Colters' Gift (18 page)

CHAPTER 24

S
WEETIE,
you’ve got to stop pacing,” Holly soothed from her perch at the bar. “You’re going to wear a hole in my floor.”

Lauren paused and sighed. “I’m sorry. This is making me crazy. How long can it possibly take to make a phone call?”

“Not just any phone call,” Callie pointed out.

“Come sit,” Lily urged. “All this anxiety can’t be good for you. I know it’s not good for me.”

Lauren plopped onto the stool next to Holly, wanting the comfort and guidance of the older woman.

“What made you decide to stand up to your ex-husband? I can’t imagine the strength it took to separate yourself from the Colter men and be alone through that whole process.”

Holly sighed. “It’s not as courageous as you make it sound. The truth was, I was terrified. I had just been horribly attacked by a man hired by my ex-husband to kill me. Ryan had been shot trying to protect me. I thought he was dead.”

Her voice quivered and pain filled her eyes.

“All I could think was that Ryan had been hurt because of me, and I didn’t want to lose the men I loved more than anything. I also knew that they’d never agree to let me go, so I made the decision for them. I contacted the D.A. in San Francisco. I arranged for him to come to the hospital to talk to me, and then I left the hospital in protective custody and remained so for several months. It was during that time that I learned I was pregnant.”

Her lips turned up into a rueful smile.

“The best and worst time of my life. I was overjoyed at the thought of having their child and devastated because I was isolated from them with no definitive timeline. Thank God my ex-husband pled out, which meant I didn’t have to testify. I was only gone for a little over five months, but I swear it felt like an eternity.”

“I don’t want to be separated from Liam and Noah,” Lauren said in a low voice. She glanced over at the women sitting at the bar. “I don’t want to be separated from any of
you
either.”

“We don’t want you to go either,” Callie said fiercely. “This will work out, Lauren. It has to. You’ll be safer here with us than in any witness protection program. There’s no way the dads or my brothers or Max and Liam and Noah are going to let someone come into our home and hurt you.”

Lauren sighed again. “That’s a nice thought and it sounds good to say, and I have no doubt that the intention is certainly sincere. But how realistic is it to say that I’m untouchable? We have no way of knowing what Joel will do. As afraid as I am, I could not bear the thought of something happening to one of the dads or to one of Lily’s husbands or my brother.

“Or the men I love,” she added quietly.

“Oh honey,” Holly said, squeezing her hand tightly. “You’ve got to stop taking on so much. You aren’t to blame if something happens to one of our men. That blame lies squarely on the shoulders of Joel Knight.”

“And is that what you thought when you decided to go away from the dads?” Lauren asked pointedly.

Holly flushed, her cheeks going pink. “The point is, I wasn’t thinking at the time. I was scared out of my mind. I’d gone through a traumatic experience and I was acting on instinct. My instinct was to protect them.”

“My instinct is to protect the people I love,” Lauren said.

“We understand,” Lily said. “Really, we do, Lauren. But let them help you. Our strength is in our family. Not one individual.”

Holly beamed at her daughter-in-law. “My daughters are extremely smart women. And Lily is exactly right. Our strength doesn’t come from one person. It’s from our bond. Our willingness to go to bat for one another.”

They immediately went quiet when Liam entered the kitchen, his expression grim. Lauren’s heart dropped to her toes and she reached blindly for Holly’s hand, needing her support more than ever.

Holly grabbed her hand and gripped it with bruising force.

“What happened, what did he say?” Lauren blurted.

“He wants to talk to you,” Liam said.

Her eyes widened. “Why?”

“He just wants to make sure we’re not jerking him around. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. Just don’t tip your hand in the phone call. No names. He can say what he wants, but keep your responses to the minimum. Yes or no answers are best. If there’s anything you’re unsure of, you put him on hold and run it by us. Okay?”

She swallowed and nodded. “Okay.”

He held out his hand to her. Holly disentangled her hand from Lauren’s and urged her forward. Liam wrapped his arm around her, squeezing her briefly before guiding her into the living room, where the others sat.

