The Deputy's Baby. Tyler Anne Snell

mother.

      She placed a hand on her swollen belly.

      A love she didn’t think was possible consumed her entire heart and soul at the touch. Relief cascaded down until she felt like crying.

      The sound of gunfire shot across her thoughts.

      If anything had happened to her son at the diner...

      Cassie fisted the sheets in her hands, suddenly as angry as a kicked hornet’s nest.

      Then she was picturing gray eyes and feeling the warmth of a body protecting hers.

      Henry. Henry Ward.

      The rage at the most horrific what-if about her son lessened into a different kind of anger. One that, if she was being honest, was backed up by insecurity.

      After a night of connection so deep with the man that it had surprised her, he had promised to call when he got back home.

      Yet he never had.

      No call. No text. No anything.

      What’s more?

      He’d told her his name was Henry Smith.

      How idiotic she found that now. Of course the gorgeous man she’d had a wonderful night of passion with after meeting in a bar had given her a fake name. She should have taken it as a hint he didn’t want to see her again after he’d told her he couldn’t give his number out because he didn’t have one yet. But, boy, if she hadn’t believed him then. Hung on his every word.

      She had been a sheep, like normal. He, a lion.

      Embarrassment began to burn in Cassie’s cheeks. She shook her head.

      “Nothing’s changed,” she said out loud, stern with herself. “You have this baby and this baby has you. You don’t need strangers who lie. No matter how sexy that stranger is.” She patted her stomach. “You can do this, baby mama.”

      It was a good little talk that mostly did the trick.

      She went around the house trying her best to get back into any semblance of a routine. She ate, she cleaned and she cooked, all while making calls to her family and friends. The former she assured she was okay, the latter she asked for updates on the sheriff. Maggie was the only person she could get hold of who knew anything substantial about Billy’s condition. He was stable but still unconscious. Once he did wake they’d be able to go from there. It was good news, all things considered, yet it wasn’t enough to erase the fear that had taken root.

      It wasn’t until she finished strapping a pan covered in aluminum foil into the passenger seat of her car that Cassie realized she was going to try to help alleviate some of that stress for her friends by delivering a platter of lasagna to the department. Just in time for lunch like the Southern woman her mother taught her to be. Sure, it wasn’t a normal lunch meal, but she blamed that on the baby in her stomach. She’d been craving cheese and tomato sauce for days. Two birds, one stone.

      The dish didn’t budge as she drove to the heart of Carpenter. Since she was alone she said a few curses under her breath about the weather. Furnace or not, their South Alabama town was just plain old miserable. A blanket heat, a choking humidity and a baby in her belly were not complimentary details that made the situation better. By the time she pulled into the parking lot at the sheriff’s department, she was ready to sprint inside for the lobby air conditioner if she had to.

      The day shift had most of the lot filled, but Cassie couldn’t help noticing a car she didn’t recognize. Which probably belonged to Henry, she realized.

      The father of her child.

      No amount of lasagna or air-conditioning was going to smooth over that particular stress. Despite her feelings, reservations and insecurities, she couldn’t sidestep the man forever. Especially if he was a deputy.

      That meant that she was going to have to decide sooner or later if she was going to tell him the truth.

      Guilt pooled in her stomach, but she was quick to combat it with the facts.

      As much as she wanted to believe that the man she’d had a connection with months ago was great, she couldn’t escape the reality that he had lied to her about his name and then disappeared completely from her life.

      He had been a one-night stand, albeit a great one. That was what it boiled down to.

      One night.

      That didn’t seem like a lot when contemplating letting him possibly have a place in her unborn child’s life.

      Cassie cut the engine and patted her stomach.

      “No matter what, it’s going to be all right,” she told her son, though she knew it was more to herself. With a sigh that she was sure even he felt, Cassie got out of the car and pushed into the heat.

      She wasn’t two steps behind her car when her plan of action to escape the heat was halted.

      “Excuse me.”

      Cassie turned in time to watch a man walk out from between two of the cars. He immediately held his hands up in defense and pointed behind him.

      “I was on the way over here from the coffee shop,” he explained. “Now I realize how creepy it must look, me just popping out from the back of the parking lot.”

      The man managed to look sheepish. He was well dressed, she guessed in his early thirties, and had a shock of dark red hair that was trimmed neat to the scalp. Cassie had never seen him before, but nothing about him screamed hostile. The smile left behind from his laughter put her at ease.

      “I assume you work at the department?” This time he motioned to the building behind her.

      She’d been with the sheriff’s department for years and knew it like the back of her hand. It stood between the county courthouse and the local television station, a two-story wrapped in faded orange brick and concrete. It was wider than its neighboring buildings but shorter. The second floor was vacant minus a room used for storage. Still, the department had spent years cultivating efficiency in the first floor’s space. Cassie was particularly proud of her dispatcher’s area.

      “Yes, I do,” she answered, mimicking his smile. “Though at the moment I’m off duty. But I’d be glad to try to help you.”

      “I really do appreciate that, but I’m afraid I have a bit of a weird request.” He pulled a plastic sandwich bag from his pocket and held it out to her. There was something inside it. A ring. “Sheriff Reed made a stop into the Carter Home yesterday and a deputy who was with him left this behind.”

      Cassie took the bag, her heartbeat already quickening.

      “I never caught his name, so I figured I’d just bring it in and let you all sort it. Maybe you could return it to its owner?”

      Cassie might not have been back at work, but she’d learned of Billy’s intended tours for new recruits. In this case, that meant Henry. Which meant fate was having a good ole laugh at her right now. It looked like she’d have to talk to the man sooner rather than later.

      “Of course I will. I even know the deputy in question,” she answered. “Why don’t you come in with me? I’m sure he’d be grateful for you returning this.” Maybe she could use the man as a buffer until she decided what to do.

      The man shook his head. “I’m actually in a hurry.” Again he motioned to the building that butted up to the back of the parking lot. It was a strip mall that housed several businesses, including the best coffeehouse in town. “Would you mind giving it to him instead? I have a friend waiting for me plus a cup of coffee with my name on it.”

      Cassie was nothing if not accommodating. “I can do that. No problem.” She readjusted her purse. Sweat was already forming above her brow. “Can I give him your name so he can at least know who to thank later if the occasion arises?”

      “Michael.” He held up his hands again, an apologetic look across his face. “I