The Ranger's Texas Proposal
Jessica Keller
A Wife for the RangerWhen Texas Ranger Heath Grayson agrees to investigate thefts at the boys ranch, he's also hoping to solve a decades-old murder case: his father's. Getting involved with pretty, pregnant widow and boys ranch volunteer Josie Markham is not on Heath's agenda. But the more time he spends with Josie, the harder it is to ignore their growing attraction. The sombre ranger is convinced a wife and child are not in his future. But with a little help from the boys at the ranch, he may just realise a family is what he needs most of all.
A Wife for the Ranger
When Texas Ranger Heath Grayson agrees to investigate thefts at the boys ranch, he’s also hoping to solve a decades-old murder case: his father’s. Getting involved with pretty, pregnant widow and boys ranch volunteer Josie Markham is not on Heath’s agenda. But the more time he spends with Josie, the harder it is to ignore their growing attraction. The somber ranger is convinced a wife and child are not in his future. But with a little help from the boys at the ranch, he may just realize a family is what he needs most of all.
“Lead the way.” Heath grabbed the milk pails. “I’ll follow you wherever.”
I’ll follow you. He’d meant it about the pails, but the words made her heart speed up just the same. Foolishness. Josie had only ever dated Dale, and Dale didn’t believe in chasing a woman in order to win her. She’d never been pursued. Not when they were dating, and definitely not after they had married. Dale had called romance a mind game.
But as Josie made her way toward the cabin with Heath trailing her, the Ranger’s hard-won smile and teasing wink flashed through her mind.
Oh, this was bad. Very bad. Mayday bad.
Most mistakes started in the form of a good-looking man.
She peeked at him over her shoulder.
Definitely a mistake.
* * *
Lone Star Cowboy League: Boys Ranch
Bighearted ranchers in small-town Texas
The Rancher’s Texas Match (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781488007507&oisbn=9781488007569) by Brenda Minton October 2016
The Ranger’s Texas Proposal by Jessica Keller
November 2016
The Nanny’s Texas Christmas (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781488007620&oisbn=9781488007569) by Lee Tobin McClain December 2016
The Cowboy’s Texas Family (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781488018015&oisbn=9781488007569) by Margaret Daley January 2017
The Doctor’s Texas Baby (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781488018091&oisbn=9781488007569) by Deb Kastner February 2017
The Rancher’s Texas Twins (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781488018176&oisbn=9781488007569) by Allie Pleiter March 2017
JESSICA KELLER is a Starbucks drinker, avid reader and chocolate aficionado. Jessica holds degrees in communications and biblical studies. She is multipublished in both romance and young-adult fiction and loves to interact with readers through social media. Jessica lives in the Chicagoland suburbs with her amazing husband, beautiful daughter and two annoyingly outgoing cats who happen to be named after superheroes. Find all her contact information at jessicakellerbooks.com (http://jessicakellerbooks.com).
The Ranger’s Texas Proposal
Jessica Keller
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
—Romans 15:13
Dedicated in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. To the guardians of peace and civilization. The heroes.
Our thanks and honor will never be enough, but it’s yours.
Special thanks and acknowledgment
are given to Jessica Keller for her contribution to the
Lone Star Cowboy League: Boys Ranch miniseries.
Contents
Cover (#u4b9df6e5-3e7a-5c6d-8808-6ba8218b91b8)
Back Cover Text (#ub21e6ead-d729-5167-9a35-7961fe3e350d)
Introduction (#ua124531b-a593-5ed7-8937-1133f44ec3bb)
About the Author (#udf732c27-7747-5fd6-95df-854aae8e690f)
Title Page (#u70c86cfd-f157-51b1-84d9-53858834d17e)
Bible Verse (#u4bc9ea4c-09a7-5daa-92f3-fde314863e47)
Dedication (#u8948e2ca-3ebd-574d-a332-4cfcb9c6bd32)
Acknowledgments (#ub49f464d-7a33-5206-8f86-d9353b59a6d3)
Chapter One (#uea2e42b1-399f-5d0a-bdee-ca14324d13d7)
Chapter Two (#uf019ad68-131d-5fc4-8168-2032b8302573)
Chapter Three (#u81ae04f6-fc20-5cc5-8a63-e3393da03872)
Chapter Four (#ub29bca6d-4203-5714-ac13-00d41c62cc6b)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Dear Reader (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#u094ce821-c6be-5ca6-991e-808464985ed0)
“A forced vacation,” Heath Grayson grumbled and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He loathed speaking on his phone through his car speakers. It felt unnatural.
“You need time off. You won’t take it. Where does that leave me?” Chuck, the major who oversaw the Texas Rangers out of Company F, was starting to lose his patience.
“It leaves you with a man who wants to work. Why not just let me keep working?”
“Rules are rules, Ranger. The handbook says I’m not supposed to let you carry more than one hundred and sixty vacation hours into the next year.”
“I know this is only the start of my second year as a Ranger, but the Department of Public Safety hasn’t ever enforced that on me.” He’d carried hundreds of vacation hours with him when he became a Texas Ranger. Hours he’d never used during his years working in the investigative unit of the state troopers. “My paycheck comes from them. We’re still under their umbrella.”
“Unfortunately, the Ranger unit is a little stricter with time usage. Now...even if you stay away all of November—which I’m ordering you to do, hear me?—you’ll still be carrying over four hundred hours into next year. I can’t believe they let you bring that time with you when we hired you.”
“It’s all the same branch of the government.” He tried to keep the grumble out of his voice this time but wasn’t successful.
“I’m aware of that. But the Austin office is going to mince me if you don’t start whittling these hours away.”
“Fine. Sorry. I don’t want to cause you any trouble. I’ll stay away.” Heath swallowed hard. Worked his jaw. Still, after all these years, why was it so hard to talk about it? “But do I have your permission to look into that cold-case file we talked about...on my time?”
Chuck sighed. “I won’t stop you from looking into your father’s murder, if that’s what you’re asking. But, Heath?”
He glanced down into the footwell on the passenger’s side of his truck, where a box of file copies on his dad’s murder rested. “Yes, sir?”
“That case has been cold for fifteen years. Arctic cold.”
Heath sucked in a breath. “I’m well aware of that, sir.”
Fifteen years.
Heath had now been without his father for just as many years as he’d known the man. The hero. The Texas Ranger who had lost his life on the job. Heath had followed in his father’s footsteps—at least in choosing the same profession. Heath tapped his badge, resting in the compartment near the driveshaft. However, he wouldn’t make the same mistakes his father had. Heath wouldn’t get married. Wouldn’t drag kids into a situation where they might lose their dad like he and his sister had. He couldn’t do that to people he cared about.
Chuck cleared his throat and Heath got the sense that the major was about to try to talk him out of his mission, but instead he said, “Best of luck, and rest up. That last case... You’ve done a lot of good, son. I wish we had more awards to hand you for that one.”
Heath dragged his hand over his short dark hair. The last case had worked him raw. “I don’t want awards. That’s not why I do this job.”
“All the same. There are twelve kids out there safe today because of your work these past few months. Allow yourself a moment to celebrate that while you’re enjoying vacation. For me. That’s an order.”
“Will do, sir.”
Heath had been the lead Ranger on a statewide bust that had started as a drug-smuggling investigation but blew up to uncover a dirty underground of child trafficking. It took months of covert and often stomach-turning investigation, but Heath and a few other officers had been able to bring charges against the seven top guys in the criminal ring. They’d arrested six more on lesser offenses. And twelve kids had been set free. He’d never forget their faces when he broke into the room and ushered them to safety.
That was why he did this job, even though it was inherently dangerous. Bringing about justice, seeing people free and safe again...that was why he wore the badge.
And now he had one more kid to help out. His teenage self. Ever since his father’s murder, there had been a weight, a binding around his chest. If he could close the case, perhaps he could move past the anger that still bubbled inside that boy who’d lost his dad. The boy who’d fought with his dad the last time he saw him. The boy who’d never gotten to tell his hero I’m sorry or I love you one last time.
Which was why he was keeping his vacation local. Haven, Texas...home of the boys ranch where his father had been murdered.
