A Texas Ranger’s daughter has been taken.
Getting her back is all that matters.
They’ve been estranged for months, so Texas Ranger Heath Murray is surprised to be partnered with his dedicated FBI agent wife, Kendall Barlow. It’s the case of Kendall’s career—a career that has divided their marriage, though not their attraction. When their young daughter is kidnapped as a pawn, they have only each other to turn to. Saving her together is their only option. The alternative is unthinkable.
Texas Brothers of Company B
ANGI MORGAN writes about Texans in Texas. A USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly bestselling author, her books have been finalists for several awards, including the Booksellers’ Best Award, RT Book Reviews Best Intrigue Series and the Daphne du Maurier. Angi and her husband live in North Texas. They foster Labradors and love to travel, snap pics and fix up their house. Hang out with her on Facebook at Angi Morgan Books. She loves to hear from fans at www.angimorganauthor.com.
Also by Angi Morgan
Ranger Protector
Ranger Defender
Bulletproof Badge
Shotgun Justice
Gunslinger
Hard Core Law
The Sheriff
The Cattleman
The Ranger
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
Ranger Guardian
Angi Morgan
ISBN: 978-1-474-07909-9
RANGER GUARDIAN
© 2018 Angela Platt
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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Version: 2020-03-02
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Thank you, Amanda! Thanks for the encouragement and the major kick in the behind—just the right amount of both. And a special thanks for being such a great person to model a character after!
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
About the Author
Booklist
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Extract
About the Publisher
Prologue
Eight Months Ago
Heath Murray rushed through the emergency room doors. Yes, he’d used the entrance for the ambulances. Yes, he’d parked his truck next to the building, practically on the sidewalk. And yes, he’d taken advantage of having the Texas Ranger badge he carried.
What did anyone expect? His three-year-old daughter was there. It was the only thing he knew for sure. The message from his wife had stated only what hospital they were heading to.
Life was good. Life was perfect. He couldn’t imagine life without his baby girl, Skylar Dawn, in it. He couldn’t imagine life without his wife, Kendall. Six years ago, if you’d asked him if his life would be full of anything except law enforcement, he would have answered no.
Now?
Life was full of pink frills and satin sun dresses. Along with brand new ponies—plastic and real. And all the disagreements about whether Skylar Dawn was old enough to own a pony. Yep, life was full, and he was blessed several times over.
He rushed to his mother-in-law, who stood up from a waiting room chair. Her eyes were red but not swollen. Her old-fashioned handkerchief was twisted and streaked from her mascara. She looked like she’d been pulled straight out of a church service, but Naomi Barlow looked like that every day. And she didn’t go to church.
“Where is she?”
“Kendall is with her. She’s going to be fine. It’s not a break that will require surgery.”
“What kind of an accident were they in?”
“Accident? Did you think they were in a car accident?” Kendall’s mom asked, then laughed.
What the hell? Why was she laughing?
“Where are they?”
“Oh, honey, you poor thing. Skylar Dawn just fell on the playground at day care. That’s all. She’ll be fine.” Naomi’s eyes darted toward a set of double doors. “Only one person can be in the room with her.”
He didn’t need her response. What he did need was for the attendant to open the doors from the other side.
“Excuse me.” He headed straight to the front desk and flipped his badge so the person at the window could see it. “I need to get through.”
“May I see your credentials?”
Heath shot his ID through the slot and managed to keep his toes from tapping the linoleum while he waited. “Thanks,” he added politely to the man whose turn he’d interrupted, then paced back to his mother-in-law and handed her his keys. “Give these to the green-faced Texas Ranger who comes inside in a minute. My partner, Slate Thompson will take my truck home.”
“Here you go, sir. I can buzz you through now.”
He heard the door lock open and hurried to pull on the handle, but it opened at a snail’s pace on its own. He rushed down the hall, glancing through the small windows. Then he heard her.
A quiet, polite cry for a child of three.
He rounded a corner and took a deep breath. Okay, they really are all right. He hadn’t processed that information when Naomi had told him. He couldn’t believe it until he’d seen with his own eyes.
So he took a second. They’d be upset as it was. He didn’t need to add to the situation by not appearing calm. He shook his shoulders, slowed his racing pulse, became the dad instead of the Ranger who’d driven ninety across Dallas to get here.
“There they are.” He thought his voice sounded excited to see them, instead of like the frightened-to-death man who’d just had his heart ripped from his chest.
“See, I told you Daddy was on his way.”
