Christmas Bodyguard

by Margaret Daley

Elizabeth bit back her reply. “I hope you’re right. If you aren’t, someone could get hurt.”

  “No fair, Dad. You need to help, too.” Abbey glanced from Elizabeth to him, and he could see the wheels turning in her mind, trying to figure out what they had been talking about.

  He surveyed the table almost completely set, even down to the bouquet of cut flowers that added a splash of color to the cream-and-gold place settings. “You all have done a great job. Where’s Joshua?”

  “Gus, Hank and Dan arrived. Gram didn’t want everyone standing around in the kitchen, so she sent them to the den and us in here to set the table.”

  “I wondered when your grandmother would kick everyone out.” To Elizabeth he added, “Mary doesn’t like a lot of people hanging out in the kitchen when she’s creating. Sometimes she even gets rid of Hilda.”

  “All done,” Cindy said with a wave over the tabletop.

  “This should showcase Mary’s delicious-smelling food.”

  Jake’s stomach gurgled his hunger. “Which I hope I can taste soon.”

  Cindy approached her husband and slid her arm around his waist. “Notice how important food is to Jake. Poor guy has been so patient with me.”

  He hugged her to him and kissed the top of her head. “It’s been worth it.”

  “Brody, I now see why you moved to the bunkhouse,” Abbey said with a laugh.

  The teenage boy’s gaze grew warm, especially when it connected with Abbey’s. “Too much mush for me.”

  Abbey giggled. “I’ll let Gram know that we’re done and will be waiting anxiously in the den.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Brody scurried around her and held the door open into the kitchen.

  Elizabeth fell into step behind the pair.

  Slade’s hand on her arm halted her progress. As the others filed out of the room toward the den, she peered at his fingers on her. “I need to go with my client.”

  “Didn’t you tell me the house was secure?”

  She nodded.

  “Then relax. This is hard enough on everyone already. Abbey should at least be able to feel safe in here. That’s one of the reasons I spent so much money in the past few days doing what I could to make this a fortress.”

  “So you’re okay with Abbey and Brody?”

  “If Brody’s presence at the ranch keeps my daughter here, that’s fine by me. As the days go by, she isn’t going to like staying near home.”

  “Fine. I just need to know where you stand.”

  A laugh came from the kitchen. Slade looked through the open door and saw Abbey tugging Brody toward the exit at the other end of the large room, telling her grandmother they would get the two extra chairs needed. “I haven’t heard her laugh much lately, even before the wreck.”

  “Why?”

  The soft light in her green eyes appealed to him, drawing him nearer. “Right after Catherine died, I had such a hard time being around my daughter. Seeing her broke my heart all over again. Abbey looks just like my wife. I started working so much that it has become a habit. I’m not sure what to do with myself except work. It took some of the pain of loss away.”

  Elizabeth’s gaze latched onto the finger on his left hand with the wedding ring on it. When she lifted her eyes back to his face, disappointment stared back at her.

  “I love my daughter, and I will readily admit I haven’t been the father she’s needed for the past five years. If nothing else, this maniac threatening us has shown me that. Now I just hope I have a chance to prove my love to Abbey.”

  “I’ll pray that is the case.”

  Slade harrumphed. “Praying won’t help.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I prayed when Catherine was dying, and she died anyway. We have to solve our own problems. God doesn’t have time to do that.”

  Elizabeth tilted her head. “You believe in the Lord, but don’t think He has time for us?”

  “I grew up believing there was a God. Now I don’t know. He hasn’t spoken to me in years.”

  “Maybe because you aren’t listening. If you only expect one answer and you don’t get that reply, that doesn’t mean He didn’t hear you.”

  “I didn’t come to Him for the little things. When I finally did, it was important, something I thought was a big deal—my wife’s life.”

  “The Lord wants to hear about all the things, little and big, you desire. But that doesn’t mean He’ll give you your every desire.”

  “Then why bother?”

