Colton's Surprise Heir by Fox Addison

Author:Fox, Addison [Fox, Addison]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-02-12T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Ethan didn’t wait for clarification; he simply moved into action. He’d shed his boots earlier but had slipped on sneakers for his last visit to the barn and still wore them. Grateful for the thick soles, he ran from the house and raced toward the stables, cold ground crunching under his feet.

“Josie!”

Her name ripped from his lips, his breath pooling in the cold February air. When he heard no reply, he shouted again, adding a plea to come back. Was it possible his baby sister was here? That she’d been here all along?

“Josie!”

Her name continued to echo over the cold air, but no one responded. No one came forward.

The lights from the barn lit up the training circle, and he moved closer, anxious to see if there were any footprints or incriminating marks in the dirt around the paddock. Although he didn’t have Ridge’s tracking skills, he couldn’t see anything that stood out between the booted feet that made imprints all day long.

“Ethan.” Lizzie’s voice was breathless as she came toward him, his coat in her hands.

“Get back inside.”

“You need a coat. Come here and bundle up. It’s freezing.”

The adrenaline that had carried him outside began to fade, a deep cold settling in his bones. He took the coat she offered, slipping into it, considering her as he did. She’d taken the time to slip into her own coat, and while she didn’t have on a scarf, she was pulling on her gloves even now.

“Was she here?”

“No.” He kicked at the ground. “Or if she was, she’s gone.”

“I’m sorry.” Lizzie stilled, her breath gathering around her in small puffs. “Do you think it’s possible?”

“What did you see? Are you sure you weren’t imagining something?”

“The lights were off, Ethan. You saw it for yourself. Then they flipped on at someone’s movement.”

“Yes, but the house is still some distance from the barn. Are you sure it was my sister?”

“I know what I saw.” Although her coat stretched against her belly, Lizzie had no problem folding her arms, settling them above the roundness. “And I saw Josie.”

“If it was her, why would she run away?” While the question was firmly of the moment, it was steeped in the same questions they’d all asked themselves for years. Why had she stopped their family visits?

And why had she run away in the first place?

“I don’t know, Ethan. But I do know what I saw. Josie was like a sister to me. I know what she looks like.”

“What did she look like?”

Lizzie’s eyes narrowed, as if she pulled those few brief moments from memory. “She has the same petite frame she used to curse because she quit growing before everyone else.”

“Squirt was the name Chris gave her, and it stuck.”

“She hated that name. Or pretended to.” The small smile that tilted her lips faded. Growing serious, Lizzie added, “She was always tiny, but she looks thinner than ever. And she had an old barn coat over thickly padded clothes. Like she knew she’d be outside.”

“So why did she run?”

“She’s frightened.

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