The Texas Ranger's Bride (Lone Star Lawmen Book 1)

by Rebecca Winters

  “Anything to help, sir.”

  “I heard a but in there. Next year I’ll pick another bunch to carry the flag.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  TJ chuckled, but then leaned forward with a serious expression. “The police turned over a case to our office this morning. It’s high profile and the victim could be in serious danger. Because the case has crossed state lines, they feel our department is better equipped to deal with it. I’d like your take on this one.” He handed him a folder.

  Cy nodded and opened it. The name Kellie Parrish leaped out at him. She was the person in danger?

  With her silvery-gold hair and cornflower-blue eyes, the barrel racer was a knockout. Under other circumstances he would have liked to hang around the radio station and listen to her interview. She’d been on his mind ever since he’d seen her a few days ago.

  He scanned the folder’s contents. She was being pursued by a stalker. He’d followed Ms. Parrish across her latest five-state racing schedule. She’d given the lieutenant a description of the man and a typewritten note he’d left on her truck windshield.

  The most alarming aspect of the case was the fact that this stalker had phoned her cell phone as recently as the middle of Friday night. She’d been asleep in her friend’s trailer in Bandera before driving to Austin this morning. Terrified, she’d gathered her parents and come straight to police headquarters.

  Cy let out a low whistle. “I met her coming in the radio station as we were leaving on Friday. We watched her perform at the rodeo Saturday night. She had the second-best time.”

  “That’s not only an amazing coincidence, but fortuitous. It isn’t often you already have prior knowledge of the victim, so you understand what kind of threat she’s been living with.”

  Especially when he’d found her incredibly attractive.

  The hairs lifted on the back of his neck. Cy couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this strong a feeling for a woman in passing. Because of the stress of the job, he didn’t have much time for dating and hadn’t been out with anyone for at least four months. After watching Ms. Parrish’s performance at the rodeo, he’d admired her skill and found himself wondering how to go about getting to know her better. Not in his wildest dreams had he thought it would happen like this.

  TJ kept on talking. “The police chief told me her parents met her at the station. They’re well-heeled ranchers from southeast Austin who are demanding protection for their daughter and are willing to pay for it. Ms. Parrish is a prominent athlete. I’ve already ruled out a possible kidnapping scheme with a plan to collect a ransom or she would likely have been abducted at her first stop in Montana. Her parents want her to quit the rodeo circuit and stay with them until this lowlife is caught. She’s their only child.”

  Cy got it. Ms. Parrish was their precious baby.

  He shifted his attention from the file to his boss. “If you could have seen the way she rides, you’d know she would never agree to that.” Even under so much stress, she’d put in a terrific time at the Bandera Rodeo. “Otherwise, I’m certain she would have quit the circuit in Pendleton when he first showed up and returned to Austin to contact the police. Several of her competitors headed for the championship in Las Vegas were also in Bandera competing. My bet is on her winning the whole thing.”

  TJ shook his head. “In order for that to happen, she would need full-time bodyguards on the circuit with her. Her parents can afford it. I’ll call them now and ask them to bring her back to headquarters so you can talk to her. When you’ve got a feel for what you’re dealing with, let me know how you want to handle this case.”

  “TJ? Send her in to me first. Then I’ll talk to her folks.” Parents had their own ideas about what should be done. It simplified things to talk to the victim without anyone else in the room. “I’ll let you know when I want them to join us.”

  His boss nodded in understanding.

  “Until they arrive I’ll dig up some more background information on her. I’d better get to it.” Cy got to his feet and headed for his own office. He’d start with the personal information listed on her website and go from there. Uncanny how he’d already planned to look at her site when he got the chance, just to learn more about her.

  “Let’s see what turns up on you, Ms. Parrish.”

  He typed it in and sat back. Seconds later, there she was astride her palomino, lying low over her horse as it was racing straight down the alley. Pure poetry.

  Kellie Parrish

  Born: Austin, Texas, on February 14, 1990

  Residence: Austin, Texas

  Dad: Bronco Parrish—3-time NFR Bull Rider Champion

  Mom: Nadine Parrish—Barrel Racer Finals 4 times

  Horses: Smokey, Walnut, Miss Pandora, Crackers, Farley, Starburst, Trixie

  Joined Pro Rodeo at age 11

  Total Earnings: $2,103,775

  Wrangler NFR Qualification: 10

  College National Finals Qualification: 2

  National High School Rodeo Finals Qualifications: 4

  Pro Wrangler Finals winner, Oklahoma City, OK: 3

  Women’s Pro Rodeo Association member

  Cy read her blog, keeping track of the dates of the entries for July and August. She’d archived her previous blogs. Her ardent fans wanted to know all about her. How come she wasn’t married yet? Did she have a boyfriend?

  She’d answered that she preferred to keep her private life private, but she was friendly and encouraging to those trying to become barrel racers themselves. She urged them to click to her online clinic for pointers. That woman was so busy, Cy didn’t know how she had time to breathe.

