The Lawman's Convenient Bride Read online

  Was it this bad last time? It must have been. She should have remembered that.

  As Marybeth’s head crowned, Jody shouted, “Never am I ever having sex again! Never in this lifetime, no matter what!”

  Dr. Kapur let out a soft chuckle and told her how great she was doing, that she should push just a little bit more, bear down just a little bit harder...

  And she did and she felt it—the head sliding out. Moaning in agony, she looked down between her wide-open legs as Dr. Kapur freed Marybeth’s little shoulders.

  And that was it. Marybeth slithered out into the world.

  With another long moan of exhaustion, Jody let go of Seth’s hand and let her head fall back against the pillows.

  When she looked again, Seth was down there with the baby. Dr. Kapur was checking her airways. Marybeth let out a soft cry—and then a louder one.

  Dr. Kapur passed Seth the blood-and vernix-streaked baby. Seth took her, held her close, whispered something Jody couldn’t hear.

  And then Jody was reaching for her. “Please...”

  Seth passed her over, laying her down on Jody’s still-giant stomach. Jody gathered her in, kissed her sticky hair, her bloodstained cheek. “Hello, Marybeth. I’m so glad you’re here...”

  * * *

  Seth stood close to the bed where Jody held her newborn baby.

  The doctor got to work cutting the cord and stitching Jody up. Jody paid no attention to what was going on between her legs. She cuddled Marybeth close and cooed in her ear. The nurse, Sandy, approached the bed with a stack of clean linens.

  Seth glanced down at the streaks of blood and white stuff on his arms. He could use a little cleaning up, too. “I’ll be right back,” he whispered to Jody. She didn’t even look up.

  In the suite’s bathroom, he rinsed away the blood and the milky white goo that had covered Marybeth. With a wet paper towel, he rubbed the stuff off his T-shirt, too. He leaned close to the mirror, checking for more on his face and neck.

  Seth stared in his own eyes and marveled at what had just happened in the other room.

  Could a moment change everything? Seth knew that it could. A moment was all it had taken seven years ago in Chicago—a single moment to empty him out to a shell of himself.

  And back there in the other room, it had happened again. He’d held Nicky’s baby for a matter of seconds. Those seconds made up the moment that changed his world all over again.

  In the space of that moment he saw his own emptiness, and he saw it filled with all he needed, everything that mattered, right there in his arms. Life. Hope. The future. All of it in a tiny, naked, squirming newborn baby still connected to her mother by a twisted, vein-wrapped cord.

  As he’d held Marybeth for the first time, the past was all around him. And not just what happened in Chicago.

  But also another moment years and years ago, the first time that everything changed.

  He’d been fourteen that day, the day his dad brought Seth’s future stepmom, Darlene, to the Bar-Y for the first time. She’d brought her little boy with her, too.

  “Nicky,” she’d said, “this is Seth...” Seth looked down and saw the kid looking up at him through giant blue eyes.

  At that time, Seth already considered himself a grown-up. He understood life and there was nothing that great about it. He sure had no interest in his dad’s new girlfriend’s kid.

  But then the kid in question had held out his small hand.

  Seth had taken it automatically, given it a shake and then tried to let go.

  But Nicky managed to catch his index finger and hold on. “Tet,” he said proudly. It was as close as he could get to saying Seth at that point.

  And that was when it happened, that was the first moment when everything changed.

  As Nicky clutched his finger and Darlene chuckled softly, Seth felt a warm, rising sensation in his chest, a tightness, but a good tightness. He kind of liked the little boy and his pretty mother.

  He slid a glance at his dad. Bill Yancy, always so sad and lonely and serious, was smiling, too.

  What would it be like, to have a mom who made his dad smile, to have a little brother who called him Tet? Seth realized that he wanted a chance to find out.

  As soon as Darlene and Seth’s dad were married, Bill legally adopted Nick. Seth finally had a normal, happy, loving family. The years that followed were good ones. The best.

