The Texas Ranger's Family (14 page)

While she dealt with her daughter he started eating the brownies and couldn't stop until he'd eaten every one. “Are the rest of the brownies in the pan for me, too?”

She looked down at his empty plate with a faint smile. “What do
you
think?”

“I think you've won my allegiance for life. You could have a million-dollar career selling these.”

“I'm glad you like them.”

“I promise to save you one.”

“Don't worry about it. I can always make another batch.”

“Promise?”

Her eyes smiled at him before she fed her daughter some carrots and beef from the baby food jar. He got busy putting everything on the floor back in the drawers and cupboards. By now Amy was being treated to some Goldfish crackers. Her eyes lit up. “Fish!”

Kit grabbed one and put it in his mouth. “Fish. Yum!”

“Yum,” she mimicked. He laughed.

Natalie grinned as she checked her emails. “Better watch what you say around her. She's a sponge.”

Kit ate another fish and Amy promptly imitated him.

“Oh, good! The pictures have come. There are two of them. One of the casket and the other a group photo.” She studied them for a minute. “The secretary took the time to label each person. How nice. The flowers on the casket are beautiful. Take a look.” She slid the laptop in front of Kit.

He knew these pictures meant a lot to Natalie, but the people held no significance for him until he saw the name Dr. Varoz.

She had blond hair, but it was
Juanita Morales.
He'd bet his life on it.

By the merest chance he'd found the woman Cy was searching for in relation to the mortgage fraud case. There was no time to lose. He flicked his gaze to Natalie.

“Excuse me for a second. I need to call the director of the nursing home right away.”

“Use my phone. I called Mrs. Issac not too long ago, so her number should be right there in my call history.”

“Thank you.” He waited for his call to be answered then asked to speak to the director.

“This is she.”

“It's Father Segal calling from Austin.”

“Oh, yes, Father. How can I help you?”

“Mrs. Reese just shared the photos from the service for Gladys Park. Can you tell me about the blond woman, Dr. Varoz? She was in the group photo. Was she a church member, too?”

“No. She filled in for the regular podiatrist who went on vacation.”

“Who was that?”

“Dr. Nyman.”

“I see. How many times did Dr. Varoz come to see Gladys?”

“Just once, last Friday. Gladys was feeling poorly so she stayed awhile to keep her company.”

“Do you know why she came to the service?”

“She'd been at the nursing home to see another patient. I guess she decided to attend the service since she'd spent time with Gladys on Friday.”

It meant Gladys hadn't supplied her with the information she'd been looking for. Today she'd hung around; possibly hoping to find out where Gladys's possessions were located.

“Can you tell us who handled her financial arrangements? Mrs. Harris would like to get in touch with them.”

“The attorney for Mrs. Park.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Let me check. Yes, here it is. The firm of Farbes and Lowell.” She gave him the phone number.

“Thank you for that information. Sorry to bother you.”

“No problem at all.”

He hung up and gave Natalie her phone. “I'll be right back.”

On an adrenaline rush he hurried into the den and phoned Cy on his cell. “Come on, bud. Pick up.”

The second he heard his friend's voice he pounced. “You'll never guess who was at the funeral service for Harold Park's grandmother today. Julia Varoz, alias Juanita Morales.”

“What?”

“Yup. TJ's hunch paid off. I'm looking at a picture of her as we speak. She's wearing her blond disguise, posing as a podiatrist for Gladys Park. That puts her in Denver earlier today. When Natalie's house was ransacked and no money was found, she must have left for Denver. This is the break we've both been looking for.”

“I'm calling TJ. We need to put out an APB on her immediately.”

“I'll email you the picture from Natalie's laptop and meet you at headquarters.”

He ended the call with Cy and phoned downtown to get the surveillance team back to guard Natalie. When he started for the kitchen he discovered she'd taken Amy into the living room to play with her toys.

She stared at him. “What did you see in those photos that sent you flying out of the room?”

“Juanita Morales.”

Natalie gasped.

“She was the assumed podiatrist while the real doctor was on vacation. Juanita is a professional. After doing her homework she knew exactly how to get into the nursing home without creating suspicion.”

Frown lines marred Natalie's pretty face. “She must have thought Rod had hidden the money with Gladys. What an evil mind.”

There was a lot more he could tell her but not right now. “We're setting up a manhunt to find her. Hopefully it will lead us to her brother. I have to go to headquarters, but I won't leave until the surveillance team gets here. They should be out front any minute.”

He picked up the beach ball and rolled it to Amy. She was so excited she scrambled to her feet to push it toward him. Laughter rolled out of her as they played the game, and it hit him that he loved this little girl. And, heaven help him, he loved her mother, too.

* * *

L
ONG
AFTER
N
ATALIE
had put Amy down for the night, she still was too wired to go to bed. She changed into pajamas and a robe and went into the den, preferring to watch television on the larger screen. The room was small and could only accommodate the desk and a couch not much bigger than a love seat.

She noticed Kit's bedroll propped in the corner. If he'd tried to sleep on the couch, his feet would have hung over the end. No way would he have gotten any rest. Ever since he'd moved in she'd been worried about him sleeping on the floor, but he never complained.

Tonight he'd gone off without dinner. Those brownies wouldn't hold him for long. She was as bad as a wife who worried about her husband.
But he's not your husband, Natalie.
She could remind herself over and over again, but the fact remained she'd fallen in love with him.

And she had to face another truth. Amy was used to seeing him around the house and had grown attached to him. The longer he stayed here undercover, the more impossible everything was becoming. This wasn't a natural situation.

