Colton Family Showdown

by Regan Black

  She stepped closer to the baby. “You’re a cutie, aren’t you?” she crooned.

  The baby smiled at her and his pacifier fell out of his mouth to the floor. She picked it up. “What’s his name?”

  “I wish I knew,” Fox said.

  “What are you talking about?” Daria frowned, but the expression melted into a smile when the baby reached for her. She let him catch her finger in his tiny hand.

  “Fox found him on his doorstep and is certain he isn’t the father.”

  “Your house isn’t exactly easy access,” Daria replied.

  “I said the same thing,” the sheriff murmured. The baby’s attention went to the star on his navy blue uniform shirt. “Someone went out of their way for you to have him, Fox.”

  “But he cannot possibly be mine,” Fox insisted. “Isn’t there someone you call when this happens?”

  Daria backed toward the door, the pacifier clutched in her hand. “I’ll go wash this.”

  “I can call child services,” Trey offered. “If you’re sure that’s the route you want to go.”

  Child services. “Foster care?” Fox rolled his shoulders, trying to release the sudden pinch between his shoulder blades. “Is that the only option?”

  “No note, no identification, no reported lost baby.” Trey shrugged as he nestled the baby back into the car seat. “I’m afraid that’s the best I can do,” he said. “It’s standard procedure.”

  Fox stared at the baby. Standard procedure would have landed him and his sister in foster care after their parents died. At that time, his family had stepped up and his aunt and uncle adopted them, given them family roots and the Colton name.

  He rubbed at his forehead. “No.” The sheriff was right, his house wasn’t easily accessible, which meant someone had gone to some trouble to leave the baby with him. And been careful enough not to be seen.

  “No what?” Trey asked.

  “No foster care,” he said, making the decision as the words left his mouth. “There’s been a mistake, clearly.” This was not his child. “But I’ll take care of him until I can track down the person he belongs to.” Maybe one of the hands at the Crooked C was the father and whoever had dropped off the baby chose Fox’s porch in an effort to be discreet. His red barn was certainly easier to find in the dark and fewer people would be around.

  “We’ll keep an eye out here, too,” the sheriff promised.

  Daria returned with the pacifier. “All clean. You should get one of those leash thingies for it. And maybe call a pediatrician in the morning. Just to make sure he’s okay.”

  He figured there were a lot of “shoulds” in his immediate future. Fox would ask his sister about the pacifier leash and all the rest. He almost swore. Those questions would have to wait until Sloane and her family returned. For now, the internet would have to suffice.

  “I’ll check into it,” he said, trying not to snap. The deputy sheriff was only trying to help. He started to leave and stopped short. “Can someone check the car seat thing? I may not have it installed right. I was in a hurry.”

  “On it,” Daria volunteered. At the truck, she made the proper adjustments to the base and got the baby seat locked in for the ride back home. “It occurs to me you may have another problem, Fox.”

  Super. “What’s that?”

  She gently closed the door. “I admit the Avalanche Killer is foremost on my mind.”

  As she was lead on the case, that made perfect sense to Fox. He knew what it was like to get lost in solving a problem, in the lab or on the ranch. Another reason not to add a baby to his list of responsibilities.

  “Playing a dangerous ‘what if’ game here,” she began. “But if the baby’s mother has been taken, the killer might have dropped the baby on the nearest doorstep.”

  Great. Like he didn’t have enough to worry about. “You’re welcome to come out and take a look around. I heard a car on the gravel and a squeak on my porch step.”

  “That’s all?”

  Her disappointment didn’t come close to matching his frustration.

  “The driver drove off without lights. I didn’t hear a crash or see anything on my way into town, but that’s a hard road to navigate in the dark.”

  “I’ll come by tomorrow.”

  With a nod, Fox climbed into the driver’s seat and headed for home, with a baby. How on earth had this happened? Though his first run at fatherhood was definitely temporary, he found it utterly terrifying.

