Page 30 of Cowboy Peril

“With all the kids coming, I didn’t want to interfere with your work, so I put off telling you. It doesn’t make sense that this person wants you out of the picture.” She crossed her arms. “I know you well enough to know you won’t run screaming into the night because of a warning.”

“That’s right.” He glanced around the room. “I think it best that you move into the main house for a while. You’re too easy to get to here.”

“Would you move into the house?” She raised her brows, knowing the answer before he replied. “This note threatens you, not me. I still have a month before he comes for me.”

His face darkened. “You make me crazy, Parker. Of course, I won’t hide in the main house. I’m not defenseless.”

“Like a woman, you mean?” She marched up the stairs and retrieved her gun from the nightstand. “I’m not defenseless either,” she said, returning downstairs.

“God help us.”

The sound of tires crunching gravel alerted them that the guests had arrived.

“I’m going to have Maverick cover for me today so I can stay close to you.” Colt turned to the door.

“That will just make things worse, Colt. Shouldn’t we at least humor the guy…for now? What if your presence with the children puts them in danger? A killer might not stop at going through them to get to you. That’s not the kind of memory you want these children to have of the ranch. Maverick is capable of helping me with the children.”

He studied her face for a minute, then glanced back at the note. “You’re right. I’ll have to watch you from a distance. For now.”

~

Colt hated that Parker made sense. While he trusted any of the ranch hands with her life, and his, he still felt better being the one by her side. “Let’s get this day over with.” He stepped onto the porch and scanned the area for anything or anyone that set his nerves tingling. Not finding anything, he led her to the front of the house and put her into the capable hands of Maverick. In a low voice, he filled the man in on the note.

“No worries. I’ll keep her safe.” The burn scar on Maverick’s neck and lower jaw reddened. “If she’s going to pack that gun, she should at least pull her shirt down to hide it.” He motioned to where her shirt got caught on the weapon in her waistband. “Does she even know how to use a gun?”

“Yes.” Colt had taught her himself. He tugged Parker’s shirt over the gun, then marched to the barn construction despite everything in him wanting to stay with her and the kids. He’d have to be content to share the cookout with them and pray nothing happened.

After making sure the construction moved along on schedule, he entered the kitchen to check on whether the women had what they needed to feed the group.

“Hot dogs galore,” Mrs. White said.

“And chips, the makings for s’mores, and chocolate drinks.” Marilyn smiled. “Everything needed to send the kids home hyped-up on sugar. The local dry cleaner donated wire clothes hangers for them to toast their hot dogs and marshmallows on.”

“Looks like you two have everything covered.” Dylan had been smart enough from day one to hire people who didn’t need micro-managing. Colt hoped to be the same type of ranch owner someday.

Back outside, he stood on the deck and stared toward the corral where the two tamest mares waited for rowdy riders to climb into the saddle. Parker gripped the reins of one horse, Maverick the other.

With things running as smoothly as they were, Colt felt as useless as Parker’s kitten that watched him from the window of her house. When Dylan had asked him to be the foreman, he’d jumped at the chance. Turned out, Colt had done his job so well he occasionally had too much free time.

Another set of tires crunched in front of the house. Colt went to greet the new arrival, not surprised to see a squad car. “Deputy Hudson.” He offered his hand for a shake.

The deputy grinned and returned the shake. “We sure are out here a lot since this ranch went into business.” He glanced around. “Happens with isolation, I guess. Things are shaping up just fine.”

“Thanks.”

“You got another note?”

Colt nodded and fished it from his pocket. “Parker found it on her porch. Same as the others.”

Hudson held out a bag for Colt to drop it into. “Tell her to stop touching them. The fewer prints, the better. It might not be a bad idea to put a camera on her porch, somewhere out of sight. Do it without being seen. We might catch a glimpse of this culprit.”

Colt couldn’t believe he didn’t think of that himself. “There are some unused cameras in storage. I’ll take care of that tonight.” After everyone had gone to bed.

“Probably a good idea to have cameras on all the buildings. What about the main house? Did you check the cameras on the porch?”

“No. I’ll get the code from Mr. Wyatt and do that tonight.”

Hudson nodded. “I’ll send this to the lab. Give Dylan my regards. Have a good day.” He climbed back into his car and turned around, leaving a light plume of dust behind him.

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