Colton on the Run

by Anna J. Stewart

  There was a long silence as Trey and Daria waited patiently for him to go on.

  “I went against her wishes...the only one she had. Don’t go to the police. If I hadn’t, Gates wouldn’t have known where to find her.”

  “If you didn’t, he’d have found her eventually and we wouldn’t have been in time.” Daria gave him a reassuring squeeze on his arm. “Because of you she’s alive, Leo. We all thank you for that.”

  Leo nodded to acknowledge he’d heard her, but didn’t say a word. He turned and headed inside. The water was running in the guest bathroom. He brewed a pot of coffee and sat down at the table to wait as Ollie came over, whined and laid his chin on Leo’s knee. “I screwed up, boy.” He patted the dog’s head and waited, heart thudding heavily in his chest, until she emerged.

  She’d put on clean jeans and a T-shirt, had braided her hair again and donned the second pair of sneakers he’d picked up for her on that first shopping trip. She’d folded her dirty, bloodied clothes, placed them in a paper bag, along with his mother’s boots, and set them on the washer where he’d left the other bag with the outfit she’d been wearing when she’d arrived.

  “I’m just going to check if I’m leaving anything I need.” She headed to the living room, but he caught her wrist as she passed.

  “Jane.”

  She froze solid, every bone in her body stiffening beneath his touch. She looked down to where he held her, raised her eyes to his. “Skye.”

  He absorbed the punch as if it was an actual body blow. His entire body would have caved in on itself if he hadn’t been sitting down. “Skye. I did what I thought I needed to.”

  “I know you did. But what I wanted didn’t matter. You lied to me, Leo.” She shifted slightly so she could look at him. “Of all people, you lied to me. We could have done this together. You didn’t have to go behind my back. You didn’t have to deceive me.”

  He wanted to argue with her, wanted to explain that he’d done what he had to, what she needed him to do. But no matter how he tried to rationalize it, she was right. He’d lied to her. To argue that fact wasn’t only futile, it was wrong. “I promised I would get you home.”

  “I guess it was stupid of me to think I’d found one with you.”

  “You did.” He could feel her try to pull away, but he tightened his hold. “You have. I love you, Skye. We can—”

  “What? We can what, Leo?” She looked down at him. “Start over? You can make new promises, ones you have every intention of keeping until you change your mind? You know, Brock might have deceived me, but he never pretended to be something he wasn’t. Which was why I was more embarrassed than hurt when he ditched me for someone else. But this? This actually hurts.” She knocked a fist against her chest.

  “You’re really going to compare what I did to what he did?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” She shook her head, eyes wide with disbelief. “You were the one person I believed would never, ever hurt or betray me. From the second I saw you in that barn, I trusted you. Do you know how many people I’ve trusted in my life, Leo? One. My sister. Even my parents and brothers have let me down over the years. It never once crossed my mind that you’d ever lie to me.”

  “A lie meant to protect you.” The excuse drew him to his feet.

  “A lie that almost got me killed. Maybe one day I’ll be able to move past that. But I don’t trust you anymore, Leo. And I c-can’t be with someone I can’t trust.” She blinked away the tears that pooled in her eyes and set her jaw. “No matter how much I wish otherwise. Let me go, Leo.” She raised her arm where he still held on. “Now.”

  He released her and stood there, unmoving as she made a pass through the house, returning only moments later. “There’s nothing here that’s mine. At least, not anymore.”

  “Skye—” He needed to try again. He needed her to understand that he’d been wrong in how he went about things. That he didn’t want to lose her. Didn’t want to wake up to a house where she wasn’t in it. “Skye, please.”

  “Hey.” Daria rapped her knuckles against the back screen door and stepped inside. “Sorry to interrupt, but I’m heading out. Unless you changed your mind about staying?”

  “I didn’t,” Skye said. “I’m leaving.” She reached down and gave Ollie a solid pat. “It’s time I went home.”

