Free Harlequin Intrigue, Box Set 1 of 2 by Delores Fossen Page B

house, but Maddox hadn’t been fully awake then. And Iris hadn’t exactly been in a chatty mood, especially since she’d just learned that Jericho was Maddox’s father. Laurel was certain Jericho had gotten an earful about that after Laurel had gone to bed.
    â€œHe’s usually a little shy around strangers,” Laurel remarked. Obviously, though, he didn’t consider Iris a stranger. Or the enemy.
    Unlike the way Iris felt about her.
    After a few snuggles with Maddox, Iris finally made eye contact with her. “I can’t forget that my husband is dead. Murdered. And it’s all because of your family. You might not have pulled the trigger, but you also didn’t help us put Herschel behind bars. Now it’s led to this.”
    Laurel nodded, was about to assure her that she couldn’t forget it, either, but Iris continued before she could say anything.
    â€œBut we need a truce,” Iris said. “Certainly not for your sake but for Maddox’s. Agreed?”
    â€œAgreed.” It definitely wasn’t a warm fuzzy welcome, but then Laurel hadn’t expected one.
    Iris’s smile returned. Aimed at Maddox, of course. “Are you hungry, sweetie?” Iris asked him. “Because Grandma and Ellie made some oatmeal. Scrambled eggs, too.”
    Laurel noticed the easy way
Grandma
had rolled off her tongue. It had to be hard because of the bad blood between their families. Still, Iris was either putting on a good show or else she wasn’t letting any of that bad blood extend to Maddox.
    â€œThe oatmeal will be fine.” Laurel went to the stove to dish him up a bowl so it could cool.
    â€œTar,” Maddox said, showing Iris Jericho’s badge.
    â€œYes, it is. A pretty one. And there’s another star. A gold one.” Iris pointed to the one on top of the Christmas tree by the breakfast table, and she went in that direction with Maddox. Maddox discarded the badge when Iris plucked off a horse ornament for him to play with.
    That’s when Laurel noticed the blinds were down. Not just in the breakfast area, either, but in the kitchen, as well. That probably wasn’t their usual position, but she was thankful for it. The ranch was likely well protected, but that didn’t mean someone with a rifle couldn’t fire a shot into the house, as they’d done to Jericho’s the night before.
    Not exactly a good thought to settle her already churning stomach.
    And speaking of unsettling things, Laurel glanced around at the empty kitchen. She’d known Chase and Levi wouldn’t be there yet, but she’d expected to see the others. “Where is everyone?”
    Iris and Jericho exchanged an uneasy glance before Jericho answered. “Addie and Weston are in Austin visiting his sister. Jax’s son is staying with his other grandmother for a few days.”
    Laurel understood the uneasy glance then. “They’re not here because of me. Because of the danger.” She huffed. “Maddox and I should have been the ones to stay elsewhere.”
    â€œNonsense.” Iris got another ornament off the tree for Maddox. “Addie and Weston understand.”
    Laurel didn’t get a chance to argue about that because Jericho’s phone rang, and she saw Jax’s name on the screen. Since this probably had something to do with the investigation, he stepped out of the breakfast area and into the hall.
    â€œI’ll feed Maddox,” Iris volunteered, taking the bowl of oatmeal from Laurel.
    â€œThank you.” And Laurel meant it. She was thankful because it gave her the opportunity to go into the hall with Jericho and listen in on his conversation.
    Jericho didn’t put the call on speaker. Probably because he didn’t want his mother to hear if it turned out to be more bad news. That meant Laurel had to go close to him.
    Very close.
    And despite the fact her mind should be on anything but Jericho, her body gave her