  But eventually there was Chicago and the next big moment, the one that added up to the death of his dreams. After Chicago, Seth had come home. He’d taken a job with the sheriff’s office.

  But really, he’d only been going through the motions of living. And he only felt emptier with each new loss. Five years ago they lost Darlene to breast cancer. And then his dad, sad and silent and lonely all over again, had pulled up stakes and moved to Florida.

  Seth had tried to stay positive. Two years ago, he’d run for sheriff and won. He’d tried to be proud of that, of serving his community and doing a good job of it.

  But losing Nicky last November had been the final straw. Since Nicky died, Seth had greeted every empty day with bleak determination to get through it and on to the next one.

  Until today.

  Until he held Nicky’s baby, and it came to him sharply that while Nicky might be lost, this tiny, living part of him carried on.

  * * *

  When Seth returned to the main room, the nurse was busy at the sink near the window. The doctor was gone. Jody looked up from Marybeth and into his eyes. “Thanks. For the ride. For being here.”

  “Nothing to thank me for. I’m right where I want to be.”

  Jody started to say something.

  But the nurse stepped close again. “Let’s clean that little sweetie up a little.” She patted Jody’s shoulder. “Then we’ll help you with a shower and bring on the tea and toast.”

  Jody surrendered Marybeth reluctantly. She let her head fall back again and closed her eyes. A long, tired sigh escaped her. “I’m beat.” She looked it, her brown hair pulled back in a saggy ponytail, bruised circles beneath the lowered fans of her eyelashes.

  Seth wanted to reach out, to smooth the damp hair that had straggled loose from her ponytail. He wanted to take her hand again, to reassure her that he was good with this, with Marybeth, with all of it. That he was there for Jody to hold on to. And he was. All the way. Because being there for his brother’s baby meant being there for Jody, too.

  He lifted a hand toward her, but changed his mind and let it drop to his side without touching her. She looked peaceful, her head on the pillow, eyes still closed, that back-talking mouth of hers soft now, lips slightly parted. Resting. Jody deserved every second of rest she could get. He would stand watch over her, back the nurse off until she woke up.

  “You should go now,” she said softly without opening her eyes.

  He didn’t answer her.

  Death had stolen Nick’s right to be there for his baby. But Seth was very much alive. And whether Jody Bravo liked it or not, Seth was stepping up to give Marybeth anything—and everything—she might need.

  He was going nowhere. Marybeth’s mom might as well start getting used to having him around.

  Chapter Four

  “She is so beautiful,” Elise whispered. She cradled Marybeth close and smoothed the blanket around her sleeping face. “When can you go home?”

  “They’re keeping us overnight. Barring complications, Dr. Kapur will release us tomorrow morning.”

  Elise, who’d had Jed drive her straight to the hospital from the airport, looked faintly alarmed. “What complications?”

  Jody waved a hand. “There are none. Relax. It’s just to be on the safe side. Both Marybeth and I are fine.”

  “I’m so glad. And I can’t believe we all three manage
d to be unavailable just when you needed us.”

  “It happened.” Jody poured herself some water from the pitcher on the bed tray and took a long sip. “And it all worked out.”

  “But we were supposed to—”

  “Leesie, Marybeth is fine. I’m fine. You are not to feel bad about it.”

  “But I do. I should have been here and I—”

  “Stop. How was New York?”

  “Amazing. Do you need me to make some calls?”

  “All done. I’m covered at Bloom, and every Bravo for miles around knows about Marybeth. Three of our brothers and their wives have been by already—oh, and Rory and Walker, too.”

  “You are a marvel.”

  “Well, I had help. Seth made most of the calls for me.” Seth had left twenty minutes ago, just as Elise was arriving. Jed had gone off to get some coffee, giving the sisters a little alone time.

  Elise’s mouth curved in a soft little smile. “Aren’t you glad you reached out to Seth?”

