Page 19 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

“She told him to leave. Except she used a bad word.”

Hazel remembered the sting of James’s condescension all too well. Just when she had begun to trust him, he’d turned on her. He had made her feel the same awful sense of betrayal that Ed had.

“He had a PhD in economics,” she said. “Apparently he was very proud of that.”

“Why did he call you stupid?” Callum asked, sounding incredulous.

“We were talking about retirement. I didn’t have anything put away at the time. My sole focus was Evie, taking care of her, saving for her college, making sure she has medical insurance and good clothes and shoes and healthy food. It escalated to an argument and he called me stupid. He said I didn’t know arithmetic or anything about science and all I did know was how to cook.”

As she talked Callum’s brows gradually rose with each insult. “The man is clearly mad. And completely blinded by his own self-interests.”

She wasn’t sure she could have said that better.

“Just because you’re more inclined to the arts doesn’t make you stupid,” Callum said. “A person doesn’t have to be a genius in math or any of the hard sciences to be intelligent.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe anyone would say that to another person.”

“I thought he was a decent man, just like Ed.” She glanced at Evie. The little girl didn’t yet understand what had happened between her mother and father, but some day Hazel would have to have that talk with her. She wouldn’t disparage Ed’s character, just state the facts. What she dreaded most was that Evie would feel her father never loved her, even though he hadn’t. He didn’t. He didn’t care about Evie. He didn’t even know her name. Maybe she could tell Evie someday that her father never knew her, but that if he ever did, or took the time to, then he would love her.

When Hazel turned back to Callum, she saw he had caught her meaning. She was no good at assessing men, at predicting their characters. She had always been trusting, had had no reason not to be, having been surrounded by good people, raised in a stable family.

“I’ve always thought relationships were based on trial and error,” he finally said. “Sometimes the trials go well but you learn the person isn’t right for you and you respectfully part ways. Sometimes the trials go badly and end up a mistake. But eventually, with a little luck, you find a person who works.”

Works? He sounded as though he believed what he said, or had at one point. “What kind of trials have you had?”

“Ones where I learned something, and some that were a mistake.”

“What did you learn?” She’d start with the easier question to answer.

His shrewd mind must be at work. He eyed her with subtle suspicion mixed with intrigue, perhaps, and then his head cocked ever so slightly.

“Too personal?” she asked, half teasing.

A one-sided grin was his initial response, then he said, “I learned that some women are more interested in their own gain, and others aren’t certain enough about what kind of man they’re searching for or don’t care as long as he is kind and capable of providing. I’ve learned those kinds of women aren’t for me.”

Oh, my. This man knew what he wanted. He sounded so candid. She didn’t doubt he had learned what he claimed, but what about the mistakes? Maybe there had been only one.

“What about your mistakes?” she dared to ask.

Going still, he just looked at her.

A knock on the door interrupted. Callum went to the door and in came carts of groceries and supplies.

“Whoa!” Evie exclaimed, holding a sticky fork and sporting a strawberry-stained mouth. She put her utensil down, prongs up, on the table, watching the assistant roll bags of food into the suite.

“I’ll help put all of this away,” Patsy said. A woman

of average height with wavy brown hair and blue eyes, she had an energy about her that radiated efficiency.

Evie got off the chair. “Are we going to cook, Mommy?”

“I’m going to cook. You’re going to go take a bath.” She stood. “Come on. I’ll get you started.”

Hazel saw the assistant begin to put groceries away and Callum lending a hand. The refrigerator would be bursting by the time they finished.

In their en suite, Hazel started the bath and then went to Evie’s stash of toys and found her floating Barbie boat and doll. Returning to the bathroom, she discovered Evie had removed her clothes and stepped into the filling tub.

Seeing Hazel had her favorite toys, she smiled and reached up for them. “Yes.”

Hazel laughed with the affection that filled her. She handed her daughter the toys and Evie went instantly into playtime mode. Leaving the door open so she could hear her if anything happened, Hazel left the room and saw that Patsy had gone and Callum was removing cooking pans from a box. Patsy must have brought them, since the inn only had a minimal collection.

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