The Texas Ranger's Reward (Undercover Heroes) (13 page)

“Travis?” Jose said in concern. “Are you all right?”

Travis struggled for breath. “No. And I won’t be until these
vermin are caught and put away in prison to rot. If this is a big operation like
the one on Boulder Mountain, then there’s a lot more at stake and we’re dealing
with men who’ll kill to protect their crop.”

“Which means there’s a lot of money behind them.”

“I’ve got my work cut out finding those plants, so we’ll know
exactly what we’re up against. Let’s hope the next recording gives us some kind
of time line for their activities. With it being mid-September, they have to be
coming to the end of the harvest.”

“Agreed. I’m here on surveillance when you want to talk.”

The call ended. Travis dropped off the new samples at the lab,
then swung by the school to pick up Casey. In a couple of hours they’d be seeing
Melissa again. He could hardly wait.

Chapter Eight

Melissa followed Travis’s directions to his house in
the Lone Peak Estates and pulled up in front. She loved the
country-cottage-style home on sight. White trim enhanced the stone exterior and
matched the white fencing.

Casey answered her knock. Apparently Travis was tied up on the
phone, so Casey and Dexter took her on the grand tour. Dark honey flooring ran
from the foyer throughout the downstairs. The mix of traditional and
contemporary furnishings reflecting the wood tones against soft yellow walls
gave the interior a warm, livable feel.

She accompanied Casey into the formal dining room with its
decorative columns. It led to the two-story great room with a stone fireplace,
and beyond it, the kitchen and breakfast room done in sage accents.

He then led her to their bedrooms at the rear of the house. At
the first one he announced, “This is my room.”

She could tell. It had everything a boy could want. “I love it,
especially your posters of Spider-Man and Optimus Prime.”

But there was something else she loved more: the framed
photograph of his father in his Texas Ranger uniform hanging over the bed.
Travis looked younger in the picture and handsome as sin.

Her gaze darted to more family photographs propped on his
dresser. Casey took one and showed it to Melissa. It was a head shot of his
mother, wearing a crew-neck top like the one Melissa had worn today.

She gasped, seeing the smiling woman. They
did
have definite similarities. In this picture, her light brown
hair was pulled back the way Melissa’s was. It revealed the tiny blue sparkling
jewels in her ears that matched her blue-gray eyes. Eyes like Melissa’s.

To see this photo of his wife, after hearing of their likeness,
explained so much about Travis’s initial reaction to Melissa at the clinic. She
put it back on the dresser before looking at Casey.

“You must miss her very much.”

His sigh spoke volumes. “Yup, but she’s gone to heaven. You’re
nice and pretty, just like her. I wish you lived with us all the time.”

Melissa moaned inwardly, while her throat swelled. “Thank you,
Casey,” she whispered, knowing she didn’t dare tell him the same thing back.
“That’s the greatest compliment I ever received.” She couldn’t deal with the
pain any longer. “Shall we finish the tour?”

“Okay. Come on, Dexter.”

They went to Travis’s bedroom, which had a coffered ceiling and
luxurious bath. Melissa didn’t stay to look around for other pictures of his
wife.

There were two more bedrooms at the top of a white staircase.
The house was utterly charming, but she found the real character of their home
came from the prints and two oil paintings hanging on the walls. Casey said
they’d brought them from Texas. The big one in the dining room showed a field of
gorgeous Texas bluebonnets.

The other oil, a very large one in the great room, showed a
black stallion racing ahead of some other horses. It was obviously a favorite,
and had been signed. The artist had caught the beauty and swiftness of horses in
motion. From experience Melissa knew it was a hard thing to capture.

“This is fabulous,” she told Travis as he walked into the
room.

He studied it for minute. “Before Casey and I left Texas, the
Rangers in my district took up a collection to buy this for me. The artist is
becoming famous. Nothing could have surprised or pleased me more.” His voice was
thick with emotion.

Tears stung her eyelids, but she refused to cry. “They must
have thought the world of you. Did you ride a lot?”

“All my life. Mostly for pleasure, sometimes on the job.”

“Are your parents still living, Travis?”

“No,” Casey answered for him. “They were killed by a train when
he and Aunt Pat were babies. Their truck stalled on the track and they couldn’t
get out in time.”

Melissa gulped. “That’s awful.”

