“What did you come here for?” Corinna asked bluntly.

He didn’t hesitate. “To see you. To ask you about having dinner with me tonight. Just the two of us.”

Her heart leaped with unexpected pleasure, yet she was careful to hide it in her words. “I had dinner with you last night.”

“What does that hurt?”

She decided to be truthful with him. “Seth—after last night—I don’t think it would be wise to go out with you.”

His hand tightened on hers. “Don’t be scared, Corinna,” he said gently. “Last night was nice. Very nice. And you know it.”

Yes, she did know it, and everything inside of her wanted to experience it all again, to be with this man that had lingered in her thoughts for nearly two decades.

“I can see why you became a Texas Ranger,” she commented wryly. “You like to live dangerously.”

Dear Reader,

We’re smack in the middle of summer, which can only mean long, lazy days at the beach. And do we have some fantastic books for you to bring along! We begin this month with a new continuity, only in Special Edition, called THE PARKS EMPIRE, a tale of secrets and lies, love and revenge. And Laurie Paige opens the series with Romancing the Enemy. A schoolteacher who wants to avenge herself against the man who ruined her family decides to move next door to the man’s son. But things don’t go exactly as planned, as she finds herself falling…for the enemy.

Stella Bagwell continues her MEN OF THE WEST miniseries with Her Texas Ranger, in which an officer who’s come home to investigate a murder finds complications in the form of the girl he loved in high school. Victoria Pade begins her NORTHBRIDGE NUPTIALS miniseries, revolving around a town famed for its weddings, with Babies in the Bargain. When a woman hoping to reunite with her estranged sister finds instead her widowed husband and her children, she winds up playing nanny to the whole crew. Can wife and mother be far behind? THE KENDRICKS OF CAMELOT by Christine Flynn concludes with Prodigal Prince Charming, in which a wealthy playboy tries to help a struggling caterer with her business and becomes much more than just her business partner in the process. Brand-new author Mary J. Forbes debuts with A Forever Family, featuring a single doctor dad and the woman he hires to work for him. And the MEN OF THE CHEROKEE ROSE miniseries by Janis Reams Hudson continues with The Other Brother, in which a woman who always counted her handsome neighbor as one of her best friends suddenly finds herself looking at him in a new light.

Happy reading! And come back next month for six new fabulous books, all from Silhouette Special Edition.

Gail Chasan

Senior Editor

Her Texas Ranger
Stella Bagwell

www.millsandboon.co.uk

In memory of my father, Louis Copeland Cook,

a believer in doing things right. I hope he thinks I have.

STELLA BAGWELL

sold her first book to Silhouette in November 1985. More than forty novels later, she still loves her job and says she isn’t completely content unless she’s writing. Recently, she and her husband of thirty years moved from the hills of Oklahoma to Seadrift, Texas, a sleepy little fishing town located on the coastal bend. Stella says the water, the tropical climate and the seabirds make it a lovely place to let her imagination soar and to put the stories in her head down on paper.

She and her husband have one son, Jason, who lives and teaches high school math in nearby Port Lavaca.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter One

“One riot, one Ranger. Isn’t that the reputation you Rangers have down in Texas?”

The question prompted Seth Ketchum to cast a wry glance at his younger brother, Ross, who was standing just to the right of his chair.

Seth had almost forgotten what it was like to be back on the T Bar K with his family. Two years had passed since he’d seen his brother and sister. The time had slipped up on him and now as they crowded around him in the living room of the ranch house, he realized just how much he’d missed his siblings.

“That’s what the saying is—one riot, one Ranger,” Seth responded to his brother’s comment. “But I’m not a superhero, Ross.”

Ross reached down and slapped his brother proudly on the back. “That’s right, Seth. You’re better than a superhero. You don’t have to waste time racing into a telephone booth to change out of your boots and hat.”

A few feet away, from her seat on a leather chester-field couch, their sister, Victoria, groaned. “Ross, this mess isn’t funny. I don’t know how you can joke at a time like this.”

Ross chuckled as he continued to squeeze Seth’s shoulder. “Who’s joking?” Ross retorted. “Company D down in San Antonio would fall apart without Seth.”

The two men were dressed similarly in boots and jeans and long-sleeved cotton shirts. As far as resembling each other, Seth was a fraction shorter and more solidly built than his six-foot brother. Where Ross’s hair was nearly black, Seth’s was a dozen shades of brown, ranging from light to dark. But the most striking difference in the men was in their demeanor. Ross was normally all grins and teasing laughter whereas Seth had always been a quiet, serious man.

“Ross, your confidence in me is a little exaggerated,” Seth countered. “At least my captain would say so.”

Grinning, Ross waved away his older brother’s modest remark.

“You’re already a sergeant. Before long you’ll be a captain.”

Seth grimaced. Ross was still, in many ways, just like their late father, Tucker. He’d believed all Ketchums were meant to go straight to the top of the ladder.

“I don’t want to be a captain,” Seth said while gazing absently at the glass of iced tea he was holding. “I like the position I’m in just fine.”

“Seth, you—”

“Ross, will you let it rest?” Victoria interrupted. “Seth isn’t telling you how to run the ranch. And he’s only been home a few minutes! Why don’t you let him catch his breath?”

Seth glanced gratefully at Victoria. She was not only a beautiful woman, she was also a damn good doctor and as far as he was concerned, she’d always been the most levelheaded of the four Ketchum siblings. After all these years of her being single, he found it hard to believe that she and Jess Hastings had mended their differences and were now married and expecting a child. Yet that wasn’t nearly the shock he’d received when he’d heard that his playboy brother had tied the knot with Isabella Corrales, a beautiful lawyer from the Jicarilla Apache reservation.

But romance and weddings hadn’t been the only things taking place on the T Bar K. Jess, his new brother-in-law and undersheriff of San Juan County, had been shot and nearly killed. Thankfully, that case had been solved and the ranch hand that had committed the crime was now serving time behind bars. However, there was still the mystery of the murdered foreman, Noah Rider, to unravel and everyone in the family was now looking to Seth, expecting him to work a miracle in a case that, frankly, had been cold from the very beginning.

Ross moved away from Seth and took a seat on the arm of his wife’s chair. “I just want to brag a little on my brother, sis,” he said to Victoria. “I’m not trying to tell him how to do his job. Hell, that’s the reason we called him. He knows how to investigate a murder case. We don’t. That is, except for Jess. But he’s already said the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department is welcoming all the help they can get.”

Seth said, “Well, like I told you both on the phone, New Mexico isn’t exactly my jurisdiction, unless we have a Texas crime that overflows into this state.”

“It appears that you have,” Victoria spoke up. “Noah Rider lived in Hereford, Texas, at the time he was murdered. Looks to me like a Texas Ranger has every right to investigate the death of a citizen of Texas.”

A faint grin lifted the corner of Seth’s lips. “Depending on where that death occurred,” he told his sister.

“We don’t know where the death occurred,” Isabella pointed out.

Ross smiled proudly at his wife. “Good point, honey. I think I’ll keep you around, after all.”

Bemused, Seth watched his brother lift the back of Isabella’s hand to his lips. He’d never seen Ross acting so smitten and it came as a shock that his brother was really and truly in love with someone other than himself.

“Seth, you don’t really have to have jurisdiction around here to do a little snooping on your own, do you?” Victoria asked, her face wrinkled with concern. “I mean, you don’t have to work in conjunction with Jess’s office, do you?”

Seth smiled briefly at his sister. One of the reasons he’d dropped everything back in Texas and hurried out here to the T Bar K was to help ease Victoria’s mind. From what Ross had told him, Victoria had been extremely upset from the very onset of this whole murder thing and she’d continued to worry about what it might do to the family, and the ranch, if the killer wasn’t caught and brought to justice. All the anxiety couldn’t be good for the baby she was carrying. And more than anything, Seth wanted to see his sister deliver a healthy child.

“Don’t worry, Victoria. I can snoop in a way that won’t step on anyone’s toes. I just won’t have immediate access to Ranger computer data. But if I need something searched, I have a friend back in Texas who’ll do it for me.”

“A female friend?” Ross asked impishly.

Seth didn’t bother to glance at his brother. After all these years, he was used to Ross’s teasing. And now that Seth was thirty-nine, nearing forty, and still single, he expected to hear more from his newly married brother.

“No. A fellow Ranger.”

“Seth, you’re just no fun at all.”

“I didn’t come up here for fun, little brother.”

Instead of taking offense, Ross chuckled. “Okay, you don’t have any fun back in Texas and you don’t plan on having any while you’re here at home. So what are you planning to do?”

The question brought Seth’s head around and he looked at his brother squarely. “I plan to track down Noah’s killer.”

The next morning Seth was up early. After eating a big breakfast with his brother, he walked out to the front porch and there he stayed, long after Ross headed on down to the barn to start his day’s work.

He’d nearly forgotten how dry it was up here in northern New Mexico. It was such a switch from humid San Antonio that his eyes burned and the inside of his nose felt as if it was going to crack.

But it was beautiful here on the ranch. He could never deny that, he thought as he watched the sun burst over the crest of eastern mountains. It was wild and rugged land that was as harsh as the climate could be. He’d left the ranch nearly eighteen years ago when he’d been only twenty-one.

