Colton Family Showdown Read online

  “We should go on up and ask her,” Kelsey said.

  Fox closed his eyes. “It’s not her fault.”

  “Not yours, either,” she reminded him. She was battling her own urge to judge why a mother would give up her baby. “We’re only here to get the rest of the story.”

  “And her opinion on how to proceed. What if she wants him back?”

  Kelsey squeezed his hand. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he’d grown incredibly attached to the baby. “We’ll figure it out.”

  Fox carried John, asleep in his car seat, up the three flights of stairs. She knocked on Candace’s door.

  A woman with copper-colored hair styled in a sleek chin-length bob greeted them. Her skin was nearly as fair as Kelsey’s without the freckles.

  In jeans and a chunky cranberry-red sweater, she might have been a model. Her dark brown eyes flitted from Kelsey to Fox and finally landed on the baby.

  Everything about her softened when she saw him. Kelsey knew they’d found the baby’s mother. “Candace?” she asked, since Fox had yet to do anything but stare.

  “Yes.” She stepped back. “Come in, come in.”

  The apartment was cheerful and tidy, the furniture out of date but in excellent condition. Far better than some of the places Kelsey had stayed in recent years.

  “I’m Kelsey,” she said. “I’m, uh, Fox’s friend.”

  “Where is he?” She wiped her palms on her jeans and looked past them as if she expected another person to join them.

  Fox introduced himself. “I’m Fox Colton. My cousin used my name when he, um, called on you.”

  “Oh!” Candace instantly relaxed and closed the door. “I should have known, but he—What’s his real name?”

  “Mason.”

  “Mason was so sincere. Convincing. Still—” she tapped her knuckles to her head “—I should have known.”

  Candace’s gaze kept drifting to the baby with unmistakable longing. She kept her hands clasped tight at her waist as if she was afraid to reach out and touch him.

  “Would you like to hold him?” Kelsey asked quietly.

  “No.” Candace’s eyes brimmed with tears, though none fell. “No, I can’t. He’s yours now. Well, Mason’s I guess.”

  “What happened?” Fox blurted out the question and then gentled his tone. “I mean, I know the obvious part of what happened.” He looked around. “Why give him up?”

  “Babies aren’t an asset in my line of work,” Candace said. “Please, sit down. Do you want anything?”

  “We’re fine,” Kelsey replied, tugging Fox down beside her on the love seat. The man was stiff as a board, clearly out of his element. The baby continued to doze in his carrier at their feet.

  “He looks good,” Candace murmured. “Bigger.”

  “He is good,” Fox said.

  “Your baby’s doing fine.” Kelsey smiled. “He’s a charmer. Sitting up now, too. What was his name?”

  “Baby boy,” Candace confessed in a whisper. “I couldn’t name him. He was too precious from the start. I put John on the birth certificate, but it felt ugly to me, y’know, because that’s kind of shorthand for clients. What do you call him?”

  “Baby John Doe is on the police report,” Fox said.

  Kelsey elbowed him. “We’ve been calling him Baby John.”

  “Figures.” Candace shook her head, her copper red hair swinging. “How did you find his real dad?”

  “DNA tests,” Kelsey supplied. “Fox was sure the baby wasn’t his, but since you left him on Colton property, he had his brothers give us samples to develop a genetic pool. We’re equine geneticists,” she explained when the other woman’s eyes went wide.

  “From the results, it was a matter of legwork,” Fox said. “Mason admitted using my name when we confronted him.”

  “Fox suits you,” Candace murmured. “Never fit him.” She bit her lip. “See, I just couldn’t abort the baby. Some girls do and that’s fine for them. It wasn’t my thing. With some finagling I was able to have him, even though I knew I’d never be able to keep him.”

  As she spoke, the baby woke and turned toward her voice. Clearly he remembered his mother. Kelsey sympathized with Candace’s struggle. She’d left home determined not to care for another child, and here she was caring for a baby whose mother loved him enough to let him go. “We don’t mean to make this difficult.”

