A Faithful Guardian
Autor
Louise M. Gouge
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HarlequinChapter One
Robert Mattson slammed on the brakes, then steered his brand-new RAM 3500 into the first empty parking space at the edge of Riverton Park, his eyes laser focused on two women at a picnic table. The dog they were playing with was his cow-herding border collie, Lady, no doubt about it, with her black face and coat and distinctive white heart-shape mark on her chest. How could they dare to bring his stolen dog out in public? He’d demand an answer right before he had them arrested for the theft.
“Siri, call Rex Blake,” he ordered. “Hey, Rex,” he said when the sheriff answered. “Listen, I found Lady.” Pause. “She’s with two women at Riverton Park. Can you come over and make the arrest? Great. Thanks.” He disconnected the call, shut off the motor and climbed out of his truck, making sure to lock the door, something he’d been doubly careful to do since Lady went missing eight months ago. The sheriff’s office was right around the corner, so Rex should be here pretty quick.
The mid-August sunshine bore down on his head, so he put on his weathered Stetson and pulled in a deep breath of fresh air scented with the fragrance of newly mown grass, then moved toward the women to face this unpleasant situation. Several folks waved to him from their picnic tables or Frisbee games. He waved back, mindful that he needed to be careful how he approached these thieves. As he’d learned early in his forty-two years, folks around here looked up to the Mattsons as leaders of the community. As much as he wanted to vent his anger at the women, he needed to set a good example of how to handle an unpleasant and criminal situation.
The closer he got to the pair, the more he could see they didn’t fit the expected profile for dog thieves. The older woman, maybe in her thirties, was vaguely familiar, and the younger one was just a girl, probably close in age to his own twins’ fifteen years. Her jerking movements as she tossed the ball for Lady to fetch, along with her broken laughter when the dog chased it, suggested some sort of disability.
Rob huffed out a long breath. Perfect. Just perfect. His family had always been allies for those with disabilities, so he’d have to be twice as careful not to make a scene.
He approached their picnic table and shoved his Stetson back from his forehead.
“Mornin’, ma’am.” He aimed a slight smile toward the woman, whose back was now turned, hoping to catch her off guard once she faced him.
“Yes?” She turned around and looked up at him, her pretty face the picture of innocence.
Now who was caught off guard? She wasn’t just pretty. She was gorgeous, and her rose-scented perfume wafted up to engage his senses. For some ridiculous reason, his pulse kicked up. Any other time, Rob would have backed off. He had a built-in radar to protect himself from females. Ever since he was a boy, his beloved Jordyn had been his shield against women who regarded his status as the Mattsons’ primary heir a prize to grasp at. Since Jordyn’s death in a riding accident four years ago had left him a widower, females had swarmed around him like bees, so Rob had been forced to create his own shield, which included keeping his distance and not trusting their motives.
“Did you want something, Mr. Mattson?” The woman gave him a half smile.
How long had he stared at her? And she knew his name. No surprise there because everybody knew the Mattsons. Heat rushed up his neck. He turned his attention to the dog, dug a dog biscuit out of his pocket and crouched down.
“Here, Lady. Come here, girl.”
Lady tilted her head and gave him a puzzled look before trotting over to accept the treat. He ruffled her fur and stroked her back and sides, dismayed to feel her protruding ribs. Lady finished the treat, then licked his hand. “That’s my girl.”
“You know her?” The woman’s tone held no guilt.
“Mom?” The girl stepped closer, her ball in hand, a worried frown on her sweet face.
“It’s okay, honey.” The woman’s maternal smile made her even prettier, if that was possible. “Well, Mr. Mattson, you seem to know our Daisy, and she seems to know you.”
“She should.” Rob stood and towered over her. Unlike most folks, who were awed by his six-foot-three-inch height, she barely tracked his movement with her eyes. “I bought her over two years ago and hand raised her from a puppy. What are you doing with her?”
The question brought an innocent blink from those gray-green eyes. “I... I’ve been taking care of her.” She glanced beyond him with a surprised look.
Rob didn’t bother to turn around. Sheriff Rex Blake was a large presence that a man could feel before he saw him.
“Got a problem, Rob?” Rex spoke in his authoritarian lawman voice that no doubt rattled many a lawbreaker’s nerves. He watched the woman to see her reaction.
