Colton Family Bodyguard

“I hope this doesn’t take long.” Hazel had to prepare meals for tomorrow’s deliveries.

“You witnessed a crime,” Callum said. “The man got away. What if he comes after you again? We need to catch this guy.”

Hazel hadn’t considered that. Police approached and, filled with intensifying apprehension, she had to turn away from Callum’s unmistakable concern. Her meals could wait. She could get up early tomorrow and prepare them.

A woman in a tan blazer approached, her strides graceful, auburn hair flowing.

“Kerry,” Callum greeted her. “Good to see you again.”

“Callum, what are you doing here?” Kerry’s blue eyes were direct and exuded confidence.

“My office is across the street. I saw a man in a car and thought it was suspicious.”

He had? Hazel looked across the street at the one-story strip mall. One of the spaces must be where Callum worked.

“This is Hazel and Evie Hart,” Callum said. “This is Detective Kerry Wilder. She’s also my brother Rafe’s fiancée.”

Hazel shook the pretty woman’s hand.

“Evie here saw the man when he got out of the car,” Callum said.

“You did?” Kerry asked in a lighthearted tone, crouching before the girl. “What did you see?”

Evie huddled closer to Hazel’s leg, bringing Cookie up to her face. She got bashful sometimes.

“She saw the driver of the car hit another man on the head and put him in the trunk,” Hazel answered for her daughter.

Kerry straightened and began writing on a small notepad.

The detective with Kerry went to take photos of Hazel’s broken mirror while Hazel described the man who had almost run them down. Then she gave the detective his plate number.

“All right. We’re going to talk to neighbors and tenants of the commercial building to see if there are any other witnesses,” Kerry said. “Why don’t you stop by the station later so we can have a sketch artist draw the man you saw?”

Hazel nodded.

“Callum, you should come, too. You can probably help with the description.”

Callum nodded once.

Detective Wilder put away her notepad. “Meanwhile, we’ll have officers on the lookout for this car.”

And whatever he had done with the man in his trunk. Hazel warded off a shiver. If he could hurt someone like that, what would he do to Evie?

“You should be careful until we locate him. Are you or your husband armed?”

“I’m not married,” Hazel said, then saw Callum glance at her at that revelation.

“Maybe you should stay somewhere else,” Kerry said. Then to Callum, “I don’t think they should be alone tonight.”

Callum looked a little startled by the suggestion, or that Kerry had directed the declaration at him, as though he should be the one to take care of them for the night.

“Do you have any family you can stay with?” Kerry asked Hazel.

They were all far away except her brother, but he was a two hour drive from here. She shook her head.

“Friends?”

All out of state. She didn’t know anyone well enough here to impose on them like that. Again, she shook her head. “All my close friends are in Colorado and I haven’t had time to make any here.” She looked down at Evie, who consumed every spare moment she wasn’t working.

“That man could have gotten your plate number the same as you got his. He might have a way to find out where you live,” the detective said. “Maybe I’m being overly paranoid, but I’d rather you be safe.”

That certainly unsettled her.

Detective Wilder smiled. “I’ll let you be on your way. Think about staying somewhere other than your house tonight after we finish up with the sketch, okay? Maybe get a room at the Dales Inn.”

“Okay.”

“What about letting Evie go to the station with Kerry for her safety? In the meantime, I’ll take you home to pack bags for both of you,” Callum said.

Oh. Hazel hated being separated from Evie under such dire circumstances, but her daughter seemed entranced by Kerry’s shiny badge and getting her own detective shield sticker.

Hazel hesitated. “Detective Wilder is the one with the gun...”

Kerry chimed in, “Maybe Callum can help out. He’s an ex-Navy SEAL turned professional bodyguard.”

Evie looked at Callum. “Are you going to catch the bad man?”

Callum didn’t respond, just stared at Evie as though flustered. What about her question had caused such a reaction? He seemed to be frozen.

“What if he comes after us, like you said?” Evie asked.

“I shouldn’t have said that in front of you,” Callum said.

“Honey, Callum isn’t a policeman. He is a bodyguard,” Hazel said.