“Daddy!” Skylar Dawn tried to lift her free arm to him. “I want Daddy.”
“It’s better if you stay where you are, baby. Mommy’s got you.” He honestly didn’t think his shaking arms could hold her steadily.
Kendall tilted her cheek up for a kiss. He rubbed Skylar Dawn’s strawberry blond hair. One day it would be as thick as her mother’s and out of the small pigtails.
“How ’bout I sit down here so you can see me?” He sat on the floor, pulling himself close to his wife and daughter, just about ready to cry from the gratitude he felt at them both being alive and safe.
There was no tension in Kendall. She seemed far calmer than her message had implied. She mouthed, “Sorry.”
His wife could probably tell how frantic he was. She’d always been good at picking up on the nuances that gave away his emotions. In fact, she was practically the only person who had ever been able to see through the wall he’d built.
A wall that had been breached several times over by Skylar Dawn.
“Let me see.” He leaned closer and puckered his lips for a loud smack without ever touching the skin of her arm. “Does that feel better?”
Skylar Dawn shook her head. “I broke it, Daddy. Does that mean we have to throw it away?”
He refrained from chuckling. “No, baby girl. The doctors can fix this all up. And you’ll be as good as new.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.” She perfectly imitated her mother.
“I’ve been explaining that her arm isn’t a toy.” Kendall smiled.
“No throwaway arms,” he said.
Skylar Dawn dropped her head to Kendall’s chest. “Just close your eyes for a minute, sweetheart,” said Kendall. “I’ll wake you up when the doctor comes back.”
He placed a hand on Skylar Dawn’s back and could feel when her body relaxed into sleep. Nice to be a kid.
“What took you so long?” Kendall whispered.
He followed suit, whispering back his answer. “We were in west Fort Worth. I did ninety most of the way. Slate thought he was going to puke.”
“I just... I’m sorry about the wild message. The day care called without a lot of details. Then they told me I couldn’t use my cell phone back here. I should have had Mother call with an update. I know it scared you.”
“I’m good. All’s good.”
He listened to the details of Skylar Dawn climbing the section of the playground her age group wasn’t allowed on. One of the older girls—probably about five—had helped her. Skylar Dawn had fallen.
They whispered about the X-ray and doctor’s analysis. Just a hairline fracture, but they could go to the pediatrician for a cast in a couple of days.
The love Kendall had for their daughter radiated like sunshine. How awesome would it be to have another little girl as precious as this one?
The doctor came and went. Heath took Skylar Dawn from Kendall’s arms and cuddled her against his chest. Her head had a special baby smell that he especially noticed when she first fell asleep. It was something he already knew he’d miss whenever she got too big to be rocked.
“Hey, for a couple who never wanted children, I think we’re handling this pretty well.” Kendall smoothed Skylar Dawn’s hair while they waited on their release paperwork.
“Want to have a couple more?” he said, then gulped.
“What?” Kendall’s eyes grew big. “Where does this come from?”
“It was just a thought. I mean...I love you guys. I love our family. And you’re right. I think we’re pretty good at this.”
“I do, too.”
Were those tears?
“Honey, what’s wrong?” He opened his free arm and pulled her in for a hug.
Special Agent Kendall Barlow was full-blown crying, silent tears running down her face. And it took a lot—like the birth of their daughter—to bring them on. Heath never expected his spontaneous suggestion to affect her this way.
“I was... I was...” she tried.
“It’s okay, babe. Everything’s perfect the way it is. Nothing’s wrong with our family.”
“But I was just thinking the same thing, Heath. I’d love another baby.”
He kissed her. As much as he was able to with his arms full of their daughter.
“I am definitely looking forward to getting you home and getting this one in bed.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
Kendall dabbed at her eyes. “We can’t start this afternoon, silly. I’m helping Jerry with his cyber-fraud case. It’s going to take weeks. Maybe months.”
“You want to wait?” He was surprised. Seriously surprised. And then an ugly voice shouted in his ear, How many cases will be more important?
“Whisper, please?”
“Sure.” He lowered his voice to match hers. “Why would finishing cases be more important? It’s not like you’ll still be trying to move up the FBI ladder.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Well, if you have another baby, aren’t you quitting?”
The words were there before he could mentally slap himself and stop them from forming. Mistake. It was the wrong thought to let out of his mouth.
“You want me to quit my job and stay home? What? Do you want me barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, too?”
