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

by Carla Cassidy

  He answered on the second ring. “I was just thinking about giving you a call,” he said.

  “Things have been pretty crazy around here.”

  “I’ve been following the case in the news reports,” he replied. “Sounds like there haven’t been many answers forthcoming.”

  “There haven’t been, but the craziness hasn’t just been about Eldridge.” She told him about the break-in the night before. Trevor expressed his outrage and his ongoing concern with her safety.

  “Tanner has my back,” she replied. “He’s been absolutely wonderful. Now, did you have a specific reason for thinking about calling me?”

  “Yeah, although I hesitate to tell you now because I don’t want you to put yourself at risk.”

  “Tell me anyway. I’m a big girl.”

  “Matthew isn’t expected to live through the week. Josie, forget the watch. None of us want to see you in any more danger.”

  Josie frowned thoughtfully. “We promised him we’d get him the watch after he told us where Mother’s body was buried.”

  “He ran us around for months with stupid clues when he could have just told us where she was,” Trevor replied with a touch of disgust in his deep voice.

  “I know, but I made a promise to him. I’ll talk to Tanner and see if we can somehow sneak out in the next couple of nights and get the watch. Hopefully I can get it back in time.”

  “Just be careful, Josie girl. You’re more important than any watch or promise we made to him.”

  Josie smiled into the phone. “Thanks, Trevor. I’ll be in touch.”

  They ended the call. Trevor’s concern washed over her in a wave of warmth. Being reunited with her brothers and sister had been a dream come true, although she still needed more time to get to know them all better. They had years to catch up on.

  She’d grown particularly close to Trevor. Maybe it was because she had several vague memories of her oldest brother. She’d been only three when they’d all been placed in foster homes, but she remembered Trevor picking her up in his arms. “Josie girl,” he’d called her then and he still called her that.

  The next half hour flew by with her thinking about her siblings. Then the girls got up from their naps and the rest of the afternoon passed swiftly as they played together and waited for Daddy-love to come home.

  Daddy-love.

  Tanner, her love, her future. At least she hoped he was her future. She refused to allow any doubts to creep into her heart.

  By the time Tanner returned to the suite, she had the girls in their stroller and ready to go to dinner. As they ate with the other staff members, Josie counted the minutes until they could once again be alone and she could tell him what was in her heart, confess to him the depth of her love.

  It wasn’t until after dinner and playtime was over and the girls were in their cribs for the night that she and Tanner were finally alone in the living room.

  “Long day,” she said as she accepted the glass of wine he’d poured for her. This was their evening ritual, a wind-down time after the girls were peacefully asleep that Josie relished.

  He sat in the chair and released a deep sigh. “Crazy long,” he agreed. “I have to admit, I was sure we’d find Eldridge in the barn.”

  “Thank goodness we didn’t,” she replied.

  “I don’t think he’ll be found alive.” His voice held an edge of grief.

  She didn’t try to fill him with false hope. After all the time that had passed, she believed more likely than not that Eldridge was dead, too. “I’m so sorry, Tanner. I know you cared about him.”

  He gave a curt nod. “I did... I do.”

  “Did you have a good relationship with your father?” she asked curiously. During all the conversations they’d shared, he hadn’t said much about the parents he’d lost.

  His features lightened. “I did. My father was my best friend and my mom was the greatest. I almost feel guilty saying that knowing your circumstances.”

  “Don’t be silly,” she replied. “This has nothing to do with me. Tell me more about them.”

  He took a drink of his beer and then continued, “Dad was the salt of the earth. He had a small spread not too far away from here and he loved my mother and me and that land. Unfortunately, when they died they were deeply in debt and so the ranch was sold to pay debts.”

  “But you followed in your father’s footsteps.”

  He smiled, his eyes filled with the softness of memories. “I did. Dad tried to talk me into a dozen different occupations, but I think he was secretly thrilled when I told him all I wanted in life was to be a rancher like him.” His smile slowly faded. “I know about your father, but do you have any memories of your mother? What was she like?”

  Josie relaxed into the back of the chair. “I remember soft, loving hands, a beautiful smile and musical laughter. But almost all of what I know about her I’ve learned through my brothers and sister. They know more about her than me because I was so young when she was murdered.”

  “Was she a full-time mother?”

  “With seven children she had to be, but she also worked at home as a seamstress. I’m sure they needed any of the money she made because the ranch where we lived wasn’t a working ranch and my father only did odd jobs as a handyman.”

  “I’m so glad you have your brothers and sister now,” he said.

  “Me, too, and I’m glad you had Eldridge to help you through what must have been some dark days,” she replied.

  “There definitely were some dark days,” he agreed. “I just hope we get some sort of closure soon where Eldridge is concerned. I hope whoever is guilty is caught and punished.”

  “I’m sure Troy and his team will accomplish that. He seems like a good man.”

  “He is,” he agreed. He offered her a small smile. “He was smart enough to clear you.”

  “Thank goodness. He’s definitely got enough suspects without me on the list.” She finished the last of her wine and set the glass on a coaster on the end table.

