CHAPTER 8

The next week swept by quickly. Josie and Tanner and the twins fell into a comfortable routine that spun a happy fantasy in Josie’s head.

She could easily imagine a life here with Tanner and his girls. They had started each morning sharing coffee while Lily and Leigh ate their breakfast, and then Tanner left for work.

In the evenings after eating with the rest of the staff they returned to the suite, where they played with the twins until their bedtime. Once the girls were asleep, she and Tanner spent a couple of hours just talking.

It was amazing to her that they didn’t run out of things to talk about and that their conversations were so easy, so comfortable. It was as if she’d known him for months and each morning she looked forward to those hours with him at the end of the day.

The twins had definitely woven their way deep into her heart. They were wonderfully bright and funny and loving and she didn’t like the idea of anyone else taking care of them.

And then there was Tanner. The kiss they’d shared had rocked her to her very core. Despite the fact that there had been no physical contact between them for the last week, a sharp yearning had simmered in the air between them.

She felt it and she knew he did, too. She saw it in the glitter of his eyes when he gazed at her and thought she wasn’t looking. She felt his desire for her wafting from him when they were alone together in the living room and the twins were in the nursery sound asleep.

When she’d been in his arms, with his lips pressed against hers, it had felt so natural, so achingly right. She wanted more from him; she wanted him to make love to her. It had been in her mind every minute of every day since they’d shared that kiss.

The idea that he thought he was too old for her was laughable. He was only thirty-five, and besides, she was an old soul. She had no desire to spend her nights clubbing and dancing until dawn.

She wasn’t an average twenty-three-year-old. She didn’t want adventure or serial dating. She wanted stability and family. She wanted peace and she knew without a doubt she could find it here, with Tanner and the two girls who had won her heart.

She now stared out the window. The twins were down for their afternoon nap and the silence was far too conducive to thinking and spinning fantasies.

The last thing she wanted to think about was the watch. Over the past week she hadn’t mentioned going to dig it up and neither had Tanner. If she looked deep inside she’d admit that the man in the woods had cast her back to a bad place and she hadn’t quite pulled herself out of the darkness.

This place felt safe and she was reluctant to even think about leaving. Tanner felt safe, but other than wanting her physically, she had no idea how he really felt about her.

Certainly she was a convenience for him right now. There had been only one response so far to his ad for a new nanny and the woman hadn’t even shown up for the interview.

It didn’t help that Eldridge’s kidnapping had made a big splash in the news. It wasn’t every day a billionaire was taken right out of his own bedroom and the press had gone wild with the story.

Josie suspected the lack of responses to Tanner’s ad had to do with nobody wanting to work at the Colton Valley Ranch right now. The house where a kidnapping had occurred wasn’t exactly an attractive workplace.

A knock sounded at the door and Josie jumped up to answer. She opened the door and Marceline smiled at her and thrust out a vase with a bouquet of beautiful yellow roses.

“What’s this?” Josie asked as she took the vase from her.

“Yellow roses are for friendship and I decided to bring them to you to brighten up your day.” She swept past Josie and sank down on the sofa. “I guess the girls are napping?”

“They are, and thank you so much. These are beautiful.” Josie placed the vase in the center of the island and then returned to her chair.

“I keep thinking one of these days I’ll come in here and you’ll be gone.”

“If I had my way I might want to stay here forever,” Josie replied.

“Really?” Marceline leaned forward, her eyes glittering brightly. “I just knew it. I thought I smelled a romance brewing around here. So, tell me, are you desperately, madly in love with Tanner?”

Josie laughed. “I don’t know about love, but I definitely feel more than a little bit of healthy lust where he’s concerned.” It felt good to talk about her feelings with another female.

“And have you acted on that lust?”

“No, not really,” Josie replied with a laugh and then sobered. “But I feel electrified whenever I’m around him. It’s like all of my senses come alive in a way they never have before.”

Marceline nodded. “It’s a wonderful feeling, isn’t it?”

