Big Daddy Sheriff (Big Cedar Daddies #1)

Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Quinn waited until Alyssa was home from the playground before he helped her into his pickup and then set off for a town just about twenty miles west of them.

“Where are we going, Daddy?” she asked.

“To get ice cream. I love Big Cedar, but we don’t have a lot. As you’ve seen. There’s a place not far from here that has the best ice cream. And you can load it up with sprinkles, marshmallows, or whatever you want, sweetpea.”

“Yummy, Daddy! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.”

“How come we aren’t driving your police car?”

“It wouldn’t be right to drive it for a personal matter. The residents pay for the wear and tear. Not to mention the gas. I don’t want to take advantage of them.”

“You’re a good man, Quinn Hardin.”

“Well thank you, Alyssa Mills.”

She giggled, then looked out her window at the passing mountains and trees, and said, “I wish we could’ve taken your truck. I want to turn on the lights and sirens.”

He grinned. That little girl of his sure was a cutie. And to think, he mused silently, that only days ago I was praying for the woman of my dreams to come along.

How quickly life changes.

“You can go on patrol with me tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll go to a county road and you can flip ‘em on.”

“Ooh. Thank you, Daddy. Will you go fast, too?”

“If it’s safe,” he conceded.

Thirty minutes later, they were in front of a standalone ice-cream shop that was housed in an old brick building. Across the street was a newer gas station and a lot over from it was a video store.

“I didn’t know there were any video stores left,” Alyssa said. She and Daddy were sitting on the same side of a picnic table, watching the few cars that went by on the two-lane highway and the stores on the other side.

“You’d be surprised how slow we are to catch up around these parts,” Quinn said. “We have good internet in Big Cedar, but not everyone does. Streaming can be difficult. So, renting DVDs is the only way they can see movies, unless they drive into a town with a movie theater or something.”

“You said we have good internet?” she asked.

They both loved the sound of that question.

We .

“Sure do,” Quinn responded. “We requested the utility company lay fiberoptic cable last year. They obliged, and now we have top speeds.”

“Thank god.”

Quinn laughed. “Yeah. I use it a lot, too.”

They both ate their ice cream in silence for a few moments, content to simply be near each other and watch this lazy corner of the world drift by.

Quinn decided it was a good time to ask the question that had been weighing on his mind. “Honey, I need to ask you something. And I want you to be completely honest with me. Is there something you’re not telling me about Lana and everything that’s gone on in Arkansas?”

When it took her a long, heavy moment to answer, he knew that he was onto something.

Finally, she said, “I don’t want you to think less of me.”

“I won’t,” he promised. “You’re my babygirl. If you’re in some kind of trouble, we’ll face it together.”

She spooned another bite of strawberry ice cream, whipped cream, and sprinkles into her mouth and swallowed the cold lump before saying, “I didn’t break the law or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m not part of Lana’s… criminal activities… or whatever you’d call them.”

“I’m not worried about that,” Quinn said, looking at her and smiling genuinely. “I know my sweetpea. You’re a good person. I know you wouldn’t do anything like that.”

“Sometimes I’m not so sure about that.”

“What do you mean?”

She sat the cardboard bowl of ice cream on the tabletop and shifted on the wooden bench until she was facing Quinn. “Lana is my mother. Biologically, at least. But she’s not my mom!”

Quinn nodded but didn’t press, instead giving his sweet girl time to form her words. She’d tell him when she was ready.

It took nearly two minutes, but finally she explained, “I was adopted as a baby. Like, my adoptive parents—but I call them my real parents—took me home from the hospital. They were an older couple who could never have kids of their own. Not elderly, but not young newlyweds, either.”

“I gotcha.” Quinn nodded, waiting for her to say more.

Alyssa noticed the ice cream was already melting in the harsh August sun, so she spooned another bite into her mouth. “After my parents died, I set out to find my bio mom and dad. It took some doing—even had to get an attorney to unseal some records—but I tracked them down. At least her. He was already gone.”

“That’s when you met Lana, huh?” he said.

“Sure was. I was so excited,” she said. She had her spoon backward, resting on her bottom lip, as she stared absentmindedly across the road. “I found out she was a state senator and local business owner. She made a big deal about how she’d regretted giving me up and how she’d always prayed I was out there, thriving and all that.” She took another bite of ice cream, letting it melt on her tongue. “I knew she’d never replace the parents who raised me. But I was excited to have that relationship. It was great.” She looked back at Quinn. “Until it wasn’t.”

He nodded, indicating that he understood.

“She put me working in her main office. It’s sort of the catch-all for her business operations.”

Quinn was starting to see a mental image in his mind. He figured he knew the answer to his next question but asked it anyway. “Are the politics real? Or just a means to an end?”

“Ha! She’s about the furthest thing from a true believer as you can get,” Alyssa said. “She’s good at spouting off everything her base wants to hear. And they eat it up. But the causes aren’t what she’s really after.”

“Power?” Quinn said.

With a glob of melting ice cream in her mouth, Alyssa shook her head. After swallowing, she said, “Beats me. But I think it’s more money. She doesn’t really care about rising higher. She’s got a sweet setup right where she’s at. She’s on some committees. And I don’t know the extent of it, but I’ve seen enough to know the bribes and kickbacks and all that keep her flush with cash.” Alyssa scowled. “Add to that her other operations… drugs, sex workers, and other stuff. Well, you’ve got one evil little empire.”

Quinn covered her hand with his. “And when you found out about it, you went to the law.”

“I had to! She might be my birth mother, but I’m not okay with any of that.” She sank a little lower on the bench. Her voice had a glum quality when she said, “That’s why I was scared to tell you all this. I didn’t want you to associate me with her. You know? Like maybe you’d think, ‘Oh, her mom’s a criminal so she probably is, too.’ I don’t share her values. Or lack of. I promise.”

Quinn turned to face her, taking both of her hands in his and pulling her as close as their seated positions would allow. “Honey, you never have to worry about that with me. I know you.”

“We just met,” she said with a playful smile.

He chuckled. “True. But a Daddy knows when he’s found his sweet girl. And you are definitely my sweet girl. I know your heart. What your biological mother is or isn’t has nothing to do with you.”

She inched closer. “Can I give you an ice-cream kiss, Daddy?”

“You kidding? Those are the best kind.”

She giggled. Her lips were cold, but the kiss was plenty hot.

Once they’d pulled away, she asked, “Do you think those guys will come back?”

“You might know more than me. How determined is Lana?”

“More driven than anyone I’ve ever seen,” Alyssa replied with obvious fear filling the pronouncement.

He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “They might stay away. They know law enforcement is keeping an eye out. But either way, don’t worry. You’re always safe with Daddy.” He kissed the top of her head.

A few moments later, after they’d both eaten the last of their frozen treats, he asked, “What do you want to do?”

She seemed to know what he meant by the question. She said, “Honestly, I just want to forget all about it. I mean, I’ll testify if they charge her again, but I don’t want to just sit around and dwell on it.”

He kissed her again. “Then, little girl, get ready. Daddy will help you forget all about it.”