Blame It on Texas (29 page)

Maybe thinking about it made him a pig, but he couldn’t help it. Zoe had the kind of body that… that if he was a painter, he’d want to paint it. It was… perfect. Beautiful. The human body at its highest form. And sexy as hell was hot.

He tugged at his suddenly tight crotch and told himself it was enough. Time to get to work, damn it. Not only did he need to talk to Zoe about the implications of finding a death certificate for four-month-old Zoe Adams, he had errands to run. And he needed to check in on Sam.

He looked down at his notes on Zoe’s case file. He’d done some more checks with Barker County and concluded that Ralph Adams, the man who’d raised Zoe, had indeed graduated from cosmetology school. Tyler also discovered the man had defaulted on his home loan the same year Zoe—or Caroline—had been kidnapped.

Tyler shifted the papers around and let his gaze move over them, taking in bits and pieces of each sheet. He always input everything into the computer, but he liked having a hard copy to stare at—he liked pairing things together to come up with more questions.

How did a guy who studied how to cut hair end up doing Sheetrock and roofing? And how did a male beautician end up raising the kidnapped daughter of a millionaire?

He shifted the papers and saw where he’d listed the other Ralph Adams. Maybe it was time to see if the hair-cutting Ralph had family. Tyler looked at the clock. But he would follow up on that later. He needed to talk to Zoe. He’d given her an hour to get over being angry or embarrassed at being seen naked by every member of the Only in Texas team.

As he walked out of his office, Ellen stepped out of the apartment. He waited for her to pass him in the hall.

“Is it safe for me to go in there?” he asked.

Ellen grinned. “She can only kill you once.”

Zoe heard the door opening and looked up as Tyler walked in. He offered her one of his apologetic smiles. Funny how she could already read him. It had been months before she felt she had insight to what Chris had been feeling or thinking. And little did she know, she’d completely misread him. What she thought was frustration at his office turned out to be lust for a stripper. Maybe she was wrong about Tyler, too.

“You talking to me?” Tyler sat on the leather chair across from the sofa.

Funny thing about embarrassment, it could often be interpreted as anger, or it could easily lead to anger really
quickly. Zoe generally worked at not letting her emotions take her places she didn’t need to be.

“I suppose I can’t really blame you,” she said. “Except for the fact that you stayed in there.”

“I was trying to help.”

“And after you got rid of the dog?”

“I was worried you were hurt.”

“And it had nothing to do with the fact that I didn’t have my clothes on?”

He hesitated, as if weighing his words.

“Be honest.” She cut him a sharp look that stemmed more from tease than temper.

“Maybe. Not that it’s entirely my fault. It’s a genetic defect in the male DNA. When male humans see a naked woman bouncing on a bed, walking away is completely out of our normal behavior patterns.”

She almost smiled and then remembered. “And where does… strictly business fall into this?”

“Right after the male instinctual behavior.” He held up his hand. “I got sidetracked in a very weak moment.”

But damn, she wondered how she could create more weak moments.
“You’re beautiful.”
She remembered the last thing he’d said to her through the door. He’d taken possibly the most embarrassing moment in her life and made her feel sexy, appealing.

She wasn’t mad, but she wasn’t ready to completely let him off the hook, either. “Do you promise to try to fight the normal instincts of the weak male if you happen to find me jumping on the bed naked again?”

He hesitated. “I… can try.” He looked perplexed.

Maybe it was a tiny bit evil of her, but what woman didn’t want to keep a guy guessing?

His expression went from perplexed to suspicious. “Are you planning on getting naked and jumping on the bed again?”

She bit the inside of her cheek to stop from laughing. “I’ll try to avoid that.”

He grinned. “Not on my account, I hope.”

She chuckled.

“Okay, now that we got that taken care of…” He grew quiet. The humor of the moment evaporated like a drop of water on a hot sidewalk. She recognized something in his posture, too. He had something else to tell her. And it wasn’t good.

“What is it?” Zoe asked.

“We got more information in.” He leaned forward and hesitated, as if searching for a way to put a good spin on whatever he had to say. “We found the death certificate for Zoe Adams.”

Zoe’s breath caught. “So, I’m dead.” It was her bad attempt to make light of it.