First, though, he had to investigate some mischief that had been occurring at the boys ranch, where his buddy Flint Rawlings now worked. Flint had asked him to look into a string of minor offenses. Not exactly normal Ranger-type work, but Heath was desperate for an excuse to plant himself in the middle of the boys ranch in order to poke around about his father’s case anyway. He’d investigate some calves getting out of their pens and some petty thefts if it served that purpose. Besides, Flint and Heath had been friends since basic training, back when they’d both served as soldiers. Heath wasn’t one to turn his back on the few friends who had stuck with him over the years.
Heath adjusted his visor, blocking the midmorning sun from blazing directly into his eyes.
Flint had explained that the troubles at the ranch had escalated last night. A female volunteer by the name of Josie Markham had witnessed someone running out of the barn, calves following in the person’s wake. No one knew how the perpetrator broke into the barn. But they had a firsthand account from a witness, so at least there was a starting point.
More than Heath had to go on about his father.
Was the mischief at the boys ranch a coincidence? Doubtful. At the moment, Heath would guess everything amounted to pranks or the frustrated acting out of a disgruntled resident. It was a home for troubled boys after all. But Heath wasn’t a guessing sort of man. He believed in hard facts and logic. Everything had an answer if a person was willing to dig far enough to find it.
He’d built his life on information and facts, and currently Josie Markham was in possession of both those things.
* * *
Josie Markham took a deep breath as she stopped for a moment to lean against her late-model truck. Morning sunlight traced through the unkempt field behind her home. Next year she’d plant something there. This little patch of land would be a working ranch with crops, too. She clenched her fists. No matter what, she was determined to see her dream through.
“I can do this.” She rubbed her hands over her arms, trying to warm up.
Even in Texas, early November mornings carried a chill. A shiver raced down her spine, but it could have more to do with exhaustion than the weather. Josie sighed.
There wouldn’t be time to relax today.
The animals needed to be cared for, she had to make something to eat, and by the time those things were done, she’d have to head to the boys ranch across town for her volunteer shift. Bea—the director at the boys ranch—had already urged Josie to begin cutting down her hours serving there, but she didn’t want to. As a new member of The Lone Star Cowboy League, the organization that ran the boys ranch, Josie felt a responsibility to be there whenever she could. But it was more than that; Josie loved working at the boys ranch. She thrived on the animal-husbandry classes she taught and the hours she spent in her role as mother’s helper inside the large home on the property.
Chores. She needed to finish her chores before she could think about anything else.
Josie started to move, but then decided to allow herself the small luxury of one more minute watching the sunrise before heading into the barn. Fingertips of sunlight outlined the stable and a fenced-in pasture area. Golden and pink light sketched into the fleeing night sky, making the world glow with possibility.
If Josie lived to be a hundred, she’d never get over the beauty that was the rise and fall of the sun each day. A reminder that everything had a beginning and an end—a marked-out time—that she had no control over. But God did. He knew and nothing happened outside of His care. Didn’t the Bible say there was a time for everything? A time to cry, to laugh, to rejoice. God was in control.
Some days she almost believed that.
Josie traced her fingers over the large dent and scratches along the side of her truck; most of the bronze paint had started to peel off in that area. It didn’t look pretty, but she wasn’t going to waste money fixing it. Not that she would have had the money even if it desperately did need to be fixed.
When they’d purchased the truck as newlyweds, Dale had often kidded her that the bronze clashed with her auburn hair. Foolish man. He never did understand what the word clash meant in a fashion sense. She shook her head, suppressing the smile that pulled on her lips whenever she thought about their early days together. The good times.
Don’t think about Dale. Don’t cry.
Her throat clamped and she blinked back the burn in her eyes. Texas dust. That was all it was. The dust.
After paying off the gambling debts and back taxes she’d discovered after Dale’s funeral, she’d had to sell their home and most of their married belongings. All but the truck—she got to keep it because it was paid off. The vehicle was all she had left of her and Dale’s life together.
Her hands automatically dropped to her expanding midsection.
The little person growing and moving inside of her begged to differ about the truck being the only piece of their marriage left. Tears found their way to her chin. The irony of her situation—almost six months pregnant and a husband buried just less than that—tore at her heart. The week before he was gunned down on the job, Dale had started packing to leave her. He’d wanted a son—a child—and in ten years of marriage, Josie hadn’t gotten pregnant.
She hadn’t been enough to keep Dale happy.
Now none of that mattered. He was gone and they were having a child. A child she’d raise on nothing. With no husband, no man to help with chores or bring in a paycheck or hold her when she wanted to fall apart and cry.
For the rest of her life...alone.
“We’re going to be okay, lima bean.” Her voice broke on the nickname. “Hear that?” She rubbed her belly. “Don’t mind your mama’s tears here and there. The doctor tells me that’s all part of being pregnant. Emotions. Lots of ’em. So don’t let them worry you at all. They don’t mean anything. You and me are going to be just fine.”
If she kept repeating that, maybe it’d be true.
* * *
Heath glanced at the screen on his GPS. Almost there.
Over the phone, Flint had given him the name Josie Markham along with her address and sent Heath off to “go along, now, and do your investigating.” Knowing Flint, Heath was fairly certain the man hadn’t given Ms. Markham a heads-up that a Ranger was on his way over. No matter. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d shown up at someone’s home unannounced, and it sure wouldn’t be the last. It went with the job.
Wind whipped through his windows, carrying the scent of dirt and cattle and something musty—stale water. Decay. A low river. They’d had a dry summer and not much more rain so far that fall, either. Later in the day, the high would sit in the upper sixties. Cold by Texan standards, but Heath liked the fresh air. He’d always choose fresh air over the vented stuff.
Heath pulled onto a small dirt road, dust swirling behind his truck. At the end of the road, the ranch that greeted him left something to be desired. Could it even be called a ranch? A small cabin perched on the edge of a meandering river. Cattails encircled the opposite side of the water from the cabin and there was a tiny dock, good for launching a rowboat or canoe. It would also make an ideal fishing spot. Too bad Heath wasn’t much of a fisherman.
There was a large SUV-type truck parked beside the cabin. It sported a dent almost big enough for a person to hide in along the passenger side. No way that door opened anymore. Recent crash? The lack of rust said so. Was someone still driving around in that thing? It couldn’t be safe.
Behind the cabin was a barn that had seen better days. Heath parked his truck, stepped out and ducked past the cabin to get a better view of the rest of the land. Scratch his original thought—the barn had seen much better days. The thing looked liable to fall down in any stiff wind, probably smashing whatever poor animals called that place home in the process.
Right when Heath was about to turn toward the cabin, he spotted a petite woman coming out of the barn, struggling as she huffed and puffed behind a creaking wheelbarrow.
His long stride ate up the distance quickly. “Here. Let me help.”
The woman set down the handles, balanced the wheelbarrow in the soft earth near a grassless pen and swiped sweat from her forehead. One of her fingers poked through a hole in her worn-out work gloves. The nail polish on it was chipped, but purple. Her hair color fell somewhere between red and brown. She had it pulled up, but it must be long to make that gigantic bun on her head. He never understood how women were able to get it to look that way, all piled on top... Didn’t it hurt? Wasn’t that much hair heavy?
The woman—Josie Markham, according to Flint—set her hands on her hips and scowled at him as if Heath were a spider on her wall. “What can I do for you, Officer?” Her tone said she didn’t really want to do anything for him. Ever.
He raised his eyebrows.
She heaved a sigh. Her cheeks were flushed from exertion. She grabbed at the collar of the light green shirt she wore, fanning it to cool herself down. “White hat. Boots. White starched shirt. And that belt’s the type they only issue to Texas Rangers.” She gestured toward his holster. “I hope you weren’t trying to be undercover.”
“Good eye.” He extended his hand. She narrowed her gaze but shook it. “Heath Grayson. I’m a friend of Flint’s.”
In the space of a heartbeat, her hesitant expression vanished and was replaced by wide-eyed concern. “Did something else happen at the ranch?” Her lips parted to suck in air and her skin went paler than it was naturally a moment ago. Josie had one of those the rare types of faces that didn’t age—she’d look young forever. Even though she was probably nearing thirty, she could pass for eighteen.
She shifted from around the wheelbarrow. “What are we waiting for? If something’s wrong, let’s go.” She started toward her truck.
