The Texas Ranger's Bride

Not long after he’d returned to his office to send the artist’s sketch to the database, Vic walked in. “I’m all yours.” He planted himself on a corner of the desk. “That stint on the radio must have put the boss in a good mood.”

“It was so important to him, he actually went along with my plan.”

“Which is?”

“Outrageous, but Ms. Parrish agreed to it, too, rather than leave the circuit. She wants to win that championship. I figured she would put her desire to achieve her lifelong goal over her fear of this stalker. We’re going to pretend to be married so I can protect her day and night.”

“What?” Vic’s black eyes narrowed. He got to his feet. “You’re kidding me.”

Cy gave his friend a sharp look. “Can you think of a better way to get the job done?”

They’d known each other a long time. “Hell, no. It’s genius, but—”

“But it doesn’t hurt that she’s a beautiful woman, right?” He couldn’t help but read his friend’s mind. “I’ve examined my motives and have decided that even if she were someone else, it wouldn’t make a difference. She’s been working her whole life to achieve her goal. For her to quit now would be the end of her dreams, not only for this year, but maybe forever. Anyone with her kind of skill and drive deserves all the help she can get.”

“I agree with you.”

“This guy is a creep who’s been tormenting her for a month. She told him she was married so he’d leave her alone. All that did was fan the flames, so I’ve decided it’s time she produced a husband. I want to catch this stalker, Vic, and believe this is the best way to capture his attention and nab him.”

“Where do you want to start?”

“We’ll get a surveillance team set up in the van to monitor her when I can’t be with her.” Cy handed him the sketch.

Vic studied it for a minute. “You know who he looks like?”

“Yup, but let’s not go there. In case he’s camped out by her condo, you and I will impersonate roofers so we can get in around the back of the building through her garage without him suspecting anything. I want to lift any fingerprints we can find. We’ll rig the interior with a camera. Let’s move.”

He folded her list of names and numbers and put it into his pocket. The note she’d given the police needed to go down to the lab. He already had a list a mile long of things to be done before she arrived with her parents. They’d need wedding rings.

* * *

KELLIE CHECKED HER watch as her father drove them to the front of her condo in her parents’ Volvo sedan. Six thirty p.m. She still couldn’t believe what she’d agreed to. She and the striking Texas Ranger had to pretend to be married starting tonight!

What have I done? She closed her eyes. You’ve done what’s necessary to survive.

“Come on, honey. Let’s go in and have dinner. You haven’t eaten all day.”

“I couldn’t.” But her parents had insisted on picking up some barbecue for all of them.

She hadn’t had an appetite since this first started. As for sleep... Nothing seemed real. That monster could have been following them from the ranch. She almost expected him to suddenly appear at the mailbox.

The normal number of bills had stacked up. She put the mail into her purse before getting back in the car. Her mom had been over to her condo several times this past month to water her plants and make sure everything was all right. Thank goodness the Ranger would find her house clean and in good shape. There were times when it looked a mess.

She eyed the condo. No one would know the secret it was holding. If everything had gone as planned, then the Ranger was inside. A vision of the way he’d looked when she’d bumped into him in Bandera was indelibly impressed in her mind. He was a man whose aura gave the impression he could deal with anything or one. Her pulse raced at the realization they would be spending time together.

Kellie got out of the car and hurried up the front steps ahead of her parents. He must have heard them because he opened the door to let them in.

“Hi.” His deep voice filtered through to her insides.

Kellie looked up at him. “Hi.” He’d changed into a dark blue sport shirt and jeans. His eyes matched his shirt. Outside the radio station, he’d been wearing his white Stetson. But in his office as well as now, the light in the living room illuminated the sun-bleached tips of his wavy light brown hair.

Her mother was carrying the food. “I’ve brought dinner for all of us.”

The Ranger smiled and took the bag from her. “Thank you, Mrs. Parrish. How did you know I’m starving?”

The way the corners of his eyes crinkled sent a surprising curl of warmth through Kellie, who put her purse on a chair. While he and her mother went to the kitchen, she turned to help her father carry her bags upstairs to the bedroom. That was when she saw that another couch had been added to the living room. Everything had been rearranged so it would fit.

As they passed the guest bedroom upstairs, she saw some of the Ranger’s things on the bed. She avoided her father’s eyes and continued to her room.

“Are you okay, Kellie?”

“I don’t know what I am yet, but knowing this Ranger is here to protect me is all that’s helping keep my sanity right now.”

Her dad gave her a big hug. “I’m relieved, too. The captain told me Ranger Vance was one of the men who brought down the drug cartel earlier in the year. He says there’s no one better, and I believe him. Come on. Let’s go back down and hear what this Ranger has to say.”

Kellie nodded. “I’ll be there in a minute.” She needed to pull herself together.

He kissed her forehead and left. She took time to freshen up in the bathroom before joining everyone at the dining room table. When the Ranger saw her, he stood. “I’m sure it’s strange for you to feel like a guest in your own home.”

“I’m too thankful you’re here to think about it.”

He sat back down. “These ribs are delicious. Thank you. I work better on a full stomach. Tonight I’m going to help your daughter draft her marriage announcement message for her blog. By ten it will be out on the internet. As her parents, you’ll be bombarded with questions from everyone who knows you. I want you to tell them that Kellie and I met on the circuit. It was love at first sight and we couldn’t stand to wait, so we were privately married before her rodeo performance in Montana.

“Tell people there will be a wedding reception for us at the ranch in December, after Finals. Don’t say any more or any less. We’ll worry about explanations after this stalker is caught.”

This is really happening. She eyed her parents, who agreed to do exactly as he said. He had a way of instilling confidence and trust.

He looked at them. “From here on out, Kellie is going to do what she would do if there were no threat. The three of you will carry on with your lives while I work behind the scenes. No one is to know about this case except the four of us and my team.”

“Sally and Cody know a man was bothering me.”

“I talked with both of them earlier in the day. They won’t be telling anyone about this.”

Kellie’s father thanked him again. “I think it’s time we left the two of you alone so you can get on with your plans. Come on, Nadine.”

They both got up from the table. Kellie jumped up to hug them. “I’ll call you all the time so you’re not worried.”

“We love you, honey.”

“We do,” her father said in a gruff voice and gave her a bear hug. “Do everything the Ranger says.”

“I promise.” She walked them to the front door. “I love you. Thank you for being the best parents on earth.”

“I won’t let anything happen to her,” the Ranger assured them before they left the condo. The conviction in his voice prevented Kellie from breaking down.

Kellie shut the door and hurried past him to clear the table. He helped put everything in the waste bin while she wiped down the top. “If you want to get started on the blog piece, we can do it here.”

“Sounds good, but let’s sit down for a minute and lay the groundwork.”