Beware the Ranger

by Debra Holt

“She’s going to be fine. She should be released in the next day or so.”

  “That’s an answer to prayers… so glad to hear it.”

  The door chimed behind her and Esmie grinned. Kaitlyn didn’t turn, expecting it to be another customer.

  “Now this is like old times, isn’t it, Jasper?” The woman asked her husband. “I suppose you want some of my chocolate caramels?”

  “I won’t turn them down.” Clay moved to stand next to the two women at the counter.

  “How did you find me? Are you done at the hardware store already?”

  “I figured it was a good day for a walk too. And it was fairly simple deduction to guess you couldn’t pass up this store without some lemon drops.”

  More remembered times… no escaping them. Kaitlyn didn’t make a reply. She took the small sack the storekeeper handed her. She popped one of the small candies inside her mouth and the flavor produced a grin.

  She nodded her head at the waiting woman. “Still the best.”

  “Now that’s what I like to hear,” the woman said, beaming her pleasure.

  “Don’t suppose we could interest you in taking your old job back, could we?” Jasper asked with a wink, as he handed a similar bag to Clay with his candies inside. Clay paid for both bags, ignoring Kaitlyn’s protest. “We had steady business with you behind this counter, I recall.”

  “Why wouldn’t we? All the young men had sweet tooths on Saturday mornings for some reason. Although there was only one that ever got her best smiles and he’s standing right here now… I’d say that’s a sign.”

  Was her face as red as it felt? Kaitlyn wanted the floor to open and swallow her. She didn’t venture a glance at the man beside her. She had forgotten what a matchmaker the woman had been and, apparently, still was.

  “There you go.” Her husband spoke up. “You and your signs.” He shook his head and smiled at Kaitlyn. “Don’t pay the old woman any attention. But my job offer still stands.”

  “I’ll certainly keep it in mind.” Kaitlyn nodded with a grin.

  “You best talk this girl into staying for good, this time, Clay Morgan. Use your ranger training of persuasion or something.”

  “I think it would take more than my ranger abilities. She’s a city girl now. Afraid we can’t compare to those city lights.”

  Kaitlyn swung her glance on him for the first time since he arrived. “I’m still a country girl at heart. I just happen to live and work in a city.”

  “There you go.” Esmie’s words came out on a laugh. “We women can’t let our men get too full of themselves sometimes.”

  Kaitlyn felt her sudden burst of temper deflate at the woman’s comment. Clay was certainly not “her man”. It was time to go.

  “Thanks for the candies and the job offer.” She smiled at the pair. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “Come see us before you leave!”

  She tossed them a wave as she stepped through the door and found Clay not far behind her. She tucked the small bag of candy into her shoulder bag, her steps taking her toward the diner on the far side of the town square. Clay seemed content to not engage her in conversation for the moment. They made the first block in silence. The second block, Kaitlyn slowed her pace.

  “There you go again,” he remarked. They didn’t break their strides.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “There’s something on your mind again. What is it?”

  Kaitlyn slowed more and then stopped. Now or never.

  She squared her shoulders and turned to face the man who stood waiting for whatever was coming. “I’m sorry. I need to say that to you. I behaved horribly at dinner last night. I let anger get the best of me and I shouldn’t have said those things. I wouldn’t have said them had I known about your wife’s death. I hope you can forgive me for such awful behavior.”

  He stood still, his eyes unreadable. She was beginning to wonder if he intended to say anything after several long moments.

  “You didn’t know. It was a long time ago. Don’t let it worry you.”

  “But I do worry about it,” she replied just as he went to turn away. He stopped and looked at her again. “I can’t imagine the pain of such a loss. I just…”

  “Leave it, Kat… Kaitlyn.” He amended in a voice that was tinged with a hint of weariness. “Apology accepted and we can agree to not discuss it again. Okay?”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “It is.” He turned away and headed toward their destination. It was her turn to follow or not.

