The sofa dipped as Reid settled beside her, drawing her into his arms and pulling her against his chest. “I wasn’t trying to upset you, Pen. I know this is hard for you, but the first step in protecting yourself is taking off your blinders. You have to see clearly what’s happening, know who you can trust and who you can’t if you’re going to stay safe.”
“So...how am I supposed to know who I can trust? I’m so confused and scared right now I can’t get any of this to make sense.”
Reid squeezed her hand. “That’s why I’m here. Trust me.”
As if he’d given her permission to fall apart, she wilted against him, too emotionally spent and tied in knots to resist the comfort and reassurance he offered. After months of staying strong and keeping up appearances for her son’s sake, she let herself weep from the depths of her soul. The release was cathartic, and she felt surprisingly safe crying in front of Reid. The loss of her husband, the betrayal of her father, the stress of being a single mother...she cleansed herself of all the pent-up fear and grief.
“You’re going to be all right, Pen. I promise.”
Reid stroked her back, and she buried her face in the soft fabric of his shirt. He smelled like laundry detergent, crisp winter air and a subtle male musk that turned her insides to jelly. The warmth of his arms around her, the solid strength of his chest and reassuring thump of his heartbeat against her ear conspired to woo her into a sense of security and well-being she’d not known since Andrew died. She might be a strong, capable woman, an independent widow by necessity and a competent single mother, but she craved companionship. She missed having someone to share the trials of life with and bolster her when her spirits flagged.
That was all this was, she told herself as she snuggled deeper into Reid’s embrace. He filled a void. Being held by Reid felt good, but only because she was scared and felt alone. Any comforting arms would have sufficed. Any shoulder to dampen with her tears. Anyone...
But then Reid nudged her chin up and dried her cheeks with his thumbs. She met the fathomless blue of his concerned gaze and knew she’d been lying to herself. Reid made the difference. And just what was she supposed to do with that revelation?
Chapter 9
Shopping list in hand, Reid left a few minutes later to collect the items Penelope and Nicholas would need for their stay at his lake house. After a stop at the supercenter store nearest the Colton ranch, he popped by the family home to get a few of his own things, grab a quick shower and have a word with his half brother Zane. His half brother was head of security for Colton Inc., and considering all the trouble the family had been involved in lately, he decided it would be prudent to let Zane know at least some of what he’d learned today.
As it happened, his half brother was in the kitchen digging through the refrigerator when Reid stopped through to grab a bottle of water. “Hey, I’m glad I ran into you. We need to talk.”
“Look, if this is about the leftover lasagna,” Zane said, raising a defensive hand, “first come first serve, man. You snooze, you lose.”
“Lasagna?” Reid snorted.
“Fowler whined about it this morning. I tell ya, Mirabella may be the pregnant one,” he said of his new bride, “But I’m the one eating for two. Sympathy appetite or something maybe? Or else fatherhood nerves are making me hungry. I’m having to double up on my workouts to keep the pounds off.” With that he bit into an apple with one hand and carried a pan from the refrigerator with the other.
Reid shook his head. “No, this has nothing to do with your eating for two.”
“Okay...what?” Zane asked as he chewed.
“I want you to keep a sharp eye out around here and at the office for trouble.”
His half brother’s dark eyebrows dipped low in concern. “Trouble? What now?”
“I’d rather not go into all of it until I have the proof I need to press charges, but I’ve learned some...interesting things today about someone in our employ. And I suspect he’s the one who sent a gunman after us—”
“What!” Zane sputtered around his mouthful of apple. “Wait. Who is us? Who was with you?”
“Don’t worry about that. I want to protect her until we can find the evidence we need to arrest the person behind the attack.”
Zane lifted a corner of his mouth in a smug grin. “Her, eh? Now, that is interesting...”
He sneered at Zane. “Don’t be a jerk. There’s nothing between us.”
Nothing mutual, anyway. Nothing he could admit to or act on. Pen was Andrew’s widow, and she’d made it clear for the last eighteen months just how little affection she had for her husband’s killer.
“Hmm. Defensive much?” Zane’s smile grew.
Reid balled his hands, struggling for patience. “Would you quit with the juvenile insinuations? Did you hear me say we were shot at? That the threat could come here to the ranch?”
Zane shrugged as he took a bite of the fruit. “You’re here and seem to be in one piece—” he aimed a finger at Reid’s face “—other than a nick or two. I’m assuming your girlfriend is all right, as well, or you’d have mentioned that by now.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“All right, Sheldon.” He said with a smirk and waved him off. “She’s a girl who’s your friend. Got it.”
Reid growled quietly and gritted his teeth. Teasing and pranks were part and parcel to the siblings—blood, half and step—in his family, with some relationships being more rancorous than others. But he was in no mood for Zane’s ribbing. “My love life is not the issue. I’m asking you to keep an eye out around here. I plan to stay with Pen to be sure she’s safe until we can—”
“Whoa! Pen? As in Penelope Barrington?”
Reid mentally kicked himself for the slip. “Yeah. Except she’s Penelope Barrington Clark. Remember?”
Zane nodded as if he’d just made the connection. “Oh, right. She was your partner’s wife.” Still holding the partially eaten apple, he gestured toward Reid. “You introduced them, didn’t you? Some policemen’s benefit you dragged Andrew to?”
“I didn’t drag him there. Our boss insisted we go. Mostly because he thought my last name would help raise more donations.” He shook his head, frowning. “Look, that’s irrelevant. What is important is—”