At the time, Tucker had thrown a walleyed fit. Which had been no surprise to anyone in the family, especially not Seth. His father had been a hard man with his own ideas about how to live life and how he wanted his sons and daughter to live it. The last thing Tucker had wanted was for Seth to pursue a career in law enforcement. Particularly, a Texas Ranger, which would force him to leave the state. But Seth had defied his father and followed his dream. He’d become a member of an elite group of lawmen, a feat that very few men accomplish in a whole lifetime. And he’d done it all on his own, without the help of Tucker Ketchum. A fact that left him full of pride, but always a little sad, too.

“So here you are.”

At the sound of Marina’s voice, Seth turned to see the heavyset cook step from the doorway and onto the wooden planked porch. The Mexican woman had worked for the Ketchum family for forty or more years and was considered more of a family member than an employee. Ross kept her wrapped around his little finger, but she always seemed overjoyed to see Seth, whenever he did make a rare trip up here to the ranch.

“Did you need me for something, Marina?”

She grinned at him as though just looking at him made her happy and he felt a pang of guilt for not keeping in closer touch with his family.

“I just make a fresh pot of coffee,” she said. “You like some?”

Nearly an hour had passed since Seth had eaten breakfast. He supposed he could use a little more caffeine and it would give him an opportunity to throw a few questions at Marina.

He followed the old cook through the large, rambling house, to the back where the kitchen was located. The room was warm, the breakfast mess already cleaned away from the long pine table, but the smell of fried bacon still lingered in the air, mixing with the scent of freshly brewed coffee. From atop the refrigerator, a small radio was playing country music and reporting tidbits of local news.

Aside from a few updated appliances, the room was the same as it had been when he’d been a child. Except that his mother wasn’t hovering behind his chair, ruffling his hair and reminding him to eat his oats.

His parents had been dead for some years now, along with his brother, Hugh. His brother had been the first to go—six years ago, he’d been gored to death by one of the ranch’s bulls. A year later, his mother had passed away from the lingering complications of a stroke, then a little more than a year ago, his father had died from heart failure. A big part of his family was gone now.

Shoving away the bittersweet memories, he caught Marina’s attention and patted the seat kitty-corner to his left. “Pour yourself a cup, too, Marina, and come sit here beside me.”

Marina eyed him with curious black eyes as she lifted the tail of her white apron and wiped her hands.

“I don’t need to sit. I got work to do.”

“You’re going to sit. This place won’t fall apart if you rest for a few minutes.”

Mumbling under her breath, she poured the coffee, then carried the two mugs over to the table.

“What’s the matter?” he asked as she eased down in the chair. “Don’t you want to visit with me?”

She pushed one of the coffee mugs toward him. “You don’t want to visit. You want to ask me questions. About the murder.”

A low chuckle rumbled up from his chest. “How do you know that? I haven’t said anything yet.”

She frowned. “I see the look on your face. I know you, Seth Ketchum. You might as well pin that badge of yours on your chest.”

He touched his hand to the left of his chest just above his shirt pocket. It wasn’t very often that he went without his Ranger badge. But he was basically on vacation now and as he’d told Victoria, he didn’t want to step on any toes up here in New Mexico.

“I’m not going to ask you about the murder, Marina. You couldn’t know anything about it anyway.”

Her frown deepened as though she wasn’t sure if he’d just insulted her. “Well then—what we gonna talk about? You?”

Seth chuckled again. “No. You already know all there is to know about me.” He lifted the mug to his lips, took a careful sip and lowered it back to the tabletop. “How’s your memory, Marina?”

She grinned and relaxed against the back of the wooden chair. “I remember you got a little brown birth-mark on your hip.”

“You don’t have to go that far back,” he said dryly. “Just back to the time when Noah Rider was foreman here on the T Bar K.”

“I can do that. What you want to know about him?”

Seth shook his head. “Not him. I want you to try to remember anyone and everyone that Dad had feuds with back at that time.”

“Oh, Lord,” she groaned. “Looks like we’re gonna be here a while.”

Later that afternoon, Seth stared at the list he and Marina had compiled. He wasn’t sure why he felt that his father was somehow connected to the murder. It wasn’t that he thought Tucker capable of killing anyone, even in the heat of one of his rages. And anyway, Tucker was dead, he couldn’t have killed Noah. But Tucker and Noah had been close. The foreman had always backed Tucker in anything and everything. The two of them together might have angered someone so badly they’d sworn revenge. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Especially since no one had attempted to kill Tucker. But then as far as Seth was concerned, homicide never made any sense.

Fifteen names were on the list. Yet there was only one that generated much of his interest. Rube Dawson. From what Ross had told him at lunch, Rube was still a neighbor. And as far as Ross was concerned, the old man was the last person to be involved in Noah’s death. But it was far too early for Seth to exclude anyone from the list. Especially when he remembered very well that Tucker and Rube had once had a big squabble over the ownership of a racehorse.

Stuffing the list in his pocket, he went out to the kitchen and told Marina he’d be gone for a while. Outside, he climbed in his black pickup truck and headed off the T Bar K. When he reached the point where the ranch road branched with the main county road, he turned to the right in the direction of Rube Dawson’s place.

Twenty minutes later, he pulled onto a red dirt road, rumbled across a cattle guard, then drove a quarter mile through foothills dotted with green juniper and piñon pine.

When the Dawson homestead finally came into view, Seth was taken aback. Even though it had been many years since he’d visited the place with his father, he’d not imagined it would look like this. True, the Dawsons had always been on the poor side, but the present state of the place went beyond the lack of money. The small, stucco house was badly in need of paint and shingles. The barns and outbuildings were also in sad neglect with sagging roofs, missing boards and flaking paint. Fences were leaning and in some spots completely resting on the ground.

Apparently Rube wasn’t lifting a finger around here, Seth thought with disgust as he parked his truck next to a dark, older-model sedan and an even older Dodge pickup truck with rusted fenders.

The moment he stepped to the ground, he was met by a white dog that appeared to be part border collie. The wag of his tail assured Seth the dog was friendly and he paused on the path to the house long enough to bend and greet the animal.

“Don’t worry, mister, Cotton won’t bite.”

Seth glanced up to see a young boy somewhere between ten and twelve years old standing on the small front porch. Blue jeans and a baggy T-shirt covered his painfully thin body. Thick blond hair tickled his eyebrows and he swiped at it with an impatient hand as he carefully watched Seth’s every move.

Leaving the dog, Seth walked over to the porch, noticing all the while that there was no yard to speak of around the house, just a few clumps of sage and hard-packed red earth.

“Hello,” he said to the boy. “Does Rube Dawson still live here?”

The boy nodded as his blue eyes narrowed with wary speculation. “Sure does. He’s my grandpa. I call him Pa.”

The news jolted Seth. Rube only had one child and that was Corrina. This was Corrina’s child! But that shouldn’t surprise him, he quickly rationalized. Years had passed since he’d left San Juan County. More than enough time for her to marry and have a son of this age.

“Do you think I might talk to him?” Seth asked.

The boy swiped once again at the corn-colored hair pestering his eyes. He needed a haircut, Seth decided, and a few good meals to put some meat on his bones.

“What’cha wanta talk to him about?”

“Matt! That isn’t any way to greet a visitor!”

Seth recognized the female voice even before she stepped from behind the screen door and onto the porch. It was Corrina. And for a moment he couldn’t speak or think of one sensible thing to say. After all these years he’d never expected to see her again and now that she was standing before him, he was suddenly flooded with memories of more innocent, simpler times.

“Hello, Seth,” she said in a low, warm voice.

Vivid blue eyes stared back at him and he got the impression that she was just as surprised to see him as he’d been to find her here on this broken-down ranch.

Stepping up on the porch, he offered her his hand. “Hello, Corrina. How are you?”

He could sense her hesitation, then finally she reached up and slipped her hand into his. The contact was brief, but long enough to feel her work-roughed palm.

Her eyes darted down and away from him as her fingers reached up to the tangle of chestnut curls brushing her shoulders. “I’m…fine, Seth. Just fine.”

She looked back at him and Seth watched with bemusement as faint pink color swept across her cheeks. If finding him on the doorstep was embarrassing to her, he couldn’t imagine why. He’d not seen her in twenty years and even then the two of them had been little more than acquaintances who’d sometimes talked with each other at school. There was no way she could have ever known that he’d had a crush on her. Because he’d not told anyone about it. Especially not her.

Seth smiled, hoping to ease the tension he could see in her slender body. “That’s good. I’m…surprised to see you here.”

She let out a nervous little laugh, glanced at the boy, then back to Seth again. “Probably not as surprised as I am to see you.” She rubbed her palms down the front of her jeans. “Uh—what are you doing here?”

He cleared his throat as he felt Corrina’s son watching him closely. “I wanted to talk to Rube. I thought he might be able to give me some…help.”

“Help?” Corrina repeated blankly.

She was just as pretty as he remembered, Seth thought. Maybe even prettier now that the years had matured her into a woman. Her skin was milky white, making her blue eyes even more vibrant. The riot of curls teasing her shoulders was thick and unruly, their color consisting of myriad shades varying from cinnamon to ginger. A few errant strands clung to her high cheekbone and he watched her brush them away with the same impatient gesture as her son’s.

“Yeah,” he answered. “I guess you’ve heard about all the trouble over at the T Bar K?”

