Someone's Baby Read online

  Eyes of gray granite seemed to penetrate her soul.

  "He wasn't my husband," she told him honestly.

  "You want to tell me—''

  He spun with a speed that startled a gasp out of her as someone raced up to the back door. Rio burst inside and came to a quick halt when he found himself facing down a revolver that looked like the twin to the one Cade had given her.

  "I thought you left," Cade said, lowering the gun.

  "Yeah. I mean, no. That is, I was about to leave when the stupid horse got spooked by one of the bam cats. He cut his left hind pretty good on a piece of fencing. Zed helped me get him calmed down, but he thinks the horse needs stitches. You'd better come have a look while I saddle Twister."

  Cade muttered something under his breath. "I'll be right back," he told her.

  "Can I help?" Jayne asked.

  "Yeah. Wait here and stay out of trouble." He moved through the door before she could protest.

  Heather was fed and changed and Cade hadn't returned. Jayne paced the floor, increasingly restless. The day was slipping away. Had the horse really been spooked by a barn cat or had someone given him a scare?

  Her brain locked in stark fear as someone slunk past the kitchen window.

  Despite the thudding of her heart, Jayne raced to the kitchen, but the man was out of sight. She'd only caught the flash of a light-colored Stetson. Cade, Zed and Rio wouldn't be sneaking around the house like that. It had to be whoever was causing Cade all the trouble.

  She didn't remember drawing the gun he'd given her, but its weight filled her hand. She ran to the living room to shout for Cade and her world came to a crashing halt.

  A dark-colored sedan sat in front of the house. Cade and Zed stood talking with the two occupants. The men still wore the same ill-fitting suits, the same red ties.

  The baby ring had found her.

  She should have told Cade the truth. There was no telling what sort of story they were spinning right now, but Cade would have no reason to disbelieve whatever they told him.

  In fact, the way Zed was holding the rifle so casually at his side, it occurred to her again that he might be working with them. What did she know about Zed, really?

  Come to that, what did she know about Cade? While she was certain he wasn't part of the baby ring, he'd made it clear he wanted to get rid of her. The kidnappers had driven right up to his front door to make that chore easy for him. Her only chance was to reach the barn and one of the horses. The low-slung car couldn't follow her if she headed across the field toward the hills.

  Jayne snatched up the sling, placed the sleeping baby inside and grabbed the diaper bag. Carefully, she opened the back door, her eyes scanning for the other person she'd seen.

  Nothing moved.

  Taking a deep breath, she ran for the bam, waiting for the shout of discovery, or the cold impact of a bullet in her back. Neither happened. A saddled horse stood tethered just inside the barn. Big and black, he eyed her approach. This had to be the horse Rio was saddling to replace the injured animal. She recognized the saddlebags, already on his back.

  "Hey there, Twister."

  Fear choked her voice, but she tried to sound calm, knowing the horse would pick up on her fear. If he was skittish, she'd never be able to mount.

  The horse twitched an ear in her direction and whuffled, switching away a bothersome fly with his tail.

  "Good boy, Twister."

  Though everything inside her urged her to hurry, she approached slowly, letting the animal know exactly where she was at all times. She spoke quietly as she patted his neck and stroked him gently. Despite his name, Twister remained placid, while she went around to his side and hung the diaper bag over the roping horn.

  She checked the cinch, adjusted the stirrups for her shorter legs, and undid the lead line. All the while she crooned softly to the animal as fear beat a tattoo inside her chest. A mounting block stood against the barn wall. Looping the lead line over the horn, she gathered the reins and used the mounting block to step onto the horse. Twister barely acknowledged the additional weight.

  Her shoulder screamed in pain when she jarred it, but she ignored the injury, settling the baby against her chest so Heather rested along her damaged side. That left her right hand free. Like the well-trained horse he appeared to be, Twister responded immediately to the slight pressure of the rein and her heels. She wasn't surprised. A man like Cade would have dependable stock.

