The Sheriff's Son Read Online Free Page A

I’ve never been married,” Justine admitted, then wondered what he could possibly be thinking. Let it be that she was a promiscuous woman. Anything would be better than the truth.
    â€œYou had the boy while you were in college.”
    It was a statement, not a question, but Justine found herself nodding at him anyway. She was determined to appear cool, no matter how much her insides were shaking with fear. “Being pregnant and going to school wasn’t a picnic. I had to cut down on my classes and scrimp and save the money my parents sent me. But I managed to get through.”
    â€œSo where is his father?”
    She met his gaze, and her green eyes were unusually dull. “After I became pregnant with Charlie, he realized he didn’t want to be a family man. He didn’t even want to get married. So we—ended things, and since then he’s been totally out of my life.”
    Roy wanted to tell her she’d been a fool to bear such a man’s child, but at that moment a petite woman with short salt-and-pepper hair walked into the room. Justine’s son was tagging close to her side.
    â€œCharlie said I was wanted,” Kitty said. “What’s going on here?”
    With the twin girl still in her arms, Justine got to her feet. “Roy, this is my aunt Kitty. She’s my mother’s sister. She came to live with us before our mother passed away.”
    â€œNice to meet you, ma’am,” Roy said, with a nod toward the older woman. “It seems that your niece found two babies on the porch when she came home from work. You wouldn’t happen to know who they might belong to?”
    Kitty’s mouth formed a perfect O as she glanced from one baby to the other. “Land sakes no! You mean they were on the doorstep? Just like in the movies?”
    â€œThat’s the way Justine described it.”
    Justine turned her eyes on him. “That’s the way it was,” she said crisply.
    â€œWell! What do you think about that?” Kitty asked no one in particular. “I wish Lola and Tom were alive to see this.”
    Charlie ventured over to Roy, who’d just slipped the empty bottle from the boy twin’s mouth.
    â€œYou have a badge,” Charlie told him.
    Roy looked at the boy. He had a stocky build, like his late grandfather Tom. His thick hair was light brown and fell in a straight bang across his forehead. Freckles dotted his broad-bridged nose and dimples dented both cheeks. He was an endearing child, and Roy couldn’t help but somehow feel cheated that Justine had chosen to have some other man’s baby.
    â€œYes, that’s a badge,” Roy told him.
    â€œYou have a gun, too,” Charlie went on, his gaze on the pistol holstered to Roy’s hip.
    â€œThat’s right.”
    â€œAre you a policeman?”
    â€œI’m a sheriff.”
    Charlie repeated the word. “What does a sheriff do?”
    â€œHe tells the other policemen what to do.”
    Charlie grinned and plopped down beside Roy on the couch. “So you’re the boss.”
    In spite of everything, Roy found himself smiling back at Justine’s son. “That’s one way of putting it.”
    â€œWould you like for me to take the baby now, Mr. Pardee?” Kitty asked him.
    â€œThank you, ma’am.” He handed the twin over to the older woman, and was instantly struck by the emptiness of his arms.
    â€œHe looks like the one you have, Mommy,” Charlie said, pointing at the tiny boy in his aunt’s arms. “Is that his sister?”
    â€œYes, honey. I expect they are brother and sister,” Justine told him.
    â€œI can’t get over it,” Kitty said as she strolled around the room like a doting grandmother. “Babies left on our ranch! Where do you think they came from?”
    â€œI was hoping that you or Justine’s sisters might havesome clues,” Roy told the woman. “Are you certain you