Special Delivery. Laura Browning

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ must be the sister. As she shifted to give the boy a hug, Jake noticed her pregnancy, and disappointment stabbed him. Someone had already claimed her. Her gaze lifted to his, green eyes wide and wary as she took in his uniform.

      “We need to go, Tyler,” she murmured with an urgency that seemed out of place.

      “How’d your doctor’s visit go?”

      She started to say something, glanced over her shoulder at Jake and the Tarpleys, and said, “We’ll talk when we get home.”

      Jake leaned against the counter, watching the door shut behind them. “Did you say it’s just her and the boy in the Crawley place?”

      “Yup,” Jim confirmed. “They’ve been in several times for groceries. She’s pleasant and polite, but a little shy. The boy’s a good kid. He’s helped a couple of older folks out to their cars with groceries. They keep to themselves.”

      And she had something to hide. The thought had popped into Jake’s head and wouldn’t go away. He’d also gotten the distinct feeling his uniform made her even warier. He must be imagining things. Or trying to come up with a reason to see her again?

      Jake nearly snorted out loud. She was pregnant, no doubt had a boyfriend or a husband somewhere already. He’d just mind his own business. Out where she lived, she was Sam’s concern anyway.

       Chapter 2

      Where was Tyler? Holly shifted on the sagging flowered couch in her living room, fighting panic. Doc Owens wouldn’t let her do anything other than sit, so her comfortable sofa had morphed into a jail-cell bunk. Not that she had any idea what one felt like. She glanced at her watch. Five o’clock and almost dark. Tyler should be here. She braced one hand under her belly, struggling to sit up. He’d walked into town to buy groceries to help tide them over, but even considering the distance, he should have returned by now. What had she been thinking anyway? He was just eleven. Sometimes Holly lost sight of that.

      He had always been mature for his age, but in the year since the accident that had killed their parents, Tyler had become even more so. While she had juggled the paperwork involved in their parents’ estate and her new role in looking out for her brother as stipulated in her parents’ will, Tyler had quietly gone about finding his new normal. Right now, she wished she had more of his stoicism.

      She stared at the laptop she’d set aside. While she still brought in some money from Crawford’s, working part-time from home had put a real crimp in their budget. She bit her lip. Things weren’t turning out quite as she’d hoped the day she’d so optimistically chosen Mountain Meadow as the place to land. Maybe trying to see the bright side of things was part of the problem. Because she’d been so desperate to get away from Spence, she hadn’t spent enough time considering what could go wrong before they’d left Lynchburg. Bed rest the last few weeks of her pregnancy had not been in her plan. She took a deep, shaky breath, but it failed to calm her.

      Now Tyler was MIA. Holly didn’t want to panic, but her options were limited. She should go find him, not sit here doing nothing. She didn’t want to call the sheriff. Her last few experiences with the law hadn’t left her with much confidence in their abilities. An image of the cop in the Tarpley’s store popped into her head. If the sheriff resembled him, at least the law in this part of Virginia was a lot better-looking. Still, she had her doubts about how effective any of them could be in keeping Spence at bay. Her best bet was to lie low, and having to call in help to find her brother shot that to pieces.

      The sudden crunch of gravel and the swift glare of headlights reflecting on the window made Holly jump. She twitched the curtains aside to peer out and her stomach dropped. This time fear, not her baby, caused the lurch. A uniformed police officer waited on Tyler to climb from the big pickup idling out front. Holly swallowed, but her mouth remained bone dry. The cop from the store.

      Tyler appeared fine, so her mind conjured other potential problems. Had Spence found them already? Would her restraining order even apply here? Her hand went to her stomach. This was her baby, and she would not give her up. Not to Spence. He could threaten her with as many lawyers as he wanted.

      Of course when she’d stood up to him and told him she’d just deny he was the father, things had turned even uglier. He might have money and enough influence to get his way in Richmond, but not here, not if he couldn’t find her.

      And if he did find her? Her chin lifted. He’d have a fight on his hands. It wasn’t Holly’s fault his new fiancée couldn’t have children. Spence had no right to stalk her, to threaten her.

      She pushed to her feet and struggled to the door. No way did she want this police officer to think she couldn’t take care of Tyler. With a jerk of the warped wood, she yanked it open. Her eyes darted from her little brother to the tall, broad-shouldered cop at his side. Though she felt the cop’s eyes on her, she ignored him to focus on her brother.

      “Tyler! Where have you been? Are you all right?” Her hand rubbed the dull, persistent ache in her lower back. “Ar-are you in trouble?” she choked out as her gaze flicked again to the tall police officer.

      “No, it’s not like that, Holly,” Tyler told her. “This is the guy I told you about the other day…the one who bought me the candy bar.”

      The officer stuck out his hand. His smile eased her tension somewhat, but she still hesitated before she allowed her slender fingers to disappear in his firm grasp. “I’m Lieutenant Jake Allred, Mountain Meadow’s assistant police chief. I saw your brother walking with your groceries as I was headed home, so I gave him a lift.”

      His easy grin and dark hazel eyes, with just a hint of shyness, sent an unfamiliar tingle through her, but he was still a cop, and Holly had good reason to be wary. Spence had gotten around her restraining order again and again. It seemed to her the police had been unable or unwilling to stop him. She doubted this place would be much different.

      Holly forced a smile to her lips—less than genuine but the best she could do—and pulled her hand away.

      “Thank you. I know it was out of your way. I’m Holly, and you’ve met Ty.”

      The lieutenant smiled, turning his easygoing grin on Tyler. “Yeah. We’re old friends by now. Why don’t you grab those groceries since your sister knows you’re okay?”

      “Yes, sir.” Tyler jogged out toward the pickup truck.

      “Nice kid. You should be proud of him.”

      Holly relaxed a little. Tyler was a great kid, doubly amazing considering it had been little more than a year since their parents’ deaths. She started to thank the cop and noticed his eyes had dropped to her belly. She splayed one hand across her stomach, her tension increasing. She’d received more than a few odd glances around town and had to assume she was already grist for the gossips.

      “The Tarpleys mentioned you’d rented this place. You’re a little isolated out here,” he commented, looking around at the surrounding hills. “Kind of a long haul for your brother to cart groceries. Is there a problem with your car?”

      Why was he being so nosy? As his eyes drifted to her beat-up compact, Holly leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb and rubbed her back. When she didn’t answer right away, the tall officer regarded her with curiosity. Holly swallowed. “I—my doctor, that is—put me on bed rest.”

      Now his eyes did focus on her belly, and Holly rubbed her stomach. When the lieutenant СКАЧАТЬ