Deadly Texas Rose

After he’d left, Cat turned to Julia, her big brown eyes full of concern. “So how’s Moria?”

Julia looked at her watch. “She’s fine. Mrs. Ulmer probably doesn’t like me calling every five minutes, though.” She was torn between staying here or just rushing to the Ulmers’ to get her daughter.

“Adam put a man on her, you know.”

Julia’s head came up, her heart racing. “Why? Is there something else—?”

“No, honey,” Cat said, her hand covering Julia’s. “Eric asked him to do it, in one of his more lucid moments just before they put him in the ambulance. Told Adam to send someone to check on your little girl.”

“How’d he know?” Julia said, amazed. “How’d he know to do that?” Or that the gesture would set her mind at ease. “You didn’t tell him anything, did you?”

Cat chuckled, soft and low. “No, against my better judgment, and because I promised you I wouldn’t, I haven’t told anyone about your troubles.” Then she looked down the hall toward the operating rooms. “But Eric can see things—that’s why he’s such a good lawman. The man has a sensitive side he hides from the world. He probably figured a mother would be concerned about the safety of her child—I mean after being held at gunpoint. And with the robber still on the loose.”

Julia nodded, rubbed her suddenly cold hands together. “I was worried. The school’s principal couldn’t understand why I wanted to pull her out of class, since they have a sheriff’s deputy as their resource officer, but I’m glad I did. I’ll call Mrs. Ulmer again in a few minutes, but I’m sure Mr. Ulmer will entertain her all afternoon.”

“You can count on that,” Cat replied. “The Ulmers love Moria like their own grandchildren. She sure is a sweetheart.” Then she let out a sigh. “Boy, I’m beat. What a day.”

Julia looked at her cousin, grateful for Cat’s calming presence. They’d always been close growing up, so when Cat offered Julia a job and a place to live to get her away from San Antonio and all the bad memories, Julia had jumped at the chance to start over in Wildflower. Although Cat was a few years older than Julia’s thirty-two, with her stylish curly bob and her big dark eyes, she looked younger than her actual age. Petite and becomingly plump, Cat was one of the nicest people Julia had ever met, a true Texan through and through. Cat loved God, people and her job. She loved to cook, especially for all the deputies and police officers who frequented her establishment. Maybe because her own husband had been a lawman and had died doing his job about five years ago.

Working at the café was like having one big, law-abiding family, Julia thought. Cat kept telling her she’d be safe in Wildflower. And living in this quiet town near Caddo Lake did make her feel safe.

That was something she’d never had before.

Thinking this whole thing had probably brought Cat some awful flashbacks, too, Julia leaned close. “Are you okay?”

Cat brushed at her hair with one hand. “Me? Yeah, sure. I guess I’m used to all the commotion. I tell you, though, when that man was holding that gun to your head, I ’bout had a heart attack. We just don’t get that kind of crime here.”

“Eric and Adam saved my life. They saved all of us,” Julia said, not sure how to comfort Cat. They’d both lost their husbands, but Cat’s man had been a true-blue Texas Ranger. Alfonso Endicott, on the other hand, had been a “yes” man. A hardworking man, but a man always willing to do the bidding of his powerful bosses, nonetheless. She shouldn’t hold that against him, but there it was, bitter and heavy, inside her.

Alfonso had sacrificed being with his wife and child to stay at the beck and call of the Gardonez family. And all for the love of money. Alfonso always wanted more, needed more, to prove himself. He’d gone beyond the call of duty in order to keep his high-paying job. The Gardonez family had depended on him to take care of their millions, to make sure everything they did was above board and by the books.

Then why had someone killed him?

Julia had a funny feeling that the motive had to do with money, too, since her husband had been the head accountant for the De La Noche Shipping Company. That brought her thoughts back to today’s events.

“Why did that man try to rob us right in the middle of lunch hour, Cat?” she asked, hoping her cousin could put a reasonable spin on things, because Julia didn’t want to put her own spin on it. She wasn’t ready to delve into all the implications right now.

Cat gave her an eloquent shrug. “I guess he needed some cash. Maybe for drugs, or maybe he just took a wrong turn somewhere. Or maybe he was being stupid. We’ve never been robbed before, ever, and I’ve been running the café for over a decade, and my mama before me for even longer than that herself. You’ve spent enough summers here with me growing up to know that. It’s just plain weird.”

