Buch lesen: «Colton 911: Target In Jeopardy»

Chapter 1

Avery Logan slowly walked up the stairs to the courthouse’s front door. She paused for a moment before going inside the stately three-story brick building where justice was handed out on a daily basis.

She took her job very seriously. She always arrived early and took a moment or two to relax on the top concrete step before heading inside to face her job as a criminal prosecutor.

There were several other people standing around and waiting for the courthouse to officially open its doors to the public, including some who would find out their fate.

She shifted her briefcase from one hand to the other and drew in a deep breath of the September air. Autumn was her favorite time of the year. The changing colors of the trees in Whisperwood, Texas, were particularly pretty this year. Deep reds battled with shades of orange and yellow, and created a vision of nature at its finest.

Optimism buoyed her in spite of the fact that her feet already hurt and her lower back ached. Today was the last of the witnesses, and hopefully final arguments would occur by noon. She was relatively sure as prosecutor that this was going to be a win for Lady Justice. Although Dwayne Conway wasn’t the big drug lord she dreamed of bringing down, if she’d done her job right at least he’d be one more lowlife drug-selling creep off the streets.

A sharp, stabbing pain shot through her. Her heart suddenly wept a single name... Zeke. Since his death a little over a year ago, a day didn’t go by that she didn’t grieve for him. He’d been her best friend and her beloved younger brother, and a heroin overdose had taken him away from her forever.

She shoved thoughts of Zeke away and took one more glance around at the people gathered at the foot of the stairs. Suddenly she froze.

He stood with a small group, including Forrest Colton, who was due to testify in the trial today. Was it really him or was she just imagining it?

“Dallas.” His name whispered from her lips as a thousand emotions rushed over her. She stared at the man’s profile, drinking in the sight of his wavy, sandy-colored hair and his straight nose. Yes, there was no question in her mind, it was him. She knew his eyes were an azure blue and that he had an utterly charming smile.

She also knew what it felt like to be held in his strong arms and how his sexy lips could kiss a woman completely mindless. She knew what it felt like to make exquisite love with him. What she didn’t know was his last name.

She wrapped an arm around her burgeoning stomach, and at the same time he turned and looked up. His eyes widened in obvious stunned surprise at the sight of her. His gaze swept the length of her body, pausing on the huge baby bump that had annihilated her waistline months ago, and then his gaze trekked back up to her face.

She remained frozen in place, not sure what to do. Should she turn around and run? What was his reaction going to be? It wasn’t like she really knew him. They’d shared only a single night together, a passionate night fueled by a little too much alcohol and loneliness. It had also been a foolish night without birth control or protection.

He said something to the others in the group and then slowly climbed the stairs to where she stood. Her heart beat a million miles a minute as he drew closer.

He was just as handsome as she remembered, with his light hair, intense blue eyes and well-defined features. She held her breath as he finally reached her.

“Avery,” he said in greeting.

“Hi, Dallas. It’s been a while.” Good Lord, this was definitely the most awkward moment she’d ever experienced in all of her thirty-three years. His gaze once again lingered on her very pregnant belly. “Uh...yes,” she said, answering what she knew his question might be.

He shifted from one foot to the other, as if at a loss for words, and his face instantly paled. She had only a couple minutes left before she needed to be in her seat in the courtroom. “Uh, it’s nice to see you again,” she said. “I need to get inside.” She turned toward the door, but he stopped her.

“Avery, obviously we need to talk.” He pulled his wallet out of his black slacks’ pocket and drew out a business card and handed it to her. “That’s got all my contact information on it. Could we maybe meet somewhere later today, after you’re finished here?”

“I’m hoping this case goes to the jury around noon. I could meet you at JoJo’s Java after that.”

“That would be good,” he replied soberly.

“I really need to get inside now.” This time when she turned toward the door he didn’t stop her.

It wasn’t until she went through security and walked toward the courtroom where the trial was taking place that she finally drew a deep, unsteady breath.

What a shock, to suddenly see the man who had been only a memory in her thoughts for the past seven and a half months. He had looked as handsome as he had on the night she’d first met him. His slacks had fit perfectly on his slim hips and long legs. The gray dress shirt he wore had loved his lean muscles and broad shoulders.

Now that he knew she was pregnant what would happen? Would he really believe he was the father? She’d certainly fallen into bed with him easily enough; would he believe she did that with other men, as well? He was the one and only man she’d been with for a very long time. If he wanted a DNA test, she would understand and she would gladly comply.

She was pleased that he knew. As the father he had a right to know. If she’d known how to contact him she would have done so when she had first found out she was pregnant.

