Tool Belt Defender

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This book is dedicated to my very own tool

belt defender, Frank.

After all these years you still know exactly what tool to

use to keep me feeling safe and protected and

loved. Thank you and I love you.

Chapter 1

He was a hot hunk in a tight white T-shirt, a pair of worn jeans and a tool belt riding low on his lean hips. He was nothing like what Brittany Grayson had expected.

When she’d called Chad Warren, one of the local carpenters in the small town of Black Rock, Kansas, to see about him building a deck on the back of her house, he’d told her he was already booked for the spring but would send an old college friend of his who had recently moved to town.

Chad was a good old boy, fifty pounds overweight, who believed beer pong should be a nationally recognized sport. It was silly, but she’d just assumed his college buddy would be like him. But the man standing on her front porch didn’t look like a peer of Chad’s; rather he looked as if he’d stepped off the slick pages of some hot-hunk calendar.

“Brittany?” His voice was deep and pleasant and made her realize she’d been staring at him open-mouthed through the screen door.

“Yes, I’m Brittany and you must be …” Her mind suddenly went blank.

“Alex. Alex Crawford, Chad’s friend. You called him about a deck?”

“Yes, I did.” She hesitated before opening the screen door to allow him inside. There had been no men except for her brothers inside her home since she’d moved back in a little over a month ago.

As she unlocked the screen, she realized she wasn’t quite ready yet to allow a stranger inside, especially a male stranger. Instead she stepped outside where the late April sun was warm and the air smelled of newly bloomed flowers.

“It’s nice to meet you, Alex. Let’s walk around back and I’ll show you what I have in mind,” she said. She frowned as she realized there was no car in her driveway. “Did you walk here?” she asked.

His eyes were a warm blue that stood out against his tanned face and were complemented by his slightly shaggy dark hair. “I live three doors up.” He pointed up the street to the Walker home that had been on the market for a while.

“How long have you lived there?”

“I moved in about six weeks ago,” he replied as they walked around the side of the house toward the back.

That explained why she didn’t know the Walkers had moved out and Mr. Hardbody had moved in. Six weeks ago she’d still been living at her brother Benjamin’s house trying to heal from the trauma she’d lived through.

As they reached the backyard she motioned toward the small broken brick patio that existed just outside the back door. “What I’d like is a wooden deck big enough to hold a barbecue pit and an umbrella table and maybe some plants and, of course, lots and lots of people.”

He nodded and pulled a tape measure from his tool belt. “An outdoor entertainment area,” he said.

“Exactly,” she replied and watched as he began to walk the site. The last thing Brittany had wanted to think about over the past eight months of her life was men. But looking at Alex Crawford definitely gave her a slight flutter of pure feminine pleasure.

When she’d been held captive by a serial killer for four long months, she’d spent her time thinking about all the things she would do if she escaped, if she managed to live.

She hadn’t fantasized about love or having babies. She hadn’t thought about men or hot sex. Rather she’d thought about a deck where she could invite all her friends and family to share good times with her. And now she was finally going to see those fantasies come to fruition.

“I’d say what you want is about eighteen by twenty-four,” Alex said as the tape measure zipped back into its metal case.

“And I’d like a railing around it with an opening to step down into the yard,” she said.

He nodded and smiled. “I can do that.”

The man had a smile with the capacity to stop time. A wave of warmth washed over Brittany as she tried to stay focused on the matter at hand. “How long will it take?”

He frowned, the gesture doing nothing to detract from his attractiveness. “It will take maybe a week once we get started. I work weekdays from about eight in the morning until about three-thirty and I have a couple of young men who help out, but I don’t work on the weekends.”

Probably he took the weekends to spend with his family, she thought. A man who looked like Alex Crawford probably had a wife who looked like a supermodel. “So, you’ll call me with a bid?”

“If you give me just a few minutes I’ll have a bid for you now.” He pulled out a small pad and a pencil.

His dark hair shone richly in the overhead sunlight and Brittany suddenly felt the need to get some distance from him. “Why don’t I go get us each a glass of lemonade?” she suggested.

