Can a sexy SEAL discover the truth before terror explodes?

Loaned to the task force taking on the most dangerous Homeland Security challenges, injured SEAL Jon “Ghost” Caspar is assigned to protect a former lover and her daughter...and prevent an imminent terrorist attack on his Wyoming hometown.

Single mom Charlie McClain hoped she’d never again see the gorgeous cowboy who broke her heart, but with her safety compromised, she needs Ghost. Can she still resist his rugged charms...and keep a bombshell secret about their affair?

With a terrorist on the loose, Ghost struggles to remain professional. But the elite bodyguard can’t guard his heart against beautiful Charlie and her adorable daughter...

Ballistic Cowboys

His heart stood still and his breath lodged in his lungs. Everything around him seemed to freeze. No. It couldn’t be. “How old is Lolly?”

“Does it matter?” Charlie spun and walked toward the door. “If you want to see the threats, follow me.”

He caught her arm and pulled her around to face him, his fingers digging into her skin. “How old is she?” he demanded, his lips tight, a thousand thoughts spinning in his head, zeroing in on one.

For a long moment, she met his gaze, refusing to back down. Finally, she tilted her chin upward a fraction and answered, “Six.”

“Just six?” His gut clenched.

“Six and a few months.”

Her words hit him like a punch in the gut. Ghost fought to remain upright when he wanted to double over with the impact. Instead, he dropped his hands to his sides and balled his fists. “Is she—”

“Yours?” She shrugged. “Does it matter? Will it change anything?”

Hot Combat

Elle James

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ELLE JAMES, a New York Times bestselling author, started writing when her sister challenged her to write a romance novel. She has managed a full-time job and raised three wonderful children, and she and her husband even tried ranching exotic birds (ostriches, emus and rheas). Ask her, and she’ll tell you what it’s like to go toe-to-toe with an angry three-hundred-andfifty-pound bird! Elle loves to hear from fans at ellejames@earthlink.net or www.ellejames.com.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Jon “Ghost” Caspar—US Navy SEAL on loan to the Department of Homeland Security for Task Force Safe Haven, a special group of military men.

Charlie McClain—Telecommuting software engineer and part-time social-media analyst for Homeland Security. Lives with her daughter in Grizzly Pass, Wyoming.

Kevin Garner—Agent with the Department of Homeland Security in charge of Task Force Safe Haven.

Max “Caveman” Decker—US Army Delta Force soldier on loan to the Department of Homeland Security for Task Force Safe Haven.

“Hawkeye” Trace Walsh—US Army airborne ranger and expert sniper on loan to the Department of Homeland Security for Task Force Safe Haven.

Rex “T-Rex” Trainor—US Marine on loan to the Department of Homeland Security for Task Force Safe Haven.

Leroy Vanders—Rancher whose cattle herd was confiscated by the Bureau of Land Management because he refused to pay his fees for grazing his cattle on government property.

Tim Cramer—Pipeline inspector who lost his job when work dried up. With his marriage on the rocks and his wife threatening to take his child and move, he has nothing more to lose.

Bryson Rausch—Formerly the wealthiest resident of Grizzly Pass, who lost everything in the stock market.

Lolly McClain—Charlie McClain’s six-year-old daughter.

This book is dedicated to my three lovely writing friends who encouraged me to write like my fingers were on fire during our annual writing retreat. If not for them and the timing of the retreat, this book might not have been written! Thank you, Cynthia D’Alba, Parker Kincade and Mandy Harbin.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Extract

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Charlie McClain pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed her eyes. Fifteen more minutes, and she’d call it a night. The computer screen was the only light shining in her house at eleven o’clock. She’d kissed her six-year-old daughter good-night nearly three hours ago, and made it a rule not to work past midnight. She was closing in on breaking that rule and knew she would pay for it in the morning.

She looked forward to the day when her student loans were paid off and a little money was socked away in the bank. Until then, she telecommuted developing software during the day and at night she moonlighted, earning additional money surfing the internet for the Department of Homeland Security.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to use her own internet provider to do the DHS surfing. She lived on the edge of town, beside Grizzly Pass’s small library with free Wi-Fi service.

Since she lived so close, she was able to tap in without any great difficulty. It had been one of the reasons she’d agreed to take on the task. As long as a hacker couldn’t trace her searches back to her home address, she could surf with relative anonymity. She didn’t know how sophisticated her targets were, but she didn’t want to take any more chances than she had to. She refused to put her daughter at risk, should some terrorist she might root out decide to come after her.

Charlie had just about reached her limit when her search sent her to a social media group with some disturbing messages. The particular site was one the DHS had her monitor on a regular basis. Comprised of antigovernment supporters with axes to grind about local and national policy, it was cluttered with chatter tonight. The group called themselves Free America.

Charlie skimmed through the messages sent back and forth between the members of the group, searching for anything the DHS would be concerned about.

She’d just about decided there wasn’t anything of interest when she found a conversation thread that made her page back to read through the entire communication.

Preparations are underway for TO of gov fac.

Citizen soldiers of WY be ready. Our time draws near.

A cold chill slid down Charlie’s spine. TO could mean anything, but her gut told her TO stood for takeover. As a citizen of the US and the great state of Wyoming, she didn’t like the idea of an antigovernment revolt taking place anywhere in the United States, especially in her home state.

Granted, Wyoming stretched across hundreds of miles of prairie, rugged canyons and mountains. But there weren’t that many large cities with government facilities providing prime targets. Cheyenne, the state capital, was on the other side of the state from where Charlie and her daughter lived.

Charlie backed up to earlier posts on the site. She needed to understand what their grievances were and maybe find a clue as to what government facility they were planning to take over. The more information she could provide, the more ammunition DHS would have to stop a full-scale attack. What government facility? What city? Who would be involved in the takeover? Hell, for that matter, what constituted a takeover?

Several of the members of the group complained about the government confiscating their cattle herds when they refused to pay the increase in fees for grazing rights on federal land. Others were angry that the oil pipeline work had been brought to a complete halt. They blamed the tree huggers and the politicians in Washington.

Still others posted links to gun dealer sites and local gun ranges providing training on tactical fire and maneuver techniques used by the military.

The more she dug, the less she liked what she was finding. So far, nothing indicated a specific date or location for the government facility takeover. Without hard facts, she wasn’t sure she had anything to hand over to DHS. But her woman’s intuition was telling her she had something here. She tried to follow the post back to its orgin, but didn’t get very far.

A message popped up in Charlie’s personal message box.

Who is this?

Shocked at being caught, Charlie lifted her hands off the computer keyboard.

I can see you. Come, pretty lady, tell me your name.

Charlie’s breath lodged in her lungs. Could he see her? Her laptop had a built-in webcam. Had he hacked into it? She slammed the laptop shut and stared at the device as if it was a snake poised to bite. Her pulse raced and her hands shook.

Had he really seen her?

Pushing back her office chair, Charlie stood. If he had seen her, so what? She could be anyone who just stumbled onto the site. No harm, no foul. She shoved a hand through her thick hair and walked out of her office and down the hallway to the little bedroom where her six-year-old daughter lay peacefully sleeping.

The message had shaken her and left her rethinking her promise to help DHS monitor for terrorists.

Charlie tucked the blankets up around her daughter’s chin and straightened. She shouldn’t let the message bother her. It wasn’t as if just anyone could trace her efforts at snooping back to her laptop. To track her down would require the skills of a master hacker. And they’d only get as far as the library’s free Wi-Fi.

Too wound up to sleep, Charlie walked around her small cottage, checking the locks on the windows and doors, wishing she had a big bruiser of a dog to protect her if someone was to breach the locks.

Charlie grabbed a piece of masking tape, opened the laptop and covered the lens of the webcam. Feeling a little better, she took a seat at her desk and drafted an email to Kevin Garner, her handler at DHS. She’d typed This might not be anything, but check it out. Then she went back to the social media site and was in the middle of copying the site’s location URL where she’d found the damning call to arms when another message popped up on her screen.

