Cowboy to the Rescue

by Stella Bagwell

  Stop it, Christina! You’re not a teenager. You’re a thirty-three-year-old woman who understands firsthand how a good-looking man can wreak havoc on a woman’s common sense.

  “No. I was twenty-two when I first went into law enforcement for the San Antonio Police Department. I remained on the force there for four years. Then I had an offer for an office position with the Texas Rangers. I worked there five more years before I finally decided I wanted to go into business for myself.”

  He casually crossed his ankles out in front of him, and from beneath her lowered lashes, Christina followed the long length of his legs with her eyes, all the way down to the square toes of his boots. If there was ever a complete description of a Texas cowboy, Lex Saddler was it.

  “So what made you interested in law enforcement?” he asked. “Did you follow a relative into that profession?”

  Christina might have laughed if the reality of her family situation hadn’t been so sad. Her father had fought his own demons while trying to work in a family business that he’d had little or no interest in. And then there was her mother, who had flitted from one man to the next in hopes of finding happiness. No, her parents had lacked the dedication it took to work in law enforcement.

  “None of my relatives have been in law enforcement of any sort. I just happened to find it interesting. I decided I wanted to spend my time helping folks find lost loved ones. Most of my cases consist of missing persons.”

  His brows arched slightly. “Well, my father is hardly missing, Christina. He’s in the Sandbur cemetery. Along with the other family members that have passed on.”

  Her chin lifted a fraction. “I said I work mostly on missing-person cases, Lex. I didn’t say I worked on those types of cases exclusively.”

  Geraldine eased forward in her chair. “Unfortunately, my daughters Nicci and Mercedes couldn’t be here this evening. But they’re agreeable to what I decide, and Lex has promised to keep them informed. They, like Lex, have had doubts about their father’s death. But none of them wanted to voice them out loud.”

  He grimaced as though the whole subject was something he didn’t want to ponder. “Well, hell, Mom, we’ve all had our doubts. But I want to believe the police. They concluded that a heart attack contributed to his drowning. The police and county coroner made a ruling. Why can’t you accept their findings? What can Christina do that they’ve not already done?”

  Geraldine swallowed down the last of her drink and set her glass aside. “I’ll tell you what. She can look into all the weird things that were going on just before your father died.”

  Lex drew his feet back to him and sat up in his chair. “I was living right here at home at the time, and I don’t recall anything that weird going on. Dad was a little stressed out, but we all get like that at one time or another,” he reasoned.

  Geraldine sighed as she darted a glance at Christina, then her son. “Lex, when Paul’s accident happened, I tried to tell you and your sisters that all had not been right with your father. Something was troubling him. I tried to get him to tell me what was going on, but he always gave me evasive replies and danced around my questions. That was totally out of character for Paul. I have no idea if his odd behavior had any connection to his death, but now with Wolfe wanting me to become a part of his life, I need to know what your father was doing and why. I don’t want anything from the past to hurt Wolfe’s chances for the future.”

  Lex was clearly disturbed by his mother’s remarks, and for a moment, Christina expected him to jump to his feet and stalk off the porch. Instead, he thrust a frustrated hand through his hair.

  “Surely you can’t think that Dad was doing anything wrong!”

  The older woman held her palms upward in a gesture that asked her son to understand. “Lex, I believe your father was an honest man until the day he died. But something was going on in his life that we didn’t know about. That’s why I’ve hired Christina. To figure it all out.”

  This seemed to trouble Lex even more, and he left his chair to pace back and forth in front of his mother. “Damn it, Mother, I understand that there are loose ends to Dad’s life that you’d like to have explained. But I can’t see the point in digging up something that is just downright painful. It won’t bring Dad back. Nothing can. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go see if Cook has supper ready.”

  Before Christina or Geraldine could say a word, he left the porch and entered the house.

