He’s sworn off protecting women and children

But this latest case changes everything!

Ever since tragedy struck years ago, bodyguard Callum Colton has avoided working with families. Yet when little Evie Hart becomes a witness to a kidnapping, Callum puts aside his fears to protect Evie and her mother, Hazel. That means moving in with the single mom and her adorable child—just temporarily, he insists. But can Callum keep the Harts safe while protecting his own heart?

Two-time RITA® Award nominee and Golden Quill award winner JENNIFER MOREY writes single-title contemporary romance and page-turning romantic suspense. She has a geology degree and has managed export programs in compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) for the aerospace industry. She lives at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Denver, Colorado, and loves to hear from readers through her website, jennifermorey.com, or Facebook.

Also by Jennifer Morey

A Wanted Man

Justice Hunter

Cold Case Recruit

Taming Deputy Harlow

Runaway Heiress

Hometown Detective

Cold Case Manhunt

Colton’s Convenient Bride

Colton’s Fugitive Family

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Colton Family Bodyguard

Jennifer Morey

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90494-4

COLTON FAMILY BODYGUARD

© 2020 Harlequin Books S.A.

Published in Great Britain 2020

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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For my family, for always supporting me and

the time I spend writing.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

Why did every woman he met and thought might be the one always announce at the worst possible time that she wanted babies? Callum Colton walked along a street at the edge of Mustang Valley, Arizona, on a sunny, early spring day. He had just left his now ex-girlfriend, Cindy, in tears because he’d had to tell her he was never going to have any children. He’d explained that to her at the beginning but she must have thought she could change his mind. He’d had to remind her he meant what he’d said. In truth, he felt so rotten, ending the relationship like that. She’d told him she understood and held no animosity toward him, but she was obviously very hurt.

Callum stepped into Executive Protection Services, LLC still lamenting what had happened. What else could he have done? He would have hurt his ex-girlfriend more had he continued on with her. When Cindy sat him down for The Serious Talk, she’d told him she wanted children and she wanted them with him. She loved him, and her biological clock ticked on and she felt she had to move now. That convinced him they weren’t right for each other. She had hoped he felt the same as her and that he would give her children. She hadn’t anticipated how unbending he was on the matter. And the truth was that he did not love her. They would have ended their relationship eventually, since she wanted a family. Why drag it out? He never had serious relationships with women he dated. How had she gotten the impression he would with her? He had told her as much. He almost shuddered as the door closed behind him and he walked through the entry with its vacant reception desk toward an office in the back.

He had enough going on without having to now feel guilty for hurting Cindy. He was still reeling from the news that his half brother, Ace, had been switched at birth and wasn’t really his biological sibling. Not by blood. Who would do such a thing and why? The why of it really twisted his mind. Charles, the owner, chief executive officer, president and whatever other titles a guy like him liked to have, looked up from behind his metal-and-glass desk. The lack of clutter and nearly bare walls pretty much described him. Focused. Nothing personal. Good business head. That’s why Callum had agreed to work for him. Callum had no liking for paperwork. Charles did.

“It’s about time you got here.” Charles stood and moved around his desk.

“I had to take care of something.” Cindy’s tear-damp cheeks flashed through his mind. Chaos had reigned recently in his life, ever since an email had made the rounds of his family’s company, Colton Oil, saying that his oldest brother, Ace, was not a biological Colton. Since then, his father, Payne, had been shot—and now the cops even suspected Ace.

Charles stopped before him and cocked his head. “Well, that sounds like you. When you need to take care of something, nothing keeps you from doing it—not even your boss.”

“I broke up with my girlfriend,” Callum said.

“Another one? The hot blonde? What’s wrong with you?”

Callum put his hands up. “She wanted kids.”

Charles’s brow creased a little. “What is it with you and kids? They’re harmless and adorable. Who wouldn’t want them?”

“Not me.”

“Why not? They can be challenging sometimes but the rewards far outweigh that.”

Charles had two young kids. He had a wife and a nice house. A real family man. “Why did you call me here?” Callum asked in irritation.

After considering him awhile, Charles said, “You never talk about anything, do you realize that?”

Callum angled his head in silent warning.

“Keeping things bottled up is unhealthy. I worry about you.”

Callum said nothing and continued to look at him.

“Why do you think I called you here?” Charles asked.

Callum had a pretty good idea why. And he also thought this was going to be a waste of time. “I got the job done and the client is alive.” He’d done a job as a bodyguard for an executive who had a stalker.

“I’m not telling you to change your ways.” Charles scoffed. “I couldn’t anyway. But for the welfare of this company, I am telling you to be more careful. I almost couldn’t convince the police you didn’t break the law.”

The stalker had gotten too close to his delicate female client and Callum had given him a clear...message. Someone must have called 911 because the police had arrived after Callum and his client left.

“You were lucky the stalker was wanted for sexual assault on another woman. If they hadn’t been able to arrest him, they probably wouldn’t have let you go with just a warning,” his boss said.

Callum walked over to the window and passively watched cars go by and a man walking his dog on the sidewalk.

“Seriously, Callum, you can’t make up your own rules as you go.”

Why was Charles rambling on so long about that? Hopefully Callum had knocked some sense into him. Charles was just uncomfortable about employing a man who wasn’t afraid to cross boundaries.

“I’ll be careful, Charles,” Callum said.

“Why does that sound so half-baked?”

Callum glanced back with a rueful grin. “Because it is. Stop worrying so much. You’re not the one who would have been arrested, and protecting our clients won’t damage our reputation. If anything, it will get us more business.”