You’re trespassing on a private group. Cease and desist.

Charlie closed the message and went back to pasting the URL into her email.

Another message popped up.

I know what you look like and it won’t take long to trace your location. Pass on any information from this group and we’ll find you.

The next thing to pop up was an image of herself, staring down at her laptop.

A horrible feeling pooled in the pit of Charlie’s belly. Could he find her? Would he really come after her?

Suddenly the dead bolt locks didn’t seem to be enough protection against whoever was at the other end of the computer messaging.

Charlie grabbed her phone and dialed Kevin’s number. Yeah, it was after eleven o’clock, but she needed to hear the sound of someone’s voice.

“I got it,” Kevin’s wife, Misty, answered with a groggy voice. “Hello.”

“Misty, it’s Charlie.”

“Charlie. Good to hear from you. But what time is it? Oh, my, it’s almost midnight. Is anything wrong?”

Charlie hesitated, feeling foolish, but unwilling to end the call now. She squared her shoulders. “I need to talk to Kevin.”

A moment later, Kevin’s voice sounded in her ear. “Charlie, what’s up?”

She drew in a deep breath and let it out, willing her voice to quit shaking as she relayed the information. “I was surfing the Free America social media site and found something. I’m not sure it’s anything, but it set off alarm bells in my head.”

“Shoot.”

She told him about the message and waited for his response.

“Doesn’t sound good. Got anything else?”

“I looked, but couldn’t find anything detailing a specific location or government facility.”

“I don’t like it, but I can’t get a search warrant if I don’t have a name or location.”

“That’s what I figured, but that isn’t all.”

“What else have you got for me?”

“While I was searching through the social media site, a message popped up.”

“A message?” he asked.

Charlie read the messages verbatim from her laptop. “He has my picture.”

“Hmm. That he was able to determine you were looking at the site and then able to take command of your laptop long enough to snap a picture has me concerned.”

“You’re not the only one.” She scrubbed a hand down her face, tired, but too agitated to go to sleep. “I was using the library’s Wi-Fi. He won’t be able to trace back to my computer.”

“That’s good. More than likely he’s near the state capital.”

“Are you willing to bet your life on that?” she asked.

“My life, yes.”

“What about the life of your son or daughter?” Charlie asked. She knew he had two kids, both under the age of four. “Would you be able to sleep knowing someone is threatening you? And by threatening you, they threaten your family.”

“Look, can you make it through the night?” Kevin asked. “It’ll be tomorrow before I can do anything.”

“I’ll manage.”

“Do you want me to come over?”

She shook her head, then remembered she was on the phone. “No. I have a gun. I know how to use it. And I really don’t think he’ll trace me to my home address so quickly. We don’t even know if he has that ability.”

“He snapped a picture of you,” Kevin reminded her. “I’d say he’s internet savvy and probably pretty good at hacking.”

“Great.” Charlie sighed. “I’ll do okay tonight with my H&K .40 caliber pistol. But tomorrow, I might want some help protecting my daughter.”

“On it. I’m expecting reinforcements this week. As soon as they arrive, I’ll send someone over to assess the situation.”

“Thanks.” Charlie gripped the phone, not in a hurry to hang up. As if by so doing, she’d sever her contact permanently with the outside world and be exposed to the potential terrorist on the other end of the computer network.

“Look, Charlie, I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

“No, really. I’ll be fine.” And she would be, as soon as she pulled herself together. “Sorry to bother you so late.”

“Call me in the morning. Or call me anytime you need to,” Kevin urged.

She ended the call and continued to hold the phone so tightly her fingers hurt.

What was supposed to have been an easy way to make a little extra cash had just become a problem. Or she was overreacting.

Just to be safe, she entered her bedroom and opened her nightstand where she kept the pistol her father had purchased for her when she’d graduated college. She could call her parents, but they were on a river cruise in Europe. Why bother them if this turned out to be nothing?

She found her pistol beneath a bottle of hand lotion and a romance novel. The safety lock was in place from the last time she’d taken it to Deputy Frazier’s ranch for target practice six months ago. She removed the lock, dropped the magazine full of bullets and slid back the bolt. Everything appeared to be in working order. She released the bolt, slammed the magazine into the handle and left the lock on. She’d sleep in the lounge chair in the living room so that she would be ready for anything. She settled in the chair, her gun in her hand, hoping she didn’t fall asleep, have a bad dream and shoot a hole in her leg.

She positioned herself in the chair, her gaze on the front door, her ears tuned in to the slightest sound. Not that she expected anyone to find her that night, but, if they did, she’d be ready.

* * *

JON “GHOST” CASPAR woke to the sun glaring through his windshield on its early morning rise from the horizon. He’d arrived in Grizzly Pass sometime around two o’clock. The town had so little to offer in the way of amenities, he didn’t bother looking for a hotel, instead parking his truck in the empty parking lot of a small grocery store.

Not ten minutes after he’d reclined his seat and closed his eyes, a sheriff’s deputy had rolled up beside him and shone a flashlight through his window.

Ghost had sat up, rolled down his window and explained to the deputy he’d arrived later than he’d expected and would find a hotel the next day. He just needed a few hours of sleep.

The deputy had nodded, warned him not to do any monkey business and left him alone. To make certain Ghost didn’t perform any unsavory acts, the deputy made it his sole mission to circle the parking lot every half hour like clockwork until shift change around six in the morning.

Ghost was too tired to care. He opened his eyes briefly for every pass, but dropped back into the troubled sleep of the recently reassigned.

He resented being shuffled off to Wyoming when he’d rather be back with his SEAL team. But if he had to spend his convalescence as a loaner to the Department of Homeland Security, it might as well be in his home state of Wyoming, and the hometown he hadn’t visited in a long time.

Seven years had passed since the last time he’d come back. He didn’t have much reason to return. His parents had moved to a Florida retirement community after his father had served as ranch foreman for a major cattle ranch for the better part of forty years. Ranching was a young man’s work, hard on a body and unforgiving when it came to accidents. The man deserved the life of leisure, soaking up the warm winter sunrays and playing golf to his heart’s content.

Ghost adjusted his seat to the upright position and ran a hand through his hair. He needed a shower and a toothbrush. But a cup of coffee would have to do. He was supposed to report in to his contact, Kevin Garner, that morning to receive instructions. He hoped like hell he’d clarify just what would be entailed in the Safe Haven Task Force. To Ghost, it sounded like a quick path to boredom.

Ghost didn’t do boredom well. It nearly got him kicked out of the Navy while in rehab in Bethesda, Maryland, at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He was a SEAL, damn it. They had their own set of rules.

Not according to Joe, his physical therapist. He’d nearly come to blows with the man several times. Now that Ghost was back on his own feet without need of crutches, he regretted the idiot he’d been and had gone back to the therapy center to apologize.

Joe had laughed it off, saying he’d been threatened with far worse.

A smile curled Ghost’s lips at the memory. Then the smile faded. He could get around without crutches or a cane, but the Navy hadn’t seen fit to assign him back to his team at the Naval Special Warfare Group, or DEVGRU, in Virginia. Instead he’d been given Temporary Duty assignment in Wyoming, having been personally requested by a DHS task force leader.

What could possibly be so hot that a DHS task force leader could pull enough strings to get a highly trained Navy SEAL to play in his homeland security game? All Ghost could think was that man had some major strings to pull in DC. As soon as he met with the DHS guy, he hoped to make it clear he wanted off the assignment and back to his unit.

The sooner the better.

He’d left Grizzly Pass as a teen, fresh out of high school. Though his father loved the life of a ranch foreman, Ghost had wanted to get out of Wyoming and see the world. He’d returned several times, the last to help his parents pack up their things to move to Florida. He’d taken a month of leave to guide his parents through the biggest change in their lives and to say goodbye to his childhood home one last time.