“Yep. Sure do.” Rob noticed the woman moving closer to her daughter and putting a protective arm around her. Obviously she couldn’t make a run for it. “This woman has my dog I’ve been looking for since she was stolen last winter.”
Rex settled a stern look on the woman, but his expression quickly softened. “Mrs. Parker?”
“Hi, Rex.” Her tone sounded guarded. Had she been arrested before?
“Um, Rob?” Rex nudged Rob’s arm. “This is Lauren Parker. She’s your cousin Will’s new paralegal. I met her in his office when I was there on a child custody matter.” He chuckled. “You sure you want me to arrest her?”
Rob clenched his jaw so it wouldn’t drop open with surprise. Though not too much surprise as he now remembered seeing her across the church’s fellowship hall after Will’s wedding. In fact, Will had tried to set them up. Fat chance that would happen. Will knew he wasn’t interested in dating. “So what are you doing with my dog?” He didn’t try to keep the accusing tone from his voice.
“Well, I—”
“I find it interesting—” he refused to listen to her excuse “—that you work for Will and you didn’t connect my missing dog to the one you found. We put posters up in every store in town. And don’t tell me Will never mentioned the puppies they found out by his place that a DNA test proved were hers. You should have posted a ‘found dog’ notice.”
She stared up at him, annoyance beaming from her eyes. “We found her at a rest stop outside of Santa Fe when we were moving here in May.” Her expression softened, enhancing her beauty. “Poor baby was terribly thin and bedraggled...and covered with fleas.” She glanced at her daughter, who now knelt beside Lady and held on to her. “We took her to a vet down there and had her checked out, including checking for a chip, but she didn’t have one.”
“Didn’t have a chip? That’s a l—” he noticed the startled look in the girl’s eyes “—not true. We chip all of our dogs at twelve weeks.”
“Well, she didn’t have one when we found her.” She glared at Rob. “If she had, we would have brought her to you as soon as we arrived in Riverton. We did the best we could to take care of her and even spent money we couldn’t afford to pay the vet for treating her.”
Ah, there it was. The money thing. “And no doubt you’ll want the reward.”
She huffed. “Reward? No, thank you. Taking care of her was the right thing to do. And the joy she’s brought us more than makes up for the expense.” She gazed at her daughter. “Zoey, this man is Daisy’s owner. Remember I told you this might happen.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Zoey’s eyes filled with tears, and she held Lady closer for a few seconds. Then she looked up at Rob, and her heartbroken expression pierced his chest. Her mother’s actions were not her fault. “You can take her.” A humming sound preceded the girl’s words, as though she’d had to take a breath and start her vocal cords before she could speak. She opened her arms to release Lady.
It saddened him to hurt this girl, but he had to focus on his dog and get her back to Bobby as soon as possible so his son could resume her training. He bent down and picked Lady up. She rewarded him by licking his face. After all this time, she still remembered him.
“Okay, Rob.” Rex clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ve got this. See you later.”
“Thanks, buddy.” He turned away from the women to head back to his truck.
“I have her shot records from that Santa Fe vet,” the woman called. “Or I can give you his business card so you can call or email him.”
He faced her. “Mrs. Parker, you still haven’t told me why you didn’t know about my missing dog. I’m sure Will’s talked about his pups and their lost mother.”
She lifted her chin and glared at him. “We consider it unprofessional to discuss personal matters at the office.”
He stared at her for maybe ten seconds. Knowing his sociable cousin Will, he couldn’t quite picture that. “Yeah, right.” He spun around and strode toward his truck, ignoring Lady’s wiggling and whimpering as she looked over his shoulder, no doubt already missing the girl who’d been her best friend all summer. That problem would be fixed after Lady spent enough time with Bobby and remembered where she came from.
Lauren tried to stop shaking but couldn’t begin to manage it, even when Zoey sat beside her on the picnic bench and hugged her.
“It’s okay, Mom.” Zoey laid her head on Lauren’s shoulder. “Jesus’s got this, so she’ll be okay.”
As usual, she emitted a little hum before speaking, and her l’s came out as w’s. Would her fellow students torment her in her new school as they had back in Orlando?
“I know.” She patted Zoey’s hand. “Jesus has this.” She eyed the picnic basket. “You hungry?”
“Not much, but I should eat.” Zoey reached for the basket and tugged it closer.
Yes, she should eat. When Zoey went too long without food or water, she was in danger of having a seizure.