“You can’t protect anyone if you’re in jail.”

Turning back to the window, Callum said, “I didn’t cross the line. We advertise elite services, don’t we?” The view distracted him a moment. Charles had rented an office in an attractive one-story mall with a restaurant and a gas station beside the parking lot. The back of the building faced a quiet, tree-lined road. Across the street an upscale subdivision sprawled.

“Okay, but just don’t get caught.”

“I knew that stalker was wanted for assault. I found out two days ago.”

“You still could have been arrested, Callum. Even criminals have rights.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Or not. Callum’s first priority was protecting his clients. He had a strong conviction about that. Victims didn’t deserve to be forced into being victims. The menace that threatened them was a cancer that had to be carved out and stopped. That’s what had led him to a career as a bodyguard, and back home to support his family in a time of crisis.

“It turns out that’s not the only reason I asked you to stop by. I’ve got another case for you. Ever hear of the country singer Blake Reynolds?”

“No.” Callum liked country but didn’t pay attention to the artists’ names.

Outside, a black Mercedes SUV—one of the more economical versions—pulled to a stop on the side of the street. Callum caught sight of a woman with long dark hair in the driver’s seat. She had a fantastic profile. At the same time, a car stopped on the side of the street about two houses down.

Callum listened to Charles explain the new case while he turned back to the woman, who climbed out of the SUV and opened the back door. She worked to free a little girl from a car seat. Normally this was when he would have turned away from the sight of a mother and her child, but something about the woman made him keep watching—and stop listening to Charles. Maybe it was that tight body in those dressy black pants, or the curve of that slender waist, or the way her those perfectly shaped breasts strained against the white blouse.

She lifted the girl from the seat and lowered her to the ground. Holding a stuffed Cookie Monster in one arm, the child looked up at her mother and said something, to which the woman shook her head. The little girl didn’t appear to like the answer, an adorable pout forming beneath scrunching eyebrows, and she hugged the stuffed toy against the white top of a cute flaring black skirt. He felt an automatic pang at the adorable mother-daughter duo.

The mother went to the back of the Mercedes and lifted the hatch. Callum got a really nice view of her frame as she leaned in and retrieved two recyclable grocery bags. Setting those on the pavement, she reached in again and handed a plastic container to the little girl, who still frowned and continued to argue with her mother.

The beautiful woman crouched before her, her facial features striking him to the core. She spoke to the girl, whose frown finally smoothed.

Standing, the woman closed the hatch and lifted the bags, talking with the young girl. The child walked with short, clumsy steps beside her mother up the driveway to the front door of a house. When they disappeared inside, Callum realized how immersed he’d become in watching the woman and child. His stomach fell.

Then he looked down the street and saw the car that had pulled over was still there, with someone sitting in the driver’s seat. A man. He appeared to be watching the woman’s house, though he was too far away to get a good look inside. Out of habit, Callum checked the license plate but it was too far away to make out.

Charles appeared beside him, looking from the house across the street to him. “Have you heard a single word I’ve said?”

“Sorry, no.” Callum turned away from the window.

“The singer had a girlfriend who’s gone off the deep end. He’s afraid she’ll go after him.”

“Another one of those cases?” Only this time it would be a man he protected.

“They were together for six months and she started to get too clingy, so he ended it. He said he noticed other things, too, like catching her in lies. She told her friends they were getting married. She also told him she was pregnant but she wasn’t. He made her do a test and it was negative. When he asked why she lied, she said she was afraid she was going to lose him.”

“Does he have any kids?” Callum asked.

“No. You’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t want those kinds of cases—which you still haven’t told me why.” Charles looked out the window again. “I meant what I said about keeping things bottled up, Callum.”

“When do I go?” He didn’t like talking about why he never took mother-child cases. Charles tried to get him to every once in a while and Callum believed that Charles was concerned about him. He had become a good friend, aside from being Callum’s boss.

“He’s local. That’s how he heard of you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. He asked for you by name. You’ll be working with his usual security team.”

“He doesn’t think his own team will be enough?” What kind of woman had this new client broken up with?

Charles walked back to his desk and picked up a folder. “I printed these out for you. I also emailed them. You’ll understand more after you read it. He’s out of the country right now, but asked if you could stay at his place next month.”

Callum took the file. “Thanks.” Charles knew he liked studying cases on paper more than on a screen. Some things were still better offline, like holding a book instead of a tablet.

“Any news on your father?” Charles asked.

“He’s still in a coma. I’m heading over to the hospital after I go see my brother.” Payne Colton had been shot after receiving a bizarre email containing the shocking news about Ace. He didn’t say which brother he was going to see, since Ace was still a suspect in Payne’s shooting. When Callum and his twin sister—current Colton Oil CEO Marlowe—had visited Mustang Valley General Hospital last month, they were told that a fire broke out the morning of Ace’s birth and destroyed all records.

With one more look out the window that told him the car and the man were still there, Callum bade Charles farewell and left the building. But he couldn’t stop thinking about that parent and child. He couldn’t explain why he needed to make sure she was all right. A sixth sense told him something was off about the stranger in the car. Even though he had sworn off guarding families, he couldn’t ignore this. He’d make sure the woman and her daughter were okay and then he’d be on his way.

Hazel Hart took her now-cheerful daughter’s hand and walked with her toward the SUV. Earlier Evie had fussed about being told she could not go for ice cream today. Hazel’s schedule was far too busy. But Evie liked passing out cookies to Hazel’s clients. Hazel had told her five-year-old she could sample one with them. That had taken care of the ice cream tantrum.

