Wyoming Cowboy Protection
Nicole Helm
A woman and baby on the run.Noah Carson did not plan to have a woman and a baby under his roof. But his new housekeeper is in danger, and the solitary rancher will do whatever it takes to protect Addie Foster and her nephew.
A woman and baby on the run—
just upended a cowboy’s life
Noah Carson did not plan to have a woman and a baby under his roof. But his new housekeeper is in danger, and the solitary Wyoming rancher will do whatever it takes to protect Addie Foster and her nephew. He thinks they can overcome anything together, but he doesn’t know who she’s running from. What he does know is the longer Addie and Seth stay, the more Noah believes that they belong here—with him.
Carsons & Delaneys
NICOLE HELM grew up with her nose in a book and the dream of one day becoming a writer. Luckily, after a few failed career choices, she gets to follow that dream—writing down-to-earth contemporary romance and romantic suspense. From farmers to cowboys, Midwest to the West, Nicole writes stories about people finding themselves and finding love in the process. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two sons and dreams of someday owning a barn.
Also by Nicole Helm (#uc35f7e3b-0925-5a2a-81c6-0aab782a6dc3)
Wyoming Cowboy Justice
Stone Cold Texas Ranger
Stone Cold Undercover Agent
Stone Cold Christmas Ranger All
I Have
All I Am
Falling for the New Guy
Too Friendly to Date
Too Close to Resist
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Wyoming Cowboy Protection
Nicole Helm
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07949-5
WYOMING COWBOY PROTECTION
© 2018 Nicole Helm
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To my husband, who always asks,
“Do you need time to write?”
Contents
Cover (#u0b6df051-b99f-540c-b1c6-c82ce9ff8b17)
Back Cover Text (#ub35eadb1-5b27-5902-aafd-dbf1e90f38bd)
About the Author (#u1fb167bc-e606-5d5c-9f38-7188c26e2b7d)
Booklist (#u9c688b5d-2762-51f4-901b-da0ac324800a)
Title Page (#ub2337e8e-3143-5200-9f80-c8a3b3ee181f)
Copyright (#u3f8890ea-21e7-5ff3-8482-d9a2127313bf)
Dedication (#u57fb6d50-0502-54f3-bd31-4a667cae865f)
Chapter One (#u38e963ea-ef9a-5dfd-bda3-e11c8940a6f5)
Chapter Two (#ubac4724e-f11d-557e-bf35-0521fdb46e16)
Chapter Three (#u0ac821b4-e12c-5582-8b54-0343451ae9d0)
Chapter Four (#uf791aecd-31ad-55ce-a96a-501480a65672)
Chapter Five (#u24211ee7-9e1b-5445-b9cf-90fc849238c3)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#uc35f7e3b-0925-5a2a-81c6-0aab782a6dc3)
August
Addie Foster watched from the car’s passenger seat as a whole new world passed by her window. If she’d thought Jackson Hole was like nothing she’d ever known, Bent, Wyoming, was an alien planet.
She’d grown up in the heart of Boston, a city dweller always. Occasionally her family had traveled up to Maine for quaint weekends or vacations in little villages, enjoying beaches and ice-cream shops.
This was not that. This wasn’t even like those dusty old Westerns her grandpa had loved to watch as he’d reminisced about his childhood being a Delaney in Bent, Wyoming—as if that had ever meant anything to Addie.
It meant something now. Seth fussed in his carrier in the back seat and Addie swallowed at the lump in her throat. Her sister had died trying to protect this sweet little man, and Addie had spent the past nine months struggling to protect him.
The baby’s father hadn’t made it easy. Addie had been able to hide Seth for three months before Peter Monaghan the 5th had discovered her sister’s deception, and no one deceived Peter Monaghan the 5th.
For six months, Addie had crisscrossed her way around the country, running out of false identities and money. Until she’d had to call upon the only person she could think to call upon.
Laurel Delaney.
Addie had met Laurel at Addie’s grandpa’s funeral some twenty years ago. They’d taken an instant liking to each other and become pen pals for a while.
They’d drifted apart, as pen pals always did, once the girls got into high school, and Addie never would have dreamed of calling Laurel out of the blue until desperation led her to think of the most faraway, safe place she could imagine. Someplace Peter would have no reach. Someplace she and Seth would be safe from his evil crime boss of a father.
“Don’t worry,” Laurel said pleasantly from the driver’s seat as Seth began to cry in earnest. “We’re only about five minutes away. I’m sorry I can’t have you stay with me, but my place is pretty cramped as it is, and Noah needs the help.”
Noah Carson. Addie didn’t know anything about him except he was some relative of Laurel’s boyfriend, and he needed a housekeeper. Addie didn’t have experience keeping anyone’s house, let alone a ranch, but she needed a job and someplace to stay, and Laurel had provided her with both. In the kind of town Peter would never dream of finding on a map, let alone stepping foot into.
She hoped.
“I’m going to have to apologize about Noah, though,” Laurel said, maneuvering her car onto a gravel road off the main highway. “This is kind of a surprise for him.”
“A surprise?” Addie repeated, reaching into the back and stroking her finger over Seth’s leg in an effort to soothe.
“It’s just, Noah needs the help, but doesn’t want to admit he needs the help, so we’re forcing his hand a bit.”
Addie’s horror must have shown on her face, because Laurel reached over and gave Addie’s arm a squeeze, her gaze quickly returning to the road.
“It’s fine. I promise.”
“I don’t want to be in anyone’s way or a burden, Laurel. That isn’t why I called you.”
“I know, and in an ideal world Noah would hire you of his own volition, but we don’t live in an ideal world. Noah’s cousin, who used to do most of the housekeeping, moved out. Grady—that’s Noah’s other cousin—tried running an ad but Noah refused to see anyone. This, he can’t refuse.”
“Why?”
Laurel flicked a glance Addie’s way as she pulled in front of a ramshackle, if roomy-looking, ranch house.
“Addie, I know you’re in trouble.”
Addie sucked in a breath. “You do?”
“I could be reading things wrong, but I’m guessing Seth’s father isn’t a very good man, and you need to get away from him.”
Addie swallowed. It was the truth. It wouldn’t be a lie to tell Laurel she was right. Seth’s father was a terrible man, and Addie desperately needed to get away from him.
“I’m a cop, Addie. I’ve dealt with a lot of domestics. This is the perfect place to get away from a guy who can’t control himself. You’re safe here. In Bent. At the Carson Ranch, and with me looking out for you.” Laurel smiled reassuringly.
“I just...” Addie inhaled and exhaled, looking at the house in front of her. It looked downright historical. “I need a fresh start. I’d hate to think it’s built on someone who doesn’t want me around.”
“Noah might not want you around, but he needs you around. The way I see it, you two need each other. Noah might be quiet or gruff, but he’s not a jerk. He’ll treat you right no matter how much he doesn’t want you to be here. I can promise you that.”
“And the baby?”
“I’ve never seen Noah hurt anyone, and I’ve known him all my life and worked in law enforcement here for almost ten years. But most especially, I’ve never seen him be cruel to anyone, even Delaneys. He’s not an easy man to read, but he’s a good man. I’d bet my life on that.”
The door to the house opened and a big, broad, bearded man stepped out. He wore jeans and a T-shirt, the lines of a tattoo visible at the sleeve. His grin was like sin, and all for Laurel. So this couldn’t be the quiet, reserved Noah she was apparently ambushing.
“That’s your man?” Addie asked, watching him saunter toward where they were parked. She’d never seen two people just look at each other and flash sparks.
