by Dana Mentink
Annabell stopped crying.
“How...?” Shannon gaped at him. “How did you do that?”
His smile was sugar sweet. “Told you. I have a way with children.”
She did not even try to hold back her laugh.
Crooning and rocking, he swept the baby near his chin, planting a kiss on her downy head. The sight of Annabell’s fragile form tucked up next to the strapping cowboy struck at her, a visual reminder of the uncrossable chasm between them. Jack Thorn was meant to be a parent, and she was not sure she would ever be. Never would she want to disappoint a child the way her father had.
Not a surprise, nor a revelation, but a pain lodged fresh under her breastbone. She turned from the tender scene and dumped out the bottle and washed it. Then she folded the baby blanket tossed on the sofa and paced a few circles on the floor.
“Jack, what are we going to do?”
He interrupted his singing, but his steady rocking never waned. “Take care of her.” What else would we do? his tone implied.
Shannon stared. “For how long?”
He shrugged. “Long as it takes.”
The situation was slipping further and further out of her control. She went hot inside, uncertainty turning to irritation. “I didn’t sign on for this, Jack. I’m a doctor. I’ve got a career to take care of. I went out on a limb, stuck my neck out for Dina, and she bolted. How could she do that?”
“She was scared.”
“It’s no excuse for bad parenting.”
“She’s barely a grown-up. She panicked. We’ll find her, and in the meantime, we’ll take care of Annabell.”
So calm, as if he was discussing saddles and the cost of feed. She stared him down. “I can’t take care of a baby. I’m only off for a short time. I need to get back to my practice. The police...”
He stared right back at her. “You know what will happen if we turn Annabell over to the police.”
She did know. Foster care. The steam leaked slowly out of her. “Jack,” she murmured, “I don’t think I can do this.”
He repositioned the now-calm infant, cuddling her to him. The baby nestled in his arms. She was so small against his wide chest, one tiny hand splayed out, fingers skimming his chin. “You’re a strong girl, Little Bit.” His eyes were luminous pools. “Let’s give Dina a couple of days. We can handle baby care that long, right?”
What do you mean “we”? “We’ll need to get a nurse or something.”
“Now, how would that look? Little Bit’s supposed to be ours, remember?” He pointed to her wedding ring.
Ours. The room was spinning around her. Jack. A baby. Ours. He’d even nicknamed her. When the panic was about to break loose, her mind clung to four words: a couple of days. That was all. Seventy-two hours, tops. By then, Dina would have found her brother, and this marriage and motherhood farce would be over.
“I think you’re right,” Jack said. “She does feel warm. I just got a text, and I’m sure it’s Mom. I’ll make a doctor appointment.” He made to hand her the baby.
“Oh, no,” she said, taking out her own phone. “You keep the baby and tell me the number. I’ll call.”
“Sure thing,” he said, loping off on another round of rocking and singing.
* * *
Jack exulted with a fist in the air as he finally wrangled the car seat into place in the back seat of the SUV. It had required twenty minutes and two YouTube videos, but he was satisfied that at long last he’d gotten the thing installed properly. Building the new barn had been easier. He was relieved that Shannon was inside, packing a diaper bag for Annabell, instead of witnessing his aggravation. Her tension was crackling like a high-strung mare’s, and he was determined to be calm.
Would Dina really return in a couple of days? What if the Tide found her first? And could Shannon survive the maternal charade he’d forced her into with his lie? He had no answers, only prayers: safety for the women and baby, a prison sentence for Cruiser and courage for himself to fight down the longing Shannon brought to his door the moment she’d called him.
I know I don’t have the right to ask, but I need your help, Jack. Man, but it felt good to know she needed him. Though he couldn’t be the love of her life, he could show her that being in Gold Bar wasn’t the prison she thought it was.
The harder he’d tried to hold on to her, to convince her he could make her happy in Gold Bar, the more she’d wanted to get away. The cool air carried the scent of new grass, the promise of a long, lazy summer, filled with homemade peach ice cream and stargazing at night. She could have been a doctor right here in Gold Bar, couldn’t she? Or in nearby Rock Ridge, a city with plenty of people in need.
His thoughts convicted him. She didn’t just want to escape Gold Bar, Jack. She wanted to get away from you. You tried to capture her, hold her in place with a marriage, and that was wrong.
He swallowed the bitterness as he watched Shannon clomp out the front door, carrying the baby and a bulging diaper bag. He hastened to grab the bag, but she handed over the baby instead.
He managed to get Annabell clipped in the car seat without pinching anything. She set up a wailing that bounced off the windows as he slid behind the wheel.
Shannon leaned against the headrest. “I have a new appreciation for my mother.”
“Me, too. And my mom managed to survive three infants, plus Keegan later on, and he was way more trouble than a bushel of babies.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Not like his model of an older brother?”
Jack offered mock offense. “I was a perfect child. Ask anyone.”
He’d expected teasing, but her expression was sincere.
“Yes,” she said, “you have a good heart, always have.”
He tried for another joke. “Our high-school principal wouldn’t have agreed.”
“He doesn’t know what you did for me.”
