by Kadie Scott
He hated lying to Sophia, but no way was he taking her to see that damn bird.
“Oh.”
Sophia hurried along beside him, taking two steps for every one of his, and Cash slowed his pace.
“What about tomorrow?” she asked.
“We’ll see.”
Sophia rolled her eyes in a very real impression of Georgia. “That means no.”
Despite the topic, and the roiling emotions inside him, Cash smiled at that. “It means, we’ll see.”
He opened the door to the back seat of his car then grunted as she threw her arms around him in a mini-tornado hug. “Maybe Wednesday?”
Cash laughed. “Get in, young lady.”
He got her settled then her strapped in and pulled out of the parking lot, Sophia chattering away in the back seat.
I’m not going to lose her. I don’t care what some blood test might say. She’s my child.
Chapter Nine
A knock on the door pulled Holly out of the mystery novel she was reading—or attempting to read. Actually, she was trying her best to forget about Cash. A week had passed since their little talk, and she hadn’t heard from him since. She’d been deposed by Marcus’s lawyer though, so she assumed the paternity test was moving forward. Meanwhile, she couldn’t get the surly sheriff out of her mind. When she wasn’t working, any distraction was a good distraction.
Curious now, because she wasn’t expecting any visitors, Holly hopped up to see who was there. She opened her door to reveal Carter and Sophia holding ice cream cones.
Sophia was grinning ear to ear. “Aunt Carter brought me to see you, Miss Holly.”
Uh-oh. Cash was not going to like this when he heard about it, but she wasn’t going to make Sophia feel bad either. So she smiled back.
Carter gave Holly an expressive grimace before she shoved an ice cream cone at her. “We brought you one too. Hope you like chocolate.”
Holly laughed as she took it. “It’s my favorite.” Then she stepped back. “Come on in.”
Once her guests were settled around her tiny kitchen table, Carter said, “Sorry to just descend on you like this. No one says no to this pumpkin. She was hoping to see your hawk.”
Holly smiled around a bite of her treat. “I’m glad you came. The wildlife sanctuary folks are picking up Betty Lou in two days. They’ll finish rehabilitating her and try to get her back out into the wild.”
Sophia’s eyes widened slightly. “What’s rehab…rebabil…”
“Rehabilitate?”
The child nodded.
“It means to help it get better.”
“Oh. Can I pet her?”
Holly shook her head. “Sorry, sweetie. I was told to interact with her as little as possible. Otherwise, she might get too used to humans and won’t survive in the wild anymore.”
Sophia’s face fell. “Okay.”
“But I’ll let you pet Mischief. He’s my horse.”
Sophia brightened up. “Daddy said I could get a horse for my birthday. I’m going to be five on May twenty-eighth.”
“My, my, as big as that?” Holly raised her eyebrows. “I was about that old when Mama gave me my first horse too.” Holly didn’t mention that she’d found the horse half-starved and that her mother had rescued it from its no-good owners—and by rescued, she meant stole. That horse had started Holly’s childhood dream of helping animals. “Do you ride?”
“On my pony. And Daddy puts me up on his horse with a lead. Daddy says my arms aren’t strong enough to control my own horse yet, but I know I can do it.”
Sophia tipped her head to the side. The twinkle in her eyes warned Holly that something was brewing behind that angelic face.
“Could I ride Mischief?” Sophia finally asked.
“Sophia Ivy Hill. Manners.” Carter pursed her lips at her niece.
Sophia blinked at her aunt then turned back to Holly. “Sorry.”
“Sophia Ivy. I’ve always liked that name.”
Carter grinned. “Georgia never told us the Ivy was for you.”
Holly nodded. “Georgia said I was the sister she never had. She was certainly more sister than friend to me.”
Carter eyed her speculatively. Holly pulled herself out of her thoughts and noticed that Carter and Sophia had finished their ice creams. Holly finished hers in a couple bites, wincing through brain freeze as she ate too fast, then stood and offered Sophia a hand. She led them across to the clinic. They were keeping the hawk in the back, well away from everyone and everything else.
