Eventually she knew the pain would lose its intensity, but Tanner had been wrong if he thought she could ever forget him. He was burned into her heart, into her very soul, with a fire that had forever marked her.
Someday maybe she would fall in love again. Her heart would eventually heal enough to allow that to happen, but there would always be a scar left behind by Tanner.
She got out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom, where the watch sat on the counter next to the sink. Today she would see her father for the very last time.
Any hopes and dreams she might have ever entertained about having a loving father would finally be put to rest...just like she had to put to rest any dreams she’d had about sharing her life with Tanner and Leigh and Lily.
One day at a time, one foot in front of the other—that was how she needed to cope with life right now. And right now the only thing she wanted done was to get the watch to her father.
A little over an hour later she pulled up in front of the Blackthorn County Prison. It was a grim place with guard towers and barbed wire and the aura of hopelessness she imagined clung to all prisons.
Her heart beat just a little faster as she anticipated the meeting with her father. Would he be calm and rational? Sometimes visits with him could be contentious and Matthew would be irrational.
She had no idea what to anticipate from him if he opened the back of the watch and discovered his little map was gone. Trevor had intended to put it back into the watch, but when they’d gotten back to the suite after the shoot-out at the silos, the map had been gone. It had apparently fallen out of Trevor’s back pocket in all the chaos. Surely Matthew wouldn’t be angry, especially given the fact that all the map had led to was a getaway cache of sorts. There had been no big treasure for anyone to find.
It didn’t take long for her to get through all the security measures, but instead of being accompanied to where her father had been the last time she’d seen him, she was taken to an office where the warden awaited her.
“Ms. Colton,” he said and rose from his desk with a solemn expression. “I just got off the phone with your brother Trevor. I called him to let him know that your father passed away sometime early this morning.”
Josie stared at him and waited for some sort of grief to overtake her. But there was no real grief, only a sad acceptance that Matthew Colton had died alone in a prison because of the choices he’d made in his life.
She thanked the warden and left the prison. Her father was gone, along with her mother. But they’d left behind children who were strong and good, people who Josie was proud to call her family.
It was finally time for her to build a new life, a life without fear, a life without Tanner.
* * *
It was a beautiful day. For the past four days there had been a slight respite in the intense heat, and the white tent in the cemetery provided shade that made the temperature even more comfortable.
The Granite Gulch Cemetery wasn’t big and fancy, but it was the right place to lay Matthew Colton to rest. Trevor had made sure he’d been buried with the watch he’d insisted to the end held sentimental value to him.
The funeral had been short and nobody had attended except Matthew’s children. They hadn’t wanted anything but a private affair. There were no gawkers, nobody to pick up a piece of dirt or anything else and sell it as a piece of serial-killer memorabilia on the internet.
Now that the ceremony was over and the minister had gone, Josie and her siblings all stood around as if reluctant to leave each other’s company.
“How are you holding up?” Josie’s sister, Annabel, threw an arm around Josie’s shoulder.
“As well as anyone,” she replied. “And how are you doing?” She cast a meaningful glance to Jesse Willard, the farmer who had captured Annabel’s heart.
In fact, all of Josie’s siblings had significant others with them. They had found the partners they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with, and while Josie was happy for all of them, she couldn’t help but think of Tanner and what might have been.
But it had been five long days since she’d said goodbye and driven away from the Colton Valley Ranch. There had been no phone call from him, nothing to indicate he had any regrets about how things had ended between them.
She could only hope for the best for him. She hoped he found a wonderful nanny for the twins. And she could only wish that someday he might find some woman to love who could be the partner for him that she couldn’t be. She wanted love for him and the girls, even if it wouldn’t be with her.
“Ethan is having everyone back to his ranch for a meal,” Annabel said, pulling Josie from her thoughts. “Lizzie had the diner bring in a ton of food for the occasion. You’re coming, right?”
Josie nodded and glanced over at Lizzie, who had recently given birth and positively glowed with happiness. Ethan gazed at Lizzie just like Josie had believed Tanner looked at her. Had it all just been in her imagination? Had she just wanted it so badly she’d seen it when it hadn’t been there?
“Josie?” Annabel said.
“Yes, I’m coming. It’s nice when all of us can get together,” she replied.
Annabel smiled. “It’s been a long time coming. We’d all begun to wonder if we’d ever see you again.” Annabel pulled her into a hug. “It’s nice to finally have you home, where you belong.”
Josie clung to her sister for a long moment, and as their embrace broke up, she thought she saw somebody standing just behind a nearby tree.
Every muscle in her body tensed and her heart began to thrum a rhythm of danger. What now? Was there somebody else who wanted to hurt her? Maybe one of Desmond’s old buddies had flown under the radar and had hunted her down after all these years.
She was about to call to one of her brothers when the man stepped out from behind the tree. The sunlight glinted in his blond hair and Josie’s heart leaped to her throat.
Tanner.
What was he doing here?
“Are we ready to go?” Trevor asked everyone.
“You all go ahead. I’ll catch up later,” Josie said.
She remained standing in place as everyone began to leave the tent area and head to their cars. She watched until the last of their cars had disappeared from view and then she turned back to where Tanner stood, obviously waiting to speak with her.
She didn’t want her heart to beat so wildly in her chest at the mere sight of him. She didn’t want the rush of love that cascaded through her as she approached where he stood, so tall, so handsome and so very solemn.
“Tanner,” she said, grateful her voice betrayed none of the raging emotions inside her.
“I heard about your father’s death. I wanted to tell you I’m sorry for your loss.”
