Imperfect Justice

by Olivia Jaymes

  Dr. Farber beamed at the two of them. “For a woman who is experiencing morning sickness and fatigue, the baby is real almost from the first minute. But for men, it often doesn’t become real until now when you can actually see him or her. So yes, Sheriff, your baby is real. Real and healthy. In about seven months you’ll be parents. Congratulations. Now I’ll leave you to dress. We’ll see you in four weeks, Misty.”

  The doctor handed Misty the pictures and then bustled out of the door. Misty started to lever up but Jared leaned forward and laid his head on her stomach, a sheen to his beautiful blue eyes.

  “Thank you, Misty. Thank you for telling me and thank you for not leaving Fielding.”

  She ran her fingers through his silky dark hair in awe that this strong man was as affected as she was by a blurry black and white picture. Did all parents feel this joyous at the first glimpses of their child? Did they feel scared and overwhelmed but so happy that it didn’t matter?

  And did the mothers feel this incredibly close to the father of their baby? Misty cupped Jared’s jaw gently, his whiskers scraping her palm despite the fact that he’d shaved that morning.

  “I’m glad I stayed too. This is something too good not to share.” Her throat felt tight and it was hard to speak. Overflowing with emotions she couldn’t name or control, tears rolled down her face.

  “Hey, easy there, honey.” Jared brushed her wet cheeks. “This is a happy day.”

  She pushed at his shoulder, but he’d pulled her into his arms despite the fact that she was naked from the waist down and covered with a paper sheet. “I am happy. I’ve never been this happy. That’s why I’m crying.”

  Jared looked at her like she’d lost her mind and maybe she had. The pregnancy hormones were working overtime. She wanted to kiss him and tell him how much he meant to her.

  Was that love?

  Extricating herself from his arms, she quickly pulled on her panties and jeans before stepping into her boots. She needed to pull herself together and fast. Being this emotional made her too vulnerable.

  Dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, she took a deep breath and smiled. “All ready to go. No more tears.”

  “Honey, you can cry on my shoulder anytime.”

  He meant it but she didn’t want to take him up on it. Grabbing her purse and the pictures, she shrugged into her coat.

  “We should show these to your father.”

  Jared grinned and nodded. “That’s a great idea. I’ll give the house a call. Ty will want to see them too.”

  He looked every inch the proud papa as they marched out of the doctor’s office and into the cold. Jared Monroe was going to be a terrific father.

  She could say with honesty – at least at this very moment – she was glad she’d stayed in Fielding. She wouldn’t have missed this with him today for anything in the world.

  She’d remember it and hold it in her heart forever.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “You had to let him go, boss,” Deputy Knox said to Jared. He was back at the station house after Misty’s doctor’s appointment and the day had rapidly gone to hell.

  “How can this be?” Jared asked, holding up the email he’d printed out and had been carrying around for the last thirty minutes. “Is he some kind of Houdini?”

  Jared had received word that Dale Hicks had indeed been in the county lock up near Cheyenne serving time on unpaid tickets. Although Boyd’s time of death couldn’t be pinpointed exactly, it was highly unlikely Dale was anywhere in the vicinity to commit the murder. So Jared had reluctantly let the man go with a warning not to leave the area.

  “That man is no Houdini,” Knox declared as they watched Dale climbed into a red hatchback with his girlfriend at the wheel. “But he’s not as stupid as he looks. He’s got street smarts and that will take you pretty far in the criminal world.”

  “Can it help you commit a murder when you’re out of state?” Jared asked wryly.

  “No, but it’s not like he doesn’t know other criminals. People who might do the job for him while he was so conveniently in Wyoming.”

  “I thought about that too but we’ve got no evidence in that direction.”

  “What about Lindsey Jackson or her husband?” Knox asked, sifting through the file. “Where do they come in? Are they just victims of Hicks? And there’s Bonnie too.”

