Colton Family Bodyguard, page 7
“Are you working for her? She hired you? Is she in danger?”
“Evie witnessed a crime. I’m staying with her until the suspect is captured.”
Emily put her hand over her mouth with a sharp inhale. Lowering her hand, she asked, “Is she all right?”
“Yes.”
“Because you’re watching over her.” Emily smiled. “You might come from wealth but you’re not the same ilk as Edgar. I can tell.”
Right. Because she was good at reading people. Maybe that was true. When a person lived as long as Emily had, they grew wise. She had no magical insight. And Callum would not give credence to anything she had shared with him today. Even if he secretly wanted to.
* * *
Evie wouldn’t eat her vegetables. Hazel had neared her limit of tolerance just when Callum reentered the suite. She quelled the surge of gladness seeing him made her feel. Evie, on the other hand, did nothing to hide hers. She jumped off the chair and ran to him with a squeal and a loud “Cal-em!”
He bent as she crashed into him, tiny arms going around his torso, reaching his sides and no farther. Callum lifted her and carried her to the table.
“Mommy and I made cookies today. Chocolate.”
“Chocolate chip,” Hazel corrected.
“And we watched Frozen.”
“For the thirtieth time,” Hazel quipped.
“Hectic day?” Callum asked her.
Seeing his teasing grin, she said, “Evie wanted to go for ice cream. I’ve been arguing with her all afternoon. Now she won’t eat her vegetables.”
Callum put Evie down. “Why don’t you go do as your mother says? You don’t want to grow up short and puny, do you?”
Hazel had to hide a laugh.
“What’s puny?” Evie asked.
“Littler than everyone else your age. Go on.”
“Will you read to me first?”
Hazel rolled her eyes behind her daughter’s back. What a manipulator. But even at her worst, Evie was the most precious thing ever.
“After you do as your mother says and finish your dinner.”
With a pout and much slower steps back to the table, Evie climbed up onto the chair and picked up her fork. As she began eating, Hazel opened her mouth in awe and looked at Callum.
“The man with the magical touch,” she said, and then regretted letting that slip. It sounded so sexual.
His eyes heated as he appeared to register the same meaning.
“How did it go today?” Hazel asked, going into the kitchen to resume preparing dinner for herself and Callum.
“Good. Emily Watson is quite the character.” He followed her, inspecting what she was doing.
She was making linguine and clams. After that exchange she hoped he didn’t guess that she had chosen this recipe because he had said it sounded good.
With everything out and ready to go, she started the gas stove burner and cooked the garlic.
“Is that going to be what I think it’s going to be?” he asked, standing close behind her and to her left, looking over her shoulder.
She turned her head, her face inches from his. He smelled like outside and subtle cologne.
“Yes.” Her voice sounded sultry to her own ears.
His eyes shifted to hers, then lowered to look at her mouth.
“Are you making that for me?”
“We all have to eat,” she said.
He grinned, as if to tell her he knew better.
When the garlic cloves browned, she removed them and dumped them in the sink. They had served their purpose. In their place went three and a half dozen clams, some wine and water. She covered the pan and soon the suite began to smell like the beginnings of a delicious seafood plate.
“Can I help?” he asked.
“Sure. I need a big pan of boiling water.”
While he did that, she saw the clams had opened and removed them to cool. She reduced the remaining liquid in the pan, feeling Callum watch her.
“The clams need to be removed from their shells,” she said, uncomfortable with the manly way he regarded her, eyes warmer than enjoying the preparation of a good meal would cause. “But leave a few of them in their shells for garnish.”
“Roger that.” He began removing the clams and she salted the boiling water and added linguine.
“Now what?” he asked.
She put butter into the sauté pan, poured in the clams and added seasoning. Once the ingredients began to boil, she reduced the heat and waited until the pasta was al dente. She strained the pasta and combined it with the sauce. After cooking that awhile, she turned off the heat and tossed in grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
“Voilà,” she said.
He reached past her and picked up a clam.
Hazel swatted his hand. “Contamination.”
“I used to do that growing up. Drove the cooks mad.”
“It drives me mad. You should have sat through the food safety class I had in college.” Spooning the pasta onto two plates, she put the clams in shells on each and then sprinkled a little more Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. She handed Callum a plate and took hers to the table.
Evie had finished her dinner and immersed herself in a coloring book. Hazel and Callum ate in silence for a time.
“This is fantastic,” Callum said. “Whoever marries you will have a tough time keeping the pounds off.”
Whoever? A quick flash of his being that person made her pause in taking her next bite. Cooking for him would be fun. Among other things...like sex.
“It promotes exercise,” she said.
“Is that how you stay in shape?”
“Mommy takes me on bike rides,” Evie said as she colored. “We go camping, too.”
“Horseback riding,” Hazel said. “I used to hike when I lived in Colorado.” Having a child disrupted a routine.
“You like sports?” Callum asked.
“Not softball or football or things like that. Just hiking, biking.”
