He veered off to check the guest cabin he shared with Carly, but it hadn’t been searched. Seth turned back toward the house and jogged across the hard ground. Phil met him on the deck. The air felt hot on Seth’s chilled face as he went through the back door. Or maybe it was pure rage heating his skin.
Someone had broken into the Taylor house and threatened his family. Seth wanted to kill him with his bare hands. He hurried into the living room. Carly had the baby over her shoulder and was hugging Brianna close with her other arm. As soon as Brianna spotted Seth, she detached from Carly and ran to him. He lifted her into his arm and held her tight.
“I was.” Sniff. “So scared,” Brianna said between gasps for air.
Seth heart broke. “You’re safe, baby. Everything’s all right.” Seth was going to find the man who’d frightened his baby and make him very sorry.
Patsy was talking to Phil. She broke the shotgun and plucked out the shell.
“Are you okay?” he asked Carly.
She nodded, but her face was pale as ice. She walked to him. Her hands were full of sleeping toddler, but she pressed her face into his shoulder. He wrapped his free arm around her and absorbed the feel of her body against him. Everyone was fine, but he’d been at enough violent crime scenes that he could envision a dozen ways the situation could have ended badly.
His family could have been hurt and it would have been Seth’s fault. He’d brought them into this case when he called Carly to take Amber Lynn’s baby.
Rage and frustration stampeded through Seth. This had to be tied to Amber Lynn’s death. Robbers didn’t randomly target houses in the middle of freaking nowhere. The Taylors weren’t a wealthy family. They didn’t keep large amounts of cash on hand. Patsy didn’t own expensive jewelry. They were simple people.
Whoever had broken into the house had been looking for something specific. But what? His gaze landed on Charlotte. The only thing that tied his case to tonight’s breakin was the child. What could a toddler possibly have to do with her mother’s murder?
Hours later they had no additional clues. A patrol car had been sent to find Bob, but he wasn’t at Fletcher’s or his house. Phil issued a BOLO on the bar owner. There was still no sign of Travis. Seth had patrol actively looking for him. Leaving an armed Stevie with Patsy, Seth and Carly brought the two kids to their little house across the meadow. Patsy hadn’t argued when Carly had offered to take the baby. Brianna had finally fallen asleep on Seth’s shoulder. He laid her in the middle of their king-size bed, then locked the doors and set up the portable crib in their bedroom.
Carly tucked the baby into the crib.
“I can’t believe she slept through the whole thing,” she whispered.
“Amazing,” he agreed.
Carly changed into pajamas, brushed her teeth, and crawled into bed with Brianna. Seth stretched out fully dressed and armed on his daughter’s other side. There was no way he’d be able to close his eyes. Tonight he’d keep watch over his family.
CHAPTER TEN
Following the sound of a wailing toddler, Carly hurried into the tiny kitchen of the cabin. She reached for the baby on Seth’s hip. “Has she been crying long?”
“Mamamama,” the baby cried.
Seth handed her over. “No, but she’s definitely missing Amber Lynn.”
Carly patted the sobbing baby’s back, the little body stiff in her arms. “Thanks for holding her while I showered. I forgot how impossible it is to get anything done with a toddler in the house.”
They’d moved into the cabin the previous winter, and all their baby paraphernalia was in storage in the back of the barn.
“I’m sorry I have to go to work.” Seth rubbed the baby’s chubby arm.
Carly bounced to soothe the baby. “It’s fine. I understand.”
“I wish I could give the case to someone else.” Seth obviously hadn’t slept at all last night. His eyes were shadowed, the lines around them more pronounced. He raised his coffee to his lips and drained the cup.
“Seth, I know we pledged to put our family first, but there will be times when you have to do your job. I’m sure it will happen to me too. You have to catch whoever broke into my mother’s house, to keep us safe.” Carly lifted the hem of her sweater so he could see the handgun strapped in the holster behind her hip. “And as my mother demonstrated last night, we Taylor women can hold our own. I’m carrying my gun until you catch whoever broke in.”
But the gun didn’t make her feel as safe as she’d like. As she’d learned last night, protecting the children was a two-woman job. They should all be safe enough in the crowd this afternoon, but Carly’s nerves were still humming.
“Your mother was pretty spectacular,” Seth said, grinning.
“She was.”
He sobered. “I promised Brianna we’d take her to see Santa together, and I intend to make good on that. I’ll meet you at the firehouse around noon.”
“That’ll make Brianna very happy,” Carly said.
All the kids in town lined up to see Santa on Christmas Eve. It was a Solitude tradition that Seth and Carly had never missed with their daughter.