Her Texas Ranger Hero

by Rebecca Winters

  “One day maybe.”

  “It’s about time!” Claire called out with a smile. “We’re going to have a timed contest to see who can go around the barrels the fastest. I’ve got a stopwatch. Come over to the table and pick out your starting number from the cowboy hat. Jeremy? Bring Daken so he’ll stay by me.”

  “Yay!” Jeremy dismounted and hurried over to pick out a number. Daken followed and she tied the small animal to her chair.

  “Hey. I’m number three!” the boy announced excitedly.

  One by one the partygoers drew their numbers. “I got five,” Ally told Jeremy.

  “Who’s first?” Claire asked.

  “Luckey’s my name,” Luckey said as he got back on his horse. The sight of him in his cowboy gear, sitting astride his palomino, almost overwhelmed Ally. He walked his mount to the starting point.

  “I’m clocking you. Ready, get set, go!”

  Ally sucked in her breath as Luckey rounded the first two barrels with ease. But he missed the third and was disqualified. Next went Kit, who showed expert horsemanship, but his horse hit two of the barrels, disqualifying him, as well. Jeremy rode his pony next, trying hard to keep his animal focused. It was hilarious. But he didn’t miss the barrels and didn’t hit them.

  Vic started out with a flawless performance until the second barrel, when his horse shied away in a different direction and was ruled out of the competition.

  Then it was Ally’s turn. She’d never barrel raced before and it showed. Hands down, she gave the worst performance of all the contestants, bumping every barrel, and was disqualified. But it was all done in good fun for Jeremy’s birthday.

  Last but not least came Cy, who started out well, but leaned too close at the third barrel. The momentum sent it rolling across the meadow and he had to chase after it and bring it back. With him out of the competition, the winner was clear. Luckey smiled at Ally as Claire stood up to make the announcement.

  “And the gold buckle goes to Jeremy Malone for a winning time of 22 seconds!” Everyone clapped as she handed him his prize. “Great job!” She hugged and kissed him before they all congratulated him.

  “Okay, guys. We’ve got hot dogs to cook. The buns and condiments are over on the table and there’s coffee, too. For dessert we’re having s’mores.”

  “Yum!” Jeremy exclaimed.

  The bonfire provided the perfect backdrop for Ally to study Luckey’s rock-solid silhouette. While the horses grazed, everyone gathered around the fire to eat. Luckey found a stick for her and they cooked their hot dogs side by side.

  “You and your Ranger friends acted like you honestly tried to do your best in that race. It’s so sweet of you to make this night so special for Jeremy. He seems like a great kid. I can’t believe he was kidnapped.”

  “It was a nightmare, but Claire, who was his nanny at the time, helped find him fast. Vic married her soon after that.” Luckey shook his head. “I’d like to find the guy who stole the life from those four Asian girls. The sooner the better.”

  “I want that, too, Luckey.”

  After a wonderful evening, they said goodbye to the others and loaded up for the drive back to Ally’s parents’ ranch. On the way there Luckey said, “You were a hit with everyone, especially Jeremy.”

  “I’m flattered that he asked me to come to his parents’ house so I could play with Daken. What a cute boy.”

  “The Lone Ranger scarf was the best present you could have given him.”

  She glanced at the man sitting next to her. “You have great friends. I’ve never had a better time, Luckey. After a night like this, I’m so glad I’m back in Texas.”

  “Glad enough to spend part of tomorrow with me? That is, if you don’t have work.”

  “If this has to do with the case, then I can do both.”

  “What if this didn’t have anything to do with it?”

  Her heart stopped. “It wouldn’t matter, but I think that’s a trick question.”

  He chuckled. “It should come as no shock to you that I’d like to spend every day with you. How’s that for honesty?” Ally could hardly breathe. “But as it happens, I’d like you with me tomorrow when I drive to Houston. I have an appointment with a Chinese silk merchant from Beijing whom I’m hoping might be able to shed some light on the fabric sample I have. You might be able to get more information out of him by speaking to him in his native language. Do you mind?”

  “You know I don’t.”

  “Good. I’ll come pick you up at eight thirty. The appointment is for one. I thought we’d stop for lunch on the way.”

  They arrived at the ranch house too soon. He drove back to the barn and opened the trailer door to unload Silver. Both horses nickered. Luckey smiled at Ally in the moonlight. “I do believe they were saying good-night.”

  “He probably asked her for a date,” Ally said with a grin.

  “Yup. Persey takes after me when he sees something he wants.”

  Hot faced, she led her horse out of the trailer into the barn and undid the saddle. Luckey removed the bridle and carried everything to the tack room. She’d just watered her horse and filled the hay net when she felt two hands slide to her shoulders from behind.

  “I had the time of my life tonight, Ally.” In the next instant, Luckey pulled her back against him and kissed the side of her neck. The motion knocked off her cowboy hat, but she hardly noticed, because the touch of his lips sent shock waves through her body. He turned her around, still holding on to her arms. But his features had a haunted cast.

  “I’m moving too fast and know it. Tell me now if you want to change your mind about going with me tomorrow. The truth is, I want to kiss you into tomorrow, but that’s crossing a big line. I shouldn’t be doing this so soon, even if I wasn’t a Texas Ranger trying to obey rules.”

