Special Delivery (Mountain Meadow Homecoming 1)

by Laura Browning

  “What are you grinning about Allred? My imminent demise?”

  Jake snorted. “You were the one who invited yourself along. Don’t whine if you’re welcome’s less than you expect.”

  “So why the grin?”

  “Thinking of the woman and her brother who’ve rented the Crawley place.”

  Evan laughed. “You’re thinking about a woman? Careful, next thing you know, Sam’s prediction will come true…hooked and landed before the new year.”

  “Asshole.”

  Evan turned into Jenny’s drive. Her home, tucked into the trees on the side of one of the mountains, was ablaze with light when they arrived. Some of the doctors and nurses from the hospital as well as friends they’d gone to school with were already milling about. When Jake showed up late, Jenny smiled—until she saw who followed him in.

  “Hi, Jake.” She ignored Evan and pulled Jake to one side. “When I said bring a friend, Evan wasn’t who I meant.”

  “Come on, Jenny. He’s my best friend and my next-door neighbor. Besides, I was running just a bit late and he was waiting for me.” He needed to change the subject. “I was up this way last night. Dropped a kid home on Mistletoe Lane. Tyler Morgan. Lives with his sister, Holly. I guess y’all are neighbors of sorts.”

  “Oh. Then you’ve met her,” Jenny said with a smile. “I hoped Ernie would remember to give you my message.”

  “What message?” Jake asked in confusion. “When I saw him today, he just said you wanted to talk to me about a patient.”

  Jenny tucked her short blond hair behind one ear. “Yes. Holly Morgan. Didn’t you stop at her house?”

  “Well, yeah, but only because I gave the kid a ride home yesterday. Why’d you want me to check on her? It’s not my jurisdiction. I can give Sam a call, though.”

  Jenny sighed. “I know it’s not your jurisdiction. I wasn’t talking about official business. Ernie didn’t listen. Sam had already left the courthouse, so I left a box of food at the station for you to take by. There’s no way my car will make it down her road, and I knew you were headed out here anyway.”

  Jake quirked a brow. “You’re feeding your patients now?”

  Jenny punched him in the arm. “I had to put her on bed rest. She’s only worked at Crawford’s pallet warehouse for a couple of months or less. I think he’s arranged some work-at-home stuff for her, but still. She’s got no family and few resources. I mentioned Medicaid and food stamps to her, but she shut me down cold.”

  Jake’s brows drew together. “Where’s the dad-to-be?”

  “She has a protective order against him. I know his name and a medical history, but I can’t talk about it. Her file is no information.”

  He had his own sources for information, and he’d get some too. She and Tyler needed help. Jake didn’t even want to examine why he felt compelled to be the one to give it.

  “She did seem a little spooked when she saw me in uniform,” Jake offered to fill the silence. “Wouldn’t even let me get past her front door.”

  “She was lying down wasn’t she?” Jenny’s golden gaze sharpened.

  He thought about the way Holly had flung the door open when they’d stepped on the porch. “Not exactly.”

  “I was afraid of that. At this rate, she’ll go into premature labor. I’ll give her a call Monday. I’d like to get her out of that house and closer into town. I have some real doubts about the safety of Crawley’s house. There’s no telling how old the well is, not to mention the paint, probably loaded with lead.”

  “Well, there are those apartments not far from your clinic…”

  “I checked. They have a waiting list.” She eyed him. “You’ve got extra room in your place.”

  “So do you, Doc, and I’m not in the market for either boarders or roomies. What about some of the church ladies?”

  “She already said no when I mentioned moving closer in.” Jenny shook her head. “You know our town. I’m guessing she’s already come in for the evil eye. I mean, get real. Can’t you just see her boarding with Betty Gatewood? Your place would be a perfect solution. What better way to make sure her PO is enforced than to board with the police lieutenant.”

  He saw the glint in her eye. No, sir. As sexy as Holly Morgan was, even pregnant, that was too much. He’d just keep an eye out, make sure Sam knew about the protective order so he could send guys by more often.

