The Ranger's Texas Proposal

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“I don’t like it.” She looked out the window.

“Let’s make sure it’s sound before your baby comes,” he added softly.

That did her in. She sighed and ran a hand across her stomach. “I guess that makes sense. If you’re sure you don’t mind.”

He threw on his blinker to turn into the ranch. “Have you had someone install a car seat for you yet?”

She laughed. “I still have three months.”

“They usually suggest doing it before...before it’s too close to your time. Just in case. Babies have a way of appearing whenever they want to.”

“And how do you know so much about babies?” She poked him in the arm a few times as she talked. The way his little sister used to when she was trying to be annoying. Although, when Josie did it, the action felt endearing.

“Not babies.” Those he knew nothing about and never would. “Car seats. I was trained as a car-seat technician when I worked with the troopers. I could teach you how to install one, if you’d like.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Josie had the door open and jumped down to the ground the second he put his truck in Park. She had told him on the way over that she needed to meet up with the minister who volunteered at the ranch. She’d catch him later or maybe find a ride home with someone else. He’d make sure he found her before she wanted to go home. Because her place was on the way back to the inn where he was staying... That was the only reason he should drive her home, of course.

Heath shook his head. She was trying to shake him. Poor woman. Did she really understand what he did for a living? Once he made his mind up about something, he could be pretty stubborn. The trait came in handy in his profession.

Still...what must she think of him for showing up at her house two days in a row? He’d do it tomorrow, too. And the day after that. The woman was alone and pregnant; she shouldn’t be managing the ranch on her own. Besides, she was the eyewitness to a possible crime. If the wrongdoer had spotted her, then Josie could be in danger. He wouldn’t scare her with that notion, but he’d stick close until things were sorted out.

Heath spotted Flint straightaway. He was near the heavy machinery, but when he saw Heath’s truck, Flint came striding across the yard. A big black dog yapped circles around his feet.

Heath grabbed his white Stetson, pushed it onto his head, then tucked his badge into his back pocket as he stepped down from his truck. He took in the barn, the fence posts, the large home—it was impossible for Heath to turn off his investigative eye. His brain seemed programmed to constantly log information, and look for weaknesses or issues. Things to fix, help, protect.

The black Lab bounded toward Heath, its tail smacking his legs while it used the running board on Heath’s truck to jump up into the driver’s seat, which put the animal at head level to lodge a full lick attack on Heath’s neck and face. Heath groaned and good-naturedly shoved the dog’s nose away so he couldn’t lick him any longer.

“Cowboy, down.” Flint reached around Heath, grabbed the dog’s collar and tugged him out of the truck. “Sorry about that.” Flint finally looked at Heath. The two men were about the same height, but that was where their similarities ended. Where Heath’s eyes were dark, Flint’s were blue; same for the hair—Heath had black to Flint’s blond.

“He’s only two,” Flint apologized. “Still learning his manners.”

“It’s fine.” Heath used the sleeve of his white button-down to sop the worst of the drool from his neck. “He still has better manners than most of the people I deal with.” He adjusted his hat. All the Rangers wore them for work, but he’d gotten so used to the feel of it on his head, Heath usually wore the Stetson at all times.

“Got a minute?” Flint released the dog and it took off toward the barn where a group of school-age boys were working a few ponies in the arena. Flint set his hands on the edge of his belt.

“Right. Down to business.”

Flint laughed.

Neither of them was a chitchat type of guy. That was probably why they’d gotten along so well during basic training.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about something,” Flint said as Heath came over.

Heath propped his hand on the edge of his holster. “I have all the time in the world right now.”

Flint leaned against the giant wheel of a tractor. “I told you about the gentleman who died and left us this new property. Didn’t I?”

“Cyrus Culpepper.”

“That’s the one.” Flint shook his head. “I forgot about how good you are at remembering things—facts.”

“That’s what they pay me for.”

“Well, I got some more facts for you, then.” Flint hooked his thumb in his pocket. “Culpepper left terms in his will. You know how our ranch used to be located on the other end of town?”

Heath nodded. The boys ranch had moved into their current location—the land from Culpepper’s will—only a week ago. Before then, they’d been located on a smaller piece of land.

“Well, it turns out Culpepper was one of the original residents from when the boys ranch was first started. One of his stipulations for us to keep the property and everything else he left is to have the original boys from the ranch back for the anniversary party in March.”

Heath waited for the punch line. There was always a punch line.

Flint shifted his weight, obviously uncomfortable with whatever he had to say. “I was tasked with tracking down a man by the name of Edmund Grayson. Maybe it’s a long shot, but I was wondering if you might be related to him. Does that name sound familiar?”

Edmund Grayson? But it couldn’t be...could it?

Heath sucked in a rattled breath.

Of course he knew that name—but no, it wasn’t possible. He wouldn’t believe it. Heath straightened his spine. Kicked his boot against one of the tractor tires to shake free of the dirt.

He cupped his hand along his jaw. “That’s my grandfather’s name, but he was never a resident at any of these ranches.”

“Is he from the Waco area?”

“He is that.” Heath nodded. “Born and lived in this area most of his life. He was a state trooper until he retired and moved to Florida.”

“Edmund’s not a common name,” Flint said gently.

It wasn’t, but there had to be two of them. If his grandfather had lived at the boys ranch, Heath would know. Wouldn’t he? That was something his father or grandfather would have mentioned at some point.

“I’m telling you, you have the wrong guy. My grandfather never went to one of these ranches. I’d know if he did. He would have told me. Especially after what happened to my dad, that would have come out at some point.”

