“See what I mean?” Colton asks as he joins me at the table, setting the dish with pot roast, potatoes, and carrots in the middle.
We eat in comfortable silence, both taking turns to retrieve the block Milo continually throws on the floor. When we’re both full, I pick up the dirty dishes, while Colton places the leftovers in lidded containers. After, we go about our nightly routine, as if there isn’t this big thing, this living, breathing being following us around. Colton gives Milo his bath while I sit on the closed toilet seat and watch. There’s something so soothing, so domesticated about the act that makes me want to cry. Instead, I take out my cell phone and snap a few pictures of them together. Their smiles, the tender way Colton washes his son’s hair to make sure no soap gets in his eyes, the excitement in Milo’s face when he smacks the water and sprinkles droplets all over his daddy’s shirt. I document it all with my phone.
Just in case….
After the bath, I trail behind as we head to Milo’s room. Immediately, I go to the dresser and pull out a warm footed sleeper with bears. It reminds me of the brown outfit he wore last week with the bear ears on the hood. At the changing table, Colton is trying to wrangle his son into a diaper, but the little one is wiggling all over the place, throwing his head to the side as if he were about to roll over.
“Listen here, little monkey. You need to hold still so I can get this diaper on you before the waterworks start.”
I can’t help but giggle.
“Oh, it happened a lot when he was an infant. The moment the cold air would hit his boy part, it was like someone flipped on the faucet,” he adds, finally securing the diaper into place.
While he sets out to get the child into the sleeper, I head into the kitchen and make his bottle. As I’m shaking the water and formula together, I find Colton and Milo standing in the doorway, watching me. I offer a small smile and follow them back into Milo’s room. My gut churns with anxiety as we approach the rocking chair. The one Colton uses to rock his son to sleep.
“May I?” I find myself asking.
He nods in reply and hands me his son. I set my phone down on the small table by the chair and take a seat, positioning him in the crook of my arm. He’s getting bigger every day, and I know it won’t be long before we’ll have to come up with another way to get him to sleep.
We.
Will I be a part of it?
I grin widely when I glance down at the baby. His daddy gave him a baby mohawk, even though his hair isn’t very long.
“He gave me permission to style it that way. He said he wanted to look cool for bedtime,” Colton says.
“Well, he’s definitely the coolest dude here,” I confirm, tapping the baby on his nose with my finger. He reaches for it, and the moment he catches my hand, he tries to shove the fingers in his mouth.
“Ouch. I’m being upstaged by a four-month-old.”
“I’m sure your ego can handle it.”
“Yeah. I mean, he did get his good looks from me, after all,” he says, smiling from ear to ear as he looks down.
I take my fingers from his mouth and replace them with his bottle. Milo instantly starts to suck it down, his blue eyes never wavering from mine. There’s so much trust and gratification in those tiny eyes, as if he knows we’ll always take care of him and give him what he needs.
Colton moves away, letting me take care of his son. Gently, I start to rock the chair and hum a song I heard on the radio earlier. It’s a country tune about finding love, only to lose it. Probably not the vibe I was going for. Or ever. The thought of losing my new love makes me want to toss my cookies. I just found him. How can he be stripped away so quickly?
As I keep rhythm with my humming and rocking, Milo’s eyes start to grow heavy. His bottle is nearly empty, and he spits out the nipple, an indication that he’s full. Carefully, I set the bottle to the side and move him to my shoulder. With tender taps, I snuggle him to my chest, inhaling his sweet baby scent. Is there anything better than baby shampoo?
Yes, Colton’s body wash.
When I get a nice burp from the sleeping baby, I get up and head to the crib. Colton is there and helps me put him down for the night. He’ll still get up at least once, but I’m hoping that the teething part is better, so it won’t be multiple times like the night before. Colton tucks the blanket around Milo’s abdomen, his little fists resting above his head as he snoozes. With a final kiss to my finger and then to his forehead, I slowly retreat from the room.
I head to the kitchen, my throat suddenly parched. I hear Colton close Milo’s door before he joins me, taking the glass from my shaking hand and filling it with water. He holds the glass, grabbing my hand in the other, and leads me back to the living room. He takes a seat on the couch, his arm thrown over the back. It’s as if he’s giving me the option to sit wherever I want without pressuring me to sit directly beside him. Of course, I take the seat to his right.
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
Colton doesn’t say a word—just waits me out. He watches me as I take the glass once more. After I sip more water, I set it down and lean back against his chest. He’s warm and familiar as his arm comes down to rest on my shoulder, holding me close. Taking a deep breath, I begin my story.
“I guess it’s best to start at the beginning, right? You know I lived in Southern California before I moved here. I grew up in Costa Mesa. My dad passed away when I was nine from a massive heart attack.” I feel Colton tense behind me. “He seemed totally healthy to me. He coached my soccer team in the summer and would take me fishing. He was this big guy, larger than life, and one day he was just… gone.”
Deep breath.
“Mom never really recovered, though she tried. She was a good mom, would always bake cookies for class parties, and drive me to and from practice. But she missed him. She worked at a hotel nearby and was excellent at her job. She ended up moving up the ladder, and a few years ago, was offered a regional director position in Florida. I was working, doing well for myself with my design business, so she decided to take it. She wanted a fresh start, you know? And I wanted that for her. I wanted her to be happy again.
