One Bear and a Baby: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 1) (2 page)

Small-town stuff. But Isabelle liked being a small-town sheriff. New to Tawny Valley—in relative terms anyway, she had been here a year—it was so different to the busy city she grew up. A place where she had to keep her inner bear under control. Being selected to work here a year ago, she had quickly settled in, and liked nothing better than to go wild out on the mountain range to the north of town. The people liked her, and she liked them.

“I’ll have the usual, please.” A small smile crossed Tony’s face; he liked it when people asked for
the usual
, Isabelle saw that the first time she came in here. She put it down to a sense of reassurance that he had regular customers who liked what he served. She made a point of ordering the same coffee the first few times she came in here, until one day, before she could order, Tony said
the usual
, and the relationship took its first baby step forward.

She sat down at the counter, off to the side, so she could angle her body to look out of the window at the front of the café. From here she could watch the people of Tawny Valley wake up and go about their day. It was a good indicator of the mood of the town. Which, as usual, looked to be normal.

“Thanks,” she said as Tony put her coffee down in front of her. “How are things?”

“You know,
the usual
.” He laughed at his own joke, and Isabelle smiled. Their conversations were almost a carbon copy each and every morning. Nothing happened here. She sighed. Maybe she could take an hour off later to go for a run in the mountains. The people in town wouldn’t miss her, and the mountain ranges were part of her jurisdiction too.

“That’s good to hear,” Isabelle said.

“Or at least it was…” He looked towards the door, where a woman, late to middle aged, was pushing the door open, baby in her arms. “Baby snatcher.” Tony winked and then sidled along the counter to speak to his next customer. “Hi, Jesse. We don’t usually see you in here at this time of day.”

“I know, but Maisie here was awake, and I wanted Cade to sleep in. He was exhausted when he came home last night.”

“Cade’s back in town?” Tony asked, his voice holding a hint of shock, which was unusual for the guy who never seemed fazed by anything.

“Yes. Turned up on the doorstep last night with this little girl,” Jesse said, gazing adoringly at Maisie.

“I didn’t know your son had a child. Greg never said.” Tony liked filling in information for Isabelle, who had to hide a smile: he was so dramatic over the whole thing. One day she might buy him a coat, like those old noir detectives wore. He would like that.

“Greg and I didn’t know,” Jesse admitted, and smiled weakly.

“Wow, that’s quite a thing to keep secret,” Tony prodded.

“Well, he had his reasons.”

“And they were?” Tony asked, a glance over at Isabelle to tell her he was digging for information,
for her
.

“That’s his business,” Jesse said, and Tony’s face fell flat. “I’ll have a coffee, please.”

“What kind?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know … the ordinary kind.”

“Coming up.”

Isabelle was sure Tony was about to add the
tongue-loosener
extra shot of caffeine to Jesse’s coffee. Since things
may
have just got a little bit more interesting, Isabelle decided she might have breakfast here too. Just on the off chance there might be something going on with Jesse and this newcomer Cade that she might need to be aware of. Men do not suddenly just turn up in town with a baby. Women did, but not men.

Watching as Jesse headed over to a booth, and then realized she needed a booster seat for Maisie to sit on, Isabelle took the opportunity to strike up a conversation. Jesse might open up to her, woman to woman, if Jesse could overlook the fact that the woman she would be talking to was the sheriff.

“Here, let me help you with that. Takes a while to get used to all the baby paraphernalia. I know when my sister had her first child, she once left the house and headed into the city with no diapers. She never did that again. Spent an hour finding diapers and wipes instead of the new dress she wanted.”

“Thanks. Yes, it is a bit strange. But good-strange.”

“You must be proud to be a grandmother?” Isabelle set the booster seat down and then stood back while Jesse tried to persuade Maisie to sit in it.

“I am,” Jesse said, struggling. “Just out of practice.”

“Here, let me,” Isabelle said.

“Are you sure?” Jesse said, looking frustrated when Maisie kept wriggling the wrong way, and then ending up nearly sliding onto the floor.