“I want a horse,” Evie said with a glance at Callum. “Mommy says I’m not old enough.”
“You probably aren’t. You could get hurt pretty bad if you fall off.”
“I still want a horse.”
Hazel had adored horses when she was a kid, too. What wasn’t to love? They were beautiful animals. She had gotten Evie some books on horses, along with some model horses that she played with often.
“Well, when you’re old enough to take care of it yourself, then we’ll talk,” Hazel said.
Evie looked at her mother and saw she meant it and didn’t argue. She went back to drawing.
“Why didn’t you go back to Colorado after you had Evie?” Callum asked Hazel.
She wondered over the suddenness of his question. He must have been thinking about it before Evie had joined the conversation. Was he trying to learn more about her? Was he interested?
“I like it here. I like the community and the climate. It’s warmer and drier here. We go back to Pagosa Springs to see my parents, usually on the holidays.”
“Don’t you want to be closer to your family?” he asked. “Especially with Evie?”
He had hit on one of the things that had kept her away. “Actually, I love my parents but they can be intrusive. My mother would be at my house daily or demand I come see her. She already does that now. She complains she doesn’t see us enough. It’s like she has a hard time letting us go as kids. We’re adults now, with our own lives and aspirations. I wish she’d treat us that way.”
“Have you told her that?”
“Yes. She just says she loves me and wants to see me as much as possible. It’s better that I’m in Arizona and she’s in Colorado, at least for now. I might want to change that as Evie gets older. We’ll see. What about you? What kind of relationship do you have with your family?”
“You said you would read to me,” Evie interrupted.
“Go get your jammies on,” Hazel said.
“Aww,” Evie complained, but she went to do as told.
“I’m not very close to them, except Marlowe. I never talked much with my parents. I don’t know if that’s because my father was so busy working at Colton Oil. I would like to change that, though. Ever since my dad was shot, I’ve thought about that. I want to be closer to him and the rest of my family.”
Hazel thought that was quite sentimental of him. She liked that.
Just then Evie bounded into the room in her pj’s.
“Are you ready now?” Callum stood and went to the sofa. Evie grabbed a book from the coffee table and sat right next to him.
Evie’s easy acceptance of Callum troubled Hazel. What if she got too attached and then the time to part ways came? Regardless, seeing her daughter bonding with a father figure warmed her and made her yearn to give her that all the time.
She watched as Evie tipped her head to the side to see the pages better and listened to Callum’s deep voice reading the children’s book. She could feel his affection, hear it in his animated tone. She cleaned the kitchen with a soft smile, not wanting to fall for Callum but afraid she would if he continued to befriend Evie.
Thirty minutes later, Evie’s head rested on his shoulder, her eyes closed. Callum put the book on the sofa beside him and carefully lifted the child, cradling her and standing. He looked to Hazel, who led the way to their room. She pulled back the covers and Callum laid her down. Hazel tucked her in.
Then she joined Callum at the foot of the bed. He wore an awed look, no sign of his usual tensing. Evie was working her magic on him. Hazel wasn’t sure if just any child could have done that for him. She hoped he would someday get over whatever had happened to make him decide not to protect women and children.
“She’s something,” Callum said.
“Yes. Of course, she is to me. I’m her mother.”
“She seems smart for five. Her understanding of words is really good. Advanced.”
His fondness sank into her as she sensed his genuine reaction. He sounded like a proud father. Hazel had noticed Evie was a quick learner, too.
They stood there awhile, until Hazel’s awareness of him changed. His feelings for Evie melted her, lowered her guard. An intimate connection grew out of their mutual appreciation of her daughter. Her insides reacted, sparked, and instinct nearly made her move closer. But with him she needed to be careful. She would not make the same mistake she had made with Ed.
She couldn’t look away. He lifted his hand and curled it behind her neck. Unprepared for this, she let him lean in and kiss her. His mouth pressed firmly to hers as inexplicable chemistry took over. She put her body against his as she slid her hands up his chest. With that encouragement, he turned the kiss into a flaming ball of passion, pressing harder as they added tongues to the erotic play.
Hazel could barely catch her breath as he devoured her. Callum had his hands on her back, holding her against him. He all but danced her around and guided her through the doorway, into the hallway—and away from Evie—until she came against the wall. Hazel had enough presence of mind to be thankful for that.
Now his hands were free to caress her elsewhere, and he wasted no time running them over her breasts. She had a crazy thought that making a baby with him would be wild and wonderful. He unbuttoned her blouse. Exposing her bra, he touched her again.
He worked the front clasp and once he had her bared, he stopped kissing her and lowered his head to her left nipple. Next, he lifted her off the floor to bring her more to his level, planting his mouth on her right nipple. Hazel wrapped her legs around him and gripped his head, urging him to her mouth. She wasn’t ready to stop kissing him.
Callum pressed his lips to hers and she fell into a whirlwind of torrid desire. She fumbled with his shirt, needing more than anything to have her hands on his chest—a chest she had only been able to look at up until now. Slipping her hands under the material, using the wall for support, she had to draw away to catch her breath.