Once she moved away from the wheelbarrow, he saw her stomach. Pregnant. Very pregnant. That fact wasn’t a maybe or a possibly—it was a certainty. Flint had mentioned Josie was widowed, but he’d left out the little detail that she was with child. So, a recent widow.
Had she been in the barn alone...doing chores?
Heath imagined his sister, Nell. She’d been married to a fireman a few years back. Bill. A loser. He’d cheated on Nell and left her alone, pregnant with their daughter, Carly. Even the reminder of the man caused Heath’s hands to bunch into fists. Heath had always wanted to march up to Bill and give him a piece of his mind, but Nell had forbidden any such nonsense. His younger sister was a strong, determined woman. The set of Josie’s chin hinted that she might have that in common with Nell.
“Let me help you with your chores,” Heath said.
Josie’s jaw dropped. “What about the boys ranch?”
“The ranch is fine.”
“Why didn’t you say so? You about gave me a heart attack.” She laid her hand on her chest and took a few deep breaths. Then her eyes skirted back up to capture his. “If the ranch is fine, why exactly are you here, then?”
She fanned her face and dragged in huge amounts of oxygen through her mouth as if she was having a hard time getting it into her lungs.
Now he’d done it. Gone and gotten a pregnant woman all worked up. Did he need to find her a chair? A drink of water? Rush her to the hospital? What a terrible feeling, being out of control. It was disconcerting. With his training as a Ranger and his years as a state trooper before that, he was far too used to knowing what to do in whatever situation he was placed in.
“Are you all right, ma’am?” He took hold of her elbow and steered her away from the barn, toward the cabin. She felt so small and breakable. There wasn’t much meat on her arm. “What do you need?”
“I’m fine. Just fine.” She laughed. “You should see your face, though.” She pointed up at him and covered her mouth, hiding her wide grin. Her warm brown eyes shone with mischief. “Now you look like you’re the one having a heart attack. Relax there, Officer. It was only a figure of speech.” Her laugh was a high sound, full of joy. Josie laughed with her whole self, without holding anything back.
Heath wanted to hear it again.
She even smelled nice—a mixture of sunshine from the outdoors and something sweet, almost like the scent that used to drift through his childhood home when his mom was making caramel chews.
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
Had she asked him something? Heath scratched his chin.
Josie crossed her arms, resting them on top of her protruding stomach. “So, then, Heath Grayson, Texas Ranger, what brings you to my ranch?”
He toed his boot into the parched earth. How on earth was this tiny woman making him feel as if he was the one under questioning, not the other way around? Off-kilter. That was the way to describe how he felt.
“Flint wants me to speak with you about the incident last night. About the calves.”
“Funny.” She inclined her head. “I didn’t take this for something that required the intervention of the Texas Rangers.”
“You’re right. This isn’t exactly official business.” He made finger quotes around the last two words. “I’m on vacation. Only doing Flint a favor.”
“Ah, so you’re a do-gooder, then? The married-to-the-job type. Poking around for petty criminals on your off time?” The tug of her lips let him know she was teasing him again.
Silence usually worked when he was locked in a room with his worst offenders. Perhaps the trick would get the firecracker that was Josie Markham to stay on track, as well. Heath locked his jaw out of habit.
“Okay. I see. That’s your confession look.” She pointed at his face. “That’s the stern one that gets the bad guys to give in. Fine. Be that way.” She pulled off her gloves and wiped her hands on the thighs of her jeans. “Well, let’s get it over with quickly, then. I’ve got a lot that needs to get done today.” She jutted her thumb over her shoulder, pointing at the barn.
Heath’s gaze traced back over the patched-together ranch. If Josie was all alone, she needed help. That should take precedence over an investigation about some loose cows. It wasn’t exactly like anyone was in immediate danger. Not from what Flint had shared.
Unlike the danger that had plagued the boys ranch fifteen years ago.
“How about I go ahead and help with your chores first?” Heath crossed his arms and widened his stance, ready for the fight he was sure this woman would put up. He’d spent enough time on his uncle’s ranch over the years, especially after his father’s death, that Heath knew his way around a barn and wasn’t shy when it came to manual labor. He was just as much at home mucking stables as he was on the shooting range.
Her lips pinched as if she’d bitten into something sour. “Absolutely not.”
No one could say he wasn’t a good judge of character.
“I insist.”
Josie blew out a long stream of air. “Listen, Officer Grayson—”
“Heath is just fine.” He took a half step closer.
“Heath, then.” She patted her hair. “I make it a point not to spend too much time around lawmen anymore.”
Anymore?
“Interesting.” He held his ground. “We’re at an impasse, then, because I make it a point not to leave pregnant women on their own to do any heavy labor.”
“Labor, really?” A muscle twitching on her cheek said she was fighting the upward tilt of her lips. “That’s the word you’re going with?”
“Let me help you. Please?” He softened his voice.
Why was he pushing this issue so hard? He didn’t know Josie, but her condition twisted his gut and it tugged at him... She could be Nell. He’d been with the state troopers, stationed clear across the state when Nell fell on hard times. The distance had made it impossible to help her at all when she was alone and pregnant with his niece, Carly. Heath would always regret not being there for them. But perhaps lessening Josie’s load—if only for a month—could be a small way to atone.
Besides, she was a witness to a recent crime. Even though Flint didn’t believe there was an immediate threat, depending on what Heath’s investigation uncovered, it could mean Josie was a target. Especially if she had been seen or if her information led to someone’s capture.
He couldn’t leave her on her own.
Heath had a month off... Why not help around her ranch? He needed something to do with his time and he wouldn’t be able to spend every second of his vacation at the boys ranch investigating his father’s murder. Not without people becoming suspicious. He didn’t want them all to know that was what he was doing there. There was a chance he’d solve nothing. That he’d fail. He definitely didn’t want them to feel sorry for him, the way people often did when they found out about his father’s death.
Helping take care of Josie gave him an out...an alibi. He could help on her ranch and then drive her—because her truck was not safe in its current condition—to the boys ranch for her volunteer hours, which would give him a believable reason to hang around so much. Because he knew Flint would get annoyed if Heath trailed him around at the ranch. Hopefully, Josie wouldn’t.
He yanked off his hat and laid it over his heart. “My mother would be ashamed of me if I left your ranch without pitching in. Say yes...for my mother’s sake.”
Josie popped her fists onto her hips and let out another loud laugh. “Well, if you’re going to guilt me by bringing your mom into things, I guess a girl’s going to have to accept your help.” She shook her finger at him. “But mark it in the books that I am accepting begrudgingly and slightly under protest.”
“Under protest.” Now Heath was the one who couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t used to that. “I’ll be sure to mark that down.”
The woman was definitely a bit of a spitfire. And not even an inch of her was intimidated by his being a Texas Ranger, which was refreshing. The instant respect that often came with the office was nice, but it tended to keep everyone at an arm’s distance.
Heath rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
This November, Josie Markham wouldn’t be alone. Not like Nell had been.
Not if Heath had anything to do with it.
Chapter Two (#u094ce821-c6be-5ca6-991e-808464985ed0)
At first Josie followed Heath around. “My ranch may look like a mess. I know it does. But I’m only starting out. This has been mine for the last five months. I haven’t had time to turn this place into what I’ve envisioned. But I will.”
Heath nodded. “I’m certain you will.”
He moved the cows out of the barn and into the pasture. After the cows were cleared out, he wrangled the three large hogs into a separate penned area, away from the cattle. The man spent an hour mucking out the stables and refreshing them with clean straw. While he worked, Josie minded the chickens, hunted for eggs and milked her dairy cows along with the two goats that rounded out her animals. Heath lunged for the metal buckets when Josie made a move to lug them toward her house.
“I got them.” He scooted over and made a grab for the pails.
“I’m perfectly capable of bringing them in, Officer Grayson.”
“Heath. And while I know you’re capable...remember...my dear old mother.” He winked at her.
She rolled her eyes, but moved out of his way. “Fine, then. Follow me, Heath.”
“Lead the way.” Heath grabbed the pails and inclined his head. “I’ll follow you wherever.”