Julia had to agree. She’d often traveled here with her parents to visit Cat’s family. They’d leave her in Wildflower for weeks on end while they traveled around in their RV camper. Julia had loved staying with her aunt and uncle and Cat and helping out at the café. And even though she just had Cat now, she liked working at the café and living right around the corner from her cousin. Or she had up until today.

“I hope we find out something soon about Eric. And that other man, too.”

Cat nodded. “Well, just think…you and Eric will both be famous from now on. Adam, too, probably. Even the restaurant, for that matter.”

Julia pushed a hand through her hair. “How’s that?”

“The Gazette, honey. Mickey Jameson is doing a front-page spread about the robbery. He wanted to interview you, but I held him back. Told him to give you a call later today before the paper goes to press.” Seeing the look on Julia’s face, she put a hand to her mouth. “Oh, my. I wasn’t even thinking straight—”

Julia jumped out of her chair. “Front page? I don’t want to be on the front page.”

But it was too late. The double doors leading from the E.R. driveway swished open and in walked debonair Mickey Jameson himself. “Ah, there’s my star witness,” he said, smiling broadly. “Got a great shot of you, Mrs. Daniels. Now I just need to finish the story. Cat, I know you said to wait, but I have a deadline. And you know what they say—‘If it bleeds, it leads.’”

Julia shook her head, backing away. “I’m not going to talk to you, Mr. Jameson. Not now, not ever.”

Eric woke up in the recovery room, his wounded shoulder bandaged but still throbbing. At least now his head wasn’t nearly as fuzzy. Finally he could take his time and remember everything that had happened during the robbery.

Lying back, he tried to think things through, but something just wasn’t right about the situation. Before he could figure it all out, his father walked in.

“You awake?”

Eric looked toward the end of the bed where his broad-shouldered father stood with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I’m fine, Dad. How’d you get in here, anyway?”

“I still have some connections. Managed to sweet-talk a nurse.”

Eric grinned at that. “Some things never change.”

Harlan didn’t dwell on hospital procedure. “Bullet skipped right through you, did it?”

“Yep. I don’t know why they even brought me to the hospital. I could have gone home and poured some alcohol on it and been good as new.” In spite of the jovial tone, Eric could see the worry in his father’s eyes. “Bullet went straight in and out, Pop. Probably still stuck somewhere in the café wall.”

Harlan kicked one boot against the other, as if he had mud on his shoes. “Good. That’s evidence now.”

“Yep. I’m sure they’ll find the bullet. I just wish I knew why that guy chose lunchtime to go and rob the place.”

“Yep, that is kinda odd. Most wait until closing time.” He stood silent for a couple of beats, then added, “Mighty strange how he got clear out of town so fast, too.”

“I’m gonna figure it out,” Eric said. “I shot the man, but I need answers.”

“Just be careful,” Harlan replied, rocking back on his worn cowboy boots. “You’ll need to rest up for a few days at least.”

“I’ll be on leave until the department finishes its investigation. Did they call in the Rangers?”

Harlan nodded. “Standard procedure. But you could use a rest, anyway. You’ve been burning the candle at both ends for a while, now.”

“I guess I have at that,” Eric replied, tiredness sweeping over him. And today, of all days, he’d planned on having a nice, leisurely lunch with his friend just so he could enjoy watching Julia Daniels go about her work. No rest for the weary. “You okay?”

“I’m good,” Harlan said, clearing his throat. “Just waiting for them to put you in a room. Then I’ll go on home and check on the animals.”

“You don’t have to come back tonight. I’ll probably sleep the night through, then be home tomorrow.”

Harlan nodded, his white-haired head down. “That waitress came and sat with me for a while during your surgery. She’s mighty grateful.”

“Julia? She’s a nice woman.”

“Do you know much about her?” Harlan put both hands on the steel footboard of the bed. “I mean, it struck me how she didn’t want Mickey to put her picture in the paper, didn’t even want to talk to him about the robbery and all. Either she’s real shy, or she really doesn’t want any publicity. Mighty odd to me.”

Eric moved his head, his eyes locking with his daddy’s. They were both probably wondering the same things. Instincts and natural curiosity made both of them good lawmen.