The Deputy's Lost and Found

The Deputy's Lost and Found by Stella Bagwell Read Free Book Online

Book: The Deputy's Lost and Found by Stella Bagwell Read Free Book Online
Authors: Stella Bagwell
certain woman. So far he’d not found one that could hold his interest for more than a month, much less forever. Where women were concerned, Brady’s mother accused him of being a selfish alpha male who expected too much from a lady. But Brady would hardly classify himself in those terms. He’d rather think of himself as smart and practical. And he was smart enough to know that he wasn’t ready or willing to turn his life over to a woman. For that to happen, he’d have to be head over heels in love. And so far, that malady had never struck Brady.
    Shaking the sheriff’s hand heartily, Brady expressed his congratulations. “Wow! This must have been a pleasant surprise for the whole family! You must be walking on a cloud right about now!”
    The sheriff chuckled. “The whole Murdock clan has kept the phone lines hot with the news. And me, well, I’m not even complaining about having to cook breakfast for me and the boys for the past week. Penny can’t stand the smell of food early in the mornings. She won’t even let me make coffee. And speaking of coffee—” he glanced over his shoulder to a corner where the coffeemaker was located “—has anyone made a pot yet?”
    “Yeah. Me. I’ll get us both a cup,” Brady told him. “I need to talk with you.”
    “Fine. Bring it on to my office,” he said. “I want to see if Dottie has left any notes on my desk.”
    Moments later, carrying two cups steaming with coffee,Brady entered the sheriff’s office and took a seat in front of the other man’s desk.
    “So,” Ethan said as he sipped from the cup and rifled through the scraps of paper scattered in front of him, “you have something personal on your mind? Or business?”
    Feeling sheepish and not really knowing why, Brady cleared his throat. “A little of both, I suppose. It’s about the Jane Doe case. She’s getting released from the hospital today. And I…plan on taking her out to the ranch.”
    Ethan’s head shot up. “The Diamond D—?”
    “That’s right. Do you have any problems with that?”
    The sheriff rubbed a finger along his jaw. “Well, I don’t think there’s any law against it. But I…wouldn’t advise it, Brady. The county has places for people like her. They’ll look out for her until we get this thing straightened out.”
    Frowning with disapproval, Brady leaned forward. “Sure. In that women’s shelter down in Ruidoso. That wouldn’t be good.”
    “Why not?”
    Brady slowly sipped his coffee while he tried to gather all the legitimate excuses he could think of. “Well, it’s right next to the mission for people with addiction problems.”
    “She won’t have to mingle with those people.”
    Drawing in a deep breath, Brady tried again. “The women’s shelter is small and they rarely have enough room to spare. Lass wouldn’t have any privacy and she’d have to wear whatever she could find out of the charity box.”
    Ethan picked up another note and scanned the brief contents. “I could think of worse things.”
    Brady’s jaw tightened. “She doesn’t come from that sort of background, Ethan. She doesn’t belong there.”
    The sheriff shot him a wry look, before he carefully sipped his coffee. “None of the other women belong there,either, Brady. Bad circumstances put them there. Just like the Jane—” He suddenly paused, his eyes narrowing on Brady’s face. “Did I hear you call her ‘Lass’? Has she remembered her name?”
    Brady couldn’t stop a wave of red heat from crawling up his neck and onto his face. “No. Unless her condition changed overnight.” He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “I gave her the name. We had to have something to call her.”
    “Yeah,” Ethan said dryly, “guess the name Jane wouldn’t work for that.”
    Knowing the other man could see right through him, Brady tossed up his hands in surrender. “Okay. Okay. So I’m a sucker for a stray. What can I say?”
    Ethan settled back in his chair and Brady could feel the

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