  “It’s okay. Mason, right?” At Fox’s nod she continued. “Mason was a regular client at that point. We were careful most of the time. Still, mistakes happen and, well...” She flared her hands toward the baby.

  He started to fuss, and Kelsey reached for him. “He wakes up hungry.”

  “I swear he had a hollow leg,” Candace joked. She watched every move Kelsey made until the baby was settled with a bottle. John’s gaze locked onto his mother.

  “You’re sure you don’t want some time with him?” Fox asked. “He seems to remember you.”

  “Today’s hard enough.” She sniffled. “Are you mad?”

  “No.”

  His answer surprised Kelsey, though she knew it was the truth. “My suddenly having a baby has raised a few eyebrows, but I’m not angry. Though I am worried about you.”

  “Oh, I’m good now,” Candace replied. “If I could’ve done right by him, I would have. Even if I dropped him on the wrong doorstep, he lucked out.”

  “He did,” Kelsey agreed.

  “I didn’t do it to cause anyone any grief, but once I looked you up, I knew you could give him more than I could. Doesn’t his real father want him?”

  “His real father isn’t sure yet. He’s full up on family crises right now.”

  Candace frowned.

  “Are you willing to let us continue to care for the baby?”

  “Sure. He seems to like you guys. Do you plan on keeping him?”

  “If you’re relinquishing your parental rights, it will depend on Mason’s decision,” Fox said. “But it would smooth the way for all of us if you could put it in writing that you’re surrendering care of him to me.”

  “Whatever you need,” Candace said. “It probably sounds crass or cold...”

  “Not at all,” Kelsey interjected. She shifted the baby to burp him. “No one’s judging you,” she added. “It’s just keeping things clear. Legal.”

  “We’ll make sure he knows he’s been loved from the start,” Fox said. “And we’ll make sure he’s well provided for even if Mason can’t deal with fatherhood.”

  “Thank you,” Candace whispered. “I’m the first girl from the agency to handle this kind of trouble this way. It’s good to know he’ll have a happy and safe life.”

  “He will,” Fox promised. “Roaring Springs is a good place to grow up.”

  “Not as safe as it used to be,” Candace mused. “My friend Bianca was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “What do you mean?” Kelsey asked.

  “I heard the Avalanche Killer got her. I was already out of the rotation when she disappeared, but we texted a couple times that night. Her regular didn’t show up, so she went to The Lodge to try and get some off-agency cash.” Candace reached for her phone. “I haven’t cleared out the texts. I miss her.” When she found the old messages, she handed her phone to Fox. “See. She called him Blue Eyes.”

  Kelsey watched him skim through the messages. Candace’s career was full of inherent risks. “Have you ever considered another line of work?” she ventured.

  “Well, Bianca dying made me reassess, for sure. But it’s kinda too late for me to change things up. All my friends are in the business. We stick together.”

  “Would you be willing to share this with the Avalanche Killer investigation?” Fox asked.

  “If you think it’ll help. I don’t want Bianca to be forgotten or her killer to think he can do whatever h
e wants to working girls.”

  With her permission, Fox forwarded the text messages to his phone. “I’ll pass this and your contact information to the deputy in charge of the case.”

  When they were ready to leave, Kelsey buckled the baby into the carrier again and let Fox do the heavy lifting. At the door, Kelsey caught Candace in a hug. “You’re a good mother,” she said, “whether you’re actively in his life or not.”

  Candace’s eyes were glistening as she closed the door.

  She knew Fox had heard the exchange when he secured the baby and came around to her side of the truck. He opened the door and just stared at her for the longest time.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” he said, gaze locked on hers.

  “Do you need me to drive?” she asked when he didn’t move.

  “You’re amazing,” he rasped. He caught her hands and his thumbs caressed her knuckles. “I’d be a frantic mess without you, Kelsey.”

