Colton Cowboy Hideout (The Coltons of Texas, Book 7) Read online

  But that didn’t mean she didn’t know what she wanted in a man. She’d had plenty of time to think about it since her brief young love when she’d been seventeen.

  She returned to the chair and once again cast her gaze out the window. The view was of a tree-dotted lawn and large outbuildings in the distance. She recognized the barn where Tanner had grabbed the shovel and several more buildings that appeared to be barns as well. Her car was parked near the first barn, next to several other vehicles.

  Sipping her tea, her thoughts turned to the conversation she and Tanner had shared the night before. She found it difficult to believe Tanner’s marriage had fallen apart because he was insensitive, although she’d gotten the distinct impression he believed the failure of his marriage was entirely his fault.

  He’d loved his wife when she’d left him, and Josie suspected he still loved her. She’d been the woman he’d chosen to spend the rest of his life with, the woman he’d wanted to mother his children and grow old with.

  It certainly wasn’t any of Josie’s business, but the tragic ending of his ex-wife’s life had left two little girls forever motherless and she found that particularly heartrending.

  Tanner had mentioned that morning he was going to place an ad in the paper for a new nanny and Josie had offered to conduct the interviews for him.

  He had a job to do and it would be easier for him if she interviewed for the nanny position. Besides, she certainly knew what he wanted from a woman who would take care of his girls and she wanted the same thing for them. Josie would make sure when she left here the twins would be in good, loving and capable hands.

  He apparently trusted her judgment, for he had agreed he’d like her to speak with anyone who applied for the position.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if Tanner would ever allow the love of another woman into his life. Had his marriage experience turned him completely off the possibility of another marriage?

  He deserved to have a loving woman by his side. The girls deserved to have a woman who could love and raise them. Not just a nanny, but somebody they could call Mother.

  She released a sigh. Tanner hadn’t mentioned taking her back to the tree to dig up the watch. How long would it take before he believed it safe enough to try again? If Sheriff Watkins allowed her to leave tomorrow, could she just turn her back on her duty to retrieve the watch for her father? Could she turn her back on the twins knowing a nanny wasn’t currently in place to take care of them?

  She didn’t know the answer. The last thing she wanted to do was return to Granite Gulch and tell her brothers and sister that she’d failed to do the one thing they’d asked her to do. She had waited so long to finally be reunited with them.

  No, she didn’t want to go home empty-handed, but she also didn’t think she could leave Tanner in the lurch where his daughters were concerned.

  Peggy obviously adored the girls, but Peggy wasn’t exactly a spring chicken and Josie had a feeling more than an hour or two with the rambunctious and energy-filled twins would be too much for the woman.

  She sat up straighter in the chair as a flash of movement in the distance caught her attention. Was somebody hiding behind the tree trunk? Was someone watching the suite? Watching her?

  Every nerve in her body electrified. The wound in her arm pulsed painfully and her heart raced. Was it the man who had shot her? Or had a spark of the sunlight tricked her into thinking she’d seen somebody?

  Goose bumps shivered up her back and over her arms as she continued to stare at the large tree in the distance. Memories from her time in witness protection shot through her.

  Always watch your back. Somebody is coming for you, Josie. Danger might come out of nowhere at any moment. She’d lived with these feelings for almost seven long years.

  She’d believed that painful part of her past was finally over, but she’d been wrong. The circumstances might be different, but there was still somebody out there who potentially wanted to harm her in order to get to her father’s watch. The danger wasn’t gone. It was very real and present.

  “Up. Lily up!” the little voice called from the nursery.

  There had been no more movement around the tree. Maybe it was just your overactive imagination, she thought and got up from the chair as Lily yelled for her again.

  It would be nice to believe the man with the gun had not only run away from the scene in the woods, but had also left the entire area and crawled back into whatever hole he’d come from.

  She hurried into the nursery, where the childish giggles and sweet sloppy kisses almost helped to banish the fear that had momentarily gripped her.

  * * *

  The scent of burned coffee lingered in the air, but couldn’t quite compete with the hot burn of anxiety inside of Sheriff Troy Watkins’s belly as he gazed down at the DNA results that had just come in.

  Just as he had feared, the blood on the windowsill and the floor of the Colton master suite belonged to Eldridge. Troy had hoped it wouldn’t be a match, but that hope had just died on the page of the report now on his desk in front of him.

  Unfortunately, so far no further concrete evidence had turned up. The ground beneath the bedroom window had been too hard to allow any kind of footprint impression to be left behind. They had also been unable to lift any fingerprints from the window and sill. They had apparently been wiped clean.

  Troy suspected all of the fingerprints in the bedroom that had been lifted would belong to Eldridge, Whitney and any member of the staff who had regular access to the room, but it would take time to match all the fingerprints with all of the people.

  Time. It was passing all too quickly and in any case the more time that went by, the more difficult solving it would become.

  He raised a hand and rubbed the center of his forehead, where a headache threatened to unleash with brain-crashing fury. Normally the problem in solving a crime was finding viable suspects. In this particular case the problem was that there were far too many suspects.