Was that why he had come here? To offer his support in case she was grieving? “Thank you, but we all knew it was coming,” she replied.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “How are things at the ranch?” she asked, simply to fill the awkward moment.
“Tense. As you probably know from the news reports, Eldridge is still missing and no ransom note has been received.”
“I haven’t been watching the news,” she replied. She hadn’t wanted to see anything that had to do with the ranch where she had found love, where she had found the place she belonged. She’d known that watching any of those news reports would only make her think of him. “It looks like your eye has healed up nicely.”
He reached up and touched his eyebrow and then dropped his hand back to his side. “It’s fine.”
She wanted to scream. She wanted to throw herself into his arms. Their conversation was stilted and painful and she almost resented his presence here.
“How are Lily and Leigh?” Agony. She was in sheer agony as she thought of the little girls who had won her heart so quickly.
Tanner shoved his hands in his pockets. “Peggy has been taking care of them, but they miss you. I miss you.”
Josie stared at hi
m. For the first time she saw the shadows of sleepless nights beneath his eyes, the strain that lined his forehead. She didn’t speak. She was afraid to hope. Whatever happened next was entirely up to him.
“I miss you, Josie. I thought we’d be fine without you. I wanted to be fine, but you haunt me every hour of every day. You were right when you told me I was afraid. I’ve been afraid to move on with my life, scared of embracing or believing in your love.”
He pulled his hands from his pockets and slicked one through his hair. “After doing a lot of soul-searching, I realized it wasn’t so much that you were young that bothered me. It was the fear that I could never be enough for you that made me afraid.”
Josie’s heart raced, but still she remained in place and said nothing. She needed him to reach for her. He had to tell her that he wanted her in his life forever. She wouldn’t settle for anything else.
“Wait here,” he said and then walked over to the tree he’d been standing behind when she’d first seen him. He disappeared from her sight for a moment and when he reappeared his arms were filled with long-stemmed red roses.
“On the day Marceline brought you those friendship roses, you told me they were the first ones you’d ever received. I want to be the first man to give you red roses for love and I want to be the last man to give you red roses for love.”
His eyes held a wealth of emotions—hot desire, combined with a depth of caring and love...sweet love. “I realize now that you were right—age doesn’t matter. I also realize my broken marriage to Helen wasn’t totally my fault. I am man enough to make a woman happy. I’m more than man enough to make you happy for the rest of your life. All that really matters is love and I love you. I want you to be my wife, Josie. I want you to be my partner and raise my daughters and give me more children and grow old with me.”
“For goodness’ sake, put those roses down and take me in your arms,” Josie replied. Tears of happiness blurred her vision and her entire body trembled with the need to be in his embrace.
He tossed the flowers to the ground and pulled her against him. He took her mouth with his, kissing her with an intensity that stole her breath and rushed a welcome fiery heat through her body.
When the kiss ended he continued to hold her tight. For the first time in her entire life she felt safe and loved. He stroked a hand down her cheek and smiled.
“You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met. You make me want to be brave and strong for you and for my daughters,” he said. “I believed that maybe you were staying with me at the ranch because you were afraid to face your life out of protective custody. Now I know that I’ve been hiding out at the ranch, afraid to get on with my own life. I’ve realized I’m ready to make a move. It’s time for me to get on with my life the way I’d always dreamed.”
She looked up at him and placed a hand on his cheek. “Whatever you do, I’ll be beside you. Wherever you go, I want to be there.”
“I’ve found a ranch.” His eyes were filled with the shine of new possibilities. “It has a beautiful four-bedroom house and enough land to sustain a herd of cattle. I think you’ll like it. It’s right here in Granite Gulch.”
She gasped in surprise. “Really? Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“I want my wife to have her family close to her. What do you think, Josie-love? Will you marry me and we’ll live on our ranch and raise our children together?”
“Yes, oh, yes, Tanner.”
Once again his lips took hers and his arms tightened around her. Josie-love. He’d called her Josie-love and she couldn’t wait to build their future together. Tanner-love. Josie-love. Lily-love and Leigh-love. His family and now hers.
The fact that he had looked for a place in Granite Gulch, knowing she wanted to bond with her siblings, was the icing on the cake.
Although most people would think it odd that she’d been proposed to in a cemetery following her serial-killer father’s funeral, Josie didn’t care. It was odd... Her entire life had been odd and crazy.
But one thing she knew with certainty—this man was her future. With him, she was finally home.
EPILOGUE
Troy Watkins was ready to fire half his staff, punch a couple of reporters in the nose and drink himself into oblivion, but he wasn’t going to do any of those things.
The idea that he even had such wild thoughts was a sign the Colton case was positively eating him alive. It was nearly midnight, way past time for him to be home and in his bed, but a good night’s sleep had become a luxury denied to him since the day he’d been called out to Colton Valley Ranch to investigate the missing Eldridge.
Nobody had been able to get Marceline Colton to talk, and she and Fowler and Whitney all remained at the top of the suspect list, but so far no evidence had come to light to conclusively point a finger of guilt to any specific person.
And if those three weren’t suspicious enough, there were other family members and staff and business associates who all had to be cleared one by one.
A dedicated tip line had been set up, but so far all it had yielded was a reminder to Troy that there were some crazy nuts out there. Still, each and every tip had to be chased down, no matter how crazy it sounded.
He now got up from his desk and reached for his hat. Time to go home, where he’d lie in bed with racing thoughts keeping sleep at bay.
And the one thought that would haunt him until he got an answer was, where was Eldridge? And if the man was dead, then where in the hell was his body?
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781488005060
COLTON COWBOY HIDEOUT
Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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Colton Cowboy Hideout (The Coltons of Texas, Book 7) Page 20