Deadly Identity

Cade remembered Tom and Lily, before they married, asking if he would be the godfather to their children. They’d witnessed the devastation of Cade’s world, the loss of his wife, and wanted everything in place should something terrible happen to them. Cade had agreed to be their godfather. He’d never thought he’d ever have to make good on it.

“Hold the light,” Cade commanded the unknown woman. After he thrust the flashlight into her hands, he gripped the handle on the door and jerked hard. It gave, and then, with more effort, Cade was able to pry the back door open just enough to get into it to see how the baby was doing. He breathed hard, his heart pounding with anguish as he wedged himself into the vehicle where Lily had put her daughter in the car seat. Tiny Jenny Hartmann with her black hair and blue eyes blinked up at him. With the light flashing into the backseat, the baby began to cry.

“Thank God,” Cade whispered unsteadily. His hands shook as he disconnected the harness from around Jenny. Turning, he called out, “I’m bringing out the baby. She looks okay. I’m going to bundle her up and we’ll all go to my cruiser. It’s warm in there. Okay?”

“Y-yes…I’m so glad she’s all right. What about the mother?”

“Dead,” Cade answered, his voice flat.

“Oh, no…” she whispered, her hand across her mouth.

Cade turned and gently eased his large hands down around the well-bundled Jenny. As soon as he picked her up, she stopped crying, her eyes huge. He cradled her snugly into the crook of his right arm. Opening his jacket, he nestled the three-month-old into the folds for warmth and protection against the falling snow.

“I’m backing out,” he called to the woman over his shoulder. Immediately, she stepped away, keeping the flashlight trained so that he could ease out of the vehicle.

The woman stood mostly in shadow but he could clearly see the strain on her oval face, her full lips pursed and eyes dark with worry. “Come on,” he urged her, “follow me…”

Rachel followed and kept the beam of light in front of the deputy. He walked as if he were stepping across eggs, his precious cargo in his arms. The baby was completely protected by his dark brown nylon jacket, but she no longer had a mother. It was beyond tragic. Rachel felt tears jam into her eyes and quickly swallowed them.

“Open the passenger-side door,” Cade ordered her. They walked on the berm next to the cliff. Cade didn’t want to take a chance of trying to climb into the driver’s side with the baby. If a car came around that corner, it could clip him and kill both of them on a night like this.

Rachel pulled it open. “Now what?”

“Get in. I’m going to hand you the baby once you’re inside. Then, I’ll go to the other side of my cruiser and get in.”

Rachel climbed into the passenger seat. She left the flashlight on the dashboard so the deputy had light and they both could see. She watched as he tenderly brought out the baby wrapped in a pink, yellow and green quilt. Opening her arms, Rachel received the infant.

“I’ve got her,” she quavered. A baby in her arms for the first time. Images of lying in the hospital dazed and wanting to hold her Sarah flashed through Rachel’s mind. Gently, she adjusted the baby into her arms. The deputy closed the door. She watched him walk around his cruiser.

Cade climbed in and immediately radioed what had happened. The dispatcher told him help was on the way and it would take at least thirty minutes to get there due to the icy conditions on the highway. He turned up the heater and pressed on console lights. The darkness disappeared. Turning, he looked into the eyes of the woman who had been the first on scene. She held Jenny in her arms and gently rocked her. The infant had closed her eyes. Her tiny hands were visible beneath the sleeves of a crocheted pink sweater that Lily had made for the christening. Cade wanted to cry for the little girl.

Jenny was now without parents. Cade knew Tom and Lily had both been adopted only children and there was no family to take Jenny. That was why they had wanted Cade as the legal guardian for Jenny if the worst happened. The adoptive parents had agreed to Tom and Lily’s request. Legal papers had been signed. Well, it had happened. Mind spinning with the implications, Cade realized he was a father…again.

“Let’s see if Jenny is okay,” he murmured, holding out his hands. “She was strapped in the right way, but I want to make sure nothing’s broken. The ambulance is on its way, but it will take at least thirty minutes under these weather conditions to arrive on scene.”

“Of course,” Rachel said. She managed a nervous smile. “I’m glad you’re trained because I’m not.” She passed Jenny to the deputy.

Cade carefully began unwrapping the infant who now stared up at him with curious eyes. Jenny recognized his voice. She should. He’d been a daily fixture in the Hartmann home. He’d wanted to be around Jenny as well as support Lily, who had been very depressed since Tom’s death. The baby, miraculously, had made Cade feel again. She helped him want to live once more, rather than just exist like a robot going through the motions. Lily seemed to have realized that and urged Cade to come over and simply hold Jenny and rock her. He’d taken over as a pseudo father and was determined to help Lily through this terrible period of loss and grief. He pulled out of his own mire of sadness and focused on the heroic woman sitting beside him. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Rachel Carson.” She watched as the large hands of the deputy carefully pulled the quilt aside. “I just landed at Cheyenne airport and rented a car to drive out here.”

“In the middle of this storm?” Cade gave her a glance. Obviously, she wasn’t from Wyoming or would have known to stay put in Cheyenne until the front passed and the roads were cleared by the snow plows.

“I didn’t know. This is my first time out west.”

Nodding, Cade muttered, “Well, can you tell me what happened here?” Jenny began to coo as he gently took each small arm and tenderly tested it. She was cute in the pink crocheted sweater and trouser set. His worry over the baby receded. She seemed fine.

“I was driving up the mountain at a very slow speed,” Rachel said, gesturing out into the blackness. “This SUV came out of nowhere and passed me going pretty fast. It scared the crap out of me before it disappeared. When I crept around this corner, the SUV had already smashed into the side of the cliff. I got out, ran over and tried to help.”