  He took a drink from his beer and then cleared his throat. “Josie, if you don’t feel safe sleeping in your own room tonight then you can have my bed and I’ll bunk out here on the sofa.”

  She stared at him in shock, but he didn’t meet her gaze. Instead he looked down at the floor just in front of his chair. “Why would you do that?” she asked.

  He took another drink of his beer before finally looking at her. “Josie, last night shouldn’t have happened and the last thing I want is for us to make another mistake.”

  She leaned forward and held his gaze intently. “Last night wasn’t a mistake, Tanner. I told you no regrets and I meant it. What we shared was beautiful.”

  “It was, but it won’t happen again.” His features were closed off, his eyes shuttered and impossible to read.

  She swallowed against the words of love that had trembled on her lips all evening. Now wasn’t the time to tell him how she felt about him. He was obviously feeling guilty or something about the night before, even though he had no reason to feel that way.

  “I’ll be fine in my own room tonight.”

  The relief that washed over his face was like a tentative stab through her heart. Still, it wasn’t a killing wound and she told herself that sooner or later the right time would come for her to let him know that she was in love with him.

  “So, we’re good?” he asked.

  “We’re good,” she replied. She just had to show him that she was the woman to fill his life with joy and love. She just had to give him time to realize they belonged together forever.

  * * *

  Troy Watkins looked up from his desk as his right-hand man, Charlie Kidwell, walked into his office. “Hey, boss, you wanted an update?” The tall, blond deputy threw himself into the straight-back chair in front of the desk.

  “Tell me something good,” Troy said.

  The thirty-five-year-old man frowned, his blue eyes radiating the same weariness that tugged at Troy’s very bones. �
�Wish I had something good to report. We’ve investigated the alibis of most of the Colton ranch hands and they all check out. We’re still trying to substantiate alibis for some of the house staff and the family. You know it all takes time.”

  “I know. I’m just so frustrated. I was hoping the blood on Flunt’s work boots would belong to Eldridge and we could get this case solved once and for all,” Troy replied.

  “We need a body. There’s so little forensic evidence and if we could find his body then maybe we’d get lucky by finding some real, substantial evidence.”

  Troy reared back in his chair. “Eldridge was a sly one, telling Hugh Barrington the will can’t be opened without his body.”

  “How does that work legally?” Charlie asked.

  “Hell if I know. That’s something for Hugh and the family to work out within the mishmash of legalese.” He frowned thoughtfully. “I can’t help but think that whoever did this was close to Eldridge.”

  “You mean like a family member.”

  Troy shrugged. “Or a member of the staff. Somehow the perp had to know Eldridge was in his bedroom all alone that night. They had to have known he was vulnerable at that particular time.”

  “And that points the finger to Whitney.”

  “Or somebody who saw her asleep in the media room and knew Eldridge was ripe for the picking.” Troy leaned forward and slapped his palms down on the top of the desk. “Damn, but this case is eating me alive. Get back out there and get me something.”

  Charlie stood. “We’re doing everything we can. Hopefully something will happen to break the case.”

  Troy nodded wearily and released a deep sigh as Charlie left the room.

  He had members of the Colton family chewing his butt for answers, the press clamoring every day for more information and he’d never felt so impotent in his entire life.

  They had searched nearly every inch of the Colton Valley Ranch and no body had turned up. He’d watched all the tapes from the security cameras around the place and they had yielded nothing, either.

  The men and women working for him were functioning on overtime hours and already half of them were burned out by this case. He knew he had to widen the search area. He was going to have to make arrangements to drain the nearby Lone Star Lake, a lake deep enough for a body to be weighed down and hidden in the dark depths.

  And his brain thundered day and night with the question of just where in the hell was Eldridge Colton?

  * * *

  Saturday morning Josie awoke with a new optimism. Today she was making chicken and dumplings and chocolate chip cookies, and hopefully Tanner would come to his senses after last night’s bout of guilt over something he shouldn’t feel guilty about at all. They were both consenting adults. He hadn’t taken advantage of her in any way.

  He was quiet as they worked together to get the girls their breakfast. “Looks like it’s going to be another stifling day,” she said as she cleaned up a handful of strawberries.

  “Mid-July in Texas is always stifling hot,” he replied. He stared at the toaster as if it were the most fascinating appliance he’d ever seen.

  “It will be so beautiful in the fall,” she said, remembering the lighthearted argument they’d had about seasons.

  He merely nodded as the toast popped up. Josie swallowed a sigh and placed the strawberries on the girls’ plates. Drat the man anyway.

  “Josie-love.” Leigh held out a strawberry toward her.

  Josie smiled. “You eat it.”

  Leigh popped it into her mouth and then grinned at Josie.

  Love pooled in the center of Josie’s heart. “Josie loves Leigh and Lily,” she said.

  Tanner placed toast on the girls’ plates. “I’d better get to work.”

  “Have a nice day and we’ll see you later,” Josie replied.

  He kissed each of the twins and then left the suite.

  He’d barely looked at her and he certainly hadn’t indulged in any small talk. Frustration gnawed at Josie as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes.

