Winning The Ranger’s Heart

Jane Carver

 

Written in honor of the Texas Rangers

 

Three years he’d waited to meet her. Neal wasn’t sure if the jumpy feeling in the pit of his stomach was nerves or excitement. Didn’t make any difference. She said she’d meet him here at eleven. Unable to sit quietly in his hotel room, he got to Mae’s Diner early. By ten-thirty, he’d already had three cups of coffee and two slices of pie. Now he wished he’d laid off that last piece. His jumpy stomach and coconut meringue pie were doing a tango in his guts. Even going to the restroom wasn’t an option at this point. What if he disappeared into that place and she walked in, didn’t see him and left?

“More coffee, sir?” The waitress appeared at his elbow so quietly he jumped when she spoke.

“No, thank you though.”

“You waiting for someone?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He kept his eyes glued to the doorway.

“She pretty?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“Mister, when a guy watches a door like it’s his last hope, I figure there’s a woman involved, and it’s real serious.”

“Yeah.” Neal didn’t add anything else. He wasn’t used to talking to women.

“When’s she due?”

“Eleven.”

The waitress patted him on the shoulder once. “Good luck, cowboy.”

‘Cowboy’—that fit him, he supposed. From the local grain company cap he wore, to the blue-plaid flannel shirt, to the pressed jeans to the worn boots, he must have looked like an escapee from a farm. Truth to tell, he practically was. An escapee from a ranch. For at least a week hopefully. The time sort of depended on Jenny.

Neal wanted to get lost in daydreams about her but feared looking like an idiot. The small diner was filling up fast. If she didn’t show up on time, he’d give up his table to folks who really planned on eating.

Why in the world he thought she might not show up, he couldn’t figure. But that tight feeling in his gut was mixed with a little bit—a tiny little bit—of fear. Fear that she wouldn’t come like she said. Fear ’cause he had no clue what to say to her if she did walk through that door. The more he thought about what he was doing, the sicker he got.

Like one of those rendezvous people talked about and romance writers wrote about. Meeting someone in a strange town, halfway between his home and hers. Meeting a woman he’d never met before. Meeting a perfect stranger.

That’s when his thoughts did a sudden stop. Jenny wasn’t a stranger. They’d emailed back and forth for over three years. And while he’d never actually met her in person, he knew the deepest parts of her thinking, emotions and soul through her writing. She was no stranger. But she was about the most perfect woman he could ever hope to know.

Once again, the bell over the swinging door tinkled. Neal looked up so fast his neck snapped. Just an older couple coming for dinner.

“Easy there, cowboy. She’ll show.” His waitress grinned as she passed his side.

He nodded, but his throat felt like it was closing up. He shifted his butt in the hard chair and scuffled his feet where they sat side by side on the floor. The closer that minute hand moved to eleven o’clock the tighter he became.

Crash! Someone behind the counter dropped a large plate, and the clatter drew everyone’s immediate attention. Only he paid attention when that tiny bell over the door rang out merrily.

She came! Neal forgot to breathe when a tall auburn-haired woman in jeans stepped through the door with a sort of hesitant step. He drank in the sight of her as she came into the room and let the door slide closed behind her. She’d sent pictures and he recognized her easily, though his immediate thought was they didn’t do her justice.

Patrons packed the diner now, and with staff and folks passing back and forth, she stopped to scan the crowd. Neal watched as she searched for him. He knew her. She didn’t know him. She’d never seen a picture of him. A last minute thought—how the hell would she know him from all these other guys milling around?

Her head swiveled toward his end of the diner. As suddenly as she stopped looking around, his heart stopped just as quick. Did she see him? One step forward and he locked glances with her.

She knew him—without a picture, she knew him!

Another step forward then it looked like she flew down the aisle toward him. Like a man with a string tied up his spine, he jerked out of his chair and stood, all six foot six of him, quivering like a thumped chalk line.

Straight into his arms she flew, burrowed her hands under his open Carhart jacket and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She hugged him so hard he wondered if he’d ever be able to breathe again, and then his arms embraced her and he didn’t worry about breathing. Nothing mattered any more.

“Neal.” His name came out in a soft whisper somewhere under his chin where her head laid against his shoulder.

As if reluctant to let go, she moved back only enough to break the contact between their chests. She still held him firmly. With her finally in his arms, he wasn’t about to let go either. Like a pair of loons, they stared at each other.

Should I kiss her? Neal swallowed so hard she had to have heard it.

“Are you as scared as I am?” She wasn’t being funny. She sounded dead serious.

“Probably more,” he admitted without a smile.

“How many times did you talk yourself out of coming?”

“’Bout a dozen. But I talked myself back into it one more time than that.”

His droll humor won a smile from her at last. “Yeah, me too.” Now her smile—the one he recognized from the pictures she sent him over the ‘net—blossomed on her face. “Guess what?” She almost sounded silly; like their conversations on the computer’s instant messaging.

“What?” His grin spread as her green eyes lighted.

“I’m so glad I came.”

A pure sigh of contentment rushed out of Neal with the speed of a passing freight train.

“Me, too.” And he leaned down and kissed her lightly because he wasn’t sure where their meeting was going. Was there a relationship that could survive past the Internet? He was desperate to taste her before she could get skittish and pull away. He pulled back as quickly as he leaned forward so there was no time for exploration, but at least he let her know the best way he could that he was glad she came.

“Hi, Ms Jenny Lincoln.” He gave her his full-blown grin now, too happy to hold back.

“Hey there, Neal Franks.”

For all Neal knew, the world ceased to exit. A long time ago, he figured out that this woman was all the world he needed. Now all he had to do was convince her he should be her world.

 

“This here your sweetheart, cowboy?” The plump waitress that supplied Neal with coffee and pie for over a half hour stopped right next to the standing pair, steam from a hot coffee pot swirling around the three of them. Before he could answer, she turned to Jenny with a smile. “He’s drunk enough coffee to float a battleship, honey. And he’s eaten enough pie to sweeten this here pot of java. He’s watched that door like a hawk and said less than a dozen words. This here cowboy looked like an eight-day watch wound a little too tight.” She bumped Jenny’s shoulder with her own. “I happened to see his face when you walked through the door. If ever a man died and gone to heaven, it was this one.” She nodded her head for emphasis. “Glad you two caught up with one another. Now,” she gestured to the table. “You gonna eat and chat for a bit, you need to sit and let me take your orders.”

Like a mother hen, she seated them one-handed, the pot still in a firm grip in the other. She gave each a menu and suggested hamburgers as the specialty of the house. In a daze now, both nodded at her suggestion then sat and stared at each other when she disappeared into the kitchen.

With a shaky sigh, Jenny came up for air first. “We must look like a couple of goof-balls.” She grinned so he would know she teased.

“Maybe, but you’re the prettiest goof-ball I’ve ever met.”

“Oh Lord, and how many goof-balls have you met.” Jenny nodded to the waitress who placed a glass of water with a thick slice of lemon in it in front of her.

“Oh, a bunch but then again, I never did think you fit in that category.” Neal passed the little tray with the packets of sugar to her, knowing she would squeeze the lemon into the water then add sweetener, making her own lemonade. So much he knew about her; so many things he didn’t.

“Thank you, kind sir.” She stirred the homemade lemonade, took a drink and cut her glance to him. “See, I accepted that compliment well, don’t you think.”

“Very.” He leaned forward and propped his chin in the palm of his hand, resting his elbow on the table. “You had to learn how to do that though.”

“True. You used to say things like that, and I’d deny it all over the place. You’ve taught me a lot.” Suddenly she blushed and dropped her gaze, studying the glass intently.

Neal watched her as she played with the drops of water that rolled down the sides of the glass. Over the course of years, they had talked about everything. Well, everything but sex, love and relationships. No, they’d even talked about those, just never those topics in relationship to the two of them. The way things stood between them changed after that first year, after Jenny’s husband died in an accident. He should say something now to ease her discomfort but dang if he could think of anything.

“Sure would be easier to talk if we were on the computer, I bet.” He almost let his head slip out of his hand and slap himself on the forehead. Where the hell did that come from!

Jenny sputtered in shock. Her eyes grew round with surprise and then blank.

What the hell is she thinking? Bet she gets up and leaves after that. Neal wanted to cry in frustration.

A tiny cough escaped slack lips, and then, before anyone knew it, Jenny laughed. A little at first then she broke into a laughing fit that almost choked her, she laughed so hard.

“Oh good Lord,” she gasped. “You can still read my mind!”

Neal felt a silly grin spread across his face as she laughed. He wasn’t alone here, feeling weird at meeting for the first time. Jenny had to be feeling the strain too.

“That’s what I would have typed if we were on-line.” Neal flipped one hand in the air to show he was as disconcerted as her.

“Here we are, grown people who talk for hours on the computer and now, face-to-face, can’t say a word, though I can’t seem to take my eyes off you. I’m probably embarrassing myself.” Jenny sat back and appeared to relax. Her shoulders eased down, and her hands rested easily on the tabletop.

The tension at the table began to fall away as they smiled at each other.

“You going to be okay with all this?” Neal gestured to himself.

“Yeah, as long as you are not turned off by me,” Jenny assured him.

Neal did some sputtering of his own. “What the hell do you mean? Turned off?”

“Well, you don’t know me, and I don’t know you.”

“Woman! You know me better than anyone in the world!” He realized his voice rose louder and dropped it to a whisper. “There are damn few things I don’t know about you, let me tell you. I intend to find out those few though if I have the chance.” His words sounded assertive, honest and sincere.

“Oh.” Jenny blushed. Clearing her throat delicately, she asked, “What do you not know about me? I’ve told you everything.”

“Now you’re just trying to get a compliment.” He picked up his spoon and wagged it in front of her face.

“Who? Me?”

“Yep.”

“So what don’t you know?”

For some reason, Jenny must have realized he was serious. She leaned forward and laid a hand on top of his. “Tell me, Neal.”

“Just like you do when we’re on IM, huh, Jenny. You know how to make me talk.” He turned his hand over and caught hers in his huge palm. With a light squeeze, he told her things were all right. “I don’t know how your cheek feels next to mine. I don’t know what your hair smells like when the sun warms it.” His words came out in a rush, but then he paused, “I don’t know how...”

“How what?” Their gazes locked, and the moment seemed perfect for an earth-shattering revelation. However...

“Lunch is ready, folks.” Their waitress stepped up to the table at that exact moment with a large tray stacked high with their order. Unaware of the vibrating sexual current flowing between the two, she began putting plates of massive-sized hamburgers, platters of French fries and coleslaw on the table, chattering as she worked.

“Ketchup?” The waitress held the ketchup bottle out to them.

“He takes mustard on his fries.” Jenny winced when she said it, and she and the waitress shared a disgusted look.

“Each to his own, cowboy. I’ll bring it right out.” She started to take the ketchup away, but Jenny snatched it back.

“Me? I take the ketchup.” She grinned and popped the top then poured the red concoction over her fries.

“Let’s talk about paintings, books, movies and cattle while we eat, Neal.” Jenny laid out the ground rules for their dinner. “When we’re through and we leave, you can tell me what other thing it is that you don’t know about me.” She cut her eyes over to him while she plastered her food with ketchup.

Neal broke out in a cold sweat. His bite of hamburger almost choked him. How the hell was he ever going to be able to look her in the eyes and tell her he didn’t know how she would taste if he kissed her like he wanted. He swallowed hard. Lord, leaving this diner was going to be a long time coming if he had anything to do with it.

 

Childress, Texas, lay in the northeast corner of the Texas Panhandle, halfway between Boise City, Oklahoma, and Dallas. Neutral ground as Jenny described it. The winds of spring teased her jacket as she walked out of the diner ahead of Neal. The clips that held her shoulder-length auburn hair out of her face proved no match for a gust and went flying to land in the dust of the parking lot. Red hair flew in wild tangles around her face.

“Like fighting an elephant, huh?” Neal came up beside her, apparently fascinated by her attempt to get some order back to her hair.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“No matter how you try to get a grip, it ain’t happening.” He chuckled at the sight of her losing the battle of hair versus wind.

Jenny fought with the wind and finally dropped her arms in surrender. No sooner did she stop the effort to straighten her hair than the wind died, and the strands fell in perfect smooth lines down to the top of her shoulders.

“Shoot! Would you look at that?” She ran her hand down her tresses and laughed.

Neal stuck both hands in his pockets. “What now?”

“Damn awkward, isn’t it,” Jenny admitted. “We aren’t usually at a loss for words.”

“How about a drive?”

