by Mary Leo
Jet knew Russ was trying to get a rise out of him, but Jet knew how to curb his emotions in situations like these. He never flinched and never backed down.
“We’re here because your neighbors are upset about the noise. It’s going on 2:00 a.m., well past the midnight deadline for the local ordinance. I’m officially asking you to turn the volume down,” Jet told him succinctly.
Russ smirked while still holding on to the women. “I’m going to change that stupid law so they should start getting used to it.”
“Whether or not you’ll change it has yet to be determined. Right now, the law requires you to cease and desist. And because this is your second notice in the last six months, I can confiscate your equipment and put you under arrest for disturbing the peace.”
That was a bit of a stretch, but Jet wasn’t in the mood for games. He was tired, and had had it with Russ’s belligerent attitude.
“Ha!” Russ turned to his group and shouted, “The sheriff and his deputy here say we have to turn down the music or he can arrest me.”
The music instantly stopped. Suddenly all eyes were on Jet Wilson and his deputy.
Russ turned back to the sheriff. “Is that better?”
“Yes, thank you, and please don’t turn it on again tonight. We don’t want to come back here.”
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to do anything to cause any trouble.”
Nash said, “That’s probably a wise decision on your part.”
“Is that some kind of threat?”
“We would never threaten you, Mr. Knightly,” Jet told him. “We’re simply doing our job.”
“What’s with the Mr. Knightly crap?” Russ asked, resentment spilling over everything he said.
“Just showing you respect.”
Russ laughed out loud, big deep belly laughs, so much so everyone in the room quit talking and paid close attention to what was going on at the door. Some of them pointed their phones at them, no doubt taking pictures and videos of the escalating situation. Russ let go of the two women and continued to laugh. “Respect? Oh, that’s rich, after what happened yesterday morning at the jail.”
Jet readied himself for what would likely happen next.
“That was an unfortunate circumstance that had nothing to do with you,” Jet said.
And in the blink of an eye, Russ pulled back and threw a punch at Sheriff Jet Wilson. Jet ducked, and Russ socked Nash in the chin, causing him to fall back on his butt.
Within seconds almost everyone at the party had pulled out their phones, capturing the events in videos and pictures as Sheriff Wilson cuffed the potential mayor in front of all his potential voters.
“What was that you said about enough rope?” Jet said to Nash under his breath as the two men escorted Russ to their official SUV. Nash read Russ his rights, then they showed Russ the back seat. All the while the mayoral candidate was yelling about how his lawyer would bring them both down and how they were finished in this town.
Jet shut the back door, blocking out Russ’s explosive diatribe of hateful rhetoric.
“Just wish you hadn’t been so quick to duck, Sheriff. The guy packs a solid punch!” Nash rubbed his jaw, which was already turning bright red. “Have to admit I didn’t think following your lead would land me on my backside.”
“Frankly, neither did I. But it’s a good reminder of how dangerous our job is. His fist could just as easily have been a hidden weapon that he attacked us with.”
Nash said something else, but Jet was imagining a much darker scenario...one where it wasn’t a fist that had hit Nash in the jaw, but something much more deadly.
Without further hesitation, Jet immediately called Marsha Oberlin at Child Protective Services and left her a message to come and get Lily. It was time to end this thing. Lily deserved a decision.
* * *
AS COCO ARRIVED at the Briggs Community Center to cast her vote for the new mayor, rumors were flying. Coco thought she’d be the topic of those rumors, along with Sheriff Jet Wilson and how they’d gotten trapped inside the jail cell. She expected that the talk of the town would be filled with snickering, scoffing and possible insults about how she and the sheriff had not only humiliated themselves, but humiliated Russ Knightly, who would most certainly be the new mayor by now.
She braced herself when the biggest town gossip came right for her as she entered the building. Even holding on to Lily in her cozy sling wouldn’t protect her, nor would walking in with her hero brother, Carson, by her side. She’d called and asked him to join her.
Nope, Phyllis Gabaur was headed straight at her with a look of absolute disgust on her face...of course, Phyllis was always wearing that expression, even when she was happy, but it seemed intensified just then.
“Hang on to me,” Coco whispered to her brother, who looked like his usual handsome self in a brown cowboy hat, a black wool parka, jeans and dusty work boots. He’d been over at M&M Riding School, teaching kids how to ride, a job he loved.
“I’m right here to run interference. Let me handle this,” Carson said as Coco threaded her arm through his. She could always depend on Carson to get her through whatever came her way...all her sisters could. He had always been their fearless champion, defending them against anyone and anything that tried to bring them down.
“Mrs. Gabaur, nice to see you again,” Carson said, tipping his hat in her direction.
She ignored him and looked at Coco, as if he wasn’t even there. “I hope you’re not voting for that scoundrel Russ Knightly. Serves him right if nobody voted for him given how he treated our sheriff last night for simply doing his job. And what of Deputy Sheriff Young? They’re saying he lost two teeth over the matter. That Knightly shouldn’t be mayor of anything, much less of our fair city of Briggs. We deserve better. We deserve another four years of Mayor Sally Hickman, an upstanding, honest mayor who abides by the laws and doesn’t flaunt them. A vote for Sally Hickman is a vote for Idaho values.”
