That's My Baby! (22 page)

She’d be thrilled if he’d pass out, but he might only vomit. Even then, however, she might be able to get the gun away from him. She remembered what morning sickness was like. A person would have a hard time holding a gun steady while throwing up.

If that happened, she’d have to move fast. So she’d positioned the blanket on which she sat holding Elizabeth close to the carrier that was still tied to the tree. She had to have a quick place to stash the baby when it was time to grab Pruitt’s gun. While pretending to sing a lullaby to Elizabeth, she kept a close eye on Pruitt.

Suddenly he let out a sharp oath and staggered to his feet. “I know what’s happened! You bitch! You put something in that coffee, didn’t you?”

“Of course not!” Her mouth went dry with fear as she plopped Elizabeth in the carrier and crouched down so she was directly in front of the baby, shielding her. “What could I possibly put in it, anyway? We’re out in the middle of nowhere.”

“I don’t know.” He held the gun on her while he clutched his stomach with his other hand. “All I know is I have one hell of a bellyache, and I’d lay money that you did it! Hell, your daddy’s probably already transferred my money. I should just shoot you and the kid and be done with it.”

She readied herself to spring at him. If he was going to
shoot her anyway, she’d take him with her, somehow. His arm was wavering, so his aim would be off. As long as he didn’t kill her instantly, she’d find a way to get the gun away and shoot him before he could aim the weapon at Elizabeth.

“Think I will shoot you.” He was nearly doubled over with pain. “I don’t know why I thought I had to keep you both around, anyway. Your daddy’s going to pay that money. He has to. You’re the most important thing in the world to him. That’s why I knew that if I kidnapped you, I’d—” He stopped talking. His jaw clenched and his eyes began to water.

“Damn you,” he whispered, and dropped to his knees, retching violently. He still held the gun, but it was now hanging loosely from his fingers, the barrel pointed at the ground.

Jessica leaped to her feet, ran to him and grabbed for the gun. Although he was still vomiting, his fingers tightened on it and it went off with a roar, the bullet zinging off the through the trees.

Jessica was frantic to get the weapon. A wild bullet could kill Elizabeth as surely as one aimed in her direction. She wrenched his hand up to her mouth and bit down hard. As her teeth sank through flesh, he screamed and let go of the gun.

She grabbed it, but she wasn’t steady as she scrambled away and tried to aim it at him. Before she get her finger around the trigger, he lunged at her and wrested the gun away again.

“That’s it!” he screamed, pointing the gun at her. “You’re dead, bitch!”

“Drop it, mister!” called a man from the shadows. The high beam of a flashlight focused on Pruitt.

Jessica gasped in relief as she recognized Sebastian’s voice.

“Don’t try anything. You’re surrounded,” called another man, and a second flashlight snapped on.

Boone.
They had come for her. Oh, thank God.

From a different direction came a third man’s voice and a third flashlight beam. “Just drop the gun and put your hands up. We’re in no mood for shenanigans.”

Travis.
But what about Nat? Oh, God, was Nat out there?

Pruitt squinted as he tried to avoid looking into the glare. Then, in one quick move, he grabbed Elizabeth out of the carrier and held the gun to the baby’s head.

“No!”
Jessica screamed.

Elizabeth began to cry as Pruitt stood and looked around, staring into the darkness. “Any questions, gentlemen?”

A gun blasted. Jessica screamed again and ran at Pruitt, not caring what happened to her. She was just in time to catch Elizabeth as Pruitt’s grip on the baby slackened and he went down, a bullet in the middle of his forehead.

Jessica fell to her knees, clutching the crying baby to her as she sobbed. Instantly she was surrounded by Sebastian, Travis and Boone, all trying to comfort her at once.

Eyes streaming with tears, Jessica looked up into their beloved faces. “Which one of you fired that shot?”

“Never mind that now,” Sebastian said soothingly, rubbing her shoulders. “All that matters is that you’re okay. Elizabeth’s okay.”

She couldn’t look at Pruitt. “Is he—”

“Yeah, he is,” Boone said. “He won’t be bothering you anymore.”

Finally, she had to know the worst. “What about…Nat?” she managed to choke out.

“I’m here.” He stepped out of the shadows, Sebastian’s .38 hanging loosely from his right hand.

