Bodyguard Cowboy (Sunrise Security #3)
Chapter 1
Sheets of rain and another clap of thunder couldn’t dim Vanessa Kemp’s shine as she finally pulled down the long lane that led to the home she’d always wanted.
Her grandfather’s home.
And now, due to a host of unforeseen tragedies, it belonged to her.
She’d waited twenty-five years to finally step foot on the property where her mother had grown up in Cloud Valley, Wyoming. A dream her mother had all but forbidden; the place of her childhood forever cloaked in an air of mystery.
But that cloak had been yanked away when her mother passed away last year, leaving her with a broken heart and a lifetime of unanswered questions.
The gray French bulldog she’d inherited from her mom barked from the passenger seat, as if sensing they’d finally made it to their destination.
Francois, or Frankie as she liked to call him, had been a champ over the two-day voyage from their Chicago apartment, but they were both in dire need of stretching their legs.
“All right, buddy. Let’s get you outside. Try to be quick with your business. I don’t want you tracking in a bunch of mud to my new house.” She glanced behind her at the boxes loading down her small SUV and sighed. “I can’t mess with this now. Let’s check the place out before getting to work.”
Frankie tilted his head from side to side, as if trying to figure out what she’d said, then gave one decisive bark.
She chuckled and opened the door. Her mom had loved Frankie as much as her own daughter—doting on him way more than she ever had Vanessa—causing bouts of irritation with the furry rug rat.
But when Frankie refused to leave her mother’s side while she fought the cancer that took her life, he’d stolen Vanessa’s heart.
She’d promised to love him as fiercely as her mother had; an easier feat than she’d anticipated.
Cool rain slanted inside the car, urging her to move quicker.
She waited for Frankie to jump out before grabbing her purse and closing the door.
A shining light beamed from the old farmhouse.
Red shutters stood out against the white siding and a wide porch wrapped around the house like a welcoming hug.
A sense of peace she hadn’t felt in far too long filled her. She closed her eyes, breathing in the clean, fresh air, and reveled in a contentment that told her she’d made the right decision.
She’d finally come home.
Frankie’s frantic bark broke into her moment.
She opened her eyes, water soaking through her clothes and plastering the dark hair that had slipped from her ponytail to her cheeks. Lifting her face toward the sky, she let the rain wash over her for a few more seconds before she burst into laughter and ran for the cover of the porch.
Excitement built deep in her soul. She found the key and pushed open the front door. Silence might have been the only thing to greet her, but that silence was filled with a million stories and whispers and memories.
Memories she would never make with the grandfather she’d never had a chance to meet.
“Nope. No time for feeling sorry for ourselves, Frankie,” she said as the little dog pranced into the narrow hallway.
“Grandpa wrote me so many letters, I probably knew him better than most kids ever knew their grandparents. And now that we’re here, I can really find out who he was.
I can find out who Mom really was. And who knows what else we’ll discover along the way. ”
A familiar ache pulsed through her excitement.
There was so much she didn’t know. So much that had been kept from her.
Her mother had had her reasons, she was sure, but she was tired of not truly knowing where she came from.
The gift of her grandfather’s property had come at the perfect time, and now there was no reason not to dive in and uncover whatever she could about the family she’d never met.
A low growl rumbled from Frankie’s throat. He stood rigid, the fur along his back stretching toward the low ceiling.
She crouched and ran a palm over his head, taking time to scratch behind his ears. “Everything’s okay. Just an old house with lots of creaks and groans.”
Staying low to comfort the dog, she glanced into the front room to her left.
White cloths had been draped over the furniture and burnt brick surrounded the fireplace on the far wall.
Cream-colored curtains hung in front of the picture window, blocking the muted light from reaching the far corners of the room.
Framed photographs on the hallway walls lifted her to her full height. Black-and-white shots of a bride and groom laughing in front of a church, surrounded by family and friends, lifted her lips. Her grandparents? Great-grandparents?
Needing to know, she lifted the ornate metal frame from the wall and turned it over to open the back. Faded writing spelled out the names of her grandparents and the year they’d been married.
She traced the tip of her index finger across the letters.
This writing was larger than what she saw in her grandfather’s letters, the curves more ornate.
Unexpected tears stung her eyes. She’d never seen her grandmother’s writing before, never held a piece of the woman who was woven into the very fabric of her being.
A boom of thunder shook the house, and her heart jumped to her throat. She yelped then slapped her hand on her chest. “Okay, so the storm’s making us a little jumpy.”
Frankie growled again. He crouched low, as if ready to pounce.
Returning the frame to the wall, she sighed. “You can’t get upset over every litt—”
Thundering footsteps barreled down the stairs and a figure cloaked in black rushed toward her. Her scream combined with Frankie’s snarls and growls. Time slowed and sped up at the same time, and fear stole her ability to move.
She braced herself seconds before the figure slammed against her and knocked her to the ground before fleeing out the door, swallowed by the deafening storm.
* * *
Dax McKay strolled through the sheet of rain to his truck, parked in front of the house he shared with his father. The old ranch might not be a working cattle farm anymore, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t work to be done.
