The Texas Lawman's Last Stand by Delores Fossen Page B

she couldn’t blame Bo and Rosalie for the chilly reception. Mattie had made a massive mistake by coming to Bo’s.
    But then, maybe not.
    If Kendall had suspected that Holly was her baby, then it was just a matter of time before he would have used the child to get to her.
    That didn’t make Mattie feel any better.
    Her baby was still in danger, and even though she might be one step closer to proving that Holly was hers, what good would that do unless she could neutralize the danger?
    As she’d done many times over the past year and a half, she wished Kendall were in jail where he couldn’t be as much of a threat. But since he wasn’t, that meant Mattie had to deal with the devil himself. She had to call Kendall and try to negotiate a deal with him.
    Her life for Holly’s safety.
    Of course, there were no guarantees that Kendall would agree or, even if he did, that he would abide by any agreement with her. Plus, Mattie didn’t want to die. She had been on the run for so long that fighting for her life was as natural as breathing. Still, if it came down to it, she would turn herself over to Kendall for a guaranteed assurance that Holly would be okay.
    Mattie glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to the bed. It was 5:00 a.m. She’d gotten maybe an hour’s sleep, and with every sound she heard, she’d reached for her gun. Bo had no doubt done the same, especially since he’d spent the night in the nursery. She knew this because the guest room was next to the nursery, and before the babies had fallen asleep, she’d heard Bo playing with them. She hadn’t heard the door open or him walk out.
    The sounds of Holly’s laughter had filled Mattie with more love than she could have ever imagined. It had also caused her heart to ache. She had missed so much already. Thirteen months was a lifetime when it came to a baby. And her little girl was no longer a newborn but a toddler learning to walk.
    Mattie hated Kendall for taking that time away from her.
    She glanced at the clock again and groaned softly. A whole two minutes had passed. She wanted the hour to fly by because the quicker the time passed, the sooner she might get to see Holly. Of course, Bo might continue to lock all three of them in the nursery. Or he might usher Mattie out of his house as soon as it was daylight. He wasn’t just going to hand over Holly without some kind of court order.
    Mattie threw back the covers and got up, since it was obvious she wasn’t going to fall back asleep. She took off the loaner gown that Rosalie had given her so she could dress in the green pants and top she’d worn the day before. Since she didn’t have a change of clothes, she’d washed her underwear the night before and had hung it on the chair to dry. Her bra was still damp, but it would have to do. At least she had a toothbrush and some toiletries in her bag. Along with her gun.
    Being on the run had taught her to be prepared.
    Mattie didn’t really need to use the bathroom because she’d gotten up just about an hour earlier to do that, but she did need to brush her teeth and freshen up. She grabbed her purse and threw open the door so she could head to the bathroom just up the hall. She didn’t get far. She turned and smacked right into Bo.
    Suddenly, she was smothered in his arms and against his chest. It didn’t take but a split second to register that those arms and chest were bare and that there was a warm, male, musky scent to go along with all those toned muscles.
    “Oh,” she managed to say, and she stepped back. But it was already too late. That scent and touch had gotten to her and had seeped right into her body, warming her in places that shouldn’t be warm.
    Not when it came to Bo, anyway.
    Mattie soon realized that touching him was off-limits, but seeing him had the same effect on her. His hair was rumpled, as if he’d just climbed out of bed.
    After a long night of sex.
    His five-o’clock shadow was now more outlaw stubble. Dark and