Maverick Sheriff

by Delores Fossen

The doctor didn’t argue. “We can use my assistant’s car. It has an infant seat already in it. I’ll get her keys and my bag so I can go with you.”

  Cooper didn’t argue, either. Despite Jessa’s earlier assurances that Liam was making a speedy recovery, Cooper figured he’d need medical care for a while.

  It didn’t take long for the doc to return, and Cooper went back into the room. He pulled the blanket from Liam’s crib and draped it over the toddler.

  “Come with me,” Cooper told the women. He positioned himself in front of them as they made their way into the hall.

  The wounded gunmen were gone, no doubt on their way to surgery, but there were large pools of blood on the floor.

  “Follow us out,” Cooper said to his brother Tucker. It wouldn’t hurt to have some extra firepower if things turned bad again.

  With Tucker behind them, Cooper led Jessa and her mother around the blood as best he could, and they followed Dr. Howland down the corridor.

  “Where are we going?” Jessa asked. She was holding Liam as if he were a thin piece of glass ready to shatter.

  Cooper glanced around to make sure no one was in hearing range. There wasn’t anyone. They had the hall to themselves.

  “We’re going somewhere you aren’t going to like,” he mumbled.

  Cooper was taking Liam, Jessa and her mother home with him.

  Chapter Five

  Nothing about this felt right.

  Jessa stared down at her sleeping son, thankful that none of this seemed to be affecting him.

  But it was certainly affecting her.

  The spent adrenaline had left her bone tired, but despite that she hadn’t slept more than a few minutes in the guest room at the McKinnon ranch. Her mind was still wired, and the thoughts of how wrong this was kept going through her head.

  Along with the sound of those shots.

  She would always hear those. Would always remember how close they’d come to her baby.

  And she would never forget that Cooper and his brothers had been the ones to keep Liam safe. Of course, Cooper might have had an ulterior motive for what he’d done.

  Because he might believe Liam was his son.

  Just the thought of that revved up her heartbeat and caused her breath to go thin. Jessa tried to tamp down her emotions. No need to worry about what might be, and she refused to believe that Liam was Cooper’s lost child. Her life and luck couldn’t take another bad turn like that, and she had to be due for the peaceful life that she’d planned with her son.

  Of course, Cooper might be making the same plans.

  Jessa glanced at the laptop still open on the guest bed where she had tried to sleep. She’d closed the email containing the background check on Cooper that she’d asked a P.I. friend to do, but she didn’t need to see the report to remember what it’d said.

  From all accounts, Cooper had been crazy in love with his wife, Molly, but they’d gotten off to a rocky start. Molly had literally broken her engagement to another man to start seeing Cooper, and the other man—Donovan Bradley—had then in turn tried to have embezzlement charges filed against Molly for the cattle-broker business they’d run together. The charges hadn’t stuck.

  But the gossip had.

  There were plenty of rumors that Cooper had slept with Donovan’s fiancée just to get back at the man for an old feud between the former friends turned enemies. Jessa had seen photos of Cooper and Donovan together on the high school football team and again on the rodeo circuit—definitely friends in those days—but something had caused a rift. Rumor had it that Donovan had gotten too friendly with Cooper’s aunt, who was close to their age. Another side believed that Cooper was at fault with his sexual pursuit of Molly.

  Jessa wanted to believe the rumors. She wanted to believe anything that would help her discredit Cooper, but she hadn’t found a shred of proof that he was anything but a badge-wearing cowboy who actually knew the meaning of justice.

  And keeping his jeans zipped.

  Unlike Donovan, he hadn’t left a string of broken hearts throughout the county.

  Jessa’s phone vibrated, and she silently groaned at the name she saw on the screen. It was yet another badge-wearing cowboy.

  County Sheriff Aiden Braddock.

  Aiden’s father, Whitt, was the man Jewell was charged with murdering.

  Jessa had worked closely with Aiden to bring the charges against Cooper’s mother. For months the investigation had consumed them. Now she had something else more important to consume her—keeping her son safe and making other arrangements that didn’t involve staying on the McKinnon ranch.