While Sophia quietly peeked in at the bird, Carter hung back in the doorway. “So you and Cash disappeared for a little bit the night of the dance. Do I need to do the sister thing and warn you not to break his heart?” She murmured it quietly so Sophia wouldn’t overhear.
Holly hid an inner sigh. Apparently, Cash hadn’t said anything to his family about their discussion. The question was why?
And once again, she was put in the fantastically uncomfortable spot of covering for someone. “No warnings necessary. I was so hot from dancing, I needed to find a spot with a breeze. I guess he thought I was upset or something, and he followed me out. Which was sweet of him, but unnecessary. Then he stayed and hung out while I cooled off.”
Carter crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Then, after leaving to drop you off, he called me to watch Sophia while he stayed out all night?”
Holly didn’t even have to fake her shock. With widened eyes, she shook her head. “He wasn’t with me. He left my house around midnight, shortly after he dropped me off.”
“Uh-huh.” Carter wasn’t buying it.
“Nothing’s going on between us.” All right, so he’d kissed her and she’d kissed him. That kiss in the parking lot had been one of the sweetest moments of her twenty-six years. She hadn’t been able to get it out of her mind.
She’d gone back inside the dance hall with her emotions, and her body, buzzing from those few incredible minutes in the parking lot. But after last week, Cash wanted nothing to do with her. He was crystal clear about that. She’d figured he’d inform his family about his wishes concerning her, but—given this conversation and Carter coming by with Sophia—maybe not?
Carter still regarded her suspiciously.
Holly rolled her eyes with a laugh that sounded slightly off, even to her. “Stop digging, Carter. There’s no treasure here.”
Carter stared at her for a moment before she relented, holding up both hands. “Okay, okay. I won’t push. But I’d also bet money there’s something there.”
Holly held back a snort with monumental effort. Oh, there was something there all right. Georgia. His loss. Her secrets. Marcus. Sophia. And that kiss, of course. Yup. She and Cash had a lot between them. It just wasn’t anything Holly considered promising.
She mentally screeched to a halt. Did she want something more between them? She’d had a case of hero worship in high school. Cash had been one of the few people to look past her shyness and always make a point of including her or just saying hi. But after Georgia got pregnant, Holly’d stopped thinking of him like that.
Heaven help her, she did want something more.
Despite his gruff demeanor, she liked Cash. A lot. She wanted to get to know him and spend time with him.
Carter put a hand on her arm, suddenly sober. “Cash… Well, let’s just say he shut down after Georgia died. He pulled away from us, from everyone. But around you he smiles more. Just…be careful with him. Okay?”
Regret sank in Holly’s stomach like a rock. Not only was friendship impossible after her revelations at his office, but there was also Sophia to consider. Holly knew for a fact that motherhood was not in her future. She’d proved she wasn’t mother material with her own siblings, another black mark against her in her own book, as well as Cash’s.
Holly glanced over at Sophia, who was silently watching the hawk with a single-minded fascination that only children seemed to have. The hawk’s crate sat toward the back of the room, where it
was dark and quiet. Her chest tightened at the thought of this little girl without her mother, and now maybe without the father she’d always known. Holly hadn’t done that to her, but she’d helped the process. God, when’d everything get so dang complicated?
Anything with Cash was out, even if the thing with Marcus turned out to be a non-issue. She’d keep her promise to Georgia to watch over her daughter, and she’d stay away from them both. Neither Cash nor Sophia needed any more pain or problems.
“Let’s go see Mischief,” Holly called to Sophia.
The child stood without quibble and followed her to the barn. Holly whistled softly to the horse, her own special signal for him. Immediately, he poked his nose out of his stall and whickered back.
“Oh, he’s beautiful,” Sophia breathed, instantly smitten.
“Thanks. I’ve always thought he was a good-looking fella.”
Mischief was on the taller side for a quarter horse, at over fifteen hands. His coat was a beautiful rust color set off by a jet-black mane and tail. Striking.
