pencil.
She noticed he hadn't written a single word.
"Are you positive about the time? " Cole asked.
"You're sure you were in the bank at two? " Ryan asked.
"Give or take ten minutes, " she answered.
The marshals exchanged a look. Ryan rubbed the back of his neck.
"Do you have any plans to leave Rockford Falls? " he asked.
"Yes, I'm planning to leave as soon as possible. Caleb and I leave
tomorrow as a matter of fact. I'll miss Tilly, but I'll be glad to get
away from this town. Ever since the rumors started, I've been very
concerned that the men who killed those poor innocent people will come
back here. They might believe that one of us saw them, and I'm sure
you know what has happened to the witnesses of the other robberies. "
"Yeah, we know, " Cole said.
"Where are you headed? " Cole asked.
"Colorado, " she answered.
Any further information she might have wanted to add was forgotten when
Caleb came running out on the porch. The baby spotted his rag doll by
the steps and snatched it up by one of its feet. Strutting over to
Cole, he leaned against his leg and grinned up at him.
Jessica wasn't surprised. Caleb was always initially shy around
strangers, but it never took him long to get over it. He liked men.
She thought their size and voices fascinated him.
"It's time for you to go to bed, Caleb, " she said, her voice a
soothing whisper.
Shaking his head, Caleb pulled his thumb from his mouth long enough to
put his arms up to Cole and let out a loud grunt to be picked up. When
he spied his mother advancing, he dropped his doll to the floor, threw
his arms around Cole's neck, and held on for dear life.
"I don't think this boy wants to go to bed just yet, " Cole remarked.
She stood close to Cole and tried to peel her son's hands away from his
neck, but she wasn't paying much attention to what she was doing.
Tilly was right. The marshal did have beautiful eyes. She wished the
dear woman hadn't made such a fuss over the lawmen's appearance because
now all Jessica could think about was how fit the two of them were. If
Tilly hadn't pointed it out, she surely wouldn't have noticed.
She wasn't in the market for a husband. The reminder helped her
concentrate on the task at hand.
"Caleb always goes right to sleep as soon as I tuck him in with his
baby doll, " she explained. "He's going through adifficult phase and
seems to think he has to throw a tantrum at bedtime.
He's a very good boy, though. Aren't you, Caleb? " The baby nodded
against Cole's neck. Cole stared at Jessica with a look of amusement
in his eyes. She wondered if he knew he was making her
uncomfortable.
She thought that maybe he did, and, oh, how could she have ever thought
him menacing? His hands were big, yet so very gentle as he patted
Caleb's back in a circular, rhythmic motion. Caleb rubbed his tiny
fist against his nose as he nestled his head under Cole's chin.