Hazel glanced around. The street was quiet. This area of town didn’t get much traffic. On the edge of Mustang Valley, there was a lot of new development and not much commercial business. The back of the strip mall across the street hid most of the activity there, though landscaping along the sidewalk made it more palatable for residents. The client she’d just left enjoyed the convenience of Hazel’s home deliveries, especially since she had been taken ill with breast cancer. The woman was going to be all right, but had hired Hazel to provide her meals while she recovered. The woman had family but they all lived out of state and she didn’t like the food her neighbors prepared.

Hazel had left her job at an upscale restaurant several months ago to go off on her own as a personal chef. She preferred the independence and not having to work under someone else’s thumb. Plus, she could always be with Evie, which was her most favorite thing in the world.

Reaching the SUV, Hazel unlocked it and had her hand on the back seat door handle when Evie said, “Mommy, what is that man doing?”

Hazel looked in the direction Evie pointed and saw a man in a blue sedan, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap.

“Why did he hit that man over the head with a rock and put him in the car?”

Hazel turned sharply to Evie. “What?” She looked around and didn’t see anything.

Evie pointed. “That man put another man in the trunk, Mommy.”

Hazel felt a wave of apprehension sweep through her as she stared at the sedan. If the driver had struck a man unconscious and put him into the trunk, he could not have any good intentions. He started pulling out into the street way too quickly for Hazel’s comfort.

Hazel memorized the license plate as the man began driving along the street, right toward them.

Reaching for Evie’s hand, she went to pull her daughter onto the sidewalk. Evie dropped her Cookie Monster and bent to pick it up. Horror flared up in Hazel. She glanced up and saw the car was almost on them! They’d be run over!

“Evie—” Just then someone swooped Evie up and grabbed Hazel’s hand, yanking her backward.

The stranger in the sedan continued to race for them. Hazel screamed, as did Evie, as a man hauled them behind her Mercedes and up onto the sidewalk. The other car whizzed past, taking out her Mercedes’ driver-side mirror.

“Are you all right?”

Hazel pulled her hand from the man’s, heart flying and struggling to catch her breath. A car had just tried to mow them down! The sound of the Mercedes mirror being torn off kept echoing in her mind.

She reached for a crying Evie. The heroic man handed her daughter over and Hazel held her tightly. “It’s okay, baby. We’re all right.” She looked at the man as she answered his question.

Hazel checked up the street and saw no sign of the driver. Then she turned back to her hero. “Thank you.”

He took out his phone and called 911.

Her adrenaline began to abate as Evie’s crying softened. Smoothing the few tendrils of brunette hair that had fallen free from the two ponytails sticking out from the sides of Evie’s head, she wiped her daughter’s cheeks.

Looking over the child’s shoulder, she saw the man as more than her rescuer. His reddish-blond hair was slightly wavy and he had strong facial features. He wore dark slacks with black leather loafers that had thick soles, and between the lapels of his black jacket she could see he had on a white shirt with the first two buttons undone. He finished telling the operator where they were and disconnected. Towering above her, he was probably six-three and had an athletic build.

“I’m Callum Colton,” the handsome man said.

“Hazel Hart, and this is Evie, short for Evelyn.”

Evie turned her head, still pouting, and looked at Callum.

“Hi, Evie. Are you okay?” Callum asked.

Evie nodded.

“That’s an awfully cute stuffed monster you have there,” he said.

“Her name is Cookie,” Evie said, brightening.

He chuckled and glanced at Hazel, who became transfixed by his smile. “That’s appropriate.”

Well, whether he was a kid person or not, his tactics worked. Ever since Ed ran out on her after hearing she was pregnant, Hazel always wondered whether or not a man who caught her eyes liked children.

“I think Evie saw something,” Hazel said. “She said a man hit another one over the head with a rock and put him into the trunk.”

The faint sound of sirens joined the gentle hum of distant town movements. Hazel put Evie down and held her hand, needing to have contact with her. Having nearly been run down by a car had rattled them both. To think Evie could have been hurt, or worse...

“Did you see him, too?” Callum asked.

She shook her head. “He was in the car already when I saw him. I didn’t get a good look at him. I did get the plate number, though.”

“That’s great.” Then he asked Evie, “Can you describe the man?”

The little girl nodded. “Mm-hmm. He looked really mad.”

“Mad?” Hazel asked, prompting her to elaborate.

Evie crowded her tiny eyebrows over eyes that were greener than her mother’s. “Yeah.” Evie nodded. “He looked like the man at the mall, Mommy.”

Hazel met her daughter’s round, innocent eyes, heart melting as usual at Evie’s adorableness and also searching for the memory. Then she recalled a homeless man they had encountered at the edge of the parking lot. He had been dressed in heavy clothing and had a beard, a dark beard.

“Was the man you saw as hairy as the man in the parking lot earlier?” Hazel asked.

“No, he was not skinny. And no hair on his face.”

The homeless man had been slim and had a beard. “The man she saw was average in height and weight,” Hazel said.

The sirens were now a blaring howl and seconds later, fire trucks, police cars and ambulances converged upon them.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hazel shook the pretty woman’s hand.

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

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

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

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

Kerry straightened and began writing on a small notepad.

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

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

Hazel nodded.

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

Callum nodded once.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Friends?”

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

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

That certainly unsettled her.

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

“Okay.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What’s a bodyguard?” Evie asked.

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

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

He smiled down at her. “I’ll try.”

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

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

“Okay, Mommy.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“My next client is Blake Reynolds.”

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

“Oh, all right. Let’s go.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He chuckled. “I can’t believe it.”

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

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

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

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

“Don’t be.”

