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Authors: Stella Bagwell

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BOOK: The Ranger And The Widow Woman
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While he cut the motor and walked to the house, Violet forced herself to remain in her seat and try to appear casual when he came through the door.
She must have appeared invisible because he didn’t even notice her in the dimly lit room. Without a glance in the direction of the couch, he strode straight to the kitchen.
“Violet!”
His voice boomed through the little house. She jumped to her feet and hurried after him.
“I was in the living room. What’s wrong?”
He whirled around, then immediately went stockstill as his eyes found her in the open doorway. For the first time since he’d met her she was wearing a dress. It was pale ice blue and cut to fit her bodice. Buttons fastened the front all the way down to her knees. Charlie’s gaze lingered on the last three which had been left undone.
“Are you hungry? I fixed goulash for supper. Sam ate most of it, but there’s a little left.”
She started across the room to the refrigerator. As she passed him, Charlie reached out and snatched ahold of her arm. She let out a little cry of surprise as he tugged her back to him.
“What is your car doing outside?”
His voice was cold, and uneasiness swept through her like a sharp winter wind.
“Your mother took me to get it.”
“I didn’t ask how it got here. I asked why.”
In spite of her apprehension, anger flickered in her eyes. She’d done nothing to deserve such a cool greeting. “It’s my car. I didn’t intend to leave it in Ruidoso forever.”
“How did you pay for it?”
She tried to jerk her arm free of his grip. When he refused to let go she glared at him. “I told you I was going to write a check on my account back in Amarillo.”
The grip of his fingers eased as surprise flickered over his face. “Aren’t you afraid Rex will find you now?”
She was. But she was more afraid of Charlie discovering her past. “It will be a few days before the check clears the bank and the statement shows up in the O’Dell mail box. By then...” She couldn’t go on. She couldn’t bear to tell him she would soon be gone and out of his life.
“By then what?” he prompted. “What are you planning to do? Leave? Run from me?”
The wounded sound in his voice filled her throat with tears. She swallowed several times before she could utter a word. “Charlie, I... told you before I couldn’t stay.”
He lifted his hat and swiped a weary hand through his hair. “And why is that, Violet? And, please, this time give me the truth.”
Her heart thumped at his softly spoken question. She knew he truly wanted to help her. But for everyone’s own good she had to force herself to shut him out.
“I don’t think you understand that Rex is a relentless man. He won’t stop searching until he finds me.”
“Why?”
Her gaze whipped up to meet his. “I’ve told you before! Because of Sam. With Brent dead, he wants to take over his grandson and make him into the man his son was before the plane crash. That’s the last thing I want.”
She seemed so innocent, so incapable of deceit. Yet during his drive home, the more Charlie had reflected on all he’d learned, the more he knew she was somehow involved with Rex. Just how deeply he didn’t know. A part of him didn’t want to know. But it was his job. Always his job to pull the worst kind of secrets out of people. And for the first time in his life Charlie wished he was anything but a lawman.
Clapping his hat back on his head, he said flatly, “I guess I should count myself lucky you’re still here. What’s keeping you now? You’ve got your car back.”
Her gaze fell to the floor as the pain in his voice struck heavy blows to her heart.
“I promised your mother I wouldn’t leave until I talked with you.”
And she’d kept her promise. It didn’t make sense, Charlie thought. The agony on her face convinced him she was hiding something that was torturing her. Yet she didn’t love or trust him enough to confide in him.
Biting back a curse of frustration, he said, “I want to know the real reason why you can’t stay...here. With me.”
She groaned and shook her head. “Charlie, there are...some things about me you’re better off not knowing.”
His brows lifted at her frankness. “You mean like why you really left Rex O’Dell’s house?”
It suddenly dawned on her that for the past few minutes he’d been playing cat and mouse with her, although she didn’t understand why. If he’d uncovered something about her and Rex, why didn’t he just tell her instead of trying to pull it out of her like a rotten tooth.
“All these trips you’ve been making,” she began mindfully, “they weren’t visits to old friends. Unless you use your old friends as stool pigeons. Is that the way you work, Charlie?”
He didn’t answer, and her nostrils flared with disdain as she looked up at him.
“Don’t bother answering,” she went on. “It’s obvious where your job is concerned you’d use anyone. Even me.”
“What does that mean?” he countered roughly.
“We both know the answer to that. It’s no wonder you haven’t ever married. A woman would never know just how far down the line you placed her on the list.”
Her barb fired his frayed emotions with anger and he said through gritted teeth, “You knew Rex was stealing cattle. Why didn’t you tell me?”
The hard accusation in his voice crushed her far more than his revelation about Rex. “Because I was afraid to tell you.”