Josie raised an eyebrow. “Tell me, Ms. Marceline, is there somebody who electrifies you?”

Marceline leaned back against the sofa cushion and laughed. “Heavens, no. I can only imagine what it must be like to feel that way about somebody.”

“But you’re so pretty. There must be plenty of men clamoring to get close to you.”

“All the men I meet remind me of my stepbrother Fowler.” Her upper lip curled up. “And he’s such a pompous jerk. He’s even gotten worse since Daddy Eldridge has disappeared.”

“I’m sure you’ll eventually find that special man who will make you happy for the rest of your life,” Josie said.

“And I hope things work out between you and Tanner if that’s what you want,” she replied. She eyed Josie with open speculation. “You’re so different from Helen.”

“Really? How so?” Although it felt bad to gossip about a dead woman, Josie wouldn’t mind knowing more about the woman who had captured Tanner’s heart.

“Helen really wanted to be a Colton, not a Grange. She envied our money, our standing in society and everything else about us. I don’t know if she was that way when she first married Tanner, or if she got that way living here with him.”

“But she must have had good qualities for Tanner to have loved her,” Josie replied.

“I’m sure she did, but to be honest, I didn’t see many. Of course, I didn’t spend much time around her, but when I did she just seemed rather unpleasant. And she was far more high-maintenance than you seem to be. She had to have her hair done and got her nails manicured regularly. She liked nice clothes and that’s obviously not a priority with you.”

Josie looked down at her T-shirt and shorts, wondering if she should be offended by Marceline’s assessment. She decided not to be offended but was secretly rather amused. Her Colton roots were dirt poor and the only money any of them had was hard-earned, not inherited.

“I just can’t imagine her walking away from those sweet baby girls,” Josie confessed. “Maybe she was suffering some sort of depression.”

“Maybe,” Marceline said.

“I’ve only been here a little over a week and already I’m going to miss them desperately when I go back home.”

“They are cute, aren’t they? Do you want children?”

“Definitely. I’d love to have a big family,” Josie replied. “What about you?”

“I don’t know. Kids seem a little messy.”

Josie laughed. “Oh, they are. They’re messy and unpredictable and give the sloppiest kisses and they fill up your heart in a way nothing else will ever do.”

“If you say so,” Marceline replied dubiously.

“Up! Lily up,” the little voice called from the nursery.

Marceline stood. “And that’s my cue. I’ll scoot on out of here and let you tend to the girls.”

Josie got up from her chair. “Thank you so much for the friendship roses, Marceline. That was so kind of you.”

Marceline gave her a quick hug. “Thank you for letting me hang out here occasionally.” With those words she was out the door and Josie hurried to the nursery.

It was an hour later when Tanner came in the door. He smelled of fresh air and sunshine and that hint of cologne she found so attractive.

The girls greeted him with hugs and kisses and then went back to playing with their toys.

“Good day?” Josie asked.

“Not bad,” he replied and then frowned. “Where did the flowers come from?”

“Marceline brought them to me. She told me yellow roses are for friendship. They are the first roses I’ve ever gotten from anyone.”

His brow smoothed out. “She’s definitely playing nice with you.”

“It’s kind of nice to have a female friend to talk to. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that in my life.” She wasn’t looking for pity. She was just stating a fact. While in witness protection she hadn’t allowed anyone to get close to her. Even friends could mean potential danger.

Tanner’s gaze held hers for a moment and then he moved toward his bedroom. “I’m just going to take a quick shower and change and then we can head to dinner.”

“Sounds good to us, right, girls?”

As Tanner left the room, Josie thought about the frown that had creased his forehead when he’d seen the roses. Had he thought they might be from another man?

Tanner Grange definitely gave her mixed messages. He professed she was too young for him and he wasn’t interested in her romantically, yet at times he looked at her as if she were his favorite dessert.

He certainly wasn’t bringing her any flowers, but she’d gotten the distinct impression he wouldn’t be pleased if some other man brought them to her. Definitely mixed messages.

