Colton Cowboy Hideout

Whitney’s son Zane, who was in charge of security on the ranch, would be tearing his hair out knowing somehow somebody had gotten to Eldridge in the master suite of the main house.

A quick phone call to Moira told Tanner two things—the room next to his suite was empty and everyone was still in virtual lockdown until further notice from the sheriff.

He now carried Josie’s pink-flowered bag down the hallway to the small, empty staff room next to his. They hadn’t even stepped inside the room when Brianna appeared pushing the stroller.

“Dada-love! Dada-love,” the twins chanted with excitement at the sight of him.

Despite the happy greetings from his girls, his gut tightened at the pinched expression on Brianna’s face. She stopped the stroller just in front of him and grabbed the end of her braid.

“How did lunch go?” he asked, wondering if perhaps one of the girls had misbehaved and that was the reason for Brianna’s obvious unhappiness.

“They ate fine, they behaved okay, but I can’t do this anymore,” Brianna replied.

“Can’t do what anymore?” he asked, even though he knew the answer and a heavy dread filled his chest.

“I can’t work here anymore. There’s just too much tension and I don’t feel comfortable being here where a kidnapping took place. Everyone was up in arms in the staff dining room and I’m not sure my chakra is ever going to be right again.”

The dread spread through his entire body. “So, are you giving me your two-week notice?” he asked as he set down Josie’s suitcase on the carpeting.

“No, consider this your two-minute notice,” she replied. “I need to get away from all the negative energy before I’m completely sick.”

A wild panic took the place of the dread. Two-minute notice? What in the hell was he supposed to do with that? Before he could even respond Brianna raised her fingers in a familiar sign. “Peace out,” she said and then twirled on her heels and headed back down the hall.

Tanner stared after her and then looked down at his daughters. “Dada-love?” Lily’s lower lip began to tremble and Leigh echoed the cry.

He bent down and grabbed Lily into his arms, grateful when Josie picked up Leigh. He stared at the pretty young woman who held his daughter.

Josie had just confessed to him that she was not only the daughter of a serial killer, but had also been a suspect in a string of heinous murders, and yet as Leigh reached up to grab her nose, a crazy plan formulated in his head.

“How would you like a temporary nanny job?” he asked.

Her eyes widened in obvious surprise. “You’re insane,” she replied. Leigh laughed and clung tighter to her.

“It’s too dangerous for us to go back to that tree for the watch for the next couple of days or so. You mentioned you mothered the other children when you were in foster care. If you’ll play nanny to the girls during the day, then when I think it’s safe enough I’ll take you back to the tree to get the watch.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That sounds suspiciously like blackmail,” she said.

“Really? To me it sounded like the promise of a desperate father. Look, I’ll pay you what I was paying Brianna and I’ll start interviewing somebody for the position immediately. The girls have already taken to you and did I mention I’m desperate?”

“Nose,” Leigh said and once again tried to capture Josie’s nose.

Josie easily dodged the little fingers by turning her head slightly, but her gaze remained locked with his. “Okay,” she said. “You just got yourself a temporary nanny.”

Tanner should have felt a huge relief. He’d always considered himself a decent judge of character. But he’d certainly misjudged his former wife and then a couple of the women he’d hired to watch his girls. He just hoped he wasn’t making another mistake in trusting Josie Colton with his most precious possessions.

Chapter 4 (#ulink_1332bca8-572b-5e2d-a0c2-f6f3e2a1d1f0)

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 a small ticking time bomb to the job of getting the watch to their father before he passed away.

She checked her watch and saw it was just a little before three. Tanner had told her before she’d begun to unpack that dinner was at five thirty and served in the staff dining room.

She kicked off her sandals, stretched out on the sun-kissed bedspread and closed her eyes. She’d gotten up early to make the drive here, and with the traumatic morning events a quick catnap sounded like a great idea.