She’s the only one who can help an old crush…

And the baby who appeared on his doorstep.

When Amber Kent’s old friend Navy SEAL Rylan Anderson suddenly becomes the guardian of a baby, he turns to her for help. But then the baby’s nearly abducted in Amber’s care and it’s clear the situation is more complicated than it seems. Can they discover the truth behind the baby’s identity…before she’s gone for good?

USA TODAY Bestselling Author

USA TODAY bestselling author BARB HAN lives in north Texas with her very own hero-worthy husband, three beautiful children, a spunky golden retriever/standard poodle mix and too many books in her to-read pile.

In her downtime, she plays video games and spends much of her time on or around a basketball court. She loves interacting with readers and is grateful for their support. You can reach her at barbhan.com

Also by Barb Han

Cornered at Christmas

Ransom at Christmas

Ambushed at Christmas

What She Did

Sudden Setup

Endangered Heiress

Texas Grit

Kidnapped at Christmas

Murder and Mistletoe

Bulletproof Christmas

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

What She Knew

Barb Han

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90521-7

WHAT SHE KNEW

© 2020 Barb Han

Published in Great Britain 2020

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Note to Readers

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All my love to Brandon, Jacob and Tori, the three great

loves of my life.

To Babe, my hero, for being my greatest love and my

place to call home.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

About the Publisher

Chapter One

Amber Kent didn’t normally pick up calls from numbers she didn’t recognize on her personal cell. She tapped her toe on the floorboard while waiting for Harvey Baily to finish loading hay bales onto her truck. He’d insisted she stay in the cab in order to keep warm.

The temperature hovered just above forty degrees. The sun was covered by thick gray clouds. She stared at her buzzing phone. The call could be coming from a distant relative. She’d had a few of those since losing her parents a few years ago. It was past the holidays.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, she noticed that Harvey wasn’t even close to being done loading. She had a couple of minutes to spare.

“Hello,” she said. The silence on the other end had her thinking answering was a bad idea.

“Amber, this is Rylan Anderson…” The familiar voice came through the line clearly. He didn’t need to say his name for her to know that voice. It was deeper now, but that unmistakable timbre goose bumped her arms. Talk about a blast from the past. How long had it been? Eight years? Nine?

“I heard you moved back to town, but I thought people were pulling my leg.” After nearly a decade of being gone, she was surprised he’d come back to Jacobstown, Texas.

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t get in touch.” That was an odd thing to say. Had he planned on seeing her at some point?

“It’s fine,” she said quickly. Too quickly?

“I know it’s been a long time but I need a favor.” At least he didn’t pretend this was a social call. So why did disappointment wrap around her? A little piece of her wished he was calling to see how she was, or if she wanted to meet up for coffee. Hearing from him after all these years was a shock to the system.

“What can I do for you?” she asked, suppressing a small sigh.

She heard something or someone in the background. Then again, it could be a TV. She couldn’t make out the noise clearly.

“I didn’t have anyone else to call who could handle…” His voice trailed off, and that really got her curiosity going. He didn’t sound like himself. Although, what did she expect? He’d gone dim on social media after leaving Jacobstown to join the military. Platforms had changed, phone numbers had changed and she didn’t keep up with him.

“What is it?” she asked. Curiosity was getting the best of her. What on earth could make him call after all this time?

“It’s hard to explain. Can you stop by my house?”

“Um, sure.” She didn’t have a clue about why. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

“Yeah. Kind of,” he hedged. “I don’t know—”

“The bank’s closed if you need mon—”

“It’s not like that.” There was a hint of defensiveness in his voice that she hadn’t meant to put there. “You know what? Never mind. This is a mistake.”

“Hold on, Rylan—”

It was too late. He’d ended the call.

Amber wasn’t letting him get away with that. She called him back.

He picked up on the first ring. The noise in the background confused her. “Where are you? What’s going on?”

He issued a sharp sigh.

“Rylan, I can drop by. Don’t be a mule,” she said.

There was a long pause. “I’d really appreciate it.”

He sounded like someone with a migraine coming on, and for a split second she wondered if he needed medical attention.

“You’re okay, right? I mean, you’re not injured,” she said, and she didn’t bother hiding the worry in her tone.

“It’s not like that.” At least she’d ruled out a trip to the ER.

“Text your address and I’ll stop by on my way home.” She should probably turn and drive in the opposite direction from her brother’s former best friend. The trouble was that she’d counted Rylan as a friend once, too. Plus, it was just beyond the holiday season. Rumors that he’d moved back to town were true. And he shouldn’t be on his own. How could she refuse his plea for help? The text came through immediately after the call ended. She knew exactly where that was. Mrs. Parker used to live there, and Amber had stopped by many times to drop off a meal before the widow moved away.

Harvey tapped on Amber’s truck bed as he closed the tailgate. He waved. His job was done. She rolled down the driver’s side window and shouted a thank-you through the howling wind. A chill settled over her, and she realized the temperature had dropped another ten degrees. It was going to be a cold night if the rest of that front moved through town.

Jacobstown was an hour’s drive south of Fort Worth. It was considered a bedroom community that had been a safe haven until recent weeks when some twisted individual started mutilating the left hooves of animals. The perp had started with small animals and then worked his way up to heifers. Several had been found on the Kent Ranch, a place she owned with five brothers.

Amber navigated onto Main Street and across town to Mrs. Parker’s old house. It was Saturday, and there weren’t many vehicles on the roads. She imagined grocery stores were probably busy with everyone anticipating the weather. She tapped her right thumb against the steering wheel. There was something about the tone of Rylan’s voice that wasn’t sitting right. Her first thought was that she should’ve asked him to come to the ranch. But she was close enough to stop by his house on her way home from the feed store, and she figured part of the reason he hadn’t contacted her yet was because of the blowout he’d had with her brother Will. Eight years was a long time to hold on to a grudge. It wasn’t like Will to do that, either.

Whatever had transpired between the two of them was kept quiet, no small feat for a town that seemed to know everyone’s business in real time. People weren’t nosy. They cared. Ranch families had a long history of looking out for one another.