  “All smokers with motive, although Bonnie says she doesn’t have one, but knowing Boyd Hicks like I do I find that hard to believe.” Jared shook his head. “We’ve got nothing on any of them. Now all our hopes are on the DNA from the cigarette and the tire tracks. And I’ve been thinking about the truck. Maybe someone saw the truck up there that day. It’s a popular hiking spot.”

  “Not as much this time of year.” Knox grimaced. “But we could run something in the paper asking if anyone saw a truck up there around that time. It’s worth a shot. We don’t have much else to go on.”

  “Let’s do that. It’s back to basics. Who would want Boyd Hicks dead? Absolutely everyone and anyone that might have a motive. Has that file from the state pen shown up yet?”

  “Not yet. The wheels of bureaucracy move slow.”

  “And in the meantime our killer could be getting away right now. Or even planning another murder. Jesus, I can’t fucking stand red tape.” Jared grabbed a pen and made some notes. “Let’s start leaning on our snitches a little bit. See if they know of anything that Boyd had going on since he got out. The smallest thing could be the lead we need. I’ll call Terri at the newspaper.”

  Knox pointed to the clock on the wall. “Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere? Something about dinner with the family and showing off your baby pictures.”

  “Aww hell, if I’m late Dad will never let me hear the end of it.”

  Gerald Monroe liked his home run with military precision.

  “Then go. I’ll call the newspaper and we can get a start on this stuff first thing in the morning.” Knox was already picking up the telephone.

  “Then you go home too,” Jared ordered. “I mean it.”

  “I won’t argue.” Knox grinned and winked. “I’ve got a date tonight.”

  Knox was a charming, good looking guy and very well liked by the female population of Fielding and several of the nearby towns. He wasn’t a playboy per se but he had a small devoted following of ladies that made sure he wasn’t alone unless he wanted to be.

  “I won’t even bother to say have fun because I know you will,” Jared smirked. “I’ll just say thank you and see you tomorrow.”

  A new day to start working the Hicks case. All over again. But this time he’d get it right.

  Misty rinsed and stacked the dinner dishes in the sink of the family house. Gerald had protested and said the housekeeper could do them in the morning. Misty couldn’t stand the idea of dishes sitting out on the table all night. After some spirited discussion they’d had found a compromise. Misty wouldn’t wash them but she would clear the table and get the dishes ready for the housekeeper.

  The photos from the ultrasound earlier in the day had been a huge hit at dinner. Ty and Gerald had been suitably impressed with the tiny peanut-shaped object in the picture. Becky had skipped dinner which Misty shouldn’t have been happy about but she had to admit she was. It certainly made for a more peaceful dining experience.

  Ty also had good news. Royce would be coming home next week. Jared had even talked to his older brother a few days ago and he seemed like a new man. It wouldn’t be easy but hopefully Royce could stay sober and clean when he got out of the clinic.

  She dried her hands on a dishtowel and placed the last of the leftovers into the refrigerator. Crossing from the kitchen into the living room, the men were nowhere in sight. Standing still for a moment, she heard voices coming from the back porch. Gerald had said something about smoking a cigar. Wrinkling her nose at the thought of the smell, she’d hoped Jared wouldn’t join him.

  A wool throw lay on the back of the couch and she tossed it around her shoulders be
fore heading to the back door. She heard her name just as her hand touched the doorknob.

  “Have you locked things down with Misty yet?” Gerald Monroe asked. His deep voice easily penetrated the glass and wood of the French door.

  “Not yet. But I’m making progress,” Jared said, a confident air in his tone.

  Had her growing feelings been so transparent? It was embarrassing to think he knew she was falling for him when she’d tried so hard to keep it to herself.

  “I hope so. The last thing this family needs is a messy custody battle. You can’t allow her to take the baby out of Montana, son. You’ll have no leverage at all if she falls in love and marries someone else.”