  Jessa stepped out in the hall to take the call so that she wouldn’t wake Liam, and she nearly ran right into Cooper. He’d obviously just showered. His hair was still damp, and he smelled, well, better than he should have. Something musky and manly that seemed to alert every nerve in her body. Ditto for his cowboy-cop “uniform” of worn jeans, a pale blue button-up shirt and scuffed cowboy boots. His badge was clipped to his belt.

  Next to the silver rodeo buckle.

  If she’d had any doubts that he was a cowboy, that would have rid her of them.

  “That’ll be Sheriff Braddock,” he said, tipping his head to her still-vibrating phone. Mercy. The sight of Cooper had made her forget all about it. “He just called to tell me that Jewell turned herself in to the county deputy and she’s now under arrest.”

  Since it wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have in front of Cooper, she let the call go to voice mail. Better to get any details later after she’d worked out some details and rules of her own.

  “I didn’t tell Sheriff Braddock or anyone else that you were here,” Cooper added.

  Good. For now, the fewer people who knew where she was, the better. “Any updates on the would-be kidnappers?”

  “One didn’t make it. The other came through surgery all right but is still too weak to talk. Colt’s posted outside the guy’s door in case someone tries to help him escape. Colt will call to let me know when I can question him.”

  Jessa hated those men, but she wished both were alive and ready to spill why they’d tried to take her baby.

  Cooper glanced down at her clothes as if he’d never before seen jeans on a woman. And he hadn’t on her. She always tried to dress the part of the D.A. when she went out, even just to get groceries. Yes, it might seem silly, but she wanted to be set apart, wanted the locals to respect her for the job.

  But the jeans clearly didn’t get much respect from Cooper.

  However, they did garner a long look. One that made her feel as if he was trying to undress her.

  Cooper glanced over her shoulder, his attention landing on the crib. “Is Liam okay?”

  But he didn’t just ask the question. Cooper slid past her, his arm brushing against hers, and went into the room. He stayed back from the crib, but he could no doubt see her baby’s face. Yes, it was petty, but she stepped between them. However, since he was taller than she was, he’d have no trouble getting a second look.

  “He’s fine,” she snapped, her voice still a whisper. “The doctor examined him before he left last night, and your sister came by a half hour ago to check his bandage. She said he was fine, and then she and my mother went to the kitchen to get something to eat.”

  His sister Rosalie, who was a pediatric nurse. For Liam’s sake, it was convenient that she was at the ranch with them, but her mere presence was another sticking point. Because the only reason Rosalie was there was to help clear her mother’s name. That put Jessa and her at odds.

  In theory, anyway.

  But Rosalie hadn’t shown any resentment whatsoever. She’d examined Liam as if he were her own child and had promised to check on him as long as needed.

  Hopefully, that wouldn’t be long.

  Jessa motioned for them to go back out in the hall. She didn’t want Cooper standing there staring at Liam. Especially staring at him with that hopeful, pained look in his eyes.

  Cooper followed
her. Finally.

  “I’ll need to make arrangements to leave,” she started. But that was as far as she got.

  “Not yet. I want you, your mom and Liam here until I have a handle on who’s after Liam and why.”

  Jessa groaned. “That could take days or more.”

  “Or less,” he quickly argued. “We’ll start with the gunmen, and once we know who they are, then we can work backward to find out who hired them.” He paused a second. “Any idea who that would have been and why?”

  She shook her head. “Maybe it’s someone connected to your mother.”

  A muscle flickered in his jaw.

  “I’m not accusing you,” Jessa explained. “But there are others involved in the murder investigation.”

  “My brothers. My dad. And my mother’s three other kids. Yeah, I know what you think of us. I can personally vouch for my brothers and Dad. Rosalie, too,” he added almost hesitantly. “The other two, Rayanne and Seth, are law enforcement officers.”

  It wasn’t exactly an endorsement of the last two’s innocence, but there was another player in this.