“What’s a bodyguard?” Evie asked.

“Someone who protects people from bad men,” Callum said.

Evie smiled big and again Hazel noticed a change in Callum, the way his body stiffened. “Then you can protect me and my mommy.”

He smiled down at her. “I’ll try.”

Evie glanced down at her toy. “It’s okay, Cookie,” she said. “You’re all right now. Just remember, it’s wrong to hit and push. You should always be nice to other people.”

Hazel reached over and put her hand on Evie’s. “Now you’re going to the station and I will go home and pack clothing for us.”

“Okay, Mommy.”

It was getting late, past six in the evening. “All right,” Hazel said. “Let’s go.”

Detective Wilder joined her partner and Evie as they walked up the street.

“Let’s go to your place,” Callum suggested.

The abruptness stopped Hazel short. This man was a complete stranger.

“I’d like to talk a little more,” he said. “And Kerry has a point. I’m worried that man will come after you. You got his plate number. He probably got yours. He could find you.”

Why was he so concerned about her? He didn’t even know her. “I’m a newbie with all this. What kinds of people do you usually work with?”

“My next client is Blake Reynolds.”

“The country singer? Really? You must be some bodyguard. Are all your clients celebrities?”

“Oh, all right. Let’s go.”

The police were still working the neighborhood but the emergency vehicles had left a while ago. Callum drove Hazel in silence to her apartment, located above a bakery. Callum had arranged for someone to take her car in for repairs. She had left a key under the mat. She might drive a Mercedes but it was the lower end model and she had saved for a long time for a decent down payment. The money she made was just enough for her and Evie to get by. So far, being a personal chef didn’t earn her huge income. Her business showed signs of picking up but she wasn’t quite there yet.

When they arrived at her apartment, Callum passed the front and turned to go around to the back.

The first floor of the older building was a charming little bakery with a neon Open/Closed sign on the door, four old-fashioned, small round tables in the dining area and two booths against the window. The main feature was the display case...and, of course, the kitchen. The owner of Jasmine’s Bakery let her cook her biggest batches there for a modest fee.

After Callum parked, Hazel walked from the rear parking space up the iron stairs. Unlocking her apartment door, she flipped on a light and entered, Callum behind her. “It isn’t much. Just two bedrooms and not very big.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to explain that.

Callum didn’t say anything as he stepped inside, looking around.

“When my ex, Ed, walked, I started saving for a house, but I also want money tucked away for Evie’s college education.”

Hazel found herself looking at him, his rugged, stubbly jaw, his thick, reddish-blond hair. Her gaze moved to his bright blue eyes...and stayed. He had been watching her study his face and now his eyes flared with something more than friendliness. A spark of heat flashed inside her.

How could just a look do that to her? Did he feel it too? Granted, he was hot, but she had seen other attractive men, and none of them had caused this reaction.

“So, you’re an ex-Navy SEAL and now you’re a bodyguard,” Hazel said by way of breaking the awkward moment. “If you’re going to protect me and my daughter, I should know more than that about you.”

“I’m surprised that’s all you know about me,” he said. “I am, after all, a Colton.”

The name did sound familiar but not familiar enough. “I may have heard the name before. I haven’t lived here my whole life.”

“Given the news lately, you probably have. Payne Colton is my father.”

Hazel searched her memory but still nothing stuck. “I’m sorry. I don’t watch the news. I try to keep it away from Evie. I don’t think it’s healthy for a five-year-old to hear about murders and lying politicians. And besides that, I have a very busy schedule. We do watch a lot of family movies and listen to country, though.” She smiled. “You might have to introduce us to Blake Reynolds.”

He chuckled. “I can’t believe it.”

What couldn’t he believe? That she didn’t watch the news or that she didn’t know him by name? She couldn’t detect conceit. He wasn’t bragging about being a Colton, just surprised she hadn’t heard of them.

“My father is chairman of the board of Colton Oil and owns Rattlesnake Ridge Ranch just outside of town. But we do all work hard for our money,” he said.

