Natural Born Lawman

There was something very different about holding a child that belonged to you, though. He’d seen it in the awed expressions of his cousins’ husbands. Something told him that it might feel a whole lot like the sensation rushing over him now.

And that, given how very little he knew about Patsy Gresham and her true circumstances, was a very dangerous reaction.

Chapter Three

Justin saw to it that Patsy Gresham and her baby were settled at Dani’s. He made sure her car was filled with gas and parked out front. He even had the Italian restaurant down the block send over dinner.

And then he washed his hands of the entire situation. He’d done his good deed for the week. Maybe even for the whole year. He predicted if word got around that he’d not only let a shoplifter get away, but that he’d taken her under his wing, he’d never hear the end of it.

As it turned out, it didn’t take long for word to get around. He was the butt of a fair bit of good-natured teasing from his uncles and cousins at the poker game that night at White Pines. Obviously Sharon Lynn had decided to spill the beans, after all. She must not have taken his threat to have a revealing talk with her fiancé all that seriously.

“Don’t pay any attention to them, son,” Grandpa Harlan advised, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “They’ve gotten so old now, they don’t recall what it’s like to be captivated by a pretty face.”

“Except for me, of course,” Harlan Patrick said. “I’m younger than Justin.”

“And you’ve never been known to miss a pretty face,” Justin retorted. “Is there a woman in this town you haven’t chased after at one time or another?”

“Not since I met Laurie,” Harlan Patrick said piously. “She’d poke my eyes out if she caught me looking at another woman.”

“She just has you thinking she would,” Grandpa Harlan corrected. “Laurie is the sweetest little gal you’ve ever brought around. She has a mighty nice voice, too.”

“Yes, indeed,” Justin agreed. “One of these days Laurie’s going to run off to Nashville and leave Harlan Patrick pining away back here.”

His cousin scowled at him. The remark had cut a little too close to Harlan Patrick’s greatest fear and Justin knew it.

“How’d we get on my love life, anyway?” Harlan Patrick grumbled. “We were talking about you and the shoplifter.”

“Don’t call her that,” Justin said harshly.

“Why not? Isn’t that what you and Sharon Lynn caught her doing?”

“She was desperate,” he countered defensively. “Besides, unless a person’s tried and convicted, you shouldn’t go throwing names around. She could sue you for slander.”

“And probably hire my wife to do it,” Grandpa Harlan warned. “Janet would just love to get her teeth into a case like that. She hates being retired from her law practice. One of these days she’s going to stir up a mess of trouble, just so she can get herself into the thick of it.”

“From what I’ve seen over the years, Daddy, you’re all the trouble Janet can cope with,” Justin’s Uncle Cody said.

Grandpa Harlan scowled. “Watch your tongue, boy. I’m not too old to throw you out of here. Maybe “I’ll cut you out of the will while I’m at it. White Pines can skip right past you and go straight to Harlan Patrick.”

Cody took the good-humored teasing in stride. “Daddy, you’ve been threatening to take this ranch from me since I can remember. One of these days I’m going to call you on it. I’ll hire Janet to contest the will.”

“Can’t do it,” Grandpa Harlan said triumphantly. “It’d be a conflict of interest.”

“Is anybody actually going to play poker tonight?” Justin inquired with a wistful glance at the hand he was holding. “I’m feeling lucky.”

Harlan Patrick shot him a knowing look. “I’ll just bet you are.” He tossed some money into the pot. “Okay, let’s see those cards you’re so proud of.”

“Oh, shut up,” Justin muttered, and slapped three aces on the table to take the pot from his mouthy cousin.

From that moment on, he tolerated the jokes and proceeded to whip their tails. He walked away from the poker table a good deal richer than he had been when he sat down.

What troubled him, though, was the fact that his first instinct was to give some of his winnings to Patsy Gresham to make sure she got by until she could find a real job.

Obviously he was turning soft, which was why half a dozen people got tickets for minor traffic violations before he stopped for breakfast the next morning.

When he saw who was about to start serving up eggs behind the counter at Dolan’s, he wished he’d stayed on the street and given out another dozen citations.

* * *

Patsy rose at the crack of dawn, still unable to believe her luck. The tiny house Justin had arranged for her to use was perfect for her and Billy. The furnishings were old, but cheerful with all the chintz upholstery. The rooms were bright and airy.