  She’d put her rodeo schedule for the season on a separate page. There were links to the WPR Association and all the social media accounts. In other words, her life was pretty well an open book and prime fodder for the degenerate who’d targeted her. Talk about a sitting duck! A gorgeous one.

  His eyes went back to her personal stats. The questions some of the commentors asked about her personal life had grabbed his attention. Some of them might have been sent by the stalker. An idea on how to handle this case had started to form in his mind. He reached for the phone to arrange for their department’s sketch artist to be on hand when she came in. They needed a picture to run through the criminal database, which could access the files from every state in the union to come up with a match.

  There was no telling how long the creep had been stalking other women or when his sick fantasy about Ms. Parrish had started. She’d been traveling the circuit for a number of years. He could have seen her anywhere at any time. But he’d approached her for the first time in Oregon only four weeks ago. Cy would start there.

  In case this man was a serial stalker or worse, he wanted a list of every known stalking incident in the Pendleton area in the past year. While he waited for the Parrish family to arrive at headquarters, he put through a call to the Pendleton police department. He asked them to fax him the names of stalking victims and their descriptions of the men menacing them, whether their cases had been solved or were still open. One of those descriptions might match up with the man Kellie Parrish had described.

  Restless, Cy went to the cubbyhole down the hall they called a lunchroom and poured himself a cup of coffee while he waited. He had dozens of questions to ask. Vic walked in on him. Their eyes met.

  “Guess who’s in the boss’s office.”

  His pulse raced for no good reason. She’s here. Kellie Parrish had made an impact on all the guys. “I already know. A stalker’s after her.”

  His friend’s black brows shot up. “You got the case?” Cy smiled. “How come that never happens to me?” Vic poured himself some coffee. “If you need help...”

  “Thanks. I’ll let you know.” Cy took his mug back to his office.

  Before long, TJ a
ppeared at the door with her. She was probably five foot seven without her cowboy boots. “I believe you two have already met. Ms. Parrish? Meet one of our agents, Cyril Vance.”

  Cy got to his feet and shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Ms. Parrish, even if it is under harrowing circumstances.”

  Fear had darkened the blue of her eyes. “I hope you forgive me for bumping into one of the Sons of the Forty. I’m the one who’s honored.” TJ had disappeared.

  “Please sit down.”

  “Thank you.” She’d dressed in jeans and a creamy-colored Western shirt. Beneath the overhead light, her neck-length wavy hair had that silvery-gold metallic sheen he found stunning. So were her face and the rest of her curvaceous figure. Absolutely stunning.

  “Can I get you coffee or a soft drink?”

  “Neither, thanks.”

  “I’m going to record our conversation if that’s all right with you.”

  “Of course.”

  “I have the notes taken by the police. It says here this stalker last contacted you by phoning in the middle of the night.”

  “Yes. That was Friday,” she said, tight-lipped. “I don’t know how he knew my cell number.”

  “How many people have you given it to?”

  “My parents, closest friends, my cousin Heidi and of course my horse handler, Cody.”

  “Tell me about him.”

  “He’s been my closest horse friend since middle school. We’ve both had our dreams. I was going to win the PRO Finals Rodeo this year and teach barrel racing. He was going to help me and then run a stud farm. Cody is engaged and plans to get married after Finals.”

  He nodded. “When you fill out forms of any kind, do you list it as your contact number?”

  “No. It’s not written anywhere. I always give out my parents’ number. No...wait. I did give my cell phone number to a friend, Olivia Brown, who works at the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She used to ride with our Blue Bonnet Posse, but her husband was transferred to Colorado Springs, so she got a job with the rodeo association there.”

  “I’ll want to talk to her. Now I’ll need a list of your friends and cousin, and their phone numbers. Here’s some paper.”

  “All right.” She got right to work. When she’d finished, she looked up.

  He took the list from her. “Thank you. What did the stalker say on the phone?”

  She bit her lip. “‘You lied about having a husband. Don’t you know it’s not nice to lie?’ Then he hung up.”

  “Was there just the one call that night?” She nodded. “Now let’s talk about everything that happened the first time this man made contact with you.”

  She shuddered visibly. “It was right after the barrel-racing event and awards. I was in the process of removing the saddle from Trixie when I heard an unfamiliar male voice from behind call me by my first name. I turned around to discover a total stranger invading my space. A lot of guys have approached me over the years wanting a date, so it wasn’t unusual.”

  Cy could believe it.

  “I don’t mean to sound full of myself. It’s just part of what goes on during the racing circuit, and I’ve always taken it in good fun before turning them down. But this was different. He came too close. After telling him no, he just stood there with a smile that made my stomach churn. Something about him wasn’t right.”

  “Could you tell if he’d been drinking?”

  “No. I couldn’t smell alcohol. I was holding the saddle in front of me with both hands and I told him I was married, hoping he’d get the message and go away. When he calmly told me to prove it, I would have thrown the saddle at him and called security, but a couple of friends happened to walk over and he disappeared. I didn’t see him again until I drove to Utah for the next rodeo at Eagle Mountain a week later.”

  “You drive a truck and horse trailer?”