Jack would never forget that night, three weeks before graduation. It had been a tumultuous evening with an honor ceremony for which her father had not shown, nor even called, while her mother was admitted to the hospital with an infection. At the teen party, at a mutual friend’s house afterward, Shannon had brought in a bottle of whiskey against his protestations. There had been something wild in her eyes that night, something broken and unfixable. Though he hadn’t had so much as a sip of the alcohol, he recalled the moment when they’d been found out. He’d hurried Shannon out the back door before he returned to take responsibility for the booze. The admission resulted in his suspension from school and exclusion from the graduation ceremony. He’d never told anyone the truth, but he suspected his parents knew.
Doesn’t seem like you, son, he remembered his father had said, eyes probing.
Jack had remained silent.
Sometimes protecting someone from their mistakes doesn’t pay in the long run, his father had insisted.
More silence.
Jack knew his father had been right, but he would have done it again to spare her pain and embarrassment. Anything for Shannon. He’d been a fool, sacrificing his own reputation to save hers, a woman who would later shatter his heart. If only he’d known then what he knew now.
Somehow, he figured he would have done exactly the same thing.
I’m a fool.
A grade-A fool.
* * *
He drove to the small building sandwiched in between a boarded-up tire shop and a candy store owned by Val, a woman who had known his mother since their grade-school days. The store window was festooned with gold boxes of decadent truffles and hand-sewn bunnies to advertise Val’s Hopping Into Spring Sale.
He decided right then and there to buy a box of chocolates after the appointment. Shannon was a chocolate fanatic, and she could use some soothing since the baby had not stopped screaming all day. And a bunny. He’d get one of those stuffed bunnies for Annabell. Li
ttle girls needed toys to cuddle—that much he knew for certain.
Along the way, he checked frequently in the rearview mirror.
Shannon stiffened as a motorcycle rumbled by. The man behind the handlebars was hairy, but he was wearing a regular T-shirt with no gang colors. He bobbed his chin at them as he passed.
“Barry,” Jack said with relief. “Eats at the Sunrise Cafe every morning.”
She didn’t reply.
“No one is following us,” he reassured her.
“Why do I feel like I’m a rabbit alone in the open?”
“Only for a few days, and you’re not alone.”
Though she might prefer to be, he thought. Well, neither one of them had exactly chosen this oddball scenario. Finally he pulled into a parking place in the back lot and hustled to open the door for Shannon. She didn’t wait, instead jumping out and extracting Annabell from the seat by herself.
Jack followed them in with the diaper bag over his shoulder. He knew his brothers would tease him endlessly, but for some reason, it did not feel at all awkward toting the pink bag emblazoned with teddy bears. If girl babies needed pink bags with cartoon animals on them, so be it.
Laura, the nurse, started when she saw them. “Well, hello. It’s so good to see you.” She did not look as though she meant it.
They had all gone to high school together, and Jack and Laura had even gone out on a couple of dates before he met Shannon. She’d called him a few times in the years after he and Shannon had separated. He’d not returned any of the calls, and eventually she’d stopped trying to contact him. Until his paper marriage was shredded, he would not date anyone else. Had Shannon followed the same rules? Imagining her with another man felt like barbed wire in his gut.
What does it matter now? Still, the thought burned.
Laura clicked some keys on her computer. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard you returned, Shannon, with a baby, yet. You’re married, you two? I had no idea.”
“Yes,” Jack said. He looped an arm around Shannon and the baby. “We’re married.”
Laura’s eyebrows quirked as she looked at Shannon. “And you’ve decided to come home and settle down?”
Shannon colored the tint of a strawberry milkshake. “No, just here temporarily. I’m returning to my internship in Los Angeles very soon.”
Confusion played out all over Laura’s face. Her calculating gaze slid to Jack. “So, you’re all moving then?”
“Lots of details to work out, yet,” Jack said, gaze flicking around the space. “Nice office. You like the new doc?”
Her look went all business. “He’s very competent. As a matter of fact, he’s from Southern California, as well.”
The nurse led them back to a small office, which was decorated with jungle animals. A small window showed a slice of the side alley that looked out on the rear of the candy-shop property. A picture of a man, presumably the doctor, with his arms around two teen girls, adorned the wall. They were carbon copies of their father, same stocky frames and wide smiles.
“I’m Dr. Peters,” a middle-aged man said as he entered the room and offered his hand.
They shook. “Jack and Shannon Thorn,” Jack said. “And this is Annabell.”
The doctor smiled. “Lovely baby.” He glanced at the computer screen while he weighed Annabell and listened to her heart. His gaze lingered just a moment too long. “For our records, what’s her blood type?”
“I don’t know,” Shannon mumbled.
He quirked an eyebrow. “Didn’t Laura tell me you’re a doctor?”
Shannon’s face went dead pale.
Jack offered a smile. “Doc, we’d really appreciate it if you could help us make Annabell more comfortable, figure out what’s bothering her. She’s been wailing to beat the band all day.”
He peered through a scope into her ear. “She’s got an ear infection. I’ll prescribe an antibiotic.” He scribbled on a notepad and handed the prescription to Jack.
“Where did you deliver Annabell, Mrs. Thorn? What hospital? Just curious. I have a lot of contacts down South.”
