Colton's Convenient Bride

by Jennifer Morey

  “You like that?” he asked.

  “What grown woman wouldn’t?”

  He kissed her again, nothing too invasive, just a warm touch to let her know how much she moved him.

  When he leaned back, he saw her eyes had heated and was sure his had, as well. They shared a long look, Kendall tipping her head back slightly as she took in every detail of his face. Then she closed the distance between them, pressing her mouth to his.

  Decker instantly responded, his pulse jumping and every male nerve in him coming to attention. He kissed her firmer, seeking more and getting it. Kendall parted her lips and he tasted her longingly. He lifted her so she straddled him and she looped her arms around his neck. The feel of her nakedness intimately against him heated his blood.

  Voices alerted him to the danger of being caught like this. Kendall moved off him, wiping hair away from her face, looking flushed and breathless.

  Laughter and soft talking indicated another couple had found the trail. He heard something move in the trees nearby. Was the couple trying to sneak to the spring unseen?

  Decker splashed the spring water. The couple stopped making any sound and then the man said, “Someone’s already there.”

  “I know another place,” the woman said and then they left.

  “We better go back inside,” Kendall said.

  He wondered if the kiss had crowded her too much or if fear of discovery compelled her. She climbed out and took a towel while he stayed behind a moment to admire her nakedness before climbing out himself.

  They dried off and dressed. By looking at them, no one would know they’d skinny-dipped in the spring. He might have a wrinkle or two more than when he arrived but not easily detectable. And Kendall looked amazing in that dress. She slipped on her heels and he took her hand as they headed back up the path.

  As they reached the area where the couple had approached, Decker heard someone come up behind them. Before he could react, that person slammed something hard against his head. He went down, feeling himself black out for a moment and then dizzily come to. He felt the back of his head and his hand came away bloody. He wasn’t bleeding profusely but he’d been struck hard enough to break skin.

  Next, he became aware of Kendall screaming and heard the sounds of her struggle. Whoever had hit him was attacking her! Decker staggered to his feet and started toward her screams. Around a curve in the path, he spotted a man attempting to abduct her. He held a two-inch-diameter log and raised it to hit her. She blocked the log with her forearms and twisted away, but the man tripped her, dropping the log. He started to bend to pick it up but Kendall crawled to her feet and started to run. The guy caught her just as Decker began gaining ground on them. The man held her around the waist and dragged her kicking and screaming into the trees.

  Decker entered the trees behind them.

  Busy with trying to control Kendall, the attacker didn’t see Decker. When the man punched Kendall on her jaw, a wave of red-hot fury boiled up inside Decker. He grabbed a hold of the fellow’s jacket and threw him backward and off Kendall. Kendall fell to her rear, looking dazed.

  The man scrambled to his feet and charged Decker, who ducked out of the way of a punch and then gave the stranger a hard uppercut. The man stumbled back. Decker checked on Kendall, who sat holding her jaw.

  “Are you all right?”

  She nodded and Decker bolted after the man, fully intending on giving the guy a beating.

  The stranger glanced back and saw him, eyes growing wider.

  Decker chased him. He was fast, sprinting and dodging trees until he reached the parking area of The Chateau. The man got into a gray Toyota sedan and backed out of a parking space. Decker searched for his McLaren. It was a row over and down a few cars. He had a spare key and used it to get in, seeing the Toyota leaving the parking lot.

  If Decker could catch up to him, the guy would not be able to escape him. The McLaren was a fast car, but the stranger had a head start.

  Decker swung out onto the road and didn’t see the Toyota. He knew which direction the driver went, so he sped up the McLaren and passed two cars before cresting a hill and finally spotting the other vehicle. The Toyota swerved around slow-moving van, then the driver lost control and crashed into a ditch.

  Decker screeched the McLaren to a stop, seeing the stranger get out of his car and make another run for it.

  He chased him, seeing him disappear into the woods. When Decker reached the edge, he found footprints in the snow and followed those. A few minutes later he came to a river, where the prints ended. He had no way of knowing which direction the attacker had gone.

  He wanted to keep looking, but he recalled how the man had hit Kendall and how she’d looked so dazed. He had to get back to her to make sure she was really all right as she had claimed.

  Getting into his car, he drove back to the parking lot and ran through the trees to where a crowd had gathered around Kendall.

  “Excuse me. Let me through.” He plowed through four people as gently as he could until he reached Kendall. She sat on a fallen log, looking up at Russ, who had his hand on her shoulder.

  “I’m all right,” Kendall said, then she saw Decker.

  “Are you sure?” Decker crouched before her and took her hands in his. “You were hit pretty hard on the head.”

  “Yes.” Kendall touched where the log had struck her. “I’m going to have a bump but really, I’m fine.”

  “I think we should take you to the hospital just in case.”

  “No, that’s not necessary.”

  “You might not know how severe it is,” Decker insisted. He wanted to be sure. “Let’s get you checked.”

  He stood and compelled her to do the same. When she swayed a little, he became even more convinced she needed to go to the emergency room.