Noah was sitting on the couch, his hand curled around a cordless phone. When he saw Lauren, he put the phone back on the base and hit the button for the speaker. He held up one finger to his lips to signal to Lauren not to mention that everyone was listening in. Then he pointed at her to begin the conversation.

“H-hello?” Lauren began hesitantly.

“With whom am I speaking to?”

The man’s voice was sharp and distinct, and it made Lauren instantly nervous.

She glanced up at Liam, who nodded that she should answer.

“Lauren Wilder,” she responded.

“And, Ms. Wilder, would you be so kind as to provide a few simple pieces of information to verify your identity?”

She frowned, her brow furrowing tightly. Noah held up a hand and nodded and then motioned for her to answer.

“Okay,” she reluctantly agreed.

“Can you give us your last known address?”

She frowned harder. Technically her last address was her apartment here in Clyde and no way in hell she was giving this man that information. And before that, there was the apartment that Max had moved her into after she’d left Joel. Again, no way she was giving that out either. But neither of those addresses were ones the police would have any knowledge of, so they wouldn’t expect either.

Liam was furiously scribbling something on a piece of paper and then he held up a notebook that said,
give him the address of the residence you lived with Joel
.

In a halting voice, she gave the man on the phone the address of the penthouse where she and Joel had spent a year.

“Thank you,” the man said. “Can you also verify your date of birth and the town you were born in?”

All the questions were making her uncomfortable, but Noah and Liam were telling her to answer, so she provided the requested information, wishing they could just get on with it.

“Thank you, Ms. Wilder. I can’t tell you how glad we are to hear from you. My office has been looking for you for quite some time.”

The relief was obvious in his voice, but his words sent alarm shrieking through her system. She yanked her head upward, fearfully seeking out Noah and Liam once more.

Noah reached over and squeezed her knee in a gesture meant to soothe her, but the fact that there were even more people looking for her freaked her out.

“Now that her identity has been established, you’ll speak to me about the arrangements,” Noah inserted bluntly.

“Yes, of course Mr. . . . What did you say your name was again?”

“I didn’t.”

There was a lengthy pause, and then Noah motioned for Liam to take Lauren away again. She frowned, wanting to hear what was said, but Noah punched the speakerphone off and picked up the phone again.

“Come on, baby,” Liam murmured.

“Why can’t I hear?” she asked as they walked back to the kitchen.

“Because we’d rather whatever is decided on to come from me and Noah,” Liam said frankly. “Hearing suggestions or bits and pieces is just going to cause you unnecessary stress. Noah won’t agree to anything that isn’t in your best interest, and he damn sure won’t put you in a position we feel is unsafe.”

She went into his arms, wanting and needing his hug. She looped her arms around his waist and rubbed her cheek against his chest.

“I know you won’t. I’m just scared, Liam. Not just for me. I’m scared for all of us.”

“What’s going on, Liam?” Holly demanded. “We’re all dying to know here. If someone doesn’t tell me soon, I’m going to hurt someone.”

Liam grinned. “Sorry, Mrs. C. As soon as I know, you’ll know. I promise. Noah is shoring up the details now. The D.A. was leery about proceeding without knowing whether he was actually talking to Lauren or not. Apparently they’ve been searching for her, which means they’ve wanted to question her for a while. If that’s the case, he’s going to want to talk to her immediately. He’ll be beside himself over the evidence that Lauren has.”

“You just take care of my baby,” Holly said.

“I’ll do my best to make sure nothing ever hurts her again,” Liam said in a somber voice.

“Lily, are you okay?” Lauren asked, alarmed at Lily’s paleness.

Holly and Callie both jerked around, their worried gazes locking immediately onto the heavily pregnant woman. Holly hurried toward the bar, putting her arm around Lily’s shoulders.

“I’m fine,” Lily protested.

“If my boys see you looking as pale as you are right now, it’s all over but the cryin’,” Holly said grimly. “They’ll have you home and in bed, worrying their fool heads off. Talk to me. Are you feeling okay? Is it the baby?”

Lily shook her head. “I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m worried about Lauren. Nothing else. Honest. Baby is sleeping right now and not trying to two-step on my ribs.”

