The Texas Ranger's Reward (Undercover Heroes) (11 page)

His jeans molded to his long, powerful legs. Her gaze traveled
to a well-defined chest covered in a coffee-colored polo. In the dim light
coming from downstairs, half of his chiseled features and rich chestnut hair
were hidden in shadow. No superlative would do him justice. She only knew that
when she looked at him, her senses came alive.

“Do you need my help?” she asked.

“I’m all through here, thanks.” He put the camera back in place
at the top of the stairs.

She moved closer. “Here’s a treat for your efforts.”

When Travis turned to her, his eyes swept over her before he
took the brownie and bit into it. After swallowing, he said, “You have to be
kidding.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you told me you needed a cook. This brownie is too
good to be true.” He ate the rest in one swallow. “You could make your living
selling these. Move over, Bauer Doughnuts. Dalton Brownies is the new company in
town.”

“Travis…” Warmth spread through her like the chocolate Casey
was licking in the kitchen.

“It’s true. The fajitas were wonderful, too. I don’t think
there’s anything you can’t do. I thought the same that first morning in your
office. Like magic, you got Casey to give up his crutches long enough to walk
around the room with you. You’re like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.”

Outwardly, Melissa smiled, but inside she was sad because there
was one thing she couldn’t do. She couldn’t change her appearance. The reminder
of his wife would always be there whenever he looked at her. “Thanks for the
compliment, but I’ll let you in on a secret. You don’t realize it yet, but
you’ve seen my whole repertoire.”

“I don’t think so.” He smiled. “Every time we’re together you
do something that surprises me and delights my son.”

“
He
delights
me
. I believe he’d make a great Texas Ranger. He notices everything.
I know about every kid in his class—whose parents are getting divorced, whose
grandma has cancer, whose daddy bashed in his mother’s car when he drove into
the garage, who keeps snakes in their basement.”

Travis’s shoulders shook with laughter.

“He reminds me of someone else I’ve recently met,” she teased.
“And you’re right. He does have your sweet tooth.”

“You just said the magic word,” Travis murmured. “Let’s go
downstairs. It’s so quiet down there, I need to check on him. But the real
reason is because I have to have more of these brownies.” What would it be like
if he ever kissed her and told her he had to have more kisses?

When they entered the kitchen, Casey looked up. “Hi, Dad!” The
smile on his handsome little face was wreathed in chocolate.

Travis crossed to him. “It looks like you licked the platter
clean.”

“Huh? This is a
pot.
”

Travis shot Melissa an amused glance. The old Mother Goose
rhyme was wasted on his son, but she got the message and smiled. When he smiled
back, she felt like she was floating.

To hide her reaction, she wet a paper towel for Casey to use to
wipe off his mouth. Travis stood at the table and downed two more brownies in
quick succession.

“Can I have a brownie now, Dad?”

“A little one. You’ve got enough chocolate in you to keep you
awake for a week.”

“Huh?”

“Your dad doesn’t want you to get a stomachache,” Melissa
interjected. “I’ll wrap up the rest of the brownies so you can take them
home.”

“Thanks! Can we play Go Fish now?” She’d found a deck of cards
in the game closet.

“One round,” his father decreed. “After that we’ve got to get
you home to bed.”

Melissa cleaned up the rest of the dishes, then joined them.
Casey made the most matches, and was proclaimed the winner in no time, before
they turned out the lights and locked up. This evening had filled her with such
contentment, it was scary.

She put Casey in charge of the brownies as they walked out to
the Jeep. While she drove, he sat in the back and chattered all the way down to
the truck parked in town. When she pulled up next to it, Travis got out and put
his son in the backseat. She hated it that their marvelous evening was over.

After buckling him in, Travis came around to her side of the
Jeep. She lowered the window. Their faces were only inches apart. It was
madness, but she ached for him to kiss her. If he ever got the urge, would he
pretend she was his wife? She couldn’t bear it if that were true.

His eyes played over her features. “You made this evening more
memorable for us than you know.” She felt his warm breath on her face. Only a
little closer… “How do I thank you?”

The blood pounded in her ears. “You’re already doing that by
agreeing to track down the trespassers.”

He let out a sigh. She thought maybe he didn’t like remembering
he had a job to do. At least for a little while. “Speaking of your case, I was
wondering if tomorrow you’d come hiking in the forest beyond the ridge with me.
This evening didn’t give me nearly enough time to do all the necessary
exploring. I’m aware you want to paint, but you grew up here and know the area
better than most people.”

Melissa needed to remember the man wasn’t asking her out. He
needed her help. Since she’d been the one to tell her father about Lufka’s, and
spearhead this investigation in the first place, she wanted to do whatever she
could for it to be solved.

“Finding the culprits is more important than my painting.
Besides, I got in a full day today. I told you I’d help all I can, and I meant
it. What time do you want to leave in the morning?”

