The Lawman's Convenient Bride Read online

  “Ah. That’s right. You used to live in...?”

  “Prideville.” The former county seat was a forty-mile drive from Justice Creek. “With the justice center here now, I wanted to be nearby anyway. And my dad retired to Florida a few years back. We’ve got a great couple, Mae and Roman Califano, out at the Bar-Y. They’re good people. And they can run the place with their hands tied behind their backs. But I think it’s important to have someone in the family living there.”

  “Yes. Yes, I can see that.”

  “You know how to get to the Bar-Y, right? You’ve been there, haven’t you?”

  “Yes. I have, a few times, actually—last fall, after Nick and I became friends. And I’ve met the Califanos, too. I liked them.”

  He tried not to stare at her belly. He had a yen to touch it, to see if the baby might give a little kick, provide him with tangible proof that Nicky’s child lived.

  But he knew he’d blown his chances for any belly-feeling today. “Just in case, I can jot down the address for you...”

  “No. Really, I know how to get to the Bar-Y—I mean, if I need to get there.” Her gaze shifted toward the door and then right back to him, as though she could hustle him out with the flick of a glance. He took another card from his pocket and held it out to her.

  He watched a dimple tucking itself in at the corner of her mouth. “Seth.” She held up the first card. “I already have one.”

  “Jody, I would really appreciate having your numbers, too.” He said it hopefully, pouring on the sincerity, though as sheriff, he would have no trouble getting his hands on just about anything he needed to know about her. But it was better if she volunteered her contact information. That way when he called, it would be because she’d given him tacit permission to do so.

  “Oh. Well, sure.” She accepted the card, scribbled on the back of it and returned it to him.

  “Great.” He stuck the card back in his pocket. And then, reluctantly, he stood.

  She flew to the door, turned the lock and pulled it open. “Thanks, Seth. I’m...glad you came by.”

  No, she wasn’t. But it was nice of her to say so. “Call me. I mean it. Anytime.”

  “Yes. All right. I will.”

  He didn’t believe her. But that was okay. If she didn’t get in touch with him, he would be contacting her.

  He was helping out whether she wanted him to or not.

  * * *

  “So will you call him?” Elise asked the next morning at the bakery. Three or four days a week, they shared breakfast at a small table tucked away in a corner. Bravo Catering and Bakery was already open. Jody would open Bloom in half an hour.

  Jody leaned toward her sister across the table. “I have zero reason to call that man.” She kept her voice low in order not to share her private business with every customer in the place.

  Elise fiddled with her ginormous engagement diamond. She did that a lot, usually while smiling dreamily. She and Jed Walsh, the famous thriller writer, were getting married at the end of June. And actually, she was looking more thoughtful than dreamy right at the moment. “He’s the baby’s uncle, right? And he really wants to help. You said so yourself.”

  “There’s nothing to help with. I’m so completely on top of this whole situation. You guys threw me three showers. There’s nothing left to buy. The baby could come tomorrow. I’m ready to go. I mean, I have three birth coaches, present company included.”

  Elise gave a little snort. “You are so efficient I can’t stand it. I get it. You’ve got this. It’s all under control.”

  “As a matter of fact, it is. And I do.”

  “Kids do need family, though.”

  “Handled. We’re Bravos. There are too many of us to count.”

  “Seth Yancy is your baby’s family, too—and I can’t believe I even have to remind you of that.”

  Jody stared into her steaming cup of rooibos tea. “Okay, Leesie. I get it. And I know you’re right.” She took a thoughtful sip. “I’ll...reach out to him.”

  “You do realize you shudder when you say that?”

  “I find him intimidating, okay? And the way he looks at me.” She couldn’t suppress another shiver. “Like I need a good talking-to, you know? Like I wasn’t brought up properly and my moral compass is all out of whack.”

  Loyal to the core, Elise jumped right to Jody’s defense. “Well, that’s just rude. Maybe I should have a word with him.”

  Jody snorted a laugh. “Don’t you dare—and really, he’s not that bad. He was upset that I hadn’t told him about the baby. And he was curt with me at Nick’s funeral, but that’s understandable. Nobody’s at their best after losing a brother out of nowhere in a tractor accident.”

  “So. You’ll give him a chance, then?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I will.” But not until later. She had it all together this time around. She didn’t need Seth Yancy’s help.

  True, he had a right to know his niece. And he would. After Marybeth was born, she would give him a call.

  Elise said, “A week from Saturday Jed has to fly to New York for some publicity thing. He wants me to go.”

  “Can you afford to be away? Don’t we have two parties that weekend?” Jody used the word we loosely. Her part would be minimal. Bloom would provide floral centerpieces for both events.

  “They’re just small dinner parties. Danielle can run them.” Danielle was Elise’s second in command at Bravo Catering.

  “So go.”

  “I don’t know. I want to be here for you, in case you need me.”

  Jody groaned. “Oh, please. I’m in perfect health. The baby is doing great, and I’m not due till the end of May. And if anything happened—which it won’t—Nellie and Clara are a phone call away.” Nell Bravo and Clara Ames were their other two sisters.