  With a weary sigh, Geraldine dropped her head in her hand. “I’m sorry, Christina. Before I hired you, Lex tried to dissuade me. He believes it’s better to let sleeping dogs lie. But now that you’re here…he’ll accept my choice to find the truth. Just be patient with him.”

  Despite her calm demeanor, Christina could see that the woman was upset by her son’s reluctant attitude.

  Rising from her chair, Christina moved close enough to lay a reassuring hand on the matriarch’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Geraldine. I’m sure your son is a reasonable person. He’ll eventually understand that you and your whole family deserve to know the real truth of Paul’s situation at the time of his death.”

  Smiling wanly, Geraldine nodded. “I’d better go have a talk with him. I want him to be sociable when he comes to the supper table. You might not believe it, but Lex is actually a very charming guy.”

  Oh, I believe it all right, Christina thought dryly. But he was clearly a strong-minded guy, too, and she wondered what it was going to take for Geraldine to draw him around to her way of thinking.

  Patting Geraldine’s shoulder, she said, “If you don’t mind, I wish you’d let me talk to him. I think I know what he needs to hear, and it might be easier coming from an outsider instead of a relative.”

  With a grateful smile, Geraldine gestured toward the front door of the house, and Christina took off with a hurried stride. She wanted to find Mr. Cowboy before he had a chance to etch his mindset in stone.

  Inside the house, Christina headed straight to the kitchen, and even before she pushed through the swinging doors, she could hear his voice echoing off the low-beamed ceiling.

  “—she’s doing! It’s a hell of a thing to see the mother I’ve always admired so wrapped up in a man that she can’t see how she’s upsetting the rest of the family! I—”

  Not wanting to be an eavesdropper, Christina took a deep breath and pushed on into the room. Lex immediately heard the sound of her footsteps and whirled away from the tall, black-haired woman working at a huge gas range.

  Surprised, he stepped toward her. “Are you looking for something?” he asked.

  Giving him her best smile, Christina walked over to him. “Yes, I’m looking for you.”

  For one brief moment a sheepish look crossed his face, telling Christina that in spite of his quick exit from the porch, the man apparently possessed enough innate manners to be embarrassed at the way he’d behaved.

  “I’m sorry I left the porch so abruptly, Christina, but I’m—not in the mood to discuss this thing about Dad right now.”

  Still smiling, she shrugged. “I think we should. Otherwise, none of us will enjoy our meal.” She glanced over his shoulder at the woman standing at the range. Before she’d arrived at the Sandbur, Geraldine had told her a bit about Hattie, known to most everyone as simply Cook, including the fact that she was seventy-two and had worked on the ranch for nearly fifty years. Clearly, she was a part of the family, too, so Christina didn’t see any reason not to speak freely in front of her. “And from the smell of this room, I can’t wait to sample Cook’s dishes.”

  Picking up on Christina’s comment, Cook said, “This young lady has some common sense, Lex. Not like those tarts you associate yourself with. You’d better listen to this one.”

  Tossing Cook an annoyed glare, Lex reached for Christina’s arm. “All right. Come along and we’ll step out back.”

  On the opposite wall of the kitchen, they passed through a paned glass door and onto a large patio covered with an arbor of honeysuckle vi
nes. The scent from the blossoms was heavenly, but Christina could hardly pause to enjoy it. After several long steps, Lex turned to face her.

  “Okay, say what you feel you need to, and let’s get this over with.”

  Refusing to allow his bluntness to get to her, she put on her most composed face.

  “First of all, I’ve known your mother for only three weeks. But after the first conversation I had with her, it was obvious to me that she loved her late husband very much—that they had a very special relationship. If it took me only a few minutes to recognize that, I wonder why you can’t see it after—” Her brows arched inquisitively. “What? Thirty-five years?”

  “Good guess. But my age has nothing to do with this.” Glancing away from her, he paused, then spoke again. “Listen, I’m not doubting my mother’s love for my father. But now—well, I’m having a hell of a problem with these motives of hers. Especially the part about Wolfe Maddson.” He planted a stare directly on her face. “The cause of my father’s death should have nothing to do with their relationship, and I resent that she thinks it does.”

