The Texas Ranger's Bride

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At that remark Cy’s eyes smiled. Kellie felt a fever coming on. “Yes. We just got in from Bandera. I’ll tell you all about it later.”

“He must really be something for you to get married so fast you didn’t even have your parents there.”

“W-we couldn’t bear to wait any longer.”

“Whoa. I’ll hang up now, but I expect a detailed report later. You know what I mean.”

Embarrassment brought the heat in waves. “Thanks for calling. We’ll talk soon. I promise.” She clicked off and put the phone back on the coffee table.

Cy closed the laptop and put it on the floor. He leaned forward with his hands clasped between his knees. “Kathie is one of the names on the list you gave me. Who is she?”

“My best friend in our group. Sally, my other friend, is a part of it, too.”

“What group is that?”

“There are about thirty of us who ride for pleasure, but serve as volunteers in case of any kind of local emergency.”

His brows lifted. “Do you have a name?”

“We’re the Blue Bonnet Posse.”

“That’s right. You mentioned one of your friends from the group who moved to Colorado Springs. Come to think of it, I have heard of the posse. Weren’t you the ones who found that autistic child who’d wandered away from home last year?”

“That one, and a lost Boy Scout. The police department calls our leader when they need volunteers to do a search in the outskirts of Austin.”

“No doubt you’re kept busy. Those lucky parents must be indebted to you. I’m impressed.”

“It’s our job.” She echoed his earlier words to her.

“Touché.” He reached down and pulled off his cowboy boots. She watched him turn out the lamp and stretch out on the hide-a-bed. It couldn’t be that comfortable, and he hadn’t even changed. He lay on his back with his hands behind his head.

She forced herself to look away. But no sooner had she curled on her side hoping to fall asleep than the phone rang again. Still petrified, but less startled this time, she reached for the phone.

“Put the speaker on,” Cy reminded her.

She nodded. It was her father and she clicked on. “Hi, Dad. I’ve got the phone on speaker.”

“Forgive me for calling this late, but your mom and I want to make certain you’re all right.”

Her gaze drifted to Cy. “I’m fine. Really. The news is out. Kathie just called me.”

“We got a call from your cousin Heidi. She read your blog and couldn’t believe it.”

“I know this is going to come as a shock to everyone who knows me.”

“They care about you. It’s a tribute to the wonderful woman you are.”

“Spoken like a biased parent.”

“We love you, Kellie.” His voice sounded gruff with emotion. “Tell that Ranger we can’t thank him enough.”

She looked at Cy’s silhouette in the semidarkness. “He knows how you feel. All I do is thank him.”

“We’re expecting you for lunch. Good night, honey.”

“You get a good sleep, Dad. Cy is keeping me perfectly safe. Love you.” She hung up the phone and hugged her pillow.

The next time she had cognizance of her surroundings, she heard the phone ringing. Immediately her adrenaline brought her to a sitting position. The second she realized there was no name on the caller ID, she felt bile rise in her throat. Cy had already hunkered down at the coffee table, urging her to pick up and press the recording app.

Her body shook as she reached for the phone. Doing as Cy asked, she clicked on. “Hello?”

“I knew you got home today. How did you like my letter?”

Her eyes closed tightly. “How did you get my phone and address?”

“That was easy as skinning a cat.”

She shuddered. “What do you want? I told you I’m married.”

“I saw what you wrote on your blog. You think I’d believe that crap? You’re a liar!” He shouted the last word.

“You think I’d lie to all my fans and friends? If that’s true, then why do you keep phoning a liar?”

“Because you deserve to be taught a lesson you’ll never forget.”

“Did your girlfriend lie to you?”

“They all lie. When I get through with you, you’ll wish you’d never been born, Kellie girl.”

“My husband’s going to have a lot to say about that.”

“Liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar!” The line went dead.

Kellie was trembling so hard she dropped the phone. Cy retrieved it and clicked on the recorded conversation. She’d forgotten to put on the speakerphone. His jaw hardened as he listened to the recording.

“That was rage we heard just now. He’s afraid you might be telling the truth. You handled him perfectly and kept him on long enough to record his voice patterns. I’ll be going into headquarters tomorrow. I’ll drop off the letter at the forensics lab and take your phone to our voice expert to see what he can do with it.”

He checked his watch. “It’s only four in the morning. Why don’t you go up to your bed? If he phones again, I’ll let it ring. You need more sleep.”

“What about you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Even if you aren’t, you’d never tell me. Thank you.” She grabbed her pillow and blanket before going upstairs.

* * *

CY HAD SPOKEN prophetic words. The phone rang every half hour until eight on Tuesday morning. Then it stopped. He made breakfast with the groceries he and Vic had bought yesterday. While he devoured eggs and bacon, he phoned Vic on his phone. His friend answered before the second ring.

“What’s up?”