  Just the thought of a woman invading his house made him shudder. She’d want to watch sappy chick flicks or get pissed off when he wanted to watch football. She’d find out I cry like a baby every night from nightmares. There must be something closer in, and he could pull a few strings, maybe get her a break in rent. He doubted Crawley had done anything as formal as a lease. Hell, he was surprised she got the old man to rent the place at all.

  The doorbell pealed and Jake saw Evan open the door to one of the young nurses. The perfect diversion to save him from Jenny’s well-meant meddling. As soon as the thought occurred, Jake was sorry about it. Fireworks were a forgone conclusion whenever she and Evan crossed paths. Playing host in her house was bound to get the sparks flying.

  He supposed he should try to head Evan off. He knew his best friend far too well. Evan was never one to back down from a confrontation, and Jake should have realized what Evan had been angling for when he’d kept nagging Jake to let him come with him.

  Jake started to move in for the interception, but he was already too late. Jenny was ahead of him. She smiled at the nurse, but the look she gave Evan would have made most men turn tail and run. Her golden eyes narrowed.

  “I didn’t get a chance to greet you earlier, Counselor. Did you stop by to see if I’d taken over running Daddy’s still?”

  Evan’s gray eyes were as cold as chips of ice. “Moonshine wasn’t the only thing your daddy ran, Dr. Owens. Last time I was by this place, it resembled a turnstile for the basketball team. But then you always were popular with the boys, weren’t you?”

  Jake winced. Well, now. That was taking things just a little too far a little too fast. Evan wasn’t even attempting an end run, he was plowing straight through the defensive line. Jake stepped in to block. “Hey, Evan! I’m working on a case I need your advice on. I forgot to ask you about it on the way over. Got a second?”

  He noted Jenny’s tense expression and dragged Evan away from her. No one would ever believe they had lived in each other’s pockets all through high school. Since his return to Mountain Meadow, he’d juggled his relationship with them. Both were good friends of his and he didn’t want to lose either one. He pulled Evan over to the refreshments.

  “What the hell were you thinkin’, Evan? Do you go out of your way to make her mad?”

  Evan arched one thick brow and let his shuttered gray eyes survey the room. “I didn’t go out of my way at all. You invited me.”

  “Don’t be an asshole! You know what I mean. And you invited yourself.”

  Evan stared Jake dead in the eye. “I don’t make it a point to have anything to do with her at all, Jake, but neither am I going to avoid her. Meeting in a social situation was inevitable. I won’t be driven out of my town just because she’s decided to return. So, I chose the turf. Hers.” His lip curled as he took in the comfortable surroundings. “Looks to me like the good doctor’s done pretty well for herself. I’m sure she can handle a little heat.”

  “It’s the holidays, Evan. For God’s sake, leave it alone for one night.”

  Evan’s mouth thinned and he said nothing, but nodded acquiescence. Jake sighed. It would take a miracle to bring those two together. He kept an eye on Evan, noting just how often his eyes tracked Jenny’s movements. Say what he wanted, Evan wasn’t over her, and Jake was sure she was the same.

  He was not much surprised, when Evan found him later, wanting to leave. That was fine with Jake. He had plenty on his mind but hoped he’d get a decent night’s sleep for a change.

  * * * *

  Jake picked up t
he box of food for Holly and her brother the following morning when he stopped by the station. He shook his head. Ernie was starting to get forgetful. It seemed to him the chief had a lot on his mind these days, and played most of it pretty close to his chest. Jake hefted the box, which contained some nonperishable snacks—healthy of course. Doc wouldn’t load her patient with nabs and Moon Pies. Though if you asked him, they’d taste a whole lot better than squirrel food. Maybe he’d stop by Tarpley’s on the way and grab a couple of bags of chips and some candy bars for Tyler. A boy needed decent guy snacks, not the granola crap Jenny stuck in there.

  It would be easy enough to drop it by before he drove the additional hour along the interstate to ski on his day off. Fresh snow on the higher peaks would be a change from the icy texture of the man-made snow at Thanksgiving, and Jake looked forward to it. He could enjoy the day and still do his good deed by looking in on Holly like Jenny wanted. Doc didn’t ask much, and she was a good friend. He knew she asked now because her fancy car couldn’t negotiate that pisshole of a road Holly and Tyler lived on. Besides, it was an excuse to see Holly again. And how pathetic was that? He’d hardly been able to carry on a conversation with her between her wariness and his klutziness with women.

