by Leann Harris
Rafe shook his head. “Nope. I found her at the edge of my land near County Road 4. There wasn’t a car in sight, but there had been a flash flood this morning in that section of road. That’s why I was out—riding the range, looking for stock in trouble.”
Derek nodded. “I’ll drive out there later today and look for the vehicle.” He resumed scanning the list. “Female, five foot four or five, blond hair, green eyes, late twenties, early thirties.” His finger rested on the line as he glanced up and looked into April’s eyes.
“I’m five-six,” April added. Her eyes widened as if the information surprised her.
Derek finished the list, then handed it to Rafe. “I don’t see anyone fitting her description.”
Quickly, Rafe surveyed the list. Nothing. “It will help when we find her car. We can track her through it.”
“If anything comes in, I’ll call you.”
“Okay,” Rafe answered.
“Why don’t we take the lady’s fingerprints and run them through the state database? Maybe something will show up there.” Derek turned to April. “Is it okay with you if we take your prints?”
Rafe wondered if April would object to the procedure. Only criminals and state employees were kept in the state’s computer. Combined with her reaction to the sheriff, it might be a clue to her identity.
“Yes, it’s fine with me.” There was no hesitation in her voice, no shadow in her eyes. “Anything that will help find out who I am.”
Derek nodded and motioned for April to follow him.
Well, so much for that theory, Rafe thought. He followed them to the corner of the office where bookings were done. The first time Derek did the printing, April’s fingerprints were smudged and unreadable.
“Do most fingerprints turn out like that?” April asked, pointing to the black blur on the page.
“No,” Rafe said, handing her a paper towel.
Derek looked at Rafe.
April picked up on the silent communication. “What is it?” she asked, a note of panic in her voice.
“Whatever job you do, you must handle a lot of paper,” Rafe answered.
She looked at her hands and frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“Your fingerprints aren’t readable. They’ve been worn down. People who handle a lot of paper have that problem when fingerprinted. Let’s try a little glycerin on your skin and see if we can get a clear print.”
April looked from one man to the other, then held out her hands. Rafe put several drops of glycerin on her fingertips and then gently rubbed it in. It was a uniquely sensual experience for him. All sorts of emotions ran through him that had never happened at a booking before. When he realized where his thoughts had drifted, he yanked them back. “Let’s try this again.” He glanced up and saw Derek grinning at him.
They repeated the printing, this time with success.
“Where are you going to keep April?” Derek asked after he faxed the prints to Austin.
April tensed.
“I thought I’d take her back to my ranch for the time being. That would be the easiest all around with your baby being sick.” Rafe felt April relax.
A knowing look entered Derek’s eyes. “You’re right.”
Putting on his hat, Rafe stood and helped April to her feet, then handed her the crutches. She struggled out the door to his truck. After helping her into the cab and closing the door, Rafe leaned through the window. “I forgot to tell Derek something. I’ll just be a moment.”
He stepped back up onto the sidewalk and leaned through the door of the office. Derek, who was reviewing the missing persons’ reports, looked up.
“After you check the wanted posters and the APB’s, let me know what you find.”
Setting the sheets back on the desk, Derek asked, “You think I’m going to discover something?”
A weary sigh escaped Rafe’s mouth. “Yeah. I’ve got that nagging feeling that the lady’s in trouble.”
“All right. I’ll let you know how everything turns out.”
Just as Rafe climbed into the cab of the truck, April’s stomach rumbled. Her hand clamped over her waist, and she shot Rafe an embarrassed smile.
“I couldn’t have said it better, myself,” he commented, inserting the key into the ignition. “I’m starved.” Glancing at his watch, he noted the time was close to two. “You have your choice. I can take you back to my ranch and feed you a bologna sandwich with stale chips, or we could drive down the street and have lunch at Mabel’s.” He pretended to do some deep thinking before he added with a grin. “Let’s see, it’s Thursday, which means Mabel is serving fried chicken and Red Velvet cake. If that woman was ten years younger, I’d ask her to marry me. Of course, she probably wouldn’t want an uncivilized lawman like me.”
