Natural Born Lawman

“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.