  * * *

  With sunset painting the horizon in vivid golds and deep indigo, Kelsey Lauder paused at the end of the gravel drive that led to the big red barn. Finally, she’d reached the offices of Foxworth Colton. Two hours late, but she was here.

  Being late embarrassed her—so unprofessional—but showing up with her cheeks on fire would make it worse. Everyone who’d learned to drive understood car trouble was never convenient. She’d done all she could to keep Mr. Colton informed with a call to his office that went straight to voice mail and sending a quick email reiterating that she would arrive as soon as possible.

  Leaving her car on the side of the road, hazard lights flashing, she’d taken only her purse, eager to move quickly, still hopeful she might be close to on time for her interview. A rideshare service wasn’t an option and although she’d caught a ride with a trucker heading into Roaring Springs with a load of produce, she’d had to hike the last couple of miles to the ranch.

  Having made a practice of looking for life’s silver linings, she found the first hopeful glimmer in that sunset and the second in the long hike that led farther away from the town and main roads. She appreciated distance and privacy, having had so little of it in labs and dorms.

  Her extended, up-close look at the southern acreage of the Crooked C ranch was even better than she’d expected. Kelsey had done her research online and been thoroughly impressed by the articles and professional pictures, but in person, the property was far more than photogenic spin. She soaked up layer after layer of beautiful views, gorgeous horses, fenced pastures, well-kept barns and buildings and wide-open fields framed by the rugged mountains.

  For years she’d been on a quest to achieve her top personal goals of peace and safety. Those warm feelings enveloped her almost from her first step onto the property, as if the ranch itself was gladly accepting her, buffering her from anything untoward. Small fantasies like that buoyed her spirit from one endeavor to the next as she searched for the place where she could sink deep roots.

  Would it be here in Roaring Springs breeding quarter horses at the renowned Crooked C? She was about to knock on her idol’s door and find out.

  Her nerves jumping, Kelsey pressed her hand to her belly. She paused under the shade of a big tree and pulled out her hair tie. She brushed out her long strawberry-blond hair until the strands were tangle-free again, then she wound it back into a bun to keep it out of her face. She might be late, but she would nail this interview.

  Since graduating from college and defending her master’s thesis in equine genetics, she’d been bumping along from one internship or short-term study to the next. Not a bad system and it had given her time to figure out which facets of her degrees she wanted to put to use. She enjoyed lab work, but missed the hands-on, day-to-day interaction with the horses. It had been years since she’d been present for foaling. With a little luck and some quick talking, she’d be assisting Mr. Colton with that very thing come springtime.

  As ready as ever, she marched toward the big barn and up onto the porch, under the sign with the Crooked C Quarter Horses logo. Drawing in a deep breath, she rang the doorbell. Waited several long moments. There was no answer. He could be out, working directly with his mares or just tending to the needs of a forty-acre ranch. Horses didn’t keep the same cushy hours as those of the labs she’d been working in.

  She knocked, determined to reschedule if he didn’t
have time to speak with her this evening. In all of the pictures and interviews she’d read, Fox struck her as a decent, kind man. She’d studied recordings of talks he’d given at various program events. The man came across as focused and purposeful, smart as a whip and humble about it. Genuine. If he couldn’t speak with her tonight, surely he could recommend a towing service and repair shop. And maybe, in the way of many communities, the repair shop would point her toward an affordable motel.

  Roaring Springs was known for excellent skiing, a summer film festival, the resort atmosphere and the spa that catered to A-list celebrities. Kelsey didn’t have that kind of money to toss around. Not even for one night.

  She rang the doorbell one last time, her mind spinning with new plans and possibilities. If Mr. Colton didn’t answer, she’d write a note and tuck it into the door and head down to the nearest barn. Was it better to go in search of someone who could help her or sit here like a lost puppy awaiting his return?

  Suddenly, her spiraling thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a baby crying. Oh, no. Had all her ringing and knocking woken up the child? One of the first life rules she’d learned was never to wake a sleeping baby.