His comment had the desired result: April grinned. “Her cooking is that good?”
“Mabel’s got more blue ribbons from the state fair than the rest of the women in this county and the next combined.”
“Oh, my. Well, you certainly make Mabel’s sound as good as dining at The Mansion.”
“The Mansion?” he repeated, knowing the restaurant she spoke of, but checking to see if she knew.
“The Mansion in Dallas.” The words rolled off her tongue before she had time to think. Her startled gaze flew to his. “I don’t know how I knew that.”
Unable to help himself, he grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it. His skin burned at the contact. Quickly, he released it. “It’s a good sign, April. It’s kind of like your memory’s been dammed up and there are fissures in the wall, allowing bits of your past to trickle through. With time, all your memory should return.”
She frowned at him. “I just wish I could remember now.”
“Don’t worry. Trust me, I’ll take good care of you.”
“Okay.” The awe in her voice caused her to go still. Her gaze flew to his. “I do trust you,” she said again, more forcefully.
He pushed back his white Stetson and smiled at her. Although he’d helped her this morning, what had happened thus far didn’t warrant the level of trust that she was putting in him. There was something else at work here. Something that even she didn’t recognize. “Well, if you trust me, then I recommend we eat at Mabel’s. It’ll be the best meal you’ve had in a long time.”
She glanced down at her scrubs and bare feet. “I’m willing if she won’t mind my attire.”
A grin curved his mouth at the cultured word. “Attire?”
She blushed.
“There’s another clue, April. You speak with an elegant tone. I would’ve said my duds or ropa—that’s Spanish for clothes.”
She frowned at him. “I don’t know.”
“Who’s the detective here?”
A blush crept up her neck.
“Trust me, April. Most of the folks around here don’t use ‘attire.’ Your using it helps put you from an urban area, probably from the eastern part of the state.”
“How can you be sure that I’m a Texan?”
He rested his wrists on the steering wheel. “Because of the way you sound. I know a Texan when I hear one. Your drawl is dainty, but it’s definitely there.”
Shrugging, she looked out the window. “Okay. Let’s go eat at Mabel’s.”
He put the truck in gear and drove a few blocks down the street, parking in front of a two-story brick building. Hopping out, he raced around the front of the truck, opened April’s door, and scooped her up in his arms.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
His body reacted to her nearness—anyone would think he was an untried teenager with his first crush. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to ignore the womanly scent of her. “Taking you inside. Mabel won’t let you inside without shoes, but we’ll appeal to her soft heart if I carry you.”
Reluctantly, she put her arms around his neck. Rafe cursed under his breath, questioning the wisdom of his move. He was already acutely aware of April. He didn’t need an up-close-
and-personal reminder of how her nearness affected him. He stopped at the door. “We’ve done this before. My hands are full, you want to open the door?”
She grinned at him, causing his heart to skip a beat. “Of course.” She pulled the glass door open, allowing him to slip inside.
“I’ll be there in a moment,” a voice from the kitchen called.
“We’ll seat ourselves, Mabel,” Rafe answered.
Before he could place April in a chair, a woman appeared at the kitchen door. Mabel might only be five foot, but with her bottled red hair and orthopedic shoes, she was a force to be dealt with. “What are you doing, Rafe?” She strolled to the table.
Rafe couldn’t prevent the guilty flush that appeared on his cheeks. “I’m helping April to her chair.”
“She can’t walk herself?” Mabel shot back.
“Nope. She sprained her ankle this morning.”
Before he could explain more, Mabel jumped in. “I’m sorry to hear that. You take her to see Dr. Alex?”
“Yes.”
She turned back to April and introduced herself.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mabel. Rafe says you make the best chicken in this part of the state. I’m looking forward to it.”