  Despite the warmth of the throw wrapped around her, Misty suddenly felt cold, a chill running through her veins at Gerald’s words. She’d thought they’d made a connection the other night but perhaps it was all about the baby for him.

  Jared said something she couldn’t make out and then he said, “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ve got this under control.”

  Stepping back, her hand dropped from the doorknob as pain sliced through her chest, almost bringing her to her knees. She was being played. All this time she was thinking they were growing closer, but this was really all about control.

  Screw Jared. Screw the entire Monroe family.

  She’d been fine without a family before and she’d be fine in the future. She didn’t need them.

  But it hurt. This was why she’d never let herself be vulnerable before.

  Straightening her spine, she pasted on a smile and opened the door. The pungent stink of cigars slapped her in the face and before she could say anything witty or profound she was coughing and hacking from the thick smoke hanging in the air.

  “Jesus, Misty, you shouldn’t be back here with all this smoke.” That was Ty’s voice. She couldn’t see very well because her eyes were watering and her dinner had crawled its way up to her throat. Misty didn’t like cigar smoke at the best of times but apparently the baby liked it even less.

  Strong arms lifted her from her feet and carried her back into the house. It was Jared she was sure. She’d know him anywhere; even through the stench of cigar smoke she could detect his woody citrus scent. He laid her on the couch while someone else pushed a glass in her hand.

  “Drink,” he commanded. “It’s just ginger ale for your tummy.”

  She sipped at the cool liquid as he dabbed at her watery eyes with a handkerchief. “I’m okay. I guess the baby doesn’t like cigars.”

  “I heard you gagging,” Jared confirmed. “I don’t know what we were thinking going out there to smoke. Even if you hadn’t stepped outside I would have reeked of the stuff. I’ll get undressed in the garage when we get home.”

  “You okay, honey?” Ty asked, rubbing his forehead. “We’re sorry we made you sick.”

  “Very sorry.” Gerald strode into the room with a sheepish expression. “It was my idea. I’d forgotten cigars made Rita sick as a dog too.”

  How could she stay mad at three handsome men who looked so chagrined? Wait, she could stay mad at them for trying to control her and the baby. She handed the glass back to Jared and took a deep breath, determined not to show how upsetting their conversation had been.

  “Can we go home now? I’m very tired.”

  “Of course. I’ll get your coat.” Jared was gone before she could protest that she could do it herself. Ty and Gerald were looking at her as if she might explode or puke or both. Luckily it meant she didn’t have to say anything even as Jared returned and bundled her up in her coat and gloves.

  She hugged Ty and Gerald and then followed Jared to his truck, thinking of what she would say when they got home. His smooth moves and charm might work on other women but she was done being bamboozled.

  Misty was mad and she wasn’t going to be silent about it.

  Misty had been quiet during their five minute drive back to the house. She’d stared out the window ignoring Jared, and then as soon as he stopped the truck she’d jumped out and stomped up the porch steps. She must be really pissed off about the cigar smoke making her sick and she was right to be. He should have known better.

  But he knew how to get on her good side.

  After shedding his coat, he slid his arms around her and dropped a kiss on top of her head. “Why don’t I run you a nice hot bath? While you’re in there having a nice soak I’ll make some hot chocolate. Extra marshmallows.”

  She was stiff in his arms when she normally melted against him. “Misty honey, I’m sorry about the cigar smoke. Dad was right, we should have known better.”

  Misty was looking at him like he’d lost his mind. Shaking off his embrace, she stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Why are you apologizing, Jared? After all, you have me under control, right? Isn’t that what you told your father? Misty is under control.”

  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, she looked mad as hell. Her cheeks were red, her lips pursed, and she was tapping her toe as she waited for his response. So tiny, she looked like a pissed off golden-haired fairy. But now was not the moment to say that out loud.

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Jared tried to think of how to explain. She’d obviously overheard part of his conversation with his dad and completely misunderstood what he was trying to say.

  “Misty, let’s sit down and talk about this. Like adults.”