  He leaned over to scoop up her Stetson. “Come on.” He put it on her head with care. “Let’s get back to the truck and I’ll drop you off in front of the house.”

  They left the barn and drove past the corral to the front drive. If Luckey only knew she was much more out of control than he was... Ally ached to be held in his arms and kissed until nothing else mattered. But he was right. It was too soon to give in to her feelings for him. Once she did, she’d never be the same again. What would happen if things didn’t work out between them? The thought of him not being in her world frightened her.

  The second he pulled to a stop, she opened the door. “Don’t bother to see me in, Luckey. I need to talk to my father about the orphanage books before he goes to bed. Thank you for taking me to the party. I’ll be ready at eight thirty. Good night.”

  She hurried inside the house. It wasn’t until after she closed the front door that she heard his truck drive away, and she wanted to cry for him to come back.

  “Ally?” her mother called out from the family room.

  “Yes. I’m home.” She walked in to find her parents watching TV.

  “How was the party?”

  She took off her cowboy hat. “Great.” Too great to talk about. If she got started, it would make Luckey sound too important. “Dad? Would it be possible for Luckey to look at the books on the orphanage?”

  Her father appeared puzzled. “Why?”

  “He picked me up at the orphanage Wednesday and wonders if there are any young Chinese women working there who might be caught in a trafficking ring and could identify the girls in the morgue. Luckey’s checking out every possibility. He’ll need names, ages and home addresses.”

  “I would never have thought of that, but it appears he’s leaving no stone unturned in this investigation. Good for him. I’ll go over there tomorrow and get the books.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  Her mother eyed her thoughtfully. “Are you going to see him again?”

  “Yes. Tomor
row we’re driving to Houston. He has an appointment with a Chinese silk merchant and wants my help for translation.”

  And once the case was solved... Will his infatuation wear off after he kisses the daylights out of me? Will he want to see me anymore?

  He’d been divorced a long time. She got the feeling marriage was the last thing on his mind. But where he was concerned, marriage was the only thing on hers.

  “I’m going up to bed. See you in the morning. Love you,” Ally said, and left the room to go upstairs.

  She knew she was madly in love, for the first time in her life. She’d go anywhere that James Luckey Davis of Company H wanted to take her.

  No wonder she hadn’t accepted Jack Reynolds’s proposal back in China. The feelings she’d had for him had everything to do with thinking it was time she got married and little to do with actual love. When it came down to it, she couldn’t say yes. After meeting Luckey, she now knew why.

  Chapter Five

  Luckey walked his horse into the barn to get him settled for the night. “Sorry all the fun is over, Persey. I know how you feel. I had to say good-night to my girlfriend, too.” He put the gear away in the tack room before putting out some fresh hay and water.

  “To think you and I have been chugging along just fine these last few years and then those two turn up out of the blue to disrupt our lives. I don’t know what in the hell to do about it. The hands-off approach didn’t work too well tonight. How am I going to handle spending all day with her tomorrow and still stay within TJ’s bounds of propriety?” Forget his own bounds, which were nonexistent after tonight.

  You don’t have to take her to Houston with you.

  Yes, he did.

  Not being able to see her wasn’t an option.

  He rubbed Persey’s forelock. “Good night, pal.”

  Once inside the house he washed his hands and grabbed a soda. Much as he’d love a cup of coffee, he knew it would keep him awake. After pulling Ally close against him earlier and breathing in her scent, he didn’t need any more stimulation tonight.

  Before going to bed he checked his email for any department business. His family rarely emailed. They preferred to text.

  The daily updates and news flashes filled the screen. He kept scrolling until he saw Headquarters Forensics Lab in the subject line. Had Stan found something already? Excitement filled Luckey as he opened it, not surprised the older man had started his message without preamble.

  What are you? Some kind of supersleuth? That particular DMSO cream is manufactured through Pharma PT Gema in Jakarta, Indonesia. It’s not made in great amounts and can only be purchased through mail order. It claims to be a solution for sports lovers who wish to remain active without fear of joint or muscular pain.

  The FDA in the States hasn’t approved it except for stem cell research, etc. One interesting side note: in some men, especially, it can cause a garlic-like body odor and taste that can be very pungent.

  Luckey’s breath caught. The victim who’d written her plea for help in her own blood had mentioned that her captor smelled of garlic. That had to be why.

  Luckey wrote Stan back, thanking him for his genius in finding the manufacturer so fast.

  Next he found the Gema company web page on the internet. They advertised their various products and used international express mail carriers for delivery of their goods. Armed with that information, Luckey phoned TJ and explained where his investigation had taken him. He asked for two favors.

  First, he needed TJ to contact the Jakarta authorities, who would order the Gema staff to cooperate with Luckey to pinpoint the man who’d ordered the product. Second, he wanted TJ to get a warrant so he could search the records of merchandise that had been received in Austin from Gema through carriers such as FedEx, DHL or UPS, in order to track the recipient’s name and address.