“Suits me. Where to?”

“Let’s go to my territory.” Neal struck out across the parking lot headed for a big Dodge Ram three-quarter ton pickup truck.

“All the way to Boise City? We’re going there?” Jenny seemed to take root for minute then took off after him.

“Nah, not there. Just northeast a bit ‘til we get to the state line.” He held the door open and gave her a boost into the high seat by holding the hand she held out to him.

“Oh, cool.” She didn’t add they could talk along the way. She’d discovered a long time ago that words like “let’s talk” scared off men. Sooner or later, he’d say what he wanted to say, and if he didn’t, she would come out and ask. That last interrupted sentence had her wondering just what it was Neal didn’t know about her. He knew it all...well, not quite and that was the one thing troubling her.

What was he going to say when he discovered she’d been keeping a very important secret from him all this time?

 

The drive relaxed Neal. He fell into a familiar routine but enjoyed the sight of Jenny sitting across the cab from him. How long had he dreamed of this? Seemed like forever.

“You have any trouble getting John to come down and take over the ranch while you were gone?” Jenny turned in her seat so she faced him and pulled one knee up so one leg rested under the other.

“Nah, he promised to stay ‘til I showed up again.” Neal grinned, remembering how his older brother groused at leaving his wife in New York. But John told him to go, that this woman sounded like the real deal and for Neal not to fuck it up.

“How about you? You said your boss wanted to give you grief over this vacation time. Did he?”

“Yeah, he tried, but I never take time off, and he knew it. So he griped, but he gave me the week.”

“You be in trouble when you get back?”

“Not particularly, but he will give me a few shit jobs to make up for the absence.” Jenny grinned as town slipped behind them and the open country lay ahead. Eddies of dust swirled in the early spring wind.

Neal didn’t ask more about her job. Early on, she said she wasn’t permitted to talk about it, leaving him with the impression it might be a government job with high security. He figured she handled top-secret information for one of the government industries around the Dallas area. She, however, knew all about his ranch and his family, what was left of it.

“Pretty country but kind of bare, don’t you think?” Jenny scanned the far horizon. “Your land anything like this?”

“Eastern Oklahoma looks a bit like this, but where I am in the western panhandle is green and fairly lush. Difference of daylight and dark.”

“Kind of like us, you up with the chickens and down with the sun and me never knowing when I’m coming home or leaving out the next morning.” Her idle comment evidently came out before she realized it because she suddenly gave a lot more attention to the view out the cab’s window and stopped speaking, as if she’d said too much.

“Ships passing in the night.” Often they did not get on line at the same time, and a week might go by before they hit instant messaging at the same time. Neal only emailed Jenny and John, his brother. Jenny had a few friends she emailed but none she spoke to on IM except him. Theirs was a very private world.

“Well, this ship found the right dock finally.” She referred to finally meeting him.

“When your husband died a few years ago, I figured you’d sort of taper off with the emails.” He kept his eyes on the road when he spoke, though what he said revealed a lot about his insecurities when it came to her.

“Really? I never knew that.” She turned back to him, her eyes opened wide and brows up in surprise. “Guess I wanted someone to hold on to then. I wasn’t about to turn away from a person who knew me so well and offered such support.” She sighed.

“Good time. Bad time, huh?” Neal tried to understand her sigh.

“Yes, Tommy and I loved each other, but he grew jealous over the last years before he died. He never forgave me for getting my job—the one he really wanted. By the time the accident happened, we were more like roommates than husband and wife. He didn’t love me, but we didn’t actively hate each other.”

“Did he know about me?” Neal knew the answer but wanted her to talk, the expression on her face having turned sad.

“Yeah, he knew I emailed a few friends and that you were one of them.”

“He ever ask how we hooked up?”

“Tommy knew I was addicted to RPGs—role playing games, and when I told him we met in a role-playing game session, he was cool with it.”

“He never figured out that we talked way more than just casual friends would?”

“Honestly, Neal, he just didn’t care. I think along toward the end, he might have had a lady friend. I never knew for sure, but I think maybe he found someone he could be macho with.”

Neal knew from their many conversations that she did not go for anyone being all ‘macho’ over her—acting like the man was the boss and she was just the ‘little woman.’

“You’re a pretty independent woman, aren’t you, Jenny?”

“Not so much, really. At least I don’t think so. I just wanted a partner, not a boss in my marriage.”

“You don’t have to worry about that any more.”

“No.” She gave him a sad look. “You never treated me like I was stupid or hogging the glory or anything like that.”

“Tommy did that?”

“Yeah.” And she turned once more to the vast view of plateau outside the window.

Not many more miles down the road, they saw the Texas/Oklahoma border sign. Neal grinned at her as he drove into Okie territory then pulled off the side of the road into a drive with a gate leading into a pasture. He turned off the engine and blew out a sigh, one he didn’t mean to do.

“That bad, huh?” Jenny teased him.

“Nope, just glad to be alone with you at last. I still can’t seem to get over you actually being here.” He turned in the seat, put one arm out across the back of the headrest, the other draped around the steering wheel and let his gaze travel up her from her boots to the bright bourbon-colored hair falling around her face. “Damn, you’re beautiful. All those pictures you’ve sent over the years didn’t do you justice.”

Jenny swallowed before a fiery blush spread up under her collar and fired red into her face. “Come on, Neal, you’re embarrassing me.”

“Accept the compliment graciously, Sunbeam.” His nickname for her.

“Okay, then. Thank you.” She paused then grinned wickedly. “Although I think you need to get your eyes checked.”

Neal’s hands itched to touch her, but he feared doing so. One touch and he’d want to undress her and make love to her. That’s how badly he had it for Ms. Jenny Lincoln. However, he wasn’t sure how she felt about him. At least, not in terms of loving him. Guess he had a week to find out.

 

They laughed when they learned Neal booked a room at the Motel 6 while Jenny booked hers at Motel 8. “I’m two up on you, Neal,” she teased.

As much as she wanted to stay with him, they’d driven and talked a lot, she wasn’t sure if Neal was ready for a more intimate relationship. God knows she wanted more from him, but what if he wanted it all? Can I give up all I’ve accomplished to go with this man? The question burned in her soul as Neal pulled up before the door of her motel room.

Should I ask him in? She scrambled out of the tall truck and fumbled in her purse for the room key, careful to avoid showing what hid in the bottom. Her trepidation must have shown on her face.

“I may have never met you in person, but I bet I can read your mind right now.” Neal stood beside her as she stuck the key into the lock and turned it. Afraid to look him in the face, she hesitated long enough for him to tell her exactly what she was feeling.

“You wonder if you should invite me in, but you’re scared ’cause it’s like asking in a stranger. Even though you know me, you don’t. Not really. Right?”

With a loud gusty sigh, she stepped to the door then turned. “You’re right, and you know it. You talk like the Neal I’ve known for years, but I have to get used to the real you. The flesh and bone man.”

“But you don’t have a problem with the flesh and bone guy, do you?”

She could tell he was serious, apparently concerned about how he looked.

“You managed to remain hidden for over three years. Notice I never asked what you looked like. I created a picture of you in my mind.”

“Am I anything like what you imagined?”

Jenny tilted her head to one side while he stepped back and put out his arms in order for her to inspect him from head to foot. She smiled; this was so ‘Neal-like.’ Honesty at all cost.

To give him his full due, her glance slowly traveled up his body, liking what she saw. Middle aged. Older than she imagined. Maybe late forties. Seasoned. Never having given it a thought, she decided now that she liked that about him.

His was a sturdy frame with no spare meat, at least not that she could tell under the tan barn coat. His lean face showed plainly that he spent lots of time outside and worked hard. Tiny lines crinkled around his eyes and at the corners of his mouth. A nice mouth, full lips that lay in a straight line now but she’d seen curved into a smile many times since they’d met. His sharp nose ran between eyes of deep brown beneath full but not bushy brows. His high forehead disappeared beneath his cap, and all the brown hair she could see was a bit long around his ears and across the back of his neck. Seen in its individual parts, his face was as plain as a glass of water. Some might call him homely. His appearance surprised her but certainly did not put her off. As a whole, that masculine face radiated with an emotion she feared to name. Deep affection, certainly. Love? Maybe.

His eyes drew her attention once again. Many times, they’d discussed the eyes as being the one part of the human body that spoke to another person. Right now, Jenny saw kindness but also a touch of fear. Far different than what she saw when she entered the diner that morning. Neal worried that she might think him ugly.

“So, what do you think?” He evidently had given her as much time for examination as he could stand.

“I think...” She paused for effect, drawing out his tension a bit. “I think you are the best thing I’ve seen in a long time. Far taller and leaner than I expected. But you sure are a sight for sore eyes, cowboy.” She used the waitress’s nickname.

“But, Jenny, I’m a bit older than you thought, ain’t I.” He coughed and amended, “Aren’t I?”

“Why, Neal? Does that make a difference?” Suddenly she felt like a bird in a tight cage. Did age matter to him? If so, she was so screwed.

“It doesn’t to me, but I’m thinking it might to you. I ain’t no spring chicken.”

Neal had not only kept his appearance a secret, he’d also kept his age as well. Jenny should have been pissed, but she wasn’t. She was too glad to have him here. However, she wasn’t about to let him think they could not go on because she might think he was too old. Boy, did she have a surprise for him. A surprise she could share.

Putting her hands on her hips, she pulled her brows together and lowered them then lifted her left one in question. “And just how old are you, Neal?”

He looked so nervous now; he fairly vibrated from foot-to-foot. “Forty-five in the fall.”

Jenny held her silence, glad she hadn’t fallen for some youngster. “That’s not so bad. But you might want to consider you’re talking to an older woman.” She put a slight emphasis on the word ‘older.’

“What the hell are you talking about, Jen?” Now it was Neal who put his hands on his hips.

“I’m three years older than you, bud.”

“No way.”

“Yes way.”

His grin spread across his face, creasing every inch of his cheeks. “Damn, you’re kidding. You’re forty-eight?”

When she nodded, he grinned again. “You sure as hell don’t look like it.”

Jenny dipped her knee in a curtsy and grinned. “You don’t mind that I’m older than you?” This time she heard the fear in her own voice, try as she might to sound nonchalant.

“Hell, no. You’re a beautiful woman, no matter how old you are.”

His compliment sent a hot blush up her face again.

Silence fell between them as they stood grinning like fools. At last, Neal took one step back. “Guess I better be going then.” She saw him swallow. “For tonight.” He took one more step back but stopped. “I got to ask something. It’s been bothering me ever since you walked into that diner.”

“What?” Her breath came in short pants now that he really was leaving. She wanted him gone so she could think over the day and all that it could mean, but then again she didn’t want him to go...wanted him closer.

“How did you know it was me? You’ve never seen me before.” That worried look came into his eyes again. “But you knew me immediately.”

“Neal...” How can I say this without making him think I’m crazy? “I looked at all the men in that place, and when I saw you, I saw...” The word stuck in her throat. She couldn’t say it, but she could say the next best thing.

“You saw what?” Neal prompted her.

“I saw hope.” She refused to say what she really saw. She looked into this man’s eyes and saw love. The idea of loving someone enough to give up all scared her.

‘Hope’ seemed to be enough for Neal however. He let out a loud sigh and grinned—honestly grinned in apparent relief. “Hope, huh?” She nodded. “Sounds good to me.” With that, he turned to go.

“Neal?” She put out a hand, afraid to stop him, concerned he might get the wrong idea, but she had to know. When he turned back around to face her, she said, “I want to know something. You said there were things about me you didn’t know. The last one... We got interrupted. What were you going to say?” And she held her breath.

For a few seconds, Neal stood, watching her with an intensity that almost frightened her. Then he came back to stand tall and silent before her. “I wanted to know how my cheek would feel next to yours. How your hair smells when warmed by the sun. And...” His hand came up slowly to cup her cheek. “I want to know how it feels to kiss you. Really kiss you.”

When she seemed to rise on her tiptoes, he pressed his hand more firmly against her cheek. “But...” his words acted like cold water on her rising expectations. ...“If I kiss you, I’ll want more, and it’s too early in our meeting to do that.” He patted her cheek and stepped back. “I’d want more,” he repeated softly. On those words, he turned and walked rapidly to his truck, opened the door and slammed it. Turning it on, he rolled down the window and sat silently, staring at her.