Mabel threw Rafe a satisfied glance. “The boy always had a lot of sense.” She carefully surveyed April’s scrubs, then looked at Rafe, waiting for an explanation.
“April was caught in a flash flood this morning at the edge of my land. Alex loaned the scrubs to her until her clothes dry.”
“I see. Well, I take it you two want something to eat.”
“You’re a mind reader,” Rafe replied, with a grin.
She scowled at him. “That’s not what my ex used to say.” She disappeared into the kitchen. “Rafe,” she called out from the kitchen. “You get yourself and April some tea.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Two plastic cups and a pitcher appeared on the window ledge that looked into the kitchen. Rafe stood and poured them tea and carried the cups back to the table.
“I hope you like sweetened tea. Mabel doesn’t serve it any other way.”
“I think so,” April replied, taking the cup from him. A large grin curved her lips.
“What are you smiling at?” he asked, resuming his seat.
“You.”
“What about me?”
“You did Mabel’s bidding mighty quickly.”
A sparkle entered his eye. “You’ve never seen Mabel riled. It’s easier to do what she says. Besides, I’d do just about anything—legal, that is—for Mabel’s fried chicken.”
A cloud passed over April’s face and her eyes darkened.
“What is it?”
Her head jerked up and she met his gaze. “I don’t know. It’s like someone stepped on my grave. I felt cold.”
Rafe racked his brain, trying to recall what he’d said. He’d been teasing her about doing anything legal for Mabel’s chicken.
“How long have you lived out here?” April asked, her fingers skimming the outside of her glass.
Her question drew him out of his musings. “I’ve been assigned to this part of the state since ‘90, but I grew up in the Valley. Then after college, I joined the Highway Patrol.”
“And how did you become a Ranger?”
“In ‘87, there were openings in the Rangers, so I took the exam. I was one of the first Hispanic Rangers.”
A small frown crinkled her brow. “But how could Dr. Alex be your sister?” Her faux pas ringing in the air, a blush stained her cheeks. “I mean...uh....”
A laugh rumbled in his chest. “It was a surprise to me, too, to discover I had sisters.”
“Sisters?”
“Three. The oldest is a lawyer. Alex, the middle one, is a doctor. And the youngest has a doctorate and teaches in college.”
“But Alex is...uh...you’re—” The more she said, the deeper the hole she dug for herself. Rafe took pity on her. “They’re my half-sisters. We have the same father, but different mothers. I didn’t know a thing about that part of my family until my mother died and I went through her things and discovered my father’s name.”
“How did you feel?”
“At first, I felt angry that he’d left my mother pregnant and alone.” He didn’t mention how long it took him to get over the anger. “Eventually, I went to Midland and confronted him.” His mind wandered back to that first meeting with his father. “I was news to him. He never knew that he’d gotten my mom pregnant. At first, he was stunned, then amazed. But he was thrilled that he had a son and introduced me to my sisters—and anyone who’d listen to him.
“It was odd but I already knew Alex before I discovered our relationship. She helped with the TB epidemic that ran through town last year. She and Derek fell in love and married. It’s bizarre how I grew up in the Valley and Alex in Midland, and then we ended up in the same small town in west Texas.”
“Here it is,” Mabel announced, setting two plates of steaming, golden, fried chicken before her customers. April moaned at the exquisite smell.
Rafe grinned. “I think, Mabel, you’re about to make another lifelong customer.”
“If this tastes half as good as it smells, you’re right,” agreed April. She pinched a piece of the crispy skin and popped it into her mouth. “Mmm.” April’s eyes fluttered closed and a look of ecstasy crossed her face.
Her reaction shot through him like lightning through thunderclouds, bringing heat and electricity. As Rafe focused on April’s expression, all sorts of thoughts raced through his head—none had anything to do with food. Then he caught Mabel staring from April to him. When he looked questioningly at her, she just raised her eyebrow.
