The Colton Bodyguard

“No, you’re fine.” He smiled at her. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

With the same momentum that he’d put forward in bringing her inside, he took her back outside, and before she could even catch her breath, she was ensconced in the rich leather passenger seat of a sleek silver sports car.

“This place is a little hole-in-the-wall, but it’s become so popular you have to make reservations even on a weeknight,” he said as they pulled out onto the highway.

“You mentioned it was a steak house. I’m definitely a steak-and-potatoes kind of girl,” she replied.

“Good. Then we should get along just fine.”

“I never asked you this morning what the horse’s name is.” She wanted to keep the conversation focused on the reason she was there.

“She-Devil,” he replied.

Greta shook her head. “That will never do. Does she respond to that name?”

“She doesn’t respond to anything.”

“Then we have to find her a new name, something that doesn’t have such a negative connotation.”

He slid her an amused glance. “I suppose you want to call her Sugar.”

“That’s perfect,” she replied. “And by the time I get finished with her, she’ll be as sweet as sugar.”

“You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

“I know what I’m good at,” she replied.

Again he flashed her a grin. “I like confidence in a woman.”

They passed a strip mall and he turned into the parking lot. At the end of the line of businesses was a restaurant named Cattle Call.

“Like I said, it’s a bit of a hole-in-the-wall, but the steaks are out of this world,” he said and angled into an empty parking space at the side of the building.

“I like hole-in-the-wall kind of restaurants,” she replied. “Besides, it’s the quality of the food that counts.”

They got out of the car and entered the crowded restaurant, where the hostess greeted Tyler by name and led them to a two-top table in the back that was a little more secluded than the other tables.

The scent of grilled meat filled the air, and while the place was full of people, the level of noise was relatively low and made conversation between them easy.

The hostess handed them each a menu and then with a bright smile told them their waitress would be with them soon and left the table.

“It smells delicious in here,” Greta said as her stomach rumbled with hunger. She hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast that morning. “You must be a regular since the hostess knew who you were by name.”

“I eat here two or three times a week. It’s on my way home from work, so I usually pop in for dinner.” He didn’t bother picking up the menu.

Greta opened hers and peered at the offerings. It took her only a minute to make up her mind. The waitress, a pleasantly plump woman with a name tag that read Brenda, greeted them and took their drink and dinner orders.

“A friend of mine stopped by today and told me there have been some rough times at your place lately,” Tyler said once the waitress was gone.

“We’ve had some issues,” she replied, unsure what he’d heard and how much to tell him.

“My friend told me a lot of the issues seem to revolve around you.” He held her gaze intently.

Greta sighed. She’d been raised to keep family matters in the family and not involve outsiders unless necessary. Certainly Mark, as her fiancé, had known some of the problems that had occurred. “Mark didn’t ever mention anything about it to you?”

“Mark only speaks to me when it serves his purpose and that’s usually when he needs money,” Tyler said drily.

The waitress returned with their drink orders, a glass of wine for Greta and a scotch and soda for Tyler. When she’d left once again, Greta decided to tell Tyler everything. She wanted him to trust in her, and who knew what kind of rumors his friend had told him? Besides, she needed to talk about it with somebody other than a family member, to vent some of the fear and uncertainty that she’d been living with for what seemed like forever.

“It all started soon after Mark and I got engaged in June. My mother was attacked in her bedroom and the doctors had to put her into a medically induced coma. Everyone thought it was some kind of a botched robbery attempt. Soon after that I received in the mail a copy of Mark’s and my official engagement picture that ran in the paper. My face was x-ed out in the photo. I thought it was probably from one of Mark’s old girlfriends, but it still made me feel a bit uneasy.”

“I can imagine that would be unsettling,” Tyler replied.

She nodded. “At the same time, odd things were happening around the ranch—a fire was set in one of the outbuildings, tires were slashed on some of the farm vehicles and fencing kept getting torn down.”

She stopped talking as the waitress arrived with their meals. She continued once the waitress had left, feeling as if she’d held everything in too tight for too long and it was a relief to talk to somebody who had no horse in the race, so to speak.

“Thankfully, my mother came out of the coma and returned home, and she and I continued with the wedding planning.” Greta frowned and took a sip of her wine. “Although my mother seemed happy, something was different between us. She was different with me, but I thought it had something to do with the head injury she’d sustained. Then one day when I was here in Oklahoma City, my brother Daniel called me and asked what I was doing hanging around the ranch. I told him that I was here and it was impossible that he’d seen me there, but he insisted he’d seen me. That’s when I think most of my family started to worry about me.”

She laughed self-consciously. “I’m doing way too much talking and not enough eating. Let’s eat while it’s hot.”

“You have to talk and eat. I feel like you’re forcing me to walk out in the middle of an intriguing movie.” He picked up his fork and steak knife and she did the same.

The steak cut like butter and melted in her mouth, but her head was filled with what she hadn’t yet shared with Tyler. The rest of what she had to tell him, she hadn’t really processed completely herself.

She ate several bites of the steak and baked potato and then continued talking. “Then my DNA was found at several crime scenes around the ranch, including where Kurt was murdered. As you know, I was arrested and you got me out of jail. As soon as I returned home, my mother told everyone that it was me who had attacked her, but it wasn’t me. She said the woman looked like me but she looked crazy and wild. And that’s when my father made his big confession...” Her voice trailed off.

Tyler leaned forward. He held a piece of steak on his fork suspended between his plate and his mouth. “His big confession?”

She nodded. “He told us that after giving birth to all her boys, my mother had finally given birth to the girl she’d always wanted. But the baby only lived for a day and then died. He’d learned from a nurse that a young woman had just given birth to twins at her home because she couldn’t afford the hospital bills. Believing that losing her daughter would send my mother over the edge forever, he met with the other mother and arranged to buy one of her twins for fifty thousand dollars. That’s how I became a part of the Colton family.”

Tyler gazed at her with vague surprise. “It must have been a shock to learn about the circumstances of your birth at your age.”

“A shock not just for me but for the entire family.” She took another drink of her wine and tried to stanch a chill that threatened to invade her. “I know now that I have a twin sister and I think she’s found me. I don’t believe she’s looking for a happy reunion. I think maybe she wants to kill me.”

Chapter 4 (#ulink_4f35ba42-9ef2-5925-acde-02b6d111e67b)

Tyler stared at her, stunned by what she’d just told him. A dead baby, another one bought to replace it? And an evil twin sister to boot? It sounded like something out of a bad B-rated movie. “What makes you think she wants to kill you?”

“If she wanted a real happy reunion, she would have just knocked on the front door and introduced herself. Instead it was her DNA found at Kurt’s murder scene. It was her DNA found all around the ranch where bad things have happened.”

“What would be her motive to kill you?”

“I have no idea. I’ve never met her. I don’t know anything about her. I just think she must be crazy. I believe the only reason why she hasn’t managed to hurt me so far is because for the last couple of months I’ve been on the move between the ranch and Oklahoma City for the wedding plans.”

Tyler digested everything she had told him. Was she really in danger? “Did you tell anyone outside your immediate family that you were going to be staying at my place?”

“No, I didn’t even tell my immediate family exactly where I was going. I just told them I had a job in Oklahoma City. Thankfully, nobody asked me to be more specific. They’re used to me being gone and not knowing exactly where I am, especially when I’m working.”