Elle James - Bodyguard Under Fire

So far, he hadn’t seen her. For all he knew, she might not be here at all. The last correspondence he’d had from her was a letter asking where she could send the things he’d accumulated at her house. The address had been the same house she’d lived in with her mother in Wild Oak Canyon, but that had been a year ago. A lot changed in a year. He’d driven by that address when he’d gotten to town. A Hispanic family with two small children lived there now.

Chuck performed a clumsy about-face and headed back to the Wild Oak Canyon Resort staff quarters, his temporary lodging for the assignment Hank had given him.

His cover was as a handyman, fixing things around the resort and Cara Jo’s Diner, adjacent to the resort compound. Cara Jo Smithson, the most recent owner of the diner and the new property manager for the resort, would give him the particulars about the real assignment. He was to be a bodyguard for one of her employees. No one was to know that but Hank, Cara Jo and Chuck. Not even the employee. What was so special about that person that he needed protecting? Chuck wouldn’t know until Cara Jo returned from her supply run to Fort Stockton. She’d fill him in with all the particulars of the case then.

Hank had given him a key to one of the rooms in the resort staff quarters. The room was at the back of the resort closest to the diner. From what he could tell, there were only two staff rooms in this wing of the resort, and they shared a bathroom down the hall.

After settling his duffle bag in the room, Chuck had examined the exterior of the diner and the resort compound. Wild Oak Canyon’s Main Street and the resort had a quaint Wild West theme with weathered-wood storefronts, an old-style barbershop, a general store and a saloon with a hitching post out front. Cara Jo’s Diner was just like the rest of the town, only some of the weathered wood needed repair before someone got hurt or the building suffered further damage from wind and the elements.

Chuck noted weatherworn boards peeling up on the porch, along with a splintered railing and loose shingles on the roof. One of the eaves had rotted through and would need replacing. As soon as he had sufficient supplies, he’d go to work on those little fix-it items. They wouldn’t keep him busy for long. He hoped there was more work to be done on the inside of the resort or maybe the old livery stable. He preferred working outside, especially around animals. They weren’t as judgmental as people.

Until he had the supplies and his marching orders, he was at loose ends with energy to burn. Thus the ride, followed by a walk to the end of town and back.

Temperatures hovered close to ninety, even after the sun set and the stars came out to fill the night sky with their brilliance.

Chuck headed to the resort. The back door to the office remained locked, no light inside indicating Ms. Smithson’s return.

Sweaty and smelling of horse, Chuck decided on a shower before his meeting with the boss lady and clumped up the stairs to his room. After gathering soap, shaving gear and a towel, he slipped off his boots and socks and headed down the hallway.

A noise in the room beside his had him leaning in toward the door. A baby cried, and a woman’s voice talked softly, soothing it.

Chuck knocked on the door. Was Ms. Smithson younger than he’d thought? Did she have a baby?

After a long moment the door opened to a slim, pale-skinned young woman with dark hair piled in a messy bun on the back of her head. She clutched a baby in her arms, balancing a bottle under her chin as she juggled the door handle and tried to look up at him. “Yes?” she managed without dropping her chin-hold on the bottle.

“Are you Cara Jo?” Chuck asked.

She let go of the door and gripped the bottle, holding it for the baby to feed. “Oh, no, I’m Dana. Cara Jo is the owner of the diner. She lives above it.”

“Sorry, I’m supposed to meet with her about a job. I’m your new neighbor.” He jerked his head to the left toward his apartment door.

“Oh, you must be the handyman.” She balanced the bottle with her chin again and held out her hand. “I’m Dana. Cara Jo should be back any minute. She left early this morning for Fort Stockton to get supplies for the resort and diner. They said they’d be back by nine tonight. It’s almost nine now.”

“I’m Chuck Bolton. Nice to meet you, Dana.”

“Good to have a handyman around again. My, but you are very tall.”

He smiled. He got that a lot. At six feet five inches, he tended to be taller than most men. “I can see that you’re busy. I won’t bother you.” He glanced down at the baby, a bubbly, milky smile spreading across her face. Her brown hair curled across her forehead, and the big brown eyes were in sharp contrast to Dana’s cornflower-blue eyes. “Cute baby.”

Dana smiled down at the child in her arms. “Hear that, Charlie? He thinks you’re cute. Me, too, my sweet little baby girl.”

“I guess I’ll be seeing you around.” He chucked the baby under the chin and she reached out, snagging his finger in her tight little grip. “A little tiger, aren’t you?” He smiled down at the baby, his heart squeezing in his chest. He’d had dreams of him and PJ raising a family together. A strapping brown-haired, brown-eyed boy like him, and an angelic blond-haired, green-eyed girl the spitting image of her mother.

The phone rang in the apartment behind Dana. “Excuse me. Nice to meet you.”

Chuck turned away as Dana shut the door.

Yet another reminder of PJ and the family they should have had. He needed to get over her and get on with his life.

It just wasn’t that easy.

* * *

CARA JO DROVE the truck behind the resort and backed up close to the rear entrance of the diner. “I don’t know about you, but I’m past exhausted. What say we leave most of this stuff in the back until tomorrow, when we can get some help unloading?”

Peggy Jane Franks dropped down out of the truck and stretched. “Agreed. We can grab the perishables and store them in the walk-in refrigerator and call it a night. I want to see Charlie.”

Mentioning her daughter made PJ smile. An entire day away from her baby made PJ miss her so much it hurt.

Cara Jo dropped the tailgate and slid the ice chests full of everything from butter to frozen yogurt to the edge. The normal delivery truck had broken down in Fort Stockton, and they were running low on supplies. Otherwise they wouldn’t have made the long drive themselves.

Once they had the food stored in the freezer and refrigerator in the restaurant, PJ hurried up the back stairs of the resort, hoping to catch Charlie awake. They’d arrived later than she’d expected, and Dana would be tired and ready to go home.

PJ fit her key in the lock of her small apartment and pushed the door open. “Hey, Dana, I’m home.”

Dana looked up from bending over the crib, situated just inside the bedroom door. “Oh, it’s you.”

PJ laughed. “Yeah, it’s me. Expecting anyone else?”

Dana smiled. “No, no. I just met the new handyman Cara Jo hired out in the hallway a few minutes ago. I thought maybe he got lost on his way back to his room.”

“How’s my sweet Charlie?” PJ crossed the room, anxious to hold her daughter.

Dana lifted the baby out of her crib and handed her to PJ. “She was just about to nod off, but when she heard your voice, her eyes popped wide open.”

PJ smiled down at Charlie and hugged her against her. “Hey, sweetie, did you miss your mommy?”

Charlie cooed up at her, a toothless smile spreading across her face.

“Of course she did. The sun rises and sets on you, in Miss Charlie’s eyes.” Dana stared down at the child in PJ’s arms. “You’re so very lucky.”