Drury

by Delores Fossen

  “Because he wouldn’t want to share his inheritance.” Drury remembered Caitlyn mentioning that. “But if he’s worried about splitting an inheritance, wouldn’t he try to smooth things over with his mom?”

  “Helen can’t cut him out of the estate. That’s in the terms of his late father’s will. Jeremy will inherit everything unless Grant has an heir.”

  Drury figured the estate had to be worth millions. Still, it took a coldhearted SOB to go after a child because of money. If that’s what Jeremy had done. Considering the bad blood between him and his mother, Helen might have used this as an opportunity to get rid of Jeremy, her sole surviving son.

  Especially if the woman thought she had a new heir. Grant’s baby.

  “I was about to take a shower.” Caitlyn fluttered her fingers toward the adjoining bathroom. “That’s why I wasn’t dressed when you came in. I was going to put her in the carrier on the bathroom floor, but could you watch her?”

  Drury nodded. And hoped the baby didn’t wake up. Unlike his cousins, he just wasn’t comfortable holding a newborn.

  “I won’t be long,” Caitlyn added, and she hurried into the bathroom.

  He sank down on the edge of the bed and studied the little girl’s face. He could see Caitlyn’s mouth and chin. Or at least he thought he could. No resemblance to Grant, though, and it surprised him a little to realize that even if he had seen it, it wouldn’t have made him uneasy. His beef had never been with Grant.

  But rather Caitlyn leaving him to be with Grant.

  Of course, it was his own stupid fault for handing Caitlyn his heart when he knew he was the wrong man for her. She’d told him right from the get-go that she couldn’t get involved with a lawman. Not after her lawman father’s violent death. Even after they’d started an affair, she had continued to tell Drury that it could never be more than temporary between them.

  Too bad he hadn’t believed her.

  Caitlyn was right about not being too long. She stayed in the shower only a couple of minutes, and it took her even less than that to dress. She hurried out while combing her wet hair.

  She smelled like roses.

  The soap, no doubt, but it was something he wished he hadn’t noticed.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  Since it was time for him to get the heck out of the bedroom, Drury stood, but the moment he did, the baby squirmed a little and made a fussing sound. He stepped back so that Caitlyn could go to her and take her in her arms.

  They made a picture together. And Drury had no trouble seeing the love for the child in Caitlyn’s eyes.

  “I know,” Caitlyn said, following his gaze to the baby. “I shouldn’t get so attached. But I’ve always wanted a child, so it’s hard not to have deep feelings for her.”

  An understatement. Caitlyn had really wanted a child. Something she’d made clear when they were together.

  Something that had driven a wedge between them, too.

  Heck, it still made him take a step back now.

  Too many memories. More of those old ones that he wanted to forget. But couldn’t. Because he hadn’t just lost his wife the day she’d been murdered. He’d lost the child that she’d been carrying.

  “Will you still help me with a safe house?” she asked. “An unofficial one, of course. I don’t think you want to use FBI channels.”

  Neither did he. “I’ll help with the house.” Hell, he’d ended up helping with plenty of things he didn’t want to help with, but despite their past he was still a sucker for a damsel in distress, and at the moment Caitlyn was in a lot of distress.

  She mumbled another thanks. “I was going to get started on contacting some bodyguards, and I was hoping I could use your laptop to get some phone numbers.”

  He nearly offered her a protection detail. But he was also toeing the line on the law. Heck, he’d probably crossed over that line, and he didn’t want to bring any of his fellow agents or family into this.

  “The laptop’s on the table in the kitchen,” he said.

  She gathered the blanket around the baby and headed that direction. Drury followed, but before he even made it there, his phone buzzed, and he saw Grayson’s name on the screen. He considered not putting the call on speaker, just in case this was more bad news, but he’d end up telling Caitlyn about the conversation anyway.

  “You’re on speaker,” Drury warned Grayson right off, though he doubted that would change anything Grayson had to say.

