Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger
Page 14
Liz shrugged. “Not sure, yet. We just want to be ready if and when the time comes.”
Lilly glanced around the table, but no one would look at her. Was it for her mother? She looked at Beth Staley. She was busy pinning fabric. Were she and Sean ready to take the next step? Did that mean he would move into the house in town?
If so, that meant Lilly and the kids needed to find a place to live. It was time, too. Maybe she could find an apartment, or a small house to rent, at least until she cleared up her finances. Whatever, she had to look into something, because she didn’t want to delay her mother’s happiness. And it was time for her to move on with her life, too.
She took a breath. “Well, does anyone want to go to lunch?”
“We don’t need to go out today,” Beth said. “Sean’s sending over some sandwiches. We’ve been so busy with projects, we want to keep working. There’s plenty if you want to stay.”
“Sure. I’ll go visit with Jenny and see little Mick.”
“He’s not so little anymore,” her mother said, smiling. “I guess he takes after his grandfather.”
“I’ll go see for myself.”
Lilly went to Jenny behind the counter. The baby was in the carrier, swinging his little fists at a dangling toy not far away. “Hey, big guy,” she said, taking in his rounded face. Once rewarded with a slobbery grin, she glanced at Jenny. “He’s gotten so big.”
Jenny nodded. “It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? He’s making sounds and trying to roll over. And he’s awake a lot more.” She unfastened her son from the carrier as the baby kicked his legs excitedly.
“I can’t believe how much he looks like Evan,” Lilly said as she took the little guy from Jenny.
“Be warned, he’s probably hungry and he’ll latch on to anything.”
The baby grabbed Lilly’s finger. “Oh, my, you sure have a strong grip, young man.”
The bell over the door rang and Lilly glanced over her shoulder to see Noah standing across the room. Her breath caught in her chest, her throat suddenly went dry as her gaze moved over him. He was dressed in the standard Texas Ranger uniform, a white shirt, a tie and khaki pants. His badge was displayed on his broad chest and his gun at his waist. A tan Stetson partly covered his dark hair and in his hands was a box from Rory’s.
He walked toward her. “Hi, Lilly.”
The baby started wiggling in her arms. “What are you doing here?”
“Right now, I’ve been recruited to deliver lunch.” He raised the box, but his gaze remained on her face. “How have you been?”
“Fine.” Little Mick squirmed and tried to root against her breast. She felt herself blush as she glanced back to see Noah still watching her.
Noah took a step closer and his voice lowered. “He seems to be hungry.”
She felt a shiver from his intimate tone. “Well, that’s something I can’t help with.” Her blush grew and she looked for Jenny as Mick let out a wail.
His mother suddenly appeared. “Here, let me have him.” Jenny took him. “Thanks, Lilly.” She glanced at Noah, but Mick’s impatience didn’t allow his mother time for any pleasantries. “Hi, Coop. Sorry, I can’t visit, this guy wants to be fed.” She took off toward the back of the shop with the crying baby.
“I guess it’s pretty hard to juggle work and a baby.”
“It can be done,” Lilly said. “If you have someone helping, and Jenny does. Evan’s great.”
Those bedroom eyes locked on hers. “Do you miss not having babies, Lilly?” he asked.
Being an only child, she’d always wanted a big family. “Sometimes. That happens when a woman is getting older.” She didn’t want to talk babies with Noah. “What are you doing back in town?”
“There’s a lot to finish up on the investigation.”
“I guess so.” She was uncomfortable with this. She didn’t want to look into the other room. She could feel her mother’s eyes on her. That wasn’t the real problem. What did she say to this man she’d fallen into bed with, and later learned it was all a lie? She couldn’t make idle conversation. “If that’s lunch, my mother and her friends are in the other room.”
“I better get it to them then. Will you be staying?”
She shook her head, wishing she could get her heart rate under control. “No, I have a lot of errands to run. In fact I should be going right now. Bye, Noah.”
He frowned. “I’ll be seeing you around, Lilly.”
