Marine's Promise (Iron Horse Legacy Book 3)

by Elle James

  “Including you,” Emily added.

  “Exactly.” Colin slipped an arm around Emily’s waist. “You and I both know that Em will do anything to keep you safe. If someone kidnaps you, Emily will move heaven and earth to get you back.”

  Emily nodded. “I’d trade my life for yours.”

  Brenna was shaking her head. “You can’t do that. Your life is just as important as mine.”

  “You know she’d do it,” Colin said. “If you don’t go with her to the Iron Horse Ranch, you’re setting yourself up as a target to get Emily to come out into the open.”

  Emily squeezed her sister’s hand. “I won’t rest unless I know you’re safe.” She pressed Brenna’s hand to her cheek. “You’re the only family I have left.”

  Brenna cupped Emily’s face in her hand. “Anything to keep you safe. You’re the only family I have. We have to stick together.” She glanced up at Colin. “Fine. I’ll go with you. But I still have a job. How am I supposed to do it from the ranch?”

  Colin grinned. “We’ll work on that. I have some friends I can call in to help.”

  “I hope your friends like showing houses. I can’t make money if I’m not showing houses. That’s what we real estate agents do.” She blew out a long breath. “Well, looks like we are going on a spontaneous vacation. I just didn’t expect it to be so close to home and on a ranch. You know I don’t do horses, right?” Brenna winked.

  “You won’t have to,” Emily said.

  “Good. You were the one who liked riding across the fields with the wind in your hair.”

  “And you were the one who preferred to stay home and read books and magazines about home design.” Emily hugged her sister. “I’m glad you’re coming with me.”

  “I’m glad I’m going with you, too.” Brenna squeezed her hard, and then leaned back and smiled into Emily’s eyes. “Seems I can’t leave you alone for a minute without something horrible happening to you.” She looked around. “Need help packing a bag?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do.” Emily led the way up the stairs with Brenna in tow.

  “I’ll keep watch from down here,” Colin said. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just part of the furniture.”

  “Oh, quit being a baby,” Brenna called out, chuckling.

  Emily laughed, her heart a little lighter now that her sister was near. She prayed Brenna wouldn’t become collateral damage in whatever game these people were playing against her.

  Colin placed a call to Sheriff Barron, reporting the vandalism to Emily’s house and letting him know they would be heading out to Iron Horse Ranch as soon as they’d packed what they needed to stay for a while.

  “I’ll have my team out there to investigate as soon as possible,” the sheriff said. “I’m glad you’re taking the ladies out to the ranch. With all your brothers there, they ought to be safer than if they stayed home.”

  “That’s the idea,” Colin said. “What’s the word on Roy?”

  “Roy Keats is in bad shape. The bullet nicked some vital organs. They were taking him into surgery when I left the hospital. The Bozeman Police Department has two officers guarding the surgical floor. They’ve got strict orders to keep a really close eye on Roy. After what happened earlier today, they’ll be on their toes.”

  Colin didn’t tell the sheriff about the phone he’d found in the floor of Emily’s house. Though he trusted the sheriff, he figured the fewer people who knew about it, the better off Emily would be. And talking over the phone wasn’t necessarily a secure means of communication.

  After he ended the call to the sheriff, he placed one to the ranch, letting them know they would have two visitors staying indefinitely.

  His mother assured him she wouldn’t have it any other way. She loved Emily and Brenna like daughters, and they could stay as long as they needed.

  Emily and Brenna came down the stairs, each carrying a suitcase.

  “We’re ready,” Emily said.

  “I’ll follow you in my car. I don’t like to be dependent on anyone for transportation, especially if I need to get somewhere quickly,” Brenna said.

  “Tell you what,” Colin said. “We’ll follow you out to the ranch. “That way, we have your back.”

  “And who will have yours?” Brenna asked, one eyebrow raised.

  Emily grinned. “I have a gun. I’ll keep an eye to the rear in case we run into any more trouble.”