  The man wasn’t annoyed, she realized; he was hurting. He believed his mother was betraying him and his father’s memory. And Christina wasn’t altogether sure that he was wrong. If she were in his shoes, she couldn’t say she would be behaving any differently. But her job was not to judge, but to follow the wishes of her client.

  “Look,” she tried to reason, “it’s important to your mother to have the truth—whatever that truth might be.”

  He moved closer and the scent of the masculine cologne clinging to his clothes mingled with the honeysuckle above their heads. She wondered if it was scientifically possible for scents to make a person drunk. What else could be making her feel so light-headed?

  “Sure,” he said wearily. “It’s easy for you to stand there and make a pitch for Mom’s plans. It’s just business to you—you have no idea what it’s like to lose someone as we did.”

  Christina kept reminding herself to keep this man’s words impersonal. He couldn’t possibly know that his comments were evoking tragic memories, whirling her back twelve long years ago, when she’d sat staring out a dark window, wondering why her little brother had not yet arrived home. At that time he’d been eighteen, and she’d wanted to believe he was at a party and enjoying it too much to leave his friends.

  “So the truth of the matter isn’t important to you?” she asked in an oddly hoarse voice.

  She could feel his eyes traveling over her face.

  “If you’re going to give me the old truth-will-set-me-free speech, then please don’t waste your time,” he said, with faint sarcasm. “I know what the truth is.”

  “Well, I don’t,” she muttered, then turned on shaky legs and headed back toward the house.

  Behind her, Lex stared at her retreating figure. Seeing her so upset had brought him up short. He’d never meant to hurt her and he desperately needed to make her understand that. Quickly he caught up to her as she was about to enter the house and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Christina, what’s the matter? You’re the one who wanted to talk this out.”

  Her face was suddenly a picture of amazement, and Lex found himself mesmerized by the rich copper color of her hair, the dark blaze in her eyes and the moist purse of her lips.

  “Talk, not yell,” she shot back at him. “I’m your mother’s guest, not your whipping boy.”

  Boy? With her cheeks flushed and her eyes blazing like that, there wasn’t one tiny particle about her that was remotely boyish. In fact, he’d never seen so much sensuality bundled up in one female. And he’d never felt himself reacting so strongly. Then the meaning of her words sank in, and Lex found himself feeling faintly ashamed of his behavior. Maybe he had been out of line.

  “If that’s what you think I was doing, then I apologize. I was just trying to make you see that digging up the past seems fruitless to me. And even a little unhealthy. Dad is dead. Nothing will change that.”

  Without warning, she suddenly stepped closer. So close that he could smell her musky rose perfume, count the freckles on her upturned nose.

  Her blue eyes challenged his. “You’re probably thinking that I don’t understand what you’re feeling. But believe me, Lex, I do. Twelve years ago, my little brother disappeared without a trace. And since that time, every day I wish for the truth and someone—anyone—to help me find it.”

  Stunned by her revelation, his grip on her shoulder eased just enough for her to turn away from him. But before she could open the door and step inside, he caught her by the forearm.

  “Wait, Christina. Please,” he added softly.

  Slowly, she turned back to him, and he was struck hard as he caught the watery shimmer in her blue eyes.

  “I think we’ve both said enough,” she said in a choked voice.

  He grimaced ruefully. “No. I’m sorry, Christina. Really sorry.”

  She bent her head and instinctively he gathered her to him in a gentle hug. “If I sounded callous a bit earlier, forgive me. I didn’t know you’d lost anyone. I mean, I didn’t stop to think—except about my own feelings.”

  She pushed out a long breath, and he closed his eyes as it skittered warmly against the side of his neck.

  “This—you and I—is going all wrong, Lex. Maybe my coming here—asking you to work with me—is asking too much of you,” she said. Then easing herself away from the circle of his arms, she opened the door and left him standing on the patio.

