Protecting Her Daughter (Wrangler's Corner) by Lynette Eason Page B

the life insurance policy Trevor had taken out a couple of years ago. I think it’s for two hundred fifty thousand dollars or something like that. Not enough to kill someone for.”
    Aaron lifted a brow. “You’d be surprised. Who’s the beneficiary for your life insurance?”
    “Sophia.”
    “And who gets Sophia if something happens to you again?”
    “Nina. Trevor’s sister.” She raked her good hand through her tangled hair. She felt the color drain from her cheeks. “They would get custody and therefore control of the money and any other assets that I have.”
    “Here, Mom.” Sophia came back into the kitchen carrying the first-aid kit.
    Aaron took it from her. “Thanks.”
    “Can I watch?”
    “You may . As long as it’s okay with your mom.” He shot a glance at Zoe and she nodded, her mind not on her arm, but on the deduction Aaron’s questions had led her to.
    Nina? Really? “It’s okay,” she murmured. She focused in on Sophia, her eyes automatically monitoring the color in her cheeks. She seemed all right, but she would check her sugar levels again in a bit.
    Clay spoke into his phone then turned back. “That was Lance. They’ve cleared the area. The shooter is gone, but they found the place he shot from. A crime scene unit’s on the way from Nashville to process the area. Lance said he doesn’t want to assume anything, but he thinks the shooter is the one who got away. The one they called Jed.”
    “I think that’s probably a safe assumption.” Aaron cut the sleeve of her sweatshirt away from her arm then cleaned it up before pulling out a needle and suture thread. Zoe’s eyes widened. “You’re going to sew it up?”
    “I carry the stuff for humans, too.” He rolled his shirt up and showed her the scar on his left forearm. “Ever since I got tangled up with that angry bull last year, I make sure I can patch myself up if I need to.”
    “A bull did that?” Sophia asked.
    “Nah, I got away from him. It was the rusty nail on the fence that got me when I went over. Sliced a big ole gash in my arm.”
    Sophia winced. “Wow. How bad did that hurt?”
    “Big-time bad.”
    “So you’re going to sew up Mom’s cut?”
    “Sure. If she wants me to.” He looked at her and Zoe saw a gentle compassion there. And a willingness to let her make the call about her medical treatment. He wouldn’t be offended if she refused to let him work on her arm. “Or,” he said, “we’ll just take her to the hospital and let another doctor do it.”
    “Aren’t you a real doctor?” Sophia asked.
    Aaron smiled. “The animals think so.”
    “It’s fine,” Zoe whispered. “I trust you.” And she did.
    Aaron sobered. “I have some numbing medicine. You’ll only feel the first prick of the first needle.”
    “That’s fine.”
    “Are you allergic to anything?”
    “No, nothing.”
    The other officers milled around writing notes and recording every detail so when it came time to do the paperwork, everything would be right there and they wouldn’t have to rely on memory. She watched them from the corner of her eye so she didn’t have to see what he was doing.
    Aaron worked quickly and efficiently and soon Zoe had a neat little row of five stitches in her upper arm. He’d been true to his word. Other than the initial prick of the first shot and a few slight tugs, she hadn’t felt a thing. Sophia had never taken her eyes from him and his work on Zoe’s arm, fascinated by the whole procedure.
    Zoe’s attention had been distracted anyway. She kept remembering the look on Aaron’s face when she’d said she used to have a drug problem. She felt heat flush her face. Why had she told him that? And at that moment of all times? What was she thinking to let that kind of information loose when they’d been dodging bullets and fighting for their lives?
    But other than his initial hesitation, he didn’t seem fazed by the knowledge. She did think he’d bring it up again when they were alone. So