  Way to make a good first impression.

  The sounds of wailing increased, as if someone was slowly turning up the volume on a baby monitor. Then the door swung opened and a frazzled cowboy with glazed blue eyes and a miserable baby in his arms stared blankly at her.

  Mr. Foxworth Colton. He was taller than she’d anticipated, making her feel shorter than ever. His brown hair, highlighted by hours out in the sun, fell into his eyes and his chambray shirt, half-untucked, was wrinkled and damp in places from the baby’s tears or worse. Either he’d grown a beard since the last photo she’d seen or he hadn’t shaved in several days. Nothing in his bio had mentioned a wife or children. He had several siblings, though he didn’t look anything like a content uncle at the moment.

  When her gaze collided with his, she thought the man might burst into tears, too. The baby, a little boy she assumed based on the red airplanes on his sleeper, stared at her with big blue eyes in a wet red face. He hiccupped, then dropped his head to the cowboy’s shoulder and resumed his protest. Sympathy welled up within her for both of them.

  “Mr. Colton?” She pitched her voice just loud enough to be heard over the squalling.

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t mean to interrupt. I’m Kelsey Lauder. We had an interview—”

  He closed his eyes. His lips moved, in prayer or curse, she couldn’t know. Shifting the baby to his left arm, he offered her his right hand, but the baby’s displeasure continued. “I forgot all about it.” He winced as the baby arched and screeched louder still.

  “I’d invite you in, but the smart move is to come back another day. Can you email me with a few options?”

  Technically, yes. “Um...is your wife out?” she asked instead. The idea of hiking back to her car in the dark held zero appeal.

  “Not married. This is...” His voice trailed off as he gently rocked the baby in his arm in a fruitless attempt to settle him. “Well, there isn’t an easy explanation.”

  She’d come prepared to prove herself an asset to his horse breeding program. How to offer help with the baby without overstepping or offending? “I’ve had some experience with kids.” His dark eyebrows lifted. Skepticism or hope? “Lots of younger siblings,” she explained.

  “There were a couple of stints as a nanny on your résumé,” he recalled.

  “You’re right.” Babysitting and child care were the jobs she’d been most qualified for during her high school and college years. She moved back and invited him onto the porch. “It’s cooler out here,” she said.

  “Aren’t babies supposed to be kept warm?” he asked, stepping out.

  The squirming baby had lost a sock and if the blanket was meant to do anything, it was too twisted and bunched between them to be effective. “I think a few minutes in the cooler air might be more help to both of you,” she told him. “May I, Mr. Colton?” she asked, reaching for the baby.

  “Call me Fox,” he said, handing her the little boy.

  Kelsey crooned to the child as she cradled him in the crook of her elbow. She blotted the tears from his chubby cheeks and let him suck on her knuckle when he turned his head. “Aww. Are you hungry, little man?”

  The baby’s cries eased, subsiding to a snuffle and smaller whimpers.

  Fox’s eyes were wide. “How’d you do that?”

  “Practice.” She laughed as he chomped on her finger. “He might be teething, too. What’s his name?”

  “He doesn’t have one.” Fox pushed a hand through his hair, the other holding tightly to the baby’s blanket. He really did need someone to shape up that thick mass of hair. Was he growing the beard for winter, or too distracted to shave? “Well, he probably does, but whoever left him with me didn’t share it.”

  She had no idea what he was talking about and she’d learned it was easier to keep a babysitting job when she didn’t ask probing personal questions. “Do you have formula or any supplies?” She could tell by touch that a diaper change was in order once the baby cooled off a little.

  “Yes, there was formula in the bag.” He turned toward the open door. “It’s upstairs.”

  “Do you think we might talk about the consulting position while he eats?”

  “You’d do that?” The relief in his voice nearly made her laugh.

  “You’re not the first father I’ve rescued.”

  “I’m not the father at all,” he said sharply.

