The Ranger's Texas Proposal

Chapter Four (#u094ce821-c6be-5ca6-991e-808464985ed0)

Josie shooed Heath away when he tried to help her down from his truck. One would think he’d have caught on by now that she liked to get down from the cab on her own.

They’d been following the same routine for a week now. Every day he showed up at her house just after sunrise. He did all the chores and then polished off whatever food she placed in front of him, praising her cooking the entire time. Then he drove her to the ranch, and while she worked her volunteer shift, he poked around and talked to people about possible leads for the incidents that had occurred there. She’d given him a list of names of ranch hands to talk to who would have worked at the ranch when his father was murdered and she’d noticed him engaging each of those people in conversations, as well. The boys ranch was blessed to have so many people who either volunteered or continued working there faithfully for so many years.

After talking with Flint, a few days ago Heath had started leading an after-school club for boys interested in learning how cops investigate crimes. They called their little club detection class. A majority of the older boys had instantly jumped at the chance to spend time with a Texas Ranger. Josie couldn’t blame them; Heath was good company.

On her way toward the office, Josie spotted a few of the boys in the pen with the calves, trying to put a lead line on one of them. As she drew nearer, she recognized Riley, one of the oldest teen residents at the ranch, and his ever-present shadow, ten-year-old Morgan, as they moved to corner the skittish dairy calf everyone called Honey. She was a favorite among the kids because she had a marking that looked like a heart on her forehead.

Morgan was a shy kid who was sometimes easily discouraged. If Honey kicked one of the boys, Morgan would probably not want to be around any of the calves any longer.

Josie stepped into the pen and secured the door again. “Careful, now. She scares easily.” Josie held up her hands. “Shh, Honey. It’s okay, girl.”

“Be careful, Ms. Markham.” Riley’s eyes went right to Josie’s pregnant belly. “How about you let me get up close to Honey instead? If she kicks, I’ll be fine.” At seventeen, the boy towered over Josie.

Right. She’d forgotten how protective the older boys were about her. There was no way Riley was going to let her get close to Honey until he had her tethered.

As small framed as she was, Josie’s pregnancy had showed almost immediately. Once the older boys noticed, they’d taken it upon themselves to try to ease her load. They were always offering to carry things for her or go in with the bigger animals when needed or pitch in when her truck got a flat the other week.

All their gestures were sweet, but sometimes the extra attention grated on her all the same. The whispers of Dale’s repeated instructions to her—don’t do this, you can’t handle that, no I won’t let you have a farm, my wife won’t smell like cattle if I have anything to say about it—were never far behind whenever she let one of the boys help her.

She had to remind herself the boys’ intention wasn’t to control her—they weren’t trying to tell her she wasn’t capable of doing those things. They were showing they cared about her.

Josie stayed and encouraged Morgan as he led Honey around the pen a few times. She headed toward the office housed at the ranch once the boys left the pen on their way to their next lesson. The director had left a message for her earlier in the day. Bea, the director, had said she wanted to speak with her about how long Josie planned on volunteering...considering her condition.

Josie held her head high as she strode past the blond receptionist, Katie Ellis, who was talking animatedly on the phone to someone about an electric bill. On a normal day, Josie would have stopped to say hi to Katie because the two women were good friends, but Josie didn’t want to interrupt Katie’s conversation. Instead she gave a little wave and the receptionist rolled her eyes and pointed at the phone. Josie stifled a laugh.

Josie went over again what she had decided to tell Bea. She wanted to volunteer as long as she was able, although the pains in her back told her that it might not be too much longer. But she still had three months until her due date. Plenty of women worked right up until they went into labor; surely Josie could help around the ranch until then.

Be brave. Be strong. Speak what’s on your mind.

The director’s office was empty.

Josie swiveled back toward Katie, who was just hanging up the phone.

“Bea’s not in?”

Katie sprang from her seat and came over to Josie, offering a quick hug. “You seriously just missed her. She had to run into town.” Katie motioned for Josie to follow her to the front of the office near a set of wide windows, her bouncy hair swishing as she walked. “She shouldn’t be long. Do you want me to have her find you?”

Josie pressed her shoulder into the wall for support. “Heath has to leave early to run some errands today. I leave when he leaves, so I might not be here when she gets back. And I’ll be late tomorrow because I have a doctor’s appointment.”

It had been a week of Heath stopping at her ranch in the morning, helping with chores and then sharing breakfast. He’d discovered some problems with her truck and declared it unsafe to drive for the time being. Something about her radiator and, even more concerning, he explained that the main rail for the frame of the vehicle had been weakened by the accident and needed to be replaced. He’d told her to call her insurance agent and have the truck junked, but Josie couldn’t do that. Not yet. She simply needed to have the rail fixed...and figure out how she’d pay for that. Surely that would be less expensive than buying a whole new car. She’d been a housewife for ten years and all of their bills and credit had been in Dale’s name. No one would give her a loan. She had to build up credit before she could buy a new car.