  “Good. Because Caitlyn needs to hear this. I’ve arranged for the doctor to examine the baby. Yeah, I know. It’s a risk, but she needs to be checked out.”

  “I agree.” A weary sigh left Caitlyn’s mouth. “And it’s something I should have remembered to do.”

  “You’ve had a lot on your mind lately.” There was a touch of sarcasm in Grayson’s tone. “I want you two to take the baby to the hospital. And don’t worry, she won’t be near Ronnie. The doctor will meet you in his private office to do the exam. I’ve arranged for Lucas and one of the deputies to escort you there.”

  Escort was a nice way of saying back up in case someone tried to gun them down again.

  “Anything new from Ronnie?” Drury asked.

  “Nothing. He’s lawyered up and is refusing to cooperate with us. Not CPS, though. He’s still pressuring them to give him the baby. Which they won’t do,” Grayson quickly added. “Not without DNA proof anyway, and it’ll be tomorrow before we have that.”

  “The DNA will show that Ronnie’s not the father,” Caitlyn said like gospel, and Drury hoped that was true.

  He didn’t exactly relish the idea of handing over a child to someone who’d shot at him. Of course, that wouldn’t happen anyway unless Ronnie was cleared of all charges.

  “Ronnie said he can prove the baby is his,” Grayson went on. “Because he can describe the birthmark on her ankle. Does she have a birthmark?”

  “She does,” Caitlyn admitted. “But Ronnie could have easily seen it when he had her.”

  “That was my theory, too. By the way, Melanie’s on her way in,” Grayson added a moment later. “Drury, if you want to be here for the interview, you could have Lucas or someone else stay with Caitlyn and the baby.”

  It was tempting. “When will she be there?” Drury asked.

  “Within the hour.” He paused. “I have plenty of questions for her now that I’ve read the police report for Grant’s car accident. Melanie’s purse was found in the vehicle.”

  Drury had read the report, too. Not recently. But shortly after Grant had died. Why? He didn’t know. It was a way of picking at those old wounds, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself. So, yeah, he knew about Melanie’s purse.

  Obviously so did Caitlyn. “Melanie claimed that Grant and she had been together that night, but when he dropped her off at her place, she forgot her purse.” She frowned. “The police cleared her as a suspect, but you think Melanie could have had something to do with his death?”

  “Do you?” Grayson asked right back.

  She certainly didn’t jump to deny it. Caitlyn took a moment and gently rocked the baby even though the little girl was no longer fussing. “Possibly. Jeremy is still my top suspect for that. If it wasn’t an accident, that is. But I suppose Melanie could have been upset with Grant about something.”

  “You don’t know?” Grayson pressed.

  “No. By then Grant and I were separated. That’s why I was a suspect at first, but I was cleared, too, because it was ruled an accident. Added to that, I had an alibi.”

  “A ruptured appendix,” Drury mumbled.

  Caitlyn’s gaze raced to his, and she looked a little surprised that he knew that. When it came to her, Drury always seemed to know a little too much. Like that she’d nearly died herself that night and was in emergency surgery at the same time her estranged hus
band swerved off the road and hit a tree. Since there’d been other skid marks nearby, the cops had first thought someone had run him off the road, but the CSIs hadn’t been able to prove that the marks were made the exact same time as the accident.

  “I just want to know as much about Melanie as possible before I question her,” Grayson went on. “Does she have any hot buttons?”

  “Me,” Caitlyn answered. “Until I filed for divorce, she was harassing me. She hates me. That’s why I told Drury that I didn’t think she had anything to do with the baby or Conceptions Clinic.”

  Grayson made a sound to indicate he was withholding judgment on that. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything from her, and I’ll have Lucas give you a call once he’s on his way there. By the way, Lucas didn’t tell me exactly where you were on the ranch, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  So would Drury. The fewer people who knew, the better.

  Drury ended the call, and since Caitlyn had said she wanted to use his laptop, he turned it in her direction. She glanced at the baby. Then at him.

  “I’ll get the carrier from the bedroom,” she said, not giving him a chance to decline to hold the baby. Not that he would have. But Caitlyn must have realized that it wasn’t something he wanted to do.

