A Texas Ranger's Christmas

by Rebecca Winters

  “Look, Josh—” Blaire pointed to the chimney. “That’s Santa Claus!”

  Maybe it was meaningless to him. She couldn’t tell. Jack lifted the child in his arms and pointed. Josh imitated his father by lifting his free arm. He must have thought it was a game. If so, it was endearing.

  She started singing in a quiet voice. “Up on the housetop the reindeer pause, out jumps dear old Santa Claus—”

  Josh’s head suddenly swung around. He stared straight at her while she went on singing. Jack joined in. It brought a smile to Josh’s face before he kissed his daddy’s cheek half a dozen times.

  “With kisses like that, I’d say you’ve made your son pretty happy, Jack.”

  She started back into the house ahead of them because she was afraid she couldn’t hold back her tears. By the time Jack and Josh entered the kitchen, she’d cleared the table and was putting dishes in the dishwasher.

  “Leave it and come with me. We’ve got a tree to decorate.” But Josh didn’t want to go without his pull ball. Clutching it in his arms, he followed his father into the living room.

  While Josh played on the floor with his new toy, Blaire helped put elves and red satin balls on the tree.

  “All finished,” Jack said at last. When he turned in her direction, the look he gave her left her feeling light-headed. “If the star weren’t already on top, I’d put you up there. You brought magic into this house tonight.”

  Before she could think, he pressed a brief kiss to her lips. “Merry Christmas, Blaire Koslov. My son thanks you for the gift. Now it’s time for him to go to bed. I won’t be long.”

  After he’d left the room, she still felt the pressure of his mouth against hers. The moment was one she was destined to relive because she feared she’d fallen in love with him. Of course, you couldn’t really fall in love with someone this fast, but she couldn’t attribute this feeling to anything else.

  Maybe it would be better if she made this an early evening so he wouldn’t think she was expecting more from him. The kiss he’d given her had suited the moment. She knew he was grateful for any help with his son.

  Since there was still next week to get through before Perry returned to work, the smart thing to do would be to keep their relationship uncomplicated. That meant no physical intimacy. Another week working side by side with him and they’d both know their feelings better. Once they weren’t colleagues any longer, she’d welcome a night like this alone with him.

  Rather than sit here, she decided to make herself useful until he was free.

  Chapter Six

  You couldn’t hurry the bedtime ritual with Josh, but Caige wasn’t worried. Eager as he was to be alone with Blaire, he knew that when he returned to the living room, he wouldn’t find her put out because he’d been gone ten minutes. This woman was the opposite of high maintenance.

  Her nonintrusive nature hadn’t disturbed the rhythm of his relationship with his son. If anything, her presence had acted as a soothing balm. It was the reason Josh fell asleep right away.

  He kissed his boy good-night before heading for the living room. When he didn’t see Blaire, he made a detour to the kitchen and found her at the table drinking more coffee. She’d put the place in perfect order. “I didn’t invite you over here to work.”

  “I know, but now you don’t have to worry about it, or Elly. It gave me something to do. I take it Josh is asleep.”

  “If he weren’t, we’d both know about it.” Caige poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down opposite her, the better to feast his eyes. She was gorgeous in red.

  “Your home is lovely, Jack. Did you always live here with your wife?”

  “Yes. After we divorced I wanted to sell this place and get into something new, but I was afraid to move Josh away from everything familiar. The doctor felt it wisest if I didn’t change the life he was used to, so I took his advice.”

  “I got the opposite advice.” She laughed at herself. “In the beginning I didn’t want to leave our apartment because—”

  “Because you hoped he’d open the door and walk in one of these days,” he broke in on her. “That was only natural.”

  “My brother, Mark, didn’t think so. He said it was gruesome of me to sit around waiting.”

  “He’s never been married, right?”

  “No.” She lowered her head. “In the end he was the one who told me I had to get out and convinced me to go on to graduate school. My psychiatrist agreed with him. So with my family’s backing, he helped me find an apartment in College Station. Mark was excellent medicine, but it didn’t feel that way at the time.”

  “He sounds like a man I’d like.”

  “You two would hit it off big-time. He’s a motorcycle lover, too, and bought his first one when he was seventeen. His prized Kawasaki is stored in my parents’ garage right now.”

  “Did he ever take you for a ride?”

  “Quite a few times, but our parents have never been thrilled by the idea.”

  “Did you like it?”

  “I loved it.”

  “You say your brother’s in the navy. Where’s he stationed?”

  “San Diego.”

  “Have you ever been there?”

  She nodded. “On family vacations.”

  “It’s a romantic place. Liz and I went there several times. What about you and your husband?”

  “After our honeymoon to Maui, we didn’t travel. All our extra money went to private golf lessons for Nate so he could turn pro sooner.”

  “I thought he’d worked out a deal with Danny Dunn.”

  “He did. I’m talking about the lessons he took in San Diego. We had to save every cent for them. It’s odd you would mention San Diego just now. Once a month he flew down there to get expert instruction at the Torrey Pines golf course. Mr. Dunn arranged it with one of his pro golfer friends who’d retired and ran the program.”

  “Who was that?”