With his parents leaving Wyoming, he had no reason to return. Having recently graduated from the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training and having just completed his first deployment in his new role, Ghost was on a path to being exactly what he wanted—the best Navy SEAL he could be. A month on leave in Grizzly Pass reminded him why he couldn’t live there anymore. At the same time, it reminded him of why he’d loved it so much.

He’d been home for two weeks when he’d run into a girl he’d known since grade school, one who’d been his friend through high school, whom he’d lost touch with when he’d joined the Navy. She’d been the tagalong friend he couldn’t quite get rid of, who’d listened to all of his dreams and jokes. She was as quirky and lovable as her name, never asking anything of him but a chance to hang around.

With no intention of starting a lasting relationship, he’d asked her out. He’d told her up front he wasn’t there to stay and he wouldn’t be calling her after he left. She’d been okay with that, stating she had no intention of leaving Wyoming and she wouldn’t be happy with a man who would be gone for eleven months of the year. But she wouldn’t mind having someone to go out with while he was there.

No strings attached. No hearts broken.

Her words.

Looking back, Ghost realized those two weeks had been the best of his life. He’d recaptured the beauty of his home and his love of the mountains and prairies.

Charlie had taken him back to his old haunts in her Jeep, on horseback and on foot. They’d hiked, camped and explored everywhere they’d been as kids, topping it off by skinny-dipping in Bear Paw Creek.

That was when the magic multiplied exponentially. Their fun-loving romp as friends changed in an instant. Gone was the gangly girl with the braid hanging down her back. Naked, with nothing but the sun touching her pale skin, she’d walked into the water and changed his life forever.

He wondered if she still lived in Grizzly Pass. Hell, for the past seven years, he’d wanted to call her and ask her how she was doing and if she still thought about that incredible summer.

He supposed in the past seven years, she’d gone on to marry a local rancher and had two or three kids by now.

Ghost sighed. Since they’d made love in the fresh mountain air, he’d thought of her often. He still carried a picture of the two of them together. A shot his father had taken of them riding double on horseback at the ranch. He remembered that day the most. That was the day they’d gone to the creek. The day they’d first made love. The first day of the last week of his leave.

Having just graduated from college, she’d started work with a small business in town. She worked half days and spent every hour she wasn’t working with Ghost. When he worried about her lack of sleep, she’d laughed and said she could sleep when he was gone. She wanted to enjoy every minute she could with him. Again, no strings attached. No hearts broken.

Now, back in the same town, Ghost glanced around the early morning streets. A couple of trucks rumbled past the grocery parking lot and stopped at the local diner, pulling in between several other weathered ranch trucks.

Apparently the food was still good there.

A Jeep zipped into the diner’s parking lot and parked between two of the trucks.

As his gaze fixed on the driver’s door as it opened, Ghost’s heartbeat stuttered, stopped and raced on.

A man in dark jeans and a dark polo shirt climbed out and entered the diner.

His pulse slowing, Ghost let out a sigh, squared his shoulders and twisted the key in the ignition. He was there to work, not rekindle an old flame, not when he was going to meet a man about his new assignment and promptly ask to be released to go back to his unit. The diner was the designated meeting place and it was nearing seven o’clock—the hour they’d agreed on.

Feeling grungy and road-weary, Ghost promised himself he’d find a hotel for a shower, catch some real sleep and then drive back to Virginia over the next couple of days.

He drove out of the parking lot and onto Main Street. He could have walked to the diner, but he wanted to leave straight from there to find that hotel and the shower he so desperately needed. Thirty minutes max before he could leave and get some rest.

Ghost parked in an empty space in the lot, cut the engine, climbed out of his truck and nearly crumpled to the ground before he got his leg straight. Pain shot through his thigh and kneecap. The therapist said that would happen if he didn’t keep it moving. After his marathon drive from Virginia to Wyoming in under two days, what did he expect? He held on to the door until the pain subsided and his leg straightened to the point it could hold his weight.

Once he was confident he wouldn’t fall flat on his face, he closed the truck door and walked slowly into the diner, trying hard not to limp. Even the DHS wouldn’t want a man who couldn’t go the distance because of an injury. Not that he wanted to keep the job with DHS. No. He wanted to be back with his unit. The sooner the better. They’d get him in shape better than any physical therapist. The competition and camaraderie kept them going and made them better, stronger men.

Once inside the diner, he glanced around at the men seated at the tables. Most wore jeans and cowboy boots. Their faces were deeply tanned and leathery from years of riding the range in all sorts of weather.

One man stood out among the others. He was tall and broad-shouldered, certainly capable of hard work, but his jeans and cowboy boots appeared new. His face, though tanned, wasn’t rugged or hardened by the elements. He sat in a corner booth, his gaze narrowing on Ghost.

Figuring the guy was the one who didn’t belong, Ghost ambled toward him. “DHS?” he asked, his tone low, barely carrying to the next booth.

The man stood and held out his hand. “Kevin Garner. You must be Jon Caspar.”

Ghost shook the man’s hand. “Most folks call me Ghost.”

“Nice to meet you, Ghost.” Garner had a firm grip, belying his fresh-from-the-Western-store look. “Have a seat.”

Not really wanting to stay, Ghost took the chair indicated.

The DHS man remained standing long enough to wave to a waitress. Once he got her attention, he sat opposite Ghost.

On close inspection, his contact appeared to be in his early thirties, trim and fit. “I was expecting someone older,” Ghost commented.

Garner snorted. “Trust me, I get a lot of push-back for what I’m attempting. Most think I’m too young and inexperienced to lead this effort.”

Ghost leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “And just what effort is that?”

Before the DHS representative could respond, the waitress arrived bearing a pot of coffee and an empty mug. She poured a cup and slapped a laminated menu on the table. “I’ll be back.”

As soon as she left, Garner leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Safe Haven Task Force was my idea. If it works, great. If it fails, I’ll be looking for another job. I’m just lucky they gave me a chance to experiment.”

“Frankly, I’m not much on experiments, but I’ll give you the benefit of a doubt. What’s the experiment?”

“The team you will be part of will consist of some of the best of the best from whatever branch of service. They will be the best tacticians, the most skilled snipers and the smartest men our military has produced.”

“Sorry.” Ghost shook his head. “How do I fit into that team?”

Garner slid a file across the table and opened it to display a dossier on Ghost.

Ghost frowned. SEALs kept a low profile, their records available to only a very few. “How did you get that file?”

He sat back, his lips forming a hint of a smile. “I asked for it.”

“Who the hell are you? Better still, what politician is in your pocket to pull me out of my unit for this boondoggle gig?” Ghost leaned toward Garner, anger simmering barely below the surface. “Look, I didn’t ask for this assignment. I don’t even want to be here. I have a job with the Navy. I don’t need this.”

Garner’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Like it or not, you’re on loan to me until I can prove out my theory. Call it a Temporary Duty assignment. I don’t care what you call it. I just need you until I don’t need you anymore.”

“There are much bigger fish to fry in the world than in Grizzly Pass, Wyoming.”

“Are you sure of that?” Garner’s brow rose. “While you and your teammates are out fighting on foreign soil, we’ve had a few homegrown terrorists surface. Is fighting on foreign soil more important than defending your home turf?”

“I might fall for your line of reasoning if we were in New York, or DC.” Ghost shook his head. “We’re in Grizzly Pass. We’re far away from politicians, presidents and wealthy billionaires. We’re in the backside of the backwoods. What could possibly be of interest here?”

“You realize there’s a significant amount of oil running through this state at any given time. Not to mention, it’s also the state with the most active volcano.”

“Not buying it.” Ghost sat back again, unimpressed. “It would take a hell of an explosion to get things stirred up with the volcano at Yellowstone.”

“Well, this area is a hotbed for antigovernment movements. There are enough weapons being stashed and men being trained to form a sizable army. And we’re getting chatter on the social media sites indicating something’s about to go down.”