Lauren pulled the contents from the basket—sandwiches, chips and iced tea, and left the generic dog kibbles she’d packed. She’d done the best she could for Daisy...Lady, but her money would stretch only so far. No doubt Mr. Mattson would fatten Lady up with one of the healthier, more expensive brands. For that alone, she was glad. For Zoey’s broken heart, not so much. But it was too soon to promise a new puppy. Zoey never liked it when she rushed in to try to fix things.
Like right now as she struggled to open the plastic zip bag. But she stuck with it until her uncooperative hands finally separated the sealed sides and removed the sandwich. Lauren watched from the corner of her eye as she opened her own and smelled the delicious aroma of chicken salad. Before she could take a bite, Zoey grasped her hand.
“We gotta say grace, Mom. Dear Jesus, thank You for the food. And thank You that Daisy is going to her new forever home.” She laughed softly. “Her new old forever home. I know that man will take good care of her.”
“Amen.” Lauren’s eyes burned, but she wouldn’t let tears come. Zoey’s faith was real and deep and often put her mama to shame. God truly had cared for them these past fifteen years.
Her new job had been a huge blessing and an opportunity to get away from her hometown, where some people still asked her why she’d divorced her husband, as though it had been her fault. Didn’t every woman want to be married to Singleton Weatherby Parker? After all, he was the primetime anchor for the local NBC affiliate, handsome beyond words, perfect in his news presentations and a man who managed to skate above controversy without a hint of scandal. Of course those countless admirers didn’t know the man off camera. The man who’d rejected his firstborn because of her failure to be perfect and had divorced Lauren because she refused to hide Zoey away in a care home. With the divorce, he’d begrudged the minimum child support the judge ordered. Then he married his pregnant beauty-queen trophy wife, and they now had two perfect children. Good riddance. Except that two years ago, he’d gone to court to request a reduction in his childcare payments, citing financial problems.
Lauren suspected he’d hidden some of his assets, but she couldn’t manage the lawyer fees to take him to court, so she’d studied to become a paralegal to combat his scheme. But after earning her certification, she decided to forgo the drama and not to go after him. In fact, she released him from any financial obligation as long as he signed away his parental rights. He was all too happy to do that. Zoey didn’t know much about her father, and Lauren deflected her questions as much as she could. She dreaded the day when Zoey demanded better answers.
To make a fresh start, she’d done an online search and applied for several open paralegal jobs. Most wanted applicants with more experience, but somehow she’d snagged a position with Mattson and Mattson, Attorneys at Law, maybe because the two young lawyers were just starting to grow their law office and could only offer a minimal salary. She grabbed the offer like a lifeline.
She and Zoey had packed up and driven west to start their new life, leaving the Sunshine State of Florida for the Land of Sunshine. So far, New Mexico was living up to its reputation, but winter was coming. For the first time in Zoey’s life, Lauren would have to buy her a winter coat. That would protect her from the cold, but what would protect her from the challenges she would meet at her new school?
The following Monday, Lauren pulled her car up in front of Riverton High School. “You sure you don’t want me to go in with you?” She unclicked her seat belt, ready to get out and walk Zoey into the school building.
“Oh, Mom.” Zoey rolled her eyes. “Me and Jesus got this.” She managed her typical smirk that always accompanied her deliberate grammar mistakes. She opened her door and scooched to the edge of the seat, carefully planting her feet before grasping the door and pulling herself upright. She slung her backpack over one shoulder, wobbled a bit, righted herself, then shut the door and headed toward the brick building with her familiar halting gait among the other countless students. And she didn’t even look back.
Lauren shook her head. Zoey had come a long way in learning to control her uncooperative body, and now she faced this new challenge with her usual courage.
Several students watched her awkward trek across the concrete, but no one said anything, at least not that Lauren could hear.
“Lord, please send her a friend.”
In fact, Lauren could use one herself. She’d been on the edge of anxiety since her encounter Saturday with that Mattson person. What a bully, and so much like Singleton. Now, as she drove toward work, her anxiety grew. What would Will and Sam have to say about her encounter with their cousin? Would they believe his not-so-subtle accusation that she’d stolen his valuable dog? Would they fire her?
“Lord, please help. You know my savings are almost gone. I can’t start over again.” And who would hire her if the Mattson clan turned against her?
