Colton Cowboy Hideout. Carla Cassidy

“Brianna, what are you doing in here? Where are the girls?” A new concern whipped through him. Had something happened to them?

      “Peggy said she’d watch them for a few minutes,” Brianna replied and tugged on the end of the thick blond braid that fell forward over her shoulder. “What’s going on? There’s so much negative energy in the air. It’s totally upsetting my chakra.”

      Tanner drew in a breath and sought some modicum of patience before replying. “Eldridge is missing. I’m sorry about your chakra, but you really need to get back to the girls.”

      “Do you mind if I burn some sage in the nursery to clear away some of the bad energy?”

      Tanner stared at her in disbelief. “You are not to burn anything in the nursery ever,” he replied firmly. “Now, I’d appreciate it if you’d get back to the twins. The negative air in here is far worse than any in the staff wing.” As Brianna whirled back out of the room, Tanner sat once again and released a deep sigh.

      “You have twin daughters?” Josie asked.

      Tanner relaxed a bit. It was impossible to feel too stressed out when he thought about his little girls. “Lily and Leigh—they’re eighteen months old. Brianna is their nanny.”

      “So your wife works outside of the home?”

      “My ex-wife, and she died a little over a year ago.” He fought against the sense of failure that always tried to take hold of him when he thought of Helen.

      “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Josie replied.

      “Thanks.” He leaned forward, tension once again twisting inside of him. “I just hope Brianna doesn’t let her unsettled chakra affect the twins. Kids pick up on grown-ups’ emotions so easily, and the last thing I want is for them to be upset.”

      He also knew with a sinking sensation that Brianna, with her slightly crazy new age mentality, was probably going to have to be replaced. Anyone who thought burning sage in the nursery was okay wasn’t the kind of nanny he wanted for his girls.

      He shoved the thought aside and looked at Josie once again. “What about you? Are you married? Have children?” Although Josie looked far too young for either, he wanted—needed—some conversation to keep his mind busy until the sheriff or somebody else official came in to speak with them.

      “Neither,” she replied.

      “Do you have other family?”

      “Five brothers and a sister, but my mother died when I was three and we had an absent father, so we were all separated and grew up in different foster-care homes.”

      “Foster care can be tough. It must have been especially difficult being separated from your brothers and sister.”

      She stared down at the tabletop and traced an imaginary pattern on the wood with her fingertip. “It was, but you know what they say—when you’re handed lemons make lemonade.”

      She dropped her hand into her lap and looked up at him again. “By the time I was six there were five other foster kids living in the same house as me. I made them my brothers and sisters and tried to take good care of them. What about you? Do you have other family?”

      “It’s just me and my daughters,” he replied.

      Eldridge was missing under mysterious circumstances. Josie Colton stirred something inside Tanner that hadn’t been stirred in a long time. Then there was the worry that he probably needed to hire a new nanny...again.

      He was almost relieved when Sheriff Troy Watkins appeared in the doorway. “Tanner, I need to ask you both some questions.” The tall, dark-haired lawman pulled a notepad and pen out of his shirt pocket and then looked at Josie, his gray eyes flat and emotionless.

      “Josie Colton, I understand you arrived at the ranch just before Eldr—Mr. Colton was found missing. Where were you last night?”

      “I was at my apartment in Granite Gulch. I got up early this morning to drive in,” Josie replied. “If they have security cameras around the area, then I’m sure they’ll show you precisely when I arrived here.”

      “And you’re one of Mr. Colton’s cousins?” Troy asked.

      “We’re third cousins. I’ve never even met him. I just spoke to him on the phone last night. He agreed to let me come here and search for an old watch that belongs to my father.”

      Troy turned to look at Tanner. “And what about you, Tanner? Where were you in the hours before Eldridge was found missing?”

      “I spent the night in the barn. We had a horse that foaled and I didn’t leave the barn until this morning when I came into the house to speak with Whitney. She introduced me to Josie and here we are. Several of the ranch hands were in and out of the barn all night,” Tanner explained. “They can tell you I was in the barn until this morning.”

      “I only planned on being here today,” Josie said.

      “Your plans have now changed,” Troy replied flatly. “I don’t want you leaving here until we’ve conducted a more thorough investigation.”

      He turned back to look at Tanner. “Whitney told me to tell you to find accommodations for Ms. Colton in the staff wing and to see that she has whatever she needs.”

      Tanner stifled a sigh. As if he didn’t already have enough chaos in his brain, he’d now been given a babysitting duty for a very hot young woman whose lower lip trembled slightly. Her eyes had darkened with what suspiciously looked like secrets.

       Chapter 2

      It was like watching a mystery movie where Josie didn’t know the actors and definitely couldn’t get a grasp on the plot. Eldridge was missing, Whitney thought she was the devil incarnate and the only oddly comforting element in the craziness was the tall, rather stoic man beside her whom she’d met only an hour or so ago.

      Evil. You came from evil and that blood runs through your veins. She mentally shook her head to dispel the inner voice that haunted her more often than she wanted to admit.

      She’d been grateful that the sheriff hadn’t asked any questions about her father. Her first impulse now was to jump in her car and get out of here as fast as possible, but with the sheriff’s admonition not to leave the property ringing in her ears, that wasn’t an option.

      Even though she’d never met Eldridge she was concerned for his safety, but she couldn’t believe she was now under some sort of house arrest until further notice.

      “Come on. I’ll show you to the staff quarters,” Tanner said. “Besides, I’m eager to check in on my daughters.”

      She followed him out of the dining room and into a labyrinth of hallways that led farther away from the family’s living space.

      “The left wing is where Fowler and Alanna live,” he explained as they walked. “In the main house Eldridge and Whitney have the first-floor suite and everyone else has suites on the second floor. This right wing is for some of the staff.”

      “None of the children are married?” she asked.

      “As far as I know, none of them are even close except maybe Fowler. He’s had a girlfriend forever, but so far they aren’t even engaged yet.”

      “Fowler’s the oldest, right?”

      Tanner nodded. “He’s the president of Colton Incorporated and a genius at business wheeling and dealing.”

      Josie frowned. From what small interaction she’d seen between all of them, Fowler had appeared to be a bit of a pompous jerk.

      “Feel free to check on your daughters before you show me to a room,” Josie said as they turned down another long hallway.

      He flashed her a grateful smile over his muscled