Lauren’s lips turned down in unhappiness. Everyone in the Colter family was affected by her situation. She wished now that it was just her, Noah and Liam going and the others didn’t have to be involved.

Lily was about to have a baby, and she had to worry herself over the fact that two of her three husbands were off with Lauren going blind into a situation where the worst could happen.

“If you say one word about what I think you’re thinking, I’m going to hurt you,” Lily said menacingly.

Lauren’s eyebrows went up as she realized Lily was talking to her.

Lily got clumsily off the bar stool and walked over to where Lauren stood. She took Lauren’s hand and held it between them.

“Seth is the sheriff. Protecting people is what he does. He’s called out at all times of the night. There’s never one of them I don’t worry about him. There’s no way he’d ever allow a threat against his family to go unresolved. It’s just who he is.”

She smiled softly and glanced at Holly. “I think he has a lot of his fathers in him. They all do.”

Love for her husbands and her sons shone like a beacon in Holly’s eyes. She turned that loving gaze on Lauren and her daughter-in-law.

“Seth has the very best of his fathers,” Holly said, her voice rich with emotion. “My boys have never once disappointed me.”

“That’s my job,” Callie said dryly.

Holly chuckled. “I’ll admit, I like it that for the most part your days of wanderlust and restless spirit are in the past. I like having you here, at home where you belong. You and Max both. But baby, you’ve
never
disappointed me.” Her tone was firm even as love and pride shone in her gaze. “None of my babies, whether biological or not, have ever disappointed me. I can be disappointed in the fact that you aren’t home where you belong and still be as proud of you as I can be.”

She pulled Lauren into a fierce embrace. “And now maybe you’ll be home where you belong too. Having you all right here where I can fuss over you and mother you endlessly would make me the happiest woman in the world.”

Lauren didn’t dare peek at Liam, because this was still a painful subject for her and one she tried not to broach with Noah and Liam too often.

They may have strong feelings for each other. They may have made a sincere commitment. But at the end of the day, Clyde, Colorado, was a long way—a lifetime away—from New York City and the life she’d once led there.

A life she no longer wanted.

CHAPTER 25

N
OAH
hung up the phone and eyed the other men gathered in the room. “Okay, well you heard the details. Anyone have something I didn’t cover in the conversation?”

Seth shook his head. “I think we should get to Raleigh at least a day ahead of Castanetti, if not two. I want to be there when he checks into the hotel, and I want to monitor his movements, phone calls, whatever we can get a lead on.”

Noah had wanted the D.A. to think that Lauren had fled further down the East Coast. A logical place for someone in the New York City area to go. He’d purposely dropped several innuendos to make Castanetti think that Lauren was even now along the Eastern Seaboard.

“I can have the jet ready whenever you need it,” Max said. “I’ll file it as a golfing trip for executives of my company. The flight will originate officially from New York City, so I’ll have it moved immediately.”

“We’ll travel to Denver together,” Noah continued. “I don’t want Lauren alone or unattended for any length of time, no matter how short. I don’t even want her going to the bathroom alone. Once we arrive in Raleigh, I’ll meet with Castanetti, but Liam and Seth will be in the same restaurant a few tables away.”

He turned to the older Colters and Dillon. “I’ll want the three of you to remain with Lauren at the hotel we choose. We’ll have a set time to report in and if you don’t hear from us, if we’re so much as a minute late, you’re to cut and run with her. Get her to the airport as fast as possible and get the hell out of there. The only priority is her safety. If something happens to me and Liam, I’ll want you to take her home and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure her protection.”

The others nodded their understanding.

“Okay then, I’d like to take Lauren back home so Liam and I can talk to her privately,” Noah said. “We’ll check back in before we take out for Raleigh. If we leave in three days, that gives us plenty of time to arrive ahead of the D.A. and set up.”

Adam, Ryan, Dillon and Seth nodded their agreement.

To Ethan, Michael and Max, Noah grew more serious. “You’ll need to be on guard while we’re gone. We have no idea how far reaching this is or what Joel Knight will do in order to keep Lauren quiet. You’ll need to watch Holly, Callie and Lily like a hawk. Don’t let them go anywhere alone, and make sure one of you is always with them.”

