Capturing a Colton

by C. J. Miller

  Declan would reach out to the local authorities and FBI. Maybe finding whoever was driving that sedan would lead them to Livia Colton.

  Chapter 11

  Nothing could take the smile off Mac’s face, not even the wailing of his namesake, baby Joseph. The child wanted to be held by his mother or be nursed around the clock. Maggie was exhausted, but Mac had invited everyone over and the family had promised to help with the newborn.

  Mac had added the leaves to his kitchen table and had a second table with matching white lace tablecloths. Two centerpieces on each table were made of sand, shells and a blue candle. The kitchen smelled of basil, cilantro and oregano. The tables were set for sixteen people.

  “Can I assume this is Evelyn’s doing?” Jade asked. Mac’s taste was more simple, salt of the earth. He wasn’t a candle-in-the-sand type.

  Mac had updated the curtains on the windows to white with bold blue geometric prints. Everything was clean and shiny, the counters wiped down and clear, the floors and the windows gleaming.

  “She’s been coming by after work to help me get ready the last couple of days,” Mac said.

  “Ready for what? Is everything okay?” Jade asked. Jade usually cleaned when she had something on her mind.

  Mac’s eyes seemed to sparkle. Whatever the reason he had called the family to come for dinner, he had good news to share. They needed to hear good news. Since going on her research expedition about their mother, Jade was feeling down. It had been three days since she had read those articles at the library about her mother and it was hard to shake. She hadn’t learned anything new, but seeing everything in black and white had been utterly demoralizing. Not even having Declan back in town fully lifted the sense of gloom and doom.

  “We’re great,” Evelyn said. She swept into the room.

  Mac’s eyes swerved to her. He strode to her, with Joseph in one arm, and scooped her into his free arm and kissed her.

  “He’s just been so happy since Joseph was born,” Evelyn said, smiling at the baby.

  As the Coltons arrived, Mac and Evelyn served drinks, beers for the guys, wine for the ladies and soda for Cody.

  “How’s Tots?” Mac asked.

  Cody looked at Jade and flashed a huge smile. “Awesome! I rode her today.”

  “He’s doing great taking care of her,” Allison said. “Thank you again, Jade, and thank you, Thorne.”

  “I have some news,” River said, setting an envelope on the table. “I managed to track down Tim DeVega at a hotel outside Dallas. He’s in police custody.”

  Declan stared at River for a long moment, the expression on his face unreadable. “You were looking for Tim DeVega?”

  River nodded. “Hawk helped me. But DeVega shot you. It was a matter of time before one of us took him down.”

  “One of us,” as if it was a foregone conclusion that Declan was part of the Coltons. Something happened in that moment between River and Declan, like a wall coming down between them. They didn’t rush to each other and hug, but the mutual respect in their expressions warmed Jade’s heart.

  Mac cleared his throat. “That’s excellent, River. I’m glad to hear your job is working out and you’re watching out for the family. I appreciate you all coming tonight. I know you’re busy and it’s hard to make time. Evelyn and I want you to be the first to know that we’re engaged.”

  The family erupted in exclamations of joy.

  “This was all my idea,” Claudia said, hugging Evelyn tight.

  “We’re planning to have a big wedding in the spring,” Evelyn said.

  “Whatever she wants,” Mac said.

  Thorne clapped his father on the shoulder. “Congratulations, Dad.” Thorne lifted a toast to his father and the Coltons clinked their glasses together.

  Perhaps this was the start of something good. It might be too much to hope that Livia would leave town and let them live their lives, but Jade hoped whatever business Livia believed remained that she would move on. Sticking around Shadow Creek would bring the authorities out in full. Someone would find her.

  After they hugged and congratulated Evelyn and Mac, Knox tapped his glass with his fork. “I want to say something to all of you. I’m glad we could be here together. Allison and Cody are the family I never thought I would have. They are my world and despite what Livia tried to do, she couldn’t tear us apart. Having us all together like this means everything. Welcome to the family, Evelyn.”

  Leonor stood. “Welcome, Evelyn. I am so glad Mac has found the happiness he so deserves.”

  Thorne had his arm around his father’s shoulders. “Dad, you showed me unconditional love and despite what Livia did to you and to all of us, we’ve managed to still be happy. I know you’ll love Evelyn too and you will have a happy life together.”

  Claudia leaned into Hawk. “Here’s to new memories.”

  River kissed the back of Edith’s hand. “I came home to Shadow Creek lost and looking for something that had always managed to elude me. And now with Edith, I feel like everything is complete. When Evelyn and Mac look at each other, I see that same love I feel for Edith, and I know they’ll be stronger together.”

  Jade looked at Declan and wondered where his thoughts had gone. He was part of the family. They accepted him. She cared deeply for him. Would they ever be a couple announcing their engagement? Or even their intentions to spend their lives together?

  “Here’s to family sticking together, staying together and growing stronger,” Jade said.

  Without each other, they wouldn’t have survived the last months.

  Chanting, almost like a television had been left on in another room, floated through the kitchen. The Coltons went quiet. Only Maggie, who was bouncing Joseph and shushing him, made noise.

