“That’s not true and you know it. You would never have gotten involved with him if you knew what he was into.”
“How do you know that?” she argued.
“Because I’ve come to know you, Nora. I’ve seen what kind of nurse you are, and what kind of mother you are. You’ve worked too hard to make a better life for Zach and to get away from Jimmy.”
“I’ve made a mess of everything. I still might never have that life.”
He reached out and drew her into his arms. “I’m going to make sure you get that life, Nora. You, me and Zach.”
He felt her trembling as she clutched his shirt. “Oh, Brandon. Please, don’t do this…don’t make this any harder—”
He cut off her words as his mouth covered hers. It didn’t take long for their hunger to ignite sparks between them, creating a need that had him forgetting everything else but this woman.
Nora suddenly pulled away. “Stop. Please.” She shut her eyes, fighting tears. “I need to concentrate on surviving this. There’s no room for anything else. I can’t let my hopes get raised.”
He hated seeing her pain. “All I want is to help you.”
“Then let me go, Brandon. It’s the only way.”
It had been more than a week since Nora left the ranch with federal agents. All Brandon had were the memories of their time together. The days and the nights he’d spent with her. Now, every minute away from her was eating at him.
When the time came, Nora had given him a quick goodbye, unable to look him in the eye, but Zach had hung back and hugged Brandon, clutching him like a lifeline.
“I love you, Brandon,” he whispered.
“I love you, too, son. If ever you need me, just call.” He pressed his business card into the small hand. “I’ll be there.”
Zach nodded.
Then Nora called her son’s name.
“I got to go. Bye.” The boy ran out the door.
Brandon fought going after them both, but managed to stay put.
Every day he went to work as if nothing had happened, as if his world hadn’t crashed down around him. He tried, but nothing could distract him enough to forget her. He tried to get information about her case, but couldn’t. It was too high profile, and too much was at stake to leak anything. That worried him, too, wondering if Nora had already gone into witness protection.
By the end of the week, Brandon had annoyed everyone in the office, so his captain told him to take time off and sent him home.
Being idle was worse. He had too much time to think about Nora and Zach’s safety. He should have ignored her wishes and escorted her back to San Diego. Maybe he could have worked out a deal with the D.A. to act as her bodyguard, but she would have hated him for that. Now, she was hundreds of miles away.
Brandon walked out into the corral at the ranch, trying to stay busy and not think. Nothing helped.
“Hey, I thought you came out here to work,” his dad called from the barn door. Alongside him were his uncles, Travis and Chance. They intended to mend fences this morning and had roped him into going along.
“I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Seems to me,” Travis began, “he’s going to be worthless if his mind can’t stay on his work.”
Brandon knew his uncles were going to give him a bad time. It was their way to distract him. “Since when do you need to think to string fencing?”
The three brothers caught up with him. “Ask your dad,” Chance said, sending Cade a knowing look. “Seems he had a little disagreement with your mother and ended up wrapping himself in barbed wire.”
His uncle’s jibe got him a punch in the arm from Cade. “There’s no reason to give out details.”
Chance held up his arms. “I’m just sayin’, women can mess with your mind, and one distraction can be hazardous. We’ve all been there.”
“My son already knows that,” Cade began. “You two were supposed to come by today to help cheer him up.”
Travis stepped in. “The only thing that’s going to cheer up Brandon is going after Nora.”
“And that’s out of the question,” Cade admitted.
The three Randell men turned to each other, ignoring Brandon altogether.
“Who says he can’t?” Travis asked. “There’s no law he can’t go to San Diego. The last I looked this was still a free country. In fact, we all could go.” A grin appeared as he snapped his fingers. “Hey, I bet we could even get cousin Brady to fly us there. He’s probably itchin’ to go somewhere outside the local airports to bring in the tourists.”
Brandon could only watch his uncles. He knew so many stories of how close they’d been growing up, fighting controversy about their cattle-rustling father. Over the years they’d had brushes with the law, and their neighbors, until Hank took them in and raised them. They’d ended up stronger, successful and still together. And he was so lucky to have them.
They finally turned to him and his dad spoke. “A lot of years ago, son, I gave up on your mother, and I was wrong not to fight for her. I’ll never forgive myself for the eight years we lost. I was lucky to get a second chance with you both.”
Travis stepped in. “Yeah, we’ve all needed second chances.”
Cade glared at his younger brother’s comment, then turned back to his son. “I know this situation with Nora seems different, but not so much. Women say they don’t need you when they really do. It’s not so much a big, strong guy coming to save the day, but more like they want to know you’re with them. That you have their back. So if you love Nora, then you need to go be with her.”
“Nora doesn’t want me there.”
Cade glanced at his brothers, then back at his son. “Look, son, there were so many times I left your mother alone because she asked me to. Later, I learned she really wanted me to come after her.” His dad pushed his hat back off his forehead. “I know it would be so much easier if they’d just say what they mean. But they don’t always.”
“Because we want you to figure it out for yourselves.”
Turning, they saw Abby Randell had arrived in the corral, along with Hank.
