Read Online The Texas Lawman's Last Stand by Delores Fossen - Free Book Online Page A

to make the bacon and eggs. “Captain Shaw had an officer pick up the samples last night.”
    And that was apparently all Bo intended to volunteer.
    “Holly’s DNA will be a match to mine,” Mattie continued, knowing she was wading into deep, dangerous waters.
    He didn’t issue one of those grunts this time, but he did aim a glare at her from over his shoulder.
    “We’ve identified the man who was in the black van,” he said, obviously ignoring her assertion that the DNA tests would match. “His name is Terrance Arturo. You know him?”
    She repeated the name to see if it would jog any memories. It didn’t. “No. He works for Kendall?”
    “We’re not sure. His lawyer hasn’t allowed him to say much.”
    Yes, his lawyer. “Ian Kaplan.”
    “Just how well do you know him?” Bo pressed.
    “I worked with him for months, but I knew him before that. I thought he was a decent guy.” Mattie paused again. “I think he had a crush on me or something, because he seemed to be jealous of Brody, my late fiancé.”
    Now she got a grunt. And silence. The only sound came from the sizzling bacon.
    “Nadine said you were, and I quote, ‘the best husband in the world.’” Mattie waited for a response but didn’t get one. Bo continued to beat the eggs that he’d just cracked into a small bowl. “She talked about you almost the whole time she was in labor.”
    Even through his T-shirt, she saw the muscles in his back tense. “Did she blame me for not being there to rescue her?”
    Oh. So, that’s what was going on in his mind. “No. Just the opposite. She insisted that you would come for her. And you did.”
    “Too little, too late,” he mumbled. He set aside the eggs he’d been beating as if they were suddenly too fragile to be in his hands, probably because he had a death grip on the glass bowl. Then he turned around to face her.
    “Not too late for Jacob and Holly,” Mattie insisted. “And as for Nadine, that wasn’t your fault.”
    “The hell it wasn’t.” His gaze fired all around the room as if he were looking for someplace to aim the dangerous energy that was a powder keg inside him.
    It was a massive risk, but Mattie got up and walked over to him. “Despite the circumstances, Nadine was happy when she gave birth to your son.” She reached out, touched his arm.
    Bo jerked away from her at first, but when Mattie caught his wrist, he didn’t fight it. He just stared at her, and she could see and feel every ounce of the pain that he was experiencing.
    “Nadine knew she was going to die?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
    Mattie shook her head. “I’m not sure.” She inched even closer and blinked back the tears that were burning her eyes. “She said you were the love of her life. The answer to her prayers. She also said you would help me.”
    Now he tried to pull away, but Mattie held on. “I need your help, Bo. I need you to tell me what Nadine said when you got to her in the nurses’ lounge.”
    For a moment, she thought that was the end of their conversation. He was putting up that wall again. But then, something changed. Bo didn’t dodge her gaze. Instead, he looked deep into her eyes.
    She was aware of the sounds. The smells. The bacon was either burning or close to it. But the only thing she saw was Bo.
    A raw groan tore from his throat, and he pulled her to him, against him. Not a punishing grip. A hug. He pulled her into his arms.
    “Nadine said, ‘We have to protect her.’ And then she closed her eyes and didn’t open them again.”
    “Her,” Mattie repeated. “Nadine meant Holly. I told her to ask you to protect my baby.”
    She held her breath, waiting for Bo to admit that Holly was hers, but the sounds stopped him from saying anything.
    It was a giggle. Followed by footsteps.
    Bo jerked away from her and moved the bacon off the burner. He pushed past her and headed for the hall just as Jacob rounded the corner. He was wearing only a diaper and a single blue