Colton Family Showdown Read online

  “Right.” Daria leaned forward. “Did Candace say anything more?”

  “Just that she got a voice mail from Candace about landing a good-looking older man she called Blue Eyes. She only had the text messages saved.”

  Daria’s face lit with excitement. “This is excellent news. Thanks again, Fox.”

  * * *

  Kelsey didn’t have any trouble keeping Baby John happy or amused while Fox went in search of Deputy Bloom. The baby drew people with his adorable smile and inquisitive nature. She’d never seen a baby so adept at making friends.

  The front door opened with a blast of crisp October air, sunshine glaring off the floor. Mason stalked in, bringing the mood down in an instant with his grief-stricken glare. In her arms, John went still, his smile gone as he watched Mason approach.

  It seemed his biological father was the only person he wasn’t happy to see. She’d been around enough babies to know they had preferences, even among the people closest to them.

  Mason glowered at everyone in the area until his gaze landed on the sheriff. “Have you made any progress on Sabrina’s case?”

  “We’re working on it,” the sheriff assured him.

  “Right.” Mason flung out an arm, gesturing to the room at large. “You’re laughing it up while my sister’s killer walks free. Sabrina, a Gilford, has never been your priority, Sheriff Colton.”

  The baby whimpered and Kelsey cuddled him close. There was nowhere to escape this time.

  “Mason, lower your voice,” Trey said. “We can talk in my office.”

  “For all the good that’ll do,” Mason shouted.

  Baby John cried in earnest, and Kelsey swayed from side to side as she tried to melt out of Mason’s sight. The people nearest her stepped between her and Mason.

  On the other side of the lobby, Fox and Deputy Bloom hurried forward. “Mason,” Fox said. “Take it easy.”

  “I won’t!” He whirled on Fox. “You have Skye back. You can’t convince me you give a damn about seeing justice done for Sabrina.”

  “We’re family,” Fox told him. “Of course I care.”

  “Bull—”

  “We’re family,” Fox repeated.

  Mason was a loose cannon, making the people around him uneasy. Fox was a rock, grounded and utterly unmovable amid all of the antics surrounding him.

  Kelsey watched him seek her out across the room. With a quick exchange of glances, he asked and she answered that she and the baby were fine. This awareness between them was an oddly comfortable phenomenon. All her life she’d felt a step out of sync with everyone else. Not the right fit in her family, a bit too naive when she joined the rest of the world. Too fascinated by science and math to make friends quickly in high school and too worried about staying out of her brothers’ traps to trust people in college or the workforce. But with Fox she felt accepted and understood. Cared for and valued.

  Like she was finally on solid footing for the first time in her life. “You have Skye back,” Mason roared. “I will have justice for Sabrina.”

  “Mason, we’re doing all we can,” Deputy Bloom promised. “We need to handle this properly—”

  Mason lunged. Fox grabbed his shirt, pulling him aside before he tackled the deputy.

  “If my last name was Colton you’d show some hustle.”

  “Mason, that’s enough,” Fox said, backing him into the nearest wall. “You need to calm down before you say or do something you’ll regret.”

  The man seemed to deflate like a popped balloon. He yanked free of Fox and covered his face with his hands.

  “Mason,” Trey said calmly, “let’s talk for a minute.” He gestured to his office and Fox and Deputy Bloom ushered Mason inside.

  At the tilt of Fox’s head, Kelsey followed.

  Mason and the deputy took the chairs in front of the sheriff’s desk. Fox stood with her at the door, his arm around her waist. “Need a break?”

  His touch steadied her and she leaned into him, much as the baby sought solace in her. Although she couldn’t see his face, she knew Baby John wasn’t asleep. “I’m okay.” It didn’t seem smart to throw gasoline on the fire by letting Fox hold Mason’s son right now.

  “Mason, we have active leads,” Deputy Bloom assured him. “Just because we can’t advertise those leads doesn’t mean we’re not working to find Sabrina’s killer.”