  Chapter Nine

  The Diner on Main Street was very inviting with its red and white striped awnings and large green ferns hanging in the large windows facing the street. Two huge, wooden half barrels, filled with blooming red geraniums, white daisies, and flowing ivy, sat on either side of the glass door. Stepping inside, the smells were quite enticing also. Local photographs covered the walls, red leather booths were situated around the sides, and wooden tables and chairs filled the center of the floor. A long bar ran down the right side and it was to a couple of the swivel seats that Clay led her. Kaitlyn’s gaze settled on the glass top containers situated along the counter, filled with homemade cakes or pies. Such temptation.

  At the late afternoon hour, there were only a handful of people scattered in booths and tables. They all spoke or nodded to Clay and smiled at her. She could see their minds working to place this stranger in their midst. She supposed she would be a stranger to most of them now. That left a faintly sad feeling inside her. She wanted them to realize she did belong here at one time. Or maybe she just wanted herself to remember that. She wasn’t a city girl. Or am I? Confusion reared its ugly head again. She pushed it down as best she could. Just another example of how Clay Morgan could get inside her head.

  “Well, hi, stranger. Where’ve you been lately? And how’s Georgia doing?” The voice belonged to the petite, brown-haired woman moving her way behind the bar. Her smile was infectious and Kaitlyn responded in kind. Evidently, everyone in town knew about her grandmother. Clay flashed a grin the woman’s way and Kaitlyn felt another stirring inside her that she didn’t like. It made no difference who he smiled at so freely or not. She tried to not remember the days when he used to bestow those smiles on her and how it made an entire day for her.

  “Hi, Darcy. She’ll be home tomorrow or the next day. You can’t keep her down for long. And I’ve been tied up on a case for the last month or so or I would have been here sooner for that chili that I smell Joe cooking in the kitchen right now.”

  “I figured as much. What can we get for you and your lady friend?” Her smile encompassed Kaitlyn and there wasn’t anything remotely close to a ‘territorial’ warning involved such as “hands off, he’s mine.” She didn’t know why that came to her mind so quickly, but it did.

  “You don’t recognize me? Your old debate partner?”

  “Oh my! I thought Joe was kidding me this morning when he said Kaitlyn Russell was finally back home again. How are you? You look great!”

  And it wasn’t just words but she came around the counter and Kaitlyn found herself sharing yet another welcoming hug. Texans were a friendly lot and she had almost forgotten that fact coming from a city where genuine hugs were not the norm.

  “I’m fine.” She responded, sliding back onto the stool when Darcy stepped away and returned to the other side of the counter. “How long have you worked here?”

  “Since I bought it about five years ago.”

  “Wow! No wonder it looks so welcoming. You always did have a flair for design and food. I seem to recall you won all the awards in school for that.”

  “That’s true. I guess it was meant to be. What can I get you both?”

  “A sweet tea for the lady with two lemons and extra ice. And I’ll have a glass of your lemonade.” Clay supplied their order.

  “Coming right up.”

  Darcy stepped away and Kaitlyn’s glance slid to the man beside her. He caught it.

  “So
rry… did you want something else? It was force of habit I guess… just came out.”

  “No… no, it’s fine. Just what I wanted.” She didn’t add how shocked she was that he had remembered her drink preference and how she liked it served. But then Edie had told her about him telling her what her food likes were before she arrived. Then the yellow roses popped into her mind. She had the sudden feeling that those flowers weren’t Edie’s idea at all. Confusion was building inside her at more than a few odd things since she arrived, but she kept it all to herself for the time being. It was just him being a good host. It didn’t mean anything else.

  The drinks arrived and were followed by an older man with a handlebar mustache in a white bib-fronted apron. He set a bowl and spoon in front of Clay. “Figured you wouldn’t mind giving this fresh batch a taste test for me. You always are an expert on my chili recipes.” He finished with a toothy grin.

  Clay responded in kind. “Now how can I refuse to help you out with that?” He picked up the spoon and cast a glance of invitation over at Kaitlyn.