  “Yeah. He’s been great. The guy won’t stop helping me. I keep telling him he can go.”

  “And now he has.”

  “Not for long. He’ll be back at six or so, he said.”

  Elise frowned. “Is that okay with you?”

  “It’s odd. I mean, already, I’m kind of used to having him around. And he really does seem to want to be here. He’s in insta-love with his niece.”

  Elise rocked the pink bundle gently from side to side. “Well, and who wouldn’t be?”

  “And he really seems to want to help. Plus, when they brought in the birth certificate he was all over it, making sure I put Nick down as Marybeth’s dad.”

  “And here you thought he didn’t even care,” Elise chided.

  “Yeah. I got it way wrong on that score. And I guess, well, I don’t think it hurts if he wants to be involved. Do you?”

  “Of course not. But the real question is, how do you feel about it?”

  Jody stared out the window at the thick green branches of the fir tree just beyond the glass. “It’s strange, how easy it would be for me to start to count on him. He’s bossy, you know? But now I’m getting used to him, he’s somehow bossy in a good way. He knows what he wants and he really does try to do the right thing. And I have no problem pushing back at him when I don’t like what he’s up to.”

  Elise wore her dreamy look suddenly. “Oh, I get that. Jed’s the same way. There’s Jed’s way and the wrong way. Most of the time he’s right, but when he’s not I have to stand my ground with him. And that’s okay with me. Kind of keeps me on my toes.” Marybeth let out a whine. “She’s waking up. Look at those eyes. Gorgeous...”

  “Bring her here. I’ll nurse her again. I’m supposed to practice every chance I get.”

  Elise brought her over and settled her in Jody’s waiting arms. She pushed her gown open and Marybeth rooted around, finally latching on, but not for long. After only a minute or two, she popped off the nipple and started fussing again, little, cranky bleats of sound.

  Jody felt a sudden spurt of anxiety, a sense of complete incompetence. She forced herself to take a slow breath and let it out by degrees. This was new territory—she had to remember that. She’d never nursed her little boy, hadn’t even let herself see his tiny face. They’d taken him away as soon as he was born. Her breasts, swollen with milk that wouldn’t be used, had ached for days afterward...

  “Jody? You okay?”

  She blinked and shook her head. “Yeah. Sorry, faded out there for a minute.”

  Elise laughed. “Well, you did just have a baby. It’s possible you’re a little tired.”

  Marybeth cried louder. Jody switched her to the other side. She latched on again. That time she stuck with it awhile. Jody looked down at her little mouth, her tiny nose. Please, God, let me do this right...

  Eventually, Marybeth fell asleep again.

  Elise took her and tucked her in the bassinet. Jed came in. They visited for a few more minutes, and then he and Elise left.

  The afternoon passed slowly. More family and friends came to see Marybeth, including Nell, who’d hopped a plane from Phoenix as soon as she heard the baby had been born. She said she was ready to come home anyway. Her hookup with that old friend hadn’t worked out, after all.

  Nell didn’t stay long. Nobody did. They just wanted to check in, see the new mom and make a fuss about the baby. They all offered to be there to drive Jody and Marybeth home the next day. She thanked them and told them she’d call them if she needed a ride.

  The nurses served dinner at five. Jody ate with one hand, Marybeth cradled in the other. The baby was fussing a lot, nursing fitfully but not really settling in about it. Around five thirty, she finally closed her eyes and slept again. Jody kissed her pink forehead and tucked her back into the bassinet. A few seconds later, her cell vibrated on the bed tray.

  It was her mom, calling from Hawaii. In recent years, Willow Bravo spent most of her time on vacation.

  “Hi, Ma.”

  “Darling, I got a message from Seth Yancy that you had your baby. How are you doing?”

  “My baby is beautiful and healthy and we’re both fine.”

  “I can’t wait to meet her. Give her a kiss from her grandma?”

  “I will.”

