Читать книгу The Ranger's Texas Proposal - Jessica Keller - Страница 12

Chapter Two

At first Josie followed Heath around. “My ranch may look like a mess. I know it does. But I’m only starting out. This has been mine for the last five months. I haven’t had time to turn this place into what I’ve envisioned. But I will.”

Heath nodded. “I’m certain you will.”

He moved the cows out of the barn and into the pasture. After the cows were cleared out, he wrangled the three large hogs into a separate penned area, away from the cattle. The man spent an hour mucking out the stables and refreshing them with clean straw. While he worked, Josie minded the chickens, hunted for eggs and milked her dairy cows along with the two goats that rounded out her animals. Heath lunged for the metal buckets when Josie made a move to lug them toward her house.

“I got them.” He scooted over and made a grab for the pails.

“I’m perfectly capable of bringing them in, Officer Grayson.”

“Heath. And while I know you’re capable...remember...my dear old mother.” He winked at her.

She rolled her eyes, but moved out of his way. “Fine, then. Follow me, Heath.”

“Lead the way.” Heath grabbed the pails and inclined his head. “I’ll follow you wherever.”

I’ll follow you. He’d meant it about the pails, but the words made her heart speed up just the same. Foolishness. Josie had only ever dated Dale, and Dale didn’t believe in chasing a woman in order to win her. She’d never been followed...pursued. Not when they were dating and definitely not after they had married. Dale had referred to romance as a “mind game.”

But as Josie made her way toward the cabin with Heath trailing her, the Ranger’s hard-won smile and teasing wink flashed through her mind.

Oh, this was bad. Very bad. Mayday bad.

Most mistakes started in the form of a good-looking man.

She peeked a glance at him over her shoulder.

Definitely a mistake.

In those leg-hugging jeans, boots and with his sleeves rolled up until they were snug around his tanned forearms, the man was far, far too handsome for his own good. And when he’d taken off his hat and invoked his mom, his almost-black hair, messy and sticking out at weird angles from wearing the hat, about did her in.

Josie had always been attracted to the tall, dark and handsome type. Heath Grayson definitely fit the bill. He had dark, wide eyebrows, and his eyes were black coffee—hold the cream.

Don’t forget tall. The man had a foot on her, maybe more.

Josie had met her late husband, Dale, when they were in high school, and they’d started dating soon after. He’d never grown beyond the five foot seven he was when they’d met. And Dale’s face had been rounder—softer around his edges. Whereas Heath had sharp lines, as if his face had been chiseled from stone by some great, ancient artist.

She shook her head, releasing her wayward thoughts.

There was zero reason to compare the two men. None whatsoever. So they were both in law enforcement? Big whoop. That didn’t mean she needed to pull out a chart and make a pros-and-cons list of whom she was more attracted to. Goodness... Dale was her husband. Her husband. At least, he had been her husband and he hadn’t passed away that long ago. She was still working through the grief of losing her first love, losing the man who would have been the father to the child kicking in her stomach.

The attraction she felt for Heath—a man she’d only just met—had to be her pregnancy hormones talking. The doctor had said her emotions would do silly things in the next few months leading up to the birth. That must be the reason for her rapid heart palpitations, and the way her gaze kept tabs on Heath all morning and memorized the way his dress shirt pulled across his shoulders... It was crazy pregnancy stuff. End of story.

Besides, Heath Grayson was a lawman. Not just any lawman—he was an officer who worked the most dangerous and high-stakes cases in the state. A Texas Ranger. If Dale, who had been a sheriff’s deputy, could die in the line of duty, Josie imagined the target on a Ranger’s back was even bigger.

Especially these days.

Her front porch made a horrible moaning sound under their combined weight and Josie grimaced. The old fishing cabin had belonged to her father and had fallen completely out of use after his passing several years ago. Dad had left it to her, and Dale hadn’t wanted to care for the property. Once she’d moved out of her and Dale’s old home, the fishing cabin was all she had to her name. She’d been proud of the little space. It was hers. One hundred percent hers. It was the first time ever that she’d lived alone, which she discovered she didn’t like, but that was a different issue altogether. The fact was, now she knew.