  “Get out of town! Get out of town!”

  The protesters were outside Mac’s house. Jade’s heart sank. Had they been followed or had the protesters noticed the cars and known they’d struck Colton gold?

  Mac looked furious. “This is private property. I’m calling Bud.”

  Bud sent one of his deputies to drive away the protesters, but it had put a damper on the night. When Declan and Jade left around nine in the evening, they drove back to Hill Country in silence. Declan was in a dark mood. The thundercloud of his emotions whirled around him.

  None of Jade’s efforts to put him in a better mood were helping, and Declan hated that he was stewing. She sat on the couch next to him, drawing her legs into her chest. She pointed to the tea on the coffee table. “Drink that. It will calm you.”

  “What is it?” Declan asked.

  “Lavender tea,” Jade said.

  He didn’t usually care for tea, but she had made the effort and he took a sip. “Not bad.”

  “Now tell me what’s on your mind,” Jade said.

  “The protesters,” Declan said. Between them and Livia, every Colton event took a downturn.

  “I know they’re hard to deal with, but let’s focus on the best part of the night. Evelyn and Mac are engaged!”

  He was happy Mac had been able to move on from his past with Livia, but he couldn’t shake the heaviness hanging over him. If he could share his past with Jade and then put it behind him, he could move forward. “I’ve been struggling with talking with you about something important.”

  Jade nodded and sipped her tea.

  “River and I have the same father. My father’s affair with Livia is the reason my parents divorced. Livia is the reason my dad killed himself. Livia Colton is the reason that my mother had a break with reality and dropped me off on the streets of Louisiana. My mother knew it was too far for me to walk back to Texas and since I had no money, I would be stuck there. She hated me because I looked like my father. She left me to fend for myself with nothing except my clothing and shoes. Not even a dollar
so I could buy anything from a vending machine.” Declan swallowed hard, memories from those long-ago nights cutting him to the quick. He had been terrified and alone.

  Jade’s eyes were dark with emotion. “Declan, I had no idea.”

  “I don’t like to talk about it. I’m not sure that anyone aside from Edith and River knows that part of the story. Those first nights on the street were terrifying. But a police officer noticed me and took me to family and protective services. Without his kindness, I don’t know what would have happened to me.” He had been so thirsty he had drunk water from a puddle. He had eaten food from a garbage can.

  Jade wrapped her arms around herself. “My mother was an abysmal person and knowing you were one of her victims, I don’t know what to say to you.”

  “I didn’t tell you so that you could feel terrible. I told you so that you’d know. We’re involved and keeping it from you felt like a lie.”

  She reached for his hand, taking it in her own. “Thank you for telling me. I know it wasn’t easy for you.”

  She leaned against him and put her arms around him. “I’m sorry, Declan.”

  Declan felt the weight of his anger and grief and sadness rushing through him, but this time, it didn’t stay and linger. It evaporated, leaving him feeling lighter and refreshed.

  Somehow, falling in love with Jade Colton had brought him healing and closure. Admitting it to himself was powerful and Declan was overcome with emotion. “I want to be alone for a bit.” He stood and Jade released him.

  He had fallen in love with Jade Colton. It was as plain as day to him. Now he just needed a way to tell her.

  * * *

  Jade had no trouble rolling out of bed when the sun rose. Declan preferred to take his time and wake around seven. After their difficult conversation, he had slept in the guest bedroom. Declan didn’t know how to bridge the gap. Telling Jade about his past had been hard for him. It felt like a weakness, admitting that Livia had easily pulled his family apart.

  He wouldn’t entertain the fantasy that Livia had cared about his father, even after getting pregnant by him. Livia had used his father and then discarded him, sending Matthew into a tailspin from which he couldn’t recover. Unable to sleep Declan went outside. The morning was chilly and Declan strolled around the house, admiring Jade’s garden, and thinking.

  The sight of the black sedan parked across from Jade’s stable filled Declan with anger. This nonsense ended today. Except he was wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants and he had no weapon. What would stop the driver from peeling out of Country Hill? He couldn’t read the license plate from this distance.

  Declan returned to the house and called Bud.

  “I’ve seen a man in a dark sedan watching the Colton family. He’s parked outside Hill Country Farm now.”

  Bud sighed. “Those Coltons. Always making trouble. First, it’s their mother. The FBI agents in town, asking questions and bothering me. Then the protesters and now this.”

  Declan tamped down his irritation. “Bud, you need to get down here or I’m going over your head. You might be unaware that the governor is a poker buddy.”

  Bud sighed heavily and dramatically into the phone. “Fine. I’ll be there shortly.”

  Declan didn’t want the car to leave. He took several photos and watched from a distance.

  Bud must have put his foot on the accelerator, because he turned into Hill Country Farm with two other deputy cars closing off the driveway in under fifteen minutes. They had the sedan blocked in.

  Bud and his deputies approached and the man got out of the car.

  He said something to Bud. Hands gesturing and pointing. Then the man took a swing at Bud, catching him across the chin. Bud stumbled back, holding his face. His deputies moved in to arrest the man.

