"Hey there." Clayton raised his hand and waved at Sparrow. "What can I do for you?" Besides lick you from head to toe.

The sheriff moved off the porch and headed Clayton's way. Damn, what a sight the man made. He moved like a predator and smelled like leather. Leather and ocean. Clayton inhaled deeply, feeling a strange need to purr.

That was weird.

"I'm here to see Harland." Sparrow's strides were long, confident, and sexy as fuck. All Clayton could do was stand there and watch as the sheriff approached. It didn't help him in the least when he began to picture what Sparrow would look like naked.

Mmm, all those golden muscles.

Clayton was about to drool all over himself. "He's not here right now."

Sparrow dipped his head toward Harland's midnight-blue truck. "Are you sure about that?"

"Real sure," Clayton answered. "He ran an errand with Bryson and won't be back for a while."

Just then, Bryson opened the front door and stepped onto the front porch. One obsidian brow arched as Sparrow glanced between Bryson and Clayton. The sheriff turned on his heel and headed toward the porch. Clayton hurried to catch up and then ran in front of the human. "He's not here."

Sparrow stopped in his tracks. "I'm not here to haul him in, Clayton."

Clayton shivered at the way his name sounded on the man's lips. "That's all well and good. But he's still not here."

Clayton, Bryson, and Sparrow's heads simultaneously snapped toward the second-floor window when Dresden let go of a very loud, pain-filled scream. Sparrow snatched his gun from its holster and bolted up the steps. Bryson tried to block the man's way, but Sparrow quickly changed Bryson's mind when he aimed his gun at the muscular man. "Out of my way."

Bryson stepped aside, glancing at Clayton with apprehension before shrugging. "I can't rightly eat the man."

"What?" Sparrow asked, his brows pulled down into a frown. But he didn't wait around for an answer. He hauled ass into the house, Clayton hot on his heels.

Jed stepped from the kitchen, Markey trailing behind him.

"What is going on?" Sparrow demanded. "I heard someone shouting in pain."

"That was me," Jed said. "Stubbed my toe."

It would have been the perfect lie if Dresden hadn't cried out again at that moment. Sparrow moved faster than lightning up the stairs and burst into Harland's bedroom. The human stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening. Clayton's eyes were doing the same as he stood there and watched the baby being born.

Harland jumped up from the bed, growling as his claws slid free and his canines elongated before Harland shifted into his big, brown bear.

Chapter Ten.

Harland stood between his mate and the sheriff. He would kill the man before he allowed Sparrow anywhere near Dresden.

But Sparrow just stood there, glancing between Harland and Dresden. The man didn't say a word as he drank everything in. The doctor continued to work and Harland was getting pissed that his special moment was being ruined by the sheriff's presence.

He shifted back into his human form before he yelled at Clayton, "Get him out of here." His tone was harsh, leaving no room for argument. To his surprise, the sheriff nodded before stepping into the hallway.

"Congratulations," the doctor said. "You have a healthy little boy."

Harland quickly forgot about Sparrow as he turned and laid eyes on his son for the very first time. The bond was instantaneous and Harland fell in love as the doctor cleaned and swaddled the newborn cub. Harland moved back to the bed and slid his arm under Dresden, who was staring at their babe with a look of pure joy.

Harland was terrified when the doctor handed the bundle over to him. He was scared as hell that he would drop the small cub. But when he gazed into those bright-green eyes, he knew there was no way in hell he was ever letting the babe out of his arms.

"Let me see him," Dresden said as he lifted his arms. Well, so much for not letting the boy go. Harland kissed his son's forehead before handing the babe over.

The doctor finished what he had to do and then excused himself. Harland's mom had tears of joy in her eyes as she told them she'd be back to hold her grandson and then left the room.

Harland knew they were giving him and Dresden some time alone and he appreciated them for that.

"You should go see what the sheriff wanted," Dresden said as he cuddled the cub closer. "He just got a huge eye-opener."

"He can wait." A pack of feral wolves couldn't pull him away from his mate and son right now. When the door opened, Harland was ready to remove someone's head. But his bear quickly calmed down when Markey peeked inside.