He snorted. “Do you know how often I hear those words, Violet? I was afraid to tell. I was afraid to come forward. Afraid to do the right thing. It gets pretty old after a while.”
The disgust on his face had her backing away from him, then as chilling goose bumps broke out on her skin, she wrapped her arms protectively around her waist.
“Does it not occur to you that I’m human?” she asked quietly. “That I and all those others you deal with might truly be frightened? Not everyone is as brave and strong as you, Charlie.”
“Damn it, Violet, at this very minute I’m not brave at all! I’m scared to death you were somehow mixed up in a felony.”
“I had nothing to do with Rex’s rustling! But I’m not surprised you suspect the worst of me. There’s nothing but black and white for you, guilty or innocent. No in-between.”
“In law enforcement there can be no in-between, Violet. Things aren’t that easy.”
No in-between, her mind echoed. No reasons to justify her flight or her need to protect her son first and foremost. To a lawman like Charlie, there were no excuses to avoid your moral duty. And because he was that sort of man, she’d figured all along she could never confide in him. And she’d figured right.
Heaving out a defeated sigh, she said, “I guess now...you’ll go after Rex. If you haven’t already.”
Charlie quickly closed the distance between them, and when he spoke again, his breath brushed past her neck.
“For your information I haven’t arrested Rex. Yet. I have enough probable cause, but I want to make damn sure I have enough evidence to get him convicted.”
Did Rex know the Texas Rangers were closing in on him? she wondered. If he was arrested, his chance to fight her for custody of Sam would be over. The idea should give her some measure of relief. But Rex had already warned her if he went to jail, his sister, Evelyn, would only be more than ready and waiting to step in and do it for him. Violet didn’t know how far Evelyn could get with a judge. She didn’t want to believe things might actually snowball to such a point. Her mind refused to imagine herself in a court of law, admitting to everyone, and especially her son, that she’d once been arrested for robbery.
“I have a feeling you could supply that evidence,” he went on.
She whipped around, her face frozen with horror. “No! How could you even ask?”
He grimaced. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to ask. I was hoping you’d tell me you wanted to help me put this man behind bars.”
His words slowly but surely sank through Violet’s jumbled senses, and suddenly she was seeing everything through Charlie’s eyes. And she knew how guilty she must appear to him. The pain of it was crushing her chest, filling her throat and eyes with searing tears.
“I wish... I know it’s your job to arrest people who break the law. Especially break it to the extent Rex has. But, Charlie, don’t’ ask me to do this! I’m afraid of the man. Afraid I’ll lose my son!”
Frustration made him give her shoulders a little shake. “I’m not a fool, Violet. If Rex is behind bars, he can’t get Sam. And you could put the man there if you wanted to!”
“Maybe Rex himself couldn’t get him,” Violet tried to reason with him. “But his sister might. She’d certainly try. I can’t take that chance.”
“Bull!” he scoffed. “There’s no way he or this woman could get Sam. Unless they know something about you that I don’t.”
The expression on her face suddenly closed, and she quickly looked away from him. The deepest part of her was begging her to tell Charlie everything. But if he already had doubts about her involvement with Rex, what would he think if he learned she’d once been arrested for theft? It would drive the final nail in her coffin.
Defeat weighed heavy in her voice when she finally spoke, “Think what you will, Charlie. But I’ve told you all I can.”
The need to trust her burned in him, but his training as a Ranger refused to let him be ruled by his heart. “Violet, do you expect me to love a woman who can’t be completely honest with me?”
She felt chilled to the bone as the future loomed before her eyes. Charlie would be out of her life soon and there was nothing she could do about it. “I expect you to do your duty,” she said flatly. “Your job. Nothing more.”
Everything in Charlie willed her to look at him and tell him she loved him, that she would do anything to help him put Rex behind bars. But her head remained firmly turned in the opposite direction, her eyes frozen on the shadows in the corner of the room. How could he help her, how could he make things better when she insisted on shutting him out?
Violet finally forced herself to turn her head and meet his gaze. The anger was gone from his face. Now all she could see was great disappointment. The sight of it pierced her heart. “Why don’t you go ahead and arrest me?” she asked quietly. “Your mother is a kind lady. She’d make sure Sam was taken care of.”
With a weary groan he said, “Oh hell, Violet, I don’t think you belong in jail! I like to think you belong here, with me. And I’m hoping by morning you’ll have thought about all this and decided to do the right thing. For you and Sam. And for me.”
This man had held her, stroked her hair and comforted her. This stony-faced lawman was the same man who’d patiently taught Sam how to ride a horse, play fetch with a dog and how to simply be a little boy. But he couldn’t understand her fear. He didn’t love her enough to trust her.
