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“Necessity is the mother of invention,” he murmured, chagrined at his own cliché but too beat to be clever.
Quickly and expertly Randi diapered Ricky and pulled a fuzzy yellow jumpsuit with a hood over his arms and legs. The kid would’ve looked like the Easter Bunny if he’d had floppy ears.
“His skin seems warm enough, but he’s too quiet to suit me,” she said.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve been thinking about that. I don’t think he’s in shock, his skin isn’t clammy at all. But I’m concerned that he’s dehydrated…or maybe even in the first stages of starvation. His belly looks distended to me.”
She jerked around to face him and arched her brows in disbelief. “You think your own son might be starving?”
“He’s not mine, Randi.” It never occurred to him she might think Ricky was his child. After he’d blurted out the truth, he wondered if maybe he should have lied and spared himself a lot of trouble and explanations later.
“If he’s not yours, what were you doing driving him around the countryside in the middle of a storm, and where’s his mother?”
Yep. Good questions. Ones he wasn’t positive he wanted to answer.
“Can we talk about that later? I’m a lawman, Randi, just trying to do a job. I promise, you’re safe and I’ll tell you everything eventually. But right now we need to find a way to get some liquids into the baby.”
He had to hand it to her—Randi hesitated only a fraction of a second before she dug back into the basket. If he’d been in her shoes, he wasn’t sure he’d have let the subject drop so fast. That fact alone made him wary, putting his instincts on alert.
She held up a glass baby bottle. “I found a few of these, but only one nipple that seems to be usable.” Getting to her feet she said, “I have some distilled drinking water stashed away for emergencies. I suspect Ricky is well over six months and we can get by just washing the bottles instead of sterilizing them. It’ll save a lot of time.”
She handed him the baby and headed for the kitchen, turning back at the doorway for one last word. “But if you think we’re done with the questions about this baby, better think again. I want answers.”
In a few minutes she was back. Gently taking Ricky in her arms, she cradled him to her breast. It took a bit of coaxing to get him to take the bottle of water into his mouth, but soon the baby’s instincts kicked in and he sucked mightily.
Manny breathed a sigh of relief at the tranquil sucking sounds. He’d made a promise to the baby to keep him safe and healthy, and by heaven, he intended to do everything in his power to see it through.
The sight of Randi holding the baby stirred something deep inside him that he had no business feeling. Long ago he’d buried his most basic needs—the need for the softness of a woman—the need for family. It had been several years since he’d contacted his own family, and he suddenly missed them more than he thought possible. He was sure that since he’d last seen them, his nieces and nephews would be nearly all grown up.
Manny positively refused to contemplate how long it had been since he’d felt the comfort of female companionship. But the sight of Randi and the baby seemed overwhelmingly erotic somehow. Man, when this mission was over, he’d better find himself some sweet little senorita. How long had it been, anyway?
“I’ve set a pan of water to boil on the stove,” Randi whispered, trying not to disturb Ricky. “I think I’ve got a box of powdered milk on a shelf somewhere, too. If he can get this down, we can try a little milk.”
Manny’s gut wrenched as Randi concentrated on Ricky. There was an innocence about her that tugged at his conscience. Taking a breath, he systematically closed and locked off the physical and emotional needs that had been assaulting him. He needed to be strong and tough till he discovered her exact involvement in the baby-smuggling ring.
It didn’t add up that she would be living alone. Someone that fragile-looking couldn’t operate a working ranch by herself. So where was everybody?
He had no desire to hurt this ethereal young thing, but he had to do whatever necessary to find out if she was a suspect. It was part of the job.
Randi looked down at Ricky sleeping and felt a twinge of sadness in her heart. She was around children all the time at her nursery school job. Yet having a baby here, sleeping on her hearth and totally dependent on her for his well-being, seemed different. It reminded her too much of things she couldn’t have—of things she’d probably have to bury forever.
Ricky took half the bottle of water and a full ounce of the powdered milk. When she’d placed him into the nest in the basket she’d made, he barely stirred.
His sweet face seemed so peaceful Randi began to relax. He’d lost that scrunched-up frightened look. She stroked his tiny hand, grateful that he no longer clutched it into a fist.
Meanwhile, Manny took her daddy’s old clothes into the mud room to change. When he’d left the fireside, she’d felt a momentary chill, as if his leaving had changed the temperature and the physical forces swirling around her.