He tucked his bottom lip between his teeth. He wasn’t going to say a word. Not a dad-blasted word. It wasn’t the time. It wasn’t the place.
Then she stiffened and pulled away from his arm.
Dammit.
“Kendall, we thought having any kids in day care whose parents are both in the line of fire wasn’t a good idea. It’s still not a good idea. But two? If you’re pregnant, they’ll call you out of the field anyway. Right?”
“For a few months. Just like last time. But I’m not going to give up my career. You stay home with the kids.”
“I worked hard to be a Texas Ranger.”
“And I worked hard to become an FBI agent.”
It was the loudest whispered arguing they’d ever done. It gave him a bad feeling, like something ominous was about to happen.
“Maybe we should talk about this at home.” He kissed his daughter’s forehead. “When the munchkin is in bed, we can list the pros and cons.”
“Or we could be honest with each other.”
“I think I’ve been honest enough.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.” She crossed her arms in typical Barlow fashion, after her sarcasm had a chance to sink in.
“It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it,” he said. Fact, not a question. Just like he knew they were stepping outside into the backyard to have an extended argument once they got home.
“We both need to really think about your expectations for me. This is serious, Heath. I... It’s not something I can take lightly and just forget that it happened.”
“I’m sorry for jumping the gun.” Apologizing was the easy part. Understanding what he did wrong would take a little longer.
* * *
SIX WEEKS OF continuous arguing began to take its toll on her family. Kendall sat at her office desk staring at the picture of Heath carrying Skylar Dawn on his shoulders. She missed him. Ached for him. Longed for someone to invent a time machine so she could take back the words she didn’t even know if she meant any more.
Just when Kendall thought things were getting better, her mother overheard Heath say he didn’t understand why her work was more important than a family.
She didn’t know which hurt worse—what he’d said or the fact he had talked to someone else and not her. He’d always been the strong silent type. Definitely a man of action and few words.
When Skylar Dawn complained of tummy aches, Kendall suggested counseling. If they couldn’t communicate on their own, maybe a third party could help.
She’d never forget the stabbing pain she’d experienced when he said, “My world has pretty much crashed down around my ears by not keeping my mouth shut.” To keep from hurting their daughter, Heath packed a bag. He made a drastic, solitary decision.
If he was gone...they couldn’t argue. So to solve the problem he moved into the spare room of Slate Thompson’s house on a small ranch just east of Dallas. He worked in the barn and helped with riding lessons to pay his rent.
Or at least that’s what she thought. They hadn’t really spoken since.
They seemed to avoid each other by staying busy with their jobs. But he never failed to call Skylar Dawn at six each evening. When her caseload picked up, he stayed at the house two nights a week.
Her mother had objected to her marriage from the beginning. For some reason, her encouragement had always been for a career. Not necessarily the FBI, just something with a title and advancement.
“How did we get this far down the rabbit hole? Yeah... Where’s that time machine when you need it?”
Chapter One
Heath Murray was feeling just how crowded the small house he lived in had become. He slipped away to the rodeo every weekend, attempting to give Slate some privacy. But, man, come Sunday nights he needed to rest his weary old bones on a soft couch.
He needed to pop the top on a bottle of beer, prop his feet up on the coffee table and listen to sports while he drifted off into blissful slumber.
That never happened.
He didn’t mind having his partner’s mom cook. Saved him the trouble of constantly eating out. He didn’t mind having Slate’s new girlfriend sneak back up to the main house after not catching the front door before it slammed shut at four in the morning. Neither of them knew he hadn’t really slept in months.
He didn’t mind returning to his real bed twice a week to spend time with his baby girl. Skylar Dawn loved it. Kendall tolerated it. They both agreed it was better than the nights he didn’t see their daughter at all.
He could deal with all that. He’d been dealing with it for almost six months. But this...
“Dammit, guys. Do you always have to be making out when I open the door?”
“Oh, man. Is it already five? I’m supposed to go see my brother tonight. I should go get ready.” Vivian Watts, his roommate’s girlfriend, tugged her T-shirt to her waist, making sure it was in place. She gave Slate a quick kiss and ran past Heath.
“Thanks for making her feel bad,” Slate said.
“Don’t mention it.” Yeah, he was being sarcastic. Yeah, he didn’t mean to be. Hell, maybe he did. His attitude sucked, and his side hurt. The bronc he’d been thrown from had kicked his ribs. The skin had begun turning colors before he’d started for home.