And with his brother consumed with his security business and his father’s health declining daily, it fell to Dax to keep the ship running.
Not like he could complain; in the last year he’d been the one who’d pushed to board horses on the property to bring in extra income.
It also helped him carve out time with the ones he trained, giving him full access along with the flexibility to continue working as a security specialist at Sunrise Security.
By the time he yanked open the driver’s-side door, water soaked the bottom of his jeans and seeped through the material of his black cowboy hat. The bite in the early spring air was the only thing that kept him from standing in the refreshing showers just a little bit longer.
“What the hell you doin’ out there, boy?” His dad stood on the porch, leaning on the cane Dax and his brother Madden had forced on him. “Didn’t your mama teach you any sense?”
Walter McKay was a stubborn old man filled with as much pride as he was piss and vinegar.
Parkinson’s disease had crept in, silently stealing his ability to physically navigate his world.
He’d been forced to give up so much already, and Dax was determined to make sure he could enjoy every last bit of the life he had left.
And if that meant standing outside and yelling at him, so be it.
He shut the door until only a sliver remained open and grinned up at his old man. “Mama gave me sense. It’s my father who raised me to be a pistol.”
Walter’s snort of laughter cut through the constant ping of raindrops against the hood of his truck. “Where you off to?”
“Meeting Madden at the office. He wants to go over some new cases with me. See if I’m interested.”
Working with his big brother had been as high on his list as shoveling manure from the barns, but when Madden had reached out overwhelmed and understaffed months before, Dax had offered to help.
He preferred to be outside, the mountains his backdrop and horses his coworkers, but had been surprised with how rewarding using his brain to fix a problem had been.
And hell, he was actually good at it.
“You better get goin’. Don’t want to piss off the boss.”
Dax rolled his eyes, enjoying the sound of his father’s ornery chuckle as he climbed into his old pickup and headed to town.
The skies may be gray and dark, but it didn’t dim the beauty of the land as he drove past rolling hills and gurgling brooks.
Buds sprouted on the trees, promising beauty and renewal for another year.
The slopes flattened and houses dotted the landscape, the space between them decreasing the closer he got to downtown Cloud Valley.
Neighborhoods and small businesses welcomed him into the city limits.
He turned onto Main Street, the storm keeping tourists away from the normally bustling sidewalks.
Colorful awnings stretched away from storefronts, water sliding down the fabric and splattering on the ground.
Sunrise Security’s main office didn’t boast any fancy fabric, but large golden letters scrawled across the front window. The lack of traffic gave him a first-class parking spot in front of the office. He slid in, parked, and jogged inside.
Peggy Reynolds, the office secretary and surrogate mother to all, glanced up from under her bifocals. Her gray hair skimmed the top of her shoulders and pink lipstick stained her lips as well as her white coffee mug. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
He grinned and touched the brim of his hat in mock gratitude. “No matter what I do, I’ll never be as pretty as you, Peg, so why even try?”
She waved a hand through the air, showing off pastel-green nails with tiny flowers somehow painted on them.
“I’m not going to fall for your charm, so don’t even start.
Your brother was called out somewhere or another and took Ben with him.
He said if you could hang tight for a few minutes, he’ll be back soon. ”
Dax gritted his teeth. He and Madden had worked through a lot of their issues, but his brother could annoy him more than anyone else on this planet.
He’d hauled ass to finish what needed doing this morning to make it to the office on time and Madden couldn’t even shoot him a text to let him know he’d be out.
“I know that look,” Peggy said. “Don’t go getting all upset about something outside of Madden’s control.
Mr. Bailey came busting in here like a fox in a henhouse, making demands and causing a scene.
Madden and Ben jumped into action, knowing you wouldn’t have to wait long.
So, have a seat, grab a cup of that fresh coffee I just made, and let’s have a chat. ”
Biting back a sarcastic comment, he stalked over to the credenza shoved against the wall that Peg had set up as a coffee and tea station.
He filled an oversized mug then settled on the couch in the sitting area.
He hooked his ankle over his knee and leaned back against the soft, leather cushion.
“Might as well enjoy some good conversation. Tell me what Mr. Bailey was all bent out of shape about.”
The front door swung open and a dark-haired beauty with long legs and dangerous curves hidden behind a canvas raincoat stepped inside. Big, olive-colored eyes dominated her face, her expression tight with fear.
Dax set his mug on the coffee table and rose to his feet. “Hello there. Can I help you?”
She darted her gaze between him and Peggy. “I hope so.”
Something wiggled beneath her jacket and a small gray head popped out.
Dax chuckled. “If you need a vet, there’s one down the street.”
Swallowing hard, she shook her head. “I don’t need a vet. I need my home secured. I just moved in, and someone was inside the house when I arrived. I need to make sure that won’t happen again.”
He took a step closer, amusement about the funny-looking dog melting away, along with his irritation with Madden. He didn’t know who this woman was, but something stirred inside him that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Something that should have him running in the opposite direction instead of closing the distance between them and extending his hand. “I’m Dax McKay. I’ll do whatever you need to keep you safe.”