Would he want to be a part of this? Would he want to be an involved father? Or would he disappear once again and have nothing to do with her? As far as she was concerned he didn’t owe her anything. She’d been foolish enough to have sex without protection and it had been her choice to have the babies.

She looked at the card he had handed her. Dallas Colton. His last name was Colton. That name was certainly a familiar one in Whisperwood, Texas. The Cowboy Heroes were a horseback rescue team that ventured into disaster zones and rescued the stranded, and several of the Colton men were a part of it. They were both EMTs and ranchers, and all of them were specialists in search and rescue.

Most recently they had been instrumental in saving lives when Hurricane Brooke had roared through the small town, leaving behind destruction from high winds, flooding waters and the horrific tornadoes that had been spawned by the storm.

She reached the courtroom and took her place on the prosecutor’s side of the room. She opened her briefcase and tucked the business card inside one of the pockets, and then withdrew the papers she would need for the day.

As the courtroom began to fill, she tried to get her mind off Dallas. She had to focus on the task at hand, prosecuting a dope dealer, but her mind continued to fill with memories of the night she had shared with Dallas.

She’d gone to Bailey’s Bar with her best friend, PI Summer Davies, with the intention of drinking her stress and sorrow away. She had still been deeply grieving her brother’s death and she’d been working on a case that had included her receiving death threats.

She’d already had a couple drinks when he’d walked in. He’d been one hot piece of eye candy clad in his army uniform, and when their gazes had met a sweet heat had rushed through her. Eventually Summer had left the bar, but Avery had stayed and the handsome army sergeant had approached her.

He’d told her he was on leave and in town visiting relatives. She didn’t ask who the relatives were, and he didn’t offer any names. Instead they had shared more drinks and talked about nothing too important.

The sexual energy between them had been off the charts and that night she had done something she’d never done before. They had left the bar and gone to the nearby motel, and there she’d had a one-night stand.

She’d awakened the next morning with a desire to get to know him better, to build on their incredible physical attraction. However, he’d told her in no uncertain terms that he wanted nothing more from her. She’d left the motel and had never seen or heard from him again, until now.

Forrest Colton was a witness in the trial and that meant Dallas was probably going to sit in the courtroom. She couldn’t turn around. She didn’t want to see him right now when she had such an important job to do. But it was a bit disquieting to realize he’d be watching her.

“All rise.” The bailiff’s deep, loud voice yanked her from her thoughts. It was definitely time for her to focus on her job. Dwayne Conway was a punk, a thug who had sold pain pills and a rock of cocaine to an undercover cop. Forrest Colton had witnessed the illegal transaction and would be called to the stand to corroborate the cop’s story.

Dwayne was low-hanging fruit of a rotten tree that grew in Whisperwood, a tree of drugs and corruption that was getting bigger and bigger every day. Avery was on the front line of the fight to get all drugs, especially the deadly heroin, off the streets of the town she loved.

Just as she had figured, it was eleven thirty when she made her closing arguments, and by noon the case was given to the jury.

She and the defense attorney met with the judge for a few last-minute paperwork details and then she was free until the jury returned with a verdict. Hopefully, that would happen fairly quickly and another bottom-feeder would be off the streets.

There was no sign of Dallas when she left the courtroom. She assumed he knew she would be heading to JoJo’s Java to meet with him.

As she headed toward her car in the parking lot behind the building, butterflies danced in her stomach. She’d scarcely had time to process the fact that Dallas was here, let alone that she was going to meet with him in just a few minutes.

The butterflies grew more active as she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main drag. She’d fantasized about this moment for the entire seven and a half months of her pregnancy.

There had been no question in her mind that Dallas was the father. Before that night with him it had been over a year since she’d had sex, and that with a man she’d dated for only three months.

There had been few men in her life. Before Zeke’s death she’d been too career oriented to want any long-term relationships, and since Zeke’s death that was the last thing she wanted.

She parked in a space in front of the trendy coffee shop. For a moment she remained seated in the car and gently caressed her stomach, wondering how reality would stack up to fantasy.

With a small sigh, she got out of her car and headed inside to find out what would happen now that Dallas was here.

* * *

Dallas Colton sat at a table for two toward the back of JoJo’s Java, with a cup of black coffee before him. The coffee shop was a popular place for people to gather in town. Along with the tables and chairs, there was a long bar and an outdoor patio. Amber lighting overhead provided a warm, cozy feeling.

He wasn’t feeling all warm and cozy right now. He was still very much reeling from seeing Avery again...a very pregnant Avery.

