Free Razing Kayne by Julieanne Reeves Page A

go help Dr. Mark. Will you watch the baby? She checked out fine.
     Just needs to be held.”
    Jess, who'd been one step shy of a hysterical meltdown, reached for the baby automatically.
     She immediately started rocking her, comforting her, and in the process, comforting
     herself. Joe had been about to protest, but realized the nurse knew what she was doing.
     Jess needed something to focus on other than Jarred. The baby, who'd been crying non-stop
     since they'd put her in the second ambulance, took one look at Jess, curled up against
     her chest, and fell asleep, one tiny fist resting over Jess's heart.
    “Joe! I need another set of hands. Get your ass in here!” Mark shouted.
    Joe rushed forward, thankful to be in the action instead of on the sidelines, because
     Mark hadn't been the only one who'd served in the Middle East.
    After hours of balls-to-the-wall surgery, watching Mark pull every goddamned hat-trick
     he knew, and inventing a few he'd never dared before, Dr. Mark Oberly made one of
     the toughest calls of his career.
    “Time of death?” he asked.
    A nurse read off the time.
    Sunrise.
    A time meant for beginnings.
    ***
    Kayne watched the emotions play across Joe's face as he finished his story. Finally,
     Joe turned to Kayne and said, “I was with Jarred in the ambulance that night. His
     final wish was for her to find someone who deserved her.” He pinned Kayne with a silent challenge which said
     far more than Cody's belligerent threats. If you're not good enough, leave her the hell alone.
    With that, Joe walked away.
    Which is exactly what Kayne needed to do with Jessica. Walk away. God knew he sure as hell wasn't good enough. But good God. Gracie, who looked so much like his deceased daughter, was an infant found at an
     accident scene about the time his infant disappeared. Was he crazy to even imagine the possibility?
     

EIGHT
     
    Wednesday went by without a word from Jessica, then Thursday, and still nothing. Kayne
     tried to convince himself he was happy about her distance. After all, he'd made the
     decision to stay away from her. But damn if he didn't feel like he'd lost something
     important. He liked her. He felt drawn to her, which was dangerous for both of them.
     It took everything in him to not turn into her driveway every time he passed by her
     house, which he did several times during an average shift .
    He'd enjoyed spending time with her kids too, he admitted. Sure it made him feel raw,
     rubbed over wounds that would never heal, but try as he might, he couldn't get them
     off his mind. Gracie especially. And he'd done some checking. With Arizona's sealed records laws, he only had two
     ways to find out who Gracie really was. One involved cops and lawyers and a court
     and him looking like a fool—a crazy one at that—or the other option was spending time
     with Jessica and trying to learn about Gracie's past that way.
    Deep down, he knew it was crazy to hold out hope that Tasha was still alive after
     all this time, or that he'd accidentally stumbled upon her. But his mind wouldn't
     let the possibility go. So, when Friday afternoon rolled around and Jess still hadn't
     tried to contact him, Kayne threw in the towel. He'd have to be the one to make a
     move.
    Twenty minutes later, Kayne pulled onto the cobblestone drive, circled the fountain,
     and parked in front of the three-story mansion that served as both an event center
     and a residence for Jessica and her children. Seeing the white tent as he drove in
     reminded him that Jessica was catering some type of brunch tomorrow.
    He hadn’t taken time to appreciate the house the last time he was here, and he did
     so now. The place was truly beautiful with its granite façade and battlement topped
     towers. It sat in a large meadow atop a slight rise, surrounded by native flowers
     and vegetation. While a place like this could never fit in to a small town like Payson,
     the builders had done everything they could to make it blend