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

“Sounds charming.”

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

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

“How does that make you naive?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You better get packing,” Callum said.

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

Chapter 2

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

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

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

With a soft smile, she resumed packing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“These are great.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Do you want kids some day?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“If you need to be with him...”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Which brother?”

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

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

“You like hearing about all my family drama?”

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

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

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

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

“That doesn’t mean he shot him.”

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

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

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

“Evie doesn’t think so.”

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

“Like I said, she’s a good kid.”

“She must have a good mother.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Are you similar?”

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

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

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

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

“We don’t know yet.”

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

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

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

“I was getting too old to be a SEAL.”

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

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

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

“I’m twenty-five,” she said. “Have you been married or in any serious relationships?”

She had confessed her failed serious relationship, so that justified her asking the question. “No to marriage. Yes to a relationship, but it didn’t work out.”

“What happened?”

“It didn’t work out,” he repeated, turning his head and not looking at her anymore.

She watched the tension on his face for a few seconds, then said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“We should get going to the police station. Why don’t we go get her and head to the hotel?” Callum said.

She wanted to get to Evie as soon as possible—and slow down whatever was happening between her and Callum.

Waiting for Hazel to finish getting ready to leave, Callum struggled with what her questions had brought to the surface. Shortly after he had left the SEAL team, he had lost Annabel. He never talked about her and their unborn baby. After she died, he had told everyone they’d broken up. He couldn’t bear to face the truth and he didn’t like people asking him about her. No one had enquired about her in a long time, which probably explained the heavy emotion he felt right now.

When Hazel joined him at the back door, Callum left the apartment, carrying two of her bags with one hand, leaving the other free. He searched the parking area behind the bakery and at first everything seemed quiet. But then he saw someone sitting in a car parked at the end of one of the rows. It was different than the one that had nearly mowed down Evie and Hazel; this one was white with tinted windows. He couldn’t see the person inside, but the shape had the form of a man.

Alarmed that someone might try to harm Hazel again, he said, “Go back inside, Hazel.”

“What?” Her eyes searched his face beneath lowered eyebrows.

“I need to check out that car over there. Go back inside.” He had to keep her safe and she’d be safest in there for now.

Hazel looked out into the parking lot. “Oh, no.”

“It might not be anything. Just let me check it out,” he said as reassuringly as he could. He didn’t mean to frighten her.

She turned and went back inside. He saw her go to the window next to the door and watch.

Callum stepped down the stairs, leaving the bags on the landing by the door. He walked to his truck and started it, then drove closer to the building. There, he waited a few moments. The driver of the other car pulled out of the parking space and drove down the alley toward the street.

Getting out of the truck, Callum went to help Hazel as she came out of the apartment and locked the door. He searched the parking lot and alley, keeping his body between the direction the car had gone and Hazel. He picked up the two bags and followed her down. At the passenger door, he opened that and waited for her to get in, continuing to watch for the mysterious car.

Putting the bags in the back seat, he got behind the wheel and started driving.

At the street he pulled out into traffic, glancing frequently into the rearview mirror. As he suspected, the stranger had waited for them.

Hazel twisted to look behind them. “Is that car following us?”

“Yes.”

“Is it the same man?”

“I don’t know.” Callum turned a corner to see if the stranger would follow.

He did.

Callum turned another corner and the stranger turned, too. He was two vehicles behind them. Callum couldn’t see the man clearly.

He decided to drive to the police station. Who in their right mind would try anything in front of a police station? Someone out of their mind...?

Hoping to get a better look at the man, Callum slowed down.

“What are you doing?” Hazel asked in a scared tone.

“I want to see if we can identify him.” He watched in the rearview mirror as the vehicle behind him got into the right lane and passed them. The second car moved over next. The white sedan slowed with Callum, maintaining distance. Whoever was driving wouldn’t risk being seen up close.

Not wanting to incite the man into drawing a gun or doing anything else that might endanger Hazel, Callum sped up and drove the rest of the way to the station. As they made the turn into the parking lot, the other car drove by. Callum stopped his truck and looked out his window. He saw a man who probably was about six feet tall. He had a hoodie and wore sunglasses—at night—and looked right at him, lights from the dash meagerly reflecting on him.

Callum waited until the white car disappeared from view, having memorized the plate number.

He parked. “Wait for me. Don’t get out.”

Hazel stayed in the truck and Callum opened the door for her, looking for the white car. Then he put his arm around her and walked with her to the front entrance. Inside, he turned to the glass doors and watched for a few minutes. The car didn’t reappear.

He heard Hazel ask for Detective Wilder and turned from the door. A short while later Kerry appeared from a hallway.

“Evie is looking at mugshots,” Kerry said. “I thought you both should have a look as well. Right this way.” She waved her hand in encouragement.

Callum followed Hazel and Kerry down a hall to an office where Evie was perched on a desk chair that all but swallowed her. Seeing her mother, she hopped down and ran over on her little legs.

“Mommy!”

Hazel picked her up for a hug. “Hi, sweetie. Did you have fun?”

“Yes. The artist is really good. He said he likes his job.” Her innocent eyes were wide with excitement.

“Oh, really?”

“And I looked at pictures of bad people.”

The kid would probably go down hard when Hazel put her to bed. Who needed sugar when you had such an active imagination? Evie definitely needed a lot of stimulation mentally. She would probably do great in school. He often wondered what his daughter would have been like. Who would she have been? What would her personality have been like? His personality or her mother’s?

Callum went over to Kerry and told her about the white car, glad for the distraction. She went to the computer where Evie had been “working” and must have navigated somewhere that would tell her about the car.