He looked up and smiled again and another rivulet of warmth swept through her. “That sounds great.”

She escaped back into the house and went through the living room to the kitchen. For a moment she stood at the window and watched him as he once again walked off the area where the deck would be built.

Surely her response to him was nothing more than a healthy awakening of emotions that had been dormant for far too long. She moved away from the window and poured the lemonade into two tall plastic tumblers.

She would be twenty-six in two months—it was only natural that she might appreciate the sight of a good-looking man. She should be glad that normal feelings were finally beginning to return to her.

For the past several months she’d alternated between numbness and an irrational fear as she’d tried to reintegrate back into the life that had been stolen from her for four agonizing months. Nightmares, panic attacks—she’d had them all and had begun to believe she’d never have a normal moment again. It was nice that this normal moment was a healthy dose of lust.

She walked out the back door and motioned him to one of the four chairs at the old table that was on the broken brick patio. “Thanks,” he said as he took the drink from her. “I’ve got some figures for you.” He handed her a piece of paper that had his bid written on it. “If you agree, then I’ll write up a contract for you to sign.”

The figure was about what she’d expected. “Looks good to me.” She leaned back in her chair and offered him a tentative smile. “Chad mentioned that the two of you went to college together.”

“We did. I went on to law school and got a job in Chicago and Chad came back here.”

“From lawyer to carpenter? Quite a leap,” she observed. “What brings you back to Black Rock?”

“My wife’s family is from here and after several years of doing the high-powered, high-stress corporate thing, I decided I was ready for a change of pace.”

A small laugh escaped Brittany. “The difference in pace between Chicago and Black Rock, Kansas, is like the difference between a pit bull and a stuffed dog.” She wasn’t surprised that the man was married.

He laughed. “You’ve got that right, but Black Rock is just what I needed.” He tilted his glass up and drained it and then stood. “If you agree with everything I can start work tomorrow, given I can get a lumber delivery.”

She got up from her chair and took his empty glass and together they walked around the side of the house to the front.

“Is it your birthday or something?” he asked.

She looked at him in confusion. “No, why?”

He pointed to her mailbox where a bright red balloon was tied and bobbed and danced in the slight warm breeze. Shock ripped through her and the glasses slid from her hands, crashing to the grass at her feet.

It’s party time. The nightmarish voice whispered in her brain as memories attacked her. The cell where she’d been kept, the promise of a party when all the cells were filled with helpless women, the final moment when red balloons had danced up to the ceiling of the old shed. It’s party time.

“Brittany, are you all right?”

Alex’s voice pulled her back from the dark abyss she’d nearly fallen into and she tore her gaze from the balloon and looked into his concerned eyes.

“I’m fine,” she replied, aware that her voice was shaky and hoping he didn’t notice.

“Are you sure?” He bent down and picked up the glasses.

She nodded, even though she wasn’t at all sure that she was fine. Thank God the glasses were plastic and hadn’t shattered when she’d dropped them. She took them from him, hoping he didn’t notice the trembling of her hands. “Silly me. Just a touch of clumsiness. You’ll call me and let me know if you’re coming tomorrow?”

“I’ll head home now and order the necessary lumber and other supplies. If they can deliver tomorrow then I’ll give you a call.” He eyed her worriedly, but she forced a cheerful smile to her lips.

“Do you need me to write you a check now for the materials?” she asked.

“That’s not necessary.” His eyes gleamed with a teasing light. “I know where you live.”

“Thanks, Alex. Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned on wooden legs and headed for the house, an urgent need to get inside and lock the door filling her.

She didn’t wait to watch him walk down the sidewalk toward his place; rather she turned on her heels and half ran toward her front door. Once inside she slammed it shut and locked it.

Leaning heavily against the solid wood door she told herself she was overreacting, that maybe there was a child’s birthday party someplace on the street or a graduation celebration and somebody had just tied the balloon on her mailbox by accident.

