Colton Cowboy Jeopardy (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Rehashing all those unpleasant and bleak thoughts wouldn’t do her any good. While Silas fussed, sweat dampening his downy-soft baby curls, she sang to him, praying that something would break this wretched cycle they seemed to be mired in.

“You’re so tired, baby,” she said, tears of exhaustion welling up in her eyes. “It’s okay to sleep. We’re safe.” Was she convincing him or herself? It didn’t make much difference. If he relaxed, she could do the same.

Growing desperate, she carried him inside and straight to the bathroom. Removing his onesie and her T-shirt and shorts, Mia turned on the shower. Picking up her son, she stepped under the spray, keeping the water lukewarm. The water put a halt to their combined tears as the fine spray hit her skin and misted around his tiny form. The sudden quiet was such a relief, even if he wasn’t asleep.

The blissful reprieve lasted while she toweled them both off. Wrapped in a towel, she curled up on the bunk and fed him until he dozed off. Confident he was sleeping, she gently laid him down on a folded blanket on the floor and inched away, holding her breath.

His limbs twitched and he sighed, but he didn’t cry. She counted it a victory when she was able to get her clothing on without interruption.

Though her eyelids were heavy and her energy gone, she resisted the urge to stretch out and sleep. She opened her laptop and used her mobile hot spot to connect to the internet, looking for any signs that her father might have reached out in concern, or that Regina had been slinging mud against her.

It didn’t take long to find her stepmother’s comments on Mia’s most recent social media posts. There was the inquiry about getting back to work with a link to an article on working-mom solutions, as well as a gushing comment about seeing the “sweet grandbaby” soon. Though the wording was correct and polite, Mia read the underlying sneer behind them.

She noticed a picture of centerpieces on Regina’s time line, along with a comment about an upcoming gathering to honor her “amazing husband” in which she expressed high hopes that the whole family would be there.

Mia choked on the water she was sipping, smothering the sounds so she wouldn’t wake Silas. As if she’d bring her baby to an event hosted by that crocodile. Yes, she wanted desperately to see her father, to speak with him privately, but not with the threats against Silas ringing in her ears.

But then another dreadful thought crossed her mind. What if Regina meant to hurt Norton at the party? It would give her the perfect alibi: a hundred or so close friends milling about, all of them witnesses to the tragically premature death of her beloved, wealthy, investment-banker husband.

Mia rubbed her gritty eyes. She should go to the party, if only to protect her father. It wasn’t exactly party-crashing after Regina’s public comments on social media. If she didn’t attend, she’d be setting herself up for criticism from everyone else in town, but if she did go, who would protect Silas?

There was the small problem that she didn’t have anything to wear. The dress she’d been wearing the day she’d caught Regina cheating wasn’t dressy enough for the evening. She hadn’t been thinking about formal wear when she’d packed in a rush to get her son to safety. Mia pushed to her feet and started to pace. Worrying about a dress wasn’t the priority.

She’d never regretted moving back into the suite at her father’s house more than she did right this minute. Going back meant leaving herself and her son vulnerable to attack. She couldn’t watch Silas and Regina every single minute, not without help, anyway.

Her relationship with Regina had been fraught from their first introduction, but she’d never expected it to devolve into murderous threats. Mia had been a teenager and not the least bit interested in a replacement mother. Good thing, too. Regina hadn’t b

een interested in anything resembling maternal affection. That rough start had grown over with thorny vines and choked with spiky weeds.

Their mutual dislike had escalated into cutting sarcasm through the years as Regina successfully pushed Mia out of the nest. Her concerns had been interpreted—thanks to Regina whispering in Norton’s ear—as the antics of a spoiled girl who didn’t want to share her daddy.

Looking back, Mia could see where she’d gone wrong with her constant griping about the unfairness of life in general and her stepmother in particular. By the time she’d learned to keep her thoughts to herself, Regina had complete control of Norton’s affection and opinions. When Mia had discovered her college fund was empty and confronted her father and stepmother, it shouldn’t have been a shock that her father believed his wife’s lies over his daughter’s truth.

Another battle lost to her father’s blind love for the viper he’d married. She’d vowed that would be the last battle, choosing to make her own way, using what she knew and the natural abilities and strengths at her disposal.

Modeling had covered tuition and expenses. She’d built up her professional network and cultivated friendships outside of her father’s sphere of influence and therefore out of Regina’s grasping reach.

And now she was locked in another battle. Alone. Her father would never believe his wife had threatened his grandson. He’d been slowly convinced Mia was a perpetual problem, always in need of help, especially after the pregnancy ended her marriage. She never should’ve accepted his offer to move back in. Her father meant well and she’d been feeling vulnerable enough to go for it. Shame on her for believing things might be different now that she and Regina were adults. The house was big enough that they could have easily avoided each other.

Mia had been willing to let the past lie, but obviously Regina had felt threatened. In hindsight, Mia suspected that Regina had always worried about Mia catching her sleeping around.

Well, she’d done that.

Her mind spinning, Mia tried to push that disgusting picture out of her head. Knowing Regina’s tendency to take what she wanted, whenever she wanted, Mia didn’t believe that had been the first time. She doubted her stepmother had bothered to hide her affairs at the country house before Mia had moved back in. Not that it mattered.

She sat down again and closed the laptop, dropping her head to her folded arms on the table. Her thoughts were sluggish and she couldn’t pin down the perfect way to tell on Regina without causing anyone else harm.

If she didn’t tell...if she did...if she didn’t...

The only thing that interrupted the futile cycle was Silas crying again.

Mia didn’t bother checking the time. She simply gathered up her baby and moved through the motions of care, praying he’d eventually sleep off whatever was upsetting his system. As she tucked Silas into the sling that kept him close to her body, he subsided into general fussiness, which felt like a vast improvement over the constant crying. Her stomach growled and she was rooting through the grocery bag for a snack when she heard an engine rumbling closer.

Her immediate tension caused Silas to give a start, but he didn’t wail. Maybe his throat was as tired as her ears. With one hand on the stick Jarvis had brought along from the warming hut, she peeked through the window and was immediately rewarded with a view of Jarvis swinging out of his truck. The man had an excellent, fantasy-inducing body. If she ever got to sleep again, she was sure her dreams would be memorable. Tantalizing. She soaked up the way he moved, his long stride and the easy smile on his face as he approached.

She opened the door for him, enjoying the sparkle of amusement in his deep brown eyes as he stopped at the threshold.

“Hey,” he said.