Laurel grinned. “Yes, it is. Come on. Let’s get you introduced.”
* * *
NOAH GLOWERED OUT the window. Damn Grady. More, damn Laurel Delaney getting her Delaney nose all up in his Carson business. Since he wasn’t the one sleeping with her, Noah didn’t know why he had to be the one saddled with her relative.
But saddled he was.
The young woman who got out of the passenger seat looked nothing like a housekeeper, not that a housekeeper had ever graced the uneven halls of the Carson Ranch. He came from hardscrabble stock who’d never seen much luxury in life. Never seen much purpose for it, either.
Noah still didn’t, but all his help had moved out. Grady was off living with a Delaney. Vanessa, who’d once taken on much of the cleaning and cooking responsibilities—no matter how poorly—had moved into town. His brother, Ty, came and went as he pleased, spending much of his time in town. Any time he spent at the ranch was with the horses or pushing Noah’s buttons. Noah’s teenage stepcousin was as helpful as a skunk.
Noah was running a small cattle ranch on his own, and yes, cleaning and cooking definitely fell by the wayside.
Didn’t mean he needed an outsider lurking in the corners dusting or whatnot. Especially some wispy, timid blonde.
The blonde pulled a baby out of the back seat of the car. And she had a baby no less. Not even a very big-looking baby. The kind of tiny, drooly thing that would only serve to make him feel big and clumsy.
Noah’s scowl deepened. He didn’t know what to do with babies. Or wispy blondes. Or people in general. If only the horses could housekeep. He’d be set.
The door opened, Laurel striding in first. Noah didn’t bother to soften his scowl and she rolled her eyes at him.
Noah was a firm believer in history, and the history of Bent, Wyoming, was that Carsons and Delaneys hated each other, and anytime they didn’t, only bad things came of it. Noah didn’t know what Laurel had done to Grady to change Grady’s mind on the importance of the feud, but here they were, ruining his life. As a couple.
It was a shame he liked Laurel. Made all his scowling and disapproval hard to hang on to.
The blonde carrying the baby stepped in behind Laurel, followed by Grady.
“Noah,” Laurel said with one of those smiles that were a clear and sad attempt to get him to smile back.
He didn’t.
“Noah Carson, this is your new housekeeper, Addie Foster, and her son, Seth. Addie, this is Noah. Ignore the gruff Wyoming cowboy exterior. He’s a teddy bear underneath.”
Noah grunted and Grady laughed. “Ease up there, princess. No one’s going to believe that.”
Laurel shot Grady a disapproving look. “The point is, Noah will be a fair and, if not pleasant, a kind employer. Won’t you, Noah?”
He grunted again. Then looked at the blonde. “Thought you were a Delaney.”
“Oh, well.” Addie smiled, or tried to. “Sort of. My grandfather was one.” She waved a nervous hand, her eyes darting all around and not settling on any one thing.
“I’ll show you to your room, and Noah and Grady can bring in the baby stuff,” Laurel said cheerfully, already leading Addie and baby down the hall like she owned the place.
“Come on, let’s get the stuff,” Grady said once the women were gone.
“Remember when this was my house because I was the only one willing to work the ranch full time?” Noah glanced back at where the two women had disappeared. “Your woman’s going to get baby ideas,” he muttered.
Grady scoffed, but Noah noted that he didn’t argue.
Which was to be expected, Noah supposed, but Noah hated change. Especially uncomfortable change. People change.
“You don’t have to be prickly about it. You’re going to have a clean house and a few home-cooked meals. Try a thank-you.”
“You know me a lot better than that,” Noah returned as they opened the trunk to Laurel’s car.
Grady sighed, grabbing a stroller. “Laurel thinks Addie’s in a bit of trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Laurel’s theory? Abusive husband.”
“Hell,” Noah grumbled. He didn’t know what to do with babies, and he definitely didn’t know what to do with a fragile woman who’d been the victim of abuse.
“She just needs a fresh start is all. Somewhere she feels safe. I’ll keep an eye out for any other jobs that’ll work while she’s got the baby, but this is important. And it isn’t like you don’t need the help.”
“It isn’t that bad.”
Grady looked at him dolefully as they hefted a menagerie of baby things out of Laurel’s trunk and headed toward the house. “Pretty sure you were wearing that shirt yesterday, cousin.”
Noah looked down at the faded flannel work shirt. “No, I wasn’t.” Maybe. He didn’t mind doing laundry, but he hated folding laundry, and then the clean and dirty sometimes got a little mixed up if they weren’t muck clothes.
Grady stepped inside, but Noah paused on the stairs. He looked back over his shoulder at the mountains in the distance. Clouds were beginning to form and roll, and there’d be a hell of a storm coming for them soon enough.
On a sigh, Noah stepped inside. This was his idea of a nightmare, but he wasn’t a jerk who couldn’t put his own wants and preferences on the back burner for someone in trouble. If the woman and the baby were really running from some no-good piece-of-trash ex...
He’d suck it up. He might be growly and taciturn, but he wasn’t a bad guy. Not when it came to things like this. She might be related to a Delaney, but he knew what violence could do to a family. Carsons couldn’t help but know that, and he’d promised himself he wouldn’t be like them.
Somehow it had worked out. This generation of Carsons wasn’t half as bad as the last, if a little wild, but he and Grady and Ty stood up for people who couldn’t stand up for themselves. He wouldn’t stop now.
Even if the woman and her baby did have Delaney in their blood.
Noah walked down the hall and into the room where Grady was already setting up all the baby gear for Addie while Laurel cooed over the baby in her arms. Noah gave Grady a pointed look but Grady ignored it.
“Well, we better get going and let you have some settle-in time,” Laurel said, looking around the room as if inspecting it. “You can call me day or night. Whatever you need, or Seth needs.”
“Thanks,” Addie said, and Noah tried not to frown over the tears shimmering in the woman’s eyes. Hell, female tears were the worst thing. Laurel and Addie hugged, the baby between them, before Grady and Laurel left. Laurel paused in front of Noah.
“Thank you,” she mouthed, holding a hand over her heart.
Noah merely scowled, but the annoying thing about Laurel was she was never fooled by things like that. She seemed to be under the impression he was the nicest one of the lot.
Noah hated that she was right.
“So, I’ll leave you to settle in,” Noah offered, not expressly making eye contact considering this was a bedroom. “Need anything, let me know.”
“Oh, but... Shouldn’t I be saying that to you? I mean, shouldn’t we go over duties? Since Laurel and Grady set this up, I...I’m not sure what you expect of me.” She bounced the baby on her hip, but Noah figured it was more nerves than trying to keep the boy from fussing.
He tried to smile, though even if he’d accomplished it he knew it was hard to see beyond the beard. “We can do it in the morning.”
She blinked at him, all wide blue-eyed innocence. “I’d like to do it now. This is a job, and I should be working it.”
“It’s Sunday. Rule number one, you don’t work on Sunday.”
“What do I do then?”
“I don’t care, but I’ll cook my own meals and clean up after myself on Sundays. Understood?”
She nodded. “What’s rule number two?”
Timid. He did not know what to do with timid, but he was being forced. Well, maybe he needed to treat her like a skittish horse. Horse training wasn’t his expertise, but he understood enough about the animals to know they needed a clear leader, routine and the opportunity to build their confidence.
Noah glanced at the hopeful young woman and tried not to grimace.
“I have a checklist,” she blurted.
“A checklist?”
“Yes, of duties. Of things I do for people. When I’m housekeeping. I... You...”