“I’ll be by at eight-thirty, after I’ve dropped Casey off at
school. In case you didn’t notice, he’s had a wonderful time with you today.
Thank you for taking the time to paint with him and play games.” Travis’s eyes
held a faraway look just then. “He’s been missing that.”

Travis had been missing it, too, Melissa knew. She had a hard
time swallowing. “The feeling’s mutual. Your son is precious. Do you want me to
drive my Jeep tomorrow? If so, I’ll need to fill it with gas when I get down the
canyon tonight.”

“Since we’re going to a new area, I thought we’d take my truck.
It shouldn’t be too much longer before I get a lead. Bring a backpack with the
things you’ll want.”

What Melissa wanted was right here, and she didn’t want to have
to wait until tomorrow. “I’ll be ready.”

It was all she could do to start down the canyon without
breaking into tears for the no-win situation in which she found herself.

Yes, she knew Travis was grateful for her help. The three of
them got along well and they had a lot of fun, but she’d been playing house the
whole time. When he caught the people invading the cabin, it would all be over,
and she’d be headed for heartache.

He followed her all the way to her town house, but that came as
no surprise. Travis had had sound instincts to guard and protect. After Russ,
she was lucky to meet a man like Travis and get to know him. He was living proof
that some men were a breed apart. Valerie had been blessed to know his love.

Melissa took a deep breath as she parked her car and got out.
She noticed Travis was still out in front. He hadn’t pulled away yet. “You don’t
need to watch while I
go inside,” she called to
him.

“I beg to differ. If I’d gone to the store with Valerie, she
might still be alive.”

With that revealing response, joy went out of Melissa’s world.
But it was the wake-up call she’d needed to get out of her dream state.

Tonight’s activities had brought back happier memories for him
from the past, but it couldn’t be clearer that he would always miss his wife. Up
until now Melissa had assumed her resemblance to Valerie had worked against her.
But after what he’d just said, she decided he wasn’t interested in any woman. He
had a son to raise. That was enough for him.

Heartsick, she resolved to keep the situation between them
strictly business. It might be the end of her, but that was the way it had to
be.

“See ya!” Casey shouted.

She waved to him from her front door. It was a good thing
neither of them could see the tears in her eyes. “See ya,” she said softly.

Chapter Seven

“Bye, Dexter,” Casey said. “You’ve got plenty of food
and water. I left you a doggie treat.”

Travis glanced over his shoulder. They’d just finished
breakfast and were ready to leave the house. He put some bottled water in his
backpack for the hike. “Casey? What are you doing now?”

“I’m cutting some brownies to take for my school snack.” He got
out the foil and wrapped them up before putting them in his backpack.

Travis couldn’t help laughing because he’d had the same idea.
He went over to the counter and cut two brownies for himself, which he proceeded
to eat on their way out to the truck.

“I think Melissa’s food is as good as Mom’s.”

Whoa.
Travis hadn’t been prepared
for that, but it was clear his son had moved on. “Yeah, these brownies are the
best I’ve ever tasted.”

“Yup. She makes good hot dogs, too. Can she come over
tonight?”

“We’ll see.”

“You always say that.”

Travis glanced at him. “What would you like me to say?”

Casey looked at him with innocent eyes. “Just say yes.”

Travis chuckled at his son’s remark. It was so…adult. He was
still chuckling when he dropped Casey off at school and then pulled up in front
of Melissa’s town house five minutes later. She came hurrying out to the truck
before he’d even opened his door. He got out and put her backpack in the rear
seat with his.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

When he told her, she chuckled, too. “He’s an original if ever
there was one.”

“So,” Travis said, “after our hike, do you want to make his day
and come to our house for dinner? I’ll order Chinese.”

She didn’t hesitate. “Only if I can bring something to
contribute.”

“I think Casey’s hoping you’ll make more brownies. Me,
too.”

She rolled her eyes. “More?”

“There was only one left when we walked out the door this
morning. It’ll be a race to see who gets it when Casey and I return to the house
later.”

“If that’s what you really want.”

“It is. Believe me.”

Her fragrance, whether from the shower or her shampoo, met his
nostrils. He was becoming addicted to it. “I do believe you’re the most punctual
woman I ever met.”

As she climbed into the cab, the action revealed the lush
curves of her body. She’d come dressed in denims and a long-sleeved crew-neck in
an oatmeal color. He helped her in and shut the door before going around.

After they were on the road she flashed him a guileless smile.
“My brother says that a girl being on time makes a guy nervous. He says it’s one
of my most irritating qualities.”

Travis chuckled. “If he’s rarely on time, then you make him
feel guilty. In my business punctuality is an absolute necessity.”

“Oh, good,” she said drily. “Now I feel much better.”

“I was paying you a compliment.”

