not a gossiper, Anders,” she said in an effort to let him know his words were safe with her.
“So, tell me more about your family.”
Since he had shared so much about his, she decided to open up a little about how she felt. “With two older brothers and three younger siblings, I always felt like I wasn’t seen or heard much. I guess you could say I suffered from typical middle child syndrome. There were a lot more boisterous voices than mine in the family.” She looked down into her coffee, thinking about the one family member’s voice she would never, ever hear again.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Anders said softly.
She looked up at him sharply. “What are you, some kind of a mind reader?”
“No, no mind reader, you just looked incredibly sad and I took a guess that you were thinking about Bo.”
“I was.” She took a sip of her coffee and drew in a deep, painful breath. “The night before his murder we had a terrible fight.” Emotion pressed tight against her chest, but she swallowed hard in an effort to maintain control. The last thing she wanted was to break down and appear weak, especially in front of Anders Colton.
“We fought and then he was dead and there was no way for me to tell him I was sorry or take back the words I said to him that night.”
“What did you fight about?”
“It was stupid really. We got into an argument about ethics. I told him that there were times I thought he was ethically challenged, and he told me I was an uptight, boring straight arrow. That really made me mad. I got heated and he got heated and it got ugly. Of course I didn’t know that would be the last time I’d talk to him and I hate that I never got a chance to tell him I was sorry.”
“I’m sure he knew how much you loved him,” Anders said softly.
She nodded, suddenly exhausted. It had to be after two and the night had been filled with action, but it was the emotional drain of thinking about her brother that had her finally ready for bed.
“I think I’m going to call it a night,” she said. She drank the last of her coffee from her mug and then stood.
“I’m with you,” he replied, and also got up from the table. He took the mug from her and set them in the kitchen sink, and then they both walked back into the living room where Bonnie was still sleeping soundly.
“Thanks for the coffee,” she said.
“No problem.”
“Don’t be surprised if I’m up again with the baby. I don’t want you to hear me and think I’m another intruder,” she said as she picked up the cradle.
“Got it. The bathroom is in the hallway. Feel free to use towels or whatever you need from the linen closet.” He walked with her to the bedroom door and gestured to the bathroom across the hallway.
“Thank you,” she replied.
He held her gaze for a long moment and her breath hitched in her chest. There was something soft, something sensual in his gaze. Lordy, but the man was a handsome devil. “Elle, I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me, too,” she replied. She broke the gaze by looking down at Bonnie. “I would definitely hate to leave this precious girl with a man who didn’t even know to feed her when she cried. Good night, Anders.”
“Good night, Elle.”
She closed the bedroom door and then placed the cradle on the chair and stared down at the sleeping Bonnie. Right now she was a total mystery. Was she Anders’s baby or was she Bo’s? She desperately wanted her to be Bo’s.
She didn’t have the answer as to who the baby belonged to, but the appearance of the masked man in the cabin definitely made her wonder if little Bonnie might be in some kind of danger.
If she had to she would stay here with Anders for however long it took to make sure the baby remained safe. And she told herself her commitment to stay here had nothing to do with Anders’s impossibly blue eyes or his sexy smile.
Anders took the fried bacon out of the skillet and placed it strip by strip on a plate covered with a paper towel. He knew Elle was up because he’d heard the shower in the bathroom running a few minutes ago.
Elle Gage. He’d thought about her way too much the night before. Sleep had been elusive and she’d filled his thoughts in decidedly inappropriate ways. He’d wondered what she’d look like with her hair loose instead of tied in the ponytail. And just how sexy would she look out of that uniform?
She intrigued him with her serious brown eyes that had softened so beautifully when she’d gazed at Bonnie and spoken of her brother, Bo. Anders had spent far too long before going to sleep wondering what it would be like to see that soft gaze directed at him.
Then he’d remained awake and wondered when, since he’d met Officer Elle Gage, had he lost his mind? It had been a very long time since a woman had made him curious about her, but he was definitely curious about Elle.
Then he’d thought of the baby, wondering why she had been left with him and if she was his. Or was she Demi’s? There had been so many rumors about Demi’s whereabouts, he didn’t know what to think.
When Elle walked into the kitchen a few minutes later clad in her uniform and with the cradle in tow, it was like déjà vu from two years ago when Rosalie had appeared on his doorstep with a dark-haired, blue-eyed baby she’d told him was his. The only difference was the bulldog who walked close at Elle’s feet and the fact that they had no idea who baby Bonnie’s parents were.
At that time he’d not only opened his home to Rosalie and little Brooke, but he’d also opened his heart. He wasn’t about to make that same mistake again with Elle and Bonnie.
“Good morning,” he said.
“It’s always a good morning when you wake up to the smell of bacon,” she replied.
“I hope you’re a breakfast eater.” He pointed to the coffee machine. “Help yourself to the coffee.”
“Thanks, and yes, I’m a breakfast eater as long as somebody else is cooking it,” she replied. She placed the cradle in one of the chairs at the table and then scooted it in so it was secure. “Bonnie had her breakfast about an hour ago at five thirty, and right now I’m going to take Merlin out and grab his dog food and bowl.”
“How do you like your eggs?” he asked.
“Any way you want to cook them is fine with me. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared from the room and a moment later he heard the front door open.
Despite the smell of bacon and toast, he thought he caught a whiff of her fresh perfume. He hadn’t had a woman in the cabin since Rosalie. He’d forgotten how nice it was to smell a feminine fragrance, to have somebody here to share morning coffee and pleasant talk.
The baby made a noise and