The sinking feeling that had been plaguing him since Grady announced his and Laurel’s little plan that morning sank deeper. “You haven’t done this before, have you?”
“Oh.” She looked everywhere around the room except him. “Um. Well. Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“I...I can cook, and clean. I just haven’t ever been on a ranch, or lived in someone else’s house as their employee. So that’s, um, well, it’s super weird.” She glanced at the kid in her arms. “And I have a baby. Which is weird.”
“Super weird,” he intoned.
She blinked up at him, some of that anxiety softening in her features. “If you tell me what you want me to do, I promise I can do it. I’m just not sure what you expect. Or want.”
“I’ll make you up a checklist.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. “I’m sorry, was that a joke? I can’t exactly tell.”
Noah’s mouth twitched of its own accord. “Settle in. Get the baby settled in. Tomorrow morning, six a.m., kitchen table. We’ll discuss your duties then.”
“Okay.”
He turned to go, but she stopped him with a hesitant “um.”
He looked over his shoulder at her.
“It’s just, could you give us something of a tour? A map? Smoke signals to the bathroom?”
Noah was very bad at controlling his facial features, half of why he kept a beard, so the distaste must have been clear all over his face.
“I’m sorry, I make jokes when I’m nervous.”
“Funny, I just shut up.”
Those big blue eyes blinked at him, not quite in horror, but not necessarily in understanding, either.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “That was a joke. I joke when I’m nervous, too.”
“Really?”
“No. Never,” he replied, chastising himself for being prickly, and then ignoring his own chastisement. “Follow me. I’ll show you around.”
Chapter Two (#uc35f7e3b-0925-5a2a-81c6-0aab782a6dc3)
September
Addie liked to use Seth’s afternoon nap for laundry folding and listening to an audiobook, then dinner prep. She’d been at the Carson Ranch for a full month now, and while she couldn’t claim comfort or the belief she was truly safe and settled, she’d developed a routine, and that was nice.
She found she liked housekeeping, much to her surprise. As an administrative assistant in the family business—a franchise of furniture stores Grandpa had moved to Boston to run when his father-in-law had died suddenly back in the fifties—she’d hated waiting on people, keeping things and meetings organized. She’d taken the job because it had been expected of her, and she hadn’t known what else to do with her life.
So, the fact keeping everything neat and organized at Noah’s house, making meals and helping the ranch run smoothly felt good was a surprise. Maybe it was the six months of being on the run and not having a house or anything to care for except Seth’s safety.
Maybe it was simply that she felt, if not safe here, like she fit here.
Addie worked on chopping vegetables for a salad, the baby monitor she’d bought with her first overly generous paycheck sitting on the sill of the window overlooking the vast Carson Ranch. She hadn’t needed a monitor in any of the previous places she’d been. They were all hotel rooms or little one-room apartments where she could hear Seth no matter where she went.
Now she had a whole house to roam, and so did Seth. They had these beautiful views to take in. For as long as it lasted, this life was good.
Some little voice in the back of her head warned her not to get too attached or settle in too deeply. Peter could always find her here, although it was unlikely. She hadn’t shared anything with her father since he’d cut off Kelly long before Seth, and she’d been on shaky ground for not cutting Kelly off as well.
As for the rest of her friends and family, she’d sent a cheery email to them saying she’d gotten an amazing job teaching English in China and she’d send them contact information when she was settled.
If anyone had been suspicious, she’d been long gone before she could see evidence of it.
Addie didn’t miss Boston or her cold father or even the furniture store that was supposed to be her legacy. That was also a surprise. Boston and her family had always been home, though not exactly a warm one after Mom had died when Addie’d been a kid. Still, striking out and starting over as a faux single mom had been surprisingly fulfilling. If she discounted the terror and constant running.
But she wasn’t running right now. More and more, she was thinking of the Carson Ranch as home.
“You are a hopeless idiot, Addie Foster,” she muttered to herself.
She startled as the door swung open, the knife she’d been using clattering to the cutting board from nerveless fingers.
But it was only Noah who swept in, looking as he always did, like some mythical man from a Wild West time machine. Dirty old cowboy hat, scuffed and beaten-up cowboy boots. The jeans and heavy coat were modern enough, but Noah’s beard wasn’t like all the fashionable hipster ones she was used to. No, Noah’s beard was something of an old-fashioned shield.
She found herself pondering a little too deeply what he might be shielding himself from. Snapping herself out of that wonder, she picked up the knife. “You’re early,” she offered, trying to sound cheerful. “Dinner isn’t ready yet.”
It was another thing she’d surprisingly settled into with ease. They all three ate dinner together. Noah wasn’t exactly a talkative guy, but he listened. Sometimes he even entertained Seth while she cleaned up dinner.
He grunted, as he was so often wont to do, and slid his coat and hat off before hanging them on the pegs. She watched it all through her peripheral vision, forcing herself not to linger on the outline of his muscles in the thermal shirt he wore.
Yes, Noah had muscles, and they were not for her to ogle. Though she did on occasion. She was human, after all.
“Just need to call the vet,” he said.
“Is something wrong?”
“Horses aren’t right. Will there be enough for dinner if Ty comes over?”
“Of course.” Addie had gotten used to random Carsons showing up at the house at any time of day or night, or for any meal. She always made a little extra for dinner, as leftovers could easily be made into a lunch the next day.
Gotten used to. She smiled to herself as Noah grabbed the phone and punched in a number. It was almost unfathomable to have gotten used to a new life and think she might be able to stay in it.
Noah spoke in low tones to the vet and Addie worked on adding more lettuce to the salad so there would be enough for Ty. She watched out the window at the fading twilight. The days were getting shorter and colder. It was early fall yet, but the threat of snow seemed to be in the air.
She loved it here. She couldn’t deny it. The mountains in the distance, the ramshackle stables and barns. The animals she didn’t trust to approach but loved to watch. The way the sun gilded everything gold in the mornings and fiery red in the evenings. The air, so clear and different from anything she’d ever known before.
She felt at home here. More so than any point in her life. Maybe it was the circumstances, everything she was running from, how much she’d taken for granted before her sister had gotten mixed up with a mob boss. But she felt it, no matter how hard she tried to fight it.
She could easily see Seth growing up in this amazing place with Noah as something like a role model. Oh, it almost hurt to think of. It was a pipe dream. She couldn’t allow herself to believe Peter could never find them here. Could she?
Noah stopped talking and set the phone back in its cradle, looking far too grim. Addie’s stomach clenched. “Is everything okay?”
“Vet said it sounded like horses got into something chemical. Poison even,” Noah said gruffly with no preamble.
Any warmth or comfort or love of this place drained out of Addie in an instant. “Poison,” she repeated in a whisper.
Noah frowned at her, then softened that imperceptible amount she was beginning to recognize. “Carsons have some enemies in Bent. It isn’t unheard of.”
It was certainly possible. The Carsons were a rough-and-tumble bunch. Noah’s brother, Ty, could be gruff and abrasive when he was irritated. Grady was certainly charming, but he ran a bar and though she’d never spent any time there since the ranch and Seth took up most of her time, Laurel often spoke disparagingly of the clientele there.
Then there was Noah’s cousin Vanessa. Sharp, antagonistic Vanessa would likely have some enemies. Or Grady’s troublemaking stepbrother.
The problem was none of them lived at the ranch full-time. They came and went. Noah could be grumpy, but she truly couldn’t imagine him having enemies.
She, on the other hand, had a very real enemy.
“Are you sure?” she asked tentatively.
“Look, I know you’ve had some trouble in your past, but who would poison my horses to get at you?”
