Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger / Once Upon A Christmas Eve: Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger

They walked inside. This time he took a better look at the rental. It was small, but homey and the furniture looked comfortable. He carried his bag into the other room where a queen-size bed took up most of the space.

He peered into the bath. A small shower stall and a pedestal sink and toilet were accounted for. “Everything I need,” he said.

“There’s a television, but only basic cable.”

“That’s more than I expected.”

“Tell that to my kids. They seem to think they’re deprived without the premiere channels.”

“With you as their mother, and Beth as their grandmother, I’d say they’re pretty lucky.”

That seemed to frazzle her. “Well, having a mother who’s the school principal doesn’t exactly make them the most popular kids.”

It beat the heck out of having a mother who didn’t care about anything but the next man in her life. After two bad marriages, Cindy Morales was still looking for the elusive husband. That meant leaving her two boys alone. “They’ll live,” he said.

That comment got him a smile. “Well, I’ll let you get settled in. Holler if you need anything.”

“Wait.” He pulled out his wallet and took out five one-hundred-dollar bills. “Here’s part of the deposit. Tell your mother, I’ll have a cashiers check for her in the morning.”

Her eyes rounded as she stared down at the money.

“The banks are closed now.”

She nodded and started for the door. He didn’t want her to leave. That wasn’t a good thing. He was here to do a job, nothing more. “I’d like to do some repairs around here,” he called to her. “Will that bother you?”

She turned around. “You don’t have to.”

He shrugged. “I’ll have some time before my job starts. Let’s say my hobby is old Victorian homes.”

She didn’t look convinced. “I would think that you’d want to take advantage of the free time.”

“I’ve had too much time off already. And I’ll get to do something I love.” That wasn’t a lie. He did like to repair and refinish things.

“Well, Mother could use some help with the upkeep. It’s really too big for her since my dad died, but she’ll never leave here.”

“It’s a great house. And there seems to be plenty of room for you and your kids. I’m sure your mother likes having you all here with her.”

She shrugged. “There wasn’t a choice. We didn’t have anywhere else to go. Goodbye, Mr.—Coop.” She turned and walked out.

This time Coop didn’t stop her departure. He didn’t want to scare her off for good. If he wanted to get any information, he needed to tread lightly.

His phone vibrated and he pulled it off his belt and checked the caller ID. It was his captain’s private line, because they didn’t want any of his calls traced back to the off ice.

“Coop here.”

“How’s it going?” Ben Collier asked.

“Fine, so far. I checked in with Casali yesterday.” The lucrative rancher/businessman had hired him for the project with only the sheriff’s request. No more details given. “He’s awarded Perry’s Landscaping the housing project job. I’m also renting a cottage at the Staley house.”

“Good.” There was a long pause. “I’d tell you not to take any unnecessary chances, but I know I would be wasting my breath. Since you’re pretty much working on your own, just tread lightly around Delgado. If he gets wind of you nosing around, it could be dangerous for all involved. Outside of the local law enforcement, you have no partner as back up.”

Coop’s immediate concern was Lilly Perry and her family. “I’m good at my job.”

“No one questions that, but you’re personally involved.”

His chest tightened as he thought about his half brother, Devin Morales. “We’ve got to get this guy off the streets.”

“We will.”

The connection was broken when Coop closed his phone. He knew firsthand that Raul Delgado was trouble. For years, he’d been involved with drug and weapons trafficking along the Mexico border. Yet, they couldn’t link him to any of the killings or the thousands of pounds of illegal drugs coming into the U.S.

Even with the government’s increased patrols, Delgado had managed to do business until one night a local cop was killed trying to break up a drug deal. Of course there were no witnesses to the crime. Coop fisted his hands, remembering how his younger brother Devin’s life had ended too soon.

Yet, Delgado got away. Last word on the street was he’d relocated his operation from the El Paso area, possibly to Laredo.

Last year, he’d been tracked to Kerry Springs and to Perry’s Landscaping. Four months ago, the Feds had received anonymous tips about Delgado’s activity.

They’d set up a meeting with the informant at a secret location outside of town, but the guy never showed. A strange coincidence occurred when a partner in Perry’s Landscaping, Mike Perry, committed suicide a few days later.

Coop strongly suspected Perry had some help with his death. No proof, yet. They weren’t one hundred percent sure it had even been Perry who’d notified the authorities, either.

Coop thought about Lilly. Had she known what happened to her husband? Was that why she was leery of strangers?

Then he remembered the file on her. Mike and Lilly had been divorced for nearly a year by then. Had it been because of her husband’s involvement with Delgado?

That was what he had to find out.

There were only two leads. Lilly’s ex-sister-in-law, Stephanie Perry, was involved with a man named Rey Santos who looked remarkably like Raul Delgado. And the informant had told the Federal agents he had proof of Delgado’s illegal activity.

Now all Coop needed to do was keep the promise he made at his brother’s gravesite to catch this bastard while keeping the fact that he was a Texas Ranger a secret. Not too hard.

“Mom, Robbie’s being gross again,” thirteen-year-old Kasey Perry yelled from the top of the stairs.

Lilly sighed. It had been a long day already. She’d only walked in the door and hadn’t even put down her grocery bags.

“Get washed up so we can eat.”

“But, Mom, aren’t you going to do something?”

Lilly leaned against the open banister and said, “I’ll talk to him.”

She headed down the hall ignoring any and all comments from the kids. Inside the big homey kitchen, she found her mother sitting at the counter, sipping a cup of coffee.

This room was Beth’s space. Cabinets lined the walls and the tiled countertops were still in good shape and an island provided a good work space.

Beth Staley loved to cook and this big old kitchen had seen a lot activity over the years. Not so much lately. At least the table was set and ready for food. It was Lilly’s turn to cook, but she wasn’t ready.

“Give me a few minutes.”