  Once TJ assured him he’d take care of it, Luckey called Gema’s contact number and told the receptionist that he was phoning on a serious police matter and needed to speak with the head of the company ASAP. The person on the other end said she would pass on the message to her superiors. Luckey couldn’t wait to find an address on the purchaser, who was likely also the same person who’d killed the last victim, if not all four women.

  The night couldn’t pass fast enough for him.

  After his shower the next morning, he dressed in a checked, button-down shirt and jeans. Once he’d eaten breakfast he put Persey out in the corral to graze. With the house locked up, Luckey left in his Volvo to go pick up Ally. His pulse raced just thinking about her.

  When he reached the ranch and she opened the door to him, she looked good enough to eat. He knew it was an overused expression, but in this case it was true.

  “Hi, Luckey.”

  “Hi, yourself.” She’d pulled her gorgeous black hair back in a clip. Her emerald earrings matched the long-sleeved green blouse she was wearing with a black skirt.

  She always looked so polished. It shook him all over again that if he hadn’t taken this trafficking case, he would never have met her. The first chance he got, he would thank his brother for talking to him about the body he’d found on his beat.

  “You realize you look like a world-class fashion model. Who would ever believe you’re a college professor fluent in multiple languages?”

  A smile broke out on her face. “Who would believe the day would come when I’d be helping a real Texas Ranger on a case?” He was coming to realize she had a hard time accepting a compliment. “Dad gave me the information you wanted. It’s in this briefcase.” She reached for it. “I’m ready.”

  They walked out to the car and Luckey held the door for her, then put the briefcase in the backseat. “I’ll thank your father later. Have you eaten this morning?”

  She nodded. “I just finished breakfast. What about you?”

  “I’m good.” He drove out to the main road and headed for Houston.

  “Have you had any breaks in the case yet?”

  He shot her a glance. “As a matter of fact I have. I don’t think I ever told you that Dr. Wolff found traces of some kind of topical painkiller cream on the sleeves of the victim’s dress. It indicated that the person who dumped her body had the cream on his hands.”

  “That’s an amazing find.”

  “Yeah, the doc loves his job. I asked the forensics expert at Ranger headquarters to identify the brand. Stan determined that it wasn’t a cream manufactured here in the States, so I asked him to make some inquiries in Asia. And guess where he found it?”

  Luckey felt her lavender-blue eyes fasten on him. “China?”

  “No. Indonesia.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “There’s more. It’s only sold through a mail-order business. Stan said that the cream is often used by athletes with sore joints. He also provided an important detail. He said that it causes a strong garlic odor in some men.”

  “Luckey!” Ally’s cry resounded in the car’s interior. “The young Chinese girl who wrote that message on her dress said the man smelled of garlic. That has to be the reason why she made reference to the Komodo dragon.”

  “Exactly. I’m convinced this guy operates here in Texas somewhere when he’s not out of the country, kidnapping victims. I’ve got a call in to the pharmaceutical company in Jakarta. If they can’t help me out with the guy’s address, then we’ll get a judge to issue a warrant and I’ll go over the records of every shipment from Jakarta coming through the express mail carriers here in Texas. Eventually, I’ll find a name and address.”

  “I know you will.” The conviction in her voice was personally gratifying to him. “Whether he’s Indonesian or Chinese, I bet he is blond. How many girls has he done this to? Wouldn’t it be something if one of the young employees working at the orphanage had a terrible secret she didn’t dare share? What if these girls could be helped!�
�� Ally stirred in her seat and suddenly undid her seat belt. “I’m going to get the folder from my briefcase.”

  Before Luckey could pull off the freeway, she turned around and leaned over to get what she wanted. In the process, her flowery scent assailed him. Once she’d strapped herself back in, she opened a binder.

  “Dad gave me this copy of the orphanage personnel records for you to keep. While you drive, I’ll read every application out loud. They each have a photo. Anything that raises a red flag I’ll pull for you...unless you’d rather do this on your own.”

  Ally, Ally, his heart whispered.

  He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “When you get to know me better, you’ll realize how much I enjoy your company, whether we’re having fun or digging for answers.”

  By the time they reached Houston, he’d flagged one of the employees: Shan, the young Chinese woman he’d met. She was twenty, unmarried and had been working at the orphanage for the last six months. There were few details on her background. Luckey planned to investigate further when they got back to Austin.

  Right now he’d worked up an appetite and drove them to the Chama Gaúcha Brazilian Steakhouse in Uptown, reputed for its great food. Hui’s Silk Shop was located in the nearby shopping center, a place that exuded old-world charm for the upscale locals. Ally and he could walk there after their meal.

  They walked into the restaurant and were shown to a table. The place was crowded, but he’d made a reservation. They ordered their food and Luckey applauded the quick service, considering they had to be at their appointment for one.

  “Honestly, Luckey, these are the best pork ribs I’ve ever tasted,” Ally exclaimed. “They’ve been dusted in Parmesan. I’ll have to try this at home, but I bet it won’t taste the same.”

  To his delight he was able to look at Ally all he wanted now that he wasn’t driving. “Let’s barbecue next week at my house and we’ll experiment. You name the night—I know you have to be back on campus next week.”

  “I can’t believe tomorrow is Sunday. This week has gone by way too fast.”