Her Texas Ranger

“Then you have no objection?” he asked.

She laughed softly. “I’m sure if I made objections my son would never speak to me again. But why would I? If he isn’t safe with you, he isn’t safe with anyone.”

He’d had high-ranking political officers in Texas rely on him to protect their very lives, yet to know Corrina trusted her son in his care touched him in a far deeper way. In fact, the pride he was feeling at this moment was downright ridiculous.

“Good. If he’s not doing anything tomorrow afternoon about one, I’ll drive over and pick him and his horse up and take them back to the T Bar K.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “You’re going to ride at the Ketchum place?”

He nodded. “Why? Is something wrong?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Not really. I just assumed you’d be riding on Dad’s place.”

Her eyes traveled over his face and he could see she was trying her best to size up his motives. Seth could have told her that she was wasting her time. He wasn’t even sure himself as to why he was going to this much trouble to show Matthew a little attention. Except that he’d seen a hungry need in the boy’s eyes and had wanted, in some way, to try to ease it.

“And you’re going to a lot of trouble to go over and pick up his horse,” she added.

“I think Matthew will enjoy seeing the ranch,” Seth said, deciding it wouldn’t be polite to add that he believed the boy needed to get off the Dawson place for a while.

A smile lifted the corners of her lips and her blue eyes twinkled at the thought of how much pleasure her son was going to derive from this outing with Seth. “He’ll probably stay awake tonight just waiting for you to show up.”

“I have a nine-year-old nephew, Aaron. He’s my late brother’s son. I might include him on the ride, too. If it’s okay with his mother, Maggie. After Hugh was gored to death by a bull, she’s a little hesitant about letting her son get around horses or cattle. But she doesn’t forbid it and I think she’ll agree. If that’s all right with you.”

Over his shoulder, Corrina spotted the manager of the diner coming out of the kitchen. A quick glance at her watch told her she’d already gone two minutes over her break. Not wanting to jeopardize her job, she rose to her feet and picked up her dirty coffee cup.

“Of course it’s all right. I’ll tell Matthew to be ready tomorrow. Right now, I’ve got to get back to work.” As she turned away from the booth, she shot him a grateful smile. “Thank you, Seth.”

Early the next morning, Seth stood on the front porch and kissed his new sister-in-law’s cheek. A step away, Ross looked on with an indulgent glare.

“Here now,” he warned. “That’s as far as you go, Tex.”

Isabella smiled daintily at her brother-in-law. “Goodbye, Seth. Take care of yourself while we’re gone,” she urged him.

“I will,” Seth assured her, then to his brother he said, “Don’t be so greedy, brother. You’re going to have your pretty wife all to yourself for the next two weeks.”

Grinning, Ross reached for his wife and, with both hands around her rib cage, lifted her off her feet. “Yeah, and I can’t wait,” he said. “Ready to go, honey?”

Ross’s darker-skinned, half-Apache wife smiled adoringly down at her husband. “I’m very ready.”

The intense love on Bella’s face was like nothing Seth had ever seen. And though he wasn’t in the market for a wife, he couldn’t but help feel an empty loss and a ridiculous sense of envy.

Setting her back on her feet, Ross curled his arm around Isabella’s waist and urged her toward the waiting pickup truck where their luggage was already loaded.

Sauntering after them, Seth waited until they’d climbed inside the cab before he stuck his nose in the open window. “It’s not bothering you one little bit to go off and leave me all alone, is it?”

Ross laughed. “It’s not my fault you’re alone.”

No, it was his own choice, Seth thought. But there were times like this one when he wondered if his life would ever change. Moreover, did he really want it to? He could go and do as he pleased. He didn’t have to answer to anyone. And the only person he had to take care of was himself. All those things outweighed the loneliness he sometimes felt. Didn’t it?

“Well, you two enjoy the Caribbean,” he said.

“We will,” Ross assured him with a grin, then just as quickly the grin was replaced with concern. “Just be sure and watch your back, brother. I don’t want anything to happen to you while we’re gone. Or anytime, for that matter.”

Seth frowned. “Are you forgetting Steve Chambers is behind bars?”

“Yeah, Steve tried to kill me. But someone did kill Noah. And he’s still out there on the loose.”

Seth reached through the window and squeezed Ross’s shoulder. “Don’t go off on your honeymoon thinking about any of that, Ross. Linc is here with me. We’ll keep things going and we’ll be safe. Promise.”

Seemingly satisfied that Seth and their cousin could keep things running smoothly and safely, Ross said a final goodbye and started the truck.

Seth waved them off and then watched as the vehicle made its way down the hill, past the ranch yard, the barns, and finally the bunkhouse. Once it was out of sight, he walked back into the kitchen and found Marina sitting at the table dabbing her eyes with the corner of her apron.

“Well, if this isn’t something,” he scolded softly. “You’re sitting here boohooing over Ross being gone. Don’t I count for anything?”

Marina blew her nose, then sniffed. “’Course you count. But I’m used to you being gone. It’s always awful quiet when Ross is away.”

Seth patted the woman’s shoulder. “The days will pass before you notice. Besides, I’ll try to give you as much trouble as I can so you’ll think Ross is still around.”

Marina snorted, then chuckled, then looked at him and smiled. “I didn’t know you could make a joke.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he said as he walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. “I guess that’s my fault though. I should have been coming back home on a regular basis.”

“You have important work to do, Seth. We understand that. And we’re all very proud of you.”

Seth turned a grateful eye her way. “I know. But sometimes I miss being around my family.”

Twisting her head around, Marina leveled a stern look on him. “You’ve lived alone too long. If your mother was still alive, she’d be very unhappy about that.”

Seth grimaced. “Don’t go using that tactic on me, Marina. Mother always understood the choices I made. Much more than Dad ever did. She knew that I would never marry just for the sake of having a wife or kids. If there is such a thing as love, I want to find it. I don’t want things to be—” He broke off, uncertain about how much he could say to this woman without upsetting her. Even though he had a feeling that Marina knew private things about his parents’ marriage, she’d never spoken of the problems between Tucker and Amelia. Probably because she had loved both of them equally. Just as Seth had. “I don’t want things to be forced,” he finally finished. “I’d rather be alone than live that way.”

Rising from her chair, Marina began to gather the dirty dishes from the table. “Sometimes it’s not meant for a person to find love. Sometimes a person has to settle for less.”

“Not me.” He tossed back the last of his coffee and placed his cup in the sink just as Marina approached with an armload of plates. “I’m going to drive up to the Double X this morning, Marina. But I’ll be back by lunch. I was wondering if you could fix a few snacks for my saddlebags. I’m taking Aaron and another boy riding this afternoon. They might get hungry.”

Always glad to be needed, she gave him a bright smile. “I’ll fix ’em right up. No little boys will ever go hungry around here,” she said, then her eyes narrowed on him. “What you going up to the Double X for? That’s an hour away from here.”

“I’m going to talk to James, see if he’d been in touch with Noah at any time before he was killed. I’m sure they were once friends. James purchased a lot of cattle from Dad during those days that Noah was foreman.”

“Why don’t you just call him?” Marina suggested.

One corner of Seth’s mouth lifted as he shook his head. “You can’t question a person over the phone, Marina. You have to look them in the eye, watch their reactions to see if they’re telling the truth or if anything else is going on with them.”

She dropped the plates into the soapy water. “Well, you’ve went a little loco if you suspect James Miller of killing Noah! That man is a—well, he’s a saint!”