  “That’s what I like,” Colin said. “Teamwork.”

  Brenna climbed into her car and pulled out of the driveway.

  Emily and Colin followed in the truck.

  The drive out to Iron Horse Ranch went without a hitch. When they arrived at the house, his mother and his sister, Molly, came out on the porch to greet them.

  “Where are Duncan, Angus and ’Bastian?” he asked.

  “Your brothers are out in the canyon again. I don’t know what they hope to find, but they were pretty determined to get out of the house and do something,” his mother said. She smiled at Emily and Brenna, taking one of the suitcases out of Emily’s hands. “Let me have that. Colin says you’ve been through hell the past couple of days.”

  Molly reached for Brenna’s case. “Let me show you to the room we arranged for you two. You’ll be sharing a room since we have all the boys home.”

  “I can carry my own case,” Brenna said. “But thanks. It’s enough you’re putting us up. Hopefully, it won’t be for long.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. McKinnon.” Emily hugged the older woman. “You don’t know how much we appreciate your kindness. I’m so sorry to hear about your husband. I hope they find him soon.”

  Colin’s mother gave Emily a tight smile. “They will. We just have to believe he’s still out there and waiting for us to find him and bring him home.”

  She didn’t say it, but Colin filled in the rest of the sentiment.

  Alive.

  They had to believe they would find him and bring him home alive.

  Once they were inside the house, Colin took the case from his mother and from Brenna, despite her protest, and carried them up the stairs.

  Molly led the way to room on the other side of Colin’s. “Duncan’s been staying in town with Fiona and Baby Caity. Emily and Brenna will be staying in his old room.” She opened the door and stood back, letting Colin enter to set down the suitcases.

  Emily slipped in after him and set her smaller case on the queen-sized bed. “Thank you. This will work great. We don’t want to put you out too much. Brenna and I can help with the cooking and cleaning. We don’t expect to be waited on.”

  “That’s good, because I’m a terrible cook, and I’d rather be out mucking stalls than running a vacuum.” Molly grinned. “I would have thought you’d rather be out riding horses than being stuck inside, Emily. I remember you, Colin and Alex out here practically every day during the summer.” She frowned. “You only took me along with you when Mama made you.” She glared at her brother. “Some big brother.”

  “You were a pain in the butt, little kid. And we did take you along on our picnics.” He grabbed his sister around the neck and rubbed his knuckles across the top of her head, like he had when they were much younger.

  “Hey, I’m not ten anymore,” Molly said, pushing away from Colin and smoothing her hands over her hair. She turned her attention to Emily and Brenna. “Don’t let him bully you. He can be as big a pain in the butt as he claims I was.” She dodged Colin’s reach and dove for the door. “It’ll be nice to have more females around for a while. I’m always outnumbered. Dinner’s at six.”

  “I’ll be down to help with it,” Emily said. “Thanks, Molly.”

  Molly disappeared down the stairs, leaving Emily and Brenna with Colin.

  “I’ll leave you two to get settled in.” Colin backed out of the room.

  Emily followed him. “Let me know when you get that phone charged enough to look at it.” She spoke in hushed tones.

  “Will do. I’ll be in my father’s office. It might be bes
t to keep its existence between you and me. Whoever tossed your place might have been looking for it. If they know we have it, they might come out here looking for it.”

  “Should we turn it over to the sheriff?”

  “We will—after we’ve had a chance to look at what’s on it.”

  She nodded. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

  Colin took her hand and brought it to his lips. “I’m glad you’re here. I feel much better knowing you’ll be surrounded by people who will look after you.”

  “You and your family are so generous. I don’t want to get in the way of your search for your father.”

  “You’re not,” he said. “I’m still working on that. I get the feeling Alex’s associations and what’s happened to my father might be connected. I don’t know how yet, but I think it’s worth looking into.”

  He didn’t want to let go of her hand. Hell, he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her. But they had work to do. The phone had to be a clue as to what Alex had been up to. Or rather who he’d done business with. The sooner they discovered who that was, the sooner they might find Colin’s father.

