woman. If she decided she was going to get Kent involved with someone, he was going to find himself with a parade of women moving past his house.
She looked into the main room and saw Justice with her mother. They were speaking intently, heads bent together.
Although she wondered what they were discussing, her real attention was on how much she wanted to walk over and stand next to Justice. To be close and have him smile at her. She knew she was getting too involved, too quickly, and didn’t know how to slow things down.
With the business only a week or two from opening, she was frantically busy, yet still found time to dwell on Justice. Maybe it was good that he was going to be gone a few days on an assignment. She could try to forget about him. Or if that wasn’t possible, maybe gain a little perspective.
Mayor Marsha walked up to her. “Everything is turning out so beautifully,” the mayor said. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Patience took in the skirted suit the older woman always wore. “No pants, huh? I was hoping.” Mayor Marsha had worn pants to a work party over the holidays. It had made quite the impression on everyone.
The mayor smiled. “It was very cold out. I made an exception.” Her head tilted. “Hmm, I wonder what that means.”
“What?”
The mayor pointed.
Patience turned and saw Charlie pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. She pressed it to her ear, then shook her head.
“Everyone, be quiet for a second, please,” Charlie yelled. “This might be important.”
The room went silent.
Charlie listened. Everyone around her watched, waiting to hear. Was the news good? Was there a problem?
Charlie grinned. “Okay. I’ll spread the word.” She lowered her phone. “It’s Annabelle. She’s in labor!”
JUSTICETURNED DOWNthe road leading to the ranch. If there was a hot spot in the world, a dangerous place, he’d probably been there. He knew how to get in, get the job done and get out. He’d faced soldiers, assassins and dictators. He knew how to take care of himself. None of which explained why he was going to a ranch to visit a woman he didn’t know, who had just given birth to a baby he had no interest in, with a casserole he hadn’t made.
“You okay?” Patience asked. She sat in the passenger seat and watched him curiously. “You have a scrunchy face.”
“No, I don’t.”
“I’m the one who can see your face, so I get to say.”
Justice surrendered to the inevitable. “I’m trying to figure out how I got here.”
“On earth at all, or here with me at this particular moment?”
“The latter.”
She flashed him a smile. “You offered to drive me.”
“What was I thinking?”
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fun. Annabelle had her baby. Now we have to be a part of the celebration.”
“Why?”
“It’s what we do. We visit the new mother, take over food so she doesn’t have to cook. Coo over the baby.”
Just one more version of hell, he thought. “I’m not cooing.”
“I’ll coo for both of us. Besides, the whole town will be there.”
“When do you people get work done?”
She laughed. “We do have a lot of community obligations, but it’s fun. If you want, I can ask Shane if he’ll let you ride one of the horses.”
“No, thanks.”
He’d returned to Fool’s Gold thinking he could find his past. And maybe a piece of who he had been years ago. Instead he’d discovered that this town was possibly the best and the worst place to be. There were good memories here, but also the constant pressure to connect and belong. He was happier on the outside, looking in. But no one was going to allow that. Not for long. They wanted to pull him in and make him a part of things.
He couldn’t risk it. Not until he knew if he was safe enough to be around ordinary people. He glanced out the side window and wished he could shake the feeling that his father was out there, watching.
The old man was dead, he reminded himself. Had been for more than a decade—burned alive in a prison fire that had taken several lives. Justice had mostly believed it—only over the past couple of years, he’d had a growing sense Bart was around. Hiding, but close.
More proof that he couldn’t escape his DNA, he thought. However much he might want to.
They drove onto the ranch. There was a sign offering goat cheese and milk for sale, along with goat manure. Beyond the main house were stables and corrals. In the distance he saw a couple of sheep, a llama and—
He brought the car to a halt and stared. “Is that—”
Patience followed his gaze. “An elephant? Yes. Her name is Priscilla.”
“A real elephant?”
“She’s not fake, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s a long story, but she lives here now and everyone likes her. She’s a part of the community.”
He returned his attention to the drive through the property. “Of course she is.”
“We love Priscilla. She was in the nativity last Christmas.”
“An elephant?”
“Everyone should get to participate.”
He wanted to point out that Priscilla was an elephant, not a person, but knew that Patience would probably object. In her world, elephants could be family and townspeople showed up to work on soon-to-be-opened businesses. No doubt small woodland creatures did the housecleaning, whistling all the while.
He shook his head. “I need a break.”
“From what?”
He pulled up in front of a large house. There were several cars parked in front already. People stood on the porch, chatting.
Patience touched his arm. “Justice, are you okay?”
He turned to her. The sight of her face calmed him. He could stare into her eyes and find equilibrium again. With Patience around, he could handle the eccentricities that were Fool’s Gold.
“I’m good.”
“If you’re sure.”
She waited, but he didn’t say anything. She turned