“Reported stolen this afternoon,” she said.

Damn. The stranger was being very careful. Callum didn’t like how he had followed them. He had found where Hazel lived. What if he found them at the inn? He felt enormous pressure to keep Hazel and Evie safe, more so than his usual clients. This seemed more personal.

Before that thought could cause him some heartburn, he went with Hazel to the computer, where Kerry brought up the mugshots. They spent about an hour going through those, but none of them looked familiar. They also couldn’t say with any certainty that any of those who had the same type of build might be a potential suspect. Evie’s assessment was their best shot at this point.

He’d been so consumed with protecting Hazel and Evie that he hadn’t asked Kerry about the progress of the investigation into his father’s shooting.

“Hey, have you gotten any further on finding Nan Gelman?” Nan was a nurse who’d been working on the maternity ward at Mustang Valley General Hospital the day Ace had been born—and swapped with another baby. Though the hospital’s records had burned, the Coltons were trying to track down Nan to find out what had happened that day.

Kerry made a disgruntled sound. “No. I found a Gelman living in Mountain Valley, but they aren’t related to Nan. No one in that family worked at the hospital.”

Maybe he’d see what he could dig up. “I might be able to help. My company has resources that you may not have access to.”

She brightened. “That would be great.”

“Detective Wilder?” Callum looked up and saw an officer in the doorway. “We have a body. It might be related to the near hit and run.”

Kerry indicated for Callum and Hazel to follow.

Hazel looked at Callum. “Evie should probably have a tour of the station or something.” She should not hear about a dead body.

An officer approached at Kerry’s gesture and Evie happily went off to resume her fun-filled day at the police station.

Callum and Hazel went into a conference room, where other detectives had gathered.

“Kerry’s here now,” the chief of police, Al Barco, said. Fifty-two, mostly bald and with a slight paunch, he had calm, kind green eyes, despite his commanding nature.

And a man started talking through the speakerphone on the long table. “Hi, Kerry. It’s Dane Howman.”

“Hey, Howman. What have you got for me?”

“A hiker found a body on the banks of a river a few miles from where Evie saw him put in the trunk. Preliminary forensics suggests the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. He had a wallet and an ID. It’s Nate Blurge.”

“I know that guy,” one of the other officers in the room said. “He’s a wild twenty-six-year-old, been arrested three times for drunk and disorderly conduct. Practically lives at Joe’s Bar and always gets into fights.”

“Could one of the people he crossed have killed him?” Hazel asked.

“That’s a possibility,” Kerry said. “It’s where we’ll start in the investigation.”

Hazel looked over at Callum and he could feel her worry. How long would the investigation take? How long would she have to be on high alert?

“I’ll find the killer as fast as I can so you and Evie can have your lives back,” Kerry said.

Hazel answered with a slight smile that was more of a silent thank-you than anything else. The reassurance didn’t alleviate the fear, and Callum’s determination to protect them with all the skill he’d gained over the years redoubled.

Rejoining Evie, Hazel flashed back to Callum’s reaction when she had asked him about his past relationships. Clearly something bad. It bothered her that he had trouble talking about something personal like that and also made her doubly curious.

Again, both she and Callum added what little information they could to the description of the killer. Right now her daughter was transfixed by Kerry’s badge.

“I’ve booked out one of the two-bedroom suites at the Dales Inn,” Callum said.

Hazel looked at him, startled. “You mean...you and me and...” In one suite? “I can’t afford that.”

“I can. Don’t worry.”

She kind of did worry, but she decided not to argue. Keeping Evie safe was most important to her. He put his hand over his chest. “I’m a bodyguard. Consider this a professional courtesy. No charge.” Now he opened his arms in offering, and oh, what an offering.

She stared at him for long seconds. “Oh, I don’t—”

Hazel felt some trepidation at staying with a man she had only just met. Nearly being killed had frightened her but this was all happening so fast. Her routine had been disrupted.

“Actually,” Detective Wilder said, removing her badge and handing it to Evie, who took it and felt the top, “Until we find Blurge’s killer, I think you should stay at the Dales Inn with Callum.”

More than one night? “I don’t—”

“I’ve already offered my services as a bodyguard,” Callum cut in again.

Hazel hesitated.

“You’re in good hands, Hazel. He is one of the best bodyguards in the country. His company is known for that. They have a solid reputation. You can trust him.”

That made her feel marginally better, but it seemed excessive. And with a stranger.

Bodyguard.

She supposed if she thought of him that way...

“You would be my bodyguard?” she asked him.

“Yours and Evie’s.”

Hazel glanced at Kerry, still uncertain but wavering. “He isn’t a policeman.” Callum might be six-three and solid muscle, but cops carried guns.

“He’s licensed to carry a firearm.” Kerry looked at Callum, who moved his jacket aside to reveal the gun in a hip holster.

When Hazel said nothing, just looked over at Evie, Kerry added, “There isn’t an officer in this department who wouldn’t vouch for him. He does work for a top personal protection agency. Really, I can’t say enough good about him.”

Hazel put her hand to her forehead. “This is so sudden.” She lowered her hand and looked at Evie. The sketch artist handed her a detective shield sticker, which put a big smile on her face. She peeled the back off the sticker and stuck it to the left side of her chest.

“Hey, Detective Evie.” Hazel went to her and crouched where she sat at Kerry’s desk. Evie beamed, no doubt imagining she was a detective and would go to work just now. “We’re going to stay at a hotel tonight. It’ll be a vacation.”

Evie nodded, looking at Kerry, who had put her badge back on, clearly distracted.

