Guarding the Babies

by Sandra Robbins

  She smiled at the young man and glanced over her shoulder at Cole. “This is Detective Jackson. He’s going to have dinner with us. What time are you and Brad eating?”

  “Oh, don’t worry about us. Mrs. Green will see to us. You have a good evening, ma’am.”

  “Thanks. I will.”

  Once inside the house, Holly turned to him and said, “I’ll go tell Mrs. Green we’re here and check on the children. I won’t be gone long.”

  “I’ll go with you. I want to see the children.”

  Together they climbed the stairs to the nursery. When they walked in, Mandy stood over the twins and stared down at them as they played with some blocks that were scattered about the floor.

  When they saw Holly and Cole, they both jumped to their feet. Holly grabbed Emma while Cole picked up Ethan. “What are you doing?” Holly asked as she kissed Emma’s cheek.

  Mandy chuckled. “They wanted the blocks, so I’m letting them play a bit before I take them downstairs for their dinner.”

  Cole dropped down to the floor, picked up a block and held it up to Ethan. “Hey, big guy, want to build something with me?”

  The baby laughed and squirmed out of Cole’s grip as he reached for another block. Holly looked at Emma and smiled. “Shall we join the party?”

  Then she dropped down beside Cole, and for the next ten minutes the four of them sat on the floor building a tower. As soon as they’d get a few blocks stacked up, one of the twins would knock it down. They all would laugh and begin the process again.

  Finally, Holly called a halt to the fun. “It’s time for you two to have dinner. Let’s go see what Mrs. Green has for you.”

  Mandy followed them to the kitchen as Holly and Cole carried the twins. Once there they settled them in their high chairs and Holly reached for Emma’s plate, but Mandy stopped her. “Let me feed them. I’m sure you and Detective Jackson have things to discuss. I’ll let you know when they’re ready for bed.”

  Cole stepped over and ran his hand over Ethan’s head then touched Emma’s cheek. “See you two later.”

  Before Holly could say anything, he turned and walked out of the room. She stared after him as he walked toward the den. After a moment she followed and found Cole standing at the window and staring outside. She wondered if he was regretting coming home with her. He’d seemed to have a good time with the babies, but now he looked as if he was a million miles away.

  She stood at the den’s entrance and watched him for a moment before she moved across the room to stand beside him. When she touched his arm, he jumped like she’d startled him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. What’s so interesting out there?”

  He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess I was lost in thought. Nothing important.” He inhaled a deep breath. “Are you ready to start the search?”

  She wanted to push him more to tell her what he was thinking but she could still read him well enough to know when he wasn’t ready to share his thoughts. She needed to get started looking for the adoption document. Then maybe he’d relax some.

  She pointed to the desk. “Michael has some files in the desk drawers. Why don’t you start there and see what you can find? There’s a safe in Ruth and Michael’s bedroom, and I have the combination in my room. That was the first thing I meant to clean out when I got here, but I haven’t gotten around to it. I’ll go up and do that while you’re busy here.”

  He nodded but didn’t say anything as he sat down at the desk and pulled several files out of one of the drawers. He looked up, and his eyes narrowed as if surprised that she was still standing there. “Do you need something else?”

  “No,” she said as she backed away from the desk.

  Trying her best to stem the tears she felt forming, she walked out of the room with her back straight. For a while this afternoon, it had almost been like it was when they were growing up. They had laughed and joked, and then suddenly it had all changed. Now Cole was like the sullen stranger who had greeted her the night of the break-in. Maybe there was too much in their past for them to ever regain the friendship they’d once had.

  She stopped in the hallway outside the den and braced her hand on the wall. She stood there a minute with her head bowed and a prayer on her lips. Please, God, she prayed, forgive me for putting my dreams ahead of Cole and hurting him so badly. Show me how to make it up to him so he can forgive me.

  A sweet peace filled her as she raised her head. She didn’t know how, but she was certain God was going to help her receive Cole’s forgiveness. She just had to be careful and let Him guide her actions.

  At the moment, however, she needed to look for those papers, and she headed upstairs to find the combination to the safe.

  After retrieving the code from her room, she went back to her sister’s bedroom and sat down on the floor in front of the small safe. Carefully, she entered the numbers and pulled the safe’s door open.

  She’d expected to find a stack of papers and maybe some personal items. There were a few, but not many. A ring box sat on top of the documents, and she pulled it out and opened it. Her eyes filled with tears when she saw her mother’s wedding ring nestled inside the black velvet-lined box.

  After a minute, she closed the box, set it aside and pulled out a sheaf of documents. She gripped the papers tightly as she pushed up from the floor and walked over to sit on the bed. One by one, she went through the pile, discarding out-of-date records that needed to be thrown away and laying documents of importance in a separate stack.

  Just before she reached the bottom of the bundle, she picked up a legal-sized envelope that was packed with documents. Her eyes grew wide as she caught sight of the return address in the left-hand corner. It was Julie Swanson’s office.

