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

  Chapter 13

  The rainstorm pounded down on the metal roof. The night sky flashed with one lightning strike after another. Thunder roared and shook the earth. By the next morning, just as Mary predicted, the river had flooded. Fish were swimming in the front yard, and Mary was out wading through it all on the way to the mailbox. Colton and Elsie came out onto the porch. “Hey, you two,” Mary called to them. “The canoes are up by the stables. Go have some fun. Breakfast will be ready in an hour.”

  Elsie looked at Colton. “Do you want to try it out? It looks fun!”

  “Sure, we don’t have anything to do until after breakfast anyway.”

  They shared a canoe and paddled toward the woods. Elsie’s eyes were big with the wonder of it all. They floated by the mailbox and through the covered bridge. Elsie took pictures, laughing at the change that water can make to the landscape.

  All at once, Elsie grabbed Colton’s arm. “Colton, look over there. Is that a snake coming toward us?”

  “Oh, that’s a nasty one. Here, give me your paddle.” Colton took both paddles and splashed at the snake, trying to dissuade him from coming in their direction. But the snake was determined and headed straight toward them.

  Colton had only one option left. He took out his revolver and shot its head off. “Water moccasins are territorial and aggressive.”

  Elsie relaxed and stopped digging her nails into Colton’s arm. “Sorry, keep that gun handy. I am not afraid of much, but snakes are the worst.”

  Elsie waved at Henry, who had stepped out onto the porch, to let him know they were all right.

  They continued paddling toward the river. The water was moving south toward the gulf. Large, dead tree trunks had broken through some of the fencing. This flood would require some repair work.

  Once they got to the river, they were swept downstream with the rushing water. It was all Colton could do to keep the canoe straight as the white-tipped water splashed around them. “This was a mistake, Elsie. We didn’t bring life jackets. You are going to have to help me paddle, or we could dump over.”

  Elsie started paddling as they were swept around a bend and hit a log jam. The canoe capsized, and their paddles were swept downstream. “Stay with the canoe,” Colton shouted as he pushed off to get the paddles.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what he thought was an alligator fighting the current to get upstream. “Elsie, get out of the water!” he yelled as he reached the back end of the canoe. Elsie got some footing and pulled as Colton pushed, and together they wrangled the canoe up onto the muddy bank.

  They sat on top of the canoe to catch their breath. “Do you suppose they will wait breakfast for us?” Elsie gave a weary smile.

  “Do you think they would bring room service?” Colton smiled wryly.

  They tipped the water out of the canoe and got in to try again. This time they aimed for the opposite shore and paddled hard. The river carried them downstream until they found an inlet and could paddle out of the main flow of the river.

  Colton pointed out an alligator that was swimming toward the lake.

  “You know,” Elsie said, “I think I have a problem with reptiles in general.”

  Colton laughed. “These reptiles are nothing. Let’s hope we don’t come across a pile of fire ants floating along looking for a place to climb up out of the river.”

  Elsie’s arms hurt. “I don’t think Mary had any idea the storm was going to dump so much water or she wouldn’t have recommended it.”

  They were exhausted but paddled slow and steady upstream until they reached the barn.

  Chapter 14

  Elsie and Colton waded from the barn to the front porch. They almost walked into a floating pile of crawling fire ants. Elsie could see the fun that would have been.

  They were both soaking wet and stank of river mud. Henry looked a little sheepish when he gave them both towels. “Mary is sick about recommending you two go canoeing. She had no idea it would be such a torrent. We wanted to send someone to rescue you, but we weren’t sure they would be able to get back either.”

  Mary came rushing out with chocolate chip cookies on a plate. “Oh, my dears, I am so happy to see you back safe and sound. I am so sorry.”

  Colton rubbed his head with the towel. His face brightened when he saw Mary. “It was okay. We’re both fine.”

  Elsie grabbed her towel. “Yes, we had quite the adventure. I saw an alligator.”

  Henry and Mary stepped back inside, and Elsie turned to Colton. “Henry is such a great man, don’t you think? I love the two of them. They seem so happy together, and they really enjoy running this ranch. I can see why my grandfather and Henry are friends. Once this is cleared up, maybe they can get together again.”

  Colton helped Elsie as they walked up the back stairs. He agreed with her 100 percent.

  “I have a busy night tonight. I am meeting with my commander, and I may not see you until tomorrow. He said he should have good news.” Colton leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Yum, river mud.”

  Elsie stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “River mud topped with chocolate chip.” They both laughed as they went into their rooms to shower. Elsie was so happy to get that river mud off of her. Mary told them to leave their clothes in a basket she had provided and that she would get the mud out of them.

  After she had put on a new pair of jeans and a western shirt, Elsie decided to go down to the porch and see if there was any news. “Hi, Henry. I hope this muddy water is good for your hair. I have been making a habit of swimming in it lately.” She settled into one of the seats. “Is there any news?”

  “Colton said he would have something to tell us soon. He just stopped by the kitchen for more cookies.”

  Colton came out with a whole sack of cookies. He smiled sheepishly. “Mary insisted I give some to my commander.”

  Henry looked concerned as he walked over to Colton.