"Come here," Dresden said. Markey raced toward the bed and struggled to climb up. Harland reached down and helped, setting Markey right next to Dresden and his new baby brother.

"This is-" Dresden frowned and gazed up at Harland. "We never picked out a name."

"I like Austin," Harland said. "How about you?" He rubbed the back of his knuckles over the cub's soft cheek while feeling amazed that he and Dresden had created something so damn perfect.

"Austin," Dresden repeated as he gazed into their son's face. "I like it."

"This is your brother," Harland said to Markey.

The toddler moved closer, getting onto his knees as he stared at the cub swaddled close to Dresden. "Budder."

Harland chuckled. "Close enough."

They spent a good hour together before Dresden yawned. Harland knew his mate needed some rest. His mother came into the room with a look on her face that said she'd waited long enough. She and Harland took the kids as Dresden dozed off.

"I'll stay with them in the nursery while you deal with Sparrow," she said before wandering into the adjoining room Harland and his friends had put together a few weeks back.

Harland tucked the covers around his mate before heading downstairs. He wasn't sure what tale Clayton had spun for the sheriff. There was no way to explain Dresden giving birth and Harland shifting on the guy.

He paused on the steps when he heard low murmuring. Harland tried to listen to the conversation so he would know the lie Clayton was telling, but he couldn't make out what was being said.

"In here," Clayton hollered from the kitchen. When Harland entered, Sparrow was sitting at the table, his hands wrapped around a mug. The human looked nonplussed. Harland's eyes shot to Clayton who only shrugged.

Big help he was.

Harland leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. Sparrow's dark eyes flickered over to Harland and then the guy glanced back down at his mug.

"I had to tell him the truth," Clayton said. "Man's too smart to spin a tale on."

Fucking fantastic.

Harland didn't say a word, waiting to see what the sheriff was going to do.

"I also told him that if you had killed Stork, there wouldn't be much left for the coroner to examine."

Clayton seemed to be a wealth of information for the sheriff. Harland had an urge to smack the shifter on the back of his head. Why didn't he just off the sheriff and hide the body? Now there was a chance the guy could talk and Harland wasn't willing to let that happen. He moved from the counter, heading right for the human when Clayton jumped in the way.

"Step aside," Harland said with a growl.

"I can't let you kill him," Clayton said.

Sparrow eased from his seat, his hand automatically going for his gun. His eyes stayed locked on Harland.

"He can't be allowed to live with what he knows," Harland argued. "That knowledge makes him a very dangerous man, Clayton."

"He ain't going to say nothing," Clayton retorted.

"And how do you know this?" Harland wasn't willing to blindly believe like Clayton was. He had a mate and two cubs to protect. He'd kill the sheriff in the blink of an eye if that kept his family safe.

"He smells funny," Clayton said in a low whisper.

"Seriously?" Harland could not believe what he was hearing. If Clayton thought Sparrow was his mate, Harland couldn't kill the bastard. That left him in a very awkward position.

"Yeah." Clayton nodded before glancing over his shoulder at Sparrow. The sheriff was still standing there, his eyes guarded, his hand on the gun at his side.

Harland let go of a curse before moving back toward the counter. Everything in him said to get rid of the cop and deal with the fallout from Clayton, but he knew he couldn't do that.

Clayton turned to Sparrow. "Are you going to say anything to anyone about what you've seen today?"

Sparrow's expression became cynical. "And who in the hell would believe me?" The man looked a bit shaken. That was to be expected.

"That doesn't answer Clayton's question," Harland pointed out. "I need to know if you're a threat to my family." His tone was less than friendly.

Sparrow shook his head. "I'm not sure what I saw today, but I'm not a threat." The man removed his hand from his gun and rubbed it over his jaw. "Not toward your family. But I still have to find out who killed Stork."

"Try his damn drug dealer," Harland spat, still not at ease with the fact that Sparrow now had power over him.

Sparrow's eyes hardened. "I think I'm intelligent enough to have questioned the dealer already. I might be a small-town sheriff, but that doesn't mean I have a small-town brain." Sparrow shook his head. "Even if I wanted to sweep this one under the rug, there's some hotshot prosecutor who got real interested in this case. He's gunning for you, Harland."

