Special Delivery (Mountain Meadow Homecoming 1) by Laura Browning

Jake returned, the sight of mother and baby took his breath away. Holly was beautiful. His heart filled. The whole picture was perfect. A lot of her previous tension was gone, as if she’d made some decisions and gotten herself in balance. Her hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders, framing a delicate, porcelain-skinned face tilted toward her child. Together they looked like a painter’s ideal of mother and child. He wanted to take a picture, find some way of burning the image and the feeling on his brain and in his heart so he would never forget it.
    “Jake!” Tyler noticed him, and the mood was broken. Holly’s wide green gaze met Jake’s. He held it while he spoke to Tyler.
    “Hi, kid. How’s it goin’?”
    “Great! Both docs—Holly’s and Noelle’s—say they can go home tomorrow. Doc Owens says we can stay with you.”
    “Tyler!” Holly blushed. “Jake and I still have to talk about that.”
    Tyler frowned. “Okay, but if I get a vote, I vote for Jake’s. I’d be closer to school and the store. And, Holly, any place is better than where we are now.”
    Jake handed Tyler a couple of bucks. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy. Why don’t you go to the snack machines and buy something to eat and drink while Holly and I talk about this?”
    “Adults never let you hear anything good,” Tyler groused.
    Jake stared out the window, waiting until Tyler left. “Jenny said she mentioned the idea to you,” he murmured. “You can’t keep on at the Crawley place. You’ve got no heat other than a woodstove, and this time of year it’s too risky.”
    When he glanced at her, Holly’s lips were pressed together, her gaze on the baby rather than him. Crap. She was going to refuse. Time to fight dirty.
    “There’s another reason, too, Holly. Doc’s practice got a call not long before you went into labor. We think somebody’s fishing for information about you.”
    Her eyes widened. He had her attention now. “What did Doc tell you?”
    “Only that you had a protective order in place.” Jake took a deep breath. “The rest I found out on my own.” It might piss her off, but he had to be honest. “I guess it’s the cop in me. I got the basic info on you and Tyler. So I know you were engaged and your fiancé broke it off when he found out you were pregnant.”
    Her eyes snapped. “You checked us out?”
    He grabbed his cap and popped it against his thighs. “It’s my job, Holly. You were running from something, and I just wanted to know if it was something you’d done, or something someone was trying to do to you.”
    “And what did you find out?” She eyed him warily. Trust was such a fragile thing, and her doubts hurt.
    “I discovered what I already knew. You were trying to do the right thing for your brother and your baby. Damn it, Holly. Let me help. Not every guy’s out to hurt you.” Especially not him.
    “I’ve been burned once,” she whispered. Yeah. He hated that, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to burn her again. “I just wish you would’ve asked me before you did a background check.”
    “I should have. Can we agree we’ll both keep that in mind?”
    “Yes. Things will get better now. I can take care of Tyler and Noelle. I can still work on the pallet company’s books from home. I couldn’t pay you much.”
    Jake sat in the chair next to the bed. “I won’t take your money.”
    Holly stared at him. “And I won’t stay for free. People will talk enough as it is.”
    “Let them.”
    “You don’t mean that.”
    “I sure as hell do.”
    “Don’t swear.”
    “Shit, Holly…”
    “Jake. I’ve got my little brother to look out for. I don’t need him to have the potty mouth of the fifth grade. Look. This just feels weird, you know? Spence…my ex-fiancé…things didn’t go well. He made threats, called me at all hours, and showed up at the house. It’s why I left. So I want us to understand each other. I’m not looking for a