Free A Baby Under the Tree by Judy Duarte Page A

Jilly.”
    â€œDon’t be. Shane will be here soon.”
    â€œI’m sure he will, but you really don’t know him very well.”
    Oh, for Pete’s sake. It was Gram who’d helped her come to the conclusion that she needed to stop procrastinating and tell Shane he was going to be a father. And that wasn’t the kind of news to spring on him over the telephone.
    â€œShane’s a nice guy, Gram. You’d like him if you met him. He used to be a police officer, remember?”
    â€œYes, you mentioned that. But why did he decide to give that job up and go to work on a ranch?”
    It probably had something to do with him getting into trouble and being suspended from duty, although Jillian couldn’t be sure about that. Last night, on a whim, she’d done a Google search on Shane Hollister and uncovered an online newspaper article about him. From what she’d read, he’d gotten too rough with a man he’d arrested.
    Her heart had dropped to the pit of her stomach upon that discovery, especially when she spotted a photograph that convinced her that the men were one and the same.
    Just the thought that Shane Hollister, the man who’d loved her with a gentle and expert hand, might harbor a temper or a violent side, set off a wave of nausea. On several occasions, after having too much to drink, Thomas had twisted her arm or given her a shove. So Jillian had kicked herself for not conducting an internet search on Shane sooner.
    She’d wanted more details, of course, but short of breaking into police headquarters and hunting for his personnel file, she didn’t know how or where to look. But she certainly knew someone who did.
    Katie Harris, a journalist who’d been Jillian’s college roommate, now worked for a Dallas newspaper. So Jillian had called her and asked her if she could uncover any more information about the incident that had gotten Shane into trouble with the police department.
    Katie had been on her way into the office and had called back within an hour. She hadn’t found out too much more, other than the fact that Shane had been reinstated to his position with the HPD. But then, a few months later, he’d resigned for no apparent reason.
    While tossing and turning in bed last night, Jillian had vacillated on whether to go through with the plan to meet Shane and tell him about the baby, but she’d finally decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
    Of course, she wasn’t going to share any of that with her grandmother.
    â€œWell, if you’re sure you’re okay…” Gram said doubtfully.
    â€œI’ll be fine.”
    â€œOkay, but call me once you’re locked into the motel room for the night.”
    â€œI’ll do that.” Jillian glanced toward the entrance, just in time to see Shane saunter through the door, looking more handsome than a cowboy had a right to. “But I’ve got to go, Gram. He’s here now.”
    And he’d just spotted her.
    Â 
    When Shane walked into the Stagecoach Inn, he was nearly twenty minutes early. Still, the place was already hopping, even for a Saturday night that was just getting under way. Yet he hadn’t gotten two steps inside before he’d spotted Jillian seated at a table for two, looking just as attractive as ever. She was talking on the phone, but as soon as she noticed him, she hung up.
    He crossed the scarred oak flooring and made his way to her table. “I see you found the place.”
    She smiled. “You’re right. It was pretty easy, but I have to admit I’ve never been anywhere like this before.”
    He figured she meant the honky-tonk, but she could have just as easily been talking about Brighton Valley, as well. “Consider it an adventure.”
    â€œI don’t know about that. I haven’t felt very adventurous lately.”
    He wondered what she meant by that as he quietly observed her. She wore her platinum-blond