He had a point. A good point, even if he didn’t know the whole story. Peter would want her and Seth, not Noah or his horses. He’d never do something so small and piddly that wouldn’t hurt her directly.
“Trust me,” Noah said, dialing a new number into the phone. “This doesn’t have a thing to do with you, and the vet said if he gets over here soon and Ty helps out, we’ll be able to save them.” Noah turned away from her and started talking into the phone, presumably to his brother, without even a hi.
Addie stared hard at her salad preparations, willing her heart to steady, willing herself to believe Noah’s words. What would poisoned horses have to do with her?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She had to believe that, but everything that had felt like settling in and comfort and routine earlier now curdled in her gut.
Don’t ever get too used to this place. It’s not yours, and it never will be.
She’d do well to remember it.
October
NOAH FROWNED AT the fence. Someone had hacked it to pieces, and now half his herd was wandering the damn mountains as a winter storm threatened in the west.
He immediately thought of last month and the surprise poison a few of his horses had ingested. The vet had saved the horses, but Noah and Ty had never found the culprits. Noah liked to blame Laurel and her precious sheriff’s department for the crime still being unsolved, even though it wasn’t fair.
Whoever had poisoned the horses had done a well enough job being sneaky, but not in creating much damage. For all he knew it was some kids playing a dumb prank, or even an accident.
This right here was no accident. It was strange. Maybe it could be chalked up to a teenage prank, but something about all this felt wrong, like an itch he couldn’t reach.
But he had to fix the fence and get the cows before he could worry about wrong gut feelings. Noah mounted his horse and headed for the cabin. He’d have to start carrying his cell to call for help if these little problems kept cropping up.
What would Addie be up to? She’d been his housekeeper for two months now, and he had to admit in the quiet of his own mind, he’d gotten used to her presence. So used to it, he relied on it. She kept the cabin neat and clean, her cooking was better and better, and she and the boy... Well, he didn’t mind them underfoot as much as he’d thought he was going to.
Maybe, just maybe, he’d been a little lonely in that house by himself earlier in the summer, and maybe, just maybe, he appreciated some company. Because Addie didn’t intrude on his silence or poke at him for more. The boy was loud, and getting increasingly mobile, which sometimes meant he was crawling all over Noah if he tried to sit down, but that wasn’t the kind of intrusion that bothered him. He found he rather enjoyed the child’s drooly smiles and screeches of delight.
“What has happened to you?” he muttered to himself. He looked at the gray sky. A winter storm had been threatening for days, but it hadn’t let down its wrath yet. Noah had no doubt it would choose the most inopportune time possible. As in, right now with his cows scattered this way and that.
He urged his horse to go a little faster. He’d need Grady and Ty, or Vanessa and Ty if Grady couldn’t get away from the bar. Maybe even Clint could come over after school, assuming he’d gone today. This was an all-hands-on-deck situation.
But as he approached the cabin, he frowned at a set of footprints in the faint dusting of snow that had fallen this morning. The footprints didn’t go from where visitors usually parked to the door, but instead followed the fence line before clearly hopping the fence, then went up to the front window.
A hot bolt of rage went through Noah. Someone had been at that window watching Addie. He jumped from the horse and rushed into the house. Only when he flung open the door and stormed inside did he realize how stupid he looked.
Addie jumped a foot at her seat on the couch, where she was folding clothes. “What’s wrong? What happened?” she asked, clutching one of his shirts to her chest. It was an odd thing to see, her delicate hands holding the fabric of something he wore on his body.
He shook that thought away and focused on thinking clearly. On being calm. He didn’t want to scare her. “Somebody broke the fence and the cows got out.”
Addie stared at him, blue eyes wide, the color draining from her dainty face as it had the day of the poisoning. He’d assured her that had nothing to do with her, and he believed it. He believed this had nothing to do with her, too, but those footsteps and her reaction to anything wrong or sudden...
He wondered about that. She never spoke of Seth’s father or what she might be fleeing, and her actions always seemed to back up Laurel’s theory about being on the run from an abusive husband. Especially as she now glanced worriedly at Seth’s baby monitor, as if she could see him napping in his room through it.
Noah shook his head. He was being paranoid. Letting her fear outweigh his rational mind. He might have a bit of a soft spot for Addie and her boy, which he’d admit to no one ever, but he couldn’t let her fears become his own.
She was his employee. If he sometimes caught himself watching her work in his kitchen... A housekeeper was all he needed. Less complicated than some of the other things his mind drifted to when he wasn’t careful.
Luckily, Noah was exceedingly careful.
“Going to call in some backup to help me round them up.”
“Shouldn’t you call Laurel?” She paused when he scowled, but then continued. “Or anyone at the sheriff’s department?”
She had a point, but he didn’t want to draw attention to repeated issues at his ranch. Didn’t want to draw the town’s attention to Addie and that something might be going on, if it did in fact connect to her.
Maybe the smarter thing to do would be keep it all under wraps and then be more diligent, more watchful, and find whoever was pulling these little pranks himself. Mete out some Carson justice.
Yeah, he liked that idea a lot better.
“I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”
“Does this have to do with the poisoning? Do you think—”
Noah sent her a silencing look, trying not to feel guilty when she shrank back into the couch. “I’ll handle it. Don’t worry,” he repeated.
She muttered something that sounded surprisingly sarcastic though he didn’t catch the words, but she went back to folding the laundry and Noah crossed to the phone.
He called Ty first, then let Ty handle rounding up whatever Carsons could be of help. He didn’t tell Ty about the footsteps, but a bit later when Ty, Grady and Clint showed up and Noah left the cabin with them, he held Grady back while Ty and Clint went to saddle their horses.
“What’s up?” Grady asked. “You think this is connected to the poison?”
“I think I can’t rule it out. I don’t have a clue who’s doing it, but part of me thinks it’s some dumb kid trying to poke at a Carson to see what he’ll do.”
Grady laughed. “He’d have to be pretty dumb.”
“Yeah. I don’t want Addie to know, but...” He sighed. He needed someone besides him to know. Someone besides him on the watch, and Grady ran the one bar in town. He saw and heard things few other people in Bent did. “There were footprints at the window, as if someone had been watching her.”
Grady’s jaw tightened. “You think it’s the ex?”
“I don’t know what it is, but we need to keep an eye out.”
Grady nodded. “I’ll tell Laurel.”
“No. She’ll tell Addie. She’s just calmed down from the poisoning—now this. I don’t want to rile her more.”
“Laurel will only do what’s best. You know that.”
Noah puffed out a breath. “Addie’s settled from that skittish thing she was before. Hate to see her go back.”
“She’s not a horse, Noah.” Grady grinned. “But maybe you know that all too well.”
Noah scowled. “I want to know who poisoned my horses. I want to know who ran off my cattle, and I damn well want to know who’s peeping in my window.”
Grady nodded. “We’ll get to the bottom of it. No one touches what’s ours. Cow, mine or woman.” Grady grinned at the old family joke.
Noah didn’t. “No woman issues here,” he grumbled. But Grady was right in one respect. No one messed with the Carsons of Bent, Wyoming, and walked away happy or satisfied about it. For over a century, the Carsons had been pitted on the wrong side of the law. The outlaws of Bent. The rich, law-abiding Delaneys had made sure that legend perpetuated, no matter what good came out of the Carson clan.
It was a good thing bad reputations could serve a purpose now and again. He’d do anything to protect what was his.
Addie wasn’t his, though. No matter how he sometimes imagined she was.
