Colton Cowboy Hideout (The Coltons of Texas, Book 7)

by Carla Cassidy

  Josie looked up to see him standing in the doorway as the girls greeted him with happy smiles. “Tanner, I didn’t hear you come in. How long have you been there?”

  “Long enough. Stay where you are,” he said as Josie started to get up. “I’m going to take a quick shower. Daddy will be right back,” he said to the girls and then disappeared from the doorway.

  A moment later Josie heard water running and knew he was in the shower. A memory suddenly surfaced from the day before—Tanner stripping off his shirt for her to use to stanch the blood from her wound.

  Muscled pecs, a taut abdomen and skin that looked imminently touchable. If she hadn’t been in shock, if she hadn’t been so afraid, she might have enjoyed the view much better. As it was, the memory of his bare chest was hot enough.

  “Cat,” Lily said, pulling Josie’s thoughts out of the dangerous zone.

  “Yes, that’s a cat,” Josie replied.

  They had worked their way to a giraffe when Tanner reappeared, bent down and grabbed the twins. With his two little blond-haired girls riding on each hip, he smiled at Josie, who got to her feet.

  “You look like you survived the day without any damage,” he said.

  “We had a great day,” she replied. “They ate a good lunch and this afternoon we played all kinds of games. I even had a visitor while the girls took their morning naps.”

  “A visitor?” He raised a blond eyebrow in curiosity.

  “Marceline stopped by. She introduced herself and told me she thought I might need a friend while I was here. She was very nice.”

  Tanner’s eyebrows pulled together in a deep frown. “Don’t trust her, Josie.”

  She looked at him in surprise. “I’m only going to be here a short time. If she wants to make nice with me, then I don’t have a problem with that unless you don’t want her in the suite.”

  “It’s your decision, but I’m just warning you that Marceline has a reputation for being a snake in the grass. There’s really only one person you can trust completely around here and that’s me.” His blue eyes held her gaze intently.

  A wave of anxiety swept through Josie as she realized fully for the first time the only person she should truly trust while here was a very hot cowboy she’d known less than forty-eight hours.

  * * *

  Tanner wasn’t happy about Marceline’s visit to Josie. As he sat at the staff dining room table with the twins in their high chairs between him and Josie, he wondered what had prompted Marceline to make contact with Josie.

  Certainly he didn’t think it was as simple as Marceline wanting to be nice. Tanner would always believe Marceline’s snootiness was part of what had eventually driven Helen away.

  Nothing Marceline did was ever simple or straightforward. She always had an ulterior motive. So, what could she possibly want from Josie Colton? He wished he could figure it out.

  As with the night before, the conversation swirling around the dinner table was gossip about Eldridge’s disappearance and the interviews that Sheriff Watkins and his deputy sheriff, Charlie Kidwell, and Deputy Julie Clark had conducted that day.

  It would take days, potentially weeks, for the sheriff and his team to interview all of the staff that made the ranch run like a well-oiled engine. There was a large number of household employees, but all of the outside workers as well. And as time ticked on, Tanner’s fear for Eldridge grew deeper.

  He couldn’t do anything to solve that particular mystery, but he could do everything in his power to keep both his daughters and Josie safe and sound.

  When he’d walked into the nursery and seen his girls happily engaged in reading a book with her, it had warmed his heart deeply. It was nothing short of amazing how quickly the twins had taken to her. He now glanced at the woman who was uppermost in his mind.

  She was quiet, not getting involved in the speculation and rumors being batted around the table. Her attention was divided between the food on her plate and the twins.

  How long would she be here? When would she want to attempt to find the watch again? How long before Sheriff Watkins told her she could return to Granite Gulch? It was strange that he’d known her for only a little over a day and already he knew he would miss her when she left.

  He made himself a mental note to place an ad in the paper to advertise for a new nanny. God, how he dreaded a new search for somebody who could take care of his daughters with an abundance of affection and just the right kind of discipline. He’d learned by the last four nannies that what looked good on paper didn’t necessarily translate to what he wanted for his girls.