  If they only had him on trespassing, now they could add assault charges. If Bud would have let the man slither away out of sheer laziness, now he would throw the book at him for the landed punch.

  Jade came out of the stable. “What’s going on?”

  “The man who’s been watching you showed up again. I called Bud.”

  Jade’s jaw dropped. “I’ve seen that guy! He was parked behind me in town. At a certain angle, he looks like the man who held a gun to my head in the stable.”

  “I’m calling Knox. We’re going to find out who he is and why he’s stalking you.”

  * * *

  The man who had been watching Jade’s house admitted he was Roman Blackwell, a former associate of Livia’s, and according to the FBI, a suspected general in Livia’s crime organization.

  Knox, Jade and Declan were observing the interview between Blackwell and the FBI agents investigating Livia Colton’s jailbreak.

  Bud was pacing in his office, phone pressed to his ear. He was speaking on a tan landline, the curling wire attached to the base whipping back and forth as he moved around the room. His face was red and the middle button on his shirt had popped open.

  Agent Monroe was seated at the head of the table, taking notes with a red pen. Agent Fielder questioned Blackwell from the corner of the room. His arms were folded and he tapped his foot every few seconds.

  “Come on, Blackwell. You’ve got a dozen outstanding warrants for your arrest. You added more charges today. Level with me about Livia Colton and I’ll see about getting some of the lesser charges dropped.”

  Blackwell’s mouth was drawn into a thin line. His dark hair matched his pencil-thin mustache. “I don’t know where Livia Colton is.”

  The agents exchanged looks. “Too bad. Because that piece of information would be highly valuable. Like the biggest get-out-of-jail card possible.”

  Blackwell tapped his handcuffs against the table. “You’re not the only ones looking for her.”

  “Who else is looking for her?” Monroe asked.

  Blackwell forced a cruel bark of laughter. “She hurt many people. She kept her mouth shut in prison, which kept her from meeting her end. But there are those waiting for their due.”

  “What does Livia owe you?” Fielder asked, leaning on the table.

  “Livia had contingency plans for everything. And contingency plans if those went wrong. Escaping prison was bound to happen. Sticking around this area must mean she has resources hidden. She had stash houses all over the country. No way they’ve all been found,” Blackwell said.

  “What do you think she has hidden in Shadow Creek?” Monroe asked.

  “I heard about a rare set of gold coins that went missing twenty years ago. Then I heard that Livia had been overseeing the transaction. The coins didn’t go missing. She had them. She couldn’t have fenced them back then without being found out. I heard from a friend in the district attorney’s office that they were not listed in the inventory of the items confiscated from the house.”

  Jade set her hand on Declan’s elbow. “He believes she’s sticking around for those coins.”

  Declan didn’t think Blackwell knew the whole story. If Livia wanted the coins and knew where they were, she would grab them and go. “Could be part of her reason for staying.”

  “What’s the other part?” Jade asked.

  “To terrorize us,” Knox said. “What else?”

  * * *

  Idling in her pickup truck outside the small blue clapboard house, Jade had no idea how to move forward. The house had a narrow porch and bare gardens. A cross was hung on the front door and the gravel driveway had an old beige sedan parked in it.

  Declan’s mother, Beatrice, was still alive. He had not spoken to her since she had abandoned him, on the street to fend for himself. After speaking to Declan the other night about his trials with his father’s death and his mother, he needed to speak with her and find closure to the situation. Though it was incomprehensible to imagine how Beatrice could have left him, she must have had her r
easons.

  Arguing with herself about it, Jade was hesitant to get involved, except she could see how much it hurt Declan. A man of Declan’s means could hire a PI to find his mother and he hadn’t.

  With Hawk’s help, Jade found a lead on Beatrice Sinclair. She had changed her name to Beatrice Lake. Armed with that information, Jade was surprised how much of Hawk’s guidance had to do with using the right online resources. Beatrice had volunteered information about herself in the form of a publicly accessible social media account. Though she didn’t have many pictures, Jade wondered about the woman who said nothing about her late husband, Matthew, or her son. Only posted were pictures of Beatrice’s second husband and what looked like her teenaged daughter. More surprising, Beatrice was living twenty minutes outside Shadow Creek.

  When Jade had presented him with the information, Declan had been willing to come to the house. Jade was having second thoughts. Declan might not want his mother in his life. He could have hired a PI to find her. It could have been a step he was afraid to make, or it could have been a step he did not want to make, and now she had pushed the issue.

  “What if she isn’t the same Beatrice Sinclair?” Declan asked.

  Jade touched his shirtsleeve. He was normally so confident and yet she could feel the self-consciousness and worry pulsing from him. “Then tell her that you’re sorry for bothering her and leave.”

  “What will I say if she is?” Declan asked.

  Jade shifted in her seat, adjusting her seat belt to be able to look at Declan. “She might recognize you. You’ll have to stay calm. That will be hard in an emotionally charged situation.”

  “Will you come with me?”

  She would be by his side, though her mere presence presented a complication. “She might recognize me as a Colton, which could understandably anger her.”

  “That’s okay. After what she did, I’m not sure that she has the right to judge.”