No, Colt can’t be dead. He’s psyching me out. Trying to rattle me.
“I guess you should know why, Winnie.” He said her name slowly, bitterness dripping from it. “You stole my father from my mother.”
Winnie gasped.
“If you hadn’t come along, my parents would have gotten back together. I would have had a father who would acknowledge me. Instead, he wouldn’t have anything to do with me. You poisoned him. You kept him from me.”
“Thomas didn’t have a child. Thomas couldn’t have one.”
“Liar!”
“The doctors told Thomas it was impossible, and we never could have children.” The pain in Winnie’s voice was reflected in her expression, too.
“I am Thomas Winfield’s son. My mama showed me my birth certificate. It was right there on the paper. There wasn’t a day that went by that I wasn’t reminded I wasn’t good enough to be a Winfield. He discarded my mother and me like we were trash.”
“Are you talking about Clare, Thomas’s first wife?”
“Yes. He decided to divorce her for you.”
“No, he didn’t. We didn’t start dating until after the divorce.”
“That’s not what my mama told me. Why in the world would I believe you? My father wasn’t the only one you took away from me. Everything I wanted you came after. Well, not anymore. I’m putting an end to you.” He lowered the gun a few inches and pointed it right at Winnie’s heart.
Ellie yanked Winnie toward her at the same time a shot rang out in the cave. Snatching her weapon from the floor, she raised it toward their attacker while putting herself in between Winnie and the man. But Ellie didn’t get off a shot. Instead, his arm fell to his side, the gun dropping from his fingers. It bounced on the stone surface, going off, the bullet lodging in the wall. Blood spread outward on the white jacket he wore as he crumbled to the ground.
As Ellie scrambled up, she glimpsed Colt diving through the hole and springing to his feet, his gun pointed at their assailant.
“Ellie, Winnie, are you two all right?”
“Yes,” they both answered at the same time.
Ellie swiveled toward Winnie. “Are you really okay?”
She nodded. “At least I’m not cold anymore. Fear will do that to you.”
Ellie headed up the sloping side to the ledge above Winnie and joined Colt as he knelt next to the gunman. He removed the man’s goggles then his white ski mask to reveal Peter Tyler, blinking his eyes at the light she shone on his face.
* * *
Ellie stared at the glittering Christmas tree in the living room at Winnie’s house. Although it was Christmas Day, there had been nothing calm and peaceful so far. Winnie had spent time with Christy, consoling her over her fiancé. Harold and Colt had been behind closed doors a good part of the morning, then Colt insisted Winnie rest before the sheriff came this afternoon. He had an update on what Peter Tyler had said after he came out of surgery to repair his shoulder where Colt had shot him. Colt and Doug had gone up to the cabin to see what was left of the place. Colt had wanted her to come, but she’d felt she needed to stay with Winnie. After what had occurred with Mary Ann, she wasn’t quite ready to relinquish her bodyguard duties with Winnie until she had reassurances from the sheriff.
Then she would return to Dallas. And try to put her life back together. She finally could admit to herself that she loved Colt, but how could she really be sure? Even if she was, that didn’t mean he cared about her or that they should be together. He lived on a research vessel in the middle of the ocean. She could never imagine herself living like that.
When the doorbell rang, she hurried across the foyer to answer it. Stepping to the side, she let the sheriff into the house. “I hope you’re here to tell us good news.”
“Yes,” he said as Winnie descended the stairs and Colt came from the kitchen.
“Would you like anything to drink? We have some cookies, too.” Winnie gestured toward the living room.
“Nope. Just as soon as we talk, I’m heading home. My son and grandchildren are there waiting for me so they can open presents. I haven’t quite had a Christmas like this year in—well, never.” Sheriff Quinn stood in front of the fireplace, warming himself. “I came right from the hospital after interviewing Peter. I laid it on the line. We have him dead to rights on three counts of attempted murder, arson and a number of other charges. I told him the judge would look kindly toward him if we didn’t have to drag this out in a lengthy trial. He told me what happened.”
Winnie frowned. “What was his involvement with Mary Ann?”
Colt hung back by the entrance into the living room, leaning against the wall, his arms folded over his chest. Ellie glanced toward him, but his expression was unreadable, his gaze fixed on his grandmother.
“He encouraged her to act on her feelings and gave her suggestions. When she was his patient, they got acquainted. He listened to her when she ranted about not getting the spokesperson job, then began planting seeds in her mind about how she had not been treated fairly. The threatening letters were Mary Ann’s doing and the stink bombs at the Christmas Gala. He helped her kidnap the dogs because he told her that she could get some good money for them and get back at Winnie.”
“Your lead didn’t pan out about the dogs. Does he know where they are?” Colt asked, coming farther into the room and sitting next to Winnie.
“Yes, because he connected her with the person who took them to sell in Denver. The police there are paying that gentleman a visit today before he gets rid of them. You should have your dogs home by tomorrow.”
“Unless someone bought them for a Christmas gift.” Exhaustion still clung to Winnie’s face, especially her eyes.
“Then we’ll track each purchase.”