Deciding there was nothing left to say, Violet pushed past him and hurried to the bedroom. Within a matter of minutes she had everything packed and the bags lined up neatly by the door. Then, still dressed, she lay down on top of the cover beside Sam and tried to decide what she had to do next.
Chapter Ten
T
he cabin was empty. Charlie didn’t find breakfast waiting for him in the kitchen. There were no playful shouts and squeals from Sam or barks from Buster.
Standing barefoot and shirtless on the front porch, he stared blankly at where her car had been parked, then off to the south where the dirt road eventually met up with the highway. There was no telltale dust. No sign of anyone coming or going.
He didn’t know when she’d taken her son and left. Last night hours had passed before he’d finally been able to drift off to sleep. And even then it had only been fitful dozing. He didn’t know how he’d missed the sound of the car, and since it was only six-thirty, he could only surmise she’d left sometime before daylight.
Well, hell, Charlie, what did you expect? You lit into her as if she belonged on the FBI’s most wanted list! Groaning out loud, he swiped a hand over his haggard face and hurried back into the house.
Everything in the kitchen was clean and in its place. Normally at this time of the morning the room smelled of biscuits and sausage or bacon and pancakes. At the moment the scent of emptiness hung in the air.
Moving down the cabinet to the coffeemaker, he glanced over his shoulder at the farm table and immediately envisioned Sam cramming biscuits into his mouth.
Damn it, he snarled to himself, where had the woman gone? Why hadn’t he anticipated her sneaking off before he could stop her? Because he’d truly hoped and believed she loved him enough to stay and work everything out with him. He had to be the biggest idiot on the whole force of Texas Rangers!
Numbly he went about measuring coffee grounds and a small measure of water into the coffeemaker. He wanted the brew strong and thick. He had to think and think fast.
He was staring groggily at the colored water streaming into the glass carafe when he heard scratching and whining at the back door. Turning, he spotted Buster’s nose pressed against the screen. No doubt the dog was looking for Sam.
“Buster, you might as well quit that damn whining. Sam and Violet are gone.”
The dog didn’t understand or was closing his ears to what Charlie had to say. He suspected it was the latter, and he cursed as Buster rolled onto his back, stuck all four feet in the air and howled.
Charlie tromped over to the door and glared down at the dog. “You good-for-nothing, mangy mutt! I’m gonna get rid of you just as soon as I can drive you back to the ranch. Why, you don’t even know how to bark. If Sam and Violet drove up this very minute, you wouldn’t even know it!”
Buster instantly flipped onto his feet and let out a loud bark. Charlie cursed again. But this time he pushed open the screen and let the dog into the house.
Moments later he carried his mug of coffee into the living room. That’s where he found the note. The blue envelope with his name written across the front was propped against a table lamp at the end of the couch.
Like a hungry hound snatching at a piece of com bread, he ripped open the envelope, unfolded the single sheet from inside and began to read:
Charlie
Last night when I saw how disappointed you were in me, I slowly started to think about all you said. You were right It would be wrong of me to let Rex go unpunished. Wrong for me and you and Sam.
 
I’ve left Sam with your mother. She’s promised to take good care of him until I can get things straightened out.
Violet
Charlie read the note through three times before his mind could absorb it all. Then chilling horror began to settle in the pit of his empty stomach. Until I can get things straightened out. Dear Lord, had she gone back to Texas to confront Rex? That was the last thing he wanted her to do! The man was dangerous! If something happened to her now, he’d never forgive himself!
With an unsteady hand he jerked up the phone and punched his parents’ number.
“Mom!” he practically shouted the moment Justine answered the ring. “Is Violet there?”
“No, she’s already gone. Is something wrong? You sound upset.”
Everything was wrong! And it was all his fault! He’d been so hurt when he’d uncovered the truth about Rex he hadn’t been able to see straight. But now all the things he’d said to Violet were tumbling over and over in his mind. He hadn’t behaved as a man with a woman he loves, but as a Ranger with a suspect! Now he’d put her in danger!
“I
am
upset! Is Sam there with you?”
“Yes. Violet called early this morning on your cellular phone and asked if I’d keep him for her.”
Fear gripped him like a vise. “Did she tell you where she was going?”
“Not exactly. She only said she had to go back to Texas to do some things, and she thought it would be better if Sam wasn’t with her. I didn’t question her about it, since I figured it was something personal. And, anyway, Sam is such a joy. It’s just like having you back home as a little boy again.”
Charlie groaned, and the tone of Justine’s voice changed to concern. “Charlie, didn’t you know Violet was leaving?”
Not for anything did he want to worry his mother. At this point it wouldn’t help matters at all.
“Not exactly. But I’ve got to find her. Don’t ask me why. I’ll explain everything later. Just keep Sam safe, okay?”
“That’ll be a pleasure. But Charlie...” she said doubtfully.