But for as much pride as she had in the small patch of land that she was trying to turn into a functioning ranch and the tiny two-bedroom cabin that was going to be the perfect amount of space for her and her baby, worry lanced through her. She tried to see the place through Heath’s eyes. Would he consider it shabby? Think her poor and tragic?

Josie lifted her shoulders, filled her lungs and held up her chin as she opened the door. This was her home. She refused to care what anyone else thought about it. She was determined to craft this cabin into a welcoming place filled with love. One her baby would enjoy growing up in. She wouldn’t waste worry on what a passing-through Texas Ranger thought. No matter how much the muscles in his arms popped when he carried in her milk pails.

Josie stepped around Heath and opened up her green secondhand refrigerator. “Just set them in the bottom there.”

He did so and then turned to face her, almost as if he was waiting for her to issue his next marching orders. She couldn’t allow him to work on her ranch for a few hours and then send him on his way. That wasn’t good manners. Besides, she still needed to fill him in about the incident she’d witnessed at the boys ranch.

Josie clasped her hands. “Why don’t you wash up and have a seat? After that many chores, I have a feeling you’ve worked up an appetite.” She rubbed her palms together, hesitant. Was this a good idea? Too late. “Bathroom’s the second door in the hall there.”

“Ma’am, there’s no need—”

She held up her finger in that scolding way she used to do when she worked as a nanny years ago. “Ah. I won’t hear it. Now’s my chance to invoke my mother on you. She wouldn’t hear of me sending away an honest, hardworking man without so much as offering a scrambled egg or two, so I won’t listen to any arguments. Scrub your hands and have a seat.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He tipped his hat.

“And no more ma’am stuff,” she called after him as he made his way to the washroom. “I’m probably younger than you are.”

“I’m sure you are,” he called back.

Josie mentally cataloged what ingredients she had and settled on biscuits and gravy with a side of cheesy scrambled eggs. She’d made a batch of her favorite biscuits from scratch the other night and there were plenty left over. They were always a huge hit when she shared them at the boys ranch. She popped a bunch of them onto a pan and set her oven to warm.

After she wiggled the knob on the stovetop, it finally clicked and the flame went on. She set a skillet over the flame and crumbled breakfast sausage into the pan. Grease sizzled and popped. Josie licked her lips. She was hungry and loved cooking. These days, though, she often skipped making what she considered real meals because there was only her.

Making food for one was no fun.

She scraped the skillet and then sprinkled in the flour, keeping an eye on it while the grease soaked it all up. Next the milk and then the rest of the flour and seasonings. The mixture would have to be stirred frequently now so it didn’t get too thick or burn on the bottom. Josie juggled cracking the eggs and starting to scramble them along with stirring the gravy with finesse.

When breakfast—she glanced at the clock and saw that it was ten in the morning, so it was closer to brunch now—was done, she arranged both their plates and then turned toward the table. Heath sat there, his hat off and resting on the pole on the back of his chair. His dark hair was doing that adorable messy, sticking-up thing again. Josie tried not to stare, but it was hard not to.

“That bad?” Heath’s cheeks reddened and he patted his head. “Should I put the hat back on?” He swiveled around to grab the Stetson.

He had noticed her staring? How embarrassing.

Josie swallowed hard and forced her eyes down to their plates. “No. You’re fine like that. Just fine.” She set the plate with double the amount of food in front of him and then took her seat across the table. “Would you mind saying grace?”

“Of course.” Heath nodded and bowed his head. “Father, we thank You for the people we meet and the adventures You take us on. Bless Josie and her baby, keep them both in good health. Bless this food to our bodies, that we’ll use the energy to go out and do things that glorify You. And bless our conversation. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, we ask all these things. Amen.”

“Amen,” Josie whispered. “Thank you.”

“Sure.” Heath shrugged and gave her a look that said it was strange to thank someone for saying a prayer. They both dug into their food. Heath passed a compliment her way after every bite.

“I haven’t eaten that well in...” He leaned back and rested his hands on his abs. “Well, suffice it to say it’s been a long time since this bachelor has had a good meal. I don’t think I’ve ever used the oven back at my apartment for anything beyond frozen pizza.”

Living off frozen pizza? Josie shivered at the thought. “No Mrs. Grayson, then?”

“There’s my mother?” He shook his head. “But no, she hasn’t been Mrs. Grayson in fourteen or so years. She’s Mrs. Nye these days.”