  Mason glared at the floor. Kelsey didn’t know much about how the law worked, but she had a feeling if the sheriff shared information with Mason, he’d interfere with their case.

  “We have another matter to discuss, if you’ll excuse us, Daria.”

  Kelsey’s hold on the baby tightened as the deputy walked by. This wasn’t her child or her family, but she couldn’t bear the idea that the sheriff would hand the baby over to Mason. Not while the man was so volatile.

  “Fox has told you you’re a father,” Trey began.

  “So now you’re going to lecture me on parenthood and responsibility?” Mason snarled.

  “No.”

  Fox’s hand moved across her shoulders, keeping her grounded, which in turn kept the baby calmer. She peeked up at him to see a muscle in his jaw jumping. He wasn’t looking forward to this conversation any more than she was.

  “Mason, you have a son, currently in the care of your cousin. I know you’re grieving, but you have rights. Do you want to take custody of your child?”

  “What will I do with a kid?”

  The sheriff only cocked an eyebrow. “Taking your current distress into account, I’ll allow you some time to think it through before you surrender your paternal rights. You’ve lost a great deal, but that baby is a ray of sunshine.”

  Mason shook his head, his gaze still on the floor. “I don’t want him.”

  Kelsey’s heart broke, though the baby would never remember this dreadful meeting.

  “Nevertheless, you’ll have time to get your head clear before we make it official.”

  Beside her, Fox exchanged a nod with the sheriff.

  “In the meantime,” Trey continued, “I’d like to hear you give permission for the baby to remain with Fox.”

  “Yes. Let Fox handle it.”

  Over Mason’s head, the sheriff shooed the three of them out of his office.

  Kelsey didn’t breathe easy until they were loaded into the truck and backing out of the parking space. “Trey wouldn’t have done it, would he?”

  Fox arched an eyebrow. “Given the baby to Mason?”

  “Yes,” she said through the knot of emotion lodged in her throat.

  “Not while Mason is in that state of mind,” Fox assured her.

  “He can hardly look at Baby John,” she choked out.

  “Hard to blame him,” Fox allowed. “As he said, he didn’t want a baby. His wife went off the deep end in her effort to start a family.”

  She reached back, caressing the downy hair on the baby’s head. “I can’t help thinking he’s the luckiest little boy in the world to have landed at your door.”

  “And I’m convinced he really hit the jackpot when you walked into his life,” Fox said. “Let’s grab a bite to eat and then we can run through the store before we head home.”

  Home. She loved the way he said it, the way he included her in the meaning of it. “Sounds like a plan,” she managed around the emotions clogging her throat.

  She was being foolish, especially with her brothers most likely nearby, but she couldn’t seem to keep her heart in line. Better to soak it up, to add it to her bank of positive experiences. Should her brothers force her to run again, she would have one more example of how good families operated.

  Keeping the baby in his seat, Fox carried John into the restaurant. Her stomach growled at the savory scents of chili and French fries while they waited for a table. Within minutes they were situated at a booth in fr
ont of a window where she could watch the town move by. She liked Roaring Springs and the blend of locals and tourists.

  She studied the menu, though it was a challenge while Fox interacted with the baby. These moments made her realize how much she enjoyed the simpler things in life. Would she ever find a peaceful balance between her work and her heart?

  “Mason really rattled you,” Fox said.

  She dragged her gaze away from the window and found him watching her as if she was a new genetic marker he’d just discovered. “He’s so sad.” It made her wonder if her mom or siblings grieved for her. Not publicly, that wouldn’t have been allowed, but in the privacy of their own hearts and minds. “I hope they can give him closure about his sister.”

  “Deputy Bloom is on it. The sheriff, too. They’ll figure it out.”

  The waitress stopped by the table with water and took their order, cooing over the baby.

