The Colton Marine

by Lisa Childs

  “Wow...” he murmured again with a shaky breath.

  She lifted a slightly trembling hand to her hair. “I don’t know if I should be flattered or insulted,” she said. “How bad have I looked the past week?”

  “You never looked bad,” he assured her. “Not even when I found you on the basement floor.”

  Her smile slipped away.

  And he was sorry he’d brought it up. But it was never far from his mind.

  “You really shouldn’t be staying here alone,” he said. Especially after what Knox had shared with him. But just because Livia wasn’t in Florida didn’t mean she was here. Why would she keep returning to Shadow Creek?

  “I was surprised to find the house empty when I came back from town,” she said.

  But was it empty? Or was there someone else hiding in it? Someone who would know where all those secret rooms were? River had had a bad feeling about La Bonne Vie even before Knox had confirmed his suspicions that it wasn’t their mother who’d been sighted in Florida.

  “Claudia told me Knox was coming out to see you,” she added. “But neither of you were here when I got back.”

  “After he left, I went back to Mac’s to clean up,” he said.

  Her gaze moved from his face down his white dress shirt, over his dark jeans to the toes of his black boots. He’d replaced his usual dusty white hat with a clean black one that matched his boots and unfortunately the patch over his eye. But she didn’t look repulsed; she looked interested.

  And the night before when she’d kissed him...

  It had felt like she’d been interested—until she’d pushed him away. Had she done that because she was really worried he might have PTSD? Or had she done it because she’d remembered her boss, who was more than a boss?

  But her boss wasn’t here tonight. And the closer River could get to her before he arrived, the better. He took another step toward her, but she dodged around him and headed across the foyer, her heels clicking against the marble.

  “You didn’t have to come back to get me,” she said. “This isn’t a date.”

  As if she’d punched him in the gut, he sucked in a breath. He wished it was a date—that she was his girlfriend in addition to being his boss. But how could he have a relationship with anyone when he wasn’t even sure who he was anymore? And it wasn’t just not knowing his paternity, it was also not knowing who he was without the Corps.

  A bodyguard?

  Josh’s job offer was tempting. Even with one eye, River could do the work. But after fixing up La Bonne Vie, he realized there was a hell of a lot he could do with just one eye.

  Like admire the most beautiful woman he’d ever met...

  Who was Edith, though? Just an assistant to her boss or more? And was she staying in Shadow Creek, or would she be moving back to wherever she lived when she wasn’t working on the house? She’d grown up in New Orleans. Was that where she lived now?

  He opened his mouth to ask all those questions. But those were first date type of questions, and she’d made it clear this wasn’t a date at all.

  “I know,” he assured her. “But Mac would kick my ass if I didn’t see you there and home.” Mac, not the man he’d thought was his father, was who had taught him how to be a gentleman—because Mac was one himself.

  So River helped her into his truck and closed the door behind her before going around to the driver’s side.

  “I didn’t think to ask the other day,” she said as he slid behind the steering wheel, “when you were driving me to the hospital. But you still have a license?”

  He touched the patch and grinned. “Yes. I have twenty-twenty in the left, so I passed the vision tests.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “You ran an awful lot of red lights that day.”

  He’d been so worried about her. “You wouldn’t let me call an ambulance,” he reminded her.

  “I was fine,” she said.

  “You have a concussion,” he said. And it could have been far worse. “You really shouldn’t be staying alone at La Bonne Vie.” Especially if she wasn’t actually alone in the house.

  “I’m fine,” she repeated. “I don’t want to impose on Uncle Mac.”

  “Mac wouldn’t consider it an imposition at all.” But that wasn’t what River had meant. Instead of her staying alone in the house, he could stay there, too.

  The trip between La Bonne Vie and Mac’s ranch was short, and they’d already pulled into the driveway with the other trucks and vehicles. He hesitated before turning off the ignition, though.

  He dreaded social events. Even before he’d been injured, he’d hated all the parties his mother had thrown at her estate. He’d hated being put on parade to bolster the image of a loving mother she’d tried to portray. And now that he’d been wounded, he hated social events even more—hated the looks and the pity and the questions.

  As if she sensed his discomfort, Edith reached over and covered one of his hands on the steering wheel with one of hers. “They’re all family,” she said. “It’ll be fine.”

  “You didn’t think so when I invited you earlier,” he reminded her.

  “I didn’t think I was invited then,” she said. And she’d been hurt.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  She squeezed his hand. “Uncle Mac intended to invite me. He just hadn’t had the chance yet. Evelyn told me so when I was at Honeysuckle Road.”

  “Buying that dress...” Even in the dim light, she glimmered like sunshine. He turned off the ignition. But then he hesitated before opening the door. Once they stepped out of the truck, they would no longer be alone. He liked being alone with her—like they’d been the night before, kissing, touching...

  He wanted to kiss her now.

  And her gaze dipped to his mouth, as if she was tempted to lean closer and brush her lips across his. He drew in a breath and his body tensed in anticipation.