  Elizabeth closed the door into the kitchen and strode through the dining room to the living room. “All things are possible through God, but that doesn’t mean they all will happen. I’ve found if I wait and listen, I’ll hear what He thinks is best.” Pausing at the entrance, she peered down the hallway, then toward the den. “I need to go find Abbey. I’ll feel better if I know where she is.”

  “There.” Slade tossed his head toward the den.

  Abbey carried one game-table chair while Brody had the other. Slade and Elizabeth had to move to the side to allow the pair of teens to pass them. His daughter was busy telling Brody about her last play practice, when she kept forgetting her lines. The boy’s rapt attention emphasized his interest in Slade’s daughter. Despite what he’d said to Elizabeth, was he okay with this?

  Jake was one of the few people he trusted. Jake had said Brody had turned his life around, and he was all for second chances. To Catherine, giving another a second chance was what God wanted. She’d shown him how important it was in the thirteen years they were married before she was taken from him.

  Slade stared down at his wedding ring. He twirled it around his finger, remembering the day Catherine had put it on him. A lifetime ago. The day she had died, he’d felt as if his life had come to an end. But it hadn’t.

  He lifted his gaze to Abbey and saw his future. Then his attention strayed to Elizabeth and his gut constricted. Her beauty shone from her. The light in her eyes filled a dark place deep inside him and sparked something he’d thought was gone for good—an attraction.

  SEVEN

  With Joshua at Slade’s ranch overseeing the work being done on the security system and Abbey holed up in her room on Friday afternoon, Elizabeth took the opportunity to go get Bosco. Her uncle liked the idea of bringing her dog to the house. That morning at breakfast even Abbey had smiled when she’d heard about Bosco. She’d asked to come with Elizabeth, but Slade had said no. That had sent his daughter storming up to her bedroom. The sound of her door slamming had reverberated through the place.

  Though Bosco was at the neighbor’s house, Elizabeth pulled up into Joshua’s driveway first. Her uncle had done his best packing her clothes for the stay at Slade’s, but there were some items he had neglected to put in her bag. She hurried to the front door and unlocked it. Inside, she quickly turned off the alarm system and headed for her bedroom. Once she gathered up the personal articles, she stuffed them into a backpack she had, then walked around the house, making sure everything was the way it should be, a habit she’d learned from her uncle.

  Satisfied their possessions were in the right place, she grabbed one of Bosco’s favorite toys, a red ball, and set the alarm, then left via the front door. After stashing her bag in her Trans Am, she strode to the next-door neighbor’s porch and rang the bell. The sound of barking from inside made her smile. Bosco was doing what he did best. A half minute later, the teenage boy who watched Bosco for them let her into the foyer.

  “Y’all back already?” he asked, munching on some potato chips from a bag he carried.

  After entering the house, she knelt and greeted her dog. “No, but I’ve decided to take Bosco with me. I’ll pay you through this weekend.”

  “Oh, okay. I’ll get his stuff.” The teen shuffled away, still eating nonstop.

  Elizabeth lifted Bosco up and rubbed her face against his fur. “I missed ya, boy. We have need of your particular talents.”

  Bosco licked her and began wiggling in her hands.


  “It looks like you’re ready to go.”

  When the teenager came back into the foyer five minutes later, he gave her a paper sack with Bosco’s toys, bowls and food. “Anytime ya need me, I’m here,” he said right before he closed the front door.

  She let Bosco into the passenger side of her car, then rounded the front. Her gaze strayed down the street, scoping out the area as her uncle had taught her to do. A couple strolled on the sidewalk at the far end of the block. A black Taurus sat in front of the house two down from Joshua’s. Across the street, an old white Chevy truck with Ferris Plumbing on its sides was parked in the Hendersons’ driveway. Nothing out of the ordinary.

  Inside her Trans Am, she switched on her engine and backed out of the driveway. If traffic wasn’t too bad on the return to the ranch, this trip would be no more than an hour and a half. She hated to be gone any longer than that. There were still a couple of wranglers she hadn’t met, and Hilda’s daughter, Kate, would be at the house by the time she arrived back.