On the spur of the moment, Jenny flew out to the truck. Leaning in, she lightly kissed him, full on the mouth. Letting her lips linger just a little longer than she figured he’d expect. While her heart beat hard enough to hurt her chest and her breath deserted her, she stepped away and gave him one of those wicked sideways glances meant to drive a man nuts. “Tomorrow, cowboy.” Turning on her heels, she ran back to her open door, stopped and waved then slipped inside, leaving one dazed-looking man sitting in a rumbling Dodge.

 

Unable to sleep, Neal spent the night lying in bed, alternately trying to talk himself out of seeing Jenny again, giving up the whole idea of loving her and then dreaming about making love to her. Confused and worn out, he flopped in the hard unfamiliar bed until five when he slipped into the shower beneath a hot spray that did nothing to negate his intense feelings.

In fact, he imagined Jenny nude next to him under the hot spray. He braced both hands against the slick tiles and tried to calm the raging hard-on that demanded attention. Finally, he gave in to his fantasies and used his hands to slake his body’s need while he pretended Jenny held him. When his cum shot across the shower stall and coated the tiles, he relaxed but only because he was emotionally and physically spent. A blush covered his body when he thought about what Jenny would say if she knew how he daydreamed about her.

He no sooner stepped out of the bathroom, a damp towel around his hips than his cell phone rang. Wondering if his brother had troubles and was calling, his brows rose in surprise when he saw Jenny’s name in the tiny ID window.

“Morning, Sunbeam.” He sat on the bed as he answered her on the second ring.

Her chuckle sent a tingle up his spine and awakened his lower body again. Damn, I could get used to listening to that first thing every morning. He wiggled on the bed sheet, uncomfortable, the towel a bit tight over his swelling body. And she hadn’t done a thing but laugh.

“Ready for breakfast?”

Neal rarely ate breakfast so early; he usually worked in the barn and around the ranch, doing morning chores, then ate at nine. But he knew Jenny worked odd hours occasionally, and she enjoyed eating breakfast very early. Often before the sun rose.

“If I have to.” He let her hear a faked reluctance in his voice.

“Come on, party pooper. I need company while I eat, and you’re it.” Her voice sounded so awake and smooth, and it wasn’t even five-thirty yet.

“Woman, I need my beauty rest.”

“Bullshit, you would already be awake back home. And you look pretty good so more rest isn’t going to help. Shake those lazy bones, and come get me. Besides,” Jenny dropped her voice to a low sexy whisper. “I have a surprise for you.”

Now his penis shot up in straight attention. Damn his cock. It wasn’t going to be satisfied. Just the sound of her voice turned him on. If what she wrote in her emails—which were anything but sexy since neither wrote about their personal feelings—left him hard, hot and bothered, then being next to her, watching and listening to her would kill him. Touching her—if he got the chance—would be like dying and going to heaven. He wanted to make love to her so badly at the moment that listening to her talk and ignoring his raging hormones was almost impossible.

“Hey, Jenny, hang on to that surprise. I’ll be there as soon as possible. Deal?”

“Deal, cowboy.” And with that sexy little promise, she hung up.

His hard-on strained against the towel and once again, his body took over his brain. Giving a groan, he laid back, placed the towel over his lap and slipped a hand beneath. His hand pumped, and in less than a minute, he’d satisfied himself at least to the point where he could get dressed in reasonable comfort.

“Damn, that woman is going to drain me dry before I even get inside her.”

 

“So what’s the surprise?”

Jenny barely got into the extended cab Dodge before Neal asked. “Patience, dude,” she admonished as she carefully placed her purse on the floor by her feet and laid a wrapped package the size of a small book on the seat behind her. “All good things come to him who waits.” She patted his arm in commiseration.

“Promise?”

She got the impression that his request for a promise concerned more than the surprise awaiting him after breakfast. “Humm, we’ll see,” was all she said.

Ready to try a new place to eat, they ventured into the first place that appealed to them. The waitress brought breakfast then disappeared. She only showed up again three times—twice for coffee and once to bring the bill. Otherwise, she wasn’t as friendly as the waitress at the diner where they met. Over eggs, bacon and pancakes, they discussed the latest book both had been reading before they met. They disagreed about a movie Jenny saw in the theatre and Neal saw on DVD. Neal brought up a new site on yahoo for RPGs and suggested they try it. Neither brought up why they were in Childress, Texas.

When they finished, Jenny suggested they make their way to a small park she’d spotted the day before. The wind had lain, and the sun had warmed the temperatures to the lower seventies. “Nice day to be outside,” she commented as they found a table. She left her purse in the locked truck but carried the small package. When they sat at the concrete table, facing each other, she held the gift up before him.

“I remember when we first started emailing. We’d finished the RPG. It was a western, and I had a blast playing. We’d gotten each other’s email addresses, and I wrote to you first. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if you were a guy or a girl.” She smiled when he shook his head. “Before long, you sent a poem. I cried before I even finished reading it. It was that beautiful. Then you got into the habit of sending them. Once a week. I counted on those to start my week. Every Sunday night I checked my email to see if it had come yet. Sometimes I went to bed before the poem arrived. But the hope that you’d sent another always got me up and going the next morning.” Jenny lost focus for a minute while she thought about those poems—hundreds of them by now. Such grace with words from such a large man. “You have written about every subject under the sun.” She graciously did not point out that he was as red as a beet by now. “I saved them all...did you know that?”

“Really? Why for heaven’s sake?” Her collecting his thoughts translated into poems made no sense.

“Neal, those were the things you’d been thinking about that day or that week. Each one had meaning. I often asked you why you wrote about the topic and more than once, you said that something happened to you or a friend or around the ranch, and it led to you putting words to paper. They were and still are important to me. In fact, I got your latest one just before I left.” She held the book out to him. When he latched on to it, she held it between them for a second. “I hope you like this.”

Uncertain what the present contained, Neal seemed to open it gingerly. When the wrapping came off, he held a book. Turning it over, he noted the rich brown leather cover. Tooled into the front cover, he read ‘Poems by Neal Franks.’ Opening the cover, he saw the front page mirrored the outer title on the cover. Next came a page with the name of a Dallas printing company. He read a dedication on the next page: For Neal, who means the world to me—Jenny

Jenny watched in fascination, as Neal got lost in the small book. Each page turned slowly, and he read as if each word meant the world to him as well. Did his eyes just water? She noted how he kept them on the book when he read the dedication page. Silence grew heavy.

“I kept them all, dated them when I typed them up for the printer.”

“Jenny, I don’t...” Whatever he wanted to say seemed stuck in his throat. “I don’t know what to say. This is beautiful. I can’t believe you saved every one of those things.”

“I’ve never been good at expressing myself, but you are. I wanted you to know how special those poems are. So...” she let her words trail off.

“Thank you so very much.” Neal leaned over the table and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips.

After a gulp and a reminder to breathe, Jenny said, “You’re welcome.”

Afraid of what might come next, she slid off the hard bench and stood next to him. Holding out one hand, she asked, “Would you read some poems to me as we walk?”

For a long few seconds, he gazed at her, as if trying to make up his mind about something. Finally, he quipped, “Walk and talk at the same time I can do. Walk and read might be a challenge. Maybe you might want to hold my arm so I don’t fall over.” He stood, book in one hand, elbow cocked out for her to take. “Remember that western RPG we played? Sheriff Garrett would have done this with Miss Lottie.”

Almost afraid to get closer to Neal, wanting to just as much as not, Jenny realized this was a perfect opportunity to do so without committing to anything more intimate. “Why you’re absolutely right.” She gave him a coy smile. “Lead on, Sheriff,” and she tucked her hand into the crock of his elbow.

“You sure are looking sweet today, Miss Lottie.” Neal led her off across the grassy park under towering oak trees.

Jenny patted his arm at the flattery. “My, Sheriff, you do say the nicest things. Now read to me?” She batted her eyelashes shamelessly. “Please?”

“Certainly, Miss Lottie.” And the ‘sheriff’ escorted his lady while he read poems in his gravelly voice.

 

It just so happened that the movie 300 was playing at the local theater. Neal wanted to see it badly, and Jenny said she’d go with him if he promised she could bury her face against his arm if it got too bloody and if he promised not to laugh at her. When the moviegoers poured out about ten-thirty, Jenny shivered at the unexpected chill in the air.

“That was about the bloodiest show I’ve ever seen,” Jenny commented as they held hands going out through the crowd to the truck.

And the love scene had your name written all over it, Neal thought. It didn’t help that the young couple behind them commented that the scene should win an Academy Award for how great it was. Neal imagined how Jenny would look like that, spread out and loved to distraction. During that particular scene, he noticed Jenny never once closed her eyes. She’d stayed glued to the oversized screen the entire time. She licked her lips as the actors played their parts. For his part, Neal squirmed discretely. His cock swelled until the zipper probably left tracks in the skin. Jenny squeezed his hand so hard he desperately wished she would squeeze some other part of his anatomy. Sitting in the muted blue light of a movie screen was no place to jack off, so he concentrated on the bloody parts of the movie and the fact that all three hundred Spartans died.

Once outside, the cool air revived him to some extent while he held Jenny’s warm hand. However, his imagination once again took hold. What’s going through her fertile mind? Her ability to role-play outranked his by a long shot. She proved that over and over when they first met in the month-long RPG. Lord, I wish she’d say something.

Neal held the truck door open and made sure Jenny was in safely before trotting around to the driver’s side. “Want some coffee or anything?”

“Not this late at night. Thanks, but I’d never get to sleep.”

By unspoken consent, he headed to her place. But all the while, his mind whirled. The love scene only fueled his desire to be intimate with her. But he had no idea what she thought about that. Neither spoke until they stood at her doorway.

He couldn’t stand it any longer. The tension surrounded them like a hot shower. “Jenny...”

Before he could say anything though, she put one finger across his mouth. Neal wondered if she could read his mind. Her eyes glowed in the reflected porch light at her door. Her gaze wandered his face even as her finger slid to one side and trailed a hot line of desire down the side of his jaw. He took a breath, ready to blurt out his thoughts, his need. But she cut her glance back to his, caught his and shook her head.

“G’night. See you tomorrow?”

Caught like a spider in the web of her soft gaze, he nodded. The door closed slowly in his face.

 

Jenny overslept the next morning and wasn’t even dressed when Neal showed up at her door. The minute she opened it, she sensed he picked up right where he left off the night before. She knew he wanted to say something important, but she wasn’t ready to hear it just yet. If ever.

Burned by her late husband’s bitter attitude and struggling through the tragedy of his death, she was wary of letting anyone too close again. Somehow, she knew he wanted her heart.

A cool Texas spring breeze brushed past her as she stepped back for him to enter the room. When he stood beside her unmade bed, her room looked so much smaller. She smiled.

“What’s so funny?” He tipped his cap back and gave her a big grin.

“Just noticing how much smaller any place looks when you’re around. Nice though.” She shut the door but shivered when the cool air passed her again.

“Come here.” As casually as you please, Neal pulled her into a warm embrace. Jenny couldn’t help but push in closer; she really was chilled. “Feels good.” She heard the rumble of his words through his chest wall.

Afraid of the possibilities, she patted his back where her hand lay inside his jacket and pulled away far enough to smile up at him. The naked need in his glance scared her. “That did feel good, but it’s time I got dressed.” One step back and she feared he’d hold on to her. But he didn’t. However, he seemed to vibrate with unspoken words. That bothered her as much as the need.

“I’ll be right back.” She scooped up her jeans, shirt, panties and bra and stepped into the bathroom. Once safely away from his penetrating gaze, she leaned against the sink and closed her eyes. A deep sigh rattled through her, and she opened her eyes to look at her image in the mirror.

“Oh girl, are you in trouble.” She ran one hand over her face in a tired motion of frustration. “When did this friendship turn into something more personal? When did I begin seeing Neal as more than an email buddy? I can’t do what he wants. Please God, don’t let him say a word. Everything is going so good. Please Neal, don’t fuck it up now.” Her image merely mouthed the words back at her. The pain she saw reflected there reached all the way to her heart.

She dressed slowly, not anxious to face the man on the other side of the door. Sometime over the past three years, he came to mean the world to her, but he didn’t know everything about her. Her secret could make a difference to him; he was an old-fashioned kind of guy. She could deny him nothing, but this one thing. Safe in friendship, lost in love...she dreaded even thinking about the word.

Ready to pretend the day was the same as the one before, that they would explore the local area and he might read more poetry for her, she pulled the door open with her make-up bag tucked beneath her arm. “Ready to go riding some more?” She tried to sound cheerful as she pulled a chair out and sat down. From her bag, she pulled out a small round mirror and propped it up. She then pulled out a few items of make-up.

