The Marshal's Justice (Appaloosa Pass Ranch 4) by Delores Fossen Page A

but nothing had prepared him for this overwhelming love. It was instant and so strong that he was glad he was sitting or it would have brought him to his knees.
    “I held my nephew when he was this age,” Chase said. “This is different.”
    “Yes. And scary.”
    It was. Chase knew exactly what April meant. The stakes suddenly seemed sky-high. Because they were. Someone had already kidnapped Bailey once, and Chase had to make sure that his baby wasn’t put in the path of any more danger.
    “I didn’t know if I could do this,” he admitted. “If I could be a father,” Chase clarified.
    She nodded and most likely did understand. He’d made it clear to April so many times that he didn’t consider himself daddy material. Chase had always thought he’d missed that particular Crockett gene.
    Heck, maybe he had.
    Just because he loved this baby, it didn’t mean he’d be a good father to her. Though he would try. Too bad trying might not be nearly enough. Suddenly, nothing seemed as if it’d be nearly enough.
    Chase’s gaze came to April’s, and even though she didn’t say a word, he saw the doubts in her eyes, too. Of course, she’d been telling him right from the start that his giving up his badge for fatherhood was a bad idea. That he would resent it. Maybe not this year. Or next. But eventually.
    April wasn’t completely wrong about that.
    He wouldn’t resent Bailey. Not ever. But Chase couldn’t be sure that he would ever be able to get past what April had done. Not good. Because Bailey would eventually pick up on that.
    “I want Bailey in my life,” he said. “We’ll just have to work out the rest as we go along.”
    April didn’t get a chance to say anything about that because the footsteps got their attention. Jericho was walking up the hall toward them, and he had his phone pressed to his ear.
    Chase put the baby back in April’s arms and stood. Waiting for Jericho to finish his call. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait too long.
    “That was Houston PD. A uniform was responding to a call in Quentin’s neighborhood and spotted your brother near his house,” Jericho explained.
    April slowly got to her feet. “Is he okay?”
    Jericho shook his head. “Quentin appeared to be bleeding, but he ran. The cop’s in pursuit now.”

Chapter Six
    April held Bailey even though the baby was sound asleep and would likely stay that way for hours. Her head was spinning with too many bad thoughts and images. Ones that would be there for a lifetime no doubt.
    Images of Deanne dead.
    And of Bailey being ripped from April’s arms during the kidnapping.
    Having Bailey so close to her now helped stave off some of those nightmares. Being at the safe house helped some, too. But April still couldn’t fight off all of those bad thoughts. Now she had her brother to worry about. The police had yet to find Quentin, and he was out there somewhere, on the run. Maybe injured.
    Maybe dead.
    Plus, there was the additional worry of being in the safe house itself. The place wasn’t that big, only one living area, two bedrooms and two baths, and while it was better than staying at the sheriff’s office, it meant close quarters. With Chase.
    Chase finished up his latest round of calls. All whispered conversations he’d had in the kitchen. And while looking over the notes he’d taken during those calls, he made his way back into the living room. He checked Bailey first, but it was obvious from Chase’s bunched-up forehead that he’d learned some things in those conversations that hadn’t pleased him.
    “The CSIs gathered up all the cameras and bugs from my house,” Chase explained, keeping his voice low probably so that he wouldn’t wake the baby. “There were eight in all, and they’ll be analyzed for prints and trace. We might get lucky.”
    She doubted Crossman’s lackeys would be that careless, especially after they’d done such a thorough job of installing them. After all, Chase hadn’t had a clue they were