“I could be happy here,” she thought as she stretched and pulled on her robe. It was Dani’s doing, of course, and not her own, but the house felt like a home. It wasn’t as lavish as the one Will had insisted on buying, but it had a warmth and charm that the house in Oklahoma had lacked no matter how hard she’d tried to turn it into a home.

She checked on Billy, then went into the kitchen where she found cereal, milk and bread, courtesy of Dani, along with a note. “Make yourselves at home. We’ll talk later about what you can do to help with the animals. Dani.”

A nice woman, she concluded. She’d liked her instantly the day before, just as she’d been drawn to Sharon Lynn at the drugstore. It had been a long time since she’d had girlfriends. Will hadn’t encouraged her to have any life at all outside of caring for him and Billy.

Maybe these two women could become real friends in time, she thought wistfully. Maybe there would come a time when she’d be able to confide the truth about her circumstances to them, instead of living this lie. Maybe she could tell them about the fear that had been gnawing at her ever since she’d discovered her husband’s violent side.

First, though, she had to make amends to one of them. As soon as she got Billy up and dressed, she postponed breakfast and headed toward the drugstore, determined to get the apology over with. They were there as soon as the doors opened. Relieved that there was no one else around, Patsy faced Sharon Lynn uncertainly.

“I came to apologize and to thank you for not pressing charges,” she said. “I would never have done it, not in a million years, if I hadn’t been so worried about Billy.”

“I know,” Sharon Lynn said, and sounded as if she meant it. She also sounded as if that were the last word she intended to say on the subject. “How about some coffee? I could fix some cereal for Billy, if you like.”

Could it possibly be that easy? Patsy thought in wonder. Still chagrined by her uncharacteristic behavior the day before, Patsy started to refuse, but Sharon Lynn was already pouring the coffee and dumping cereal into a bowl.

“Dry or with milk?” she asked, taking the decision out of Patsy’s hands.

“Dry for Billy,” Patsy said. “He can eat it with his fingers. Otherwise there’s no telling where he’s likely to fling it with a spoon.”

Sharon Lynn set the bowl on the counter in front of Billy, then grinned as he grabbed a fistful and shoved it into his mouth.

“His table manners leave something to be desired,” Patsy apologized ruefully.

“How old is he?”

“He just turned two.”

“Then he’s got a few years before people start holding that against him. Besides, once you’ve been to a family dinner at our place, missile strikes would probably seem tame. There are a lot of kids. We’ve all been brought up to have endless patience. My grandfather, Harlan Adams, would rather have the chaos than a clean house any day.”

Patsy grinned. “Maybe he can say that because he’s not the one who has to clean it up.”

“Oh, I’ve seen him on his hands and knees chasing after cornflakes and toys a time or two. Of course, he’s in his eighties now and he’s not as agile as he once was, but he set a good enough example for his sons that they’re pretty decent housekeepers if the need arises. They all married women who see to it the need arises every now and then, just to keep them humble.”

“It must be wonderful to have so much family,” Patsy said, unable to hide the wistful note in her voice.

“Your own is small?”

“Just me and my parents.”

“And you couldn’t go to them for help when things got tough for you and the baby?” Sharon Lynn asked.

Patsy shook her head. “No, not this time,” she said, unable to meet the other woman’s gaze for fear all the tears she’d been bottling up would come pouring out.

“I see.” Sharon Lynn’s expression softened. “I hear Justin arranged for you to stay at Dani’s.”

Patsy knew enough about small towns not to be surprised that news had traveled so quickly, especially when it involved family members. “For the time being anyway.”

Sharon Lynn seemed startled by her reply. “Why on earth wouldn’t you go on staying there? It’s a great house. It’s small, but surely it’s big enough for just you and Billy.”

“Of course it is, and I’m truly grateful to her for letting us move in on such short notice.” Patsy couldn’t say that she was afraid she might have to move on, that her husband would discover her whereabouts and come after her. Instead, she said only, “But I need a job, and someone to look after Billy. I haven’t even had time to check the want ads yet to see if there are any openings here. I can’t stay in Los Piños indefinitely without work.”

“Then you have work,” Sharon Lynn said with no hesitation at all.