  Jewell.

  “Do you think your mother murdered Whitt Braddock?” Jessa came out and asked.

  “I don’t care if she did.”

  Yes, he did. The wounds were still there. After all, his mother had abandoned him and his brothers. Jessa couldn’t imagine doing that to Liam, but then she also couldn’t imagine being a married woman, having an affair and then killing her lover.

  But that was exactly what Jewell had done.

  Well, it was what the evidence pointed to her doing, anyway.

  “When I was at the hospital giving blood,” Cooper continued, “you said you’d made some inquiries about Liam’s birth parents, so that you’d know the family’s medical history. Who exactly did you contact?”

  She blinked and had to think hard to remember that conversation. “My adoption attorney, Hector Dixon. Why, you don’t think he had anything to do with this, do you?”

  Cooper lifted his shoulder. “I need to look at all possible angles. Maybe Hector contacted someone who got spooked.”

  Even though he hadn’t come out and said it, Jessa knew where this was going. “You think the adoption was illegal—”

  “Again, I’m looking at all angles. How’d Hector react when you asked him about the birth parents?”

  Jessa opened her mouth to assure him that Hector had reacted as expected. But he hadn’t. “He seemed nervous. Maybe distracted,” she corrected. “He’s a busy man, and I called him out of the blue. He might have thought I was questioning the way he handled the adoption.”

  At least she hoped that was all there was to it.

  “I’ll get him to the sheriff’s office and question him,” Cooper insisted.

  Again, she nearly jumped to assure him that it wouldn’t be necessary, that she’d talk to her lawyer herself. But this was an official investigation now. Besides, Hector might have some idea why this had happened, and if he did, he might know something that would somehow keep Liam safe.

  “What about your personal relationships?” Cooper asked. “Maybe your ex wanted to make trouble for you?”

  Jessa felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Cooper knew. Of course he did. He had access to police records from all over the state. He would have seen the report that she’d filed when her ex-husband, Rick Bolton, had beaten her. Maybe Cooper had even seen the bloody and bruised photos taken of her so he could be arrested for assault and battery.

  “My ex hasn’t been in touch with me for nearly three years,” she settled for saying. “I’m not even sure where he is.”

  She braced herself for Cooper’s argument. That Rick could have decided to get even with her for the eight months he’d spent in jail. But no argument—Cooper’s eyes met hers for just a moment before they darted away. In that second of time, she thought maybe she’d seen some sympathy.

  But she had to be wrong about that.

  He was still too enraged about her bringing Jewell back to Sweetwater Springs and therefore back into his life.

  “Where’d your lawyer get Liam?” Cooper asked.

  They were back to the illegal adoption theory, and while it was a definite sore point, it was something she, too, wanted to know. It wouldn’t help if she just buried her head in the sand.

  “It was a private adoption, but let me call Hector now and find out.”

  She stepped away from Cooper before she could hear any reason he might have for her not doing that. But he didn’t object. Instead, when she took her phone from her pocket and pressed Hector’s number, Cooper just stayed in the doorway, looking at Liam.

  “He’s not yours,” Jessa insisted. “If he were, I’d know it. I’d feel it in my heart.”

  It was a stupid argument. One that clearly didn’t convince Cooper. He just made one of those annoying sounds that could have meant anything. Jessa didn’t get a chance to continue the one-sided disagreement, because Hector answered.

  “Jessa,” he greeted. “I heard about your car accident. Are Liam and you all right?”

  It seemed the right thing to ask, but Jessa’s nerves were too close to the surface for her to take anything at face value. “We’re fine, but that’s not why I’m calling. I need to know what you learned about Liam’s birth parents.”

  “Nothing,” Hector readily admitted. “Look, I’ve been trying, but the birth mother was adamant about this being a closed adoption. She left no contact information whatsoever.”

  That wasn’t unusual. Often a teen mother would close that door of contact as her way of moving on and detaching herself from the child.

  “What adoption agency did you use?” Jessa pressed.

