by Mary Leo
“Hello,” he reluctantly said into his phone.
“Hi, Sheriff. Sorry to bother you this late, but I’ve got a situation over here that requires your attention.”
He glanced up at the large clock above the front door knowing perfectly well that whatever it was that required his attention would take him at least another hour or more and it was already going on ten thirty.
“Can I give it my attention over the phone? It’s pretty nasty out there tonight, and it’s late. Besides, if someone left you another goat or any other farm animal, there’s nothing either one of us can do about it tonight.”
“It’s not a goat, Sheriff. It’s a baby.”
As he took another bite of a rib, sauce dripped down his fingers and landed on his shirt and lap—bright red sauce that stained everything it touched. He cursed under his breath as he tried to wipe it up.
“You don’t have to get nasty about it,” she said in his ear.
“No. I wasn’t talking to you. It’s just that... Look, let’s call a truce for tonight. I don’t care what kind of illegal baby critter someone left you. We can deal with it another time, just not right now.”
“If you don’t want to do your job, fine, but you should know it’s not a critter of any kind this time. It’s a baby, as in a human baby. A little girl named Lily. She’s about two weeks old from what I can tell and in desperate need of a diaper change, which I think I can do with an old T-shirt. But some real diapers would be nice. And some formula, and a new outfit, cause she soiled this one and wrapping her in something of mine isn’t a real option.”
He didn’t know what to say or how to respond. He’d never dealt with an abandoned baby before. He’d have to read up on it, or at the very least call someone over in Boise to give him a quick rundown of protocol.
“Hello. Hello. Hello. Are you there?” she said, sounding agitated.
He finally took a breath. “Did you say a baby girl?”
“Yes. An infant, and from what I can tell, the only note we have is written on the back of a restaurant receipt from Sammy’s Smokehouse with Lily’s name on it and nothing else.”
He stood, raking a hand through his hair while trying to gather his thoughts. Then he said, “I’ll be right over.”
* * *
“WHY IS SHE crying so much?” Russ asked for the umpteenth time as he awkwardly held baby Lily by her head and butt, flying her back and forth like he was getting ready to propel her through the air. “Is she sick? Maybe she’s got something really wrong with her?”
“Or maybe it’s the way you’re holding her. Haven’t you held a baby before?”
Coco walked over and took Lily, carefully folding the baby into her arms. At once, Lily calmed down as Coco gently spoke to her and naturally bounced with each step, trying to soothe the fretful child.
“There has to be something wrong with her. She smells horrible. I don’t want to get too close, what with all the events I have coming up in the next week. I can’t afford to be sick.”
He was right about the events, at least five that she knew of, and three of them she would be attending alongside him.
So no, he couldn’t get sick, but she really didn’t think that baby Lily had anything physically wrong with her other than needing a diaper change and maybe a bottle.
Coco knew how to treat and care for animals, but what she knew about babies couldn’t fill one page. She was going on instinct here, and what she’d seen her sisters do. Sure, she’d held their babies, but she’d never changed a diaper nor had she ever had to soothe the little darlings or feed them. She’d successfully avoided all of that...up until now.
“She’s a baby. Babies poop and pee. It’s not her fault she smells. She just needs her diaper changed.”
“Can you do that?” His forehead furrowed as if the mere thought of changing a diaper made him nauseous.
“I could if I had a diaper or even an old T-shirt or a dishcloth, but I don’t think I own any safety pins. We’ll just have to bear it until the sheriff gets here with supplies.”
“Well, you can at least strip her down and clean her up, then maybe wrap her in a clean blanket.”
From the tortured look on Russ’s face, Coco thought she should do just that, or what was left of her date night might end right now.
“Okay. Let me see what I can put together,” she reassured him. “Not that I wanted to call him in the first place—we could have simply called Child Welfare or the hospital or anyone other than Sheriff Wilson...even his deputy would have been better. There’s no telling what that man might do with a baby.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. He’ll do what he’s been trained to do with an abandoned baby...whatever that is.”
“You know how that man is with the animals that get left on my doorstep. I’m still paying the fines for keeping some of them longer than the city will allow. If it were up to him, he’d turn them all over to the animal shelter in Idaho Falls, where they’d be put down if no one claimed them in seventy-two hours, sooner if they’re overcrowded. The man has no heart.”
“He’s just doing his job, as I’m sure he will with Billy.”
“Her name is Lily. Why can’t you remember that?”
“I don’t know. Does it really matter? She can’t understand me.”
Lily let out a blood-curdling wail.
“I actually think she can. Or at least she doesn’t like the tone of your voice.”
Coco pulled the baby in tighter.
“Okay. Okay,” he whispered. “Is this better?”
Coco bounced Lily and she quieted down. The little darling seemed to like motion, so Coco kept it going.
“Yes, thank you.”
Coco walked to her bedroom with Lily fussing on Coco’s shoulder, but she seemed to want to calm herself. She squeaked and cooed instead of wailing, a definite improvement. Once inside her bedroom, Coco contemplated putting Lily down on her bed, the bed she’d bought new silky sheets for, and sprayed with perfume, and surrounded with candlelight. The bed she and Russ would make love on until her body ached and she cried out for more.