She tried to tell herself that he was right—there was no future for her here no matter what fantasies she spun in her head. She’d known him for only ten days and ultimately her goal was to get the watch for her father and go back to Granite Gulch. But the idea of never seeing him, of never seeing his sweet babies again, already ached in her heart.

By the time he returned to the living room she had the girls in their stroller and they were ready to head to the staff dining room and the evening meal.

“Are you hungry?” he asked as they left the suite.

She grinned up at him. “When am I not? Actually, I was thinking that maybe this weekend I could make my chicken and dumplings for dinner one night.”

“That sounds good to me,” he replied easily.

“There’s only one problem. I’m not sure where to get all the ingredients I need. I checked the refrigerator and pantry, and some ingredients are there, but I’m missing a few.”

“Make a list and talk to Bettina in the kitchen. She’ll hook you up with anything you need.”

“How does Saturday night sound?”

“Saturday it is and I do expect the meal to live up to all the hype,” he said teasingly.

A wave of warmth swept through her. It had just been in the past couple of days he’d started to tease her and she loved it. It spoke of the ease between them, of how comfortable they’d become with each other.

When they reached the dining room he grabbed Leigh and Josie got Lily from the stroller to deposit them in the awaiting high chairs.

They worked seamlessly together, buckling the belts and then tying on bibs. Again Josie was struck by how right, how natural it all felt. They were a perfect functioning team, just as two parents should be.

As always, the dinner experience was a slightly chaotic mix of passing serving bowls, eating and listening to the latest gossip. Thankfully the latter part was in short supply this evening. The sheriff and his people had stopped coming by the ranch, although Josie knew the investigation continued and they were continuing to interview people at the station.

The immediate concern for Eldridge’s well-being had faded into an unspoken horrible resignation that he was probably dead. While the family members were supposedly still hoping for a ransom demand, after ten days Josie didn’t think it was going to happen.

Tonight the gossip around the table was about a well-known movie star who had been caught in bed with her best friend’s husband.

“I knew she was nothing but trash,” Linda said. “She’s always showing off her naked body parts in the movies.”

“That doesn’t make her trash,” Becky protested. “She’s just doing a job when she has a movie role.”

“Getting into bed with your best friend’s husband makes you trash,” Linda exclaimed firmly.

“I don’t know about trash, but it definitely shows you’re missing a few morals,” Josie added. “If you’re married then you shouldn’t cheat. If you feel like cheating then get a divorce. Marriage is supposed to mean something.”

She straightened in her chair and warmth swept into her cheeks. “Sorry—I didn’t mean to preach.”

Linda laughed. “Honey, there’s no need to apologize for speaking your mind. You spend most of these meals pretty quiet. It’s nice to know you have opinions.”

“Trust me, I have plenty of opinions,” Josie replied with an easy grin.

“Just ask me,” Tanner quipped, making everyone laugh.

The rest of the meal was pleasant as everyone expressed their opinions on topics ranging from politics to the best cut of beef.

Lily and Leigh behaved beautifully, earning them each an extra cookie for dessert. They started the walk back to the suite with Tanner and her arguing about what kind of cookie was the best in the world.

Tanner insisted it was oatmeal raisin and Josie rebutted with chocolate chip. “They’re best just out of the oven, when the chips are warm and chocolaty goo.”

“I’ve always had my chocolate chip cookies straight out of a store package,” he replied. “Actually, I’ve always had all my cookies out of a package that I bought.”

“That’s tragic. So then I’ve just added my chocolate chip cookies to the menu for Saturday,” she replied. “Chicken and dumplings and chocolate chip cookies—it will be a stellar meal to remember.”

He laughed. “And we’ll see if you make a believer out of me when it comes to what kind of cookie is best.”

“Oh, trust me, Tanner. Sooner or later I do intend to make a believer out of you.” And she wasn’t just talking about cookies. She was talking about her...about them.

