Along Came a Ranger

by Debra Holt

  “Do they have other children?”

  “They’ve had two miscarriages before Lizzie was born. She’s adorable and they think the sun rises and sets on her. She can be a handful at times, but in a good way… like she has the energy for three instead of just herself,” Darcy explained, her eyes softened as she spoke of the little girl. “If I know my brother, he’ll not stop until she’s home again. If the kidnapper had any brains at all, he or she would give up right now.”

  “Sounds like you have a bit of hero worship going on for that brother of yours.”

  Darcy gave her a steady look. “No brag, just fact. Davis will track them to the ends of the earth if he must, but he will bring that little girl home. That’s not just his job, it’s who he is.”

  The words gave Stacy another shiver, this time it was a good feeling though. She realized at that moment Davis was one cowboy that couldn’t be lumped in with any others… he was the real deal. That meant she needed to do some deeper thinking on just what she was doing in regard to her rule. Davis McKenna had become a real threat to all she believed in about not trusting a certain type of man.

  However, what if she dared to break her rule and let the man into her heart and then he turned out to be like all the others? It would be a heartbreak she had done well to avoid over the years. Her heart and her mind would have to continue to war with each other until she could sort out all the strange and new feelings assaulting her senses since his arrival in her life like some larger-than-life hero.

  Leaving the barn a few minutes later, Darcy led the way across the backyard toward the rear door of the kitchen.

  Stacy’s gaze caught on the structure toward the back of the fenced portion of the yard. “The gazebo is lovely. The craftsmanship is quite something. Was it built by your father?”

  Darcy paused on the top porch step. “Actually, it was built by my brother. Davis did all the work on it two summers ago. He claims that working with wood is a stress reliever for him. He did a nice job, didn’t he?”

  Stacy was surprised and intrigued by that information. She was quickly learning that Davis McKenna was a man of many facets. Another question came to mind. “You said there was a lake on the property, too?”

  “It’s about three quarters of a mile in that direction.” Darcy’s head nodded in the direction beyond the gazebo. “There’s good swimming in the summer, provided we’ve had enough rain in the spring. Our dad built a small cabin out there with a swimming dock. There’s a dirt road that runs from the main highway through a back gate and out to the cabin and lake. No one’s been out there since last summer. In another couple of months, Davis will go and work on any repairs and weed removal before he allows anyone to go out there. Then we can invite you for a barbecue and swimming.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Stacy followed Darcy down the hallway toward the front door of the house. “Okay. I wrote the code for the alarm here on the pad, and my cell number… and you have Davis’s cell. You call me if you need anything… anything at all. I can be here in fifteen minutes or less—barring no highway patrol, of course.” Darcy added with a wink. “It’ll be very quiet around here. The closest house is in fact on the ranch that has the missing child. Their fence line backs up to this one about three miles to the north. However, their main entrance is off another highway so there isn’t any traffic down this way… unless people are lost or coming to see Davis.” Darcy opened the front door. “I’m heading back to town now, so you can get busy on the next novel that I can’t wait to read!”

  Stacy waved to the departing woman as she pulled away from the house. Then she shut the door and locked it. She would wait to set the alarm a little later. The house was very quiet. The shadows outside the windows had grown and dusk spread across the lawn.

  Even from the top floor of her condo building, Stacy could still hear the faint sounds of the city around her and this total silence was something she had to get used to again. There were times when she and her mother had lived in the country when she was growing up, and she had certainly spent a lot of time alone then, but that was a few years back. Even so, she wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it was oddly soothing.

  She walked back through the rooms downstairs. She envisioned how nice they would look with period pieces and comfortable country furnishings. It would be quite a lovely home once it was complete. Just the sort of home she had often dreamed about growing up. Most people took it for granted, by the fact she lived in an exclusive high-rise in the center of a major city and partied with celebrities and politicians, that was the sum total of who she was. Maybe that part came along with Sabrina Noelle’s lifestyle. But Stacy Smith was different. Few would guess that she would consider this type of country lifestyle to be a slice of heaven on earth. Filled with a couple of children and lots of love and laughter… and a husband who would love her all their days together and that… get a grip. She shook herself. She was getting carried away from reality. Her footsteps led her back to the kitchen and away from silly daydreams.

  Taking her pad and pen from her bag, she seated herself at the kitchen table. It was time to make the most of her quiet time. Surprisingly, she did manage to get about an hour’s worth of notes done on the outline she wanted for the remaining chapters in her new novel. Stacy even made the beginnings of a list of questions that she needed to have Davis’s law enforcement expertise on. She set it aside on the table to go over it later with him. Every now and then, she would have to erase a thought or a line on the paper when she found a pair of blue eyes and a sexy smile interrupting her train of thought. That usually never happened in her “zone” and it was a bit disconcerting. She hoped things were going well for those searching for the little lost child.

  Rumblings in her stomach reminded her of the hour and the fact that lunch had been quite a while ago. Rising, she opened the refrigerator and rummaged through the contents, finding the makings for a salad. She noted that Davis kept a combination of healthy food… alongside the not so good for him “comfort food”. She smiled at that insight into the man. It was certainly a strange twist to a day that had begun benignly enough. Who would have thought she would be dining in Davis McKenna’s home… albeit alone… but all the same, in the cowboy’s home?