  Kelsey adjusted the baby seat in the booth once they’d ordered. “I know I have no say or stake it any of it, but I’m relieved the sheriff didn’t hand over Baby John.”

  Fox’s blue eyes turned somber. “That makes two of us. He’s not mine and can’t be, but I like him.”

  “He’s a likable kid.” Lovable, though she wouldn’t use that word. Those attachments were far too risky in a situation as precarious as this one. “How much time do you think the sheriff will give Mason?”

  “However long it takes.”

  “Spoken like a true rancher,” she teased.

  “We know what we can’t control.” His smile lit up his handsome face. “I realize it’s been an unconventional start, but do you think you want to stay?”

  “For the baby?”

  “For the work,” he clarified. “Both, for as long as we can manage it.”

  She wished he’d bring up whatever was building between them, as well. “The work you’re doing is so important.” She sat on her hands for a moment to keep them still as her excitement mounted. “I’m thrilled to be part of it and yes, I want to stay.”

  “You have no idea what a positive difference you’ve made already.”

  She felt the heat rising to her cheeks and didn’t even mind this time. Sipping her water, she turned to the window again as a banged-up van sporting primer drove by. That was the kind of car she’d expect her brothers to be driving. They didn’t waste a penny on luxuries. Not yet anyway.

  “You know your horses and your ranches,” Fox was saying. “Did your family focus on food or cattle?”

  Isolation. Rules. “My dad’s goal was to be self-sustaining, off the grid,” she said. “We had a herd of cattle and a big garden.”

  “Big enough for fourteen counting your parents?” he asked.

  Most of the time. She looked at the baby so she could smile and mean it. “We appreciated the food we harvested. My mother would say the effort added flavor.”

  “You disagree?”

  She shrugged. “Work, chores and responsibility are important.”

  “Builds character.”

  “It does.” But choices were important, too. Fox said it almost every day in the office, that she was an asset. Her mind, her skills, her analytic ability. She would have withered under her father’s plan for her life. The risk was still there, if she couldn’t find a way to drive her brothers home for good.

  How could she explain the situation without burdening Fox with an embarrassing amount of information he didn’t need to worry about? He had enough on his plate. She should have told him on the day he’d hired her, but it had seemed foolish to invite trouble when she hoped to avoid it.

  “I’m prying.” He reached across the table to touch her hand. “I only want to know you better. If you’re comfortable sharing.”

  A completely fair request considering how intertwined they’d become. They cared for the baby like a parental team. The DNA work might not be all about the horses in recent days, but they were a well-oiled machine there, too. And at night she slept in his bed, sated and content, her body wrapped up with his.

  Her early visions of an ideal life paled next to the fabulous reality of living and working with Fox.

  “Okay. I’m the third-oldest girl.” She smiled, thinking about the days that had been closer to happy. “Most people can’t fathom being in a family that big. It was just my reality. We all loved and laughed and pitched in from one day to the next.”

  “Until you had to leave.” His blue eyes, so serious, held hers. “That took remarkable grit. I can’t pretend to understand how you made the choice, but I’m grateful you wound up here.”

  The food arrived, saving her from having to reply. She’d barely taken a bite of her cheeseburger when the baby started to fuss.

  Fox was out of the booth first. “I’ve got him.” He hitched the diaper bag over his shoulder and lifted John from the seat. “You eat while it’s hot, we have man-business.”

  She laughed as he walked toward the restrooms. The man was a marvel. None of the men from her childhood would’ve done that. Whenever a baby in her house had interrupted dinner, her mother or one of the girls had handled it without complaint. Seeing men and women doing what needed done without thought to gender had been one of the most startling revelations when she’d left home. As her aunt Greta had told her time and again, escaping the family closed one door forever, but it opened a wealth of others.

  And Kelsey had walked through those open doors with varying amounts of courage.

  This one, this door that opened on this priceless time with Fox, felt like the best yet.