“Absolutely. There’s a knack.” She lifted Maisie and spoke to her soothingly. Then she slipped her into the seat, the hem of the little girl’s dress sliding up to expose what looked like a cigarette burn on her thigh. Isabelle brushed her hand against it, feeling the raised skin, Maisie didn’t flinch, it was an old scar. But who had given it to her?

When eventually both legs were in the correct place, and Maisie was secure, Isabelle sat down with a sigh. Cade had every right to bring a baby to town, even if the circumstances were mysterious and Maisie’s mom was absent. But the burn on a child’s leg, added to the mix, grated on her. Should she let it go?

Isabelle thought of her sister’s children, and how much she loved them, and how devastated she would be if something happened to them. Isabelle couldn’t help it. She needed to know Maisie was OK, that her mom knew where she was, or at least that she was with Cade. A couple of questions wouldn’t hurt, not if Cade had nothing to hide.

“Thank you, Sheriff. I dare say I’ll get the hang of it” Jesse said. “It’s just been a bit of a surprise, that’s all.”

“You didn’t know at all?” Isabelle asked casually. “That does make it a surprise.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Was there any reason he never told you?” Isabelle asked, smiling and waving at Maisie, who giggled in return. At least Maisie looked happy, not withdrawn or scared. Isabelle knew should let it go.

Jesse looked up swiftly. “It’s not what you think.”

Did Jesse sound guilty, as if there was something to hide?

“I’m a sheriff, it’s not my job to think, it’s my job to sift through facts. Do you want to tell me what those facts are?” Isabelle asked, draining her coffee cup. Tony appeared, hovering over them; he placed Jesse’s coffee down on the table and then refilled Isabelle’s. “Thanks, Tony. Could I have a full breakfast, please?”

He frowned, obviously wanting to stay and eavesdrop, but Isabelle’s look sent him away. She wanted Jesse to feel at ease, not as if she were being spied on. Even if she was.

Something about this situation seemed off. Jesse Easton was a volunteer at the library, and Isabelle knew she worked hard to make sure the old and infirm of the town were looked after; never hungry and always had a ride if they needed to go into one of the bigger towns such as Bear Bluff to the hospital there. In short, she was not the kind of woman who would lose her son and then accept him just turning up in her life again, especially with a baby, with no questions asked. But if she knew the answers to those questions, she was keeping them to herself.

“So, Cade, isn’t it? Where’s he been these last … two years? More? If you didn’t know anything about the baby, it has to be some time, or did he just not tell you?” Isabelle asked, sipping her coffee, knowing she needed to keep sharp. Sometimes it wasn’t what people said, it was how they said it, or their body language. However, Jesse looked calm, not as if her axe-wielding son had just walked back into her life with a stolen child.

No, this Cade couldn’t be a bad man, at least not really bad
, Isabelle thought.

“He was working,” Jesse said, sipping her coffee and looking at Maisie, who had a fist in her mouth, and was kicking her legs and making sounds of joy.

“Doing what?” Isabelle asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Jesse said, looking directly at Isabelle. “But before you jump to any conclusions, he isn’t a criminal and he wasn’t in prison.”

“Then where? An oil rig? Working abroad.”

“Nothing like that.” She set her cup down. “I know it’s your job to investigate, but Cade is a good man, better than most. He’s come home, and if he chooses to stay, and I hope he does, then he will be welcome. Please, Sheriff, do not go looking for trouble where there isn’t any.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Isabelle said, although sometimes pressing people’s buttons and seeing the reaction was the best way to get information. People acted differently under stress.

“I know.” Jesse smiled reassuringly. This woman was one cool grandma.

“I have to ask questions. You do understand?” Isabelle touched Jesse’s hand briefly, showing her support.

“I know you have a job to do,” Jesse agreed.

“So I’d like to ask Cade a few questions. It would put my mind at rest if I could speak to Maisie’s mom, too.” Isabelle smiled, but knew it probably looked false. Jesse was being deliberately evasive, and Isabelle
was
going to find out why. “I just want to know everything is OK. Now, I can come over later and speak to Cade in your home, or I can ask him to come down to my office.”

