The Ranger's Texas Proposal

“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.”