  The more he’d questioned the Colton family and staff, the more motives had come to light. From disgruntled hired help to discontented sons and daughters and stepchildren, there was definitely no shortage of suspects in regard to whatever had happened to the billionaire baron.

  One particular suspect was spending time in jail, but Troy knew he couldn’t keep Mitchell Flunt behind bars for too much longer without charges being brought. And Troy didn’t have enough solid evidence to present to the prosecuting attorney for any charges to be brought against Flunt.

  Troy hoped the DNA results from the blood found on Flunt’s boots would come in before the end of the day, otherwise Troy would have no choice but to release the man. And that didn’t sit well with him.

  He moved the DNA results aside and stared at the pile of reports of interviews that had been done. They were also in his computer, but Troy was old-school and still liked to actually hold a piece of paper in his hand and read it.

  At the moment he didn’t have to read anything to remember what was in the top interviews. Fowler Colton had attempted to downplay the fight he’d had with his father the night before the disappearance and Marceline had so far refused to cooperate at all.

  And then there was Eldridge’s beautiful, much younger wife’s alibi. Whitney Colton had insisted she’d fallen asleep in her media room and had heard nothing that had happened in the bedroom. It was an alibi none of the staff or other family members had been able to substantiate.

  Was it just an odd coincidence she just happened to be in another room on the night somebody had taken Eldridge from his bed? Or was it something far more ominous?

  It certainly didn’t help that one of the first things she’d done after the initial shock of her husband’s disappearance had worn off was to contact the family attorney, Hugh Barrington, about Eldridge’s will.

  Forty-eight hours had passed and with each minute that ticked by Troy feared Eldridge’s body would be found. If this was the work of one of his children or his w
ife for some sort of financial gain, then they hadn’t known about the instructions Eldridge had left about his will not being opened without a body. But they all knew about it now.

  So, was Eldridge dead or alive? There was no question in Troy’s mind a crime had occurred. The blood and evidence in the bedroom indicated Eldridge hadn’t left his bedroom under his own volition.

  Thankfully so far the press hadn’t gotten hold of the story. Troy had put the fear of a quick dismissal into the hearts of all the people who worked for him if they leaked anything at all about the case to any reporters.

  He held no illusions that the press wouldn’t eventually sniff out and report on Eldridge’s mysterious disappearance and that could only complicate things. Bogus tips would start to come in, along with sightings of Eldridge everywhere from a chapel in Las Vegas to a fishing boat in the Florida swamps.

  The headache Troy had been fighting all morning took hold. With another press of his hand against his forehead, he leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and wondered what in the hell had happened to Eldridge Colton.

  * * *

  Tanner approached the pen inside the barn and watched the new foal move to hide behind her mother. “It’s okay, little one. I’m not here to hurt you,” he said softly. The foal eyed him warily and Clementine nickered as if telling her baby not to worry.

  Leaning against the railing, Tanner checked his watch. Almost four. He could knock off for the day anytime, but for the first time since he’d started his job with the Coltons, he was reluctant to return to his suite.

  Actually, the real problem was he couldn’t wait to go to the suite and spend more time with Josie. Josie... She’d filled his dreams after their brief meeting in the kitchen.

  And those dreams had been unbelievably hot and erotic. He’d awakened fully aroused and only a long, cold morning shower had set him right. He’d felt like a fourteen-year-old kid with a body part he wasn’t quite sure what to do with.

  He was twelve years older than her, for crying out loud. She was far too young for him and completely off-limits. His mind certainly understood that, but apparently his body had no conscience.

  He stepped back from the pen as Zane Colton walked into the barn. The muscular, dark-haired man, whom Eldridge had adopted soon after his marriage to Whitney, approached the pen and offered Tanner a smile that did little to lighten his dark eyes.

  “Zane, how’s it going?” Tanner asked.

  Zane released a deep sigh. “I thought it was challenging to work head of security and deal with embezzlement and internet security issues, but that was nothing compared to what’s happening around here now. I’ve hired on a couple of new men but it’s too little too late for whatever happened to my father.”

  “Has anyone seen any strangers lurking around the ranch?” Tanner asked, thinking of the man he and Josie had encountered in the woods.

  Zane shook his head. “Not that anyone has reported. My men are on high alert and are riding and walking the property, especially around the house. I don’t want anything else to happen on my watch.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the top of the pen railing. He looked like a man with the weight of the world on his broad shoulders.

  Tanner had always liked Zane and knew Eldridge’s kidnapping had to weigh heavily on the young man’s head. “Nobody saw this coming, Zane,” he said softly. “Nobody could have predicted something like this happening.”

  “Yeah, I know.” A hollow wind blew in Zane’s voice and he was silent for a long moment. “I sure as hell wish I’d seen it coming so I could have stopped it before it happened.”

  “Monday-morning quarterbacking never helped anyone.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he repeated. He straightened and met Tanner’s gaze. “You know what really stinks?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Not knowing who you can trust with the people who work for you. It especially stinks not knowing who to trust in your own family.” He released a heavy sigh. “I’d better get back outside.”

  “And it’s time for me to get inside and get cleaned up for dinner,” Tanner replied, wishing there was something he could say to make the young man feel better. But at this point in time nothing short of finding Eldridge safe and sound could make anyone feel better.

