Jagger saw Amanda’s eyes go the bandage on his head. Her baby wriggled and protested, and she soothed her by stroking her head. “And we’ll do a DNA test, Daddy,” Amanda said, watching Jagger with her serious brown eyes. “When Chief Drucker can get his technician here. Then we’ll know for certain.”
“But the blanket—he was wrapped in that same blanket when he was taken. I’d...recognize the embroidery anywhere...” His voice faded into a papery wheeze, his eyes going distant, dark, haunted.
“We looked,” he whispered into space. “We all did—the police. Everyone.” He closed his mouth and drew in another strained breath through the nasal cannula. “And we waited for the ransom note. It...never...came... I blame...self...” He went silent for a while. The only sound in the room was the loud hum of the oxygen machine and Jethro’s ghostly breaths. His eyes fluttered closed. His lids were translucent and veined.
Levi caught the attention of his sisters and made a motion with his head for them to go into the sitting room.
“It’s the morphine starting to do its work,” he whispered. “I’ll catch up to you after he’s fallen asleep.”
* * *
They quietly filed out and Amanda closed the door to the bedroom, leaving Levi and Jethro alone inside.
“Is it okay if we call you Cole?” Gabby said once they were in the sitting room.
“It’s better than John Doe,” Jagger said. “What did your father mean when he said he blames himself?”
“My father just needs rest,” Amanda interjected, still jiggling an increasingly restless Cheyenne on her hip. “He’s at serious risk for infection, pneumonia—this is all obviously very emotionally trying for him. He’s not thinking straight.”
Jagger studied the child and mother. This was the infant who was the target of a kidnapping attempt gone wrong two months ago. Her little baby face went red as she squirmed.
Jagger met Amanda’s eyes. They were a luminous pale brown, a direct and assessing quality in her gaze. She had long brown hair, no makeup. He knew from media reports that she was a large-animal veterinarian. He liked her vibe on the spot, the directness in her gaze, the quiet intelligence and confidence about her.
“I’m just relieved he’s using the oxygen machine in our presence,” Catherine said. “Until you arrived, Cole, he’d never have agreed to that.” Her pretty blue eyes glittered with fierce emotion. “He might even concede to more aggressive treatment now. Dad might actually begin to fight for his life. And if you are a bone marrow match, Cole—”
Gabby reached out and touched her sister’s arm, tempering her. “One step at a time, Cath. First the DNA test.”
From his research Jagger knew that Catherine was the middle Colton daughter. She had long blond hair, looked more like her mother, Mandy. Jethro was truly blessed with beautiful women but they didn’t quite match something he saw in Mia. He cast a quick glance in her direction.
She had an impatience in her eyes as she watched them all.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to rush anything,” Cath said to Jagger. “It’s just been such a difficult period. The diagnosis was so sudden, and he’s been given so little time to live. If he doesn’t accept more aggressive medical treatment he’s...” Her voice hitched. She cleared her throat. “But your being here has given him hope. It’s given us all hope.”
“I might not be Cole,” Jagger cautioned, quietly.
“That doesn’t matter,” Gabby interrupted. “Right now, it’s just the possibility that you are Cole that’s given him new energy.”
And it struck Jagger square in the face. This family needed him to be Cole. They needed to believe he was their long-lost half brother returned, and they were prepared to hold on to this hope in the face of logic until the bitter end, until they were ultimately proven wrong.
No wonder they’d agreed to Drucker’s delayed DNA testing.
Jagger wondered about the psychology of it—why a stubborn man like Jethro Colton might not fight his illness until faced with the possibility his son had returned. Could it be subterranean guilt, a sense this illness was his due? And “Cole’s” presence had somehow absolved him of that guilt, giving him back the perceived right to fight for his life?
“Gabby’s correct,” Amanda said. “If Dad believes you’re Cole, even for a while, I feel he’ll agree to see the specialists. We must use the time we have now to convince him to fight back and fight hard.”
“Yes,” Cath said. “The truth doesn’t really matter right now. All that counts is—” her eyes filled as she turned to Jagger “—is that you could be Cole. And of course,” Cath added, “once the DNA tests have been done, you might yet prove to be a potential bone marrow donor. That’s why we went on national TV, pleading for information on you in the first place. Perhaps you saw us on television, and that’s why you came?”
“I...don’t know,” Jagger said as a sudden wave of very real dizziness swamped him. “I don’t remember.” He braced his hand on the back of a wingback chair for support as the room seemed to sway.
Mia cleared her throat and stepped forward quickly. “I think our patient needs some rest now.”
The women in the room all turned to look at her as if she’d suddenly materialized out of the paneling—clearly a family used to servants standing silently in background as they lived out their lives.
“Of course,” said Amanda. She turned to Jagger. “We’re all just getting our heads around this. It’s a big shock. And we’re so sorry for the incident on our ranch—for your injuries. Whoever did this, the police will find him, and they will bring him to justice. In the meantime we’ll do whatever we can to help. Anything you need, please, let us know.”
Mia took his arm and Jagger was grateful since the dizziness unnerved him.