  Several moments later, she came back into the kitchen, the baby already snuggled into the carrier, and she set the carrier on the table next to the laptop.

  “For a bodyguard search, try starting with Sencor Agency in San Antonio,” he suggested.

  She muttered a thanks and got started on that just as Drury’s phone buzzed again. Not Grayson this time but rather his brother Mason, who lived at the main house on the ranch.

  “We have a visitor,” Mason growled the moment Drury answered. “She’s at the security gate pitching a fit. I didn’t tell her either of you were here, but she’s insisting on seeing Caitlyn.”

  Even though Drury didn’t have the phone on speaker, either Caitlyn heard or else she noticed the alarm on Drury’s face because she slowly got to her feet.

  “Who is it? Melanie?” Drury asked.

  “No. It’s Caitlyn’s mother-in-law, Helen. And along with demanding to see Caitlyn, she says she wants her grandbaby right now.”

  Chapter Six

  Caitlyn squeezed her eyes shut a moment. This was the last thing she’d expected—for Grant’s mother to show up at the Silver Creek Ranch.

  “How did Helen know Caitlyn was here?” Drury asked, taking the question right out of her mouth.

  Of course, Caitlyn had an even more important question. How had Helen found out about the baby?

  “She said a man called her,” Mason answered. “Ronnie Waite. He told her that Caitlyn would be here.”

  Caitlyn had to shake her head. “Why would Ronnie have done that? He’s claiming the baby is his.”

  “Yeah, apparently your mother-in-law doesn’t believe that.”

  “Former mother-in-law,” Caitlyn automatically corrected.

  Mason grumbled something that sounded like a whatever. “She’s on hold on the house line if you want to have a little chat with her. If not, I’ll have the ranch hands escort her off the property.”

  Helen wouldn’t go peacefully. She didn’t do much in life that qualified as peaceful. And Caitlyn didn’t want the Rylands or their ranch hands to have to deal with the woman. Heck, she didn’t want to deal with Helen, either, but the fastest way to get rid of her might be to take the call.

  “I’ll speak to her,” Caitlyn volunteered.

  “Not a smart idea,” Drury snapped. “It’ll confirm to her that you’re here.”

  “I can tell her that I transferred the call to your location,” Mason suggested. “I won’t have to tell her where, exactly, that location is.”

  “Yes, please do that,” Caitlyn said, ignoring Drury’s huff. She picked up the landline phone and waited.

  Despite Drury not agreeing to this, he used the laptop to tap into the ranch’s security system. There were multiple screens, and he zoomed in on the one at the security gate. Helen was there all right, her phone pressed to her ear while she glared at the two armed ranch hands who were blocking her from getting past the gate.

  Helen was aware of the camera because she was volleying glances between it and the ranch hands. The October wind had kicked up some and was rifling through her blond hair. Hair that was usually perfect. Ditto for her dark jacket, but she definitely looked a little disheveled this morning.

  At least the baby had fallen back to sleep and Helen wouldn’t be able to hear her, but just in case she woke up, Caitlyn would keep her voice soft. Also for the baby’s sake, she would make this conversation short.

  “Start talking,” Caitlyn greeted Helen the moment the woman came on the line.

  “No, you start talking. Tell these goons to let me onto the ranch so I can see the baby.”

  “We’re not at the ranch,” Caitlyn lied. “So, you need to leave before they arrest you. It’s not very smart to go to a ranch with a family of lawmen and start making a scene.”

  “It’s not right for you to withhold my granddaughter from me,” Helen countered. “Did you think you could hide her?”

  Caitlyn took a moment to consider her answer, but a moment was too long because Drury took the phone from her and put it on speaker. “What did Ronnie tell you?” he demanded.

  “Special Agent Drury Ryland, I presume?” Helen spat out his name like profanity. “Ronnie said you’d be with Caitlyn, that you were helping her hide the baby.”