Fifteen minutes later Amber pulled up in front of Rylan’s bungalow-style house and parked. At least the place wasn’t on fire. She’d worried his emergency was something like that based on the urgency in his voice, but she also realized he’d be calling the fire department and not her.

Her curiosity had her mind running through half a dozen wild scenarios before she’d arrived. Last she’d heard, Rylan was a Navy SEAL. There probably wasn’t much that he couldn’t handle on his own. Needing her made even less sense as she rolled over possible problems in her head.

By most accounts Rylan had been in Jacobstown for two weeks already, and she had yet to see him. He’d basically pushed her out of his life before he’d signed up with the military eight years ago. He’d walked away without looking back not long after the one kiss they’d shared, but this wasn’t the time to rehash that memory. Besides, he probably didn’t even remember it.

Amber hopped out of the truck, took a deep breath and moved to the front door. There were ten-gallon buckets of paint littering the covered porch. Paint chipped off the outside of the building. She stepped over a ladder in order to get to the front door.

Rylan didn’t seem to expect any visitors. She knocked, and it felt like it took forever for him to answer. It didn’t. She had a case of nerves. She’d tried to shake them off before seeing him again and clearly hadn’t.

“Thanks for coming, Amber.” Rylan opened the door for a peek, blocking her view into his home. He looked a little too good in what she could see of his jeans and long-sleeve T-shirt. Her heart performed an inappropriate little flip-flop routine at seeing him again. She didn’t want to have those feelings for him, like the childhood crush she’d had. She was an adult now, and there was no room in her life for childish pursuits.

Rylan’s dark curls had been clipped off, but that did nothing to take away from his good looks. The military had filled him out even more, and she had to force her eyes away from his chest, which had always been at eye level.

“You’re welcome.” She tried to look past him and see what he was blocking. “What’s going on, Rylan? I don’t hear from you in eight or nine—”

“Eight,” he interjected.

“Fine, eight years it’s been, and now I get an emergency call from you out of the blue? I don’t see your house burning down, and you’re not letting me inside. I’m a little confused as to why I’m here.”

“Damn.” He muttered something else under his breath that she couldn’t make out. “This is harder than I thought.”

“What is it, Rylan? Why did you call me?” Impatience had her tapping the toe of her boot on his concrete porch.

“Did you buy this place?” She hoped Mrs. Parker was okay. She’d moved six months ago to be closer to her daughter in San Antonio.

“I’m in the process,” he said, and an emotion she couldn’t quite pinpoint darkened his eyes.

“It’s good to see you, Amber.” He closed the door a little tighter against his side. He was massive at six foot three inches. He’d always been tall, but now he was filled out, too. It made a huge difference in his size and aided his ability to completely block her view.

Amber planted a balled fist on her hip, ignoring the reaction her body was having at seeing him again. “What’s so important that my hay had to wait?”

A baby let out a wail.

“Come on in and see for yourself.” He looked at her with the most helpless expression.

“What have you done, Rylan Anderson?” Amber stomped through the doorway and froze. Her jaw must’ve dropped. Rylan stared at her, but all she could focus on was the baby on the floor, lying on a blanket with couch pillows tucked all around her. “Is this yours?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

“What do you mean by that?” Okay, she understood what he was saying, but it was more like a seriously? How could this happen? And how could you not know if this is your child?

“A random person showed up at my door with her.” Rylan looked helplessly at the little girl who’d settled back down already. He really did sound lost and confused. His dark eyes had that lost quality, too.

“Where’s her mother?” Amber scanned the place. Her blood boiled that a person could drop a baby off and run like that.

“That’s a great question.” His voice held a mixture of frustration and desperation.

Thankfully, the baby had gone back to sleep.

“How did this happen?” She walked over and stood near the little pink bundle. She was young, a few months old if Amber had to guess. She’d been around her brothers’ children enough to know a little bit about babies.

Looking down at that sleeping angel caused Amber’s heart to squeeze. The air thinned, and it became difficult to breathe. She would never be able to look at such a young baby without remembering her loss. She reminded herself that it was a long time ago. And she still couldn’t go there, couldn’t allow her thoughts to run rogue without the world trying to crash down around her. She refocused on her former friend.

Rylan stood there, looking at a loss for words and staring at her like she had three foreheads.

“Okay, fine. I’m not that naive. I know how this happened. I’m just wondering…never mind…you got coffee?” She figured she was going to need some serious caffeine if she was going to think straight. She shook off the cold and shrugged out of her coat, which he immediately took from her and tossed onto the chair near the door.

“I put on a pot.” He turned toward the kitchen. “Here, let me—”

“No, thanks. You stay in here in case she wakes up again.” Amber didn’t want to explain the sudden burst of emotion that made tears well in her eyes. She knew better than to let Rylan see them, or he’d have too many questions. She stalked past him and into the adjacent kitchen.

She opened a couple of cabinets before she found the right cupboard. The coffeemaker was near the sink and easy to spot. There were unpacked boxes stacked against the wall in one corner. “You want a cup?”

“Yes. Please.”

Amber wiped her eyes and straightened her back before filling the mugs she’d taken from the cupboard and returning to the living room with two steaming coffees.

“Here you go.” She handed one to him and then took a sip of hers, enjoying the burn. She needed to clear a few cobwebs in order to think clearly. She plopped down on the floor, near the baby.

“Come join me, Rylan,” she said.

He did.

“You’ve been in some messes before, Rylan Anderson, but I can’t even begin with this one.” She took another sip and lowered her voice. “You don’t know if you’re the father?”

“This is the first time I’ve set eyes on her,” he admitted. “I had no clue that she existed until someone knocked on my door looking panicked, asked me to hold her and then ran. She was crying, and I had no idea what to do. The person said her mother asked him to drop the child off. He also said I’m her father, apologized and was gone before I could stop him.”

Amber looked down at the sleeping baby. She had Rylan’s dark curls, which didn’t exactly mean she belonged to him. She just looked like she could be his daughter. The thought of Rylan being a daddy hit her hard in the chest.

“Okay. Here’s what we’ll do. You can get a DNA test down at the store. I think they’re pretty easy to take. If she’s yours, we’ll take the next legal steps for you to claim her.” Her statement didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for.