He shook those thoughts away. “Will you stay here and watch out?”
“You could,” Grady suggested.
“Addie’d think that’s weird. I don’t want her suspicious.”
“That’s an awful lot of concern for a Delaney, cousin,” Grady said with one of his broad grins that were meant to irritate. Grady had perfected that kind of smile.
Noah knew arguing with Grady about the cause of his concern would only egg Grady on, so Noah grunted and headed for the stables.
Addie Foster was not his to protect personally. Grady’d do just as good a job, and Noah had cows to find and bring back home.
When that weird edge of guilt plagued him the rest of the night, as if his mission was to protect Addie and asking for help was some kind of failure, Noah had the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what the hell to do about it.
When Noah didn’t know how to fix a problem, he did the next best thing. He ignored it.
Chapter Three (#uc35f7e3b-0925-5a2a-81c6-0aab782a6dc3)
November
Addie hummed along with the song playing over the speaker at the general store. Seth happily slammed his sippy cup against the sides of the cart as she unloaded the groceries onto the checkout counter.
“I swear he grows every week,” Jen Delaney said with a smile as she began to ring up Addie’s items.
“It’s crazy. He’s already in eighteen-month clothes.” Addie bagged the groceries as Jen handed them to her.
It was true. Seth was growing like a weed, thriving in this life she’d built for them. Addie smiled to herself. After the horse poison and the fence debacle, things had settled down. She’d been here three months now. She had a routine down, knew many of the people in town and mostly had stopped looking over her shoulder at every stray noise. Sometimes nights were still hard, but for the most part, life was good. Really good.
Noah had assured her time and time again those two incidents were feud-related, nothing to do with her, and she was finally starting to believe him. She trusted Noah. Implicitly. With her safety, with Seth. Laurel had been right on that first car ride. Noah wasn’t always easy to read or the warmest human being, but he was a good man.
Which had created something of a Noah situation. Well, more a weirdness than a situation. And a weirdness she was quite sure only she felt, because she doubted Noah felt much of anything for her. On the off chance he did, it was so buried she’d likely not live long enough to see it.
“Addie?”
Addie glanced up at Jen. The young woman must have finished ringing everything up while Addie was lost in Noah thoughts. Something that happened far too often as of late.
Addie paid for the groceries, smiling at Jen while she inwardly chastised herself.
Noah Carson was her boss. No matter that she liked the way he looked or that she got fluttery over his gentle way with the horses and cows. And Seth.
She sighed inwardly. He was so sweet with Seth. Never got frustrated with the boy’s increasing mobility or fascination with Noah’s hat or beard.
But no matter that Noah was sweet with Seth, or so kind with her, he was off-limits for her ever-growing fantasies of good, handsome men and happily-ever-afters.
She glanced down at the happy boy kicking in the cart. Sometimes Seth gave her that smile with big blue eyes and she missed her sister so much it hurt. But it always steadied her, renewed any resolve that needed renewing.
She would do anything to keep him safe.
She pushed the cart out of the general store to where her truck was parallel parked, but before she reached it, a man blocked her way.
She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to move or say something, but he just stood there. Staring at her.
She didn’t recognize him. Everything about him was nondescript and plain, and still he didn’t move or speak.
“Excuse me,” she finally said, pulling Seth out of the cart and balancing him on her hip. “This is my truck.”
The man moved only enough to glance at the truck. Also a new skill for her, driving a truck, but Noah had fixed up one of the old ones he used on the ranch for her to use when she had errands.
The strange man turned his gaze back to her and still said nothing. He still didn’t move.
Addie’s heart started beating too hard in her chest, fear seizing her limbs. This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t...
She turned quickly, her hand going over Seth’s head with the idea of protecting him somehow. This man was here to get her. Peter had finally caught up with them. She had to run.
She could go back in the store and...and...
“Oof.” Instead of her intended dash to the store, she slammed into a hard wall of man.
“Addie.”
She looked up at Noah, whose hand curled around her arm. He looked down at her, something like concern or confusion hidden underneath all that hair and stoicism.
“Everything okay?” he asked in that gruff voice that suggested no actual interest in the answer, but that was the thing about Noah. He gave the impression he didn’t care about anything beyond his horses and cows, but he’d fixed up that truck for her even though she hadn’t asked. He played with Seth as if people who hired housekeepers usually had relationships with the housekeeper’s kid. He made sure there was food for Ty, room for Vanessa and Clint, and work if any of them wanted it.
He was a man who cared about a lot of people and hid it well.
“I just...” She looked back at where the strange, unspeaking man had been. There was no one there. No one. She didn’t know how to explain it to Noah. She didn’t know how to explain it to anyone.
The man hadn’t said anything threatening. Hadn’t done anything threatening, but that hadn’t been normal. “I thought I saw someone...” She looked around again, but there was no sign of anyone in the sunshine-laden morning.
“As in someone someone?” Noah asked in that same stoic voice, and yet Addie had no doubt if she gave any hint of fear, Noah would jump into action.
So she forced herself to smile. “I’m being silly. It was just a man.” She shook her head and gestured with her free hand. “I’m sure it was nothing.” Which was a flat-out lie. As much as she’d love to tell herself it was nothing, she knew Peter too well to think this wasn’t something.
She blew out a breath, scanning the road again. There was just no other explanation. He knew where she was. He knew.
“Addie.”
She looked back at Noah, realizing his hand was still on her arm. Big and rough. Strong. Working for Noah had made her feel safe. Protected.
But this wasn’t his fight, and she’d brought it to his door.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
“For what?” he asked in that gruff, irritable way.
Seth lunged for Noah, happily babbling his favorite word over and over again. “No, no, no.” Addie tried to hold on to the wiggling child, but Noah took him out of her arms with ease.
“Aren’t you supposed to be back at the ranch? You know I get groceries on Wednesdays. I could have picked up whatever for you.”
“It’s feed,” Noah said. “Couldn’t have loaded it up yourself with the baby.” He glanced at the grocery cart behind her. “We’ll put the groceries in my truck.”
“Oh, I can handle...”
“He always falls asleep on the way home, doesn’t he?” Noah asked as if it wasn’t something that he knew Seth’s routine. Or that he was letting Seth pull the cowboy hat off his head, and then smash it back on.
Noah moved for the cart, because you didn’t argue with Noah. He made a decision and you followed it whether you wanted to or not. Partly because he was her boss, but she also thought it was partly just him.
“Let’s get home and you can tell me what really happened.” Noah’s dark gaze scanned the street as if he could figure everything out simply by looking around.
She knew it was foolish, but she was a little afraid he could. “I swear, nothing happened. I’m being silly.”
“Well, you can tell me about that, too. At home.” He handed her Seth and then took the cart.
Home. She’d wanted to build a home. For Seth. For herself. But if Peter had found her...
She couldn’t let herself get worked up. For Seth’s sake, she had to think clearly. She had to formulate a plan. And she couldn’t possibly let Noah know the truth.
Noah didn’t think running away was the answer, that she knew after listening to his lectures to Clint.
Beyond that, regardless of his personal feelings for her—whether they existed deep down or not—he had a very clear personal code. That personal code would never let a woman and a baby run away without protection.
Which would put him in danger. Very much because of her personal feelings, she couldn’t let that happen.
“Okay. I’ll meet you back at the ranch.” She smiled pleasantly and even let him take the cart of groceries and wheel it down to where his truck was parked on the corner. She frowned at that. “If you were in town to pick up feed, why are you here?”
Noah didn’t glance at her, but he did shrug. “Saw the truck. Thought you might need some help loading.” Then he was hidden behind his truck door, loading the groceries into the back seat.
