Ranger's Wild Woman Cowboys By The Dozen

by Tina Leonard

  “Well, regret is never any fun,” Marvella said sagely. “Do you want to come with me now, or should I get the local authorities involved?”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Cissy said sadly, walking towards the pier.

  Marvella pinned Hawk with a deadly stare. “And Mr. Tracker, don’t you even think about getting any bright ideas about calling that cowboy on a cell phone. He’d better not hear from you that Cissy and wild woman are going to be so close to home.”

  Hawk walked away without replying.

  THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Hawk grabbed the few things inside his cabin and headed down the hall. His job here was done—and for the first time, he didn’t feel all that good about it. He never got into the morality and finger-pointing of cases. He tracked. He found. He signed off. Marvella had told him Cissy was a runaway relative who was in for an inheritance, and he’d detached himself from Cissy when he took the case, but now he wondered why his employer had lied.

  An arm snaked around his neck, dragging him into a chamber off the hallway before he could regain his feet. “Shh, Brother Hawk,” Jellyfish said in his ear. “You are in big trouble with me, dude.”

  Hawk estimated his chances of besting Jellyfish in a physical fight at about ten to one. He couldn’t get off any good kicks in the small confines of the chamber, and the big man had the element of surprise. Hawk would just have to wait for an opening.

  “I meant no harm,” Hawk said. “I don’t want to know anything about these people.”

  “Yeah, but see, they’re not just people. Hannah is like my sister.”

  “Well, I didn’t know Hannah would be involved. That I can swear to. Last time I saw Hannah, I left her with Ranger in a romantic cabin so they could work on their marriage.”

  “Marriage?”

  The arm around his neck loosened slightly with surprise and Hawk seized his opportunity, slamming into Jellyfish’s groin. The big man oofed, and Hawk grabbed the door, cracking it smartly into the riverboat owner’s head.

  “Better put ice on it,” he told Jellyfish. “It’s gonna swell.”

  And then he left the chamber, only to go sprawling on the floor. Hannah sat on his back, pulling his hair up so that she could see into his face.

  “You did what you had to do,” she said. “Now I’m going to do what I have to do. Either you get hold of Ranger and tell him I need him like I’ve never needed anyone, or I’ll send every grave robber, Native American artifact-hunter and junior newspaper reporter into your arroyo looking for the dinosaur bones and totems you’re keeping to yourself. That is why you own that land, isn’t it? To keep all that history to yourself?”

  “There are no dinosaur bones down there,” Hawk gasped.

  “Maybe not,” Hannah said through gritted teeth, releasing Hawk’s head. “But you’ve done a wrong, and I know you want to fix this.”

  “I do not know about this being wrong,” he said, gaining his feet and brushing off his clothes. “Those papers looked genuine to me.”

  “Yes, but Marvella is a bad person. She is mean to Cissy. Do you understand that?”

  Hawk hesitated. “I don’t want to hear this.”

  “No. You just want to be the hunter. You don’t want to care about the prey. Well, let me tell you something, Mr. Tracker. This time, you’ve tracked a quarry whose heart is already fragile. She has a family that will suffer without her. Cissy can’t be happy with Marvella, and it could kill her. Her spirit will die.”

  She had Hawk’s full attention now. He nodded.

  “You’ll help me?”

  He nodded again.

  “Good. Remember what I said,” she said, walking into the chamber to help Jellyfish up. “Giant, pre-prehistoric, lizard-bird dino bones.”

  “Shh!” Hawk shouted, covering his ears. “I’ll do my best!”

  TOTALLY ANNOYED at the turn of events—and knowing he had to recover this mission since the old woman had lied to him—Hawk stopped behind some trees after he left the riverboat. He waited until a truck passed, and then he flagged down the next car. The driver was a gorgeous blonde, and she seemed real happy to have a cute Native-American in her car.

  “You’re sexy,” she told him as he settled in next to her.

  “You’re not so bad yourself.” He turned on the flattery. “I bet you think you saw me in a movie.”

  “No,” she said goofily. “I think I saw you at the theater.”