Chapter 3

Having confirmation that the man Evie saw being dumped into a car trunk was dead unsettled Hazel much more than she’d anticipated. Evie had seen the man knocked over the head with a rock. They didn’t know if that had killed him. Sure, she had contemplated the possibility, even the likelihood, but having it become fact put them up against a killer. A killer!

Callum held the station door for her and Evie, whom she held since her eyes were drooping with the late hour. She saw him scan their surroundings. He put his hand on her back protectively and then his head stopped moving. She followed his gaze and saw a white car drive past the station again and then turn the corner. Apparently the vehicle had been circling the block while they were inside.

“Go and get Kerry,” Callum said. “Hurry.”

Hazel turned and walked quickly back to the door. When inside, she saw Callum had drawn his gun and was watching the street.

“Is something wrong?”

Hazel heard Detective Wilder and faced her. “The white car that followed us here is still out there. He’s going around the block.” Just then Hazel spotted the car in front of the station on the street, driving slowly. Callum took cover behind his truck.

Kerry hollered for two other officers and ran out the front door.

“Mommy?” Evie said sleepily.

“It’s okay, honey. Go back to sleep.” Hazel hoped it would be all right.

Evie rested her head on Hazel’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Hazel didn’t have time to savor the sight.

Callum opened the station door as Hazel saw Kerry racing away in her car, two other officers following.

“Let’s get you out of here,” Callum said. “Kerry’s on his tail.”

She carried Evie out the door.

Callum stayed close to her side with his pistol. At his truck, he opened the back door and guarded them while Hazel put Evie in the car seat he had thoughtfully put in there. Then he opened the passenger door and guarded Hazel again while she got in. Going around to the other side, he got behind the wheel and drove quickly out of the parking lot.

A few minutes later they arrived at the Dales Inn. Hazel knew it was upscale but she had never been this close before. Its grandeur towered before her, the double wooden doors with oval windows welcoming guests to promised luxury. A parking valet gave Callum a ticket.

“Welcome, Mr. Colton,” the valet said and then nodded to Hazel. “Ma’am.”

“Callum Colton?” a bellboy asked.

“Yes,” Callum answered.

“I’ll take care of your bags.”

“Thank you.”

All Hazel had to do was carry a sleeping Evie inside.

The richness of majestic white columns and dark polished stone floors beneath a high, ornately trimmed ceiling engulfed her. Numbly she walked to the reception desk with Callum.

“We’re checking in to a two-bedroom suite, please.”

Hazel thought about protesting again, but her anxiety over the driver of the white car stopped her. That and Detective Wilder’s unwavering praise of Callum’s good character.

He took the room keys, then guided Hazel with his hand on her lower back, something that was becoming a habit for him. Strangely, Hazel didn’t mind. She wasn’t accustomed to a man doting on her the way Callum did. She had always taken care of herself. He might be doing all of that as her bodyguard, but she still liked it. She felt pampered.

They rode the elevator to the top floor with the bellboy and their luggage. Her luggage. Hazel looked at the cart the bellboy had gotten and saw two additional bags. She looked up at Callum in question, Evie’s warm breaths touching her neck.

“I arranged for my things to be brought here.”

Who had he called? And when? He must have done so while he waited for her to pack. No doubt his family had all kinds of people who did such things for them. Hazel had a funny feeling about that. Ed had hidden his wealth from her, so he had never taken her to places like this, but his lies had hurt. She wouldn’t fall so easily for anyone again. Not that she was falling for Callum. He was extremely handsome, that’s all. What woman could be immune to that? It was like staring at a beautiful painting, unable to look away until she’d had her fill of the pleasure.

In the posh hallway, Callum stopped at a room door and unlocked it. Then he held the door for Hazel and the bellboy.

“Go ahead and put my bags in the room with one king,” Callum said to the bellboy.

“Yes, sir.” The bellboy walked down the hall and Hazel followed.

Going into the other bedroom, Hazel drew the covers back on the far queen bed and gently laid Evie on the sheets. She touched her daughter’s sleeping face as the bellboy brought in her bags.

“Thanks,” she said.

“You’re welcome. Enjoy your stay at the Dales Inn.” The young man left and Hazel shut the door before undressing Evie.

It was a bit of a challenge to get her daughter into pj’s but she finally succeeded without waking her. The poor kid was exhausted.

Hazel unpacked both of their bags, hanging some clothes and putting some in drawers. She put Evie’s toys on one of the chairs in front of the draperies and then spread Evie’s favorite soft blanket over her. Leaning down, she kissed her daughter’s forehead.

Going out to the main room, she saw Callum on his phone, standing between a four-seater dining table and a sectional that faced a gas fireplace with a TV over it. He talked to someone as he faced the corner windows, Mustang Valley town lights sparkling outside.

There were some things on the table, a computer and other equipment. As she neared, she saw three GPS tracking devices, several USB drives. Some devices looked high tech, others had tiny screens, and she saw bulletproof vests, one small enough to fit Evie. Now she knew why he had two bags.

“All right. Keep me informed,” he said and then disconnected.

Hazel went to the four bar stools at a marble-topped kitchen island with a sink in the middle. Three pretty orange-gold pendants hung from the ceiling. A four-burner gas stove with a microwave above was on the other side, and there were cabinets on both sides. It even had a pantry.

She put her hands on the back of one of the chairs. “This is very nice. I’m more of a two-or three-star hotel kind of girl.” Not a fiver.

He chuckled. “We need the space and you need a kitchen. Think of it as a home away from home.”