  She wanted to blow it off, to say something casual or silly to make him laugh, but she couldn’t. She could only admire that rugged, handsome face, the shoulders broad enough for any burden and the wide-open heart. “I think you, Mr. Amazing, should look in a mirror,” she said at last.

  He reached up, his big, warm hand stroking the back of her neck, and slowly drew her mouth to his. The bold kiss, right out here in public, shocked her. No, they weren’t in Roaring Springs, but Kelsey was used to being followed, watched.

  She gripped his shoulders for balance and let herself fall into the moment. There was sweet music in the sounds of the baby gurgling happily behind them. Her heart pounded as he eased back and heat swept through her, radiating out from where his palms came to rest on her thighs.

  “You’re amazing,” he repeated. “I wouldn’t have survived this without you.” He nudged her legs forward and closed the door.

  She pulled herself together and buckled her seat belt as he walked around to the driver’s side. She’d thought love was a single fall, a singular moment. Instead, it seemed to be more like a spiral slide, each curve carving deeper into her heart.

  * * *

  “You don’t have to come in,” Fox said. They’d driven straight from Candace’s place to the sheriff’s station. Going in alone would be difficult, but he couldn’t keep relying on Kelsey to keep him steady through every ugly moment. She was supposed to be his assistant, not a life coach or security blanket. He opened his door. “I won’t be long.”

  “It would be nice to stand for a bit,” she replied. “And Baby John loves meeting new people. We won’t get in the way.”

  “You couldn’t possibly,” he said, meaning it. “Do you want the carrier?”

  “No, thanks. I’ll just get the diaper bag. We’ll be right behind you.”

  He waited to walk in with her anyway. Stalling? Probably better to get it over with, but he was suddenly reluctant to relinquish care of the baby. He couldn’t do this indefinitely, even with Kelsey’s help. Despite the family unit the three of them appeared to be, they weren’t one. This was someone else’s child in the arms of a woman who should only be a professional associate.

  A voice in his head scoffed. However she’d come into his life, he was growing more comfortable with her by the hour. More reliant. More enamored. He never would’ve looked in the mirror and called himself clingy, but he had a need for Kelsey that showed no signs of easing up.

  He held the door for Kelsey and the baby and stepped inside to see Trey coming out of his office. “Got a minute?”

  “I do,” the sheriff replied. “Come on back.”

  Fox glanced at Kelsey.

  “We’ll be right there,” she said with a wry smile and a pat on the baby’s bottom. “He needs to be changed.”

  Fox watched her go for a long moment before joining his cousin.

  “Have a seat,” Trey said, settling into his chair. “You have news?”

  “And a lot of it. The baby’s mother is a woman who goes by Candace. She works with an escort service and lives near Denver.

  The sheriff’s eyebrows arched. “Never pegged you for the escort service type.”

  “You know I’m not,” Fox said, trying to laugh it off.

  “So why did she pick your porch over all the porches in Roaring Springs?”

  “The father of her child used my name as an alias when he called on the service.” Trey’s wide grin halted his explanation. Following his gaze, Fox turned to see Kelsey standing in the doorway, Baby John on her hip. They made an adorable picture of happiness. Of normalcy. However, seeing it that way didn’t make it true. Life wasn’t so simple.

  “Don’t let us interrupt,” she said.

  “Not at all.” The sheriff bounded to his feet again and invited Kelsey and the baby to join them. “So your little tyke isn’t a John Doe anymore?” he asked, propping a hip on the corner of his desk and making faces at the baby.

  “No. His mother granted permission for me to raise him for now.” Fox reached into his back pocket for the letter. “She’s agreed to sign whatever legal paperwork is necessary to complete a formal adoption.”

  The sheriff leveled that stern gaze on Fox. “Is that the way you’re leaning?”

  Yes. His heart nearly overrode common sense. “No.”

  He wanted Kelsey to stay on with the breeding program, plus a chance to have a relationship with her. That would be easier for all concerned if they weren’t also juggling the added responsibility of a baby.