Surely there was a logical reason for the balloon. It had nothing to do with the man who had called himself The Professional. He was dead. She’d seen his body after he’d been killed. He was no longer capable of having a “party” complete with red balloons and death.

Still, the legacy he’d left behind sickened her and even though she knew it was totally irrational, that balloon tied to her mailbox made her fear in her heart that somehow The Professional wasn’t done with her yet.

As Alex walked back toward his house his head was filled with thoughts of Brittany Grayson. She was something of a celebrity in the small town. Last fall a serial killer had held the town of Black Rock hostage when he’d begun kidnapping women. It had taken all four of Brittany’s brothers, who were the law in Black Rock, to figure out that The Professional was actually the town vet, Larry Norwood. They’d managed to rescue the women and Norwood had been killed.

It was discovered that he’d committed the same crime in Kansas City, but unfortunately authorities hadn’t been able to catch him before he’d tortured and killed the women he’d held captive there.

Brittany had been the first woman kidnapped and the one who had been held the longest. Still, it wasn’t the crime that was uppermost in his mind—it was the woman herself.

Brittany Grayson was stunning and something about her had instantly struck him right in the solar plexus.

Her long dark hair had shone richly in the sunshine and although initially her chocolate-brown eyes had been wary, they’d warmed as she’d talked about the deck she wanted.

The gold, sleeveless blouse she’d worn had emphasized intriguing golden flecks in the very depths of her dark eyes and her jeans had hugged her slender frame and showcased her long legs.

As he approached the two-story house he now called home, he noticed it was time for the first lawn mowing of the season and reminded himself that he wanted to plant flowers in the bed along the porch and down the walkway.

Coming from a high-rise condo in Chicago where there had been no outside maintenance or yard work for him to be responsible for, moving into this house had been daunting but would definitely be worth it in the long run.

As he opened the door he heard the sound of little feet running and before he could prepare himself completely six-year-old Emily launched herself into his arms.

“Daddy!” She placed her hands on both of his cheeks, making it impossible for him to look at anything but her, which of course he didn’t mind. The pint-size blonde with her bright green eyes and long pigtails was the most important thing in Alex’s life.

“What?” he asked as he carried her into the living room and then leaned down to place her on the floor.

“Grandma said I’ve been so good while you’ve been gone, I should get ice cream after dinner tonight.”

“She did, did she?”

“Guilty as charged,” Rose Tyler said as she walked into the living room.

Alex smiled warmly at the older woman. She was an attractive woman, her short gray hair perfectly coiffed, clad in a pair of navy slacks and a tailored white-and-navy blouse.

She had certainly been instrumental in Alex’s decision to move to Black Rock. When his wife, Linda, had died eighteen months ago, Alex had tried to be a good and present single parent, but with his work schedule as a lawyer in a big firm Emily had spent more time with babysitters than with him.

It had been an unacceptable reality for a little girl reeling from her mother’s death. Here in Black Rock not only did Alex have a new occupation that he found far more rewarding than what he’d been doing and allowed him more time with his daughter, but Emily also had a loving grandmother who only lived a block away from their house and was available to babysit day or night.

“Then I guess ice cream it is,” he agreed and laughed as Emily clapped her hands together and then did a little dance to show her pleasure. “I have to go tell Lady Bear. She’ll be so happy.” She dashed from the room and up the stairs toward her bedroom.

“You’ve done such a good job with her, Alex,” Rose said with a smile. “And I’ll never be able to thank you enough for moving here so I can be a part of her life.” Her smile wavered slightly and she placed a slender, wrinkled hand over her heart. “When we lost Linda I was afraid that I’d lose you and Emily, too.”

“Don’t kid yourself, this move was as much for me as it was about you and Emily,” he replied. “I was more than ready for a change of lifestyle and I think this is going to be a great place to raise Emily.”

“Did you get the job?” Rose asked as she pulled on the white cardigan sweater she’d brought with her when she’d arrived to watch Emily.