J
ESSICA DIDN’T REMEMBER
much of the trip back to the ranch. She wondered if she might be in shock, because despite the blanket she clutched around her as they rode, she couldn’t stop shivering. Her horse was sandwiched in between Sebastian’s and Travis’s. Boone came next with Elizabeth in her carrier on his back.

Nat, the man she most needed to see, brought up the rear, leading the horse that carried Steven Pruitt facedown across the saddle. She’d had no idea Nat could shoot a gun with that kind of accuracy, but from what brief comments the other guys had made, she gathered that they’d all known he was a marksman.

She, for one, was profoundly grateful that he was, and would have liked to thank him for saving Elizabeth’s life. But Nat didn’t seem to want to talk about it. He didn’t seem to want to talk to her, period.

But he was alive. Each time she thought of that, she sent up another prayer of gratitude. She could understand that Nat had a lot to deal with right now. Knowing him, he was berating himself because she and Elizabeth had been kidnapped right out from under his nose. And now he had to face the fact that he’d killed a man.

Jessica felt no remorse that Steven Pruitt was dead. She would have killed him herself, given a chance. And yet, she couldn’t know exactly what it was like for Nat to realize he was the one who had pulled the trigger. Especially for a man like Nat, who was so against violence.

She and Nat needed to have a long talk. When they got back to the Rocking D, they would find the time to straighten things out between them. Once they’d settled everything with the sheriff’s office, she and Nat could take some time alone. They had a lot to discuss.

But as they rode up to the hitching post by the back door and saw the helicopter in the middle of the corral, she began to realize that she and Nat might not have a chance to be alone anytime soon. People came pouring out of the house, and she gazed with disbelief as she recognized that her mother and father were among them.

J
ESSICA WOKE
in the double bed in Elizabeth’s room the next morning, and the first thing she heard was Elizabeth babbling happily to herself as she stood holding on to the crib railing and batted at the foam-rubber mobile over her head. Jessica adjusted the pillow under her head so she could look at the baby, her baby.

Slowly the events of the past two days washed over her. The scene once they’d arrived back at the ranch was a blur. She remembered hugging both her parents and crying, and endless questions from everyone, and the arrival of the sheriff’s deputies, but finally someone had propelled her back to this bedroom, along with Elizabeth, and they’d both been tucked in like children.

Jessica suspected Matty had done that. She took a deep breath. They’d all made it through. And now she had to find out if she had a future with Nat Grady.

She swung her legs out of bed. “Hi, baby,” she said.

Elizabeth bounced happily and grinned at her. “Da-da!”

“Yes, that’s what we have to go see about, you and me. Your da-da.” She listened for noises from the rest of the house, but it was quiet, although she could smell coffee brewing. Glancing at the clock, she was surprised how early it was. She’d only slept a few short hours. Maybe Matty had set the timer so the coffee had turned on automatically.

Getting Elizabeth dressed was no problem, but putting on her own clothes was painful. The carrier straps had rubbed her shoulders raw and she was stiff from all the unaccustomed riding. But she was alive, and so was her baby. She hugged Elizabeth gratefully as she started down the hall toward the kitchen.

Sebastian and Matty’s bedroom door was still closed, and so was Sebastian’s office door, where Nat usually slept. Jessica considered sneaking in and waking him up, but she decided against it. When she talked to him, she wanted him to be wide awake.

The last person she expected to see sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee was her father. But there he was, glancing through some ranching magazine he must have found in the living room.

He was unshaven, and his designer shirt and slacks were wrinkled. Jessica didn’t think she’d ever seen him like that in her life. Her heart squeezed. He looked…old. She thought about what Steven Pruitt had said.
He’ll pay the money. He has to. You’re the most important thing in the world to him.

She paused in the doorway. “Hi, Dad.”

He glanced up quickly. “Jessica.” Then the most amazing thing happened. Her father got tears in his eyes.

Her throat grew tight and she blinked rapidly, not wanting her own tears to fall. “I guess…I guess I put you through quite a bit, didn’t I?”

“Yes.” Her father’s voice was gruff. He cleared his throat and glanced at Elizabeth. “She looks like you.”