As they reached the suite, he opened the door and she pushed the stroller into the living room, where together they got the twins out to play until bedtime and he stored the stroller in a corner of his bedroom.

Lily grabbed the book Josie had been reading them before dinner, and as she held one side, Leigh grabbed the other. A tug-of-war ensued.

“Mine.” Lily’s face scrunched up in anger.

“No, Lee-lee,” Leigh replied in protest. “Mine.”

Josie stepped up and plucked the book from their hands. “If you can’t share nice, then we don’t play with the book.”

Lily shoved Leigh and Leigh responded by pinching Lily’s arm. Both girls wailed in outrage. Tanner grabbed Leigh up in his arms and walked with her to the chair and sat while Josie picked up Lily. Within seconds the tears had stopped.

“This is the first time I’ve seen them fight,” Josie said.

“It doesn’t happen often, but it happens,” he replied.

Josie carried Lily to where Tanner was seated and bent down with the little girl in her arms. “You two are sisters,” she said to the two. “Sisters don’t fight. Sisters love each other. Lily loves Leigh and Leigh loves Lily.”

Leigh leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her sister. “Love,” she said. The two hugged each other and Josie looked up at Tanner.

He gazed at her with hot, hungry eyes and her heart fluttered wildly. Time stood still and it was only as Lily moved out of Josie’s arms that he broke the eye contact. “Go play nice,” he said to Leigh and set her back down on the floor.

“I’ll just go get some more toys for them to play with.” A wild heat filled Josie as she headed down the hallway to the nursery.

She wanted him to kiss her again. The energy in the air between them had crackled with the sexual energy that electrified her. She wanted him and she had no doubt in her mind that he wanted her, too.

She started past her bedroom door, but froze in her tracks as she glanced inside the room. Her heartbeat thundered at the sight of the drawers pulled out and emptied, and tossed on the floor. The bed was stripped down to the mattress and the window was open and missing the screen.

“Tanner,” she cried in a strangled voice that she scarcely recognized as her own.

He appeared in the hallway. “Josie, what’s wrong?”

She raised a trembling finger and pointed into her room. In three long strides he was at her side. A small gasp escaped him and he immediately threw his arm around her shoulder and led her back down the hall to the living room.

“Stay here,” he said and then disappeared into his bedroom. He returned only moments later with his gun in his hand and a hard glaze in his eyes. “Let’s get you and the girls into my bedroom. I’ve already cleared it and there’s nobody in there.”

He bent down and scooped up Lily in his arms. Josie got Leigh and they went into the bedroom, where he deposited Lily on the floor. “Stay in here and lock the door.” There was a simmering urgency to his voice. He left the room and shut the door behind him.

* * *

“How in the hell did this happen?” Tanner turned to look at Zane. Both men stood in Josie’s bedroom doorway. The first thing he had done after getting Josie and the twins safely in his bedroom was check the rest of the suite to make sure nobody was anywhere inside.

It wasn’t just anger that now coursed through Tanner. He was also filled with a rich, dark fear. What if they’d been in the rooms when somebody had broken in? What if Josie had been sleeping in the bed? What if his babies had been in the nursery? The thoughts chilled him to the bone.

This was their home, a place that was supposed to be safe, not just for Josie, but for his girls as well. Now that sense of safety had been completely shattered. Somebody unwanted and unknown had violated the sanctity of his home.

“I’ve got security patrolling the house at regular intervals, but I don’t have the resources to have every window and door covered twenty-four hours a day,” Zane replied, his frustration evident in his strained tone. “I’m doing the best I can, Tanner.”

“I know. I called Troy. He should be here soon,” Tanner said. He’d also called Peggy to come and keep the twins occupied in his room while the sheriff investigated this newest crime. “Nobody has reported any strangers on the property?”

“No, but you know this is a big spread and my men can’t be everywhere.” Zane frowned. “It was damn brazen of somebody to do this in the daylight.”

