Page 23 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

He explained what had happened and that he didn’t get a plate number this time.

“Well, we can pretty much assume he’s stealing vehicles to avoid identification,” she said.

“He’s getting bold. He waited for us outside the inn. How did he know we were there? How did he find out so fast?”

“Mustang Valley isn’t very big. Dales Inn is the only hotel in town. I’m sure he deduced you and Hazel would go there if you weren’t at her place.”

“What about the ranch?”

“I’m sure he checked there, too.”

Callum ran his fingers through his hair as he drove to the address of the first delivery.

“I’ll put out a BOLO on the SUV and check for any reported stolen vehicles,” Kerry said. “Be careful.”

Nobody had to tell him that. Ending the call, he gathered the bag with all the containers for Emily Watson, one of Hazel’s elderly clients. With glasses on a chain, her silver hair in stiff curls and a face covered in peach fuzz, Emily smiled her welcome in a floral house dress. Callum was immediately charmed.

She glanced down at the bag he held. “Where is Hazel?”

“She’s not feeling well so I’m making her deliveries for her. My name is Callum.”

“Come in, come in.” Emma stepped aside and checked him out. “My, my, aren’t you a handsome fellow.”

Callum entered the older Victorian, dark wood floors creaking, letting her comment go.

Emily shut the door and led him into the kitchen. “Go ahead and put them in the freezer. That’s what Hazel always does. I still have one of her delicious meals in the refrigerator and with it just being me, that lasts a few days. My Irwin passed a few years ago and the kids don’t come around as often as I’d like.”

She must be lonely and starved for adult conversation. Callum opened the freezer drawer and began rearranging the contents to make room for a week’s worth of meals.

“Irwin was an engineer and retired a vice president of his department,” Emma said. “He was a good provider. What is it that you do, Mr...?”

“Colton. I’m a personal protection officer.” That always sounded more palatable than bodyguard.

“Oh, you’re a security guard?” Emily asked, going to a glass-faced cabinet. “Would you like something to drink?”

She didn’t recognize his last name. Maybe it was her age. “No, thank you. No, I’m not a security guard.”

Emma filled a glass with tap water. “Hazel never told me about you. She and I have such lovely talks when she’s here.”

Callum imagined Emily talked anyone’s ear off when they visited. Plumbers. Electricians. Maybe the mail carrier. And her kids when they came over.

“She is such a dear,” Emily said. “I know she doesn’t have to stay when she delivers my meals, but she does. She genuinely cares about me. She’s become a friend of mine even if she doesn’t consider me one of hers.”

“I’m sure she does.”

“She’s a very good chef.” Emily patted her tummy, which wasn’t protruding much at all. “She felt so bad for leaving that job of hers, but she belongs on her own.”

“She felt bad?” Hazel hadn’t mentioned that.

“Oh, yes. Hazel is such a conscientious person. She wouldn’t hurt a flea. She worried about the owner of that restaurant...what was it called? Carolyn’s Kitchen. She and Carolyn were good friends. Carolyn didn’t want her to leave but Hazel followed her heart, and good thing she did. She’s going to be very successful someday. You wait and see.”

“She already seems to be.”

“It’s nice to see that she’s finally found a husband and father for Evie. I’m going to have to ask her why she didn’t tell me.”

Husband and father? Callum stood, finished putting the containers into the freezer, feeling a lump form in his throat. He swallowed.

Emily smiled fondly at him, making him more uncomfortable. “I always knew it would only be a matter of time. Hazel is so pretty and nice. And her daughter is sweet as can be. But I’m sure you already know that.”

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