“You did what you could,” Cade said, his tone heavy. He wrapped Jenny back up in the blanket. There was so much to do. “Want to hold her again? Her name is Jenny Hartmann.”

Surprised, Rachel nodded. “Sure. How could you know her name?”

“Long story,” Cade grunted. He took the flashlight off the dash and said, “I have to be outside for a bit. Just remain in here. Okay?” He eased out of the cab and shut the door.

Rachel was happy to stay where it was warm and safe. Jenny felt good in her arms. Protectively, she nestled the cotton quilt around the baby’s head to keep her warm. Rocking her, Rachel felt as if she were still in deep shock. Yet, there was a baby in her arms. Alive. Jenny smiled up at her and cooed. This was a happy baby, one who would never see her mother again. Eyes closed, Rachel fought back so many of her own suppressed emotions. Her welcome to Jackson Hole had been a horror. She hadn’t wanted to come here anyway, but Brenda had left her no choice. It was one hell of a welcome. And on Christmas Eve, to boot. How depressing.

Rachel lifted her head and watched as the efficient deputy put out flares around the vehicle and behind his cruiser. She could see his dark shape in the rearview mirror as he walked up beyond the curve to place the bright red flares. While she doubted much traffic was out in this storm, those flares would warn whatever there was to slow down. The last thing Rachel wanted was to be hit from behind. Her arms tightened a bit around the infant who was now making noises and waving her hands. Smiling, Rachel leaned down and pressed a kiss to the baby’s brow. Her fragrance breathed unexpected life back into Rachel. She loved the infant’s sweet scent and inhaled it again. The perfume of life. The innocence of birth. Gazing down at Jenny, she couldn’t help but smile. The infant’s bow lips drew into a smile.

The deputy came back. He opened the door and quickly climbed in. His hair was wet and gleaming. The snowflakes were falling at a heavier rate. His nylon jacket had dark splotches all across the shoulders. He put in another radio call, then snapped off the light. Turning, he said, “I’m Deputy Cade Garner. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Rachel said. Even in the muted light, she was drawn to his square face, strong jaw and large gray eyes. His pupils were large and black, giving him an intense and intelligent look. A few strands of his military-short black hair had fallen across his broad brow and Rachel felt it made him seem less formidable and a little more like the rest of the human race. With his khaki trousers, shirt and a gun strapped to his waist, he exuded a kind of cowboy appeal. It had to be her overactive imagination, Rachel decided.

As he took a quick side glance, Cade noticed how happy Jenny was in her arms. “Are you a skier on vacation?”

Carefully, Rachel gave him the rehearsed version of her story. Even to law enforcement she could never confide that she was in the FBI witness protection program. “I’m moving to Jackson Hole. I have a cabin rented on the Moose Head Ranch, just outside of town.”

Surprised, Cade sat back. He’d definitely had this woman pegged wrong. Not that it mattered right now who she was. He felt grief-stricken over Lily dying, but now he had this new responsibility to Jenny. And then there was this woman with shoulder-length brown hair with such a tender look in her blue eyes. Rachel Carson had something soft and vulnerable in her manner. And Jenny obviously responded to that sweetness within her. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, and Cade didn’t see a wedding ring on her left hand. “Moose Head Ranch?”

“Yes. Why?” She noticed how his eyes widened with surprise. There was a rugged quality about Cade Garner, no question. And Rachel sensed him to be a man of quiet authority, though her judgment of men was faulty. She could never forget that. After all, she had picked Dirk Payson. Still, Cade invited her trust even if she couldn’t figure out why just yet.

“That’s my parents’ ranch. They have a group of cabins they rent out by the day, week or month.” Cade usually didn’t know about the visitors because he was busy with his own life. His father ran that part of the business while his mother ran the quilting store in town. Between these different income streams, they were able to stay afloat financially and keep their one-hundred-acre cattle ranch in the valley.

“Really? Do you live there?” Rachel asked. It was too personal a question, but the words flew out of her mouth.

“Yes,” he said with a partial smile. “What do you do for a living?”

“Well,” Rachel said, smiling down at Jenny, “I’m a nanny.”

“A nanny?” Cade’s mind raced. Either it was a coincidence or a godsend—probably both. He wouldn’t have time to sit home with Jenny even though she was his legal responsibility. The captain could give him time off, but the winter was so demanding, Cade would have to locate a babysitter quickly for Jenny while he was on duty. Or there was this angel who’d come out of nowhere.

“I’m Jenny’s legal godfather. And now, I’ll be taking care of her until she’s eighteen.” Cade stared deeply into Rachel’s widening eyes. “Since you’re already at the ranch, would you consider being her nanny? Or do you already have a job lined up here in town? I know this is awkward, and possibly premature…”

Rachel felt as though Providence had just delivered this gift. “I don’t have a job right now. I was going to come here and then start looking around. Yes, I’d love to take your offer. I can give you my references and contact information for the family I worked for.”

Cade felt instant relief. Yes, he would check out her references. “Thank you…”

“I love children.” Rachel’s heart beat a little harder. Out of such a tragedy came this gift. Just having Jenny in her arms and knowing that she’d be able to take care of her in the future made staying here an incredible blessing to Rachel. “I’d be delighted to work for you, Mr. Garner.”

CHAPTER THREE

RACHEL WAS SITTING in a curtained hospital cubicle with Jenny in her arms. Oddly enough, the hustle and bustle of the small Jackson Hole hospital made her feel more safe. After the ambulance had arrived and the baby had been checked over, Deputy Garner had asked her to go back with the ambulance crew to the local hospital. Clearly, he was worried about Jenny.

“Ms. Carson?” A young red-haired nurse came into the cubicle and smiled.

“Yes?”

“Jenny Hartmann has a clean bill of health. The doctor is signing the paperwork now.” She frowned. “Do you know where to take the baby?”