  “What’s up, Henry?”

  “Carson found footprints around the stables and up here on the back side of the ranch house.”

  “I will check the tapes. If the Robertsons left their room last evening, we will have a pretty good idea whose footprints they are.” Colton sat down in a rocking chair. “My commander said they were working on something that could put an end to all of this. If they were successful, I will find out tonight.”

  Elsie thought Colton seemed anxious to be finished with his mission—to be finished with her. At the end of the week, they would both return to their lives and most likely never see each other again.

  She yawned. “I am going to go to bed early. I’m exhausted. Please wake me up if anything important happens.” Elsie went to her room and put on her long, soft bathrobe and curled up on her bed.

  She leaned back on the pillows and called her grandfather. “Hi, Grandpa, Henry filled me in on what this is all about.” She couldn’t say too much on the phone. “I just wanted you to know that I am fine and things may be coming to an end down here.”

  “Hi there, favorite granddaughter! I am sorry this has become much more than I foresaw.”

  “It’s going to be fine, Grandpa. Don’t worry.”

  “It is so beautiful here, Elsie, it’s hard to worry. I am sitting on the front porch looking at those snowcapped mountains across the valley.”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Elsie sighed. “I was hoping that when I am done here, I could come up there for some time to think and get my life in order.”

  “Yes, of course. Come here for as long as you want. Grandma and I will head back home when this is over. Maybe I will buy that house next door now that our neighbors will be moving.” Chip chuckled.

  She hesitated. “Grandpa, did they tell you about your neighbors?”

  “Yes, they told me. It’s just too dang bad, Elsie. He was a great golfing partner. I guess there was a reason he was always so agreeable when I didn’t want to keep score.” Chip laughed. “When I think of all those mulligans he let me
take, it just takes the fun out of the memories.”

  “Grandpa, I’m glad you haven’t lost your sense of humor, but…” Elsie burst into tears.

  “Elsie, honey, what’s wrong?” Chip’s voice sounded on the verge of tears too.

  “Well, I found someone who I think I could love. I think he loves me too, but he doesn’t know it. And I’m going to lose him once this week is over.”

  Elsie blew her nose and felt much better. What was wrong with her, blubbering like this? Thank heavens she hadn’t done it in front of Colton. She normally had total control of her emotions, but this week had put her completely off balance.

  “I’m sorry. I am just stressed. I’ll be so glad when I can get up to those beautiful mountains. Things will look much better once I get up there.”

  Chip growled into the phone. “If that man has any brains in his head, he is going to realize he can’t live without you. Elsie, you are a remarkable woman—you’re talented in so many ways. He would have to be plum dense not to make sure he put you right in the middle of his life.”

  “Thanks, Grandpa, but you’re kind of obligated to feel that way.” Elsie smiled. “I feel much better now. I love you, and I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Okay, dear, we love you!” Chip hung up the phone.

  Henry came up and knocked on Elsie’s door. “Hi, Elsie.” He paused when he saw her face. “You look like you have been crying. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, everything’s fine. I was just talking to my grandfather. What’s up?”

  “I have been monitoring the Robertsons’ computer activity, and it looks like they have been researching Colton’s family. You would never guess from knowing him, but that family is worth billions.” Henry whistled.

  “Henry, I don’t care how much his family’s worth. But the real question is why do they?” Elsie was worried and followed Henry down the back stairs in her bathrobe. She was surprised to see the ranch house had another floor under the main level.

  When they got there, Henry unlocked the door, and to Elsie’s amazement, there was a large twenty-by-twenty-foot room full of computer equipment and camera feeds. She could see every bit of the ranch, inside and out.

  “Henry, is there anywhere on this ranch that you can’t see?” Elsie was wondering if her picnic kissing episode was recorded here somewhere.

  Henry was aghast at the question. “Of course! The rooms are not monitored at all. Nor are any of the gathering spaces inside the ranch house. Our spa, workout room, and inside pool aren’t monitored either.”

  “Wait, you have a spa here and an inside pool?” Elsie could really use a good massage to lift her spirits, and a manicure and pedicure or a facial sounded wonderful. The military hadn’t afforded her many spa days. Elsie had to laugh out loud.

  Henry smiled. “Hey, follow me and I will give you the tour. It’s all hidden.”

  They walked through a tunnel and came up into a large building. The pool was to the left, and a doorway to a world-class spa was to the right.

  “Where are we?”

  “That large, old broken-down barn in the pasture behind the ranch house is just a façade. This building is inside of it.”

  “But I never see any of these workers coming and going.”

  “We have a tunnel that goes under the highway to that parking facility by the gas station. I have a guard over there, and we own the gas station. The staff goes into a back room at the station and down the stairs to the tunnel.” Henry turned a corner, and to Elsie’s amazement, there was a greenhouse with a pond and a sandy beach.

  “I don’t mean to be nosy, but this must have cost a ton to build.” A small suspicion began to tickle her. The missing gold.

  Henry burst out laughing. “I know what you are thinking, but our customers pay a pretty penny to stay here. And over the years we’ve used that money to add one thing after the other. The helipad was last year.”

