Her Billionaire Protector (Texas Ranch Romance Book 2) Read online

  Colton was sitting at the gate a few seats away from Elsie, and women were nearly breaking their necks to get a good look at him as they walked by. Seriously had they no shame? She had to admit he was not hard to look at, but at least she was being covert about it.

  She decided to get back into military-mode and move forward. This was just another mission. She took a breath and blew it out slowly. I thought I was finished with this stuff.

  He was distracting. And that made things difficult. She’d almost gotten lost in those amazing blue eyes as she walked down the hallway earlier. And she was amazed at the strong emotions their tumble in the hallway had sparked. She laughed, remembering the surprise on his face when she’d pinned him. It had been impressive how quickly he’d turned the tables on her.

  Elsie got up from her chair and walked over to sit right next to Colton. “I believe in being direct, Mr. Reed. You’re on assignment to join me at the ranch this week, correct?” He hid his surprise well, but she could tell she’d hit the nail on the head. She continued before he could respond. “Don’t worry, you don’t need to answer that. Just tell me, are you a friend or a foe?”

  Colton put his papers down. “I am definitely your friend, and your grandfather’s.”

  “So you know my grandfather.” She was getting somewhere now. “Is he in danger?” It seemed unlikely—he hadn’t acted scared—but she needed to cover her bases.

  “No, I don’t think so.” Colton rested his hand on hers.

  Warmth spread up her arm, and before she could stop herself, she grinned. Then she jerked her hand away, shaking her head. What was it with this man? She couldn’t even touch his hand without having a jolt shoot through her. Elsie was starting to think she needed to move farther away from him just so she could think clearly.

  He moved his hand back to his lap. “Honestly, we’re not sure there is anything going on here. We just want to assist if there is.”

  “Why are they even aware of him at this stage in his life?” Elsie leaned closer to Colton, widened her eyes, and searched his face, hoping it would encourage him to open up.

  Colton loosened his collar. He cleared his throat and shook his head, laughing. “You are good. Tell you what, I’ll contact my commander to tell him I am no longer clandestine and see if I can read you in. You were military, right?”

  Elsie just shrugged. If he didn’t know who she was, she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. “I don’t trust you yet. Let me know when you’ve talked to your commander.” She moved back to her seat and away from his confusing effect on her.

  Chapter 5

  Colton felt the loss of her company as soon as she got up to leave. He knew he would have to play this carefully. He went over the mission’s background in his mind. It was irritating. All he really wanted to think about was their rumble in the utility hall and the kiss she’d prevented him from taking. It was probably for the best. What woman wanted to be kissed before she even knew the guy’s last name? He snorted. It was going to take a lot more than his looks to impress this woman.

  The ranch’s long crushed-limestone drive was lined with trees. Colton was impressed with the horses he saw in the pasture. He knew his horses and that was some very expensive horseflesh. From the road this place had looked pretty rundown, but, as he looked closer, he saw they had all the latest in ranching equipment. As they passed the barn, he spotted outside air-conditioning units and misters lining the sides. These horses enjoyed five-star accommodations.

  He was also impressed by the security cameras hidden in the trees and on the buildings along the way in. The automatic gate was steel, and he didn’t think anything smaller than a dump truck could break through. The rustic appearance from the road did not tell the real story of this place.

  Even the beauty of the ranch was hidden from the highway. As they passed the stables, a beautiful five-acre lake nestled at the bottom of a hill and was surrounded by a tree-lined road. A covered bridge crossed a small stream that fed into the lake. Benches lined the bridge. He could see himself sitting in the shade on those benches, fishing. Beyond the lake, the forest looked wild, but the trees closer to the house were manicured and park-like.

  The owners were waiting on the front porch as the car came to a stop. They particularly welcomed Elsie; wrapping her up in their arms and taking her personally to her room.

  Carson, the ranch manager, welcomed the rest of the guests. He was cowboy personified. Colton chuckled at the show he put on for the guests. His Stetson was pulled back just enough to see a puff of reddish-blond hair hanging down the top of his forehead.

  “Santa Anna passed through this ranch back when Texas was a territory fighting for independence from Spain. They say he buried a wagon full of gold on the way because it was slowing his retreat.”

  Some of the other guests sounded excited, chatting quietly with each other.

  “Yes.” Carson laughed. “We do have metal detectors you may use if you feel lucky.” He walked over to his horse and pulled himself up into the saddle. “The Dugans said they would be willing to make a bargain with y’all if you find any of it.”

  The guests, including Colton, laughed. He liked this man already. Carson then gave his horse a tap and galloped off to the barn.

  Colton was given a room facing the backyard. His mother would love this place. The bed was piled high with fluffy pillows—he’d never understood the need for so many pillows, they were just a nuisance that had to be removed to get into bed. Colton pushed his hand down on the mattress. That, at least, would be a definite improvement over military accommodations.