Then it dawned on her. She had heard of a man who had been shot and was now in a coma, a prominent local rancher and businessman gunned down for no apparent reason. She hadn’t paid any further attention to the story. Until now.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she finally said. Callum came from lots of money, then. Hazel felt herself stiffen and erect a barrier. She was from a very humble background and her last encounter with a rich guy hadn’t turned out so great.

“Don’t be.”

“I grew up in a small Colorado mountain town where everyone knew everyone and there were no conveniences, no big-box stores, no chain restaurants or movie theaters. We lived outside of town on several acres in a small colonial. I spent my childhood reading or watching satellite television and going to community events with my older brother and our parents.”

“Sounds charming.”

His handsome grin disarmed her a moment. She should go pack but she didn’t feel she knew enough about him to stay with him yet. And if her daughter was going to be near him for the unforeseeable future...

“In some ways. But growing up that way made me a little naive. I met Evie’s father, Ed, when I went to college and moved to Arizona with him. When I got pregnant, he left.”

“How does that make you naive?”

Edgar Lovett had lied to her about almost everything about himself. The only thing he hadn’t lied about was his college degree. “I should have known he wasn’t reliable. I had never met anyone so experienced at duping people. He wasn’t at all what he pretended to be. He told me he came from an average family and that his parents were dead.”

He also told her that he had never been married before. “I didn’t find out until after he left that he was the son of a wealthy Arizona senator and his parents were very much alive. He also was married before we met in college. He divorced his secret wife before I met him and we moved to Arizona.”

Hazel didn’t know why he had lied. She could only guess he had done so because he was afraid she was using him for his money. The last she had heard, he was living in Florida off his trust fund. Hazel had tried to get child support but he always evaded the attempts. Eventually she gave up and chalked him up as a deadbeat dad, albeit a wealthy one. She didn’t have to be told he had abandoned her and Evie because he was incapable of accepting any real responsibility. She wanted to thank him for leaving instead of putting her through a life of struggle with a man like him. She also held a lot of animosity toward him, a man who could have easily afforded to help her out but had not. What kind of person did that? And how had she never seen that about him?

“You weren’t naive,” Callum said. “I bet he liked you, maybe even loved you, but he must have known you had higher expectations than he could deliver on when it comes to making a family. He misled you because he was probably tired of being identified as a senator’s son.”

Of course, she thought the same, except her expectations were pretty simple. She didn’t require anyone rich or anyone with specific personality traits. She only wanted someone decent. She had told Ed she wanted a good and honest man like her father had been, like so many other men she had grown up around.

“Why bother lying, though, about who he was and about his ex-wife?” Hazel still wanted to know, to this day. “He must have known the truth would come out eventually.” Hazel would have left him after learning about his deception.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Hazel. Any man would be a fool not to want you.”

Ed had lied in order to have her, even if for just a little while. He had never talked about marriage with her, a fact she’d only thought of after he was gone. Then she realized what Callum had just said. Did he want her?

“What about you?” she asked, flirting back.

“I’ve never been married,” he said, “and I’m not lying about that.” He grinned.

She laughed lightly and briefly, believing him. It was easy to talk with him. Feeling much more comfortable with him, she stopped herself from enjoying this too much. Hadn’t she just finished telling him about the biggest mistake she ever made with a man? She would never regret Evie, obviously, but Evie’s father was nothing to brag about. She’d rather not wind up having to say the same thing about Callum—or any man. And despite knowing she was biased, she didn’t trust anyone wealthy.

“You better get packing,” Callum said.

Yes. They’d better pack—rather than play on their attraction to one other.

Chapter 2

Callum leaned against the door frame of Evie’s bedroom, watching Hazel pack a bag. She glanced up and saw him.

“Bored?” Her eyes glowed a green hint of her name. Long and dark, finger-tempting wavy hair fell over slender shoulders and framed a remarkably pretty face. Tendrils of that silky splendor curled around melon-shaped breasts. He felt his defenses rise. She had a daughter. A really cute one.

“No.” He would just rather stare at her. This sudden chemistry threw him off balance.

