“How many acres is this?” she asked.
“Forty. I needed that much with the horses.”
“How many do you own?”
“Twelve now, but I plan to expand. I’ve hired several ranch hands to help me take care of things. And I ride every chance I get. What about you? Do you ride?”
She thought of her mother’s second and third husbands. They had owned horses and required that she know how to ride. “Yes, I know how to ride.”
He glanced at his watch. “It won’t take me long to switch vehicles,” he said, bringing the car to a stop. “You’re invited in if you like and you’re welcome to look around.”
“No, I’ll be fine waiting out here until you return,” she said.
He got out of the car and turned to her and smiled. “I don’t bite, you know.”
“Trust me, Zeke, if for one minute I thought you did, I wouldn’t be here.”
“So you think I’m harmless?” he asked, grinning.
“Not harmless but manageable. I’m sure all your focus will be on trying to figure out who wants to frame your friend. You don’t have time for anything else.”
He flashed a sexy smile. “Don’t be so sure of that, Sheila Hopkins.” He closed the door and she watched as he strolled up the walkway to his front door, thinking his walk was just as sexy as his smile.
Zeke unlocked his door and pushed it open. He had barely made it inside his house when the phone rang. Closing the door behind him, he pulled his cell phone off the clip on his belt. He checked the caller ID. “Yes, Brad?”
“You didn’t call. How was the baby?”
Zeke leaned up against the wall supporting the staircase. “She’s fine, but she cries a lot.”
“I noticed. And no one could get her to stop. Did they check her out to make sure nothing is wrong with her?”
Zeke smiled. “She was checked out. Just so happens that Warren Phillips was on duty and he’s the one who gave her a clean bill of health, although she still wanted to prove to everyone what a good set of lungs she had.”
“I’m glad she’s okay. I was worried about her.”
Zeke nodded. “Are you sure there’s nothing you want to tell me? I did happen to notice the kid does have your eyes.”
“Don’t get cute, Zeke. The kid isn’t mine. But she’s just a baby and I can’t help worrying about her.”
“Hey, man, I was just kidding, and I understand. I can’t help worrying about her, too. But we might have found a way where we don’t have to worry about her while I delve into my investigation.”
“And what way is that?”
“That way happens to be a nurse who works at Royal Memorial by the name of Sheila Hopkins. She’s the only one who can keep the baby quiet. It’s the weirdest thing. The kid screams at everyone else, but she’s putty in Sheila Hopkins’s hands. She actually smiles instead of crying.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I saw her smile myself. Warren suggested that Sheila keep Sunnie for the time being,” Zeke explained.
“Sunnie?”
“Yes, that’s the name Sheila gave the kid for now. She said it sounded better than Jane Doe and I agree.”
There was a slight pause and then Brad asked, “And this Sheila Hopkins agreed to do it?”
“Yes, until the results of the paternity test come back, so the sooner you can do your part the better.”
“I’ve made an appointment to have it done tomorrow.”
“Good. And I’m going shopping with Sheila for baby stuff. She’s single and doesn’t have any kids of her own, so she’ll need all new stuff, which I’m billing you for, by the way.”
“Fine.” There was a pause, and then Brad said, “I was thinking that perhaps it would be best if I hired a nanny and keep the baby instead of—”
“Hold up. Don’t even consider it. We don’t want anyone seeing your kindness as an admission of guilt, Brad. The next thing everyone will think is that the baby is really yours.”
“Yes, but what do you know about this nurse? You said she’s single. She might be pretty good at taking care of patients, but are you sure she knows how to take care of a baby?”
“I’m not sure about anything regarding Sheila Hopkins, other than what Warren told me. She’s worked at the hospital about a year. But don’t worry, I’ve already taken measures to have her checked out. Roy is doing a thorough background check on Sheila Hopkins as we speak.”
Suddenly Zeke heard a noise behind him and turned around. Sheila was leaning against his door with her arms crossed over her chest. The look on her face let him know she had heard some, if not all, of his conversation with Brad and wasn’t happy about it.
“Brad, I need to go. I’ll call you back later.” He then hung up the phone.
Before he could open his mouth, Sheila placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. “Please take me back to the hospital to get my car. There’s no way I’m going anywhere with a man who doesn’t trust me.”
Then she turned and walked out the door and slammed it shut behind her.
Sheila was halfway down the walkway, when Zeke ran behind her and grabbed her arm. “Let me go,” she said and angrily snatched it back.
“We need to talk and I prefer we don’t do it out here,” Zeke said.
She glared up at him. “And I prefer we don’t do it anywhere. I have nothing to say to you. How dare you have me investigated like I’m some sort of criminal.”
“I never said you were a criminal.”
“Then why the background check, Zeke?”
He rubbed his hands down his face. “I’m a P.I., Sheila. I investigate people. Nothing personal, but think about it. Sunnie will be in your care for two weeks. I don’t know you personally and I need to know she’s not only in a safe environment but with someone both Brad and I can trust. Would you not want me to check out the person whose care she’s been placed in?”
Sheila sighed deeply, knowing that she would. “But I’d never do anything to harm her.”
“I believe that, but I have to make sure. All I’m doing is a basic background check to make certain you don’t have any past criminal history.” After a moment he said, “Come on in, let’s talk inside.”
She thought about his request then decided it might be best if they did talk inside after all. She had a tendency to raise her voice when she was angry about something.
“Fine.” She stalked off ahead of him.
By the time Zeke followed her inside the house, she was in the middle of the living room pacing, and he could tell she was still mad. He quietly closed the door behind him and leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest, with one booted heel over the other, as he watched her. Again he was struck by just how beautiful she was.
For some reason he was more aware of it now than before. There was fire in her eyes, annoyance in her steps, and the way she was unconsciously swaying her hips was downright sensual. She had taken center stage, was holding it and he was a captive audience of one.
Then she stopped pacing and placed her hands on her hips to face him. She glared him down. The woman could not have been more than five-four at the most. Yet even with his height of six-four she was making him feel shorter. Damn. He hadn’t meant for