  The chiming of the grandfather clock on the staircase landing broke the silence in the house. A smile curved the corners of her mouth. Stacy always felt comforted by the soft chimes of the old clocks she remembered from the houses of her friends that she visited as a child. It made her feel secure. To her mind, it was the sound of a real home. When she was younger, she told herself that when she had her own home one day, she would buy one of those big clocks… one day. Silly, she admitted. As if a clock made a home.

  It was the people inside the four walls that made a house into a home. She might not have had the perfect family experience while growing up, in fact, far from it. However, she knew what she wanted someday for her own family. That was, if she ever had one.

  Stacy told herself the reason Davis’s face suddenly came to mind when she thought about a family was because she was sitting in his home now. He was everything she had always stayed away from after she became old enough to be out on her own. He was the “cowboy” she wanted nothing to do with. She had seen what happened when her mother had attached their hopes and dreams to the wagon of that type of man. They were always tossed to the side when wanderlust hit him. But then along came Davis McKenna. He was proving to be the exception on so many levels. His qualities were what she would list if one asked her what she wanted in a man and in a husband.

  Davis was a good man… she had sensed that from the beginning and others she had met since then bore that out. He had a sense of humor and he showed a real interest in what other people cared about. He was respected. His affection for his family and his heritage was obvious. Some woman would be quite lucky to have him as her husband and father of her children. For some reason, Stacy didn’t want to think about any children that Davis might or might not have with an imagina
ry woman.

  There was a flash of light outside the kitchen window that suddenly illuminated the outside and Stacy stood and listened. Why hadn’t she armed the alarm system? Maybe Darcy had forgotten something? She moved down the hallway, her eyes on the front door. Just then her cell phone rang and she almost jumped out of her skin. She grabbed the phone and answered and relief washed over her.

  “Stacy?” Davis said, his voice sounding so good to her at that moment. “I thought I’d let you know that it’s me that just drove in. I’m about to be on the front porch… just in case you set the alarm or are waiting to pounce on an intruder with a can of mace or something.”

  She didn’t answer, she was already unlocking the door and the sight of the tall lawman mounting the steps to the porch was the most welcome sight she could imagine. The fact her heart seemed to be doing backwards flips in her chest confirmed her feeling of elation. She pushed open the screened door and couldn’t help the huge smile that just wouldn’t be tamed on her face.

  As Davis reached the top step, she noted how tired he looked but, when his gaze met hers, a smile brought the warmth to his face. “Now this is the best sight I’ve seen in a long while. A man could get used to seeing you waiting at the door for him.”

  Those backflips moved right into rioting pulse rates sparking through her body at his words. She had to take a calming breath before she trusted herself to make a coherent response.

  “I hope the fact that you’re here means good news about the child.”

  He slowly shook his head, the smile fading. “Afraid not. I’m here long enough to grab something to eat, take a quick shower to get myself going again, and then meet up with the team at the courthouse in three hours. I also wanted to check in on you… make sure you were okay being out here by yourself.”

  “You’re in luck, I was just about to fix something to eat for myself,” she said, over her shoulder as he came through the doorway after her. She was already headed toward the kitchen. “Go on up and shower and I’ll fix something. Maybe you should try to catch some sleep first?”

  “Sounds like a plan… the shower and a meal. I’ll be just a few minutes.”

  Stacy went to work in the kitchen. She heard the sound of the shower turn on. She wished Davis had time to rest before he left again. But she recognized he was in his lawman mode and there would be little use of anyone trying to dissuade him otherwise. She put together an omelet for him, some mixed fruit, made a pot of coffee, and was just plating it all when the shower turned off. Good timing. She placed everything on the table and waited. Then she waited some more. Finally, after fifteen minutes of hearing nothing from upstairs, she went to the staircase.

  After hesitating, she went up the stairs, pausing outside the bedroom door, her ear pressed to it. No sounds. She turned the door handle and slowly stuck her head around the door. Davis’s prone body on top of the bed stopped her. He had evidently sat down on the side of his bed and however it happened, he had ended up prone on his back, a bath towel secured around his waist. The steady rise and fall of his chest told her he was asleep. She hesitated.

  Should she knock and wake him? Or should she let him sleep as long as he could before he had to eat and then leave? He didn’t look all that comfortable… his long legs hung off the side of the bed. She felt something of a voyeur… her eyes couldn’t help but take in the muscled torso, taut stomach. And she definitely felt the heat growing in her cheeks but also in other spots within her body as the towel drew her attention to the fact that Davis’s entire body might be pretty spectacular. And if he woke up and found her staring, she would be mortified. Get moving. She retraced her steps downstairs. Stacy ended up eating the omelet. The fruit went back into the fridge. The coffee stayed hot. She would give him a good hour and a half of sleep before she would wake him and retry the meal part.

