The Mommy Mystery by Delores Fossen

he had tried to have a child, but after she’d gotten sick, they had given up. Truth was, he had given up on a lot of things after her diagnosis of terminal cancer. His father was right about that. He hadn’t moved on with his life, but he would now. This baby was a miracle that he needed to put him in the right direction.
    Lizzy’s and his miracle.
    Houston took a deep breath absorbing that, and then he glanced at Gabrielle out of the corner of his eye. She was slumped in the passenger’s seat, leaning her head against the window, and she was staring at the side mirror.
    She was obviously keeping watch, to make sure no one was following them. She was also upset, probably suffering from an adrenaline crash, too. While Houston was sympathetic to that, and to what his father had done, he couldn’t let sympathy play a part in this.
    Nor would he let Gabrielle take control of the situation and convince him to do things he wasn’t ready and willing to do.
    Despite her suspicions that his father might be responsible for the attempt to run them off the road, Houston didn’t believe that for a minute.
    No, there was something else going on here, and that was the reason he’d slipped a handgun into his jacket pocket. If those SOBs came at them again, Houston wanted to be prepared. That meant staying as close to Gabrielle as possible.
    And staying close wasn’t exactly comfortable for him.
    He glanced at her again. At the way she’d tangled herfingers into her hair. At the way her breathing strained her breasts against her top. At the way the sunlight danced off her pale skin.
    Houston cursed himself and took his phone from his jacket pocket so he could call Dale. He needed to be thinking about more important things than hair and sunlight. Thankfully, Dale answered on the first ring.
    “Any update from the ranch hands following that black car?” Houston asked.
    “Not yet. The driver’s just meandering around, and our men are following.”
    Houston hoped his men hadn’t been spotted. “Meandering where, exactly?”
    “South side of San Antonio.”
    That caused him to breathe a little easier. Gabrielle and he were on the opposite side of town. Of course, that didn’t mean the baby wasn’t on the south side, as well.
    “Remember, if the car stops, I want to know about it,” Houston reminded Dale, and they hung up.
    “They still haven’t caught the men in that black car?” she asked.
    “No. And I don’t want them caught just yet. I want to see where they’re going. If it’s anywhere near Lucas, my men will stop them.” Houston waited but got no response. “Or maybe you think I should call the police and turn this whole matter over to them?”
    She wearily shook her head. It was the reaction he’d expected. Gabrielle didn’t want anything to do with SAPD, because, according to the sheriff, they thought she might be a suspect in the illegal surrogacy. She wasn’t. But it would take time to clear that up, especially if the clinic head, Salvador Franks, had alteredher records so that Gabrielle would get the blame for his clinic’s screwup.
    “Take the next left,” Gabrielle told him.
    Houston turned onto the street in a northeast neighborhood that was littered with budget hotels and fast-food restaurants. He caught the red light, the first of many that was at every intersection.
    “The motel is one block up on the right. The Starlight Inn. But you should drive around for a couple of minutes,” she insisted. “Just in case.”
    “That was my plan.” Though he had been keeping watch, and Houston didn’t think anyone was following them—including anyone his father might have sent— he wanted to be sure. That was one of the reasons they hadn’t used Gabrielle’s car, but rather one from the ranch.
    The light changed to green, and Houston drove past the hotel. It wasn’t easy to keep going. His son was inside—so close. But he forced himself to take the necessary precautions to keep the baby