“Can you be more specific?”

Garner sighed. “Unfortunately, not yet.”

“If you’re done speculating, I have a two-day drive ahead of me to get back to my unit.” Ghost started to rise, but the waitress arrived at that time, blocking his exit from the booth.

“Are you ready to order?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Garner gave the waitress a tight smile. “I’d like the Cowboy Special, Marta.”

Marta faced Ghost. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

“The coffee will hold me.” Until he could get to Cheyenne where he’d stop for food.

After Marta left, Garner leaned toward Ghost. “Give me a week. That’s all I ask. One week. If you think we’re still tilting at windmills, you can go back to your unit.”

“How did I get the privilege of being your star guinea pig?”

Garner’s face turned a ruddy shade of red and he pressed his lips together. “I got you because you weren’t cleared for active duty.” He raised his hand. “Don’t get me wrong. You have a remarkable record and I would have chosen you anyway, once you’d fully recovered.”

That hurt. The Navy had thrown the DHS a bone by sending a Navy SEAL with a bummed-up leg. Great. So they didn’t think he was ready to return to duty either. The anger surged inside him, making him mad enough to prove them wrong. “All right. I’ll give you a week. If we can’t prove your theory about something about to go down, I’m heading back to Virginia.”

Garner let out a long breath. “That’s all I can ask.”

Ghost smacked his hand on the table. “So, what exactly am I supposed to do?”

“One of our operatives was threatened last night. I need you to work with her while she tries to figure out who exactly it is and why they would feel the need to harass her.” He handed Ghost his business card, flipping it over to the backside where he’d written an address. “This is her home address here in Grizzly Pass.”

“I know where that is.” Orva Davis lived there back when he was a kid. She used to chase the kids out of her yard, waving a switch. She’d been ancient back then, she couldn’t possibly be alive now. “She’s expecting me this morning?”

“She’ll be happy to see anyone this morning. The sooner the better.”

“Who is she?”

At that exact moment Garner’s cell phone buzzed. He glanced down at the caller ID, his brows pulling together. “Sorry, I have to take this. If you have any questions, you can call me at the number on the front of that card.” He pushed to his feet and walked out of the building, pressing the phone to his ear.

After tossing back the last of his coffee, Ghost pulled a couple of bills from his wallet and laid them on the table. He took the card and left, passing Garner on his way to his truck.

The DHS man was deep in conversation, turned completely away from Ghost.

Ghost shrugged. He’d had enough time off that he was feeling next to useless and antsy. But he could handle one more week. He might even get in some fly-fishing.

He slid behind the wheel of his pickup and glanced down at the address. Old Orva Davis couldn’t possibly still be alive, could she? If not her, who was the woman who’d felt threatened in this backwater town? Probably some nervous Nellie.

He’d find out soon enough.

And then...one week.

Chapter Two

Charlie had nodded off once or twice during the night, waking with a jerk every time. Thankfully, she hadn’t pulled the trigger and blown a hole in the door, her leg or her foot.

She was up and doing laundry when Lolly padded barefoot out of her bedroom, dragging her giant teddy bear. “I’m hungry.”

“Waffles or cereal?” Charlie asked, forcing a cheerful smile to her tired face.

“Waffles,” Lolly said. “With blueberry syrup.”

“I’ll start cooking, while you get dressed.” Charlie plugged in her waffle iron, mixed the batter and had a waffle cooking in no time. She cleaned off the small dinette table that looked like a throwback to the fifties, with its speckled Formica top and chrome legs. In actuality, the table did date back to the fifties. It was one of the items of furniture that had come with the house when she’d bought it. She’d been fortunate enough to find the bright red vinyl fabric to recover the seats, making them look like new.

On a tight budget, with only one income-producing person in the family, a car payment and student loans to pay, she couldn’t afford to be extravagant.

She was rinsing fresh blueberries in the sink when a dark figure suddenly appeared in the window in front of her. Charlie jumped, her heart knocking against her ribs. She laughed when she realized it was Shadow, the stray she and Lolly had fed through the winter. Charlie was far too jumpy that morning. The messages from the night before were probably all bluster, no substance, and she’d wasted a night she could have been sleeping, worrying about nothing.

The cat rubbed her fur against the window screen. When that didn’t get enough attention, she stretched out her claws and sank them into the screen netting.

“Hey! Get down.” Charlie tapped her knuckles against the glass and the cat jumped down from the ledge. “Lolly! Shadow’s hungry and my hands are full.”

Lolly entered the room dressed in jeans, a pink T-shirt and the pink cowboy boots she loved so much. The boots had been a great find on one of their rare trips to the thrift shop in Bozeman, Montana. “I’ll get the bowl.” She started for the back door.

I’ll find you.

The message echoed in Charlie’s head and she dropped the strainer of blueberries into the sink and hurried toward her daughter. “Wait, Lolly. I’ll get the cat bowl. Tell you what, you grab a brush, and we’ll braid your hair this morning.”

Charlie waited until her daughter had left the kitchen, then she unlocked the dead bolt and glanced out at the fresh green landscape of early summer in the Rockies. The sun rose in the east and a few puffy clouds skittered across the sky. Snow still capped the higher peaks in stunning contrast to the lush greenery. How could anything be wrong on such a beautiful day?

A loud ringing made her jump and then grab for the telephone mounted on the wall beside her.

“Hello,” she said, her voice cracking, her body trembling from being startled.

“Charlie, it’s me, Kevin.”

“Thank goodness.” She laughed, the sound even shakier than her knees.

“Any more trouble last night?”

She shook her head and then remembered he couldn’t see her. “No. I’m beginning to think I’m paranoid.”

“Not at all. In fact, I’m sending someone over to check things out. He should be there in a few minutes.”

“Oh. Okay. Thanks, Kevin.”

“The guy I’m sending is one hundred percent trustworthy. I’d only send the best to you and Lolly.” He broke off suddenly. “Sorry. I have an incoming call. We’ll talk later.”

“Thanks, Kevin.” Feeling only slightly better, Charlie returned the phone to its charger and stepped out onto the porch.

Shadow rubbed against her legs and trotted to the empty bowl on the back porch steps.

“Impatient, are we?” Charlie walked out onto the porch, shaking off the feeling of being watched, calling herself all kinds of a fool for being so paranoid. She dropped to her haunches to rub the cat behind the ears.

Shadow nipped at her fingers, preferring food to fondling. Charlie smiled. “Greedy thing.” She bent to grab the dish. When she rose, she caught movement in the corner of her eyes and then there were jean-clad legs standing in front of her.

She gasped and backed up so fast, she forgot she was still squatting and fell on her bottom. A scream lodged in her throat and she couldn’t get a sound to emerge.

The man looming over her was huge. He stood with his back to the sun, his face in the shadows, and he had hands big enough to snap her bones like twigs. He extended one of those hands.

Charlie slapped it away and crab-walked backward toward the door. “Wh-who are you? What do you want?” she whispered, her gaze darting to the left and the right, searching for anything she could use as a weapon.

“Geez, Charlie, you’d think you’d remember me.” He climbed the steps and, for the second time, reached for her hand. Before she could jerk hers away, he yanked her to her feet. A little harder than either of them expected.

Charlie slammed against a wall of muscle, the air knocked from her chest. Or had her lungs seized at his words? She knew that voice. Her pulse pounded against her eardrums, making it difficult for her to hear. “Jon?”

He brushed a strand of her hair from her face. “Hey, Charlie, I didn’t know you were my assignment.” He chuckled, that low, sexy sound that made her knees melt like butter.

Her heart burst with joy. He’d come back. Then as quickly as her joy spread, anger and fear followed. She flattened her palms against his chest and pushed herself far enough way, Jon was forced to drop his hands from around her waist. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“I’m on assignment.” He grinned. “And it appears you’re it.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“Kevin Garner sent me. The Navy loaned me to the Department of Homeland Security for a special task force. I thought it was going to be a boondoggle, and actually asked to be released from the assignment. But it looks like it won’t be nearly as bad as I’d anticipated.”