“How accurate can a drugstore test be?” Rylan looked even more lost. “I need to track down her mother, and I can’t do that if I don’t know who she is.”

“How many women have you been with?” Before he could answer, she held up a hand. “Don’t answer that. It’s not my business.”

“This situation is complicated, Amber. But I’m not some jerk who runs around getting women pregnant and then ditching them. I just got out of the military and, yes, there’ve been a few women, but none who were important, and I’m always careful.” The indignation in his voice shouldn’t make her want to smile. Rylan would be considered hot by pretty much any woman with eyes. He was also smart and funny.

“I’m not trying to judge you unfairly, Rylan. I’m really not.” It was a mistake to look into his dark brown eyes while sitting this close.

He looked away and took a sip of coffee. “It doesn’t matter. She’s here and I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or if she’s mine. But I can’t help wondering who would track me down and play a twisted prank like this, either.”

“Did you say the stranger dropped off a diaper bag?” She was already looking around for one.

The living room had a sofa, chair and boxes. On the opposite wall was a perfectly set up and organized flat screen. There were two-by-two-inch swatches of paint colors taped to the wall that got the most natural light.

“It’s over there.” He pointed next to the sofa.

“Did you check it for a name?” she asked.

He shook his head.

Amber retrieved it and opened the zipper compartments one by one. She blew out a breath. “I don’t see anything.”

She held up the bag. A name was embroidered on the front pocket in small letters. Brooklyn. She showed it to Rylan. “The bag might’ve been borrowed, but we can call her Brooklyn for now.”

“It’s a start,” he agreed.

“What about social media? Surely, if you spent time with someone intimately you’d be following them or the other way around.” Discussing Rylan’s sex life wasn’t high on her list of post-holiday musts. Jealousy took another jab at her, so she straightened her shoulders. A man as hot and charming as Rylan had sex with women, probably any women he wanted. It wasn’t her place to judge. She’d had sex, too. She figured the only difference was that they were presently talking about his sex life.

“I’m not much on that computer stuff,” he said, that lost look in his eyes returning. “But, Amber, wouldn’t I know if I had a child?”

Chapter Two

Rylan didn’t expect seeing Amber again to hit him like a physical blow. It did. All he’d known when he’d made the SOS call was that he was in way over his head and he needed a female perspective. His mind had immediately snapped to Amber. He’d tried to tell himself the reason was that he’d dated most of the women in Jacobstown, which wasn’t much once high school was over, and that he figured Amber was safe. He nearly laughed out loud. Amber Kent safe.

The knockout youngest member of the Kent family could not be more fireworks and temptation. She was beautiful as ever. No, check that, she was even more beautiful than before. And that wasn’t exactly good for Rylan’s heart.

Her nutmeg-colored hair was in one of those thick French braids. A few strands broke free and fell beside her heart-shaped face, framing eyes that could best be described as a warm, light brown. She was the total package, full pink lips and creamy skin. She stood at roughly five foot seven and had legs that went on for days. Her hips were curvier than he remembered, which only made her sexier. He knew better than to let those unproductive thoughts occupy his mind.

As much as he liked looking at a pretty face and a hot body, Amber was so much more. Her intelligence and sense of humor had been the first things he’d noticed about her. Well, after they’d both gotten over those awkward teen years. She’d come through it all so easily. Not him. He’d become angry and headed down a bad path with the wrong people, which had led to him shutting out his best friend. This wasn’t the time to dive down that slippery slope of shame and regret.

“I’m drawing a blank on who the mother could be.” Embarrassing as it was to admit, he had no clue. He had no excuses, either.

“This baby looks to be few months old. My best guess is around three,” she stated.

“How do you know?” He had no clue.

“We’ve had a baby boom at the ranch.” She shot him a look like she just realized he wasn’t caught up on her family’s life. “Don’t ask.”

He glanced at her ring finger. Relief he had no right to own washed over him when he saw no gold band. “Didn’t plan to.”

“Good. The mother would’ve been pregnant for nine months. So where were you…” She paused looking like she was making a mental calculation and counted on her fingers. “Twelve months ago, give or take?”

Rylan rubbed the scruff on his chin. He looked away from those distracting eyes. “There was a weekend that I don’t remember much about. I must’ve had too much to drink.”

“No one drinks so much that they can’t remember where they were or who they were with, Rylan,” she argued.

He thought back to where he might’ve been a year ago and drew a blank. “The thing is… I used to drink and that got me into a lot of trouble. I quit. Even when I drank, I never partied so much that I was careless enough to…” He motioned toward the baby.

“Well, that’s good to know.” She blew out a breath. “She’s probably not even yours. This is most likely a mix-up.”

Amber pulled out a piece of paper from the diaper bag. “I didn’t see this before.”

“What is it?”

“A note from someone. The mother?”

Guilt stabbed at Rylan. There was that one time he’d gone to a party and woke up the next day in a motel room, alone. A hazy memory said there was a woman with him that night. Everything was foggy, and it felt more like a dream than reality. He’d felt off for a few days afterward, most likely the effects of alcohol after not drinking anything stronger than a cup of coffee for years.

She skimmed the note. “It’s not signed. But it’s addressed to you, and the baby’s name is Brooklyn.”

Rylan thought back to that weekend. Was that twelve months ago? It seemed longer than that, which meant he couldn’t be the father of the child. What would the odds be of those dates matching up? They had to be slim. “What else?”

Amber held up the piece of paper and shrugged. “That’s it. At least we know her name for certain now.”

Rylan studied Amber. She had that same lost look from when she first saw the baby.

“I need to call Zach.” Rylan referred to the sheriff, who also happened to be Amber’s cousin.

“What can he do?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Call in Child Protective Services?” There was no conviction in his words. “Find this kid’s mother?”

“And what if she is yours? Do you plan to ignore that fact, Rylan, because if you do I won’t recognize you anymore.” She was all anger and ire. Damn that she was even more beautiful when she was scolding him. He shouldn’t find it amusing or cute as hell.

