She’d had the baby without ever having called me. I’d shown up at the hospital and overheard her tell a friend I wasn’t the father and she’d been playing me all along. We hadn’t even fucked like she’d said. It was then I pulled out my evidence, called Kale, and forced her to terminate her rights and give me full custody. Fifty thousand also sweetened the pot. She’d walked out of that hospital less than twenty-four hours after having Claire, paperwork signed, and never looked back.

I became a daddy to a baby that wasn’t mine, officially confirmed later by a paternity test. But one look at newborn Claire and there had been no going back. I hadn’t cared whose DNA she carried. I’d thought she was mine for months, and I was keeping her.

I’d finished the academy and returned to The Bend with a newborn. My child.

Five years later Claire thrived on the ranch. I might not have been the sperm donor, but I was her father. Only Kale, my brothers Sawyer and Thatcher, and Alice, our housekeeper, knew the truth.

I hadn’t heard from Mandy in all this time. “She’s not here for custody. She never wanted Claire. Hasn’t been involved in her life one fucking bit. Why now?”

He looked to me, shifted, and winced. “Cash, probably.”

I sighed, ran a hand over the back of my neck. It was the Manning money she was after. The family ranch was huge. Me and my brothers were set for life between the land and the inheritance from our parents. But we worked for a living. Mannings were never idle.

“If she knows where to find me, even through you, she knows I’m chief of police. Not the best person to extort.”

He dropped his head back on the stiff pillow. “I didn’t say she was smart, but she does have Claire’s DNA.”

“I’ll pay her if it keeps Claire safe and happy.”

Kale shifted. “Yeah, well. You did that once and she’s back. Her lawyer sent papers that outlined that you’re not Claire’s biological father and she’ll fight for custody.”

“Unless…”

“Unless you pay her more. Child support.”

“How does she have money for a lawyer?” I wondered.

His head rocked back and forth in a pseudo-headshake. That made him close his eyes for a second. “She doesn’t. Like I said, he wrote a letter, nothing more. Maybe a hundred bucks. The real payout’s from you.”

I laughed and ripped the curtain back a little more. “I’m the one supporting the child. Jesus,” I muttered. Claire was mine. She deserved a life without Mandy in it. She’d only ruin her. I couldn’t even imagine my sweet blonde-haired child with that crazy bitch. I thanked God often I’d gotten her away from that woman. Claire was off to kindergarten in the fall. Smart as a whip. My little cowgirl. The only thing she might be missing in her life was a front tooth and a mama.

I ran a hand over my face. Sighed. “I’ll call Mandy. Go see her tonight and make it clear she has no case.”