A Texas Ranger's Family

A Texas Ranger's Family
Mae Nunn

Photojournalist Erin Gray has seen the world through her camera. But she's never taken a snapshot of the husband and daughter she left behind years ago.After Erin suffers life-threatening injuries, she returns home to heal–with every intention of leaving again. But seeing her Texas Ranger husband with their teenage daughter begins to melt her heart. Daniel never lost faith that some day they would be reunited. Now he hopes that he and Erin can put the past behind and come together as a family forever.

Confusion was not a familiar state for Daniel. Until now.

This situation with Erin was a no-win wrapped up in a heartache. There was so much on the line. But his daughter was bursting with the pride of finally meeting her mama, and discovering Erin’s accomplishments.

At only thirty-four, Erin was a gifted photographer who had been awarded some of the world’s highest honors for her work. Daniel was not immune to the impressive allure of Erin Gray and her talent.

True, this Erin might be different from the young woman who’d stood before the justice of the peace with him over sixteen years ago, but when Daniel looked into her eyes, a glimmer of that skittish girl still existed.

He knew her fears, knew her past and knew she would run away to catch up with her future as soon as she got well again.

And that was exactly what he wanted. Or was it?

MAE NUNN

grew up in Houston and graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in communications. When she fell for a transplanted Englishman who lived in Atlanta, she hung up her Texas spurs to become a Georgia Southern belle. Mae recently retired after thirty years of corporate life. When asked how she felt about being a full-time writer, Mae summed her response up with one word, “Yeeeeeha!”

A Texas Ranger’s Family

Mae Nunn

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

—Ecclesiastes 4:12

A Texas Ranger’s Family is for my darlin’ Michael. Thank you for taking care of me, putting up with me and loving me completely as only you can do. Our twenty-year marriage is proof that happily-ever-after endings occur outside of fairy tales and romance novels. Psalms 37:4 tells us to “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Honey, with God as the third strand of our braided cord, I have more than I ever dreamed of. You make it all worthwhile. I adore you.

Contents

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

Epilogue

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

“Erin, are you awake?”

It was only four words, yet the man’s accent was vaguely familiar.

“Yes, I am.” Erin Gray’s heart lurched at the first recognizable voice she’d heard since regaining consciousness in the ICU of Walter Reed hospital.

The thud of footsteps brought him closer.

“I can’t open my eyes!” Her cry was not much more than a raspy whisper, excruciating at that.

“It hurts to move, to talk, to breathe. Hurts everywhere!” She’d give in to the panic rising from her gut but even a single wrench would be too painful.

Tight strips of gauze covered her eyes blocking out all light. Her head and shoulders thumped like the blades of a Blackhawk. Bandages weighed her torso down like a lead blanket. She licked sore lips with a dry tongue. Her mouth was desperate for moisture. Her throat raw.

Respirator.

That’s right, a nurse had explained something about being on a respirator for almost three weeks.

Three weeks in a medically induced coma!

Accustomed as Erin was to a military cot, the soft contours of a hospital mattress had produced a throbbing low in her back. She was desperate to sit up or roll to one side. But even the smallest voluntary muscle twitch took her breath away, and if she hadn’t been told otherwise, Erin would swear she was in a straightjacket.

“Try to take it easy.” The kind man gave a gentle pat to her left hand, the only area of her upper body that seemed free of restraints. “It’s not as bad as it seems right now and nowhere near as bad as it coulda been. The heat from the truck bomb that hit your convoy in Kirkuk should have blinded you, but you’re only dealin’ with scorched corneas. The best ophthalmologist in this place says your healin’ is right on schedule.” His words were reassuring.

“Thank you, Lord,” she mouthed. Her one and only talent was photography. Without work behind the camera lens, she’d have no work at all. God was good, her life and vision had been spared.