“You don’t need all that, Jenny.” Neal came to stand beside her chair.

She could not look him in the eye so she caught his glance in the glass. “I’ll just put on a bit of mascara and maybe a dab of eye shadow, if that’s all right. No sense in scaring the locals.” She grinned and sighed in relief when he did too. Working fast, she applied a light touch of green shadow followed by mascara. A quick zip and her make-up bag laid closed on the table between them. “How’s that for fast?”

His chuckle helped relieve some of her stress. “I never knew a woman could put on that stuff so fast. I’m impressed.” He raised his brows and lifted his shoulders as he spread his hands. “But then you really don’t need all that goop. You’re beautiful just like you are.”

In a heartbeat, the stress returned ten-fold, leaving her breathless and hot. But she caught herself in time to acknowledge his compliment instead of waving it off like she used to do. “Thank you, sir.” She rose and stepped away from him, his presence raising her blood pressure and leaving her flushed and unsure. In order to keep busy, she detoured around him and grabbed the bedspread.

To her surprise, he stepped to the other side of the bed and helped her straighten the sheets then pull the cover up and add the pillows. “We work well together,” he commented, but now he was the one not meeting her gaze.

She stood up, ready to talk him into leaving the suddenly close-feeling room, but he looked up with such a solemn expression that she now wondered if something was wrong. “Neal, what is it?” Unable to help herself, she rounded the corner of the bed and put her hand on his arm, concern for him deep in her soul.

When he sat on the edge of the bed without a word, she stepped closer. At last, he looked up, such sorrow on his face that her heart almost broke.

“What is it? You can tell me.”

He caught her hand, squeezed it but didn’t let go. “I know. You know all about me. You already know I’m gonna tell you what’s on my mind.”

She nodded. She did know his way of thinking, how he gave considerable thought to each question she asked and everything he said.

When he patted one of his long legs, she wondered what he really wanted. “Come here, sweetheart. Sit right here. I need to talk to you, and it would be better if I could have you near while I do it.”

Cautiously, she rounded his knee and let him seat her on his leg. Strong muscles covered the long bone she felt beneath her rear.

He draped one arm around her waist to secure her position then sighed. “Where to start?”

As curious yet concerned as she was, she couldn’t help but quip, “At the beginning?” She bent a little to catch his eye and give him a cheeky grin.

He chuckled and squeezed her waist. “Quiet, woman, I have serious things to say, and you being funny ain’t helping.” But it must have because she felt that arm around her back relax a little. “We met three years ago on the ‘net, and since then we’ve learned all about each other. I consider you my best friend. In the whole world.” He would not look at her but stared off across the room, his gaze fixed as if he were reading a prepared speech.

She got the impression he might have practiced what he wanted to say. But she said nothing and gave no indication of what she thought of him.

“Jenny, when you look at me, what do you see?”

His question shocked her. Neal, with a case of vanity? She paused that thought. Never. Neal, with a case of worry? That’s more like it. He’s worried about something and wants to know what I think. And then the realization of what he asked her sank in. Only the truth would do, even if it undid her.

Her body relaxed as she brought her hand up to rest against his smooth cheek. He’d shaved and that spread of skin was as smooth as glass, if a bit weather worn and deeply tanned. Her gaze roamed his face, noted deep set eyes touched with a haze of worry, ears that stuck out a bit from his head, jowls that sagged a little along the back of the jaw line, eyebrows that grew wild in places. But she also noted the lovely color of those eyes, the long lashes that framed them and the sweet curve to his top lip. He was as homely as a worn weathered post, tall and narrow, tested by the elements and not found wanting. But he didn’t know that, only she did. Perhaps it was time to eliminate his worst fears.

She wrapped one arm around his neck and settled comfortably on his leg, though she did not snuggle next to him. A half turn and she faced him. In as honest and gentle a way as she could, she told Neal what she saw. “I see...” she spoke slowly as her eyes traveled his face again, “...a man who has aged with grace and worked hard for these gray hairs. I see a man some women might pass up as not handsome enough.” His shoulders slumped. She gave him a gentle smile and nudge. “But they’d be passing up a treasure. You’re an intelligent person with a great sense of humor and a deep desire to make life better than when you found it.” She ran her hand over his face and smoothed one finger down his nose. “You are not what I’d call handsome by the world’s standards.” His gaze dropped as if she were turning him away. “But you know what, that isn’t what matters. To me, you are as handsome as that hunk on the calendar. And your heart,” Jenny patted the pocket over that organ. “Your heart is the best.”

He sighed, toyed with the material over her knee then asked without looking at her. “You don’t think I’m old and ugly?”

Oh Lord, is that what’s bothering him? Old? Not hardly. Ugly? I don’t think so.

“Neal, for crying out loud, I’m older than you.” She flounced on his knee, clearly put out with the question.

“But that’s not the same.” He tried to argue with her.

“Why not?”

“’Cause you’re beautiful!” The man genuinely sounded surprised that she didn’t know this.

“I’m no more beautiful than you are ugly. Neal, you are not a spring chicken. So what? Neither am I! No big deal! And you might not have women falling all over you because you’re so handsome, but I happen to like the way you look.” Her level of frustration rose to an all-time high.

“But Jenny I never sent you a picture, and you probably thought I was some young handsome guy.”

“If you’re fishing for a compliment, Neal Franks, I’m not going to give you the satisfaction. I’ve already told you what I think. You’ll just have to live with the idea I think you’re just right.” By now, her anger at his sense of unworthiness overcame her better sense. “You’re perfect, so get over it!” Her words bit in an angry assertion in an attempt to overcome his concerns.

The relief on the man’s face transformed those rugged worn features into a face with character and an honest sense of worth. A man handsome in his own right. One who did not need the world’s opinion, just that of one woman.

He pulled her close and tucked her head down on his shoulder under his chin. “Aw, Jenny, only you see me that way. I’m just an old busted cattleman, too old and too homely for a pretty thing like you, but...”

Like a deep well that swallows all sounds and returns none, he stopped talking and held her close, as if she might run or he might lose her.

“Marry me, Ms Jenny Lincoln,” he whispered.

Like a bolt of lightening, her greatest fear poured pure terror through every vein and artery. The fear of a life-altering unknown. She didn’t really know Neal Franks. She had never seen his home or ranch. She’d never been to his part of Oklahoma. More importantly, she had never told him the most important thing about her. The fear that he might reject her like Tommy, her deceased husband, grabbed her heart in a fist and squeezed.

Jenny shot off his lap, barely noticing the shocked expression on his face. Neal might have been there for her when Tommy died but he was the problem now, and no one was here to help her get over this mind-eating fear of not knowing what the future might hold. In a panic now, unable to explain, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. The deadbolt stopped her for about a second before she threw it and shot out the door, headed in a dead run for her truck. Neal’s voice behind her, calling her, slowed her not one bit.

 

“What the hell is the matter with you, woman?” Neal stared in utter disbelief as Jenny careened out the door. What the heck had he done? What had he said that caused such an explosion of panic? That’s what he saw on her face—sheer terror, panic like he’d never seen before.

Like her, he bolted for the door. The odds of catching her before she drove off were ‘slim and none.’ He scanned the parking lot. Her truck was still in its spot and... What the hell? Jenny wasn’t inside; she stood on the opposite side between their trucks. Talking to a man? What the fuck was going on?

Seeing as she didn’t look like she was taking off immediately, he stomped toward the truck. Before he took five steps, his mind dredged up something she’d told him early on and he’d worked with her on after her husband died. Jenny feared any unknown that would change her life. Going into a situation that was dicey didn’t bother her if she knew she would be the same ol’ Jenny coming out on the other side. But when Tommy died, she almost fell to pieces. He wanted to come to her then, but she talked him out of it.

However, her fear of what would happen to her after the funeral and in the times ahead came through loud and clear in her emails. He couldn’t even call her; her number was unlisted per her husband’s wishes. So he spent hours writing messages and answering her questions and helping her work through the uncertainty. She lost her husband, her home and then almost lost her job because her fear practically paralyzed her.

Though she came through the terror in good shape finally, Neal realized she did not face such things graciously. Hell, look at her; fear still plain on her face though she stood quietly enough with a man he did not recognize.

‘Marry me.’ That did it. His passionate question drove her out the door. A slap up side the head was what he needed right now. Why the hell had he not remembered her one hang-up? He could have approached the idea of marriage a little more subtly. Too late now. The question stood between them, and he wanted to get it settled without this guy bothering them.

Neal stopped next to the truck. “Jenny, can we go back inside and talk?”

“Not like this, Neal.” She didn’t look at him. “Go back inside. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Uh uh. I don’t think so.”

“Neal, please? Do as I ask. I’ll come back.” She looked nervous but was trying to hide it for some reason.

“Jenny, who is this guy?” Suddenly this weird feeling hit him, and he started around the end of the truck.

“No, Neal!” She tried to turn and stop him, but the man grabbed her arm.

“Jenny, what’s going on?” One hand on the tailgate, he rounded the bumper with his eyes on the two and almost got a .45 caliber hand gun in the stomach.

“Stand still, mister and don’t say a word, or I’ll blow your dick off and let you bleed to death.” A second man, crouched down beside the truck, stood, the .45 held low at his side.

“Jenny?”

“I tried to warn you.” Her bottom lip quivered and she sounded like she wanted to cry, but then he saw her stiffen her back. “Just do what they say so no one will get hurt.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to hurt the lady,” the man with Jenny said, “but I will if I have to.” And he moved his arm to the side so Neal could see the heavy pistol he also held.

“Let her go. I’ll give you my wallet and credit cards.” He started to reach into his pocket to pull out his keys. But the other man hastily stuck the gun in his stomach.

“No so fast, mister.” The man stuck his hand into Neal’s jeans pocket and pulled out the set of keys. “Got ‘em.”

The one with Jenny nodded. “Let’s get outta here.” He pushed Jenny around and said, “Open the back door.” When she pulled the heavy door open, he snatched a large duffel bag from the ground and threw it in then stepped into the truck. He motioned to her. “Now you.”

“What? No!” Neal took a step forward, and his man jammed the gun into his guts. “Leave her here, take me.” He saw the fear in her eyes and the sweat that rose on her forehead.

“Hero, huh?” His man took a step backward and opened the front passenger door. “I think we need insurance. Go around and get in, mister. You’re driving.”

He refused to move. “Look, take the truck.” And he pointed to the keys. “Just leave her here.” Neither man looked scared. Both acted rather businesslike in their efforts to kidnap the two of them.

The man still outside calmly reached in the cab and pointed his pistol at Jenny. “Either you walk around this truck like we’re all one big happy family or I’m gonna blow her head off.”

Neal believed him. He made a slow short journey around the truck, realizing as he went that no one was around to see them. Jenny was in danger, and he was scared. His hands shook like bones in dry skin.

He slammed the door and turned on the diesel while the other man climbed in, all the time holding the pistol steady.

“You don’t have to do this, man. We won’t say anything.” He tried once more to get the men to let them go. His heart fell when the man shook his head then motioned forward with the gun.

“Drive. And shut up.” He waved the gun over the back of the seat. “Talk again and the missus gets it.”

Shit! I just thought we had problems. Now we really got ‘em. These jackasses are kidnapping us!

 

Three hours later, Jenny cursed the fact that Neal had filled his diesel tank the day before. Long before noon, they traveled the country roads of the Texas panhandle, a fairly desolate area. Few towns, fewer cars.

No one spoke. The two with guns watched the land, roads and sky as if they expected someone. Her training told her a few things, and none of them were good for her and Neal. Both men wore dark clothes and carried .45 caliber handguns that appeared comfortable in their grips. Neither spoke randomly nor used names. By now, she’d designated her kidnaper as Tall and Handsome as opposed to Neal’s man in the front passenger seat, Mr. Surly Muscles. That one gave the distinct impression that he did not want them along though it was his idea to take them. Any interference from either would give him an excuse to dump them in this wasteland.

Unfortunately, Jenny had a problem; she had to pee—not badly yet, but getting there. Besides, she wanted to know how they would react to a bit of interference. “Hey mister, I hate to bother you, but I have to go to the bathroom.”

Tall and Handsome ignored her.

She watched the clock on the dashboard and let ten minutes roll by. “Look, dude, I have to go.” The man next to her glanced her way but said nothing. When he refused to acknowledge her, Jenny shrugged and commented as nonchalantly as her tight throat allowed. “Your mess to clean up then, but it’s gonna stink in here pretty soon.” And she intentionally turned her gaze away.

