Never Say Never Read Online Free Page B

melted into those jeans to have recently birthed a baby—the police were going to want to question her. She and the baby appearing at nearly the same time was too coincidental for even Lassiter’s easygoing sheriff to ignore.
    “Fine.” Jill sat back down. By the disgust written on her face, Dustin knew she’d guessed his ulterior motive in keeping her there.
    “Must we have the police, Dustin? Can’t you just talk to Marsh and see what he thinks we should do?” Eunice asked.
    “That’s probably the best idea. I’ll go call him now.”
    The baby grunted in Eunice’s arms. He saw his mother cast an amused glance at Jill.
    “I suggest you hurry and get those diapers, Dustin, since you won’t let Jill do the errand for you. I think this little darling’s giving you an early Christmas present,” Eunice said with a too-innocent grin.
     
     
    “So, what makes you interested in the position, Jill?” Eunice’s question pulled Jill’s gaze away from surreptitiously watching Dustin talk to the sheriff who had arrived a few minutes earlier.
    “Stability,” she answered. “The idea of living in one place for a year is very appealing.”
    Jill thought about her answer, knowing that there had been more that had pulled her out to the ranch on Setting Sun Road. Meeting Mrs. Reed’s eyes, Jill said honestly, “The bonus at the end of a year was an incentive also.”
    Eunice nodded. Jill watched as the baby opened her mouth in an angelic yawn. “Although I suppose you weren’t counting on both of us joining you for the holidays. Will you have enough room?”
    “Space isn’t a problem at all. I rather like the idea of a house full of people during Christmas. It’s been somewhat lonely around here. If we can agree on the position, then your coming here is very fortuitous. We’ll need help with this baby, of course.”
    “Hello, Ms. McCall,” the sheriff said, coming over to introduce himself with a big smile. “I’m Sheriff Tommy Marsh. Go by Marsh, ’cause Dustin’s too lazy to yell more than one syllable at me.” He paused, giving her a moment to digest that. “So, you’re the one who found this early Christmas delivery.”
    She glanced uncertainly at Dustin. “Well, we both did.”
    “I see.” Marsh nodded, writing something down in a notepad. “And you were coming out to answer Dustin’s ad for a housekeeper?”
    “That’s right,” she said. Dustin was listening carefully to her answers. She sat up and ran a smoothing hand over her hair.
    “And your current employment situation?”
    Eunice and Dustin both waited, as did the sheriff. “I don’t have one,” she said quietly, uncomfortable with the admission.
    “Are you married?”
    “No. Although I was engaged until recently.”
    Why she had added that, she wasn’t certain. It seemed important that these people not think she had no place else to go, that she was some kind of society reject just because she was interested in a job out in the sticks.
    Dustin looked surprised—and there was another expression in his eyes, one Jill couldn’t define. She didn’t take her gaze from his. The pull between them was mesmerizing and intense, and caused her to further qualify her answer.
    “My ex-fiancé and I parted on fairly amicable terms.” It was a blatant untruth, but did she have to pour out the disastrous events that had led her to leave her fiancé? “Since I have no job at present, this position would give me a fresh start in a new place.”
    “Ah.” The enlightened sound was from the sheriff. “I’m afraid that this changes the equation,” he said kindly. “If the two of you decided not to get married for whatever reason, it stands to reason you might have felt desperate enough financially to try to give away your newborn baby. Without a father figure in the picture to help with the expenses and you without employment…”
    “I don’t think so,” Jill shot back. “I am looking for a job, which is not the same thing as being