  “Some are saying that maybe Mrs. Whitney decided it was finally time to become a wealthy widow,” Lorraine, one of the kitchen staff, said.

  “And maybe she didn’t want to wait around for nature to take its course,” Linda added. “Mr. Eldridge was always at her to rein in her spending habits and her alibi isn’t exactly rock-solid, since nobody I’ve heard from actually saw her sleeping in her media room.”

  “I’ll bet she’s already been burning up the internet with her online shopping,” Lorraine replied. “You know, retail therapy...” Several of the other women at the table laughed.

  “More,” Lily said and pointed to the bowl of mashed potatoes in the center of the table.

  “More, please,” Josie said.

  “More, pease,” Lily replied with a proud smile.

  “I’ll get it,” Tanner said and reached for the bowl to serve his daughter. Josie had been in charge of his daughters for only a single day but already he wished she’d stick around and continue working as his nanny. So far, she had all of the qualities he’d hoped for in a nanny.

  But he knew better than to even ask her if she wanted a permanent position here with him. It was only because of a string of strange and troubling events that she had taken the job in the first place.

  Even though she’d told him she was between jobs at the moment, she was far too young and too beautiful to want to spend her time holed up with two little ones on a ranch. This wasn’t the life for somebody like her.

  He was relieved when the meal was over and they could leave the dining room and the gossip behind and return to the suite. Minutes later he lifted the girls from their stroller and deposited them on the living-room floor as Josie sat cross-legged next to them.

  “You know, you don’t have to hang out in here with me and the girls in the evenings,” he said. “You’re free and aren’t on duty once I’m here.”

  She smiled up at him. “I don’t feel like I’m on duty and I enjoy spending time with you and the girls.”

  His heart squeezed tight in his chest. “I’m going to grab some toys. I’ll be right back.” He left the room and went into the nursery, where he retrieved a handful of the twins’ favorite toys.

  Was he so hungry for company that he’d feel good about any woman who said she enjoyed spending time with him? Or was there just something special about Josie Colton?

  Playtime with the girls was always pleasant, but tonight it was especially fun. They played hide-and-seek, with Josie and the twins hiding first in his bathroom and then in her bedroom. When Tanner “found” them the two girls squealed and giggled with delight and raced around with unbridled excitement.

  They built towers with the blocks and then played baby dolls, with the girls showing Josie how to feed the dolls from tiny little bottles. By the time seven o’clock came Leigh and Lily were rubbing their eyes and ready for their bath and bed.

  “I think we wore them out,” he said to Josie when he returned from putting the girls down for the night. “I don’t believe they’ve ever gone to sleep so quickly.”

  She smiled. “They are so bright and beautiful, Tanner. You should be so proud of them.”

  “I am,” he replied.

  She got up from the floor and moved to sit in the chair. “You mentioned that you and your wife divorced before she was killed over a year ago. The girls must have been so young when you two split. Did the two of you sha
re custody after the divorce?”

  “Actually, when Helen walked out on me, she also walked out on the twins.” A bad taste crept up in the back of his throat. The taste was of regrets and failure with more than a little touch of bitterness. “Would you like something to drink? Maybe a glass of wine or a beer?”

  “I wouldn’t say no to a glass of wine,” she replied.

  “White okay?”

  “Perfect.”

  He poured her wine and then got himself a beer, his head still filled with thoughts of his marriage and the woman who had left him and their daughters behind without a second thought.

  “Here you go,” he said as he handed Josie the wineglass. He sat on the sofa and took a sip of his beer. “Helen lived in Dallas when I met her. She worked as a Realtor and was beautiful and charming and I was instantly all in with her. We had a crazy, whirlwind kind of romance and within six months we were married. She moved in here and when she got pregnant with the twins I thought life couldn’t get any better. I didn’t realize how unhappy she’d become.”

