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They walked inside. This time he took a better look at the rental. It was small, but homey and the furniture looked comfortable. He carried his bag into the other room where a queen-size bed took up most of the space.
He peered into the bath. A small shower stall and a pedestal sink and toilet were accounted for. “Everything I need,” he said.
“There’s a television, but only basic cable.”
“That’s more than I expected.”
“Tell that to my kids. They seem to think they’re deprived without the premiere channels.”
“With you as their mother, and Beth as their grandmother, I’d say they’re pretty lucky.”
That seemed to frazzle her. “Well, having a mother who’s the school principal doesn’t exactly make them the most popular kids.”
It beat the heck out of having a mother who didn’t care about anything but the next man in her life. After two bad marriages, Cindy Morales was still looking for the elusive husband. That meant leaving her two boys alone. “They’ll live,” he said.
That comment got him a smile. “Well, I’ll let you get settled in. Holler if you need anything.”
“Wait.” He pulled out his wallet and took out five one-hundred-dollar bills. “Here’s part of the deposit. Tell your mother, I’ll have a cashiers check for her in the morning.”
Her eyes rounded as she stared down at the money.
“The banks are closed now.”
She nodded and started for the door. He didn’t want her to leave. That wasn’t a good thing. He was here to do a job, nothing more. “I’d like to do some repairs around here,” he called to her. “Will that bother you?”
She turned around. “You don’t have to.”
He shrugged. “I’ll have some time before my job starts. Let’s say my hobby is old Victorian homes.”
She didn’t look convinced. “I would think that you’d want to take advantage of the free time.”
“I’ve had too much time off already. And I’ll get to do something I love.” That wasn’t a lie. He did like to repair and refinish things.
“Well, Mother could use some help with the upkeep. It’s really too big for her since my dad died, but she’ll never leave here.”
“It’s a great house. And there seems to be plenty of room for you and your kids. I’m sure your mother likes having you all here with her.”
She shrugged. “There wasn’t a choice. We didn’t have anywhere else to go. Goodbye, Mr.—Coop.” She turned and walked out.
This time Coop didn’t stop her departure. He didn’t want to scare her off for good. If he wanted to get any information, he needed to tread lightly.
His phone vibrated and he pulled it off his belt and checked the caller ID. It was his captain’s private line, because they didn’t want any of his calls traced back to the off ice.
“Coop here.”
“How’s it going?” Ben Collier asked.
“Fine, so far. I checked in with Casali yesterday.” The lucrative rancher/businessman had hired him for the project with only the sheriff’s request. No more details given. “He’s awarded Perry’s Landscaping the housing project job. I’m also renting a cottage at the Staley house.”
“Good.” There was a long pause. “I’d tell you not to take any unnecessary chances, but I know I would be wasting my breath. Since you’re pretty much working on your own, just tread lightly around Delgado. If he gets wind of you nosing around, it could be dangerous for all involved. Outside of the local law enforcement, you have no partner as back up.”
Coop’s immediate concern was Lilly Perry and her family. “I’m good at my job.”
“No one questions that, but you’re personally involved.”
His chest tightened as he thought about his half brother, Devin Morales. “We’ve got to get this guy off the streets.”
“We will.”
The connection was broken when Coop closed his phone. He knew firsthand that Raul Delgado was trouble. For years, he’d been involved with drug and weapons trafficking along the Mexico border. Yet, they couldn’t link him to any of the killings or the thousands of pounds of illegal drugs coming into the U.S.
Even with the government’s increased patrols, Delgado had managed to do business until one night a local cop was killed trying to break up a drug deal. Of course there were no witnesses to the crime. Coop fisted his hands, remembering how his younger brother Devin’s life had ended too soon.
Yet, Delgado got away. Last word on the street was he’d relocated his operation from the El Paso area, possibly to Laredo.
Last year, he’d been tracked to Kerry Springs and to Perry’s Landscaping. Four months ago, the Feds had received anonymous tips about Delgado’s activity.
They’d set up a meeting with the informant at a secret location outside of town, but the guy never showed. A strange coincidence occurred when a partner in Perry’s Landscaping, Mike Perry, committed suicide a few days later.
Coop strongly suspected Perry had some help with his death. No proof, yet. They weren’t one hundred percent sure it had even been Perry who’d notified the authorities, either.
Coop thought about Lilly. Had she known what happened to her husband? Was that why she was leery of strangers?
Then he remembered the file on her. Mike and Lilly had been divorced for nearly a year by then. Had it been because of her husband’s involvement with Delgado?
That was what he had to find out.
There were only two leads. Lilly’s ex-sister-in-law, Stephanie Perry, was involved with a man named Rey Santos who looked remarkably like Raul Delgado. And the informant had told the Federal agents he had proof of Delgado’s illegal activity.
Now all Coop needed to do was keep the promise he made at his brother’s gravesite to catch this bastard while keeping the fact that he was a Texas Ranger a secret. Not too hard.
“Mom, Robbie’s being gross again,” thirteen-year-old Kasey Perry yelled from the top of the stairs.
Lilly sighed. It had been a long day already. She’d only walked in the door and hadn’t even put down her grocery bags.
“Get washed up so we can eat.”
“But, Mom, aren’t you going to do something?”
Lilly leaned against the open banister and said, “I’ll talk to him.”
She headed down the hall ignoring any and all comments from the kids. Inside the big homey kitchen, she found her mother sitting at the counter, sipping a cup of coffee.
This room was Beth’s space. Cabinets lined the walls and the tiled countertops were still in good shape and an island provided a good work space.