She nodded and he found himself looking at her lips—full and soft, their mauve color dark against her white teeth. Did she have a husband? he wondered. There was no ring on her hand. But that didn’t mean some man hadn’t put his brand on her in another way. Matt was proof of that.

“Yes,” she answered. “It’s pretty much been the talk of the county. I’m sorry, Seth. I’m sure the whole thing has been hard on your family.”

Matt came to stand beside his mother. “How can Pa help you?”

Corrina put her arm around her son’s slender shoulders. “Seth, this is my son, Matthew. We don’t have much company out here, so you’ll have to forgive his manners.”

We don’t have much company. Did she and Matthew live here? he wondered.

Seth momentarily pushed the question out of his mind and offered his hand to the sullen child. “Hello, Matthew. I’m Seth Ketchum.”

Matthew was clearly pleased to be greeted as an adult rather than a child, but there was still a suspicious look in his eyes as he shook hands with Seth.

“Are you one of those rich Ketchums that live next to us?”

“Next to us” meant at least ten miles away as the crow flied, but Rube Dawson’s property did butt up to a portion of the T Bar K. And out here in New Mexico it was the same as West Texas—land was usually measured in sections.

“Matt!” Corrina scolded. “It’s not polite to ask someone about their finances!”

Seth merely chuckled. “Well, I’m not all that rich and part of my family lives next to you,” he told Matthew. “But I don’t. I live down in Texas. In San Antonio, where the Alamo is.”

“Oh,” Matthew mumbled, then a flicker of interest passed over his face. “Do you know Aaron?”

Seth nodded. “He’s my nephew. Are you two friends?”

Matthew nodded. “Yeah. We ride the same school bus together. He’s younger than me, but he’s pretty cool.”

“Mr. Ketchum is a Texas Ranger,” Corrina said to her son.

Matt’s blue eyes suddenly widened with disbelief. “You mean, like the one on TV?”

“That’s right,” Corrina replied. “Except that Seth is the real thing.”

Matthew’s mouth fell open as he stared openly at Seth. “You’re not wearing a badge or gun.”

Seth grinned. He didn’t know why, but something about the boy touched him. Maybe it was the vulnerable look in his eyes or the way he sidled close to his mom as though he couldn’t trust the outside world.

“That’s because I’m here as a neighbor,” Seth explained.

Corrina gestured toward the screen door leading into the house. “Dad’s inside, if you’d like to talk to him,” she invited.

“If he’s busy I can come back some other time,” Seth offered.

She cast him an odd look. “Dad’s never busy. He—uh—he’s retired now.”

Without waiting for him to reply, she opened the door and stood to one side to allow him entry. Seth slipped past her and into a dimly lit living room packed with mismatched pieces of older furniture. The house wasn’t air-conditioned, but there was a water-cooled fan blowing through vents in the ceiling. The moist breeze was enough to make the room temperature tolerable.

“Dad’s sitting out on the back porch,” Corrina stated as she ushered him down a short hallway and into a small kitchen with worn linoleum and white metal cabinets.

Along the back wall of the room, Corrina pushed open another screen door and motioned for Seth to follow her.

“Wake up, Dad,” she said in a raised voice. “Someone is here to see you.”

Rube Dawson was sitting in a metal lawn chair at one end of the screened-in cubicle. His face was red, his eyes bloodshot. Graying brown hair lay in limp hanks against his head and edged down over his ears. A blue plaid shirt was stretched taut over his rounded belly.

Seth didn’t need to see the empty beer bottles sitting on the floor next to his chair to tell him that Rube was a continual drinker.

“Hello, Mr. Dawson. Remember me?”

The older man twisted his head around and squinted long and hard at Seth. “Yeah, I think I do. You’re a Ketchum. Seth, isn’t it?”

Seth nodded while deciding Rube apparently hadn’t ruined all his brain cells with alcohol. “That’s right. I’m Seth. Ross’s older brother.”

Nodding, Rube reached a hand toward Seth and the two men shook hands.

“Sit down, son,” Rube invited warmly, “and tell me what this visit is about.”

Seth took a seat in a webbed lawn chair to Rube’s right. From the corner of his eye he could see Corrina lingering in the doorway, almost as if she was afraid to leave her father alone with him.

“Would you like a cup of coffee, Seth? Or some iced tea?” she offered.

He looked at her. “Tea would be nice. Thanks.”

She disappeared from the doorway and Seth turned his attention to Tucker’s old friend.

With slow, easy movements, he settled back in the chair and crossed his boots at the ankles. “I thought you might be able to help me, Rube. I’m up here trying to help my family find out who killed Noah Rider.”

Rube grimaced and swiped a thick hand through his hair. “That was a hell of a thing. I couldn’t believe it when I heard about it. Noah hadn’t been around here for years. Who would have wanted to kill him?”

Seth studied him closely. “I don’t suppose you’d kept in contact with him?”

Rube shook his head. “Nah. It’s been about twenty-two, twenty-three years since he left here. After he left here I think I ran into him a couple of times after that. And that was by accident over at Le Mesa Park.”

“What was he doing back then?”

“Training racehorses for some rancher down in Texas. Don’t know where. That’s been too many years ago for me to remember.”

Since the remains of Noah had been discovered on the T Bar K, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department had sent Chief Deputy Daniel Redwing to Hereford, Texas, to search Noah’s last known residence. Redwing hadn’t found much for them to go on. The man had apparently been living a simple, modest life. From what the deputy had gathered from the man’s neighbors, Noah had lived alone and rarely had visitors. At the time of his death, he’d been employed at a local feedlot. Physically demanding work for a man in his sixties.

Which could only mean that Noah hadn’t possessed a nest egg for his older years. He’d been forced to work to supplement his monthly social security check, Seth mentally concluded.

“Well, at the time he was killed he was working full-time at a feedlot. His employer told a San Juan County deputy he never missed work and was surprised when Noah had told him he wanted a day off to drive up here to New Mexico.”

“Hmm. So, old Noah was working,” Rube said thoughtfully. “That doesn’t surprise me. He was always a damn sight more ambitious than me.”

That was quite an understatement, Seth decided as he focused his gaze on the back view of the Dawson place. Like the front, there was no yard, just red packed earth dotted with rocks and a few clumps of scraggy sage. Beyond, some twenty yards away, a network of broken-down corrals joined one end of the barn. Except for one black horse, the pens were empty. From the looks of things, Seth figured they’d been empty for several years.

“So you’re retired now,” Seth commented.

Rube leaned forward and rubbed a hand over both knees. “Yeah. I had to give up ranchin’. Just got too old and stiff to sit a saddle. And I couldn’t afford to hire help. Sold off all my cattle and the horses, too.”

Footsteps sounded just behind Seth and he glanced over his shoulder to see Corrina walking onto the porch carrying a tray with two glasses of iced tea.

As she approached him, her gaze met his briefly then fell swiftly to the tray in her hands.

“I hope you like it sweet,” she said quietly. “I already had it made.”

She bent toward him, and as he picked up one of the glasses, he caught the faint scent of flowers on her hair. The sweet fragrance reminded Seth how very long it had been since he’d took any sort of notice of a woman. “I’m sure it will be fine. Thank you, Corrina.”

“I’ll bet I don’t have to tell you that Corrina is the light of my life,” Rube said to Seth as his daughter handed him the other glass. “I don’t know what I’d have done if she hadn’t come to live with me. She takes care of me just like that sister of yours took care of Tucker before he died.”

Seth’s gaze settled on Corrina’s face. Her smooth features were unmoving, giving him little or no hint to what she was thinking about her father’s comments.

“I’m sure you must really appreciate your daughter,” Seth replied.

Rube tilted the tea glass to his lips. After several swallows, he said, “Like I said, Corrina is the light of my life. I couldn’t make it without her.”

Totally ignoring her father’s possessive praise, Corrina quietly walked off the porch. Inside the small kitchen, she walked to the double sink and, balancing her hands on the ledge of the counter, she bent her head and closed her eyes.

Seth Ketchum! Dear Lord, what was a sergeant in the Texas Rangers doing here?

“Mom, is something wrong?”

Matthew’s voice jolted her. With a guilty start, she quickly turned to him, while carefully hiding her shaking hands behind her back. She couldn’t let her son, or anyone, for that matter, know what seeing Seth Ketchum had done to her.

“No, Matt. Nothing is wrong,” she lied. “Nothing at all.”

Chapter Two

A few minutes later, Seth swallowed the remainder of his drink and rose to his feet. He wasn’t really getting any useful information from Rube. And to be honest, the old man was not someone he cared to sit and reminisce with. He was slovenly and represented a side of life that Seth had seen all too often when dealing with criminals. Not that he thought Rube was a criminal. The only thing he figured the old man was guilty of was laziness.

“Well, thanks for your time, Rube. I’d better be going.”

“Sure thing, Seth. Anytime,” the old rancher replied, then squinted his eyes as another thought struck him. “Say, did Ross ever find that stallion of his?”

Seth paused at the door to look back at the old man. “You know about Snip going missing?”

“Ross called me when it first happened. He thought I might have seen the horse. But I don’t get out that much—just drive into town now and then. I told him I hadn’t seen the horse.”

“Well, Ross still hasn’t found him,” Seth said.

Rube shook his head. “That’s too bad,” he said regretfully. “He’s probably dead by now.”

