, she cleaned and she cooked, all while making calls to her family and friends. The former she assured she was okay, the latter she asked for updates on the sheriff. Maggie was the only person she could get hold of who knew anything substantial about Billy’s condition. He was stable but still unconscious. Once he did wake they’d be able to go from there. It was good news, all things considered, yet it wasn’t enough to erase the fear that had taken root.

  It wasn’t until she finished strapping a pan covered in aluminum foil into the passenger seat of her car that Cassie realized she was going to try to help alleviate some of that stress for her friends by delivering a platter of lasagna to the department. Just in time for lunch like the Southern woman her mother taught her to be. Sure, it wasn’t a normal lunch meal, but she blamed that on the baby in her stomach. She’d been craving cheese and tomato sauce for days. Two birds, one stone.

  The dish didn’t budge as she drove to the heart of Carpenter. Since she was alone she said a few curses under her breath about the weather. Furnace or not, their South Alabama town was just plain old miserable. A blanket heat, a choking humidity and a baby in her belly were not complimentary details that made the situation better. By the time she pulled into the parking lot at the sheriff’s department, she was ready to sprint inside for the lobby air conditioner if she had to.

  The day shift had most of the lot filled, but Cassie couldn’t help noticing a car she didn’t recognize. Which probably belonged to Henry, she realized.

  The father of her child.

  No amount of lasagna or air-conditioning was going to smooth over that particular stress. Despite her feelings, reservations and insecurities, she couldn’t sidestep the man forever. Especially if he was a deputy.

  That meant that she was going to have to decide sooner or later if she was going to tell him the truth.

  Guilt pooled in her stomach, but she was quick to combat it with the facts.

  As much as she wanted to believe that the man she’d had a connection with months ago was great, she couldn’t escape the reality that he had lied to her about his name and then disappeared completely from her life.

  He had been a one-night stand, albeit a great one. That was what it boiled down to.

  One night.

  That didn’t seem like a lot when contemplating letting him possibly have a place in her unborn child’s life.

  Cassie cut the engine and patted her stomach.

  “No matter what, it’s going to be all right,” she told her son, though she knew it was more to herself. With a sigh that she was sure even he felt, Cassie got out of the car and pushed into the heat.

  She wasn’t two steps behind her car when her plan of action to escape the heat was halted.

  “Excuse me.�
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  Cassie turned in time to watch a man walk out from between two of the cars. He immediately held his hands up in defense and pointed behind him.

  “I was on the way over here from the coffee shop,” he explained. “Now I realize how creepy it must look, me just popping out from the back of the parking lot.”

  The man managed to look sheepish. He was well dressed, she guessed in his early thirties, and had a shock of dark red hair that was trimmed neat to the scalp. Cassie had never seen him before, but nothing about him screamed hostile. The smile left behind from his laughter put her at ease.

  “I assume you work at the department?” This time he motioned to the building behind her.

  She’d been with the sheriff’s department for years and knew it like the back of her hand. It stood between the county courthouse and the local television station, a two-story wrapped in faded orange brick and concrete. It was wider than its neighboring buildings but shorter. The second floor was vacant minus a room used for storage. Still, the department had spent years cultivating efficiency in the first floor’s space. Cassie was particularly proud of her dispatcher’s area.

  “Yes, I do,” she answered, mimicking his smile. “Though at the moment I’m off duty. But I’d be glad to try to help you.”

  “I really do appreciate that, but I’m afraid I have a bit of a weird request.” He pulled a plastic sandwich bag from his pocket and held it out to her. There was something inside it. A ring. “Sheriff Reed made a stop into the Carter Home yesterday and a deputy who was with him left this behind.”

  Cassie took the bag, her heartbeat already quickening.

  “I never caught his name, so I figured I’d just bring it in and let you all sort it. Maybe you could return it to its owner?”

  Cassie might not have been back at work, but she’d learned of Billy’s intended tours for new recruits. In this case, that meant Henry. Which meant fate was having a good ole laugh at her right now. It looked like she’d have to talk to the man sooner rather than later.

  “Of course I will. I even know the deputy in question,” she answered. “Why don’t you come in with me? I’m sure he’d be grateful for you returning this.” Maybe she could use the man as a buffer until she decided what to do.

  The man shook his head. “I’m actually in a hurry.” Again he motioned to the building that butted up to the back of the parking lot. It was a strip mall that housed several businesses, including the best coffeehouse in town. “Would you mind giving it to him instead? I have a friend waiting for me plus a cup of coffee with my name on it.”

  Cassie was nothing if not accommodating. “I can do that. No problem.” She readjusted her purse. Sweat was already forming above her brow. “Can I give him your name so he can at least know who to thank later if the occasion arises?”

  “Michael.” He held up his hands again, an apologetic look across his face. “I really have to go now. I hope you have yourself a great day.”

  Before Cassie could press for a last name, he turned, effectively ending their conversation.

  Maybe she wasn’t the only one in a hurry to get out of the heat.

  * * *

  “IT’S NOT IDEAL.” Suzy’s mouth tightened. “But it’s what I’m saying.”

  Henry looked across the top of the woman’s desk and was trying his best not to look petulant. He knew a very bad thing had happened the day before, but he didn’t want to get benched because of it. Not when he’d done nothing but key himself up with thoughts about his future in Riker County the night before. He knew change was inevitable, but that didn’t mean he had expected it to start so quickly after joining the department.