  “Your girls doing okay?” Zane asked as the two men headed for the barn exit.

  “They’re doing terrific.”

  “I heard Josie Colton is working as your nanny while she’s here. How’s that working out?” They left the barn and stepped out into the hot, late afternoon sun.

  “She’s terrific with the twins, but she’s only going to be here a short time. Once Sheriff Watkins tells her she can go home, she’ll be gone. I placed an ad in the paper this morning for a new nanny. Hopefully I can get somebody in place before Josie leaves to head back home.”

  “Good luck with that,” Zane replied. The two bade their goodbyes and then Zane headed in the direction of the outbuilding where his office was located and Tanner walked toward the house.

  It must be tough on Zane not even knowing if his own mother might be involved in whatever had happened to Eldridge, Tanner thought. There had always been more than a little rivalry and bickering among all the siblings, but this had to have taken it all to a whole new level.

  Zane had said there had been no reports of strangers on the property. Maybe it would be safe enough to try to retrieve the watch again. And maybe if Josie spoke to Troy Watkins he would agree to allow her to return to Granite Gulch.

  He didn’t want her to go, but after last night he didn’t trust himself with her. She not only posed an enormous temptation, but she’d also breathed a new life into his living quarters and had brought more laughter than ever before. Her exuberant youthfulness both tormented him and thoroughly charmed him.

  He entered through the back door, where a member of the security team stood nearby. “Hey, John. How’s it going?”

  “Tense,” the tall, thin man replied. “Everyone is on edge.”

  “I know. Even the cattle seemed restless when I rode among them this morning,” Tanner replied. “Take it easy,” he said and then went inside the building.

  As Tanner wound his way toward his suite he steeled himself for being in Josie’s presence once again. She was a pleasurable pain, a temptation he couldn’t indulge in no matter how badly he wanted to.

  She and the twins were in the nursery. Josie sat in one of the little chairs at the table, and Lily and Leigh were feeding her pretend food from a bright red plastic plate.

  The twins ran to greet him and Josie’s face wreathed into a welcoming smile he could get used to. “Ah, just in time,” she said. “I’ve eaten enough ‘’sgetti’ to last me a lifetime.”

  “’Sgetti!” Lily said and clapped her hands together.

  Tanner laughed and gave each of his daughters a hug. “Daddy has to get cleaned up for dinner,” he said. “I’ll be ready in just a few minutes.”

  “Lily and Leigh, Josie wants more ’sgetti,” Josie said as he left the nursery.

  He took a quick shower and then changed into clean clothes and they all headed down to the dining room. Dinner was the usual affair. The roast beef and potatoes were served with a healthy dose of more gossip, including the fact that Mitchell Flunt had been charged with the possession of stolen goods and was awaiting arraignment.

  “He had a saddle that belonged here on the ranch in his house and some other Colton equipment in his garage. I suppose he figured if he couldn’t get a raise then he’d steal stuff and sell or pawn it,” Linda said. “I never liked that man. He wasn’t that friendly and he has beady little eyes.”

  Beady eyes or not, Tanner was surprised by this news. He wouldn’t have pegged Flunt for a thief and there was still the question of the blood on Flunt’s boots. Blood that had apparently been probable cause for Watkins to get a search warrant for Flunt’s home.

  If the blood on the work boots turned out not to belong to Eldridge, then it meant
Troy would be looking harder at all the other people here on the ranch.

  Thank God he had a solid alibi for the night Eldridge had gone missing and Josie had told him about her brother’s vow renewal she’d attended in Granite Gulch the night before she’d arrived here. He had several other cowboys who could attest to where he had been and she had plenty of people who could substantiate her whereabouts for most of the night before Eldridge’s kidnapping.

  As far as he knew, nobody had pinned down the exact time Eldridge had gone missing. It could have been at any time after nine o’clock in the evening until just before he’d been discovered missing after eight the next morning.

  Neither he nor Josie had anything to gain by kidnapping or killing Eldridge. Josie hadn’t even met the man and everyone around the ranch knew Eldridge and Tanner shared a close relationship.

  Josie had told him she hadn’t wanted to tell Watkins anything about the watch or her background, but Tanner knew the sheriff would be thorough in his investigation and probably already knew Josie’s father was the infamous serial killer Matthew Colton.

  He now gazed over the twins’ heads to where Josie was talking to Becky about a television show he’d never heard of. Josie’s eyes sparkled with animation and he imagined he could smell her spicy, peachy fragrance despite the scents of cooked beef and vegetables that wafted in the air.

  He barely had time to talk to her before they’d come down for the evening meal, but it was obvious the day had gone well with her and his girls.

  He smiled as Lily offered him a bite of cooked carrot from her plate. “Lily-love, eat,” he said softly.

  “Dada-love, eat,” she replied and held the bit of carrot between her fingers.

  He leaned over and took the carrot from her with his mouth and his gaze locked with Josie’s. She gave him that warm, inviting smile that stoked a small, familiar flame in the pit of his stomach. God, the woman was excitingly dangerous and didn’t even seem to know it.