“I would never deny my own child.” It was true. Rylan knew firsthand what it was like to have a father who couldn’t be bothered with his child. When Rylan was young, his mother had told him that his father had gone camping. He later realized that she was covering for the fact that Rylan’s father had walked out on them both. The man didn’t look back. He just disappeared one day, leaving Rylan’s mother to care for him long before Rylan had any memories of his father.

His mother had worked two, sometimes three jobs to pay the bills. He’d loved her and respected her, but he never knew her. Loralee Anderson was always gone, working, trying to make a living. When she became sick and passed away when Rylan was in high school, he had rebelled. He’d gotten out of control. And then the night he’ll never forget happened. Even now, he couldn’t go there mentally.

The US Navy had become his family once he decided to get his act together and join. Then, his brothers on his SEAL team were his only family. And yet he’d never quite been able to erase Jacobstown from his mind.

Now that his time was up in the military, and he’d had no designs on a forever career, Rylan came back to the only place he’d ever known as home. Except nothing was the same anymore. Strange how moving away from the place he grew up made him think it would somehow be frozen in time when he returned. It didn’t work that way. Life moved on. People grew up and grew older.

“Are you listening?” Amber interrupted his heavy thoughts. She blinked at him.

“Yes. Sorry. What were you saying again?” He took another sip of coffee to wake up his mind. He’d stayed up too late last night unpacking the kitchen, but at least the place was close to livable now. He planned to move a wall in order to open up the living area to the kitchen. There were other renovations on deck. Once the place was updated, Rylan had planned to decide if it was worth sticking around Jacobstown.

“Where’s your laptop?” Amber set her coffee on the table next to the couch.

“Ah, over here.” He retrieved it and sat next to her.

She opened it and asked him to log into his social media page. She looked at his story and skimmed all the people—mostly women—who followed him.

He could’ve sworn she’d blown out a frustrated breath.

“There are a lot of names here, Rylan.” She studied the screen.

“Yeah, I know a lot of people thanks to traveling all over the world,” he said.

“Thank you for your service,” she said, and there was a hint of admiration in her voice. It made him proud to hear it.

“You’re welcome,” he said reflexively. He’d heard it dozens of times over the years, but it sounded somehow sweeter coming from Amber. He told himself that he couldn’t afford to care about what she really thought of him, even though a little voice in the back of his head called him out on the lie.

“Okay.” She refocused on the screen. “Let’s get to work on these names.”

She pulled up picture after picture, but he didn’t remember being with any of the faces. Especially not in the time frame that would be necessary for one of them to be the mother of the child.

“It’s no good.” He was getting frustrated.

“We’ll figure it out,” Amber reassured him.

It was easy for her to say. Everything in life came easy to Amber Kent. Beauty? Check. Brains? Check. Great family who loved her? Check. Money? Check.

“Everything can’t be fixed by the Kent charm.” He nudged her shoulder with his. A surprising amount of electricity pulsed from where they made contact. Well, that was a bad idea. One Rylan had no intention of repeating.

His attraction to Amber came roaring back, but he remembered the promise he’d made to his best friend. Will Kent knew Rylan better than anyone else, and if Will thought Rylan dating Amber was a bad idea, then it was. Period.

Besides, Rylan would never break a promise to his former best friend.

“Ha-ha. Very funny. You know, luck visits those wearing overalls more often than someone who can’t be bothered to get his hands in the dirt,” she shot back.

“True.” He picked up her hand and showed off her manicured nails.

“Just because I know how to clean up doesn’t mean I don’t put in the work, Rylan Anderson.” Hearing his name roll off her tongue shouldn’t sound so good. He should also ignore the electricity bouncing between them. Those were things that had gotten him into trouble before, and he’d touched the hot stove once.

Rylan liked to think that he learned from his mistakes.

The baby stirred. Rylan had never been around kids and he hoped, no prayed, the little thing wouldn’t wake before someone from CPS could get here. He had no idea what to do with a baby, and was grateful that Amber had shown up before the little girl woke and started crying again. Her wails had damn near broken his heart before she tuckered herself out and fell asleep.

Rylan had never felt so useless or helpless in his life. He’d practically worn a path in the carpet making circles in the living room as he held her against his chest. It was the only position she seemed remotely soothed in.

“I know you work hard,” he conceded. “I also know that you’re smarter than me. So, what do I do with this?” He motioned toward the black-haired angel. “Because I’m out of my league here. I surrender.”

“Like you said, we can start by calling Zach. You know my cousin will come right over. News will get out, too. News that you’re possibly a daddy. News that I was here.” She flashed eyes at him, and he realized she was asking if he was prepared for her brother to know she was at his place. “Are you prepared for her to be tied up in the system until the courts figure out paternity?”

He hadn’t thought of it that way. He’d been too focused on trying to ensure he wasn’t left alone with her for long. He didn’t have the first clue how to care for a baby. But Amber made a good point, and it was something he needed to seriously consider.

“No. If she’s mine, then I want her with me. I’d also like to figure out who her mother is either way. I mean, having this dropped on my doorstep has rocked my world, and I want to know if this is a babysitting detail or if some person is going to show up in six months with a court order demanding her baby back.”

He didn’t do the unknown real well, especially with stakes this high.

Chapter Three

Amber’s cousin, Zach McWilliams, happened to be nearby when she called to explain Rylan’s situation. The sheriff was on his way over. Questions were mounting, and Rylan needed answers. He could hardly imagine that a person could abandon such a sweet child. Even when Brooklyn had cried in his arms earlier she’d done it softly.

There was something delicate and tiny about the little girl that brought out Rylan’s protective instincts. She had the roundest cheeks, the thickest head of curly hair and the most angelic features he’d ever seen.

Granted, Rylan hadn’t been much on babies before, and had no intention of having one of his own until he had something to offer. That was one of many reasons he hoped this one had a different father. But as far as babies went, he’d be lucky to have one like her.

A soft knock sounded at the door, and Rylan immediately walked over and let Zach in.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Rylan said.

“Good to see you again.” Zach’s wary expression made sense given the circumstances. All Amber had told her cousin was that she needed to speak to him at Rylan’s house, and that she’d explain everything when Zach arrived.

