that Bravo woman ever planning to tell him?
Halfway to I-25, at the small town of Lyons, he did turn the cruiser around. He went back the way he’d come. But he didn’t take the turnoff to the Bar-Y then, either. He drove on past it and straight into town, where he found a parking place right on Central a few doors down from Jody Bravo’s flower shop.
At twenty past six, he stood between the tubs of bright flowers and thick greenery that flanked the shop’s glass door. His pulse thundering louder than ever, he went in. A little bell tinkled overhead, and Jody Bravo, behind the counter across the room, glanced his way.
Even with the counter masking her body from the waist down, he could see she was pregnant. And pretty far along, too. That belly looked ready to pop.
He let his gaze track upward to her face. Did she pale at the sight of him? He couldn’t be sure. But she definitely looked wary, her soft mouth drawn tight, a certain watchfulness in her eyes.
“Sheriff,” she said coolly. “I’ll be right with you.” And she turned a friendly smile to the older man she was waiting on. “Roses and lilies.” She passed him a paper-wrapped cone full of flowers. “Excellent choice. I know she’ll love them...”
Seth hovered near the door, not sure what to do with himself. Another customer came in, and he moved to the side to clear the entrance. And then he just stood there, surrounded by greenery, breathing that moist, sweet smell created by so many flowers and growing things pressing in close.
“Seth?” asked the Bravo woman as the second customer went out the door.
He realized he was staring blankly at a hanging basket full of cascading purple flowers. “Right here,” he answered, though she was standing directly behind him and no doubt looking straight at him. He turned around and met those wary eyes. “We need to talk.”
Resigned. She looked resigned. His certainty increased that Monique had not lied; that giant belly cradled his brother’s child.
Nicky’s baby. He didn’t know what he felt. Joy, maybe. And something else, something angry and ready for a fight.
She said, “It’s time to close. I need to bring in the stock from out in front and deal with the register.”
“I’ll help.”
“No, it’s fine. I can—”
“I said, I’ll help.” It came out as a growl.
She stiffened, but then she answered calmly, “Well. All right, then. If you’ll bring in the flowers.” She gestured at a section of bare floor space not far from the door. “Just put them there for now.”
“For now?”
“I’ll take them to the cooler in back later.”
“As long as I’m bringing them in, I can take them where you want them to go.” He put out a hand toward the glass-doored refrigerator full of fancy arrangements that took up much of one wall. “You want them in there?”
She bit her lip like she was about to argue with him. But then she said, “No, there’s a walk-in cooler in back.” She pointed at the café doors near the check-out counter. “Through there.”
“All right, then. I’ll bring everything in.”
They got to it. She turned off the Open sign and closed out the register while he carried in the tubs of flowers, trekking them through the inner door to the other fridge. Once all the tubs were in, she locked the shop door. There was an ironwork gate between her shop and the one next door, but it was shut, the shop on the other side dark and quiet.
She must have seen him glance that way. “My half sister Elise owns Bravo Catering and Bakery through there. She closed at six.”
And so they were alone, with no chance of interruption.
He got to the point. “I heard a rumor that you’re having my brother’s baby.”
He didn’t know what he’d expected. Denial? Nervousness? An apology for holding out on him?
But all he got from her was the barest hint of a shrug, followed by a quietly spoken confirmation. “Yes. Nick was my baby’s father.”
The soft words struck him like blows. All at once, his ears were burning. His stomach clenched, and he really wished he hadn’t eaten so much steak.
Sucking in a long breath through his nose, he accused, “You were at the funeral.”
“Yes.”
“You stepped right up to me. You shook my hand. You had to know there was a baby then.”
“Yes, I did.”
“But you said nothing.” He gave her a look meant to make her knees shake and waited for her to explain herself. When she only regarded him steadily, he demanded, “What is the matter with you? Why am I the last to know? My brother has been dead for almost six months, and until Monique Hightower shared the news today, I had no idea there was a baby involved.”
That seemed to get through to her. Scowling now, she whipped up a hand, palm flat in his face. “Don’t you get on me, Sheriff. I thought you knew—and didn’t care.”
Didn’t care? That knocked him back. He took a moment to gather his composure. And then he said, deadly calm, “You thought wrong. Did Nick even know?”
Slowly, she lowered her hand to her side. Her diamond-shaped face was all eyes at that moment, eyes of a blue so deep they looked black. Those eyes stared right through him. “He knew.”
Seth couldn’t help but scoff when she said that. “Oh, no. Uh-uh.”
“Why even ask if you’re not willing to accept my answer?”
“I guess I had some crazy idea you might tell me the truth.”
“That is the truth.”
“How long did he know?”
“I told him a few days after I found out myself. That was about six weeks before he died.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Twin spots of color flamed high on her cheeks. “Keep calling me a liar, and I’m just going to have to ask you to leave.”
Was he out of line? Probably. A little. But she should have told him that his dead brother had fathered a child. And that she’d told Nicky? He couldn’t see it. “Nick was a stand-up guy. If he’d known there was a baby, he would have wanted to marry you. That was who he was, a simple man with a big heart and high standards, a man whose own natural father deserted him and his mother. Nick wouldn’t do that. If he knew about that baby, you’d have a ring on your finger—and there is no way that he would have...” His throat locked up. He swallowed hard to loosen it and then tried again. “If Nick knew he was going to be a father, he would’ve told me.”