  She guided Twister toward the opening at the far end of the barn, the familiar scents and sounds making her suddenly homesick for her parents' ranch. Keeping the barn between herself and the men, she broke into a gentle lope. Twister had an easy stride and the flopping bag and the strange weight on his back didn't seem to disturb him at all.

  If only she had some knowledge of the local geography. Was she heading toward a neighbor or away from potential help? She reined in her desire to gallop full out and headed in a straight line for the distant foothills. She would protect this child at all costs.

  Chapter Eight

  Cade heard Heather begin to cry as the door slammed shut behind him. He'd been certain he could control his emotions, but his normally cool restraint faded like so much mist every time he got near Jayne. He wanted her. And he hated that she knew what a fool he'd been over Bonita.

  Was he fated to keep making the same mistakes over and over again?

  No, Jayne might be dressed in Bonita's clothing, but she was nothing at all like his former wife. She was nothing like anyone he'd ever known. She maddened him, fascinated him and made him dream impossible things. But kissing her had been the dumbest thing he'd done in a long time.

  He was a loner. He liked his life that way. There was safety in being a loner. Only the cows knew when he was out of sorts and they didn't care. He wasn't giving up his freedom or his ranch again for any woman—and women and ranching didn't mix. Besides, babies were messy, bothersome creatures who grew up into kids. He refused to think about how good it felt holding the infant, knowing she trusted him to care for her. Heather was special, but she'd grow into a child and God knew, he didn't have any experience with kids. Especially little girls. A kid would probably hate ranch life.

  But he hadn't.

  Not even when his parents were alive and he lived with them on his dad's small spread in Colorado. And why was he even thinking about this? Just more proof of how twisted his thoughts had become. ,

  As he and Rio and Zed worked on the fractious horse, all sorts of crazy thoughts lingered in his mind. Overriding everything was the knowledge that he needed to get Jayne off his ranch and out of his life before it was too late.

  Too late for what?

  He watched as Rio saddled Twister.

  "Company comin'," Zed said quietly and reached for the rifle.

  A dark sedan car came bouncing up the long road to the ranch house. Cade was surprised the vehicle hadn't bottomed out.

  "City type. Probably lost," Cade muttered. "Nobody I know."

  '"More trouble?" Rio asked coming to stand beside the two men inside the open barn door.

  "Or it could be help," Zed suggested.

  "Let's hope for that and prepare for the other," Cade decided. "Rio, take a flanking position on the far side of the house. Don't let the driver or his passenger see you. If trouble happens, get Jayne and the baby out the back door. Your job is to keep them safe at all costs. Zed, take the rifle out in the pasture—"

  "Don't you think it might be more effective for me to walk up behind you carrying the rifle?" Zed asked.

  Trust Zed with a rifle at his back?

  "Rio, go."

  He measured Zed with a quelling look. Zed didn't even flinch under that stare. He waited with his usual laconic patience for Cade's decision.

  "All right," Cade agreed. "Keep the rifle handy and let's go see if these city folks have a cell phone we can use."

  They claimed they didn't, but Cade's instincts began clamoring even before the two men introduced themsel
ves as FBI agents flashing badges and credentials so fast his eyes didn't have time to take them in.

  "We're looking for a young girl and a baby," the burly spokesman announced. "She's got long blond hair, skinny, about five feet tall. She was wearing a white blouse and dark pants when she kidnapped the baby from a supermarket parking lot. The infant is only five days old."

  Cade's gut knotted painfully. "Kidnapped?"

  The two heads bobbed in tandem.

  "Why would you look for them way out here?" Cade asked without glancing at Zed to see how he was taking this information.

  "We traced the license plate on your black pickup truck after we found this in the back."

  He dangled a single crystal earring.

  "We think that maybe the girl wore earrings like these," the other agent added.

  Cade had promised Jayne his protection, but if she'd kidnapped the baby…

  "Isn't the black pickup the one that got stolen, Cade?" Zed asked stepping forward. His expression was as neutral as his tone of voice, but he studied the newcomers alertly.