Addie glanced down at Seth. “I really don’t know what to do with that man,” she murmured, opening her own truck door and getting Seth situated in his car seat. She supposed in the end it didn’t matter she didn’t know what to do with him. If someone was here...
Well, Seth was her priority. She couldn’t be a sitting duck, and she couldn’t bring Noah into harm’s way. This wasn’t like the poison or the fence. This was directed at her. That man had stared at her. Whether or not those first two things were related didn’t matter, because this was about her.
Which meant it was time to leave again. She slid into the driver’s seat, glancing in her rearview mirror, where she watched Noah start walking back toward the store to return the now-empty cart.
Addie had become adept at lying in the past year. She’d had to, but mainly she only had to lie to strangers or people she didn’t know very well. Even that initial lie to Laurel, and the past three months of upholding it with everyone, hadn’t been hard. Pretending to be Seth’s biological mother was as easy as pie since he was hers and hers alone these days.
But finding a new lie, and telling it to Noah’s face—that was going to be a challenge. She changed her gaze from Noah’s reflection to Seth in the car seat. She smiled at him in the mirror.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ll take care of it.” Somehow. Someway.
* * *
NOAH HAD UNLOADED the groceries at the front door, and Addie had taken them inside, the baby monitor sitting on the kitchen table as they quietly worked.
He should have insisted they talk about what had transpired at the general store, but instead he’d gone back out to his truck and driven over to the barn to unload the feed.
Then he’d dawdled. He was not a man accustomed to dawdling. He was also not a man accustomed to this. Every time something bad had happened in the first two months, he’d been the one to find it. Little attacks that had been aimed at the ranch.
Whatever had shaken Addie today was about her. What she’d seen. He could attribute her shakiness to being “silly” as she said, or even her previous “situation” with her ex, but he didn’t know what that was. Not really. He certainly hadn’t poked into it. He was not a poker, and Addie was not a babbler. It was why this whole thing worked.
But she’d eased into life at the Carson Ranch. So much so that Noah, on occasion, considered thanking Laurel and Grady for forcing his hand on the whole housekeeper thing. She’d made his life easier.
Except where she hadn’t. Those uncomfortable truths he’d had to learn about himself—he was lonely, he liked having someone under his roof and to talk to for as little as he did it. He liked having her and Seth in particular.
Which was his own fault. She didn’t carry any responsibility for his stupid feelings. Even if he’d had a sense of triumph over the fact Addie didn’t jump at random noises anymore, and she didn’t get scared for no reason. Both with the poison and the fence, she’d walked on eggshells for a few days, then gotten back to her old quietly cheerful self.
He’d never told her about the footprints and they’d never returned. So maybe he’d overreacted then. Maybe he’d been silly, but whatever had rattled her at the store was something real. Which meant they needed to talk about it.
But he wasn’t the talker. He was the doer. Grady or Ty went in and did all the figuring out, and Noah brought up the rear, so to speak. He was there. He did what needed to be done, but he was no great determiner of what that thing was. He left that to people who liked to jack their jaw.
Which was when he realized what he really needed. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and typed a text. When he got the response he’d hoped for, he put his phone away and got back to his real work. Not protecting Addie Foster and whatever her issue was, but running a ranch.
He worked hard, thinking as little about Addie as possible, and didn’t reappear at the main house until supper. He stepped up onto the porch, scraping the mud off his boots before entering.
The blast of warmth that hit him was an Addie thing. She opened the west-facing curtains so the sun set golden through the windows and into the kitchen and entryway every day. Whenever he stepped in, she had supper ready or almost.
Seth slammed his sippy cup against his high-chair tray and yelled, “No!” Noah was never sure if it was a greeting or an admonition.
Noah grunted at the boy, his favorite mode of greeting. He sneaked a glance at Addie to make sure she still had her back to him, then made a ridiculous face that made Seth squeal out a laugh.
Noah advanced closer, but he noted Addie was slamming things around in the kitchen and didn’t turn to face him with her usual greeting and announcement of what was for dinner.
It all felt a little too domestic, which was becoming more and more of a problem. He couldn’t complain about being fed nightly by a pretty woman, but sitting down with her and her kid for a meal every day was getting to feel normal.
Integral.
Noah hovered there, not quite sure what to do. Laurel had assured him via text she’d come in and figure out whatever was up with Addie after he’d contacted her, but Addie did not seem calmed.
He cleared his throat. “Uh. Um, need help?” he offered awkwardly.
She turned to face him, tongs in one hand and an anger he’d never seen simmering in her blue eyes.
She pointed the tongs at him. “You, Noah Carson, are a coward. And a bit of a high-handed jerk.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, but Addie didn’t wilt. Not even a hint of backing down. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared right back at him. In another situation he might have been impressed at the way she’d blossomed into something fierce.
“Because?”
She huffed out a breath. “You went and told Laurel I was having a problem when I told you I was not.”
“But you were.”
“No. I wasn’t.” She pointed angrily at the table with the tongs. “Sit down and eat.”
He’d never seen much of Addie’s temper. Usually if she got irritated with him she went to some other room in the house and cleaned something. Or went into her room and played with Seth. She never actually directed any of her ire at him.
He didn’t know what to do with it. But he was hungry, so he took his seat next to Seth’s high chair, where the kid happily smacked his hands into the tiny pieces of food Addie had put on his tray before Noah walked in.
She slammed a plate in front of Noah. Chicken legs and mashed potatoes and some froufrou-looking salad thing. Usually she didn’t serve him, but he wasn’t one to argue with anyone, let alone an angry female.
She stomped back to the kitchen counter, then to the table again. She sat in a chair opposite him with an audible thump.
Her huffiness and sternness were starting to irritate him. He didn’t have much of a temper beyond general curmudgeon, but when someone started poking at him, things tended to... Well, he tended to avoid people who made him lose his temper. Addie’d never even remotely tested that before.
But she sure was now.
“I can handle this,” she said, leveling him with her sternest look. She shook out a paper towel and placed it on her lap like it was an expensive cloth napkin and they were in some upscale restaurant.
“What? What is this thing you can handle?” he returned evenly.
She stared right back at him like he was slow. “It’s nothing. That’s why I can handle it.”
Noah wanted to beat his head against the table. “You were visibly shaken this morning, and it wasn’t like it used to be.”
Her sharp expression softened slightly. “What do you mean?”
Noah shrugged and turned his attention to his food. “When you first got here you were all jumpy-like. This was not the same thing.”
She was quiet for a few seconds, so he took the opportunity to eat.
“I didn’t know you noticed,” she said softly.
He shrugged, shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth and hoping this conversation was over.
He should have known better. Addie didn’t poke at him, but she also didn’t leave things unfinished. “I need you to promise you won’t call Laurel like that again. The last thing I need is well-meaning people...” She trailed off for a few seconds until he looked up from his plate.
Her eyebrows were drawn together and she was frowning at her own plate, and Noah had the sinking, horrifying suspicion those were tears making her blue eyes look particularly shiny.
She cleared her throat. “I’ll handle things. Don’t bring Laurel into this again.” She looked up, as if that was that.
“No.”
“What did you say?” she asked incredulously.
“I said no.”
She sputtered, something like a squeak emanating from her mouth. “You can’t just...you can’t just say no!”
“But I did.”
Another squeaking sound, which Seth joined in as if it was a game.
Addie took a deep breath as if trying to calm herself. “A man stood in my way and wouldn’t move. He said nothing, and he did nothing threatening. It was nothing. Calling Laurel, on the other hand, was something. And I did not appreciate it.”