She needed to discuss it with Kit and decided to wait up for him. A plan had been forming in her mind that seemed to make good sense. Upon her mother's death, Natalie had begun receiving a monthly payment from an annuity. The money automatically went into a Certificate of Deposit to be used for a rainy day. And although Austin was experiencing hot and sunny weather, Natalie's rainy day had come.

She had to do something to free herself and Amy from a situation that was growing more and more untenable.
You're going to be hurt if you don't take action.
Separation was the only answer.

Nothing held her interest on TV, so she reached for a book on Lincoln she'd barely started and made up her mind to get into it. Anything to take her to a different world for a little while.

Near midnight she heard the hum of the garage door lifting and closed her book. Instead of getting up to greet Kit, she stayed on the couch to give him time. In a minute she heard sounds from the kitchen and then she heard him in the hall headed for the guest bathroom. When he walked into the den, the soft light from the lamp made him look grim.

“Kit?”

He lifted his head. “You're still up?”

“I've been waiting for you. Bad night?”

Kit raked his hair, a sign of frustration. “Have you ever gotten up early, ready to get everything done, then realized the people you needed to deal with weren't available yet?”

She nodded. “I know the feeling well.”

“That's what it's like for me tonight. All the business I need to do has to wait until tomorrow.” He sat on the upholstered chair. “I assumed you'd be asleep by now. What's on your mind?”

“You've got some icing from the brownies on your chin.”

He flashed her a quick smile before wiping it off and licking his finger. “Guilty as charged. I finished the last of them.”

“Without any dinner?”

“They're better than dinner.”

She loved this man with a vengeance. “I can see you're exhausted.”

“Not too tired to talk to you. What are you worried about?”

“Our situation.”

His eyes narrowed. “I thought it was working just fine.”

“It is. You've kept Amy and me perfectly safe, but we don't know how long it's going to take to find those two criminals. You're shackled here in order to protect me. If Juanita Morales was in Denver today, it's not likely they're going to try to break in here again.”

“Your point is?” he asked tersely.

She flinched. “You need to be free to conduct that manhunt.”

“Explain ‘free' to me.”

“It's no longer necessary for you to remain here undercover. I realize I still need protection, but that can be done by a private agency that provides bodyguards. I have money in a CD to pay for it. The last thing I want is to deplete your department of officers who have to watch me day and night.”

His jaw hardened. “Until this case is solved, the department has an obligation to protect you, so forget dipping into your resources. Is there anything else on your mind?”

“Yes. Amy may only be a toddler, but she's attached to you in a way she never was to Rod. If you're not living here, she'll get over expecting you to walk in the door.”

He expelled his breath. “I'll make other arrangements for you tomorrow if you want me to. I'm sorry you're trapped here so she can't play with her little friend across the street. This shouldn't have to go on for too much longer. I also realize you miss your job. Your whole life has been put on hold.”

“So has yours, Kit. You're not able to enjoy a private life while you're on a case like mine. But from now on you can go to your own home at night and sleep in your bed instead of on the floor. You must be sick of wearing that clerical shirt. If I were in your shoes, I'd be eager to get rid of it.”

While she'd been talking, he'd gotten up to roll out his sleeping bag and pillow. To her surprise he stretched out on top of it still dressed. “You're right. I
am
sick of it. I'm also exhausted.”

“I'll leave so you can get some sleep.”

“Wait—don't go yet. What about going into a temporary witness protection program with Amy? Would you consider that? You wouldn't have to leave Texas. You'd be removed to a place where you could enjoy a little more freedom but still be kept safe until the threat was over.”

Natalie blinked. “Wouldn't the cost of that be more prohibitive than surveillance?”

“Forget the money aspect. Does it appeal to you?”

“No. I'd much rather stay in my home in surroundings that are familiar for Amy. I'm fine here. We both are. You're the one I'm worried about. You've been multitasking, trying to keep us safe and still be a Ranger. You must have eyes in the back of your head.”

He chuckled. “That would be a first for the books.”

“It's not funny, Kit. If anything happened to you...”

He raised himself up on one elbow and looked searchingly at her. He reached for her arm, gripping it gently. “If anything happened to me...what?”

She could hardly think with him touching her. “I don't want to think about it.”

“What don't you want to think about?” he prompted.

Heat enveloped her. “This is a ridiculous conversation.”

“You started it,” he countered. “What are you afraid of?”

“I—I wouldn't want you to get hurt protecting me.” Her stammer was a dead giveaway that her emotions were in turmoil.

“I wouldn't want anything to happen to either of us. For you to get hurt on my watch is unthinkable to me. Come here. Let's talk about it.” He pulled her forward until she fell against him on the floor. He gathered her close and entangled their legs.

“Kit—” She half gasped his name.

“On second thought, I don't feel much like talking.” He lowered his mouth to hers. Natalie had been wanting this for so long she was past thinking about the wisdom of it. Kit started kissing her with a hunger as great as her own. In an explosion of need she began kissing him back, forgetting everything as she poured out her feelings for him.

One kiss turned into another until she was trembling with desire. His hands and his mouth fueled the fire that was licking through her body. She'd never known rapture like this.

“I'm sorry, Natalie. I've tried to keep my distance, but it isn't possible. I want you—you have no idea how much.” He buried his face in her neck.

“I feel the same way, but I was afraid you might be too chivalrous to kiss me, even if you found yourself wanting to.”

He groaned and brought his face back to hers, kissing her until she hardly knew herself. “I've been denying myself since the day we met,” he confessed against her lips. “It's been hell.”

She no longer had to wonder what it would be like to lie in this Texas Ranger's arms. When she felt able to take a breath she said, “That night in the car outside the motel, I wanted so badly to let you know how I felt about you, but I was afraid you might not feel the same way.”

Whatever he would have said was silenced by the ringing of his cell phone. Afraid of what it meant, she eased away from him so he could answer it.