“The stalker phoned her at four this morning. We were able to get a decent recording. When I’m back in the office, I’ll have the lab analyze it. I’m headed there as soon as she leaves for her parents’ ranch. I assume she’ll be gone most of the day.”

“The team will take turns monitoring her.”

“Good. Where did you leave a car for me?”

“Walk down the alley behind the town houses to the corner. It’s a Subaru parked in front of the third house on the right with a for-sale sign. The key is in the usual place.”

“Do you think the lab has the results on the fingerprints we lifted yesterday?”

“Maybe. Stan said they’d hurry it.”

“With all the bases covered, let’s hope this nut case makes his move soon.”

“Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Afraid not, but I will today after I get back from the lab. Kellie will probably be gone most of the day. I’ll tell her to call me when she’s coming back.”

“You can level with me,” he said in a quiet voice. “How’s it going?”

He took a deep breath. “The easy answer is, nothing’s going on that shouldn’t.”

Just then Kellie came walking into the kitchen dressed in Levi’s jeans and a short-sleeved yellow blouse. She was a vision and he lost his train of thought.

“Cy? Are you still with me?”

“Yeah.”

“I was just saying I can’t wait to hear your difficult answer.”

Neither could Cy, but this was pure business and that was the way it would stay. “Got to go. Thanks for your help. I’ll catch up with you later at the office.” He clicked off and stood to greet her. “Good morning. How do you feel?”

“Thanks to you I was able to go right to sleep.”

“That’s good news.”

“But I bet you didn’t get a wink.” Her eyes had filled with concern.

“I’ll make up for it later. Sit down and I’ll serve you breakfast.”

“I could smell the bacon. I should have gotten up to do it. Fixing food for me isn’t your job.”

“But you need more sleep than I do after what you’ve been through this last month.” He put a plate of food in front of her and poured coffee for both of them before sitting down.

“Thank you, Cy.” She ate a piece of bacon. “Yum. Crisp, just the way I like it. Were there any more phone calls from him after I went to bed?”

Cy eyed her directly. “He rang on the half hour eight times. I let it ring every time. Your marriage announcement has set him off, exactly the reaction I’d counted on.”

“Did he leave messages on the voice mail?” There was a tremor in her voice.

“Yes, but you don’t need to hear them. I’m taking your laptop and phone into the lab today, but I’ll bring them back.” The stalker probably had a stack of prepaid phone cards, but there might be a time when he had to use a pay phone that could be traced.

Her brows furrowed. “You think they’re too awful for me to hear?”

“No. They were more of the same. He was ranting like before.”

She sat back in the chair. “Then you really didn’t get any sleep.”

“I’ll catch up today while you’re at the ranch. Someone on the team will be monitoring you every time you leave your condo. A member of the crew will follow you. If you have any concerns, call me on your parents’ phone. This is my cell number.” He wrote it on the paper napkin.

“While I clean up the kitchen, I’d like you to get on your laptop. Post a new message on your blog. Say that you’ve read the messages and you’re overwhelmed by all the good wishes. Then start to read any messages that have come since last night. I’m curious to see if he’s posted anything. It’s my hope he’s so angry he might explode and give himself away.”

As he cleared the table, she reached for her laptop and opened her blog file. “I don’t believe it! Hundreds more messages have been added since last night.”

“That’s not surprising. Your online tips about barrel racing have won you a loyal audience. Everyone’s intrigued about your new relationship.”

She lifted her eyes to him. Along with her silver-gold hair, her eyes were a deeper blue this morning and dazzled him. “The fans want to hear about you, not me. If they knew you were one of the Sons of the Forty, they’d go crazy and you’d be forced to go into the witness protection program.”

With those words his pulse sped up. “Hiding out with you is virtually the same thing.”

He loaded the dishwasher. Cy had been a bachelor for so long in his own house, he was used to doing his own cooking and housekeeping. He felt right at home in her kitchen. “Why don’t you start reading and see if there’s a message that strikes a different chord with you?”

“It’ll take me some time.”

If they’d met under different circumstances, nothing would have pleased him more than to have whole days and nights with her with no life-threatening issue to deal with. But he had a case to solve and needed to get to headquarters pronto. As he was finishing up, he heard her cry out in alarm.

“What did you read?” He walked over to the table and stood behind her so he could see what had disturbed her. In looking over her shoulder, he could breathe in her fragrance from the shower.

“It’s this one sent at eight twenty this morning.”

“That’s when the phone calls stopped. Read what it says.”

“‘I bet you’re making it up that you have a husband. Why do you enjoy being a tease? No one would watch you in the rodeo if they knew you were such a liar.’” She let out a quiet gasp.

Without thinking, Cy put his hands on the back of her chair. He could tell she was trembling. “I’m going to stop him, Kellie. This morning he made his biggest mistake so far by posting this message on the blog. When I’m at the office, we’ll trace it to its source. With every misstep, we’re closer to catching him.”