Charlie straightened her shirt, her heartbeat hammering, her ears perked to the sound of little footsteps. “You were right. Get Kevin to release you. Go back to the Navy. They need you more there.”

“Whoa. Wait a minute. I promised Kevin I’d give it a week.” Jon gripped her arms. “Why the hurry to get rid of me? As I recall, we used to have chemistry.”

She shrugged off his hand. “That was a long time ago. A lot has changed since then. Please. Just go. I can handle the situation myself.”

“If you’re in trouble, let me help.”

“No.” God, why did he have to come back now? And why was it so hard to get rid of him? He’d certainly left without a care, never looking back or contacting her. Well, he could stay gone, for all she gave a damn. “I’m pretty sure I don’t need you. Ask Kevin to assign you elsewhere.”

“Mommy, I found the brush.” Lolly pushed through the back door, waving a purple-handled hairbrush. “You can braid my hair now.” Charlie’s daughter, with her clear blue eyes and fiery auburn hair tumbling down her back, stepped through the door and stopped. Her mouth dropped open and her head tilted way back as she stared up at the big man standing on her porch. “Mommy?” she whispered. “Who is the big man?”

Charlie’s heart tightened in her chest. If only her daughter knew. But she couldn’t tell her and she couldn’t tell Jon. Not after all these years. Not when he’d be gone again as soon as he could get Kevin to release him. “This is Mr. Caspar. He was just leaving.” Thankfully, her daughter looked like a miniature replica of herself, but for the eyes. No one had guessed who the father was, except for her parents, and they’d been very discreet about the knowledge, never throwing it up in her face or giving her a hard time for sleeping with him without a wedding ring.

Jon dropped to his haunches and held out his hand. “Would you like for me to brush your hair? I used to do it for your mother.”

The memory of Jon brushing the hay and tangles out of her hair brought back a rush of memories Charlie would rather not have resurrected. Not now. Not when it had taken seven years to push those memories to the back of her mind. She had too much at stake.

Charlie laid a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Mr. Caspar was leaving.”

He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sorry. I promised to stay for a week. I don’t go back on my word.”

No, he didn’t. He’d told her he wasn’t looking for a long-term relationship when he’d last been in town. He’d lived up to his word then, leaving without once looking back. “Well, you’ll have to keep your promise somewhere else besides my back porch.”

Her daughter tugged on the hem of her T-shirt. “Mommy, are you mad at the man?”

With a sigh, Charlie shook her head. “No, sweetie, I’m not mad at him.” Well, maybe a little angry that he’d bothered to come back after seven years. Or more that he’d waited seven years to return. Hell, she didn’t know what to feel. Her emotions seemed to be out of control at the moment, bouncing between happiness at seeing him again and terror that he would discover her secret.

Since Jon seemed in no hurry to leave, she’d have to get tougher. Charlie turned her little girl and gave her a nudge toward the door. “Go back inside, Lolly. We adults need to have a talk.”

Lolly grabbed her hand and clung to it. “I don’t want to go.” She frowned at Jon. “What if the big man hurts you?”

Lord, he’d already done that by breaking her heart. How could he hurt her worse?

* * *

GHOST WATCHED AS the little girl, who looked so much like her mother that it made his chest hurt, turned and entered the house, the screen door closing behind her.

Charlie hadn’t waited around for him to come back. She’d gone on with her life, had a kid and probably had a husband lurking around somewhere. “Are you married?” He glanced over her shoulder, trying to see through the screen of the back door.

“Since you’re not staying, does it matter?” She walked past him and down the stairs, grabbed a bowl from the ground and nearly tripped over a dark gray cat twisting around her ankles.

When Charlie stepped over the animal and started up the steps, the feline ran ahead and stopped in front of Ghost. She touched her nose to his leg as if testing him.

Ghost grew up on a ranch with barn cats. His father made sure they had two or three at any given time, but had them spayed and neutered to keep from populating the countryside with too many feral animals with the potential for carrying disease or rabies around the family and livestock.

He bent to let the cat sniff his hand and then scratched the animal’s neck. “You didn’t answer my question,” he said. Why would she avoid the simple yes or no question?

“I don’t feel like I owe you an explanation for what I’ve been doing for the past seven years.” Her tone was tight, her shoulders stiff.

When he’d first seen her on the deck, he hadn’t immediately recognized her. Her hair was longer and loose around her shoulders. When they’d been together, all those years ago, she’d worn her hair in a perpetual braid to keep it out of her face.

Her hips and breasts were fuller, even more enticing than before. Motherhood suited her. If possible, she was more beautiful and sexier than ever.

His gut twisted. But who was the father? Lolly was small. Maybe five? Though he didn’t have a claim on Charlie, he never could stomach the idea of another man touching her the way he’d touched her.

The fact was babies didn’t come from storks. So Charlie wasn’t the open, straightforward woman she’d been all those years ago. She probably had a reason for being more reserved. Having a child might have factored into her current stance.

He straightened. “So, tell me about the threats.”

“You’re not going away, are you?” Her brows drew together, the lines a little deeper than when she’d been twenty-two. She sighed. “I really wish you would just go. I have enough going on.”

“Without me getting in the way?” He shook his head. “I’m only going to be here a week. Unless you have a husband who is willing to take care of you, let me help you and your family for the week.” He smiled, hoping to ease the frown from her brow. “Show me a husband and I’ll leave.” He cocked his brows.

She stared at him for a long, and what appeared to be wary, moment before she shook her head. “There isn’t a husband to take care of us.”

“Is he out of town?” He wasn’t going to let it go. The thought of Charlie and her little girl being threatened didn’t sit well with him. Who would do that to a lone woman and child? “I could stay until he returns.”

“I told you. There isn’t a husband. Never has been.”

He couldn’t help a little thrill at the news. But if no husband, who was the jerk who’d gotten her pregnant and left her to raise the child alone?

His heart stood still and his breath lodged in his lungs. Everything around him seemed to freeze. No. It couldn’t be. “How old is Lolly?”

“Does it matter?” Charlie spun and walked toward the door. “If you want to see the threats, follow me.”

He caught her arm and pulled her around to face him, his fingers digging into her skin. “How old is she?” he demanded, his lips tight, a thousand thoughts spinning in his head, zeroing in on one.

For a long moment, she met his gaze, refusing to back down. Finally, she tilted her chin upward a fraction and answered, “Six.”

“Just six?” His gut clenched.

“Six and a few months.”

Her words hit him like a punch in the gut. Ghost fought to remain upright when he wanted to double over with the impact. Instead, he dropped his hands to his sides and balled his fists. “Is she—”

“Yours?” She shrugged. “Does it matter? Will it change anything?”

“My God, Charlie!” He grabbed her arms wanting to shake her like a rag doll. But he didn’t. “I have a daughter, and you never told me?”

“You were going places. You had a plan, and a family wasn’t part of it. What did you expect me to do? Get an abortion? Give her up for adoption?”

“Hell, no.” He choked on the words and shoved a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe it.” His knees wobbled and his eyes stung.

He turned toward the back door. The little auburn-haired girl-child stood watching them, her features muted by the screen.

That little human with the beautiful red hair, curling around her face was his daughter.

Chapter Three

Charlie walked toward the house. As she reached for the doorknob, her hands shook. Now that Jon knew about his daughter, what would he do? Would he fight for custody? Would he take her away for long periods of time? Would he hate her forever for keeping Lolly from him?

Questions spiraled out of control in Charlie’s mind.

Lolly stood in the doorway, watching the two adults. Had she heard what had passed between them? Did she now know the big man was her father?

Up until Lolly had started school, she hadn’t asked why she didn’t have a father. Her world had revolved around Charlie. She didn’t know enough about having a father to miss it.

