The Colton Cowboy

Chapter 3

Anders took the fried bacon out of the skillet and placed it strip by strip on a plate covered with a paper towel. He knew Elle was up because he’d heard the shower in the bathroom running a few minutes ago.

Elle Gage. He’d thought about her way too much the night before. Sleep had been elusive and she’d filled his thoughts in decidedly inappropriate ways. He’d wondered what she’d look like with her hair loose instead of tied in the ponytail. And just how sexy would she look out of that uniform?

She intrigued him with her serious brown eyes that had softened so beautifully when she’d gazed at Bonnie and spoken of her brother, Bo. Anders had spent far too long before going to sleep wondering what it would be like to see that soft gaze directed at him.

Then he’d remained awake and wondered when, since he’d met Officer Elle Gage, had he lost his mind? It had been a very long time since a woman had made him curious about her, but he was definitely curious about Elle.

Then he’d thought of the baby, wondering why she had been left with him and if she was his. Or was she Demi’s? There had been so many rumors about Demi’s whereabouts, he didn’t know what to think.

When Elle walked into the kitchen a few minutes later clad in her uniform and with the cradle in tow, it was like déjà vu from two years ago when Rosalie had appeared on his doorstep with a dark-haired, blue-eyed baby she’d told him was his. The only difference was the bulldog who walked close at Elle’s feet and the fact that they had no idea who baby Bonnie’s parents were.

At that time he’d not only opened his home to Rosalie and little Brooke, but he’d also opened his heart. He wasn’t about to make that same mistake again with Elle and Bonnie.

“Good morning,” he said.

“It’s always a good morning when you wake up to the smell of bacon,” she replied.

“I hope you’re a breakfast eater.” He pointed to the coffee machine. “Help yourself to the coffee.”

“Thanks, and yes, I’m a breakfast eater as long as somebody else is cooking it,” she replied. She placed the cradle in one of the chairs at the table and then scooted it in so it was secure. “Bonnie had her breakfast about an hour ago at five thirty, and right now I’m going to take Merlin out and grab his dog food and bowl.”

“How do you like your eggs?” he asked.

“Any way you want to cook them is fine with me. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared from the room and a moment later he heard the front door open.

Despite the smell of bacon and toast, he thought he caught a whiff of her fresh perfume. He hadn’t had a woman in the cabin since Rosalie. He’d forgotten how nice it was to smell a feminine fragrance, to have somebody here to share morning coffee and pleasant talk.

The baby made a noise and he turned from the stove and walked over to make sure she was okay. Her blue eyes gazed at him and she released a soft coo as her little arms waved in the air. And then she smiled at him.

It shot an arrow of warmth straight through to his heart. Did she know he was the man who had rocked her in his arms last night when she’d fussed? No, he told himself. He backed away from the table and returned to his breakfast work.

No, there was no way in hell he was going to allow her any access to his heart. Bonnie could look all cute in her little pink outfit and she could coo and smile all she wanted. He was not going to fall in love with her in any way until he found out for sure that she was really his. He was not going to get his heart ripped out again.

He was grateful when Elle returned. She carried a big dog bowl full of food and set it just inside the back door. As Merlin began his meal, Anders cracked four eggs into a bowl, added a little milk and shredded cheese, and then transferred the mixture to the awaiting skillet.

“It’s a beautiful morning,” Elle said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Normally I would have left here an hour or so ago. I’d be on horseback and out on the ranch checking in on my men,” he replied.

“It’s much nicer for you to be here fixing me breakfast,” she said as she sat down at the table.

“I’ll make breakfast, but I definitely will demand you pay me back and cook dinner tonight.” He then shook his head. “That was silly for me to say. There’s no reason for me to think that you’ll still be here at dinnertime.”

“We’ll see what Finn has to say when we take Bonnie into the police station this morning.”

He took up the eggs, divided them on two plates, added bacon and toast, and then carried the dishes to the table. “Hmm, looks good,” she said. “Oh look, Bonnie found her thumb.”

Sure enough, the little girl’s thumb was in her mouth and she looked delightfully happy. “Should we stop her from doing that?” he asked worriedly. Didn’t that cause buck teeth?

“No, although we might want to buy her a pacifier.”

“How do you know so much about babies?” he asked. And how could her hair look so pretty in the sunshine, so soft and touchable despite the severe style of the low ponytail at the nape of her neck?

“When I was a senior in high school one of my close friends got pregnant. Her parents encouraged her to have an abortion, but she decided to have the baby. When the baby was born I spent a lot of afternoons and weekends with them helping her out.”