Shaking off the strange sensations, she tried to focus on the situation. She had a potentially sick child on her hands. The flooding river had no doubt cut them off from town for the time being. The phone wasn’t working to call for help, and since they had no electricity to run the furnace’s fan, they’d need to stay downstairs here near the fireplace or in the kitchen by the stove. And to top it all off, she still didn’t know what Manny’s relationship to this child might be.
Just who was this dangerous man, really, and why was he in her little town in the middle of a horrific rainstorm and flood? She’d be stuck throughout the emergency with a man who made her body alternate between shivers and hot sweats. What on earth had she gotten herself into?
If he wasn’t Ricky’s father, why was Manny in the car with the baby? What did his being a lawman have to do with Ricky? Randi had seen the way he treated the child, softly petting him and murmuring encouragement. She refused to think that he might have taken Ricky for a bad reason, but she was determined to get to the truth.
He was dangerous looking, what with the shaggy, ebony hair and the stubble darkening his chin and cheeks, but would it be fair to judge a man by appearances? She’d been taught never to jump to snap conclusions based on a person’s looks.
“Is the baby asleep?”
Randi heard Manny’s whispered words before she knew he was in the room and felt his hand on her shoulder. Instead of being startled, she felt heat settle over her in a liquid rush. Sort of like the burning sensation she’d experienced when she’d tried her one and only swallow of whisky but better…less bad tasting and more electric.
She nodded silently and lowered her chin to stare at the floor. Randi knew she couldn’t look at him right now and still think clearly. Nervous tension made her body taut, and her mind fogged with unrealistic panic.
“You sure are handy to have around,” he began in a soft and friendly tone.
Without looking up, she knew he’d eased himself down on the rug next to her. He wasn’t touching her in any way, but she felt his presence tingling along the nerve endings of her skin. He was close enough that she could smell the cedar chips her mother had used to store her dad’s clothes.
“I mean, you saved Ricky and me from drowning in the van and now you’ve taken us in and given us warmth and shelter from the storm. You’ve even come up with diapers and a baby bottle…and you know how to use them.” He chuckled deep in his chest, the sexy rumbling vibrating inside her.
She peeked out from under her lashes to check his expression. When she saw his deep-set, chocolate-colored eyes flare to gold and his devastating features reflecting in the glow of the fire, she quivered with a strange anticipation. Randi felt a tide of color wash over her face, bathing her in a fiery flush and embarrassing her even more.
From the tips of his sock-clad feet to the top of his now-dry hair, the man reeked of power and sex.
Geez, she was way out of her depth here.
Manny watched the young woman sitting next to him while her skin turned from pale and cool to bright pink and heated. And his body reacted with a jolt of heat all its own. He understood about basic survival needs, about adrenaline causing lust and the need to reaffirm life, but that didn’t explain the magnetic pull and his craving to protect her to his last breath.
He felt a bit more in control now that he’d changed and replaced his weapon in its hidden holster at his waist. He set his jaw and swallowed hard. She might be a suspect, and he must uncover her involvement in this international ring before they went any further. What did she know? It was urgent he find out.
He turned up the charm and tried a grin he certainly didn’t feel. “So, what were you really doing out on that lonely road tonight?”
“Hold on, there! I want my questions about you and the baby answered before we talk about anything else.”
“Look,” he growled. “I’m not asking out of idle curiosity, Randi. I’m a federal undercover agent, working on a case. And if I find out you’re withholding information…or that you’re involved in any way, I’ll have you in custody so fast your head will swim.”
Her terrified look should have told him all he needed to know. But his emotions were so raw he ignored his own gut instincts.
He pushed ahead, overpowering the conversation and demanding the truth with mere physical presence. “Now answer my question. Why were you out there alone tonight?” he persisted.
“I told you. I was coming home from work in Willow Springs. I’m a nursery school aide there.” Her voice shook and the look in her eyes grew wilder as she automatically answered his demand.
“A pretty woman like you?” His hand went to her soft shoulder. “You sure you weren’t there to meet someone?” He knew the grin had disappeared, but the longer she carried on this innocent game, the more Manny was positive she knew something she wasn’t telling.
“N-n-n-no. Why are you asking? What kind of agent are you and what are you working on?” The words came pouring out. “It was just as I told you. Who would I be meeting in the middle of a storm?”
Manny groaned inwardly, wishing she didn’t look so naive and young. He had to remain tough in the face of all this supposed innocence. She was either the best actress he’d ever seen or she was too guileless to be believed. His first quick impulse was that she must be one heck of an actress. He decided to force the truth out of her.