Like the chicken she was, she practically ran out the door. Why did he have to come back to town? And why did he have to talk about babies?
She straightened, then started down the street. She wasn’t lying about errands. It was nearly one o’clock and she had an hour before her meeting with Mark Greenberg. He’d been Mike’s lawyer for the business, and he also served as his divorce lawyer. She was thinking positively, hoping that Mike left a little something for Robbie and Kasey. At least they’d have something of their father’s things since he wouldn’t be around for them.
Lilly’s thoughts returned to Noah. In the weeks he’d been in town, he’d spent more time with the kids than their own father had. The hours he’d spent with her had her dreaming again, dreaming of happily ever after.
How quickly things change.
Coop watched out the window as Lilly headed down the street. He had to hold himself back from chasing after her. He didn’t have the right to anyway. He was trying to give her time, but he wasn’t a patient man. Not when it came to Lilly. That was the reason when he returned yesterday he’d talked with Beth first, trying to clear up some of his deceptions. Why he couldn’t tell anyone who he was, or anything about his job.
He was encouraged that Beth Staley understood his dilemma. She also loved her daughter and didn’t want to see her get hurt again. It had taken some talking to convince Beth that he cared about Lilly and the kids. Beth had believed him.
Now if he could only convince Lilly.
Coop went outside onto Main Street and his gaze went across to the Dark Moon Arcade. He and the sheriff had tried to find all the local drug connections in town, but things were a little sketchy on that place. Coop had a feeling. What was the draw to this hangout? Whatever it was, they weren’t going to get any help from Santos. He’d already asked for a lawyer.
Coop knew that if he walked into the arcade in his Ranger’s uniform, the bad guys would scatter in all directions. Finding all the drug pushers was wishful thinking, but he wanted to clean up Kerry Springs. Right now it looked like a long shot, but he hoped to have a future here.
“Coop, how long are you going to be up there?” Robbie called as he looked up from below.
With his paintbrush in hand, Coop leaned down from the ladder to see the boy with his baseball glove on. “Well, I’d say maybe a few hours. I want to finish this trim for your grandma.”
“A few hours,” the child groaned. “It’ll be dark and I’ll hafta to go to bed. Man, I’ll never get to play catch.”
Coop hated to disappoint the boy, but he’d promised Beth he’d finish the windows. He owed her for the use of the cottage over his four-week stay. He was also going to continue to work at Vista Verde while he was off duty, waiting for his transfer from El Paso to the Ranger company in San Antonio. Although he had plenty of vacation time saved up, he wanted to stay in town permanently. And hopefully, he’d be hanging around long enough to have time for Lilly to trust him. That meant he needed to be honest with her.
“I guess it couldn’t hurt to take a short break.”
That brought a smile to Robbie’s face as Coop carried his bucket and brush down the ladder. “Yeah, it’s sure hot up there.”
“Yeah, too hot to paint, but not to play baseball, huh, Coop?”
“It’s never too hot for baseball.” He placed his brush and bucket in the shade, and covered the brush with plastic. “You got my glove?”
“Yep, here it is.” Robbie handed it to him. “I haven’t been practicing ’cause nobody wanted to play with me.”
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“I know your mom and grandma are busy.” He tossed Robbie the ball and the boy missed it. “That’s okay, try again. Remember keep your eye on the ball.”
Coop tossed it again and this time, the boy caught it.
“So why couldn’t Kasey toss a ball with you?”
“She has a new friend. Lindsey,” he mimicked in a whiny voice. “Kasey’s gonna get in trouble again.”
Coop didn’t like the sound of that. “Why do you say that?”
The boy looked away with a shrug.
“Robbie, if Kasey is doing something she shouldn’t, she could be in more trouble than just with her mother.”
Robbie paused for a long time. “I promised her I wouldn’t tell.” He shook his head. “I can’t break a promise.”
Coop went to the child and squatted down in front of him. “Could your sister get hurt?”