“You can go in the bushes.” Tall and Handsome rolled his eyes when she gave him a not on your life shocked expression.

“If you’ll notice, there’s damn little to squat behind, and I don’t think this truck comes equipped with toilet paper.” She did a prissy imitation of some actress she’d seen on TV. When the man grumbled, “Well, shit,” she knew she’d won.

She wasn’t sure what that was though.

Would these two throw her and Neal out into the badlands? Would they force her to squat among the rocks to take care of a call Nature hadn’t given her—yet? Or would these men kill them both?

Questions for which Jenny had no answers.

Surly Muscles waved his gun at Neal. “What’s the closest town?”

“Not sure. I’m not from this area.” Both hands on the steering wheel went white-knuckled, but Jenny sensed he was in despair about her safety.

Mr. Surly Muscles looked pissed at Neal’s answer. As near as she could figure, they were following State Highway 86 headed to New Mexico. In less than twenty-five miles, they’d cross the state line. She wanted to avoid any reason for dumping them so she answered. “Next town should be Bovina. A wide spot in the road.”

“That’ll do.” Tall and Handsome caught Neal’s glance in the rearview mirror. “Pull in at the smallest gas station you can find. None of that convenience store shit. Too many people.”

Jenny clutched her purse in her lap and prayed something good would happen when they stopped. Her movement drew Tall and Handsome’s attention.

“Bet your purse isn’t as important as my bag there.” And he kicked the heavy-looking duffel on the floor between them. Both gunmen laughed but said nothing more.

For a second, Neal took his eyes off the road and caught her glance in the mirror. She read his sorrow and fear. Her tiny smile and nod seemed to reassure him that she was holding up.

However, Tall’s comment only reinforced her own fears that he not find the two things in the bottom of her purse. If he did, she and Neal were dead.

 

Ten minutes further down the road, Neal pulled into a shoddy-looking station. No nationally known brand of gas advertised at that building. Only a sign out front saying ‘gas’ indicated any reason for stopping.

The truck came to a slow rolling stop next to the side of the building. One door in the wall showed the sign for a men/women restroom.

Another glance over his shoulder and Neal caught Jenny’s cringe. Whether she really had to go or not, she had to act like she did. He didn’t envy her. The place looked way less than appealing or sanitary.

The blond man in the back seat motioned to her. “Take care of your business. I’ll be outside waiting for you. I’ll also check the place when you get through. You know, just in case you want to leave a message or something.” He handed his gun to the shorter man in the front seat with Neal.

Jenny popped the door and almost fell out. Neal figured her long legs had stiffened up in the back seat. She shook each and headed around the back, but her guard stopped her.

“Around the front of the truck so my friend can see you.”

She shrugged, slung her purse strap over one shoulder and moved around the truck’s front. Was it his imagination, or did she seem to clutch that purse a little desperately? Did she have her cell phone? Hope flared but died immediately. Neal wondered if his thoughts about her phone transmitted to the kidnappers because the tall man following her out of the truck caught her arm.

“Give me your cell phone.”

Jenny pulled her phone from her pants pocket instead of her purse like Neal expected. Though her shoulders slumped as if a plan to make a short 9-1-1 call were foiled, he got the impression she was covering for a bigger concern. What that might be he had no idea, but if she had an escape plan, he needed to be ready.

All went according to the kidnappers’ plans apparently. With Jenny once more in her seat, Blondie stood in the front of the truck and took a piss. Once he returned to Jenny’s side and acquired the nasty-looking .45 again, Muscles motioned to Neal.

Unsure what Muscles wanted, he hesitated, until he heard the hammer cock back on the gun behind him. In the rearview mirror, he saw Blondie watching him. But the cocked gun pointed at Jenny’s midsection, not him.

“Go out front and take care of business.”

Oh. His turn to stretch and relieve his bladder. Neal slid from the truck, any warning to behave unnecessary. He wanted to rescue Jenny, not get her killed. Guilt rode him hard. If he’d kept his mouth shut about how he felt, she wouldn’t have run. If she hadn’t run, they would be safe. Her rescue lay in his hands. How she felt about him loving her had temporarily slid way down the list of things to worry about.

Neal zipped his jeans and turned to reenter the truck, but Muscles stopped him. “Give me your jacket.” He slipped it off and watched the other man put it on. The sweat of fear dampened his shirt, and a stray breeze sent a chill across his back. An uncontrollable shiver jerked him for a second. What’s he gonna do?

To his surprise, Muscles motioned him into the truck while he tucked the long-barreled pistol into the back of his belt, beneath the coat. “Back in a minute,” he told his partner before disappearing around the corner of the building.

“What’s he doing?” Neal pulled his lanky frame behind the steering wheel but kept his hands off the key.

“Scouting.”

Neal turned so he could see Jenny. Although she held her purse in a white-knuckled grip, she didn’t seem as scared as she had earlier. White knuckles? Once again, he wondered why her purse seemed so important.

“You okay?” He wasn’t about to use her name. No sense giving these guys any more information than necessary.

“Yeah.” She gave him a tiny smile and her gaze softened. In a low whisper, she added, “I’m sorry.”

In the middle of a dangerous situation was no time to get emotional so he nodded to let her know he heard. Is she sorry for running? Or for getting us into this situation?

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Muscles returning. Where before the man seemed all business, he now appeared concerned, his eyes darting side-to-side, his step faster than Neal expected.

Muscles grabbed the door handle and hauled his short frame in and growled, “Let’s get out of here, but drive so no one thinks we’re in a hurry.” He actually cocked the gun and laid it on the bench seat, the barrel pointed toward Neal.

Tension filled the truck cab. It wrapped around the four like a snake. Muscles still glanced around as if he expected a policeman to appear from behind the gas station.

“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Blondie barely refrained from using the other man’s name.

Muscles jerked his head toward Neal. “He’s a fucking Ranger.”

“What? Damn!”

“How you figure he’s a Ranger?” Tall and Handsome almost whispered. Seems both automatically jumped to the conclusion he was the officer.

“That’s all the cashier could talk about. Seems two bank robbers are on the run, and the news media leaked that a Ranger might have been taken as hostage.” Both turned burning gazes on Neal.

Fortunately, his stoic gaze never wavered from the road. He appeared not to hear the discussion.

Neal immediately had thoughts of baseball—Texas Ranger baseball. But that made no sense. He realized they meant the group of law enforcement officers. Muscles referred to the famous Texas Rangers, an elite team of law officers given discretion to pursue criminals anywhere in the Lone Star state.

Wait a minute! If I’m not the Ranger then...

Like a heart attack is reported to contract the heart and chest so breathing is next to impossible, Neal’s chest hurt like a two-ton gorilla stood on his sternum. He wasn’t the Ranger, but Jenny Lincoln was.

Every muscle in him wanted to turn and stare at her in accusation. Almost from the beginning, he suspected Jenny worked for the government. Now he knew she worked for the Texas government. Apparently, she wore the badge of a fully-certified Texas Ranger. As if a million puzzle pieces suddenly fell on the mental table with the big picture revealed, all the things she’d told him over the last three years now made sense.

The odd work hours, the unlisted phone number, her secrecy about her job... Why keep it a secret?

Before Neal could think further, Blondie thumped him in the back of the head hard enough to hurt but not enough to interfere with his driving.

“Oh man, we’re so screwed.”

Apparently, these men were locals and knew what killing a Ranger could mean. He knew that all law enforcement turned out in determined force if one of their own was killed or injured. The situation would be no different if this particular Ranger—a lady Ranger—was hurt.

Well, I’ll just have to make sure she isn’t. That resolution jelled in his heart and hardened his features evidently because the kidnappers tensed as if he’d threatened them personally.

“We have to get rid of him.” Muscles jerked his head toward a dirt trail about a quarter mile up the road. “Turn there.”

Oh shit. Unable to help it, Neal glanced over his shoulder at Jenny. If he thought her afraid before, she looked more terrified now. Her wide eyes and tight lips, the flare to her nostrils, the way she sat hunched up. Somehow he knew that fear wasn’t for herself; it was for him.

He wanted to wink so badly, offer hope, but as the truck bucked and staggered over bumps in the hard packed dirt he saw no way out. If he didn’t think of something fast, they were going to be abandoned in the middle of nowhere or worse—be killed in a place only the buzzards knew about.

 

Jenny wanted to cry—both in frustration and fear. In all her years of service to the state as a peace officer, she’d never run into a sorry situation like this. These men clearly carried something in the bag more valuable than their lives. She and Neal were expendable. Thankfully neither checked her purse; she still carried her badge as well as her service revolver, a Sig Sauer .357. But how to get the jump on these two in such close quarters without Neal getting hurt? She’d go along with anything the kidnappers wanted if he remained safe.

“Stop the damn truck,” Muscles growled. “Now!” Just as Neal steered the big Dodge over an especially deep rut, he heard and obeyed. His foot stomped the brake pedal, sending them against the dashboard, steering wheel and seat backs. In the tense jumble of bodies, Jenny saw Neal lunge for Muscles’ gun hand, but the smaller man reacted faster and pushed his head against the side window.

“Out!” Tall and Handsome roared in anger. One hand pushed his door open, and he piled out, pulling Jenny with him so fast that her purse landed with a thump on the floor of the truck. No way could she get to her weapon now. In a lightening quick move, he swung her around in front of him and stuck his gun under her jaw. “You make one more move, Mr. Ranger, and she dies.” His labored breathing made it hard for his hand to remain steady. His voice and hand trembled in unison.

Jenny knew whatever the two originally planned had now gone seriously wrong. But with a rock hard arm around her body, pinning her in place, and the cold metal of a gun less than an inch from her brains, she had no choice but to stand still as Muscles pushed Neal out of the truck.

Dust flew up as he fell in a tangle of arms and legs in front of her. Like a drunk, he attempted to rise to hands and knees only to have Muscles knock him over again with a kick in his ribs.

Jenny winced as Neal rolled. A groan rose along with more dust. Sweat trickled down her face, and her knees resembled wet noodles when Muscles relented and grabbed Neal by the shirt collar and hauled him to a standing position.

For a second, he swayed, each foot moving a little side-to-side in an attempt to stand still as the world refocused. Jenny knew the minute his head stopped spinning and his gaze found hers.

Frustration, fear, despair—and something that looked like love. All those emotions she read. But no hope. The first time she met Neal Franks, she saw hope in his eyes. But not this time...not now.

Muscles pushed Neal ahead of him toward a cluster of tumbleweed. As he lurched past Tall and Handsome, the blond man shoved Jenny so hard she fell against him.

They staggered like passengers on the deck of a ship caught in a hurricane’s wild waves. Finally, Neal caught her around the waist, and together they managed to stand erect.

He held her hand and leaned forward quickly as the men approached. “I love you, Jenny Lincoln.” Tender as a summer breeze that caresses hot skin then moves on, he kissed her.

“Neal...”

The kidnappers gave them no chance to speak further.

Jenny took his hand and turned when Muscles called, “Hey, Ranger.”

Two faced two. Defenseless faced dangerous.

Then defenseless caught a break.

No Hollywood scriptwriter could have created a better scene. Actors in a play could not have performed on cue better than the two criminals.

Neal tried to pull Jenny behind him as they turned to find Blondie and Muscles behind them.

Guns raised, feet apart for better balance, the men stood less than eight feet away, practically shoulder to shoulder. Only a large rock separated their feet from each other.

As they steadied their guns in a two-handed hold, Neal’s eyes left the sight of imminent death to stare in dumb wonder at a closer death poised at the two men’s heels. Despite what was about to happen, he swallowed loud enough for Muscles to notice in the complete silence of the high Texas plateau.

“What the hell are you staring at?”

The words barely cleared the man’s lips when all hell broke loose. In the cleared space under the rock lay two rattlesnakes, disturbed and pissed.

The fierce shaking of long hollow rattles clued the kidnappers at the same time. In unison, they dropped their gazes to the rock where the snakes lay curled, rattling and poised to strike. Guns followed the direction of their eyes, and twin shots echoed twin screams.

The snakes struck, but both men fell backwards fast enough that neither got bit. That didn’t mean Neal froze like a statute.

Pushing Jenny to one side in case either decided to shoot them, he went after Muscles. Blondie had rolled as he fell back and seemed to have trouble regaining control of his weapon. Neal landed a blow to Muscles’ jaw that popped every knuckle in his fist. When Muscles attempted to bring the gun up against Neal’s head, he grabbed the gun hand and banged it against a white caliche rock. The thug howled and clobbered Neal against the temple hard enough to send him falling back.