  He chased the new taste of self-recriminations down with another swallow of beer and then set the bottle on the coffee table in front of him.

  “She didn’t tell you she was unhappy?” Josie asked curiously.

  He shook his head. “Oh, she had some complaints. She didn’t like the way the Colton family treated her. She thought they were all mean and hateful. She was sometimes tired at night and I’d take over the care of the girls so she could go to bed early. But I thought they were just normal complaints and nothing serious. I didn’t know how serious it was until the day she packed her bags to leave when the girls were almost five months old.”

  He paused a moment as the memories of that event raced through his mind. He’d come in from working in the barn to find Helen standing in the living room, two suitcases on the floor by her side.

  She’d looked so beautiful in a blue blouse that enhanced the bright blue of her eyes. A pair of tailored slacks showcased her long, slender legs. Her blond hair had looked so shiny and her makeup had been perfect.

  “I’m leaving,” she’d said, her voice flat and cold.

  He’d looked at her and then at her suitcases, unable to make sense of things. Leaving? He’d thought maybe she’d planned a weekend away with one of her old friends from Dallas, but it hadn’t been as simple as a weekend jaunt.

  He snapped his attention back to Josie. “She hated that I was a hired hand. She hated that the family members were so snotty to her and she felt as if they looked down on her and treated her badly because I was just part of the staff.”

  He hadn’t ever talked to anyone about Helen, but now the words tumbled out of him as if released from a pressure cooker. “She told me I should have seen her unhappiness and that I never really listened to what she said. I was insensitive and dense. I guess I was because I never saw the end of my marriage coming. I thought everything was fine. I thought she loved being my wife and being a mother to the twins. Anyway, she moved in with a friend who had an apartment in Dallas and within two months we were officially divorced and a month after that she was killed in the car accident.”

  What he couldn’t talk about—what he refused to speak aloud—was his deep and abiding anger toward Helen. He could understand if she wanted to divorce him, but he’d never, ever understand how easily she’d walked away from the babies she’d given birth to.

  “And you’ve been beating yourself up ever since,” Josie said softly.

  He looked at her in surprise and then shrugged. “I was still so in love with her when she left and I guess I’m just sorry about the way things turned out. I wish things would have worked out differently. In any case, that was then and this is now.”

  For the next hour the conversation moved to the new gossip that had accompanied dinner and how Josie had spent the hours of the day with the twins.

  “I wish I had a ranch of my own where the girls could have their own yard to play in. It would be nice for them to have a swing set or a sandbox,” he said.

  “Why haven’t you bought yourself the ranch of your dreams?” Josie asked. “Is it a matter of finances?” She grimaced and offered him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. It’s really none of my business.”

  “No, it’s fine,” he assured her. “And it isn’t a matter of finances. It’s more that I just haven’t felt ready to take that next big leap in my life.”

  “As foreman, if you can be in charge of running a ranch this size, I’m sure you’d do fine on a ranch of your own,” she replied.

  He smiled at her. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Eventually I’ll make the move.”

  By nine o’clock the wine and the beer were long gone and Josie got up from the chair. “Morning comes early around here, so I think it’s time I called it a night.”

  “That makes two of us.” He got up from the sofa, and after murmured good-nights, she went into her bedroom. He turned off all the lights in the living room and went into his own room.

  An hour later he lay on his back in bed and stared up at the darkened ceiling. Usually the moment his head touched the pillow he fell asleep, but tonight sleep remained elusive.

  Worry about Eldridge and Josie’s armed stranger battled with memories of his shattered marriage and the guilt and anger he’d harbored in his heart since Helen’s death.

  If he’d been a better husband would she still be alive today? If he’d been a better man might he have been able to pick up the signs of his wife’s huge discontent and done something about it? With time, would she have wanted to play an active role in her daughters’ lives?

  They were painful questions without answers and perhaps that was why they haunted him. Still, it had felt good to talk about it with Josie.