Patsy stared at her. “What?”

“You can work right here. I can use the help. The lunch counter’s busier than ever and so’s the pharmacy. The pharmacist can’t keep up with prescriptions and all the gift sales we’re making now that I’ve expanded that section.”

She smiled persuasively. “So, what do you think? Want to give it a try? I can pay you a halfway decent salary and you’ll get tips when you work the counter. I know Dani’s not going to charge an arm and a leg for the house. No one was using it anyway. And you’ll be able to eat here, so you won’t have grocery expenses.”

It was more than Patsy had ever dreamed of when she’d walked through the door a few minutes earlier. Though she’d trained as a secretary, she’d known she wouldn’t be able to find work in that field, not without being able to give references, and she surely couldn’t list Will’s firm on her résumé. This job was ideal. She didn’t have to think twice about it. “I’ll take it,” she said at once.

“You’re sure?” Sharon Lynn asked. “I have to warn you, it gets crazy in here sometimes and I’m going off on a one-week honeymoon at the end of the month. You’ll be on your own. Can you cook?”

“If you’ll go over the menu with me, I can do it,” Patsy assured her. She’d worked in a place just like this back home one summer while she was taking her secretarial training. This job would be a breeze. “And I’ve run a cash register before. I’m sure I’ll pick up the rest in no time.”

“You don’t have to sell me. I made the offer, remember?”

“I wouldn’t want you to regret it.”

“I won’t,” Sharon Lynn said with confidence. “When can you start?”

“What about now?” She glanced over at Billy, who was happily mashing cereal on the counter. “Unless you’d rather I make arrangements for him so he’s not in the way.”

“He’s not in the way. If he gets fussy, you can leave and take him home for a nap. Someone over at Dani’s will keep an eye on him for you.”

Patsy grinned at her enthusiasm and quick solutions to every possible problem Patsy suggested. “You must be really desperate for help.”

“Not today, but given the daze I’m in just thinking about everything that’s left to do for the wedding, desperation is not far off.” Sharon Lynn grinned ruefully and admitted, “And there are any number of people in town who’ll be relieved that someone else is going to help with the cooking in here. I’ve been a bit absentminded lately. It’s given the menu some interesting and not entirely successful twists.”

Patsy grinned back at her as she climbed off the stool and started to join Sharon Lynn behind the counter. “What do you want me to do first?”

“Sit back down and eat some breakfast.” Before Patsy could protest, Sharon Lynn added, “That’s not charity. It’s just common sense. You’ll be dead on your feet in no time unless you’ve eaten something. I think scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast ought to do it,” she decided, going to work before Patsy could argue.

Everyone she’d met so far had been so kind Patsy couldn’t quite believe her luck. Suddenly she regarded Sharon Lynn suspiciously. “Justin didn’t put you up to this, did he?”

“Justin didn’t put her up to what?” the very man in question inquired as he came through the door along with a gust of hot, dry air.

“Hiring me,” Patsy explained, meeting his gaze for an instant.

For once, with his sunglasses tucked in his pocket, Justin’s eyes were visible. She could read the shock registered there. Even though she knew it was justified, it hurt nonetheless.

“Really?” he asked, regarding his cousin warily. “Sharon Lynn, could we talk for a minute?” With a glance in Patsy’s direction, he added pointedly, “In the back.”

“No, we cannot,” Sharon Lynn told him. “I’m busy.” She flipped Patsy’s eggs on the grill, reached for the toast and buttered it, then placed it all on a plate and slid it in front of Patsy. “Enjoy. The crowd will start coming in in about ten minutes.”

Patsy nodded. “I’ll be finished.”

Justin slid onto the stool next to her. She wondered if he meant to intimidate her, but he merely advised, “If you gulp that down, you’ll have indigestion. Sharon Lynn doesn’t go light on the grease.”

She glanced at him. “Worried about my health all of a sudden?”

“Obviously she’s expecting to get a full day’s work out of you. I don’t want to see her cheated.” He regarded her meaningfully.

So, there it was, Patsy thought wearily. The trust he’d promised the day before had barely lasted overnight. She leveled a look straight at him and kept it steady. “I thought you were going to give me an honest chance to start over.”

He sighed. “You’re right,” he conceded grudgingly. “I was.”