“I know. My grandpa was a Texas Ranger, too!”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Yup. Daddy and Aunt Pat had to go live with their aunt and
uncle.”

“And we were very fortunate,” Travis confided. “They became our
parents and they were horse people. After my aunt May passed away from a lung
clot, it was just the three of us. When Uncle Frank died of a heart attack, Pat
and I inherited their house and lived in it.”

Casey nodded. “And then Aunt Pat got married and moved to Salt
Lake, and then Daddy met Mommy and they got married.”

Melissa smiled at Travis’s adorable boy. “And then
you
came along. That was a really lucky day for your
parents.”

Sadness tinged his smile. “I didn’t want to move to Salt Lake,
but now I’m glad we did. Do you ride horses?”

After their little talk in the bedroom, she realized where this
was leading. “I have done. There’s a stable in Kamas where you can go for rides,
but I’m not very good. Are you thinking of getting horses again?”

“Maybe,” Travis said. “We’re taking this one step at a
time.”

No doubt he’d ridden with his wife. After her death he’d
probably lost his love for it. Certainly Casey’s recent fall wouldn’t put him in
any hurry to do something about it.

“Who’s ready for dinner?” Travis asked. “Our Chinese food
arrived while you two were touring the house.”

“I don’t like that stuff,” Casey said in dismay.

“I made you mac and cheese, bud.”

Melissa grinned. “And I brought you more homemade
brownies.”

“Yippee!”

* * *

T
RAVIS
CAME
IN
the breakfast room after putting Casey to bed.
While they were gone, she’d cleaned up the kitchen. He brought his laptop with
him and sat down at the table. From his pocket he pulled out the three tiny
micro SD cards taken from the mini cameras.

Melissa looked at him. “Is Casey asleep?”

“Not yet, but I think he’s on the way.”

Suddenly, they said each other’s name, at the exact same time.
“You go first,” Travis told her.

“Casey showed me a picture of his mother. I—I can see why you
were taken back when we first met.” Melissa’s voice faltered.

“I didn’t know you then.”

“Still—”

“Still, nothing.” He cut her off. “Even identical twins have
differences when you get to know them.”

“All I’m trying to say is that I’m not so sure Casey has made
that distinction.”

“Does it matter?” Travis watched her fidget.

“It might. That’s why I made up the excuse about doing the
dishes instead of going in his room to read him a bedtime story. I don’t think
it’s wise that I get any closer to him.”

“Are you sure you’re not talking about me instead of my
son?”

“Travis, please listen to me. After talking about his mother,
he told me he wished I lived with you all the time.”

“That shouldn’t surprise you.” It had become Casey’s
mantra.

“No, but it troubles me. When you told me about his immediate
turnaround after coming to the clinic, I only halfway believed your explanation.
Not because I thought you were lying, but because it sounded so unlikley.”

“But now you know it’s true. So what if it is? Why are you so
worried about it?”

She eyed him in confusion. “Because he has unrealistic
expectations. One day, when I don’t meet them, he’s going to be let down.”

“I haven’t seen any sign of it.”

“You’re not hearing what I’m saying.”

“I am hearing you. We both know he’s transferred his feelings
for his mom to you.”

“Yes, but I’m not his mom, and when he eventually realizes it,
his disappointment could present problems.”

Travis had known the day would come when Melissa saw Valerie’s
picture. Now that she had, she’d started doubting him, fearing he couldn’t
separate his feelings about the two of them any more than Casey could. In fact,
she was making sounds about wanting to distance herself from him as well.

Travis refused to allow that to happen before they could
explore what was going on between them. Those kisses in the forest had been
earthshaking for him.

“Then we’ll deal with them if and when that time comes,
okay?”

He stared her down. At last she gave him a small smile. “Okay,”
she said.

“Good. Right now we have a case to solve. Let’s take a look at
these tapes and see what’s on them. This one is from the back door outside the
cabin.” He inserted the first memory card into the adaptor so they could view it
on the laptop, full screen. “The time indicated says ten fifty-five.”

“What on earth are they doing out in the forest so late at
night?”

“I’m working on the answer.” Travis knew exactly what they were
doing. Tomorrow he’d hike with Melissa over the ridge in the other direction. In
all likelihood he’d find what he was looking for, otherwise these drug
traffickers wouldn’t be using her family’s cabin rather than some cheap motel
miles from there.