“Where are you taking him to rest?” Gabby said as the nuts and bolts of the situation began sorting themselves out in everyone’s minds.
“To the infirmary. The cot—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Gabby. “We’ll get a suite ready, of course. The Blue Suite on the third floor, in the family wing. It has two bedrooms and a kitchenette. You can take one of the rooms, Mia. You can monitor him from there.”
“I...ah...I think I’d prefer to—”
“That way you won’t have to come all the way up from the employee wing to check on him. Levi said that you needed to monitor him 24/7 until you’re sure there’s no hematoma or anything.” She pressed the intercom on the phone.
“Mathilda, are you there? It’s Gabby.”
“Miss Gabby, yes, I’m here.” Mathilda’s voice came through as clearly as if she was in the room with them.
“Can you please have one of the maids prepare the Blue Suite for Cole,” she said looking at him. “Mia will be staying with him.”
Behind Gabby the door to the bedroom opened and Levi came out.
“The morphine has kicked in,” he said. “He’s relaxed, sleeping now.” Levi hesitated. “He also wants someone to call for Max Finch, his estate lawyer. He’d like to see Finch over here first thing in the morning.”
“Why?” Amanda said, the worry instant in her eyes. “Does he want to do something to his will? Is he...okay?”
Levi raised his hands, calming them. “Jethro’s doing better than expected.” He glanced at Jagger. “You’ve given him a new desire to fight this, you know. He’s finally agreed to meet with a specialist.”
Cath’s hand flew to her mouth. Gabby’s eyes went bright with a sudden surge of emotion.
“And no, he didn’t say exactly why he wanted Finch,” Levi said.
They all turned to look at “Cole” and the atmosphere in the room shifted as the thought hung unspoken between them—Jethro might be changing his will to include his first-born son. Yet no one was certain that this man in front of them was even him.
�
�Are you still there, Gabriella? Do you need anything else?” Gabby jumped as Mathilda’s voice came through the speaker.
“Ah, no, thank you, I didn’t realize I still had the speaker on,” she said softly, switching it off.
While the relief was tangible that a corner might have been turned with their father’s health, uncertainty and an edginess remained.
“Come,” Mia whispered, taking Jagger’s arm. “Let’s get you some rest.”
“Oh, Mia, before you go—” It was Levi. “I’ve arranged a 10:30 a.m. CAT scan and a consult with Dr. Rajit Singh, a top neurologist at Cheyenne Memorial. Can you take him?”
“I... Of course.”
“Jethro said you can use the ranch Escalade. It’ll be ready for you in the garage. Keep up with the 24/7 checks in the meantime. Page me if you run into anything.”
“Yes, of course.” But Jagger heard a sudden strain in Mia’s voice.
“Will you be up to dining with us tonight, Cole?” said Catherine.
“No,” Mia interjected. “I...I mean—”
“Mia’s right,” Levi said. “Our patient needs rest, and they have an early start for Cheyenne in the morning.”
Gabby came forward and took Jagger’s hands in hers. She looked deep into his eyes. “Anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll see that the kitchenette is stocked, that you have clothes, toiletries, incidentals—whatever you need. There’s a list of household extensions next to the phone in the suite, just call. And thank you, for coming. This is so good for everyone, especially after what we’ve all been thought these last few weeks.”
Jagger could almost read the subtext in her clear, green eyes... Please be our brother, Cole. Please let this wish have come true.
* * *
“The Blue Suite is this way, down at the other end of the hall,” Mia said coolly as she led him out. She walked briskly, just ahead of him, as if she was trying to escape him even as she’d been lumped with him—a proximity or intimacy she hadn’t asked for.
“The room has a nice view of the ranch,” she said over her shoulder.
“You’re trying to make conversation, Mia.”
She gave a dismissive shrug.
“Look, I’m not interested in a view of the ranch,” Jagger said, preferring the view of her tight butt in slim-fitting jeans. He liked the way she walked—long legs, Western boots. He liked the way her braid moved across her back.
She opened the door for him. “Blue Room. All yours.”
He hesitated in front of her. “You okay, Mia?”
“I wish you’d stop asking me that. It’s my job to monitor your well-being, not vice versa.”
He met her gaze with a measured look. He could read anxiety, frustration in her eyes. Anger, even— She was a simmering stew of energy right now. Clearly she didn’t want to be thrust into his aura like this.
“You can take the big bedroom off that end of the sitting room,” she said crisply, leading the way in. “I’ll take the small one on the right.”
He stepped inside. The suite had a kitchenette, a living room area with a television and a small fireplace. Each bedroom also had an en suite bathroom.
She flung open drapes. “Mathilda will have this sorted out shortly.”
“How long did you say you’ve worked here, Mia?”
“Why?”
“I guess I’m wondering why you stay.”
Her eyes widened briefly and a look of guilt flashed through her features.
“You think I’m unhappy here—is that what you’re saying?”
He gave a wry smile. “I think you’d rather be somewhere else right now.”
She flushed.
“Is it the job, or me?”
“I...I’m sorry, Cole. It’s...there’s been a lot of weird stuff going on. It’s wearing me down. All of us, not just me.”
