Colton 911: Target In Jeopardy

In turn he told her about some of the rescues he’d been a part of after the hurricane’s floodwaters had swept through the vicinity. “We’re still doing cleanup in several areas.”

By that time they had finished with their dinner. “Are you up for dessert?” he asked.

“Oh no, I’m too full of mashed potatoes and gravy to even think about dessert,” she protested. “But you feel free to order some.”

“No, I’m good to go.” He signaled to Susan for their tab.

“I’m happy to go dutch,” she said.

“That’s unnecessary,” he replied.

“Dallas, I’m used to paying my own way.”

He smiled at her. “For tonight please allow this army sergeant turned cowboy to buy your dinner.”

“Okay, and thank you. But if we go out to eat again, then you must let me pay my own way.”

“I see a lot of meals out in our future,” he replied.

“Or maybe I could cook for you,” she replied.

“Are you a good cook?”

“I think I am. I don’t do anything too fancy, but I can put a pretty decent meal on the table.”

At that time Susan returned to the table with their tab. Dallas paid cash, left a tip and then he and Avery got up from the booth.

She walked ahead of him past the other booths still filled with diners. She had reached the last one when a young man suddenly got up and slammed into her side, nearly knocking her into a nearby table.

“Hey,” Dallas said. He grabbed Avery to him, grateful that she hadn’t fallen.

“Sorry,” the man muttered. “I didn’t see her.” He stared at Avery for a long moment and then slid back into his booth as one of the young men with him snickered.

“It’s okay,” Avery said, and moved out of his embrace. Dallas followed her to exit the diner.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked with concern as they walked toward his truck.

“I’m fine,” she replied.

“What a creep,” he said. “He could have seriously hurt you.” He thought of that moment when the man had held Avery’s gaze. “Do you know him?”

“Unfortunately, I do. His name is Joel Asman, and he runs in the same crowd as Dwayne Conway.”

“The man you put behind bars.”

“Right.”

By that time they’d reached the truck, and he helped her into the passenger seat. “So, you think he bumped into you on purpose?” he asked. The man had had punk written all over him, from his greasy dark hair to the snake tattoos that had decorated his skinny arms.

“It’s possible, but really, it’s no big deal,” she replied.

Anyone who would push a pregnant woman was a creep in Dallas’s eyes. Hell, anyone who would push a woman at all was a major creep.

Within minutes they were back at her house. He walked her to the front door, where she paused to dig keys out of her purse, and then she turned to look at him. “Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?”

“If you’re up for it then I’d love to,” he replied. He wouldn’t mind getting a look at the space where she lived...where his children would live.

She opened the door and immediately a little black dog was dancing at her feet, while barking doggie happiness. “I’m sorry,” she said. “She loves people. She’ll calm down in just a minute.”

He bent down to pet the little black ball of energy. “What’s her name again?”

“Lulu,” she replied. “Lulu, enough. Let’s go into the kitchen.”

As he followed her through the living room and into the large kitchen, Lulu ran ahead of them. “Have a seat and I’ll get the coffee.”

He sank down in one of the chairs at the round oak table and looked around. Yellow-and-white gingham curtains hung at the large window. Yellow wooden signs with happy and optimistic sayings decorated the wall. The room felt warm and inviting.

She placed a pod in the one-serving coffeemaker on the counter and then got out a tea bag and filled a cup with water.

He continued to look around the room. A back door held a little doggie door. “Do you have a fenced-in backyard?”

“Yes, it was one of my requirements when I was house-hunting.” She placed the cup of water into the microwave and then turned to face him.

“I had three basic requirements when I started looking for houses. I wanted at least three bedrooms, an up-to-date kitchen and a fenced-in backyard. Cream or sugar?”

“No, black is fine.”

As she set the cup of coffee in front of him he caught a whiff of her enticing perfume. It instantly evoked memories of the night they had spent together, a night that he now knew had had life-changing consequences.

He watched as she grabbed a doggie treat out of a drawer and gave it to Lulu. She then took her cup out of the microwave, grabbed a saucer with the tea bag on it and joined him at the table.

“From what I’ve seen of it, you have a very nice house,” he said.

“Thank you. When you finish your coffee I’ll show you the nursery.”

The nursery. His heart swelled at the very thought. He still hadn’t completely wrapped his head around the fact that he was going to be a father. “I’d like that,” he replied.

An awkward silence ensued. She laughed suddenly, a melodious sound that made him want to join in. “I feel like I should be telling you my favorite color and what my sign is. You know, the questions most people ask when they first meet in a bar.”

“We didn’t ask each other those questions on the night we met,” he said.

Her cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink. “As I recall, we didn’t do much talking at all that night.” She took a sip of her tea and then stared down into her cup.

“So, what’s your sign?” he asked, breaking what might have become an awkward silence. She looked back up at him and he offered her a wide grin.

She laughed and the awkward moment between them passed. “I’m a Libra. What about you?”

“A Pisces.”

She frowned. “Does that mean we’re supposed to get along?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know anything about the Zodiac signs, but it doesn’t matter what our signs say, we are going to get along,” he replied firmly. “Now, what’s your favorite color?”

