Even the slimmest chance of losing custody of her baby had PJs gut so knotted she could hardly breathe.
* * *
THROUGHOUT THE DAY, Chuck worked on projects ranging from replacing rotted eaves to mucking stalls. In between tasks, he made it a habit to swing by the diners wide windows to peek in at PJ.
So many times during his tour in Afghanistan hed dreamed of seeing PJ again, of holding her in his arms. In his imagination, he could hear her voice telling him shed been wrong, that she wanted him in her life no matter what profession he chose.
Those dreams had helped him hold it together during the dangerous missions. The thought of coming back to Wild Oak Canyon to salvage his relationship with the woman he loved ended in a heros welcome. Such were his dreams.
The reality was, PJ had lied to him by withholding information about Charlie. If Chuck hadnt returned to Wild Oak Canyon, hed never have known he had a daughter.
His chest swelled as he thought of the tiny baby, lying in her crib, her soft tuft of hair like silk against his fingers.
Hed smashed his fingers with a hammer more than once, losing his focus over little Charlie. And the more he saw PJ through the window, the more he alternated between wanting to hold her and wanting to shake her.
Around noon, he ducked into the resort office.
The young woman manning the counter, barely out of her teens, smiled. May I help you?
Chuck read the name tag. Hi, Alicia. Im Chuck, the new handyman.
Alicia reached across the counter and shook Chucks hand. Welcome to Wild Oak Canyon Resort.
Do you know of any repairs that need to be made in any of the rooms?
The young woman behind the counter smiled and shrugged. I only work part-time in the afternoons after my classes get out at the community college, so I dont always get the 4-1-1. Youll have to ask the new manager.
Ms. Smithson? Chuck asked.
Yes, sir. You can find her at the diner until about two. Then shell be back in her office at the resort.
Chuck glanced at the old-fashioned guest register on the counter, committing the names on the list to memory. Perhaps one of the guests was PJs attacker. Are there many guests this time of year?
Its a slow season, from what they tell me. Only about twenty-five people are here for the week. Many are planning to attend the rodeo in the neighboring town. We get the overflow.
Chuck made a note to work with Cara Jo to review the list of guests and to get Hank to run a background check on any who might be questionable. Since the attack had just happened only the night before, whoever did it could be new in town, thus needing a place to stay. One close enough where he could study PJs every move. Chucks fists tightened. The sooner he discovered the culprit and put him in jailor out of his miserythe better. I guess Ill be seeing you around, Alicia.
Nice to meet you.
Chuck went back to work in the stable. By early afternoon, hed finished mucking stalls and was just emptying a wheelbarrow full of manure in the pile behind the stables when he saw PJs car pull out of the rear parking lot of the resort. Even if he hadnt been tasked with protecting the confounded woman, curiosity got the better of him.
Chuck dusted off his jeans, climbed into his truck and followed. Wild Oak Canyon wasnt a big enough town to boast a single stoplight. A couple of dozen streets crisscrossed in straight lines on the flat terrain.
PJ pulled into a building a few blocks from the diner.
Chuck waited at a stop sign until PJ went inside before he passed. His heart skipped several beats when he read the sign in front of the neat little house, converted into a business. Hanes and Taylor, Attorneys at Law.
Was that the way shed play this? Anger spiked as he turned the corner and circled the block. Most likely she was getting legal advice about child custody.
As Chuck rounded the block and came back out on Main, PJs car was pulling away from the curb. She hadnt had time to consult with anyone. She had probably only set up an appointment.
Chucks jaw tightened. Tonight, he and PJ would have a talk about Charlies future. A future that would include Chuck, by God.
Feeling a bit guilty over stalking PJ, Chuck left a big gap between his truck and her car.
PJs next stop was on the other side of town at a quaint little church with a fenced playground out back and a sign out front with the words painted in block letters, Heavenly Hope Day Care.
Chuck kept his distance, parking in an abandoned gas station until PJ came out.
Twenty minutes later, hed about given up when PJ emerged carrying an infant car seat, Charlies little head barely visible over the sides. Her tiny hand waved at the sky, bringing a smile to Chucks face.
He wanted to hold his little girl, to get to know her and watch her grow.
Had PJ not shut him out of her life, Chuck would have moved heaven and earth to be there when Charlie came into the world. He sighed. Then again, the army didnt always let soldiers out of their deployments for the births of their children. Even had PJ told him he was going to be a father, he probably wouldnt have gotten a furlough to return home for the event.
He could understand some of the reasoning behind PJ keeping the birth of his child from him. But Charlie was three months old. Chuck had been back in the States for a month of that, in the hospital for rehab and then processing out of the military.
After almost a years separation, hed thought hed be over PJ, but that was as far from the truth as he could get.
The woman had never been far from his mind, and his job of protecting her would only put them closer still.
Chuck considered asking Hank to pull him from this case. But who did he know he could trust to guarantee PJs safety? And who had as much at stake when it came to Charlie?
If the Mexican Mafia was after PJ and Charlie, hed need a friggin army to surround her, especially in this part of south Texas where drugs traveled across the border seemingly unconstrained. There were enough Mafia members on both sides of the border that if they wanted PJ and Charlie, one cowboy wasnt going to stop them. Chuck wondered if the four cowboys Hank had hired made up the entirety of Covert Cowboys, Inc., or if Hank had additional help he hadnt met yet.
Chuck stayed behind PJ as she drove back to her apartment. He gave her five minutes to unload and get into her room before he parked and climbed out.
The more he thought about PJ and Charlie being at risk with the Mexican Mafia, the more he needed to know about those he might be up against. A visit with Hanks computer guru who had access to just about anything that had a computer footprint was in order. But first, he had to make sure PJ and Charlie would be okay.
Chuck scanned the parking lot, noting all the shadowy areas a person could hide to ambush an unsuspecting mother. He made notes to himself to trim back bushes and install motion-sensor lighting to ward off surprise attacks. Since he, PJ and Cara Jo were the only people who should be parking behind the buildings, safety in numbers wasnt really an option.
At the top of the staircase leading to the pair of apartments he and PJ occupied, Chuck paused and surveyed the hallway. The light overhead gave a dingy glow. Hed clean the globe and change the bulbs.
He paused with his fist hovering over PJs door and got a good whiff of his own stench. After mucking horse manure for part of the day, he probably smelled like the stuff.