Free Her Homecoming Cowboy by Debra Clopton Page B

wasn’t even a shadow. The thudding, which sounded as if the people were tiptoeing in heavy boots, had her straining to glimpse the trespassers. Her heart pounded with fear.
    What should she do? She’d never had someone try to break into her house before. Her heart thundered in her chest and her hands shook as she grabbed a candleholder off the dresser. She needed to get to Leo’s room. And then she needed to get to her cell phone—it was in the kitchen. But who would she call? Cell service was terrible in the Mule Hollow area, and the ground line hadn’t been hooked up yet.
    “Do not panic,” she told herself. “When I am afraid I will trust in the Lord. When I am afraid I will trust in the Lord.” She muttered the Bible verse under her breath in a chant several times. Then moved silently down the hall and slipped into Leo’s room. He was asleep and she gently touched his forehead, which was cool to the touch. Thank you, Lord . She sent up the silent prayer and then moved to the window.
    Peering into the darkness, she saw no one moving about this side of the house.
    She checked to make certain the locks on the windows were securely fastened. Then she tried to decide what to do. It was times like these that she really hated being single. She didn’t think about her situation often. Didn’t think about how she had set herself up for a life alone. She’d never met a man she trusted. Not enough to allow herself to get close to him, to think about maybe sharing a life together. But it sure would be nice to feel protected.
    A noise from the kitchen area set her back on high alert—a scratching sound from the windows around the breakfast area. Tiptoeing into the hall, she flattened her back against the wall and looked toward the kitchen window.
    * * *
    Colt sat on his back porch and stared at the stars. The moon was barely a sliver tonight, leaving his surroundings shrouded in darkness and shadows. Kind of how he felt on the inside. Colt believed in God. He’d given his life to the Lord years ago, but somewhere along the way he’d gotten off track. Started thinking about becoming a champion, being driven by that desire to prove something about himself. He’d gone to some of the church services held by rodeo preachers like Chance Turner, who’d hung up his traveling boots and settled in at the Mule Hollow Church of Faith. But most of the time he’d been too busy getting from one rodeo to the next. Or layin’ in late from...“spending time” with one of his adoring fans. Colt’s gut tightened with guilt.
    Had he fathered a child from one of his so-called fans? Had he brought a child into the world by his carelessness?
    Distressed, he’d almost driven to Annie’s on Sunday night right after talking with Luke and Jess, but he’d caught himself. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for him to go accusing someone of something this important while he was so angry. And he’d been angry, all right.
    Holding back had taken a lot of effort as he’d paced the fence line between their houses most of the day and racked his brain trying to pull up a face from his past about seven years ago. Someone who reminded him of Annie. Or Leo.
    Blank as a chalkboard, his mind had come up empty. Had he been with that many women? By the world’s standards, no. But by God’s standards, even one was too many. If she was the wrong one.
    Is Leo my child ?
    If it turned out that he was, what was he going to do about it?
    * * *
    Annie blinked. Her heavy eyelids lifted and she had to think a minute to realize where she was—sitting on the floor in Leo’s room beside the window, her back against the wall. She’d gone to sleep sitting here at some point before dawn. After wandering silently through the house trying to catch whoever was out there, she’d finally sunk to the floor here and waited. She’d thought that if they looked in this window she’d catch them. The candlestick lay on the floor beside her. Rubbing her eyes, which felt