“My grandma had always talked about the place she grew up. Fair Lakes, Missouri. She met my grandpa, who was in the Army, and when he moved, she went with him. They ended up in Southern California, where they got married and had my dad. She always would talk about this place, though. Grandma made it sound so wonderful, with that midwestern charm and hospitality.”
My heart starts to pound in my chest as I take another quick sip of water.
“That’s why, when I needed to leave town quickly, I came here.” My voice sounds distant, foreign, even to my own ears.
“Why did you have to leave, Hollis?” Colton asks, his thumb gently stroking my arm in comfort.
I sit up and turn so that we’re facing each other. It takes me a few long seconds, but I finally get the words past my lips. “I saw something.”
Chapter 13
Colton
Her words have my blood running cold in my veins. “What did you see, baby?” I ask, pulling her a little closer. I need the comfort as much as she does. I need her as close as I can get her. A thousand different scenarios are running through my mind. Is she safe? Are we safe? I have my son to think about too. “You can tell me.” Fuck, at this point, I need her to tell me. It’s no longer a want. I need to know what we’re dealing with here.
She nods. “I used to volunteer at a homeless shelter. Just one night a week, I’d go and help cook and serve meals. There was this mom, Charity, and her little girl, Jasmine. They lived there. They were on the run from Jasmine’s father. He was abusive to both of them, and they had nowhere else to go. I don’t know where they were from—Charity would never talk about it. Anyway, that little girl, she stole my heart. They both did. I thought of Charity as a friend, and Jasmine, she was a perfect example of innocence. She was just happy to have a hot meal and a place to lay her head at night. It breaks my heart still
today to think about what they went through to get out. To get to a place where they were safe. One night, she drew me a picture. It was of me, her, and her mom at the park. We’d gone there the week before.” She pauses and takes another sip of water. “She was so proud of the picture, and I promised her I would put it on my fridge as soon as I got home.”
There is a knot in my gut. Did the abusive ex find her? Did he hurt her? My hold on her tightens yet again at the thought of anyone hurting her.
“Colt?”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t breathe,” she wheezes.
“Sorry.” I loosen my grip and kiss the top of her head. “I see red at the thought of someone hurting you.” She’s quiet, and I know I’ve said the wrong thing. “Please keep going, Hollis. I need to know what we’re up against so that I can help you.” There’s a brief silence before she begins again.
“She worked so hard on the picture, I didn’t want to bend it, so I decided to just carry it home. I was walking to my car that night, just a block over from the shelter, and a gust of wind blew the picture from my hand. Of course, I chased after it. That drawing meant so much to me, and to her, that I didn’t have any other choice. I made her a promise, you know? I told her I would hang it on my fridge, and I didn’t want to break my promise to her.”
“Because you’re the sweetest woman I know.” I don’t know what higher power brought her to me, but I will forever be grateful to have her not only in my life but my son’s.
She laughs lightly. “Have you met your mother, or your sister-in-law or Gwen? You’re surrounded by sweet women.”
“Maybe,” I agree. “But you’re the only one who’s mine.” The tension in her shoulders eases just a little at my declaration.
“Um… your mother?”
“Dad’s already claimed her,” I tease.
“Fair enough,” she says, and I can already hear that she’s starting to relax a little. “Anyway, I chased after the picture. It had so much meaning to both of us. The wind blew it down an alley, and as fast as my feet could carry me, I followed. The picture fell to the ground behind a dumpster. I didn’t even hesitate to kneel down and reach for it. When I finally had it in my hands, I heard a deep, menacing voice that had me freezing.”
She pulls out of my arms and turns to face me. “I should have run. I know that now. I never should have stopped moving. I should have just moved on and not stopped until I got to my car. I had the picture, which is all that I wanted. Instead, I froze. Two guys, they were talking about drugs and money, and evidence.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, running my hands through my hair. “Drug deal?”
“Yeah, I assume so. Only it’s a little more complicated than that. I knew I had to get out of there. I knew I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And it may sound bad of me, but I didn’t care what they were doing. I just wanted out of that situation. I wanted to be away from them, and whatever it was that was going down.”
“What did you do?”
“I stood, and it was my intention to take off running, but I tripped over my own feet. My legs were shaking so bad I lost my footing and fell to the ground. They, of course, heard me and came running. One of them was a cop. He was in uniform. I will never forget his face as he stared down at me.” She stops and takes a deep breath. “He looked so angry, and there was a hint of panic in his eyes.”
Fuck, this is not good. Who knows what was really going on and a crooked cop takes this to an all-new level. “You’re doing great, babe,” I encourage her. I need to know the rest of the story.
She nods. “I scrambled to my feet and was walking backward when he started following me. I turned to run and ran into a body. Looking up, it was another cop, this time a woman. She could see the fear on my face and immediately pushed me behind her. She recognized the other cop and asked him if she needed to call for backup. That’s when a gunshot went off, and all hell broke loose. I didn’t stick around to see what the end result would be. The female cop got distracted, and I took off running. I didn’t stop until I got to my car and locked the doors. I sped out of my parking spot and drove around for over an hour. Just in case they were following me, I didn’t want them to know where I lived.”