“The child, Zoe Adams, the one Mildred Adams gave birth to on February twenty-sixth, is dead. She died at four months old from lung complications. The body they thought was Caroline Bradford wasn’t the body of the first Zoe Adams.”

Which was good news, she told herself. It meant Mildred and Ralph Adams hadn’t killed their own child. But it didn’t stop the swirl of emotion from swimming in her chest. Had all she’d ever been was a replacement? Breath held, she waited to see if there was more.

He continued, “They defaulted on a home loan the same year you were kidnapped.”

“And?” she asked.

“Ralph Adams graduated from cosmetology school.”

“You must have the wrong Ralph Adams. He never…” The realization hit that what she thought she knew was wrong. She didn’t know the man she’d called Daddy. The man who’d called her princess. Lies. All of it.

“I know it’s strange,” he said softly.

“Strange?” She laughed, but not because it was funny. She tried to wrap her mind around it. “It’s more than just strange. Did I ever really know either of them?” Her chest grew heavier. “My whole life down to its foundation is based on a lie. I don’t know the people who raised me. Hell, it makes me wonder who I am.”

“I can help you with that one.” And before she realized it, he sat beside her on the sofa. The warmth of his shoulder pressed against hers, and it felt nice. So nice, an emotional jolt shot right to her heart.

“You’re the girl who signed up for a pageant to be Miss Beaver knowing how ridiculous it was, but you did it because you cared about the mother of a friend who had recently died. You’re the girl who visited an injured cat and took him in. You’re the girl who teaches the grandchild of a Chinese restaurant owner how to write his name. That’s who you are, and it doesn’t matter if you call yourself Zoe or Caroline or something else.”

He cupped her chin in his hand. “You’re also smart, funny, and… in spite of being just a decent human being, you don’t take shit from people. You’re a tad stubborn, but can be reasoned with. Oh, and you’re the girl who looks amazing naked jumping on a mattress.”

She laughed, for real this time—even though she felt the tears rising in her throat. “You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?” His fingers lingered on her face.

“Rocking at the whole pep talk thing.”

He smiled. “I do rock at it, don’t I?”

A warm feeling rushed through her, and she knew without question that she wanted two weeks of bliss with this man. Whatever the emotional fallout might be, she’d deal with it later.

Their eyes met. She could swear he was going to kiss her, and she had no intention of stopping him. None.

But he stopped.

He stood up. “I have errands. And I’m going to go to your place. Can you make a list of anything you want?”

Zoe had just sat down with a book when someone knocked on the door. “Yes?” she said.

Ellen popped her head in. “There’s someone here to see you.”

“Me?” she asked.

“Said her name was Dixie.”

Zoe felt a smile move from her chest to her lips as she popped up from the sofa. She met Dixie in the entranceway and gave her a hug. A big one. It was crazy how quickly Zoe had attached herself to her boss, but crazy or not, right now it felt good.

Dixie hugged her back. When the hug ended, the older lady looked at the casket and then back at Zoe. “I don’t know what is weirder, the casket or the dog
in
the casket.”

Zoe chuckled and showed Dixie back to the apartment.

“I was gonna call before I came over,” Dixie said. “But I was afraid that man of yours would have told me not to come.”

Mixed emotions stirred in Zoe at the thought of Tyler being her man.

“I don’t think he would have told you that you couldn’t have come.”

“Bull crappy. Since you spilled a couple of plates of food on him, he’s acted as if he owns you. You should have seen him the day he came looking for you and you weren’t there.”

“I’m sorry. He was just… trying to protect me.”

Dixie’s wrinkles around her eyes and mouth deepened. “From what? Or who?”

Zoe frowned.

Dixie rolled her eyes. “Are you gonna tell me what’s going on, girly?”

Zoe debated telling Dixie everything, but she couldn’t completely keep her in the dark.

“I… uh… someone tried to shoot me.”

“Who and why on earth would someone want to shoot you?”

“We’re not sure, but Tyler’s trying to find out.”

“Oh, Lordie, young lady. Do you want to come stay at my place? Fred’s got a whole cabinet of guns.”

“Thanks, but I think I should probably stay here.”

“You trust this Tyler fellow?”