Out of the darkness came the beam of a flashlight, moving
around like a firefly. Melissa gasped as she counted one, two, three, four
silhouettes coming toward the camera before they disappeared into the cabin.

“How dare they!” she said, appalled.

Travis picked up another memory card and put it in. “This one
will be from the upstairs camera. It says ten after eleven.” Again there was
movement of a flashlight beam, followed by two silhouettes climbing the
staircase.

Melissa shook her head. “How convenient! A bedroom for each of
them.”

“They probably had another one on watch outside the cabin, in
case they had to get out in a hurry, but the camera didn’t catch him. That might
explain the number of cigarette butts.”

He removed the card and put in the next. “Ten fifty-six.” The
tape caught the backs of four men in long-sleeved jackets entering the kitchen,
one still wielding a flashlight. The man holding it put it on the picnic table,
while they all crowded around the sink for a drink from the tap. They didn’t use
glasses from the cupboard. In another minute they assembled on the benches in
the kitchen.

Melissa glanced at Travis. “Judging by the look of them,
they’re all Hispanic. That certainly explains why we heard Spanish on the
listening device.”

He nodded. “When Jose translated the audio, he picked up four
voices, all of them native speakers.” That was as much as he was willing to tell
her.

“What were they talking about?”

“How hungry and thirsty they were. One had a toothache.”

“But nothing about what they were doing in the mountains?”

“Not yet. But when we go up to the cabin tomorrow, I’ll put in
yet another listening device, and hope we pick up more chatter.”

“Tomorrow’s Friday. They might not come, since it’ll be the
weekend.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see. I plan to come by for you at
eight-thirty in the morning. We’ll spend the day up there. I’ll ask Deana to
pick Casey up from school, so it will give us a little more time to hike.”

All of a sudden there was movement on the tape. The kitchen
became shrouded in darkness as one of the men took the flashlight and got up
from the table. Another left with him, presumably to go upstairs. Which meant
the other two were left in the dark. When there was nothing more to see, Travis
pulled out the memory card.

Melissa shot up from the table. “I can’t wait till they’re
caught. They sicken me. About a month ago I was watching an old Hollywood war
movie where the enemy shot everyone inside this gorgeous French château before
they took it over. It was winter. They chopped up the furniture and parquet
floors for firewood.

“Some of the soldiers used the fabulous Sèvres china urns for
chamber pots. They showed no mercy or regard for anything. I know it was just a
movie, but it was based on a thousand true stories. I remembered thinking, what
if that were my family? Our château? Now I have an inkling what it feels like
for an enemy to invade your home as if it’s their divine right.”

Travis reached for her and wrapped his arms around her. She
didn’t resist. “I’m so close to catching them, I can taste it.” He kissed her
cheek and hair. “Bear with me a little longer and I promise you’ll soon be rid
of them for good.”

“You think I don’t know that?” she cried into his neck. “What
if Casey hadn’t told me you were a P.I.? It’s a miracle you’ve already unearthed
so much. Who else but a Texas Ranger could do what you’ve done?”

The warmth of her body proved to be an aphrodisiac that drove
everything else from Travis’s mind. He kissed his way to her mouth and began
devouring her. His hunger for her had been building. Whatever reservations she
had about him seemed to have dissolved, because she was soon kissing him back
with a fervency that matched his own.

He had no idea how long they stood there, locked in a feverish
embrace. But when Dexter’s bark registered, Travis realized they were no longer
alone. Melissa had heard it, too, and eased out of his arms. He noticed her
flushed face and swollen lips before he turned to discover Casey standing
nearby. His son’s blue eyes stared at them with a soberness that was puzzling,
and he didn’t say anything.

“What are you still doing up, bud?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Travis sighed. “Maybe it’s just as well. I was going to ask
your aunt to walk across the street and keep you company while I followed
Melissa home. Now you can come with me. Stay in your pj’s, but put some shoes
on. Then we’ll leave.”

“I’ll be right back!” Casey took off with Dexter at his
heels.

Knowing this wasn’t the time for a postmortem with Melissa,
Travis escorted her through the house and out the front door to her car. After
helping her inside, he leaned down for another taste of her divine mouth.

“Travis…Casey can see us.” She tore her lips from his, but not
before he’d felt her respond. It gratified him to know her emotions were
spilling over, too.