Desperate to subdue the man before Blondie could recover, Neal swore as he kicked out with one booted foot and caught Muscles hard in the chest. The man fell back but in the direction of the gun he’d dropped. In a flash, Neal landed on him, both hands wrapped around the shorter man’s wrist.

The moment had come. Either he put Muscles down for good or the man would kill him. He needed an edge, an advantage. Muscles seemed intent on breaking Neal’s grasp while at the same time trying to gouge out his eyes.

With a twist, Neal managed to redirect Muscles’ eye-gouging effort. Rearing back, he slammed his head forward into Muscles’ forehead. The immediate lack of response told him the man beneath him lay unconscious.

“Neal!” Jenny’s desperate scream came from behind. Grabbing the gun from Muscle’s slack hand, he rolled across the compact body, aimed and fired.

 

The instant the kidnappers fell away from the snakes, Jenny felt Neal release her hand and dive for Muscles. Hoping he could handle the smaller but more athletically-built man, she ran after Tall and Handsome.

Handsome lost his gun when he moved. In a mad scramble, Jenny dived for it at the same time Handsome realized what she was doing. Four hands wrapped around the wide pistol grip as man and woman rolled in the white dust, broken rocks and blooming cactus.

Before she knew what Handsome planned, he wrapped his legs around her and rolled her to her back. Giving a vicious twist to his upper body, he managed to break her hold on the gun. Bending again, he drove one elbow into the side of her head.

Powered by his body weight, her head snapped to one side and slammed into a low rock. A soft grunt and lights began to fade around her. A buzz began in her ears as her vision narrowed to a pinpoint.

Sheer determination kept her from fainting when she saw Handsome keep rolling, turn to rise in one graceful motion, gun in hand, aiming at Neal.

“Neal!” Her scream blended with the sharp bark of a gunshot.

Unable to face Neal’s death, she fainted.

 

“Jenny? Come on, woman. Wake up.” A slap on one cheek had her turning her head. When she moved, Neal let out a gusty breath he hadn’t realized he held. She wasn’t dead, only unconscious. A scrape along one temple indicated she’d hit her head, but until she moved, he wasn’t sure what was going on.

“Open your eyes, honey. Wake up.” Once more, she moved her head,

he ran his hands along her arms then around her ribs. When she didn’t protest, he figured she might be sore as hell for a few days, but nothing seemed broken.

He ran his hands along her hips then down each leg. Her clothes looked as bad as she probably felt. One pants leg lay open from thigh to the top of her boots. Her blouse hung on her by shreds.

“Neal?” One hand covered her open eyes as she squinted against the sun’s glare. “Oh, Neal!” and, before he knew it, she surged up and wrapped her arms around him so tightly he had trouble catching his next breath.

“Oh, Neal,” she repeated as she squeezed him. “I thought he killed you.”

To his surprise, he discovered he held a weeping woman in his arms. Still on one knee, he soothed her as best he could, his nonsense words of assurance finally bringing her to the hiccupping stage.

“He aimed and fired.” Jenny sat up and wiped hot tears from flushed cheeks. She looked around, her brows drawn together in confusion. From her vantage point, sitting on the ground, she could not see the gully behind him. “Where’s Tall and Handsome anyway?”

Neal suddenly realized how tired he felt. But he had no time to stop and indulge his desires at the moment—desires like a hot shower and Jenny beneath him, alive and beautiful.

“Where is he, Neal?” She turned blank eyes to him.

Neal jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Behind me a couple of feet. Your warning saved my life. I’d just finished with Muscles when you screamed. I grabbed the gun and fired. Plenty of rabbit and squirrel practice.” He gulped. “I’m a good shot. Both guns went off at the same time. He missed.” A pause as he pondered what might have been. “I didn’t. He’s dead.” A nod of his head in the other direction. “Muscles is tied up over there.”

Pushing off one knee, he stood and held out a hand. “Can you stand?” When she grabbed his hand and finally stood in his embrace, he filled her in on what happened with his fight.

“Muscles and I fought for his gun. I knocked him out then shot Blondie over there. After I made sure he wouldn’t give us any more trouble, I tied up Muscles so he couldn’t get away. I gagged him too. He woke up cursing. But Jenny, you scared the hell out of me. It took a long time for you to regain consciousness. You okay?” His kiss grazed her temple.

“I’m fine. We’re both going to be sore, but I’m fine—now.” She stepped away from him far enough to look him straight in the eyes. “You saved my life, Neal. I can never repay that. Thank you.”

Neal opened his mouth as if to speak but could think of nothing to say. Beneath the brilliant blue sky, fanned by a hot breeze, surrounded by rocks, snakes, cactus, grit, a criminal and a dead man, what could a man say? “You’re welcome, Jenny.” He pulled her into his embrace again and held her, felt her chest rise with each breath, smelled the fear that still perfumed her skin and thanked God they’d survived.

A little chuckle echoed from somewhere around his breastbone. Jenny emerged from his arms with a smile. One hand brushed his cheek. “You always know how to accept a compliment.” A deep breath and she stepped back to look around. “Time to get practical here, cowboy.”

 

In the bustle of calling the State Troopers, notifying her captain in Garland at Ranger Company B headquarters, undergoing an exam by the local EMTs and each telling how the kidnapping and shooting took place, Jenny and Neal never found a single moment alone together.

Detectives interviewed each in separate rooms at the Childress police station. Jenny relayed a message to Neal saying she’d meet him at her hotel when the police finished with them. He sent a message back saying he’d be there as soon as he could.

 

“Thanks, Sergeant. Appreciate the lift.” Neal stepped out of the squad car and stretched. Seemed all he’d done all day was sit, first in the truck in that crazy cross-country dash with Blondie and Muscles, otherwise known as Doug Switch and Alex Mendel. While Switch went to the local mortuary, Mendel sat in the jail. He would be arraigned within the next few days for robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder of a civilian and a Texas Ranger.

The police car drove off, and Neal turned to the door of Jenny’s room. Never had he appreciated being alive. Never had he realized how critical Jenny Lincoln was. Oh sure, he’d proposed just before the shit hit the fan and he’d loved her then.

But since that moment, Neal learned that all he was or ever wanted to be was tied to that one woman. Her well-being and happiness meant all to him, for when she was content, he was too.

His hand shook as he rapped sharply on her door. Deep in the middle of the night when the traffic was light and the area lay quiet, his heart hammered deep in his chest, and the noise rumbled up to his ears and trembled in his hands.

So happy to be alive—his first thought when she opened the door. Does she know what I’m thinking? Apparently, Jenny read the look on his face, his need to feel alive. Arms open wide, she invited him into the room, into her embrace.

Two steps in and one booted foot pushed the door closed. He grabbed Jenny around the waist, twirled her until her back slammed against the door. Her open mouth and eager tongue met his. They battled for dominance, settled on compromise.

One long bare leg slid up Neal’s thigh and hooked around his hip bone. Still deep in a kiss that threatened to rob his mind of coherent thought, he slipped his hands under the silk shirt she wore and down over her bare rear, took time to massage the firm mounds then grabbed and lifted her against the unforgiving wood.

Legs locked around him, both hands clasped around his head, Jenny kissed him desperately. Deep in that same kiss, Neal wanted more than her body wrapped around his. He wanted inside her. Hitching her higher, he gave one corner of his mind permission to detach from her luscious lips and get to the job of moving his jeans and boxers down far enough to free his erection.

As fast as he moved—and he congratulated himself that an old guy like him could move that fast—his lower body hurt by the time his jeans and drawers sagged around his knees.

“Please, Neal, come in me.” Jenny panted as her lips teased his jaw then caressed his ear. She trailed sweet kisses inside his shirt collar before ripping the snaps apart. One hand frantically slid over his skin, her fingers opening and closing, catching the hair across his nipple as she pinched.

Neal eased her down his body until his rod jutted up in her crack, warm skin enticing him until he thought he’d bust right there.

“Gotta have you, Jen. Gotta’ feel you. Alive. Beautiful.” As if her ass were a melon and his rod a stake, he lifted her bodily then rammed her tight hole down on his shaft. Pushed her down until his penis practically rammed through her womb. Crazy with desire, mad with a need to affirm their safety, Neal bucked Jenny against the wall, plowing into her body hard and fast.

Never afraid he’d hurt her because she urged him on in a guttural mutter intended to incite, inflame lust. “Faster. Faster.” A grunt and she ground against him. She bounced like a ball tied to a bounce-back paddle as he rode her to their climax.

When Jenny sucked in her breath and ground down on him and held, Neal felt that sweet channel grab him with love muscles that vibrated. So hard did they roll around his rod that he let the rising tide of completion swell then wash over him. Buried deep in her, his body shot a thick hot sap of life. He held her hips to his groin as his climax went on and on.

When he came back to his senses, he lay against Jenny, her back still to the wall, feet now on the floor. His energy seemed to have spurted out; he wondered if it might have gone to her.

Her hands roamed his spine then lower to smooth his butt muscles, running her palms over and over the sleek flanks. “Neal?” Even her voice sounded needy.

Lifting away from her, his palms braced against the door, he sensed her quest for more. “Go, Jen. Do whatever you want.”

A sigh escaped as her lips tickled one nipple hidden in the open edge of his shirt. He should have been embarrassed, a grown man standing with his jeans around his ankles now, his dick limp but beginning to take interest, his body so weak from good loving that he wondered how much longer he could stand.

And then he forgot everything as Jenny slipped down his body to kneel between him and that poor battered door. He suspected the door would soon be all that supported him if what he hoped happened. And that hope bloomed slowly to fully-realized completion.

Neal put both hands together and leaned his head against them as his mind’s eye imagined what she did as she proceeded to work his body to a fever. First, she slid his boots and socks off, followed by his boxers and jeans. Naked from the waist down, he waited in anticipation as she wrapped her arms around his thighs. Just a little pull and she urged his legs wider. What little air-conditioning he detected now caressed his buttocks and exposed balls with chilly air. But the shiver up his spine had nothing to do with AC so much as it did with Jenny using a finger to stroke that seam from his anus to his balls. Her cheek warmed one thigh as she continued rubbing him.

Neal rolled his eyes up then shut them as he loosened his stance, widened his legs and invited her to do even more. When her tongue tasted his dick, his eyes popped open quick enough. He bowed his back, leaned his head against hands that almost left prints in the door and let his gaze fall so he could watch her eat him.

Holy shit! Her mouth swallowed the tip of his rod—that engorged veined piece of flesh where his entire world now centered. On her knees, her long silk shirt unbuttoned so those breasts stuck out, her arms around his legs, Jenny used her tongue on him like he was an ice cream cone. Long slow laves of hot skin against skin drove him crazy.

He lost his mind completely when she took him into her mouth, and that clever tongue danced over burning skin. Though she went back and forth, sucked then released, Neal couldn’t stay still. One hand left the door; the other grabbed the doorknob and his cheek flattened against the panel as he pumped his body in and out.

“You’re killing me,” he growled, his throat full of seductive sounds that made her move faster, take him deeper until he pushed her head against the door and shot burning cum into her mouth. A cat at a bowl of thick cream wouldn’t have had a better time than she seemed to have because she drank him down without choking. And licked him as if she wanted more.

Call it a faint or exhaustion, Neal could have cared less as he sank to the floor, flat on his back, next to where she curled in a heap of gorgeous legs, tits and ass. If he died now, he could ask for nothing more in the world. God Almighty! What a way to go!

 

When Jenny woke, the first thing she saw was Neal sprawled on the floor next to her. Because of the security lights outside on the parking lot, the room wasn’t completely dark. For a middle-aged homely cattleman, you sure wore me out. She grinned, remembering his self-description, as she touched his shirt sleeve, the only piece of clothing he still wore.

Sore all over, most muscles stretched by Neal rather than battered by Muscles and Tall and Handsome, she managed to get to her feet. Before he woke, she needed a shower. But before stepping into the bathroom, she glanced back. I’m so glad you’re laid out from making love and not from death. A hard shudder shook her. How close we came to dying.

She barely got the rinse out of her hair before she heard the bathroom door open then close. Thankful she didn’t pop out from behind the tub’s curtain, she heard Neal use the toilet then flush. Chilly water showered her for a moment, and she giggled as she retreated to the end of the tub.

“Jenny?”

“Morning, Neal.” As well as she knew him, she had no clue what he was thinking.

“After you finish, I’m gonna take a shower.”

“Okay.” She held her breath. Surely that wasn’t the end.

“And then sweetheart...” he paused.

