Free Taking Aim at the Sheriff by Delores Fossen Page B

But Laurel reminded herself that being under the same roof with Jericho just wasn’t a good idea.
    Jericho must have gotten that same jolting reminder because he glanced down at where he was rubbing her arm and eased back his hand. He looked ready to apologize.
    Or kiss her.
    That stupid part of Laurel was hoping for the kiss. But he didn’t get a chance to do either because the phone in the kitchen rang. Jericho hurried to answer it, but his mother beat him to it.
    “Teddy,” Iris greeted. She was still holding Maddox in her arms. Still smiling, but the smile quickly faded. “I’ll let Jericho know.”
    “Teddy’s a ranch hand,” Jericho explained to Laurel. “What’d he want?” he asked his mother the moment she hung up.
    “We have a visitor,” Iris said, her voice practically trembling. “Herschel Tate just arrived, and he’s demanding to see his daughter.”

Chapter Seven
    Hell. This was not the way Jericho had wanted to start the morning. Yes, he’d braced himself to interrogate Herschel. But not now and not here at the ranch.
    And definitely not with Laurel and Maddox around.
    “Oh, God,” Laurel said under her breath.
    He hated that her father could put that kind of fear on her face. Hated even more that the fear was warranted.
    Jericho took the phone from his mother, but for Maddox’s sake, he tried to appear calm. He figured he was failing, but maybe Maddox wouldn’t be as frightened as Laurel was.
    “Teddy,” Jericho greeted the ranch hand, and he put the call on speaker so Laurel could hear. His mother moved into the hall with Maddox. “Where’s our visitor now?”
    “Herschel’s still in his car in the driveway. I’ve got a gun pointed at him. That was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?”
    “Absolutely.” Jericho had instructed all the hands to keep an eye out for a possible attack, and this could be the start of one. Of course, it’d be pretty stupid of Herschel to come to the ranch and personally try to attack them. “Keep the gun on him. Is he alone?”
    “No. There’s a woman and another fella with him. And a driver. The woman says her name is Nan Winston, Herschel’s lawyer, and the fella introduced himself as Laurel’s fiancé.”
    Laurel groaned. “Ex-fiancé. And what the heck is Theo doing here? Why are any of them here?”
    Both good questions, but Jericho doubted their visitors would provide the answers to Teddy.
    “I want to see my daughter,” he heard Herschel insist. Not exactly a shout but close enough.
    With Herschel’s temper and mean streak, the man might provoke Teddy into a fight just so he could shoot the ranch hand. Of course, Teddy knew how to handle a gun. That’s why Jericho had posted him out front. Still, it was best if Jericho went outside and faced down this idiot and his entourage. Besides, he might even get Herschel to say something incriminating so he could arrest him.
    Or so Jericho could shoot him.
    It was probably wrong to wish that, but after the things Herschel had done, he deserved a bullet or two.
    “Wait inside,” Jericho told Laurel. “And I mean it. I don’t want your father to even know you and Maddox are here.”
    Laurel suddenly no longer looked afraid, and she darn sure wasn’t trembling. “He already knows or he wouldn’t have shown up. I need to stand up to him.”
    “Admirable. But it’s not the right time.”
    She shook her head, no doubt ready to launch into an argument. One that Jericho intended to nip in the bud. He took hold of her arm and moved her deeper into the kitchen so Maddox wouldn’t hear. Maddox probably wouldn’t be able to understand what was being said, but Jericho didn’t want to risk it.
    “Both the so-called lawyer and driver could be armed,” Jericho reminded her. “Plus, you don’t need to go another round with delusion-boy Theo. At best, he has a serious issue with reality by still referring to himself as your fiancé. At worst, he wants you dead and is trying to goad you into coming