Page 62 of The Sheriff's Baby

He had, and while Duncan didn’t need Kate’s validation about that, he was glad she didn’t appear to be on the verge of being hysterical with grief. But there would be grief. He was sure of that, and somehow Kate would have to try to come to terms with what her son had done.

And what Brad had done was create a nightmare.

Five dead hired guns. Duncan wouldn’t mourn that. But he was desperately sorry for the hellish memories Brad had given Joelle, Molly and Kate. Hell, had given him, too, because he doubted he’d ever be able to forget the terror of Brad coming so close to putting Joelle in that well.

One thing that Duncan was certain of was that Kate had had no part in her son’s plan. That was good for tying up the loose ends of the investigation, but again, Kate would have to deal with her son pulling her into all of this.

Duncan looked at Joelle, their gazes connecting, and he didn’t care who was watching. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. There was both relief and hope in that kiss. Relief that she and their baby were alive. Hope that nothing like this would ever happen to them again.

“SAPD already had officers in the area of Brad’s house, and they’re going in right now,” Duncan heard Slater say, and he looked up to see Joelle’s brother watching them. Well, watching as much as the rain would allow. It was coming down hard now.

Woodrow was heading to the back of the ranch house, and Ronnie was near the bodies. The chaos of a crime scene had already gotten started.

“Woodrow’s getting some umbrellas from the house,” Slater explained. “We won’t move Kate any more than necessary until the EMTs give us the okay, but why don’t Joelle and you go wait on the porch? No need for all of us to get soaked.”

Duncan didn’t care about the “getting soaked” part, but he wanted Joelle off her feet. Of course, she’d need another exam at the hospital, but he wanted to check for himself to make sure she hadn’t physically been harmed.

Even though he figured it wasn’t necessary, Duncan scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the porch. She didn’t balk. In fact, she sighed and buried her face against his neck. He held her that way for several moments until they were beneath the porch roof. Then, he eased her back to her feet so he could kiss her.

It was another of those comfort kisses, and she didn’t balk about that, either. Just the opposite. She returned the kiss, making it long, hard and deep.

“I thought Brad was going to shoot you,” she said when she finally pulled back. She looked at him, examining him as he was doing to her.

Duncan didn’t voice his fears about what he thought Brad would do to her. No need. They both knew how close they’d all come to dying.

“I think Brad was telling the truth when he said he didn’t kill my father,” Joelle muttered.

He nodded. And wished it weren’t true. Because if Brad had killed Sheriff McCullough, then that would have given them all some closure. It would have closed the case, and they could have started the process of moving on. From that, anyway. In other ways, Duncan felt as if Joelle and he had, indeed, moved on.

In the best possible direction.

He hoped he wasn’t wrong.

“I’m in love with you, Joelle,” he said, “and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that sooner. I’m sorry that it took us almost dying for me to realize that I love you and I want a life with you and our baby.”

Duncan braced for her reaction, which he knew could be a shake of her head and a reminder that the timing was all wrong for this. That the timing might never be right.

But that didn’t happen.

Joelle smiled. Actually, smiled. And like the kiss, Duncan felt as if it lifted a whole mountain of weight off his shoulders. He would have kissed her again to taste that smile, but Slater called out to them.

“The cops found Isla,” Slater said, adding a fist pump of celebration. “She’s alive and as well as she can be. They’re transporting her to the hospital as soon as the ambulance arrives.”

“Did she have the baby?” Joelle asked.

Slater shook his head. “She’s due in a couple of weeks.” He motioned toward his phone. “Should I call Hamlin and let him know?”

“Call him,” Duncan verified. From everything that Kate and Brad had said, Hamlin hadn’t been responsible for any of this mess.

Slater moved away to do that, and Duncan turned back to Joelle to give her that kiss. But she beat him to it and kissed him first. She seemed to pour everything into it. Especially her heart. It turned way too hot, considering they were on a porch with a yard full of cops and the approaching sirens from an ambulance and more cruisers.

Joelle didn’t break the kiss until there was a risk of passing out from lack of oxygen, and when she finally did pull back, she laughed.

“I’m in love with you, too, Duncan,” she said, pinning her gaze to his. They were eye to eye. Mouth to mouth. Breath to breath. “And, no, that’s not the adrenaline crash talking. Or the effects of that kiss. Though it was pretty potent,” she added in a mutter.

Now he laughed, and he let the heat and the joy of the moment wash over him. Duncan knew it would be the start of more moments just like this one. With the woman he loved and their baby.