“If what happened this morning were nothing, it wouldn’t have freaked you out. What did Laurel say?”
“She said you’re an idiot and I should quit and move far away.”
“No, she didn’t.” He didn’t believe Laurel would say something like that, but there was a panicked feeling tightening his chest.
“Noah, this isn’t your problem,” Addie said, and if he wasn’t crazy, there was a hint of desperation in her tone, which only served to assure him this was his problem.
“You live under my roof, Addie Foster. You are my problem.”
She frowned at him as if that made no sense to her, but it didn’t need to. It made sense to him. The people in his family and under his roof were under his protection. End of story.
Chapter Four (#uc35f7e3b-0925-5a2a-81c6-0aab782a6dc3)
Addie ate the rest of her dinner in their normal quiet companionship. Quite honestly, she was rendered speechless by Noah’s gruff, certain proclamation.
You are my problem.
He had no idea what kind of problem she could be if she stayed, and yet no matter how many times she’d chastised herself to pack up and leave immediately, here she was. Cleaning up dinner dishes while Seth crawled in and out of the play tent she’d placed on the floor for him.
You are my problem.
She glanced at the door. Noah had stridden back outside right after dinner, which he did sometimes. Chores to finish up or horses or cows to check on, though sometimes she thought he did it just to escape her.
She sighed heavily. Noah made no sense to her, but she didn’t want to be his problem. He’d been nothing but kind, in fact proving to her that her sister’s determination after Peter that all men were scum wasn’t true in the least.
Noah might be hard to read and far too gruff, but he was the furthest thing from scum she’d ever met.
She glanced at Seth, who popped his smiling face out of the tent opening and screeched.
“Except for you, of course, baby,” Addie said, grinning at Seth. Growing like a weed. It hurt to look at him sometimes, some mix of sorrow and joy causing an unbearable pain in her heart.
He’d settled in so well here. Their routine worked, and what would she do when she left? Where else would she find this kind of job where he got to be with her? Even if she could find a job that would allow her to afford day care, they wouldn’t have the kind of security she needed. Seth always needed to be with her in case they needed to escape.
Like now.
She squeezed her eyes shut. She was in an impossible situation. She didn’t want to put Noah—or any of the Carsons—at risk of Peter, but if she ran away without thinking things through, she risked Seth’s well-being.
“No! No! No!” Seth yelled happily, making a quick crawling beeline for the door.
Addie took a few steps before scooping Seth up into her arms, a wriggling mass of complaint.
“He’s not back yet,” Addie said gently, settling Seth on her hip as she moved to the windows to close the curtains for the night. Sometimes, though, she and Seth stood here and watched the stars wink and shimmer in the distance while they waited for Noah’s last return of the evening.
It felt like home, this place. Even with a man whose life she didn’t share and was her boss living under the same roof. It was all so right. How could she leave?
And how can you stay?
She shook her head against the thought and closed the curtains. As she stepped back toward the kitchen to gather Seth’s tent, she noticed something on the floor.
An envelope. Odd. Dread skittered through her. Noah always brought the mail in when he came to grab lunch. He always put it in the same place. Which was most definitely not the floor.
Maybe it had fallen. Maybe someone had managed to shoehorn the envelope through the bottom of the door; most of the weather stripping was in desperate need of being replaced.
Her name was written in dark block letters. With no address. She swallowed, her body shaking against her will.
Seth wiggled in her arms and it was a good anchor to reality. She had a precious life to keep safe. Somehow. Someway. She was the only one who could.
She forced herself to bend down and place Seth gently on the floor. He crawled off for the tent, and with a shaking hand Addie picked up the envelope.
Slowly, she walked over to the table and sat down. She stared at it, willing her breathing to even and her hands to stop shaking. She’d open it, and then she’d know what her next move would have to be.
She forced one more breath in and out and then broke the seal of the envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper. Feeling sick to her stomach, Addie unfolded the paper until she could see text.
I see you, Addie.
She pressed her fingers to her mouth, willing herself not to break down. She’d come this far. She couldn’t break down every time he found her. She just had to keep going, over and over again, until he didn’t.
She wanted to drop the paper. Forget it existed. But she didn’t have that option. She folded it back up and slid it inside the envelope, then pushed it into her pocket. She’d keep it. A reminder.
He wanted her scared. She didn’t know why that seemed to be his priority when he could have her killed and take Seth far away.
There was no point trying to rationalize a sociopath’s behavior. She knew one thing and one thing only: Peter wouldn’t stop. So neither could she.
If she’d been alone, she might have risked staying in one spot. Just to see what he would do. But she wasn’t alone. Now she had to protect Noah and the Carsons and Delaneys who’d been so kind to her.
She stood carefully, walking stiffly over to Seth. She pulled him out of the tent, much to his screaming dismay.
She patted his back. “Come on, baby. We don’t have much time.” She glanced at the windows where the curtains were now pulled. Was he out there? Waiting for her? Was it all a lure to get her to come out?
Were his men out there? Oh, God, had they hurt Noah? True panic beat through her. She could escape. She’d had enough close calls—a landlord letting her know a man had broken into her apartment, noticing a broken motel window before she’d stepped inside—to know she could find her way out of this one.
But what if they’d hurt Noah? She couldn’t leave him. She couldn’t let them...
Seth was bucking and crying now, and Addie closed her eyes and tried to think. She couldn’t rush out without thinking. She couldn’t escape without making sure Noah was okay, which was not part of any of the escape plans she always had mapped out in the back of her mind.
She should call Laurel. She hated to call Laurel after yelling at Noah for doing so, but this wasn’t about her pride or her secrets. It was about Noah’s safety.
Seth was still screaming in her ear, kicking his little legs against her. Addie retraced her steps, perilously close to tears.
She made it to the kitchen and fumbled with the phone. She was halfway through dialing Laurel’s number when the front door squeaked open. Addie dropped the phone, scanning the kitchen for a weapon, any weapon.
If she could make it two feet, there was a butcher knife. Not much of a weapon against a gun, but—
Noah stepped inside, alone, his dark cowboy hat covering most of his face as he stomped his boots on the mat. When he glanced up at her, her relief was short lived, because there was a trickle of blood down his temple and cheek.
Addie rushed over to him, Seth’s tantrum finally over. “Oh, my God, Noah.” He was okay. Bleeding, but okay. She flung herself at him, relief so palpable it nearly toppled her. “You’re okay,” she said, hugging Seth between them.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Noah grumbled, a hard wall against her cheek.
Which was when she realized she’d miscalculated deeply. Because he would know everything was wrong now, and she had no way of brushing this off as being silly.
* * *
HE FELT ADDIE stiffen against him and then slowly pull away. She did not meet his gaze, and she did not answer his question.
He was a little too disappointed she wasn’t holding on to him anymore. “Addie,” he warned, too sharp and gruff. But the woman affected him and he didn’t know how to be soft about it. “What is it?”
“You’re...bleeding,” she offered weakly, still not looking at him.
“Yeah, one of my idiot cousins left a shovel in the middle of the yard and I tripped right into the barn door. What’s going on? And don’t lie to me. Just be honest. I’m not in the mood to play detective.”
“Are you ever in the mood for anything?” she muttered while walking away from him, clearly not expecting him to catch her words.
“You’d be surprised,” he returned, somewhat gratified when she winced and blushed. Still expressly not looking at him. It grated. That she was lying to him. That today was one big old ball of screwy.