I’ll follow you. He’d meant it about the pails, but the words made her heart speed up just the same. Foolishness. Josie had only ever dated Dale, and Dale didn’t believe in chasing a woman in order to win her. She’d never been followed...pursued. Not when they were dating and definitely not after they had married. Dale had referred to romance as a “mind game.”
But as Josie made her way toward the cabin with Heath trailing her, the Ranger’s hard-won smile and teasing wink flashed through her mind.
Oh, this was bad. Very bad. Mayday bad.
Most mistakes started in the form of a good-looking man.
She peeked a glance at him over her shoulder.
Definitely a mistake.
In those leg-hugging jeans, boots and with his sleeves rolled up until they were snug around his tanned forearms, the man was far, far too handsome for his own good. And when he’d taken off his hat and invoked his mom, his almost-black hair, messy and sticking out at weird angles from wearing the hat, about did her in.
Josie had always been attracted to the tall, dark and handsome type. Heath Grayson definitely fit the bill. He had dark, wide eyebrows, and his eyes were black coffee—hold the cream.
Don’t forget tall. The man had a foot on her, maybe more.
Josie had met her late husband, Dale, when they were in high school, and they’d started dating soon after. He’d never grown beyond the five foot seven he was when they’d met. And Dale’s face had been rounder—softer around his edges. Whereas Heath had sharp lines, as if his face had been chiseled from stone by some great, ancient artist.
She shook her head, releasing her wayward thoughts.
There was zero reason to compare the two men. None whatsoever. So they were both in law enforcement? Big whoop. That didn’t mean she needed to pull out a chart and make a pros-and-cons list of whom she was more attracted to. Goodness... Dale was her husband. Her husband. At least, he had been her husband and he hadn’t passed away that long ago. She was still working through the grief of losing her first love, losing the man who would have been the father to the child kicking in her stomach.
The attraction she felt for Heath—a man she’d only just met—had to be her pregnancy hormones talking. The doctor had said her emotions would do silly things in the next few months leading up to the birth. That must be the reason for her rapid heart palpitations, and the way her gaze kept tabs on Heath all morning and memorized the way his dress shirt pulled across his shoulders... It was crazy pregnancy stuff. End of story.
Besides, Heath Grayson was a lawman. Not just any lawman—he was an officer who worked the most dangerous and high-stakes cases in the state. A Texas Ranger. If Dale, who had been a sheriff’s deputy, could die in the line of duty, Josie imagined the target on a Ranger’s back was even bigger.
Especially these days.
Her front porch made a horrible moaning sound under their combined weight and Josie grimaced. The old fishing cabin had belonged to her father and had fallen completely out of use after his passing several years ago. Dad had left it to her, and Dale hadn’t wanted to care for the property. Once she’d moved out of her and Dale’s old home, the fishing cabin was all she had to her name. She’d been proud of the little space. It was hers. One hundred percent hers. It was the first time ever that she’d lived alone, which she discovered she didn’t like, but that was a different issue altogether. The fact was, now she knew.
But for as much pride as she had in the small patch of land that she was trying to turn into a functioning ranch and the tiny two-bedroom cabin that was going to be the perfect amount of space for her and her baby, worry lanced through her. She tried to see the place through Heath’s eyes. Would he consider it shabby? Think her poor and tragic?
Josie lifted her shoulders, filled her lungs and held up her chin as she opened the door. This was her home. She refused to care what anyone else thought about it. She was determined to craft this cabin into a welcoming place filled with love. One her baby would enjoy growing up in. She wouldn’t waste worry on what a passing-through Texas Ranger thought. No matter how much the muscles in his arms popped when he carried in her milk pails.
Josie stepped around Heath and opened up her green secondhand refrigerator. “Just set them in the bottom there.”
He did so and then turned to face her, almost as if he was waiting for her to issue his next marching orders. She couldn’t allow him to work on her ranch for a few hours and then send him on his way. That wasn’t good manners. Besides, she still needed to fill him in about the incident she’d witnessed at the boys ranch.
Josie clasped her hands. “Why don’t you wash up and have a seat? After that many chores, I have a feeling you’ve worked up an appetite.” She rubbed her palms together, hesitant. Was this a good idea? Too late. “Bathroom’s the second door in the hall there.”
“Ma’am, there’s no need—”
She held up her finger in that scolding way she used to do when she worked as a nanny years ago. “Ah. I won’t hear it. Now’s my chance to invoke my mother on you. She wouldn’t hear of me sending away an honest, hardworking man without so much as offering a scrambled egg or two, so I won’t listen to any arguments. Scrub your hands and have a seat.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He tipped his hat.
“And no more ma’am stuff,” she called after him as he made his way to the washroom. “I’m probably younger than you are.”
“I’m sure you are,” he called back.
Josie mentally cataloged what ingredients she had and settled on biscuits and gravy with a side of cheesy scrambled eggs. She’d made a batch of her favorite biscuits from scratch the other night and there were plenty left over. They were always a huge hit when she shared them at the boys ranch. She popped a bunch of them onto a pan and set her oven to warm.
After she wiggled the knob on the stovetop, it finally clicked and the flame went on. She set a skillet over the flame and crumbled breakfast sausage into the pan. Grease sizzled and popped. Josie licked her lips. She was hungry and loved cooking. These days, though, she often skipped making what she considered real meals because there was only her.
Making food for one was no fun.
She scraped the skillet and then sprinkled in the flour, keeping an eye on it while the grease soaked it all up. Next the milk and then the rest of the flour and seasonings. The mixture would have to be stirred frequently now so it didn’t get too thick or burn on the bottom. Josie juggled cracking the eggs and starting to scramble them along with stirring the gravy with finesse.
When breakfast—she glanced at the clock and saw that it was ten in the morning, so it was closer to brunch now—was done, she arranged both their plates and then turned toward the table. Heath sat there, his hat off and resting on the pole on the back of his chair. His dark hair was doing that adorable messy, sticking-up thing again. Josie tried not to stare, but it was hard not to.
“That bad?” Heath’s cheeks reddened and he patted his head. “Should I put the hat back on?” He swiveled around to grab the Stetson.
He had noticed her staring? How embarrassing.
Josie swallowed hard and forced her eyes down to their plates. “No. You’re fine like that. Just fine.” She set the plate with double the amount of food in front of him and then took her seat across the table. “Would you mind saying grace?”
“Of course.” Heath nodded and bowed his head. “Father, we thank You for the people we meet and the adventures You take us on. Bless Josie and her baby, keep them both in good health. Bless this food to our bodies, that we’ll use the energy to go out and do things that glorify You. And bless our conversation. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, we ask all these things. Amen.”
“Amen,” Josie whispered. “Thank you.”
“Sure.” Heath shrugged and gave her a look that said it was strange to thank someone for saying a prayer. They both dug into their food. Heath passed a compliment her way after every bite.
“I haven’t eaten that well in...” He leaned back and rested his hands on his abs. “Well, suffice it to say it’s been a long time since this bachelor has had a good meal. I don’t think I’ve ever used the oven back at my apartment for anything beyond frozen pizza.”
Living off frozen pizza? Josie shivered at the thought. “No Mrs. Grayson, then?”
“There’s my mother?” He shook his head. “But no, she hasn’t been Mrs. Grayson in fourteen or so years. She’s Mrs. Nye these days.”
“Dating?” Why was she grilling him?
“No, ma’am. I’m not exactly the dating type.”
She pointed her fork at him. “What did I say about the ma’am business?”
He ran his hand over his hair. “Force of habit, I’m afraid.” Then he rocked forward, pushed his plate to the side and rested his hands on the table. “How about you tell me what happened at the barn last night—go ahead and go into detail, if you will.”
“Right.” Josie clasped her hands in her lap. “It was just past sunset last night. I know that because the boys were in the dining room with their house parents—there are couples at the ranch who serve as counselors and role models for the boys living there. They had just finished dinner. I was heading out to my truck.”
“That one out there?” He jutted his thumb toward her driveway.
“The only one I have.”
He laid a hand on the table, giving off a relaxed air that Josie knew—from Dale’s training—was all part of the tricks of the trade when it came to getting a witness to feel comfortable in an interview. “Is it safe to drive?”
“Is this pertinent to my story?”
“No.” He shifted in his seat. “I apologize. Continue, please.”
