Guardian

by Terri Reed

  Resigned to never having that dream fulfilled, she yanked her gaze away from Leo and River and walked determinedly to the house. Charlie was her world. That was all she needed.

  As soon as she entered the house, Charlie jumped from her dad’s lap and raced toward her. He flung his arms around her knees, nearly knocking her backward. “Whoa, little man.”

  His round face beamed up at her. “Mommy!”

  She knelt down and hugged her son tight, as love for him overwhelmed her. “I missed you today.”

  “Puppy?” Charlie wiggled out of her arms to stare up at the yellow Lab in Leo’s arms.

  She let out a wry laugh. How could she compete with a dog?

  Leo squatted down so that Charlie and the pup were on the same level. “This is River. He’s going to be a guest. Is that okay, kiddo?”

  Charlie’s nose scrunched up in confusion. Alicia ruffled his hair. “River is staying with us for a few days, just like Leo and True.”

  “Do you want to pet him?” Leo asked Charlie.

  Charlie nodded and put out a hand.

  “Let him sniff you first,” Leo instructed.

  River smelled Charlie’s hand then licked his knuckles. Charlie’s giggle lifted Alicia’s spirits. Her son had an infectious laugh.

  True came to join the lovefest and also licked Charlie on the face, eliciting more peals of laughter. Charlie snuggled into the crook of Leo’s arm and hitched himself up on Leo’s bent knee. Over Charlie’s head, Alicia met Leo’s tender gaze and her insides turned to mush. The man clearly had a soft spot for her son.

  Both overjoyed and saddened by the affection building between Charlie and Leo, she offered him a smile. One corner of his mouth lifted in an engaging half grin that stole her breath. A ribbon of yearning wound through her, making her wish that same affection had been directed at her.

  Ridiculous, of course. But she was helpless to stem the rising desire for affection, connection and...did she dare think it? Love.

  She really needed to get a grip and control her reactions to this man. It wasn’t good for her or Charlie to let themselves become emotionally involved.

  “What do we have here?” Dad asked, drawing Alicia’s focus away from Leo.

  “We found this little guy in the woods,” she replied. She drew her father away so that she could explain fully without Charlie hearing.

  Dad shook his head as anger and sadness flashed in his eyes. “What is this world coming to?”

  “It’s shocking to have something this horrible happen—twice—so close to home.” She felt bad that she’d brought danger to his doorstep by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Yet if she hadn’t seen the killer, then the police wouldn’t know whom to search for. God had put her where He needed her. She had to trust that He had a plan and He would protect them.

  She didn’t know how people suffered tragedy or horror without faith. She continually clung to the knowledge that God existed and that He loved her. Without that, life seemed so bleak.

  “Alicia, do you have another water bowl for River?” Leo asked.

  “Of course.” In the kitchen she found a small bowl identical to the one she’d given him to use for True.

  After filling it with cold tap water, she set it down. River immediately squirmed to be set free from Leo’s hold. He let go of the dog and River lapped greedily at the water. Charlie sat on the floor nearby, waiting patiently to play again with the young dog. True drank from his bowl then moved to lie down in front of the front door.

  “I need to go check on the horses and feed them,” she said, glancing at the clock. She hadn’t fed them before heading to town this morning. And though she knew they’d have plenty of grass to forage on in the pasture, she wanted to supplement with some hay and grain.

  “I’ll take care of them,” Leo said firmly. “You stay here with your family. Rest. You’ve had enough stress for today.”

  Choosing to take his words as an offer rather than a directive, she said, “I appreciate that you want to help, but there’s so much to be done. Besides feeding them, you’ll need to check their hooves and put sunscreen on their noses.”

  “Sunscreen?”

  “Didn’t you notice Apple’s cute pink nose?” She watched as understanding dawned on his handsome face.

  “I’ll bet she does need sunscreen. Can do,” he assured her. “And the hooves will be no problem. I’ve worked with horses before, remember?”

  “So you said.” Deciding it would be easier to let him care for the horses than to argue with him, she nodded. “Fine. But if you run into trouble, I’ll come help. Meanwhile, I’ll do the watering.”

  “I can do that while I’m outside.”

  She frowned, not liking the idea of being a prisoner inside her own home. “We should have stopped at the grocery store on the way back from town.” Of course, having just been shot at had pushed everything else from her mind.

  “Make a list,” Leo said. “I’ll call the grocery store with the order and have them deliver it.”

  She fought back a chuckle. “They don’t deliver. That’s a city thing.”

  “Then I’ll call Chief Jarrett and ask him to have an officer go pick up the order and bring it out here.”

  “You have a solution for everything, don’t you, Agent Gallagher?” The man liked to problem-solve.

  He grinned. “I try. What else can I help you with?”

  She watched Charlie and River playing with a dishrag Dad had given them.

  “The vacuuming, the dusting, the toilets.” She rattled off all the household chores that were waiting for attention. He’d no doubt leave those to her. In her experience, men tended to leave that sort of work to the women. Even in these modern times of nannies and stay-at-home dads. The moms of her students would commiserate with each other that men just didn’t clean the house.

