that morning? Sometime in the night? Had the old man been kidnapped? Had he been killed? There hadn’t been a lot of blood to indicate a death, but there had certainly been enough for Tanner to be extremely concerned about Eldridge’s well-being.
The formal dining room was a large room with a table that nearly stretched from one end to the other. Several large candelabras were positioned on a black-and-gold table runner and held fat, white pillar candles.
This was where the large family usually gathered to take their evening meal together. Breakfast and lunch were less formal. He gestured Josie into one of the high-backed chairs and then sank down in the chair next to her.
Josie’s scent wafted toward him, a heady combination of spices mingling with a fresh peach fragrance. He’d experienced a swift kick of physical attraction to her the moment he’d first laid eyes on her. Her long dark hair looked silky, and she might be small and petite, but her body was perfectly proportioned. But at the moment that was the last thing on his mind.
He reached up and rubbed the center of his forehead, where a headache attempted to take hold. Loud voices could still be heard coming from the parlor, where the family and other staff members were gathered together.
“Whatever happened in that bedroom, I’m in no way responsible,” Josie said. Her eyes simmered as she held his gaze. He couldn’t help but notice her eyelashes were lush and long.
“I’m aware of that. I just wish I knew what really did happen.”
“There were so many people. Are all of them family?”
He nodded. “Eldridge had two children, Fowler and Alanna, with his first wife, Darla. When Darla died Eldridge married Whitney, who had two children, Zane and Marceline. Eldridge and Whitney had three children together, Thomas, Piper and Reid. Well, actually, Piper was an orphan who they adopted. The only one who wasn’t in the bedroom a few minutes ago was Marceline.”
“Thank goodness I won’t be here long enough to try to keep them all straight,” Josie replied.
“They all have very distinct personalities, so once you’ve been around them for a short period of time it’s fairly easy to figure out who is who,” he replied. It was easier to focus on the Colton family dynamics rather than his fear for his boss and mentor.
The faint shriek of sirens was audible from somewhere outside, and before they halted their cry, Brianna Nugent flew into the dining room.
Tanner jumped out of his chair at the sight of his young nanny. “Brianna, what are you doing in here? Where are the girls?” A new concern whipped through him. Had something happened to them?
“Peggy said she’d watch them for a few minutes,” Brianna replied and tugged on the end of the thick blond braid that fell forward over her shoulder. “What’s going on? There’s so much negative energy in the air. It’s totally upsetting my chakra.”
Tanner drew in a breath and sought some modicum of patience before replying. “Eldridge is missing. I’m sorry about your chakra, but you really need to get back to the girls.”
“Do you mind if I burn some sage in the nursery to clear away some of the bad energy?”
Tanner stared at her in disbelief. “You are not to burn anything in the nursery ever,” he replied firmly. “Now, I’d appreciate it if you’d get back to the twins. The negative air in here is far worse than any in the staff wing.” As Brianna whirled back out of the room, Tanner sat once again and released a deep sigh.
“You have twin daughters?” Josie asked.
Tanner relaxed a bit. It was impossible to feel too stressed out when he thought about his little girls. “Lily and Leigh—they’re eighteen months old. Brianna is their nanny.”
“So your wife works outside of the home?”
“My ex-wife, and she died a little over a year ago.” He fought against the sense of failure that always tried to take hold of him when he thought of Helen.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Josie replied.
“Thanks.” He leaned forward, tension once again twisting inside of him. “I just hope Brianna doesn’t let her unsettled chakra affect the twins. Kids pick up on grown-ups’ emotions so easily, and the last thing I want is for them to be upset.”
He also knew with a sinking sensation that Brianna, with her slightly crazy new age mentality, was probably going to have to be replaced. Anyone who thought burning sage in the nursery was okay wasn’t the kind of nanny he wanted for his girls.
He shoved the thought aside and looked at Josie once again. “What about you? Are you married? Have children?” Although Josie looked far too young for either, he wanted—needed—some conversation to keep his mind busy until the sheriff or somebody else official came in to speak with them.
“Neither,” she replied.
“Do you have other family?”
“Five brothers and a sister, but my mother died when I was three and we had an absent father, so we were all separated and grew up in different foster-care homes.”
“Foster care can be tough. It must have been especially difficult being separated from your brothers and sister.”
She stared down at the tabletop and traced an imaginary pattern on the wood with her fingertip. “It was, but you know what they say—when you’re handed lemons make lemonade.”
She dropped her hand into her lap and looked up at him again. “By the time I was six there were five other foster kids living in the same house as me. I made them my brothers and sisters and tried to take good care of them. What about you? Do you have other family?”
“It’s just me and my daughters,” he replied.
Eldridge was missing under mysterious circumstances. Josie Colton stirred something inside Tanner that hadn’t been stirred in a long time. Then there was the worry that he probably needed to hire a new nanny...again.
He was almost relieved when Sheriff Troy Watkins appeared in the doorway. “Tanner, I need to ask you both some questions.” The tall, dark-haired lawman pulled a notepad and pen out of his shirt pocket and then looked at Josie, his gray eyes flat and emotionless.
“Josie Colton, I understand you arrived at the ranch just before Eldr—Mr. Colton was found missing. Where were you last night?”
“I was at my apartment in Granite Gulch. I got up early this morning to drive in,” Josie replied. “If they have security cameras around the area, then I’m sure they’ll show you precisely when I arrived here.”
“And you’re one of Mr. Colton’s cousins?” Troy asked.
“We’re third cousins. I’ve never even met him. I just spoke to him on the phone last night. He agreed to let me come here and search for an old watch that belongs to my father.”
Troy turned to look at Tanner. “And what about you, Tanner? Where were you in the hours before Eldridge was found missing?”
“I spent the night in the barn. We had a horse that foaled and I didn’t leave the barn until this morning when I came into the house to