  As he drove down the rutted lane, one thought nagged. How did Holly plan to get out if she went into labor? He hadn’t considered it before, but now he had a better idea just how bad their circumstances were.

  Tyler opened the front door as soon as the truck stopped. When he saw who it was, he grinned.

  “Hi, Lieutenant!”

  Jake grimaced. Holly sure didn’t need reminders he was a cop. It seemed obvious to him if she’d run, her protective order hadn’t done much. “Just call me Jake, Tyler.”

  “What’re you doin’ here?”

  “Doc Owens asked me to bring this box of food. Don’t you have school today?”

  Tyler grinned from ear to ear. “Teacher workday. Come on in.”

  When he stepped inside, he noticed the chill and glanced over to the cold woodstove. His eyes went to Holly. She sat on a stool at the kitchen sink, up to her elbows in suds. When she saw him, she stopped and dried her hands nervously on the towel she’d slung over her shoulder. Her belly might be poking out, but her arms and hands were still delicate.

  Her mouth twitched into something he guessed was a smile, but he knew it fell short of the mark. Not a warm welcome. He had to fight the urge to fidget as he cast around for something to say that wouldn’t sound like he was a complete idiot.

  Her wary gaze went to the box in his arms. “What’s that?” Her chin tilted.

  “A box of food.”

  Her face suffused with color and then went very pale. “We don’t need charity, Lieutenant Allred. As I told you the other night, we’re fine.”

  Jake’s eyes narrowed as he set the box on the small kitchen table with a definite thud. It was one thing to be proud when you had just yourself to worry about. That wasn’t the case here. “It’s not charity, Miss Morgan. Call it being neighborly. It’s what we do around here. Doc Owens sent the food over. For some reason, she seems concerned because she believes she’s put you on bed rest.” He stared at where she sat.

  Now the color flooded her cheeks in a guilty blush. Tyler came into the room. “Holly,” he interjected into the tense silence. “There’s no more wood to bring in for the stove. It’s gone.”

  For just a moment, Jake thought he saw her chin tremble. Then she bit her lower lip. Neither Holly nor her brother was in any shape to chop wood. Tyler wasn’t big enough to wield an ax, and she was supposed to be in bed. How the hell had they gotten along until now?

  Jake sighed and admitted he’d been looking for an excuse to hang around. Now he had it. Forget skiing. He stripped off his coat and pushed up the sleeves of his sweater.

  “What are you doing?” Holly’s eyes widened.

  “What needs doin’.” He pointed at her. “You go lie down like Doc says.” He pointed at Tyler. “You show me where the axe is. I’ll chop wood while you finish the dishes for your sister.”

  “Look, you can’t just walk in here and…” Holly’s protest trickled off after one look at him. She swallowed. “All right. Thanks.”

  He’d expected more of a fight, but then she looked tired.

  Tyler handed him the axe a few moments later out on the dilapidated front porch. “Uh, Jake?”

  “Yeah, kid.”

  “I have to go into town. I’m doing some odd jobs for the Tarpleys. They give us food and a little bit of money.”

  Jake paused. “Is that where you were coming from when I gave you a lift Saturday?”

  “Yeah. I’d just started. Holly…well, Doc said she can’t work. She does some stuff from the house, but it’s not full-time or anything. I thought I could help out. She’s awful worried about money. She thinks I don’t know, but I see her at night trying to figure how to make it work. Sometimes…sometimes she cries.”

  The boy was so serious for someone so young. “What time you supposed to be at Tarpley’s?”

  “Noon, but it takes a while to walk.”

  “No walking. I’ll run you into town when I go. In the meantime, I’ll chop wood, and you do those dishes. Your sister’s supposed to be lying down ’cause Doc’s afraid the baby’s trying to come too soon.”

  “It’s a girl,” Tyler confided. “Holly wants to name her Noelle, ’cause she’s supposed to be here right around Christmas.”