  Great, she’d offended him. “Pardon me, I—”

  “No, no. I was out of line.” He opened the front door and held it for her. “My brother’s wife had a baby yesterday, no, the day before.” He scratched his jawline. “I was up late with them. Then a full day of managing both his property and mine ended with finding this little guy on my doorstep. I’d like to say it’s a long story, but it isn’t. I was headed for bed and found him down here. I don’t know why anyone would leave him with me. I’m... I, um, I haven’t—”

  “You don’t need to explain anything.” She didn’t want the gory details about his love life, or to hear why someone thought he should suddenly be on dad duty.

  The baby had already dented the mystique of Fox Colton that she’d built up in her head. She’d turned him into the superhero of equine genetics and breeding. His reputation and success had been a big factor in how she’d planned her academic focus and mapped out her career.

  She paused just inside the door in what appeared to be a cross between a lobby and a foyer. The floor was stained cement and a coat rack and bench to her left offered room to stow barn boots and coats. Just beyond the bench, a wide glass door was etched with the company logo at the center, artistically flanked by horses in various stages of a gallop. A stairwell bumped against the right wall to a landing before continuing up the longer back wall of the barn to loft that overlooked the foyer. There was another door up there.

  “Everything he arrived with is upstairs in the house,” Fox said, starting up the stairs. “This way.”

  “You live here, too?” She followed him upstairs, the baby still mouthing her knuckle. The reprieve wouldn’t last much longer.

  “It was the perfect place for the office,” he said. “Easy access to the barns. I didn’t want to build something new when everything I needed was right here. Just a little reconfiguring, some patience and more elbow grease.” He looked around as if seeing it for the first time. “The house isn’t huge, but I can’t beat the commute.”

  “I guess not.”

  With the baby quieting down, she counted it a plus to make it into the house. Hurdle one, clear. She noted the gleam on the hardwood floors, a built-in shoe bench with cubbies above and below and hooks on one side. Had he built that himself?

  “Do you want me t
o take off my shoes?” They were dusty from her long hike across his property.

  He glanced down, frowned a little and shook his head. Was he that reluctant to hold the baby again?

  As she followed him out of the foyer, she noticed the wall that stretched the width of the barn was actually lined with upper and lower cabinets and a narrow countertop in warm, golden granite. She barely had time to appreciate the use of space as his home simply opened up in front of her.

  A full kitchen with more of that wonderful granite took up one wall, separated from the rest of the open living space by an island that could seat four people comfortably. She saw a dining table that might be an antique, or designed to look that way, and a seating area situated around a fireplace and a big-screen television.

  The decor was streamlined and masculine without being stark. Homey, she thought as scents of leather and coffee drifted through the air. “Hungry, you said?”

  On the kitchen counter near the sink, she saw a diaper bag, two bottles and a can of formula. Kelsey talked him through making a bottle while she changed the baby into a fresh diaper and clean clothes. To her, the infant didn’t look much like Fox, so it was easy enough to believe his claim that the child wasn’t his.

  His personal life wasn’t any of her business. All she wanted was the chance to work with him through the coming season, preferably longer.

  “You have a beautiful home,” she said, giving the baby his bottle. His eagerness made her smile.

  “You’re a miracle worker,” Fox said with relief.

  “It’s only experience,” she replied.

  “Would that be easier if you sat down? Please, make yourself comfortable.”

  She chose one of the chairs near the fireplace and focused on the baby rather than the man. Something in the way he moved made her belly quiver with nerves that had nothing to do with the interview. She understood his approach and agreed with his philosophy of breeding sound and healthy animals, rather than for just speed. He didn’t know her yet, so he couldn’t know just how compatible they were professionally. It was the rest of him that caught her off guard. The tall stature, that weary gaze, those big, strong hands that stirred up a desire she’d let go dormant. She had to get control of herself before all of that longing flared to life in bright color on her face. The curse of her fair, freckled complexion.