Zoe took a deep breath. “Yes, I do.” And right then Zoe realized how true it was. Somehow, someway, she trusted Tyler—with her life, anyway. Not so much with her heart.

Shortly after Zoe’s friend Dixie left, Ellen said good-bye to Zoe and walked out of the office, content with her second day at work. She hadn’t expected to enjoy it, but she did.

A foot out the door, she spotted Rick leaning against her car. Did the guy ever give up?

“Hey.” He looked up from a book he held. “Have you read this one to your daughter?” He held up the book. “I—”

“You’re kidding me, right? Do you think this is going to work?” She rolled her eyes. “You think buying my kid a book is going to win me over?”

“Oh,” he said. “I didn’t—”

“Move away from my car.” She hated that she actually noticed how good he looked and how the color of his shirt brought out the green in his eyes.

“But—”

“No buts.” She felt herself losing it. “Let me make it clear.” She poked him in his chest. “I’m not going out with you. I’m not getting naked with you. We’re not swapping bodily fluids, or dirtying up the sheets.”

His eyes rounded. “I didn’t—”

“You’re attractive, okay. I’ll admit it. You’ve got that whole bad boy image going for you. And I bet you’re really good at all that. But it’s not going to happen.”

Now he was smiling, and he looked sexy doing it, too.

“I am good at it,” he said. “But—”

“No buts!”

“Stop!” He put a finger to her lips. Warmth spread through her body, and all she could think about was getting naked with him.

“I heard you out; now hear me.”

“Move your finger,” she growled.

His smile widened. “Why? Do you bite?”

“Move your finger.” She wasn’t sure why she didn’t just step back, but for some unknown reason, it was important he move it, and not her. And when he didn’t, she did it.

She bit him.

“Ouch!” He jerked his finger from between her teeth, but laughed.

“Told you to move it.” Suddenly, his humor was
contagious. A giggle spilled out of her lips, and she realized how incapable she was at dealing with him.

“I don’t want to sleep with you,” he blurted out. “Wait, that’s not true.” He grinned. “I would love to get naked and sweaty with you, but that’s not why I’m here.”

“Right.” She arched a brow in total disbelief.

“And I didn’t buy this book for your kid. I bought it for mine.”

“You don’t have a kid,” she said.

“Yes, I do.”

“Nikki said—”

“Well, Nikki’s wrong. Ricky’s five years old and he’s been living with my ex, but I’m suing for custody. My lawyer said I needed to have things ready for him here. That’s what I need to talk to you about.” His expression darkened. “I don’t know how to do this.”

“Do what?” Ellen tried not to let her own issues with child custody cloud her judgment.

“Everything. How do I find a day care? I’ve tried, and either they’re filled up or their hours won’t work for me. And what do kids eat? I looked it up online and I’m more confused. Is macaroni and cheese considered a starch or a protein? Do I need to get him a doctor now? Or wait until he breaks something?”

The emotion in Rick’s voice kept her standing there. “Has he always lived with your ex?”

“Yes,” he said.

A little of her own judgment snuck in. “Then why would you do this? Why would you uproot him like that?”

“Because I’m pretty damn sure she’s back to using drugs again. It’s either that or alcohol. She got clean when she was pregnant, and even when Ricky was little, she was
okay. But just in the last month or so she’s acting different. Asking for more money every week or so. She called once at three in the morning, and I don’t think she even knew what time it was. As a cop, I see it all the time. I don’t want my kid to be around that.”

Desperation filled his eyes. And she felt it for him, too.

“Believe me,” he said. “I know I’m gonna suck at this. But I’ll suck less than Candy does when she’s doing drugs. And I’m not stupid. I can learn how to do it. I just need some help.”

Her heart sank. “Don’t you have a mother who could—”

“She’s dead.”

“Family?”

“I’m an only child.”

Ellen frowned. “Girlfriend?”

He shook his head. “That’s why I’m coming to you. You’re a mother, and I can tell you’re good at it. I just want some advice. Please.”

His green eyes met hers with conviction. Conviction for a child, the one thing she couldn’t say no to.

“Strictly business,” Tyler repeated for about the hundredth time since he’d left Zoe on the sofa. What was it about her that sent self-control packing? She’d turned him down. That should be it. Only, he knew she didn’t want to turn him down. She was attracted to him.