  The room was in a ranch motif, but this wasn’t like any ranch he was used to. He had a door which opened to a private balcony with a perfect view of the lake. Out on the deck, comfy double lounge chairs waited for tired ranchers to sit a spell in the mornings and read. To top off all of this excess, there was a basket of tropical fruit and Swedish chocolate on the nightstand. He had to admit, he’d missed the five-star hotels and catered meals that had been a part of his life before the military.

  The ranch definitely catered to a wealthy clientele. They promised private vacations where guests were only known by their first names and would never be bothered by the paparazzi. Colton liked the idea. With his family wealth, it would be nice to go somewhere and remain invisible to the public eye.

  Colton called down to the front desk and asked to be connected to Elsie’s room.

  She answered the phone. Her mellow tone bringing her face to his mind.

  He smiled. “Hi, are you free for dinner?”

  “Hello, Colton, we were just talking about you.”

  “Who’s ‘we’?”

  “Why don’t you come over and meet him? I am in room 202.”

  “I’ll be right there.” He loved this woman—she was making his job easy.

  Room 202 was next door to him. He felt like whistling—things were working out very well on this mission.

  He knocked on the door confidently.

  One of the owners opened the door and stepped back as Colton came into the room. He first noticed that her room was even more lavish than his, if that was possible. As his eyes scanned the room, he stopped at Elsie and gave her a wink. Then he turned to address the owner—Henry, wasn’t it? “Sir, my name is Colton Reed. I am here on orders from Commander Buckner.”

  Elsie rolled her eyes at him.

  “I am here to offer military assistance if that should be necessary.”

  “Well, Colton, I don’t know you, and no one informed me of your orders. You could easily be the problem instead of the solution, if you know what I mean,” Henry confided.

  Colton nodded his head in agreement. “I will contact Commander Buckner, and he will give us a scenario where you can feel confident in talking with him.”

  Elsie walked to the window and peered out over the grounds. “Do you think you are in danger, Henry?”

  Henry shrugged. “I don’t know. But I won’t feel completely safe until I can
get this to the right people.” Colton noticed the package Henry was holding.

  The other owner, Mary, came into the room looking quite upset. “Henry, that nice couple from France had to cancel their reservations. Apparently their son was killed in an auto accident.” She shook her head. “Those two men from Anchorage happened to call again asking if there were cancelations. So I gave the reservations to them.”

  Henry became very quiet. “Okay, dear, thank you.”

  Mary left the room.

  Henry sat back and slumped into a chair, wiping his brow.

  Elsie frowned at him. “So you are worried about this. What is this all about?”

  “The less you know, Elsie, the better.” Henry fiddled with the package. “I can take care of it for now.”

  Colton got up to leave. “Let me know how I can assist. In the meantime, I’ll stay close.”

  Elsie chimed in, “I’ll be staying close too, Henry.”

  Henry nodded to both of them. “I appreciate that. But for now, just act like normal guests. That change in reservations worries me. The couple who just cancelled is our most regular reservation. They come every year, and now their son is killed in an accident.” Henry stood up and started pacing the room.

  “Sir, I think it might be a good idea if you talk with Commander Buckner.”

  Henry nodded and sat back down. His brow furrowed.

  Colton dialed his commander’s private number. “Sir, I have Henry Dugan here. Would you care to talk to him? A potential situation has come up.”

  Henry walked out into the hall with the phone pressed to his ear, which left Elsie and Colton staring at each other. Elsie looked up to the ceiling and sighed. “Am I going to be left completely out of this? I do have experience with this type of situation.”

  Colton smiled. “Just because you can flip someone doesn’t mean you can handle something like this.”

  Just then, Henry came back into the room. He seemed relieved. “Your commander will be arriving by helicopter with some additional backup tomorrow morning. With luck, we’ll soon be finished with this uncomfortable situation, and we can relax and enjoy another week at the ranch.”

  Chapter 6

  The men said goodnight and left Elsie in her room. She was still steaming from Colton’s comment. She had put up with this for the last six years. Men just couldn’t imagine a woman as a valuable asset in these kinds of situations. It was hard, breaking down that mindset. Elsie sighed and lay back on her very soft bed. They would learn tomorrow morning how she liked to handle things. She figured she would just meet that helicopter herself and see if she could find out anything more about her grandfather. She fell asleep planning out her next moves.

  At five thirty the next morning, Elsie was hiding in the woods next to the back pasture. She’d brought her backpack with her and was waiting for the helicopter to arrive. As she bent down to add more branches to her hiding place, she heard footsteps coming from the neighboring property. They neared, branches crunching carelessly beneath their feet. She waited, her focus sharpening. Two men broke through the nearest shrubbery, both carrying guns. She didn’t think they saw her, but she ducked farther down just in case.

  As they passed, she heard one of them say, “Kill everyone but the old man. We can get what we want from him and be home by noon.”

  She lifted her rifle and shot tranquilizer darts in the back of their necks. Elsie waited for a few minutes to make sure the men had been alone. Then she ran over and tied them up securely.

  It took her awhile to pull them back further into the woods. “You need to go on a diet,” she muttered as she dragged the heavier of the two off the path. She still had a thing or two to learn from this meeting with the commander.