“What about the father?” he asked.

“Just another deadbeat dad,” she said in disgust. “He swore he loved her and then dropped her like a hot potato when she told him she was pregnant.”

“Was her family supportive?” he asked.

“Financially, yes. They didn’t kick her out of the house or anything like that, but they weren’t real emotionally supportive. The good news is last I heard she’d married a great guy and was finally living happily-ever-after.”

“That’s nice,” he replied.

“Anyway, I learned all kinds of things about babies when I was there with her, although she had a boy, not a girl.”

As they ate breakfast the conversation was light and easy. They didn’t talk about whether little Bonnie was a Colton or a Gage. They didn’t speak about the intruder from the night before; instead, they spoke about the weather.

She loved the spring and he liked the fall. They both liked winter if it involved a fire in a fireplace, cozy blankets and plenty of hot cocoa.

He told her a little about his normal day on the ranch and by that time the meal was over. They worked side by side to clean up the kitchen and then it was time for them to take the baby in to the Red River Police Department.

Immediately the first problem they encountered was they had no car seat for Bonnie. “There’s the discount store just before we get to the police station. If you’ll stop there I’ll run in and get a car seat,” Elle said. “In the meantime you’ll just have to drive very carefully.”

“I always drive carefully,” he replied. “In all my years of driving I’ve never had a single traffic ticket.”

“Then you’re either a good, law-abiding man behind the wheel or we just haven’t caught you yet,” she replied with a small grin.

Her humor surprised him. His initial assessment of her had been that she was a bit uptight and way too serious. But the impish grin proved him wrong.

Thirty minutes later Bonnie was secured in a new infant car seat and sleeping peacefully next to Merlin, who was probably slobbering up his back seat. Elle had also picked up a pacifier in the store and had tucked it into the tote bag for whenever Bonnie might need it.

The Red Ridge Police Department was a large one-story brick building. Anders had never been arrested nor had any run-ins with the law, although he’d been inside the building a couple of times in the past to bail out some of his men. The charges were usually the same—drunk and disorderly—and their pay was docked until they’d paid Anders back.

Of course he knew he’d been under a lot more police scrutiny in the past six months since Demi had disappeared. And now with the baby showing up, he’d probably be under even more. He didn’t care. He had nothing to hide. He had no idea where his cousin might be.

He parked in the lot and then went to the back seat and got Bonnie out. She rode on his arm in the carrier that pulled out of the car seat. Elle fell into step with him, carrying the tote bag and with Merlin by her side.

“Babies require a lot of equipment,” he said.

She released a small burst of musical laughter. “Trust me, this is just the beginning. There are bassinets and bouncy chairs and toys to aid in their development. Then a crib and another car seat and more clothes, diapers and toys.”

“Whoa,” he said with a laugh of his own. “Let’s take this one step at a time.”

They walked into the building where a receptionist sat behind the front desk. “Hey, Lorelei. How’s it going?” Elle greeted her.

The pretty brunette with chin-length hair and silver-framed glasses smiled at Elle. “It’s going. They’re all waiting for you.”

He followed Elle down a hallway and into a large room, suddenly worried that little Bonnie’s fate just might be out of his hands. And then worried why that bothered him.

* * *

The names of the victims of the Groom Killer were written on a large whiteboard in the front of the room. The first name was Bo Gage and Elle’s heart ached as she saw his name up there. Unfortunately, his name wasn’t the only one.

Michael Haydon, Joey McBurn, Jack Parkowski and Zane Godfried were all men who had been killed the night before their weddings by a gunshot wound to the heart. Cummerbunds had been shoved in their mouths, identifying them as victims of the serial killer now known as the Groom Killer.

As a result, the town of Red Ridge had become anti-wedding. Engaged couples didn’t go out in public, and Elle believed some of the public breakups between couples were staged and fake to hopefully make the man in the relationship less of a target.

Businesses relating to weddings were also taking a big hit. Nobody was rushing out to buy wedding dresses or ordering wedding cakes. Printers weren’t printing wedding invitations and the popular venues for a marriage ceremony remained empty. June was the month of brides, but there were no brides in the town of Red Ridge right now.

Finn Colton stood at the head of the room. Dark-haired and with piercing dark eyes, Elle knew him to be smart and serious and focused on his job.

Besides Finn there were six other officers in the room, including Elle’s brother Carson. Elle and Anders greeted everyone and then sat in the folding chairs lined up in front of the whiteboard. Merlin sank down at Elle’s feet.

