Marie Ferrarella - Mission - Cavanaugh Baby

Bending over the crib, the woman placed her hands carefully beneath the precious bundle and silently lifted her into her arms. Cathy turned her head as if to watch her and make sure that everything was all right.

Placing the baby against her shoulder, Tessie could feel the infant’s weight shifting, could feel her tiny body melding against her.

She never grew tired of that sensation. It filled her with love and the desire to protect these tiny little beings with the last ounce of breath in her body.

She patted Cathy’s back as she withdrew from the room. Cathy didn’t make a sound.

“Good girl,” Tessie whispered. “You didn’t wake your sisters.”

Leaving the room as softly as she had entered, Tessie closed the door again so that no outside noises could rouse either Adele or Maureen. After all, she only had two hands, and one baby at a time was really all she could handle.

Despite the fact that the door to the nursery was closed, Tessie still kept her voice to a whisper. “I don’t know where your bottle got to, so I’m using Maureen’s. I won’t tell if you don’t,” she said to the infant, chuckling.

Cathy remained silent.

Tessie’s smile spread. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, pleased. “When the new little one comes,” she continued as she walked through the house to get to the kitchen, “I’m going to be counting on you to show her the ropes.”

Not making a sound, Cathy continued to look at her, appearing to hang on every word that was said.

Chapter 1

“Get that needy little face away from me. I’m onto you, Rusty.” Glancing at the worn-out analog watch that was never off her wrist except when she was showering, Officer Ashley St. James shook her head as she moved about her small bedroom, trying to get ready for work. “I’ve got just enough time to put your breakfast out, so stop dancing around trying to trip me or I’m going to be late—and I can’t afford to be late again this month. The lieutenant is not a forgiving man, understand?”

Two sets of eyes looked up at her, and it seemed for all the world as if the creatures behind those eyes were hanging on her every word.

Ashley knew better.

Rusty and his cohort in crime only heard what they wanted to hear. Right now, what they both appeared to want to hear was simply the sound of her voice. They didn’t want her to leave. They wanted her to stay and play with them.

She only wished she could oblige.

“Out of my way, boys,” Ashley ordered, sweeping past the furry duo and making her way to the kitchen. Her entourage followed swiftly in her wake. Anticipation, Ashley could tell, was in the air.

Her routine was second nature to her. Quickly distributing equal amounts of food between two bowls, Ashley carried them over to the corner of the kitchen where the two dogs she’d rescued always ate.

Ordinarily that would be enough for Olympic-speed chewing to begin. But this morning, the two canines she shared her home with seemed far more interested in surrounding her—thereby outnumbering her—and loudly protesting the fact that she was just about to leave the house.

When they barked like that, they sounded more like a pack of dogs than just two.

Ashley put her hands on her hips and gave each culprit a look that was meant to silence them. “C’mon, guys, no more fooling around—or there’ll be no treats when I get home.”

That, she noted with no small satisfaction, combined with her I’m-not-kidding look, seemed to do the trick. The two dogs immediately stopped barking and turned their attention to the bowls brimming with food as a consolation prize.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the love and affection, I do,” she told them, rushing around the kitchen, attempting to restore it to reasonable order before she left.

If there was anything she couldn’t stand, it was a messy kitchen. Coming home to one after her shift was over was downright disheartening to her. And she would only have herself to blame if it was in a total state of chaos. Initially the dogs, both of which she’d rescued once it was clear that each had been abandoned by their former owners, had no problem showing their displeasure if she did something they weren’t happy about. They soon learned that pulling open the bottom drawer of her bureau and dragging it clear across the first floor, then emptying its contents and making a home in her underwear, was not acceptable.

Still, she could tell that they really wanted her to stay. That was what she got for spending the weekend catering to them and playing with them. They took to that instantly and seemed to think it was going to be like that from then on.

She only wished they were right. But life wasn’t that simple.

“I know, I know, if it was up to you, we’d all hang out together and I’d never leave the house. But if that happened, how would I earn the money to feed you two gluttonous creatures, never mind getting it to the house? The pet store doesn’t make deliveries.”

In response to her question, the dogs just continued eating as if the food before them was about to vanish at any second.

“I swear,” Ashley murmured, glancing at the empty bowls, “if I hadn’t just had you two checked out by the police department’s vet, I would bet anything that you’re both at the mercy of a couple of tapeworms.” She paused to pet the dog closest to her, a golden Labrador that looked as if he’d been deliberately shrunk in the wash. He certainly didn’t look overweight. “Where do you put it, Rusty?” she mused.

Not to be left out, Dakota, a five-year-old German shepherd, ducked under her hand and pushed it with his head, moving it away from the Labrador. He took the lion’s share of her hand for himself.

Ashley laughed. “Certainly make your wishes well known, don’t you, boy?” she asked.

In response, the German shepherd continued nuzzling her. Not to be outdone, the Labrador circled around to her other side. He was definitely lobbying for a space beside her.

Time to go, she thought, rising to her feet.

“Okay, guys, I’m serious now. You heard me. Back up.” The German shepherd responded to her sharp tone while the Labrador, as if convinced that she was only being blustery for form’s sake, not only didn’t back up out of her way, but licked her fingertips.

“Sorry, not going to work this time, Rusty. If I’m ever going to work my way out of the Animal Control Division and into some kind of investigative department, I can’t show up late. Can you just hear the excuse if they ask me why I didn’t come in when I was supposed to?

“‘Why are you late, Officer St. James?’ ‘Because my dogs wouldn’t let me leave my house.’” She pressed her lips together, attempting to look as if she was frowning—as if she could ever be mad at her pets. “Not exactly something someone working in Animal Control should really admit to, is it?” she asked her dogs.

The German shepherd barked as if he agreed with her. At least, that was the way she wanted to interpret his bark. For once, Rusty abstained from the debate.

Ashley grinned. “I know why you’re doing it, you know. You’re trying to keep me home because you’re just afraid I’m going to bring home another stray.” She ran a hand over each of the dogs. They constituted her only family, as well as her best friends. “Even if I did, that doesn’t mean I’d stop caring about you two. You’re my whole world. Now take those cute little butts and get them out of my way,” Ashley instructed.

One more glance at her watch told her that she was really going to have to hustle to get to the police station on time.

“See you guys tonight,” she called over her shoulder as she went out the front door. “And don’t give the mail carrier a heart attack if he comes up to the front door to leave a package,” she warned. “The poor guy’s just doing his job.”