Holly picked Sophia up around her waist and held her higher so the girl could pet Mischief’s neck. Holly gave her a couple of pieces of sugar to feed him. The child giggled at the touch of his velvety nose and fuzzy lips nibbling at her flat palm. Out of the corner of her eye, Holly caught how Carter tensed in surprise at the sound.
Why was everyone so astounded when Sophia laughed?
“How about we go down to the park?” Holly suggested. “There’s a path that leads there from my backyard.”
“Yay!” Sophia cheered.
Carter grinned. “Sounds good to me.”
Yup. Cash was going to be furious when he heard about this. Although, if he’d been open with his family, she doubted Carter would have brought Sophia by. Then again, knowing Carter the tiny bit she did, maybe that wasn’t a very good guess.
*
“Holly, this one’s for you,” Luke called from the small room where their onsite lab was located.
Holly had heard the phone ring, but she’d been in the middle of an autopsy on a calf that had died inexplicably. “I have guts all over my hands. Can you get their info for me?”
“Sure.”
A few minutes later, Luke popped his head around the door right as Holly reached the heart. She swore softly.
“What’s up?”
“Blackleg,” she muttered grimly. She showed him the heart, which was covered in speckles of blood.
“Where?”
“The Bar T ranch. I’ll clean up then give them a call…set up vaccinations for tomorrow. Can you help? It’ll go faster with two.”
Blackleg was a bacterial disease that spread through feed and forage. If they didn’t act fast, many more calves could be dead within days.
“Yeah. I’ll go with you.”
“Thanks.” Holly left the calf on the chrome operating table. She took off her gloves as she moved toward the sink, dropping them in the hazardous waste container, then turned the tap to scalding to wash her hands. “Who was on the phone?”
“Reed Gabriel. Says he found a horse tangled up in a barbed wire fence on the back side of his property. Not one of his, and none of his neighbors are missing any.”
Odd. “How is it?”
“Dead.”
“What do they need me for then?” She leaned against the sink, drying off her hands with a towel.
“Sheriff suspects foul play. He’d like you to take a look.”
Holly stilled. The tick of the wall clock paced her thoughts. If Cash was involving her, he had to think it was serious, given he was back to avoiding her as if she were last week’s lunch meat. Or maybe she was avoiding him. She couldn’t quite decide.
She levered away from the sink. “Can you dispose of the little guy?” She indicated the calf still on the table.
“Got it.”
She smiled her thanks as she headed back to the bathroom to change. Then she made her way out to the vet truck. She’d probably need the equipment to do an onsite check and possibly an autopsy on the horse. This was turning into one of those days.
During the long drive out to the Gabriel property, Holly steeled herself to see Cash. She hadn’t met Reed yet, though she’d heard the name. He was new to the area and owned a forty-acre spread. Following the directions Reed had provided on the phone, she pulled off the road and drove through a massive iron gate, which someone had thoughtfully left open for her. After a few minutes bumping down the dirt drive, the house came into view, and Cash’s car—the official one—parked out front. As she pulled up behind him, Cash and another man, who had to be Reed, came out to meet her.
Holly hopped out of the tall truck and moved around to the front. “Sheriff.”
He might hate her, but she could be civil. She swiftly turned her attention to the other man. He was much younger than she’d expected, early thirties maybe, with dark brown hair and eyes. Laugh lines deepened by the sun told her what kind of man he likely was.
“Mr. Gabriel?” She held out a hand to shake.
“Yeah. And it’s Reed.”
Holly nodded her acknowledgment. “Holly. Show me this horse you found.”
“It’s a ways out, not easily reached. Better to go by horseback.”
“I can’t do much without my equipment.”
Cash stepped into her field of view. “I wanted you to check him out where he died first. I’ll arrange to have him taken to your office for a better look.”
“All right.”
They drove as far as they could before continuing on horseback. The conversation on the ride centered on the sad discovery followed by general chitchat about being new to the area. Holly, lulled by the steady rhythm of her ride’s gait and the creak of the saddle, even forgot for an instant the tension between her and Cash.