“Give me a report, Elle,” Finn said.

She filled him in on everything that had occurred the night before and when she was finished, Finn frowned. “So, do you think the intruder was looking for the baby?”

“I have no idea what he was looking for,” Anders replied.

“And we don’t know who the baby belongs to,” Finn said.

“Demi,” Carson said. “She’s got to be Demi’s baby. From all we know, the timing is right. That means she was on your property last night.” His voice held more than a little suspicion.

“I’ve told you all before, I am not hiding her out anywhere on my ranch,” Anders said firmly. “I’m not helping her in any way stay hidden from the authorities. I have no idea if the baby is hers. I haven’t seen or talked to her since she took off, despite what some of you think. It’s also possible the baby could be mine.”

“Then what you need to do when you leave here is go to the lab where we can conduct a DNA test. I want to know if that baby is Demi’s,” Finn replied.

Of course a DNA test between Anders and Bonnie wouldn’t answer if the baby belonged to Demi, but if Anders was ruled out as the father, then the odds were good Bonnie belonged to the runaway bounty hunter who’d needed to leave her infant somewhere safe.

“In the meantime, we need to figure out what to do with the baby,” Finn continued.

“I’d like to take her back home with me,” Anders said. “She was left on my porch with a note saying she is a Colton. She was left with me for a reason and until I know that reason, I’d like her to stay.”

“It’s also possible if she belongs to Demi, then Demi might return for her. I’d like to stay on this, Chief. If I stay at Anders’s place, it’s possible I can make an arrest and bring her in,” Elle said.

“I could definitely use Elle’s help,” Anders added.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Carson protested. “Elle is still a rookie. Surely we have an officer with more experience who could stay at Anders’s.”

“I’m definitely up for this job,” Elle said with a heated glare at her brother. This Overly Protective Brother stuff was definitely getting on her last nerve. “Didn’t I prove to you last night that I can take care of myself during the stakeout when that thug came out of nowhere at the Larsons’ warehouse?”

“Speaking of last night, we got nada,” Finn said in obvious frustration. “When the team finally went in, they found no drugs and no guns. There was absolutely nothing illegal in the building.”

Elle shared Finn’s frustration. The Larson twins were definitely slick. “Then where are they keeping their stash?”

“Wouldn’t we all like to know that,” one of the other officers grumbled.

“Back to the Groom Killer case,” Finn continued. “We are still investigating Hayley Patton’s admirers. As you all know Noel Larson has come up with an alibi for all of the murders so far. We need to look hard at those alibis.”

“He knows a lot of thugs. Isn’t it possible he hired somebody to commit the murders in some twisted obsession because he wasn’t going to be the groom?” Elle asked.

Hayley Patton was the woman Bo had dumped Demi for. The day after his murder was supposed to be his wedding to Hayley. She was a pretty blonde who worked as a trainer at the RRK9 Training Center. Elle liked her okay, but hadn’t really gotten close to her.

“That’s what we need to find out,” Finn said.

“I’m still trying to find out who is sending Hayley flowers every week since Bo’s death,” Carson said. “It doesn’t help that the florist was murdered and his record books are missing.”

“I think the creep is feeling the heat of us getting closer to identifying him,” Officer Brayden Colton said.

“I wish we were close enough to make an arrest today,” Carson replied.

“Let’s get to your assignments for the day,” Finn said briskly. “Okay, Elle...you stay out at Anders’s place...at least for the next couple of days. I’m sure that you and Merlin can protect the baby since we don’t know for sure what’s going on or what the masked intruder wanted. You update me daily or as needed, and Anders, don’t forget to stop by the lab for the DNA testing,” Finn said.

They left the room as Finn continued to hand out the daily assignments to the other officers. It didn’t take long in the lab for swabs to be taken from Anders and Bonnie, and then they were back in his car and headed to the cabin.

“Are you okay?” she asked him.

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“It’s not every day you get swabbed for a paternity test.” She was curious how he’d felt, what had been going on in his mind when he’d gotten tested. He’d definitely appeared tense in the lab.

“First time for me,” he replied.

“Have you thought about what you want the outcome to be?”

“No, and I don’t intend to think about it. I’m not into speculation. I’ll see how I feel when we get the results.”

“So, I guess this means I’m on dinner duty,” Elle said, and looked at Anders once again.

He flashed her a quick smile. “And don’t think I’m going to let you off the hook.”