“Dating?” Why was she grilling him?

“No, ma’am. I’m not exactly the dating type.”

She pointed her fork at him. “What did I say about the ma’am business?”

He ran his hand over his hair. “Force of habit, I’m afraid.” Then he rocked forward, pushed his plate to the side and rested his hands on the table. “How about you tell me what happened at the barn last night—go ahead and go into detail, if you will.”

“Right.” Josie clasped her hands in her lap. “It was just past sunset last night. I know that because the boys were in the dining room with their house parents—there are couples at the ranch who serve as counselors and role models for the boys living there. They had just finished dinner. I was heading out to my truck.”

“That one out there?” He jutted his thumb toward her driveway.

“The only one I have.”

He laid a hand on the table, giving off a relaxed air that Josie knew—from Dale’s training—was all part of the tricks of the trade when it came to getting a witness to feel comfortable in an interview. “Is it safe to drive?”

“Is this pertinent to my story?”

“No.” He shifted in his seat. “I apologize. Continue, please.”

“Well, I was about to unlock my truck but I froze because I heard a clanging sound, and I know that sound because it’s very distinct. I hear it every day.” Josie stopped clenching her hands together. Relax. She wasn’t on trial. Heath was here to help.

She took a deep breath and continued, “It was the side door to the calf barn. The one I personally had locked before dinner. I’d asked one of the ranch hands—Davy—to grease the door so it wouldn’t frighten the calves anymore, but I guess he hadn’t gotten around to doing that yet. Good thing, too, because if he had, I might not have seen all of this and the calves would be lost.”

“You’re positive it was locked?”

“Absolutely. I sent the boys in to wash up for dinner and I stayed back and locked all the doors before I headed in.”

“So you heard the door open?” he prompted.

“Yes, and then I saw someone charge out of the barn.”

“Could you describe them?”

Of course he’d ask that. She should have used the past few hours to try to draw a better, clearer image from her memory.

She shrugged. “Medium height, medium build. I’m sorry...that’s all I’ve got.” She blew out some air. “They were wearing a hooded sweatshirt and it was dark out. I never got to see his face.”

“His? Are you certain it was a man?”

Questions... Josie took a deep breath. It was Heath’s job to pick apart her story. That was how he found the truth. Josie knew that, but even still, it made her want to shrink. Dale had never been able to turn off his police brain. He spoke to Josie the same way he would a suspect. Maybe that was an across-the-board thing for all people in law enforcement.

She picked at a chip in her table. “I guess I’m assuming that part.”

“Do you have any idea who it might have been?”

“No. I mean, at first I thought it might be one of the older teens from the ranch. They have setbacks sometimes. But it wasn’t one of them.”

His chair creaked. “You’re positive?”

“Absolutely. They wouldn’t do something to put the calves in harm’s way. Even if one of them were upset.”

“Did the person recognize you?”

“No. Maybe? How would I know? I didn’t recognize them. But I talked... I said my name.” She licked her lips, remembering that detail. She’d called out to the person... It’s Josie. If one of the boys had been in distress, she’d wanted to be able to help them.

Heath leaned forward.

Josie pressed on. “The person took off toward the open pasture and I couldn’t chase them.” She gestured toward her abdomen. Pregnant women didn’t run. Hopefully, Heath picked up on that without her stating it. “And as they took off, all the calves spilled out of the barn and started running around the ranch—into the darkness. I couldn’t catch them all, so I called for help and all the boys and the house parents came out and helped corral the calves. We caught them all and were finally able to locate all the boys, too.”

“Locate the boys?” His head tilted, just by a fraction. “So someone was missing?”

“Stephen.” Should she have told Heath? She didn’t want him to grill the teen. Stephen had been aloof recently, but he was still on track to go home next month. “He’s seventeen. But he’s a good kid. He didn’t do it.”

“How can you be certain?”

“He had a book with him. He’d been out reading.”

Heath frowned. “Outside? In the dark?”

“It wasn’t him.”

Heath’s brow dived. He used his pointer finger to rub under his chin. “How long were you outside before this all happened? Roughly.”

“Fifteen...maybe twenty minutes maximum.”