“Why don’t you join us, Mabel?” Rafe asked. “I was hoping you’d sit with us while we eat so I could ask you a couple of questions. I need your help to find out who April is.”
“She doesn’t know who she is?” Mabel pulled out a chair and sat down.
He nodded and turned to April, who hadn’t waited for him, but was biting into her meat. He laughed. “How is it?”
With April’s mouth full of chicken, she could only nod.
“Well, if April could speak, I’d let her tell you how I found her this morning lying on the ground next to County Road 4. She’d been caught in the flash flood, but there was no sign of her car or how she got out to that spot. She doesn’t have any memory of her life before waking up. I was hoping that maybe you might of heard of someone visiting the area, since your place is the center of information for this part of the county.” After taking a swallow of his iced tea, he asked, “Do you know of anyone around here who had a guest or was expecting someone?”
Leaning back in her chair, Mabel rubbed her chin. “Let’s see, have I heard of anyone visiting?”
Rafe waited as Mabel reviewed her memory.
“Marv Davis’s daughter and granddaughter visited last week—but other than that, I can’t think of anyone. Besides, all those college kids away at school won’t show up for another month. Everything is pretty normal.”
A sigh escaped him. It had been a long shot that Mabel might know. Well, he’d just keep looking.
“Where’d you say you found April?” she asked.
“At the edge of my land just off County Road 4.”
“Let’s see, the only folks off that road are the Taylors and the Johnsons. Dick’s in town, but the Johnsons are out visiting their daughter in Los Angeles.”
Mabel crossed her arms and pursed her lips, obviously reviewing her day. “Oh, wait, now that I think about it, I did come across a stranger this morning. He came in just before the lunch rush. All he wanted was coffee.” She pointed to the table in the corner. “He sat there. I did get the feeling he was looking for someone.”
“Did he say anything?” Rafe asked.
“Nope. He just watched everyone come and go.” Mabel shrugged.
“What did this man look like?”
Mabel flashed him a grin. “Oh, he
was a handsome devil, with blond hair and a red mustache. And he had dreamy blue eyes that made...never mind.”
Rafe glanced at April to see her reaction. Her face seemed to lose what little animation it had, and she pushed away her remaining chicken. Her look of desolation touched his heart.
“Mabel, I think we’re both ready for a piece of that Red Velvet cake of yours.”
Mabel hurried into the kitchen and reemerged with two pieces of cake. April took a bite of her dessert. The rich flavor made her close her eyes as she savored the taste.
“This is wonderful, Mabel,” April said. “I can see why Rafe raved about your cooking.”
Beaming, Mabel refilled both tea glasses. “Well, I always said his momma raised him right.” She flashed him a smile.
“Now, if you could only made a good enchilada, I’d up and marry you tomorrow.”
Mabel grinned. “In your dreams, mister.”
Rafe turned to April. “You ready to go?”
“I need a moment before we leave.” She glanced around and found the sign she was looking for. Rafe helped her to the bathroom.
“Mabel,” Rafe called out. “Why don’t you pack me a couple of pieces of the cake. I think April would enjoy a snack later.”
“All right,” came her reply.
Rafe walked to the window. The information Mabel told them—that there was a stranger in town—bothered him. Not only had April appeared in this remote spot of Texas, but another stranger had turned up this morning, too. Of course, the town of Saddle was on the road to Big Bend National Park, but most tourists—when they stopped—liked to talk. Mabel could get the shiest folks to open up. This particular traveler didn’t fit the normal tourist profile.
Rafe had a gnawing suspicion that the two strangers were connected.
He moved to the front door and dialed Derek’s office. The deputy picked up on the first ring. “Sheriff’s office.”
“Derek, this is Rafe. Mabel told me an interesting story about a stranger in her restaurant this morning. He didn’t say anything, but sat in the corner, drank coffee, and watched everyone. I wonder if there could be a connection between this stranger and April.”