  “I…see. I wonder if you by chance have a cell phone I can borrow?”

  She giggled. “Of course. It’s not safe to travel without one!”

  It wasn’t safe to pick up hitchhikers, either. “Thank you,” Hawk said.

  Swiftly, he dialed the local police. “I’m calling to report a missing vehicle. It’s a truck. Yeah. Some cowboy fella took it heading due east. Not an hour ago, maybe. Hey, could you do me a favor?” He grinned at the blonde, who was all ears for the conversation she was privy to. “When you catch the guy, I don’t want to press charges. I just want him to take the truck back where it belongs. Yeah. That’s right. Okay, have him take it to the Never Lonely Cut-n-Gurls salon in Lonely Hearts Station, Texas. I know that’s out of your jurisdiction, but if you tell him that message, I’m sure he won’t require an escort. Thanks.”

  Hanging up, he grinned. “No one can claim that I called Ranger. Thank you,” he said, giving the phone back to the blonde beside him. “If you wouldn’t mind dropping me off now, that would be excellent.”

  “But there’s nothing around here. It’s not safe.”

  He laughed. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for the ride.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ranger cursed when he saw the lights of the police cruiser behind him. “Just what I need.” He pulled over and got out his driver’s license.

  A couple of state troopers came to his window, giving him an eyeing. Ranger eyed them back. “Is there a problem, officers?”

  Officer Buzz-Cut nodded. “Stolen truck.”

  “Stolen truck! I didn’t steal this thing. My truck beats this one hands-down any day. I don’t have to steal a truck,” Ranger stated.

  “Owner called it in stolen.”

  “Hawk?” Ranger was stunned. “He loaned it to me. Why would he say I stole it?”

  The office shrugged while the other one walked around the vehicle, checking it out. “We don’t know. But he doesn’t want to press charges.”

  “Well, isn’t that fair of him,” Ranger groused. “Could you tell him how very much I appreciate his thoughtfulness?”

  “He wants you to take the truck back where it belongs.”

  “I was on my way.” Ranger gestured toward the road. “I’m heading toward where the truck belongs. If I were stealing it, I would be going in the opposite direction, wouldn’t I?”

  “Just make sure you take it home, friend. Or we’ll have to alert the authorities in Texas. I think it was very generous of the owner not to have you arrested, by the way.”

  “Oh, very generous.” Ranger told himself to hold his temper in check, but it was hard not to take out his bad mood on the officer. Not that it would help, but many a Jefferson brother had lost his temper at an inappropriate time.

  “Let’s see.” The officer pulled out a pad. “You’re taking this vehicle to the Never Lonely Cut-n-Gurls salon.” He gave Ranger a pointed look. “Is that right?”

  Ranger’s brows went up. “The Never—” Wait. Marvella’s salon. Something was fishy. How would Hawk know about that place? Maybe Cissy had told him. But why would Hawk want his truck taken there? “I believe you are correct, sir,” he said carefully.

  “Is that where you’re going or not?” the officer demanded testily.

  “I’m on my way, gentlemen.”

  “Mind you get there. Otherwise the owner—”

  “I know. Will have me rode out of town on a rail. I’ll just be getting on, officer,” Ranger said, suddenly filled with an urgency he couldn’t define. “Everything’s going to be fine,” he said, switching on the
engine. “Thank you for stopping me!”

  And he drove off, reminding himself not to exceed the speed limit.

  But he felt that he needed to get to the Never Lonely Cut-n-Gurls salon fast.

  SO RANGER was sitting in Delilah’s kitchen with her and Jerry, peering out the window, when he saw Marvella arrive in a taxi. “There’s your sister,” he said. Two women got out with her, and Ranger, Jerry and Delilah gasped. “Cissy and Hannah!” Ranger exclaimed.

  And the only one of them who looked happy was Marvella. She was smiling like a cat, looking toward Delilah’s shop, as if she knew she had an audience.

  “What are you up to now, sister dear?” Delilah murmured.

  “I’m damn well going to go ask.” Ranger started toward the door, but Jerry grabbed him.

  “Don’t, son. I suspect you may need to retain the element of surprise.”