“Alone?” His eyebrows inched closer together with each question. “What were you doing out there for so long?”

She’d been focusing on how lonely she was. She’d been crying, not looking forward to the quiet back at her cabin. She’d foolishly asked God for a second chance at life and love.

Josie hid her shaking hands under the table. “Does that matter to the case?”

“It might.”

Calm down. “I was thinking. Thinking and watching the sunset. That’s all.”

He touched the tips of his fingers together. “I ask because I have to determine the suspect’s most probable time of entry into the barn. You didn’t hear someone accessing the barn before then?”

“Not at all. I’m the one who locked it. All the doors were locked. And that was at least an hour before then.”

Heath rocked forward. “More than likely the perpetrator was camped inside already when you locked the doors.”

“He was in there with me?” That idea made her skin crawl. She’d locked up alone and it wasn’t like she walked around the boys ranch armed.

“That’s my guess. It could change depending on other information.” He leaned back in his chair again and tapped one finger on the table a few times. “Then again, it’s most likely one of the boys, so there was probably no danger.”

“It wasn’t one of the boys. They were all accounted for.” Besides Stephen, but it wasn’t him.

Heath pressed back from the table and crossed his arms. Leveled her a doubtful look. “Those boys are at that ranch because they’re trouble. They wouldn’t be there if they weren’t. I wouldn’t put it past any of them to cause problems. They’ve done worse.”

Josie pressed back from the table. How could Heath say those things? Peg the boys as bad eggs before he’d even met them? Was he one of those cops who had seen so many horrible things that he automatically assumed the worst about everyone? She had watched Dale grow bitter about the world, more so each year on the job.

She shouldn’t press Heath. Then again, Josie had promised herself after Dale passed away that she wouldn’t allow anyone to push her around ever again. Not that Heath was being pushy. But from now on, she was going to be strong. Ask questions. The old Josie always swallowed her thoughts and opinions... No longer.

A breath. “I’m sorry, but your tone. You...you don’t like them—the boys—do you?”

“I don’t know them. I’ve only been to the ranch a few times and last time was years ago at the old location.”

“Yet you’re judging the boys anyway.” She shouldn’t be talking to him like this. Heath was almost a stranger, and here she was challenging him. But it grated on her to hear someone misjudge them, and so quickly. The Lone Star Cowboy League had worked hard to try to weed out the rumors in town that the boys at the ranch were trouble, yet still some of that belief lingered.

Heath scooped his hat off the back of the chair and worked it around in his hand. “See, that’s where people get it wrong, though. Using good judgment isn’t the same thing as being judgmental.”

A fire lit in Josie. She wanted Heath to see the boys differently. But how to do that? “How long are you around, doing this favor for Flint?”

“For November.”

She had a month to change his opinion, and she knew just how to do it. “You should volunteer at the ranch. Get to know the boys.” It would be good for him. Besides, the boys would be floored if a big, important Texas Ranger started hanging around them.

Heath’s eyebrows formed a V. “Why?”

Think like a lawman... What will convince him?

She took a deep breath. “For starters, your presence will prevent anything else from happening. Also, if you really think it’s one of them, that’ll put you in close proximity. You’ll be able to get to know them and talk to them. Someone might even confess. Or you may see that they’re wonderful and realize you were wrong to judge them.”

Heath rubbed his thumb over his nose. “You know what, that’s not a half-bad idea. It would help my...investigation. You’re right about that. I’ll talk to Flint about it tomorrow.”

Josie’s heart tripped over itself at the thought of spending more time with Heath. Of course she wanted him to change his opinion about the boys, and time at the ranch was the best way for that to happen. But what if it changed her opinion about men in law enforcement?

Her eyes skirted over the lines of his strong jaw, his shoulders. He’d given up so much time to help her this morning and he hadn’t talked down to her at all. Maybe he wasn’t like Dale. Maybe...

The baby inside of her moved, rolled. Josie loved that feeling. She hugged her stomach. Above everything, she had to protect her child from hurt. That was her duty as a mother.

No lawmen.

If God did choose to give her a second chance at love, He’d have to bring a nice insurance agent or IT man her way. Someone who worked a boring, safe job all day, tucked away behind a desk. One whose greatest career danger was an ink stain.

Not someone who carried a gun for a living.