The bedroom that had been set up for sin.
That bedroom where she now flipped the switch for the overhead light and blew out the candles...at least for now.
She carefully laid squirming baby Lily down on the scented bed while trying to soothe her with soft-spoken words, which weren’t working. She walked to her bathroom and prepared a couple warm washcloths and then brought along a couple fluffy clean towels—new towels that she’d also picked up for the shower she and Russ would take together after hours of making love.
So much for all her sexy plans.
Of course, the night was still relatively young. Anything could happen.
Placing one towel under Lily and keeping one handy to wrap her in, Coco began to undress the little sweetheart, who had stopped fussing when Coco started singing the first song that came into her head, “Happy Birthday.”
“I’d offer to help,” Russ said, coming up behind her, “but I’m horrible with kids, especially babies. Plus, I don’t know the first thing about changing a diaper.”
“And you think I do?” Coco said as she gently wiped off Lily’s soiled bottom. Russ made a few disgusted grunts and turned away.
Coco knew enough from birthing livestock to keep hold of Lily’s arms while she cleaned her. Newborns of any kind liked to be touched and held whenever something else was happening to them. This one little action seemed to soothe her, exactly like it soothed a foal.
“You’re a woman,” Russ announced as if that fact had any relevance in this situation.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s in your DNA. Besides, you deal with babies all the time.”
“There’s a big difference between a puppy or a foal and a li
ttle baby girl, an abandoned baby girl. Poor sweetheart doesn’t know what to think...do you, sweet Lily?”
Lily made a couple complaints, but then settled when Coco began singing “Happy Birthday” again.
“Where’s that sheriff? He should’ve been here by now.” Russ walked up behind Coco and ran his hands down her body. Normally a great sensation, and a real turn-on, but not while Coco was trying to clean up baby poop. “We need to pick up where we left off.”
She moved away from him, leaning in closer to Lily, who was now nice and clean and smelling of new baby, a delightful scent if there ever was one.
“I don’t know if that’s possible tonight, Russ. The mood has sort of been broken.”
Coco swaddled Lily as best she could inside the soft white towel, then picked her up, cradling her tight against her chest, her little rosebud mouth suckling the air.
“Not really. I know how we can get it back again.”
“How?”
He leaned in and kissed her with one of those sinful kisses that might have brought her to her knees...if it wasn’t for the warm trickle of liquid that now ran down between her breasts.
* * *
SHERIFF WILSON WASN’T about to drive over to Dr. Grant’s clinic without all the supplies she’d asked for, and then some. He’d taken care of enough babies in his life to know exactly what she needed. Plus, he knew enough about the system to know that the chances of his being able to drop off a baby with the appropriate authorities at this time of night, with all this snow, were slim to none. After he’d changed out of his uniform into more casual wear, he’d made a few phone calls, and the only words of encouragement he’d gotten were keep her warm.
Driving down Main Street was proving to be a challenge, despite his being the only actual vehicle on the road. Even Travis Granger, who maneuvered his red sleigh and Clydesdales, picking up any stranded pedestrians, was having a time of it. The two men nodded to each other as they passed, silently acknowledging that Briggs was in for it tonight.
By the time Sheriff Wilson tried to pull his SUV curbside on Main Street, then trudge up to the glass front door of Whipple’s One Stop and push on the bell that rang inside the Whipple apartment upstairs, he felt the tension intensify in his neck and shoulders. Jet braced himself for what was sure to be the third degree from Cindy Whipple, proprietor and one of the biggest town gossips. Not only was she a gossip, but she had town radar and could usually figure out what someone was trying desperately to hide. She had the uncanny ability to guess exactly what was going on before anyone could tell her the truth.
A sweet woman with a heart of gold, but she couldn’t keep a secret if God came down and asked her personally.
Within moments, a soft light came on inside the store, illuminating the frozen-food section located in the back. Jet and Cindy locked eyes for a moment before she disappeared behind the produce shelves.
When the glass door finally swung open, bells chiming overhead, Cindy Whipple greeted him wearing a fuzzy red robe and matching slippers. Her short white hair stuck out in strange angles, as if she’d just come out of a windstorm, and her horn-rimmed glasses were askew on her wizened face. But her lips were perfectly smeared with red lipstick. Ms. Whipple never went out in public without her bright red lipstick in place. And, apparently, that went for answering the door late at night.
“Sheriff Wilson! What in blazes are you doing out here so late? Did somebody die? Is there a big accident somewhere and you need medical supplies? Because I can give you a deal you won’t believe.”
“No, nothing like that, but is it possible that you could open your store for me? I know it’s late, ma’am, but I would really appreciate getting a few things.”
“I take it this is some kind of emergency, or you wouldn’t be standing here. Are you going to tell me what happened or is it a secret?”
He decided to play along. “Yes, it’s a secret, and I can’t tell anyone about it. Not even you.”
“Me? I’m Fort Knox,” she said with a chuckle.
If only that were true.
“Good, because I’m depending on you not to ask me any questions. I promised I wouldn’t say a word.”