Charlie pulled open the screen door, gathered her daughter in her arms and lifted her. “Hey, sweetie. Do you still have that brush?”

Her daughter held up the brush. “Is the big man going to stay?” She shot a glare at Jon. “I don’t like him.”

“Oh, baby, he’s a nice man. How can you say you don’t like him when you don’t know him yet?”

That stubborn frown that reminded Charlie so much of Jon grew deeper. “I don’t want to know him.”

Charlie cringed and shot a glance over her shoulder at the father of her child. Had she been wrong to keep news of his daughter from him? Would he have wanted to be a part of her life from birth?

Jon’s expression was inscrutable. If he was angry, he wasn’t showing it. If Lolly’s words hurt...again, he wasn’t letting on.

Then he smiled. Though the effort appeared forced to Charlie, it had no less of an impact on her. She remembered how he’d smiled and laughed and played with her when he’d been there seven years ago.

She still had a picture they’d taken together. He’d been laughing at something she said when she’d snapped the photo of them together.

Her heart pinched in her chest. No matter how much she might want it, they couldn’t go back in time. What they had was gone. They had to move on with their lives. How Jon would fit into Lolly’s world had yet to be determined, if he chose to see her again. Now that Jon knew about her, Charlie couldn’t keep him from being with her. She just hoped he didn’t break Lolly’s heart like he’d broken Charlie’s all those years ago.

“Lolly, Mr. Caspar is going to be visiting for the next week. I think you’ll like him.” She stared into her daughter’s eyes. “Please, give him a chance.”

Lolly stared over Charlie’s shoulder at the man standing behind her. She didn’t say anything for a few seconds and then nodded. “Okay.” Then she extended the hand with the brush toward Jon. “You can brush my hair.”

A burst of laughter erupted from Charlie. She clapped her hand over her mouth, realizing it sounded more hysterical than filled with humor. Trust her daughter to put the man to the test first thing.

Charlie set her daughter on her feet.

Jon nodded, his face set, his gaze connecting with Lolly’s. “I’d be honored.” He took the brush from her and glanced around.

“You can have a seat in the kitchen,” Charlie said. “I’ll make some coffee. Have you had breakfast? I’m making blueberry waffles.”

She went through the motions of being a good hostess when all she wanted to do was run out of the room screaming, lock herself in her room and cry until she had no more tears left. With a daughter watching her every move, Charlie couldn’t give in to hysterics.

She’d cried more than enough tears over this man. No longer a young woman on the verge of life, she was a mother with responsibilities. Her number one priority was the well-being of her little girl.

Charlie rinsed the bowl in the sink, poured cat food into it and set it aside. Shadow jumped into the window again, startling her. “Cat, you’re going to give me a heart attack,” she muttered. “I’ll be back.”

As she left the kitchen with the cat food, she watched Jon and Lolly.

Jon had taken a seat at the kitchen table and stood Lolly with her back to him between his knees.

Charlie swallowed hard on the lump forming in her throat.

The Navy SEAL, with his broad shoulders and rugged good looks, eased the brush through Lolly’s hair with a gentleness no one would expect from a man conditioned for combat.

Once outside, Charlie stood for a moment on the porch, reminding herself how to breathe. What was happening? She didn’t know which was worse, being threatened by a potential domestic terrorist, or facing the man she’d fallen so deeply in love with all those years ago. Her life couldn’t be more of a mess.

An insistent pressure on her ankles brought her out of her own overwhelming thoughts and back to a hungry cat, purring at her feet.

“Sorry, Shadow. I keep forgetting that I’m not the only one in this world.” She set the bowl on the porch, straightened and was about to turn when she saw movement in the brush near the edge of the tree line behind her house.

Narrowing her eyes, she stared into the shadows. Sometimes deer and coyotes made their way into her backyard. An occasional black bear wandered into town, causing a little excitement among residents. Nothing emerged and nothing stirred. Yet awareness rippled across her skin, raising gooseflesh.

Charlie rubbed her hands over her arms, the chill she felt having nothing to do with the temperature of the mountain air. She retreated behind the screen door where she stood just out of view from an outside observer. A minute passed, then another.

A rabbit hopped out of the shadows and sniffed the air, then bent to nibble on the clover.

Releasing the breath she’d been holding, Charlie turned toward the kitchen. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the rabbit dart across the yard, away from the underbrush of the tree line.

Charlie shook off that creepy feeling and told herself not to be paranoid. Just because someone threatened her on the internet didn’t mean someone would follow through on his threat.

She closed the back door and twisted the dead bolt. It didn’t hurt to be careful. Walking back into the kitchen, she couldn’t help feeling safer with Jon there. He had Lolly’s hair brushed and braided into two matching plaits.

Her daughter leaned against Jon’s knee, showing him her favorite doll.

Jon glanced up, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Oh, yeah. He was angry.

Charlie didn’t doubt in the least he’d have a few choice words for her when Lolly wasn’t in the room. And he had every right to be mad. He’d missed the first six years of his daughter’s life.

Glad she had a bit of respite from a much-deserved verbal flogging, Charlie rescued a waffle from burning, poured batter into the iron and mixed up more in order to make enough for a grown man. Flavorful scents filled the air as the waffles rose.

Milking the excuse of giving her full attention to the production of the waffles, Charlie kept her back to Lolly and Jon. Yes, she was avoiding looking at Jon, afraid he’d see in her gaze that she wasn’t totally over him. Afraid he’d aim that accusing glance at her and she’d feel even worse than she already did about not telling him.

“Here. Let me.” A hand curled around hers and removed the fork from her fingers. “You’re burning the waffles.”

Charlie couldn’t move—couldn’t breathe. Jon stood so close he almost touched her. If she backed even a fraction of a step, her body would press against his.

God, she could smell that all too familiar scent that belonged to Jon, and only Jon—that outdoorsy, fresh mountain scent. She closed her eyes and swayed, bumping her back into his chest.

With his empty hand, he gripped her elbow, steadying her. Then he reached around her with the fork, opened the waffle iron and lifted out a perfect waffle. “Plates?” he said.

His mouth was so close to her ear, she could feel the warmth of his breath, causing uncontrollable shivers to skitter across her body.

Plates. Oh, yeah. She reached up to her right and started to pluck two plates from a cabinet. Then she remembered there were three of them now. After setting the plates on the counter, she turned away from the stove, desperate to put distance between her and Jon. Her body was on fire, her senses on alert for even the slightest of touches.

“Come on, Lolly, let’s set the table while Mr. Caspar cooks.” She grabbed the plates and started around Jon.

He shifted, blocking her path. “We will talk.”

She stared at his chest, refusing to make eye contact. “Of course.”

He stepped aside, allowing her to pass.

Charlie wanted to run from the room, but she knew she couldn’t. Her daughter was a very observant child. She’d already figured out something wasn’t right between her and Jon. Besides, running away would solve nothing.

Lolly gathered flatware from the drawer beside the sink.

Charlie set the plates on the table and went back to the cabinets for glasses. While she filled them with orange juice, she took the opportunity to study Jon while his back was to her.

The Navy SEALs had shaped him into even more of a man than he’d been before. His body was a finely honed weapon, his bulging muscles rippling with every movement. He’d been in great shape when he’d come home on leave seven years ago, but he was somehow more rugged, with a few new tattoos and scars on his exposed surfaces.

Charlie yearned to go to him, slip her arms around his waist and lean her cheek against his back like she had those weeks they’d been together. She longed to explore the new scars and tattoos, running her fingers across every inch of him.

He slipped waffles onto a platter and turned toward her, catching her gaze before she could look away.

Charlie froze, her eyes widening. Shoot, he’d caught her staring. Could he see the longing in her eyes?

She dragged her gaze away and darted for the stove and the pan of blueberry syrup simmering on the back burner. Her hand trembled as she poured the hot syrup into a small pitcher.

“Careful, you might get burned.” Jon took the pan from her and set it on the stove.

