The Texas Ranger's Bride

TJ chuckled, but then leaned forward with a serious expression. “The police turned over a case to our office this morning. It’s high profile and the victim could be in serious danger. Because the case has crossed state lines, they feel our department is better equipped to deal with it. I’d like your take on this one.” He handed him a folder.

Cy nodded and opened it. The name Kellie Parrish leaped out at him. She was the person in danger?

With her silvery-gold hair and cornflower-blue eyes, the barrel racer was a knockout. Under other circumstances he would have liked to hang around the radio station and listen to her interview. She’d been on his mind ever since he’d seen her a few days ago.

He scanned the folder’s contents. She was being pursued by a stalker. He’d followed Ms. Parrish across her latest five-state racing schedule. She’d given the lieutenant a description of the man and a typewritten note he’d left on her truck windshield.

The most alarming aspect of the case was the fact that this stalker had phoned her cell phone as recently as the middle of Friday night. She’d been asleep in her friend’s trailer in Bandera before driving to Austin this morning. Terrified, she’d gathered her parents and come straight to police headquarters.

Cy let out a low whistle. “I met her coming in the radio station as we were leaving on Friday. We watched her perform at the rodeo Saturday night. She had the second-best time.”

“That’s not only an amazing coincidence, but fortuitous. It isn’t often you already have prior knowledge of the victim, so you understand what kind of threat she’s been living with.”

Especially when he’d found her incredibly attractive.

The hairs lifted on the back of his neck. Cy couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this strong a feeling for a woman in passing. Because of the stress of the job, he didn’t have much time for dating and hadn’t been out with anyone for at least four months. After watching Ms. Parrish’s performance at the rodeo, he’d admired her skill and found himself wondering how to go about getting to know her better. Not in his wildest dreams had he thought it would happen like this.

TJ kept on talking. “The police chief told me her parents met her at the station. They’re well-heeled ranchers from southeast Austin who are demanding protection for their daughter and are willing to pay for it. Ms. Parrish is a prominent athlete. I’ve already ruled out a possible kidnapping scheme with a plan to collect a ransom or she would likely have been abducted at her first stop in Montana. Her parents want her to quit the rodeo circuit and stay with them until this lowlife is caught. She’s their only child.”

Cy got it. Ms. Parrish was their precious baby.

He shifted his attention from the file to his boss. “If you could have seen the way she rides, you’d know she would never agree to that.” Even under so much stress, she’d put in a terrific time at the Bandera Rodeo. “Otherwise, I’m certain she would have quit the circuit in Pendleton when he first showed up and returned to Austin to contact the police. Several of her competitors headed for the championship in Las Vegas were also in Bandera competing. My bet is on her winning the whole thing.”

TJ shook his head. “In order for that to happen, she would need full-time bodyguards on the circuit with her. Her parents can afford it. I’ll call them now and ask them to bring her back to headquarters so you can talk to her. When you’ve got a feel for what you’re dealing with, let me know how you want to handle this case.”

“TJ? Send her in to me first. Then I’ll talk to her folks.” Parents had their own ideas about what should be done. It simplified things to talk to the victim without anyone else in the room. “I’ll let you know when I want them to join us.”

His boss nodded in understanding.

“Until they arrive I’ll dig up some more background information on her. I’d better get to it.” Cy got to his feet and headed for his own office. He’d start with the personal information listed on her website and go from there. Uncanny how he’d already planned to look at her site when he got the chance, just to learn more about her.

“Let’s see what turns up on you, Ms. Parrish.”

He typed it in and sat back. Seconds later, there she was astride her palomino, lying low over her horse as it was racing straight down the alley. Pure poetry.

Kellie Parrish

Born: Austin, Texas, on February 14, 1990

Residence: Austin, Texas

Dad: Bronco Parrish—3-time NFR Bull Rider Champion

Mom: Nadine Parrish—Barrel Racer Finals 4 times

Horses: Smokey, Walnut, Miss Pandora, Crackers, Farley, Starburst, Trixie

Joined Pro Rodeo at age 11

Total Earnings: $2,103,775

Wrangler NFR Qualification: 10

College National Finals Qualification: 2

National High School Rodeo Finals Qualifications: 4

Pro Wrangler Finals winner, Oklahoma City, OK: 3

Women’s Pro Rodeo Association member

Cy read her blog, keeping track of the dates of the entries for July and August. She’d archived her previous blogs. Her ardent fans wanted to know all about her. How come she wasn’t married yet? Did she have a boyfriend?

She’d answered that she preferred to keep her private life private, but she was friendly and encouraging to those trying to become barrel racers themselves. She urged them to click to her online clinic for pointers. That woman was so busy, Cy didn’t know how she had time to breathe.

She’d put her rodeo schedule for the season on a separate page. There were links to the WPR Association and all the social media accounts. In other words, her life was pretty well an open book and prime fodder for the degenerate who’d targeted her. Talk about a sitting duck! A gorgeous one.

His eyes went back to her personal stats. The questions some of the commentors asked about her personal life had grabbed his attention. Some of them might have been sent by the stalker. An idea on how to handle this case had started to form in his mind. He reached for the phone to arrange for their department’s sketch artist to be on hand when she came in. They needed a picture to run through the criminal database, which could access the files from every state in the union to come up with a match.

There was no telling how long the creep had been stalking other women or when his sick fantasy about Ms. Parrish had started. She’d been traveling the circuit for a number of years. He could have seen her anywhere at any time. But he’d approached her for the first time in Oregon only four weeks ago. Cy would start there.

In case this man was a serial stalker or worse, he wanted a list of every known stalking incident in the Pendleton area in the past year. While he waited for the Parrish family to arrive at headquarters, he put through a call to the Pendleton police department. He asked them to fax him the names of stalking victims and their descriptions of the men menacing them, whether their cases had been solved or were still open. One of those descriptions might match up with the man Kellie Parrish had described.

Restless, Cy went to the cubbyhole down the hall they called a lunchroom and poured himself a cup of coffee while he waited. He had dozens of questions to ask. Vic walked in on him. Their eyes met.

“Guess who’s in the boss’s office.”

His pulse raced for no good reason. She’s here. Kellie Parrish had made an impact on all the guys. “I already know. A stalker’s after her.”

His friend’s black brows shot up. “You got the case?” Cy smiled. “How come that never happens to me?” Vic poured himself some coffee. “If you need help...”

“Thanks. I’ll let you know.” Cy took his mug back to his office.

Before long, TJ appeared at the door with her. She was probably five foot seven without her cowboy boots. “I believe you two have already met. Ms. Parrish? Meet one of our agents, Cyril Vance.”

Cy got to his feet and shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Ms. Parrish, even if it is under harrowing circumstances.”

Fear had darkened the blue of her eyes. “I hope you forgive me for bumping into one of the Sons of the Forty. I’m the one who’s honored.” TJ had disappeared.

“Please sit down.”

“Thank you.” She’d dressed in jeans and a creamy-colored Western shirt. Beneath the overhead light, her neck-length wavy hair had that silvery-gold metallic sheen he found stunning. So were her face and the rest of her curvaceous figure. Absolutely stunning.

“Can I get you coffee or a soft drink?”

“Neither, thanks.”

“I’m going to record our conversation if that’s all right with you.”