“Well, I was about to unlock my truck but I froze because I heard a clanging sound, and I know that sound because it’s very distinct. I hear it every day.” Josie stopped clenching her hands together. Relax. She wasn’t on trial. Heath was here to help.
She took a deep breath and continued, “It was the side door to the calf barn. The one I personally had locked before dinner. I’d asked one of the ranch hands—Davy—to grease the door so it wouldn’t frighten the calves anymore, but I guess he hadn’t gotten around to doing that yet. Good thing, too, because if he had, I might not have seen all of this and the calves would be lost.”
“You’re positive it was locked?”
“Absolutely. I sent the boys in to wash up for dinner and I stayed back and locked all the doors before I headed in.”
“So you heard the door open?” he prompted.
“Yes, and then I saw someone charge out of the barn.”
“Could you describe them?”
Of course he’d ask that. She should have used the past few hours to try to draw a better, clearer image from her memory.
She shrugged. “Medium height, medium build. I’m sorry...that’s all I’ve got.” She blew out some air. “They were wearing a hooded sweatshirt and it was dark out. I never got to see his face.”
“His? Are you certain it was a man?”
Questions... Josie took a deep breath. It was Heath’s job to pick apart her story. That was how he found the truth. Josie knew that, but even still, it made her want to shrink. Dale had never been able to turn off his police brain. He spoke to Josie the same way he would a suspect. Maybe that was an across-the-board thing for all people in law enforcement.
She picked at a chip in her table. “I guess I’m assuming that part.”
“Do you have any idea who it might have been?”
“No. I mean, at first I thought it might be one of the older teens from the ranch. They have setbacks sometimes. But it wasn’t one of them.”
His chair creaked. “You’re positive?”
“Absolutely. They wouldn’t do something to put the calves in harm’s way. Even if one of them were upset.”
“Did the person recognize you?”
“No. Maybe? How would I know? I didn’t recognize them. But I talked... I said my name.” She licked her lips, remembering that detail. She’d called out to the person... It’s Josie. If one of the boys had been in distress, she’d wanted to be able to help them.
Heath leaned forward.
Josie pressed on. “The person took off toward the open pasture and I couldn’t chase them.” She gestured toward her abdomen. Pregnant women didn’t run. Hopefully, Heath picked up on that without her stating it. “And as they took off, all the calves spilled out of the barn and started running around the ranch—into the darkness. I couldn’t catch them all, so I called for help and all the boys and the house parents came out and helped corral the calves. We caught them all and were finally able to locate all the boys, too.”
“Locate the boys?” His head tilted, just by a fraction. “So someone was missing?”
“Stephen.” Should she have told Heath? She didn’t want him to grill the teen. Stephen had been aloof recently, but he was still on track to go home next month. “He’s seventeen. But he’s a good kid. He didn’t do it.”
“How can you be certain?”
“He had a book with him. He’d been out reading.”
Heath frowned. “Outside? In the dark?”
“It wasn’t him.”
Heath’s brow dived. He used his pointer finger to rub under his chin. “How long were you outside before this all happened? Roughly.”
“Fifteen...maybe twenty minutes maximum.”
“Alone?” His eyebrows inched closer together with each question. “What were you doing out there for so long?”
She’d been focusing on how lonely she was. She’d been crying, not looking forward to the quiet back at her cabin. She’d foolishly asked God for a second chance at life and love.
Josie hid her shaking hands under the table. “Does that matter to the case?”
“It might.”
Calm down. “I was thinking. Thinking and watching the sunset. That’s all.”
He touched the tips of his fingers together. “I ask because I have to determine the suspect’s most probable time of entry into the barn. You didn’t hear someone accessing the barn before then?”
“Not at all. I’m the one who locked it. All the doors were locked. And that was at least an hour before then.”
Heath rocked forward. “More than likely the perpetrator was camped inside already when you locked the doors.”
“He was in there with me?” That idea made her skin crawl. She’d locked up alone and it wasn’t like she walked around the boys ranch armed.
“That’s my guess. It could change depending on other information.” He leaned back in his chair again and tapped one finger on the table a few times. “Then again, it’s most likely one of the boys, so there was probably no danger.”
“It wasn’t one of the boys. They were all accounted for.” Besides Stephen, but it wasn’t him.
Heath pressed back from the table and crossed his arms. Leveled her a doubtful look. “Those boys are at that ranch because they’re trouble. They wouldn’t be there if they weren’t. I wouldn’t put it past any of them to cause problems. They’ve done worse.”
Josie pressed back from the table. How could Heath say those things? Peg the boys as bad eggs before he’d even met them? Was he one of those cops who had seen so many horrible things that he automatically assumed the worst about everyone? She had watched Dale grow bitter about the world, more so each year on the job.
She shouldn’t press Heath. Then again, Josie had promised herself after Dale passed away that she wouldn’t allow anyone to push her around ever again. Not that Heath was being pushy. But from now on, she was going to be strong. Ask questions. The old Josie always swallowed her thoughts and opinions... No longer.
A breath. “I’m sorry, but your tone. You...you don’t like them—the boys—do you?”
“I don’t know them. I’ve only been to the ranch a few times and last time was years ago at the old location.”
“Yet you’re judging the boys anyway.” She shouldn’t be talking to him like this. Heath was almost a stranger, and here she was challenging him. But it grated on her to hear someone misjudge them, and so quickly. The Lone Star Cowboy League had worked hard to try to weed out the rumors in town that the boys at the ranch were trouble, yet still some of that belief lingered.
Heath scooped his hat off the back of the chair and worked it around in his hand. “See, that’s where people get it wrong, though. Using good judgment isn’t the same thing as being judgmental.”
A fire lit in Josie. She wanted Heath to see the boys differently. But how to do that? “How long are you around, doing this favor for Flint?”
“For November.”
She had a month to change his opinion, and she knew just how to do it. “You should volunteer at the ranch. Get to know the boys.” It would be good for him. Besides, the boys would be floored if a big, important Texas Ranger started hanging around them.
Heath’s eyebrows formed a V. “Why?”
Think like a lawman... What will convince him?
She took a deep breath. “For starters, your presence will prevent anything else from happening. Also, if you really think it’s one of them, that’ll put you in close proximity. You’ll be able to get to know them and talk to them. Someone might even confess. Or you may see that they’re wonderful and realize you were wrong to judge them.”
Heath rubbed his thumb over his nose. “You know what, that’s not a half-bad idea. It would help my...investigation. You’re right about that. I’ll talk to Flint about it tomorrow.”
Josie’s heart tripped over itself at the thought of spending more time with Heath. Of course she wanted him to change his opinion about the boys, and time at the ranch was the best way for that to happen. But what if it changed her opinion about men in law enforcement?
Her eyes skirted over the lines of his strong jaw, his shoulders. He’d given up so much time to help her this morning and he hadn’t talked down to her at all. Maybe he wasn’t like Dale. Maybe...
The baby inside of her moved, rolled. Josie loved that feeling. She hugged her stomach. Above everything, she had to protect her child from hurt. That was her duty as a mother.
No lawmen.
If God did choose to give her a second chance at love, He’d have to bring a nice insurance agent or IT man her way. Someone who worked a boring, safe job all day, tucked away behind a desk. One whose greatest career danger was an ink stain.
Not someone who carried a gun for a living.
Chapter Three (#u094ce821-c6be-5ca6-991e-808464985ed0)
The loud noise outside sent Josie reaching for the closest heavy object.
A frying pan.
She pulled back the curtain over her sink and peered outside. Heath’s large Ford pickup was parked near the river, dwarfing her vehicle. He’d unlatched and opened the barn—which explained the noise—and had already headed inside. A minute later he was leading out the cattle.
“That man,” she grumbled and set the pan back onto the stove. “What is he up to?”
He’d left soon after their brunch yesterday. Said even though his apartment was only forty-five minutes away, he needed to check into the Blue Bonnet Inn in town because he preferred to stay close during an investigation. He explained that if something happened at the boys ranch, he wanted Flint to be able to call him and be only minutes away. Which made sense. Flint’s place at the boys ranch wasn’t that big and his young son lived with him—so asking Flint to host him for a month, even though Heath and Flint were close friends, was probably asking too much.