  Elise fiddled with her ring some more. “I would be gone for four days, Saturday through Tuesday.”

  “Not a problem.”

  “It seems like a long time.”

  “Elise. Stop worrying.”

  “I’m trying.”

  “I’ve had no cramping, no spotting, not a single sign that the baby might be early.”

  “And besides, first babies usually come late, right?”

  “Right.” Jody tried not to look guilty.

  Okay, so she had a few secrets. And somehow, she’d never gotten around to sharing them with her sisters, or anyone else in the family, for that matter—well, except for her mother. Somehow, Willow Bravo, of all people, had figured it out and shown up on her doorstep when Jody was six months along. As far as Jody knew, though, her mother had never told another soul.

  And, no, Jody wasn’t ashamed that she’d given her first baby up for adoption. All things considered, her choice had been the right one. And no one was going to judge her, anyway. She really ought to stop lying by omission and tell Elise and the rest of them the real reason she’d suddenly decided to spend several months in Sacramento at the age of eighteen.

  But come on. It was thirteen years ago, which definitely put it into the category of old news. And she just didn’t feel up to going into it now.

  Kind of like she didn’t feel up to reaching out to Seth Yancy...

  On second thought, maybe there had been a little damage to her moral compass, after all.

  “Jody?” Elise was watching her through suddenly worried eyes. “You okay?”

  Jody pulled it together. “I am just fine. And you’re going to New York with Jed.”

  * * *

  The following Tuesday, Jody stood at the design station at Bloom. She was shaving the corners off a cube of floral foam when in walked the sheriff. Again.

  Jody put down her knife with care. “Hello, Seth.”

  He took off his aviator sunglasses and his County Mou
nty hat and came right for her. “You never called.” He set the hat on the counter and the glasses beside it.

  Careful not to let anything spill on his hat, she brushed the shaved bits of foam from her hands. “There was no reason to call you. Everything is fine.”

  “You’re sure?” He regarded her solemnly, with bleak concentration, as though if he stared hard enough, he could see inside her head and discover all the ways she wasn’t taking proper care of herself.

  Jody had a burning need to let out a long, exasperated sigh. Somehow, she quelled that. “I’m sure.”

  “Should you be on your feet so much?”

  She was suddenly glad for the deep counter between them. He couldn’t look down and see her slightly swollen ankles—which were nothing out of the ordinary for a woman in her third trimester. “Honestly. I’m taking excellent care of myself.”

  He sent a suspicious glance around the shop. “Those tubs of flowers outside are heavy. You should have help carrying them in at night.”

  She had a good answer for that one. “And I do have help. Plenty of it.”

  “How so?”

  What? He had to have specifics as to her employees and the hours they worked? Fine. She would give him specifics. “I hired an extra assistant. I already have one who comes in to work with me on Saturday, runs the shop on Sunday by herself and picks up the slack whenever I need her. The new one comes in at two and stays through closing, Monday through Friday. And when the baby’s born, she’ll be here full-time for as long as I need her, and my original assistant will be working more, too.” Was that enough information to end this interrogation?

  Apparently not. “You were here on your own a week ago when we talked.” It came out as an accusation with How could you be so irresponsible? implied at the end of it.

  No way I have to explain myself to you. But then she went ahead and did it anyway. “The new girl called in sick that day. But she hasn’t missed a day since. And if she can’t make it, and the other clerk is busy, I have more people I can call.”

  “What about when you open up in the morning?”

  “What about it?”

  “Who carries all those tubs of flowers outside then?”

  Seriously. Was this in any way his business? No. But if she told him to butt out, he might just decide to stick around and explain in detail all the reasons he had a right to cross-examine her. And what she really wanted was for him to go away. “For weeks now, my sister Elise or one of her clerks has been helping me open up every morning that I’m here on my own.”

  “I’d be happy to come by and pitch in.”

  “I... Thank you. I’ll remember that.”

  “You still have my card with my numbers?”

  Where had she put that? “I do. Yes. Of course.”

  “Jody.” He gave her that laser-eyed stare again. “Did you lose my card?”

  “No. Of course not.”

  “Show it to me.”

  She stood very still and reminded herself sternly that she was not going to start yelling at him. “I don’t have it handy. Sorry.”

  The sheriff was not pleased. He pulled out a cell phone and punched some numbers into it. Her cell, in the pocket of her bib apron, blooped. “I’ve sent you my numbers. Again.”

  “Thanks.” She knew she didn’t sound the least appreciative, and by then, she didn’t even care.

  He took another of his cards from his breast pocket, grabbed a pen from the jar on the corner of the counter and wrote down all his private numbers all over again. “Just to make sure you don’t lose them this time.” He held it out to her.

  She didn’t take it. “Seth, come on. You already put them in my phone.”

  “What if you lose your phone?”

  “I won’t.” She folded her arms and rested them on her protruding stomach. “And anyway, I still have the first card you gave me. It’s around. Somewhere.” They glared at each other.