  “Well, all I have to say is you have been holding out on us.” She reached down and took a chocolate from a beautiful bowl full of European goodies.

  “The customers who want the full ranch experience pay a fortune. Their keys open the underground tunnel. The other customers don’t even know it exists.

  They arrived back at the computer room just as Colton came down the stairs, smiling. “Hey, guys, I have good news.”

  “Well, that would be nice for a change.” Elsie opened the door to head into the surveillance room. Colton followed Henry and did a double take at Elsie’s bathrobe attire.

  He shut the door and pulled up a chair to sit facing Henry and Elsie. “Commander Buckner’s report is as follows: The envelope contained a map of the location of gold that was lost in the war. We took a recovery group over, and the gold was not there. However, there have been four earthquakes since it was buried. The cave opened up to the sea, and during the last earthquake a large portion of the shoreline fell into a deep crevasse in the ocean floor.” He leaned back in his chair. “It’s gone, so now they need to get the word out. Tonight, PBS is giving a news report with video of the search. The publicity should scare off the thugs, so I think we are safe now. I want to watch and see what the Robertsons do once they hear the report.”

  “Do they have enough to arrest the Robertsons?” Surely they wouldn’t be able to just go back to being her grandfather’s neighbors.

  “The commander said they are still working on the ones they arrested, and the Robertsons are under investigation.”

  Henry leaned over to show Colton the Robertsons’ latest computer searches.

  “Why are they searching my family’s businesses? I am heading out to watch the Robertsons’ hotel. I’ll check into this when I get back.” Colton headed out of the room, wishing them both a good night.

  Elsie leaned back into her chair. “Henry, this is a great place you have. How did you come up with the idea?”

  “We inherited some money from Mary’s uncle, and that got us started. Because of the stuff that happened during the war, we have been trying to lay low, and this ranch idea was perfect. We both love the country, and it is fun meeting all kinds of people. It has been a great career. We are hoping, once this is over, your grandparents can come out.”

  Henry got up to leave, and she followed him out so he could lock up. “Good night, Elsie.”

  “Good night, Henry.”

  Chapter 15

  Elsie felt free and relaxed for the first time all week. Colton was watching the Robertsons, and their motive for going after her grandfather’s map was now gone. She was dying to get outside and run off all this stress.

  Once she got to her room, she quietly put on her running shoes and clothes and tiptoed out of the ranch house. She knew this was a bit dangerous, but with her training, it wasn’t like she would be helpless.

  An evening run in the cool night air was perfect. After that breakdown with her grandfather, it was obvious she needed some exercise. She started running around the lake. The gulf breeze was blowing strong. “Ah, this is heaven.” Her muscles were working, and her endorphins were pumping. She ran around the lake twice and then decided to head down the road to the river. She normally ran five miles a day. There was such freedom in running, particularly in the country with no roads, no stop signs, no barriers.

  She felt a sharp pain on her outer thigh. Her eyes widened as she glanced down and recognized the tranquilizer dart jutting out from her leg. Two steps later, she collapsed on the river road.

  Colton watched from a secluded location as the Robertsons loaded their luggage into the car. Colton followed them at a distance as they left town and headed toward Houston. When he was sure they were really leaving, he turned around and headed back to the ranch.

  He felt good about how things were wrapping up. Elsie and her grandfather should be safe now. He had to admire Henry and Mr. Warner, these men of character; still following orders long after they were out of the military. They’d never made a try for the gold; they’d never even opened the envelope. Men lik
e them were rare. He hoped to someday behave with as much valor.

  Now he just needed to face the prospect of either letting Elsie walk out of his life or begging her to make a life with him. The idea still scared him to death. He had so many fouled-up family views from his parents’ examples that he knew she would be better off without him. But could he live without her? Did he have the character to bow out and let her find someone who would be far better at this marriage business than he would? Or was he too selfish to let someone else have her? His ears were burning with jealousy even at the thought.

  When he arrived at the ranch house, he went upstairs to the room he and Elsie were supposedly sharing as man and wife. He entered quietly, in case she had already gone to sleep, but she wasn’t there. He ran to Henry’s room, but no one answered. Relieved that they were probably together, he went to the kitchen to get a glass of milk. Mary came in and told him that Henry had left to check out the gas station across the street.

  “Did Elsie go with him?” Colton set his empty glass in the sink.

  “Well, no. Elsie went to bed early tonight, and we haven’t seen her since.”

  Colton raced upstairs to her room again. He turned on the lights and checked all her belongings. Her running shoes were gone, so he raced outside to the lake path.

  Henry came up to him in a four-wheeler. “Mary told me.”

  Before Colton called his commander, he wanted to make sure she wasn’t just out running. He put the throttle on full and tore around the lake path and back into the woods. He used his flashlight, looking for trail markings and came to what looked like the print of her running shoes in the mud. He could see her prints running ahead of them, and then the prints stumbled and stopped. His blood turned to ice.

  Two men’s boot prints. She had been picked up and carried toward the neighbor’s property. Colton raced back to the ranch house. As he was driving, his phone rang. It was his dad. He ignored the call, driving as fast as he could.