  It had also felt good to talk a little bit about what kind of life he envisioned for himself and his daughters. His dream ranch wasn’t anything huge or elaborate, and while he wanted it someday, he just wasn’t ready to make that particular life change right now. Heck, his most imminent need right now was to find a new nanny.

  He must have fallen asleep, for he jerked awake with hyperawareness. The illuminated numbers on his clock let him know it was just after two. Had one of the girls cried out for him? It didn’t happen often, but occasionally it did.

  A soft noise came from the living room. Definitely not the girls, who thankfully had yet to attempt to climb out of their cribs. Adrenaline flooded through him and he grabbed his gun from the nightstand and slid out from under the bedsheets.

  He was aware that it might be Josie, but with everything going on around the ranch, he wasn’t about to take any chances. Grasping the gun handle firmly, he crept down the short hall and into the living room.

  He breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his gun. Josie stood in front of the refrigerator clad in a short gold nightgown. Thin spaghetti straps crossed her slender shoulders and her hair spilled down in slight disarray.

  She grabbed a bottle of water from the shelf and then turned and squeaked in surprise. “Tanner, I’m so sorry. I was trying to be as quiet as possible. I—I had a nightmare that woke me up and I just wanted something to drink.”

  With the light of the refrigerator behind her and the thin material of the nightgown, she looked nearly naked. Her taut nipples appeared to seek his attention as they pressed against the gown and his mouth went completely dry.

  He cleared his throat as she turned and closed the refrigerator door, then faced him once again. “It’s okay. I’m a really light sleeper,” he said. He had no idea if his reply actually made sense or not.

  Brilliant moonlight splashed in the window. His brain flashed with a vision of her in his bed, her hair splayed across the pillow, her eyes glowing golden green as he kissed her, as he took full possession of her.

  “Then I guess I’ll just see you in the morning,” she said and quickly raced past him and down the hallway to disappear into her bedroom.

  He remained standing in place and attempted t
o tamp down the flames of want that had fired through his veins. At dinner he’d wished Josie could stick around for a long time. However, now with his inappropriate desire for her still rushing through him, he hoped she’d leave the ranch sooner rather than later.

  Before he did something stupid.

  CHAPTER 6

  Desire.

  It had shone from his blue eyes, bathing her in a white-hot fire that easily rivaled the hot July sun. She’d wanted to fall into Tanner’s arms, allow him to lead her into his bedroom and act on the fiery want that his gaze had promised as it had lingered on her.

  Josie now shifted positions in the chair and stared out of the nearby window. After running back into the bedroom it had taken her a very long time to go back to sleep.

  The nightmare that had pulled her from her bed had been a familiar one. The encounter with Tanner in the kitchen had definitely not been familiar, but it had definitely excited her and made her wonder what the morning would bring.

  Thankfully everything had been normal between them. Tanner had helped her with breakfast for the girls and it was as if that moment in the kitchen in the middle of the night had never happened.

  But it had happened and now she couldn’t get it out of her mind. It had teased her as the girls had taken their morning nap, it had replayed over and over again in her mind as she’d fed them lunch, and now they were down for their afternoon nap and it still filled her head.

  He’d looked like a model for a hot gunslinger calendar clad in his sexy black boxers and nothing else except the gun in his hand. Drat the man anyway. Why couldn’t he be paunchy and unattractive? And why did he have to be so nice, so wonderfully supportive of her? If he’d been a jerk then she wouldn’t be sitting here thinking such inappropriate thoughts about him.

  She got up from the chair and went to the refrigerator to get herself a glass of iced tea. She wasn’t sure what to do with the crazy feelings Tanner stirred inside her. And they were crazy, considering the short time she’d known him. But she had to admit they felt crazy good.

  She hadn’t dated anyone while she’d been living in the small Missouri town and under protective custody. It had been too difficult to trust anyone. She’d been afraid to get involved with anyone.