  Yeah, he might be grasping at straws and doing a lot of wishful thinking but, like his mother had said, they had to believe they’d find his father. If that meant reading more into a situation than might be there, so be it. Lately, in his search for his father, he’d begun to lose hope. Grasping at straws gave him a small amount of hope.

  Chapter 10

  Emily unpacked a few of her things and hung them up in the closet next to a few items of Duncan’s clothes. She was careful to leave room for Brenna, as they would be sharing the room for who knew how long. The rest of her things, she left in her suitcases. If they stayed longer than a few days, she’d unpack more.

  Anxious to help and not be a burden to a family who was already going through their own problems, she hurried downstairs to the kitchen.

  She knew her way around the house. She’d been there so many times while growing up that she could find her way in the dark, if she had to.

  Colin’s mother, Hannah McKinnon, stood at the stove, stirring something in a large stockpot.

  “Can I help?” Emily asked.

  “Sure. I never turn down an extra pair of hands. I’d forgotten how much food it took to feed all my boys.”

  “I remember sitting down to dinner with your clan on more than one occasion.” Emily chuckled. “It was a lot of food.”

  “They burned a lot of energy,” Mrs. McKinnon said. “Thank goodness we raised our own beef. And my vegetable garden came in handy.”

  “If I remember correctly, you had a pretty big garden. Colin, Alex and I swiped a couple of watermelons from it over the course of a several summers. I’m just sorry we didn’t clear it with you first.”

  “I knew you were taking them. That’s why I grew them. Although, I would have liked a piece.” She winked and nodded toward a recipe card on the counter beside her. “I’m making Colin’s favorite, chicken and dumplings. You can make the dumplings. I usually double the recipe amounts for the dumplings.”

  Emily followed the recipe, mixing flour, shortening and chicken broth to make the pastry. Then she rolled it out on a pastry sheet until it was less than a quarter of an inch thick.

  Mrs. McKinnon handed her a pizza cutter to cut the dumplings into inch-wide strips.

  “The soup is ready when you are.” Colin’s mother stepped away from the pot she’d been stirring.

  Emily dropped the dumplings in, a handful at a time. When they were all transferred from the pastry sheet to the pot, she cleaned the sheet and rinsed the flour from her hands.

  “You made those like a pro.” Mrs. McKinnon beamed at her.

  “I’ve done it a few times. Alex remembered how much he loved your chicken and dumplings whenever we ate over here. I learned how to make them like you do.” Emily shrugged. “That was as good an excuse as I needed. I loved them, too.”

  “Comfort food,” Mrs. McKinnon said. “I figured we could all use a little comfort food right about now.”

  Emily nodded. “I can’t imagine how you’re holding up. Not knowing is somehow worse than bad news.”

  Colin’s mother gave her a weak smile and went back to stirring the dumplings. “I’m going with the no news is good news way of thinking. And I’m keeping busy.

  “That was some kind of how-do-you-do in Bozeman last night. I can’t believe someone slammed your car into the side of that building.” She shot a worried glance toward Emily. “I don’t know what’s wrong with people. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”

  “I was glad Colin was there. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if he hadn’t been.”

  “No kidding. Especially since you were attacked in your own home after the shenanigans in Bozeman.” Mrs. McKinnon pulled her spoon out of the stockpot for a moment. “I’d be afraid to breathe. You’re not safe out of your house, and you’re not safe in it.”

  “That’s why I’m here,” Emily said. “Thank you for making your home available to me and Brenna.”

  “Honey, you’re family. I’m glad you came.” She gave Emily a crooked grin. “There was a time I thought you and Colin would end up together.” She shrugged. “Not that I’m trying my hand at matchmaking or anything. It’s just that you two had so much in common.”

  “All three of us did. We were the Three Musketeers,” Colin said from the door to the kitchen. “Can I steal your assistant chef for a few minutes?”

  His mother smiled at her son. “Of course. She was just showing me how to make dumplings.”