  Carefully, she pulled out the papers and unfolded them. Her heart began to beat faster as she read through the court document that proclaimed Ruth and Michael had fulfilled all the legal requirements to adopt Emma and Ethan and the court had so ordered it. Included with the document were the babies’ new birth certificates, changing their names to Emma and Ethan Whitson.

  Holly let out an excited squeal and jumped up from the bed. Clutching the papers in her hand, she ran downstairs and into the den. Cole looked up when she burst into the room and rose from his chair. “What’s the matter?”

  She waved the papers over her head. “I found them! They were in the safe!”

  He came around the desk and met her halfway into the room. “What do they say? What’s the birth mother’s name?”

  Holly’s mouth gaped open, and she stared down at the papers she held. “I was so excited I didn’t look.”

  He reached for the documents and took them from her hand. “Then let’s see if we can find it.”

  Together they sat on the couch, their heads almost touching, as they scanned the papers, looking for the name they needed. Suddenly, Cole stiffened. “Bingo! There it is!”

  He pointed to a line, and Holly leaned forward to read the name scrawled there. “Teresa Wilson.” She looked up at Cole. “That’s all there is? No address? Just her name.”

  “Knowing her name is a start. Especially since we know where she’s buried, because Greg Richmond told us. We can get the cemetery officials to find her grave on their map for us.”

  Holly frowned. “But why do we want to visit her grave? We didn’t even know her.”

  “Because possibly her birth date is on the tombstone. If it is, then we can begin to do a search for more information about her. Maybe Willie Trask is someone from her past. You never know until you begin to dig.” Cole riffled through the rest of the papers. “I see they put the new birth certificates in there, and whoa... What’s this?”

  Holly almost gasped at the sudden change of expression on Cole’s face. He had suddenly turned pale, and his mouth hung slightly open as his eyes narrowed on a piece of paper in front of hi
m. Holly inched closer to him. “Cole, what’s the matter? What did you find?”

  He held out the document, and she took it and then stared down at it. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her breath hitched in her throat, and for a moment, she thought she was going to be sick.

  Her hand shook as she gave the piece of paper back to Cole. “I—I don’t understand. How can this be?”

  Cole shook his head. “I guess the question of whether or not any money changed hands in this adoption has just been answered.” Holly wanted to argue, but there was nothing she could say. Not when she’d just handed over the receipt for a cashier’s check signed by Michael and made out to Teresa Wilson in the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

  * * *

  Cole couldn’t believe what he held in his hand. To someone who lived on a policeman’s salary, it seemed to him that his friend Michael had paid a small fortune to adopt two children. Besides being unable to comprehend why his friends would do such a thing, he couldn’t understand where Ruth and Michael would have gotten that much money. They had been doing well with the ranch and the horses they bred and sold, but most of their wealth was tied up in the land and the ranching operations. It seemed hard to believe that they’d had that much money available on hand. And then it struck him. Somebody close to them would have been able to lay that much cash out without blinking an eye. Would she have willingly given him the money to make her sister happy?

  He glared at Holly and shook the paper at her. “Was it you?”

  Surprise flashed across her face, and she shrank away from him. “What are you talking about?”

  “Did you give Michael the money to pay off Teresa Wilson, so they could adopt Emma and Ethan?” he thundered.

  She jumped to her feet and clenched her fists at her sides. “Are you crazy? Of course I didn’t give him the money.”

  He jumped up, too, and they stood almost nose to nose as they glared at each other. “Don’t you realize that by giving that mother money, Michael broke the law? If you provided the money, you could be held liable, too.”

  “How dare you accuse me of such a thing. I didn’t know anything about the money. Besides, I don’t handle my money. My manager does. If he had given it to Michael, he would have told me so.”

  “Then where did he get it?”

  She took a step closer to him and glared. “I don’t know! Michael had an inheritance from his grandmother. Maybe that’s where the money came from. I just know one thing. It. Did. Not. Come. From. Me!”

  Cole turned away from her and raked his hand through his hair. “Holly, I don’t know...”

  He felt her hand on his arm, and he turned back to face her. Her eyes pleaded with him to believe her, and he wanted to. “I’ve never lied to you, Cole. Even when I left, I told you I was going, what I planned to do—and that I wouldn’t be coming back. I want you to believe me now. I know nothing about this money.”

  He stared at her and then reached out and wrapped her in his arms. She came to him and pressed her face into his chest as her hands clutched his shirt. Her body shook, and immediately he felt ashamed of his harsh words toward her. He tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

  “I know you wouldn’t lie, Holly. I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated, because everywhere I turn I find more questions than I do answers. Please forgive me. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She tilted her head up and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore, either. I’m so sorry I did. Can you ever forgive me for being selfish and wanting to follow my own dreams?”

  He shook his head. “You weren’t selfish any more than I was. I wouldn’t give up my dreams to follow you, and you wouldn’t give up yours to stay here with me. You had the wisdom to know that it wouldn’t have worked out between us back then. If you’d stayed, you would have come to resent me, and if I’d gone, I would have come to resent you. I don’t think our love would have been able to weather that. I guess it all worked out for the best in the long run.”