“Has something changed since last night?”

“He probably had to answer a lot of questions out at White Pines last night at the family poker game,” Sharon Lynn chimed in cheerfully. “It’s made him edgy.”

“I am not edgy,” he retorted. “I’m just trying to look out for you. Obviously I’m wasting my time. You think you know it all.”

Sharon Lynn grinned at him. “When it comes to Patsy, yes, I do think my judgment’s better than yours. After all, I am the one who predicted…”

Justin scowled. “Never mind.”

Patsy stared at the two of them, trying to guess what the unspoken hints were all about. “Predicted what?”

“Nothing,” Sharon Lynn soothed. “Justin’s just the family worrywart. Why don’t you get back here and fix him some scrambled eggs and a couple of pancakes? I’ll pour him some nice strong black coffee. That ought to improve his mood.”

To Patsy’s surprise, he didn’t argue. Instead he turned his attention to Billy.

“So, young man, what are you up to over there? Has any of that cereal actually made it into your mouth?”

Billy promptly abandoned the mess he was making and reached for Justin. “Up?” he pleaded

Patsy envisioned all the goo on Billy’s hands being transferred to Justin’s starched uniform shirt and winced. “No, baby. I don’t think so.”

To her amazement, Justin ignored her and accommodated Billy. He scooped him up, apparently oblivious to the mess the baby was bound to make of his clothes. Apparently a whole lot more bonding than she’d been aware of had gone on the day before.

“He’s fine where he is. You don’t have to do that,” she told Justin, eyeing him nervously as Billy patted his cheeks with sticky hands.

“It’s not a problem.”

“But—”

“I said it’s not a problem.”

And that, she concluded, was that.

After that, she didn’t have time to worry about it. As Sharon Lynn had predicted, the counter began to fill up with regulars eager for a little breakfast and a lot of chitchat over the latest local gossip. Several speculative looks were cast her way. Ignoring them and the gentle banter that ensued, she concentrated on filling orders as quickly as Sharon Lynn passed them to her.

Even though she never once looked back, she was aware of the precise instant that Justin Adams slid off his stool and left. The prickling sensation at the back of her neck vanished and the tension in her shoulders eased.

When the crowd began to thin out, Sharon Lynn introduced her to the handful of remaining customers. At the sight of a burly man in uniform, her nerves jumped.

“This is the sheriff, Tate Owens, Justin’s boss. Don’t mind the scowl. He looks less fierce once he’s had a couple of doughnuts.”

“I wish,” the man said, casting a longing gaze toward the already depleted display on the counter. “Juice and dry toast for me today. The doc put me on a diet yesterday. He’s grumbling about my cholesterol again.”

“How about some oatmeal?” Sharon Lynn suggested.

“Not without cream and lots of brown sugar,” he lamented. “No, I’ll stick with the toast today and some of that blackberry jam, if you have it.”

“I keep it back here just for you,” Sharon Lynn said.

Patsy noted where Sharon Lynn kept it, so she could supply it on request if she was here alone. She was about to gather up Billy and slip into the back room for a break, when the sheriff spoke directly to her.

“You’re new in town.”

She met his gaze evenly, fighting the sick sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Yes. My son and I got here yesterday.”

“Didn’t take you long to find work,” he observed.

“No. Sharon Lynn’s been very kind.”

He nodded. “Welcome to Los Piños, then. You run into any problems, let me know.”

The offer was made with such absolute sincerity that for a fleeting instant Patsy had the absurd desire to unburden herself to this man. Who knew, maybe she’d be lucky one more time and he would see what she’d been up against. Maybe he could protect her from Will. She sighed with regret. She couldn’t take a chance that it would go the other way.

Instead, she smiled noncommittally. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.”

“You’re from Oklahoma,” he noted conversationally. “What part?”

She named her old hometown, rather than Oklahoma City. “I doubt you’ve ever heard of it. It’s tiny, not even as big as Los Piños.”

“Must be,” he said, his expression thoughtful. “I grew up around Oklahoma City myself and I never heard of it. Of course, my memory’s not what it used to be, either. Haven’t been home in years, not since my folks died about ten years back.”

When he’d mentioned Oklahoma City, Patsy’s heart had slammed against her ribs. It hadn’t eased back into a normal rhythm until he’d said how long it had been since he’d been back.

