Page 4 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

He chuckled and glanced at Hazel, who became transfixed by his smile. “That’s appropriate.”

Well, whether he was a kid person or not, his tactics worked. Ever since Ed ran out on her after hearing she was pregnant, Hazel always wondered whether or not a man who caught her eyes liked children.

“I think Evie saw something,” Hazel said. “She said a man hit another one over the head with a rock and put him into the trunk.”

The faint sound of sirens joined the gentle hum of distant town movements. Hazel put Evie down and held her hand, needing to have contact with her. Having nearly been run down by a car had rattled them both. To think Evie could have been hurt, or worse...

“Did you see him, too?” Callum asked.

She shook her head. “He was in the car already when I saw him. I didn’t get a good look at him. I did get the plate number, though.”

“That’s great.” Then he asked Evie, “Can you describe the man?”

The little girl nodded. “Mm-hmm. He looked really mad.”

“Mad?” Hazel asked, prompting her to elaborate.

Evie crowded her tiny eyebrows over eyes that were greener than her mother’s. “Yeah.” Evie nodded. “He looked like the man at the mall, Mommy.”

Hazel met her daughter’s round, innocent eyes, heart melting as usual at Evie’s adorableness and also searching for the memory. Then she recalled a homeless man they had encountered at the edge of the parking lot. He had been dressed in heavy clothing and had a beard, a dark beard.

“Was the man you saw as hairy as the man in the parking lot earlier?” Hazel asked.

“No, he was not skinny. And no hair on his face.”

The homeless man had been slim and had a beard. “The man she saw was average in height and weight,” Hazel said.

The sirens were now a blaring howl and seconds later, fire trucks, police cars and ambulances converged upon them.

“I hope this doesn’t take long.” Hazel had to prepare meals for tomorrow’s deliveries.

“You witnessed a crime,” Callum said. “The man got away. What if he comes after you again? We need to catch this guy.”

Hazel hadn’t considered that. Police approached and, filled with intensifying apprehension, she had to turn away from Callum’s unmistakable concern. Her meals could wait. She could get up early tomorrow and prepare them.

A woman in a tan blazer approached, her strides graceful, auburn hair flowing.

“Kerry,” Callum greeted her. “Good to see you again.”

“Callum, what are you doing here?” Kerry’s blue eyes were direct and exuded confidence.

“My office is across the street. I saw a man in a car and thought it was suspicious.”

He had? Hazel looked across the street at the one-story strip mall. One of the spaces must be where Callum worked.

“This is Hazel and Evie Hart,” Callum said. “This is Detective Kerry Wilder. She’s also my brother Rafe’s fiancée.”

Hazel shook the pretty woman’s hand.

“Evie here saw the man when he got out of the car,” Callum said.

“You did?” Kerry asked in a lighthearted tone, crouching before the girl. “What did you see?”

Evie huddled closer to Hazel’s leg, bringing Cookie up to her face. She got bashful sometimes.

“She saw the driver of the car hit another man on the head and put him in the trunk,” Hazel answered for her daughter.

Kerry straightened and began writing on a small notepad.

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