  She’d halfway hoped that by this morning he would have come to his senses and let go of whatever silly guilt he felt about what they had shared.

  Still, the day stretched out with promise, and maybe tonight with their chicken and dumplings he’d change his mind and she could tell him what was really in her heart for him.

  After lunch when the twins went down for their naps, Josie got to work in the kitchen.

  The liberated women of today would probably laugh at her for finding so much pleasure in cooking for a man, she thought as she peeled carrots and cut up celery to add to the cooking chicken and broth.

  She wanted to comfort Tanner with good food, with warm body heat and with enduring love. She refused to be too concerned by his attitude last night and this morning. She was willing to be patient with him, to allow him to come to the realization that they belonged together.

  She was almost pleased when there was no visit from Marceline. After the barn hunt yesterday and Tanner’s concern that the young woman might be involved with Eldridge’s disappearance, it would have been difficult for her to sit and share idle chitchat with her today.

  Tanner had wondered why on earth Marceline was being so sociable to Josie. Now that she’d considered the remote possibility Marceline might be in cahoots with the man in the woods, she was definitely more than a bit wary of the pretty young woman.

  She shoved these troubling thoughts out of her head. All she wanted to think about now was Tanner and the girls and fixing them a meal served with love.

  By the time the twins got up from their naps, the suite smelled of fragrant chicken and vegetables and she was ready to make the dumplings and stir up the batter for the chocolate chip cookies.

  As she worked the two girls played at her feet, banging together a variety of pots and pans and measuring cups. Their noisy play only added to the music that sang in Josie’s soul.

  She could have this every day—children playing at her feet, good food cooking on the stove and a man who lit up her heart as nobody else might ever do.

  When Tanner walked through the door at four thirty, she had the girls in their high chairs, the island set for two and a smile of welcome on her lips.

  “Something smells delicious,” he said after he’d kissed his girls hello.

  “And it’s ready to eat whenever you are.”

  “I’ll just get out of my work clothes and I’ll be ready.” He disappeared into the bedroom and Josie released a sigh of frustration. He’d scarcely looked at her. Why was he being so silly? He had no reason to suffer from any guilt over making love to her.

  When he returned to the living room a few minutes later, Josie put on her happy face, determined to turn things around between them.

  “Did you have a good day?” she asked as she dished up the meal.

  “The usual.” He eased down on one of the stools at the island. “Were the girls good for you today?”

  “They’re always good. Well, Lily did attempt to color on the wall in the nursery and Leigh had a bit of a temper tantrum when I put the colors away, but stuff like that isn’t extraordinary for life with eighteen-month-old twins, right?”

  “Right.”

  “As soon as we finish eating, I’ve got the cookies ready to go into the oven. I want you to taste them while they’re nice and warm.”

  “Sounds good,” he agreed.

  The meal was excruciating as she tried to engage him and he remained distant. He answered her questions in as few words as possible and kept his gaze focused on everything in the room except her.

  By the time she pulled the chocolate chip cookies out of the oven, she wanted to scream at him, but she didn’t. She swallowed her frustration and forged ahead with a smile.

  “If you tell me these are no better than your boxed cookies I’ll have to strangle you,” she said teasingly as she placed two cookies on a small platter before him.

  “Mmm,” Lily said as she bit into a cookie.


  “Mmm, good,” Leigh exclaimed.

  Tanner offered a small smile. “They’re definitely a hit with the younger crowd.”

  Josie drank in the beauty of his smile. She sat next to him at the island and gestured toward his platter. “And now I want to hear, what do you think?”

  He bit into a cookie. “Mmm, good,” he said with a light sparkle in his eyes. “Definitely better than store-bought.”

  “I rest my case,” she replied, grateful that the cookies seemed to have broken through his moody silence. “Want another one?”

  “Please,” he replied.

  “More,” Lily said. “More cookie, pease.” Leigh echoed the sentiment and Josie’s heart warmed with pleasure.

  A few minutes later she cleaned up the kitchen while Tanner played with the girls in the nursery. The cookies had broken the ice between them for only a hot minute. As soon as he’d eaten the last crumb, he’d again grown quiet and distant. Once again she told herself what he needed was time to process how quickly their relationship had ignited and deepened.

  Just because she knew how she felt about him didn’t mean he was in the same place yet. She could be patient. Good things come to those who wait, she reminded herself.

  Immediately after they put the twins to bed, Tanner called it a night and disappeared into his bedroom. She sat in the living room for a while by herself.

  She wondered if he’d really take to the sofa if she appeared in his bedroom doorway like she had before. Would he give in to temptation once again or would he grab a blanket and his gun and reject her?

  After the night they had just had, she knew he’d move to the sofa. Time, she once again reminded herself. She was expecting too much too soon from him.

  But over the next three days Tanner remained distant and aloof. Their routine remained the same with one exception. Each evening when the girls were put to bed, he immediately retired to his bedroom.

  However, in the time they were together sharing a meal or playing with the twins, Josie swore she felt a yearning from him. At times his eyes were soft and warm on her and at other times they held a hint of heated hunger.