  She shook her head. “You’re on your own here. Besides, if Edie finds out you did anything to spoil your appetite for her roast dinner tonight, I can disavow any knowledge of involvement,” she replied with a smile of feigned innocence before taking a long sip of her tea.

  Clay didn’t let her words of warning hold him back in the obvious enjoyment of the bowl of red. He enjoyed it so much; the bowl was soon down to the last spoonful.

  “Last chance,” he said, holding the spoonful of chili toward her. “You can’t leave here and not be able to say you had the best chili in Texas.”

  Darcy and Joe stood backing up Clay’s taunt.

  “I suppose that’s true.” She went to retrieve the spoon but Clay wasn’t relinquishing it. No need to make a scene. Just concentrate on the chili… and not the man leaning in much too close to her.

  “Wow, you’re right.” She managed, as she dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin after swallowing the chili. “You weren’t exaggerating about the taste.” As the flavors soaked in to her senses, Kaitlyn reached for the tea glass, taking in a long sip. “And you forgot to mention the heat level. It sort of sneaks up on you, doesn’t it?”

  “I forgot you’re a lightweight when it comes to spicy food.”

  Clay needed to be corrected. “I like spicy food. It’s the heat level of those peppers that goes in it I have a little problem with. Thanks for warning me.” Another sip from her water glass this time followed the words.

  “Well, there’s a lot to be said for heat… in all things.”

  Darcy stifled a cough, Joe retreated to his kitchen, and that left Kaitlyn sitting there with added warmth creeping up her neck and staining her cheeks as she found a different spark of fire in the pair of tawny eyes focused on hers.

  “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

  “I beg your pardon?” She was still trying to regroup from earlier and now he was losing her again. “Won’t tell about what?”

  The heat in his sexy eyes was tempered now with a hint of teasing gleam. It enabled her to catch her breath and refocus.

  “I won’t tell anyone… namely Edie… about our afternoon snack. I trust you won’t either.”

  Chili. He was talking about chili. There went the foolish feeling again. Now her cheeks had to be pink from embarrassment. The days of Clay Morgan flirting with her had come and gone long ago. She had almost forgotten… almost.

  “I think we’ve had our quota of secrets, don’t you? It’s time we got back, I’m sure.” She didn’t wait for a reply but headed for the front door. The look on his face was answer enough. Back to square one.

  *

  “I’m glad you got to spend some time with your gran today. You and Clay were gone for a while. Did you have a good time? Rekindle old friendships, happen to…”

  “We went to the hardware store and had chili. Sum total of the good time. So stop fishing for anything else, Angie.” Kaitlyn tossed the answer over her shoulder as she placed the last stroke of eye shadow on her lid and picked up the soft coral lipstick next, her mouth making an “O” in the mirror.

  “Well… uhm …” The woman slowly nodded her head. “I suppose in these parts maybe hardware and chili could equate to martinis and caviar back home?”

  “Not even close and you can give it a rest.” The tube of lipstick went into the makeup bag. “I’ve told you there’s nothing of a romantic relationship here.” Time to change the subject. “I’m sorry about this interruption in our travel plans. If you want to get on a plane and go ahead to Santa Fe, I will—”

  “Nonsense! I don’t mind at all. Staying on a Texas ranch and with a real live ranger to boot… why would I want to miss a moment of this? I still have plenty of time to get to Santa Fe. Besides, what sort of friend would I be to desert you in your time of need?”

  Just great. “Time of need? I’m sure when Gran gets here and gets settled in; we’ll be on our way soon. In the meantime, let’s not hold up dinner.”

  Kaitlyn had chosen a soft royal blue and white sundress, belted at the waist, with a pleated fullness in the skirt that fell to just knee length. The boat neckline and sleeveless top accentuated the soft glow of tanned skin. It was as prim and proper as she could get. Her makeup was a little more than usual simply because she felt so drained. She needed some color to help the flagging spirits. Kaitlyn was uneasy and didn’t know what might be coming that evening. It seemed there was always a tumultuous ending whenever she and Clay were in close proximity to each other for more than a few minutes, even if their drive home earlier from town had been completed in almost total silence.

