Jessica's Cowboy Daddy - Melinda Barron Page 0,30
her foot. It took all her self-control to stay still. “Get it away, get it away, get it away.”
“Take it easy.” When had Hawk arrived? She hadn’t heard his truck, or heard anyone say he was here. She glanced to where he stood, just inches away from her. He had a long stick in one hand, and his gun in the other.
“Kill it, kill it,” Jessica said.
“This is his home,” Hawk said. “The gun’s in case he gets mad and strikes. Just stay still and let him call the shots for a few minutes.”
“A few minutes?”
“He’s not a rattlesnake, babe.”
“Are you sure?” It sure looked like a rattlesnake to her. Of course she was a city girl and didn’t really know the difference. Still, she had this awful thought of the slithering snake opening its mouth and sinking its fangs into her ankle, or jumping up to bite her calf, or thigh.
“I’m sure,” Hawk said. “He’d be coiled and rattling with us this close. Bull snakes won’t strike unless they are threatened. Right now he’s examining things, and whoops, there he goes, off toward the house.”
“Get it away. Don’t just stand there.” Jessica pointed at the snake. “I’m not living out here with him as a neighbor.” As if he’d heard her the snake started to crawl away. He slithered under the porch and she felt as if her knees would give out. “More than a neighbor, a tenant.”
“Bull snakes kill rattlesnakes,” Hawk said. “They are a good neighbor to have.”
“Whatever,” Jessica said. Hawk put his arm around her and turned her toward the trucks. It was at that point she noticed Nate Willis standing there, his hat in his hand.
“Nate.” She put her shaky hand on the truck. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“You okay?” Nate asked with a snarky smile. She hated men and their superior attitudes sometimes.
“So I don’t know how to deal with snakes, sue me!” She ran her fingers through her hair, then focused her gaze on the ground as if she expected to see another crawly thing edging toward her. “But yeah, I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
“Good,” Hawk said, “because we have news.”
Those words did not bode well.
“The body we found this morning was Matilda Dobbs,” Nate said. “It looks like she’s been dead for a while.”
“How did she die?” Jessica asked.
“Someone shot her, or so we’re guessing,” Nate said. “Like I said, she’s been there for a while. We’ll know more after the autopsy.”
Autopsy. That wasn’t a word she wanted to hear.
“She was found near here?” Jessica asked.
“About twenty miles down the road, near the creek,” Hawk said. “A couple hiking found her this morning.”
She glanced at Hawk as he spoke. She didn’t want to talk to him about it anymore. She needed him. Today. She needed her Daddy.
Hawk sat back in his lawn chair and took a chug from his beer. Holt sat next to him and did the same. The girls sat together on the lawn, playing jacks. They were laughing and giggling, and it did his heart good to hear the sounds.
“He killed her, you know,” Holt said.
“I’m sure of it,” Hawk said. “I’m going to need help from you and the guys to keep her safe. I don’t want her to be alone.”
“What about at the bakery?” Holt asked. “It will raise more than a few eyebrows if one of us is sitting there day after day until Willis finds a way to charge Dobbs. She may be your Little right now, but tomorrow when the bakery opens and you tell her she has a bodyguard she’s going to go ballistic.”
“You got that right,” Hawk said. “You’ll probably be able to see the fireworks all over town. Any suggestions?”
“A vacation in the Bahamas sounds about right,” Holt said. “You can leave tonight.”
Hawk chuckled. The girls were slapping each other’s hands and reaching for the jacks. Then Aurora held the ball in the air, Jessica got up on her knees in an effort to take it from her.
“Careful there, young lady, you’ve got stitches, you know,” Hawk called out.
“Aurora, give her the ball,” Holt said.
“But it’s my turn!” Aurora said.
“We’d best break this up, fast, before one of them gets hurt,” Hawk said. He stood, and then he turned to his brother. “I think I have an idea.”
“I’ve heard your ideas before,” Holt said. “They don’t always work.”
“This one will.” Hawk punched his brother. “And don’t be an ass.”
“I’m the oldest, that’s my job,” Holt said. “Do you need