The six-year-old’s eyes rounded. “She’s doing it so Lindsey won’t get hurt.”
Coop tried to remain calm. “Rob, you know I’m a Texas Ranger and it’s my job to protect the people in this state. If Kasey and Lindsey are in trouble, I’ve got to help them. So where did she go?”
“The arcade to find Lindsey ’cause that’s where Lindsey’s boyfriend goes.”
Damn, he was afraid of that. They were thirteen-year-old girls and he knew for a fact that there weren’t any nice teenage boys who hung out at the Dark Moon. “Okay, Rob, you did good. Now, get in my truck and we’ll go get the girls.”
“Just don’t let Kasey be mad at me,” he said, fighting tears. Then the boy took off.
At the cottage, Coop grabbed a clean shirt, badge and sidearm then hurried to his truck. He backed out of the driveway and thought about calling for backup, but so far there wasn’t cause to have the sheriff come storming in.
He sent up a prayer that it stayed that way.
Two hours later, Lilly was in a daze as she came out of the lawyer’s office. Then it turned to excitement as the details of the meeting really sunk in. She was in shock to discover that Mike’s death was now ruled a murder instead of a suicide, so his life insurance policy would pay out. There would be money for college for the kids, to help them find another home.
The biggest shock was that Perry Landscaping belonged to Robbie and Kasey, too. Although Stephanie had laid claim to the business, she’d forced Mike to sign the business over to her.
Mr. Greenberg assured Lilly that whatever papers Stephanie had proving any ownership of the company weren’t legal. Perry Landscaping belonged to the children, and Lilly was to act on their behalf until they became of age.
She had a lot to think about. First was to stop by the Blind Stitch and tell her mother the news. Then she saw the patrol car at the arcade across the street. She frowned, seeing the familiar truck. It was Noah’s. Was he doing an investigation? Then a small figure in the front seat caught her attention. Robbie?
Glancing in both directions, she crossed the street onto the sidewalk and hurried up next to the cab. “Robbie, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, hi, Mom. I had to come with Coop ’cause he didn’t want to leave me home by myself.”
“Alone? You weren’t alone. Your sister was watching you.” A feeling of dread washed over her. “Where’s Noah?”
He pointed toward the arcade. “Inside there.”
She swallowed hard against her panic. “Where’s Kasey?”
“She’s inside, too. Don’t worry, Mom, Coop’s helping her. He wore his gun and everything.”
Lilly turned to see another patrol car with its lights flashing as it pulled up and two deputies got out and rushed inside. She opened the truck door and pulled her son out. “Robbie, I want you to go to the Blind Stitch and stay with your grandmother.”
Robbie frowned. “Ah, Mom, but I want to stay here. Coop is going to arrest the bad guys.”
She ignored his request and helped her son out of the truck. After checking traffic she watched Robbie run across and into the store. She headed to the arcade, but wasn’t surprised to see a deputy guarding the door. Too bad, she wasn’t about to let anyone stop her from getting to her child.
Coop could breathe easier now that the three suspects were cuffed and the sheriff had arrived to read them their Miranda rights. He’d been lucky to walk in during the middle of a drug transaction and catch them by surprise. That didn’t happen often, like never.
Kasey and her friend Lindsey weren’t anywhere near the drugs, or the struggle. But it was still too close. Lindsey’s so-called friends were dealers, barely out of their teens themselves, but the arcade was to be their new turf.
Once the DEA agents arrived with a warrant, they began to search the premises and found a dummy wall in the back room. It housed enough illegal drugs to get the arcade owner, scumbag Tony Lazar, more than a fine and a slap on the wrist. They lucked out with the arcade’s main supplier Santos being shut down. Lazar had to scramble to keep his clientele in drugs, so he was working with these punks.
The sheriff came up to him. “Did you get a tip?”
“Yeah, from a six-year-old, telling me his sister was here.”
Bradshaw shook his head. “Hopefully Lazar won’t get off and we’ll finally be able to shut this place down.” Smiling, the sheriff held out his hand. “It’s been nice working with you, Ranger Cooper.”