“Well, I sort of am.” Slate took his hands from his back pockets and crossed his arms in a move of determination. “You know she’s had a really hard time lately. They told her it’s going to be at least another six weeks before they’ll think about clearing her brother to leave the center.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it and I’ll apologize.” He would. He’d probably screw up again, though. “Maybe it’s time for me to find my own place?”
“That’s not what you need to do,” Slate said with a certain look on his face.
The same frustrated look his friends and fellow Rangers had at least once a week. Maybe even a little more often. Like each time they tried to get him to open up about his situation with his wife. Yet if he couldn’t talk about it with her, he shouldn’t talk about it with his friends. Their separation was a private matter.
“You, me, Wade and Jack are tight. We’re more than just Rangers, and we’re more than friends. We’re brothers. We’ve got each other’s backs. I’m telling you the truth. You should call her,” Slate urged.
“I will. Tuesday.”
“You are such a stubborn son of a...cowboy.”
At that, Heath tipped his hat off his head and let the Stetson flip into his hand. A trick his little girl loved.
“You better head on out if you’re going to catch Vivian and drive her to her brother’s.”
“Call your wife, man. Make up. It’s been six months, for crying out loud. Tell her you don’t think your job is more important than hers.”
“You don’t think I’ve told her? I haven’t ever lied to her. I thought she knew that. But for some reason she still can’t believe me.” He pulled a beer from the refrigerator, glancing at the plastic containers full of home-cooked meals. He was too sore to eat.
“Dammit, Heath.” Slate stuck a ball cap on his head. “Think hard about what you’re willing to give up.” He stomped to the door and slammed it shut behind him.
Alone.
It was how he liked it. Right?
“Right,” he spoke out loud and tipped the beer he’d wanted for the past hour between his lips and swallowed.
Another couple of minutes, and he could call Skylar Dawn before Kendall put her in the bathtub. She was almost four years old, and it had been six months since he’d destroyed any chance at a normal father-daughter relationship.
He went through the motions, just like he did every night. Nothing there comforted him like it had when he was married. There was no one to talk to about the bronc ramming him in half.
No one to joke with about the young women hanging around the edge of the stalls. Or how he’d felt too old to notice. But they’d had fun with their wolf calls when he’d bent over and showed his backside. Kendall had gotten a kick out of coming up and laying a big, luscious kiss on him when that had happened before.
That had been before she’d gotten pregnant and the barn smell had made her nauseous.
Another sip of beer. It was almost gone, and he wanted another.
Was this what life was going to be like? Waiting around while Kendall—and her mother—made all the decisions about their life? He’d been ready for months to talk with her and apologize again. He just wanted their old life back.
Was that even possible?
Completely aware that pressure against his side would be painful, he went back into the kitchen, filled a couple of sandwich bags with ice, wrapped them in a towel and shoved it against his ribs.
The stinging cold brought him to his senses. He was getting too old for this routine. Too old to be afraid to talk with his wife. Too old to insult Vivian and Slate or any of his other friends because he was miserable with his own life.
It was time to make some changes.
Good or bad...he needed to talk with Kendall face-to-face. Soon. Maybe it would turn out better than he feared. Maybe it wouldn’t. All he knew was that it was time to move forward.
Good thing he had a light load at work. He was mostly focused on court and testifying and paperwork right now. He set the ice on the table, then slid his shirt free from his belt. He tucked it up close to his armpit before looking closer at the bruise.
That was going to be a big boo-boo, as baby girl would say.
Yeah, it was time. Slate was right about that. Time to apologize and move on. How long could a woman stay mad?
Something in the back of his mind warned that his woman could stay that way a very, very long time. Especially with a mother whispering in her ear who hated him. Hell, his mother-in-law had shouted to the world that he’d never be good enough for her daughter.
He clicked on his phone, stared at the picture of Kendall holding a super pink baby girl and swiped to dial. He would talk to his wife face-to-face. Tonight, he’d read to his daughter.
“Hey there. How’s my favorite munchkin?” He reached for the children’s version of The Wizard of Oz.
“Daddy!”
* * *
“JERRY, I KNOW it’s Sunday night. That’s why I’m calling. I need more people. I know I’m close to a breakthrough.” Kendall Barlow didn’t back down. Her supervisory special agent should know that. She heard the house phone ring in the background, as it did every night like clockwork.
In six months’ time, Heath hadn’t missed calling his daughter once. And not one time had he made a serious effort to reconcile. He was a man of few words—for everyone except Skylar Dawn.