  At the end of the block as she waited at the four-way stop sign, the white Chevy truck came up behind her. Elizabeth went through the intersection. Suddenly the pickup sped around her and raced down the street. She thought about getting its license number and letting the business know about their driver speeding in a residential area. The truck whipped around the corner before she got the whole number. “Oh, well, Bosco, I’ll just call the company. They should know who was working at the Hendersons’.”

  Bosco barked once.

  Fifteen minutes later, on the twisting part of the road, her car headed up the first series of small hills, not far from Highway 156. “Halfway to the ranch. I have a girl I want you to charm.”

  Another yap followed that declaration.

  She crested the top of the winding two-lane road on the second hill and eased her foot on the brake to slow her descent. Nothing. The Trans Am picked up speed. She pumped the brake pedal. Still nothing.

  As she navigated the bends, going faster than she should, she thanked God there were no other cars on the road, especially when she veered into the other lane to make the switchback. Her Trans Am fishtailed coming out of the curve, her back left tire skating off the asphalt, dangerously close to the edge of the hill. The racing of her heart matched the speed of her vehicle careening down the incline. With a drop-off on one side and a wall of rocks on the other, she searched for any place to slow her car. One hand gripping the steering wheel to keep herself on the pavement, she eased her emergency brake up. If she could make it to the bottom, there was a stretch of flat land she could use.

  As her car began to decelerate, she reached the level part. She drove along the gravel part of the shoulder. The speedometer kept dropping. But she knew there were more curves up ahead. She saw an area off the road that was a patch of brown grass and weeds leading to a dirt turn-off. She drove her vehicle toward it. Bouncing over the rougher terrain slowed her Trans Am almost to a stop. As she swerved onto the country road, she switched off her engine. She could afford to lose her steering now that she was safely off the highway.

  When she came to a complete stop, she pried her fingers from the wheel, then sank against it, her forehead resting on the cold plastic. Then the shaking began, traveling from her hands up her arms and through her whole body.

  The realization of how close she’d come to having a wreck shuddered through her. Lord, thank You for being with me. Saving me.

  The scene replayed through her mind. Now the fear she’d kept suppressed blanketed her in a cold sweat. What had just happened? Joshua had had her car serviced right before she came home from her Phoenix assignment and everything had been fine. Suspicion nipped at her as she lifted her head from the steering wheel and stared out the windshield. Fumbling for her cell, she made a call to her auto service, then to Joshua.

  “I need someone to come pick me up.” Elizabeth tried to relax her aching muscles, laying her head against the seat cushion.

  “What’s wrong?” Joshua’s concern immediately flowed over her, comforting her.

  “My brakes went out. I’m fine. My car is even okay. I’m having it picked up. They should be here shortly.”

  “Where?”

  Elizabeth gave him her location, then said, “This might not be an accident. I’m going to have the auto shop check out why my brakes gave out.”

  “Good. I can’t leave here, but I’ll send someone. Be careful until then.”

  His warning reinforced her own thoughts. She withdrew her gun and laid it in her lap while she concentrated on the terrain around her.

  “Thanks for coming to get me and waiting for the wrecker to pick up my car. I was surprised you were the one to come, Jake.” Although they’d gone through the first gate and had safely arrived at the ranch, Elizabeth focused her attention on the surroundings while absently stroking Bosco, who sat in her lap.

  “I was in the office with Slade when Joshua came in to tell him about what happened. I volunteered. I wanted to get to know you better. Slade hasn’t shown any interest in a woman since Catherine.”

  Usually she was good at hiding her emotions, but since coming to the ranch she’d been having a hard time disguising her inner thoughts completely. Jake’s observation about Slade’s interest in her swiveled her gaze to him. “You’re confusing his worry over Abbey with interest in me. We spend time together because he needs to know everything being done to protect his daughter.”

  Jake chuckled. “Slade and I have been friends for a long time. I know him. He’s interested. I’ve seen the looks he gives you.”