With a soft smile, she resumed packing.

In just the brief time he had been around Evie—rescuing her, watching her fascination with Kerry and then her bravery in going with the detective—the child had already touched his heart. Now he knew more than ever why he tried so hard to avoid protecting kids. The mothers were another issue completely.

Evie had punched her way through his usual, iron-walled barrier. She was about the same age his daughter would have been, had she and her mother survived. Callum shook off the thoughts. He was better shutting that off, contrary to what Charles said. Despite his cardinal rule never to protect mothers with kids, to leave that up to other bodyguards who didn’t share a history similar to his, he could not leave them at the mercy of a man who knew Evie had witnessed him dump a body in a trunk. Now here he was, in Hazel and Evie’s apartment, about to take them to the Dales Inn and live with them for however long it took to catch the bad guy.

Hazel finished packing for Evie and went into her bedroom to do the same for herself. Callum followed, she wasn’t sure whether out of boredom or because he just enjoyed watching her. The way he did made her acutely aware of him as a man.

“I bet my room is much smaller than the one you sleep in,” she said, still self-conscious of his wealth and her bad experience with a man with money.

Callum eyed her peculiarly. “It’s a nice apartment. And even though I’m a Colton, I don’t dwell on the wealth of my family.”

She believed that, but he also must have a sizable bank account, maybe a trust fund or something like that. Just like Ed. That put a sour taste in her mouth.

Taking the bags to the dining area next to the back entry, she saw Callum go to the mantel above the gas fireplace. She had an electronic photo album there. He gestured with his hand to it.

“These are great.”

There were lots of pictures of Evie doing all things Evie. Evie with a toothy smile and mouth smeared with ice cream. Evie holding a bunny rabbit. Evie riding a pony with Hazel. Evie and a friend dressed identically and striking a pose. Hazel and Evie cheek to cheek in a selfie. And so many more. Vacations Hazel had saved for, trips to Disney World and Yellowstone. Them at community events.

As he watched the pictures change, his expression changed. What about these photos put such a look of sadness on his face? She wanted to ask but didn’t.

“She’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said instead. “Ed taking off the way he did doesn’t even matter anymore. I mean, it did when I was pregnant. What kind of man can abandon their unborn baby?”

Callum didn’t say anything, just continued to look at the pictures.

“As soon as Evie was born, everything changed. I didn’t care about Ed anymore. She became my world. And she’s such a good kid. Even when she was a baby. She didn’t cry much, only when she needed something. She slept all night and still does. She rarely has tantrums and when she does, they’re over pretty quickly. I’m a lucky mom.”

Callum turned to look at her, some of the sadness leaving his eyes. “She’s an adorable girl.”

“Do you want kids some day?”

“I travel a lot. Usually I’m out of the country on assignments.”

He must be some bodyguard. “Do you protect a lot of affluent people?”

“Yes, and high targets for kidnapping in countries where that sort of thing happens.”

Dignitaries, politicians and executives for big companies, she supposed.

“I’m only here now to be near my father.”

His father had been shot. That must be so difficult, not knowing whether his dad would wake up or not. Callum must be close to his father if he’d changed his work schedule to be by the man’s side. She wondered if he regretted helping her, since she obviously was taking time away from his hospital visits.

“If you need to be with him...”

“I’ll visit him. I don’t have to be with him all the time. I do still have to work, after all. Just not out of state.”

Hazel smiled because this was the chattiest he had been since they met.

“You must be close to him,” Hazel said, thinking she had made an accurate observation.

“Actually, I’m not,” he said, and regret seemed to come over him.

With him out of the country so much, Hazel could see why, but what about when he had been younger? “Was it always that way?”

“Yes. When I was a kid he was always working, and I had my own ideas about what I wanted to do with my life. I knew early on that I never would be an executive like he was.” He paused. “Is.”

She felt terrible. “If not for me, you would be with him right now.”

“No. I was going to visit my brother, but I saw you and...”

And what? He saw her when? Before she had gone into her client’s house? And then he had seen that car. She’d changed his plans for the day.