Seth wondered why the old man would be thinking in that direction, when there were all sorts of scenarios that could have happened with Snip. However, he didn’t question Rube. For one thing, he didn’t want to appear as though he’d come over here to interrogate anyone.

“Ross isn’t giving up on finding him yet,” Seth told him, and then with a final word of farewell, he left Rube and entered the kitchen.

Immediately, he spotted Corrina working at the counter. He carried his empty glass to where she was standing, drying a large metal roasting pan.

“Thanks for the tea,” he said. “Where would you like me to put this?”

She cut him a brief, sidelong glance. And he got the sense that his presence was making her nervous. Why, he didn’t know, but the fact did intrigue him.

“Just drop it into the dishwater there in the sink.”

He did as she suggested, then casually leaned a hip against the counter. “I—uh—I was very surprised to see you here, Corrina. I thought you’d left San Juan County years ago.”

Corrina placed the dried pot to one side of the countertop before she turned to face him. “I was gone for a while. But when Dad started…going downhill I came back to take care of him.”

Her blue eyes were shadowed with fatigue—or was it sadness? Either way, it bothered the heck out of Seth to see this beautiful woman unsmiling, her eyes dead.

“I’m sorry Rube’s health is poor,” he said.

Her eyes darted away from his and her hands twisted the dishcloth into a tight rope. “Well, at least he’s alive. That’s more than you have.” She turned her gaze back on him and this time there was compassion in the blue depths. “It’s still hard for me to believe that your father is gone. I’m very sorry about that, Seth. He was…quite a character around here. I think everyone misses him.”

A wry smile touched Seth’s lips. “I don’t know that I’d go so far to say that everyone misses Tucker. He could be a real…difficult man at times. But you are right…. I miss my father and so do my siblings.”

She nodded, then realizing she had a death hold on the dishcloth, she tossed it onto the cabinet and wiped her hands down the front of her jeans. All the while, she was thinking how strong and masculine this man looked.

Long years had passed since she and Seth had attended the same high school. Back then he’d been a handsome boy with a quiet maturity that had impressed her. Now he was a striking man with lines of character etching his chiseled lips and hazel eyes.

Even though he was dressed in jeans, boots and hat as most of the ranchers in this area, Seth’s appearance would stand out from theirs, she realized. Not just because he had a long, muscled body that oozed sexuality. There was an air of authority about him that was only multiplied by the knowledge that he was a Texas Ranger.

“I…uh…never expected to see you again, Seth. You’ve been gone a long time.”

He was surprised she’d even noticed. Or had she simply meant the term “long time” in a general way? he wondered. “Eighteen years,” he answered. “But I’ve come home off and on throughout that time. You would have thought we’d have run into each other.”

A wan smile touched her lips in a way that said his being in San Juan County was hardly enough proximity for them to meet. “Well…we don’t exactly move in the same circles.”

He’d never been a social creature, but perhaps she believed he was. People around here had always been quick to put labels on the Ketchum family. Most of them wrong. And he supposed that hadn’t changed since he’d moved away.

“I didn’t know you lived here,” he admitted. “I’d heard that you married and moved away.”

Turning back to the counter, Corrina picked up the lid to the pot she’d just finished drying. As she swiped a dish towel over it, she said, “Matthew’s father and I are divorced. We were living in Colorado at the time and it was easier just to stay there than to make a major move. But then a couple of years ago, Dad began begging me to come back home and I…couldn’t refuse him.” She shot him a quick glance. “What about you, Seth? Do you have a family down in Texas?”

His eyes widened, as though just someone’s asking him such a question was a shock. “Me, a family? No. I’m not a husband or a father. Just a Texas Ranger.”

She wasn’t surprised. Although, looking at him, it made her wonder how he’d managed to avoid the women, who no doubt gave him second and third looks. Yet she sensed that he was a man who lived his job and anything else was put on the back burner.

Realizing she’d been holding her breath, she let it out and reached up to push back the swath of hair that had dipped onto her cheekbone. “Well, having a family isn’t always what you might expect it to be. The main thing is that you’re happy.”

There was a sadness in her voice that struck Seth right in the middle of his chest. Corrina Dawson had been a soft, sweet young girl. He didn’t like to think she’d already been scarred by a man. Especially one who hadn’t appreciated her.

“I don’t have any complaints,” he said. Then, deciding he’d dallied in the kitchen long enough, he added, “Well, I’d better be going, Corrina. It was nice seeing you again.”

She lifted her head and gave him a little smile. “Yes, it was nice to see you, too. Take care, Seth.”

He nodded, then quickly found his way back to the living room, where he let himself out onto the front porch.

“Hey, Mr. Ketchum, want to see my horse?”

Seth looked around to see Corrina’s young son sitting on top of a wooden doghouse just to the right of the front porch. The boy was staring at him expectantly, almost hopefully, and Seth realized there was no way he could turn down the invitation.

“Sure,” Seth told him. “Just show the way.”

Matthew leaped off the doghouse and motioned for Seth to follow him around the house to a beaten path that led to a nearby barn. The white dog trotted at their heels.

At the rickety corral, Matthew climbed upon the top rail of the fence, then jammed two fingers into his mouth and let out a piercing whistle.

Immediately, the black horse Seth had spotted earlier came trotting out of the building and straight up to Matthew.

“This is Blackjack. He’s nice, huh?”

The gelding was a quality animal, Seth realized as he eyed the heavily built quarter horse. No doubt someone had paid a fistful of money for him.

“Very nice,” Seth agreed. “You must be proud of him.”

For the first time since Seth had arrived at the Dawson place, Matthew shot him a smile. “Sure am! I ride him all the time!” he exclaimed. Then just as quickly the smile faded and he ducked his head and mumbled, “That’s about all there is to do around this old place.”

Folding his arms against his chest, Seth rested a shoulder against the corral fence. “You don’t like living here with your grandfather?”

With his head still bent, Matthew shrugged one shoulder. “Pa’s all right. But he don’t do nothin’. Except sit around and drink beer. That’s not somethin’ I want to do.”

Thank God for that, Seth thought with relief. But when would that change? he wondered. How long would it be before Rube’s bad habits began to influence the boy?

“It’s not something you should do, either,” Seth told him.

“Well, Pa says it helps the pain in his joints. Guess that makes it all right,” he muttered.

Seth was trying to decide how to respond to that when Matthew was distracted by a nudge from Blackjack’s nose.

The boy affectionately scratched the horse between the ears, then stroked the blaze down his face.

“Have you had Blackjack long?” Seth asked.

“Pa gave him to me last year for my tenth birthday. But I’m eleven now,” he tacked on with importance. “We used to have another horse, too. A gray mare. But Pa sold her. Said she was more trouble than she was worth.”

So Rube had bought the black gelding for his grandson, Seth mused. A generous gift from a man who apparently lived on little more than a social security check. But then Rube had sold off all his cattle, he quickly reminded himself. Perhaps he’d put a bundle in the bank and was now drawing a respectable amount of interest. However, if that was the case, he certainly wasn’t using any of the money around the homestead.

“That’s quite a gift,” Seth commented. “Do you ever have friends over to ride with you?”

Matthew’s head swung back and forth. “I can’t have friends over. Mom says it would get on Pa’s nerves.”

A nice way of saying the boy couldn’t have friends over who would see his alcoholic grandfather. What in the world was Corrina thinking? Why was she living here, subjecting her son to this type of environment?

“Well, how would you like to come over to the T Bar K and ride with me sometime soon?”

Matthew’s blue eyes suddenly grew wide with wonder. “You mean it?”

Seth didn’t know a whole lot about children, except that he loved them and tried to help with as many children’s programs as his busy schedule would allow. It made him feel good to think he’d lifted this boy’s spirits.

“Sure, I mean it. I’ll call your mother in a day or two and talk to her about it. Is that okay with you?”

“Okay!”

From her window in the kitchen, Corrina watched the interplay between Seth and her son.

Matthew must have intercepted Seth before he reached his truck and talked him into going down to the barn to see Blackjack. The idea surprised her. Matt normally didn’t take to strangers. Especially adults. But he’d seemed duly impressed with the fact that Seth was a Texas Ranger.

She sighed as a bittersweet feeling wound its way around her heart. When Matthew had been born, she’d wanted so much for him. Mainly two loving parents, a nice home and financial security. Yet try as she might, none of those things had come to pass.

Her son was hungry for companionship. Not just from her, but male companionship. The sort he should have been getting from his father. But Dale had walked out of their lives when Matthew had been only two years old. Her son didn’t remember his father. Nor did he understand why his father hadn’t wanted to be a family with them then or now.

Corrina had given up trying to understand years ago. Dale had been a dreamer and he hadn’t wanted any responsibilities holding him down for any reason. He’d moved on to another life and never bothered to contact the family he’d left behind. In a way, Corrina was glad she never had to see him or deal with him over parental rights to Matthew. Yet she wasn’t blind. She knew how much Matthew ached for a father and that filled her with a guilt she dealt with every day. And her father wasn’t the best role model.

“Corrina, are you in there, honey?”

The sound of her father’s loud call pulled her wistful gaze away from the window.

“Yes, Dad. I’m here.”

“Would you bring me another pack of cigarettes? My old bones just don’t want to move today.”

