The drive back to Paradiso went a lot faster than the drive out to Tombstone, no matter how much Nash tried to delay it. When he pulled into the parking lot of the station, he scanned the cars to see if he could figure out which one belonged to the caseworker who’d take Wyatt away. He swallowed hard when he saw a sedan with a rear-facing car seat in the back.
He threw the car into Park and sat still with his hands resting on top of the steering wheel. Emily sat beside him, staring straight ahead, not moving a muscle.
Finally, she shoved her glasses to the top of her head. “Before we go in, I’m going to change his diaper one last time. I—I don’t want them to think he was neglected.”
“I’ll help you.” Nash exited the vehicle and opened the passenger door behind the driver’s side. He dragged the diaper bag from the floor of the truck while Emily scooped Wyatt out of his seat.
“C’mon, you little bug. You need to look handsome and healthy to meet new people.” Emily’s voice hitched in her throat.
Nash’s own throat was aching by the time she came to his side of the car with Wyatt in her arms.
She placed him on the diaper mat he’d laid out on the seat and changed Wyatt—one last time. Without hesitation, Nash took the dirty diaper from her and tossed it into the trash can on the edge of the parking lot. He’d come a long way in a few days.
When he came back to the truck, Emily had snapped up Wyatt’s clothes and plucked a couple of diaper wipes from the dispenser. She waved one at Nash. “Here you go.”
He wiped his hands clean, and then they walked into the station as if they were going to face a firing squad.
When they entered the reception area, four heads swiveled around to watch their progress. Nash narrowed his eyes as he, Emily and Wyatt approached the clutch of people, each with a different expression he couldn’t begin to fathom. He could read only Valdez’s open face, filled with an almost gleeful humor, but he couldn’t understand it. What the hell was so funny about a murdered mother leaving a child behind?
He recognized Detective Espinoza from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and a deputy from the same department and figured the woman for the caseworker.
They’d all been huddled around a computer when he and Emily had walked in with Wyatt. Now their attention stayed focused on him.
Nash coughed, more to get rid of the lump in his throat than anything else. “We have Jaycee Lemoin’s baby. I hope you’re ready to take good care of him.”
The woman shifted her gaze from him to Wyatt, happily lounging in Emily’s arms, and smiled. “I’m Alice Daniels, the social worker from DCS. Wyatt looks like a happy boy. We’ll do our best for him until...”
Alice jerked her head back toward Nash and dropped her gaze.
Nash exchanged a look with Emily, who shrugged. She felt it, too.
Espinoza nodded to Nash as he lifted the laptop to the counter. “Agent Dillon, we have something to show you.”
“I figured you might. You’re all acting weird.”
As Emily started forward, Alice put her hand on her arm. “May I hold Wyatt?”
“Of course.” Emily did the handoff and Wyatt seemed happy with the smiling woman.
Emily slipped a finger through Nash’s belt loop and they bellied up to the counter together.
Nash rapped his knuckles on the wood surface. “What is going on? What’s on that computer?”
Espinoza spun the laptop around to face Nash and Emily, where a still from a video featuring Jaycee filled the screen. “When we found Jaycee’s body, she had a phone on her.”
Nash got an adrenaline surge. “Did she capture her killer?”
“No such luck, but Jaycee knew she was in trouble for sure and took some precautions.” Espinoza’s hand hovered over the mouse. “Are you ready?”
Nash licked his lips. “Yeah, go.”
Espinoza clicked the play button, and Jaycee started talking in a video she’d taken of herself.
Her breathy voice with the slight Southern accent she’d picked up somewhere came across the computer speakers.
“So, I know I messed up...big-time, but I love my little Wy more than anything, and I want to make sure he’s safe in case something happens to me. This is my last will and testament, and I’m hoping it holds up in a court of law even if I didn’t write anything down or get it notarized, ’cause I don’t want my mom to get Wyatt.” Jaycee pushed her blond hair from her face. “She didn’t do such a great job with me. Sorry, Mom, but you didn’t. So, I, Jaycee Lemoin, being of sound mind and body do hereby...”
She stopped and giggled, and Nash’s heart flipped over.
“Anyway, almost sound mind and body—and that’s a joke. What I’m trying to say here is, I want to pick a guardian for my son, Wyatt Lemoin, and I want that guardian to be Nash Dillon.”
Chapter Twelve
Nash’s mouth dropped open, and he couldn’t hear the rest of Jaycee’s verbal will over the roaring in his ears. What just happened? Did Jaycee just appoint him, a single man, a carefree bachelor, as guardian for her son?
Emily touched his shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“All right?” He twisted his head to the side and met her gaze. “I’m in shock. I can’t... I’m not...”
“You’re not locked in or anything, Agent Dillon.” Alice the caseworker appeared in his peripheral vision, bouncing a gurgling Wyatt in her arms. “I’m not an attorney, but I’ve seen a few situations like this. Nobody can force you to take a child, and it’s not that easy for one parent to cut out another. If Wyatt’s father steps forward, he can fight for custody and a judge will usually go with