“Which brother?”

“Ace.” He shook his head and scratched his forehead in angst. “He’s a suspect in my father’s shooting. We were never close, either, like with Dad. He followed my dad into the oil business. But I feel for him, you know? He just found out he’s not a Colton by blood and there’s this clause in the Colton Oil bylaws that says the CEO must be a Colton by blood, and then Dad got shot and everybody thinks he did it—geez, why am I telling you all of this?” He walked toward the back door and the luggage.

Hazel caught up to him and put her hand on his forearm, stopping him from bending to pick up one of the bags. “Hey, it’s okay. I like hearing this.”

“You like hearing about all my family drama?”

That’s all he worried about? She breathed a laugh. “Every family has drama. Why is your brother a suspect?”

“My father had to fire him because of the bylaws. He did it in front of the board, and Ace didn’t react well. He threatened my dad.”

“How did he threaten him?” With a gun? Had he said he’d better watch his back or something? Ruin his reputation?

“Ace told Dad he would regret it and stormed out of the room.”

“That doesn’t mean he shot him.”

“I know. I don’t think he did, but he shouldn’t have threatened him like that, and in front of the board.”

Hazel could see he was genuinely concerned for his half brother, despite his claim of not being close to Ace. Just because he had spent a lot of time overseas didn’t necessarily mean a family bond didn’t exist. Hazel wondered if they were closer than he thought.

“You’re easy to talk to,” he said after a while, his smile rueful. Did he not open up to anyone? Why had he done so with her?

“Evie doesn’t think so.”

He chuckled a little. “I saw her arguing with you when you first got to your client’s house. I think she does listen to you.”

“Like I said, she’s a good kid.”

“She must have a good mother.”

Hazel fell into his eyes, the warm regard there, the attraction. She felt it, too, these underlying sparks that had grown since the moment she saw him.

Once again stopping the sparks, Hazel asked, “So, tell me about this family of yours. You seemed to know that detective, Kerry.”

“I come from a large blended family. My father married three times. I have a half sister and two half brothers—including Ace—from the first marriage. He had none with the second, and my mother had me and my twin sister, Marlowe, plus our brother, Asher. Rafe is my younger adopted brother. He’s engaged to Kerry. That’s how I know her.”

“Ah. She’s part of the family now. She’s very pretty,” Hazel said.

“And smart. And tenacious. She’s a rookie but Rafe swears she’s as good as a seasoned detective.”

“I did get that impression of her, well, short of knowing her, that is. She just had a way about her.”

“If anybody can find the man who almost ran you down, she can.”

Hazel fell silent, not liking the thought of that. A man capable of hurting or killing another human—especially a child—was a dangerous one, for sure.

“You’re a twin?” Hazel asked. “What is that like?”

“We’re more like a regular brother and sister, but closer. We were close growing up and still are.”

“Are you similar?”

He chuckled at that. “Not at all. Her hair is blonder than mine and she has brown eyes. She’s now the CEO of Colton Oil, an executive type. Workaholic.” Callum was definitely not an executive type. He was driven in different ways. “But she’s pregnant and engaged now, so that will probably change. She’s still going to keep her job but she’s starting a day-care program.”

Hazel seemed to ponder that awhile, as though doubtful that a woman like that could change.

“I technically have one less sibling now—even though I still consider Ace my half brother. Ace’s switch has caused a bit of chaos in the family,” he said.

She breathed a tiny laugh at his sarcastic tone. “It sounds dramatic. Who switched him and why?”

“We don’t know yet.”

“That must be hard for him to face,” Hazel said.

He fell silent and Hazel sensed he had given out enough family information for now. Then he just nodded and said, “Yes, it is.”

“What made you decide to leave the navy and become a bodyguard?” Hazel asked to change the subject.

“I was getting too old to be a SEAL.”

At his short, simplistic reply, she wondered if he didn’t want to discuss this. He seemed reluctant to talk about anything personal.

“How old is too old?” she asked anyway.

“I’m thirty-two. Right now, I’m not taking out-of-state assignments, so I can be close to my dad.”