"You did not see who fired the gun?" Consuelo asked.

"Of course not, I was behind the door," Glory told her.

"Marco swears it wasn't him."

Glory was remembering Marco's threat, that he'd get her. She didn't want to mention it to Consuelo, or their good working relationship would be over. It did sting a little that Consuelo was taking up for her son who had tried to shoot Glory.

"They are holding Marco at the detention center. I must go and take him some money. Can you manage?"

"Yes," Glory a.s.sured her.

"There is only this last batch of peach preserves and then we have nothing to do until the apples come in, so it shouldn't be hard to finish," she added.

"I'll do fine. Go ahead and see about your son."

Consuelo took off her ap.r.o.n and smoothed her blouse over her slacks. Odd, Glory thought, those pants looked as if they were made of silk. So did the blouse. That was an expensive outfit to wear in a kitchen, surely?

"I won't be long," Consuelo a.s.sured her with a smile.

"Okay."

WHILE CONSUELO AND RODRIGO were out of the house, Glory phoned Dr. Lou Coltrain's office and got an appointment with her for that afternoon. Consuelo would surely eat lunch before she returned, and Rodrigo wouldn't mind cold cuts for lunch-she'd leave him a note, although she wouldn't mention where she was going.

It was a slow day at the clinic, so she got in to see Lou early. The tall, blonde woman doctor smiled at her as she came into the cubicle.

"Miss Barnes? I'm Lou Coltrain."

"Glad to meet you," Glory said. She sighed. "I would very much like for you to tell me that I'm not pregnant."

Lou's eyebrows arched. "Why?"

"It's an inconvenient time. And," she added reluctantly, "I have high blood pressure."

Lou was solemn. "How high?"

Glory told her.

"You're medicated?"

"Yes." She gave the dosage and strength of the capsules she took for the condition.

"Are you married?"

Glory flushed, and then laughed. "Yes. Just yesterday, in Mexico."

Lou hesitated. "You know, a blood test the day after you get married isn't going to be conclusive."

"It's been several weeks since my last period," Glory told her. "This amazing, s.e.xy man came up on my blind side. I couldn't resist him then, and I couldn't refuse when he asked me to marry him. He really wants a child."

Lou pulled up her rolling stool and sat down. "What do you want?" she asked quietly.

Glory hesitated. "I thought I wanted my job and no complications. But now the complications are much more exciting than the job. My doctor and my boss sent me down here to get me away from stress and danger."

"I see." Lou was writing on a pad. "Your doctor's name and phone number?"

Glory gave it to her.

"You're taking a blood thinner as well as the combination hypertension and diuretic drug?"

"Yes."

"Any angina?"

"Yesterday," Glory replied.

"What triggered it?"

"A man shot at me through my bedroom door."

Lou stopped writing and gaped at her patient. "So that's what was going on! We heard the sirens, and somebody said that a shooter was loose on the Pendleton Farm. Did they catch him?"

"In the act," Glory replied with a smile. "One of them, at least."

"Why was he shooting at you?"

"I have evidence that a drug dealer conspired to commit murder," Glory told her. "I just have to live long enough to give it in court."

"All that and a baby...Miss Barnes, you are a wonder!"

"Seora," Glory corrected in a tone still filled with wonder. "Seora Ramirez."

Lou grinned. "I still remember the first time somebody called me Mrs. Coltrain. You don't quite get over the thrill, do you? Okay, let's draw some blood and then we'll talk."

HALF AN HOUR AND ONE emergency later, Lou walked back into Glory's cubicle, sat down and smiled.

"You have decisions to make."

"Am I?" Glory asked breathlessly.

"You are," Lou replied. "It could be a false positive this early, but considering the symptoms you're having, I doubt it. If you're thinking of a termination, this is the time to do it. If that's what you want."

"It isn't," Glory said at once. She hesitated. "There is a risk, isn't there?"

"Have you been taking the blood thinners regularly?"

Glory sat very still. "Yes. I didn't think...!"

"You need to see your own doctor," Lou said, trying not to sound as worried as she really was.

"I can't go back to San Antonio right now," Glory replied. "I'm a walking target if I do."

"Then I can refer you to a cardiologist who comes down here from Houston one day a week," she said. "She's very good. And she's due here tomorrow."

"That would be nice."

"Let her examine you and make recommendations. Then we'll all talk. Including your husband," she added. "He's part of this. You can't make such a decision alone."

"I may have to," Glory said sadly. "I haven't told him what I really do for a living, or how bad my health problems are."

"Is that wise?"

"Not really. But I wasn't thinking of getting pregnant when we..."

"That's the time you're supposed to think of getting pregnant," Lou reminded her. "Especially a high-risk case like yours."