  When she’d returned to her childhood home, she’d found Dad had done very little, if any, cleaning after Mom died. The place had been a mess. Of course, he’d been still grieving and alone, so he hadn’t felt the need to clean.

  Once she and Charlie moved in, though, Dad had stepped up. At least in the kitchen. He kept the dishes washed and the counters spotless. Her late husband, on the other hand, had outright laughed when she’d asked for help with the housekeeping.

  “That’s women’s work,” he’d said. She hadn’t realized until after their honeymoon that he’d expected her to be the one to take care of their home while he worked. Even though she was going to school full-time and later took a job teaching. They had a small place, so it hadn’t been much work, and she liked a neat and tidy place.

  Leo didn’t even blink. “When I’m done with the horses, I’ll take care of the housework.”

  She dropped her chin. “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t have to. I was joking.”

  He shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I can clean with the best.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. “Thankfully last night’s fire didn’t take all of the hay and grains. If you put a bale and two scoops of grains in a bucket inside the gate then whistle, the horses should come. There’s enough grass in the pasture for them to forage on, but I’d still like to give them some food.” She moved to the cabinet, where she kept Charlie’s sunscreen. “Here. Just rub a dab of this onto their noses.”

  He took the tube of lotion, their fingers brushing. The slight contact shouldn’t have been a big deal but a tingle raced up her arm, reminding her of how good it had felt earlier to hold his hand. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Her gaze was drawn to his mouth and yearning pulled at her.

  Uh-oh. Not something she should be thinking about. She didn’t need kisses. And she doubted very much that Leo would b
e inclined to give them to her.

  She jerked back. His eyebrow hitched up a notch. To cover her embarrassing reaction, she tucked her hands behind her back and said, “Do you have the house phone number? If you get into trouble or need help, you should call.”

  He took out his cell phone. “Give it to me, Alicia.”

  After giving him the number, she grabbed a bag of baby carrots from the refrigerator and walked him to the door. “They love these,” she said and offered him the bag.

  “Thanks.” He took the bag and stuffed it into one of the pockets of his pants. “I’ll let the officers outside know to be extra alert while I’m gone.”

  She knew he was doing this to keep her out of the line of sight should the shooter decide to try another attempt at silencing her. She laid a hand on his arm. The muscle beneath her palm jumped. “Thank you, Leo,” she said. “I appreciate all you’re doing to keep me and my family safe.”

  He briefly covered her hand with his. “I—It’s my job.” He and True walked out the door.

  “That young man is a good guy,” Dad pronounced.

  She spun from the door to stare. She’d never heard her father give anyone but her mother and Charlie a compliment. “You like him.”

  “That I do.” He pinned her with an intense stare. “So do you.”

  Her face flamed. “Yes. He’s a well-trained agent here to protect me. What’s not to like?”

  “Nothing. Too bad you hadn’t met him instead of that—”

  “Dad!” She cut him off before he could say something derogatory about Jeff in front of Charlie. She glanced over to where Charlie sat with River. The dog had fallen asleep to Charlie’s rhythmic petting.

  Dad’s lips twisted, like he’d tasted something sour. “All I’m saying is Agent Gallagher’s a keeper, as your mother says.”

  Her heart pinched at her dad’s use of present tense when referring to her mother. But he was right. Mom would have liked him, too. “I hardly know the man. We have a strictly professional relationship.”

  Dad snorted and went back to his recliner. “Yeah, sweetheart, you keep telling yourself that.”

  Was her attraction to the handsome federal agent that transparent? She hoped that Leo wasn’t aware of her feelings. Alicia put a hand to her stomach to quell the sudden queasy sensation rocketing through her. What was she doing?

  * * *

  “There you go, Apple.” Leo applied a dollop of sunscreen to the soft pink tip of the reddish-brown quarter horse’s nose. Though the sun was beginning to set now, the sun protection would last for a few days at least.

  The horse blew air through its teeth and trotted away. The other two horses had already had their hooves cleaned and their sun protection slathered on before wandering off. Leo stroked Apple’s neck and offered her a carrot from the bag Alicia had given him.

  He smiled whenever she came to mind. The response was involuntary, just like his attraction to the pretty widow. He had to get a grip. Stay focused.

  True let out a bark, drawing Leo’s attention. The dog was pacing along the fence, sniffing the ground. His ears were back and his tail high. He’d caught a whiff of something he found threatening. Leo hurried over.

  There were shoe impressions in the dirt on the other side of the fence as if someone had stopped there to take in the scenery. Leo turned around. From here there was a clear view to the house, about six hundred feet away.

  Irritation mixed with agitation slithered along his nerves. Had their unidentified suspect been bold enough to come this close to the house? When? Had this been where he’d stood when he’d blown up the barn? Or had he watched them leave this morning and followed them to the river? Was that how he’d found them? He took out his cell phone and took pictures of the prints.

  Tires crunching on the gravel drive alerted him to an approaching black SUV. He double-checked the pasture gate was locked and then hurried to meet the vehicle that was identical to the one he drove. Max and Julianne were back from Burns Junction.

