Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger / Once Upon A Christmas Eve: Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger

“So you want me to stop being friends with your son.”

She sighed. “No, but he’s a little boy who misses his father. Doesn’t that make you uncomfortable?”

Coop was more uncomfortable about not being truthful with her. “Look, if you don’t want me to spend time with your son, that’s your right. Since I was a kid who didn’t have a father around, I know it’s nice to have another man provide some attention.”

“Did you have someone?”

Don’t get too personal, he told himself. “My brother and I spent a lot of time at the boys’ club.” He smiled. “A gruff, old guy named Gus. He told us to leave the attitude at the door if we wanted to come in. He kept all the kids in line.”

She smiled, then quickly sobered. “Don’t get me wrong, Noah. I’m happy you spend time with Robbie, but I don’t want him hurt when you leave.”

He went to her. “You mean like their father hurt all of you?”

He saw her hesitate, but also the pain in her eyes. She finally nodded.

“You can’t keep your kids from getting hurt, Lilly. They have to get out there and learn to survive, not to be afraid. And they need to learn that from you.”

“But Robbie isn’t even six.”

“And he and his sister have already been hurt. You couldn’t protect them from the pain of losing their father.” He paused. “You’re an adult, and you couldn’t even protect yourself.”

An hour later, Lilly had to get away from the house. She ended up leaving Kasey brooding in her room, and drove Robbie to the library for the children’s reading hour, postponing the trip to the ice cream store. Okay, she needed time to brood after Noah’s declaration.

She walked into the Blind Stitch, needing some adult time. Some girl time. As usual the popular shop was busy. Since Jenny was on maternity leave, it had been ever harder to keep up with customers. The regular employee, Millie Roberts, was behind the counter.

Lilly found her mother in the other room of the shop, where they held the quilting classes. Beth Staley was instructing a patron on a quilt pattern. She looked up and smiled, then excused herself and walked over.

“This is a surprise. What brings you in?”

“I miss my mother,” Lilly said.

Beth smiled back at her. “That’s nice to know. I take it the kids are getting to you.”

She groaned. “I know I’m a terrible mother, but I can’t wait until the school year starts.” And she wouldn’t be daydreaming about a shirtless man in her backyard. “So can you go on a break?”

“Of course, if you wouldn’t mind going with the QC ladies?”

Lilly knew her mother’s good friends of the Quilter’s Corner. They meet here at the shop a few times a week. She glanced toward the corner table and waved. “Sure.”

Liz was the first to greet her, then came Louisa Merrick, both friends were her mother’s age. Caitlin and Lisa were younger mothers, close to Lilly’s age. They took up quilting because they could find the time with small children.

“Enjoying your summer?” Louisa asked.

“I have a thirteen-year-old who’s bored. What do you think?”

They all groaned in unison, and Louisa said, “I know it’s seems like hell, but hang in there. They’ll turn out nice like you did.”

Lilly arched an eyebrow. “Was I that bad?”

“We all were,” Liz announced. “It’s all those raging hormones.”

“Please, my Kasey is too young to be thinking about sex.”

“None of us are too young, or too old, to think about sex,” Louisa, who looked lovely and healthy these days, added. Even with the stroke she’d suffered last year there were no lingering effects now.

Liz nudged her. “That’s because you got yourself a good-looking husband. And he takes you to all those romantic places.”

Louisa turned to Lilly. “It seems Lilly only has to look out her back door to find a good-looking man.”

All eyes turned to her and she felt the heat rise to her face. “Mr. Cooper is our tenant. It’s hard not to look at him. I mean he’s helping with the house.”

Caitlin jumped in. “I’d say. I drove by yesterday and saw your sexy tenant on a ladder painting the house. He didn’t have his shirt on, and I nearly wrecked my car.”

“Maybe I should go for a little drive myself,” Liz said. “Is Coop working today?”

Lilly couldn’t help join in the laughter. She needed this, more than thinking about a man she had no business thinking about.

After lunch, Coop had returned to work, then the heat got to him and he went in the cottage. He still remembered the look she’d given him earlier. He’d had no right to speak to her that way.

So he’d decided that he’d better make himself scarce and disappear. So why not take the afternoon off?

Well, there were a couple of reasons. He wasn’t good at relaxing. He liked to stay busy, and he needed to figure out what was going on with Delgado.

Word on the street said he was relocating his drug business since El Paso was getting too hot. The Feds just hadn’t figured out where until they received a message from the informant. Now they were thinking Kerry Springs was at the top of the list. Okay, it was farther from the border, but who’d suspect the picturesque small town would harbor drug dealers?

Now he just needed to find the place. Perry’s Landscaping Company? It would be a perfect hideout. Nothing would give him more pleasure than to ship Delgado off to prison for drug trafficking and for the murder of Officer Devin Morales. Plus his possible connection with Mike Perry’s demise.

He only had to gather the proof. Where to look: the landscaping business or maybe the video arcade? Delgado wasn’t the type who sold drugs on street corners. His known MO was to have gangs distributing the merchandise. Kerry Springs might not have gangs, but every town had drug users.

Coop was getting antsy. He needed to end this and soon. Get Delgado. And the sooner he could make sure that Lilly Perry and her kids were safe, he could leave and forget about her. Undercover work didn’t allow for return visits.

There was a soft knock on the door and he closed his notebook and placed it under a toss pillow. He went to answer it and found Lilly standing on the stoop.

She looked pretty in her blue blouse that matched the color of her eyes and asked, “Could I speak with you?”

“Sure.” He stepped back, allowing her inside the small area. “Is there something wrong?”

“Yes. I neglected to apologize for my behavior earlier. You’re right, Noah, I am overprotective of my children.” She sighed. “It’s just that when all this happened with Mike, his death was so public, I didn’t know how else to handle it except to wrap my kids up and hold them tight.”

He shook his head. “I owe you an apology, too. I had no business telling you how to handle your children. I’m a single guy. I don’t know anything about parenting.” He inhaled her soft scent and nearly forgot his speech. “If you’d like, I’ll keep my distance. Don’t worry, I’ll be the bad guy and tell Robbie.”

“Oh, no, Noah. Please, you’re the best thing that’s happened to my son in a long time. He’s been living in a house with only women for the past two years. Now that he’s nearly six I see the changes in him.” She looked sad. “He’s not my baby anymore. And I’m not really sure on how to handle the next stage of his life.”

She turned those bright eyes on him and he felt a kick. “All the baseball and Boy Scouts …”

Ah, hell, she was killing him. “I’m sure there are coaches and Scout leaders who will take him under their wing.”

She nodded. “I know, but today was the first time he looked interested in doing anything. So if your offer is still open, I’d be happy if you helped Robbie learn to catch.” She held up a hand. “I mean, I know how busy you are with the repairs … Oh, God, how can I ask you?”