Since Corrina’s suggestions fell on deaf ears, she’d long ago stopped encouraging her father to change his habits to better his health. Yet it hurt her to see the things he was doing to himself. When Corrina had been in elementary school, her mother, June, had died suddenly and unexpectedly from a hidden heart problem. The tragedy had narrowed her already small family down to just her and Rube.

When she’d married Dale, she’d done so with the hope that his family would become hers, too. But his parents had been cold, distant people who preferred to keep to themselves. Which was just as well, she supposed. They’d never cared for her and Matthew any more than their son had.

The lack of family was the main reason Corrina had decided to come back to San Juan County and live with her father. She realized people thought she was crazy for putting up with a cantankerous old man. But he was her father. And he loved and needed her. That was more than she could say about some people’s family relationships.

She opened a cabinet and pulled down a pack of her father’s cigarettes. “I’ll be right there, Dad.”

Later that evening, as Seth and Ross walked from the cattle barn to the house, Seth used the time to toss a few questions at his younger brother. “Ross, why in hell didn’t you tell me that Rube Dawson had turned into a drunkard?”

“Didn’t know he had. The few times I’ve run into him in town, he seemed perfectly sober.”

Seth snorted. “All I can say is you must not have been looking at the man.”

“Well, I didn’t give him a Breathalyzer test or make him walk a straight line, if that’s what you mean.”

Ignoring his brother’s sarcasm, Seth said, “And you could have warned me that Corrina was living out there now.”

Ross stopped in his tracks to stare at Seth. “Didn’t know that either. But why does that matter—” He broke off, his eyebrows arched with wry speculation. “Well, well, this is something new. My brother, the Ranger, actually noticing a woman.”

Seth shot him a withering look. “How could I not notice with her living there?”

Ross could see from the tight set of Seth’s jaw that his brother wasn’t in any mood for joking, so he quickly sobered his own amused expression. “I honestly didn’t know Corrina lived there,” he said, then added with a thoughtful frown, “If I remember right, she was around my age, wasn’t she?”

Seth nodded. “I was a senior when you two were freshmen.”

“I always got the impression that she had a chip on her shoulder,” Ross commented.

“She had reason,” Seth countered gruffly. “The Dawsons were always one of the poorest families around here. I’m sure it was a struggle for her to hold her head up with pride.”

“I wonder what she’s doing there now. With Rube, I mean. Isn’t she married?” Ross asked.

Seth turned and continued walking in the direction of the house. Ross automatically moved into step beside him.

“Divorced. She has an eleven-year-old son, Matthew.”

Ross took his time digesting this news before he asked, “Well, did Rube give you any helpful information about Noah?”

“Unfortunately no. Said he hadn’t seen the man in several years.”

“Do you believe him?”

Seth sighed. “I have no reason not to believe him. Yet.” He looked at his brother. “He seems to think your stallion is dead.”

Ross snorted. “Hell, that old codger doesn’t know anything about Snip! Dad always said Rube knew a whole lot of nothing about a whole lot of subjects. You wasted your time going over there, brother.”

Where the murder case was concerned, he probably had wasted time, Seth thought. But he’d seen Corrina again. A young woman he’d never quite been able to forget. He couldn’t count that as wasted time.

The next morning, Jess called bright and early to warn Seth to get a horse saddled. The undersheriff was coming out to the ranch so that the two men could ride to the scene where the T Bar K hands had originally discovered Noah Rider’s remains.

Since Jess was on duty and would be coming to the ranch in the capacity of undersheriff rather than as his brother-in-law, Seth couldn’t help but be a little concerned about throwing their investigative efforts together. He didn’t want Sheriff Perez to think he was trying to horn in on his business. And when Jess pulled up thirty minutes later to unload his own personal mount from a two-horse trailer, Seth was quick to convey his worries.

“Jess, I told Victoria last night that I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Does Sheriff Perez know you’re out here?”

Jess led his big gray gelding to a nearby hitching post and loosely tied the reins. While he tossed the left stirrup upon the seat of the saddle and tightened the girth, he answered Seth’s question, “Of course. I told him.”

“And you told him what we’re going to do?”

Jess jerked the stirrup back in place before he looped a water canteen around the saddle horn. “He’s aware that you’ve come home to look into the matter of Noah Rider.” The undersheriff looked at Seth. “And frankly, he welcomes your help, Seth. We’re not exactly bogged down with homicides around here. In fact, they rarely occur. A few manslaughter cases from time to time, but nothing this cryptic. He understands you have years of experience with this type of thing and he also knows you won’t do anything that might compromise the case.”

Seth felt both flattered and relieved. The last thing he wanted to do was push his nose into a place where he wasn’t welcome. “I’m relieved, and I’ll try not to make a nuisance of myself.”

Chuckling, Jess shook his head. “If you only knew. Seth, the whole department is buzzing about having a Texas Ranger in the area. They see you as some mystical hero and they’d all like to meet you, they’re just too afraid to invite you to the office.”

Seth laughed with disbelief as he propped his boot on the hitching rail and strapped on a gal-leg spur. “Jess, believe me, there’s nothing special about me. I’m just a lawman, that’s all. Just a Texas Ranger.”

“Yeah,” Jess countered with mocking admiration. “You’re just a member of the oldest, most elite organization of lawmen in the United States. Hell, the Texas Rangers are even older than the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. You originated back in 1823, there’s only a hundred of you, and it’s damn hard to become one of those hundred. You have to be smart, strong and morally upright, among a lot of other things.”

Seth lowered his boot to replace it with the other one. As he strapped on the opposite spur, he said, “That’s all true. But you’ve got to remember that we’re only men. We make mistakes. And we don’t solve every case that comes our way.”

“Hmm. You can play modest, Seth, because that’s your nature. But you can’t fool me. You not only got into the Rangers, you’ve also moved up the ladder. That’s bound to make you feel good.”

Seth did feel good about his job. Becoming a Ranger had been a dream he’d been fortunate enough to fulfill. Yet there were times when he was struck by the fact that his job was all he had in life. Like yesterday, when he’d seen Corrina standing with her son on Rube’s front porch. The woman was far from rich and he didn’t even know if she had a regular job, but she had someone who needed and loved her. She had someone to come home to.

He glanced at the long, lean sheriff and gave him a wry smile. “No better than you must feel about being married to one of the most beautiful women in San Juan County.”

Jess chuckled. “See, I knew you were a smart man.”

The two men finished readying their mounts. Five minutes later they headed away from the ranch in a westerly direction through a flat mesa dotted with yucca, prickly pear and sage.

For three miles, the landscape went unchanged until the mesa narrowed down to overlapping foothills shaded sparsely with piñon and ponderosa pine and a few stunted cottonwoods.

Another mile passed as they began to climb to a higher elevation. As the trail grew steep and rough, the horses began to sweat and blow. Eventually they entered a dry wash with a graveled, rock-strewn bottom. Clear pools of water had collected in dished-out spots of the arroyo. Jess and Seth stopped their horses and allowed the animals to drink their fill.

“What a hell of a place to commit murder,” Jess remarked as the two men looked around them.

“Is this the place?” Seth asked.

“Not far. Maybe a hundred more yards on up the arroyo. I’ll show you.”

Once the horses finished drinking, Seth followed his brother-in-law through the steep, winding gorge. On either side, the tall walls were speckled with huge boulders, clumps of sage and ragged piñon. Here and there a twisted limb of juniper grew tenaciously between slabs of shale.

Seth figured he’d been through this wash before. There wasn’t any part of the hundred-thousand-acre ranch that he hadn’t seen at least once in his young life. Yet he didn’t remember this particular area. Which wasn’t all that surprising, considering it had been years since he’d ridden on Ketchum land.

In a matter of minutes, Jess pulled his gray horse to a stop and pointed to a spot in the bed of the wash where two flat rocks formed a vee at the base of a crooked tree trunk.

“This is it,” Jess said. “Noah was on those rocks. Facedown. And, as you already know, there was one gunshot wound to his head.”

As always when Seth looked at a crime scene, a grim resolution settled over him. “That’s a hell of a way to die,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “And I can tell you one thing, Jess, whoever committed the deed is going to pay and pay dearly.”

“I hope you’re right, Seth. This murder thing has gotten everybody in the whole county jumpy. And after I was shot—well, we had all kinds of calls coming in to the department from people who were worried about their own safety.”

“Where were you and Victoria when that happened?” Seth asked.

Jess pointed to the ledge of ground far above their head. “Up there. After the bullet hit me, I fell all the way down here. I was unconscious. If Victoria hadn’t been with me, I would have quickly bled to death. But with her being a doctor, she knew what to do. And, thank God, she was brave enough to stick around and do it.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Seth replied, then shook his head with dismay. “I can’t believe one of the T Bar K hands nearly killed you.”

“Steve actually believed he was shooting at Ross, not me. He’d been holding a grudge because Ross wouldn’t give him their cousin Linc’s job. And then there was that woman, Angela Bowers. Steve wanted her, but she wouldn’t have anything to do with him because of Ross.”

Seth’s lips twisted ruefully. “Ross always did like the women. In that way he was just like Tucker used to be. And look what it caused. You were nearly killed.”

“Well, to be fair,” Jess said, “Ross wasn’t having any sort of relationship with Angela. Steve just believed something was going on between them. And that was enough to make him take a potshot at Ross.”