Not able to resist, she closed her eyes, prayed and asked, “And then?”

“Then I’m gonna make real love to you.” He opened the door; she heard the knob pop.

“What do you think of that, Jen?”

Ah, back to being hung-up about age and looks. “I think these better be two quick showers.”

A long silence then. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”

She didn’t need to see him to know he grinned.

 

Jenny sat in the middle of the bed. She listened as the shower came on and smiled when Neal sang a line or two from his favorite song then swallowed nervously when the water stopped running.

What will he think when he comes to me? She’d decided to wait for him, dressed in a paper thin white cotton sleep top, appliquéd with a few strategically placed white roses. The only other thing she wore was a pair of white satin panties that rode low on her hips. A single white appliquéd rose covered her mound. She could hardly wait ‘til Neal got there. What a surprise. In their previous frantic couplings, noticing such things as personal grooming hadn’t been on the agenda. This time he’d notice.

She sat on her legs, hands palm down on her thighs. In the pre-dawn light, the glow from twin lamps cast a delicate light around the room.

The doorknob clicked, rolled over. Neal stepped into the room. What’s he thinking? His face is so blank. Rather than worry, Jenny waited him out. Neal was a man of words though he wouldn’t admit it. He crafted them, sleek and precise, and delivered them like the gifts they were.

Instead of nervousness, she saw the same thing in his expression that she saw the first time they met in the diner. Hope, that’s what she told him. Love, that’s what she held back. What she should have told him. But she’d been scared. She wasn’t any longer.

“Come to me, Neal?” A soft question. One hand held out to him.

Wearing nothing but a large beige towel around his hips, Neal padded slowly across the floor then took her hand.

To her surprise, he leaned over and kissed the back of it then rolled it over and kissed the palm. “Always wanted to do that to you. Ever since that role-playing online.”

One knee on the bed, he loomed over her. Digging his fingers deep into her damp hair, he drew her up until they knelt face to face.

“If you had died out there, I would have too.” That one sentence told her he still had trouble believing they survived. In her service as a law officer, she admitted that was as close as she’d ever come to going down. A life-changing situation and she came through the other side just fine. Same ol’ Jenny.

No, not the same ol’ me. When I came through this time, I brought Neal with me. He wasn’t kissing her yet; he studied her as if he memorized every feature. It was then, in the quiet tender moment of survival, that she admitted something more important. I did not bring Neal through that ordeal. He brought me. Because he loves me. And I love him.

One of her hands slipped to his waist, fit the curve of pale muscle. The other rested atop his on her cheek. A little stretch and she met him halfway in a kiss so delicate it almost wasn’t there. No hurry, no desperation. Just good old-fashioned lovin’.

Their lips more firmly pressed, Neal lowered them to the bed where he rolled to one side. He broke the kiss but kept his hand on her stomach atop the thin shirt. Throwing one leg over hers, he almost lay on her.

Jenny grinned when his gaze traveled to her chest. Both nipples stood at rigid attention, but it wasn’t easy to tell. At least she didn’t think so, but Neal proved her wrong. Leaning on one elbow, he pointed one finger and rubbed a nipple. Lightening shot from his touch to her pussy. She imagined her body going soft, wet and preparing for her lover.

A flick of his nail and her nipple positively jumped. Her breath hitched, and she pushed her chest up, presenting herself, begging for more. Neal settled more fully against her hip, either unaware that the towel parted or not concerned.

After all, it’s gotta come off sooner or later. Jenny leaned up for a quick kiss and turned on her side to face him. When he raised his leg to give her room to turn, the towel disappeared between them.

“You’re faster than me,” she teased him as she wrapped a warm hand around his thickening rod.

“Easy to fix, sweetheart.” And his hand slipped down her side to slip under the band of her panties.

One twist and the panties slid down her legs while she wound up pushing Neal onto his back and sitting on his chest.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Neal whistled as his eyes darted back and forth between her face and the naked skin between her legs. “When’d you do that?” He lifted a finger to touch but hesitated.

“It’s okay. Go ahead. Never seen a naked pussy?” She lifted her bottom and pushed her nude sex toward his eager finger.

“Nah, but sure is different. Looks sort of...” He blushed but ran his finger around the swollen lips.

“Looks sort of?” She teased him because she sensed he liked what he saw but felt embarrassed.

“Clean.”

Jenny giggled. “So? What are you going to do with it?” Blatant invitation. Will he taste it?

Cupping both ass cheeks in large hands, he pulled her forward and stuck out his tongue. One more hot blush as he caught her smiling expression then lifted his head and ran that strong long tongue between her legs. Every nerve in her body sprang to attention. Each one between her pussy lips wept for his touch. He must have liked the experience because he settled deeper in the mattress and went to sucking like she did for him earlier that evening.

Her body flushed with need and heat. In need of support, she grabbed the headboard and squatted deeper into his mouth. “Neal, God, that feels good.” She rubbed his lips as he teased that tiny bud until it grew large enough for him to nip. A jolt of electricity going through her would not have hit her harder than the climax he evoked. Head back, breasts hard and pointed, she shuddered with spasms as he continued to draw her higher and higher.

One swift motion and he sat her down on his stiff rod. Rather than ride her fast, he pulled her up then pushed into her. A seductive dance in slow motion. His hands traveled between hips and breasts.

And then she found herself under him, buried in the very mattress he once laid on. Warm breath bathed her cheek, firm lips caressed hers, fingers pinched then soothed her aureoles while their bodies worshiped each other.

“Alive and mine.” Neal shoved against her in one smooth stroke, and she swore she felt each jet of life flow between them. “You and that gorgeous naked pussy.” He grinned as he sank in to her. “Oh woman, you are mine.”

 

“I do love you, you know.” Neal woke to find Jenny in a pair of sweats and a tank top sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed, apparently watching him sleep.

“I know you do. But there are things in my life...” She had trouble finishing the sentence, and he guessed what she tried to say.

“You’re a Ranger. That’s what you always wanted to be, I bet. What your husband wanted to be. Am I right?”

“Yes. We were both Texas State Troopers, members of the Department of Public Safety. We applied for the Rangers, and I made it. He didn’t. It just about killed Tommy, me being what he wanted to be. His basic conceit, arrogance and mean-spirit came out in full force. When he died in that accident, I almost lost it—torn between sorrow and relief that he wasn’t there to emotionally abuse me any more.”

She sat on the bed with hands clasped loosely in her lap and spoke as if delivering information that meant nothing.

“But I wanted to help, Jenny, and you wouldn’t let me come.” Her need angered him because she had not asked him to help.

“I just couldn’t, Neal. I couldn’t.” Now she got upset. Swung her leg off the bed and tapped the floor nervously with her bare foot.

“Why not? You went through hell ‘cause of that bastard before he died and afterward from the sounds of it.” He threw the sheet aside and stood, searching for his boxers. Once he found them, he pulled them on and went around to stand beside her. “I wanted to be with you. Long before that accident, I knew I loved you.” When her head snapped up and he saw the surprise on her face, he ran a hand through his hair and completed his confession. “You were so easy to talk to. We thought the same but had enough differences that we didn’t bore each other. Why keep this job a secret? Didn’t you think I could handle it?” His tone bordered on sarcastic. The more he thought about what she’d gone through both in her job as a Ranger and in her personal life with a man eaten up with envy, the angrier he got. “Didn’t you think I was good enough? Me being just an Okie cow puncher.”

“Wait a minute, Neal. That’s not fair! I never said you weren’t good enough.” She jumped off the bed and edged around him, her face as upset as he felt. “I do care for you. I just...”

“Just what, Jenny? Just couldn’t handle another man in your life? Want me to stay just a friend? Ain’t happening.” His hand cut the air in definition. “I care too much for you.”

“But, Neal, what if something happens again like yesterday? And I have to go on the assignment and maybe get hurt. What are you going to do? Sit by and watch me die?” She made her way to her purse and opened it. Reaching in, she pulled out a handgun and a badge. “Look at this.” She handed over the badge. “Silver. Means I’m Lieutenant Lincoln. Like the Marines. I work ‘til the job is done.” Then she handed him the gun—grip first, pointed down. “That’s a Sig Sauer .357. It’s loaded. Always is. Can you imagine what would have happened if those two had found that? I prayed they’d not because they would try to do just what they did...kill us.” She touched his arm, the one holding the gun. Carefully she slid her hand down and took it from him, laying the weapon on the table next to the door. “I’d have died if they killed you.” Tears wet her lashes.

“But Jenny, I love...”

“Listen, Neal, I do love...”

They spoke together just as the room’s phone rang. Frustrated at the interruption, Neal walked over and answered it. “Neal Franks.”

“Mr. Franks, Captain Black here. I’ll be quick.” Neal heard a knock at the door. Someone called out, “Ranger Lincoln, Sergeant Sills here with some papers for you.” Jenny headed for the door. Neal turned his attention back to the captain.

“Alex Mendel escaped. Officer in the jail followed correct procedure, but the situation worked to Mendel’s advantage. He’s armed and dangerous. Pass the word to Lincoln and, Franks, keep her under wraps.”

In the blink of an eye, the man’s words sank in, and Neal yelled “Nooo,” as Jenny opened the door.

Boom! Boom! Boom! She flew back into the room and collapsed on the floor, blood pooling beneath her, soaking the carpet red.

“Nooo!” Neal grabbed her Sig Sauer and stepped into the open doorway. Alex Mendel ran toward the second row of cars, a gun still in his hand. Raising the pistol, Neal pulled off three rounds faster than a heart can beat. Too much practice on small game made him an accurate shot. Mendel fell, dead before he landed on the pavement.

Throwing the gun on the bed, Neal sank to the floor, one hand immediately going to a bloody hole in Jenny’s thigh. Damn, he hit an artery. Blood leaked out at an alarming rate. One hand pressed there, he pulled his jeans toward him, yanked out the belt and began wrapping it as a form of tourniquet. Two men stuck their heads in the doorway. “Can we help?”

“Call 9-1-1, and one of you get in here and help me stop this bleeding.” While one made the call on the room’s phone, the other knelt next to Neal.

“Jesus, she’s bleeding like a stuck pig.” The man pressed against a wound in her left shoulder while grabbing Neal’s t-shirt and pressing it against a long injury in her scalp.

“Don’t you die on me, Jenny Lincoln. Don’t you goddamn die on me.” Neal could barely see what he was doing; tears blurred his vision so badly. But how was he to save her this time when her life’s blood bubbled up so fast between his fingers?

 

When her fingers wiggled, he almost ignored it. Her hand had twitched for the past hour, the effect of coming out of surgery’s anesthesia. This time, they curled up and attempted a weakened squeeze. His head snapped up, and he squinted in the near-dark of the hospital room.

“Jenny? You awake, sugar?” He edged closer, the legs of his chair squeaking in protest as he dragged it nearer to the head of the bed. His breath caught in a near-hysterical laugh when she fluttered her eyes then scrunched them tighter against even the least amount of light.

Quickly he tugged the string on the light above the bed, dimming it even more. Then he pushed the button on the call box. Rather than a nurse asking what he wanted, he heard the quick steps of soft-bottomed rubber shoes marching to the open door.

“She’s waking up.”

The nurse took her vitals efficiently without adding more discomfort to the massive bandaging on her head, shoulder and under the sheet on her leg. She checked the monitors and marked Jenny’s chart. Only then did she acknowledge Neal’s comment. “I think you’re right, Mr. Franks. She should be waking up for real any time now.” Before leaving, the nurse stopped next to him and nodded toward the bed. “She may not remember what happened. Tell her the minimum, but only if she asks.”

Neal nodded and turned his attention back to the woman lying so still under the covers. She’d almost died twice, once in the ER because she lost so much blood and once on the operating table. Surely, her life still has a purpose if she hasn’t died yet.

When she tried to move her head, Neal squeezed her hand hard. “Jenny, lie still. Your head is wrapped up and will hurt if you move it.” She groaned, and he swallowed fear. What if that head wound wiped out her memory of him as well as the shooting? Imagination played hard ball with him for a while. Finally, he came out and told her, “I love you.”

He really didn’t expect her to answer him, and for the longest time she didn’t. But he kept talking to her, every few minutes telling her he loved her. And he reminded her that she loved him as well, though he wasn’t sure that was what she had been about to say just before that bastard Mendel shot her.

When her eyes opened and stayed open, he rejoiced. For long minutes, she stared straight ahead, focused on the ceiling. “Time?” Her voice cracked.