His gaze bounced from Amber to the sleeping baby to Rylan. Amber gave her cousin a hug. He eyed the stacks of unpacked boxes.

“I’m still getting settled,” Rylan said by way of explanation.

“I heard you were back,” Zach said. “Welcome home.”

Rylan thanked him. He hadn’t been sure of the reception he’d get from anyone connected to the Kent family. But then it wasn’t like Will Kent to go spreading rumors.

Amber motioned toward the couch. “Sit down.”

“I’m good.” Zach stood in an athletic stance like he was preparing himself for just about anything. He looked to Rylan. “What’s going on?”

“A guy shows up at my door. He’s holding a baby in a carrier and has a diaper bag on his shoulder. I just moved in so I figure he has the wrong address or is looking to visit Mrs. Parker, who used to own this place.”

“She moved to San Antonio to be close to her daughter,” Zach confirmed. He’d pulled out a notebook and pencil. He looked up from the notes he was scribbling.

“Yeah. The place had been empty and she needed the money. I figured we’d both win if I bought it,” Rylan said.

“So, you’re planning on sticking around?” Zach asked.

Rylan glanced at Amber before returning his gaze to Zach. “That’s the idea for now. I figure I can always rent the place out if I decide to move to the city.”

“People need affordable housing.” Zach was nodding. “The guy who showed up. Had you ever seen him before that you can recall?”

“First time,” Rylan said. “He shows up and asks if I’m Rylan Anderson. I tell him yes and then his cell goes off. It wakes the baby and she starts crying. He looks flustered, asks me if I can hold the baby carrier while he answers his phone. The minute I take the carrier he drops the diaper bag at my feet, tells me the kid is mine and then bolts.”

“Did you chase him?” Zach asked.

“By the time I set the baby down and kicked the bag out of the way, he had too much of a head start. She was crying, sounding pitiful, so I didn’t have it in my heart to leave her. I looked up, but by then the guy disappeared in between the neighbors’ houses.” Rylan was still annoyed that he’d been outplayed.

“What did he look like?” Zach jotted down notes.

“He was around five feet nine inches. He had blond hair and blue eyes. He was young. I’d say in his early twenties. He was slim, looked like a runner. He had thin features,” Rylan stated.

“Think you could work with a sketch artist?” Zach asked.

Rylan nodded as the little girl stirred. She immediately started winding up to cry. Again, Rylan felt useless. He looked toward Amber.

“She’s probably hungry,” Amber said, picking the baby up like it was as natural as a Sunday walk. Bouncing the little girl kept her from wailing. “You two keep talking. I’ll figure out how to make her a bottle. Do you have a microwave?”

“Yes,” Rylan said. He turned his attention back to Zach as Amber disappeared.

The baby cried louder once in the kitchen, and he figured Amber had her hands full. She probably needed help.

Rylan followed the sound. “What do you want me to do?” He had to do something. He couldn’t stand helplessly by and watch Amber do all the work. He wasn’t a jerk.

Zach waited with the patience of a Sunday-school teacher in church.

Amber mixed a packet of formula with bottled water that she’d heated. She filled the bottle and secured the lid. The little girl latched on and then settled in Amber’s arms. Rylan didn’t want to notice how natural Amber looked holding a baby. His baby?

“I have no idea if the child is mine. There was one time I was with someone, but I’m not even sure the dates match up,” Rylan admitted.

Zach asked a few routine-sounding questions that Rylan didn’t know the answers to.

“What happens now, Zach?” Rylan needed to know what was going to happen to the little girl.

“This is where we call in Child Protect—”

“Let’s say that wasn’t an option,” Rylan interrupted. “What then?”

Amber’s gaze darted from the little girl in her arms to Rylan and back.

“A case could be made for her to stay with a parent,” Zach informed him.

“We haven’t established paternity.” Rylan had no idea if he was the little girl’s father, but no kid deserved to be dropped off and left behind. Being rejected by the two people who were supposed to love a kid the most made for a bad upbringing. Although Rylan was never a bad kid, per se, he’d managed his fair share of trouble over the years, especially in high school. Thinking about restitution for the trouble he’d caused the Willow family was a large part of the reason he’d moved back to town. He owed them and had every intention of making good.

“I’ll make that call and see who’s available at CPS,” Zach said. “Before you tell me you don’t have to meet the CPS worker and that you have a comfort level with the child, I’ll make that call to see who’s available. The other option is to let her stay here.”

Rylan looked at the little girl, who seemed content to curl up in Amber’s arms. “I’ll meet the person you send.”

Brooklyn Anderson? He did like how that sounded.

Zach excused himself to make a call. He returned a minute later. “Elise Shelton is on her way.”

“What will happen to her?” Rylan motioned toward Brooklyn.

“She’ll be placed in a temporary home until her identity can be established via a DNA test and her parents are located,” Zach informed him.

Rylan appreciated Zach for not automatically assuming she belonged to him. If she turned out to be his daughter, he would figure out a way to make her feel at home in his house, in their home.

“Any chance I can keep her here until this mess is sorted out?” Rylan didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. Maybe there was a loophole? If not, he’d have to rely on Zach’s good nature.

The sheriff’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You would want to do that? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a noble gesture but babies need a lot of care. Do you know how to make a bottle or change a diaper?”

Rylan shrugged. “I wouldn’t sign up for it voluntarily but here she is. Being dropped off here must’ve been traumatic for her, and the thought of sending her off to someone and changing her environment again doesn’t sit right. And here’s the thing, what if she is my child? Then what? She gets bounced back here right where we started?”

“I see your point.” Zach’s expression was calm, serious. “What if she’s not your child? What if a mother is running away from someone? What if she picked your name off a mailbox and found a random person to tell you this story?”

“That’s all the more reason for me to keep her. I can protect her.” Rylan was dead serious about that. His military training made him the best qualified to handle a threat, foreign or domestic.

“Do you know how to care for a baby?” Zach asked again. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but they’re a handful.”

Rylan needed to think long and hard about his next move.

“I’LL STICK AROUND and help with the baby until her paternity gets sorted out,” Amber volunteered.