  Clay seemed intent on making everyone feel at ease. The conversation around the dinner table managed to flow better than she thought it would. Much of it had to do with Joshua’s presence at the table. He had managed to share with everyone how he and Kaitlyn had met and then proceeded to take a stroll in the stream. When he got to the part about the turtle, Angie had to chime in.

  “Wait a moment,” she said, “are you telling me that my friend here actually was holding a turtle this afternoon? And no one got a photo of this?”

  “Very amusing, Angie,” Kaitlyn commented, while still trying to fly low on Clay’s radar.

  He seemed content to just listen to the conversation as he ate.

  “Seriously, I doubt any of our friends in New York would believe it. I know Jeffrey certainly would not.”

  “Who’s Jeffrey?” Joshua asked the innocent question.

  “He’s her—”

  “Friend.” Kaitlyn supplied, cutting Angie off. Why she had done that, she had no idea.

  Angie gave her a silent look that Kaitlyn chose to ignore. “Edie this roast has such flavor to it. Mine turns out so dry whenever I have been brave enough to attempt to enter my kitchen.”

  The woman smiled across the table. “It just takes time and patience. And there’s really not so much of a secret in the flavor in my roast. I just add a good amount of Worcestershire sauce to it before I cover and let it cook for hours.”

  “Amazing. I never would have guessed.” Angie looked at the small amount left in her plate.

  Kaitlyn couldn’t help but grin at Angie’s comment. “Salad is about the only thing I’ve seen you produce in your kitchen.”

  “Very true,” Angie agreed. “And there will be a lot more of it once I get away from all this great cooking. It will be diet time again.”

  “Well, don’t go on a diet yet. I’m having homemade chili and enchiladas tomorrow night. And my chili is far better than anything Joe can serve up at the Diner.” The look she cast first at Clay and then in Kaitlyn’s direction told both plainly the truth was out… somehow she knew the secret about the afternoon chili tasting.

  “Can’t wait,” Kaitlyn replied, hoping she could keep a straight face.

  “Since you liked the stream so much, maybe tomorrow we can go down to the river.” Joshua spoke up in the silence that followed.

>   Clay responded before she could. “Miss Russell is here to see her grandmother. She’ll be at the hospital tomorrow and staying close to her gran afterward, Josh.”

  Kaitlyn hated the crestfallen look on the young boy’s face as he nodded his head in understanding and returned his eyes to the plate in front of him.

  “Maybe we can find some time while Gran’s resting to get in a trip to that river.”

  The smile she was given made a warm feeling spring up in the center of her chest. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation… just the opposite. Kaitlyn was surprised at the reaction. From the corner of her eye, she saw the set of Clay’s jawline. He didn’t say anything more and a few minutes later, excused himself with the excuse of work to do in his study. Kaitlyn relaxed a bit without his overwhelming presence.

  When the meal was done, Edie shooed both women away from the table and wouldn’t listen to their offers of help with the kitchen cleanup. Angie took a sketch pad and excused herself to a corner of the living room, claiming she needed to work on some ideas that had been floating around in her brain most of the day. Edie and Seth soon retired to their own home just beyond the barns. Joshua challenged Kaitlyn to a game of checkers.

  “I seem to recall hearing someone tell me you were very good at this game,” she remarked, settling down on one of the leather ottomans while Joshua put out the board and the game pieces on the low table between them.

  With a slight shrug of his shoulders, a shy grin crossed his face. “I’m okay.”

  “Well, let’s see what you’ve got.”

  Five games later, Kaitlyn threw up her hands in surrender. “Enough. I know when I’ve been had. You’re better than ‘okay’.”

  “And it’s time you were in bed.” Clay spoke up.

  Neither of them had noticed his arrival in the room during the game. He leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, his expression giving nothing away.

  “Tomorrow is a school day.”

  “Yes, sir.” Joshua returned the game to its place in a cabinet in the corner. He came back to stand next to Kaitlyn. “Good night, Miss Lord.”