  Her gaze swept across his face, and his pulse quickened at the way her eyes seemed to be memorizing his features. “I miss you, Cole. I miss you so much.”

  “I miss you, too, darling. More than I can ever tell you.” His voice came out husky, and he stopped himself before he said more that he might regret later. For now, though, he was holding Holly in his arms, and this time might never come again. Without second-guessing himself, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. At first, she stiffened in surprise. Then her arms came up to circle his neck, and she returned his kiss with a hunger that matched his.

  He didn’t know how long they would have remained that way if it hadn’t been for his cell phone ringing. He pulled back from Holly and glanced down at the caller ID, but she held him tighter. “Let it ring.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t. It’s the station.”

  She dropped her arms from around his neck, and he stepped back from her. “This is Cole. What is it, Brenda?”

  He listened to what she was telling him, but he didn’t want to believe it. When she finished, he said, “Tell Dan I’ll meet him there. I’m leaving right now.”

  He disconnected the call and stared at the phone before slipping it back into his pocket. “I have to go,” he said.

  “Why? What did they want?” Holly asked.

  He took a deep breath and shook his head. “Another unexpected problem has come up in this investigation.”

  Her eyes grew big. “What happened?”

  “Sarah Palmer was shot and killed a few minutes ago.”

  Holly’s hand grabbed at her throat, and she gasped. “How did it happen?”

  “Brenda said Sarah stepped out on the back porch of the safe house, and someone shot her. They must have seen us take her there last night and were just waiting for their opportunity. I guess she was telling the truth after all. Somebody really was trying to kill her, and now they have.”

  NINE

  By the next afternoon, Holly was about to go out of her mind. She hadn’t heard from Cole, and she wanted to know more about Sarah Palmer’s death. She’d almost called him several times but then thought better of it. He was involved in a murder investigation, and she didn’t need to bother him. He would call her or come by when he had a chance. At least, she hoped he would.

  All morning long, she and Mandy had kept busy as they carried on with Emma and Ethan’s regular schedule. Breakfast, baths, diaper changes, snack, playtime, lunch and now nap time. She’d just settled on the sofa in the den when she heard footsteps and looked up to see Cole striding into the room.

  She jumped to her feet and tried to downplay how happy she was to see him. “Hey, how are you? I’ve been worried, because I hadn’t heard from you.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said as he walked toward her. “It’s been a crazy morning. The whole department is upset that someone was able to murder a potential witness we were trying to keep safe. The chief has made this case a priority. With her story about Emma and Ethan being in danger, it’s put everybody on high alert.”

  She sat back down on the sofa, and he sank down beside her. “So, do you have any leads yet?”

  He rubbed his hands over his red-streaked eyes and sighed. “I’m afraid not. Nobody saw anything. The staff at the safe house heard the shot and ran outside. She was lying on the back porch. They’d cautioned her earlier about staying inside, but she didn’t listen. They’re pretty shook up about it.”

  “I can understand,” she murmured. “How about you? You look so tired.”

  “I’m fine. I got a few hours’ sleep. I just grabbed a late lunch and thought I’d stop by and see how you’re doing before I headed back to the station. I know this has been upsetting to you, too.” He hesitated before continuing. “Sarah’s murder is one more setback in this investigation. I can’t seem to catc
h a break, and it’s driving me crazy. This case is so important to me, because it involves you, and Ruth and Michael’s children, and I want to solve it. But I don’t know which way to turn right now.”

  She let her gaze drift over him, and her heart pricked at the tired lines she saw on his face. She reached over and wrapped her fingers around his arm. “Sometimes it helps to push your problems to the back of your mind and relax. Since you didn’t get to have dinner with us last night, why don’t you come back tonight?”

  He stared at her for a moment, and she thought he was going to refuse. “Are you sure you want me to do that?”

  “Of course I do. I wouldn’t have asked if I hadn’t meant it.” A sudden thought popped into her head. “On second thought, why don’t we make it a party of sorts? You can bring Jason, and we can celebrate the success of his band’s performance at the concert.”

  Cole studied her for a moment before he arched an eyebrow. “I’ve seen that look on your face before when you’re up to something. Care to tell me what’s really going on here?”

  She grinned. “I guess you know me too well. It just seems to me that Jason is a nice guy, and I happen to know a young woman who would really like to meet him. Maybe we could arrange for that to happen tonight.”

  Cole closed his eyes and shook his head. “If I say no, you’ll find some other way to get them together. So I’ll see if Jason is free.”

  “Good,” she said. “Call him now.”

  Cole mumbled something under his breath as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in a number. He frowned at her as he held the phone to his ear. “Jason,” he said, “this is Cole Jackson.”

  He listened for a moment before he spoke again. “No, I don’t need you for anything job-related. This is more of a social call. I’m over at Holly’s house, and she was really impressed with your performance the other night. She’d like to tell you in person, though, and has asked you to come to dinner with me at her house tonight. Are you free?”

  Holly couldn’t tell from the expression on Cole’s face what Jason was saying, but after a moment, he smiled. “Good. I’ll pick you up about six o’clock. See you then.”