“Were they? Following you?” I ask, holding my breath, waiting for her reply.
“No.” She shakes her head. “There wasn’t a car in sight the last twenty minutes or so of my drive.”
“Good.” I exhale.
“I was scared out of my mind, didn’t sleep that night, and I was mad at myself for losing the picture that Jasmine has worked so hard on for me. If I’d had a better hold on it, I wouldn’t have been in that alley, and I wouldn’t have had to run.”
“I get that, but you were safe. That’s what’s important. And although I hate that this happened to you, it still brought you here to me and Milo. I can’t be upset about that.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. She turns to look at me, and a soft smile pulls at her lips. “I didn’t go back to the shelter for a month. I missed everyone terribly, especially Charity and Jasmine. I thought that was enough time, but it turns out I was wrong. I was in line serving when the cop, the guy presented a plate in front of me.” She shivers. “I can still hear the menacing sound of his voice when he said my name.”
“How did he find you?”
“I don’t know. He’s a cop and has connections, I guess. He asked around, I’m sure, and I’d been volunteering at the shelter for years. He got a good look at me, so he had my description.”
“What happened next?” I prompt her. I know this is hard for her to tell me, but I need all the information. I can’t protect my family. I can’t protect her without it.
“He said he had been looking for me all over the city. I was scared out of my mind. Jasper, the older man who runs the homeless shelter, could tell there was something wrong. I asked him if I could stay there that night. Without a single question, he told me I was welcome anytime. He even went out of his way to set me up in his office, on the couch, where the door had a lock. The next morning, I drove home, constantly looking over my shoulder and packed my bags. I called my mom and told her it was time for a change of scenery. I told her that I wanted to see where Grandma grew up, and she believed me. My best friend, Tina, however, wasn’t buying it. I eventually confessed it all to her and swore her to secrecy. She wanted me to go to the cops, but he is the cops. I came here instead. I stayed with Tina for a couple of days. Canceled my lease on my apartment that was thankfully only month to month, I saw your ad, and here I am.”
“You didn’t tell anyone else? No one else knows why you left town?”
She shrugs. “No one else to tell really. My mom moved to Florida, I worked from home, so there were no nosey coworkers. Tina is it, and I trust her.”
“And the messages?”
She takes a sip of her water. “They all have the same tone. I’m coming for you. You can’t hide forever, those kinds of things. There is no way he can find me. I canceled all of my credit cards, and I have no loans in my name.”
“You’re a business, Hollis. He can find your business.”
“It’s still registered in California, as is my bank account. I have automatic withdrawals set up monthly to go to an account in Texas. That account has a withdrawal from a bank in Arkansas, which has a withdrawal to my bank here in Missouri.”
She’s really put some thought into this. “He can still trace you.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “I see that now. I don’t know if he actually knows where I am, or if he’s just trying to scare me. The emails came from my website.”
“So, he knows your name, where you used to volunteer, and the name of your business,” I state the facts.
“Yes.”
“Hollis, we need to go to the police about this. You can’t live in fear every single day, constantly looking over your shoulder. You can’t run forever.”
“I know, but I’m scared, Colt. He is the cops. How do I know who I can trust?” A s
ingle tear slides down over her cheek. She’s finally lost the composure she managed to hold onto while telling me her story.
“Do you trust me?”
She wipes at her cheek and looks me in the eye. “With my life.”
I nod. “Come here.” She moves closer, and I lift her to sit on my lap. I wrap my arms around her and remind myself that she’s safe. Here, with me, she’s safe. “Let’s start with I want you here. We have to be careful, especially with Milo, but I want you with me. I want you to be a part of our lives.”
“I want that too, Colton. More than anything, but I also can’t stand the thought of someone hurting Milo, or you or your family. I won’t let that happen.”
“Hey.” I place my hand on her cheek. “That’s not going to happen. We’re going to handle this so we can move forward with our lives together.”
She nods, then asks, “What does that mean exactly?”
“I know some people I can trust. Ex-military, remember?” I wink.
“And the other part?” Her voice is soft, and I can hear the uncertainty there.
“I hope that means that you’ll stay. Not as my tenant. I want you here as mine. No more paying rent and no more sleeping in your room. I want you in my bed next to me every night.”
I watch her closely as she absorbs my words. Her eyes well with tears, and she shakes her head. “I never thought I would find someone here. I thought I would lay low until he had a chance to forget about me and move on with my life. I didn’t expect to meet a little boy who stole my heart. I couldn’t love him more if he were my own.” She whispers her confession.
“I love that about you. I love how good you are with him. How much you care. That’s all I could ask for. Someone who will be there for both of us.” It’s true. I’ve never really thought much about finding a mother for Milo. I was thrust into this single-parent gig, and leaving the Army, buying this house, and finding a tenant to help lighten the load, it was a lot to take on in a short amount of time. Worrying about my dating life, falling in love, that wasn’t even on my radar.
Fair Lakes Series Box Set Page 69