Page 32 of Cowboy Peril

What prompted him to invite her? She’d be a distraction. Especially with the mussed-up hair and wrinkled pajamas. Lord,have her get dressed. Parker had never been one to think about how her clothes affected someone. She simply got…dressed. Which usually meant she looked awesome. But something about cotton shorts and a tank top instead of silky pajamas did more to his heart rate.

He tossed the tools in the box with the leftover cameras and returned them to his house before waiting on the back deck for Parker. She hadn’t changed her clothes and held a coffee cup in each hand.

“What’s wrong?” She peered up at him.

“Nothing.” The problem was his, not hers. Spending so much time with her messed with his head…and his heart. Colt unlocked the back door to the kitchen, waved for Parker to go ahead of him, then stepped inside and locked the door. He put a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.

When she nodded, he took the cup she offered him and led the way to the office. He waited to turn on the light until he had closed the door. Waking up Mrs. White would lead to a lot of questions he’d rather leave for later in the day. Already the lack of sleep was catching up to him.

He sat in Dylan’s office chair and logged in while Parker pulled up an extra chair. Once he was into the security app, he typed in the code Dylan had texted him. Several screens came up, including the one from the newly installed camera on Parker’s porch.

So, it worked. Great. He’d never called himself an electrician. Colt typed in the date she’d received the first note. The filmed footage popped onto the screen.

“There.” Parker pointed at a man in a dark hoodie.

The man placed the rose and note on the banister, keeping his head down, and backed out of sight of the camera. Either he’d suspected there were cameras, or he’d scoped the place out beforehand.

“Do you recognize him?” Parker’s breath tickled Colt’s cheek.

“No. He could be any man in Misty Hollow or on the Rocking W.” Of course, none of the ranch hands would dare harass a woman in this way. He’d bet his life on that. “I’m going to put a camera facing away from your house and one on the back. We need to get a glimpse of this man’s face.”

“Before now, I’d have said that might be overkill, but you go ahead and string the cameras like Christmas lights if you want to.” She plopped back into her seat. “I still don’t understand why he’s after me. We’re getting close to figuring out why my father was killed, and my mother since she was him, but why me? I had nothing to do with the construction company.”

“It has to do with the note where he said he’d wanted to marry you.” Since Parker had no idea who the man was, that note frightened Colt the most. It showed a truly disturbed mind.

Her brow furrowed. “Seriously, other than you, I’ve not been in any long-term relationships, and didn’t date much. College took up a lot of my time, then living on my own…not that I really needed the money. Mom and Dad took care of me, but if someone wanted to marry me, wouldn’t I know?” She shook her head. “I’m rambling again.”

“It’s fine. You’re nervous.”

“That’s an understatement, Colton. If it’s okay with you, if I’m not needed in the kitchen or elsewhere today, I’m going to spend some more time going through the boxes in my house and finishing my father’s journal. There’s something there that will tell us who this man is. I know it.”

“Let’s consider combing through those boxes your job for now.” She would be safer inside her house than anywhere other than the main house. “Keep the door locked, and don’t open it unless you know the person.”

“What if I know the person and he’s the killer?” She arched a brow. “He wanted to marry me after all. I have to know him.”

That made better sense than anything else. “You’re right. It isn’t going to be that simple.”

~

The stupid cameras didn’t bother him. He’d accomplished his mission despite them before. All it took was a well-covered face, a shuffling walk, a hunched back—all things that didn’t look like him.

Staying in the shadows and out of sight of the camera, he set a small white jeweler’s box on Parker’s porch railing, then slipped away. Morning would come early, and they expected him back on the barn roof. His time on the ranch was coming to an end. The closer Parker and the cowboy got to discovering his identity, the less time he had. Plus, he needed to follow through on his threat. Parker wasn’t keeping the cowboy at bay in the slightest.

Locking Dawson up in the shed should’ve been warning enough. After he overheard a couple of the ranch hands talking about what they’d brought back from the Middle East with them, finding out Dawson had a fear of closed-in spaces had given Mark the perfect tool. Only, it hadn’t worked at keeping him and Parker apart.

Mark would have to step up his game before the deadline.

Glancing around to make sure no one watched him, he headed for the woods. He’d found the cameras in the trees on his first night. The red light blinking from the branches of a pine tree was a dead giveaway.

Maybe not all who roamed the night were as wise and observant as he was. In fact, he knew they weren’t. Enjoy the gift, Parker.

Out of range of the cameras, he settled back to wait for the right time to leave another message.

~

“Stop.” Colt put a hand in front of Parker.

“Why?”

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