“Uhhh...” Shannon said.
The doctor leveled a look at them both. “I’m going to need you to provide some proof that this baby is yours.”
Jack took a breath. “Call Officer Larraby at the police station. He can vouch for us.”
Dr. Peters went silent for a moment, considering. “I will do that. Please wait here.” He left.
Shannon arranged Annabell’s clothing with shaking hands. “He thinks we abducted this baby.”
“Larraby will tell him enough to get him off our backs.”
“All this lying, it’s too much. I can’t keep everything straight.” She walked nervously to the window. Cruiser’s face appeared, leather-gloved hand pressed to the glass.
As Shannon jerked back from the window, Cruiser smiled.
SEVEN
In a matter of moments, Jack had bundled Shannon and Annabell out of the room and into the hallway, heading for the emergency exit. Shannon could hardly draw a breath.
“Get to the truck. We’ll phone Larraby.” He pushed through the exit door, steering her toward his vehicle. She nearly stepped on his heels when he stopped short, muttering something in a savage tone.
All four truck tires had been slashed.
Boots echoed on cement. Cruiser was coming from around the other side of the building, cutting off their path back into the clinic.
They crouched on their knees behind Jack’s truck. “Plan B. Get to the candy shop and call from there. Val’s a friend. She’ll help you.”
She clutched at him with one hand, Annabell pressed to her side with the other. “What are you going to do?”
“Give you time to get away.”
“They’ll hurt you.”
“Shannon, go.”
“No, I won’t...”
“Stop talking,” he commanded.
She wanted to shout at him for ordering her around, but he was pushing her toward the walkway that would lead her to the street. It was the best option. There might be cars passing there, people, the candy shop only yards away.
One final look at Jack. He was sneaking back to the lot, staying behind the cover of cars as best he could. What was he planning?
Just go. Annabell fussed in her arms, and she bundled her closer, hastening along. She was only a few feet now from the corner where the walkway met the street.
A voice stopped her, just around the corner.
“She went out the back.” It was Viper. He was between her and the path to help.
“Is Dina with her?” A higher-pitched voice, vaguely familiar.
“No. She must have her stashed somewhere. At the inn, maybe.”
Shannon pressed against the wall, and her skin prickled with fear. There was no choice but to lock herself in the truck or reenter the clinic somehow. Annabell thrashed in the blanket, mouth squinched in preparation for a scream.
Moving as quickly as she was able, she crept toward the back lot, praying the wail would not emerge from Annabell’s mouth.
“It’s okay,” she whispered in the baby’s ear. But it was far from okay.
Scanning frantically, she looked for Jack.
No sign of him. She reached for the handle of the passenger-side door.
Cruiser stepped from his hiding place, the row of bushes next to a gray concrete wall. Terror balled up her stomach. She yanked the door open, but he slammed it shut with his booted foot.
“I want Dina Brown. A nurse said they saw you two leaving the hospital together. Where is she?”
Shannon could only hold Annabell close and hope the child could not feel her wildly galloping heart. “I don’t know.”
“Then we’re gonna take a ride, you and me and babykins, and I’m going to hurt you, badly, you
understand, until you tell me. I don’t think it will take long to break you, you being a brainiac doctor. You’re going to tell me what I want to know in short order.”
The handle of the truck bit into her lower back.
“Leave me alone, or I’ll scream.”
“You do that.” He leered. “Makes it more fun.”
She tried to bolt, but he caught her before she’d taken a step. She opened her mouth to yell, but he smacked her with a slap that made her vision go fuzzy.
She stumbled back a step, struggling to hold on to Annabell.
There was no place to go, no place to run.
* * *
The sound of Cruiser’s slap cracked through Jack, loosing something inside that he could not control. He leaped down from his spot on the concrete wall, where he’d been planning his ambush, and landed on Cruiser, sending him sprawling.
“Run,” he hollered to Shannon, as Cruiser thrashed and caught him with an elbow. Her eyes blazed with wild fear. He tried to shout to her again, but Cruiser was reaching for his knife, and it took all Jack’s power to stop him. They rolled over the gritty asphalt.
Cruiser caught him in the temple with a dizzying blow that knocked him loose, giving the biker time to get to his feet.
“Should’ve cut you in two when I had the chance,” Cruiser said with a grunt. He went again for his knife, but Jack snaked a boot out and caught his ankle, making him stagger. Jack got to his feet. Shannon was gone, and he rejoiced. She’d gotten Annabell out of there. They would be safe.
In the meanwhile, he’d buy them some time. He launched himself at Cruiser again, slamming him back into the wall of the clinic and dodging his wild jabs. Cruiser recovered, and Jack took two punishing blows to the chest. They darted wary circles around each other. Cruiser was wide and muscled, but Jack could dance around the sharpest hooves. Normally Jack could weather any dustup by playing it smart, strategy over brute strength, but now he was angry. The slap on Shannon’s face blasted away his sense of caution. It didn’t matter that Cruiser shouted to somebody. It wouldn’t make a difference if the guy pulled an Uzi from his pocket. He would stop Cruiser and punish him for raising a hand to Shannon.