  Ranger hesitated. “Why?”

  “Something’s awry here.” They watched the three ladies go inside the salon. Jerry pulled Delilah and Ranger away from the curtained window and they went back to their chairs. “You getting stopped and being told to go to Marvella’s salon means someone was setting you up. Best you sit tight until we figure it all out. Marvella doesn’t know you’re here, I suspect, since I don’t think she would have been the one to tell you to go to her salon. I think you’d be the last person she’d want to see.” Jerry looked at Delilah. “You’d know better than me, of course.”

  “Not this time. Marvella is such a twisted sister.” Delilah sighed. “I don’t think I should talk to her, either. Hannah is definitely her trump card, and that makes me more suspicious than anything. I agree with Jerry. We lay low for a while.”

  AND RANGER had every intention of laying low. He’d left Hawk’s truck out in front of Delilah’s salon, knowing full well she would not be able to ID it.

  But Hannah would remember the night they’d spent in it, together. If she knew he was in town, maybe she’d get in touch with him. Or maybe she wouldn’t. Maybe she was with Marvella because she’d decided to work across the street.

  But he’d bet his share of Malfunction Junction that wasn’t the case. And he’d be here if she needed him.

  HANNAH HAD NEVER SEEN anything quite like Marvella’s salon. It was luxurious compared to Delilah’s. The famous sparkly sign, proclaiming Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy, was prominent in the main salon. The large hot tub was inviting, and candles glowed everywhere. Most salons smelled of hair chemicals. Marvella’s smelled of perfume and strangely enough, homebaked cookies.

  The bedroom Marvella’s receptionist, Valentine, showed Hannah to was inviting and clean. The decor was red, but softly done with white complements on the bedspread and drapes.

  She could live here for six months, reluctantly. She was lucky her accommodations weren’t worse. “Thank you,” she said to Valentine.

  “Whatever,” Valentine said, flouncing out of the room and slamming the door behind her.

  “Whatever is right,” Hannah murmured. She hurried to the window and looked across the street at her old salon. Hawk’s truck was still there—and that meant Ranger was, too.

  In fact, there was a shadow upstairs in the window. A big one. Hope grew inside her, and she desperately wiggled the blinds to signal him.

  Nothing moved across the street.

  She glanced around the room for a phone. There wasn’t one, so she returned to the window. The shadow was still there. Frantically, she moved the blinds.

  Still, no reply. With a sigh, Hannah decided to go and shower. She could try again tomorrow.

  A knock at the door startled her. Hurriedly, she closed the blinds. “Yes?”

  Cissy came inside, closing the door behind her. “Can we talk?”

  Hannah sat on the bed and motioned for Cissy to sit down, too. “Sure.”

  Her friend took a deep breath. “You didn’t have to do what you did for me, Hannah.” Cissy swallowed, her eyes tearing up. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I don’t think I could have borne a year with Marvella. I left because I couldn’t bear another minute with her.” The tears finally fell, unable to stop. “A year would have killed me.”

  Hannah put her arms around Cissy for a fast hug. “I know.”

  “You being here will make six months survivable.”

  Hannah pulled away and went to look out the window across the street. Hawk’s truck was still parked there like a sentry. “We’re not going to have to survive six months,” she said confidently. “We’re going to let a handsome prince rescue us from our ivory tower.”

  “What do you mean?” Cissy asked, reaching for a tissue to blow her nose.

  “I don’t know yet, exactly. The prince in this fairy tale-slash-rescue operation is an enigma.” But a smile curved Hannah’s lips. “Just don’t unpack your bags yet, sister.”

  SOMETHING warm and strong and large crept into her bed that night, rousing her from a deep and peaceful sleep. Hannah started to scream, fearing that one of Marvella’s customers might have found his way past the deadbolt on the door—until she realized only Ranger would be unfazed by a deadbolt.

  “You ass!” she hissed. “Take your boots off before you get into bed!”

  “Is that an invitation?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “No.” She reached to flip on the bedside lamp and caught her breath. For a prince, he certainly lived up to all expectations. Dark and handsome in jeans and a black shirt, he looked like the raffish, carry-me-away kind of bad man every woman dreams of. “Well, maybe.”