“All right. Let’s go back to something else you said.” He ended up having to clear his throat to continue. “You said no one lived here on the ranch with you. I find that hard to imagine.”
“I…I didn’t say that exactly.”
Faster than a blink, Manny shoved the towel off her head. A rich, wet tangle of ash, gold and silver flowed over her shoulders. Grabbing a handful of it, he fisted his fingers into the silky strands. She gasped and her eyes opened to the size of dinner plates with his brash movement.
“Then what did you mean…exactly.” He tugged her head back slowly, exposing the satiny skin on her slender neck to his view. A wayward thought of how much he’d like to place his lips on that expanse of softness flashed in his brain before he banished it and tried to steel his features into a threatening look.
“Let go of me! We…I…there’s a ranch hand, uh, and his wife that live in the foreman’s quarters. But…”
“So you lied to me?” he demanded.
“No! You didn’t ask about the ranch. You asked about the house. Now let go…please.”
Manny saw the tears welling in her eyes and immediately released his grip on her hair. But his hand refused to let the damp tresses go completely. His fingers lingered in the intoxicating texture of the multicolored silk.
He felt like a jerk for hurting her. But it was part of the job, and he had to finish his interrogation. Ricky’s life might depend on finding the answers.
“Why all these questions?” she sobbed. “What’s going on? I haven’t done anything wrong.” Randi sniffed and touched a finger to the corner of her eye.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice sounded raspy, hoarse. “But I’m the one asking the questions here. And I mean to know the truth. All of it.”
She arched her eyebrows and glanced away as if she was barely interested in this whole conversation. Damn her. He wanted her scared—scared and willing to tell him anything she might know. He was finished playing games.
Manny had his Glock out of its holster before he had a chance to think it through. “Who else lives on this ranch? Tell me,” he demanded. “And you’d better make sure I believe you.”
Her eyes widened and her hands jumped to cover that full mouth, probably to keep a scream from escaping her lips. Now he’d done it. He reholstered his weapon instantly. Drawing a weapon was just an ingrained movement whenever he needed an intimidating tactic.
This time he hadn’t really been prepared to shoot, however. The monumental significance of that potentially deadly oversight wasn’t lost on him. Nothing like that had ever happened to him before.
“Please. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Only…please keep that gun out of sight.”
Randi forced a sob back down her throat. She refused to let him see her panic. Dear Lord, was she going to go to jail because she’d been a Good Samaritan? Lewis Lee always said that no good deed goes unpunished. She prayed she’d be around long enough to tell him he was right.
Manny softened his expression. Funny, but she could swear that this big macho man looked remorseful—guilty even. The gun had disappeared under his shirt at his waist almost as quickly as it had appeared. Randi’s gut told her that he would never have used it on her. Her fears subsided the instant she’d seen his expression. Meanwhile, he silently waited for her to continue.
How odd that all her fears had melted away. He was still a huge, dangerous man sitting in her front room and wearing a gun that he didn’t seem to mind using. But there was a glint of some emotion in his eyes that comforted her, drew her to him. Made her positive he was really the lawman he professed to be.
“My…” Her voice cracked and she started over. “My stepfather lives on another part of the ranch. On the Cottonwood section. But he won’t be helping us if that’s what you’re thinking. Probably wouldn’t help—even if he could reach us. He’s kind of put out with me these days.” She swallowed and tried to soothe her dry throat. It was no use. “Besides, he hasn’t been around in a couple of months. Not since…my mother’s funeral.”
“Your mother just died?”
She nodded. The emotion in his eyes changed to sympathy, and her head swam with confusion. What kind of man was this? And what did he really want from her?
Three
A multitude of emotions raced through Randi when Manny stood, turned and stretched out a hand to help her stand. She’d seen the guilt in his eyes when he’d fisted his hands in her hair, questioning her.
His look clearly told her he believed his actions had caused her pain. What she’d actually felt was simply fear—not physical discomfort. He hadn’t hurt her, just scared her. That Manny had such a sympathetic and honest streak in him was as clear as if it was painted on his forehead.
And now…
Now that he wanted to take her hand, wanted to touch her again, she hesitated. She’d been so concerned about the baby’s welfare that she’d given in to Manny’s demands too easily. For some reason she’d let him take total control.
All right, so he said he was a lawman and she’d believed him immediately. That might have been part of it. Believing what he said might be stupid of her, but she knew she would eventually get the answers. There was just something about him that made her know he could be trusted in the long run.
