Page 73 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Loretta stepped back. “There is something I have wondered all this time.” She folded her arms. “Annabel told us about the baby the day after she found out, the day after you both found out. But I didn’t get to talk to her much before she died. She came to see me once and we talked about how good things were going between you two. She didn’t know at that time whether you were having a boy or a girl, but I know she had an ultrasound scheduled.”

Hazel wished she could give the three some privacy. She felt this was a very personal moment.

“She was at twenty weeks,” Callum said. “There was no sign of a penis and the doctor said we were having a girl.”

Loretta covered her mouth with her hand as a sob wrenched her.

Hazel lowered her gaze, feeling she intruded too much.

“She was thrilled,” Callum said. “So was I.”

Hazel looked at him and became captivated by the light in his eyes, the slight curve of his lips the memory brought. That had been a magical moment for him. Hazel remembered when that day had come for her. Magical didn’t come close to describing what seeing the miracle of life could do to a person.

As she realized the depth of his emotional injury, the weight of the risk to her heart settled in. His journey to healing wasn’t over. And she had been instrumental in guiding him onto this path. She might be the rebound woman.

The image of Evie’s gap-toothed smile pierced her. Her innocent eyes. Her tiny, soft-skinned fingers. The way she sometimes skipped instead of walking. When she talked to bumblebees and ladybugs. Not spiders. Although she did respect the aphid eaters... She didn’t want to involve her child in a tenuous relationship with a hopeful father figure who had so much weight to bear. But the more time she spent with Callum, the more she felt like it was out of her control.

Chapter 12

Callum knew Hazel had suffered at least some tension during that visit.

He might be a brawny workingman, but he did have a sensitive side. He was grateful for her support despite how she must have felt like an intruder. And hearing about his and Annabel’s special moment could not have been easy.

She had been quiet all the way to the hotel near the airport and now surfed channels on the television. Their flight back to Arizona was in the morning. Callum couldn’t explain his need to make it up to her, to tell her that Annabel’s memory didn’t loom large as much as it used to. A voice said Hazel mattered more but that scared him, so he didn’t give it any credence.

Going to the suite phone, he called room service and ordered champagne with strawberries and requested a delayed dinner of steak and crab. When he hung up and turned to Hazel, he saw her looking at him peculiarly.

“I figured we could use a nice dinner tonight,” he said.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Okay, I figure I owe you at least that, if not more, for what you did for me today.”

“Me? I didn’t do anything.”

“You were there for me.” He walked over to where she sat on the sofa and took a seat right next to her. Taking the remote, he searched for a classical music station and found one playing a piano dominant tune.

After a few minutes, she said, “I know what you meant about seeing the sex of the baby for the first time.”

“Were you alone when you saw it?” he asked.

“Yes. My family was in Colorado. But I sent them copies of the sonogram.”

“That kind of thing bonds the parents together,” he said.

“So I gathered.” She inched away from him on the sofa. “You and Annabel had a special thing going.”

He had brought up the bonding on purpose. He intended to lead into what he really needed to say.

“We did bond over the baby, but that didn’t change the way either one of us felt about each other. I told you I would like to believe I loved her, but after all this time and much reflection, I know I didn’t love her as much as I could love a woman.” He wouldn’t say how he knew that. He knew because he could love Hazel ten times more. “I loved her enough to marry her and have a family, but at some point, it would have become clear that she wasn’t the one for me, and I would always have wondered who the right woman would have been.”

“Would you have stayed in the marriage?”

“With children involved? Yes. Annabel was a good person. Honest, full of integrity. There would have been no good reason to leave her.”

“Other than not being happy,” Hazel said.

“I would have been happy enough with her. It’s not like she made me miserable, nor do I think she ever would have.” There were different degrees of happiness. People could find great joy even if they married someone they weren’t madly in love with. As long as there was loyal companionship and friendship, marriage could work.

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