  * * *

  Emotionally drained, physically exhausted and sore, Skye sat curled up on the small sofa in Daria Bloom’s office, a toxic paper cup of coffee clutched between her trembling hands. “Is that all you need?” she asked the deputy, who was click-clacking her way on the keyboard, transcribing her statement word for word.

  “Just for you to read this and sign it. Printing now.” Daria tossed her a quick smile. “You sure you don’t want a candy bar to go with that? It really helps to choke it down.”

  “This is fine.” The disgusting taste helped keep her mind off Leo. Her eyes drooped. “Hoping the caffeine will help.”

  “I bet you’ll be glad to be back in your own bed up at The Chateau.” Daria plucked the papers out of the printer and waved her over.

  “Yeah. I bet I will.” She scanned through the write-up of everything she could now remember and scribbled her name on the last page. “You think Gates will take this to trial?”

  “I think Gates is going to cut himself a cushy deal with the Feds. Out-of-state trafficking carries a pretty hefty sentence. Add kidnapping and assault to the list, I don’t anticipate you having to testify.”

  “Too bad.” Skye smirked. “I heard the deputies saying you thought I might have been taken out by a serial killer.”

  “The thought crossed our minds.” Daria glanced up at the board Skye was examining. “Do me a favor, huh?”

  “Sure.”

  “Don’t go running off like that again. At least without staying in touch with someone.”

  “Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson. Are you driving me home?”

  “Don’t think I have to. Wow.” She checked her watch. “Boy, they made good time.”

  “Who?” Even as the word left her lips, the door to Daria’s office burst open and Phoebe barreled toward her. “Oh.”

  “I knew you were alive.” Phoebe wrapped her in a hug so tight, she stole Skye’s breath. “I knew... I always knew...” She leaned back, caught Skye’s face between her hands and pressed her forehead to hers. “I’ve missed you so much.” She blinked and tears spilled down her cheeks.

  “Me, too,” Skye whispered as she caught a glimpse of a vaguely familiar—and quite handsome—man standing in the doorway. Before she could put a name to the face, she saw her parents heading down the hall, along with her brothers. Boy, they all must have really been worried if even Decker, Blaine and Wyatt had made the drive down the mountain.

  Soon she found herself passed around into life-affirming hugs. She managed to keep the tears at bay until she reached her mother. “Mom,” she managed to say before her voice broke.

  “There’s my girl.” Mara Colton, looking as elegant as always, folded her into her arms. “We’ve been so worried about you.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of Leo pleading with her to reach out to her family, to let them know she was okay. Until this moment she hadn’t realized why she’d been so reluctant. She hadn’t wanted to see disappointment on their faces. She didn’t want to feel like a bother. But she didn’t. What she did feel was her mother’s oddly comforting embrace and her brothers’ hands rubbing her back. And when she opened her eyes, she saw her father, her strong, larger-than-life, sometimes overbearing, often distant father looking down at her with...tears in his eyes.

  “Skye? Are you all right?”

  She nodded, accepting the question for the emotional home run that it was. But she couldn’t speak. Not without lying. She wasn’
t all right.

  How could she be when she lost the only man she’d ever loved?

  Chapter 14

  “Does there have to be a party?” Skye dropped backward onto Phoebe’s bed and let out a sigh that might have echoed across the mountain range had the windows been open.

  Phoebe glanced up from where she was painting her toenails, an odd expression on her identical face. “I’m sorry. Did I hear correctly? Skye Colton doesn’t want to go to a party in her honor?”

  Skye bit her lip. She had no doubt Skye wanted to attend. It was Jane who felt particularly ambivalent. And these days she identified a whole lot more with Jane than her previous self. “I’d have been happy with dinner with the family.” Instead, Mara and Phoebe had decided her return was the perfect excuse to fling open the doors to The Chateau and celebrate. “Speaking of family, when are you going to give me the details on how you landed Prescott Reynolds?” She rolled over and propped her chin on her hand, kicked her stiletto-sandaled feet in the air behind her.