“Yet you continue to stay.”
She caught her bottom lip in her teeth.
“They frustrate you, don’t they?”
She inhaled deeply. “Yeah, they do. I’ve been running the infirmary myself for over two years, until now. Jethro put Levi in charge last month. I think it was to ensure he stayed at the ranch, felt needed.”
“Must be quite the adjustment,” he said. “Suddenly taking orders from someone after being boss for so long.”
She gave a half shrug. “He’s the doctor. I’m the nurse. That’s the way it goes.”
“How old is Levi?”
“Twenty-seven. A year younger than I am.”
“And he’s practicing already?”
“He was doing his first year internship in Salt Lake City when Gabby went to ask him to come—they begged him.”
“Because Jethro was ill?”
She nodded. “They’re desperate to do whatever it takes to help their father. He’s a cantankerous old b—” She stopped herself. “Jethro Colton can be difficult, but they all love him in their own way.”
“Codependency,” Jagger said. “Makes the world go round.
She went suddenly quiet, and her thumb began to worry her finger again. He followed the movement with his eyes, and she stopped, suddenly aware of what she was doing.
“Levi had to quit his residency to do this. It was a huge sacrifice.”
“And possibly a big inheritance payoff in it for him.”
“I don’t think that’s what Levi is about, Cole. And as tough as Jethro can be, he does care for them all deeply in his own way. I’ve been here long enough to see that. He’d kill for them.”
“Would he, really?” Jagger met her eyes.
She frowned. “You’re serious.”
“Just trying to get my bearings.”
“I meant it as a figure of speech,” she said. Yet her eyes told Jagger something different.
“What are you not saying, Mia?”
“Look, he’s a hard man, there’s no doubt about that. There’s been talk about him, about how he came by his wealth.”
“You mean, as in it’s not all legal?”
Her mouth flattened and her eyes darkened again with suspicion
Be careful, Jagger, you need her trust.
“He’s my boss, Cole. And I’m speaking out of line.” She made for the door. “I need to go get my medical bag and some clothes. You should lie down, watch TV or something.”
“Mia.” He caught her arm.
She spun round, startled. He looked down into her eyes.
“What’s really eating you? Because something is.”
“You don’t know me, Cole.”
“I might have no memory, but I’m not blind.”
She moistened her lips, swallowed. “You better let go of me.”
He did, instantly.
She marched to the door and Jagger thought he’d blown it already.
But she spun around suddenly and glared at him. “Okay, you really want to know what’s getting up my nose? It’s always about them!” She waved her hand in the direction of Jethro’s room. “But you’re the victim here—you need to know your identity as soon as possible, and a DNA test would help. Yet the family is content to drag this out Chief Drucker’s way, because it suits them. Finding their long-lost half brother might help their father fight his illness, but what about Cole? You? What about justice and finding the kidnappers who took you? Finding out where you’ve been?” She heaved out a breath.
“It’s mercenary. Sometimes it just gets to me—the wealth. The way people are used.” She flushed, then ran her hand over her hair. “I...I shouldn’t have said that—any of that.”
He stared at her.
And right there, Jagger McKnight got Mia. Wholly. He understood her compassion and her fire, her need to stand up for the underdog—because it was
the same motivation that defined him. His need to be a voice for the disenfranchised was the driving principle behind his journalism. It’s what pushed him into extreme and dangerous situations in foreign countries.
It’s what had taken him into Afghanistan.
It’s also what had cost him.
“This should really be about Cole,” she said quietly. “If you’re not Cole, it should still remain about Cole, baby Cole, even if he’s no longer alive, because the crime was never solved. There was no justice done. And justice needs to be done.”
Jagger’s heartbeat quickened. He had an ally in Mia Sanders. Even though she might resent being thrust into close proximity with him like this, they had a common goal—justice for baby Cole who’d been snatched from the safety of his crib.
Like Jagger had been snatched away from his own parents.
Mia’s comments also told Jagger that she thought there might be more to the kidnapping than was being spoken about in this family.
She made for the door again.
“Mia—” He took her arm again, gently, and turned her to face him. Up close, the stormy light coming in from the windows made her eyes seem purplish. Moody. Beautiful. Her chest was rising and falling and he could see her pulse in the creamy column of her neck.
“Thank you. For thinking of me—of Cole.”
“I...I need to go get my things.” Her voice was husky.
Overpowered by a sudden urge to kiss her, to hold her against his body, Jagger released her arm slowly and stepped back
She didn’t move. She seemed trapped by the dark hunger he knew she could see burning in his eyes. Her breathing grew lighter. And it just fueled the heat building inside Jagger.
Wind lashed against the house suddenly, and rain began to tick against the windowpanes. It seemed to jerk her back to reality.
She backed toward the door, turned quickly.
“You don’t have to do this, Mia.”
“It’s my job. Either I do it, or I leave and find something else.” And she went out, closing the door.
Jagger stared at the door.
The room seemed drained of energy, as if she’d taken it all with her. He ran his hand through his hair. Christ. What just happened here between her and him?
The Missing Colton Page 10