“I did. If all goes well, starting tomorrow morning I’ll be working on a deck at Brittany Grayson’s house.”

Rose frowned. “That poor girl. I can’t imagine her having the courage to move back to her house all alone after what she’s been through. She’d got to be one of the strongest people I know.”

“She definitely seems ready to move on with her life,” he replied.

“Speaking of moving on, I’d better get out of here,” Rose said, as she picked up her purse from the sofa.

Alex walked to the bottom of the staircase. “Emily, Grandma is leaving. Come down and tell her goodbye.”

Emily came down the stairs, her favorite pink stuffed bear in her arms. “Lady Bear wanted to say goodbye, too.”

“By all means, I wanted to say goodbye to Lady Bear,” Rose replied as she shook the bear’s pink paw.

Alex watched the goodbyes exchanged between Rose and Emily and Lady Bear and tried not to worry that Emily’s attachment to the stuffed animal bordered on obsessive.

The bear had been a gift from a friend attending Linda’s funeral and Alex had a feeling that all of Emily’s love for her mother had been transferred to the stuffed animal.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home?” Alex asked Rose when the goodbyes were finished and Emily had gone back upstairs to her room.

“No, thank you. A little exercise is good for me, and besides, it’s only a block. You’ll call me later and let me know what the schedule is for tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but I should be able to work it so that I’m home when Emily gets off the school bus,” he replied. “If something changes I’ll let you know.”

A few minutes later he stepped out onto the porch and watched as Rose walked up the sidewalk. Rose had lost her husband in a car accident five years ago and then had lost her only child, Linda. There was nobody Alex admired more in the world than his mother-in-law, who, despite the tragedies she’d suffered, continued to not only put one foot in front of the other but seemed to seek out happiness whenever and wherever she could find it.

She’d been by Alex’s side when Linda had died, and he knew the anger she’d felt toward her daughter, an anger that still burned inside Alex when the grief wasn’t filling him up. But Rose had hidden her anger well as she’d tended to her daughter in Linda’s last days.

When Rose disappeared from his sight he turned and went back into the house. As he climbed the stairs to Emily’s room, he checked his wristwatch. It was only a little after four.

He found Emily sitting at the child-size table and chairs in her room. Lady Bear sat in the chair opposite her and there was a coloring book open not only in front of Emily, but also in front of the bear.

“Hi, Daddy. We decided to color you a picture,” she said as Alex folded his long legs and sat in the little chair next to hers.

“You know how much I love your pictures,” he replied. In fact, the front of his refrigerator was laden with Emily’s artwork. He watched for a few minutes as she colored a blue sky and a pink house. When she started in on the yellow sun he spoke.

“You know, I was thinking, maybe since you were such a good girl for grandma while I was gone, we might have ice cream before dinner.”

Emily’s green eyes opened wide and the yellow crayon rolled out of her small hand and across the table. “Before dinner? Like right now?”

“Like right now,” he replied. He laughed as Emily was out of her chair with Lady Bear in her arms before he could blink his eyes.

“Now, that’s a good plan,” she exclaimed.

“But only one scoop. I don’t want to completely ruin your appetite for dinner.”

“Okay, maybe one scoop before dinner and one scoop after,” Emily replied, making Alex laugh.

Ten minutes later they were headed down the sidewalk to Main Street where Izzy’s Ice Cream Parlor had quickly become their favorite shop in town. He’d managed to convince her that Lady Bear didn’t need to come with them, that she’d much prefer some pretend honey when they got home than an ice cream cone now. As they walked Emily regaled him with stories about her day in school.

Thankfully, Emily had adjusted well to changing schools, loved her teacher and had already made new friends. She also loved having a backyard and had begun making noises about getting a dog. So far she’d adjusted to the move far better than Alex.

Although he’d been ready for the change, looked forward to a new occupation, a new lifestyle, he hadn’t expected the loneliness.

In Chicago there had been business dinners, fundraisers and late nights at the office to keep the loneliness at bay. Here most evenings existed of a bottle of beer and the sound of crickets from outside the window. He definitely hadn’t expected this kind of aching loneliness.