Parking in front of the one-story storefront law office, she shook off her dismal thoughts and pasted on her professional smile before entering. Toward the back of the large, open room, newlywed Will sat on the edge of Sam’s desk. When she entered, they turned her way, and their serious expressions sent a frisson of alarm through her chest.
“Morning, Lauren.” Will’s baritone voice sounded much like his older cousin’s, and their resemblance was undeniable. “Come on over here for a minute.”
She stared at them for a second or two, her heart dropping lower. “Sure.”
“Let her put her stuff down, Cuz.” Sam had many of the Mattson features as well, except that his hair was light brown instead of black, and his eyes more green than blue.
Lauren set her purse and lunch on her desk, then walked across the room on shaky legs.
“Take a look at this and tell me what you think.” Sam handed her a few sheets of paper, which she couldn’t read for the blurriness in her eyes.
She blinked and finally managed to focus on the pages of architectural drawings. “Um, what am I looking at?” Not a pink slip, that was for sure.
“We’re trying to decide whether to partition off this room so our clients have more privacy during consultations,” Will said, “or find another building already set up that way.”
“Or build something new,” Sam said. “That’ll be pricey, but we’re thinking it might be worth the expense in the long run.”
“Oh.” To her horror, Lauren’s voice wobbled.
“Hey, are you okay?” Will stood and grabbed a chair, then helped her sit. “What’s going on?”
“Oh,” she repeated, scrambling for an intelligent response. “My daughter started at her new school today.” She managed a shaky laugh. So much for her claim to Robert Mattson that talking about personal matters was unprofessional.
“Ah,” the cousins said in a tenor-baritone duet.
“She’ll be okay.” Will, ever the optimist, patted her shoulder.
“I know. Thanks.” Lauren forced her thoughts away from her unnecessary fears and to the matter at hand. “So, what are the pros and cons of each option?” She fetched a legal pad and pen from her own desk and made columns. “Ideas?”
While they discussed the possibilities, in the back of her mind, Lauren allowed herself some relief. At least for now, her employment wasn’t in danger. But how long would it be before Robert Mattson talked to his cousins about Lady and cast doubt on her honesty, a death knell for the job of anyone working in law?
On her way to pick Zoey up from school, Lauren passed that unmistakable huge black Ram truck with Robert Mattson driving the other direction. Even through his dark-tinted window, she could see the handsome cut of his jaw. Unlike her previous encounter with the rancher, this time he was smiling, which greatly enhanced his good looks, much as a smile did for her ex. And, as with her ex, she had no doubt that behind the smile lurked a devious mind that only looked out for himself.
She pulled in behind the other parents’ vehicles lined up in front of the school. Most of them were pickup trucks, which made her little eleven-year-old Honda Fit seem even smaller. On the trip from Orlando, they’d had a few scary moments as they traveled alongside semis that seemed intent on squashing them. But she wouldn’t trade this comfy little runabout for anything.
“Mom!” Zoey opened the car door and practically jumped inside. “I’ve got a new friend. Two new friends.”
“That’s awesome, honey.” And answered her prayer. Lauren’s eyes watered, and she blinked to focus on the traffic ahead as she pulled back into the street. “Tell me all about them and all about your day.”
“Well...” Zoey gave her a sly look. “One of them is a boy.”
“Okay.” This was new. Her daughter hadn’t shown much interest in boys yet, maybe because some of them had been her worst tormentors.
“Yeah. I sat next to him in computer class, and we talked a lot. Then at lunch, when I was having trouble with my tray, he came over and took it.” Her face glowed. “He took me over to a table with his sister. She’s in my English class, and they’re twins.” She laughed. “But you wouldn’t know it. He’s real tall, like almost six feet. She’s a little taller than me, maybe five-eight. He’s got black hair, and she’s a blonde. They both have blue eyes. They said they want me to sit with them at lunch every day.”
Listening to her happy chatter, Lauren’s heart filled with joy. “They sound very nice.” More than that, maybe they would be her silent protectors if other students weren’t so kind. She gave Zoey a quick, side-eyed glance. “Do they have names?”
Zoey snorted. “Duh. Of course, Mom. They’re Bobby and Mandy Mattson, and they live on the Double Bar M Ranch. They want me to come out and ride horses with them.”
While she continued to chatter on about her wonderful first day, Lauren could hardly keep her eyes on the road.
Why did her precious daughter’s much-needed new friends have to be related to that horrible man who accused Lauren of stealing his valuable dog?