“Thank God Ross quit his playboy ways and married Bella before anyone else got shot around here,” Seth exclaimed.

Jess grinned as though the idea of Ross being married still amused him. “Yeah. Ross is a truly converted man now. I never thought I’d see the day.” He turned a keen eye on Seth. “So when are we going to hear wedding bells for you, Seth? Haven’t you found some Texas beauty you can’t live without?”

Seth let out an easy laugh. “Hardly. I’m a busy man. Besides, I’m too set in my ways for any woman to put up with me.” And even if he did find one that would be willing to put up with his crazy work schedule, Seth thought, that didn’t mean that he would love her or that she would love him.

Love. Seth wasn’t even sure he believed in the emotion. Oh, he loved his siblings all right. But that was a different kind of love. He wasn’t at all sure that the connection between men and women was anything more than physical lust. As a young boy he’d grown up believing his parents loved each other. That they were married and had children because there was love between them. Later, as a teenager, Seth had realized his father wasn’t a devoted husband and his mother was only living a sham of married bliss. The discovery had devastated Seth and opened his eyes to relationships between men and women. And through the years he’d continually vowed to live alone than to live a lie as his parents had done.

“You might be surprised about that,” Jess said.

Seth merely smiled at his brother-in-law’s response, then motioned for the other man to join him at the vee-shaped rocks.

“Come on, Jess, we’ve got a little speculating to do.”

For the next half hour the two men studied the spot where Noah had been found and discussed the ways in and out of the ranch that the killer might have taken, plus the possible reasons why any of it had happened on the T Bar K.

Eventually, they climbed back on their horses and rode to the ranch. Once there, Jess lingered only a few more minutes before he loaded his big gray gelding and drove away.

With his brother-in-law gone and Ross busy with the cattle, Seth decided he’d use the remainder of the morning to drive into town and make a visit to one of the names on his list.

Montgomery Feed and Grain was located in the older, original part of town and had served the ranchers around Aztec for as long as Seth could remember. The front of the building was made of corrugated iron painted a pale green. Large double doors made of heavy wood stood open to a dark, cavernous interior stacked with tons of feed ranging from wild birdseed to high-protein horse grain. To the right side of the double doors was a high wooden porch connected to the front of the store itself.

As Seth opened a pane-glass door and stepped inside, a cowbell clanged over his head, announcing to the proprietor that a customer had entered the store.

He walked between dusty rows of leather tack, nylon lariats and veterinary supplies until he reached a pine counter rubbed smooth by years of use. Behind it, a gray-haired man with hooded eyes and crinkled, leathery skin rose from a rocking chair and stood to one side of a cash register.

He peered curiously at Seth. “Could I help you?”

Seth leaned against the counter. “Hello, Cal. I’m Seth Ketchum. One of Tucker’s sons.”

The man planted both hands on the countertop and leaned forward for a closer inspection of Seth. After a moment, a grin split his face. “Why, it sure is you, Seth. Haven’t seen you in years, boy. If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known you. What are you doing in Aztec? Come up from Texas to investigate the murder?”

At least Cal wasn’t going to be evasive, Seth thought wryly. “Not really. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Department is handling the case. But if I stumble across any information that might help, I wouldn’t turn a deaf ear.”

The older man folded his arms across his chest. As he did, Seth couldn’t help but notice that the flesh on his arms was flaccid and his shoulders stooped. Cal was somewhat older than what his father would have been if he’d lived, yet it jarred Seth to think Tucker would be as Cal and Rube were now, riddled with arthritis and other geriatric maladies. Up until his heart had given out, Tucker had been so big and vibrant it had been hard to imagine him old or even sick. And even after he’d begun to ail, his presence had remained strong enough to grab everyone’s attention.

“I don’t blame you,” Cal replied. “That was a hell of a thing—Noah getting killed like he did. Tell me, Seth, what kind of lowlife would do such a thing?”

“Criminals come in all shapes and sizes, Cal. If we can figure out the motive, we’ll probably find our man. I was wondering if you’d seen Noah recently or talked to him?”

Cal pulled off his John Deere cap and scratched his head. “I guess I haven’t seen Noah in—oh, I’d say twenty years or more. He came by here once—that was shortly after he’d quit the T Bar K. Said he was just passing through and wanted to say hello. I didn’t know where the man had gotten off to.”

“Can you remember Noah having any enemies around here?”

Cal’s forehead wrinkled even more. “Enemies? Hell no! Everybody liked Noah. Now, your papa was a different matter. Me and Tucker had a few rounds between us. But Noah was a quiet, gentle man who never bothered nobody.”

Seth nodded briefly. “That’s how I remember him, too. And I remember you and Dad having a big row over some feed. Whatever happened about that?”

A grimace twisted the old man’s lips. “I’ll tell you what happened. Tucker accused me of selling him moldy horse feed. I didn’t. I told him he’d let it get wet then blamed it on me. We went round and round about it. But I finally gave in and shipped three more tons out to the ranch. At no cost. Took me months to make up that loss,” he added with a huff.

“I can understand you being mad at Dad. But what about Noah? Was he in on any of this argument?”

The old man looked totally surprised by Seth’s question. “Oh, no! It weren’t any of Noah’s fault. Tucker’s the one who let the load get wet.” He shrugged one shoulder. “But I forgave your old man for that. He was a good customer over the years. And Ross still buys a lot of feed from me. I’m not offended to take Ketchum money,” the older man said with a smile.

Seth let out a long breath. “Well, I’m glad to know you’re not harboring any grudge toward Tucker. But I wish you could tell me a little more about Noah,” Seth admitted.

“I wish I could, too,” Cal replied. “You know, it’s downright scary to think there might be a killer around here. Most of my customers say they’re watchin’ their backs. And all of them say they don’t ride fence alone. Makes a man wonder what the world is comin’ to.”

Seth talked a few more minutes with Cal and tried to reassure the older man he believed the killing was an isolated incident and that he shouldn’t worry. When he left the feed store, he noticed traffic had picked up on nearby Main Street. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was approaching the lunch hour.

On sudden impulse, he made a left-hand turn and drove down to the Wagon Wheel Café. If he was lucky, he could get something good to eat and perhaps pick up anything that might be said by the locals about the T Bar K murder. Even though the murder had happened four months ago in early April, he realized the incident was still a source of gossip for the locals.

Moments later, Seth walked into the old diner and instantly felt as though he’d been jetted back in time. Some things never changed, he mused as he looked around at the vinyl booths and long Formica bar with swiveling red stools.

Behind the counter, a waitress was pouring coffee into the cups of the customers lining the bar. Her head was tilted forward, causing a tumble of chestnut curls to hide her face.

Seth took a step toward one of the stools, and then stopped in his tracks as recognition struck him.

Corrina.

Her name shot through his brain at the same time she lifted her head. She spotted him immediately and as their gazes clashed, Seth watched her lips part with surprise, her eyes widen. Something warm and mushy hit him in the stomach.

As he slung a leg over the nearest stool, the feeling spread upward, and by the time she came to stand across from him, he’d figured out the warmth pumping through him was pleasure. And the reason for it was Corrina.

Chapter Three

“Hello, Seth.”

Her low, melodious voice filtered through the clatter of dishes and the hum of conversation filling the diner. The sound touched him and sweetened the joy he felt at seeing her again.

“Hello, Corrina.”

Their eyes remained locked and an awkward moment of silence passed between them before Corrina finally gave him a brief smile.

“I’m…surprised to see you here.” As soon as the words passed his lips, he realized he’d said the same thing yesterday when he’d found her standing on Rube’s porch. She probably thought he sounded like a parrot capable of repeating only one phrase.

“Normally I work at the high school as a teacher’s aide,” she explained. “But since school is out for the summer, I took this job for a little extra income. I was off yesterday when you came out to the ranch.”

No wonder she’d looked so tired yesterday, he thought. When she wasn’t at home waiting on her father, she was here working on her feet, for God only knew how many hours. Evidently she needed all the income she could get.

“That’s good. I mean, good that you were able to find part-time work.”

Hell, he silently cursed at himself, what was he doing stuttering along like some tongue-tied teenager? Communicating with people was a major part of his job. He was normally adept at it. But there was something about this woman that made words of any sort seem trite.

She glanced down the bar to where several men were eating the midday meal. Seth took the moment to let his gaze wander over the fiery curls tucked behind her ears, the soft golden-pink blush on her cheekbones and the smooth moist curves of her lips. She was wearing the same uniform as the other waitresses in the diner, a pale pink smock over black slacks. The collar and lapel folded back to expose the column of her throat and an area of skin just beneath. It was creamy white and as fine and smooth as an Egyptian-cotton sheet.

“Are you here for lunch or just something to drink?” she asked.

Her question jerked Seth back to the moment at hand and reminded him that she didn’t have time to linger, even if he wanted her to.

“I’ll have a hamburger and a cup of coffee,” he told her.

She scribbled his request on a notepad in her hand. “It’ll take a few minutes,” she warned. “We’re rather busy today.”

“That’s fine. I’m in no hurry.”

She gave him a grateful smile. “I’ll turn this in and get your coffee.”

Seth watched her go over to the tall, open counter that separated the working kitchen from the diner itself. A clothesline was strung from one side of the opening to the other. Corrina hurriedly pinned the order to the small white rope with a clothespin, then went to the restaurant-size coffee urn and filled a small, thick-lipped cup.