  "Yeah," Cade agreed, making a split second decision. "I picked up some supplies three days ago and when I parked the truck and started unloading, someone stole it. I figured it was a drifter who happened by and seized the opportunity. You say you found it in town?"

  One of the men nodded while the other cursed. "Musta been her," the shorter man said. "She probably waited for her chance and took off."

  The spokesman scratched at his nose, his brow furrowed in thought. "We'll have to go back to that bar and ask more questions. Someone must have seen her when she bailed."

  "Unless she stole another car," his companion blurted.

  "Wouldn't that have been reported?" Zed asked mildly.

  The two agents looked momentarily disconcerted, but the spokesman recovered quickly. "Yeah. Thanks for your help."

  "Do you want us to keep an eye out for her?"

  "Not much point. She's probably long gone by now."

  They started to get back into their car.

  "Hey, hold it. We still need some help out here," Cade told them. "Someone cut our phone lines."

  They both stopped, half in and half out of the car.

  "Yeah?"

  "And they slashed the tires on the only vehicle I have left right now. We've also had fences cut, the herd spooked, a fire in the—"

  Their interest immediately died.

  "You'll have to report that to the local police. We can't—"

  "That's what I want you to do!" Cade said. "If we could call the sheriff, we would."

  "Oh. Okay. We'll let someone know as soon as we get back to town."

  "Maybe I could ride along with you," Zed suggested to Cade's surprise. "You can drop me at the sheriffs office."

  "Sorry. We can't take you with us, but we'll let them know."

  They scrambled back into their car, obviously anxious to be gone again. Raising another cloud of dust, they turned the sporty car around and bounced back the way they'd come.

  "Did Jayne really kidnap that baby?" Rio asked, coming around the far side of the house.

  Cade didn't bother to answer. Nor did he look at Zed. He could well imagine what his friend was thinking. Jayne had fooled him as completely as Bonita. Cade stared hard after the disappearing car before turning to stride toward the house and Jayne.

  The second he stepped inside, he knew she was gone. The house felt empty and cold—like it had before Jayne had come to the Circle M.

  The green-and-yellow baby bag was gone from the table, but the infant seat still sat there. Then he remembered the makeshift sling. She'd created that and packed the diaper bag before the men arrived. She'd been planning to run all along. The men were telling the truth.

  Twister!

  He spun around, nearly knocking Zed off his feet. "She's gone."

  "Hold it a minute, Cade. You don't believe that bull they were spewing, do you?"

  Did he? He didn't know. He only knew she was gone. He brushed past Zed, heading for the barn. Zed kept pace beside him.

  "They had badges," Cade said tersely.

  "So?"

  Rio trotted-along his other side, half running in an effort to keep pace with the two men.

  "Didn't you find their behavior at all curious?" Zed demanded. "I sure did. Especially for FBI agents."

  Cade reached the barn. Twister was gone. Even though he expected as much, the knowledge that she'd run sent a blade through his soul.

  "You got something to say, spit it out, Zed," he snapped at the man's sympathetic expression.

  "Okay. I know cops. Those two didn't act like cops. Anyone can buy a badge or fake credentials. You can get 'em off the Internet these days."

  Cade thought about that for a heartbeat.

  Zed pushed his point.

  "Maybe Jayne's husband sent those two after her. If he saw you drive away that day they could be private investigators, or a pair of hired thugs," Zed insisted. "There's lots of explanations."

  "Why does it matter to you?" he asked.

  Zed's voice gentled. "I like her. She's got grit. And I think she's in real trouble."

  "Yeah. You could call kidnapping real trouble."

  Zed frowned.

  "You may be right about those two, but either way, I have to find her."

  "Want me to saddle Lafferty?" Zed offered.

  "No. I'll take Aries and go after her myself. She'll have to travel slow with her shoulder and the baby. I need you and Rio to wait here for the sheriff."

  Zed tipped his head with a skeptical expression. "Assuming the sheriff shows up, what do we tell him about Jayne?"