  But she shook her head. “We need to get in there,” she said. “We’re probably late.” She didn’t reach for her door handle, either. And he doubted it was because she was waiting for him to open it. She’d made it clear earlier that this wasn’t a date.

  “Nobody was here yet when I left,” he said. “So they just got here, too.” As if to prove his point, the driver’s door of the vehicle in front of them opened. Hawk, Claudia’s fiancé, walked around the hood to open the passenger’s door for his wife-to-be. The windows of the vehicle were steamed. They’d obviously been doing what River wanted to do with Edith—passionately kiss her.

  But before he could close the distance between his mouth and hers, the other couple noticed them and walked toward the truck. He uttered a groan of disappointment. And almost thought he heard an echo of one from Edith.

  Had she wanted his kiss?

  Had she wanted him the night before as badly as he’d wanted her? He didn’t have the chance to ask before Hawk opened her door and the evening began.

  For someone who hadn’t wanted to attend the dinner party, she seemed very at home—among his family and at the ranch. He didn’t know how often she had visited her uncle over the years that they’d reconnected, but it must have been enough times that she knew where everything was inside the house. And she pitched in to help the other women and Mac with dinner.

  When River had invited her, she’d claimed they weren’t her family except for Mac and Thorne, but yet she fit in with the Coltons better than he ever had. Like Claudia, he needed to find out who he really was. Maybe then he would feel like he belonged here, too. Right now he longed to be back at La Bonne Vie. He needed to search for more of those secret rooms and the secrets they hopefully held.

  * * *

  “Are you sure you’re all right?” Uncle Mac asked her as he stared at her forehead.

  Edith had curled her hair to cover the small wound.
Nobody else had commented on it, but Mac had seen it in the hospital. So he knew where it was.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” she said with a reassuring smile. She was having a great time at the party. “Evelyn is wonderful.”

  “See,” Claudia said as she joined them in the kitchen. “I do a great job matchmaking.”

  Mac slid his arm around her. “You won’t get an argument from me,” he said with a big grin.

  Edith’s heart warmed with her uncle’s happiness.

  “Who’s she trying to set you up with?” Mac asked. Then he followed Claudia’s gaze to where River stood in the living room, near the front door, as if he was tempted to sneak out. And he shook his head. “Not River...”

  Edith’s heart lurched now. Why didn’t her uncle want her involved with one of the kids he’d helped raise?

  “Why not?” Claudia asked.

  Mac shook his head again. “He’s not ready,” he told her. “He’s been through so much. He still seems so lost.”

  Claudia uttered a pitying sigh. “I know. I understand—probably better than anyone.”

  If even half the media reports had been accurate, the beautiful designer had been through a lot. She’d only recently learned her biological mother had been one of Livia’s sex trafficking victims. And another of those victims had tried to kill her. But thanks to the PI who was now her fiancé, she hadn’t been harmed. So how could she compare what she’d endured to what River and probably some of his fellow Marines had gone through?

  “It’s not just that,” Mac said.

  And Edith was wondering what that was. Especially when Mac continued, “He’s still battling the nightmares over whatever happened on that last deployment.”

  “It was horrible, no doubt,” Claudia agreed and a shimmer of tears came to her eyes. She looked from her brother back to Edith. “That’s why he needs something beautiful in his life, to replace the ugliness.”

  But Mac shook his head.

  And Edith didn’t know whom her uncle was trying to protect from Claudia’s matchmaking. Her or River.

  “It doesn’t matter whether or not he’s ready,” Edith interrupted them. “I’m not interested.” Which was a lie. She was very much interested in River. Her skin still tingled from how he’d looked at her when he’d first seen her in the dress, like he wanted to take it off her.

  And she’d wanted him to do just that. She’d wanted him to kiss her and touch her—so badly that she’d nearly kissed him in his truck—when he’d looked so hesitant about joining his own family. Now she understood why. Their concern was nearly too much.

  It wasn’t just what Claudia and Mac were saying, either. It was the way the others watched him—like he was about to fall apart. Did none of them realize how strong he was?

  He had survived a horrible injury, a horrible loss, and he didn’t feel sorry for himself. He forged ahead as if nothing was wrong with him.

  “Why?” Claudia asked, her curvy body tensing. She didn’t look happy or sad now. She looked fierce and defensive—of her brother. “Is it the eye? The scars?”

  “No.”

  “That might be a problem for some women,” Claudia continued. “But I thought you—”

  “Claudia,” Mac cautioned her. His loyalty probably felt divided between them—his niece and the girl he’d raised like a daughter.

  “I am not interested in anyone right now,” Edith clarified. “I am much too busy at La Bonne Vie.”

  “Doing what?” Thorne asked the question.

  Edith hadn’t even noticed her cousin step into the kitchen. She stared at him in silence.

  “I can ask River,” he said. “He’s been working up there with you.”

  “And he won’t answer your question, either,” River answered for himself.

  “Did she make you sign a confidentiality agreement, too?” Thorne asked.

  River snorted. “No. I’m just not an idiot.”

  Maggie rubbed her hand down her husband’s tense arm. “I’m sure we’ll all know soon enough,” she said.