Hazel had told him she was a chef on the way to the Dales Inn but not much else. Leaving the chair, she went around the island and began going through the cabinets. The kitchen was fully stocked with all the equipment she would need. “The only things missing are food and spices.”

“Make a list and I’ll have that delivered in the morning.”

With the snap of a finger he’d do that? “Then I’ll pay you.”

“No, you won’t. I want you to relax and have as much semblance of your normal routine as possible. Don’t worry about anything other than doing your job and taking care of Evie. I’ll do the rest.”

Finished checking out the kitchen, seeing it had pretty much everything, she walked to the impressive windows. Mustang Valley looked bigger than she had always thought of it from here.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

She heard him walk up behind her and stop beside her. “I was there when the man tried to run you over.”

He had already indicated as much, but she wanted to know why he was here with her. Why had he offered his services, free of charge?

“Why this?” She turned as she swept her arm out into the room, facing him. “Why is it so important for you to help us?”

She met his incredibly blue eyes while he considered his reply.

“I don’t know,” he finally said. “When I first saw you, I had no intention of going out to meet you, but then I saw that car with the driver and instincts kicked in. This is what I do, Hazel.”

That sounded truthful enough. Why, then, did she have this feeling that it was more personal than that?

“Kerry called. She lost the white car,” Callum said, pulling her thoughts elsewhere. “She said the driver must know the town well. Otherwise he might not have gotten away as easily as he did.”

Hazel bit her lower lip in consternation. The killer had gotten away. Where was he now? Lurking outside? Did he already know they were here? Picturing Evie’s sweet sleeping face, she released her lip with a long sigh. If the killer knew the town well, he’d know the Dales Inn was the only hotel in Mustang Valley.

Feeling as though someone could see them through the windows, she went to stand by the dining table.

Callum went to the other side. “I sleep light, so don’t worry. And if you have any lingering doubt as to why I’m doing this, now you shouldn’t. I couldn’t leave a dog in danger like this.”

She believed that his work was second nature to him, but she still thought there was more to him than that, more that drew him to her and Evie, maybe even something he hadn’t acknowledged himself. Yet.

Looking down at all the items on the table, she pointed to the vests. “I take it we’re going to be wearing those?”

“Whenever we leave the inn. They’re knife-and bulletproof and made with poly-cotton netting that breathes to keep you cool or warm, depending on the weather. You can wear them underneath your clothes. They’re comfortable.”

Very high tech. And she would feel so much better knowing Evie would be protected as best as she could.

“What will you do with the USB drives?” she asked.

“Some are listening devices, others are cameras. One is for deleted file recovery.” He gestured to the USB devices. “We’ll put a GPS in your car, purse and Evie’s backpack. They all have extended battery life.”

Hazel couldn’t bear to think she or Evie might be abducted, but Callum would know where they were if it happened. He wasn’t taking any chances. She couldn’t imagine they would need to recover any deleted files in order to find the killer. Maybe that was another precautionary measure Callum had taken.

“I’ve got some night vision goggles and extra guns and ammo in the bag. I’ll keep those in a safe place.”

Out of Evie’s curious hands. That was comforting. Hazel met his eyes, thinking she could never get tired of doing so. She could stare at them for an hour and float on a cloud of infatuation. How many other handsome men had she seen and not had such a strong reaction? She had been quite attracted to Ed, but she had never felt this way with him. Callum might be ruggedly gorgeous but Hazel didn’t think he’d be a good match for her.

What made a good match? She did not know him at all, at least, not very well. He physically attracted her. What would she do with that? What if she had no control over what was between them?

Why are you doing this?

Why is it so important for you to help us?

Those two questions that Hazel had asked kept repeating in his mind and he couldn’t shut off the voice. He was tired of hearing it. Mostly he was tired of wondering why and feeling somewhere deep inside that he already knew the answers.

He opened the drawer of the built-in desk next to the kitchen, looking for a notepad and pen. Hazel had gone to sit on the sectional. It was getting late but she needed to give him a list of kitchen necessaries so he could have everything she needed by morning.

He had been truthful when he had told her instinct had taken over. Instinct had made him walk across the street to check on the mysterious car. He hadn’t really thought much beyond that, but now here he was, guarding a woman and her child.

Finding a notepad and pen, he brought it to Hazel and sat beside her. “Here you go. Make your list.”

She tapped the pen lightly against her lower lip awhile before finally beginning to write down ingredients.

Callum studied her profile, sloping nose and full lips. Long lashes low over hazel-green eyes. He let his gaze travel lower, noticing a button on her white blouse had come loose and exposed more of her cleavage. She was a stunning woman.

He turned his attention to her growing list.

“Do you have regulars?”

“Yes. I’m a personal chef,” she answered without pausing in her writing.

Leaning over he started reading the list. “Are the ingredients all meat and potatoes?”

Smiling she slid a glance toward him. “No. Some are chicken and mashed potatoes.”

He chuckled. “I could do that job.”

“I also have clients who want things like shrimp and scallop scampi. Roasted chicken au jus. Seafood-stuffed salmon. Steak. Lobster. Vegetable dishes. Fruit.”

He would like to try a few of her concoctions. But since he barely knew her, he didn’t mention it.

“What made you decide to become a chef?” he asked.

She smiled softly. “My mother cooked all the time. I grew up with delicious smells wafting from the kitchen.”

“You never told me about your family. You know all about mine and I know nothing about yours.” That wasn’t fair. He felt safe asking her, not too personal.

“Not much to tell,” she said. “My parents are both from Pagosa Springs, Colorado. They knew each other in high school but didn’t get together until after college. My brother is a cop and lives in Phoenix with his wife’s family.”