“Dad, I—”

He held up a hand. “Before you say anything, I have something to say. I spent a little time talking to…the baby’s father this morning, and—”

“Nat? Isn’t he asleep in Sebastian’s office?”

“No. Your mother’s in there. I took the couch. I think Grady slept down at the barn. When I woke up I went out
for a walk, wandered down to the barn and found him feeding the horses.”

“Oh.” Jessica glanced out the kitchen window toward the barn, as if to catch a glimpse of Nat, but he wasn’t in view.

“So, as I was saying, Grady and I had a conversation. He helped me understand how much you’ve needed…personal freedom over the years. And how little I gave you. How little I was willing to admit that you’re a grown woman who can take care of yourself.”

She hurried to blame herself before he could. “Some job I did!”

Her father gazed at her. “Some job you did,” he said. “You have a beautiful daughter and a fine man who loves you. That’s one hell of a job, Jessica.”

Her jaw dropped in astonishment. She’d waited all her life to hear those words, and she was speechless. “Thank you,” she said at last, fighting tears.

“You’re welcome.”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Did he—did Nat—tell you he loved me?”

“Yes, he did. But he doesn’t think he’s good enough for you.” He gazed at her fondly. “From my standpoint, that’s probably true, because there’s not a man out there who
is
good enough for you. But I figure he might be the best of the lot. And I have every confidence you may be able to convince him of that.”

Jessica decided she’d never have a better chance than now, before the place started bustling again. She walked over and took Sebastian’s sheepskin jacket down from its peg on the wall by the back door.

Then she returned to the table. “Would you hold her for a minute?” she asked.

“Me? I don’t know if I should.”

She gave him a wobbly smile. “I’m sure you’ve held a little girl before.”

“That was a long time ago.”

Jessica settled Elizabeth in his lap. “Well, some things never change,” she said brightly. And then, when she saw her father sitting there holding Elizabeth, tears spilled out of her eyes. “Oh, Daddy.” She leaned down and wrapped her arms around both of them. “I love you.”

His voice was thick. “I love you, too, Jessica.”

When she drew back, he blinked and cleared his throat several times.

She wiped at her eyes and put on Sebastian’s big coat. “I’m going down to the barn,” she said.

“And leave her here?” He sounded both frightened and excited by the prospect.

“Not this time.” She scooped Elizabeth up and tucked her inside the coat. “But soon. This time I need her. She’s my bargaining chip.”

N
AT PUT
the rubber stopper in the drain of the big metal sink Sebastian had installed on the front wall of the barn. As the water level rose, he rolled back his sleeves. Then he shut off the water, picked up the sock monkey and dunked him in the water. Some of the loose dirt came off and floated to the surface, but the orange stain that decorated the monkey’s face and upper part of its body looked permanent.

Matty should be the one doing this job, Nat thought to himself as he scrubbed the orange stain. She probably knew what to use on something like this. For all he knew, he was making things worse. As usual.

He’d really screwed up this time. At least he’d shot the man who had held Elizabeth at gunpoint. He’d never thought he’d be grateful to his father for anything, but he was glad of all those agonizing hours spent in target practice under his father’s stern direction. No, he did not for one minute regret firing that gun.

But he regretted the need for it. If he hadn’t left Jess and
Elizabeth unprotected, they never would have fallen into the guy’s hands in the first place. He would never forgive himself for that.

The barn door opened and Jess, nearly swallowed in Sebastian’s coat, came inside. He wasn’t ready to see her yet. He didn’t have his speech, the one in which he’d convince her she’d be better off without him.

The coat stuck out in front, and when Elizabeth’s curly head poked out, he realized she’d brought the baby along with her. Another person he wasn’t ready to see. He dropped the monkey down in the water and hoped to hell Elizabeth hadn’t noticed it in his hand.

But she had. She let out a squeal and reached toward the sink. “Ba-ba!”

Damn. He glanced pleadingly at Jess. “He’s soaking wet,” he said. “I was trying to clean him up, and—”

“You were out here washing Bruce?”

“Yeah. I probably should have let Matty do it, but she’s still asleep and I was hoping I might get him in some kind of shape before Elizabeth woke up.”

The baby started bouncing in Jess’s arms and her cries for her monkey became louder.

“I think that’s so sweet.” Jess came closer.

