The Ranger's Texas Proposal

“Okay. I see. That’s your confession look.” She pointed at his face. “That’s the stern one that gets the bad guys to give in. Fine. Be that way.” She pulled off her gloves and wiped her hands on the thighs of her jeans. “Well, let’s get it over with quickly, then. I’ve got a lot that needs to get done today.” She jutted her thumb over her shoulder, pointing at the barn.

Heath’s gaze traced back over the patched-together ranch. If Josie was all alone, she needed help. That should take precedence over an investigation about some loose cows. It wasn’t exactly like anyone was in immediate danger. Not from what Flint had shared.

Unlike the danger that had plagued the boys ranch fifteen years ago.

“How about I go ahead and help with your chores first?” Heath crossed his arms and widened his stance, ready for the fight he was sure this woman would put up. He’d spent enough time on his uncle’s ranch over the years, especially after his father’s death, that Heath knew his way around a barn and wasn’t shy when it came to manual labor. He was just as much at home mucking stables as he was on the shooting range.

Her lips pinched as if she’d bitten into something sour. “Absolutely not.”

No one could say he wasn’t a good judge of character.

“I insist.”

Josie blew out a long stream of air. “Listen, Officer Grayson—”

“Heath is just fine.” He took a half step closer.

“Heath, then.” She patted her hair. “I make it a point not to spend too much time around lawmen anymore.”

Anymore?

“Interesting.” He held his ground. “We’re at an impasse, then, because I make it a point not to leave pregnant women on their own to do any heavy labor.”

“Labor, really?” A muscle twitching on her cheek said she was fighting the upward tilt of her lips. “That’s the word you’re going with?”

“Let me help you. Please?” He softened his voice.

Why was he pushing this issue so hard? He didn’t know Josie, but her condition twisted his gut and it tugged at him... She could be Nell. He’d been with the state troopers, stationed clear across the state when Nell fell on hard times. The distance had made it impossible to help her at all when she was alone and pregnant with his niece, Carly. Heath would always regret not being there for them. But perhaps lessening Josie’s load—if only for a month—could be a small way to atone.

Besides, she was a witness to a recent crime. Even though Flint didn’t believe there was an immediate threat, depending on what Heath’s investigation uncovered, it could mean Josie was a target. Especially if she had been seen or if her information led to someone’s capture.

He couldn’t leave her on her own.

Heath had a month off... Why not help around her ranch? He needed something to do with his time and he wouldn’t be able to spend every second of his vacation at the boys ranch investigating his father’s murder. Not without people becoming suspicious. He didn’t want them all to know that was what he was doing there. There was a chance he’d solve nothing. That he’d fail. He definitely didn’t want them to feel sorry for him, the way people often did when they found out about his father’s death.

Helping take care of Josie gave him an out...an alibi. He could help on her ranch and then drive her—because her truck was not safe in its current condition—to the boys ranch for her volunteer hours, which would give him a believable reason to hang around so much. Because he knew Flint would get annoyed if Heath trailed him around at the ranch. Hopefully, Josie wouldn’t.

He yanked off his hat and laid it over his heart. “My mother would be ashamed of me if I left your ranch without pitching in. Say yes...for my mother’s sake.”

Josie popped her fists onto her hips and let out another loud laugh. “Well, if you’re going to guilt me by bringing your mom into things, I guess a girl’s going to have to accept your help.” She shook her finger at him. “But mark it in the books that I am accepting begrudgingly and slightly under protest.”

“Under protest.” Now Heath was the one who couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t used to that. “I’ll be sure to mark that down.”

The woman was definitely a bit of a spitfire. And not even an inch of her was intimidated by his being a Texas Ranger, which was refreshing. The instant respect that often came with the office was nice, but it tended to keep everyone at an arm’s distance.

Heath rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

This November, Josie Markham wouldn’t be alone. Not like Nell had been.

Not if Heath had anything to do with it.

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

At first Josie followed Heath around. “My ranch may look like a mess. I know it does. But I’m only starting out. This has been mine for the last five months. I haven’t had time to turn this place into what I’ve envisioned. But I will.”

Heath nodded. “I’m certain you will.”

He moved the cows out of the barn and into the pasture. After the cows were cleared out, he wrangled the three large hogs into a separate penned area, away from the cattle. The man spent an hour mucking out the stables and refreshing them with clean straw. While he worked, Josie minded the chickens, hunted for eggs and milked her dairy cows along with the two goats that rounded out her animals. Heath lunged for the metal buckets when Josie made a move to lug them toward her house.

“I got them.” He scooted over and made a grab for the pails.

“I’m perfectly capable of bringing them in, Officer Grayson.”

“Heath. And while I know you’re capable...remember...my dear old mother.” He winked at her.

She rolled her eyes, but moved out of his way. “Fine, then. Follow me, Heath.”

“Lead the way.” Heath grabbed the pails and inclined his head. “I’ll follow you wherever.”

I’ll follow you. He’d meant it about the pails, but the words made her heart speed up just the same. Foolishness. Josie had only ever dated Dale, and Dale didn’t believe in chasing a woman in order to win her. She’d never been followed...pursued. Not when they were dating and definitely not after they had married. Dale had referred to romance as a “mind game.”

But as Josie made her way toward the cabin with Heath trailing her, the Ranger’s hard-won smile and teasing wink flashed through her mind.

Oh, this was bad. Very bad. Mayday bad.

Most mistakes started in the form of a good-looking man.

She peeked a glance at him over her shoulder.

Definitely a mistake.

In those leg-hugging jeans, boots and with his sleeves rolled up until they were snug around his tanned forearms, the man was far, far too handsome for his own good. And when he’d taken off his hat and invoked his mom, his almost-black hair, messy and sticking out at weird angles from wearing the hat, about did her in.

Josie had always been attracted to the tall, dark and handsome type. Heath Grayson definitely fit the bill. He had dark, wide eyebrows, and his eyes were black coffee—hold the cream.

Don’t forget tall. The man had a foot on her, maybe more.

Josie had met her late husband, Dale, when they were in high school, and they’d started dating soon after. He’d never grown beyond the five foot seven he was when they’d met. And Dale’s face had been rounder—softer around his edges. Whereas Heath had sharp lines, as if his face had been chiseled from stone by some great, ancient artist.

She shook her head, releasing her wayward thoughts.

There was zero reason to compare the two men. None whatsoever. So they were both in law enforcement? Big whoop. That didn’t mean she needed to pull out a chart and make a pros-and-cons list of whom she was more attracted to. Goodness... Dale was her husband. Her husband. At least, he had been her husband and he hadn’t passed away that long ago. She was still working through the grief of losing her first love, losing the man who would have been the father to the child kicking in her stomach.

The attraction she felt for Heath—a man she’d only just met—had to be her pregnancy hormones talking. The doctor had said her emotions would do silly things in the next few months leading up to the birth. That must be the reason for her rapid heart palpitations, and the way her gaze kept tabs on Heath all morning and memorized the way his dress shirt pulled across his shoulders... It was crazy pregnancy stuff. End of story.

Besides, Heath Grayson was a lawman. Not just any lawman—he was an officer who worked the most dangerous and high-stakes cases in the state. A Texas Ranger. If Dale, who had been a sheriff’s deputy, could die in the line of duty, Josie imagined the target on a Ranger’s back was even bigger.

Especially these days.