  “Okay,” she said. “I am a little dizzy.”

  “Maybe we should wait for the ambulance,” one of the people in the crowd said.

  “No,” Kendall said, sounding adamant. “Decker?”

  “I’ll get her there.”

  Decker felt a little like a superhero. He got her safely to his car, belted her in and assured that she wasn’t too unsteady. Her injuries weren’t life-threatening but if left untreated could possibly become that. He’d heard stories. People ran into trees, bonked themselves on the head and a day later, boom, hemorrhage and death.

  Now that he had found a woman he truly wanted to spend the rest of his life with, he wasn’t about to let any harm—or any more harm—come her way.

  Chapter 7

  Kendall hadn’t expected Decker to turn into a superhero, but he had. He had no training in self-defense that she knew of. He was a businessman. But he’d fought off and chased her assailant as though he had been doing that all his life. The doctors had checked her out. She was fine, just as she’d known and had only gone to the hospital for Decker’s sake. Ironically, his knock on the head had actually been worse than hers. He’d gotten a couple of stitches.

  Now they had been released and he took her to his house. Kendall hadn’t protested. She did not want to be alone after what happened. And her awe of Decker had added fuel to her attraction. She could take his hand and led him to the nearest bedrooom right now.

  “Dad said Trey and his deputy will be by to talk to us,” Decker said as he let her into his house. “In the morning.”

  Sheriff Trey Colton was Decker’s cousin. “Okay.” She was glad she wouldn’t have to talk to anyone tonight.

  “The car the assailant abandoned after he crashed into the ditch was traced to a stolen vehicle in the county.”

  Walking into the entry, Kendall took in Decker’s open and large house. “All this for just one person?”

  “I plan on having kids,” he said.

  They’d sort of talked about that already. She wanted kids as well, but that was s
uch a big step with a man she hardly knew.

  She went into the living room, taking in the exposed beams above and a big gabled window where during the day she’d expect to see a great view. A console table ran along the back of a chocolate-brown sofa which faced a light-colored stone fireplace and two chairs that matched the sofa. An oversize square coffee table was full of books. She moved closer to read some of the titles. Many were travel books. The ceramic bowl with stone balls inside was a surprising decorative touch to an otherwise masculine and earthy room. Masculine, like Decker.

  She looked at him, admiring his muscular body, his height and handsome face that had grown stubble through the day.

  “Do you want some tea before we try to get some sleep?” Decker asked, catching her looking at him.

  It was getting late but she doubted she’d be able to sleep after the events of the evening. “That sounds good.”

  He continued to stare at her and she had no desire to look away.

  Finally he turned with a slight grin.

  She followed him into the kitchen, another spacious and beautiful room. Brown, black and cream-colored granite-topped counters lined two and a quarter of the walls with an island in the middle. A dining area was in a turreted space and the island could seat six.

  “How many kids are you planning to have?” she asked.

  “As many as you want.”

  She eyed him. She’d rather not turn into a baby-making machine. “One maybe two.”

  “Okay.”

  His easy agreement told her he would be a flexible partner in their marriage. She liked how considerate he was. She liked even more what they would have to do to procreate. Warming too much, she wandered to the windows in the turret. Outdoor lights illuminated the dormant landscape and the edge of pine trees.

  “Do you think that man attacked you at random?” Decker asked as he started water boiling.

  She turned to face him. “I’ve been going over that in my mind. I can’t think of anyone else who’d stalk me and then try to kidnap me.”

  “It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “To me, either. I have no enemies.” She walked back into the kitchen, where Decker put tea bags in two cups.

  “No old boyfriends who might have a vendetta against you?” he asked.

  “I’ve never seen that man until that day my mother and I came out of the bridal shop.” Kendall was friendly to everyone she met, and most of the men she’d had long relationships with had broken up with her, including Gabe, when he had cheated. The one man she had broken up with who had been hurt by it was a mild-mannered man, an engineer for an aerospace company. Last she had heard he’d married and had two kids and lived in Texas.

  “Then it must be some random quack who saw you and took a perverse interest in you.”

  Kendall rubbed her arms. “Yeah.”

  “Kendall, I want you to move in with me,” he said.

  When she was about to protest he said, “You can sleep in a separate bedroom if it makes you more comfortable. You’ll be safe here. I’ll keep you safe.”

  She did think he had a valid point, and he had proved himself more than capable of protecting her. But Kendall wasn’t a weak woman. She may still be a bit shaken after nearly being kidnapped, but by tomorrow she’d be back to herself.

  Also, she may talk about getting married and agree to help in getting invitations sent, but something inside her still hedged. She didn’t have to wonder why, either. Why on earth had she even considered marrying Decker Colton in less than a month?

  “I’ll take you to get your things tomorrow, after we talk to the deputy,” he said.

  She angled her head, still uncertain.

  “Just give it a try, okay? You can always leave if I scare you too much.” He sounded serious.