Josie had to chuckle, though. The Blue Bonnet Inn was an upscale place inside an old historical home. The rooms were decorated to match Texas flowers. It was better suited for a granny on vacation than a lawman. Heath Grayson would stick out there like a rooster in a henhouse.
She rested her elbows on the counter and cupped her chin in her hands. Today she’d have to ask Flint exactly how long his friend was going to stick around and be a pest in Haven. Heath had given her the vague answer of November, but she had a hard time believing that an investigation into a few missing items, a lost therapy horse last month and the calf incident would hold the attention of a Texas Ranger for long. At least after speaking with Flint, Josie would have an end date to look forward to. Not that she particularly minded Heath—not him personally. Oh, he was nice enough and not bad to look at.
But he was a Texas Ranger. They sought out danger. That was their job. Even if he insisted on stopping by her ranch and doing chores in the morning, which it looked like was his plan, she couldn’t get used to it...to him. Heath would leave soon and rush off somewhere that meant risking his life. It was best not to get attached to him in any way, even simply as a friend.
Really, it would be better if she got rid of the overly helpful man. At least in her personal life.
After changing into fresh clothes, braiding her hair and straightening the kitchen, Josie made her way outside and entered the barn. She found Heath sitting on a stool, hunched over the water troughs, scrubbing them out with all his might.
He glanced her way. “Animals are fed. Bedding’s changed. I spotted a few fence posts that could use reinforcing.”
How did he know how to take care of a ranch? It wasn’t like a Texas Ranger had a lot of free time on his hands to care for animals and land and everything that went along with ranching.
“You don’t need to do that.” She paused in the doorway. “Actually, you don’t need to be doing any of this.” She crossed her arms. “Why are you here?”
“I thought I could help.”
She propped her shoulder against the doorjamb. “I don’t need any help.”
Straw dust danced between them in the morning rays of light bleeding into the barn. Heath’s eyes met hers across the space and he held her gaze. Raised his eyebrows.
Josie shook her head and walked forward. “I don’t need your help.”
“What if I said I was hoping to get more breakfast out of the deal?”
Even though he said it with a straight face, Josie was smart. She knew the man was trying to save her pride. Allow her to hang on to the idea that he was working for a good meal instead of pitching in because she was a lonely, pregnant woman. He could get a huge breakfast at the inn every morning if he wished and he was choosing not to.
Fine, then. She’d play along. Because that was better than admitting the truth.
“Oh. I see how it is.” Josie clucked her tongue. “You’re like some homeless dog. I made the mistake of feeding you and now you’ll just keep on coming back?”
He dragged the first trough back to its corresponding enclosure. “Something like that.”
Josie spun around and called over her shoulder, “Wipe your boots before coming into my house.”
“Will do.”
She went back inside and muttered to herself as she set the griddle on. She leaned her hip into the counter and braced her hand along her side. It was a blessing not to have to do all the chores this morning. Over the past week, her lower back had been hurting more often than not.
When the griddle was warm enough for a pat of butter to sizzle its way across the surface, she mixed the liquids and soaked six large pieces of fluffy bread. French toast and bacon. She’d make him some food, explain to him that he couldn’t just show up here and take care of all her chores every day—even though she really did appreciate it—and then she’d ask him to leave again. No getting attached. Easy peasy.
Heath entered as she was filling cups with orange juice.
“All set.” She gestured to the plate.
“Looks great. Smells even better.” He nodded. “Let me just wash my hands.”
Once he was back at the table, he said grace for them again and they both dug into their food. This morning Josie was glad to be heading into her third trimester—no more morning sickness. Food was her friend again.
“I didn’t get to mending the fence posts today. But I will by the end of this week.”
Josie’s curiosity was piqued. She had to find out how he knew so much about ranching. “To be a Ranger, you’d have had to have worked for the state for a long time before then, right?”
“Eight years in investigations with the state before you’re even allowed to fill out an application.”
“So your entire adult life has been dedicated to police work?” He sounded a lot like Dale. Living...breathing the job.
His head bobbed. “I served as a soldier right out of high school and then went straight into the force.”
“Did you ever see action?”
He looked down at his plate. “A tour in Iraq.”
“Was it scary?”
Heath shrugged. “To be honest, I didn’t have a lot going for me at the time and I wasn’t afraid to die. I know that sounds bad.” He moved his cup in a slow circle so the orange juice swirled around and around. “My father had passed away a few years before that, and my mom remarried pretty quickly. I’m afraid to say my stepdad and I butted heads from the get-go. More than anything, I joined the service to escape.”
Heath wasn’t afraid to die? She wanted to ask him about that statement, but she didn’t really have a right to. Policemen and soldiers were alike in that way, weren’t they? They always knew that not coming home was a possibility. But that didn’t mean they weren’t afraid of the possibility. Did Heath enjoy an adrenaline rush? Or was it something else?
Josie laced her fingers together and looked down at her palms. She didn’t need to know because she wasn’t getting involved with him. Not even as friends. He’d be around for a month and then be gone.
Ask him something else. Anything else.
“Did you grow up on a ranch?”
“No, a quiet patch of suburbia.” He stretched out his legs under the table. “My dad was in law enforcement.”
“Ah.” Josie nodded. A lot of families were like that... Being on the force seemed to run in the blood. She cradled her belly. Not you, little one! I won’t allow it. “Well, when did you learn all this stuff?” She motioned over her shoulder, in the direction of her barn. “How to take care of cows and pigs and fix fences? Last I checked they don’t teach that on the force or in the army.”
“They sure don’t.” He chuckled and set his napkin on the table. “My uncle Blaine has a ranch not far from here, near Waco. I moved in with him when things went south with my stepdad. Blaine put me right to work.” Heath rubbed his hand over his smile. “He says there’s no such thing as hands that aren’t working on a ranch.”
“Good for your uncle.”
“I’m glad he did.” Heath steepled his fingers. “If he hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be any help to you now.”
“What are you doing in Haven anyway?” Josie asked between bites. “Besides bugging me at my ranch, that is. And the calves mystery.” She rolled her eyes. Not because she wasn’t still scared about the possibility of a stranger having been hiding in the barn with her, but because it still seemed silly that a Texas Ranger was working the case. “We both know you didn’t take a month off to investigate that.”
Heath finished a piece of bacon. “Visiting Flint, mostly. And checking out the boys ranch, of course.”
“Do you know someone who might need to go there?”
“Having resources for troubled youth stored up here—” he tapped his forehead “—is good in my line of work.” He rested his forearms on the table. “How about you? Why do you volunteer there?”
Josie shrugged. “Everyone in Haven pitches in.”
“Did your husband?”
Not at all. Dale always gave the place a wide berth. “Why do you care—”
“I’m sorry.” He held up a hand. “Forget I asked.”
Josie plowed on anyway. “I’m a member of the Lone Star Cowboy League. We support the boys ranch. I’m there because I want to be, but also because it’s my duty as a member of the League. My husband wasn’t a member. You have to be a rancher to be involved... Dale wasn’t one. I only just joined. After.” She looked down.
“You didn’t have to answer,” Heath said. “My question was out of line. Job hazard. I’m used to asking whatever I want to know.” He smoothed his hand down his jaw. “How about this... Who’s your favorite kid on the ranch?”
She shifted her cup around and around in her hands. “I don’t have a favorite.”
“Of course you do.” His voice was gentle. “Who is it?”
“I guess, if I absolutely had to pick... I’d probably say Diego. He’s had a hard road in life. He’s this bright little guy who always has a serious expression on his face. Like he’s working out a math puzzle at all times.” Josie pulled a face, imitating Diego. Heath answered with a soft grin.
“His hair is almost black and his eyes are dark and soulful.” Josie found she was smiling but couldn’t help it. “He and I get along really well because he loves the cattle. He’s always the first one at the barn waiting for me and wants to pitch in on anything having to do with the calves. You could say I have a soft spot for him.”
Heath leaned forward. “What’s Diego in for?”
“In for?”
“All the boys there, they’re troublemakers. They wouldn’t be sent to the ranch if they weren’t. What’s Diego’s issue? What’d he do wrong?”
Josie bristled. There was nothing wrong with Diego. Nothing at all. Sometimes a child needed special attention. Sometimes they needed a change from normal life in order to work through something. But living at the ranch certainly wasn’t a punishment.
