Colton Cowboy Hideout. Carla Cassidy

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       Chapter 4

      Josie stood and looked out the window from the small bedroom. Instead of getting settled into the guest room next to Tanner’s suite, he’d shown her to the bedroom next to his with an adjoining door into the twins’ nursery.

      He’d given her the choice between the two rooms and she’d decided to take this one inside his suite. If she was going to play nanny to the two little girls, then she intended to do the job right and that meant being 100 percent available whenever they needed her. This room just made the most sense.

      She didn’t want to think about the fact that a lingering fear still coursed through her and it might have been that fear that had prompted her not to stay in the room next door all alone.

      She placed her suitcase on the twin bed and quickly unpacked the few clothes she’d brought with her, then placed them in the chest of drawers. She’d packed for a couple nights’ stay, not knowing what to expect when she got here.

      She’d assumed she’d either be treated as a guest and given a room while she was here, or she might need to find a nearby motel to stay in until she could unearth the watch.

      She set her toiletries aside for the time being. Tanner had told her to feel free to claim the guest bathroom across the hall from the nursery as her own.

      He’d also told her to take her time getting settled in and she could officially start her nanny duties in the morning. At the moment he was entertaining his daughters in the living room.

      She’d revealed a lot of her past to Tanner, but not all of it. She hadn’t seen any reason to share with him the crime that had taken place so many years ago, a murder that had eventually forced her into the witness protection plan.

      If things went the way they were supposed to, he’d never know about that part of her life. She shook her head ruefully. So far nothing had gone as she’d planned.

      She finished unpacking her suitcase, pulled her cell phone from her purse and sat on the edge of the bed that was covered in a sunny yellow spread that matched the bright curtains hanging at the window.

      She needed to call her brother Trevor. He would be expecting her to be back in Granite Gulch before nightfall, hopefully with the cursed watch in hand.

      It had been only in the last month or so that she’d finally gotten the opportunity to get to know all of her siblings. They’d been separated first by the foster system and then by her fear of bringing danger into their lives.

      Most of her siblings had gone into some form of law enforcement in an effort to protect their community from killers like their father. They worked hard to earn respect in the small town of Granite Gulch.

      With a deep sigh, she punched the number that would connect her to Trevor. He answered on the second ring. “Are you already home?”

      “Not even close,” she replied. “We have a problem. Actually, we have several problems.” She quickly told him about the missing Eldridge and Tanner and the man who had accosted them by the tree.

      “Are you sure you’re okay?” His deep voice held concern.

      “I’m fine,” she assured him, making an instant decision not to tell her big brother about the gunshot wound. “A little shaken up, but I’m okay. I just wanted to let you know Tanner thinks we shouldn’t go back to dig up the watch for the next couple of days and I’m in lockdown here until the sheriff says I can leave, so I’m not sure exactly when I’ll be back home.”

      “Josie, the last thing any of us want is for you to get hurt. Take the time you need to assure you’re safe. Now, tell me what this creep looks like.”

      She gave him a description of the gunman and he assured her he would do everything in his power to check out former cell mates and cohorts their father might have had in his years of incarceration.

      When Josie finally ended the call she had no grandiose illusions that Trevor would manage to identify the man in the woods. There had been plenty of shady characters in her father’s life. Dark dirty hair and a snarl weren’t great details for Trevor to go on, but they were pretty much all she had.

      She reminded herself that despite all the odds, Trevor and his pregnant wife had managed to take down the Alphabet Killer. They had put their own lives at risk, but had managed to get the vicious woman off the streets and into jail, where she belonged.

      A smile curved Josie’s lips as she thought of the ceremony she’d attended only the night before. Trevor and his wife, Jocelyn, had renewed their wedding vows and now Trevor was not only a real husband, but also a happy father-to-be.

      She knew with certainty Trevor would be the kind of wonderful father the Colton children had never had in their lives. He and Jocelyn had a beautiful future before them and Josie couldn’t be happier for her oldest brother.

      Her smile fell away. Although Trevor had told her to be smart and play it safe, he’d also told her that Matthew’s health was deteriorating a little more each day, adding СКАЧАТЬ