  Heat flushed her face. She balled her hands, glad to see the second gate up ahead. Her ninety-minute trip had turned into three hours. Her concern for Abbey jiggled her nerves. Joshua assured her that the girl was all right, but still… What if someone had tampered with her car because they wanted her dead or at the very least too occupied fighting to keep herself alive to protect Abbey?

  The interior of the pickup was warm, but chills burrowed deep into her bones. This cat-and-mouse game was taking its toll on the family. As if the person was playing with them before really doing what he wanted all along.

  Jake pulled his black truck up to the front of the house. Not two seconds later the front door opened, and Slade hurried toward the pickup. Joshua came out onto the porch but hung back and scanned the yard.

  “Looks like Slade is worried about you,” Jake said, watching as his friend neared the passenger door. “Elizabeth, he is interested. I don’t want my friend getting hurt. It took him a long time to get over Catherine.”

  He wasn’t over her yet. He still wore his wedding ring. But she kept those thoughts to herself and gripped the handle. “Again, thank you for the ride.”

  Before she had a chance to thrust open the door, Slade had pulled it toward him. “Are you really all right?”

  She heard Jake’s chuckle as she slid from the passenger seat, holding her dog next to her chest. “I’m fine. My car is on its way to the body shop. All’s well with the world,” she said in a light tone, not wanting to upset Slade any more than he already was. No reason to let him know what she suspected until she got the report back from the mechanic, a friend of Joshua’s who was very good at his job.

  “Don’t underestimate me. I know there’s a chance the person after Abbey and me may have extended it to you, too. I want to know when you hear back from your mechanic about your car.”

  “It wasn’t a wreck. Not a scratch on my red paint. I managed to come to a stop at the bottom of the hill.”

  “When this is over, I’ll hire you to finish giving Abbey driving lessons.” Slade opened his front door and waited until she entered. When Joshua followed them into the house, Slade continued. “I’d like us to get together after dinner and go over what we know so far about the people on my list of suspects.”

  “Fine.” Elizabeth made her way toward the stairs.

  “Abbey’s in her bedroom?”

  “Yeah.” Slade crossed the foyer toward his
office, down a short hallway.

  At the top of the second floor, Elizabeth put Bosco down. “Remember, you need to win her over.”

  She rapped on the teen’s door, and it was opened in seconds.

  Relief flooded Abbey’s face. “You’re okay.”

  “Of course. I just went home to get Bosco.” Elizabeth gestured toward her terrier. Bosco trotted into the girl’s room as though he’d lived there for years.

  Abbey giggled. “He’s so cute.” Kneeling, she let the dog stand on his hind legs, his front paws perched on her shoulder while she petted him. “Why did it take so long? I had wanted to go down to the barn to ride.”

  “Sorry. I had car problems. Do you want to go now?”

  Abbey hopped up. “Yes, can we take Bosco with us?”

  “Sure. Let me tell your dad and Joshua where we’re going.”

  Abbey caught hold of Elizabeth’s arm as she turned to leave. “Just us, please. I don’t want the whole household following us down to the barn.”

  “So long as you ride in the training ring.”

  The teenage girl nodded.

  “Then give me a couple of minutes and we’ll go.” As she started out into the hallway, Bosco trailed behind her. Elizabeth paused in the doorway and said, “You stay here with Abbey. You two get to know each other.”

  With a wide grin, Abbey bent over and scooped Bosco into her arms. As Elizabeth walked away, she wondered how she could convince Slade and Joshua to stay at the house. She and Abbey needed some bonding time without the men hanging around.

  That evening, cell phone to her ear, Elizabeth left her bedroom to meet with Slade and Joshua. The ride that afternoon had been encouraging to Elizabeth. Abbey had relaxed and even talked about the play she was starring in and some of her classes at school. If Abbey accepted her presence, it would make her job easier.

  “I heard back from the mechanic right before dinner. The brake line was cut. What did you find out, Kyra?” She’d called her boss right after the incident with her brakes to discuss what she suspected. In all her other cases, she’d never been targeted, but now she knew she had been.