  Her violet eyes narrowed to slits. “Are you trying to say I’m acting like a child?”

  Son of a bitch.

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. I’d just like us to sit down and talk.”

  “I don’t want to sit down,” she retorted, beginning to pace back and forth across the living room. “I want to tell you how angry I am with you. You’re trying to control me and I won’t have it, Jared. I won’t have someone pulling my strings.”

  Her voice had gone up an octave and he didn’t have a clue as to how to calm her down. He only knew she didn’t understand.

  “I am not trying to control you,” he argued, holding on to his temper. Her stubborn posture was keeping her from really listening to him. “You have to know that, Misty.”

  “Then why did you tell your father that I’m under control if you’re not trying to do just that?”

  “That’s not what I said.” Not exactly, anyway.

  “All I know is that since I’ve met you, I’ve given up on my dream to move to Seattle and I’ve let you railroad me into living here. Now I have new clothes and a new phone. Next thing I know we’ll be married and I’ll be running around to have dinner on the table by six and making sure Jared Junior’s shoes are all in a row in his closet. Everything has been Jared Monroe’s way. When do I get my turn?”

  He could feel the back of his neck grow hot. She was angry and he understood that, but she was deliberately making things sound worse than they were.

  “You needed a place to live and you needed new clothes and a phone. Yes, you could have purchased them yourself but it made me happy to buy them for you,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “And as long as you’re happy that’s the important thing,” Misty replied, nodding her head.

  “Yes. Shit. I mean, no. Of course I want you to be happy. That’s why I’ve done all these things. So you’d be happy and taken care of. Are you trying to tell me that you’re not happy after all I’ve done?”

  She’d turned her back on him and he could see her shoulders tremble with emotion. When she looked at him again there were tears shining in her eyes.

  “Jared,” she said softly. “You did those things for you. Not for me. I’m not saying what you did wasn’t nice or good or that I’m not appreciative. I am. I’m saying that ultimately you did it because that’s what you wanted. You want me to live here. You want me to have different clothes. You want us to get married. Why? Because it makes you happy. You want to change me into someone you could be with. Someone your father, and siblings, and yes, even the town could approve of. I didn’t need any of this to be hap
py. I already was. I was happy just being with you and having this baby.”

  He didn’t know what to say.

  So he didn’t say anything. He turned and stomped out of the house and into the night, anger churning in his gut and driving him away. If he didn’t leave he’d say something he didn’t want to or didn’t mean. He’d be cruel and nasty. He could defend himself in a hundred different ways and show her how wrong she was but he was too mad to even form the words.

  Nothing she said was true. It couldn’t be. Because if it was it meant he was a real asshole.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jared had been gone for hours. It was times like this Misty wished she drank coffee. Right now she was curled up in a chair in front of the fireplace and sipping some of the apple cider she’d begun to crave a few days ago and wondering if she screwed everything up.

  Was she completely wrong?

  Was the feeling that she had been doing all the compromising incorrect and selfish? She didn’t want to think she was the ungrateful type. She never had been before – that she knew of. But the niggling feeling in the back of her mind that kept saying over and over that while Jared’s actions were sweet and giving…he was getting pretty much everything he wanted.

  She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being subtly manipulated and by someone who excelled at it. Was he so good he didn’t even know he was doing it? That would explain his stunned expression when he’d practically run out of the house.

  Or maybe pregnancy hormones were making her crazy and paranoid.

  She wanted to be a real partner to Jared. If she was going to marry him, and right now the answer would be a resounding no, they had to come to the relationship as equals. She wouldn’t allow herself to be marginalized. That’s how she’d been feeling lately and she didn’t want a lifetime of it. She’d spent most of her formative years that way and she wasn’t anxious to keep doing it.

  Caring about Jared didn’t mean not seeing his faults. It meant accepting them but he had to accept hers as well. He couldn’t mold her into being someone else.