  “I just want to help.” He said it gently, but there was no mistaking the disapproval in his eyes.

  And then the shop bell over the door jingled, saving her from saying something she shouldn’t. Two well-dressed middle-aged women came in. “I have customers,” she said with a blatantly unfriendly smile. “If you’ll excuse me.” She sidled out from behind the counter and made for the newcomers. “Hello, ladies. How may I help you?”

  By the time she’d sold the women a mixed bouquet each, Seth had given up and left. She found the card he’d been trying to hand her on the design counter next to the partially shaved cube of foam. Shaking her head, she stuck it in her apron pocket.

  And then she banished Seth Yancy from her thoughts.

  Humming softly to herself, she went back to work arranging peonies, roses, green hydrangeas, maidenhair ferns and two gorgeous green-tipped purple Fiesole artichokes in a mercury glass compote bowl.

  * * *

  On Friday, Seth called her at home. He wanted to know how she was doing. She said she felt great.

  He said, “If you need anything, you’ll call me?”

  “Absolutely,” she replied and refused to think too deeply as to whether or not that was true.

  A few minutes after she hung up, she got another call—this time on her cell. It was her sister Nell, who ran a construction business with their brother Garrett. Nellie wanted to fly to Phoenix that weekend for a home show. “Just checking in to be sure you’re doing all right before I even think about deserting you.”

  “You’re not deserting me. Nothing is happening here. Go.”

  “I might stay over until Tuesday or Wednesday. Visit with an...old friend.”

  “You know you sort of paused before the ‘old friend’ part, right?”

  “What can I say? It’s a business-with-pleasure kind of situation.”

  “Nellie.”

  “Um?”

  “Have a fabulous time.”

  “I will—and you would tell me if there were any signs you’re going into labor, right? Any spotting or weird cramping or if the baby had dropped?”

  “Of course I would. My due date is four weeks out, and there’s nothing to worry about.”

  Nellie started waffling. “You know, the more I think about it, four weeks isn’t that far off. Anything could happen in the meantime.”

  “Nellie. Stop. There is nothing for you to worry about. And anyway, Clara’s here if I need her.”

  “And also Elise,” Nellie added helpfully.

  Jody hesitated. She really didn’t want Nell to talk herself out of the trip.

  “Jo-Jo, you’re too quiet.”

  So she confessed, “Elise is taking a quick trip to New York with Jed for some publicity event.”

  “You didn’t tell me that Elise took off.” Nellie said it in a chiding tone.

  “She didn’t. Yet. She’s leaving tomorrow and will be back Tuesday and you’ll be back Wednesday, and how many times do I have to tell you that I’m experiencing no signs of approaching labor, but if anything happens, I can call Clara. Or Rory.” Rory McKellan was their cousin. “Or one of the guys if it comes down to it.” They had five brothers and all of them lived in the area. Four of those brothers were either married or engaged to women Jody counted as friends. “There is no shortage of people I can call in an emergency.”

  Nell made a humming sound. “You really are sure about this?”

  “How many times do I have to say it?”

  Nell blew out an audible breath. “Sorry I got so freaky.”

  “Not complaining. I love that you care.”

  “I mean, you’ve had a textbook pregnancy, and you’re healthy as a horse.”

  “Is this where I make a neighing sound?”

  “Har-har. And it is your first baby and first babies—”

  “U
sually come late,” Jody finished for her, wishing never to hear that particular phrase again.

  “Love you, Jo-Jo.”

  “Love you, too. Call me when you get home.”

  “Will do.”

  She’d barely hung up when the phone blooped with a text. It was Seth.

  You sure you don’t need anything?

  She actually chuckled as she texted back. Who are you and how did you get this number?

  It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. Call me. Anytime.

  Absolutely. Will do.

  The next day was Saturday. Nell flew to Phoenix and Elise and Jed took off for New York. Seth called that night. Just to check on her, he said. She told him yet again how well she was doing and he let her go.

  Sunday, Lois Simonson, one of her two employees, ran the store all day. Jody stayed home and took it easy. She sat around in her pj’s with her feet up and binge-watched the second season of Outlander—really, where was her own Jamie Fraser? She’d been waiting for him for most of her life. A couple of times she’d dared to hope she’d found what she was looking for.

  Wrong on both counts.

  And Nick? He’d been a sweetheart. But she’d known from the first that he wasn’t the guy for her.

  She put her hand on her giant belly and grinned to herself. She had Marybeth now. Her little girl would be enough for her. She would be a good mom and raise her child to know she could make anything she wanted of her life. And she would always have her sisters and her brothers and a network of in-laws and friends to count on and love.

  Who needed a man?

  Seth called that night, too. She grinned when she saw it was him. Was she kind of getting used to hearing his deep, careful voice?

  Maybe. A little.

  “What have you been doing?” he asked.

  “Nothing. I have the day off, so I’ve been taking up space on the couch, watching TV.”

  “Good,” he said. It was the first time she’d ever heard anything approaching approval in his voice when he talked to her. “And I know you’re eating right. At least, that’s what you tell me every time I call.”