“Kendall. It’s been months and you’ve got nothing to show for it. You know we’re shorthanded. Dallas Police Department is worse off than we are. You aren’t going to get more qualified personnel for the joint task force than the people already assigned to it.”
“If I had another competent person who knew their way around computers, I know I could prove that Public Exposure is fraudulent. We’re close. Very close.”
“Oh furgle. Our resources have been tapped out. Run with what you’ve got, and get me something to show for your time. Of course, there is one person already on your task force you haven’t tried.”
“Special Agent Fisher, I’ve asked you not to use that word. I’ve looked it up and it’s inappropriate. It was fine in Catch-22, but come on. You know it doesn’t mean what you think.” She was tired of this conversation. Or was he trying to distract her? Did he really think that she needed something to justify the investigation? Couldn’t he think of one more possible agency to check? “Jerry?”
“Yes? I promise I’ll behave. I just love that word.”
“Please don’t—”
“You should talk to your ex. Ask him if he’s heard anything about your case.”
“That’s a clear conflict of interest. No one would allow him on the team.”
“Seems like that’s my decision now. I’ll allow him to help out until the Rangers can find a replacement. Use the taxpayers’ money wisely. See you in the office.”
The line disconnected, and she could once again hear the exclamations of surprise from her daughter as her father read about flying monkeys and sparkly red shoes. Had she mentioned to Heath that their daughter had outgrown two pairs of those red slippers while he’d been gone?
Skylar Dawn was sitting on the couch holding the main phone extension. Her grandmother listened on an additional handset just outside the door. Heath knew about the eavesdropping even if her mother thought it was a secret. He accepted it as part of his “punishment for whatever he blamed himself.”
As if living away from their precious little girl wasn’t punishment enough. Why he thought he needed to be punished, she didn’t understand. And no matter how she tried, her mother wouldn’t stop.
Constant jabs at Heath kept an undercurrent of tension in the air. Kendall wanted to avoid the subject and leaned toward avoiding her mother in the evenings when she helped out with Skylar Dawn.
Heath wasn’t her ex, and finalizing their separation wasn’t high on her priority list. So far there hadn’t been any squabbles about how to do anything. He’d taken only a few of his things and the horses.
Other than a picture or two of Skylar Dawn, he’d managed to leave everything looking exactly like it had been when he’d walked away. Or when she’d driven him away. She could remember exactly when things had come to a pivotal breaking point. Most of that argument had to do with her mother.
Her mother’s standards had been high her entire life. Heath had a father exactly the same way. But what had turned Heath into a strong man who held his opinions to himself—or himself and his horse—seemed to be turning her soul bitter.
I can’t be my mother. I can’t do that to Skylar Dawn.
“Do you have to say goodbye, Daddy?”
Kendall waited for the familiar “Good night” and “I love you.” Her daughter clicked the red button on the phone and her mother followed a second afterward. She crossed her arms, enveloping the phone between a breast and a well-toned limb.
Her mother, a woman of sixty, made good use of the money she’d gathered over the years. Three stepfathers and three settlements later, Kendall had a college education and two letters of recommendation for her Bureau interview.
Getting along with the men in her mother’s life had never been the problem. More and more recently, she’d been realizing how sad her mother had become. And how demanding.
Her mother didn’t allow Skylar Dawn two seconds to linger or even to put the phone back on its charging station. She immediately clapped her hands, and her granddaughter jumped to her feet.
Oh my God! She’s reacting like a trained puppy.
Kendall swooped in and picked up her little girl, who should need a bath from playing in the dirt. But she was perfectly clean.
“Wow. Let’s go for a ride. What do you think, sweet girl?”
“Kendall, I was just getting ready to run her bath. Isn’t it late to go out?”
“Actually, Mother, you might be right. But we’re going anyway.” Kendall smiled and steadied her daughter back down on her feet. “Let’s go see if we can find some flying monkeys.”
Skylar Dawn giggled as they skipped down the hall and out the front door.
It was clear that changes needed to be made for her and her daughter. She’d set paperwork in motion the next day. She’d find out the possibilities before she approached Heath.
Six months of living with her mother instead of her husband was long enough. Five minutes down the road, she realized she’d pointed the car east toward Heath. She slowed and turned into a drive-through. Then they got ice cream and played at the park until they both really needed a bath.
It was fun. Spontaneous. She used to be those things. It was the whole reason Skylar Dawn had come to be.
It was time to find that person again.
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