Colton's Secret Son

by Carla Cassidy

  At the same time, he took off his boxers and then with a deep groan he pulled her to him, and she gasped at the intimate contact of her naked skin against his. She’d forgotten. She’d forgotten the exquisite joy and the fiery heat of soft need meeting with hard hunger.

  “Ally,” he whispered against her throat as he grabbed her buttocks and drew her more intimately against him.

  She was lost in him...in the scent of him, in the familiar feel of his nakedness against hers. “Love me, Knox. Love me like you used to,” she moaned.

  In response, he slid his mouth down the length of her throat, across her collarbone and then down to capture one of her taut nipples. He licked and teased and tormented first one and then the other, making her crazy with desire. His hardness pressed against her thigh and she reached down to stroke the velvety length.

  A husky groan escaped him and that only fueled her want of him. He caressed down the length of her body with fluid motions, and when he lingered along her inner thigh she raised her hips in need.

  And then he was there, his fingers moving against her as a fluttering heat built up wild and untamed inside her. Her climax crashed down on her, leaving her gasping and boneless.

  He moved between her thighs then and she cried out his name as he entered her. Clutching his shoulders, she met him thrust for thrust. He stroked long and deep inside of her. They moved slowly at first, but it wasn’t long before frantic need changed the languid pace.

  Once again, waves of pleasure coursed through her, each bigger than the last until she crested a peak and went over the edge. At the same time, he reached his own climax and shuddered against her.

  They remained locked together and not moving for several long minutes. It was only when their breathing returned to normal that he rose up and stroked her hair away from her face and then kissed her long and deeply, stirring her on a whole different level.

  Magic. They had always been magical together. The screaming fear that had been inside her wasn’t completely gone, but it had quieted at least for the moment. Without saying a word, she moved away from him and slid out of bed and then padded into the bathroom.

  She stared at her reflection in the mirror. The taste of him still lingered on her mouth and the scent of him drifted off her skin. She wouldn’t take this back even if she could, even though she knew it was just another stupid mistake.

  When she returned to the bedroom, Knox had pulled on his boxers and picked up his shirt and jeans from the floor. “You don’t have to leave,” she said. “Stay with me, Knox. Stay with me until morning.” Yet one more stupid mistake, she thought. In for a penny, in for a pound.

  He dropped his clothes and got back into the bed. She joined him there and he pulled her into the crook of his arm. She relaxed against his warmth and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think. She didn’t want to feel. She just wanted to sleep with the warmth of Knox’s kisses remaining and a prayer for her son on her lips.

  * * *

  Knox awoke before dawn, his body spooned around Allison’s warm back. He remained still, his head filled with the sweet scent of her as thoughts of their lovemaking drifted through his mind.

  It had been as good as it had always been, perhaps even better after all the years that had passed. He’d forgotten the pleasure of making love with her. She’d always been a passionate partner, and that hadn’t changed. Despite the fact that they had been lovers in the past, this time had felt new and had been intensely satisfying.

  They fit together as well now as they had when they’d been in high school and had become lovers. He had a feeling no matter what happened between them, no matter what happened in his life, she would always be in his blood.

  He had no illusions that suddenly now they were going to be a couple again. Hell, he didn’t even know if that’s what he wanted. What he did know for sure was that she’d needed him last night to sweep away her pain, as he had needed her.

  He frowned as he thought of their son. Where could he be? If the ransom call had been real, then why hadn’t they received proof of life yet? The fact that there had been no follow-up on the phone call shot a shiver of dread through him.

  The questions that whirled around in his mind begged for answers. The one thing that he hadn’t wavered on was if this had been done for money, then he was certain his mother was behind it. Damn her rotten, narcissistic, sociopathic hide.

  Knowing he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep again, he slowly moved away from Allison and got out of bed. Thankfully he didn’t awaken her.

  He picked up his clothes from the floor and went into Cody’s room, where he grabbed clean ones and then headed for a shower.

  It was Saturday morning and he suspected more people would turn out to help today. But what could they do? Walk the streets that had already been walked? Put up more posters, even though there were plenty already plastered around town?

  According to Wendall, the sheriff was coordinating things from his office. What things? There were no clues, no leads to follow, so what in the hell was Sheriff Bud Jeffries coordinating besides his nap times?

  Steaming more from his own thoughts than the hot water, he finished rinsing off the minty soap, shut off the shower and then dried off. He had no idea what might happen today, but he desperately needed something to. The waiting was not only tearing him apart, but Allison, as well.

  Wendall and Jim were drinking coffee as Knox joined them in the kitchen. “Another day,” Wendall said with compassion in his eyes.

  Knox poured himself a cup of coffee and joined them at the table. “I just hope something pops today. This sitting around and waiting is killing all of us.”

  “I wish there was something more we could do,” Jim replied. “The sheriff put a BOLO out on Chad last night, but so far nobody has reported seeing him, and the AMBER alert hasn’t yielded anything yet.”

  “And I can’t imagine where Chad has gone,” Wendall added. “If this was just one of his normal benders, then he would have crawled home by now. It’s definitely odd that he’s just disappeared.”