  “I’m sure you already know how.”

  “I do. But it’s fun when someone else spends time with me in the kitchen.” His mother nodded toward the door. “Don’t worry about me. You’ve done the hard part. All I have to do now is make sure it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pot.”

  Emily followed Colin out of the kitchen, her pulse beating a little faster and a swarm of butterflies beating against her hollow belly. All because Colin had probably overheard his mother talking about them being together.

  She wouldn’t have been so jittery if the same thought hadn’t crossed her mind on more than one occasion in the past twenty-four hours.

  What would have happened if she’d followed her heart and married Colin instead of Alex?

  With that thought came a sad one. If she’d married Colin, Alex might be alive today. He wouldn’t have felt compelled to take on highly lucrative work for dangerous people.

  That thought slowed her pulse and put a damper on the butterflies in her belly.

  Colin led her into his father’s study where he’d left the cellphone charging on his father’s desk.

  “Apparently, Alex had a passcode on this phone. Any idea of what he might have used?”

  Emily shook her head. “Did you try his birthday?”

  Colin nodded. “I tried a few variations of the day, month and year. None of them worked.”

  “Mine?”

  Again, Colin nodded. “I tried combinations, forward and backward of both of your birthdays.”

  “Wedding anniversary?” she suggested.

  “Tried it.”

  “His mother’s birthday?”

  “Don’t know that one.”

  She gave him the date.

  Colin tried multiple combinations of the date, to no avail. He finally shook his head. “We could spend a lot of time guessing. But I have a friend with resources who might be able to hack into the phone and download all the data.”

  Emily frowned. “That’s letting more people in on the fact we have the phone.”

  “These people can be trusted, and their facility is secure.”

  Emily chewed on her bottom lip. “If you think it’s okay, I’m okay with it. I want to know what’s on that phone.”

  “Me, too.” He lifted the phone on his father’s desk and punched in a number. “Hank, I have a challenge for you and your team.” He paused to listen. “I can’t discuss it o
ver the telephone. I’d like to drop by the White Oak Ranch and run it by you.” Another pause. “Okay. I’ll see you in a couple hours.” He hung up and met Emily’s gaze. “Hank Patterson is a former Navy SEAL. He started a security service called the Brotherhood Protectors. I’ve heard his computer guy is really good at hacking into just about anything. If he’s as good as they say, he should be able to hack into this old phone.”

  “A phone is different than a computer,” Emily pointed out.

  “Yeah, but it’s worth a shot.”

  “Agreed. I’d like to go with you.”

  Colin glanced out the window. “I hadn’t planned on leaving until after supper.”

  “That’s okay. I can wait.”

  “Good, because the chicken and dumplings smell good, and I’m starving.”

  “Because we didn’t have lunch.” She smiled. “Come on. We can help set the table.”

  Brenna joined them in the dining room. Between the four of them, they set the table, transferred the chicken and dumplings to a soup tureen and carried crackers, cheese and a fresh green salad to the table.

  Minutes later, Duncan, Angus and Sebastian clomped up on the porch.

  Sebastian leaned through the back door to the kitchen. “Something smells good.”

  “Chicken and dumplings,” his mother called out. “Wash up. It’s on the table.”

  The men pulled off their boots and walked through the house to the first-floor bathroom, jockeying for position in front of the sink to wash their hands and faces.

  By the time they settled in their chairs, Mrs. McKinnon and Emily had set glasses of water in front of each plate at the long table.

  Molly burst through the back door. “Sorry. I got caught up mucking a stall and lost track of time.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “You’re the only girl I know who could miss supper because she’s shoveling horse sh—”

  “’Bastian,” his mother cut him off. “No cursing at the table.”

  “Mom, I’m not fifteen anymore.”

  Emily hid a grin.

  Sebastian was over six feet tall, broad-shouldered and built like a tank. The man had been through hell and back in Navy SEAL training and had been deployed many times. But his mother still held power over him.