Page 36 of Cowboy Peril

Hearing those words confused him. What did they mean? Was he just a temporary fix?.

“Hopefully, it won’t be long now,” the sheriff said.

“No longer than three more weeks anyway.” The reminder of the deadline brought Colt back to the conversation.

“We’ll have this done by then.” He guaranteed. No way would he let the deadline approach for Mark to come for Parker. Not while he still breathed. Once the man was behind bars, Colt would ask her to stay and build the cattle ranch with him. He’d set aside the pain of her former rejection. She was here now. That’s all that mattered to him. The past could stay in the past. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side. “I won’t let her out of my sight, Sheriff. That, I can promise.”

“Good.” The sheriff nodded. “Remember there’s a target on your back, too. This man doesn’t like the two of you together, most likely because it makes it harder for him to gain access to Parker. He won’t hesitate to get rid of you to apprehend her.”

“I know.” Colt squared his shoulders. “It won’t be easy for Collins.”

The sheriff’s mouth quirked. “Don’t reckon it will. I’ll put an APB out on him. What kind of vehicle does he drive?”

“An older model, navy-blue Chevy with a busted right taillight. Empty gun rack in the window.” Colt liked to pride himself on his attention to detail, but he wished he’d caught on to Collins weeks ago.

That mistake could cost Parker her life.

Chapter Sixteen

Mark hadn’t beenspotted in days. The ranch hands worked double time to prepare for the return of the Wyatt family, and now the moment arrived.

Parker stood in front of the house with the rest of the staff and wiped sweaty palms down her jeans. Colt had told the boss about the recent trouble, but now that he was returning with his wife and kids, would he order Parker to leave? He might consider the danger too great for her to stay.

“Relax.” Colt gave her hand a quick squeeze. “Everyone Dylan hires has a past—some trouble that haunts them.” Another squeeze, and he headed down the steps to welcome the boss home.

A beautiful blond woman, her arms around two dark-haired boys, smiled and strolled toward the house. Her husband, a man standing well over six feet, shook hands with Colt.

“Hi, I’m Dani, and these two rascals are Eric and Derrick.” The woman smiled and told the boys to take their bags to their rooms. “And that gorgeous hunk of flesh is Cyclone.” She pointed past her husband to the inky black stallion being backed from a horse trailer. “His new wives are coming up the road now.”

“Successful trip.” Parker smiled, glad of the woman’s welcoming nature.

“Very.” Her shrewd gaze returned to Parker. “Heard you’ve had some trouble. Mind walking with me?”

Oh, no. This was it. Instead of telling her himself to leave, the boss would have his wife do it. “Sure.” Parker forced her tone to remain light as she fell into step with Dani.

So many denials rose to her lips only to be tamped down. The trouble she’d brought with her was not her fault, but it still lay on her shoulders if someone was harmed.

As they walked, Dani told her of the troubles she’d brought to the ranch, starting with a crime boss tracking her to Misty Hollow, mistaking her twin sister for her, then a new evil a few months later after she started working on the ranch. “We’re a bunch of misfits—all running from something. There’s no better place to be, Parker.”

“You aren’t going to send me away?”

She laughed. “Of course not.”

“But…the boys.”

“They’ll balk at some temporary restrictions on their time, but we’ll keep them so busy they won’t cause much of a ruckus. Show me your house. I haven’t seen them finished.”

“Mine is messy with my father’s boxes, but you’ll get the general idea.”

“If you’re finished with the boxes, we can have them carted away. I’m sure the sheriff’s office would hold on to them as evidence.” Her smile widened. “Yes, Colt has told us everything. I think he has, anyway.”

“I’m sure he has.” Colt’s work ethic would make him very transparent. “I’ll be glad to get rid of them.” All she wanted to keep was her father’s journal. She also needed to pack up the family home, keep what she wanted of her mother’s, and sell the rest. Even if she didn’t stay at the ranch once Mark was caught, she couldn’t move back there. It held too many memories. She’d sell both it and her apartment. Start fresh somewhere else if Colt didn’t want her.

She unlocked her front door and stepped aside for Dani to enter.

“How cute.” Dani strolled through the small space, weaving in and out of the boxes. “Looks comfortable enough.”

“It is.”

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