Ten years ago Will had been just starting law school. His face—and hers—hadn’t been on the front pages of the local papers until much more recently. She doubted that a mayor’s race in Oklahoma City would make the local paper here in Los Piños.

“Do you still stay in touch with old friends?” she asked carefully.

“Nope. My friends and family are here now. Haven’t heard from a soul back that way. Skipped my high school reunions. Couldn’t think of what I’d have to say to people I hadn’t seen in years.”

“Too bad,” she said, though the relief that washed over her said just the opposite. “It’s always sad when we lose touch with old friends.”

“What about you? You still have family there?”

“Some,” she said.

Thankfully, he let it go at that. Much more poking and prodding, no matter how innocently intended, and she was pretty sure she would have cracked. She just wasn’t cut out for this much deception. It was a habit that had started when she and Will were first dating and trying to keep it a secret from their co-workers. She’d been lousy at it then, too. Their relationship had been discovered in no time, which was one reason they’d married in such haste. Will had wanted to quiet the gossip.

Tate Owens drew her attention again. “We’ll have to compare notes sometime. It’s been my experience that it’s a mighty small world. Maybe we’ll know some folks in common.”

“I doubt that,” she said. “Like I said, the town where I grew up was really small.”

He nodded. “Okay. Well, I’d better get out of here. If I don’t stay on my toes, Justin’s going to steal my job right out from under me.”

“As if he would ever try,” Sharon Lynn chided. “You were his mentor, Tate. And everybody knows you’re the best sheriff ever. You’ll stay in the job as long as you want it. Besides, something tells me half the town is going to be mad as heck at him this morning.”

Tate Owens moaned. “What’s he done now?” he asked in a resigned tone.

“Last time I saw him, he was handing out parking tickets all up and down Main Street.”

“Damn, I thought I’d broke him of that. The town doesn’t need the money, and I don’t need the aggravation.” He slapped his Stetson on his head and walked out the door.

Patsy watched him go, then turned to Sharon Lynn. “What’s with the parking tickets?”

“Tate tends to ignore minor infractions like that. He thought the parking meters were a nuisance in the first place. Justin goes crazy every once in a while and starts handing out tickets. Tate spends the rest of the day soothing ruffled feathers.”

Patsy shook her head. “I don’t get it. If the people are breaking the law, shouldn’t they get tickets?”

“Technically, yes. And Justin is a by-the-book kind of man, especially after he’s done something that makes him worry whether he’s listening too much to his heart,” she said with a look in Patsy’s direction.

“Am I supposed to understand that?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she said, still confused.

“And not in a jail cell.”

“Oh.”

Sharon Lynn grinned, “Oh, indeed. Bottom line, it’s my guess that you’re the one behind today’s rampage with the parking tickets.”

Patsy would have chuckled if she hadn’t been able to imagine what everyone in town would have to say if they knew to blame her.

Sharon Lynn’s expression turned thoughtful. “Something tells me you’re going to be good for him,” she said quietly.

“Me? I don’t think so,” Patsy said at once. If Justin Adams knew the truth about her, he probably wouldn’t even blink before tossing her in that jail cell and throwing away the key.

Chapter Four

While Justin had been thoroughly disconcerted by the sight of Patsy Gresham working at Sharon Lynn’s that morning, he told himself he’d merely found it troubling that she was becoming so intimately entwined with his family.

What really worried him more, was that quick little shiver of awareness he’d felt when he spotted her. He knew his hormones well enough to recognize a man-woman thing when he felt it, and it was the very last reaction he ought to be having to the woman, not with all those legitimate suspicions he couldn’t quite dismiss.

Except for a minor fender bender in midafternoon, the rest of the day had been uneventful. It had taken all of his willpower to keep from wandering into Dolan’s a few more times to make sure Patsy’s hand wasn’t in the till or anywhere else it didn’t belong. His conscience had reminded him that he’d promised her an honest chance.

By nightfall, though, he couldn’t battle his desire to see how she’d fared. The fact that he chose to get his answers from her, rather than from Sharon Lynn, meant nothing, he assured himself. After all, Patsy was right here in town, while Sharon Lynn was all the way out at the ranch. It was pure logic and convenience that sent him to her doorstep.