You’re telling me? She’d been burned by him before. She had no intention of falling for him again. Her life was hectic enough as a single parent trying to make a living in a small town.

She hurried away from Jon and set the syrup in front of her daughter.

Lolly pointed to the end of the table. “Mr. Caspar, you can sit there.” She climbed into her chair and waited for the adults to take their seats.

Charlie felt like she and Jon were two predatory cats circling the kill. She eased into her chair, her knees bent, ready to launch if things got too intense.

Jon frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want your mother to sit here?”

Lolly shook her head. “She always sits across from me so we can talk.”

Jon glanced at Charlie.

Charlie gave half of a smile. “That’s the way we roll.”

“Before we got our house, we sat on the couch to eat,” Lolly offered.

“How long have you been in your house?” Jon asked.

“We moved in on my birthday.” Lolly grinned. “I had my first birthday party here.”

“What a special way to celebrate.” Jon reached for the syrup and poured it over his stack of waffles. “Where did you live before?”

Charlie tensed.

Lolly shrugged. “Somewhere else.” Her face brightened. “Did you know mommies go to school, too?”

Jon smiled. “Is that so?”

Lolly nodded. “Mommy went to school.”

His brows hiked as he glanced toward Charlie.

Heat rose up her cheeks. She didn’t want to talk about herself. They didn’t need to go into all the details of their lives for the past seven years.

Jon didn’t need to know that the years before they’d moved into the little house in Grizzly Pass had been lean. Too many times, Charlie had skipped a meal to have enough money to feed Lolly and pay for the babysitter. Working as a waitress during the day kept a roof over their heads and school at night didn’t leave much time for her to be with her daughter. But they’d made their time together special. Now that she worked from home, Charlie was making up for all the times she couldn’t be home.

Her daughter shoved a bite of waffle into her mouth and sighed. “Mmm.”

Charlie almost laughed at the pure satisfaction on Lolly’s face. They hadn’t always eaten this well, and it hadn’t been that long since she’d landed a job paying enough money that she could afford to buy a small house in her hometown.

Jon took a bite of the waffle, closed his eyes and echoed Lolly’s approval. “Mmm. Your mother makes good waffles.”

“You helped,” Lolly pointed out.

“So he did.” Charlie pushed her food around on her plate, her stomach too knotted to handle anything. Not with Jon Caspar sitting at her table.

Hell, Jon Caspar, the man she’d dreamed about for years, was sitting at her table. She pushed her chair back. “If you’ll excuse me, I just remembered something.”

She took her plate to the sink and was about to scrape the waffles into the garbage disposal when Jon’s voice spoke up. “If you aren’t going to eat them, I will.”

She stopped with her fork poised over the sink. Walking back to the table, she set her plate down beside Jon’s and then ran from the room.

So, I’m a big fat chicken. Sue me.

In an attempt to take her mind off the man in the kitchen, Charlie entered the guest bedroom she’d converted into an office. A futon doubled as a couch and a guest bed. The small desk in the corner that she’d purchased from a resale shop was just the right size for her. She spent most of her day in her office, working for a software developer she’d interned with during the pursuit of her second degree in Information Systems.

The shiny new business degree she’d finished right before that summer with Jon had landed her nothing in the way of a decent job. She’d stayed in Grizzly Pass with her parents through Lolly’s birth, making plans and taking online courses.

She’d moved to Bozeman to return to school for a degree in Information Systems, looking for skills that wouldn’t require her to move to a big city to make a living. She’d chosen that degree because of the opportunities available to telecommute. It had been a terrific choice, giving her the flexibility she needed to raise Lolly where she wanted and provide the family support her daughter needed. She had no regrets over her decision and now had the time to dedicate to her work and her small family of two.

She booted up her laptop and waited for the screen to come to life. As she waited, she glanced around the small room, wondering if Jon could fit his six-foot-three-inch frame on the futon. Ha! Fat chance. But he wasn’t going to sleep in her room. Seven years apart changed everything.

Everything but the way her body reacted to his nearness.

Hell, he’d probably had a dozen other women.

Her heart stopped for a moment as another thought occurred. An image of Jon standing beside a woman wearing a wedding dress popped into her head and a led weight settled in her belly. He might have a wife somewhere. He’d said he was there for only a week. He might have someone waiting for him back home.

And kids.

Charlie pressed her hand to her mouth, her heart aching for Lolly. How would she feel about sharing her father with other children? Would she get along with a stepmother?

Her eyes stung and her throat tightened. Lolly’s life had just gotten a lot more complicated.

The screen on her laptop blinked to life. No sooner had she opened her browser than a message popped up on her screen.

You told.

Beware retribution.

“Damn.” She shut the laptop and laid her head on top of it. If only wishing could fix everything, she’d wish her problems away.

“Are you okay?” A large hand descended on her shoulder.

For a moment Charlie let the warmth chase away the chill inside her. Jon had always had a knack for making everything all right. He would help her figure out this problem. In one week, they’d solve the mystery of who was threatening her and possibly a government facility in the state of Wyoming. Just one week. And then she could get back to life as usual.

Who was she kidding? Jon wouldn’t leave for good. He’d be back. For Lolly.

Charlie shrugged Jon’s hand off her shoulder and sat straight, opening her laptop again. “I’ve had another message.” When the screen lit, she leaned back, allowing Jon to read the message.

“Do you think it’s some kid yanking your chain?” Jon asked.

“I wish it was.” Charlie pushed her hair back from her forehead. She clicked the keyboard until she found the URL she’d bookmarked and brought it up. Scrolling through the messages, she searched for the one that had started it all. She backed up through the messages from around the date and time the call to arms had been made. It was gone.

“What the hell?” Charlie scrolled farther back. “It was here last night.”

“Whoever posted it could have come back in and erased the message.”

Charlie snorted. “That’s fine. I saved a screenshot, just in case.” She pulled up the picture and sat back, giving Jon a moment to read and digest the words. “Do you think I was overreacting by reporting it to DHS?”

Jon shook his head. “With everything happening in the country and around the world, you can’t be too cautious.” He reached around her and brought up the social media site and scrolled through the messages again.

“Yesterday, there were a lot more messages expressing dissatisfaction with the way the government was handling the grazing rights and pipeline work.”

“Apparently, someone scrubbed the messages. These all appear to be regular chatter.”

Charlie sighed. “I’m beginning to think I imagined it.”

“You did the right thing by alerting DHS.” He straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “Let them handle it. They have access to people who can trace sites like this back to the IP address.”

The phone on her desk rang, making Charlie jump. She grabbed the receiver and hit the talk button. “Hello.”

“Charlie, Kevin here. I take it you’ve met Ghost?”

“Ghost?” She glanced up at Jon.

He nodded and whispered, “My call sign.”

Heat rose in her chest and up into her cheeks. “Yes, I’ve met him.” She’d met him a long time ago, but she didn’t want to go into the details with her DHS handler. Kevin wasn’t from Grizzly Pass, and there were certain things he didn’t need to know.

“Is he there now?” Kevin asked.

“Yes.”

“Let me talk to him.”

Charlie handed the phone to Jon. “It’s Kevin.”

Jon took the phone.

When their fingers touched, that same electric shock she’d experienced the first time he’d touched her shot up her arm and into her chest. She couldn’t do this. Being close to him brought up all the same physical reactions she’d felt when she was a young and impressionable twenty-two-year-old.

She pushed back in her chair and rose, putting distance between them. It wasn’t enough. Being in the same room as Jon, aka Ghost, made her ultra aware of him. She wasn’t sure how long she could handle being this close and not touching him.

* * *

“GHOST HERE.” HE HELD the receiver to his ear, unused to using landlines. But then cell phones were practically useless in the remote towns of Wyoming.

“The rest of the team has arrived. I’d like you to meet them and talk through a game plan for the security of the area.”

“I thought you wanted me to stay with Ms. McClain.”