  He sent up a quick prayer they had news on Jake. And on the man targeting Alicia. When he’d called to update them on finding the second body in the river earlier, they’d had little to report and were angered by his news.

  As he’d watched his boss and coworker drive away this morning, he’d been conflicted between his need to rescue Jake and his desire to protect Alicia. Only knowing that Max would turn over every rock and look under every tree had allowed Leo to stick to the commitment he’d made to guard Alicia. That and her trust and confidence in him.

  He couldn’t believe he’d confessed his deepest, darkest secret to her. Few people knew his story.

  What was even more unbelievable was she hadn’t peppered him with questions, hadn’t demanded to know the details or recoiled from him in disgust as he feared she would once she learned the truth. He could only hope she wasn’t curious enough about the revelation to eventually ask for more specifics.

  And if she wasn’t curious, then that could only mean she had no feelings for him beyond the need of safety. The thought left him depressed. Which didn’t make sense. His job was to keep her safe, not to want her to fall for him and vice versa.

  He stopped in his tracks. Fall for her? Hardly.

  The anxiousness in his gut begged to differ.

  “Hey,” Max called as he stepped from his vehicle. He wore sunglasses that hid his gaze, but the disfiguring scar on his face was still visible.

  Leo lifted a hand in greeting and jogged the rest of the way. “Any news on Jake?”

  Julianne came around the front end. Her dark hair hung down her back in a ponytail caught at her nape with a band that blended in with the color of her hair. “Unfortunately, no. We showed his picture and Angus Dupree’s to every person we came across in Burns Junction, Drytown and at every rest stop and gas station in between.”

  Leo’s heart sank that his prayer would go unanswered for now.

  “There were, however, several sightings of the mysterious killer,” Max added. “He was seen hanging around town the day Virginia Carter disappeared. As far as we can tell, she went for a hike in the forest and never returned to her hotel.”

  Leo’s hand clenched. “He followed her and then brutally murdered her.”

  “That’s my take on it,” Max agreed. “The local authorities are combing the woods looking for the primary crime scene. They’ll contact me when they find it.”

  “We gave a copy of the killer’s image to the Drytown police as well as an image of Jake and Dupree,” Julianne said. “They will distribute the photos to their officers, who will ask around town. No one at Sue Ellen Bishop’s hair salon recognized any of the men in the pictures. Last anyone saw her, she was heading home from the salon. She was single, lived alone and had no family to speak of.”

  Seeing the sadness on Julianne’s face, Leo put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure her clients will miss her.”

  She nodded. They all hurt when they were unable to save the innocent from harm.

  “We’ll head back that way in the morning to search for Jake,” Max said. “Though I suspect if Dupree had Jake stashed away in Wyoming, it would be off the beaten path. Dupree wouldn’t risk easy exposure.”

  The front door to the house opened and Alicia stepped out. She’d twisted her long dark hair into a knot on the top of her head and stray tendrils curled around her face. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled up and an apron covered her jeans. Leo’s heart lurched in his chest at the sight of her.

  “You’re just in time for dinner,” she called to them. “Come, wash up.”

  “A homemade meal,” Max said, patting his stomach. “That’s a bonus.”

  Leo grimaced as he remembered his promise to have her grocery list delivered. He’d spent too much time walking the ranch, watering and dealing with the horses. There was n
othing he hated more than when he didn’t live up to his word. He hustled to the house intent on apologizing, then suddenly stopped himself.

  That was what someone in a relationship would do. He was here to protect her and her family. Nothing more.

  He had to get his head right or it would cost someone he cared about. Again.

  ELEVEN

  That night after dinner, Alicia couldn’t believe how content she was. The house was full of people and dogs. Julianne and Charlie were playing I Spy on the floor surrounded by four canines, each happily chewing on a bone.

  Dad and Max had disappeared into her father’s den. She wasn’t sure what the two would find to converse about; her dad wasn’t normally the most talkative person.

  It had been surprising and fascinating how congenial he’d been during the meal, regaling the agents with stories of his childhood on his family’s farm in Idaho.

  Stories Alicia had never heard.

  He’d told them about falling in love with Mom the moment he’d set eyes on her during a trip to Wyoming with his brother, who was looking to buy a horse in Settler’s Valley.

  Though Alicia had heard that particular story from Mom over the years, she’d never heard her father’s rendition. There had been a part of Alicia that had thought Mom was romanticizing her and Dad’s romance, but her father’s version was even more romantic.

  She’d spent the meal squashing the urge to look in Leo’s direction. She told herself she only wanted to gauge his reaction to her father’s story of true love, but she knew in her heart her wish to lock eyes with him stemmed from a more dangerous place. A place she refused to shine a light on at the moment. Maybe ever.

  As Alicia scrubbed the pot she’d made the spaghetti sauce in, she continued to find herself yearning for a second chance at love. Not the stars-in-the-eyes relationship she’d had with Jeff. She’d been so blinded by the need to be loved, she hadn’t seen the signs that he wasn’t the man she’d hoped he’d be.