he had put all of his feelings for Holly behind him. He had to be careful and not let old resentments flare up or hurtful memories surface. He’d worked too hard to forget her for that to happen.
“Cole,” she whispered. “Thank you for coming.”
He took a step forward. “Holly, are you and the kids all right?”
She gave the crying babies another hug and nodded. “We’re fine. Just had quite a scare. How did you get here so fast?”
“I woke up when the report came over my scanner, and I knew I was probably closer than any of our patrol cars. So I jumped out of bed and rushed over here. Which way did the intruder go?”
“He went out the front door, but I didn’t hear a car.” A sudden thought struck her, and her eyes grew wide. “Do you think he could still be outside?”
A grimace pulled at Cole’s mouth as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tapped a number in. When Dispatch answered, he responded with orders. “Detective Jackson here. I’m at Tumbling Creek Ranch with the victim, but the intruder has left. I need the search team to sweep the area and make sure he’s not hiding somewhere.” He listened for a moment before he spoke again. “Ten-four. Let me know when they’re on the way.”
When he disconnected the call, he looked back at Holly and noticed the way her lips trembled.
“Do you think he might still be around?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I just want to be sure. There’s a patrol car on the way here now, but the search team should be along shortly. If he’s here, they’ll find him.”
A sigh of relief escaped from her mouth, and a wobbly smile pulled at her lips. “Thank you, Cole.”
He started to reply, but Ethan’s cry distracted him. He stepped around her and walked over to the bed. “Hey, buddy, what’s the matter?” Ethan held out his arms, and Cole scooped him up and held him close. “How you doing, little man? You’ve grown since I last saw you.”
Holly watched as Cole jiggled the baby, calming his cries, and then she walked over and picked up Emma. They stood beside the cribs, each comforting one of the twins, and his eyes locked on her. “Now tell me what happened.”
She took a deep breath and began to describe what had taken place in the bedroom. He listened as she talked, and he nodded from time to time. When she got to the part about how she’d used a broom as a weapon, he tried to smother his grin. He could just imagine the intruder’s surprise when she’d gone on the offensive.
Just as she finished, he heard people calling out from downstairs. “Miss Lee? Where are you?”
“Up here,” Cole called out.
The words were barely out of his mouth before two uniformed officers, Zach Thomas and April Cantrell, appeared at the bedroom door. They stopped momentarily and stared at him holding one of the babies before they glanced at each other with confusion on their faces. Zach cleared his throat and nodded at him. “Detective Jackson, I didn’t expect you to already be here.”
“I live nearby,” Cole replied and glanced back at Holly. “I’ve called for a search team, and I was just getting information about the break-in from Miss Lee. Why don’t we go sit down, so we can get the official report?”
Holly cast an uncertain glance at the twins as if she didn’t know what to do with them. With a smile, April stepped forward. “Why don’t you let me take care of these precious babies while you talk to Detective Jackson and Officer Thomas?”
Holly hesitated for a moment. “Are you sure?”
April nodded. “I have two children of my own. I think I’m up to the job.”
Reluctantly, Holly surrendered Emma to her, and Cole set Ethan back in his bed. “Let’s talk downstairs,” Cole said as he turned back to Holly.
She nodded and turned to lead the way from the room. As she stepped away, soft whimpers came from the direction of the crib, and she turned to see Ethan standing up and holding on to the railing around the bed. His mouth was pulled into a frown, and his eyes were filled with tears.
She started to go to him, but April shook her head. “I’ve got this. Go on and get the report filled out.”
Holly bit down on her lip as if reluctant to leave the children, but after a moment, she turned and led the way downstairs to the den. When they were seated, Cole pulled a small notepad and pen from his pocket, then looked at Holly. “I know you’ve already told me once what happened, but I need you to tell me again, so I can make sure I have all the information. Concentrate and try to remember every detail.”
Holly nodded and began to speak. Cole wrote as she described herself waking and not hearing the music over the baby monitor—and then everything that followed after to the point where she locked herself in the bedroom with the twins and called nine-one-one.
When she’d finished, Cole glanced back over the notes he’d taken while she’d been talking. Then he looked around the room. There didn’t appear to be any evidence of a robbery. In fact, everything looked neat and in place. At first glance, it appeared that Holly had interrupted a kidnapping of her niece and nephew. A high ransom wouldn’t be a problem for a wealthy music star. The fact that the intruder had turned the monitor off convinced Cole even more that this had been intended as a kidnapping, but there was no need to worry Holly at this point.
He flipped the notepad closed and took a deep breath. “So how long are you here for, Holly?”
Her shoulders tensed, and she clasped her hands in her lap. “Just a few days. I came home to clear the house out and put the ranch up for sale.”
His eyes grew wide. “You’re selling your father’s ranch?”
She nodded. “Yes. With my schedule, I can’t take care of it. I’d rather it belong to someone who will.”
He didn’t reply but looked to Officer Thomas, who had a quizzical look on his face. “Zach, I guess you realize who Holly is.”
Zach nodded. “Who doesn’t know who Holly Lee is? Local girl who made it big in the country-music industry and one of the top-selling artists of the day. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lee.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Zach. I appreciate your help tonight.”
“I was really sorry to hear about your sister’s and brother-in-law’s deaths. Was this their house?”
Holly nodded. “Yes. My sister and I grew up here. After my father died, Ruth and her husband, Michael, took over the property.” She glanced back at the staircase. “The twins upstairs are their children.”
He started to say something else, but Cole interrupted him. “I think we have all the information we need. I heard the search team drive up. Why don’t you go help them?”
Zach nodded and pushed to his feet. “Will do. If that guy’s still around, Miss Lee, we’ll find him.”
Holly smiled her thanks as Zach walked from the room and then turned back to face Cole, who sat in a chair facing her. For a moment, she didn’t say anything. Then she cleared her throat. “How have you been?”