Why did his smile make her heart do a little happy dance in her chest? He wasn’t the first handsome man to smile at her. So why did his smiles somehow feel different to her?

“You might be sorry. Cooking is definitely not in my repertoire of things I do well,” she replied.

“We’ll figure it out,” he replied. “How long do you think it will take to get back the DNA results?” he then asked.

“If we’re lucky then maybe within a couple of days, but I’m sure the lab is really backlogged with all the evidence from the groom killings, so who knows.”

“The sooner the better,” he replied. “Do you ever think about marriage?”

She looked at him, surprised by the question that seemed to come out of nowhere. “Not really. I mean, I’d like to be married at some point in my future, but right now I’m totally focused on my career. What about you?”

“I entertained the idea for about a minute and then decided I’m definitely a confirmed bachelor. Maybe that will change if I find out Bonnie is mine, but right now marriage definitely isn’t on my mind. What were you talking about when you told your brother that last night you proved you could take care of yourself?”

She blinked at the abrupt change of topic. She explained to him about the warehouse stakeout and the takedown of the man who had been about to attack her. “I handled the situation without anyone else’s help. I might just be a rookie, but I’m good at what I do,” she said with a little more confidence than she felt.

“I have no doubt of that,” he replied.

“I’ll need to leave for a little while this afternoon so I can go by my apartment and grab some additional clothes.”

“Why don’t I swing by there now so you don’t have to go back out?”

“Okay,” she said, unsure how she felt about Anders seeing her personal space. She gave him the address to her apartment and within minutes they were there. He carried the baby and Merlin followed behind as they climbed the steps to her second-floor apartment.

The door opened into a fairly large living area with an island separating the living space from the kitchen. Her furniture was simple, a black sofa with bright yellow and turquoise accent pillows. A large wooden rocking chair sat in one corner of the room. Her flat-screen television was small and in a large bookcase that also displayed a few other items, including lots of books, both fiction—mystery and crime drama—and nonfiction police procedurals.

“I’ll just be a few minutes,” she said as she left the living room to go into her bedroom.

“Take your time,” he replied.

She grabbed a duffel bag from her closet and opened it on her bed. She then returned to the closet and began to grab T-shirts and jeans along with several more clean and neatly pressed uniforms. She added underwear and two nighties. She wasn’t a girlie girl, but she did love sleeping in silk nighties that made her feel wonderfully feminine.

She grabbed some toiletries from the bathroom and then zipped up the suitcase and carried it back into the living room. Anders sat in the rocking chair with Bonnie in his arms. “She’s starting to fuss a little bit,” he said as he stood.

“She’s probably getting hungry again.” Elle set her suitcase down and then dug into the tote bag to find the pacifier she’d bought. Once she found it, she quickly took it out of the packaging and then took it to the kitchen sink and ran it under hot water. Bonnie’s fussing turned into full-fledged wails.

“She definitely has a good pair of lungs on her,” Anders said.

“Let’s see how this works.” Elle placed the pacifier in Bonnie’s mouth. She immediately latched onto it and sucked happily.

“That’s a magic cure,” he said in obvious pleased surprise.

“It’s a cure that will only last so long. We should get going back to the cabin. I’m sure she probably needs a diaper change, too.”

“Here, you carry her and I’ll get your duffel bag,” he offered. As she took the baby from him, his inviting scent filled her head.

It continued to be with her in the car as they traveled on to his cabin. “I hope I didn’t overstep by suggesting I continue to stay with you and the baby,” she said when they turned into the Double C Ranch entrance.

“Not at all,” he replied. “I’m grateful to have you with me, not just to help with the baby but also to help me figure out what that man last night wanted.”

“You know if I see Demi, I do intend to take her down.” She looked at his profile as she spoke.

“I know.” He released an audible sigh. “To be honest, I almost wish she was behind bars. At least I’d know she was safe there. I worry about her being out on the run and trying to prove her innocence. What happens if she does manage to find the murderer?”

“Demi’s tough and she’s obviously smart and lucky. She’s managed to evade arrest for the last six months,” Elle said.

“Yeah, but sooner or later her luck is going to run out.” Anders pulled up in front of the cabin. They had just gotten out of the car when Merlin alerted and stared at the cabin.

“Stay here,” she commanded. She pulled her gun, grateful that he’d grabbed the baby and she hadn’t yet gotten her duffel bag.

She approached the cabin cautiously, her heart leaping into her throat as she saw that the front door was ajar. In a defensive crouch with her gun leading the way, she swept into the living room.