Melissa laughed. “I know. Thank you. What’s the plan for
today?”

“I’m going to let you decide where we go. We’ll hike beyond the
ridge and look in the high back country for people who might be up to no good.
It’ll be better if we don’t talk while we’re moving. When we stop, we’ll
whisper.”

“Okay.”

He pulled a Geological Survey map out of the glove compartment
and handed it to her. “This is one I took from the cabin drawer. Let me know how
much of the terrain you’re familiar with. I’ll drive us up to one of the
firebreak roads. When we find a good spot, we’ll pull off and walk from
there.”

She opened the map. He glanced at her as she studied it. Her
lovely profile was beguiling, and with her hair caught back in a tortoiseshell
clip, sheerly elegant. For once he wished he was on vacation and they could
enjoy the day doing whatever they wanted. From the first she’d gotten to him,
thrilling him at odd moments. Now those moments were merging. When he was away
from her, he thought about her more and more....

Yet part of him still felt an illogical resentment for those
thoughts. He and Casey had been surviving in a numb state until that first day
at the clinic. When she’d greeted them at the door, it was as if Travis had
walked out of a black-and-white movie into a world of blinding Technicolor.
Besides conjuring up remembered pain from the past, new feelings burgeoned.
Longings and yearnings had taken hold, surprising the hell out of him.

He understood the initial attraction because of her
similarities to Valerie. But to go on seeing Melissa as anyone but a client,
desiring her to the point that he ached to act on his feelings, thrust him into
an unexpected realm of guilt. Valerie hadn’t been gone that long. It seemed a
desecration of her memory that he wanted this woman sitting next to him. But he
couldn’t stop what his body was telling him.

Outside Kamas, Travis took a right and drove up an emergency
access road into the forest. When he found a natural turnout, he pulled into it
and parked. “What do you think?” He leaned over to look at the map. Her warm
cheek was too close to his, distracting him from the business at hand. He’d
become acutely aware of her.

If she was disturbed by his closeness, she hid it well. “I’ve
hiked all through the forest this side of the ridge. But I hiked on the other
side only once, with my grandpa. That’s the area with the mine. The slope is
steeper there, and the forest is thick, making it difficult to walk.”

“Okay then,” he said, “we’ll hike in the area you’re most
familiar with and see what we can find.” From what he could gather, much of the
western end of the Uinta Mountains was unroaded and relatively pristine country,
accessible only to those willing to hike or go in on horseback. He’d seen no
sign of anyone else in this area so far. “I’ve brought my thermal-image goggles
to help us. Let’s go.”

They got out of the truck and she put on her backpack without
waiting for his assistance. The more he got to know her, the more he noticed how
independent she was, always protecting her body space. But there’d been a slight
change in her from last week. Last evening he’d caught her staring at
him a few times. That had to count for something. He
planned to find out what during their hike.

Today there were clouds overhead, but they weren’t threatening
rain. When they blocked the sun, the forest air just grew cooler. The endless
varieties of trees and undergrowth created a world of enchantment. Somewhere in
this greenery a plantation of Early Misty marijuana was growing. He needed to
stay focused to spot it, though Melissa’s presence was a constant
distraction.

The only sounds were of small animals and birds, and their own
movements. For Travis it was as if they were the only two people on earth,
encased in an almost spiritual solitude. He pitied anyone who’d never walked
through a forest like this.

They’d been hiking for about two hours when he spotted movement
in the distance. He stopped and waited until an elk with the biggest rack he’d
ever seen walked into view. Signaling for Melissa to stop, he took off the
goggles and helped her put them on. He stood behind her and pulled her against
his chest while she took a good, long look.

“Oh, Travis,” she whispered in awe, “he’s magnificent. I think
he must weigh a thousand pounds. Casey wouldn’t believe it. I’d love to bring
him hiking up here so he could see the elk, too.”

“You’ll have to draw him a picture,” Travis suggested, speaking
into her hair.

He felt a tremor run through her body, but she didn’t move
away. “I hope no hunter ever finds him.”

“A rack that size proves he’s eluded them for years.”

Slowly, she peered around her, through the goggles. “I can see
everything!” she exclaimed softly. She kept turning until she faced him.
“There’s nothing more beautiful than nature’s creations.”

“You’re right.” Without conscious thought he removed the
goggles and set them down. “I’m looking at one of them right now. You have no
idea how beautiful you are to me, Melissa.” He’d loved watching her move quietly
through the forest, a gorgeous human creature if there ever was one. His hands
closed around her upper arms. “I want to kiss you, but you already know
that.”

“Because I look like your wife?” she asked with a daunting
frankness.

He drew in a fortifying breath. “I don’t know how to answer
that. Maybe. Partly.”

“That’s honest, anyway. I can see in your eyes you’d give
anything if I were her. But I’m me. I don’t think you have any idea who
I
am.”

