The Ranger And The Widow Woman Read online

  “Maybe so,” Rex went on. “But the stink of suspicion will probably be enough to cause you some hell. It’ll be worth a try to get my grandson.”

  “I wouldn’t bet on it, Rex! I know a Texas Ranger, and he’ll help me. With these files, he’ll have plenty of evidence to put you in jail. Where you belong!”

  Rex laughed loudly and Charlie decided it was time to make his move. He leaped into the room at the same moment Rex was lunging at Violet. Papers of all shapes and sizes flew in every direction as she jumped back in an effort to escape the man’s clutches.

  A scream ripped from her throat as Rex latched onto her shoulder. But before the other man realized anyone else was in the room, Charlie grabbed him by the back of the neck, spun him around, then floored him with a hard right to the jaw.

  As Charlie rolled him facedown on the floor and held his hands at the small of his back, Rex sputtered and groaned, “Who the hell are you?”

  “I’m Violet’s Texas Ranger,” he gritted. “And you, sir, are under arrest.”

  He quickly clamped a pair of cuffs around Rex’s wrists, then heaved the prisoner to his feet and explained his rights.

  A few steps away Violet stood trembling. Her face was chalky white, her eyes dark and wide with shock. Charlie went to her and quickly gathered her into his arms.

  “Oh, Charlie, he was...” Her words trailed away as she shuddered and tried to swallow down the tears in her throat.

  “It’s all right, Violet,” he murmured as he enveloped her in a fiercely protective embrace. “This man will never threaten you again. I’ll never let anyone hurt you or Sam. Ever.”

  She clutched folds of his shirt and began to sob against his chest. Charlie stroked her hair and pressed kisses to her temple. Later he would beg her forgiveness. Later he would show her, tell her how very much he loved her. But right now it was enough that she was safe and in his arms. Where she was meant to be.

  By the next evening Violet and Charlie were back at the cabin. The warm night breeze stirred the leaves of the old cottonwood and gently played with Violet’s dark hair, while beside her on the worn bench, Charlie held her hand tightly clasped in his as she talked about her father.

  “After my mother died, Daddy was all I had,” she quietly explained. “I knew he was an alcoholic, but he was my father. I needed his love and did everything to try to please him. That’s why I took those things to the pawnshop for him. I’d hocked things for him before, and though I knew he wanted the money for whiskey, I never dreamed he would send me down there with goods he’d stolen. You can’t imagine how shocked I was when the police walked in and arrested me.”

  Charlie cringed at the image. The men in her life had continually betrayed her, and all she’d ever wanted was to be loved. “When you discovered Rex was stealing cattle you must have felt like everything was happening all over again.”

  “I was terrified and angry. And then when he started to threaten to take Sam away, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to go to the police, but I dared not. I was afraid...” Her expression was full of regret. “I guess I just wasn’t brave enough to confide in you, Charlie.”

  He shook his head. “You’re the bravest woman I know. A little foolish perhaps. But very brave. You went back to Texas and faced Rex alone. And now, thanks to all the evidence you gave the Rangers, the man will be spending several years behind bars. But when I think of how he might have hurt you...I hate myself for not handling things differently.”

  Violet’s head swung back and forth as she looked up at his strong face. “I feel like an idiot now for not being able to tell you about everything. But you see, Charlie, the men in my family...my father, Brent and Rex, they were...well, the only thing they valued was themselves. And then I met you, with your morals and your law and will to do right. More than anything I didn’t want you to think badly of me, and I knew you would if you found out about the arrest.”

  His heart full of love and compassion, he reached with his free hand to brush his fingers against her cheek. “I’m not a perfect man, Violet. I make mistakes. Lord knows I’ve made plenty with you. Yesterday morning when I found you gone I...you can’t imagine how shattered I felt. I might be a hell of a good Ranger, but you made me see I was lacking as a man. A few kisses would’ve encouraged you to confide in me much better than an interrogation.”

