A Baby on the Ranch

The sound of the rattling doorknob caused him to pull his head back around. He watched as the door opened as far as the security chain would allow and a feminine eye peeped out at him.

“Yes?”

There was a wary note in her one-word question, and since Lonnie wasn’t dressed in a uniform or wearing a badge, he pulled out his identification and held it close enough to the opening for her to examine.

“I’m Lonnie Corteen, ma’am. I’m the sheriff of Deaf Smith County, Texas.”

Several long moments passed before she finally reached up and pulled back the security chain. When she did, Lonnie found himself looking at a woman in her midtwenties, dressed in a red sweater and a pair of black jeans. Her feet were bare, and her toenails were painted the same bright red as her sweater. But none of those things really caught his complete attention. It was the rounded mound of her midsection that whammed him with surprise.

The woman was pregnant! He’d not counted on this development. Not by a long shot. From all the information he’d gathered, he’d believed she was a single woman, living alone.

“Hello,” she said. “Is there something I can do for you?”

Her voice was low, husky and guarded. The last part didn’t surprise him. Most people didn’t react joyfully when a lawman showed up at their door.

“I’m not sure,” Lonnie said and flashed her a brief, reassuring smile. “Are you Miss Mary Katherine McBride?”

She silently nodded and Lonnie could only think how much she looked like Victoria Ketchum. This woman had the same long, dark wavy hair, the same green eyes and elegantly shaped features as his friend back in Aztec.

“That’s good. That’s real good.” Shifting his weight from one boot to the other, he pulled off his hat and held it against his broad chest. “Uh, if I could come in for a few minutes, I need to talk to you.”

Shock shot her brows straight up to form slender black arcs above her eyes. Her hand fluttered near her breasts. “Me? You want to talk to me?”

It wasn’t good for a pregnant woman to receive a shock, Lonnie suddenly realized. But what the heck was he supposed to do now? He was already here at the door. He couldn’t just say oops, he’d made a mistake and leave her hanging with all kinds of questions and worries.

“Yes. If you have a moment.”

A moment! Hell, Lonnie, what you need to relay to this woman can’t be done in a few minutes. You’ve got to do this gently, kindly. The girl deserved that much.

Confusion clouded her eyes and furrowed her forehead. As Lonnie studied her perplexed expression, he couldn’t help but notice her skin was milky-white and as smooth as the petal of a rose. Not that he went around noticing such things about women. He rarely allowed himself a second look at the opposite sex. But something about this one was causing him to stare.

“I…I suppose I do,” she said haltingly. “But—”

Sensing her reluctance, he added, “I’ll try to make it as short as possible, Miss McBride.”

She pressed several fingertips to her brow. “But I don’t understand. Has something happened to someone I know?”

He smiled briefly. “Now, that would be hard to say, seeing as I don’t know your acquaintances, ma’am. But I can tell you that this visit is…personal.”

“Personal?” she repeated, as though she’d never heard the word before.

Lonnie couldn’t blame her for being confused or suspicious. But frankly, he didn’t know how to put her at ease without jumping into this thing with both feet.

“That’s right.” He motioned past her shoulder to the interior of the apartment. “It’s as cold as heck standing here on this concrete. May I come in and tell you about it?”

Her eyes traveled up and down the length of him, and Lonnie felt himself blushing under her direct scrutiny. He’d had women look at him up close before. After all, he was thirty years old and he wasn’t exactly homely. But there was something about the way this woman was looking that gave him a mighty uncomfortable urge to squirm in his boots. Especially when he had the strongest urge to keep looking back.

“I suppose,” she said in a voice that clearly conveyed she wasn’t happy about any of this.

“Thank you, Miss McBride. I’ll try not to take up too much of your time.”