  “Listen, I get it, I really do,” he returned, trying. “I’m the new guy. It only makes sense that the sheriff’s case takes precedence over taking me around town and explaining the lay of the land. But isn’t there some way I can speed the process up? Maybe have someone write down the places I need to know and I can go when I’m off duty?”

  Suzy gave him a flat stare. She looked as tired as he felt. “The idea was to pair you with people who have grown up in the various towns and city in Riker County. It’s a process Billy started up when he was elected sheriff and one that I truly believe has helped every new addition to the team. Even support staff has been paired with one of us or a senior deputy to learn, as you said, ‘the lay of the land.’” She pointed to herself. “Billy and I were your guides along with Deputy Mills, but now... Well, now plans and priorities have shifted, and as much as I hate it for you, you’re going to be sitting at your desk until all the dust settles.”

  Henry didn’t like that. Not one bit. Billy might have stabilized, but regardless of his condition he wouldn’t be back to work for months. Which meant Suzy would hold the title of acting sheriff until then. Which meant there might be some shifting around of the deputies, picking up the things that might fall through the cracks of a sudden management shift.

  Which meant he might be saddled to his desk a lot longer than he wanted.

  “What about Cassie?” The words left his mouth out of desperation. It wasn’t until he saw them register in Suzy’s face that he himself wasn’t keen on the idea. Still, desperation bred desperation. He pushed on. “She’s not due back to work until next week, right? Maybe she wouldn’t mind showing me around, all things considered. I heard she grew up in the county.”

  Henry wasn’t about to say he’d heard that from the woman herself, months ago and in between the sheets at his hotel room. The bottom line was that he’d made a point. One Suzy seemed to be considering.

  “She spent a few years in Darby, but yeah, the bulk of her childhood wasn’t spent too far from where Billy and I grew up.” Suzy made a pyramid with her fingers, then tapped two of them together in thought. “Truth be told, I would like to get you out into the field sooner rather than later. I know Billy probably already told you this, but you’ve got an impressive résumé. I’d rather you use your skills out there trying to keep the county safe than stuck behind a desk.”

  Henry felt a stab of guilt in his gut. He was proud of his career, sure, but in his mind that career had all but died when his partner had. Being praised for any of it now felt wrong. It hadn’t mattered how good he was at reading people, how fast his reflexes were, and how good a shot he could be, at the end of the day, none of it had saved his friend.

  And if he couldn’t save Calvin, what made any of them think he could save anyone else?

  That thought scorched across his mind so quickly he nearly stood from his seat to distance himself from it. Doubting his role as a deputy would definitely get someone hurt. Even him.

  No. He needed to be ready for anything.

  That included Cassie Gates.

  “Let me give her a call and feel it out,” Suzy declared with a nod. She grabbed the phone but paused before picking it up. “But if she isn’t up for it, you’ll go to a desk until we can find someone else. Understood?”

  There was no malice or annoyance in the woman’s tone. Just a boss needing to make sure her charge was on the same page.

  And he was.

  “I won’t push the issue,” he said. “Scout’s honor.”

  She smirked at that and dialed Cassie’s number without another word. Henry was wondering if he should leave the room when a song started to play out in the hallway. They both looked to the open office door as the song got closer.

  “You rang?” Cassie said, popping her head into the room, surprising them both. At seeing Henry there, she faltered but finished her thought. “Or are ringing, I should say.” She held up her phone as Suzy hung up hers.

  “You’re here? Is everything all right?”

  Cassie nodded hurriedly. “Yeah, I just thought I’d bring in some lunch for everyone.” Her cheeks reddened a little. She groaned. “Which I left in the car. Because pregnancy brain is real.” Her eyes flitted to Henry’s. Ins
tead of looking away, she held his stare. “I was also distracted by someone in the parking lot looking for you.”

  “For me?” Henry asked, once again surprised. Outside of the people who worked in the department, he’d made no friends in Riker County. He didn’t even know if he could give the people he worked with that title yet. Not to mention no one from his life in Tennessee even knew where he’d gone. At least, no one who would have bothered to visit. And surely if it had been his brother he would have called. “Who was it?”

  Cassie pulled a plastic bag from her purse and passed it over. “His name was Michael. He was at the Carter Home yesterday when you came by with Billy. He didn’t know your name but knew you were the new deputy.” She shrugged. “He was in a hurry, so I said I’d make sure you got it.”

  There was curiosity in her voice. Henry heard it plain as day. Yet it paled in comparison to his own.

  He looked at the bag between his fingers. He didn’t open it. He’d recognize the ring anywhere. A warmth that had no business belonging to him started to spread in his memory. Just as quickly it turned ice cold. He looked back to Cassie. If her expression was any indication, she’d caught on to the unwelcome change in his demeanor. Apparently she wasn’t the only one.

  “Deputy,” Suzy said, breaking their stare, “what’s wrong?”

  Henry met his boss with an even look that he hoped gave nothing away but the facts. He held up the bag. “The last time I saw this ring was a year ago.” That cold feeling began to spread as he took a moment before finishing. “It belonged to Calvin Fitzgerald.”

  By the change in her demeanor, Henry knew Suzy recognized the name. And why it was significant.

  “A year ago...” she said, fishing.

  Henry took the bait.

  “The day of the fire,” he offered. “The day he died.”

  Chapter Five

  Henry and Suzy went out to the parking lot in search of Michael but found no one. Cassie went to look at the security footage that covered the lot and had a deputy pause the tape for them until they came back.