Margaret Daley - Christmas Bodyguard

“I’m not gonna have any privacy?”

“At home, to a certain degree. Whenever you’re out, no.”

“I don’t have a say in this?”

“No,” he bit out between gritted teeth, slanting a look at his daughter.

Her mouth was set in a stubborn line. She swung her full attention out the window and crossed her arms over her chest.

The rest of the fifteen-minute drive was done in silence. A silence Slade relished because any conversation he and Abbey had would end up in an argument.

When he arrived at the estate, he pushed his opener and waited for the gates to slowly swing open. As a boy, he’d wanted to be a cowboy, ride his horse and camp outside. That was why he’d bought the property. Yet this period of house arrest until the stalker was found would be the most waking hours he’d spent on the ranch in years.

Instead, he worked. If he worked hard enough, he didn’t remember what he was missing or what he couldn’t change—most of the time. But every once in a while he thought about his wife. Losing her had been devastating. How much more would he have to lose?

“Dad, the gate’s open.”

Blinking, he straightened and focused on the task at hand—drive the car to his house and meet with the sheriff. Try to make some kind of sense of all that was happening to him and his daughter. Try to figure out who was behind this. Because when he found the person responsible, that guy would regret ever coming after his family.

As he passed through the gates and navigated the road to his house, he peered at the red Trans Am behind his vehicle. He wasn’t alone. He had help. Would it be enough?

Through the trees, the sight of his two-story white house with six columns across the front came into view—along with the sheriff’s car and a black SUV. Standing on the large porch that ran the length of the front of the antebellum home were Hilda, Mary, the sheriff and an older gentleman who must be Joshua Walker. When Slade pulled up in the circular drive and parked behind the sheriff’s vehicle, he slid his hands from the wheel and rubbed them on his pants. He couldn’t deny the fear that blanketed him at the moment, but he wouldn’t let others see it.

Abbey flounced out of the Lexus, and the slam of his passenger door prodded him to move. As he climbed from his car, Elizabeth parked her Trans Am behind his vehicle.

“You’ve got a nice little reception.” She nodded toward the porch as Abbey charged toward her grandmother, said something to her, then stomped to the black wicker settee a few yards away from the cluster of people in front of the open door. She plopped her book bag down by her feet.

“Yeah. You know, up until recently my life has been dull.”

“I think that’s about to change.”

“Let’s find out what happened here first. This might not be tied to the threats.” He hoped this was the case, although he doubted it. “I’m afraid I waited too long to upgrade the security system.”

Sheriff McCain ambled toward him and shook Slade’s hand. “I just got here. I haven’t had time to check the house out. I have a deputy checking the exterior, talking to your men. Hilda said she came home and found the front door wide open. Leaves had blown into the foyer. She walked inside and called out for Mary. When she didn’t respond, Hilda got out of the house and placed a call to me.”

“So you don’t know if anything was taken?”

“She didn’t see anything but didn’t go very far in. Mary filled me in about the photo you found this morning at your office.”

“I also received a threatening call against Abbey later at the office on my private line. I informed Captain Ted Dickerson of the Dallas police.”

“I’ll call him and let him know I have an interest in the case. We can coordinate our investigations.”

“As you no doubt know,” Slade said, gesturing toward Joshua then Elizabeth, “I’ve hired help. Ms. Walker will be Abbey’s bodyguard while Mr. Walker will be guarding me. He’s going to do a security assessment of my house today. Whatever it takes, I’ll make this place a fortress.”

“Good. You can never be too careful. I’m going inside and look around. You can come in when I think there isn’t any danger.”

“Okay.” When he and the sheriff joined Hilda, Mary, Elizabeth and Joshua, Slade said to the group, “Sheriff McCain is going inside to make sure it’s all right for us to go in.” As the law enforcement officer moved toward the entrance, his hand on his holster, Slade glanced around.

“Where’s Jake?” Slade’s foreman had been with him from the beginning, and he’d come to depend on him where the ranch was concerned. Jake would need to be kept informed because he knew this place better than most.

“I didn’t get hold of him. No one answered at the barn, and I thought I shouldn’t leave since the sheriff was on his way.”

Slade nodded. “He said something about working on the fence in the north pasture. I’ll let him know later what’s going on if the deputy doesn’t talk to him. I haven’t had a chance to apprise him of the threats. As soon as we get the all clear, Joshua, I want you to start your assessment. It’s obvious I could use more security.” As his first security measure, he needed to make sure Jake had his cell on him at all times.

“Will do.”

Slade peered at Abbey, who sat on the settee with her legs clasped to her chest, her chin resting on her knees. A pallor to her face, she looked shell-shocked. He made his way to his daughter and eased down beside her. “Okay?”

“Sure. What girl doesn’t want a maniac after her and a twenty-four-hour bodyguard?”

He settled his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey.”

She shrugged away and turned toward him. Tears misted her eyes. “I’ve done nothing wrong, and yet I’m the one who’s gonna feel like a prisoner. I just don’t understand all this.”

His heart twisted at the anguish in Abbey’s voice, her expression. One tear slipped down her cheek. He brushed it away with the pad of his thumb. Abbey fell into his arms and hugged him.

He flashed back to the last few minutes before Catherine passed away. Tears had leaked from her closed eyes to course down her face—the same face as his daughter’s. A stab of pain sliced through his defenses. His gaze linked with Elizabeth’s, full of concern, and for a few seconds the hurt melted away.

The sheriff poked his head out the doorway. “All clear. It looks like everything is in its proper place, but Slade and Mary, you’ll need to have a look around. At least for now, check the obvious things a thief would steal.”

If the person after him and his daughter had been in his house, Slade felt exposed just sitting on the porch. He scanned the terrain, noting the horses grazing in the open field to the left, but a stand of trees directly in front would be a good place to hide. He’d prefer everyone inside. “Can we all come in?”

Sheriff McCain nodded and stood back from the entrance. “I need to check with my deputy and see if he found anything outside or if any of your men saw anyone.”

Slade moved first into the house with Joshua on his heels. Abbey, Mary and Hilda followed with Elizabeth taking up the rear. Leaves littered the marble floor. A breeze from the door lifted several and swirled them around to land finally in the living room. He scanned the walls, making sure his couple of pieces of art were still hanging. The Manet over the mantel and the Degas between the two floor-to-ceiling windows were untouched. That fact relaxed the tense set of his shoulders and eased the roiling in his stomach. He’d bought the masterpieces for Catherine that last year she was so sick to cheer her up. She’d loved the impressionist period of art.