  “Tally Isom. He won several PGA championships during his career. Apparently Mr. Dunn got his start with him.”

  Caige rubbed the back of his neck. “That was a fortunate connection. What did you do on those weekends?”

  “I studied extra hard and held recitals at the apartment for my students.”

  She hadn’t balked at all his questions yet, but if he didn’t stop interrogating her, she was going to ask what was going on. The problem was, he still had a ton of them and needed tomorrow to dot a few more i’s before he told her who he was. As for right now, what he wanted to do with her he couldn’t do, not when she didn’t know the whole truth about him.

  If Elly were here, he could leave and take Blaire to a film or something. It was only five after ten. When he’d invited her over tonight, he hadn’t anticipated boxing himself into a corner like this. He hadn’t known how cooperative Josh would be. “How would you like to go in the den and watch a movie?”

  “I’d love it, but while you were in with Josh, Gwen phoned. She reminded me I’d promised to tend her baby in the morning while she took her car in to be serviced. I have to be at her house at seven, so I think I’d better say good-night and get home to bed.” Without hesitation she got to her feet.

  Blaire was lying, otherwise she would have told him as soon as he’d come in the kitchen. He shouldn’t have kissed her, even if they’d both wanted it. In his gut he knew she wanted him. Desire wasn’t something you could hide. But because he hadn’t been able to keep himself from touching her, that one unsatisfying peck for him had altered the situation before time. Damn.

  “If you’re really ready to go home, then I’ll walk you out.”

  “Breakfast was delicious,” she said as they left the house and moved to her car. “I had a wonderful time.”

  “So did I.” He helped her in. “Take care driving home. Do you have to park outside?”

  “No. I have a garage.”

  “That’s good. When you’re inside, give me a call to let me know you arrived.”

  “I will. Thanks again
for the lovely evening, Jack. See you on Monday morning.” She backed out and drove away.

  He wanted to see her sooner, but he had a full weekend planned to work on her case, plus dinner at Gracie’s. Depending on circumstances, it might have to be Monday.

  Caige turned off the lights on the Santa and the tree, then locked up the house and went to his den. To work off his excess energy, he sat down and called information for numbers he would need. In the morning while Elly fixed Josh’s breakfast, he would start making phone calls.

  Blaire’s input, combined with the dates from the travel agency records, gave him the rudiments of a map to follow, the first of many he feared might not lead anywhere. It was like looking for buried treasure without X marking the spot. There were no directions. Two paces in this direction. Ten paces in the next. It was all a gamble.

  He rubbed his eyes. A week ago he’d made a list of possibilities and would keep working it until he got a break in the case. So far there were two things he knew. Blaire was innocent of any crime and she’d become a person of personal interest to him. As if thinking about her had conjured her up, his phone rang, causing a burst of adrenaline. He saw the caller ID and answered.

  “Are you home safe and sound?”

  “I’m in the living room turning out lights as we speak. The poinsettia you gave me is flourishing.”

  “This morning Elly told me hers is, too. She’s keeping it in her bedroom.”

  “A woman loves her flowers. I thought you should be told. When you order them over the phone, you don’t always know if they arrived in the peak of health.”

  “So speaks our resident pathologist. I’ll have to let the florist know.”

  “You do that. Good night.”

  She got off the phone so fast, he felt like someone had just cut the tether. He was left to float in the same void where he’d been floundering before Blaire had jumped down from that oak tree.

  He finally went to bed, but didn’t sleep well. At six, he was wide-awake. Unable to lie there any longer, he showered and dressed. Unfortunately, the people he needed to talk to were in California and wouldn’t be available yet, but Josh was awake.

  The two of them went in the living room where Josh found the pull ball. Jack played with his son until Elly called them to breakfast. By the time he’d had a second bowl of cereal with bananas, he figured he could start making a dent in the work ahead of him. After bringing in some of Josh’s toys while Elly did her chores, he left for his den and called Torrey Pines first.

  According to the website, it was the nation’s premier municipal golf course, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and home to the PGA Farmers Insurance Open.

  After telling the receptionist this was official police business, he asked to be put through to the manager. Caige didn’t expect the manager to be in on a Saturday morning, but someone else with lesser authority ought to be able to help him.

  “This is Arney King, the assistant manager.” Assistant would do. “Who am I speaking to?”

  “Caige Dawson of the Texas Rangers in Austin, Texas.” Caige gave him his ID number and a phone number so he could call for verification. “I’m working on a missing-person case and need certain information.”

  “I’ll try to be of help.”

  “Thank you.” For the next few minutes he gave him the necessary particulars. “Could you look up the dates I’ve given you and see if Nathan Farley paid the fees and attended those Saturday golf sessions with Tally Isom?”

  “That’ll take some time to research.”

  “Of course. Does Mr. Isom still head the program?”

  “No. About a year ago he had a stroke. I believe his family put him in a rest home.”

  “Do you know which one?”

  “I don’t, but I’ll inquire and call you back with everything I can find.”

  Caige thanked him. Once they’d hung up, he went to his emails. He had at least twenty-five. Some from family, the others were business. He saw Ernie’s and opened his first. The older man had forwarded him the information from the California DMV on Janie Pettigrews in San Diego County. There were thirty-two of them. Ernie indicated he’d already started working on them.