Zach’s gaze flew to her. She shrugged, trying to dismiss the innuendo that she was offering for another reason, like she was attracted to Rylan.

“You sure that’s such a good idea?” Zach asked.

“I’m not going to turn my back on a friend, Zach. Besides, he’s never taken care of a baby before as far as I know, and you just pointed out what a handful one could be.” Throwing his own words back at him usually worked in disagreements with her cousin. She knew he had her best interests at heart, but she also knew her own mind. “Do you really want this sweet little girl bounced around? And, as Rylan said, there’s a chance you’ll be bringing her right back here at the end of a couple of days anyway.”

Zach stood there, staring at the carpet. She knew she was getting through to him.

“I doubt this will take long to decipher, and then I’ll be back at the ranch doing my own thing again,” she added for good measure.

“What if the DNA test reveals that Rylan is the father?” Zach was tapping his toe. “What then?”

“He’ll have to figure out his next moves when that time comes,” Amber admitted. “Until then, I plan to give him a hand.”

Rylan would have to hire help. There were a few grandmothers in Jacobstown who had free time on their hands and who wouldn’t mind a babysitting job. Amber could think of three off the top of her head, and she’d be happy to supply names. Heck, at least one of them would babysit for free just to have something to do. Granted, individually they couldn’t handle Brooklyn all day by themselves, but something could be worked out.

“Your heart’s in the right place, Amber. It is,” Zach started. “But you have a full plate at the ranch right now.”

“I can do some of the work from here. Calves aren’t due for another couple of weeks, so that gives me some time,” she said. Zach could only give her advice. Amber was old enough to make her own decisions, and she would. He knew it, too, based on the look in his eyes.

“If that’s the decision, I’d better track down this little one’s parents,” he finally said.

“What about a home paternity test? Don’t they sell those at the drugstore?” Amber already had her cell phone out, checking out names of tests on the internet. “Do you think those are accurate?”

“Sometimes they are. Sometimes they aren’t. This is too important to leave to chance,” Zach stated.

“You’re right about that.” Rylan folded his arms.

“The courts will want me involved to prove paternity,” Zach said. “They’ll want me to control the chain of evidence. We’ll get Dr. Logan out here to take the sample. Let me text Elise and tell her not to come. She probably won’t want to get out in this weather anyway.”

The fact that Rylan could be a father slammed into Amber. She couldn’t see him waking up at three thirty in the morning for feedings or diaper changes until this moment. There was something about the look in his eye that said he would do whatever he needed to in order to care for his child.

Amber’s chest squeezed at thinking about the baby’s mother showing up and wanting to be a family. It was silly, really. Amber and Rylan had never dated. A relationship with her older brother’s friend was completely out of the question, especially considering no one would clue her in as to why they’d stopped talking. And yet an inappropriate stab of jealousy struck anyway.

Did she want another baby? Was that the reason for the strange emotions coursing through her? The one she’d lost with her ex had nearly done her in emotionally. She couldn’t even talk about the baby that had been stillborn, the divorce that had followed.

When she really thought about it…no. Amber had too many responsibilities at the ranch and in town.

Thinking about babies struck her as odd. She’d never been the type to sit around and daydream about weddings and kids. She’d never really been certain that having a family of her own was the right decision for her, especially after losing her parents, her baby, and then getting divorced before she turned twenty. She’d seen a few of her brothers find happiness and settle down. Marriage had been good for them.

Amber couldn’t fathom trying again. Besides, she had too much to accomplish. And she may never decide to have a family of her own. It would take a special guy in her life to make her want those things again. He would have to be someone incredibly special to make her able to face another pregnancy.

And the funny thing was that she wasn’t even ready to begin looking for him.

But, sitting in Rylan’s kitchen, holding what could be his baby, she couldn’t deny a certain pull toward the child.

Then again, those big brown eyes and round cheeks had a way of casting a spell on a person. Quit being so cute, kiddo.

Amber refocused on the conversation going on between Zach and Rylan. It involved a doctor and the court and words she never expected to hear in a conversation about Rylan. Fatherhood. Wow. It looked like he was about to grow up if this was real. Looking at his body—a body he’d filled out during his time in the military—it looked like Rylan had already accomplished that on his own.

Her heart stuttered when he caught her gaze. He also busted her staring at his chest. Her cheeks flamed. This was turning out to be a red-letter day.

He walked close to her as Zach made a phone call, presumably to Dr. Logan.

“Thank you for offering to stay, Amber.” He started to say more, but she put her hand up to stop him.

“It’s nothing.” Her heart argued against her offer amounting to nothing. “Don’t worry about it.”

How long could it take to get answers?

Chapter Four

“I’m sure I would’ve heard gossip if Amber Kent had had a baby. So, who does this little bean belong to?” Dr. Logan smiled at Brooklyn. She cooed. Wow, Amber thought. Five kids definitely gave him the experience edge. Thankfully, he’d been on his way home from the hospital and didn’t mind diverting for a few minutes to lend a hand.

Amber and her family had known Dr. Logan since forever. His green eyes were as warm as ever even though the rest of him was aging. He was graying everywhere else. He was a gentle man, fairly tall at five feet eleven inches but much shorter than Rylan. Dr. Logan kept himself in shape by running.

The times Amber headed into town in the morning she’d see him on a run. He was an honest man who’d been married to the same woman since graduating high school. They’d had five children, and the joke had always been that they needed one more to keep up with the Kents. Mrs. Logan and Amber’s mother had been close friends. Amber’s heart squeezed. Even though it had been years and she should be used to it by now, she still missed her mother. She missed her father, too, of course. But after losing her child, Amber could have used her mother to help get her through. The recent holidays left her feeling blue without her parents.

“She’s not mine. We’re trying to figure out if she belongs to Rylan Anderson,” Amber said to the doctor with a wink. She’d asked to be the one to answer the door when he knocked.

“I’d heard he was back in town. Didn’t realize he brought back a family.” Dr. Logan wasn’t being judgmental when he said it. He glanced past Amber.

Seeing him made her miss her folks that much more, and between Brooklyn and her brothers’ babies maternal feelings stirred inside Amber after shutting them off after losing her baby.

