Special Delivery. Laura Browning

herself and her brother almost starve before she asked anyone for help.

      “You don’t have to.”

      “Yeah. I do. It’s who I am, Holly.” He’d provided a friendly shoulder for as long as he could remember, and he couldn’t stop now, even if there were times when he just wanted to be alone.

      “You must have other things to do, things with your family.”

      “My family’s moved away. My sister and brothers couldn’t wait to shake the dust off their shoes and get out of here. Then my parents decided this wasn’t where they wanted to retire, so they moved to Florida.”

      “Why’d you stay?”

      Jake shrugged, not ready to admit just how much he’d needed the comfort of someplace familiar where he didn’t have to wonder if a sniper would pop out from behind the next house. Realizing he needed to say something, he swallowed.

      “Didn’t, really. Stay, that is. I spent the last ten years mostly in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. Why are you here?”

      Her hand covered her belly, and that gesture was as close to the truth as he’d get. He saw it in the way her steady gaze shifted away from him. “Just a desire for a new start, although so far it’s not going quite as I expected.”

      Her evasiveness disappointed him, but what had he expected—that she would pour her heart out and let him comfort her? Hoped. Maybe. Before he could say anything, Tyler returned to the room. His long hair was combed and his shirttail tucked in.

      “Ready, kid?” Jake asked.

      “Yeah. I don’t wanna be late.”

      Jake glanced at Holly. “You have my number if you need anything.”

      She nodded, but he already knew she wouldn’t call. She didn’t want to owe anybody anything. Someone had shown her all too well there was always a price to nice.

       Chapter 3

      Thoughts of Holly nagged Jake all night. First thing the next morning, Jake was in the station and on the phone. Mountain Meadow might be a small police force, but they still had resources they could call for help. And friends. And right now he was calling in a favor.

      “Trev, it’s Jake.”

      “Hey, dude! How are things hangin’ out there in the Blue Ridge? Longing for the big city yet? You know there’d always be a place for a man like you here at the bureau.”

      “Not a chance,” Jake shot back. “I’ll leave the big city and the politicking to you, buddy. Give me my mountains any day. Look, I need a favor.”

      “Anything. I still owe you for that night in Kandahar.”

      Jake shook the memory off. Not something he wanted to think about, let alone talk about. “I need some information about two people: a Holly Morgan and her brother Tyler…same last name. Tyler’s just a kid.”

      Trev laughed. “You got anything other than names? You know, maybe ages, descriptions, some basic ID I can use?”

      Jake passed on what he’d gotten out of Tyler on the way into town. He’d been hesitant to try to pump too much information from the kid. “Until about two months ago, they lived in Lynchburg, She graduated from a college or university there.”

      “Well now. That’s more to go on. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

      Jake hung up, then called Jenny.

      “Hey, Jen, it’s Jake. Busy?”

      “I’m a family practitioner in a small town with the only hospital in a three county area. What do you think, Jake?”

      “No need to be testy. I won’t take much of your time. I just want to know what Holly Morgan’s due date is.”

      “Jake, I’m overjoyed you’re showing such personal interest, but you know I’m not supposed to tell you anything. Besides, I still haven’t forgiven you for your choice of friend to bring to my party.”

      “Come on, Jen. I just want to help.”

      “Okay, I will give you one interesting tidbit. You’re the second person today to ask the very same question. Someone else called first thing, claimed they were planning a shower for her. Sure didn’t sound like anyone from Crawford’s, so I think it might have been somebody just fishing.”

      Jake’s senses went on alert. He hadn’t gotten the impression from Jen or Holly she’d been around long enough to have friends wanting to give her a shower.

      “Did you tell them anything?”

      A snort sounded from the other end of the line. “No. We didn’t even let them know she was a patient. And I’m not telling you anything either.”

      “Look you already told me she’s all but lost her job. What else is stressing her? I mean, she looks at me like I’m Jack the Ripper—not Dudley Do-Right as you keep calling me.”

      Jenny’s exasperated sigh floated over the line. “I am so violating confidentiality here. Her ex-fiancé hassled her to give him the kid after they split. He wants her to play incubator and then hand the baby over to his new fiancée. That’s why she’s got the PO.”

      Jake grimaced. “Damn! That’s cold.” He jabbed the pencil he’d been tapping on his desk blotter back into the cup holding a half dozen other pens and pencils. If a woman like Holly were having his child, there wouldn’t be anyone but her.

      “Okay. So now I’ve told you way more than I should’ve because you’re one of my very best friends, and I think Holly could use a friend like you. I hope the information is for a good cause.”

      “I thought I’d take more food over later this week. The weather forecast calls for snow, so I don’t want her and the kid stuck with nothing to eat. Jeez, Jen. I opened her fridge to get a glass of tea yesterday, and it was almost empty.”

      The pause stretched. “Like I said, Jake. She could use a friend, even if she doesn’t think so.”

      He ended the call so he could take his turn doing patrol duty. As he drove, he kept turning over the mystery call to Jenny’s office. If someone was sniffing that close, chances were they had a lead on Holly already. Jake blew air out in frustration. If it turned into knowing her address, she and Tyler would be in deep trouble. Crawley’s place was way too isolated.

      He had just cleared a domestic argument, sparked by a husband who spent too much of the family paycheck on holiday cheer, when his phone rang. He pulled his unmarked cruiser into the parking lot of the Presbyterian church.

      “Jake here.”

      “Hey, dude. Got you the info you were looking for.”

      Jake pulled out a notebook and a pencil. “Okay, Trev. Shoot.”

      “Holly Marie Morgan. Twenty-two years old. Bachelors degree in Accounting from Lynchburg College in May of this year. Legal guardian of Tyler Matthew Morgan. Eleven years old. Parents were Matthew and Marie Morgan, both killed in a car crash Thanksgiving of last year. Tyler was injured, but survived. Until five months ago, Holly was engaged to Spencer Dilby, of Richmond.”

      Jake raised his brows. “Would that be like Dilby Department Stores?”

      “You got it.”

      And the guy wanted her kid? That was some serious pressure with the money and pedigree to back the name.

      “Who ended it?”

      “He did, and is now engaged to a Celia Segal whose family is from Fairfax. Pretty straightforward stuff. Hope it helps.”

      “More than you know, Trev. Thanks.”

      “Anytime, bro.”

      Jake sat in the car and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. That would explain