His hands cupped her face. “Then there’s only one way to find
out, isn’t there?” He lowered his head and found her mouth with his own. It was
sweet to the taste. So sweet. She’d been eating red grapes from her pack. He
proceeded with slow deliberation, teasing her, pressing kisses against her
throat and around her lips, invading her mouth a little deeper each time until
she opened to him, like a rose opening to the sun.

He groaned before pulling her body to his. After Valerie, he’d
thought he would never experience this kind of passion again. But holding
Melissa in his arms, exploring her warm, pliant mouth, showed him he knew
nothing about the mysterious alchemy stirring up his fire.

The world faded away as she wrapped her arms around his neck,
allowing him to embrace her fully. He’d been craving this since she’d helped him
put up cameras inside the cabin. While he’d been working, he’d had to fight the
urge to reach out and touch her. Now he didn’t have to hold back.

It wasn’t his imagination that she wanted to get closer to him.
Their bodies gravitated together in mutual need. One kiss didn’t begin to
satisfy and could never be enough for him. After such a long time in a state of
limbo, the rapture he felt with this woman was almost beyond bearing. But it
came to an abrupt end when she cried, “No, Travis!” and slid out of his
arms.

He was so far gone, it took him a minute to realize what had
just happened. Bereft after such ecstasy, he stood there breathing hard while he
attempted to pull himself together. “What did I do that you didn’t want me
to?”

* * *

W
ITH
THE
CLOUDS
SHUTTING
out the sunlight, his eyes
looked black. Melissa shook her head. “Nothing.”

“But you wanted me. You were with me all the way.”

“I don’t deny it.” Being in his arms, undergoing that explosion
of joy when he’d kissed her breathless, had been a transcending experience
Melissa had wanted to go on and on.

“Then what caused you to pull away? Did I frighten you?”

She rubbed her arms with her hands. “No.... Yes.... I don’t
know....”

He put his hands on his hips. “I
did
frighten you.”

“No. It wasn’t you. It’s me. I frightened myself.”

“Because you responded to me? Help me out here. I want to
understand.”

Melissa shook her head. “You had the power to make me respond
when I had no intention of doing so.”

“
Make
you? That’s an odd choice of
word. It takes two willing participants to feel what we were feeling.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I—I can’t,” she stammered. “If
you don’t mind, I’d like to go back to the truck.”

The safe world she’d created for herself since the divorce had
just blown up in her face. For the first time in six years, she felt confused
and out of control.

It was cruel to blame him for wanting his wife to still be
alive. He could no more help it than he could fly. And Melissa knew it was sheer
insanity to accuse him of trying to dominate her, when he’d done nothing of the
kind. For days now she’d been wanting him to kiss her. Now that he had, she was
a writhing mass of contradictions. She’d ruined it with him and could have
bitten her tongue off for speaking to him like that.

Without saying anything, he put the goggles on again and
started back the way they’d come, pacing his strides so she could keep up with
him. When they got back to the truck, she checked her watch. It was one-thirty.
They’d been out longer than she’d thought and they hadn’t seen a soul.

He left her to remove her own pack and put it in the backseat.
When she climbed into the cab, she still felt devastated by what she’d done.
“Travis…I owe you an explanation, but I don’t know where to start.”

“You owe me nothing,” he said in a remote tone of voice. “I
felt like kissing you and I did, until you stopped me. We both know it happens
to males and females all the time. It’s just as well I got it out of my system
so I can concentrate on finding the people invading your domain.”

After starting the engine, he turned the truck around and they
headed down the mountain. “I have to go to the cabin,” he said, “so I can gather
the memory cards from the cameras and put a new listening device in the flowers.
I’ll drive into Kamas and you can do some shopping there, or wait in the truck
at the church, while I go up on foot. It won’t take me long.”

“I want to stay with you.”

“I don’t think so. Not after what happened back there.”

“Please forget what I said.” She was starting to panic.

“That would be impossible.”

Melissa stirred restlessly. “I’ve made you angry, when it was
the last thing I meant to do.”

“If I’m angry, it’s at myself. There’s an unwritten law. No
fraternizing with the clients. I’ve never crossed the line before and now I know
why. Believe me, I won’t do it again.” The ice was back in his eyes.

She realized this wasn’t the time to explain herself. He wasn’t
in a mood to listen. Perhaps by the time they reached the cabin, he’d be more
approachable. For the rest of the drive to town she sat back and stared out the
window, not seeing anything.

At one point his phone rang. He checked the caller ID before
answering it. The call was a short one, but she sensed it was important. He
didn’t bother to explain, however.

When they reached Kamas, he parked at the church and said
nothing as she headed up the road with him. But with every step, she grew more
and more uncomfortable. Travis had surrounded himself with an invisible shield
that no plea for leniency could penetrate.