“Thank God it didn’t happen in the night,” Tanner replied. At night they would have all been vulnerable with sleep. If this had happened at night it would have been a whole different scenario.

A knock sounded at the door. Tanner shoved his gun into his waistband and then answered it. Peggy gazed at him worriedly. He’d told her briefly on the phone that there had been a break-in. “Are the girls okay?” she asked.

“They’re fine,” he assured her. “They’re in the bedroom with Josie. If you could watch them until after we’re finished with things in here, I’d appreciate it. Sheriff Watkins should be arriving anytime now.”

“I’ll be glad to watch them.” She went directly to the bedroom and a moment later Josie stepped out of the door.

Her pale face was pinched with tension and he wanted to pick her up in his arms and carry her away to a place where she was safe and fear didn’t radiate from her eyes. There had already been far too much fear in her short life.

“Is the sheriff here yet?” she asked as her gaze shot down the hallway, where Zane still stood just outside of the bedroom door.

“I’m expecting him to arrive in the next few minutes or so,” Tanner replied.

“It was the man in the woods. It has to have been him. That’s the only thing that makes any sense. He believes I have the watch and so he broke in here to hunt for it.” Her voice held a trace of breathlessness. “I knew he was watching us. I just knew it.” Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. “He didn’t go away. He’s here and he did this.”

“Nobody got hurt, Josie. We’ll get through this,” Tanner said in an effort to comfort her.

There was another knock at the door. “That should be Troy,” he said and hurried to answer.

Troy entered, followed by Deputy Sheriff Charlie Kidwell and Deputy Julie Clark. “You called about a break-in?” Troy looked ten years older than he had when Tanner had last seen him.

“That’s right,” Tanner replied and then he and Josie led the three officers down the hallway, where Zane stepped out of the doorway to allow the sheriff and his team access.

Troy frowned at the mess in the room and then turned to look at Josie. “Have you checked to see if anything is missing?” he asked.

Josie shrugged. “I haven’t been inside to check, but other than a credit card and some cash in my wallet in my purse, I really didn’t come here with anything worth stealing.”

“Go ahead and find your wallet, but try not to touch anything else,” Troy instructed her.

Josie took two steps into the small room and then stepped across an overturned drawer. “Here’s my purse. It’s been emptied out.” She bent down and picked up a hot-pink wallet from the floor and then rejoined them in the hallway.

She opened the wallet and then looked up at Troy. “It’s all here—my driver’s license, my credit card and the cash.”

“So, this doesn’t appear to be a random robbery,” Troy stated.

“Looks like a search to me, boss,” Charlie said.

“That’s exactly what it was,” Josie admitted. She glanced quickly at Tanner and then continued. “I think whoever broke in here was looking for my father’s watch that I came here to dig up.”

Troy looked at her for a long moment and then released a heavy sigh. “Why don’t we go into the living room and you can tell me all about it. Charlie, check outside the building and see what you can find. Julie, see if you can lift some fingerprints in the room.”

The three of them went back into the living room as the deputies got to work. Troy sat in the chair and Tanner sat next to Josie on the sofa.

He could feel the tension radiating off her and once again wanted to pull her into his embrace and tell her everything was going to be okay. But he couldn’t do that and instead he settled for taking one of her icy cold hands into his.

“Now, tell me all about this watch,” Troy said.

“It belongs to my father,” Josie began.

“Matthew Colton,” Troy stated flatly. Troy offered her a small smile. “Don’t look so surprised that I know about your father. I do my homework.”

Josie squeezed Tanner’s hand and then explained to Troy about the watch and about the man who had accosted them in the woods.

Troy leaned forward and gave them both a hard look. “Let me get this straight. A man shot you in the woods? Why didn’t you immediately report it?”

“It was on the morning Eldridge disappeared. Things were in chaos around here and we figured you already had your hands more than full,” Tanner said.

“Besides, I’d never seen the man before in my life. I have no idea who he is and we could have only given you a general description,” Josie added.