“Mom, don’t worry.”
She sighed. “Okay. I won’t. You’re my levelheaded lawman. You always know what you’re doing.”
Charlie closed his eyes as regret swamped him. He’d always tried to do the right thing. But last night with Violet he’d put his strong moral values above everything. Last night he’d been too much of a lawman. Now she’d probably never be able to see him simply as a man or a husband.
“I hope so, Mom.” He added a quick goodbye, then hung up the phone.
In his bedroom Charlie tugged on the first shirt he could find, then gathered up his holstered weapon. As he hurried out the door to his truck, he jammed cartridges into the pistol’s chamber, all the while praying he wouldn’t have to use it.
For most of the two-hundred-and-thirty-mile trip back to Amarillo, Charlie broke the speed limit. During those three or so hours of driving he’d made a few phone calls. On a notepad he’d scratched down Rex’s home address, the make, model and tag numbers on his three vehicles, and the location of his packing plant. As for where he might find Violet, he didn’t have a clue, other than to stake out Rex’s house and hope she would appear.
By the time dusk had fallen, Charlie was eaten up with worry. For several long, hot hours, parked in an inconspicuous spot, he’d sat in his pickup, a pair of field glasses jammed to his eyes as he watched the O’Dell house.
So far only two people had come and gone: Rex and a taller, younger man, whom Charlie believed acted as his right-hand man. Though he’d never seen either one before, he recognized them from a description he’d been given yesterday by an informant in Portales.
Glancing at his watch, he softly banged the steering wheel. Rex had left the house more than an hour ago and if Violet was here, she’d come this morning before Charlie arrived. Darkness was closing in. He could watch the house a few more hours, but he was beginning to think whatever she’d come back to Amarillo for wasn’t here at Rex’s house. So where? The packing plant?
On his way into Amarillo Charlie had driven by Rex’s feed lots and nearby packing plant. He’d not spotted Violet’s car among the many vehicles parked around the place. Besides, he hadn’t really figured she would want to confront the man in front of customers or employees. But she might after dark, his thoughts raced on. After it closed and everyone had gone home.
Fear crawling up his spine like an insidious spider, Charlie started the pickup and gunned it onto the main road. He could be there in five minutes! Dear God, don’t let it be five minutes too late, he prayed. Don’t let him lose Violet as Lupé’s family had lost her!
 
Violet was glad she hadn’t tossed away her keys to the packing plant. With them it was no problem to let herself in the front door, then on into the office, which held the company’s records.
To her relief the place was totally quiet, and at this time of night Violet felt safe enough to turn on a small banker’s lamp on one of the desks. She tilted the shade so it would illuminate the file cabinet, then hurriedly began her search.
She had an armload of papers when Rex’s voice sounded right behind her. Fear spilled over her like a dash of ice water.
“Well, well,” he drawled ominously. “My sweet little daughter-in-law has decided to come back to the fold.” Lifting her chin, Violet slowly turned to face him.
 
Outside, Charlie slipped soundlessly through the front door of the packing plant, then crept through the darkened rooms toward a pair of muffled voices. When he finally reached the origin of the sound behind a partially opened door, he flattened his back against the wall and carefully inched closer.
“I thought you were smarter than this, Rex,” he could hear Violet saying. “These files can put you in prison. Why hadn’t you gotten around to destroying them?”
Rex grunted. “You’re the only one who knows about them. And I thought you were smart enough not to come back here!”
“I guess I’m not smart at all, Rex. Because I had to come back. I can’t let you keep getting away with this. I want you in jail and out of Sam’s and my life.”
Ignoring her threat, he said, “I’ve had at least ten of my men out looking for you. Where’s my grandson?”
Outside the door Charlie gritted his teeth. Every instinct he possessed urged him to rush through the door and whisk Violet out of there. But the dirtbag could be armed or physically threatening her. He had to creep close enough to see, then make his move.
“You’ll never find out,” Violet said with as much bravado as she could muster.
The man made a mocking snort, and it was all Charlie could do to keep from charging into the room and choking the life out of him.
“Oh, yes, I’ll find my grandson,” Rex threatened with haughty confidence. “And when I do you can kiss him goodbye.”
“I’d kill you before I’d let you have him,” Violet said fiercely.
Rex let out a mean chuckle. “You just might have to, honey. ’Cause when I tell the judge you were once brought up on robbery charges, he’ll rule you unfit.”
“I was completely cleared of those charges, and you know it!”
Outside the door Charlie closed his eyes and swallowed. So that’s what Rex had been holding over her head. Dear Lord, why hadn’t she told him? Because she’d been afraid of him. Coming back here and facing a dangerous felon had been easier than confiding in him, he realized sickly.
“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.”
BOOK: The Ranger And The Widow Woman
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