Page 50 of Hero's Prize

She grabbed his arm. “It was probably just somebody walking by and saw my light on.”

“I’m still going to check it out.”

He was walking out the door before she could make an argument. She kept her phone in her hand so she could call Sheriff Webb if needed. But Colton was back just a few minutes later.

“I didn’t see any sign of anyone out there. Did you get a good look at the person?”

“I just saw a guy in a black hoodie. It startled me pretty badly, so I didn’t catch any details.”

“Are you positive it was a man?”

She hadn’t been expecting that question. “I think so, but I can’t say with absolute certainty. Why?”

“Just wondering.” He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. What are you doing here so late anyway?”

She went back over to the mixers, took a breath, and started pulling ingredients to begin the next batch of cake batter. “I’m a little behind on my work, so I needed to get caught up before tomorrow morning.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

Ella took a closer look at him now that she had calmed down. Colton looked rough—like he had that first night when he’d caught her. Whatever was going on with him, he needed something to do. Fortunately, she could help with that. Not to mention, she could use all the assistance she could get.

“Let’s rinse out this mixer, and here’s the recipe card. Basically, combine the ingredients and follow the instructions.”

She knew she’d done the right thing when she saw the relief in his eyes. He turned to the mixing bowl and immediately got to work.

She turned her attention to her own mixing bowl. “Did you just happen to be in town?”

He stiffened for a second. “I have trouble sleeping sometimes. It’s been better since I’ve been in Oak Creek, but tonight just wasn’t good. So, I decided to go for a drive. When I saw lights on here…”

“You decided to make sure I wasn’t falling off any countertops again?”

He relaxed slightly. “Something like that, yeah.”

They worked in silence for nearly half an hour. While she had no problem with the quiet, she’d never known Colton not to talk for that long. The longer the silence stretched out, the more concerned she became about him.

“Are you sure there’s nothing you want to talk about? How are things really going with you?” she finally asked.

He immediately stiffened again. “What do you mean? I’m fine.”

“Colton, I mean that you are at my bakery at nearly midnight. That’s not normal.”

He shrugged but did not look up from the batter he was mixing. “There’s not really anything to talk about. I’m fine.”

She took a chance. “You nearly died two months ago. That’s no small thing.”

“And I’ve done plenty of stunts since then. Hell, I’ve even gone snowboarding and skiing since the avalanche. I’m fine. Same old, same old.”

He obviously didn’t want to continue to talk about this—everything about his body posture and his word choice basically screamed it. But there was one thing Ella knew was true, regardless of how many times he said it.

Colton Harrison was notfine.

Her mom had always taught her to trust her instincts. So, she did that now.

“And the panic attacks?”

That was a wild guess. She had nothing to base it on. Except for the fact that she’d always been connected to him in a way that she’d never really understood. She knew something wasn’t right.

“Panic attacks?” He fairly scoffed the words. “Why would you think I’m having panic attacks? Yeah, I have a little trouble sleeping every once in a while, but that’s not a panic attack.”

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