As she reveled in the hard panel of muscle under smooth skin, Callum kissed her neck and jaw before taking her mouth again.
“Mommy?”
Jarred from this uncontrollable state of sexual frenzy, Hazel jerked her hands from underneath Callum’s shirt as he abruptly stepped away and her feet lowered to the floor. He stared at her, visibly stunned but his gaze still lustful.
Appalled by her behavior—just outside the room where Evie slept—Hazel put her clothes back together and rushed into the room, trying to calm her racing heart and breath.
“Yes, honey?”
Evie blinked up at her sleepily, thankfully oblivious to what had occurred in the hall. “Will you turn off the light?”
Seeing the lamp between the two queen beds was on, she bent and turned it off. Then she went to Evie and kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep, sweetie.”
But Evie had already done so, slumbering peacefully. Hazel pulled the blankets up over her tiny shoulders and then returned to the hall, where Callum still stood. He looked much more composed now. In fact, he looked downright aloof.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes. She just wanted the light off.” She studied him carefully. His eyes were a mask now, almost cold they were so remote. He had withdrawn. Granted, that hot encounter had shaken her to her core as well, but he seemed to have withdrawn much more than was warranted. Didn’t he marvel over how spectacular it had felt? She did. And she felt slighted that he might reduce it to something meaningless.
“Look... I’m sorry about...” Callum began.
He couldn’t even put what happened into words. Maybe he refused to, because doing so would add meaning to it.
“Good night, Callum.” Miffed, she went into her room and shut the door, wishing she could slam it. But she didn’t want to wake up Evie.
She jerked herself into her pajamas, muttering, “Imbecile,” before getting into bed. She turned on the television. It would be a long time before she settled down enough to sleep.
Emily must have given him an earful about her and Evie, in particular about how Ed had run off after discovering Hazel was pregnant. Emily herself had a blended family, having remarried after divorcing her first husband, whom she had met when she was a teenager. No one should ever marry at such a young age. People, at least in Hazel’s opinion, needed time to grow before they made such a huge commitment. Spending your entire life with someone was kind of an important decision. Emily strongly opposed a too-impulsive marriage, saying it was just a legality, when love was the thing that kept couples together, not a piece of paper and a few laws.
Whatever Emily had planted in his head, it had made him think. It had brought him closer to Evie, a child and Hazel’s daughter, two things he had for some reason sworn off.
Trying to get distracted by the nature program she had turned to a low volume on television, Hazel failed miserably. Her spirits sank when she considered how she’d celebrated the fantastic feeling of kissing Callum, while he apparently shunned such an emotion. The cops had better find that shooter soon. Hazel needed to get away from a man like Callum Colton. She’d be better off with someone more in her league.
Chapter 5
The next afternoon, Callum arranged for a car rental and went to visit a comatose Payne at the hospital. He brought with him Hazel and Evie, who skipped beside Hazel on their way toward the entrance. Callum had noticed a distinct change in Hazel this morning. He wondered if he had mistaken the way she’d said good night and shut the door before he could even respond. Was she upset that he had kissed her? He’d rather have this resolved before going in to see his father. Some of his family would be there and he didn’t need to have to explain Hazel’s mood.
He stopped her on the cement in front of the doors. “Is something wrong?”
Evie’s head tipped up and she looked at him.
“No,” Hazel said.
“Last night...”
Evie turned to her mother.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll wait for Kerry to find and catch the shooter and then we can both get back to our lives.”
Callum met Evie’s eyes as she glanced back at him and then she asked her mother, “Mommy, are you mad?”
“Not now, Evie.”
Callum could see Hazel was quite upset, her keen gaze firing arrows at him. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. It just—”
“Do we have to talk about this now?” Hazel interrupted.
It might not be appropriate to talk in front of Evie, but he doubted she’d really understand and he wasn’t going to say anything grossly offensive. “I’m sorry, that’s all.”
“Yes, I could tell you were.”
She thought he was sorry for kissing her? But was he? “Sorry” wasn’t the right word. Concerned would be a better choice but he couldn’t tell her that.
“Don’t worry,” she repeated, sounding more sincere now. “Whatever you’re going through, I get it. I don’t need to get involved with another rich guy, so let’s just make the best of this situation, okay?”
“Who is Rich?” Evie asked.
Callum almost smiled. Evie thought Rich was a man.
“You’re judging me because my family has money?”
“You have money. I don’t mean to judge. I don’t know you well enough. All I can do right now is go on what I do know.”
“My parents are rich.”
“They don’t share any of it with you?” Hazel asked, more of a challenge.
He didn’t like what she was implying. “We all have trust funds, but—”
“Well, there you go.” Hazel resumed walking toward the door, Evie in tow.
Evie looked back at him and then up at her mother. In the elevator, she asked, “Why are you mad, Mommy?”
“I’m not mad.”
Callum watched her as he stood beside her, clearly disagreeing.