“Coral. And yours?”

“I’ve never really thought about it before, but I guess I’d say a light blue.” It was another superficial conversation that didn’t answer the questions he had about her, but hopefully she was feeling more comfortable with him with every minute they spent together.

She shifted in the chair and released a sigh that sounded tired. He finished his coffee and stood. “I should go and let you get some rest.”

“Before you do, let me show you the nursery.” She rose from the table and gestured for him to follow her through the living room and down a hallway.

The first doorway they passed, on the right, led into a bathroom. The second room, on the left, was being used as a home office. She went into the bedroom across the hall.

The minute he stepped into the room, his heart expanded in his chest, making any conversation momentarily impossible. There were two cribs, one with pink bedding and one with blue. Both had mobiles dangling dancing bears. The curtains also had a border of dancing bears. It was a delightful and joyous room.

There was also a changing table with boxes of disposable diapers on top, and a rocking chair in one corner with two teddy bears on the cushioned seat. He realized the idea of the babies hadn’t actually been real to him until this very moment.

This room was where his babies would sleep and dream. This was where their diapers and clothes would be changed. This was where they would be rocked and loved, and hopefully there would be nights when he was in that rocking chair with both his babies in his arms.

A wealth of emotion swept through him, one that made him feel both incredibly strong and achingly vulnerable at the same time.

“It’s a really nice room,” he finally managed to say. As he gazed at Avery he felt a closeness to her that wasn’t reflective of the rather superficial relationship they’d shared so far.

He had the unexpected desire to pull her close to him, to feel her heart beating against his own. He wanted to stroke her back and make her feel cherished. Although they had not intended to make new lives on the night they had slept together, they had, indeed, made two little new lives.

Instead of following through on his inappropriate impulse to pull her into his arms, he smiled and stuck his hands in his pockets. “You’ll let me know if there’s anything else you need for in here?”

“Trust me, there isn’t a thing more I need.”

“Then I think it’s time I get out of here so you can get some rest.”

They walked back down the hall and to the front door. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Anytime,” she replied.

“How about tomorrow evening I pick you up and take you to my place? I’ll provide the meal.”

She frowned. “That means you will have paid for my dinner twice.”

“Avery, do we really have to keep score?”

“No, we don’t,” she replied with a laugh. “And I’d love to go to your place tomorrow evening.”

“Great, then how about I pick you up around five?”

“Sounds perfect to me.”

Minutes later he was in his truck and headed home. Home was the Colton ranch, over a thousand acres of rich, fertile pastureland owned by his father, Hays, and his mother, Josephine.

When he’d gotten out of the army and returned here, he’d laid claim to an old foreman’s cabin, which had needed lots of repairs. The hard work had been welcome to keep his mind off the pain of loss that still ached in his heart. When he wasn’t helping with search and rescue, he’d worked on the old place until it had become a decent space to call home.

Now all he could think about was how he needed to turn the small spare bedroom there into a nursery of his own. He’d need two cribs and all the items it took to keep two babies healthy and happy.

Although he and Avery hadn’t even touched on the custody issue yet, he wanted to share the babies from the moment they were born. It was important he bond with them right from the get-go. He only hoped Avery would be on the same page as him when it came to custody.

Avery. There was still so much he had to learn about her, but he’d enjoyed his time with her tonight far more than he’d anticipated. He found her so easy to talk to, and with a great sense of humor. He hadn’t expected that.

He pulled up in front of the cabin, where he’d been living for the past three months since he’d returned to Whisperwood from his base in Houston.

The cozy place was sheltered from the winds by tall trees on either side, and there was a small porch on the back that faced more woods. It was not only a quiet, peaceful place, but was also a bit isolated, which he didn’t mind.

When he’d first come home, his grief still a living, breathing thing inside him, he hadn’t wanted to be around people except those who needed him in the rescue efforts. But with his family it was impossible to stay isolated for long. They absolutely wouldn’t allow it.

He parked his truck in front and then went inside. He turned on an end table lamp and instantly his gaze fell on a framed photo of Ivy.

She was in her army uniform and she appeared to be gazing at him in silent accusation. He sank down on the brown leather recliner and picked up the photo.

It had been a little over a year since her death, and yet the pain of her loss felt as fresh as if she had died yesterday. He’d known her for three months before they had gotten married. Some people might have said they rushed things, but he had known it was right on the day he had met her. They had been married for three years when she’d been killed.

They’d dreamed of creating a family together. The plan had been that once both of them were out of uniform for good they would buy a house and work on making their first baby. But an IED in Afghanistan, where Ivy had been serving her last tour of duty, had ended not only their hopes and dreams, but also her life.

He ran a finger over Ivy’s face in the picture. Her short brown hair emphasized her big, soulful brown eyes. “I have to get along with her,” he whispered to her. “Avery is nothing more than the mother of my children. You have my heart, Ivy, and you’ll always have it.”

He set the picture back on the end table. He hoped he and Avery could become good friends for the sake of the babies. But there would never again be a woman in his life who was anything more than a friend, because his heart had been buried along with his wife.

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