  “Yes. I live in the trailer while I’m on the road. My horse handler drives his own truck and trailer carrying one of my other horses.”

  “Do you own a car?”

  She nodded. “A four-door white Toyota sedan. I keep it at the condo when I’m gone.”

  “Do you own or rent?”

  “Rent. After I leave the rodeo circuit, I’ll be buying my own place.”

  “Where’s the parking?”

  “The double-car garage is in back, but there’s parking in front.”

  “Is it in a complex?”

  “It’s a two-story town house with neighbors on either side of me.”

  Cy paused long enough to buzz the artist to come to his office, and then he turned to her. “We need a picture of this man. Without a photograph we’ll have to rely on your eyes. Our department artist has a singular gift.”

  She clasped her hands together. “All right.”

  “While we wait for him, I want you to think back. Before Pendleton, have you ever had the slightest suspicion that someone had targeted you?”

  “No. Never.”

  That sounded final. Jim showed up at the door with a sketch pad and electric eraser pencil. “Come on in, Jim. Ms. Parrish, our state’s reigning barrel-racing champion, is being stalked. Let’s see what you can work up.”

  “Sure.” He sat in the chair next to Kellie, eyeing her in male appreciation. “It’s a privilege to meet you, Ms. Parrish. We’ll start with a sketch. I could use the computer, but a sketch can tell you things the computer can’t. Don’t get nervous or frustrated. You may think this won’t work, but in three out of ten cases a culprit has been caught through a sketch. I’ll work from the eyes on out. Shall we get started?”

  She nodded and answered one question after another while he sketched. They worked together while he refined his drawing.

  Cy asked her for a more thorough description while Jim was working.

  “He looks like the guy next door. You know, someone’s brother. Maybe late twenties. Kind of lean. Okay-looking. Nutty-brown hair that curls. Short-cropped. Maybe five-ten, but he was wearing cowboy boots. Weighs probably 150 to 160 pounds. Brown eyes. He wore jeans and a different pullover the second time I saw him.”

  Jim kept working at the sketch and showed her what he’d done. She said, “His nose was a little thinner.” After fixing it he asked her to take another look. “What do you think?”

  “You truly do have a gift. It’s remarkably accurate.”

  “We try.”

  Cy took the drawing from him. The guy bore a superficial resemblance to Ted Bundy, the serial killer from several decades back, but he kept the observation to himself. “That’s great work, Jim. We’ll go with this to put in the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He turned to Kellie. “All bets are on you winning the championship in December.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  “If anyone can catch him, Ranger Vance can. See you, Cy.”

  When Jim left the office, she looked at Cy. “You’re called Cy?”

  “Short for Cyril.” Don’t get sidetracked. “Your next rodeo is in South Dakota in two weeks, but I understand your parents want you to quit the circuit.”

  “Yes, but since we talked with the police, Dad has told me he’ll hire some bodyguards for me so I can continue to compete.”

  Cy shook his head. “That won’t work. We want to draw out this stalker and arrest him. He’ll know if you have people protecting you. That will change the way he has to operate. It will hinder our efforts and prolong the time you’re forced to live in terror.”

  Her eyes clouded. “I don’t want to give up competition, not when I’m so close to the Finals in December. Isn’t there another way?”

  Yes, but he didn’t know if she’d consider it. He knew her parents would raise ob
jections.

  “There’s always another way. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back.” He left the office and headed for TJ’s, knocking on the open door.

  His boss’s head lifted. “Come on in.”

  Cy shut the door and sat down. “Where are her parents?”

  “In the reception area. Have you got an angle on this case yet?”

  He nodded and brought him up-to-date. Then he told him his idea. TJ didn’t say anything at first. That didn’t surprise Cy. “I know it’s unconventional.”

  “Unconventional? Hell, Cy. It’s unorthodox and unheard-of in this department.”

  “But it could work. This way she could continue winning rodeos.”

  Another few minutes passed before TJ said, “I’ll admit it’s brilliant. You realize the two of you will be walking a very thin line.”

  Yup. Cy knew exactly what he meant and he wasn’t talking about the culprit. “I’ll need another Ranger working with me. Whoever you can spare.”

  His eyes squinted. “You think she’ll agree?”

  “Probably not, but it’s worth finding out. She’s had the world championship in her sights since she was eleven years old. If she says no, then I’ll know I was wrong to think she’d do anything to achieve her goal.”

  He nodded slowly. “All right. You bring her in here and I’ll send for her parents. She doesn’t need their permission, but they’ll have to be in on this from the start or it won’t work. I’ll make sure all three of them are fingerprinted before they leave the building today.”

  “Right.”

  Chapter Two

  Cy’s plan was bold. But no matter how many ways he could think of to attack the problem, he kept coming back to his first idea.

  “Ms. Parrish?” he spoke to her from the doorway. She got to her feet. “If you’ll come with me, we’re going to meet in the captain’s office with your folks.”

  They walked down the hall, where Cy met Kellie’s parents. She took after her father in height and coloring. From her mother she’d inherited her good looks and figure. He shook their hands.