When he’d first looked up and seen her standing on the top step of the courthouse, his heart had crashed against his ribs. Not that his heart had been involved with her at all, but he’d been momentarily stunned by her beauty.

Her long, reddish-brown hair had sparkled in the sunlight and he suddenly remembered that her eyes were the green of a dark, mysterious forest.

When he’d seen her pregnant stomach, he’d known instinctively that the baby was his. Birth control and protection had been the last things on his mind when he’d left the bar with her and gone to the nearby motel almost eight months before.

It had been a night of crazy, wild passion. That night he’d wrapped his arms around Avery in an effort to momentarily staunch his grief over another woman.

Ivy. Her name whispered through him, along with a swell of all-too-familiar anguish. Oh God, he couldn’t think about her right now. It felt like such a betrayal to think about her while he met with a woman who was probably carrying his baby. He consciously willed those thoughts away and took a drink of his coffee.

Right now his complete focus needed to be on Avery and the very real possibility that the baby she carried was his. The timing was certainly right for that to be. If that was the case, he needed to figure out what came next.

Was she in a relationship with another man? Was it possible she had married since he had been with her? He frowned. He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of another man raising his child.

Maybe he was jumping way ahead of himself. Maybe the baby she carried wasn’t his. But she’d indicated it was and his gut told him it was his.

Jeez. A baby. This was certainly not the way he’d envisioned himself becoming a father...a one-night stand with a woman he didn’t really know.

He wouldn’t have even been at the courthouse this morning if his brother hadn’t been testifying. At the last minute Dallas had decided to go along and offer Forrest his support.

He looked toward the entrance at the same time Avery came through the door. She looked around and then spotted him. She held up a hand and pointed toward the counter, then walked over to it and placed an order. Despite her condition, she walked with a confidence that was both powerful and yet graceful. He found it very attractive.

He’d been entranced as she’d given her closing arguments minutes earlier. She’d been so impassioned, demanding rather than pleading for votes of guilt. She was obviously very smart and articulate, and yet had connected with the jury on an emotional level.

Her black slacks emphasized her slender legs. Her red blouse elegantly skimmed the fullness of her belly. In spite of her current condition, the memory of their night together was suddenly a hot burn in his brain. It had been a night of intense pleasure. She’d been a giving lover and the experience of having sex with her was emblazoned in his mind.

As she paid for a cup of something, he tried to shove those provocative memories out of his head. This whole thing felt so surreal and so very awkward.

She eased down in the chair opposite his and brought with her a scent of an exotic spice and citrus fragrance that he instantly remembered from their night together.

He tightened his fingers around his warm, plastic-foam cup and worked up a smile that hopefully didn’t show how very ill at ease he was under the circumstances.

“There’s nothing better to calm the nerves than a hot cup of herbal tea,” she said, to break the ice.

Maybe he should have opted for some of that tea instead of the coffee that now sat heavy in his chest. He had so many questions, yet at the moment, sitting across from her, he was uncharacteristically tongue-tied. “Why didn’t you tell me?” The words finally blurted out of him.

She raised an eyebrow. “How could I have told you? I only knew your first name and that you were in the army. I had no idea where you were stationed or how to contact you. We didn’t exactly exchange phone numbers and addresses that night.”

Her cheeks flushed with a pretty pink color. “You can believe it or not, but that was the first and only time I’ve ever done something like that in my entire life. It was a night of risky behavior and that isn’t who I am. You were the only man I’d been with for a very long time.”

He really had no reason to believe her, but he did. Despite their wild desire that night, there had also been a shyness, an awkwardness about her that had let him know it wasn’t something she did all the time.

She didn’t need to know he’d acted out of character that night, as well. Driven into the bar with a deep grief, he’d intended to drink himself into oblivion. Although he’d had more than his share of booze that night, it had been Avery’s smile that had prompted him to try to lose his grief in her rather than the bottom of a bottle.

It hadn’t worked. He’d awakened the next morning hungover and with his grief still intact, and a new guilt weighing heavy in his heart. The only real difference had been he’d had a beautiful woman in his arms who had wanted more from him than he could give.

“I would have loved to contact you when I first found out I was pregnant, but I couldn’t. I had no idea how to find you.” Her hand dropped to her stomach. “I don’t expect anything from you, Dallas. I made the decision to have these babies and I’m fine doing this all on my own.”

A shocked surprise jolted through him. “B-b-babies?” he stuttered.

She nodded and smiled. “I’m carrying twins...a boy and a girl.”

He couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped him. He hadn’t even completely processed that she was pregnant with one baby, let alone two.

She frowned and stared down into her cup for a long moment and then glanced back at him. “Look, I know this has to be a big shock to you,” she said. “I really don’t need anything from you, Dallas. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“You aren’t getting rid of me that easily,” he immediately replied. This might not be the time or the way he would have chosen to become a father, but that didn’t matter. Now he knew she carried his son and his daughter and he wasn’t about to walk away from his babies.

“Uh...do you have a significant other in your life right now?” he asked.

She laughed, the sound rich and melodic. “Right, I’ve had to beat the men away from me and my girlish figure.” She sobered and then sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be sarcastic, and no, there’s no significant other in my life. I’ve never even wanted one. I’ve been pretty focused on my career. What about you?”

“No, there’s nobody,” he replied. Unless he counted the ghost of a woman who haunted him, a ghost he just couldn’t let go of because the pain of loss, of utter emptiness, would be too great for him to endure.

“When do you leave to go back to where you’re stationed?” she asked.

“I don’t. I’m now former Army Sergeant Dallas Colton. I finalized my discharge three months ago and I’m here in Whisperwood to stay.”

“Oh, I’m surprised we haven’t run into each other before now,” she replied.

“I’m living in an old foreman’s cabin out on the ranch, and for the last couple of months I’ve been doing what I can to help with the cleanup after the hurricane. I don’t get into town much.” His gaze once again took in the sight of her stomach. “Should you still be working?”

“Actually, this was my last case. Once the jury comes back I am officially on maternity leave. It’s time for me to nest.”

“Nest?”

She smiled. She had a beautiful smile that lit up her features and warmed whoever it was directed at. It had been her smile that had initially grabbed his attention in the bar that night, and that warmth now swept over him.

“You know, I’ll make sure I have everything ready for the babies when they arrive. I’ll get a manicure and a pedicure and make sure I get extra sleep and relax before they get here.”

“Do you have everything you need for when they do get here?” he asked.

“Yes. My coworkers gave me a big baby shower last month and they were all very generous. I told you I didn’t need anything from you, Dallas, and I meant it. There’s only one person here in town who knows you are the father and that’s my closest friend. She would never tell anyone. I would love for you to be a part of their lives. I certainly believe it’s important for children to have both parents involved, but I understand if you just want to walk away.”

“What would make you think I’m the kind of man who would just walk away from this?”

She tilted her head and gazed at him intently. “Dallas, I really don’t know what kind of a man you are.”

And he didn’t know what kind of woman she was. Oh, he knew how hot her kisses were and how her bare skin felt against his. He knew how her sweet moans had sounded against the side of his neck. But, that was really all he knew about her.

“I think it would be nice if we got to know each other better,” he said. Actually, he thought it was a necessity in this crazy circumstance.

“And how do we do that?” she asked.

“Why don’t we start with me taking you out to dinner at the Bluebell Diner tomorrow night?” he replied.

She looked at him in surprise. “Uh...okay, that would be nice.” Her cell phone rang. “Excuse me,” she murmured, and took the call. It lasted only a minute and then she hung up and gathered her purse and briefcase.

“I’m sorry. The jury has returned and I’ve got to get back to the courthouse.”

He stood as she did. “That was fast.”

She flashed him that beautiful smile again. “And hopefully a good sign.”

“Shall we say six tomorrow evening?” he asked.

“That sounds perfect. I’ll text you my address and I’ll see you then.”

He watched as she headed toward the door and then he sank back down into his chair. Twins. Jeez, this was the very last thing he’d expected when he’d driven into town this morning to be a support to his brother. Heck, in a million years he couldn’t have expected to suddenly discover he was about to become the father of twins.

He took a sip of his now cold coffee and leaned back in the chair. Two babies. A little boy and a little girl. He was going to be a father, and fairly quickly. With the initial shock slowly wearing off came a sense of anticipation...a sense of unexpected joy.

He hadn’t expected to ever feel that again, not after losing his wife. When he’d buried Ivy, he’d believed he’d also buried his heart and soul with her. Any hope for future happiness, for joy or laughter, had gone into that grave with her.

But this...this sudden surprise, this miracle of two little souls who would be forever connected to him brought with it a glimmer of hope. They were a promise of a happiness he’d never dreamed of and had never thought possible before.

He had no idea if he even liked Avery. There was a possibility that once they spent a little time together she might not like him.

But like it or not, somehow, some way they needed to figure things out, because for the next eighteen years or so they would be in each other’s lives due to their mutual love of a baby boy and a baby girl.