  “Or whoever her boss is might intend to let it sit empty for another ten years,” Thorne replied.

  Edith doubted that. Declan hadn’t built SinCo into the billion-dollar operation it was by making bad investments. But she was curious, too, about his intentions for the estate. When he visited, she was going to find out.

  “It’s not empty now,” she said. “I’m staying there. And I need to get back.” She sent an imploring glance to River.

  “You shouldn’t be staying there alone,” Mac said.

  What was he implying? That she should invite River to stay with her? Her pulse quickened at the thought, at the temptation. But then her uncle added, “You should be staying here.”

  Of course he wouldn’t suggest she and River stay together. He didn’t think one of them was good enough for the other.

  “Yes,” Thorne agreed with his father. “It’s too dangerous to stay there alone.”

  Edith touched the wound on her forehead. “That was an accident.”

  “Maggie told me about the handkerchief you found there,” Thorne said.

  “Handkerchief?” Mac asked.

  “It was one of Moth—of Livia’s,” Claudia answered for her. “She said she found it under the basement stairs but it wasn’t that dirty, didn’t smell musty...” Her voice cracked as she trailed off.

  “Where is it?” River asked, and he looked at Edith.

  “I kept it,” Claudia replied. “I’m going to have Leonor give it to Josh.”

  “Or give it to Knox,” River said. He drew in a deep breath before sharing, “He told me earlier that she’s not in Florida.”

  Claudia shivered, and Mac tightened his arm around her. “That doesn’t mean she’s here.”

  Hawk drew his fiancée away from Mac and into his own arms. “And if she is, she isn’t going to hurt you.”

  Mac shook his head. “She’s not here. She’s too smart to risk coming back to Shadow Creek again.”

  She wasn’t there, but talk of Livia had effectively ended the Colton family dinner party.

  * * *

  Livia loved a party. And she was half tempted to show up at the one at Mac’s. Wouldn’t they all be surprised to see her? Or would they?

  She’d overheard Knox and River earlier. The authorities knew she was not in Florida. Apparently River had suspected all along.

  Was she the reason River kept searching the secret rooms in the basement? Was he looking for her?

  She could understand the others wanting to find her. Knox was a lawman. So was Leonor’s new fiancé, the FBI man who’d been using her to find Livia. When would the girl learn to not trust men? She sighed and focused again on her youngest son.

  River had never showed much interest in her or in La Bonne Vie when he’d been living there. He showed interest in Edith Beaulieu, though.

  From the panic room with its security monitors and intercoms, Livia hadn’t missed much that took place in the house. She’d nearly panicked earlier when River had found the doorway in the room off the wine cellar. But he hadn’t found the one to the panic room.

  Maybe he thought only one room opened off each other secret room. That was good. For him.

  Because if he came back and found the entrance to this room, she would have to pull the trigger she’d cocked earlier. He wasn’t a lawman like Knox or Josh, but River had always had a sense of honor and obligation. Or he wouldn’t have become a Marine and spent ten years in the Corps.

  Or had he only done that to get away from the scandal? From the attention that came with being a Colton? He’d always hated that—just like he’d always hated parties.

  She had no doubt that he would be back soon—to the house—to search for her secrets. If he found them, he would die. It
didn’t matter that he was her son. She wasn’t going back to prison.

  She had too much left to do...

  Chapter 15

  “Thank you for bringing me home,” Edith murmured over her shoulder as she unlocked the front door of La Bonne Vie. While gracious, she also sounded dismissive, like she was trying to get rid of him.

  She was probably worried that he was going to try something again. And he totally intended to.

  When she opened the door, he stepped inside with her and shut it behind them. She turned toward him, her dark eyes wide with surprise. “What are you doing?”

  “The other night you told me I could do whatever I wanted,” he reminded her.

  And she took a step back. “I—I was talking about work. Not...”

  “This?” he asked. And he closed the distance between them and took the kiss he’d been wanting the entire evening. His lips moved over the silkiness of hers. Then he deepened the kiss. Before the passion burning inside him could overwhelm and consume him, he pulled back and expelled an unsteady breath. Damn. It was hot. So hot he wanted to take off his shirt and the rest of his clothes...

  She was so damn hot. He wanted to take off her clothes.

  But she stared up at him with an expression he couldn’t read. Was it fear?

  After all the talk earlier, he didn’t blame her. “I shouldn’t have brought you here,” he said. “It isn’t home.”

  Her brow furrowed slightly as if she was confused and couldn’t follow his train of thought. “I—I know it’s not my home. It was yours—”

  He snorted. “I don’t think it was ever my home, either.” He glanced at the ornate staircase behind her. “It was my mother’s stage.”

  She glanced behind her at the stairwell, then wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “Do you think she would come back here?”

  “I don’t know...” He hadn’t thought so, but then Livia was unpredictable. “When did you find that handkerchief?”

  “The day after you heard me scream,” she said. “I found it when I retrieved my can of pepper spray from under the basement stairs.”

  “Claudia doesn’t think it’s been there ten years,” he said. And dread gripped his stomach, tightening the muscles. Could Livia have been in the house? Was she now?