The other men scowled and crossed their arms over their broad chests. Their body language said all they didn’t.

“We’ll keep in touch,” Noah said quietly. “Right now I want to take Lauren home. She’s upset and shook up. I want a chance to explain what’s happening to her privately so she’s not considering the potential danger to her family. She’s very reluctant to do anything that causes any of you harm.”

“She’s ours,” Adam said simply. “It’s what we do for family.” He paused a long moment and then looked to both Liam and Noah, taking them both into his intent gaze.

“You’re family now too. That protection extends to you.”

Noah swallowed, blindsided by the surge of emotion he felt at the older man’s words. Noah knew he had family. Liam’s parents. They were as much his parents as if he’d been born to them.

But as soon as he’d walked into the Colter home, as soon as he’d met Seth and Seth’s brothers and knew how fiercely protective of Lauren they were and of their own women, there’d been a part of him that had selfishly wanted that connection himself.

Since he was a teenager, Liam and Liam’s parents had been Noah’s only support. The only people he had to turn to. And now, through Lauren, an amazing, beautiful woman, he had even more extended family. Good people. The kind he’d always wished for.

“That means a lot to me, sir,” Noah said, his voice cracking.

Adam smiled, his eyes full of understanding as if he knew every part of Noah’s past.

“And you can stop calling me sir, son. I’m proud Lauren has men who know the meaning of respect, but you’re family now, so you can either call me Dad like everyone else, or you can call me Adam. And if I know my wife, if you call her Mrs. Colter, she’ll have a kitten. She has a lot of names but all of them are said with love. You can call her Mom, Mama C, Mrs. C, but not Mrs. Colter. She gets persnickety about that.”

The knot grew bigger in Noah’s throat and he glanced automatically to Ethan and Ryan Colter to see if they shared Adam’s opinion.

Ryan Colter stuck out his hand and merely said, “Welcome to the family. I expect you to take good care of our little girl. She’s the baby now. We care a lot about her. She’s been through a rough time.”

“We will,” Liam spoke up from a few feet away as Noah shook Ryan’s hand. “This isn’t some passing fling for us, sir. I love Lauren. She’s been it for me since the moment I set eyes on her. I didn’t want to let her go when Mr. Wilder came to get her, but I knew she needed time with her family and that she needed time to heal. But there was never a question of me coming for her.”

“Same goes,” Ryan said gruffly. “You can call me Ryan or Dad. I’ll answer to either. Mr. Colter just makes me sound old and stuffy.”

Max cleared his throat and rose. “I need a moment alone with Liam and Noah if the rest of you don’t mind.”

Ethan glanced sharply at Max, speaking up for the first time. “That depends on what you plan to say. I don’t want any trouble, and the last thing your sister needs is more turmoil. You upset her and it’s not us you’ll have to worry about, because you’ll have one very pissed-off Holly Colter to contend with.”

Max shook his head. “There are some things we need to get aired out. That’s all.”

“Then we’ll be in the kitchen,” Adam said. “You boys come get Lauren when you’re done. I’m sure you have a lot you need to work out between you when you get back to her apartment. But before we go, I do want to extend an invitation for you three to come stay out here. It’s a hell of a lot more isolated. It’s private. And it would be a lot safer than being in town. Those locks on Lauren’s apartment aren’t worth a damn. I’d planned to get in there and fix them once she got moved in, but with everything that’s been going on, there hasn’t been time.”

Liam and Noah exchanged glances. Liam lifted his eyebrow and nodded.

Noah turned back to Adam. “It’s not a bad idea, sir—Adam.”

“We’ll talk to Lauren about it and get back with you,” Liam added. “I like the idea of having her out of the diner where anyone can see her.”

“Just give me a call. We have plenty of room,” Adam said.

The older Colters filed out of the living room toward the kitchen, leaving their sons to follow. Max remained and Noah braced himself for the confrontation.

When they were alone, Max glanced sharply at the other two men.

“I don’t like the speed in which this ‘relationship’ has progressed,” he said with a frown. “Lauren is extremely vulnerable right now.”