“Absolutely. Not one question. Not a word. My lips are sealed.” She slipped two fingers across her pursed lips, as if she was zipping them up. “Now, what do you need?”
He was hoping he could get out of there without giving her any details. At this point, that was about all he could hope for.
“Baby formula, newborn diapers, a few of those onesies, some undershirts, a couple baby bottles, nipples, a little knit hat and blankets, lots of those small baby blankets,” he told her all in one breath. “Oh, and baby wipes, several containers of baby wipes.”
Her eyes went wide, and she straightened up her glasses. “Now, why on earth are you in here buying up baby supplies?”
“You promised no questions. I’m depending on you.”
“But...”
He tilted his head and gave her a look.
She took a step back and let out a big sigh. “Okay, okay.” Then she quickly went about gathering up all the supplies, placing them on the counter.
After a moment she yelled from across the store, “A boy or girl?”
“Why would that matter?” He knew she was fishing.
“Just want to know if I should pick up blue or pink blankets and onesies.”
“Yellow or green will work.”
“Fine!” she said, but he could tell this secret thing was killing her.
Soon, the counter was littered with baby things. Fortunately, Jet knew enough about newborns to know they didn’t need rattles, teething toys or the high chair she’d stuck next to the counter.
In the end, he managed to get exactly what he needed, even picking up a thermal onesie suitable for winter weather and some sort of soft travel bassinet Cindy had sung the praises of. He’d have gotten a car seat as well, but it wasn’t sized for an infant. Other than that, Whipple’s One Stop truly had everything he needed for baby Lily.
He was just about to compliment Cindy Whipple when she interrupted. “I’ve thought about the expectant moms in town, and I’ve accounted for all of them. I think it’s someone from out of town. Am I right?”
“I can’t say,” Jet told her, swallowing his praise.
“Is it one of our teens? Some poor girl who has managed to keep her pregnancy a secret, even from her parents? I bet it’s Roseland Cooper, or maybe Jennifer Wells...or maybe it’s not either of them. I bet it’s one of them Century sisters, maybe Bess or Dani. Them girls always were wild...no mother to raise ’em and a dad who didn’t value nothin’ but his next drink. Just because they’re of age now doesn’t mean they’ve got a lick of common sense. Neither one of ’em could settle. Always movin’ ’round the country.”
Jet knew the Century sisters well, especially Dani Century, but he didn’t want to think about her now. That was over a long time ago, and bringing up her name only reminded him of a time in his life he didn’t want to relive, especially not tonight.
“They don’t live here anymore, Mrs. Whipple. They both headed out months ago.”
“Oh, that’s right. Time gets away from me,” she said as she bagged everything. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“I can’t, remember?”
“But it’s a baby. Nobody can hide a baby...unless...” She sucked in air and put her hand over her mouth.
“Unless what? Mrs. Whipple? What are you thinking?”
She leaned in closer over the counter, and whispered, “Some out-of-towner abandoned a baby at the jail, didn’t they? And your deputy is caring for it right now while you’re in here getting supplies. Child Welfare can’t do nothing about it in all this snow, and the road to the hospital is probably closed by now, so you’re stuck. I bet that’
s it. You can tell me. My lips are sealed. Fort Knox.”
But Jet didn’t answer. Instead he picked up the two overflowing bags wondering how on earth Cindy Whipple could have gotten so close to the truth. The woman had a sixth sense about these things, and if Jet hung around any longer he was sure she’d figure out the baby’s name, gender and, even worse, that the baby was abandoned on Doctor Grant’s doorstep.
As he walked out of the store, he contemplated hiring Mrs. Whipple as a special investigator. Not that he ever could or would, but having her work with him seemed a lot smarter than having her working against him...of that he had no doubt.
Chapter Two
“Are we ever happy to see you,” Russ Knightly said as he opened the front door to Coco’s private residence above her clinic. The door to her clinic sat right next to her private apartment door, but despite the sign above it that touted Paws & Tails Animal Clinic, the sheriff knew her patrons managed to get the two doors confused, just as he had the first time he’d stopped by. They looked exactly alike but for the sign, which, in his opinion, should have been placed on the door itself.
Russ’s clothes looked disheveled and he wore a harried look on his cover-model face, as if the normally cavalier mayoral candidate had reached his breaking point. Even his habitually groomed dark hair was tousled.
Jet could only think of one question: Why was he here?
The shock of seeing Russ standing in Doctor Grant’s doorway instead of Doctor Grant herself threw Sheriff Wilson off his game for a moment. Of all the men in this town, Russ Knightly was the last person he ever thought he’d see anywhere near Coco Grant. For one thing, he’d thought she was a smart woman...but unless there was a really good reason for this lunkhead to be answering her door at this time of night, Jet had sorely misjudged Coco’s common sense.
“I got a call from Doctor Grant, but if you’re already here, I’ll just drop these off with you.” He shoved the bag of baby things into Russ’s hands, and placed a bigger bag of diapers and baby wipes just inside the doorway. “I’ll be on my way before the snow gets any deeper.”