“I’m sure there is more to tell than that.”

She smiled in that soft way again. “Are you looking for drama?”

“You did say every family has it.” He was starting to love this banter.

She laughed once. “Um...let’s see...well, there was the time when my brother skipped school to smoke pot with his friends. My parents flipped. They were afraid he would drop out of school or be kicked out and his whole future would be in ruins. But it turned out he just went through a phase. He rebelled for a year and then got his grades back up and went on to college.”

To become a cop. Her family drama paled in comparison to his. “What about you? Did you ever rebel?”

“No. I was never good at math or the sciences, but I managed a B average. Art was my forte. I oil painted, drew in lead and colored pencils. My paintings were often displayed in the school hall outside the art room. My parents worried I’d never make a comfortable income. They sat me down for a talk my senior year and said, ‘Hey, look, you might not be able to support yourself.’ Their way of saying they were convinced I’d be the clichéd starving artist.” She laughed. “I suppose I am still, in some ways.”

He liked that she smiled and laughed so much. He smiled and laughed, too, at least he thought he did.

“You were an artist and became a chef,” he said. “How did you go from one to the other?”

That made her think a moment, tipping her head up a bit, eyes lifting in search of an answer. He could see the flecks of green glowing.

“I think the talk with my parents influenced me,” she said. “I went to college for interior design, but one of my optional classes was culinary. That’s what changed everything. I loved the art of making plates look like colorful, abstract paintings. And then I fell in love with flavors and aromas. I dropped out of college after the first semester and went to culinary school.”

She must have a knack for it, since she was so young and already striving for success. “You’re self-employed. That’s quite an accomplishment.”

“I only recently went out on my own. I did my externship at Flemming’s, a renowned restaurant here in Arizona.”

“I’ve heard of it. Where did you go to school that got you that kind of externship?” he asked.

“The Culinary Institute of America.”

He whistled. How had she been able to afford that? He didn’t know the exact tuition but did know it was among the best culinary arts schools in the country, if not the world.

“My parents saved for my college education. They gave me almost half and I took out student loans for the rest. That and the externship got me my first job at a place called Carolyn’s Kitchen. It was an upscale, home-style restaurant. I helped them spiff up their menu and some of the meals I created gave me the idea to go out on my own. Jasmine, the owner of the bakery, lets me cook in her kitchen when I have a big order or several all at once. I cook after the bakery closes at two.”

She didn’t appear to make a ton of money, living in the small apartment, but she had to be getting along just fine, making a decent income to support herself and Evie. Callum admired that. He admired ambition in anyone. Working hard was rewarding. It didn’t matter if the hard work made a person wealthy. If Callum hadn’t been born a Colton, he wouldn’t be wealthy. He made a good income, more than an average bodyguard, but nothing approaching what his father made.

“What’s your favorite food?” Hazel asked, handing him the notepad.

Taking it, his fingers brushed hers. She gave him the pen as their eyes met.

“Seafood. Clams. Scallops. That scallop recipe sounded really good.”

“Clams. I could make you an outstanding clam dinner. We’d have to make something else for Evie. She doesn’t like seafood.”

“Does any kid?”

She took the pen and paper back and jotted down some more ingredients. Then she handed the list back to him. He put it on the coffee table.

“What are you going to make me?”

“Linguine with white clam sauce.”

“Mmm.” He couldn’t wait for that. Spending time with her in the kitchen, too. Doing anything with her. He liked being with her. “How much time do you need to cook tomorrow?”

“Five or six hours.”

Taking out his phone, he took a picture of the list then texted it to one of his agency’s best personal staff and asked to have everything by nine in the morning. Patsy Cornwall responded a few seconds later. She was a night owl. Callum could always depend on her.

“Just like that, we’ll get all the ingredients?” Hazel sounded amazed.

“Just like that. Patsy is paid very well for her services.”

“Is she some kind of concierge?”

“She’s a personal assistant. She works from home and runs errands for us when we need it. We all keep her pretty busy.”

“Nice. Lucky me.” Hazel gave him the pleasure of one of her soft smiles and the color of her eyes spellbound him.

She moved her head a fraction closer, as though she couldn’t help it, stopping short and looking into his eyes.

Callum lifted his hand and placed his palm against her cheek, then, nearly involuntarily, pressed his mouth to hers. She immediately responded, her warm lips melding with his and sparking much more carnal urges. The intensity of sensations just a kiss caused in him made him withdraw.

She opened her eyes and he found himself transfixed again. He had only known her for about ten hours. With all that had happened, he felt he had known her a lot longer.

“I should get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day,” she said.

“Right. Yes.” He stood with her, seeing her smooth her hair and press her lips together as though she could still feel him kissing her.

He walked behind her toward their bedrooms, she veering to the right and he to the left. When she reached her door, she slowed and looked at him. A moment of electrified attraction passed between them before she disappeared from view.

Callum entered his room and closed the door. While he undressed and got into bed, he imagined what it might be like to be naked with Hazel. On his back, he folded his arm under his head and stared at the dark ceiling, the passionate urges subsiding as the reality of starting something romantic with her set in. Hazel, single mother of Evie, an adorable little girl who reminded him of what his own daughter might have been.

Daughter. He had never formed that word since his girlfriend died. And now an intense sense of dread came over him. Dread and a horrible, defenseless feeling that swirled in his stomach.

Okay. He had gotten himself into this mess. He would treat it like any other job. Watch out for Hazel and Evie. Get them through what they had witnessed. Catch the bad guy. Move on to the next client. No more kissing Hazel.

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