Now that, Harland hadn't known. "Who?"

Sparrow shrugged nonchalantly. "Some guy named Roger Downfire. He's real interested in this case."

"But how did some big shot prosecutor even hear about it?" Harland asked. It didn't make any sense to him. This was a small-town problem and Stork wasn't some bigwig who would garner the attention of anyone important.

"Beats me," Sparrow said. "But I thought the same thing. I've been looking into this guy, though. He comes from the same city where Dresden was living. I don't believe in coincidences."

Neither did Harland.

"I shouldn't be telling you any of this," Sparrow continued. "But he says he has an airtight case against you."

"Like hell," Clayton said. "Harland wasn't anywhere near that trailer park when Stork was killed."

"I'll do a bit more investigating," Sparrow said. "Try to find out what Downfire's real motive is."

"And what about me?" Harland asked. "You know too many things about us now."

Sparrow chewed his lower lip before crossing his arms over his chest. "This whole situation is freaky as hell," he admitted. "But I already have Dunham gunning for my job. I'm not giving him or anyone else any ammo to use against me."

Begrudgingly, Harland walked over to the sheriff and stuck out his hand. To the man's credit, he didn't flinch or pull away. His grip was firm as he shook Harland's hand.

"You don't become a threat to my family and I won't kill you," Harland stated.

"Seems fair enough," the sheriff said. "By the way, congrats on the kid."

Clayton chuckled. "A healthy baby boy."

Sparrow's eyes shot to Clayton. "I don't even want to know how a man can give birth."

Harland didn't say a word. If Sparrow was Clayton's mate, then the man would find out soon enough...maybe. But until then, Harland was anxious to get back upstairs. "I'll let you see him out," he said to Clayton before exiting the kitchen.

He sure as hell hoped the sheriff was an honorable man. Because if he wasn't, Clayton was going to hate Harland when Harland killed the guy.

After three weeks of being cooped up inside the house, Dresden was ready for some fresh air. He decided to take a walk. Renee had the kids upstairs, both boys down for a nap. Well, he wouldn't consider Austin napping. The baby was still sleeping most of the time.

Nonetheless, it felt good to get a moment's reprieve from his life as a father. He headed toward the stable, a place he was starting to love. There was just something about the smell of horses and hay that he delighted in. Dresden had yet to become an expert rider, but Harland had been giving him lessons up until Dresden had gotten too far in his pregnancy to continue.

He heard a car pull into the driveway, but Dresden ignored it. He made his way into the expansive stable to see the horses in their stalls. There was a big, black mare at the end named Devil's Pride. According to Harland, the horse's sperm was a real moneymaker.

Dresden wrinkled his nose at the thought of pimping a horse out-not to mention the thought of how they sometimes extracted that valuable sperm from the animal. But there were two more stud horses as well. It seemed the Triple-B had a very lucrative business.

Not only did they run a stud ranch, but they had a small herd of Angus cattle that they raised for the beef, according to Clayton.

"Funny to run into you on a ranch."

Dresden froze when he heard a voice he never thought he'd hear again. God, no! It couldn't be. He slowly turned to see Roger Downfire standing in the open door of the stable. "What are you doing here?"

Roger smirked as he strolled in, his polished dress shoes clipping on the ground as he walked. "Did you think I would let you run from me, Dresden?"

Yeah, Dresden had. He had been nothing more than a toy to Roger, a piece of arm candy that the high-profile prosecutor loved to show off at parties. The man had no interest in Markey or in Dresden's career. Roger was the most selfish man Dresden had ever met.

"What do you care?" Dresden asked as panic began to fill him. "I was nothing but a showpiece. You even proved that when you spread those lies about me and ruined my career."

Roger's shoulder lifted casually in an indifferent shrug. "I told you not to cross me."

"You ruined me because I didn't want to be your trophy any longer." And because Dresden had broken things off when Roger tried to talk him into giving Markey up for adoption, stating that a single father wasn't fit to raise a child. He knew Roger didn't have Markey's best interest at heart. The man just didn't want to share Dresden with a baby. He saw Markey as a threat.