You, And No Other. Lynda Sandoval

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СКАЧАТЬ Literally.

      The man left his mom humiliated and sobbing on the curb, as if she hadn’t poured enough money into that dive over the years. Jonas might not approve of his mother’s behavior, but she was kind and broken and vulnerable, and her coping skills weren’t the best, to put it mildly.

      Now this.

      All he and Mom had was each other.

      That much was crystal clear.

      The Gulch? Jonas was done with the whole damn place. Done. He might be poor, but he was whip smart and motivated, unlike so many of his classmates. He’d taken enough credits that he’d technically graduated in December, but had held out to go through the spring ceremony with Cagney.

      His gut cramped.

      As things stood, the school could send him his diploma, or keep it, for all he cared, because he never wanted to see any of his fellow students again, and that included Cagney. The only good thing about Troublesome Gulch had been her, and unbelievably, even their relationship turned out to be a lie.

      Pain unlike any he’d ever felt seared through him. He needed to escape this hellhole as soon as possible. That was the benefit of living in a minuscule month-to-month rental, though. Not much to pack. If he had anything to say about it, he and his mother would be boxed up and out of this nightmare town tonight, and he’d never look back. He’d find a place for them to live where people judged you for what was in your heart, not your bank account. He’d work and he’d study and he’d show them all just how wrong they were about him.

      One day, so help him God …

      Jonas chucked the orchid corsage out of his window, clear plastic container and all, then spun gravel leaving the Bishop property. Who cared if doing so meant another point against him with Chief? None of that mattered anymore.

      The prepaid cell phone he’d scrimped and saved for rang, and a stupid spark of hope had him wrestling it from his jacket to check the caller ID. Maybe, just maybe—

      Tad Rivers.

      Betrayal lanced through him, stealing his breath.

      He ignored the rings and waited until the secondary tone told him he had a new message, then dialed in to listen to it.

      Cagney.

      From Tad’s phone.

      Stars swirled in his head. So, it was true. All of it. She’d gone with Tad and didn’t even tell him. She’d let him waste money on a tux and flowers, then humiliate himself in front of Chief. How could she, of all people, do that to him?

      “Jonas,” the message said, “please, please answer your phone. I want to talk to you about this. To explain. I’ll call you back. Okay? Please answer.”

      Yeah, she’d call him back. Sure she would.

      From Tad Rivers’s phone.

      With his temples pounding, he glanced down at the letter that had nearly ripped the heart from his chest. Tears blurred his vision, and he wiped angrily at them with the back of one hand.

      Done. Finished. Finito.

      The words on those pages were all the explanation he needed from Cagney Bishop, now or ever.

      Hadn’t his mom always told him love couldn’t be trusted?

       Chapter One

      Present day …

      Cagney glanced around the large parking area of High Country Medical Center at the snaking vehicles and foot traffic slithering slowly in. She couldn’t believe how many people were showing up for a stupid press conference. Then again, this was Troublesome Gulch, Colorado, where curiosity reigned. Where else would a simple media event merit this level of police presence?

      She adjusted her gun belt to rest more comfortably on her hip bones, waved at one of her fellow officers who’d been assigned to work the event, too, then checked her watch. Barely nine o’clock in the morning, and she was already bored out of her mind. Go figure. Just another day in the life of Officer Cagney Bishop.

      She hated crowd control almost as much as she hated traffic duty. In fact, she hated most of her duties, unless they included dealing with disadvantaged kids or truly helping people, and honestly, how often did that happen?

      Inside, she groaned. How many years until she could retire? She began calculations in her head, just to pass the time.

      As if sensing her need for a break in the monotony of a job that fit her like a cheaply-made dress, Cagney’s cell phone rang. She freed it from the pouch on her duty belt, checked the caller ID, then smiled and flipped it open. “Hey, Faith. How’s the baby?”

      Faith Montesantos Austin had given birth to her and Brody’s first daughter three months earlier and was riding out the tail end of leave from her job as counselor at Troublesome Gulch High School. They’d named the baby Mickie, after Faith’s late sister who died in the prom night crash along with Tad, Kevin and Randy.

      “She’s perky and great, as usual. Woke me up three times last night, though, so she’s fat-bellied and chipper, while I’m beat, bloated and bitter.”

      “Ugh.”

      “Tell me.” Faith groaned. “It’s why they have to make babies cute, you know.”

      “Puppies, too.”

      “So true. Huh, Hope?” The scruffy puppy Brody had given her during his marriage proposal barked once in the background. Faith laughed, then asked, “What are you up to? Are you coming by?”

      When duty allowed, Cagney stopped in for a morning coffee visit to keep Faith sane during her extended maternity leave.

      Faith’s tone turned plaintive. “I need adult contact, Cag. Girl talk, someone to reassure me that the baby weight really is melting away. I mean, my God, have you seen Erin?” she added, referring to their close mutual friend, Erin DeLuca, a Troublesome Gulch firefighter. “Granted, she had Nate Jr. a few months before Mickie’s grand entrance, but she looked like an Olympic athlete freakin’ three weeks after she gave birth. So not fair.”

      “True, but remember, she only gained nineteen pounds with her pregnancy and she’s a workout maniac.”

      “Casey Laine Bishop, are you calling me a slug?”

      Cagney laughed softly. No one ever called her Casey anymore. “Not at all, hon. Erin’s just in a different physical class than most of us. We have to accept it and move on, or we’ll fall into the body image self-loathing pit and never scratch our way out.”

      “Lucky wench, that Erin. It’s a good thing I love her so much, or I’d hate her.”

      “Don’t hate her because she’s bionic,” Cagney teased.

      “Seriously, I’m regretting every single time I uttered the word supersize during those nine months of blinding French-fry cravings and zero self-control.” Faith sighed. “So, now that I’m totally depressed and fat, are you coming СКАЧАТЬ