“I wanted you to assess the situation and give me feedback. I think she’ll be okay in broad daylight. For now, you need to come to my digs above the Blue Moose Tavern and meet the rest of the men.”

Ghost glanced at Charlie.

She paced the length of the small office, chewing on her fingernail.

“I’ll bring her and the child with me.” His gaze locked on her.

Charlie’s head shot up and she met his glance with a frown. “Wherever you’re going, you’ll have to go by yourself. I had plans to take Lolly with me to the grocery store and the library. You don’t need to come with me. We can take care of ourselves.”

“Is that Charlie talking?” Kevin asked.

Ghost nodded. “It is.”

“Tell her I only need you for about an hour. Then she can have you back.”

Ghost covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “Garner said he only needs me for an hour. Are you sure you and Lolly will be okay for that time?”

She nodded. “Nobody will attack us in broad daylight.”

Ghost snorted. Too many people assumed that same sentiment and were dead because of it. “Stay out of the open and report in every time you come and go from a location.”

“I really think we might be paranoid, but okay.” She raised her hands. “I’ll stay out of the open, and I’ll report my comings and goings.” Charlie crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head back. “Happy?”

“Not really,” he said, his lips pressing together. “I’d rather drop you where you want to go and pick you up later.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

Ghost decided it was better not to argue while Garner waited on the phone.

“Everything set?” Garner asked.

Ghost stared at Charlie, not sure he was happy with the arrangement, but Charlie wasn’t budging. “Yes. I’ll see you in twenty minutes. That will give me time to take a shower.”

“Will do.” Garner ended the call.

“I have to meet with DHS and the team Garner is assimilating. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

She gave a firm nod. “Positive.”

How she could be so certain was unfathomable to Ghost. He wasn’t sure he was okay. Being near Charlie brought back too many memories and a resurgence of the passion he’d felt for the woman seven years ago.

When he met with Garner, he’d have to tell him that he might not be the right man for the job. They had a huge conflict of interest. He and Charlie had slept together. Hell, they had a child together.

Tired and grungy, he couldn’t think straight. “I need a shower.”

“What do you want me to do about it?” She stood with her arms crossed, a semibelligerent frown on her face.

The corners of his lips twitched. Ghost stepped up to her and tipped her chin with his finger. “There was a time when you would have offered to shower with me.”

“I was young and stupid.”

He chuckled. “And you don’t want to get stupid together? There’s a lot to be said for being stupid. Especially when you do this—” Before he could talk sense into his own head, he bent and touched his lips to her forehead. “And this.” He moved from her forehead to the tip of her nose.

She closed her eyes and her chest rose on a deep, indrawn breath. She unwound her arms and laid her hands on his chest.

At first he thought she would push away, but her fingers curled into his shirt, giving him just enough encouragement.

“And this.” Ghost pressed his lips to hers, tasting what he’d missed for all those years, drinking in her sweetness. Sweet ecstasy, he couldn’t get enough. He slid his hands to her lower back and pressed her closer. Why had he stayed away so long?

He skimmed the seam of her lips with his tongue. When she opened her mouth on a gasp, he dived in, caressing her tongue with his in a long, slick slide, reestablishing his claim on her mouth.

She felt different, her curves fuller, her arms stronger, her hair longer, but she was the same inside. This woman was the only one who’d stayed with him over the years, her image tucked in the recesses of his mind as he prepared for combat. She was the reason he’d dedicated his life to serving his country. To protect her and all the other people who depended on him to secure their freedom. He risked his life so that others could live free and safe.

For a long moment, he pushed every reason he’d had for leaving her out of his mind and reveled in the warm wetness of her kiss, the sweet taste of blueberry syrup on her lips and the heat of her body pressed to his. His groin tightened, the fly of his jeans pressing into her belly.

“Mommy?”

Ghost leaped back as if he’d been splashed with ice water.

“What do you need, Lolly?” Charlie pressed one hand to her swollen lips and the other smoothed her hair before she turned to face her daughter standing in the doorway.

“Why were you kissing Mr. Caspar?”

Ghost half turned away from the child, his lips twitching. He’d leave that answer for Charlie. Although, he’d like to know the answer to that question, too.

Chapter Four

“Sweetheart, let’s get your shoes on. We’re going to get groceries. After that, we’re going to the library. So gather your books.” Charlie didn’t answer her daughter’s question, choosing to hustle her daughter out of her office and away from the man who’d just kissed her socks off. She called over her shoulder, “Help yourself to the shower. There are towels in the linen closet and plenty of soap and shampoo.”

Her lips tingled, and she could still taste the sweetness of his mouth. Dear, sweet heaven, how was she going to keep her hands off the man if he was around all the time?

She needed air. She needed space. What she wanted was another kiss just like that one. With her knees wobbling, Charlie left Lolly in her room and hurried into the master bedroom where the bed was still neatly made. She jammed her feet into her cowboy boots and yanked a brush through her hair, securing it at the nape of her neck in a ponytail. After checking that the safety switch was set on her handgun, she slid it into her purse, hooked the strap over her shoulder, braced herself and stepped into the hallway.

Thankfully, Jon wasn’t anywhere in sight.

Charlie released the breath she’d held.

Lolly emerged from her room carrying a stack of children’s books.

“Let’s put those in a bag.” She gathered the books and carried them back into Lolly’s room where she found her book backpack and slid them inside.

Lolly slipped the backpack over her shoulders and led the way from the room.

She ran ahead to the living room.

Charlie shook her purse, listening for the jingle of keys. When she didn’t hear it, she returned to her bedroom and grabbed them from the nightstand.

Hurrying into the hallway, with her head down, tucking the keys into her purse, she ran into a wall of muscles.

Big, coarse hands gripped her arms, steadying her.

“Are you all right?”

Hell no, she wasn’t. Her pulse raced and she was out of breath before she’d even begun her day. “I’m fine,” she said, studying her hands resting on his chest.

And boy, was he fine, too. Charlie couldn’t help but stare at the expanse of skin peeking through his unbuttoned shirt. She remembered the smattering of hair on his chest and how she used to run her fingers through the curls. Her fingers curled into his skin, wanting to slide upward to test the springiness of those hairs.

“Are you ready?”

More than you’ll ever know. Charlie shook herself and pushed way. “I’m taking my car since I have to stock up on groceries.”

“I’ll follow you there.”

“No need. It’s only a block from Kevin’s office. If I run into any trouble, you won’t be far away.” She shook her head. “We’ll be fine.”

He stared at her for a long moment.

Charlie met his gaze and held it, refusing to back down. He’d been gone seven years. He couldn’t just walk back into her life and take over.

“Okay.” He started buttoning his shirt. “Let’s go.”

Charlie’s glance dropped to where his fingers worked the buttons through the holes. Seven years ago, she would have helped him button up, and then undo them one at a time, kissing a path down his chest.

Ghost’s fingers paused halfway up. “I remember, too,” he said, his voice low and gravelly.

Shivers rippled through her body and Charlie swayed toward him. Then she stopped, mentally pulled herself together and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And I don’t care. Let’s go.”

She pushed past him, her arm bumping into his, the jolt of electricity generated in that slight touch turning her knees to jelly.

The sooner she got away from him, the sooner she’d get her mind back. What was it about the man that scrambled her brain and left her defenseless against his magnetism?

Lolly stood by the door, her thumbs hooked through the straps of her backpack.

Charlie grabbed her hand and stepped out. She waited for Ghost to exit as well before she turned to lock the door. Her hand shook as she tried to slide the key into the dead bolt lock. She fumbled and dropped them to the porch.

Ghost scooped them up, locked the door and dropped the keys into her open palm. “You sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

Lolly looked up, a happy smile on her face. “Could he, Mommy?”

“Sweetheart, Mr. Caspar has to go to a meeting.”

Ghost touched his daughter’s chin and gave her a brief smile. “I’ll see you in about an hour.”

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