  Now she smiled. He had a deadpan way about him but some of the things he said were funny. And he could be very persuasive.

  “All right.”

  “Finally.” He slipped his arm around her waist and drew her closer for a kiss.

  He must have intended for that to be a quick one, but he heated Kendall up even more and she tilted her head for another. He kissed her again and she slid her hands up his arms to his shoulders. Decker pressed harder and she opened her mouth. Stabbing pain from where she had been hit made her whimper softly and move back.

  “Sorry,” Decker said.

  “I’m okay.” She smiled wryly. “I got a little carried away. You’re heroics really turned me on.”

  “Remind me to be heroic more often. As long as it doesn’t involve you getting hurt.”

  He poured hot water in the cups and she took one, bobbing the bag a few times and wondering yet again if she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. Her body seemed headed that way, as much as she wanted Decker right now.

  * * *

  The next morning, Daria Bloom looked fit in her light brown sheriff deputy uniform. She held a small notebook and a mechanical pencil and finished jotting down Kendall’s description of the stranger who had nearly abducted her. A strikingly attractive Caucasian/African American woman with smooth medium-brown skin, sparkling golden brown eyes and short dark hair, she was smart as a whip with a no-nonsense attitude that served her well in her line of work.

  Trey had started out the questioning but now let Daria have a turn. He had nearly the same skin tone as she did and close-cropped dark hair. He also wore a cowboy hat.

  “Could Kendall’s attacker be the same man who killed Bianca Rouge?” Decker asked.

  Why had he asked such a question? She supposed because of the randomness of her attack.

  “I’m not sure if this is related to her murder and April Thomas’s disappearance, but the fact that your attacker tried to abduct you has me wondering,” Daria said. “April looks a lot like the Rouge victim. Both are young, thin, with dark hair and dark eyes.” She studied Kendall. “You might have some resemblance but not enough to sway me a hundred percent. You have blond hair and blue eyes.”

  Maybe looks didn’t matter. The missing woman had no connection to Bianca that Kendall was aware of. Kendall had no connection to them either, which made the random-stalker-and-attacker theory more credible.

  “This is a new description of the man if it is related,” Trey said. “And probably the most detailed.”

  That was something. “I’d feel so much better if you could find and catch him.” Kendall didn’t want to fear being the target of a potential serial kidnapper and killer.

  “We’re definitely working on it. Don’t be afraid. I am not convinced your case is related to Bianca’s and April’s. I’m not even convinced April’s disappearance is related to the Rouge murder.”

  Not knowing was more dangerous than knowing, wasn’t it? For Kendall it was. No one knew who killed Bianca Rouge and no one knew who had kidnapped April—if she’d even been kidnapped. Without a body it was difficult to say.

  “What if someone has it out for the Coltons?” Decker asked.

  Kendall gaped at him. Why would anyone have it out for his family? And if so, who? The less fortunate? Someone wronged in a business deal? She supposed it was possible, but why go after her? To get to Decker? Russ? It had been his dad’s idea to get them married after all.

  “Anything’s possible at this point,” Trey said. “We don’t have much to go on. There wasn’t anything found at the near-abduction scene and nothing in the car, not even prints or anything we can use for DNA testing. We’ve got people working on the stolen car, trying to find out who could have taken it but nothing concrete so far.”

  Her attacker could have been anyone. The reason would not be known until after they discovered who the man was. What if they never did?

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Kendall had everything she needed in Decker’s car and stopped by her parents’ house. She’d called
her mother this morning to tell her what happened and her mother insisted on seeing her. Decker’s cell phone rang and he stayed in the foyer to take the call.

  Kendall’s mother hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re all right, sweetie.”

  Behind her, Bernard looked grim.

  “Why would anyone try to kidnap you?” her father demanded.

  “Sheriff Colton and Deputy Sheriff Bloom think it could be random or someone out to get the Coltons.”

  “Random?” Her mother turned to glance back at her father, who barely paid her any attention.

  Kendall began to get a strange feeling. Her parents were acting awfully skittish. She could see how they’d be concerned about her and what had nearly happened to her, but they could see she was all right. Shouldn’t they be more relieved than nervous?

  “The sheriff and his deputy think it is,” Bernard said.

  Marion eyed him with pursed lips. “It’s only one possibility.”

  “They also think it could be someone after the Coltons,” her father argued.

  “Yes, and that is also only one possibility.”

  Meaning there were others?

  “You yourself said you heard people talking in town about why such a nice woman like Kendall would marry a scoundrel like Decker Colton,” her dad said to Marion.

  People were talking that way about her? Was Decker a scoundrel? Why did they say that about him?

  “There’s another, more viable possibility,” Marion said.

  “Marion...”

  What in the world was going on here?

  “Tell her, Bernard,” Marion said. “Moreover, we should tell Trey and Daria.”

  “No.” Her father flat-out denied that suggestion.

  Kendall looked from her mom to her dad and back to Marion again. “Tell me what? And why wouldn’t you go to the sheriff if you know something?”