  “No, I’m helping her stay alive. Someone tried to kill the baby and her last night. What do you know about that?”

  Helen gasped. Shocked, or else faking that she was. “The baby was in danger?”

  “Not what you’d planned, huh?” Drury asked. “Did you tell Ronnie not to fire shots around the baby?”

  Since Drury had just accused Helen of hiring a thug like Ronnie to get the baby and kill Caitlyn, it wasn’t much of a surprise that her eyes narrowed to slits.

  “I know what you’re doing,” Helen said. “You’re trying to put the blame on me for this. Well, I didn’t do it. Hell, I didn’t even know I had a grandchild until this morning when he called me.”

  “And did he tell you that the child was his?” Caitlyn countered.

  “He said it was possibly his. Or my granddaughter. But he said the odds are that she was Grant’s daughter.”

  Caitlyn groaned. The man was playing both sides.

  “What did he want in exchange for the information he was giving you?” Drury asked.

  Helen paused. No, it was a hesitation. “He wants me to help him get out of any possible charges that might be filed against him.”

  “He shot at me, and I won’t be giving him a get-out-of-jail-free card on that,” Drury stated. “Now tell me everything you know about Ronnie and Conceptions Clinic.”

  Caitlyn expected the woman to launch into a verbal tirade and blast Drury for the order. She didn’t. Helen pushed her hair from her face and sighed.

  “I did go to Conceptions,” Helen finally admitted. “Not recently, but I went there when Grant told me that Caitlyn was having her eggs harvested. I wanted to find out more about the procedure.”

  Caitlyn knew Helen well enough to know that she was leaving something out of that explanation. And she thought she might know exactly what.

  “You tried to bribe someone into stopping the in vitro,” Caitlyn said. Yes, it was a bluff, but she knew she’d hit pay dirt when again Helen didn’t jump to deny it.

  Helen glanced away from the camera, but her defiance quickly returned. “I knew your marriage to Grant wouldn’t last. You weren’t in love with him, and he was seeing another woman. That bimbo, Melanie.”

  Not defiance that time but anger. Apparently, Mela
nie and Helen had clashed. Or maybe Helen blamed Melanie in some way for her son’s death.

  “No one at the clinic would listen to me,” Helen went on. “And then Grant died and I forgot all about Conceptions.”

  “Really?” Drury challenged. “You’re sure you didn’t arrange to use their stored embryo so you could have a grandchild?”

  “No.” Helen was adamant about it, too. “I had nothing to do with that. But someone must have seen this as a way to make some money. They did with others at Conceptions.”

  They had, and other than his niece and nephew, there’d been another child, as well. One not connected to the Ryland family or Caitlyn.

  “You paid them a ransom,” Helen snapped. “Didn’t you, Caitlyn?”

  It was probably a guess on her part, but Caitlyn saw no reason to deny it. “I did. And when Ronnie reneged on the deal, that’s when I hit him with a stun gun and took the child.” Caitlyn paused long enough to draw in a long breath. “Helen, if you hired him, tell me now because I need to know if there are others who’ll try to kidnap the baby.”

  “I didn’t hire him.” No hesitation whatsoever. “But if my granddaughter is in danger, I can help.”

  “She doesn’t need your help,” Drury fired back.

  Judging from the profanity that he mumbled, he hadn’t intended to say that. Probably because it sounded as if he was volunteering to make sure she was safe. Caitlyn wouldn’t hold him to that, though. As soon as she had a safe place to go, she and the baby would leave.

  “You have no right to keep my granddaughter from me,” Helen argued. She didn’t wait for either of them to respond. “I know Caitlyn’s always been in love with you, but you’re not the baby’s father. My son is.”

  Caitlyn tried not to react to that. Hard to do, though, when she felt as if someone had slapped her. It must have felt that way to Drury, too, because he stared at her, mumbled more of that profanity and looked away.

  “You went to Conceptions to stop Caitlyn from having Grant’s baby,” Drury reminded Helen. “Now you want me to believe that you have a right to see a child that you never wanted to exist?”