“No. There’s no need for him to come and see you. I don’t want gossip starting.” Jesse looked out of the window. “I’ll go home now and get him up and fed. Give me an hour.”

“Thank you, Jesse,” Isabelle said. “I appreciate it. Just a quick chat. Nothing serious.” Tony came over with her breakfast and set it down, leaning against the back of her seat, ready to listen in to the conversation.

Jesse looked up at him, and then rose from her seat. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll see you later.”

“See you later, Jesse,” Isabelle said, and picked up her knife and fork. She would take her time over her breakfast, do her rounds, and then head over to see this mysterious Cade and find out exactly where he came by a baby.

His head was fuzzy when he woke up. It took him a moment to figure out where he was. Home. That thought made him smile and he lay back, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. Then he realized Maisie was gone, and adrenaline shot through him, kick-starting his body into action. In one swift movement he was out of bed and dragging on his clothes, before going downstairs to the kitchen to find his mom.

She would have Maisie; they would be sitting at the kitchen table, the baby gurgling and smiling
. He pictured it clearly in his mind, willing it to be true.

The kitchen was empty.

His heart rate quickened, he went from room to room. No one else was here. Dragging his hand through his hair, he looked around for any sign of a disturbance, any sign as to where everyone was. His gut felt heavy, the sense of dread pulling it down, and he wanted to go back to the bathroom, put his head down the toilet, and puke it up, get rid of it. He was overreacting, but what else could he do?

“Where are you?” He went back to the kitchen, feeling the coffee pot to see how warm it was, hoping to get some indication of how long the house had been empty. It was cold. No one had made coffee this morning.

But they had left a note
. With a huge, ragged sigh, he relaxed. His mom had taken Maisie for a walk to let him sleep in.

Bracing himself on the counter, he tried to let the wave of relief sweep over him, and the fear dissipate. He could not live his life like this. He was home; Maisie was safe.

But what if they knew where home was?

They couldn’t. His records were confidential. This same dread had followed him since the day his old undercover partner, Jenni, had turned up at his apartment with Maisie, the look of a haunted woman in her eyes. Her explanation had been brief; she had been set up. Accused of stealing evidence, she had been on the run for months. She didn’t name the threat, neither the person nor organization that were after her, but she had been scared enough to leave again in the middle of the night. With only a note of explanation as to why Maisie was better off with Cade.

In the months that followed, Cade had tried to find Jenni, but she was scared enough to vanish completely from the world. At night he sometimes woke up and wondered if she were already dead. Then, a couple of weeks ago, she sent him a message: to stop following her, because if
they
found him,
they
would take Maisie, and hurt her.

He couldn’t bear the thought of anything bad happening to the little girl who was blossoming before his eyes. So he had abandoned his search and come home. As a shifter, in a shifter town, he could be sure there would be plenty of people to watch over and protect her.

Yet even here, the thought that he would wake up one morning and find someone had taken Maisie in the night was not going to go away. The fear of losing Maisie cut him keenly. He had vowed to keep her safe, and he took that very seriously.

Cade straightened up. Coffee was what he needed. He concentrated on making a fresh pot, giving his brain something simple to focus on. Then he made some toast, and made a mental list of everything he needed to do today. Most of the list revolved around Maisie. A bed, stroller, diapers, and formula. All the things he had been running out of over the last couple of days as he had made his way home.

The route had been calculated and long, his training kicking in. He made absolutely sure he was not followed by using a very indirect route.

Overcautious,
his bear told him. but Cade knew his bear was on side when it came to doing everything they could to keep Maisie safe.

His focus shifted to the front door. A key was inserted in the lock, the door opened, and his mom walked in. She looked surprised to see him up. “I expected you to sleep all day. Your dad wanted to say
hello
this morning but I sent him off to work.”

“I woke up and Maisie was gone.” He tried not to sound accusing.

“I left a note,” his mom offered brightly.

“I saw it, eventually.” He poured her a cup of coffee and noted the worry on her face; he had to start acting normally. Although he wasn’t sure what normal was anymore. He had left this small-town life behind to make a difference as an undercover cop. Going back to
normal
was going to be tough.