Colton Family Showdown

He hadn’t really been joking. According to her bio, she’d just turned thirty. Maybe dealing with babies had more to do with some innate female intuition than women wanted to admit. He wasn’t about to say that out loud and have her walk out on him.

“I wish I knew how to find his family.” He walked over and stared out the big windows that overlooked the nearby paddock. He could just make out the lights in the bunkhouse beyond the barn. “Someone has to be missing him.”

“That doesn’t mean someone wants him back,” Kelsey murmured.

“I guess you’re right.” He hadn’t thought of it that way. Should have. Hell, he hadn’t had much time to think at all since taking the baby in. “I assumed the mother dropped him here, though I don’t have any reason for that assumption other than the way he arrived.” And now he had Deputy Bloom’s concern in his head, as well. What if Baby John’s mother was a victim of the Avalanche Killer?

“How was he dropped off?” Kelsey asked.

“He was bundled up in a car seat. The diaper bag was stocked. He was clean.” The baby had smelled like his niece just out of the tub. He hadn’t made that connection until just now.

“So the basics of food, clothing and safety were met?”

“Yes. My first thought was that the baby was supposed to be dropped off at Wyatt’s place.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s my brother. Deliveries frequently get messed up between his address and mine.” He laughed. “And because his wife just delivered a baby boy. The day before this little guy showed up.”

Kelsey smiled. “Logical.”

He grinned down at her. They both knew it wasn’t the least bit logical.

“He’s out,” she whispered. “I’ll go put him to bed.”

“He’ll cry,” Fox warned. Last night his heart had broken a little more every time the baby fussed. Although he’d napped quietly for a couple of hours while they’d eaten dinner and discussed horses. He and Kelsey had similar philosophies about breeding, and she was as familiar with his primary goal to breed a healthier quarter horse for ranchers as he was.

“We’ll figure it out,” she promised.

Her confidence balanced his lack thereof. She headed down the hall and he went to the kitchen for a beer. When she came back, only silence behind her, he shook his head.

“Miracle worker.”

“I’m not,” she insisted. “You just have a tired, content baby.”

“Want a beer?”

“No thanks.” She walked around him and poured herself a glass of water instead. “Did you notify the authorities when he showed up?”

He was pleased she was already so at home in his house. “Yes.” It helped to have someone to talk with, even if she was mostly a stranger. Except she felt like a friend after the time he’d spent reviewing her résumé. “I went straight to the sheriff’s office. Fortunately or not, depending on your viewpoint, no one in the area has reported a missing baby.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t take him off your hands.”

“They tried.” Goose bumps rose on his arms and he rode out the chill that followed. “Sheriff Colton—he’s a cousin—told me they’d call in child services to take care of him. But it felt wrong.” He couldn’t meet her gaze, unwilling to bare his soul completely. “Someone left him here, on the Crooked C. Everyone knows this is Colton property. I couldn’t turn around and hand him over to strangers.”

“I’m not judging you,” she said so low he thought he’d imagined it. “I expect the sheriff was confident you could handle it.”

Fox laughed. “Feel free to call and tell him the truth.”

Her smile radiated equal parts amusement and acceptance. He hadn’t seen that kind of look aimed his way since he was a kid.

“It’s not considered news anymore, but my sister and I were adopted by Russ and Mara Colton when my parents died. Mara was my mom’s older sister. She and Russ took us in rather than let us go into foster care.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. The change must have been a relief as well as a challenge.”

“Exactly both. They kept us with family and raised us as if we were theirs from the start.” There were inevitable differences between his parents and Mara and Russ, but he’d always felt awkward and ungrateful when he dwelled on them.

“And you wanted the same for Baby John.”

“Family is important...” His voice trailed off as a wealth of painful old memories and newfound worries assailed him. His dad hadn’t been the best example of patience and kindness. Fox couldn’t help wondering if and when he might snap and do the wrong thing. “If he’s a Colton we need to know. I’ll start asking my brothers tomorrow.”

“Asking is a good start, but why not run the DNA?” she queried.

“I should’ve thought of that.” Proving he wasn’t the father might light a fire under Trey to launch an investigation into the baby’s real parents.

“Hard to see clearly when you’re up to your eyeballs in a problem,” Kelsey said.

“True.” He smoothed a hand over his beard. “I’ll get the ball rolling on the DNA testing first thing tomorrow.” He’d have to call in a favor with the lab he used, but that wasn’t much of a hurdle. “Unless one of my brothers owns up to this, I can strong-arm all three of them for a cheek swab.”

“And a finger-stick,” she said. “The blood test could rule someone out right away.” Color stained her cheeks. “Not to imply your brothers would lie about the baby.”

“No offense taken.” He stood, pacing over to bank the fire for the night. “Going solely off his note-free arrival on my doorstep, it’s a good guess the mother didn’t tell the biological father about the baby.”

Deputy Bloom’s theory echoed in his head again. There was a murderer on the loose in Roaring Springs. What if the mother had in fact been taken by the Avalanche Killer? Unnerving to think a killer might have been at his door. Then again, why would a cold-blooded murderer bother to spare a child?

He felt Kelsey’s gaze on him as he moved about the room, but she didn’t say a word. The quiet was such a relief. For Baby John as much as for him.

“I do like kids,” he blurted.

“Good to know.”

“I’m just better with them, more comfortable, when the parents are around.”

“I understand that,” she said with a soft chuckle. “Babies are demanding, even if the list is a short one.”

“Thanks for giving me a pass.” He wasn’t sure he deserved it. But he didn’t want her to think poorly of him, especially since he was going to be her boss.

“Thanks for giving me a job,” she replied. “Two, really, along with great accommodations.”

Her smile lit up the room, easing the exhaustion and burden of not knowing how to help the small human now resting peacefully in the hay-bin cradle in the other room.

“I know it’s not what you came for,” Fox began, “but would you help me unravel the DNA trail and find his father?”

“You want my help on that, too?”

He was asking too much. “It was your idea,” he reminded her. “Not as fast as blood tests, but far more conclusive. Please?” he added. “With a certified nanny on board, the sheriff will give me more time before forcing the foster care issue.” If Trey knew about his dad’s lousy habits with kids, he’d be watching for Fox to screw up.

“Your lab downstairs can handle that kind of sampling?” she queried, her eyes bright with excitement.