  A quick glance told her these men were not professionals. Their guns looked like gun show specials. The fat one had a beard that still held some of his breakfast. She could smell liquor on them as well. When she was finished, she had pictures of their faces and driver’s licenses and had frisked them for weapons. They should be out for about four hours.

  As soon as she’d finished, Colton and Henry walked by, chuckling as they enjoyed their morning walk, completely unaware of the threat she’d neutralized. Her annoyance grew.

  The thump of helicopter blades grew closer, and she moved to the edge of the tree line to get a better vantage point. The military chopper flew over low and landed on the helipad in the middle of the pasture. Henry’s hat blew off. Colton had his held tight in his hand.

  An officer and three men got out and greeted Henry. Colton stood to the side. She watched as Henry handed over the envelope her grandfather had given her. She was determined to know more about this, so she left her cover behind the trees and walked straight towards them. They all turned to watch her approach.

  As she came up to them, Commander Buckner asked, “Who are you?”

  Colton answered, “This, sir, is Elsie Warner.”

  She cleared her throat. “Gentlemen, Commander, are you going to tell me what’s going on? I do have clearance.”

  The commander didn’t seem forthcoming, so she added, “How about I trade information for the two guys tied up in the trees over there?”

  Henry’s gaze sharpened with concern. “What?”

  Her heart warmed toward him, and she softened her next sentence. “Yes, when I heard them talking murder, I used the tranquilizer gun.”

  Henry blew out a long stream of air. “That was close. Thank you, Elsie.”

  Commander Buckner took out his binoculars to scan the area. He barked at his team to run a search over the whole property.

  Colton smiled and winked at Elsie. Then the Commander sent him and another man to fetch the intruders from where Elsie had left them.

  They were panting when they returned. Colton was red in the face. Elsie raised an eyebrow, and he just shook his head in response as he dropped the larger man’s arms to the ground where he’d dragged him.

  She turned to the commander. “They’d planned on killing all of you except Henry.”

  The Commander turned his full attention to Elsie, admiration now in his eyes. “Excellent work. What service were you with, young lady?”

  “I was a SEAL, sir.” Elsie gave them her phone to access the pictures she’d taken of the men’s IDs.

  “Any chance I could talk you into reenlisting in my unit?” He smiled and handed back her phone.

  “No, sir, the important part of my life is about to begin. I plan to raise a family.”

  The commander nodded then took Henry aside. They sat in the helicopter, their faces serious. Henry opened the package and handed papers to Commander Buckner. They were talking and pointing to the papers and holding them up to look closer at something.

  Colton stood at her side, his arms just close enough to brush against hers. “Well done, Elsie.”

  Tingles spread over her skin, from his closeness or his words she couldn’t tell. “I don’t like to be underestimated.”

  He held up a hand. “After the airport, I’ll never make that mistake again.”

  Then the commander leaned out the door of the helicopter. “Sergeant, get that strategic map for me.”

  Henry stepped out of the helicopter, and the commander addressed all of them. “This isn’t over yet. We’ll see if we can get any information from these guys. I’ll keep you posted. We owe you, Elsie. Your actions today are to be commended.”

  After they took off, Colton told Elsie he had permission to fill her in. “I want to apologize for the comment I made last evening—it was condescending. You saved lives this morning. Thank you.”

  Henry walked over to them. “This hornet’s nest has stayed silent for forty years. And here it shows up with you. We owe you our lives Elsie.” Henry’s hands were shaking as he put them in his pockets.

  Henry hurried back to his guests. Elsie brimmed with curiosity over what had been in the package she delivered.

  Colton and Elsie took the long way back along the river as Colton
filled her in. The package she delivered had something to do with a gold shipment that went missing during the war.

  “We now know the people behind this are serious. But I think they must be short on financing, judging by the caliber of people they hired.”

  She looked over at Colton and smiled, hoping to break some of the tension. “I am happy to see you’re one of the good guys. Though, considering how easy it was to throw you at the airport, it’s not much of a relief.”

  She tossed a stick into the water and watched it float downstream. “I retired. I thought I was done with all this. All I really want is to start my family and live the quiet life, picket fence, bus stops, the whole thing.”

  Colton looked down and put his hands in his pockets. “It will be good to get this figured out so I can get back to my own ranch.”

  She could feel him pulling away. What had happened to all that flirting at the airport? Seriously, what was wrong with men? The minute a guy found out she wanted to settle down and raise a family, it’s like she’s a pariah. “Colton, I missed my morning run. I’ll see you later.” She jogged the rest of the way along the river and took another lap around the lake.

  There was no doubt she was attracted to Colton. And it would be nice to get to know him better. But at the first mention of family, he had shut down. If he had other plans for his life, at least it was good to know now, before she really got attached. She pushed herself harder, legs pounding into the soft earth. Their relationship was over before it began.

  She came in the back door of the ranch house and went up the back stairs to her room to shower and change. The shower was amazing. Spray came at her from all directions, and the shampoo was wonderful. She’d need to write the brand down—her hair looked great and felt so healthy. Once she was dressed, she went down for breakfast, disappointed but resolved.