  “When I’m sure your recently amnesiac brain can absorb it.” Phoebe had developed a new expression in the days since Skye had been home. A cross between disbelief and wide-eyed concern. “Did you put on any makeup?”

  Skye groaned and flopped back over. “Yes, Mom. I just didn’t paint it on as usual.”

  “You also aren’t wearing your Spanx. Mom will be horrified.”

  Skye looked down and pushed two fingers into her stomach. “I’ve got another five pounds to go before she can start using the F word.” Still, she’d had a bit of a struggle with the gold beaded dress. She’d stood in front of her mirror for countless minutes waiting to feel...normal.

  “No one is ever going to use that word for you.” Phoebe stretched out her feet and wiggled her toes. “You really liked it out there, didn’t you? On that ranch?”

  That ranch had become code for Leo Slattery, who, thanks to Daria, Skye hadn’t had to fill her family in on. She didn’t want to talk about Leo, because the moment she did, she’d have to accept just how much she missed him. So much she’d curled herself up in a tight ball every night and cried herself to sleep.

  “Shouldn’t we be heading down soon?” She popped off the bed like a tiddlywink and headed over to the mirror where Phoebe was trying to arrange her hair. Skye bent down, put her face right beside her sister’s, just as they always had.

  “Skye.” Phoebe lifted a hand to Skye’s cheek. “I can see it even if you can’t. You miss...the ranch. Why wouldn’t you, given the awesome tan you got riding all those horses.”

  “Just one horse, actually. Ginger.” Another pang of longing chimed inside. “But Duke, oh, he was a beauty. Teyla and Bullet were like naughty children, but...” She trailed off.

  Phoebe let her go. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do now that you’re back? You going to sell your story as an exclusive? I bet it would make an awesome TV movie. That online magazine you were supposed to be reporting for—”

  “Not interested.” The idea of sharing what had happened to her was nauseating. Actually, the idea of sharing any of her life these days made her wonder if she’d ever been connected to reality. She didn’t want the spotlight anymore. She didn’t want anything other than... “I don’t want to be the family face anymore.”

  Phoebe arched an outlined brow. “Okay. What do you want to do?”

  “You’ll laugh.” She looked down at an errant thread on her dress. One tug, one little pull and she bet the entire dress would collapse. Kind of the way she felt about her life right now. She needed something to focus on. Something to feel good about. Something to do!

  “I will not laugh.” Phoebe’s brows knit. “And I won’t tell Mom if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “I want to go back to school. I want to take some business classes, maybe some design. I don’t know, the history of architecture. Landscape design. I found I’m actually pretty useful. I’m not as stupid as people think.”

  “No one thinks you’re stupid, Skye.”

  “No one thinks I’m a rocket scientist, either.”

  “You’ve helped me and Mom run The Chateau pretty successfully. You’re incredible at party planning.”

  How did she explain to her twin that party planning didn’t come close to the beauty of a Colorado sunset or watching a golden horse race across the horizon? How did she tell a family that was so happy to have her back that she was utterly and completely miserable?

  “I think you just need a reminder of how important you are to this place,” Phoebe announced. “Grab my shoes out of the closet, will you? The black glitter pumps?” She shimmied out of her robe and reached for the knee-length black evening dress.

  “Sure.” When she returned with the shoes, Phoebe was sitting on the edge of the bed watching her. “What?”

  “You’re not happy.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I know you better than anyone else in the world. Because we shared very cramped quarters for nine months one time.”

  “Eight and a half,” Skye corrected her.

  “Something’s changed for you, Skye. You’re different.”

  “Having amnesia for months will do that to a girl.”

  “It’s not the amnesia. It’s Leo.” Phoebe’s face softened. “Oh, Skye. Don’t cry.”

  Skye shook her head, tried to blink the tears away. “I don’t want to talk about him.”

  “Because you love him.” Phoebe pulled her down on the bed beside her. “Anyone can see that.”

  “How can I love a man who lied to me?”

  “From what I heard he thought he was protecting you. That’s what Daria told Dad at least.”