Flint shuffled his feet. “It’s imperative that all four of the original residents are found and reunited at the celebration in March. If that doesn’t happen...we’ll lose all of this.” He raised his hands to encompass the land. “Edmund Grayson is a unique enough name. I haven’t been able to find another one with ties to the Waco area.”

“It’s not my grandfather.”

“Ask him. What’s it going to cost you to ask?”

An olive branch and then some.

Heath hadn’t spoken to the man in years. He’d received a congratulations card in the mail when he’d been appointed a Ranger, but that had been their last contact. Maybe he’d ask Nell, see what she thought before poking at the old bear.

“Please?”

Heath sighed. First investigating the incidents at the ranch and now possibly reaching out to his estranged grandfather. Flint was sure getting a lot of favors out of him this visit.

He gave Flint one stiff nod. “I’m not promising anything, but I’ll see what I can find out.”

Chapter Four (#u094ce821-c6be-5ca6-991e-808464985ed0)

Josie shooed Heath away when he tried to help her down from his truck. One would think he’d have caught on by now that she liked to get down from the cab on her own.

They’d been following the same routine for a week now. Every day he showed up at her house just after sunrise. He did all the chores and then polished off whatever food she placed in front of him, praising her cooking the entire time. Then he drove her to the ranch, and while she worked her volunteer shift, he poked around and talked to people about possible leads for the incidents that had occurred there. She’d given him a list of names of ranch hands to talk to who would have worked at the ranch when his father was murdered and she’d noticed him engaging each of those people in conversations, as well. The boys ranch was blessed to have so many people who either volunteered or continued working there faithfully for so many years.

After talking with Flint, a few days ago Heath had started leading an after-school club for boys interested in learning how cops investigate crimes. They called their little club detection class. A majority of the older boys had instantly jumped at the chance to spend time with a Texas Ranger. Josie couldn’t blame them; Heath was good company.

On her way toward the office, Josie spotted a few of the boys in the pen with the calves, trying to put a lead line on one of them. As she drew nearer, she recognized Riley, one of the oldest teen residents at the ranch, and his ever-present shadow, ten-year-old Morgan, as they moved to corner the skittish dairy calf everyone called Honey. She was a favorite among the kids because she had a marking that looked like a heart on her forehead.

Morgan was a shy kid who was sometimes easily discouraged. If Honey kicked one of the boys, Morgan would probably not want to be around any of the calves any longer.

Josie stepped into the pen and secured the door again. “Careful, now. She scares easily.” Josie held up her hands. “Shh, Honey. It’s okay, girl.”

“Be careful, Ms. Markham.” Riley’s eyes went right to Josie’s pregnant belly. “How about you let me get up close to Honey instead? If she kicks, I’ll be fine.” At seventeen, the boy towered over Josie.

Right. She’d forgotten how protective the older boys were about her. There was no way Riley was going to let her get close to Honey until he had her tethered.

As small framed as she was, Josie’s pregnancy had showed almost immediately. Once the older boys noticed, they’d taken it upon themselves to try to ease her load. They were always offering to carry things for her or go in with the bigger animals when needed or pitch in when her truck got a flat the other week.

All their gestures were sweet, but sometimes the extra attention grated on her all the same. The whispers of Dale’s repeated instructions to her—don’t do this, you can’t handle that, no I won’t let you have a farm, my wife won’t smell like cattle if I have anything to say about it—were never far behind whenever she let one of the boys help her.

She had to remind herself the boys’ intention wasn’t to control her—they weren’t trying to tell her she wasn’t capable of doing those things. They were showing they cared about her.

Josie stayed and encouraged Morgan as he led Honey around the pen a few times. She headed toward the office housed at the ranch once the boys left the pen on their way to their next lesson. The director had left a message for her earlier in the day. Bea, the director, had said she wanted to speak with her about how long Josie planned on volunteering...considering her condition.

Josie held her head high as she strode past the blond receptionist, Katie Ellis, who was talking animatedly on the phone to someone about an electric bill. On a normal day, Josie would have stopped to say hi to Katie because the two women were good friends, but Josie didn’t want to interrupt Katie’s conversation. Instead she gave a little wave and the receptionist rolled her eyes and pointed at the phone. Josie stifled a laugh.

Josie went over again what she had decided to tell Bea. She wanted to volunteer as long as she was able, although the pains in her back told her that it might not be too much longer. But she still had three months until her due date. Plenty of women worked right up until they went into labor; surely Josie could help around the ranch until then.

Be brave. Be strong. Speak what’s on your mind.

The director’s office was empty.

Josie swiveled back toward Katie, who was just hanging up the phone.

“Bea’s not in?”

Katie sprang from her seat and came over to Josie, offering a quick hug. “You seriously just missed her. She had to run into town.” Katie motioned for Josie to follow her to the front of the office near a set of wide windows, her bouncy hair swishing as she walked. “She shouldn’t be long. Do you want me to have her find you?”

Josie pressed her shoulder into the wall for support. “Heath has to leave early to run some errands today. I leave when he leaves, so I might not be here when she gets back. And I’ll be late tomorrow because I have a doctor’s appointment.”

It had been a week of Heath stopping at her ranch in the morning, helping with chores and then sharing breakfast. He’d discovered some problems with her truck and declared it unsafe to drive for the time being. Something about her radiator and, even more concerning, he explained that the main rail for the frame of the vehicle had been weakened by the accident and needed to be replaced. He’d told her to call her insurance agent and have the truck junked, but Josie couldn’t do that. Not yet. She simply needed to have the rail fixed...and figure out how she’d pay for that. Surely that would be less expensive than buying a whole new car. She’d been a housewife for ten years and all of their bills and credit had been in Dale’s name. No one would give her a loan. She had to build up credit before she could buy a new car.