  She laughed softly because she knew without a doubt there was a heart beating beneath the badge pinned to his breast, and she knew it was beating just for her.

  “Just make sure you only use that strategy on me in the future.”

  His head bent to press his lips against her forehead. “Now that Rex is safely behind bars and your running days are over, you are going to be my wife, aren’t you? Or can’t you put up with sharing me with the Texas Rangers?”

  Shifting on the bench, she brought her arms up and around his neck. “I may not share you as graciously as your mother shares your dad. But I will. I’ll always be there for you in every way I can be.”

  He kissed her for long moments before he lifted his head and searched her face. “While I’m away on a case, you’re not going to worry that I’m with another woman?”

  She nuzzled her cheek against his. “This whole thing has taught me a lot about trust, Charlie. It’s a two-way street, and it doesn’t always come easy.” She smoothed her fingers over the region of his heart. “But I know what you have in here. The Durango Kid would never cheat on his girl. And neither would you.”

  His expression turned purely sensual as he captured her chin beneath his thumb and forefinger and tilted her face up to his. “Now that we’ve got that all settled, you realize my captain has given me three more weeks vacation for breaking the rustling case. Don’t you think we should use that time for a honeymoon?”

  “Here at the cabin?”

  Bemused at her question, he grinned. “Not the Bahamas or even South Padre Island?”

  Smiling, she shook her head. “I love it right here. And then what? Will we live in Austin?”

  He nodded. “Is that all right with you?”

  “Anywhere will be all right with me. But I would like to come back here from time to time if we can.”

  “I promise we’ll come back twice a year on vacations and for every family holiday. And believe me, the Murdocks have plenty of those. But I’ve got to warn you right now my apartment in Austin is small. As soon as we get there, we’ll have to go house hunting.”

  Surprised, she leaned back to look at him. “House hunting? Charlie, your apartment will be perfectly fine for me and Sam.”

  The corner of his mouth turned up in a seductive and promising grin. “It won’t be nearly big enough for the family we’re going to have.”

  Incredible joy filled her eyes and she gave him a wide smile. “You want us to have children?”

  His expression softened as his gaze searched her glowing face. “For years now, Violet, all I’ve been is a Texas Ranger. Being a lawman was my whole life. But I promise that’s going to change. I’ll still love my job and I’ll still do my duty. But you and Sam, and the children I hope we’ll have, will always come first. Do you believe me?”

  She pressed her cheek against his. “Whether you’re a Ranger or a husband you’ll always be my noble Charlie. I know you’ll never lie to me.”

  He rubbed his cheek against hers. “Good. So how many siblings do you think Sam would like?”

  She laughed as their future together danced brightly before her eyes. “What if he says six?”

  Chuckling low in his throat, he began to press kisses beneath her ear and down the side of her neck. “Then we’ll have to start on the first one right away.”

  His lips had almost found their way to hers when the headlights of a pickup swept across the front yard. Glancing quickly over his shoulder, he said, “Looks like my parents just drove up with Sam.” Rising from the bench, he tugged Violet to her feet. “Let’s go see our son.”

  Hand in hand the two of them quickly walked aro
und to the front of the house. The moment Sam was out of the truck and on the ground, Charlie squatted on his boot heels and opened his arms. The boy ran to him, and as he flung his little arms tightly around his neck, Charlie thought how good it was to be a Texas Ranger, and how even better it was to be a daddy, a husband, a man who was loved.

  Romance is alive and kicking

  in Ruidoso. New Mexico—

  and Anna Murdock Sanders is about to discover it

  for herself!

  THE COWBOY AND THE DEBUTANTE,

  Silhouette Romance #1334, is a November 1998

  release—and the latest installment in

  Stella Bagwell’s best-loved

  TWINS ON THE DOORSTEP series!

  ISBN : 978-1-4592-6634-6

  THE RANGER AND THE WIDOW WOMAN

  Copyright © 1998 by Stella Bagwell

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York NY. 10017 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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