Cade went to his wife. “Now, honey, you know I’ve tried and I still mess up.”
She reached up and kissed him. “And I appreciate the effort.”
Brandon saw the secret look they exchanged, leaving no doubt how much they loved each other. He wanted that with Nora.
His mother turned to him. “We know you’re hurting right now, son. But you have to think about Nora. She has a lot to get through, but I have confidence that she will. I also believe that if it’s possible, she will find her way back to you.”
Brandon looked at his grandfather for help. “What if Nora can’t come back? What if she and Zach have to go into witness protection?”
The patriarch of the family looked every bit his age today. “Son, I wish I had the answer you want to hear, but I don’t. All I know is love is a mighty strong emotion. You’re a Randell, and from what I’ve seen over the years, Randell men love for a lifetime. So I have faith that if Nora can’t find a way back to you, you’ll find a way to her.” He glanced around at his own sons. “That’s always been the way of this family.”
Two days later, on a cold, overcast morning, Nora sat in the prosecutor’s office while Zach was under close watch in a safe location away from the courthouse.
Was it enough security for her son?
She stood and started to pace. Since her return, there hadn’t been any trouble. She gone over and over her testimony, and now she just wanted it over with. Although Jimmy knew she was back to testify, he hadn’t made any trouble for her about taking Zach out of state. As far as the feds were concerned, they were just happy to have the ledger and her help in convicting Jimmy.
She was willing to cooperate with the court; not that she had much to tell, but she had to keep Jimmy in jail. This would be her only chance, and she had to take the risk.
Nora’s thoughts turned to Brandon. She had to give him up. Witn
ess protection seemed to be the only chance she had to survive Jimmy’s threats, and keep him out of their lives.
That meant she would have to keep Brandon out, too.
Nora sighed. It had been so hard to leave him. To have to pretend that he hadn’t mattered to her, that she hadn’t wanted everything he offered her, especially his love. She brushed away a tear, feeling the dull ache in her chest. She couldn’t drag Brandon into her mess. It had to end.
Suddenly the office door opened and Mr. Mathis rushed in. She released a long breath. Okay, she could do this. “Is it time to go?”
The prosecutor shook his head, then a half smile appeared. “Seems we don’t need your testimony after all, Ms. Donnelly.”
Panic hit her hard. “Why? Please don’t tell me Jimmy’s lawyer got him off.”
He shook his head. “Not this time. I believe this time one of his business associates took care of the problem. Jimmy Archer was stabbed and killed by another inmate.”
The sound of the phone ringing jerked Brandon from sleep. He rolled over in bed and reached for the receiver, reading the clock: 1:15 a.m.
With a groan, he answered, “Randell.”
“Brandon,” Nora said in a quiet voice.
He sat up, shaking the sleep from his head and praying he wasn’t dreaming. “Nora? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
After hearing the news yesterday about Archer’s death, he’d tried to call her. But even his law enforcement connections hadn’t gotten him anywhere. The federal prosecutor wouldn’t give out Nora’s location, or a way to get hold of her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, both Zach and I are doing well, considering.”
It had been three weeks since she and Zach left San Angelo to testify, and it had taken everything in him not to go after her. Now it was finally over.
He climbed out of bed. “Look, Nora, I can be on a plane in a matter of hours. Just tell me where to meet you.”
“That’s why I’m calling you, Brandon. I don’t want you to come here.”
He froze, then raked his fingers through his hair. “You don’t mean that, Nora. I don’t want you to go through this alone.”
There was a long pause, and then she spoke. “I have to, Brandon. With all the legal mess here, I need time to sort through it.”
“Okay, I understand that. Red tape can be a bear,” he said, but he felt there was more.
“I need more, Brandon. I need time. Time for me to heal, time for Zach, knowing that whatever I decide, my son will need to come first. And before I can think of a future, I have to face my past.”
Brandon’s heart constricted. He was losing her. “I’ll let you do that, Nora. I just want to be there for you.”
“I know you do,” she stressed with tears in her voice. “But I need to do it by myself. For so long Jimmy’s controlled everything. Some things I need to do on my own. This is one of them. I want to be whole before I come back to you.”
“You’re perfect to me.”
“But not to me.” She sighed. “Just so you know, leaving you that morning was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. The second hardest is making this call. Please, Brandon, try to understand I need to find me right now.”
He didn’t want to understand, but he didn’t have a choice. “So are you ever coming back?”
“I want to. More than you can imagine,” she told him. “That’s what I’m working on, Brandon. I’ve got to go.”
Before he could ask for her number, the phone went dead silent. He closed his eyes, wishing he could have said the magic words to bring her back.
Angrily he paced the room. He wanted to throw something, to slam his fist through a wall. To say the heck with it. He didn’t need her in his life.
First of all, he had to stop loving Nora Donnelly, and that wasn’t about to happen anytime soon.
Many times over the next two weeks, Brandon had run Nora’s words through his head, and his anger turned to hurt until he realized how pathetic he’d become. If she didn’t want to come back to him, he would have to live with that. It was time he got on with his own life.