  “And so...you’re on good terms with the sheriff?”

  Was she implying that Jody had been on bad terms with Seth before now? With Willow, it was hard to tell. “Yes. Well, he recently found out that he was going to be an uncle. He got in touch. We...got to know each other a little. And then I went into labor last night and needed a ride to the hospital.”

  “What about your sisters?”

  “Long story. But anyway, Seth drove me here and then stuck around to help.”

  “And you are letting him help. This is a first.”

  Jody felt her stomach knot up. “Passive-aggressive much?” She was careful to speak just above a whisper in order not to wake Marybeth.

  “It’s only an observation,” Willow answered, her voice downright gentle. “You’ve always been so independent—that’s all I meant. It’s rare for you to let someone close, especially in this sort of situation.”

  “What sort of situation do you mean, exactly?”

  “Jody. I only mean you’ve never had much contact with Sheriff Yancy until very recently. This is a challenging time for you, as it is for any new mother. Usually, when things are tough for you, you don’t want anyone close enough to see your weakness, especially not a man you don’t know all that well.”

  “I’m not weak.”

  Willow chuckled. “You’re making my point for me. You realize that, right?”

  Okay, so her mother could sometimes be way too perceptive. Jody tamped down her defensiveness. “Seth is a good guy, and he’s already crazy about Marybeth.”

  “I’m glad,” said her mother in a neutral tone. Apparently, she really didn’t want to fight, and Jody probably ought to stop being annoyed with her just on principle. “And I’m here if you need me.”

  Right. In Hawaii, Jody was careful not to say. And then she felt guilty for even thinking that. Willow had flown to Sacramento all those years ago because she was worried about her older daughter. When she’d discovered Jody’s secret, she’d stayed long enough to meet the childless couple who would be taking the baby. Jody had called her when she went into labor, and Willow had flown right back to her side, staying with her through the birth and recovery. So really, Willow had been there when Jody needed her.

  “Thanks, Ma,” Jody said and found that she meant it. “And when are you coming home?”

  “Right away, if you need me.”

  “No, really. I’m doing fine.”

  “A few weeks, then.”

  “All right. Have a great time.�
��

  “I will. And I...”

  “What, Ma?”

  “I wasn’t the most attentive mother. I realize that.” It was only the truth. For the first eighteen years of Jody’s life, Willow was laser-focused on getting her lover, Jody’s father, to divorce his first wife and make Willow his bride. “But I do love you, darling,” she said. “Very much.”

  “And I love you.” It was true. Willow could get on her last nerve, and Jody hated that her own mother had spent a couple of decades trying to steal another woman’s husband. But she’d worked past that bitterness, mostly. And her siblings and half siblings had, too.

  They chatted a little longer about inconsequential things, and then Willow said goodbye.

  Seth returned a few minutes later wearing jeans and a different T-shirt. He had an overnight bag in one hand and a pie in the other.

  Jody’s heart kind of lifted at the sight of him. She realized she’d been waiting for him, that she’d wanted him to come back, that he made her feel safe and cared for. And she liked that—though she’d always been a person who insisted on taking care of herself.

  Her pleasure at seeing him was probably some weird postpartum reaction. She decided not to analyze it too deeply. “Oh, look. You brought me a pie. Key lime?”

  He almost smiled. “How’d you guess?”

  “I’m a girl who knows her pies. One of your admirers made it, am I right?”

  He half scowled as he set the pie on the low cabinet near the door. “They’re very nice women. And how did you know about them?”

  “Seth. Everybody knows about your fan club. It’s a thing. People find it charming that the sheriff has lots of female admirers.”

  He cleared his throat officiously. And his ears were pink, which she was coming to realize was the way that he blushed. Seth Yancy, a blusher. She loved that. “You’re grinning,” he grumbled. “Why?”

  “You really want to know?”

  “Never mind.” He set his bag down on the floor near the cabinet and approached the bassinet. “How’s our girl?”