But for right now she marveled at how quickly her fear had disappeared. Past the fear, past the consuming questions in her heart about who he really was and what he wanted, Randi had felt alive and sensual. For the first time in her life, she actually wanted a man’s touch. Wanted it bad.
Not just any man, mind you. Randi wanted this man. He was all she’d ever dreamed about—dangerous but sexy. In Randi’s eyes he was a perfect combination of Zorro and some exotic and romantic pirate.
The problem was, she had no idea how to go about getting him. For ten years she’d buried her needs, smothered her desires. First there’d been her mother’s stroke, then her stepfather’s physical abandonment. Finally came the unrelenting pressure of seeing to her mother’s needs while trying to keep the ranch afloat. All of that left precious little time for Randi to have any kind of life.
If it hadn’t been for Lewis Lee and his wife, Hannah, Randi wouldn’t have graduated from high school. And if it hadn’t been for Marian Baker, the librarian, bringing her books every week after graduation, Randi would have withered and blown away. Reading had been her lifeline, her connection to the outside world.
Marian had even arranged for Randi to take care of a couple of toddlers while their mothers worked. The small job meant she could be in the house when her disabled mother needed her. It also meant that temporarily there had been enough cash to keep from having to sell off the land. Despite the puny allowance and doctor’s bills her stepfather had paid, there was never enough money to go around.
“I’m afraid you and I are stuck with each other for the duration of the storm, Randi. I’d appreciate it if we could stick close to each other for the baby’s safety as well as our own.” Manny eyed her with a piercing look when she still hesitated to move. “Come on into the kitchen with us. I think we need something in our stomachs.
“I won’t hurt you ever again. I promise.” He tucked his hand into the pocket of his jeans and bunched up his face with a look of pure helplessness when she still made no move.
“I know I didn’t act very civilized before,” he began again. “But I did apologize. Can’t we make a new start? Maybe we could talk…get to know each other better. Please?”
Oh, yeah. Randi wanted desperately to know him better. Her gaze traveled down the length of him, taking in her daddy’s chambray work shirt stretched tightly across Manny’s broad chest. He’d left the top three buttons open. She doubted they’d cover his muscles, anyway, but open like that they left nearly half of his torso in plain view. She stared at the dark, curly hair covering his bronzed skin and gulped.
Her fingers shook reflexively at the sight of his chest, and she fisted them to keep still. She’d never in her life seen anything quite so compelling. With a supreme effort at controlling her urges, she forced herself not to jump up and test the feel of his body. Her good sense told her to be careful—to go slow.
Talk about uncivilized. What she wanted right now definitely qualified as primal.
When she could pull away from the sight of all that skin, she dropped her gaze down the rest of him—across the leather belt he’d used to draw her father’s jeans tight and on down past the bulging mound of him encased in soft, well-washed blue denim.
Oh, my.
That view finally put her in motion. She turned, while carefully managing to avoid touching Manny.
“Do you like coffee? I can make some. It’s time I added wood to the stove, anyway.” She figured she was babbling, but couldn’t seem to stop.
“Yeah. I could go for coffee,” he murmured, picking up the baby’s basket and following her into the kitchen.
Manny wondered how he could ever make up for behaving like such an idiot. What had gotten into him? The young woman who’d just put coffee on the stove to boil was obviously innocent.
In eight years of undercover work he’d developed a life-saving instinct for detecting lies. He was usually right on target. His gut screamed at him for ever doubting her. Perhaps someone else on the ranch was involved with baby smugglers, but she wasn’t. Of that he was now positive. He doubted she’d ever even heard about such things.
While Randi scrambled some eggs using the same stove that heated the room and warmed their coffee, Manny fought to bring peace into the tension that surrounded the two stranded strangers and baby. “Can I do anything to help?”
She looked at him with amazement shining in her eyes.
“What? You don’t think I can cook?” he asked with a chuckle. “I’ll have you know my abuela insisted that all members of her family, male and female alike, should know how to take care of themselves.”
He found the bread bin and removed two slices of whole wheat. “It’s a real handy talent, and sometimes even fun.”
Manny glanced around the room looking for cooking utensils and supplies. Finally he gave Randi a questioning look. Where did she keep things, anyway?
Obviously mistaking his intentions, Randi shook her head at him. “Do you think you can toast that bread without the electric toaster?” Her lips curled at the corners in an adorable smirk.