She carried it and a handful of tiny half-and-half containers back to the spot where he was sitting and placed everything in front of him.

“Thank you, Corrina.”

Nodding, she started to move away. Without thinking, he swiped a hand at her forearm to stop her, but missed. However, his action caught her attention and she paused, her eyebrows arched in question as she looked at him.

Seth felt a dull flush of heat creep up his neck. He didn’t know why he’d reached out for her like that instead of simply asking her to wait a moment. But his mind didn’t seem to work logically when he was in this woman’s presence.

“I just…wanted to…I’d like to talk to you about something. When do you think you might have a free moment?” he asked.

Her eyes flickered with speculation before she glanced at the tiny watch strapped to her wrist by a black leather band. “I get a fifteen-minute break in an hour.”

He nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

She frowned. “Uh, what is this—”

“Hey, waitress, we need some coffee down here.”

The customer’s voice alerted Corrina that she’d already spent too much time serving Seth. With a frustrated glance at the Texas Ranger, she said, “I’ll talk to you in a while.”

Forty-five minutes later most of the noonday diners were heading back to work. Corrina shouldered her way through a swinging door leading into the kitchen. There, she plopped an armload of dirty dishes into a huge stainless-steel sink filled with soapy water.

“Lord, what a rush. My feet are aching!”

The complaint had Corrina turning to see Betty, a fellow waitress, pushing a weary hand through her brassy blond hair.

“It was busy today,” Corrina agreed.

“Busy!” she exclaimed. “Honey, that’s an understatement if I ever heard one. But I’ve got a pocketful of tips. I’ll be able to buy that dress I’ve had my eye on for my granddaughter.”

Corrina smiled at the woman who had quickly become her friend since she’d begun working here at the Wagon Wheel two months ago. Betty was coarse-featured and a little rough around the edges, but her heart was pure gold. She’d immediately taken Corrina under her wing and helped her with everything from writing orders to dealing with flirtatious customers.

“I’m glad. And I’m sure your granddaughter will really be surprised when her birthday rolls around and she opens your gift.”

Betty glanced at the fry cook, who was busy flipping burgers, then edged closer to Corrina and lowered her voice. “Speaking of tips, who was the big spender at the bar?”

Corrina’s expression went blank. “Big spender?”

Betty’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “Yeah, the one who left you the big bill. The guy in the cream-colored Stetson and burgundy striped shirt. Every woman in the place was looking at him. I’ve never seen him around here before. But he sure was eyeing you like he knew you pretty well.”

Corrina released a pent-up breath. “Oh. That was Seth Ketchum. We…uh…went to high school together. A long time ago. He just happened to remember me.”

Betty’s wide mouth tilted to a suggestive grin. “Must be nice havin’ a man like that remember you. Is he one of those rich Ketchums? The ones that had that murder out on the T Bar K?”

Corrina nodded. “Yes. Seth is one of the Ketchum sons. He’s a Texas Ranger.”

Betty’s eyebrows arched, her eyes popped wide. To say the woman looked impressed by this news was putting it mildly. “I knew he was a Texan!” Betty exclaimed. “Just had that look about him. You know, the kind that makes you stop and stare when he comes into a room.”

Corrina could have told the woman that Texas hadn’t done that to Seth, it was his own natural presence that drew a person’s attention. But at that moment the cook motioned to Betty that her order was ready and the waitress turned away to fetch the plates of burgers and fries.

Corrina followed Betty out of the kitchen and into the restaurant. The bar was empty and the only customers that remained from the earlier rush were seated on the side of the diner that was Betty’s responsibility.

Seth had eaten his burger and departed the diner while she’d been busy scurrying from table to table. One minute he’d been seated at the bar and the next minute she’d turned around to find him gone. The tip she’d found by his plate had been so large she was actually embarrassed to stuff it into the pocket on her smock. But she had. Because she needed the money. And because she understood that Seth wanted her to have it.

Yet the generous tip didn’t make up for the fact that he’d left without speaking to her, and she had to admit she was feeling a little deflated by his behavior. Especially after he’d made a point of telling her he wanted to talk to her.

Well, none of it mattered, she told herself as she walked from booth to booth straightening napkin holders and salt and pepper shakers. She didn’t need to be talking to Seth Ketchum. She didn’t need to be thinking of him either. He was not the sort of man who would fit into her life at all. Besides, he was only here for a short duration before he’d be heading back to Texas.

The bell over the door jingled and she looked up thinking it was one of Betty’s customers leaving. Instead, her heart skipped an odd little beat as she spotted Seth walking through the door.

She remained standing by the booth and waited for him to approach her. As she watched him stride toward her, she could feel every nerve in her body stand on its head and sizzle with anticipation. By the time he reached her, she was shaking inside and the lopsided smile he was giving her didn’t help to soothe her sudden trembles.

“Has your break started yet?” he asked.

Trying to breathe normally, Corrina glanced at her watch. “It’s starting now. Would you like more coffee, or iced tea?”

“More coffee might be nice. But only if you’re having some,” he told her.

“Why don’t you sit down,” she suggested, gesturing a hand toward the booth. “I’ll be right back.”

Behind the bar, she quickly gathered two cups of coffee and creamers. As she carried the lot over to the booth, she spotted Betty watching her with undisguised speculation. No doubt her friend was wondering what a well-to-do man like Seth would be doing spending more than a passing moment with a woman like Corrina. Actually, she was wondering that herself. But as she joined him in the booth she tried to act as though having coffee with a Texas Ranger was nothing out of the ordinary, that having a handsome, sexy man seek out her company was just a normal part of her day.

“Is this where you usually take your breaks?” he asked. “I mean, if you had plans to leave the diner, don’t let me stop you.”

Corrina quickly waved a dismissive hand. “Oh no. Fifteen minutes isn’t enough time to run an errand or anything. I usually just sit and try to rest my feet.” She stirred cream into her coffee while she berated herself for not taking a moment to powder her nose and dab a bit of color onto her lips. After six hours of work, she knew she looked as washed out as an old dishrag. But then there wasn’t any point in trying to impress Seth. He knew what kind of background she’d come from, a place he would never personally know. “Actually, I didn’t expect you back,” she admitted.

Amusement crinkled his features. “Why not? When I tell someone I’m going to do something, I do it.”

Yes, Corrina was quite certain he was a man who stuck to his word and his principles. He wouldn’t give a woman false promises the way Dale had done the two years they’d been married. What would it be like, she wondered, to have a relationship with a man who didn’t lie to his spouse or think only of himself? A man like Seth?

Embarrassed by her wandering thoughts, she cleared her throat then quickly sipped her coffee. “So…what did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, deciding to get straight to the point.

She could feel his gaze sliding over her skin and hair like an inquisitive hand. The sensation left her hot and cold at the same time.

He said, “I wanted to talk to you about Matthew.”

Her son’s name was probably the last thing she’d been expecting him to say, and the surprise must have shown on her face because he chuckled as she scooted to the edge of her seat and leaned toward him.

“What did he do?” she asked in a desperate rush beneath her breath. “Did he…insult you yesterday?”

“No,” he said with an easy smile. “Your son was very mannerly. I enjoyed spending a few minutes with him, in fact.”

Corrina released a breath of relief. “Oh. I’m glad. I—I’ve tried to raise him right, Seth. But it’s not always easy by myself. Sometimes I never know what might come out of his mouth or what he might do. He’s an adventurous boy and he needs a male figure in his life. More than just Dad. But…well—” She bent her head and focused her blue eyes on the swirling coffee. “Dale has been out of our lives since Matthew was a toddler. He never sees his son. And I…well, it’s probably obvious to you that I never remarried.”

He continued to study her face as he wondered what her life had been like since she’d grown into a woman. It couldn’t have been easy. Not with raising a son alone and now taking care of an alcoholic father.

The urge to console her had him wanting to reach across the table and press her hand between the two of his. He wanted to tell her that the world wasn’t all gray. That one day her sky would be bright and blue.

“Have you wanted to remarry?”

Her head jerked upward as though she’d been shot. “No!” she uttered forcefully, then floundered as her cheekbones turned scarlet. “I mean, I haven’t been looking. Raising Matthew is more important than me having another relationship with a man.”

Did she know just how revealing her words were? he wondered. Since she’d been in the same class as Ross, he knew she had to be around thirty-five, yet she was a woman who’d given up on men and marriage. And love. But then that shouldn’t be so surprising to a man who’d never gotten remotely close to starting a family.

She touched fingertips to the furrows in her forehead. “I’m sorry, Seth. I didn’t mean to run off with the conversation. It’s just that—” She broke off, her smile rueful. “It’s not too often I have anyone to…lend me an ear.”

Suddenly there were so many things he wanted to ask her, to learn about her, but her break was almost over. He couldn’t expect her to sit here and loaf away the remainder of the afternoon. Besides, he didn’t need to know things about Corrina Dawson. The more he learned about her, the more he would eventually have to forget once he went back home to Texas and resumed his life.

Circling his coffee cup with both hands, he watched the tip of her forefinger move from her forehead down to her lower lip, where it rubbed back and forth against the plush, moist curve. Even though the action was totally innocent on her part, the sensual movement caused a gnawing need to start deep in his belly.