“And after I hit his hand with the shovel he turned tail and ran. We hoped he’d left the area,” Tanner said.

“From what you’ve told me, I’d say it’s obvious he didn’t leave the area and he’s probably the person who broke into the room.” Troy pulled a notepad and pen from his pocket. “So give me whatever description of him that you have.”

“Medium height and a little on the thin side,” Josie said. “His hair was longish and filthy, but I’m not sure about his eye color.” She looked at Tanner as if to confirm what she’d said.

He nodded. “Sounds right to me and his eyes were brown.”

“And you’d never seen him before?” Troy held Josie’s gaze intently.

“Never, but I’m assuming he followed me here from Granite Gulch,” she replied. “There were several times in the past couple of weeks I felt like I was being followed.”

Troy wrote a few sentences and then shut his notebook and slid it back into his pocket. “Your family is well respected in Granite Gulch. Your brother Trevor is an FBI agent. Ridge is a search-and-rescue worker. Your brother Christopher is a private investigator and your sister, Annabel, is a rookie cop.”

Tanner was surprised by how easily Troy rattled off the names and occupations of Josie’s siblings. The lawman had definitely done his homework.

Josie nodded and raised her chin. “My sister and all of my brothers are good, solid citizens.”

“And after checking extensively into your background, I’ve come to the conclusion that you are just like them. You’re free to leave here whenever you want. I know where you live and will contact you if I have any more questions for you concerning our ongoing investigation.”

She could leave. She was free to go. The words played over and over again in the back of Tanner’s head as Troy and his people finished up.

Would she jump in her car first thing in the morning and go home? After tonight he wouldn’t blame her for wanting to run from here.

He’d told himself that she was getting too close, that he was ready for her to leave, but now that she could drive away he realized how much he wasn’t ready to tell her goodbye.

It was a little over two hours later when everyone else had finally left the suite and the twins were sleeping soundly in their cribs.

Zane had seen to it that a new screen was placed on Josie’s bedroom window and had promised to up the security around the staff wing of the house, but Tanner didn’t think the man would attempt a break-in again. He’d obviously been searching for the watch and hadn’t found it in the room. There would be no reason for him to search the room again.

Troy had promised to get back in touch with them if he got a hit on any of the fingerprints Deputy Clark had managed to lift.

The fingerprint dust had been cleaned up and Tanner now picked up a drawer from the floor and returned it to the chest of drawers. “You know, Troy is probably right.”

“Right about what?” Josie straightened from tucking in a clean top sheet on the bed.

“That the man who broke in here probably knew we’d be in the staff dining room. He didn’t want a confrontation and he wasn’t looking to hurt anyone.”

“You won’t convince me that when he jumped out from behind that tree in the woods he wasn’t looking to hurt anyone,” she said with darkened eyes. “But I agree. Tonight he just wanted the watch I don’t have.” She grabbed the pillow from the bed and stuffed it into a pillowcase.

At least some of the color had returned to her face, he thought as he picked up another drawer and slid it into place. Together they worked in silence to put the yellow spread back on the bed. It was only when the room was back in order that he gestured for her to go with him to the living room.

She curled up in one corner of the sofa and he went to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer for himself and poured her a glass of wine. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but tonight was the first time in a long time he almost wished he had something stronger than beer to chase away the chill that remained in the pit of his stomach.

“Thanks,” she said as he placed her glass on the coffee table.

He nodded and carried his beer bottle to the nearby chair. He set his gun on the end table, twisted off the bottle cap and took a long drink. “Now that Troy has said you can, are you going to leave?” His gut tightened as he waited for her reply.

She sighed. “Not yet. That is, unless you’re ready to get rid of me.”

“Not at all,” he replied. He was positively schizophrenic where her presence here was concerned. He didn’t want the temptation of her, but he really wasn’t ready for her to leave him.

He didn’t like the way she had filled up all the empty spaces in his life and yet he dreaded the empty spaces she would leave behind.