  Was it possible that Chad had Cody? “I still find it hard to believe that a drunk could have pulled off a kidnapping and kept Cody for this long without making some major mistakes,” Knox replied.

  “You still think it’s your mother?” Wendall asked.

  Knox hesitated a moment. “Yeah, I do, but right now she’s as elusive as Chad. I’m sure every law enforcement agency in the entire United States is looking for her, but I haven’t heard of any sightings except the initial one in Mexico.”

  He frowned into his cup and then looked back at the two officers. “We all know the longer this goes on, the less likely there’s going to be a happy ending.”

  Just saying the words out loud shoved a painfully tight emotion into his chest. He jumped up out of his chair. “How about pancakes for breakfast?” he asked. He needed to busy himself. He needed to keep his mind occupied so he didn’t focus on the diminishing odds of getting Cody home alive.

  He’d just served the two deputies pancakes when Allison appeared, clad in a pair of jeans and a pink T-shirt and with her hair loose and damp around her shoulders; the sight of her surged up a new desire inside him.

  “Pancakes?” he asked, wondering how he could want her again when it had only been hours before when he’d held her in his arms and made sweet love to her. Maybe it was just his need to seek an escape from the darkness of his thoughts.

  She shook her head. “No thanks, just coffee for me.”

  She poured herself a cup and then sat at the table. Knox made himself a couple of pancakes and for a few minutes the kitchen was quiet as the men ate.

  “Are you doing okay?” Knox finally broke the silence with an intent look at her.

  “I’m fine,” she replied.

  She might be fine, but she was also distan
t. Gone was the needy woman of the night before. Her face was slightly wan but her eyes were shuttered against him. She remained silent as the morning wore on in agonizing increments of time.

  The phone began ringing just after nine. There was another obvious prank call and some from several of her friends. She told them to contact her on her cell in hopes of leaving the landline open.

  At ten thirty, a loud knock sounded at the door. Wendall got up to answer, followed by Knox. When Wendall opened the front door and Knox saw who was on the other side, stunned surprise filled him.

  “Let them in,” he said.

  Fellow Texas Rangers Brett Hager and Dalton James came through the door with determined footsteps and grins on their faces. Instead of their uniforms, they were dressed casually in jeans and long-sleeved shirts.

  “What are you two doing here?” Knox asked incredulously.

  “We had a little vacation time coming and we heard about your son. We’re here to help a brother,” Dalton said with a clap on Knox’s back.

  The back of Knox’s throat closed up with emotion. These two men were like brothers to him. They had all spent the last ten years together working side by side. They were both highly intelligent investigators, and seeing them here now twisted Knox’s heart with a wealth of gratitude.

  Allison appeared in the doorway and Knox made the introductions. They all went into the kitchen, where more introductions were made to Wendall and Jim.

  “Get us up to speed,” Brett said and he pulled a notepad from his pocket.

  For the next hour, the two Rangers asked questions and listened as Knox and Allison and the two deputies filled them in on everything that had happened since the moment Cody was late getting home from the bus stop.

  Some of their questions were personal and sharp, but he and Allison answered them without hesitation. It was part of the process to get to the bottom of things.

  “So the two of you were here together before the time that Cody got off the bus,” Brett said. They both nodded. “So you both have solid alibis at the time of the kidnapping.”

  Allison looked at Knox, obviously unsettled to realize they might each need an alibi. But, he knew all too well that when a child disappeared, the parents were almost always the first suspects.

  “Rock solid,” Knox replied.

  “And you’ve talked to these Billings brothers and been to their homes?” Brett asked. Knox nodded and Brett looked at Allison. “Now tell us everything you can about this Chad character.”

  The questioning continued for another fifteen minutes and then Dalton looked at Wendall. “That recording equipment you have hooked up is ancient.”

  “Small town budget,” Wendall replied ruefully.

  “Well, it just so happens we have some fancy new equipment in the car,” Dalton said. “I’ll go get it.” He got up from the table and left the room.

  For the first time in the past forty-eight hours, a new hope buoyed in Knox’s heart and he saw the same emotion light Allison’s eyes.

  These weren’t small town sheriffs who ate in their cars with their seats reclined; they were trained Texas Rangers with a fierce determination to find Cody.

  Dalton returned and hooked up the new equipment to the landline and then he and Brett took off to take the path Cody took to and from the bus stop. Knox walked them out and then returned to find Allison seated on the sofa.

  “I’m glad they’re here,” she said.

  “Me, too.”

  “You’re close to them.”

  He nodded. “They’re two of my best friends and they’re great investigators. If anyone can sniff out a clue, it will be one of them.” Knox eased down next to her. “I thought about calling them before now, but didn’t want to interfere with their work.”

  He studied her face. Even with the strain that showed in the dark circles under her eyes and lines across her forehead, she still made his heart quicken like no other woman.

  “Regrets?” he asked softly. “We didn’t even use protection.”