  Shaking her head, she commanded herself not to drool. “Did you see the blinds? What took you so long? And how did you get past the deadbolt?”

  He pulled off his boots and leaned against the headboard with his hands behind his head, ever-so-casual, as his gaze roamed not so casually across her spaghetti-strap white nightie. “I saw your signal, and figured making after-hours calls was the accepted thing to do around here. I also didn’t want to be seen, so now seemed like the best time to visit, and deadbolts are easy when one steals the key from Valentine’s desk. Plus I wanted to know what you slept in when you’re in an establishment of ill repute. I must say, you’re not swinging with the scheme of things, baby.”

  She gasped and jerked the sheet up to her neck. “Could we just get on with the rescue?”

  His expression was sardonic. “What rescue? I’m here to get a good night’s sleep.”

  Her hand connected soundly with his thigh. “Pay attention, cowboy. You’ve got to figure out a way to spring me and Cissy from Marvella’s clutches. Cissy’s youngish. She was desperate. She shouldn’t have to pay through the nose for a mistake anyone could make.”

  “Hmm. Interesting, I admit, but I’m only here to check up on you. Not to engage in another of your fantasies, although you do think up some doozies. Did I ever tell you how much I enjoyed your call-of-the-wild fantasy in the truck?”

  He just about had her convinced that he wasn’t here to do the prince thing because he certainly wasn’t paying attention to the matter at hand. He could win prizes for denseness. “Ranger, why would you need to check up on me?”

  “I need to find out why, when I last saw you, you were on a riverboat floating away. Now you’ve switched careers on me. See, I just can’t figure you out, sweetie.”

  Hannah told herself that as soon as she was through with Ranger—and she would never lay eyes on him again after that—she was going in for a dental checkup to see how much enamel she’d ground off her molars. “I have not switched careers, Ranger. Marvella had Cissy sign an employment contract, which Cissy was running out on because Marvella will not allow her to break it,” she said. “Now do you understand?”

  “I think so,” he said, and she wanted to slap him for playing dense. “I could probably think better if I was getting kissed, though.”

  “Ha! I knew it! You are thoroughly despicable,” she said, although the idea of kissing Ranger had definite appeal. “If you were any kind of gentleman,
you’d offer to rescue us, and then you’d wait and see what kind of reward you might receive.”

  He rolled over, pinning her beneath him so that he could grin down into her face. “Well, my little card shark, I wouldn’t gamble on those odds. I believe you’ve already determined that I’m not a gentleman, exactly. As for a reward, I learned a long time ago that I take my payment up front. Wouldn’t want anyone to welsh on me after all my hard work, you know. Some unscrupulous princessess might try to claim that I hadn’t rescued them the way they thought I should have, or that I didn’t hold my mouth right as I was sliding down the ladder with said princess in my arms, or—”

  “I get the point,” Hannah said acidly. “You don’t trust me.”

  “In a manner of speaking, no.” His gaze narrowed on her. “Tell me a bedtime story.”

  She sighed. “Which one?”

  “The one about you and Jellyfish.”

  Uh-oh. She stared up at him. “What do you want to know?”

  “Is he old enough to captain a riverboat?”

  She heard the annoyance in his tone and smiled. “Now you see how it feels to be the eldest, Brother Ranger.”

  “Don’t start that crap,” he growled. “And where did he pick up such a stupid handle? I’ve never seen anyone look less like a jellyfish.”

  “No, he’s pretty handsome, isn’t he?”

  “Hannah,” Ranger said, his voice a warning as he pressed against her with something that felt very hard and wonderful between her legs.

  She caught her breath. “We used to go to the seashore, the whole commune. He was the only one not bothered by jellyfish. In fact, he loved the way they lit up and sparkled. When red tide was in, the jellyfish would be scattered all along the shore in pieces, like beautiful, still-sparkling diamonds. The rest of us wore flip-flops, because the pieces could sting. But Jellyfish could walk all day along the shore and the stings didn’t bother him.”