  Chapter Two

  By the time Lex gathered himself enough to go after her, Christina was already heading back to the front porch and his mother.

  Fortunately, he caught the woman before she reached the foyer and, with a hand around her fragile wrist, led her stiff, unyielding body over to a chesterfield couch.

  “No matter what you think of me at this moment,” he said as he eased down beside her, “I can’t allow you to go out there and tell Mom the two of us can’t work together.”

  One copper-colored brow arched upward. “Give me one good reason not to,” she requested.

  “I don’t want to hurt her. Not for any reason.”

  Approval flickered in her eyes, and Lex was surprised at how good the sight of it made him feel.

  “I’m glad you’re putting her feelings first,” she said.

  “I promise you, Christina,” he said, “I always care about my mother’s feelings. I just…this whole thing about digging into Dad’s death is hard for me. But I promise to help you in any way I can.”

  Her hand reached over and covered his, and Lex had the greatest urge to lift her fingers to his lips, to taste her smooth skin. But he didn’t. He could already see that she was intelligent and strong-minded, not the sort of woman he could easily charm into a brief, pleasant beguilement.

  “Thank you for that, Lex,” she said quietly and started to rise.

  Lex caught her by the hand, causing her gaze to lift to his. The direct connection jolted him in a way that felt totally odd. Being with Christina Logan was making him feel like a teenage virgin, which was a bit ridiculous. He’d made love to many attractive females before. There wasn’t any reason for Christina to be raising his pulse rate just by looking him in the eye.

  “Just a minute, Christina. I—” He passed his thumb along the back of her hand and momentarily savored the feel of her creamy skin. “I just wanted to say how sorry I am about your brother. I can’t imagine what it must feel like—the not knowing about him.”

  She let out a heavy breath, and from the shadows that suddenly crossed her face, Lex could plainly see the emotional toll the tragedy had taken on her.

  “The not knowing is the worst part,” she admitted.

  The need to help her, to ease her grief somehow, hit Lex in a totally unexpected way, and for a brief second, the feeling staggered him. “I’d like for you to tell me about him sometime,” he invited.

  “Sometime, I will.” Smiling wanly, she pulled her hand
away from his grasp and rose to her feet. “I think now we’d better join your mother before she begins to wonder where we’ve gotten off to.”

  The next morning Christina was sitting in a small office located on the west side of the house. Information regarding Paul Saddler’s case was stacked on the floor in countless cardboard boxes and plastic storage containers. But at the moment she wasn’t digging through any of it. Instead, she was on the phone to a friend.

  Olivia Mills was a criminal lawyer, an associate of the San Antonio firm of Mills, Wagner & Murray. Several years ago, when Christina had stumbled onto some information that had proved a client of Olivia’s innocent, the two women had become fast friends. And when Christina had decided to go into the private investigation business, Olivia had encouraged her to get an office in the same building as the firm’s. As a result, Christina picked up many of the investigative jobs the firm often required.

  “So tell me about the place,” Olivia urged. “Is it anything like you expected?”

  Christina settled back in the leather desk chair. “Not exactly. It’s much larger than I imagined. If you drove forty miles in any direction you’d probably still be on Sandbur land. In fact, the ranch is organized into two divisions. The one with the house and working ranch yard, where I’m staying, is called the Goliad Division, and the western half of the property is the Mission River Division.”

  “Incredible. What’s the house like?”

  “Grandeur, but comfortable. It’s a two-story hacienda and so large that I couldn’t begin to count the number of rooms it has.”

  “Sounds like a lot of old money.”

  “It is. But these people are very unpretentious and laid-back, Ollie.”

  “That would be a relief for me.”

  Yes, it was a relief that the Saddlers weren’t snobs. But maybe it would have been easier on her state of mind if Lex had been a snooty sort of person, she thought. Picking up a pencil, Christina began to doodle in a small open notebook. “So far they’ve treated me very nearly like family.”