Shocked by the unexpected reaction in his body, he focused his eyes on the brown liquid in his cup. “I’m glad you brought up the subject of Matthew needing male attention. Because I’d like to take him horseback riding. I tossed the idea at him yesterday and he seemed interested. So I promised him I’d talk to you about it. I’d planned on calling you, but after I ran into you here…I thought talking with you face-to-face would be better.”

Her heart thudding heavily, Corrina stared at him as all sorts of questions plowed through her mind. The main one being, why would he bother with her son?

“Uh…look, Seth, I understand you’re busy with Noah’s murder case. You couldn’t have time to waste on Matthew.”

His hazel eyes locked with the blue depths of hers. “It wouldn’t be a waste. At least, not for me.”

Her chest winced as a mixture of unexpected emotions hit her. “But you…”

Shaking his head, he said, “Corrina, I promised Ross I would do what I could and I will. But that doesn’t mean I intend to work every minute of the day.”

Corrina didn’t know what to think. To be honest, she was totally floored by Seth’s suggestion. He’d only met Matthew yesterday and he’d not seen or talked to her in years, close to twenty at least. And even then, the two of them had been casual acquaintances.

Only because you wouldn’t let him be more.

The little voice going off in her head shook her, reminded her of a time when she’d dreamed about being someone special to this man, when her young heart had been filled with love for him. Yet she’d never acted on her feelings. She’d only been a teenager at the time, but she’d been mature enough to know a Dawson couldn’t rub shoulders with a Ketchum. It would have never worked. Especially while Tucker had been alive. Seth’s father had wanted the best for his offspring. And Rube Dawson’s daughter wouldn’t have made the grade.

“In that case, I’m sure Matthew would love to go riding with you.”

He smiled and Corrina realized the easy sign of pleasure on his face was not something she’d seen much of since he’d come to the house yesterday. The notion made her wonder if he was carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders over the Rider case or if something had happened in his past to mute his joy for living.

“Then you have no objection?” he asked.

She laughed softly. “I’m sure if I made objections my son would never speak to me again. But why would I? If he isn’t safe with you, he isn’t safe with anyone.”

He’d had high-ranking political officers in Texas rely on him to protect their very lives, yet to know Corrina trusted her son in his care touched him in a far deeper way. In fact, the pride he was feeling at this moment was downright ridiculous.

“Good. If he’s not doing anything tomorrow afternoon about one, I’ll drive over and pick him and his horse up and take them back to the T Bar K.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “You’re going to ride at the Ketchum place?”

He nodded. “Why? Is something wrong?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Not really. I just assumed you’d be riding on Dad’s place.”

Her eyes traveled over his face and he could see she was trying her best to size up his motives. Seth could have told her that she was wasting her time. He wasn’t even sure himself as to why he was going to this much trouble to show Matthew a little attention. Except that he’d seen a hungry need in the boy’s eyes and had wanted, in some way, to try to ease it.

“And you’re going to a lot of trouble to go over and pick up his horse,” she added.

“I think Matthew will enjoy seeing the ranch,” Seth said, deciding it wouldn’t be polite to add that he believed the boy needed to get off the Dawson place for a while.

A smile lifted the corners of her lips and her blue eyes twinkled at the thought of how much pleasure her son was going to derive from this outing with Seth. “He’ll probably stay awake tonight just waiting for you to show up.”

“I have a nine-year-old nephew, Aaron. He’s my late brother’s son. I might include him on the ride, too. If it’s okay with his mother, Maggie. After Hugh was gored to death by a bull, she’s a little hesitant about letting her son get around horses or cattle. But she doesn’t forbid it and I think she’ll agree. If that’s all right with you.”

Over his shoulder, Corrina spotted the manager of the diner coming out of the kitchen. A quick glance at her watch told her she’d already gone two minutes over her break. Not wanting to jeopardize her job, she rose to her feet and picked up her dirty coffee cup.

“Of course it’s all right. I’ll tell Matthew to be ready tomorrow. Right now, I’ve got to get back to work.” As she turned away from the booth, she shot him a grateful smile. “Thank you, Seth.”

Early the next morning, Seth stood on the front porch and kissed his new sister-in-law’s cheek. A step away, Ross looked on with an indulgent glare.

“Here now,” he warned. “That’s as far as you go, Tex.”

Isabella smiled daintily at her brother-in-law. “Goodbye, Seth. Take care of yourself while we’re gone,” she urged him.

“I will,” Seth assured her, then to his brother he said, “Don’t be so greedy, brother. You’re going to have your pretty wife all to yourself for the next two weeks.”

Grinning, Ross reached for his wife and, with both hands around her rib cage, lifted her off her feet. “Yeah, and I can’t wait,” he said. “Ready to go, honey?”

Ross’s darker-skinned, half-Apache wife smiled adoringly down at her husband. “I’m very ready.”

The intense love on Bella’s face was like nothing Seth had ever seen. And though he wasn’t in the market for a wife, he couldn’t but help feel an empty loss and a ridiculous sense of envy.

Setting her back on her feet, Ross curled his arm around Isabella’s waist and urged her toward the waiting pickup truck where their luggage was already loaded.

Sauntering after them, Seth waited until they’d climbed inside the cab before he stuck his nose in the open window. “It’s not bothering you one little bit to go off and leave me all alone, is it?”

Ross laughed. “It’s not my fault you’re alone.”

No, it was his own choice, Seth thought. But there were times like this one when he wondered if his life would ever change. Moreover, did he really want it to? He could go and do as he pleased. He didn’t have to answer to anyone. And the only person he had to take care of was himself. All those things outweighed the loneliness he sometimes felt. Didn’t it?

“Well, you two enjoy the Caribbean,” he said.

“We will,” Ross assured him with a grin, then just as quickly the grin was replaced with concern. “Just be sure and watch your back, brother. I don’t want anything to happen to you while we’re gone. Or anytime, for that matter.”

Seth frowned. “Are you forgetting Steve Chambers is behind bars?”

“Yeah, Steve tried to kill me. But someone did kill Noah. And he’s still out there on the loose.”

Seth reached through the window and squeezed Ross’s shoulder. “Don’t go off on your honeymoon thinking about any of that, Ross. Linc is here with me. We’ll keep things going and we’ll be safe. Promise.”

Seemingly satisfied that Seth and their cousin could keep things running smoothly and safely, Ross said a final goodbye and started the truck.

Seth waved them off and then watched as the vehicle made its way down the hill, past the ranch yard, the barns, and finally the bunkhouse. Once it was out of sight, he walked back into the kitchen and found Marina sitting at the table dabbing her eyes with the corner of her apron.

“Well, if this isn’t something,” he scolded softly. “You’re sitting here boohooing over Ross being gone. Don’t I count for anything?”

Marina blew her nose, then sniffed. “’Course you count. But I’m used to you being gone. It’s always awful quiet when Ross is away.”

Seth patted the woman’s shoulder. “The days will pass before you notice. Besides, I’ll try to give you as much trouble as I can so you’ll think Ross is still around.”

Marina snorted, then chuckled, then looked at him and smiled. “I didn’t know you could make a joke.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he said as he walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. “I guess that’s my fault though. I should have been coming back home on a regular basis.”

“You have important work to do, Seth. We understand that. And we’re all very proud of you.”

Seth turned a grateful eye her way. “I know. But sometimes I miss being around my family.”

Twisting her head around, Marina leveled a stern look on him. “You’ve lived alone too long. If your mother was still alive, she’d be very unhappy about that.”

Seth grimaced. “Don’t go using that tactic on me, Marina. Mother always understood the choices I made. Much more than Dad ever did. She knew that I would never marry just for the sake of having a wife or kids. If there is such a thing as love, I want to find it. I don’t want things to be—” He broke off, uncertain about how much he could say to this woman without upsetting her. Even though he had a feeling that Marina knew private things about his parents’ marriage, she’d never spoken of the problems between Tucker and Amelia. Probably because she had loved both of them equally. Just as Seth had. “I don’t want things to be forced,” he finally finished. “I’d rather be alone than live that way.”

Rising from her chair, Marina began to gather the dirty dishes from the table. “Sometimes it’s not meant for a person to find love. Sometimes a person has to settle for less.”

“Not me.” He tossed back the last of his coffee and placed his cup in the sink just as Marina approached with an armload of plates. “I’m going to drive up to the Double X this morning, Marina. But I’ll be back by lunch. I was wondering if you could fix a few snacks for my saddlebags. I’m taking Aaron and another boy riding this afternoon. They might get hungry.”

Always glad to be needed, she gave him a bright smile. “I’ll fix ’em right up. No little boys will ever go hungry around here,” she said, then her eyes narrowed on him. “What you going up to the Double X for? That’s an hour away from here.”

“I’m going to talk to James, see if he’d been in touch with Noah at any time before he was killed. I’m sure they were once friends. James purchased a lot of cattle from Dad during those days that Noah was foreman.”

“Why don’t you just call him?” Marina suggested.

One corner of Seth’s mouth lifted as he shook his head. “You can’t question a person over the phone, Marina. You have to look them in the eye, watch their reactions to see if they’re telling the truth or if anything else is going on with them.”

She dropped the plates into the soapy water. “Well, you’ve went a little loco if you suspect James Miller of killing Noah! That man is a—well, he’s a saint!”

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