  Hector hesitated. It wasn’t a pause. Jessa could feel the difference, but she prayed she was wrong. She didn’t want any hesitations when he came to this.

  “No agency,” Hector finally said. “The woman I used is more or less a broker, and she’s got a good reputation for her placements.”

  Jessa was listening to every word, but she lost her focus when Cooper went into the room with Liam. She went after him.

  “Birth mothers who want to do private adoptions contact this broker,” Hector continued, “and she in turn contacts the attorneys of prospective birth parents who are willing to pay medical bills and maybe even give compensation. Like you did.”

  She had. A total payment of nearly fifty thousand dollars, which was almost every bit of the inheritance she’d gotten when her father died six years earlier. Jessa would have paid a heck of a lot more than that. But again, that wasn’t what had her attention now. Cooper had it. And she found him right by the crib, staring down at Liam.

  Then she saw something else.

  Cooper smiled.

  The corner of his mouth lifted, the simple gesture flickering the muscle in his jaw. It was short-lived when his gaze landed on the bandage across Liam’s stomach. The incision beneath it was already healing, but the bandage was a reminder that she’d come close to losing him.

  “Jessa?” Hector said. “Did you hear me?”

  No. She hadn’t. “I’m sorry, this is a bad connection,” Jessa lied.

  “I said in our case, the broker contacted me because she’d heard through mutual friends that you wanted to adopt a newborn.”

  It all sounded reasonable. So reasonable that it might even appease Cooper.

  “What’s the broker’s name?” Jessa asked. Best to finish this conversation fast so she could maneuver Cooper out of the room and away from Liam.

  But Hector didn’t do much to finish things. His hesitation lasted a lot longer than the first one. “Her name is Peggy Dawes, but please don’t contact her. She prefers not to deal directly with the adoptive parents.”

  Tough. This broker would deal with her. “I need her phone number. Before you say no, it’s important. Yesterday someone tried to kidnap my baby, and I want to know why.”

  “Good God. And you think Peggy has answers about that?” He
didn’t wait for her to respond. “She won’t. Heavens, Jessa. How could you think that? Peggy did you a great service by locating a baby for you, and you can’t go around questioning—”

  “I’ll thank her,” Jessa interrupted. “Now give me her phone number.”

  The seconds crawled by before she heard some rustling on the other end of the line and then Hector rattled off the number. Jessa made a note of it on her phone’s notepad.

  “Thanks,” Jessa mumbled.

  “Don’t thank me. I’ll keep looking for info on Liam’s birth parents, but I’m not doing you any favors by giving you Peggy’s number.”

  Jessa froze. “What do you mean?” But she was talking to the air because Hector had already hung up.

  “Anything wrong?” Cooper asked.

  He’d no doubt seen the concern on her face, but Jessa shook her head and showed him the number she’d taken down. “It’s for Peggy Dawes, the baby broker my attorney used. Hector is still looking for information about Liam’s birth parents.”

  Cooper nodded and pressed in Peggy’s numbers on his phone’s keypad.

  “No!” Jessa insisted. “I don’t want you to call her. I’ll do it. I don’t want her to think she’s under investigation or something.”

  “She is under investigation,” Cooper fired back, and he would have pressed the call button if Jessa hadn’t caught his hand to stop him.

  Jessa was about to launch into another argument, but the sound stopped both of them. Not a gunshot or some other nightmarish noise.

  Liam stirred. “Mama.” And he reached for her.

  That got her hand off Cooper, and she shoved her phone into her pocket so she could gently lift Liam into her arms. He showed no signs whatsoever of being in pain, though he did point to his bandage. “Got boo-boo.”

  And then his attention went to Cooper.

  Liam eyed him as if sizing him up, but then his attention landed on the shiny badge and rodeo buckle. “Up.” Liam reached out for Cooper to take him.

  It felt as if someone had punched her. Jessa didn’t want her baby in the arms of the man who might try to take him away from her.

  But that was exactly what Cooper did.