“Winnie, they’re alive. That’s good news.” Colt took her hand in his.
“So Peter Tyler was responsible in part about the dogs. How about the car left in the middle of the road the night of the Christmas tree lighting?” she asked.
“That was him. He didn’t care whether you went off the cliff like Thomas or got upset by the similarities between the two events.”
Winnie sat forward. “Wait. He didn’t have anything to do with Thomas’s accident, did he?”
“No, at least that’s what he said, and all the evidence still points to an accident, Winnie. He wasn’t even living here at that time. He moved back not long after he saw in the newspaper about Thomas dying. His mother had passed away a few months before your husband. According to Peter, she was still brokenhearted after all the years they were divorced. She fed Peter a lot of garbage about you coming between her and Thomas. I told him that wasn’t the case. You two worked in the lab together, but so did my mother and she said it was hogwash what Thomas’s ex-wife was saying.”
Winnie smiled, and even her eyes sparkled with the gesture. “Your mom is a good friend.”
“She sends her regards from sunny Florida. I can’t get her back here in the winter. Too cold.”
Winnie laughed. “I heartily agree with her. I may go visit her and warm these cold bones.”
“We didn’t make the final decision to go to the cabin until you told us it was safe. How did Peter know we were there?” Ellie asked Sheriff Quinn.
“He knew there was a chance, based on the talk the night before. He planned ahead, staying in a small cabin not far from you on the Henderson property. Then he came back to watch and see if you went.” The sheriff held his hands out over the fire and rubbed them together.
Ellie liked seeing Winnie’s smile and hearing her laugh. The past weeks’ ordeal had taken a toll on the woman. After the doctor at the house had checked out Winnie, she’d slept for twelve hours last night. Winnie had insisted Colt go to the hospital and have some
X-rays on his arm. Ellie had taken him but little was said.
In fact, Colt dozed on the trip to the hospital where the doctor told him he would be sore for a while, but he hadn’t fractured his arm. Colt had also suffered a mild concussion, but he’d refused to stay overnight.
“Winnie, you could always return with me to the Kaleidoscope. We’re in warm waters. In the South Pacific, it’s summer right now.”
“Not if I have to live on a boat.”
Colt smiled. “It’s a ship.”
“Not big enough for me. You know I can’t swim. You didn’t get the swimming gene from me.”
“Speaking of genes. Is Peter my uncle?”
Winnie shuddered. “Good grief, no. I don’t know who his father is, but Thomas was sterile. For some reason she used Thomas to blame all her woes on. I guess that was easier for her than changing.”
“I’m heading home to salvage a little bit of Christmas with my family.” The sheriff crossed the room to the foyer, and Colt walked with him to the front door.
Winnie pinned Ellie with an assessing look. “You’ve been quiet. I imagine you’re glad this is over with about as much as I am.”
“I’m usually like this when a job is finished. It takes me days to come down from the stress. How’s Christy? She looked much better after she talked with you this morning.”
“At first she wanted to step down from being the spokesperson for Endless Youth, but I talked her out of that. I told her she’s not responsible for other people’s actions. She isn’t to blame for Peter or Mary Ann. Christy told me she talked with Peter before he went into surgery. What sent Peter over the edge was that Christy got the job that would demand a lot of her time—time away from him. He came to Bakersville after years of being told I was the one who caused all the trouble for him and his mother. He struggled to make it through school and has a huge debt from college loans he’s still paying back. He saw the money he thought he should rightly have as Thomas’s only living son. It festered inside him. The trigger was Christy getting the job and getting all the attention. But it was Peter’s problem, not hers.”
“Can you forgive Peter for what he did?”
“Probably when I recover from the effects of yesterday. Hanging on to the anger will only hurt me in the long run. Look what happened to Peter and his mother when they held on to their anger.”
Listening to Winnie’s reasonable explanation of why she would forgive Peter made Ellie think about her mother. She hadn’t talked to her in years, and that had always bothered her. Maybe she should call her tonight and wish her a merry Christmas.
Colt reentered the living room. “I’m glad this is all wrapped up. I got a message from the Kaleidoscope. Doug gave it to me this morning. I’m needed back there to finish up a study we’ve been running on the seal population in the area where we’re anchored.”
“When?” Winnie rose.
“Day after tomorrow. I want to make sure you’re all right and things are really settled after what’s happened.”
“At least we have a little more time together. I think I’ll take my second nap today. See you two at dinner.”
After Winnie left, Colt took the couch across from Ellie. He stared at the fire for a long moment before looking at her. “One thing my grandmother isn’t is subtle. For being tired, she can move awfully fast.”
“I think she’s still trying to process it all. Having not just one but two people angry with you to the point they wanted to harm you is hard on even the toughest person. Imagine Peter’s mother lying to him for all those years.”
“It just makes me realize how fortunate I’ve been to have Winnie and my granddad to raise me.”
“I’m going to call my mother tonight. It’s about time I did. I don’t expect warm fuzzies, but I need to take the first step to try and mend our relationship. She’s all the family I have. I see the relationship you have with Winnie, and although we’ll probably never have that kind, we can at least have a civil one.”
