Page 10 of Her Baby, Her Badge

“Probably,” she admitted. “But there’s no way I’m staying at your ranch.”

“You wouldn’t be staying with my family,” he insisted. “You’d be staying in a guestroom at my house on the ranch.”

She was well aware of that and knew that Ike lived in the main house, even though it, too, belonged to Dutton. Dutton had basically given it to him after he’d had his own place built when he’d been in his early twenties.

Ike didn’t live alone in the massive mansion, though, but resided with his much younger brother, Asher, and his wife, Kitty. They had an adopted twelve-year-old daughter, Jamie, who, because of the big age difference, was more of a niece to Dutton than a cousin.

“It’s stillyourhouse, onyourranch,” Grace pointed out.

Dutton opened his mouth, probably to launch into a lecture about her not letting the gossip play into where she stayed, but he closed his mouth just as fast. He knew what a complicated situation this was for both of them.

“So you’ll go back to your place, turn on any and all security systems you have and shut your gate to visitors,” she stated.

He gave her a flat look. “Will you do all those things at your place? Wait,” he continued. “You don’t have a gate to keep out killers, and you live out in the middle of nowhere with no neighbor in sight.”

That was true. No gate. She lived on what had once been her grandparents’ horse ranch, and her nearest neighbor was over a half mile away. Normally, that suited her just fine, but this was the first time she had a killer targeting her. Still, she wasn’t going to let this SOB run her out of her own home.

“I have a security system,” she said. “And I’ll use it.”

Dutton muttered some profanity under his breath. “Then I’ll be there to keep watch to make sure the killer doesn’t get to you.”

She muttered her own profanity. “Dutton, there is no way I can let you stay with me in my house.”

“I’ll stay in my truck, which will be parked in front of your house,” he argued.

He would have no doubt continued to argue if her phone hadn’t dinged with a text, and she saw it was from Larry. As promised, the CSI had sent her a photo of the knife they’d found. It was now encased in a clear plastic evidence bag, but she could see the smears of blood on the blade, and Grace felt the fresh punch of dread since this was the blood of a fallen fellow cop.

“Enlarge the handle,” Dutton insisted.

Of course, she was aware he’d moved back to her side. It was impossible not to realize that since…well, this was Dutton. But Grace heard something in his voice that was more than a request.

She used her fingers to enlarge the photo, zooming in on the handle. It was ornate, alright, and made of something white. Maybe a special kind of wood or bone. An eagle had been carved into it.

“Hell,” Dutton said, and he groaned, then cursed some more.

Grace snapped toward him to see why he’d had that reaction. “What’s wrong?” she demanded.

Dutton groaned again before he answered. “That knife belongs to my father.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“Won’t this be fun?” Dutton muttered, the sarcasm heavy in his voice. He was in the doorway of Grace’s office and had an unobstructed view of his father as Ike came into the police station.

Grace, who was right beside Dutton, didn’t say anything, but her sigh told him she wasn’t looking forward to this, either. Her sigh turned to a raised eyebrow though when an unexpectedvisitorcame in behind Ike. Dutton cursed under his breath at the sight of the dark-haired girl.

His twelve-year-old cousin, Jamie.

The girl’s arrival obviously grabbed the attention of his brother, too, because Rory got up from his desk. He was talking to someone on the phone, but he pinned a questioning look at Ike and Jamie.

Dutton did more than give her a look. “What are you doing here, Jamie?” Dutton demanded. He checked his watch. It was one-fifteen in the morning, which was way past the girl’s bedtime.

Jamie gave a dramatic roll of her eyes. “Dutton, Sheriff Granger,” she greeted, and her attention lowered to Grace’s baby bump.

The girl smiled a little. For some reason, Jamie was one of the few people in town who seemed happy about the pregnancy.

“Well?” Dutton persisted. “Why are you here?”

“I heard when the sheriff called and told Uncle Ike to come into the station. I insisted on coming with him.”

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