But he didn’t intend to ever marry again, and was reluctant to even date. The last thing he wanted to do was invite a string of women into Emily’s life, women who would never be more than temporary.

As they walked by Brittany Grayson’s house his thoughts returned to her. According to the local gossip she’d been strong and courageous during her captivity, and the other women who had been held captive had given her credit for keeping them sane.

If he did ever decide to marry again, which he seriously doubted he would, he would choose a strong woman. He’d loved Linda, but it hadn’t taken him long into the marriage to realize she was childlike in her fears of life and that fear was ultimately what had led to her death.

Still, even though he told himself he had no desire to get involved with any woman right now, he couldn’t help the anticipation that swept through him as he thought of seeing Brittany again.

He couldn’t help but wonder if she was the fearless heroine everyone called her or just a damaged victim of a heinous crime.

Chapter 2

“Maybe you moved back here too soon,” Brittany’s eldest brother, Tom, said to her the next morning. He’d stopped by on his way into work as sheriff of Black Rock. He was a handsome man in his khaki uniform, but he had that stern big-brother look on his face that drove Brittany crazy.

“I mean, if the sight of a balloon threw you for a loop, then maybe you weren’t ready to be out on your own,” he added.

“It was time for me to get out of Benjamin and Edie’s place. They’re newlyweds and need their own space and it was time for me to get on with my life.” Brittany got up from the table to refill her coffee mug. “Besides, it didn’t throw me for a loop. I just wondered who had tied it to my mailbox and why.” She topped off her coffee and then rejoined him at the table. “It was just natural curiosity.”

Tom smiled at her knowingly. “Most people’s voices don’t quiver when expressing their feelings of natural curiosity.”

“I’m sorry I even mentioned it,” she retorted ruefully.

“You know you could always stay with us if you aren’t ready to be out on your own. Peyton wouldn’t mind having you with us.”

Love for her brother surged up inside Brittany. He and his wife were newlyweds, as well, and had Peyton’s little daughter, Lilly, to dote on. Besides, Brittany didn’t want to live with any of her brothers anymore. She wanted … needed to be out on her own.

“Thanks, but I’m fine here. In fact I’m having a new deck built.”

“Chad doing it?” he asked.

Brittany shook her head. “He was busy so he recommended a friend of his, Alex Crawford.”

Tom frowned. “I don’t think I’ve met him.”

“He’s only been in town about six weeks. He moved into the Walker house.”

He nodded. “Have you given any thought to coming back to work?” he asked.

Before her kidnapping Brittany had also been a member of the Black Rock law-enforcement team. She’d worked beneath Tom as a deputy along with her other brothers Benjamin and Caleb. Her brother Jacob had worked for the FBI in Kansas City, but during the time Brittany had been kidnapped he had returned to Black Rock and was now also a deputy for the town.

“I’m not ready yet,” she replied. “I hate to leave you shorthanded but to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I want to return.” The words formed a lump in the back of her throat.

Tom lifted an eyebrow in surprise. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes studying her. “You don’t have to come back if it doesn’t feel right, and don’t worry about leaving me shorthanded.”

“But isn’t Benjamin leaving in a week or so?”

“Two weeks.”

Brittany’s brother Benjamin had for years divided his energies between the jobs of working as a deputy and ranching on the family homestead. He’d finally decided to ranch full-time and was quitting his duties as deputy.

“Have you given any thought to what you’d rather do if you don’t come back?” Tom asked.

“Not really. I thought I’d take some online college classes and keep my options open.”

“What about money? Are you okay?”

Brittany smiled. “I’m fine. I had some savings and I’m using some of my inheritance for the deck.”

“I figured you’d already spent all that money on shoes and purses,” Tom said teasingly and then checked his watch. “I’ve got to get out of here. If I don’t check in soon, Caleb will be sitting in my chair with his feet up on my desk.” He downed the last of his coffee and then got up from the table and carried his cup to the sink.