“Listen, maybe you should take her back up to the house.” That would get Jess out of here, too, so he could plan what he wanted to say. It was hard to think of the right words when she was standing there looking so beautiful in the soft light filtering through the high windows of the barn.

“I think it’s too late,” Jess said as Elizabeth began to fuss and strain in Nat’s direction.

He tried to ignore the warmth in Jessica’s eyes. She didn’t know what was good for her. “Maybe it’s not too late. She might forget that she saw him if you distract her. I’ll wring him out and hang him on the clothesline for a while, and maybe by noon he’ll be ready to go.”

Jess gazed up at him, a little smile on her face. “Wring him out now. I don’t think she can wait until noon.”

“But he’ll still be all wet. And God knows what he’ll look like after I squeeze most of the water out. Probably like some alien.”

“She won’t care what he looks like. She needs that monkey, Nat.”

He sighed with resignation. “Okay.”

Elizabeth made an unholy fuss while he squeezed as much water out of Bruce as he could. Jess tried to jolly her out of being upset, but she was getting crankier by the minute. Man, she was really raising a ruckus. If his father were here, he’d have backhanded that kid so hard…

Nat stopped wringing out the monkey and stared down at his hands. Yes, his father would have slapped the baby by now. But he hadn’t even considered such a thing. And he wouldn’t, not in a million years. He could imagine what his father would do, and separate that from what he, Nat Grady, would do.

Turning from the sink, the damp monkey in his hands, he stared at Jess, who was so busy trying to keep Elizabeth happy that she didn’t even notice he was looking at her. He wasn’t like his father! And he’d figured it out twenty-four hours too late.

He groaned in frustration.

Her gaze met his. “What?”

“I’m an idiot, that’s what.”

She smiled. “Sometimes.”

Elizabeth went wild as she spied the bedraggled monkey. “Ba-ba! Ba-ba!”

“Better give it to her.” Jess glanced at the monkey. “Maybe he’ll look better when he dries.”

“Maybe. Here you go, Elizabeth. Here’s Bruce.” He extended the monkey by the tail.

Elizabeth grabbed him with another squeal and promptly
stuck the tail in her mouth. As she sucked happily, the rest of Bruce hung down and dripped on Jess’s shoes.

“She’s going to get you wet,” Nat said.

Jess looked into his eyes. “As if I care. Now tell me why you think you’re an idiot, and I’ll see if I agree.”

“I’m not like my father, and if I’d only understood that sooner, then none of this—”

“Back up. Did I hear you say you’re not like your father?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t figure that out in time, and so you got kidnapped by that creep.” He took a shaky breath. “You nearly died, you and Elizabeth, because I was such an idiot.”

“But we didn’t die. You saved us.” She made it sound as if he was a hero. “Where did you learn to shoot like that?”

“My father. You know how some kids are forced to practice the piano? I was forced into target practice. Pretty grim, huh?”

“Why did he do that?”

Nat had hated the whole exercise so much that he’d never paid much attention to the reason his father had given. And he had given one. “He said that he wanted me to be able to protect myself. He wanted me to be tough, and he wanted me to know how to handle a gun, in case I ever got in a tight spot.” He glanced at her. “I suppose, in his twisted way, he was trying to prepare me for life.”

“I think he was.” She moved closer, so that now the monkey was dripping on his feet, too. “How long since you’ve talked to him?”

“Years.”

She hesitated, then forged on. “Do you think that maybe…maybe it’s time to let go of some of that bitterness? Especially if you now realize you won’t turn out like him?”

He edged around the idea of communicating again with
his father. It didn’t look like such a terrible concept, the more he considered it. There was a kind of relief built into it. “Maybe. Not for sure, but…maybe.”

“After all, that target practice did come in handy.”

And there was the rub. “But the only reason I had to use a gun is because I’d screwed up so royally. Don’t you see? I make mistakes, costly mistakes, that mean the people I love can get hurt or killed. I can’t expect to shoot my way out of every fix I get myself or others into.”

“Nat, I—”

“Let me finish.” He took another breath. For some reason he was having trouble breathing, but he had to get this next part out. “That’s why I want you to forget about me. I want you to put me out of your mind and out of your life.” He hadn’t expected the pain in his heart to be so sharp. He nearly gasped from the impact.