To start, he had his job with the sheriff’s office. He’d stay busy with investigations. The regular trips out to the ranch on his days off took care of filling the empty times. Hard physical work had distracted him, at least during the days. He hadn’t figured out the nights, yet. His family had been there, too, helping him through this. That included his mother, calling him today and inviting him to lunch. It was her excuse to check up on him.
He climbed out of his truck and headed up the walkway to the door of the women’s shelter. As he passed the garden, he couldn’t help but think about the time he’d been here with Nora. Did everything have to remind him of her?
With a sigh, he pressed the intercom button and waited as the receptionist buzzed him inside. He put on a smile as he walked toward Bess. “How’s my favorite gal?” he teased.
She cocked an eyebrow. “I’m on to your sweet-talking, Detective Randell. I know you just want my oatmeal cookies.”
“You got me,” he said. “Does that mean I’m still on your list?”
She came around her desk. “I’d be foolish to turn away a handsome devil like you.” She winked. “Stop by on your way out and I’ll have a bag with your name on it. Although, I doubt your mind will be on cookies.”
Brandon frowned. He had no idea what she meant by that. “Bess, have you seen my mother?”
She smiled. “I’m to send you to the garden room.”
“Thanks,” he called as he took off down the hall. The sooner he had lunch, the sooner he’d be back at work. Although it was his day off, there were a number of unsolved cases on his desk. He planned to put in overtime this weekend to catch up.
He knocked on the door, then stepped in. Inside, the room was empty. Then his attention went to the French doors where there was an auburn-haired woman standing on the patio. Her back was to him, but there was something familiar about her. When she turned around, his heart stopped.
Nora. Immediately his pulse shot up as his gaze combed over her. She was thinner, but she still had plenty of curves to fill out her navy trousers and blue pullover sweater. She gave him a hesitant smile and stepped through the double doors into the room.
“Brandon.”
His gaze locked with those sapphire eyes that had mesmerized him from their first meeting. They were working overtime now. He ached to go to her, but he held back. “So you’re back.”
For a second, Nora felt nervous, and questioned returning to San Angelo. Seeing Brandon again was hard. How she wished he’d just open his arms to her. But she couldn’t expect that.
Then another second passed and she finally spoke.
“I returned yesterday.”
He stiffened more. “I guess I’m not at the top of your list.”
She deserved that, but it still hurt. “You know I had to stay in San Diego for a while. Zach is Jimmy’s heir, and everything was left to him. Not all the money he made was illegal.”
“Please, don’t try to tell me the man had an ounce of decency.”
“No, but my son deserves what is his. For his future.”
“Seems to me, I offered you both a future, but you decided that it wasn’t what you wanted. Then suddenly you’re back and what am I supposed to do? Listen to you tell me about your ex?” He shook his head. “I can’t do it, Nora. So if you came here to say you’ve decided to stay in San Diego, you could have put that in an e-mail.” He turned to leave.
“I always wanted you, Brandon,” she called as he reached the door. “And you know I had to stay there, but as you can see I’m here now.”
He turned around and waited for her to say more.
“I came to the shelter for a reason. I was abused by Jimmy. For a long time, I was ashamed of that, that I let him control me. Both Zach and I have been in counseling for the past few weeks. I’m trying to put my life back together. I know if I came b
ack to you, I needed to be whole again.” She fought tears. “I want to be the woman you deserve.”
He came toward her. “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
“No, Brandon, I had to be strong on my own. Whether you know it or not, you Randell men have a tendency to want to take over and fix everything. I needed to fix me, myself.”
“You didn’t need fixing.”
“Thank you. But I still had to deal with my past.”
A touch of a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. “You are different, and it’s not just your hair. I take it you were coloring it so you wouldn’t be recognized.”
“Didn’t do much good.” She brushed the strands off her shoulder. “Do you hate redheads?”
“You’re kidding, right? There’s nothing about you I could hate.”
She bit down on her lower lip to keep from falling apart. “I’m glad. I inherited it from my Irish grandmother.”
Brandon’s gaze locked with hers. “So where do we go from here?”
This was the hard part. “I hope we can move forward.”
He sighed, his voice lowered. “That depends on you, Nora. You already know how I feel.”
“That’s what kept me going every single day.” She hated the trembling in her voice, the dryness in her throat. He just stood there looking gorgeous with those dark bedroom eyes and sexy smile. “Do all you Randells have to be so darn sure of yourselves?”
He came closer. “You have no idea how unsteady I feel right now,” he murmured. “Now getting back to why you returned…”
She swallowed hard. “Because of you, Brandon Randell. I love you and want to build a life with you.”
He tossed his hat on the desk and gripped her arms.
His mouth closed over hers so swiftly she could only gasp. When he deepened the kiss, their passion took over as his arms went around her, pulling her against him.
Brandon groaned when he broke off the kiss. “God, Nora. I was so afraid I’d lost you.”
“I’m sorry, Brandon.” Her hand touched his jaw. “I had to do some healing first, before I could tell you how I feel.”
The No. 1 Sheriff in Texas Page 13