“Just after four in the afternoon.” A cup of water and straw sat on the bedside table, and he lifted it to her lips so she could sip. “Just a little.”

Silence settled around them, the steady whir of the machines the only sound in the tiny room. “What...happened?”

“Mendel escaped. He shot you.”

“Bad?” Her voice wavered and faded, but she still managed to ask.

“Three shots. Leg, shoulder, creased your hair line.” Because he was glad she lived, he added, “He almost killed you.”

“Where is he?” Each question grew stronger though her hand held his in a weak grip.

How could he tell her he killed another man? But she cut her glance to him, and he couldn’t deny the question in her gaze.

“I killed him.” Neal hung his head, not ashamed of shooting another man but sorry their time together had turned out so wrong.

Raising his head, he caught her glance and held it until even she squirmed nervously. “I love you. Won’t anything change that.”

She said nothing.

“Marry me?”

Her expression softened, but she turned her head away. “Not like this,” she whispered.

“What?” Did she say what I thought I heard?

“Not. Like. This.”

A door slamming shut in his face could not have impacted him more than her words, punctuated by definite periods. She doesn’t love me.

Rather than let her see him cry in disappointment, he leaned over, kissed her hand then laid it on the sheet. “I just wanted to help, that’s all.” He had to clear his throat so his words came out past the lump there.

“Not like this,” she repeated in the hush.

“I still love you, but guess you don’t feel the same.” One hand picked up his worn cap while he stood. “I’ll see you.”

“Not like this.”

“Yeah, I know. You’ve said that a few times.” Not able to stay and be gracious when his heart felt like someone just tore it out of his chest it hurt so bad, he shuffled toward the door. One hand on the frame, he turned, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye. “Love you.”

The door slid shut, and he staggered blindly out of the hospital quickly before anyone could see a grown man cry.

 

“Fucking wind.” Neal pushed through his back door, muttering as he shucked his muddy boots and heavy jacket then slipped on worn house shoes and a tattered flannel shirt over his dusty work shirt. Shivering because of the unexpectedly early winter low temperatures and blustery winds, he warmed a cup of soup. Carrying that and a sandwich to his office, he turned on the computer and connected to the Internet.

A stout north wind rattled the windows and screeched as it howled around the corner of the house. Not bothered enough to turn up the heat, he sat in a dispirited slump staring at the screen.

One thing he’d promised himself when he returned from Childress almost five months earlier was that he would still email Jenny. It never occurred to him that she might not answer. But he hadn’t heard a word from her since they parted in her hospital room.

‘Not like this.’ Guess she told me. But I ain’t through with her yet. Like a stubborn mule, Neal maintained the same routine he always had. He emailed each day and told her about the ranch, the weather, what he’d read, what he saw on TV, what he was thinking—everything that influenced his life. And he signed it like he always did—Love, Neal.

Every Sunday night, he sent her a poem. Sometimes it was humorous, like the time he pulled a calf out of the only waterhole for five miles around and how the job was hell because all the other cows stood in the water watching, their curiosity putting them in the way most of the time. Often his poem reflected his mood. Occasionally he wrote a poem about ‘what if.’

While she never answered his emails, they never bounced back. So he figured she must be getting them—just not writing. Nothing interested him as much as sending her the news of the day. As close as I’ll ever get to telling my wife what’s going on at the end of the day when I come home from working the ranch. He mourned the fact that Jenny was hurt enough to kill their budding romance. Leaving tore him up, but her happiness came first. She wanted to be a Ranger and not rearrange her life for him. So be it.

Because darkness came so much earlier in the autumn and winter seemed to be settling in for good—another strong gust shook the house hard—he had returned to role-playing on Yahoo. The game was no substitute for Jenny, but it kept his mind sharp. This time he participated in a sci-fi outer space game. With only twelve participants, he quickly teamed up with another player known as Agent Red. Sci-fi not being his forte like a western would be, he came into the game without a lot of knowledge, but this person helped him learn fast enough to stay alive. They worked well together. Over the past three weeks, he wavered between thinking the player a man then a woman. Sometimes the person wrote something that made Neal think Agent Red a woman. That was an interesting concept, but just as soon as he thought it, the player would do something mannish. So, he played and stopped wondering.

This particular night was the last session in the game. He regretted the ending since he would have to find something else to do. His book list contained several good choices, but he wanted to discuss them, and no one stayed on the ranch at night but him. Jenny would enjoy reading what he thought about the selections, but he’d like to know what her opinion would be.

Rather than mull over maudlin thoughts, he put his mind to playing the final session of the sci-fi game. Three hours later, he signed off with a thank you to the players. Oddly enough, his email dinged three minutes later, signaling an incoming message. Since he only used email for his brother and Jenny, his heart sped up a bit when he rushed to check it out.

Agent Red sent a message. He slumped again, more tired than he realized. Disheartened. But he opened the message and smiled. “Enjoyed the game. Not surprised at how fast you picked up the sci-fi concept. Always knew you were a smart man. But there are times when even smart men don’t read the signs right. Seek better understanding. And watch the front gate. Agent Red.”

Now what the hell does all that mean? Neal reviewed all he knew about the player. Coming up with no answers to the cryptic message, he disconnected the ‘net and headed to the bedroom, but not before peeking out the front room curtain, checking that there was nothing at the front gate.

 

The next day seemed doomed from the beginning. He was out of coffee; the tractor got stuck on the far side of the ranch. One of the hands called in to say his wife went into labor early, and he wouldn’t be there for several days. A cow dropped her calf, but he couldn’t find it and feared it might die in the cold before he could. One tire on his truck went flat, and then the water line sprang a leak a mile from the house. He spent the evening fixing that, driving in at the house well after dark. One thing after another plagued him until he wanted to throw up his hands and run away to some place warm and comforting. Nothing had really gone right since...

Neal refused to think about Jenny. His thoughts were depressing enough. The hot tea did not satisfy him like a cup of hot coffee would have, but at least it warmed his hands. No sooner did he shake the chill than the sound of a horn blared at the front gate.

All he could see when he looked out the front window was the glare of headlights. Since he locked the gate each evening and didn’t expect company, he wondered what was going on. Cautiously he eased out of the front door, after turning off the porch light and grabbing his shotgun. That might be a misguided tourist, but it also might be someone up to no good.

Thirty feet from the gate and to one side of the headlights, he stopped and rested the gun on his hip. No one stood at the gate though he thought he saw someone beside the truck door. “What can I do for you?”

“A cup of coffee and a place to stay would be nice.”

Her voice shocked him. The last person he expected here was... No, that wasn’t Jenny. He just wanted to believe it was.

“Who are you? Step into the light!” Despite the temperature, sweat broke out across his brow. His eyes strained to make out the tall figure walking toward the gate though to one side out of the light. He heard nothing further though he strained to catch the sound of her voice again. His stomach muscles threatened to knot up, and his blood thundered in his ears.

Someone stopped at the gate, in the light, in silhouette. Leaned both arms against the rail and said nothing.

“Who are you?”

“You know me.” A chuckle accompanied the answer.

“Tell me anyway.” The gun in Neal’s hand hung loosely at his side. No way was he shooting this person. Hope existed as a tiny ember.

“Lately you’ve known me as Agent Red.”

“I knew it, god-dang it! I thought you were a man for a while, but I really believed you were a woman.” He would not get closer. So how come his feet were moving? “You’re a sharp player on line. But you don’t belong here.”

If she didn’t want him, he wasn’t going to let her tear his heart out again.

“Why not?” Still in silhouette, the voice sounded a bit indignant.

“Why not what?” I’ve lost my mind.

“Tell me why I don’t belong here.”

“’Cause you said you didn’t love me.”

“When did I say that? I did not!” Now the figure stood with both feet apart and hands on hips. Oh yeah, this is a woman all right. A pissed woman.

“You told me in the hospital.”

“I think you didn’t hear me right.” The tone of voice smoothed out as if the speaker suddenly realized the problem with the conversation. “What did I say—exactly?”

By now, Neal stood on the other side of the gate, not three feet from the one person he wanted to see but dared not hope to ever find again. Because he couldn’t take his eyes off her long enough to think straight, she repeated the question.

“What did I say in the hospital?”

“Not like this.” He remembered the words with bitterness. And said them the same way.

“And what did that mean?”

“What the hell does that mean... ‘What did that mean’? You told me you didn’t love me! That’s what that meant! God-dang woman, you’re driving me crazy.” Neal shot her a frustrated glance and almost spit when he saw her smile.

Jenny crossed her arms on the pipe gate and leaned her chin on her wrists. “I said not like this...I meant I didn’t want you to see me like that. I didn’t want to come to you in love all messed up like that.” She snorted. “For a smart man, you sure read that sign wrong, cowboy. Open the gate, Neal. I need to give you a few things.” When he didn’t move, she lowered her voice and asked again. “Please? Let me in?”

Against his better judgment—he knew she’d break his heart again—he opened the gate just enough to let her walk through. “Tell me what you want, Jenny, then go home.”

“Okay.” She stopped in front of him and studied him while he fidgeted, wanting to study her just as much. “First off, here.” She held out her purse.

“What the hell do I want with your damn purse?” He put his hands, gun and all, behind his back.

“Quit being such a ninny, and take the thing.” One hip cocked and a wicked look on her face, Jenny held the purse out again.

Hoping the thing didn’t hold a snake or something equally unpleasant, Neal held it with two fingers as if it would bite.

“Oh, for the love of Pete, open it.”

“I ain’t going to go digging in a woman’s purse!”

“Neal!” Her tone suggested she was about two seconds from tapping her foot in extreme aggravation.

“Shit!” He opened the purse and looked inside. To his surprise, it was empty. He hadn’t noticed how light it was when he took it from her. “What the hell you giving me an empty purse for?” He rolled his eyes up and shook his head as he handed the purse back to her.

“Notice anything missing?” She slung the purse lightly onto her shoulder.

“Missing?”

“Think, Neal.”

“Well, now that you mention it. Seems the last time you opened that thing, you pulled out a Sig Sauer and a silver Ranger badge.” By now, he was one confused cowboy. “So, Jenny, where are they?”

“With the captain of Company B.”

“You didn’t get fired, did you?” Suddenly her happiness with being a Ranger was more important than him being pissed at her. Reminding him of all the things he wanted.

“No, silly. But I did recover and wade through all those physical therapy sessions so I could qualify again. My shoulder was screwed up so qualifying with my gun took longer than getting my leg back into shape. I had to pass the medical test too. I passed them all and was moved from the disabled list back to active duty. That was my goal before I...” She seemed quite proud of her accomplishments.

Truth known, Neal was proud of her as well. “Must have been hard work.”

“Oh, it was. Every day I went to therapy and ran and practiced on the gun range, and each evening I dragged my worn out body home in time to collapse and read your emails and poems.” She gave him a rather flirty grin.

“You didn’t answer them, and now you’re back on the job so why are you here bothering me?”

“I’m bothering you?” Her voice teased him.

He refused to take her bait. “Go home, Jenny.” One hand waved her back to her truck.

“Can’t.”

“Why the hell not!” Tempted to shake her or stomp one booted foot, both undignified for a man his age, Neal wanted answers instead of this game of beating around the bush she seemed to be playing.

“I gave you an empty purse. I gave my badge, gun and commission to the captain yesterday afternoon just after I closed my apartment. I got in my truck and hit the road, headed here to give you something. I met my first goal: qualifying for the Rangers again. Now I can give it up. But I have one thing left to give you.”

Suspicious of Jenny when she was in a playful mood, especially after he figured out she was the one called Agent Red in that latest round of RPG, he cocked an eyebrow and asked, “What do you have to give me?”

“My heart.”

To the count of three, he could not speak. “Say what?”

“Did you set out to win my heart with your words and poems and handsome face?”

“Well, I don’t know about all that... But yeah, I did.” He stepped closer. Before he dropped it, he decided to lay the shotgun on the ground. He bent to do it at the same time she swung the purse to the ground. They came up together, in each other’s arms, sort of natural-like.

“Did I really win the Ranger’s heart?” Afraid to believe, Neal turned her so the truck lights shone on her face.

“I can’t go home because I am home. With you, Neal. No more Rangers. Just a woman with a heart that belongs to you. Want it?”

“Oh, sweetheart, I’ll take the Ranger, the heart and the whole nine yards if you’ll tell me you’ll marry me tomorrow.”

“I think that can be arranged.” And Jenny put a hand on each side of Neal’s face and pulled him down for a deep kiss that confirmed her words: he had in fact won the Ranger’s heart.

 

THE END