“I’m only glad that everything turned out well. We both know it doesn’t always happen that way.” He nodded to the two frightened looking girls huddled together. “Do you know Lindsey’s parents?”
Brad nodded. “I gave them a call, but I’m taking her home.”
Once Lindsey left with the sheriff, Coop went over to Kasey. “You okay?”
She shook her head. “I think I’m gonna get sick.”
He led her over to a chair and sat her down. “Take some deep breaths.”
Kasey did as she was told. After a few minutes she looked better.
“You okay now?”
“Yes. Oh, Coop, Mom’s going to go ballistic. I’ll be grounded for the rest of my life.”
“You don’t feel you deserve some punishment? You left your brother, too.”
She looked sad. “Coop, I knew you would be there.”
He frowned. “Still, what you did was dangerous, Kasey. Those guys were dealing drugs. Not exactly the best environment for a barely thirteen-year-old girl.”
“I didn’t do it for me. I was trying to talk Lindsey out of meeting these guys.”
Coop shook his head. “No, good judgment would have been to get an adult to help you. Did you see the weapons I took off those boys?”
She nodded as a tear ran down her cheek. “I’m sorry, Coop. I was so scared.” She broke down and he pulled her into an embrace as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. She was so little, so vulnerable. “You scared me, too, Kasey. I care about you, your brother and your mom. How could I go back to her and tell her something happened to her little girl?” Emotions nearly choked him. “It would break her heart.”
“Coop’s right.”
They both jerked around to see Lilly. Kasey jumped up and hurried to her and the crying began once again. “I’m so sorry, Mom.”
Coop moved away, giving mother and daughter some privacy. As much as he wanted to be a part of the reunion, he had no right to be there. Not yet anyway.
It was after nine o’clock that night when Lilly left Kasey’s bedroom. She’d taken the time to listen to how frightened her daughter had been when she and Lindsey got caught in the middle of an argument over drug turf.
If Noah hadn’t been there…
Lilly shivered as she brushed the hair back from her sleeping daughter’s face. She didn’t want to think about that. Only that he had been there today.
Once again Noah Cooper had come to the rescue. And that was what she needed to do, too. To be there for her kids. This past year she’d been so angry over what had happened to her, she’d forgotten about the two most important people, her kids. No more.
“Lilly, please, don’t leave,” her mother called. “We want to talk to you.”
She returned and sat down at the table across from the couple.
“First of all, how are you doing, lass?” Sean asked, his big hands reaching out and engulfing hers.
“I’m fine, just worried about Kasey. I think some counseling would help her. And since she’s going to be grounded until next month, at least I won’t have to worry about her.” She tried to make light of it. “I should have tried harder to get through to her.”
“No, you’re doing your job,” her mother said. “Kasey is old enough to know right from wrong. She used poor judgment. Just like Coop said.”
Sean raised his eyes heavenward. “Praise be for Noah.”
“And I can never thank him enough.”
“There’s something else I need to tell you, Lilly,” her mother began. “Coop has moved back here…temporarily. That’s the reason he knew that Kasey had gone to the arcade. He’s staying in the cottage for the next month.”
He wasn’t leaving town? Right, he had to do follow-up on the Santos case.
“If it upsets you…he can make other arrangements.”
She felt all kinds of mixed emotions, excitement one of them. She pushed it aside. “You have every right to rent the cottage to him, Mom.” She suddenly felt exhausted. “I’m tired. I think I’ll go up to bed, too.”
Beth got up and went to her daughter. She hugged her. “A long night’s sleep will do you good. It’s been a heck of a day.”
Trying to hold it together, Lilly nodded, unable to speak. She wanted nothing more than to bury herself under the covers and sleep for a long time.
“I think you know that a man like Noah Cooper doesn’t show up on your doorstep every day.” Beth looked at Sean. “So when he comes calling—for a second time—don’t turn him away.”