Then she handed both Carson and Coco large buttons that featured Mayor Hickman’s smiling face and walked to the next voter behind Coco, beginning the same speech all over again.
“What was that all about?” Carson asked in a hushed voice.
“I don’t have a clue,” she replied, scanning the center.
Carson and Coco needed to get their ballots. They walked over to Hank Marsh and his wife. There were a few other proposed laws on the ballot that the townsfolk were voting on. Like whether or not the city should add another holiday to the already packed roster. There was a petition for an official Spud Day to coincide with all the Spud events that happened over at the fairgrounds every year in the early fall.
Still, in spite of the other issues that the good people of Briggs would be voting on, deciding who would be mayor of the city was the biggest.
“Mornin’, Carson. Doctor Grant,” Hank said as he handed each of them a ballot.
“How’s that little baby doing?” Dottie Marsh asked.
“Just fine. Thanks for asking,” she said.
“Can I get a peek at her?” Dottie wanted to know.
“Sure, but can you tell me what’s going on with Russ? Did something happen?”
“You don’t know? I thought for sure...because of the sheriff...and you. Mr. Knightly spent the night in jail for punching Deputy Sheriff Nash Young in the face. Apparently, it was pretty bad. I don’t like to gossip, but I heard the deputy might have to get dentures.”
“What? I don’t believe that.”
“It’s what everybody’s talking about. People even videoed it on their phones.”
Hank and the others filled Coco and Carson in on the rest of the details. It seemed everyone’s focus was squarely on Russ’s shoulders and his wild punch.
And not only that, if Russ thought he had the title of mayor lock
ed up, he was wrong. Sally Hickman was going to give him a real run for his money, which meant that Jet would probably be able to keep his job...if he wanted it.
The problem was, after everything Jet had told her the last time he was at her house, Coco didn’t know if staying in Briggs was something Jet Wilson would ever truly consider.
* * *
WHEN JET SPOTTED Coco and Carson exiting the community center, everything in him had to be forced to shut down. He could barely keep his eyes off her, the soft curve of her features, the way her hair framed her face, the way she walked with a confident step, which made her hips sway sweetly, the way the corners of her mouth tilted up as if she were always happy, the way she loved to carry Lily around in that sling that swept across her chest, keeping Lily warm and safe next to Coco’s body.
He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, thinking about the curves and edges that made Coco Grant. Heck, he even loved her pretty toes painted a soft pink. There wasn’t one thing about her—her great disposition, how smart she was, how considerately she treated Lily and all those critters she took in without giving it a second thought—that he didn’t love.
He had it bad for Doctor Coco Grant and just seeing her again broke his heart. He truly didn’t know how he would ever get over her or Lily, who he’d also fallen in love with that very first night.
“She’s under your skin, and for the life of me, I can’t see what’s keeping you from settling down with that fine woman. I know she’s all about wanting to be with you, but you’re suddenly playing hard to get. You want to talk about it?” Nash asked as they both jumped into the SUV. Fortunately, they’d missed out on crossing paths with Coco after they voted—for Sally Hickman, of course.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jet said as he stuck the key into the ignition, backed out of the parking space and drove away.
“Well, I do. I want to know what’s going on with you.”
“None of your business.”
Jet’s phone vibrated as it sat on the dashboard, where he could see who was calling. It was Marsha Oberlin from Child Protective Services. He’d already received a couple calls from her, but in the light of day, he had decided he wasn’t ready to speak to her, after all.
“But it is my business after I’ve taken a punch for you. You owe me big-time and this is how you can pay me back. Tell me what’s going on in that ornery head of yours and why you’re not talking to your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Oh? You could’a fooled me. She sure looked like your girlfriend yesterday morning inside that jail cell. Yes, siree...she was absolutely no longer Russ Knightly’s girlfriend, that’s for sure.”
Jet hated when Nash wouldn’t give up on a subject.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You said that already and obviously it has no effect on me. I’m here to listen. I’m a good listener. Even Drew says I am, and she should know, she’s one of the best listeners in town.”
Jet drove them the next couple of miles in silence until they reached the station. Russ had long since gone home after his lawyer had him released bright and early that morning.
He and Nash sat at their respective desks before Jet said another word. “Doctor Grant deserves better than me. I’m not the kind of man who can remain in one spot. Something always happens to mess it up. I don’t want to get her hopes up. Heck, I don’t want to get my hopes up. Every time I do...well, it never works out.”
Nash let out a slow breath. “You’re kidding, right?”
Jet gazed at him. “No. I’m not kidding.”
Nash sat back in his chair, stuck his feet up on his desk and slipped his hat over his face. “Tell you what. When you’ve got something to say that makes sense, wake me up, ’cause right now you’re so full of nonsense, it’s—”
“I’m spilling my guts to you and you’re going to sleep?”
