Page 39 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Glancing up, he saw Hazel had left the kitchen to get a closer look. “I did.”

“Callum, this is too much.”

“No, it’s not. We’re cooped up in here. We’ll all get a kick out of this.” The dollhouse had turrets, curving staircases going up three levels and two porches. The miniature house had incredible detail, from the exterior Victorian trim to interior wallpaper and paint. Evie was going to have a blast.

Callum sent Hazel a mischievous glance.

She looked at her daughter, who was ecstatic over the plethora of doll items.

“You’re going to spoil her.”

He wanted to spoil her. After seeing her play with her Barbie and how her imagination soon soared, he knew he had to get her one. He had asked Patsy to get every piece of furniture she could find and to include the little things, like dishes. Patsy had it overnighted from a store willing to work with them in a hurry. He had requested it a few days ago. She might break a few things at her age but she’d have this for years, maybe even into adulthood.

It took him a while to set up the dollhouse. Evie had all the accessories scattered on the floor behind the house, which she’d already begun to fill with furniture.

This is what it would have been like with his daughter, had she lived. Callum pushed those thoughts away and went around to the back of the house to help Evie arrange the rooms.

She let him take over and began dressing two Barbie dolls.

“This is Angie,” Evie said, showing him the doll dressed in a sparkly dress.

“She’s pretty, like you.”

Evie beamed up at him before going back to her dolls. He finished arranging furniture and got out of her way.

She instantly dove into playtime, speaking in a low voice, pretending the dolls were talking about going to their new house.

He left her to it and went to the kitchen, where Hazel was cleaning up after a day of cooking. “What’s for dinner?”

“Spaghetti.”

“Nothing too fancy. Too bad.” He dipped his finger into the sauce for a taste.

She swatted the top of his hand. “Raised the way you must have been, you didn’t spend much time in a kitchen.”

They’d had servants to do the cooking and serving. “Your cooking is irresistible.” He could get accustomed to this, a delicious meal every day...and a beautiful woman by his side.

That thought came unbidden. She was a beautiful woman, no denying that. And he could get accustomed to a delicious meal every day. What troubled him was much more than how those two things appealed to him. The idea of living with them made him feel good. Too good.

“Why don’t you set the table?” Hazel asked.

Callum did so, enjoying the sense of being part of a family unit. Hazel put food on the table and had to force Evie away from the dollhouse. They all sat together, something he hadn’t often done with his family growing up. The Coltons had formal gatherings and sat together on holidays. He and his siblings had tremendous respect and love for one another, but Callum had drifted apart from them after Annabel passed. Since he’d been back in town, he had grown closer to Marlowe and Bowie. And he couldn’t imagine Ace could ever have shot their father...

He ate dinner without talking, because he feared he could not survive the cost to his heart. Despite all his efforts to steer clear of women with children, he was falling headfirst into a powerfully moving relationship with Hazel and Evie. Where had all his resolve gone?

* * *

Hazel tucked Evie in to the sound of Callum cleaning the kitchen. She hadn’t missed his joy in seeing Evie’s excitement over receiving the extravagant gift. Sharing dinner tonight had been especially poignant. He genuinely adored Evie. He looked at her as though they had been a family for years. When he let his guard down—unaware or not—he was a phenomenal man. Evie could look up to someone like him.

That terrified Hazel.

She had to know more about him before they sank into a lovestruck quicksand.

“I’d like a glass of wine before we turn in,” she said. “You?”

A few seconds passed before he said a tentative, “Sure.”

After she had two glasses on the counter, she took out a chardonnay from the cooler and found an opener. Manly hands took over from behind her. Putting her hands on the counter, she watched him open the bottle, feeling his arms on each side of her.

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