“You still don’t think well of them. Even after our talk yesterday?”
Heath’s expression became unreadable. “I know good, well-adjusted kids don’t end up there. Normal kids are at their homes...with their parents. I know bad things have happened at the boys ranch in the past.”
“With that attitude, it’s a wonder you’re willing to help Flint solve his case at all.” She scooted out of her seat and collected both of their plates.
“Attitude?” Heath turned in his chair so he could continue facing her as she moved to the sink. “That’s not attitude. It’s the truth.”
Josie dropped the dishes into the sink with a loud clang and turned around. “Those boys are flesh and blood with feelings and dreams and they just want to be loved and accepted. Same as you and me.” She laid her hand along her collarbone. “If you can’t see that, Officer, then you aren’t that great of a detective after all.”
“I’m sorry.” He looked down, studied the table. “Perhaps you’re right. After everything, I guess it’s hard to see them any other way.”
“After everything? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“My dad was a Texas Ranger. I don’t think I told you that before. But he was.”
He’d said his dad worked in law enforcement...but they were both Rangers? That was amazing. “You followed in his footsteps?”
Heath nodded. “I wanted to honor his sacrifice.” He looked down at his hands as if the lines on his palms were the most interesting things in the world. “Fifteen years ago, my father was working a case at your boys ranch.”
Josie’s heart sunk. She sucked in a loud breath. As someone who’d lost a loved one to the thin blue line, she knew where his story was going.
“They found him dead. Three bullets. Near the main barn on the old property.”
“Oh, Heath.” Josie crossed the kitchen and laid a hand on his shoulder. She squeezed. “I’m so sorry.” She blinked against the burn of tears, his words dragging up the ache of her loss.
“My dad’s murder is still a cold case. Unsolved.”
His hand came up and covered hers. It was warm and comforting. Josie’s throat spasmed. She missed the friendly touches of her past life...a quick hug, a shoulder brushing against a shoulder, holding a hand. She missed it so much she ached.
She drew her shaky hand out from under his. “Now that you mention it, I remember hearing about it on the news when it happened. It was a big deal in a town like Haven.”
He swiveled in the chair in order to make eye contact. “I’d like to solve the case, if I could.”
“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
“Among other reasons.” He shrugged. “But I’d like to keep that private as much as I can, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.” She nodded. “My husband was a deputy.” Josie dropped into the seat beside Heath. Close enough that their knees bumped. “It started as a routine traffic stop and turned into him never coming home.” She got the words out before her throat clamped up again. But her voice pitched higher at the end, betraying her.
Heath reached over and took her hand. He held it between both of his. For a minute they sat in silence. Allowing each other to deal with their loss. Finding comfort in the fact that someone else understood.
Finally, Heath cleared his throat. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. No one should have to lose a loved one that way.”
She dabbed at her eyes and nodded. Staying in the pain, reliving everything, wouldn’t help her or her child. If Heath was still hanging on to the pain of losing his father, he needed to move toward letting that go, as well. But Josie knew how hard that could be. Still, she racked her brain for a way to encourage him.
She squeezed his fingers. “I know you said you would yesterday, but this is one more reason why you should volunteer at the ranch. There are ranch hands still working there who would have been working fifteen years ago. Someone might know something, Heath. Don’t you see?”
Heath looked off to the side for a second. Josie had noticed he did that when he was considering something.
“Some of the ranch hands are still there?” He captured her gaze again. His dark eyes swirled with questions. “Are you sure about that?”
“Very sure. I’ll have to talk to some of the old-timers, but I think I can get you a list of the names of people who still live in town who worked or volunteered when it happened.”
Heath rose to his feet. “Get your shoes on, Josie. Let’s head to the ranch.”
* * *
One hand on the steering wheel, the other cocked on the open window, Heath maneuvered his truck toward the boys ranch.
He stole a glance at Josie.
She’d wriggled more personal information out of him in the past two days than he’d told his coworkers in the nine years he’d worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety. They were the branch of the government that the Rangers functioned under. In order to be considered for the position of Ranger, Heath had worked as a state trooper for eight years first, in their investigative unit. Still, he was one of the youngest guys to be made a Ranger in a long time. He had a hunch that those in upper management remembered his father and that had paved his way. After all this time, he should be used to keeping a tight rein on his personal life, but Josie had somehow slipped under his defenses.
The woman should consider going into detective work.
She caught him looking at her and hugged her stomach. “My truck is just fine, you know. I could have driven myself.”
They’d gone toe-to-toe over her truck. She’d called him overbearing and he’d insisted on having the vehicle checked out before she continued to drive it. Texan winters weren’t bad, but still, anything could happen. And that thing wouldn’t be able to handle another accident if she did get caught in bad weather at some point. She’d said that was what caused the last fender bender, a storm. It was raining and she missed the stop sign. Ended up broadsided by a sedan.
Heath’s stomach tightened. The idea of Josie and her baby in an accident didn’t sit well with him. Not one bit.
He forced his fingers to relax his grip on the wheel. “Like I said before, let me take a look at it tomorrow. I know a little about cars.”
“You know a little about everything, don’t you?”
He popped his gaze back to her for a second, fighting a grin. This woman had exercised his smile muscles more than he cared to admit. “I’ve picked up things here and there.”
“I don’t like it.” She looked out the window.
“Let’s make sure it’s sound before your baby comes,” he added softly.
That did her in. She sighed and ran a hand across her stomach. “I guess that makes sense. If you’re sure you don’t mind.”
He threw on his blinker to turn into the ranch. “Have you had someone install a car seat for you yet?”
She laughed. “I still have three months.”
“They usually suggest doing it before...before it’s too close to your time. Just in case. Babies have a way of appearing whenever they want to.”
“And how do you know so much about babies?” She poked him in the arm a few times as she talked. The way his little sister used to when she was trying to be annoying. Although, when Josie did it, the action felt endearing.
“Not babies.” Those he knew nothing about and never would. “Car seats. I was trained as a car-seat technician when I worked with the troopers. I could teach you how to install one, if you’d like.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Josie had the door open and jumped down to the ground the second he put his truck in Park. She had told him on the way over that she needed to meet up with the minister who volunteered at the ranch. She’d catch him later or maybe find a ride home with someone else. He’d make sure he found her before she wanted to go home. Because her place was on the way back to the inn where he was staying... That was the only reason he should drive her home, of course.
Heath shook his head. She was trying to shake him. Poor woman. Did she really understand what he did for a living? Once he made his mind up about something, he could be pretty stubborn. The trait came in handy in his profession.
Still...what must she think of him for showing up at her house two days in a row? He’d do it tomorrow, too. And the day after that. The woman was alone and pregnant; she shouldn’t be managing the ranch on her own. Besides, she was the eyewitness to a possible crime. If the wrongdoer had spotted her, then Josie could be in danger. He wouldn’t scare her with that notion, but he’d stick close until things were sorted out.
Heath spotted Flint straightaway. He was near the heavy machinery, but when he saw Heath’s truck, Flint came striding across the yard. A big black dog yapped circles around his feet.
Heath grabbed his white Stetson, pushed it onto his head, then tucked his badge into his back pocket as he stepped down from his truck. He took in the barn, the fence posts, the large home—it was impossible for Heath to turn off his investigative eye. His brain seemed programmed to constantly log information, and look for weaknesses or issues. Things to fix, help, protect.
The black Lab bounded toward Heath, its tail smacking his legs while it used the running board on Heath’s truck to jump up into the driver’s seat, which put the animal at head level to lodge a full lick attack on Heath’s neck and face. Heath groaned and good-naturedly shoved the dog’s nose away so he couldn’t lick him any longer.
“Cowboy, down.” Flint reached around Heath, grabbed the dog’s collar and tugged him out of the truck. “Sorry about that.” Flint finally looked at Heath. The two men were about the same height, but that was where their similarities ended. Where Heath’s eyes were dark, Flint’s were blue; same for the hair—Heath had black to Flint’s blond.
“He’s only two,” Flint apologized. “Still learning his manners.”
“It’s fine.” Heath used the sleeve of his white button-down to sop the worst of the drool from his neck. “He still has better manners than most of the people I deal with.” He adjusted his hat. All the Rangers wore them for work, but he’d gotten so used to the feel of it on his head, Heath usually wore the Stetson at all times.