"I messed up," Glory said, but she smiled. "I haven't had much family life." Because Lou was a sympathetic listener, Glory opened up and told her about the past, including her father's tragic fate.

Lou grimaced. "People who've had less trauma than you have are always blaming an abusive childhood for their problems. Look at you."

"I got lucky," Glory said. "Well, in some ways, at least." She stared at Lou. "I want this baby very much. Please tell me there's a chance...?"

"There's always a chance, however slim," Lou replied. Her expression was solemn. "But you need to speak with the cardiologist before you make a decision. It isn't sensible to lose your life bringing a child into the world."

"Tell that to Grace Grier," Glory said, tongue-in-cheek.

Lou laughed. "My husband did. It was useless, of course. Grace was a very determined lady."

"So am I. I graduated law school with honors," she added.

"I'm not surprised."

LOU SET UP THE APPOINTMENT for Glory. She'd have to figure some way to sneak out of the house, she told herself, to get to it without arousing suspicion. She didn't know it, but that problem was about to solve itself.

The first thing she noticed when she walked into the house was how quiet it was. No clocks ticking. No sounds from the kitchen. No water running. Nothing. It was like walking into a tomb. She wondered why her mind had come up with such an a.n.a.logy as she leaned on her cane and frowned, listening.

Seconds later, the a.n.a.logy slammed the door behind her.

"At last," came a familiar voice. "Finally I have you where I want you, alone, with no hope of escape!"

11.

GLORY GRIPPED THE HEAD of her cane tightly in her hand. She hadn't hung around with policemen and deputy sheriffs and Texas Rangers for the past few years without learning some basic self-defense techniques. She hoped they were going to save her life, because she heard a pistol c.o.c.k behind her.

"Turn around," the voice growled. "I want you to see who's killing you!"

Glory's heart was racing, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She was carrying her great-grandfather's cane, which he'd used to kill rattlesnakes. It was oiled, heavy and deadly. She leaned on the cane, as if it were painful to turn around. She moved very slowly, until she had a glimpse of fabric in the corner of her eye. Then, suddenly, she lifted the cane, pivoted quickly on her good leg, and swung the heavy cane with all her might. There was a harsh cry.

The gun, the cane and Consuelo all went flying across the floor. Glory didn't hesitate. She dived for the gun on the floor, grabbed it and aimed it at the erstwhile cook, who was still lying on the floor, trying to figure out what had happened to her.

Glory sat up, her breathing steadier now. She scooted back to the table where she'd dropped her purse and tugged it down onto the floor beside her. She felt for her phone, never taking her eyes off Consuelo, who was stirring.

She opened the flip phone with her free hand and dialed 911. When the dispatcher's voice came on the line, she gave her information very calmly and asked for a.s.sistance.

"Ma'am, is there a gun involved?"

"Yes, there is," Glory replied tightly, "and I'm aiming it at the woman who just tried to kill me."

"We'll have a unit there in no time. Please stay on the line."

Consuelo turned on the floor. She was sitting now, feeling the lump on her head that she'd sustained when Glory knocked her into the wall. She gaped at her own gun being aimed dead at her.

Glory didn't blink. "Move and you die," she told the older woman.

Consuelo began to see her predicament. "Oh, it's just you!" she exclaimed. "Thank G.o.d! I had word that someone was going to kill me!"

"Nice try," Glory replied.

"They'll believe me if I sound sincere enough," Consuelo purred. She started to get up.

"I wouldn't," Glory replied. She c.o.c.ked the gun, trying to look confident when she knew she'd never hit Consuelo even if she could manage to hold the heavy thing steady enough to fire it.

The bluff must have worked, because Consuelo hesitated.

Glory was praying she wouldn't have to shoot. She'd probably hit everything in the room except Consuelo, with her bad aim. She couldn't even handle a .22, and this was a big .45 Colt automatic.

Her hand trembled holding the gun. Consuelo looked at it with increasing interest. Just as she worried that Consuelo had her pegged and was going to get up and charge her, sirens became audible and, in seconds, they came screaming up into the front yard. Car doors slammed.

Cash Grier came running in the back door, flanked by two of his officers.

"Looks like your goose is cooked," Glory told the older woman.

"It's all just a misunderstanding," Consuelo said with a shaky smile. "I had a call that someone meant to kill me and Glory came in unexpectedly."

Cash moved toward Glory. "That how it happened?" he asked her.

She handed him the .45. "Not quite. I walked in, she came up behind me and told me to turn around so that I could see who was killing me."

"That's a lie!" Consuelo exclaimed. "I had a call...!"

She stopped, while one of the other officers tugged her to her feet and handcuffed her.