Page 18 of Colton's Last Resort

He didn’t know what to feel, exactly. He glanced down at his hands where Roman numerals riddled his knuckles and a spider crawled up the back of one hand. The etchings on the other made it look like a skeleton hand with exposed joints and bones that went all the way up his fingers. On some level, he could understand. He’d spent a fair amount of time undercover because he was good at inserting himself into a certain crowd.

He remembered how in the break room she’d all but backed herself up to the exit door when he’d approached her. Had she thought he was going to hurt her...take her jewelry...worse? A growl fought its way up his throat. He choked it back, along with everything else, and punched his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “I don’t expect you to lose sleep over it, Ms. Colton.”

“It’s Laura,” she said as they came to the doors to L Building. She turned to him, the golden light over their heads crowning her. “We’re probably going to be seeing a lot of each other. And we both knew Allison. So Laura will suffice.” She stuck out a hand for him to shake.

He stared at it. Then her. There were snowflakes in her hair. If someone gave her a scepter and horse-drawn sleigh, she would be a glorified ice princess.

Unwilling to let her shiver a moment longer, he closed his hand around hers. It felt like ice, and it was as smooth as the surface of a mink’s coat. He took his away quickly, unwilling to watch his tattoos and calluses mingle with her fancy digits. He pulled the door open for her.

She cleared her throat. “I’m going to miss her, too.”

Whatever he could have said was trapped beneath his tongue.

Her lashes lowered, touching her cheeks, before she lifted them again. “As soon as you make the arrangements, I’d like to know. I’d like to say goodbye.”

Arrangements. The portents of that barreled down on him. He was Allison’s next of kin, her only relative. It was up to him to plan her funeral.

He couldn’t bury her. He couldn’t even contemplate it. She didn’t belong in the ground any more than she belonged in a morgue.

An unsteady breath washed out of him.

Her hand came to rest over his. “I can help you. I’ve helped plan a funeral in the past. I was young, but I think my brothers and I managed to pull it off well enough. If you need help—”

“It’s fine.” He barked it, desperate to be away from her so he could unleash the panic and anguish building up inside him. He held the door open wider. “Good night, Ms. Colton.”

Her lips firmed. She strode inside. He watched her long after the door closed. He watched through the glass until she disappeared down the hall, the tail of her white skirt the last thing to disappear. The lights went off seconds later and he was left staring at his own reflection.

A funeral.

Another breath wavered out, vaporizing in front of him. He pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. That black hole had him by the balls.

He’d go home, he decided. And when he got there, he’d drink himself into a stupor.

Chapter 5

Laura opened the door to her bungalow the next morning to find Joshua on her front stoop. His messy hair hid underneath a burnt-umber ski cap with Mariposa’s pale yellow butterfly logo. Ice crunched under his boots as he moved his toes rapidly to keep them warm. “I brought pastries,” he announced.

She eyed the long white box in his hands. “You mean you brought the bakery?”

“Had it delivered,” he boasted. He handed her a large cup. “With coffee.”

The way to a man’s heart might be through his stomach, but Laura was convinced the way to a woman’s was by crossing cell membranes with caffeine. She wrapped her hands around the to-go cup, absorbing the heat through the gloves she’d donned. “It’s no wonder every man I meet is a disappointment.” Tipping the cup to him in a toast, she added, “You are the standard.”

He offered his arm. “Watch your step. It’s slippery.”

She trod carefully until they reached the golf cart he’d parked in front of her house. “Have you spoken to Knox?”

Joshua got behind the wheel. He waited until she was seated, tucking her long skirt around her legs before he released the brake and shot off. “I checked on him last night. He’s okay. Still shaken up. Hell, I am, too.”

“Did you tell him he doesn’t have to come in today? Carter’s already agreed to cover for him. The horseback excursions will be canceled because of ice and snowmelt.”

Joshua nodded. “He agreed to take the morning off, but he wants to come in after lunchtime. He said working with the horses will help him through things.”

Laura could understand that. As the golf cart careened around the corner, she stopped the doughnut box from slipping across the seat. She opened it, then indulged, choosing a chocolate éclair. Nibbling, she balanced the pastry in one hand and her cup in the other. “I don’t know if I should tell you this.”

“Well, now you’ve got to.” He nudged his elbow into her ribs playfully. “Spill it, ace.”

She watched the gardens whoosh by. White coated everything. Mariposa looked enchanting under a crystal frost.

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