Special Delivery. Laura Browning

office once more. This time, the doctor’s expression was more serious. “Holly, have you been experiencing any cramps or feelings of heaviness?”

      “Some. I figured it was just stress from moving and everything.”

      Doc tapped her finger against the ultrasound image she’d been studying. “Well, you’re already effaced and starting to dilate, like someone a whole lot closer to term. How accurate is this due date?”

      Holly sucked in a shaky breath. “Very. There was just one night…”

      Jenny nodded, her finger still tapping. “I’d like you on bed rest. You could go into labor any time. If we can get your little girl to hold off, I’d prefer it not be for at least three more weeks. The nearest obstetrician’s more than an hour’s drive away. It might be simpler to have you in the hospital…”

      “No. I can’t do that. I have my little brother to take care of. I have a job…and I don’t have health insurance.” A vision of what might happen if there were complications began to form, but Holly pushed it away. Panic was the last thing she could afford right now.

      When she left the clinic, Holly was still trying to take everything in. She’d always tried to take things in stride, but this overwhelmed her. Bed rest. What on earth was she going to do?

      * * * *

      “I’m sure we can find her, Mr. Dilby.”

      Spence sat across from the private detective who was looking at the information Spence had given him about Holly. The paunchy guy tapped Tyler’s picture. “This might be our best place to start. She’ll have to enroll him in school. I’ve also got a contact who can help me out with tax info. If she’s working someplace, she’ll show up on his records.”

      Spence allowed himself a slight smile. “Excellent. Needless to say, this needs to be kept quiet. I’m now engaged to another woman, but I’m concerned about the welfare of my unborn child. Holly has shown signs during the pregnancy of depression, and I just can’t help thinking about all those cases involving new mothers…” He let his voice trail off and, as he hoped, the detective’s expression grew even more concerned.

      “We’ll find her. Don’t you worry.”

      Spence stood, shook his hand and exited the office building with a small smile of self-satisfaction.

      * * * *

      Jake noticed the dark-haired boy sitting on the bench outside of Mountain Meadow General Store when he drove around the square to pull up in front of the small, brick building that housed the police department and his cramped office. An hour later, as he walked over to Tarpley’s, what most folks called the store, to grab some chips and a drink, the kid was still there.

      “Hey, buddy,” he greeted him. “How’s it going?”

      “Okay.” The kid gave him a sidelong glance from eyes that held more suspicion than he was used to from a boy so young.

      “Kind of cold to be sitting out here so long. You waiting on your mom?”

      “My sister. She’s at the doctor.” He scuffed his sneakers on the pavement.

      “Well come on in. I’ll get you a candy bar and you can warm up. Mr. and Mrs. Tarpley won’t mind if you sit inside.”

      The kid glanced at Jake’s badge, then at the store. “If you think it’d be okay. My butt is getting kinda cold.”

      “What’s your name?”

      “Tyler Morgan.”

      “I’m Lieutenant Allred.” Jake grinned at him and they walked inside together. After introducing him to the older couple who’d run the store ever since Jake could remember, he let Tyler pick out a candy bar. While the kid sat near the window, munching on the chocolate and caramel, Jake spoke to the Tarpleys. “Haven’t seen him around here. He new?”

      Susie Tarpley nodded. “He and his sister Holly rent the old Crawley place.”

      Jake raised his brows in surprise. The house had been run-down when he was a teenager, and knowing old man Crawley, he doubted anything had changed. The bell above the door jingled and a burst of cold air entered. Jake glanced over and caught his breath, feeling as if someone had sucker punched him right in the gut. The woman who walked in was gorgeous, with hair the color of aged whisky, pale skin, and cheeks just touched with pink from the cold air.

      “Holly!” Tyler jumped off his chair. “I thought you forgot me.”

      This 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