“Got a minute?” Flint released the dog and it took off toward the barn where a group of school-age boys were working a few ponies in the arena. Flint set his hands on the edge of his belt.
“Right. Down to business.”
Flint laughed.
Neither of them was a chitchat type of guy. That was probably why they’d gotten along so well during basic training.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about something,” Flint said as Heath came over.
Heath propped his hand on the edge of his holster. “I have all the time in the world right now.”
Flint leaned against the giant wheel of a tractor. “I told you about the gentleman who died and left us this new property. Didn’t I?”
“Cyrus Culpepper.”
“That’s the one.” Flint shook his head. “I forgot about how good you are at remembering things—facts.”
“That’s what they pay me for.”
“Well, I got some more facts for you, then.” Flint hooked his thumb in his pocket. “Culpepper left terms in his will. You know how our ranch used to be located on the other end of town?”
Heath nodded. The boys ranch had moved into their current location—the land from Culpepper’s will—only a week ago. Before then, they’d been located on a smaller piece of land.
“Well, it turns out Culpepper was one of the original residents from when the boys ranch was first started. One of his stipulations for us to keep the property and everything else he left is to have the original boys from the ranch back for the anniversary party in March.”
Heath waited for the punch line. There was always a punch line.
Flint shifted his weight, obviously uncomfortable with whatever he had to say. “I was tasked with tracking down a man by the name of Edmund Grayson. Maybe it’s a long shot, but I was wondering if you might be related to him. Does that name sound familiar?”
Edmund Grayson? But it couldn’t be...could it?
Heath sucked in a rattled breath.
Of course he knew that name—but no, it wasn’t possible. He wouldn’t believe it. Heath straightened his spine. Kicked his boot against one of the tractor tires to shake free of the dirt.
He cupped his hand along his jaw. “That’s my grandfather’s name, but he was never a resident at any of these ranches.”
“Is he from the Waco area?”
“He is that.” Heath nodded. “Born and lived in this area most of his life. He was a state trooper until he retired and moved to Florida.”
“Edmund’s not a common name,” Flint said gently.
It wasn’t, but there had to be two of them. If his grandfather had lived at the boys ranch, Heath would know. Wouldn’t he? That was something his father or grandfather would have mentioned at some point.
“I’m telling you, you have the wrong guy. My grandfather never went to one of these ranches. I’d know if he did. He would have told me. Especially after what happened to my dad, that would have come out at some point.”
Flint shuffled his feet. “It’s imperative that all four of the original residents are found and reunited at the celebration in March. If that doesn’t happen...we’ll lose all of this.” He raised his hands to encompass the land. “Edmund Grayson is a unique enough name. I haven’t been able to find another one with ties to the Waco area.”
“It’s not my grandfather.”
“Ask him. What’s it going to cost you to ask?”
An olive branch and then some.
Heath hadn’t spoken to the man in years. He’d received a congratulations card in the mail when he’d been appointed a Ranger, but that had been their last contact. Maybe he’d ask Nell, see what she thought before poking at the old bear.
“Please?”
Heath sighed. First investigating the incidents at the ranch and now possibly reaching out to his estranged grandfather. Flint was sure getting a lot of favors out of him this visit.
He gave Flint one stiff nod. “I’m not promising anything, but I’ll see what I can find out.”
Chapter Four (#u094ce821-c6be-5ca6-991e-808464985ed0)
Josie shooed Heath away when he tried to help her down from his truck. One would think he’d have caught on by now that she liked to get down from the cab on her own.
They’d been following the same routine for a week now. Every day he showed up at her house just after sunrise. He did all the chores and then polished off whatever food she placed in front of him, praising her cooking the entire time. Then he drove her to the ranch, and while she worked her volunteer shift, he poked around and talked to people about possible leads for the incidents that had occurred there. She’d given him a list of names of ranch hands to talk to who would have worked at the ranch when his father was murdered and she’d noticed him engaging each of those people in conversations, as well. The boys ranch was blessed to have so many people who either volunteered or continued working there faithfully for so many years.
After talking with Flint, a few days ago Heath had started leading an after-school club for boys interested in learning how cops investigate crimes. They called their little club detection class. A majority of the older boys had instantly jumped at the chance to spend time with a Texas Ranger. Josie couldn’t blame them; Heath was good company.
On her way toward the office, Josie spotted a few of the boys in the pen with the calves, trying to put a lead line on one of them. As she drew nearer, she recognized Riley, one of the oldest teen residents at the ranch, and his ever-present shadow, ten-year-old Morgan, as they moved to corner the skittish dairy calf everyone called Honey. She was a favorite among the kids because she had a marking that looked like a heart on her forehead.
Morgan was a shy kid who was sometimes easily discouraged. If Honey kicked one of the boys, Morgan would probably not want to be around any of the calves any longer.
Josie stepped into the pen and secured the door again. “Careful, now. She scares easily.” Josie held up her hands. “Shh, Honey. It’s okay, girl.”
“Be careful, Ms. Markham.” Riley’s eyes went right to Josie’s pregnant belly. “How about you let me get up close to Honey instead? If she kicks, I’ll be fine.” At seventeen, the boy towered over Josie.
Right. She’d forgotten how protective the older boys were about her. There was no way Riley was going to let her get close to Honey until he had her tethered.
As small framed as she was, Josie’s pregnancy had showed almost immediately. Once the older boys noticed, they’d taken it upon themselves to try to ease her load. They were always offering to carry things for her or go in with the bigger animals when needed or pitch in when her truck got a flat the other week.
All their gestures were sweet, but sometimes the extra attention grated on her all the same. The whispers of Dale’s repeated instructions to her—don’t do this, you can’t handle that, no I won’t let you have a farm, my wife won’t smell like cattle if I have anything to say about it—were never far behind whenever she let one of the boys help her.
She had to remind herself the boys’ intention wasn’t to control her—they weren’t trying to tell her she wasn’t capable of doing those things. They were showing they cared about her.
Josie stayed and encouraged Morgan as he led Honey around the pen a few times. She headed toward the office housed at the ranch once the boys left the pen on their way to their next lesson. The director had left a message for her earlier in the day. Bea, the director, had said she wanted to speak with her about how long Josie planned on volunteering...considering her condition.
Josie held her head high as she strode past the blond receptionist, Katie Ellis, who was talking animatedly on the phone to someone about an electric bill. On a normal day, Josie would have stopped to say hi to Katie because the two women were good friends, but Josie didn’t want to interrupt Katie’s conversation. Instead she gave a little wave and the receptionist rolled her eyes and pointed at the phone. Josie stifled a laugh.
Josie went over again what she had decided to tell Bea. She wanted to volunteer as long as she was able, although the pains in her back told her that it might not be too much longer. But she still had three months until her due date. Plenty of women worked right up until they went into labor; surely Josie could help around the ranch until then.
Be brave. Be strong. Speak what’s on your mind.
The director’s office was empty.
Josie swiveled back toward Katie, who was just hanging up the phone.
“Bea’s not in?”
Katie sprang from her seat and came over to Josie, offering a quick hug. “You seriously just missed her. She had to run into town.” Katie motioned for Josie to follow her to the front of the office near a set of wide windows, her bouncy hair swishing as she walked. “She shouldn’t be long. Do you want me to have her find you?”
Josie pressed her shoulder into the wall for support. “Heath has to leave early to run some errands today. I leave when he leaves, so I might not be here when she gets back. And I’ll be late tomorrow because I have a doctor’s appointment.”
It had been a week of Heath stopping at her ranch in the morning, helping with chores and then sharing breakfast. He’d discovered some problems with her truck and declared it unsafe to drive for the time being. Something about her radiator and, even more concerning, he explained that the main rail for the frame of the vehicle had been weakened by the accident and needed to be replaced. He’d told her to call her insurance agent and have the truck junked, but Josie couldn’t do that. Not yet. She simply needed to have the rail fixed...and figure out how she’d pay for that. Surely that would be less expensive than buying a whole new car. She’d been a housewife for ten years and all of their bills and credit had been in Dale’s name. No one would give her a loan. She had to build up credit before she could buy a new car.
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