That when she’d thrown herself at him he’d wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her there. Worst of all, her and the kid.
“So, I just thought... I thought I heard something and—”
“Bull.” Did she have any idea what a terrible liar she was? It was all darting eyes and nervous hand-wringing.
“Well, I mean, maybe I didn’t hear anything, but when I was closing the windows there was a bird and—”
“Bull.”
She stomped her foot impatiently. “Stop it, Noah.”
“Stop feeding me bull and I’ll stop interrupting.”
She frowned at him and shook her head and heaved an unsteady exhale. She looked frazzled and haunted, really. Haunted like she’d been when she’d first gotten here, but he’d never seen her look panicked.
She walked over to the tiny kitchen, where Seth’s tent was on the floor. She crouched down and let the boy crawl inside. She watched the kid for a second before walking over to a drawer and pulling out a washcloth. She wet it at the sink, then moved to the cabinet above the oven where they kept a few first aid things and medicine. She grabbed a bandage before returning to him.
She stood in front of him, gaze unreadable on his. She stepped close—too close, because he could smell dinner and Seth’s wipes on her. That shouldn’t be somehow enticing. He wasn’t desperate for some domestic side of his life.
But she got up on her tiptoes and placed the warm cloth to where he’d scraped his forehead on the edge of the door. She wiped at the cut, her gaze not leaving his until she had to open the bandage.
Her eyebrows drew together as she peeled it from its plastic and then smoothed it over his forehead, her fingertips cool and soft against his brow. She met his gaze again then, sadness infusing her features.
“Noah, I have to leave.”
He studied her, so imploringly serious, and, yeah, he didn’t think that was bull. “Why?”
She glanced back at Seth, who was slapping his hands happily against the floor. “I just do. I can’t give any kind of notice or time to find a new housekeeper. I have to go now.” She glanced at the window, vulnerability written into every inch of her face that usually would have made Noah take a big old step back. He didn’t do fragile, not a big, rough man like him.
But this wasn’t about smoothing things over. This was about protecting someone who was very clearly in trouble.
“You’re not going anywhere. You just need to tell me what’s going on and we’ll figure it out.”
She looked back at him, expression bleak and confused. “Why?”
“Why?” He wanted to swear, but he thought better of it as Seth crawled over to his feet and used Noah’s leg to pull himself into a standing position. Addie needed some reassuring, some soft and kind words, and he was so not the man for that.
But he was the only man here, and from everything Laurel and Grady had told him, and from Addie’s own actions, Noah could only assume she’d been knocked around by Seth’s father and feared him even now.
Softness might not be in him, but neither was turning away from something a little wounded.
“You’re a part of the house. You’ve made yourself indispensable,” he continued, trying to wipe that confused bleakness off her face.
“No. No. No,” Seth babbled, hitting Noah’s leg with his pudgy baby fingers.
Noah scooped the kid up into his arms, irritated that Addie was still standing there staring at him all big-eyed and beautiful and hell if he knew what to do with any of this.
“You didn’t just take a job when you came here—you joined a family,” he said harshly. “We protect our own. That wasn’t bull I was feeding you earlier. That is how things work here. You’re under Carson protection.”
“I’ve never known anyone like you,” she whispered. Before that bloomed too big and warm and stupid in his chest, she kept going. “Any of you. Laurel, Grady. Jen, Ty. The whole lot of you, and it’s so funny the town is always going on about some feud and Grady and Laurel cursing everything, but you’re all the same, all of you Carsons and Delaneys. So good and wanting to help people who shouldn’t mean anything to you.”
“You’ve been here too long for that to be true. Of course you mean something to us.” He cleared his throat. “Besides, you’re a Delaney yourself by blood.”
She looked away for a second, and he couldn’t read her expression but Seth made a lunge for her. One of his favorite games to play, lunging back and forth between them. Over and over again.
Addie took Seth, but she met Noah’s gaze with a soft, resigned sadness. “I’m not safe here. More importantly, Seth isn’t safe here. We have to go.”
“Where?”
“What?”
“Where will you go that you’ll be safe?”
“I...” She blew out a breath, that sheen of tears filling her eyes, and if this hadn’t been so serious, he would have up and walked away. He didn’t do tears.
But this was too big. Too important.
“I don’t know,” she whispered, one of the tears falling over her cheek. “I’m not sure anywhere will ever be safe.”
Noah had the oddest urge to reach out and brush it away. He tamped that urge down and focused on what needed to be done. “Then you’ll stay.”
“Noah.”
“If you don’t know where to be safe, then you’ll stay here where a whole group of people are ready and willing to protect you and Seth.”
“I can’t put any of you in this, Noah. It’s dangerous.”
“Not if you tell us what we’re up against.” Not that it’d change his mind. He’d fight a whole damn army to keep her here.
Because she was useful. Like he’d said before. Integral. To his house. To the ranch. That was all.
“Promise me you’ll stay put.” They were too close, standing here like this. Even as Seth bounced in her arms and reached for his hat, their eyes didn’t leave each other.
But she shook her head. “I can’t, Noah. I can’t promise you that.”
Chapter Five (#uc35f7e3b-0925-5a2a-81c6-0aab782a6dc3)
Addie knew the next step was to walk away. Run away, but Noah’s gaze held her stuck. She was afraid to break it, that doing so might break her.
She’d been strong for so long, alone for so long. She had to keep being that, but the allure of someone helping... It physically hurt to know she couldn’t allow herself that luxury.
“Here are your choices,” Noah said in that low, steady voice that somehow eased the jangling nerves in her gut. “You can try to run away, and I can call every Carson, hell, and Delaney, in a fifty-mile radius and you won’t get two feet past the town limits.”
Irritation spiked through her. “Noah, you—”
“Or you can sit down and tell me what’s going on and we can fight it. Together.”
Together.
She couldn’t wrap her mind around this. Protection and together. Because she was his employee? Because she lived under his roof? It didn’t make any kind of sense.
Her father had cut off Kelly when she’d dropped out of school and refused to work at the furniture store. Then when she’d asked him for help in Kelly’s final trimester when the depth of her trouble with Peter was really sinking in, he’d refused to help.
He’d told Addie to never come home again if she was going to help Kelly.
If a father had so little love for his daughters, why was a friend, at best, so willing to risk himself to protect her?
“Telling me would be much easier,” Noah said drily.
It sparked a lick of irritation through her. She didn’t care for this man of such few words ordering her around. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. You aren’t my keeper. You aren’t even...” She trailed off, because it wasn’t true. No matter how quiet and stoic he could be, he had become her friend. Someone she relied on. Someone she worked with to keep the Carson Ranch running. It had given her so much in three short months, and she’d pictured Seth growing up here, right here. A good man.
Just like Noah.
Noah was her friend. Something like a partner, and wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t that make all this seem possible? Which was why she couldn’t. She just couldn’t. She’d made a promise to herself. No one else got hurt in this.
“Noah, the truth is, I care about you.” Far more than she should. “I care about all of you—Laurel and Grady and Jen and...the lot of you who’ve made me feel like this was home.” She glanced toward the window, but she’d closed the curtains. Was someone out there? Waiting? Would they attack? “But the kind of danger I’m in is the kind I can’t bring on all your heads. I couldn’t live with myself.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” he said, still standing so close and so immovable. Like he could take on the evil that was after her. “I think you’d do anything, risk anything, to keep Seth safe.”
Her chest felt like it was caving in. Because he was right. She would do anything. She didn’t want to bring the people who’d been so good to her into the middle of it, but what if it was the best bet to keep Seth safe?
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