She stepped to one side and gestured for him to enter the apartment. He moved past her and into a small living room/dining area. A teakettle was whistling shrilly from the direction of the kitchen, and in one corner of the living room a small television was tuned to a twenty-four-hour news channel. Two cats, a yellow tabby and a solid black were curled up together on one end of the couch. The animals seemed not to notice Lonnie’s presence, but then maybe they were used to men coming and going in Mary Katherine’s apartment.

The idea was an awful one, and Lonnie quickly dismissed it. Even though her midsection was mounded with child, she didn’t look the promiscuous sort, and thinking of her in that way bothered him. Apparently she’d been close to some man, though. But that wasn’t any of Lonnie’s business. None of his business at all.

“I was just about to make some instant coffee, Mr. Corteen. Would you like a cup?”

She tossed the offer to him as she hurried past him and toward the kitchen. He followed slowly as he tried to think of a sensible way to say what he had to say and get out. But there wasn’t anything sensible about any of it, and now that he’d discovered she was pregnant that complicated things even more.

Standing at the edge of the tiny kitchen, he watched as she pulled the teakettle from the gas flame and poured it into a nearby cup. He hated instant coffee with a passion. He liked his boiled, the old-fashioned way, so he could taste the grit of the grounds and feel the kick of the caffeine.

“Sounds nice,” he lied. “This weather chills me to the bone.”

The tiny room was equipped with a full-size cook stove and refrigerator, but the counter space was small and most of that was scattered with dirty dishes, Lonnie noticed. Apparently, Miss McBride wasn’t keen on housework or she was short on time.

“We haven’t had much cold weather yet this fall, but I hear we’re supposed to have snow in a day or two.” She pulled down another cup from the cabinet in front of her and filled it with hot water and a hefty spoonful of instant decaffeinated coffee. “Where do you live? Did you say Deaf Smith County?”

He said, “Yeah. Hereford. As I understand it, you used to live in that area, at Canyon.”

She turned away from the cabinet counter and looked at him with surprise. “How did you know?”

“I’ve been trying to find you for three months. I tracked you all the way from Hereford to here.”

Clearly disturbed by this announcement, she turned back to the counter and reached for a paper towel. Lonnie noticed she fumbled the piece of paper several times as she sopped up the puddles of water that she’d spilled.

“Well, perhaps we should take our coffee to the living room,” she suggested. “It will be more comfortable to talk there.”

He nodded in agreement, and she gestured for him to help himself to one of the cups.

“I have sugar or cream if you want,” she offered.

Lonnie picked up the cup closest to him. “No, thanks. I like it plain. It’s better that way.”

She didn’t make any sort of reply, and he followed her back into the living room area. As he walked a few steps behind her, she said, “Please, have a seat, Mr. Corteen.”

Standing in the middle of the room, Lonnie looked at the couch and the cats. The cats looked back at him. After a moment’s indecision, he headed in the direction of a small armchair filled with what looked to him to be a stack of textbooks.

Seeing his intention, Mary Katherine hurriedly stepped in front of him. “Here, let me get those out of your way,” she said as she gathered up the books in her arms. “I’m sorry about the mess. I’ve just gotten off work and haven’t had time to do much cleaning.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Miss McBride. I didn’t exactly warn you that I was coming.” He’d thought about calling first, but had quickly dismissed the idea. He hadn’t wanted to give her the chance to put him off.

While she stacked the textbooks on a nearby end table, Lonnie eased down in the armchair. As he tried to make himself comfortable, she went over to the couch and took a seat next to the cats. The yellow tabby immediately got to his feet, stretched, then climbed onto Mary Katherine’s lap.

“Okay, Mr. Corteen, now that we’re both sitting, please tell me what this is all about. I can’t imagine how you tracked me all the way from Canyon. I haven’t lived there in a long time. And it’s been even longer since I lived in Hereford.”

“Yes. I know.” He propped his ankle on one knee and hung his hat on the toe of his boot. “You moved from Canyon about seven years ago to here in Fort Worth.”

She looked at him and he could see the wheels in her head spinning at a high rate of speed.