put her hand over her mouth.
“Unless what? Mrs. Whipple? What are you thinking?”
She leaned in closer over the counter, and whispered, “Some out-of-towner abandoned a baby at the jail, didn’t they? And your deputy is caring for it right now while you’re in here getting supplies. Child Welfare can’t do nothing about it in all this snow, and the road to the hospital is probably closed by now, so you’re stuck. I bet that’s it. You can tell me. My lips are sealed. Fort Knox.”
But Jet didn’t answer. Instead he picked up the two overflowing bags wondering how on earth Cindy Whipple could have gotten so close to the truth. The woman had a sixth sense about these things, and if Jet hung around any longer he was sure she’d figure out the baby’s name, gender and, even worse, that the baby was abandoned on Doctor Grant’s doorstep.
As he walked out of the store, he contemplated hiring Mrs. Whipple as a special investigator. Not that he ever could or would, but having her work with him seemed a lot smarter than having her working against him...of that he had no doubt.
“Are we ever happy to see you,” Russ Knightly said as he opened the front door to Coco’s private residence above her clinic. The door to her clinic sat right next to her private apartment door, but despite the sign above it that touted Paws & Tails Animal Clinic, the sheriff knew her patrons managed to get the two doors confused, just as he had the first time he’d stopped by. They looked exactly alike but for the sign, which, in his opinion, should have been placed on the door itself.
Russ’s clothes looked disheveled and he wore a harried look on his cover-model face, as if the normally cavalier mayoral candidate had reached his breaking point. Even his habitually groomed dark hair was tousled.
Jet could only think of one question: Why was he here?
The shock of seeing Russ standing in Doctor Grant’s doorway instead of Doctor Grant herself threw Sheriff Wilson off his game for a moment. Of all the men in this town, Russ Knightly was the last person he ever thought he’d see anywhere near Coco Grant. For one thing, he’d thought she was a smart woman...but unless there was a really good reason for this lunkhead to be answering her door at this time of night, Jet had sorely misjudged Coco’s common sense.
“I got a call from Doctor Grant, but if you’re already here, I’ll just drop these off with you.” He shoved the bag of baby things into Russ’s hands, and placed a bigger bag of diapers and baby wipes just inside the doorway. “I’ll be on my way before the snow gets any deeper.”
Then he turned to go, angry that he’d been used as an errand boy.
“No. Wait. Aren’t you going to take the baby?”
The sheriff turned back around, detecting a hint of angst in Russ’s normally brazen voice. “Can’t. There’s nobody to care for her tonight.”
Jet proceeded down the three front steps off the wide porch, until Russ called to him again. The man had actually followed him, carrying both bags of baby things. Did Russ really think he was going to stop him from leaving?
“Well, we certainly can’t take care of it. We’re not authorized, but I know for a fact that you are. It’s your duty as town sheriff to take custody of this baby.”
Jet hesitated at the bottom of the steps on the snowy sidewalk and contemplated his options. According to the local newspaper, the Teton Valley Gazette, Russ Knightly was beating Mayor Sally Hickman by ten points. If he became mayor, he could make Jet’s life miserable, and even replace him if he so chose.
Despite all his complaints, Sheriff Jet Wilson loved his job and didn’t want to start over again in some other town...at least not yet.
“You’re right about that, Mr. Knightly. I must have been mistaken. I thought you and Doctor Grant wanted to keep that poor, destitute, abandoned child overnight, which would be fine, according to the law, as long as I approved it. Which I do.”
“Well, don’t, because we do not want to keep the baby overnight. We want you to take her. Coco...I mean, Doctor Grant, and I have other plans.”
Jet got it loud and clear. This charming snake and Doctor Grant were in a relationship. Russ might as well have sucker punched him right in the jaw. It would have made more sense than this tawdry relationship.
As much as it pained Jet, he walked back up the three steps, past Russ Knightly, then began walking up the flight of stairs to the doctor’s private residence, an apartment he’d never seen before, but had thought about many times.
“You could have carried some of this stuff, ya know,” Russ complained behind Jet as the two men made their way up the steps.
“I sure could have,” Jet said, offering no excuse, listening to Russ grunt as he tried to maneuver the steep stairs.
Jet’s guilt kicked in and he was about to turn back around and grab one of the bags from Russ when the door opened to Doctor Grant’s apartment.
She looked absolutely gorgeous, almost beatific, as if she was no longer human, but rather an angel that had come down from heaven. It was all there in her smile, a radiant, joyful smile not really intended for Jet, but coming from deep within her.
Seeing the doctor standing in the doorway, with that tiny baby cradled in her arms, wearing a beautiful black dress that hugged all her curves, her short-cropped, almost black hair hugging her face, showing off that lovely long neck of hers, earrings gently dusting her bare shoulders and the low light from her apartment bathing her body in its warm glow, took Jet’s breath away. Her steel blue eyes seemed brighter, her lips fuller, and that chiseled nose set everything off making her look regal. Doctor Coco Grant always stood up straight, proud of her six-foot height, which Jet loved considering he cleared six foot four easy.
No woman had ever had that kind of impact on him before. The world might as well have stopped spinning.
For the first time in his adult life, he knew what it meant to be tongue-tied. It was all he could do to keep from blabbing like a schoolboy.
“Thanks for coming out, Sheriff. I know it’s late, but we didn’t know what else to do,” the angel said, her voice low and enthralling.
“I...um...”
“Excuse me,” Russ said from just behind Jet, then nudged him out of the way. “But this stuff is heavy.”
That knocked Jet back into reality...the reality of an abandoned baby cuddled up against Doctor Grant, with bare shoulders exposed to the cold of the stairway.
Jet cleared his tight throat. “Not a problem,” he told Doctor Grant. “I picked up a few things on my way over.”
“More like the whole store,” Russ muttered.
All of a sudden, the baby started wailing. Jet figured it was the grating sound of Russ’s voice that set her off.
Smart baby, Jet thought.
“Why don’t you let me get some clothes on that little darlin’ while you make her a bottle. We can talk about how you found her after we get her settled,” Jet said.