  Chapter 11

  By the time they walked out of the grocery store, Fox was feeling normal again. Though the baby posed an ongoing predicament, he figured Kelsey’s help bought him some time to figure out the next step. Beside him, she laughed when the baby scrunched up his face and sneezed against the sudden blast of late-afternoon sunshine.

  “My mom, Dana, would’ve said he’s allergic to sunshine,” Fox said.

  “Your mom sounds wonderful.”

  “She was.” He wondered what she’d think of the baby landing on his doorstep or the woman who’d shown up at the perfect time to save him from his doubt and insecurity. “Sometimes it makes me sad how much Sloane missed out. Then I remember Mara tried harder with her than with me.”

  “It isn’t easy when a parent of any variety demonstrates a preference,” Kelsey said. “Every kid is different, so material things might not always be exactly even, but time and love should be doled out equally across the board.”

  Something in her tone had him asking if her mom had played favorites.

  “Both of my parents were clear that boys of any age outranked the girls. Boys were assets and we were viewed as...support.”

  She’d previously called the setup archaic and he found himself agreeing.

  The baby spit out his pacifier as they crossed the parking lot and Fox was again grateful for the little clip and leash Kelsey had insisted on during that first trip for baby gear. The kid was too cute and on a day like this one it was too easy to imagine doing errands like this every week.

  Family life. He’d been afraid of the risk he posed for so long. Now, though he couldn’t claim complete confidence, he found himself wanting more. Maybe wanting family was contagious. He wouldn’t have given it any further consideration before the baby landed on his doorstep. Even in those long hours before Kelsey had shown up, an angel among nannies, he hadn’t pictured a future with children constantly around. Being an uncle was enough pressure.

  He used the key fob to open the truck and lifted Baby John, car seat and all, into the frame buckled into the rear seat. Kelsey unloaded groceries from the cart and tucked the diaper bag on the floor behind her seat.

  “We need to go,” she said, her voice quaking. Her gaze darted furtively to the other side of the parking lot as she fumbled to open the front passenger do
or.

  “What is it?” He looked around, trying to see what had made her so jumpy.

  “That man.” She pointed in the direction, using the truck to hide the gesture. “He’s one of my brothers.”

  He looked around for the black sedan she’d seen at the ranch and didn’t spot one. The man wore a faded Denver Broncos ball cap and the sunlight showed the red in his thick beard. He was definitely staring at them, although they were hardly the only people in his general line of sight.

  “I’ll go over and tell him to leave you alone.” The urge to protect her roared to life.

  “No!” She pressed her lips together. “Let’s just go. He won’t follow us onto your property.”

  Fox disagreed. Hadn’t her brothers already done that? Refusing to waste time arguing, he boosted up into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

  She fumbled with her seat belt, and he reached over to click it into place. “Thanks.” She sat on her hands.

  “I can’t just do nothing when you’re this scared.”

  “I’m scared for you and the baby. I’m used to taking care of myself.”

  What the hell did that mean? “We’ll call the sheriff and wait for him here.”

  “No, not here,” she argued. “If I confront my brothers in public, they’ll make a scene. Whenever they find me, they try to embarrass me or discredit me so any friends or support I have is gone.”

  “What?”

  Her hazel eyes pleaded with him. “Please, Fox. I’ll tell you the whole story, I promise, just get us out of here.”

  He noticed a tall, burly man with dark red hair striding toward them, his eyes shaded by dark sunglasses. Fox backed out of the parking space as if he hadn’t seen the man or the anxiety he created in Kelsey.

  “He’ll follow us,” Kelsey warned.

  The grim certainty troubled him.

  “You should drop me at the sheriff’s station,” she continued. “With your endorsement, one of the officers can mediate for me. That will put you and the baby in the clear and give me a head start.”

  “Not a chance, sweetheart.” He reached for her hand, squeezed. Now that he’d found the woman he wanted in his life, he wouldn’t let her run away. “Talk to me.”