  Another email came from Mac, who’d talked with the detective heading up the investigation of the Dunn murder. They were working on the new lead Blaire had given Caige about the caddy named Ron. Mac would get back to him when he had any news.

  With everyone involved, it was still like looking for a certain snake in a pit of thousands.

  He read the family emails. His parents wanted to know how soon he and Josh were coming for Christmas. Good question. Caige said he’d get back to them in another few days.

  While he waited to hear from Mr. King, he started going through the debits on Farley’s bank statements. He checked the florist’s statement again. There’d been over five hundred dollars in the account when he’d charged the flowers sent out in November. That meant he’d paid cash for the other flowers for a specific reason, not because he was low on money. Interesting…

  Farley wasn’t a big spender or extravagant. Their grocery buying was in control. A few purchases for movie tickets, a couple of items from a department store and one from a photography studio.

  It looked like they ate out once a month at restaurants with moderate prices, a few drive-in charges. They weren’t buying anything on credit except their lower-end economy cars. No excessive gas purchases. Since Farley worked in a bank and needed to wear a suit, there were charges from a local cleaning shop that made sense. But a lot of things Caige might have expected to see weren’t there.

  Except for the flights to California once a month, he and Blaire were frugal where their expenditures were concerned. If every couple managed their money in the same way, people wouldn’t be in debt. Farley was so temperate in his spending habits, he could be one of those souls who had Scottish blood in him and came by his financial discipline naturally.

  But there was one thing wrong with that picture— Farley had dreamed of becoming a pro golfer from his teens. Everything about the game was expensive and screamed money. It meant he must have had another source of income somewhere to support that lifestyle—one he’d taken the greatest pains to hide.

  The cash he’d paid for the flowers was a little thing in and of itself, but those flowers had gone to someone else, not his wife. Cash meant you didn’t leave a paper trail. Farley’s association with Danny Dunn had begun long before he’d met Blaire. It could have opened up a way for him to have money his wife had no clue about.

  If Farley was right and Dunn’s professional caddy was his lover, maybe this Ron was jealous of Farley’s association with Dunn. Maybe Farley had purchased his gun for protection. But it had done him little good if Ron had found a way to get rid of Farley after killing Dunn.

  Caige rubbed the back of his neck, frustrated because all this was pure conjecture. He could be way off base with his ideas. It had happened before in other cases. It could be happening now. Without the vital missing piece to link it all together, he didn’t—

  The phone interrupted his thoughts. He automatically clicked on. “This is Ranger Dawson.”

  “Arney King here. Sorry it took me so long. I talked with the head of the program just now. He went through all the records for the time periods you gave me. No one named Nathan Farley from Austin, Texas, ever signed up for lessons at Torrey Pines. The finance department verified that his name isn’t in their records.”

  Caige shot out of his chair and paced the floor for a second to calm down. “Did you happen to find out the name of that convalescent center where Tally Isom was admitted?”

  “Yes. It’s the North Shady Pines in Fresno, California.”

  “Thank you for the information. It’s been invaluable.”

  Caige hung up and reached for Josh, who’d come in the den to play by him. He lifted him in the air. “Guess what, buddy? I’m getting closer to solving this case. You have no idea what this means to me.” He sat down again wi
th Josh on his lap and called information for Fresno.

  While his son played with the kinetic-motion desk toy Caige’s sister had given him years ago, he talked to the woman in charge of the center and explained the situation. She told him the stroke had taken away Mr. Isom’s ability to speak or walk, and had left him confused. It didn’t sound as if he’d be able to identify a picture in case Farley had registered under another name for some reason.

  Caige thanked her for the information and rang off. He rested his chin in Josh’s hair while his mind played with new possibilities. What if Farley had been a wannabee pro who knew he wasn’t good enough?

  If he hadn’t gone to California for golf lessons, then he could have been over his head in some gambling scheme with Dunn. He probably had money in an account in California under a different name so no one would ever find out, especially not his wife.

  When he thought about her and the sacrifices she’d made to help him achieve his dream—totally unaware of her husband’s lie—his gut turned in rage.

  “Come on, buddy. We’re going for a ride to Naylor.” Caige did some of his best thinking while he was driving to see his family.

  WHEN BLAIRE WALKED INTO the office Monday morning, Jack was already there working on their schedule for the day. His gaze shot to hers before he said good morning. He sounded more sober than usual.

  She’d spent a wretched weekend wishing she’d stayed at his house to watch a movie with him. Instead she’d run off because of her fears and insecurities. Worse, she’d given him an excuse for leaving that a ten-year-old would have seen through.

  Today she was desperate to repair any damage she’d caused because she didn’t want to lose Jack. After greeting everyone, she walked over to his desk. “How was dinner at your friend Gracie’s house?”

  “We had a terrific time. What about you?” His gray eyes seemed to penetrate hers. “Did your sister get her car serviced?”

  “No, but I’ll tell you about that after we’re on our way. Have you finished?”

  “I have one more appointment to make.”