Page 15 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

“No, you won’t. I want you to relax and have as much semblance of your normal routine as possible. Don’t worry about anything other than doing your job and taking care of Evie. I’ll do the rest.”

Finished checking out the kitchen, seeing it had pretty much everything, she walked to the impressive windows. Mustang Valley looked bigger than she had always thought of it from here.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

She heard him walk up behind her and stop beside her. “I was there when the man tried to run you over.”

He had already indicated as much, but she wanted to know why he was here with her. Why had he offered his services, free of charge?

“Why this?” She turned as she swept her arm out into the room, facing him. “Why is it so important for you to help us?”

She met his incredibly blue eyes while he considered his reply.

“I don’t know,” he finally said. “When I first saw you, I had no intention of going out to meet you, but then I saw that car with the driver and instincts kicked in. This is what I do, Hazel.”

That sounded truthful enough. Why, then, did she have this feeling that it was more personal than that?

“Kerry called. She lost the white car,” Callum said, pulling her thoughts elsewhere. “She said the driver must know the town well. Otherwise he might not have gotten away as easily as he did.”

Hazel bit her lower lip in consternation. The killer had gotten away. Where was he now? Lurking outside? Did he already know they were here? Picturing Evie’s sweet sleeping face, she released her lip with a long sigh. If the killer knew the town well, he’d know the Dales Inn was the only hotel in Mustang Valley.

Feeling as though someone could see them through the windows, she went to stand by the dining table.

Callum went to the other side. “I sleep light, so don’t worry. And if you have any lingering doubt as to why I’m doing this, now you shouldn’t. I couldn’t leave a dog in danger like this.”

She believed that his work was second nature to him, but she still thought there was more to him than that, more that drew him to her and Evie, maybe even something he hadn’t acknowledged himself. Yet.

Looking down at all the items on the table, she pointed to the vests. “I take it we’re going to be wearing those?”

“Whenever we leave the inn. They’re knife-and bulletproof and made with poly-cotton netting that breathes to keep you cool or warm, depending on the weather. You can wear them underneath your clothes. They’re comfortable.”

Very high tech. And she would feel so much better knowing Evie would be protected as best as she could.

“What will you do with the USB drives?” she asked.

“Some are listening devices, others are cameras. One is for deleted file recovery.” He gestured to the USB devices. “We’ll put a GPS in your car, purse and Evie’s backpack. They all have extended battery life.”

Hazel couldn’t bear to think she or Evie m

ight be abducted, but Callum would know where they were if it happened. He wasn’t taking any chances. She couldn’t imagine they would need to recover any deleted files in order to find the killer. Maybe that was another precautionary measure Callum had taken.

“I’ve got some night vision goggles and extra guns and ammo in the bag. I’ll keep those in a safe place.”

Out of Evie’s curious hands. That was comforting. Hazel met his eyes, thinking she could never get tired of doing so. She could stare at them for an hour and float on a cloud of infatuation. How many other handsome men had she seen and not had such a strong reaction? She had been quite attracted to Ed, but she had never felt this way with him. Callum might be ruggedly gorgeous but Hazel didn’t think he’d be a good match for her.

What made a good match? She did not know him at all, at least, not very well. He physically attracted her. What would she do with that? What if she had no control over what was between them?

* * *

Why are you doing this?

Why is it so important for you to help us?

Those two questions that Hazel had asked kept repeating in his mind and he couldn’t shut off the voice. He was tired of hearing it. Mostly he was tired of wondering why and feeling somewhere deep inside that he already knew the answers.

He opened the drawer of the built-in desk next to the kitchen, looking for a notepad and pen. Hazel had gone to sit on the sectional. It was getting late but she needed to give him a list of kitchen necessaries so he could have everything she needed by morning.

He had been truthful when he had told her instinct had taken over. Instinct had made him walk across the street to check on the mysterious car. He hadn’t really thought much beyond that, but now here he was, guarding a woman and her child.

---