Beth Staley loved to cook and this big old kitchen had seen a lot activity over the years. Not so much lately. At least the table was set and ready for food. It was Lilly’s turn to cook, but she wasn’t ready.
“Give me a few minutes.”
“There’s no hurry,” her mother said. “Just make a salad. We’re having the rest delivered.”
“Mother,” she warned as she started to empty the grocery bag. “We talked about this. I thought the rent money was to pay off bills?”
“It is. I promise you, I didn’t spend a penny on supper.” She smiled. “I’ll go and round up Kasey and Robbie.” There was a knock on the back door as she started toward the hall. “Would you get that, honey?”
“Mom …” Lilly started to go after her when the knock sounded again. “Okay, you win,” she murmured as she went to the door and opened it. Standing on the porch was their new tenant. He looked as if he’d showered and shaved and he was holding three pizza boxes. “Mr. Cooper?”
“It’s Coop.” He nodded toward the boxes. “I hope you’re all hungry.”
What was going on? “Why?”
“I told your mother I was treating tonight. Since you let me move in early.”
He took a step toward her and she immediately moved out of his way. “You didn’t need to do that. I was going to fix supper.”
He put the pizzas on the counter. He placed his hands on his hips, causing his navy T-shirt to stretch across his broad chest and flat stomach.
“If you’re making salad, I can help you.” He went behind the island counter. “Tell me where the bowl is and a knife.”
He already had the head of lettuce under the water washing it. Well, make yourself at home, she thought. With no choice but to keep up she retrieved the ingredients.
Within a few minutes they’d thrown together a salad and he placed the bowl on the table when she heard the kids on the stairs. They soon appeared in the kitchen.
“Hey, I know you,” Robbie said. “What are you doing here?”
“Robbie,” she warned her son. “Mr. Cooper brought us supper.”
“How do you feel about pepperoni pizza?”
Robbie’s eyes brightened like it was Christmas morning. “It’s my favorite.”
“I don’t like pepperoni,” Kasey said. Her thirteen-year-old daughter didn’t like much of anything these past months, especially her mother.
“Then it’s a good thing that I also brought a vegetarian one, too.”
“That’s my favorite,” Lilly said.
“I’m not hungry.” Her daughter pouted.
“You’re going to stop being rude and eat.” She turned her daughter toward Coop and brushed back her long blond hair from her pretty face. “Coop this is my daughter, Kasey. Kasey, this is Mr. Cooper. He’s the new tenant and he was nice enough to bring supper.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Kasey.”
She nodded, but there was suspicion in her large eyes. “Thank you for the pizza.”
Lily released a long breath as her mother appeared in the room. “Okay, maybe we should sit down and eat.”
Beth showed Coop to a chair at the round table. Once in their seats, Lilly said, “Kasey, I believe it’s your turn to ask for the blessing.”
She glared at her mother. “Why? I don’t have anything to be thankful for.”
Lilly felt her cheeks flame in embarrassment. “Okay. Robbie why don’t you do it?”
“Sure.” He folded his hands and bowed his head. “I’m thankful that I got to go swimming today and now I get pizza, too.”
Lilly bit back a groan as she looked at her mother.
“You’ll survive, honey,” Beth said. “I survived you.”
Lilly took charge and said the blessing herself. Once she finished she was grateful everyone concentrated on the food. She wasn’t surprised to see her daughter didn’t have a problem eating. Finally the kids were excused to go watch television. She wanted to leave, too, but then she’d be just as rude as her kids. She wouldn’t be setting a good example and her mother was still there.
Lilly went to the coffeemaker. “Would you like a cup?” she asked Noah Cooper and her mother.
He looked up at her and smiled. “Thank you, I wouldn’t mind one.”
After her mother declined, Lilly came back to the table, handed him a cup and sat back down. The conversation turned to the repairs of the house.
“You have a wonderful house here,” Coop told her mother.
“Thank you. I’ve lived here since I was a girl. After my parents died, I inherited this house and my husband, Charles, and I raised Lilly here. I want it to go to her.” She looked sad. “But I can’t keep up with the repairs.”
Coop reclined in the ladder back chair. “From what I can see the structure is in good shape. Most of the damage seems to be from the elements. The porch needs some of the boards replaced. The concrete steps are crumbling. That should be the first repair.”
Her mother looked at him. “I’m not sure I can afford you.”
A slow, easy smile spread across Coop’s face. “I work pretty cheap. If you buy the materials, my labor is free.”
Beth smiled. “I like that, but it doesn’t seem fair.”
Coop looked thoughtful. “How about if you throw in a few meals?”
Lilly wanted to object. The last thing she wanted was another man around. “Noah, I would think you’d get pretty tired of spending the evening with bickering kids.”
“I think I’m up to it,” he assured her.
She was losing this battle. The privacy she needed so desperately since her marriage and life fell apart.
She looked at the good-looking man across from her. All she wanted was a nice quiet summer break. But it didn’t look like that was going to happen now.
CHAPTER THREE
LILLY tried to ignore him, but how could she ignore a shirtless man right in her line of sight? And that was exactly where Noah Cooper was. It was only eight o’clock the following morning, and the man stood on a ladder scraping the peeling paint off the back of the house.
Finally giving in to the old adage “What was the harm in looking.” And that was exactly what she did. Look.
She leaned a little to the side of the kitchen sink to get a better view. To see how his faded jeans fit across his nice rear end. How those muscles over his back and shoulders bunched with his movement. The tiny beads of sweat that gathered along his spine and ran down into the back of his Levi’s.
She blew out a breath. Whoa, must be the heat getting to her. She turned away. She didn’t need to get all worked up just noticing a man, especially not a man who’d just arrived in town.