  Once more the omelet was cooked and the fruit added to the plate. She had just set the plate on the table when the sound of boots on the stairs told her Davis was awake. She had his coffee poured as he entered the kitchen.

  He gave her a sheepish grin. “Guess that shower took longer than I intended.”

  “Funny how that works sometimes.” She smiled, nodding at the food. “It’s ready for you. I was going to call you when I put it on the table.”

  He pulled out a chair and sat down. “Aren’t you eating?”

  “I ate the first omelet I cooked for you.” She sat down across from him with her cup of coffee.

  “I’m sorry you had to do this twice. I’m supposed to be the host and should be serving you dinner, not the other way around.”

  “Just eat and don’t worry about that. You can make it up to me another time.”

  He paused between bites, a slow smile causing those dimples to make an appearance. “Now that sounds like music to my ears. The fact you’re willing to continue our friendship after I left you on your own today.”

  Friendship. This wasn’t the time to be telling him she was having a bit of crisis in her mind about that subject. She simply smiled and took another sip of her coffee.

  “When I leave, you need to make sure and set the alarm. I don’t like having to leave you here alone. I could drop you off at Darcy’s in town if you’d feel—”

  “Why are you so concerned about me being out here? I’m not in the least bit bothered by it. Believe me, I’ve spent time alone in far worse places… certainly more dangerous even… while growing up. I’m not scared of the dark and I’ll even own up to the fact that I’ve been known to go jogging around the lake in town before dawn… on my own. And don’t even think about giving me a lecture on that one.” She warned when she saw the sudden frown lines appear across his forehead. “There was a time growing up, I was not even ten years old at the time, when we lived fifteen miles from town, back in the woods… no neighbors, and I was often alone out there for two or three days at a time. Don’t let my city girl persona fool you. I can take care of myself when I have to. I enjoy the country.”

  “Point taken,” Davis said, pushing back from his chair and standing. “But you can’t stop me from worrying about the fact if I want to do so. And I will be checking in when I can. As much as I hate to say this, I have to hit the road again. Walk me out?”

  She followed behind him and they stopped at the door. He settled his hat on his head and then opened it. He turned to face her one more time. Stacy noted his reluctance. “Set the alarm. My bed has fresh sheets and you should get some sleep. And one more thing… I’m about to take a chance that might blow this whole friendship thing out of the water.”

  Stacy was taken aback by his unexpected words. But his next actions spoke loudest of all. Two palms reached out and, in one movement, cupped her face in their warmth as his head lowered and his mouth found hers. She was rooted to the spot. The first thing that registered was the man definitely knew how to kiss.

  It was masterful, yet gentle, questioning while self-assured, and it lit a fire that engulfed her entire being. She knew she had never been truly kissed before that moment and it shocked and thrilled her. He led and she followed. And then he stopped, his head lifting from hers. Her lips felt bereft and lost. Her whole being cried out for more of him. But he dropped his hands. Stacy was aware his breathing seemed to be as erratic as hers at that moment and liked that he had been as impacted by the kiss as she was… at least she hoped that was the case. The blue gaze had darkened and raked over her face to place one more tempting look at her mouth. But he stepped back.

  “I’ve never hated the call to duty before this moment.” He seemed about to say something else, but then thought better of it.

  He said nothing. Davis simply turned and shut the door behind him. She heard his boots cross the front porch and then down the steps. A minute or so later, the truck’s engine sounded and she heard him drive away.

  Stacy threw the deadbolt and then punched in the code on the box beside the door. The house was quiet. Slowly, she retraced her steps to the kitchen. She sank down in t
he chair and reached for the notebook and pen. Writing had always been her solace, her solution, her peace. Yet the words wouldn’t come. Davis McKenna had warned her that he was about to change things. And he had. With one kiss… everything had changed. The question was… how did she feel about that? For the first time, she sat and stared at the blank page and had not a clue what to do.

  Chapter Six

  Over the next hour or so, her writing hadn’t progressed much more than a paragraph. The chime of the clock did remind her that it was getting late… midnight. She hoped Davis and the others were making progress in the case. Her eyes went to the window that faced into the backyard and to the distant hills where, according to Darcy, there was a lake located. It was so dark beyond the limits of the porchlight on the back steps. How frightening it must be for a little child taken away from everyone she knew and loved and held by goodness knew what sort of criminal. A shiver ran along her spine and Stacy shook herself mentally to keep her thoughts from going darker.

  Just about to turn from the window, something caught her eye. She hesitated. Darcy had pointed to the hills behind the house when they were taking the upstairs tour and they had stood at one of the windows, admiring the view. She had mentioned that the property went over the hills and even further beyond them. Her parents had not wanted neighbors and they had made sure of that. The only thing back there was the old cabin beside the lake they used to swim in during the summer.

  That was why Stacy thought she had imagined it. She had just about convinced herself of that when the light showed itself again. Stacy reached for the wall switch and turned off the kitchen light to get a better look. Whatever the source was, it appeared to be moving. It would disappear and then reappear a few moments later. After a couple of minutes of watching the movements, Stacy realized it was headlights of a vehicle slowly moving in and out of trees.