“I really don’t want to leave you in a lurch with the girls and I also really don’t want to go back to Granite Gulch without that watch in my hand.”

“Tonight was just a grim reminder that we shouldn’t go back to the tree right now. As you said, he’s out there somewhere, and hopefully with more time and a plan, you and I could sneak away from here some night to get to the watch without him seeing us.”

She leaned forward and picked up the glass of wine. She stared down into the liquid for a minute...two minutes.

When another long minute passed and she still hadn’t spoken, still hadn’t taken a drink, he called her name softly.

Slowly she raised her chin and he was stunned to see the glittering tears that chased themselves down her cheeks.

“I can’t stop thinking about what might have happened if Lily and Leigh had been in the nursery. I can’t believe how close danger came to them tonight.” She placed the glass back on the coffee table without taking a drink.

“I should leave here. I should leave here now before anything bad happens to you or the girls.” Her voice was a mere whisper.

His instinct was to get out of his chair, to go to her side and comfort her. But he remembered all too well the out-of-control kiss that had happened when he’d last attempted to comfort her.

Still, his gut clenched as he considered another real possibility. She could run from here, but the odds were that the man would follow her. As long as the man believed she had the watch in her possession, she was still at risk.

“Josie, that’s the last thing you should do. I know it sounds crazy in light of what happened tonight, but you’re probably safer here right now than anywhere else. Zane assured me that he was going to step up the patrols around here and he will. Hopefully Deputy Clark got some good fingerprints and the man who is after the watch can be identified and Troy can get him under arrest.”

He sounded far more optimistic than he felt. He seriously doubted the intruder hadn’t been smart enough to wear gloves, and the description they had given Watkins could fit a thousand men around the area.

Josie swiped away her tears and picked up the wineglass once again. She downed the contents in several large swallows and then set down the empty glass. “I’m just so tired of being afraid,” she finally said. “I feel like I’ve spent my entire life being scared of something or somebody.”

His heart squeezed tight with her pain. He tried to find the right words, but before he could speak again she stood. “I think it’s time to call it a night. The last thing I want to do is sit around here and have a pity party.”

He smiled at her. “Josie, I would never accuse you of being a woman who wallows in self-pity. I admire the inner strength I know you possess and I know that strength will get you through this. We’re all going to get through this just fine.”

She offered him a small smile in return. “When you say it, I almost believe it. Good night, Tanner. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Tanner remained in the chair long after Josie had disappeared from his view. He sipped the beer and replayed the events of the evening in his head. His initial fear was gone. The rage that had engulfed him because someone had broken in finally dissipated.

As long as they were all in the suite, nobody was going to harm them. Moving forward, his gun would never leave his side whether he was inside or out. If anyone wanted to hurt his girls or Josie, then they’d have to come through him.

What was left inside of him was a deep ache for Josie. She was filled with such life, such humor and charm despite a past that had been fraught with fear and insecurity.

He’d told her the truth. He believed right now she was safer here than if she went back to Granite Gulch. Here she was surrounded by a trained security team and she had him. In Granite Gulch he wasn’t sure she really had anyone to watch her back twenty-four hours a day.

He finished his beer and grabbed the wineglass from the coffee table. He should be exhausted after the emotional roller-coaster ride of the night, but once he was in bed, sleep remained elusive.

Brilliant moonlight came in through his window and the only sound was the faint rustle of the curtain moving from the air-conditioner vent just beneath it.

He tried to clear his mind but thoughts of Josie wouldn’t leave him alone. When would Josie Colton get the right to be happy? If and when she finally managed to get the watch to her father, would her life then become safe? Was that the final act that needed to be accomplished to truly free her to find a sense of peace and lasting happiness?

He closed his eyes and drew in several deep, long breaths in an attempt to relax his body. Sleep was just about to claim him when he sensed he was no longer alone in the room. His eyes shot open and his hand reached for his gun.

“Tanner?” Her voice was a soft entreaty. “I can’t sleep in that room tonight. Can I please sleep in here with you?”