“Zach and Rylan are in the kitchen.” She motioned toward the back of the house. She stopped short of walking in the next room. “Rylan had his world shaken up, Dr. Logan. He just learned about this little angel and has no idea if she’s his.”

“Oh. I see. Zach mentioned there was a question about the little girl. I didn’t connect the dots. Forgive an old man.” His smile lit up his eyes and made her think about her own pop. He would be close to the same age as Dr. Logan now. Her father’s eyes had been hazel, like looking across the sea.

“Thanks for understanding.” Amber’s eyes started welling up. That was embarrassing. She shoved her feelings aside, wiped a rogue tear and focused on the baby in her arms.

Amber followed Dr. Logan into the kitchen. She’d believed that she’d dealt with her sense of loss with her parents a couple of years ago, but emotion brimmed just under the surface. “Thank you for coming, Dr. Logan,” Zach said with an outstretched hand.

He took Zach’s offering first and then Rylan’s.

“How about you sit right here,” Dr. Logan said to Amber, motioning toward the chair next to the kitchen table. “This won’t take but a second.”

He made goofy faces at Brooklyn. The baby laughed. He played peekaboo, and the little angel’s laugh caused an ache in Amber’s chest. Doc opened his medical bag and pulled out a swab. He used it to collect a sample from the inside of the little girl’s cheek.

Rylan paced circles on the tile floor behind Amber.

She avoided eye contact with her cousin because she could already read the disapproval on his features. He wouldn’t want her around Rylan any more than her brother Will would.

Rylan had made a few mistakes, she’d give Will that much. And she knew deep down her brother still cared about his former best friend even though he’d refused to talk about him the first year Rylan was gone. Anyone who mentioned Rylan’s name got a dirty stare before Will excused himself and left the room. Something had happened between them, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it had been. And she’d tried. She’d quietly asked around, but either no one knew or no one was talking. Knowing her brother, no one knew but Will and Rylan. Will had gone quiet and Rylan signed up for the military.

Will was stubborn. Especially when he thought he was right.

The problem was that she had no idea how her brother felt about Rylan anymore. Her relationships with her siblings had changed after losing their parents. In some ways the loss had brought them all closer. In others it had taken a toll. Everyone had been busy in the last few years changing their lives in order to take over their rightful places at the ranch.

Nothing felt settled. Of course, that could just be Amber. She was the broken one.

Brooklyn cooed once more at Dr. Logan, who could win Dad of the Year based on his exchange with the baby. In fact, Amber figured she could learn a few things from the man.

Again, the thought of Rylan being a dad struck a strange chord. She needed to get a grip. They were old friends and nothing more. He needed help and had been back in town only a week or two. He’d reached out to her as a friend, and she was helping because of their past and because the recent holiday season had her feeling melancholy. That was all. Her body might have an inappropriate reaction to seeing Rylan again, but logically she knew better than to put too much stock into it.

So the military had filled him out and he looked even more gorgeous than before, if that was even possible. That wasn’t all. Something was different. They were both eight years older; both had changed.

“One more sample and I’ll be on my way,” Dr. Logan said, looking toward Rylan.

Amber figured that Rylan would want to know immediately about the results and part of her wanted to know, too. Again, the thought of Rylan being a dad blew her away. He hardly seemed old enough, but he very much was. Several of her brothers were married and had children.

Reality was a hard smack. When had everyone gotten this old?

Okay, granted, being in their twenties and early thirties wasn’t exactly old. She meant when had everyone matured enough to have families of their own? It felt like only a minute had passed since she’d been running in the fields with one or more of her brothers and some of their neighbors playing Keep Away or Freeze Tag.

And now?

She’d blinked and everything was different.

“Any chance you can share the results with Rylan the minute they come in?” she asked the doctor.

“I think that would be okay as long as the sheriff doesn’t have a problem with it,” Dr. Logan answered.

All eyes flew to Zach.

“I’m fine with it.” The sheriff raked his fingers through his hair. “I’d want to know as soon as possible if this was me. Official word is for the courts.”

“Thank you,” Amber said, and she could see some measure of relief on Rylan’s face. Otherwise, he looked pretty out of his element.

The doctor finished his tests in a matter of minutes. He handed one to Zach and placed one in his carrying case. “I won’t have the results until Monday. The lab’s closed for the day.”

Amber figured it was going to be an uncomfortable night, but they could power through.

“Thank you.” Rylan walked Dr. Logan to the front door.

Amber turned to Zach. “There’s a diaper bag with a handwritten note in it.”

“I’ll take it into evidence.” Zach excused himself and then returned a minute later with a paper bag.

“It’s in there,” she said.

Zach was careful to remove the note. “Maybe we’ll get lucky with a fingerprint match.”

“Mine will be on there. Sorry.” Amber wasn’t sure she wanted Brooklyn’s mother to be in the criminal database. That would mean her mother had committed other crimes, which was not exactly ideal.

Amber’s stomach performed that annoying flip-flop routine when Rylan came back into the kitchen.

“I better run. Let me know if Dr. Logan sends word to you, okay?” Zach held tight to the evidence bag that now had a companion.

“We will,” Amber answered before Zach let himself out.

Rylan motioned toward the coffee machine on the counter. “You want another cup?”

“Yes, please.” Amber didn’t want to think about how right it felt to be in this man’s kitchen. There was a lot she didn’t know about Rylan, like what he’d been doing for the past eight years. “What did you do in the military?”

He rolled massive shoulders. “Not much. I was a diver.”

She’d known a Navy SEAL once who used that line. It also meant that he wouldn’t tell her much more. She glanced around the room. “You’re still getting settled in?”

“Yep.” He turned the tables on her when he asked, “What have you been up to for the past eight years?”

“I’m the one asking questions,” she shot back.

“Why is that?” He picked up her coffee mug and walked toward the machine.

“You’re the one who asked for my help, remember?” She wasn’t ready to talk about her past with anyone.

“Is that how this works?”

“It is if you want me to stick around,” she said playfully.

“I do. So, I guess you’re in charge.” He poured a cup and started the second.