  “The father then? Who was out there using your name?”

  “Mason Gilford,” Fox answered.

  Trey gave a low whistle and the baby stared at him. He did it again, chuckling at John’s wide eyes and slow smile. “I suppose I can see a bit of his daddy in that face.”

  Fox could too, now that he knew the truth, though when he saw the baby with Kelsey, he found a resemblance, as well. The mind was a strange and powerful thing. Maybe nurture could sway nature. If so, it didn’t bode well for him.

  “Mason led you to Candace?” Trey confirmed. “That man’s been through hell and back.”

  “Is he back?” Fox wondered aloud. “He didn’t seem eager to take on his role as father.”

  “So I assumed, since the boy’s still with you. Still, he has rights.” Trey moved to pace behind his desk. “Should I call in child services?”

  Fox sat up straight as that pinch returned between his shoulder blades. Baby John was family, though they weren’t related in the way he’d expected. “We told Mason we’d keep the baby with us for now. Give him time to think it over.”

  “That’s generous of you, Fox. Knowing you have means and support and the mother’s endorsement, that works. For now. Just let me get a copy of this letter for the file.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Alone in the office, Kelsey reached over and covered his hand with hers. Her skin was creamy and fair, though not flawless. His was tanned and weathered from riding. Her slender fingers might give the impression of frailty or weakness, but having watched Kelsey in the barn and with the baby, learning every inch of her body, he knew she was neither of those things.

  “Thanks for being here.” In the office, at the ranch, in his life. This wasn’t the place to express all the feelings that came over him when he looked at her.

  The baby reached for him, eyes wide, and he welcomed that sweet innocence. Were his days playing father to this baby numbered? There was no telling how long it would be before Mason made a decision.

  “Before we go, I need to track down Deputy Bloom,” he said as they exited the office.

  “Absolutely. We’ll wait here.”

  Deputies and police officers, hearing the baby, were coming up to say hello. “That kid sure knows how to make friends.”

  Kelsey grinned. “Definitely a charmer. Before long, the girls will be swarming.”


  “Too late.” He winked as a woman walked up behind Kelsey to coo at the baby.

  With Kelsey’s quick laughter in his wake, he went to find the deputy in charge of the Avalanche Killer case.

  Approaching Deputy Bloom’s office, he saw her speaking with FBI Agent Roberts. Fox stopped short when he realized they were in a heated discussion, but he was too close not to overhear.

  “I tracked an Ava Bloom to Arizona,” Roberts was saying. “She gave birth to a girl who’d be your age.”

  “Ava,” Daria echoed. “Can I talk to her?”

  Fox tried not to assume how the women were related. Their conversation wasn’t his business.

  “She died,” Roberts said. “About ten years ago. Cancer.”

  Fox heard Daria’s sound of frustration. “Thanks, Stefan. It’s more than I had, even if it’s not the news I’d hoped for.”

  Agent Roberts walked out and did a double take when he saw Fox. With a lift of his chin he kept on going.

  Fox moved to speak with Daria. “Deputy Bloom?”

  She looked up and the sadness on her face slowly faded. “Fox.” She smiled. “Where’s the baby?”

  “He’s entertaining the masses near the front door.”

  “I’ll have to get in on that,” Daria said.

  “Before you do, I have some information about the Avalanche Killer. Did you ever talk with a woman at the escort service agency named Candace?”

  “The name doesn’t sound familiar.” She flipped open the case file and skimmed through the long list of names. “I don’t have anyone on this list by that name. You think she knows something?”

  “She might.” Fox took a deep breath. “I met her today in the process of tracking down Baby John Doe’s parents.” He passed along Candace’s contact information and the text messages she’d shared.

  Daria sat back, lips pursed in thought. “I can’t believe we didn’t know about her. Thanks.”

  “Candace was so sad that Bianca was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She told us she’d just left the agency to deal with her pregnancy. From what she told me, when a regular doesn’t show or something, the girls frequently try to earn some cash on the side.”