“You get a chance to do that. I don’t have that. My father is dead.”
“You can forgive him in your heart. That’s what is important.”
“You’re right.” Colt stood and bridged the distance between them. “Speaking of relationships, what are we going to do about us?”
“Nothing.”
He clasped her hands and hauled her up against him. “You can’t deny we have a connection.”
“No, I can’t. But this isn’t real. This whole situation heightened all our senses. I’ve seen it before with others and their relationships didn’t last. You and I live very differently. I couldn’t live on a research vessel even if it’s classified a ship. I need space. I would go crazy. How could a relationship last with you in the Pacific Ocean and me flying all over the world for my job? I think we should cut our losses and go our separate ways.”
“How do you feel about me? Forget about what you just said. All the logical, rational reasons we shouldn’t be together.” He placed his hand over her heart. “How do you feel in there?”
“I love you, but it isn’t enough. A lasting relationship is much more than love. We haven’t had any time to think about our feelings. We’ve been on a roller-coaster ride since you arrived.”
He framed her face. “I love you, Ellie. I don’t want to let you go. I realized that when I was trying to get back to you and Winnie in the cave. I thought I was going to lose you when I saw Peter pointing the gun at you.”
His declaration made her hesitate, her resolve wavering. Finally she murmured, “Someone has to be the logical, rational one. I guess I’m that one. I need time to figure out what I want. You need time. You have a job that needs you right now and so do I.”
He bent toward her and kissed her. All the sensations he could produce in her flooded her, making her want to take a risk. When he pulled back, sanity returned to Ellie.
“Why not give the Kaleidoscope a chance? You might like it.”
She shook her head.
“No, I’m leaving tomorrow morning to return to Dallas. Maybe sometime in the future we’ll meet again under less stressful circumstances.”
He released a long breath. “You’re right. These past few weeks have been unreal. Reality is our everyday lives. Will you promise me one thing?”
“Maybe.”
He chuckled. “Why am I not surprised you said that? Where’s the trust?”
“That’s just the point. I don’t trust easily and these new feelings could all vanish with time.”
“Winnie will be having an Endless Youth gala to launch the new line on Valentine’s Day. In spite of what happened the last time, she’ll be having it at the same hotel that evening. Come back. Meet me there if you think we have a chance at what we started here. That’s seven weeks away.”
“I promise I’ll think long and hard on it.”
“You do that,” he said. “And I hope I’ll see you then.”
* * *
Colt stood at the double doors into the hotel ballroom on Valentine’s Day. The event was in full swing. Laughter floated to him. A sense of celebration dominated the atmosphere of the Endless Youth gala. The music, soft and romantic, filled the room. Couples, dressed in tuxedos and gowns, whirled around the dance floor to the strains of a waltz.
None of the gaiety meant anything to him.
The ball was halfway over. Ellie wasn’t here. She wasn’t coming.
“Colt, why aren’t you dancing?”
He forced a smile for his grandmother, but inside his heart was breaking. “You sent Ellie the invitation?”
“For the third time, yes, and I know she received it.”
“I gave her the space she wanted.”
“Then you’ve done what you can. Have faith in what you feel, what you two shared at Christmas. I saw how she felt about you. Give her time to work it out. Why don’t you dance with your favorite
grandmother?”
“You’re my only grandmother.”
“True.”
“You know dancing isn’t my thing. Harold is so much better than me, and he is your date for tonight.”
“Just because Harold and I are dating doesn’t mean I should neglect my grandson.” She laughed, a sound Colt loved to hear from his grandmother. “I can’t believe I’m dating again. I thought that would never happen after Thomas.”
“Why not? You’re seventy-three years young.”
“You’re right.” Winnie held her hand out to Colt.
He threw a last glance over his shoulder at the hotel lobby. No Ellie. After three days on the Kaleidoscope he’d known what he’d felt for her was the marrying kind of love. There was no thrill and excitement in his job. He wanted to share his life with Ellie. He’d completed his research project and resigned. It was time for him to put down roots. Alone, if not with Ellie.
He whisked his grandmother out onto the dance floor and somehow managed to sweep Winnie around the ballroom to some love song without stepping on her foot or stumbling.
Then he saw her, dressed in a long red gown, across the room in the entrance to the ballroom. Ellie had come. He came to a standstill. Their gazes linked together, and his heart began pounding against his chest.
“Go to her,” Winnie whispered, backing away from him.
Colt headed toward Ellie at the same time she did. They met on the edge of the dance floor. He was sure he had some silly grin on his face, but Ellie’s smile encompassed her whole face in radiance.
“You look beautiful. Want to dance?” He offered her his hand.
She clasped it and came effortlessly into his embrace. The feel of her against him felt so right.
“I’m sorry I was late. My flight was delayed then we had to change planes and—”
He stopped her words with a kiss. When he drew back and began to move about the floor, he said, “You’re here. That’s all that’s important.”
They flowed as one through the crowd of dancers. All he could do was stare at her. He never wanted to take his eyes off her again.
Christmas Stalking Page 18
