Annie Jones - Bundle of Joy

“I was only joking about being homeless and unemployed. I have a job waiting for me in Miami. I was on my way there tonight to find a place to live and get the lay of the land before I start work.” Jax followed behind Tyler. “I can’t stay here indefinitely. I have—”

Denby gave the stranger a hard look that cut him right off. But when the man got even with the sheriff, it did not escape Shelby’s keen eye that the older man added something to the conversation that made the wandering cowboy’s wide shoulders stiffen. He glanced back at Shelby and the baby.

The world seemed to stand still for a moment.

Then Jax nodded to no one in particular and said, “I guess I can spare some time. But as soon as I have nothing more to offer this case, I need to get on my way.”

Chapter Three

Jax rolled onto his side. The whole framework of the old cot creaked. When he’d climbed between the scratchy, bleached brilliant white sheets last night, he hadn’t expected to get much sleep. He thought he would never get comfortable or be able to quiet his mind after the day’s events. But the minute his head had hit the pillow, the prayer he had shared with Shelby had come echoing back to him, and a sweet peace had washed over him. The next thing he knew, the dim light of the new day was creeping through the crack where the shade did not quite meet the windowsill.

He checked his cell phone for the time and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Head bowed, he rubbed his fists into his eyes. Tyler had said that both the café and the convenience mart opened at six in the morning. That meant, he calculated, he had twenty-five minutes to get ready for...

For what? A few hours ago, his course had been set. If you’d asked him then, he’d have told you without hesitation that he’d be in Miami this morning. He’d be scouting out apartments, looking over the exclusive gated community where, on the first of next month, he’d start his job as head of security. Now he didn’t even know what to expect beyond getting up and getting dressed.

That his lack of control in this new situation didn’t have him on edge was not like him at all. Jax was a man always one step ahead of everyone else. He pressed his eyes shut tightly. For a moment he considered praying for guidance, but in the end he decided what he really needed was determination. He set his own way, and his way was toward Miami before the end of the day.

He sighed as the peace of last night turned into a weight pressing down on his shoulders. That weight did not lift as he cleaned up with the toiletries Tyler had gathered for him last night. He’d feel better if he could put on clean clothes, but that would have to wait until he reached Florida tonight.

He walked into the Shoppers’ Emporium part of the building in time to see the spectacular sunrise over the wide-open Texas landscape, framed by a large plate-glass window. It was the loveliest thing he’d seen in a long time.

“Make that the second-loveliest thing,” he murmured to himself as Shelby Grace Lockhart suddenly stepped into view from around the corner in the parking lot. Her hair was windswept, her expression determined, and both her hands gripped the handle of a baby carrier.

“Miss Delta?” Shelby peered in with her cute little nose all but smashed against the glass. “You in there yet?”

“I’m coming. Just hold on to your—” A woman who looked to be a few years shy of sixty, with hair the color and consistency of sunburnt hay, bustled past him, then slowed. She gave him a quick once-over and cocked one penciled eyebrow. She paused long enough to plunk her fist on her bony hip and ask him, “Cowboy or trucker?”

“Cop,” he said, then corrected himself. “Ex-cop, that is.”

Shelby knocked on the door. “Miss Delta? I’m kind of in a hurry. You’ll never believe what happened last night.”

“And I can’t wait to hear all about it,” Delta murmured in Jax’s direction even as she pivoted and went to unlock the front door. “Shelby Grace, where did you get that sweet little fellow?”

“It’s a girl,” Shelby corrected at the exact same time the words left Jax’s lips. Their perfect timing didn’t take the edge off her pointed tone as she added, “Someone left her outside the café last night.”

Shelby gave Jax an unyielding stare. In return, Jax gave Shelby...the biggest grin he’d ever grinned. Which wasn’t saying much, since he never grinned. Or he never used to. But there he was, unable to stop himself.

“How is she doing?” he asked, his eyes on Shelby’s face.

“Doc Lovey checked her out. She’s in good shape, but a little underweight for what Doc thinks is a four-month-old.” Shelby shifted the weight of the carrier and, in doing so, got a bit off balance.

“Doc Lovely?” Jax asked as he rushed forward and scooped the carrier up out of her hands. It felt light to him. No, it wasn’t the carrier that felt light. It was him. Like that weight he had felt since plotting his getaway from here had lifted.

“Lovey. Sheriff Denby’s wife. It’s a nickname, but everyone around here calls her that.” Miss Delta tipped her head back a bit so she could give Jax another once-over, then fixed her attention on the baby in the carrier. “Lovely is what this sweet thing is. What a cutie. Who could have ever left something this precious?”

“Someone who knew they were placing their baby in good hands,” Jax said, almost under his breath. He met Shelby’s hesitant gaze and held it until she took a deep breath and smiled.

“That’s a sweet idea, I guess,” Shelby whispered.

But? She did not say it, or even hint that there was more to say, but Jax felt it. Something else was going on with Shelby Grace Lockhart. Anyone else might have prodded, peppering her with questions to find out more, but Jax knew that people’s true motivations showed in their actions, not their words. So he held his tongue and waited.

Shelby glanced over her shoulder toward the café, then down at baby Amanda in the carrier, which Jax held easily by the handle. “But I can’t...I don’t have it in me anymore to take on one more person’s broken promises.”

“Promises?” he asked softly.

“A baby left on her own in the dark of night?” Her eyes met his. Her hair swept over her shoulder as she shook her head. “If that doesn’t say someone somewhere broke a promise and now wants someone else—”

“You,” he interrupted.

“Me.” She nodded in agreement. “Now someone wants me to do what everyone knows Shelby Grace does so well. Pick up the slack. Put the pieces back together. Always be there. I just don’t think I can do it anymore.”

He wanted to speak to her of faith. Of knowing where to find strength. Of what it felt like to be a child caught in the middle of a world with no Shelby Graces in it. Instead, he swallowed his opinion and supported her with a quiet “yeah” and a nod of his head.

She shuffled her feet, then squinted toward the large window, where the sun had begun to shine in and create shadows around them.

Clearly she wanted to get moving. But where? And why? None of his business, of course. Under other circumstances, he would have let it go. He studied her profile, the curve of her cheek. The shadows under her eyes told of a sleepless night. He couldn’t let it go—not with the simple question Sheriff Denby had asked him echoing in his mind. Why Shelby Grace Lockhart?

“I can’t believe there’s nothing this little sweetheart needs,” Delta cooed as she gave the baby’s head a pat. “I’m going to go see what I can find.”

“Don’t trouble yourself, Miss Delta.” Shelby raised her hand in a halfhearted attempt to slow the juggernaut that was Miss Delta of Delta’s Truck Stop Inn. “Doc Lovey got us diapers and formula from the county health department. After I help the sheriff look for any signs of who might have left the baby, I volunteered to take her to social services over in West...more...land.” Shelby’s shoulders sagged as the older woman hurried away, rattling off a list of things she wanted to gather for the baby.