PJ passed through the small living area and into the kitchen. Her purse lay strewn across the counter. She dug her cell phone out of a side pocket, hit three buttons and then walked back to the threshold of the bedroom, her gaze on the baby in the crib. This is PJ Franks at the Wild Oak Canyon Resort. I need to report an intruder attack.
When shed given details to the dispatcher, she hung up and glanced at Chuck. Theyre sending a unit.
Chuck straightened and crossed to her, his fingers reaching out to touch her throat. We should have asked for an ambulance, as well.
Her eyes filled, but she shook her head. No. Im fine. She raised her hands to the bruising around her neck and gulped. I was so afraid. PJs head dipped.
Chuck pulled her into his arms. No matter how mad he was, he never could stand to see PJ cry, and after seeing a man choking the life out of her, now was no different. Hes gone.
Yeah, but why was he here in the first place? She pushed away from him and wandered back into the living room.
Chuck followed. Is anything missing?
She checked her purse, thumbing through her wallet. What few bills shed had were still there, along with her credit card and identification. The items were scattered across the counter, but nothing seems to be missing.
What about the rest of the apartment?
I dont have anything of value. Just a few keepsakes and used furniture. As a waitress, I cant afford much. PJ continued around the room, her fingers skimming across the top of the old couch Cara Jo had given her. She ducked into her bedroom and came back out, holding a photo frame, a frown denting her forehead. This photo is the only thing out of place. It was standing on my nightstand when I left for my shower. I just found it lying on its face.
The intruder could have knocked it over. Chuck reached for the frame.
PJ handed it over. Its a picture of me and my birth mother.
A woman looking remarkably like PJ held a child in her arms and was smiling for the photographer. Her eyes were shadowed, but the love for her little girl was clear in her expression.
She died when you were little, didnt she?
PJ nodded. I was six. My adoptive mother, Terri Franks, pretty much raised me. We moved to Wild Oak Canyon before I started high school.
Chuck remembered the pretty young PJ hanging out around the stables, talking to the horses. Shed been more comfortable with the animals than with people.
A knock on the door was followed by a mans voice. PJ Franks? Sheriffs Deputy Johnny Owen. You called?
PJ hurried to open the door for the officer.
He took her statement, in which she described the attacker, what he wore and which direction hed gone.
Chuck searched the apartment, analyzing everything he saw for clues as to who had broken into PJs apartment and why. All the while he fought to process the miracle of the baby in the next room. His child.
When Owen finished with PJ, the deputy asked Chuck a few questions and then tucked the pad of paper into his pocket and sighed. Since the man was wearing gloves, I dont see a need to dust for prints. Ill have a look around outside to see if there are any footprints on the ground, but
Its been dry, and the chance of a footprint showing up is slim to none, Chuck finished. Thanks for trying.
After the deputy left, Chuck made a round of the apartment, checking the windows and sliding glass door locks.
When hed deemed them secure, he met PJ at her open apartment door.
Its getting late, she said. I need to get some sleep before I hit the day shift at the diner.
Will you be all right? Chuck stepped into the door frame and gripped PJs arms, his gaze capturing hers.
Ill be fine. The shadows beneath her eyes spoke of her exhaustion and the lingering fear.
Fine, humph. Chuck wanted to hold her so badly, it hurt to drop his grip from her arms and walk out into the hallway. If you need me...
Youre just a yell away. She gave him a half smile.
Chuck nodded toward the interior of her apartment. Shes beautiful.
PJs face reddened, and she nodded. Well discuss Charlie tomorrow.
Yes, we will. Now that Chuck knew he had a daughter, he was determined to be a part of her life, whether PJ wanted him in her life or not.
PJ closed the door behind him.
Chuck waited until he heard the click of the lock being engaged. Then he hurried down the hallway to his room, grabbed a sleeping bag and a pillow and returned to bed down in front of PJs door. As he stretched out on the floor and worked the kink out of his leg, he reminded himself that it beat sleeping in a foxhole. And he refused to let anything happen to PJ and his precious baby daughter, Charlie.
Once he was settled, he grabbed his cell phone and hit the speed dial number for Hank Derringer.
The older man answered on the third ring. Derringer, he said, his voice scratchy and slurred with sleep.
Hank, Chuck here. Tell me my assignment was just some sick joke on your part.
Hank sighed. I take it you met PJ?
I did. You didnt tell me Id be protecting my ex-fiancée.
If I had, would you have taken the job?
Chuck wanted to tell the man he would have, but truth was, he probably would have told Hank where to go with his job and assignment. No.
And now? Hank asked.
With a sigh, Chuck answered. You know damn well I cant walk away.
I take it you met your daughter, Charlie?
Chuck swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Yes.
Beautiful baby girl, isnt she? Hank chuckled. Looks like her father.
How did you know? Chuck asked.
Lets just say I make it my business to know as much as I can about the people I hire. And I have a special interest in PJ that I wont go into at this time.
Now that Im here and know who Im supposed to protect, maybe you can tell me why someone tried to kill PJ tonight.
* * *
AFTER PJ LOCKED the door behind Chuck, shed leaned her head against the cool, wooden panel, telling herself to breathe.
Chuck still had too much of a hold on her, even after almost a years separation. She thought pushing him out of her life had been the best decision at the time. Now she wasnt quite as convinced. Breaking their engagement had been only a part of it.
Even if Chuck hadnt insisted on volunteering, PJ suspected shed have found another way to push him away. Theyd gotten too close. Shed fallen too hard, and it scared her.
What was she afraid of? Why had she been so hesitant to allow him past the barriers shed built around herself and her heart?
All her life, her adoptive mother had kept her from playing with others, refusing to let her out of her sight for long. Shed instilled in PJ a lack of trust in people and a determination to live a life independent of others. PJ had found companionship in the horses she loved at the resort stables, volunteering to muck out stalls and exercise the animals.
Chuck had been there, working quietly around her, his love of the animals equal to her own. Over time, hed overcome her shyness and theyd gone riding together and talked. Hed taught her how to laugh again, something she thought shed never do. And PJ had fallen in love with the big ex-football jock cowboy, breaking her self-imposed rule not to invest her heart in anyone but to rely solely on herself.