Deputy Daddy. Patricia Johns

Two of them, at least. Now answer me!”

      The demand was obviously focused on the young men in his grasp. He released them, and they both rose their feet, rubbing at sore spots from the tussle.

      “Hey, Lily,” the bigger one said. “Didn’t mean to wake you up.”

      “Get in here!” she snapped, then disappeared from the doorway.

      Randy and Burke looked at each other sheepishly, then back at Bryce.

      “That hurt,” the smaller one said resentfully.

      “Probably did,” Bryce replied, unaffected. “Next time don’t run from a cop.”

      “How were we supposed to know you were a cop?” the bigger one retorted.

      Bryce pulled out his badge, then tucked it back into his pocket. “There’s your proof.”

      “Man...” The young men headed toward the cottage where Lily was waiting for them, arms crossed over her chest. She wore a thick bathrobe, closed all the way up to her chin, and her eyes glittered in anger.

      “Inside!” she ordered, and Burke and Randy did as they were told. Bryce felt a bit of an urge to obey, too. She sounded an awful lot like his third grade teacher, the memory of whom still struck fear in his heart. When Lily saw Bryce, she rolled her eyes.

      “My idiot brothers,” she said, shaking her head. “They still think everything I own belongs to them, too.”

      Bryce followed Lily into the tiny cottage. It seemed to consist of a sitting room, a bathroom—which he could see because the door hung open—and a bedroom to which the door was shut. It was cozy enough, and a tiny cry came through the bedroom door.

      “So what are you doing here?” Lily snapped. She shook her head and whipped around. She disappeared into the bedroom and emerged with Emily in her arms.

      Burke shuffled his feet against the hardwood floor. “We were hungry. Just came for a snack.”

      “You’ve been drinking,” she said, shaking her head. “Not only are you underage, but you know full well we have alcoholics in our family. You’re playing with fire!”

      “Oh, stop the lectures, Lily,” Randy said with an exaggerated sigh. “You’re worse than Mom!”

      “And you’re dumber than I thought!” she snapped. “So this seemed like a good idea...lurking around my yard?”

      She picked up a bottle of formula and looked from the baby to the boys, as if undecided on how to balance the three of them. She seemed to make a decision, because she brought both bottle and baby to Bryce, then turned back to her brothers.

      “They were breaking in, actually,” Bryce said, adjusting the baby in his arms. “They were working at the kitchen window with a crowbar.”

      Emily wriggled, turning her face toward him, her mouth open in a little circle. She let out a whimper, hands grasping at the air. He’d given Emily a bottle at the precinct, so he knew how this worked at least, and he popped it into her mouth. She settled in, slurping hungrily.

      “Breaking in?” Lily’s eyebrows shot up and stared at her brothers incredulously. “You were trying to break in to raid my fridge?”

      Both young men shrugged. “Nothing in the fridge at home.”

      Lily glanced toward Bryce, and they exchanged a look. Emily wriggled in his arms, and he looked down at the baby—Emily’s needs not pausing even for a second while they tried to deal with Lily’s brothers. Why couldn’t babies come preprogrammed with patience?

      Bryce wasn’t sure that he even believed them that they were here for food. If they had addiction issues at this age, they’d also be accomplished liars. A drug test would shed the light pretty quickly. Lily, however, seemed to believe them.

      “Did it ever occur to you that Mom might need some help?” she demanded. “Randy, you’re sixteen, and Burke, you could have gotten a job last year. If you worked this summer, you could give Mom a bit toward groceries. What makes you think that you’re owed everything?”

      “Come on, Lily. You’re our sister.”

      “Do you have any idea how much it would cost to fix that window after you broke it open?” she demanded.

      “You’ve got a customer coming soon. Charge him extra.”

      “Officer Camden here is my guest for the next two weeks,” she said through gritted teeth. Her eyes flashed in anger, but she seemed to be trying to keep it under control.

      “Oh.” Both looked Bryce. “We thought—”

      “You thought what, exactly?” Lily’s tone turned dangerous. “I don’t care what you see on TV, you should know better than to assume that about me.” The boys looked sheepish, and Lily shook her head. “I have half a mind to drag you to church with me this Sunday and get your heads on straight. The next time you come into my house without first being invited inside, I will press charges.”

      “What?” Burke looked offended. “So now we aren’t welcome here?”

      “You are not welcome to climb through my windows!” Lily closed her eyes, then sighed. “Consider this a warning, boys. If you did this to anyone else, you’d be getting yourselves a criminal record. This is mine. My home. My life. My business. Hands off!”

      “Fine,” Randy muttered sarcastically. “Nice to know you care.”

      “I do care.” She marched over to a closet, wrenched it open and pulled out four boxes of cereal. Apparently, Lily also used her cottage for extra pantry storage. “I, more than anyone else in this town, care for you, and enough to make sure you don’t land yourself in jail one of these days for being utter morons.” Her eyes flashed fury, and she shoved the cereal boxes into their hands. “I’ll bring by some groceries tomorrow, but if I ever catch you drinking again—”

      When Lily told him that she’d raised four little brothers, he’d had a cuter mental image than this one. These young men were out of control, and while Lily seemed to believe that all they wanted was a snack, he highly doubted it. If they were willing to break into their sister’s house, then he suspected they’d be willing to walk off with something they could sell for extra cash. He was more cynical when it came to people’s criminal capabilities.

      Five minutes later, Lily’s brothers were gone, the baby had finished her bottle, and Lily had sunk into a chair by the window, looking tired.

      “Did you want some tea?” Lily asked. “I could go over to the house and put on a kettle.”

      “No.” Bryce fixed her with a direct stare. “I don’t need looking after. I want to know what that was.”

      “My brothers.”

      “Yeah, apparently,” he said with a shake of his head. “How often have they done this before?”

      “I didn’t have the doors locked before,” she said with a sigh. “But with a guest, I obviously can’t have my brothers coming and going like they own the place.”

      So maybe there was a chance that this was a food run, after all. He was having trouble garnering any respect for the young men, though. They obviously felt completely entitled to everything that their sister had worked for.

      “She needs to be burped,” Lily said, grabbing a cloth and putting it over her shoulder. Bryce lifted the baby, and as she came upright, she let out a wet burp that dribbled down his wrist and onto the floor.

      “Oh, that must feel better,” Lily crooned, taking the baby from him and putting her up onto her shoulder, where she continued to pat her back. “Let me get you a cloth, Bryce.”

      She cast him a humored smile while he stared down at the dribbling mess. This was most definitely gross, and he’d seen a lot in his career.

      “They