  Cade cursed and reached for his tack. "Nothing. Don't say anything at all about her. Just report—no, you haven't been here long enough." He looked at Rio. The other cowboy wasn't the most capable on his ranch. Rio wouldn't be able to manage the conversation, either. •

  "Saddle Lafferty," he told Zed. "I need Hap to talk with the sheriff and explain what's been happening. Tell him to keep Jayne out of the conversation completely until I get back. Rio, keep a close watch on the horses and the buildings, all right?"

  "Sure, Cade."

  Aries snorted and stamped his foot as if sensing the tension in the air. Cade tossed the saddle over the horse's back while Zed reached for his own tack.

  "I hope you know what you're doing, friend," Zed said softly.

  Cade! snorted. "Not likely. There's a woman involved."

  Zed remained silent while Cade finished and swung into the saddle. At least this time the woman in question hadn't run off with one of his men.

  "Cade?"

  Zed's expression was creased by concern.

  "Jayne isn't Bonita."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "I don't trust those men."

  "Meaning you do trust Jayne?"

  "Meanin' I'd give her a chance to explain before I jumped down her throat. You tend to hit first and skip the questions altogether."

  "I've never struck a woman in my life!"

  Zed rubbed his jaw and Cade knew they were both remembering the day Cade found Zed and Bonita together in the motel room.

  "Just listen to what she has to say before you make up your mind about what's going on."

  It had only been a matter of hours that Jayne had been telling him much the same thing about Zed. "How chummy did you two get last night?" Cade demanded.

  Zed's features tightened, then relaxed into a sad expression. "Sometimes: I 'think you're dumber than mud." He rechecked the cinch on Lafferty before swinging into the saddle. "I'll find Hap."

  "Do that," Cade snapped, puzzled by Zed's cryptic words. He turned his thoughts from the cowboy to Jayne. She wouldn't have wanted to be seen when she left. That meant she headed across the pasture toward the thicket near the base of the foothills. Cade was no tracker, but he didn't figure she could be all that far ahead of him. He urged Aries forward, scanning the surrounding terrain.

  Had she run because
of the men? Or had she run because of the kiss they'd shared? Was she afraid Cade couldn't control his passion? Neither she nor Zed seemed to think Cade could control his other base emotions, either. Okay, he did tend to have a hot temper, Cade acknowledged, but it generally cooled just as quickly as it heated up.

  He automatically started toward his neighbor's ranch. Belatedly, it occurred to him that Jayne wouldn't know the direction of the nearest spread. She'd either head up into the foothills or go in the other direction. With the baby and her shoulder, he doubted she'd try riding uphill.

  A few minutes later he heard the sound of a baby crying. He urged Aries forward until he practically rode right up on top of them. Jayne sat on the ground holding the baby, feeding it a bottle. Twister stood nearby investigating a clump of grass.

  "Are you hurt? Were you thrown?" He swung down, alarmed.

  "Of course I wasn't thrown." She seemed unfazed to see him. "Heather was hungry and I made the mistake of stopping to change her and get a fresh bottle. Then I realized I couldn't remount while I'm holding her without a rock or something to stand on. Stupid shoulder."

  Tension drained from his body. He swung down from the saddle. "We had visitors. They say you kidnapped the baby."

  "And you believed them?"

  So, she had seen the men.

  "Frankly, I don't know what to believe."

  "They're lying."

  He hardened his heart. "They had badges, Jayne. FBI identification."

  "Fake."

  Her calm certainty rattled him.

  "Talk to me. Tell me what's going on here."

  "I tried to tell you. You didn't want to listen."

  "This is no time to be stubborn." Cade held on to his temper. "I'll listen now," he said softly.

  If she knew how close he was to the breaking point, she gave no sign. Instead, she brushed back strands of spun-gold hair from her face, instantly diverting his attention. She looked young and beautiful and terribly innocent.

  "I'm a private investigator."

  "What?"

  How could she say something like that with a straight face? Did she think he was a total idiot? Of course she did. Hell, maybe she was right.