“Be honest. How come you and my brother stopped talking?”

Rylan froze for a split second but then recovered quickly and went back to work. “People change.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Amber didn’t see how two best friends could become so distanced in two seconds flat. She understood people growing apart or moving in different directions in life, but this had been like stepping in front of a bus.

“It’s not important,” he said, dismissing the conversation. He turned around with two mugs in his hands. “But she is, and that’s my first priority right now.” He motioned toward the baby.

He set the mugs down.

Amber bounced the little girl, who cooed. It was satisfying to be able to help with Brooklyn. Maybe Amber wasn’t all thumbs at taking care of little ones after all. She was getting enough experience with her brothers recently, that was for sure.

“There’s a cold front coming tonight,” Rylan said.

“That does tend to happen this time of year.” Christmas was a few weeks ago. It had always been Amber’s favorite holiday. Except for the past few years. Since losing her parents, she hadn’t found her footing. Being with her brothers and their families had been the best part about it. Amber couldn’t help but notice the absence of her parents even more this time of year.

“All I have is what’s in that diaper bag.” He took a sip of coffee. “She’ll freeze in what she’s wearing.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Rylan. She’ll be fine. You’ll wrap her in extra blankets,” she said.

“And what if she kicks them off? I’m a whirlwind sleeper. What if she’s the same?” His look of concern was endearing. Her stomach performed another somersault routine. “Let’s worry about getting some lunch first. Then we can think about sleeping arrangements later.”

Rylan didn’t speak for a few minutes. He looked tired and concerned.

“However this turns out will be okay, Rylan. You know that, right?” she asked.

“No, it won’t.”

RYLAN DIDN’T HAVE the first idea how to be a dad. He was probably going to damage the child beyond repair if she turned out to be his. Part of him was still holding out hope that there’d been some mistake. It wasn’t Brooklyn’s fault. The kid was adorable. He was the problem.

Besides, a mother would have to be desperate to leave her child with someone she hadn’t seen in a year who’d never met the child. To make matters worse, he didn’t even remember the child’s mother. What kind of jerk did that make him?

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Rylan.” Amber’s voice—a voice he’d thought about more than he should admit while he was overseas—cut through his heavy thoughts. Telling his best friend that he’d kissed his little sister before shipping off had been a disaster, especially after the mistakes Rylan had made. He didn’t blame Will for not trusting him. Rylan hadn’t deserved his friend’s confidence.

Even so, Will’s reaction had set Rylan off. Will had blown up. Rylan had gotten offended. He’d been so hotheaded back then. Ready to fight the world and, stupidly, his best friend when his reaction wasn’t what Rylan was hoping for.

There was more to it than that. Rylan had been pushing boundaries and heading toward dangerous territory. Will had tried to intervene and talk him down from doing stupid things. What had Rylan’s response been to his friend’s concern? He’d told him to get a life and had gone off and messed up royally.

“I’m thinking that I’m in a whole mess of trouble.” The baby was one thing. Rylan had come back to make amends for his mistakes. Now, his life had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

“Well, it’s no use feeling sorry for yourself,” Amber said a bit more emphatically than he liked.

He couldn’t help but smile. “That’s not what I was doing.”

“What do you call it then?” There was a hint of mischief in her eyes, and he didn’t want to think it was sexy even though he did.

He missed talking to Amber. With her, conversation wasn’t work like with most people. She had a quick wit and sharp sense of humor, but it was her intelligence that drew him in. Seeing her again was supposed to stop him from thinking about her. That, like many of his plans of late, had gone to hell in a handbasket the second he put eyes on the woman.

She was still beautiful. More so now that she had a few curves. She had big eyes, not saucers because that description would be way too plain. And they were the most beautiful shade of brown. Her nutmeg-colored hair fell past her shoulders in that braid. She’d grown it out a little more, and it looked good on her.

“Where do you think her mother could be?” Amber asked. She must’ve noticed that he’d been staring at her with the way her cheeks flushed.

“That’s a great question,” he said.

“A woman would have to be awfully desperate to convince a person to drop off an angel like this at a man’s house sight unseen.” Amber’s brow shot up. “Why’d you really come back to Jacobstown?”

Rylan shrugged. He wasn’t ready to talk about the real reasons, and there were many. He settled on, “It’s where I’m from.”

“I figured you’d end up in the city,” she admitted.

“Fort Worth? Nah.”

“No, I was thinking someplace farther than Fort Worth. Austin, maybe. San Antonio. I didn’t think you’d come back here,” she said.

“Austin’s nice. I have work here, though,” he said. What he meant to say was that he had work to do. He had retribution to pay, and would never be able to get on with life as a man if he didn’t right a wrong. He didn’t want to go into the details until he figured out how to go about it.

There was another reason why he’d come back to Jacobstown. He had nowhere else to go.

“You came back for a job?” she asked.

“Something like that,” he said. “Why all the questions? Don’t you think I should be here?”

“I never said that,” she said quickly. “I’m just surprised. I figured you put this town behind you and didn’t want to look back.”

“I served in the military. I didn’t sign up to live on Mars.” A big part of him didn’t want to look back at Jacobstown; facing this town again was harder than he expected. But he could never move forward until he made amends for the past. The Willow family deserved that and more.

“Why not?” she asked with a smirk.

“Mars doesn’t have a Jacobstown,” he quipped.

“You always said you couldn’t wait to leave this town, to get out and make your mark on the world.” She took a sip of coffee, which wasn’t an easy feat with a baby in her lap. She managed to balance both without letting Brooklyn grab the cup.

“I was fifteen years old the last time I said that. What did I know?” He stood and walked over to the window. The wind had picked up, and he could see the oak tree in his backyard sway.

“Your head was filled with ideas about what you were going to do when you turned eighteen,” she continued. She fell quiet for a few minutes, bouncing and playing with the baby on her lap. “Did you find what you were looking for out there?”

Rylan didn’t answer.

Instead, he took another sip of coffee and contemplated the storm.

“It’s going to get a lot worse out there. You okay with being here if it really comes down?”

Amber looked up at him and locked on to his gaze.

“A storm never stopped me, Rylan.”

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