  She sighed and reached up to worry a strand of her hair. “I’ve been on the Pill since Cody was born. No regrets, although I admit I had a moment of weakness and it wasn’t really a good idea.”

  He wasn’t sure why, but her words shot a bit of disappointment through him. “It’s okay to be weak sometimes.”

  She held his gaze for a long moment and then dropped her hand to her lap. “There was a time when you were my strongest weakness, but I can’t go there again.”

  The doorbell rang and she jumped up to answer it. It was Lauren Patten from the school. She carried a large tray of ham and cheese sandwiches. Allison took the platter from her and carried it into the kitchen and then returned to the living room to talk to Lauren.

  “Everyone is talking about Sheriff Jeffries’s ineptitude,” she said.

  “That subject has been mentioned around here more than once,” Knox said drily.

  “He spends most of his time either sitting at his desk or in his car. He’s a disgrace,” Lauren replied.

  “I think he’s an ass,” Allison added.

  “I just hope he’s out of office in the fall,” Lauren replied. “This town deserves somebody better than Bud Jeffries. Our crime rate has actually gotten worse since he took office.”

  “Right now I don’t care about any other crime than the one that took Cody from us,” Allison said.

  “Is there anything...anything at all I can do to help? There are lots of us who want to, but just don’t know what to do,” Lauren said, her eyes lit with compassion.

  “We appreciate the sandwiches,” Allison said. “I really don’t know what anyone can do other than keep searching.”

  “The rumor is that Chad has Cody.”

  “That’s what I think,” Allison replied.

  Knox listened as Allison told Lauren about firing Chad and him demanding she pay him ten thousand dollars. “I told him no way and then he got nasty and swore I’d be sorry. Then I started getting nasty, threatening texts from him.”

  “That creep. I’ve seen him weaving drunkenly on lots of evenings when he heads home from the bars,” Lauren exclaimed. “Somebody should do something about him.”

  “Right now, I just wish somebody would find him,” Allison replied fervently.

  As the two women continued to talk, Knox excused himself and went out on the front porch. He drew in a deep breath of the sweet-scented spring air and wondered if Cody could smell the grass. Was the kidnapper feeding him? Keeping him warm on these chilly nights? He sank down on the swing and willfully shoved these thoughts out of his head.

  He still couldn’t believe that Dalton and Brett were there to help. It felt like a scene from an old Western movie where the cavalry finally arrives and saves the day.

  Could they save the day? Could they find something that everyone else had overlooked? A clue that would lead to getting Cody back?

  Lauren left and still Knox remained outside, a fragile, new hope burning bright in his heart. He stood as he saw the two men approaching in the distance. He didn’t expect them to return to the house with the mystery solved, and they hadn’t.

  They joined him on the porch. “Did the authorities speak to everyone who lives on the street?” Dalton asked.

  Knox nodded. “And nobody saw Cody.”

  “And you’re certain he got off the bus?” Brett asked.

  “Yes, we checked with the bus driver who stated that Cody got off as usual.” Knox shoved his hands in his pockets. “I know he was kidnapped. I just don’t know by whom.”

  Knox told the two about his belief his mother might be behind it and then about Allison’s belief that it was Chad, who had also disappeared around the same time as Cody.

  Both of the Rangers were intimately acquainted with Livia and her crimes, and
neither of them dismissed Knox’s gut instinct. “According to our sources, everyone still believes Livia is hiding out someplace in Mexico,” Brett said.

  “But we all know without any eyes on her she could be anywhere,” Knox replied.

  He looked up the sidewalk, wishing some sort of magic would happen and he’d see Cody running toward him. But of course there was no magic and no Cody.

  “You mentioned that the sheriff set up a tip line. Anything concrete come from that?” Brett asked.

  “He’s got his men chasing down anything that comes in, but so far it’s led nowhere,” Knox replied.

  “Are you planning on coming back to the Rangers when you get Cody back home?” Dalton asked.

  “You know as soon as this thing with your mother is cleaned up you’d be more than welcomed back.”

  “I saw the way you look at Allison,” Dalton said. “You aren’t coming back, are you?”

  Knox looked at him in surprise. Was it that obvious? Was it that apparent that he was still hung up on Allison? “No, I’m not going back,” he said. He hadn’t even been aware that he’d made that decision until the words had fallen out of his mouth.

  He pulled his hands from his pockets and continued, “I don’t know what I’m going to do in the future, but whatever it is will be here in Shadow Creek, where I can be a present father all the time to Cody.”

  Dalton studied him. “And your decision has nothing to do with Allison?”

  Did it? Was Knox somehow hoping for another chance with her? A chance to finally get it right and be a real family with Cody? “I don’t know,” he finally replied. “I don’t know what the future holds for me and Allison.”

  Despite what had happened between them the night before, she wasn’t exactly jumping up and down with the desire to get back into a relationship with him.

  And he still had a knot of anger when he thought about all he’d missed in Cody’s life because of her lies. How could they possibly get past all the baggage that remained between them?

  “Let’s get back inside,” he said. He didn’t want to think about a future with Allison. All he wanted right now was his son back.