  Jake’s mouth quirked into a lopsided smile. Holly and Noelle. “That’s cool.”

  “Yeah. That’s Holly. Or it was. She used to be so happy all the time. I kinda miss the way things used to be.”

  Jake struggled to imagine the serious young woman he’d met as someone who was happy all the time, but then circumstances could change folks. Look at Jenny and Evan…and him. Jake ruffled Tyler’s hair, trying to reassure the kid. “Well, I guess she has a lot on her mind getting ready for a baby and all. Maybe we can make her smile again. What do you say?”

  Tyler grinned. “That’d be great. I’ll go finish the dishes, then help bring the wood in.”

  “Can you get a fire started?”

  “Yeah. Holly showed me how. Mine aren’t as good as hers, though. She says I’m too impatient.”

  Jake laughed. From what he had seen of Holly, she didn’t strike him as the patient sort, but then he was sure he wasn’t seeing her at her best. As he split the oak logs and stacked them, he pictured her. Along with her almost Madonna-like face was a stubborn, pointed little chin. Other than the baby bump—hell, mountain—she was thin, with long arms and legs and narrow shoulders that gave her a fragile air. Her breasts…he stopped there and swallowed. Whoa, boy. Pregnant. About to be a mother any minute. Better not to think on those lines.

  Tyler joined him in a few minutes. Together the two of them stacked plenty of wood on the covered porch. Jake watched Tyler build the fire, giving him a few tips. He glanced away and found Holly observing, her brows drawn together.

  He spoke to Tyler. “Do you need to clean up before I run you into town?”

  The boy glanced at the dirt on his shirt. “Yeah. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  An awkward silence fell. Jake stood near the stove, feeling like the Jolly Green Giant in the small house.

  “Why are you doing this?” Holly asked at last, wary and just a little defensive.

  Somehow he doubted she wanted to know he was attracted. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He spread his hands. “You need the help, and I like your brother.”

  For just an instant, he saw the first trace of humor flash across her face. “Just not me,” she commented.

  Heat flooded his cheeks. “That wasn’t…what I meant,” he sputtered.

  “It’s okay, Mr.…I mean Lieutenant Allred. I haven’t been at my best.”

  “Jake,” he corrected. “Call me Jake.”

  “Would you like a glass of tea before you go? You must
be thirsty after all that work. There’s some in the fridge.”

  A peace offering. “Yeah. I’ll get it.”

  Jake opened the refrigerator. Christ. There wasn’t enough food in there to feed a gnat, but he didn’t say a word. It would humiliate her, and heaven knew she was a prickly thing. He took the tea pitcher, grabbed one of the clean glasses from the dish drainer, and poured before putting the pitcher inside. The tea was good. Strong and sweet like he preferred. As he set the glass in the sink, he said, “I’ll bring him home—Tyler, that is—after he gets done at Tarpley’s.”

  She stiffened. He wondered just who had done such a number on her she would let herself and her brother almost starve before she asked anyone for help.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Yeah. I do. It’s who I am, Holly.” He’d provided a friendly shoulder for as long as he could remember, and he couldn’t stop now, even if there were times when he just wanted to be alone.

  “You must have other things to do, things with your family.”

  “My family’s moved away. My sister and brothers couldn’t wait to shake the dust off their shoes and get out of here. Then my parents decided this wasn’t where they wanted to retire, so they moved to Florida.”

  “Why’d you stay?”

  Jake shrugged, not ready to admit just how much he’d needed the comfort of someplace familiar where he didn’t have to wonder if a sniper would pop out from behind the next house. Realizing he needed to say something, he swallowed.

  “Didn’t, really. Stay, that is. I spent the last ten years mostly in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. Why are you here?”

  Her hand covered her belly, and that gesture was as close to the truth as he’d get. He saw it in the way her steady gaze shifted away from him. “Just a desire for a new start, although so far it’s not going quite as I expected.”

  Her evasiveness disappointed him, but what had he expected—that she would pour her heart out and let him comfort her? Hoped. Maybe. Before he could say anything, Tyler returned to the room. His long hair was combed and his shirttail tucked in.