Liam’s lips twitched and he glared at Max. “Just because you had your head up your ass where Callie was concerned doesn’t mean the rest of us do when it comes to our woman.”

Max’s face flushed a dull red, and then he sighed. “Sit down, both of you. I’m not going to try to kick your ass. I just want some answers.”

Noah took his seat in one of the armchairs. Liam was more reluctant to sit down but perched on the edge of the other armchair.

“You’re right. I made my share of mistakes with Callie. I fought the inevitable. I’m damn lucky I didn’t lose her and that she has such a loving, generous, forgiving nature.”

“Then perhaps you understand why we’re not willing to do anything to risk Lauren. Physically or emotionally,” Noah said in a low voice. “We aren’t fighting anything. We want her. No matter how long it takes.”

“Look, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the kind of relationship you’re wanting with my sister,” Max said painfully. “There are so many reasons why, it makes my head spin. I realize the Colters have a very atypical relationship and family. No one blinks an eye over them. It’s just part of the Colter package. You don’t even really question it because you look at them and it’s who they are. And it’s so apparent that those men love their wives and that the women love each man equally. But it’s also like looking at a fantasy. Something that isn’t real. Lauren is my sister. I love her dearly and she’s been hurt far too much in her young life. I want to protect her and I want her to be happy. And while a relationship like the Colters have is just fine for them, the idea of Lauren being involved with both of you concerns the hell out of me.”

Liam cleared his throat, but Max held up his hand.

“Let me finish. Let me get it out so that we can clear the air.”

Noah nodded and gave Liam a quick glance to make him stand down.

“The Colters live here. In Clyde. A town they’ve been a fixture in forever. Their son is the sheriff. The dads have friends dating back over thirty years. They live a very isolated existence in a very small population that accepts their unusual arrangement. This isn’t the rest of the world, though. Have you given any thought to where you’ll live with Lauren? Have you considered if you’ll ever have children and what kind of life they’ll have?”

Max’s words didn’t come out in an angry torrent. He was passionate and obviously concerned for his sister, something Noah could well understand.

“What about your families?” Max added quietly. “Are they going to accept and understand the relationship you and Lauren have?”

Noah glanced to Liam because it had been the same question he’d had in the beginning.

“Noah doesn’t have family,” Liam said quietly. “My family is his family. They’ll love Lauren and as long as Noah and I are happy, they’ll be happy for us.”

“My point is you can’t protect her from everything,” Max said. “There’ll always be someone who questions or doesn’t understand or openly reviles you and Lauren because of who you love.”

“We understand that,” Liam said gruffly. “And we don’t have all the answers right now. The only thing that occupies our mind is getting Lauren through this thing with Joel Knight safely. Once she’s free of that threat, then the choice will be hers to make as to whether she wants a life with us. From there we’ll take it one day at a time, but she’ll never be alone. She’ll always have us. And she’ll always have you and the Colters.”

Max nodded. “I understand and I appreciate your devotion to her safety. I apologize for some of my earlier remarks. Lauren is very dear to me. After our mom passed, it was just the two of us, and I feel like I failed her because I wasn’t around to see the kind of man Joel Knight was. I was too locked in my own private hell over Callie.”

“Apology accepted,” Noah said.

Max stared hard at Noah, as if trying to see deeply inside Noah’s head. “Do you love her?” he asked bluntly. “Liam’s been very adamant about his feelings, but you haven’t had anything to say.”

Noah didn’t need any time to think about his response. He just wasn’t as comfortable about throwing the words around publicly. To him they were intimate, private words and if used too much, they lost their meaning. He coveted them, never having heard them growing up. To him, they were the most precious gift to give to another person.

“Those words are for Lauren only,” Noah said in a soft voice. “She means more to me than any other person has ever meant to me. I wouldn’t be here if she didn’t.”

Apparently satisfied with Noah’s response, Max rose and extended his hand to shake Noah’s. Noah shook it and then Max turned to Liam to do the same.

“If you need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact me,” Max said. “Give me a go date and I’ll make sure the jet is ready.”

Noah nodded, then he turned to Liam. “Let’s go get Lauren. We have a lot to go over with her.”