When they got to the spot where the animal still lay, Reed stayed off to the side.
As soon as they reached the body, Holly knelt beside what had been a gorgeous thoroughbred and studied the animal closely. Her heart sank. She knew this sweet animal. To buy some time and be doubly sure, she started to examine him.
“He hasn’t been dead long. Maybe a day. Poor baby.”
He was completely wrapped up in the fence, having obviously pulled the barbed wire down with him in his panic. A big boy, he had to be about seventeen hands. Holly’s eyes traveled over his musculature. Holly checked his eyes and his tongue. She ran her hands over his limbs then checked his hooves. Sure enough, signs of the injury she’d treated still lingered.
“Damn,” she muttered.
“What?”
“I know this horse. I treated him.” She took off her hat and wiped her sleeve across her forehead. The hot April had moved into a hotter, more humid May.
“Whose is it?”
She raised her hand and shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked at him, her lips tight. “Marcus Jones’s.”
Cash scowled “How sure are you?”
“Positive. I can’t tell you what killed him, but I’m sure he’s Marcus’s.”
She stood and put her hat back on her head. She nodded past him toward the southwest horizon, where black and gray thunderheads were building to their awe-inspiring heights. “You’d better get the horse to the clinic or covered up fast before that thunderstorm hits.”
Part of what was making the heat intolerable was the stillness that preceded a storm. The humidity and pressure would build, making it unbearably suffocating, until the storm blew through, clearing the air and cooling things off.
Usually Holly loved Texas thunderstorms. The drama of the black, churning skies, the flash of lightning followed by rolling booms of thunder. She loved to curl up under the covers to the sound of driving rain.
But in cases like this, the rain could ruin the body for autopsy. Unfortunately, they were far enough out, and in thick enough brush, that it would be a decent project to get the horse moved.
Cash compressed his lips but nodded.
“Get him to
me at the clinic, and I’ll see if I can tell you more.”
Cash nodded again but didn’t move away. He didn’t say anything either—just stood there and looked at her.
After a long, awkward pause, Holly raised her eyebrows. “If you don’t have anything else for me, Sheriff…”
“Do you think Marcus did anything illegal?”
She cocked her head. “With the horse? No.”
“That was a quick answer. And with no equipment.”
Holly raised her eyebrows at his harsh tone. She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.
“Why do you keep defending that guy?”
Why did Marcus have to be the one involved? “I don’t keep defending him. This horse was a rescue. When I treated him, he still appeared emaciated. Marcus obviously cared for him well, because he’s in much better shape. Look…” She pointed. “His ribs no longer stick out, and his coat shines with good health. My guess is this guy is an escape artist. If Marcus hasn’t reported him to your office or animal control yet, he will.”
Cash’s lips flattened as he clenched his jaw. “Fine. Marcus is a saint. Is that why you’re helping him take my daughter?”
Tears burned at the back of Holly’s eyes. She blinked hard, refusing to let him see her distress. “This is not a good place or time for that conversation.”
Cash hooked his thumbs in his pockets as he studied her intently. “Okay. I’ll come over tonight and you can explain it to me.”
Much as she’d like a chance to prove herself, to earn his friendship back—if she ever had it—she couldn’t. She didn’t deserve it. “I have plans.”
With that parting shot, Holly continued her trek back to Reed and the horses. After a bit, Cash followed.
Chapter Ten
Cash’s hand shook as he turned the handle to his lawyer’s office door. Today they’d find out for sure whose daughter Sophia was.
And he was terrified. He couldn’t lose her.
His lawyer followed him into the room. No one else came, because he hadn’t told anyone. Not even his family. He figured he’d tell them if the results showed Marcus as the father and Cash had to fight to keep Sophia. But, other than Will now, none of them even knew about Georgia leaving because of Marcus. Just like with that situation, he figured why worry them. Telling them changed nothing.