“You sound like you’re still a kid trapped in the system,” Nash murmured from under his hat. “Wake up, Jet Wilson. Those days are over. Just like last night with Russ. You were in control, not him. You get to choose your next move, and if you want Coco Grant, and that little baby that’s probably yours, you have to fight for both of them. As it is you’re not looking like much of a fighter. Didn’t all those years, good and bad, teach you anything? Listen, my dad was an alcoholic for most of my childhood. We all have our own stuff to deal with. But the secret is to deal with it. Not sweep it under the rug, and not use it to shield us when something is tough. At least, that’s what my mom would tell me, and believe me, she dealt with a lot from me and my four brothers.”
“You have four brothers?”
Nash sat up a bit, taking his hat off and resting it brim up on his desk. “Yep, and each one was worse than the last.”
“My heart goes out to your mom for having to deal with the likes of you, and your brothers,” Jet said. He rose from his desk and pushed Nash’s feet off his as he walked over to the small basket that caught all their mail next to the door. “You make a lot of sense for a man who doesn’t know when to duck.”
Nash grinned. “That was all your fault. You should’ve stopped him with your manly shoulders and mean sheriff ways.”
“I told you to follow my lead,” Jet said. “You saw me duck.”
Jet rifled through the mail until he stopped on a letter addressed to him from the lab in Boise. His heart raced as he stared at what had to be the results of his DNA test. Of all the days for it to arrive, this had to be the worst.
“I’ll keep that in mind next time.”
Suddenly, Jet’s entire focus narrowed to that letter and what it could mean for him, Lily...and Coco, too.
Then, as if he’d been hit by lightning, or a light had gone on inside his head, he knew exactly what he wanted to do...what he needed to do...and nothing else mattered.
“Good idea, Nash, and, hey, thanks for the advice. I knew there was a reason I was keeping your sorry self on the payroll.”
“Anytime.”
“Don’t let it go to your head. You’re still only a deputy.”
“That’s for dang sure,” Nash said, cupping his very bruised chin.
Jet’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Everything seemed to be coming at him at warp speed and he didn’t know if he was completely ready for the onslaught as he contemplated his future.
When he looked at the screen he saw that it was from Coco. For a second, he didn’t want to answer and instead wanted to speak to her in person, but then something told him he should take the call.
“Coco? Are you home? I want to stop by.”
“Hi, Jet. Yes, and you better get over to my place fast. Marsha Oberlin is here from Child Protective Services and she wants to take Lily. I don’t think I can stop her. She said she’s called you several times, but you’re not picking up. What’s going on? Jet?”
“Stall her. Whatever you do, don’t let her take Lily.”
* * *
THE GOOD THING about living in a small town was that whenever you needed the townsfolk to help, it only required a couple calls and everyone for miles circled their wagons to support you.
That was what happened once Coco called Drew. Within what Coco could only describe as minutes, a bevy of people, the same ones who had donated all the baby things days before, along with a few more, showed up at her clinic to waylay Ms. Oberlin as best they could. Their arsenal? Cakes, cookies, more baby supplies and a barrage of questions about fostering and what Lily could expect.
Not that Coco believed that anything they put forward would deter this woman from doing her job. But it helped, for instance, when Amanda Gump offered to send the woman home with several dozen tasty treats from Holy Rollers for the kids in her charge in Idaho Falls. Fortunately, Ms. Oberlin couldn’t turn down the offer and followed A
manda out the front door. Amanda also told a little lie about how Sheriff Wilson and Lily were at Holy Rollers then, taking a much-needed break.
Actually, baby Lily was fast asleep in her bassinet on Coco’s bed.
The crowd trooped after Amanda and Marsha Oberlin. Just in the nick of time, too, because the very next moment, Lily woke up with a start, protesting all the commotion. Before Coco went into the bedroom to get her, she slipped one of the premade bottles in the electric warmer so it would be ready for Lily once she was fully awake. Lily didn’t like to wait when she was hungry.
Coco then went to her bedroom to hold that little darling, wondering if this would be the last time she ever cradled her. As soon as she picked up Lily, she stopped crying.
“There’s my big girl,” Coco purred, then hummed “Happy Birthday” to her.
Coco carefully placed her on her shoulder, her little head bobbing as Lily tried to lift it. She had that sweet baby smell, and her skin felt like silk. Coco’s love for her was all-consuming, and having to give her up was tearing her apart.
Lily began cooing with the sound of Coco’s voice and her touch. “Did you have a good sleep, my darling? I bet you did, and now you’re hungry. Well, I’ve got a bottle warming just for you.”
Coco loved holding Lily, and fussing over her. She loved how she felt in her arms and how her little eyes were beginning to focus and how Lily would try to talk whenever Coco played with her. They had a rhythm going, the two of them, and having Marsha Oberlin close by bothered her more than she could have anticipated.
She had no idea how she was ever going to let Lily go and had even thought about maybe adopting her, or start out by being her foster parent. Coco had already begun the paperwork online. Just because Jet could let her go, didn’t mean that Coco would, as well. Lily meant so much to her now, no way would she allow some stranger to take her.
“Not on my watch,” Coco told Lily as she stroked her silky round head.