  “Daria needs to learn to keep her mouth shut.” Just how long had the deputy been standing outside the kitchen that day, anyway?

  “She cares about you, Skye. We all do. Tell you what.” She turned Skye’s face toward hers and wiped her thumbs under her eyes. “Let’s get through this party, and then you and I are going to have a talk. A nice long talk about men and love and all that wonderful stuff.”

  “Can there be ice cream?” Skye sniffed. “Real ice cream, not that fake, low-calorie stuff?”

  “I think I can rustle some up. Come on. One party. Then we’ll figure out what to do about you and Leo.”

  * * *

  Leo couldn’t remember the last time he’d worn a suit. He didn’t even own one, but at least his grandfather had a few and one of them even fit. The black bolo tie felt as if it was strangling him as he pulled his truck up to the valet parking at The Chateau and instantly understood what Trapper had been talking about all these years. The place looked like it had been plucked out of historic France and plopped into the mountains of Colorado.

  The line of cars was nonstop, and if anyone noticed the difference between the BMWs, the Mercedes-Benzes and his ancient pickup, no one said a word. Not the valet who took his key, nor the attendant who directed him to the main lobby. Part of him felt as if he should have dipped himself in 24-karat gold before stepping foot inside. He removed his hat, giving his fingers something to do other than hide in his pocket.

  The invitation he’d received from Russ Colton himself couldn’t have been more surprising. Not that the Coltons wanted to celebrate Skye’s safe return, but that Skye’s father even knew who he was.

  “It’s not a firing squad, so relax.” Daria sidled up next to him and pushed an open beer into his hand. “It’s good to see you here.”

  Grateful for a friendly and familiar face, Leo smiled. “I got the impression refusing the invitation wouldn’t have gone over very well.” Given he was hoping to expand his presence in the Roaring Springs business world, alienating Russ Colton didn’t seem the smart move. But he was fooling himself if he didn’t think Skye was the reason he’d come.

  “Everyone is looking forward to meet
ing you,” Daria said.

  “Are they?” He drank some beer and wished for a buzz that would deaden his nerves. “Can’t imagine why.” Did everything in this place have to glow? It was sensory overload to his eyes. Not that it wasn’t beautiful. It was. And quite...glamorous. Everything he’d always suspected Ja—Skye to be.

  “You kept Skye safe and protected, Leo. You helped get their daughter home. Believe me, Russ and Mara are completely predisposed to liking you.”

  “You seem awfully in the know when it comes to the Coltons.” Leo couldn’t help but frown, especially when he saw a flicker of uncertainty cross Daria’s pretty features.

  “Hard not to be when you live in Roaring Springs. Okay, let’s start you out on an easy one. I see her brothers over there. Let’s introduce you.”

  “She has three brothers?” Leo swallowed more beer. “Older or younger?”

  “All older. Don’t worry. They’re harmless. For the most part.”

  Thankfully, Leo found Daria was right. Blaine, Wyatt and Decker were completely welcoming and appreciative for all he’d done for Skye. Their significant others were especially complimentary and enthusiastic as he was welcomed into the throng that was the Colton family.

  He was deep in conversation with Wyatt Colton, discussing his plans to expand his ranch’s stud servicing, when he stopped. He felt the charge in the room, the change in energy he had met so many mornings in the kitchen before he’d snuggled against it in bed. Bottle halfway to his mouth, he turned as Skye and her sister, Phoebe, descended the staircase.

  The murmurs around him faded into the distance. He barely noticed the knowing smiles exchanged between the Colton brothers and their women. How could he when all he could see, all he wanted to see, was Skye?

  He stayed where he was as she made the rounds, her parents following at a distance as they followed up with greeting their guests.

  “They make quite the picture, don’t they?”

  The unfamiliar voice had Leo nodding. He glanced over and did a double take at finding one of his favorite actors standing next to him. “You’re Prescott Reynolds. Leo Slattery.” He held out his hand. “I’m a big fan.”