The Texas Ranger's Nanny

His jet black eyes zeroed in on her. “For once that wasn’t his imagination, Claire. We have Lipan Apache blood flowing through us. Not a large amount. You know that photograph on the wall in my den?”

“If you mean the one of the Sons of the Forty Texas Rangers surrounding Jack Hayes, Jeremy showed it to me.”

“Two of the men were deputized Lipan Apaches fighting for Texas at Bandera Pass in 1842, and one of them is our ancestor through the Malone line. I have a second cousin named Clint who works on the police force. He has a smattering of Apache blood like me and lives in Luckenbach with his wife, Sandra, and family. I occasionally take Jeremy to visit them. We ride and do a little washer pitching.”

“Washer pitching?”

“It’s like playing a game of horseshoes, Texas style. We’ll drive there with the horses when Jeremy’s school lets out. After a ride you can try your hand at it.”

The explanation fascinated Claire. “I had no idea. From now on I’ll try to believe everything your Mini Me tells me.”

Vic lifted one black brow. “Try has to be the operative word. We could get into a whole lot of trouble if we believed all his tales.”

While Claire sat in her car waiting for Jeremy, she couldn’t help smiling. That had been the day she forgot she was a nanny. A fluttering had started up in her chest as she sat across the table from Vic, looking at her tall, hard-muscled, thirty-year-old employer. The fluttering had never gone away, but she’d keep it a secret if it killed her. Were he to know how attracted she was to him, he’d fire her on the spot. She’d been hired to take care of his son, not fixate on Jeremy’s gorgeous father.

As soon as the bell rang, the doors to the school burst open and children started running out. She was surprised when she didn’t see Jeremy right away. Maybe his teacher, Mrs. Rigby, needed to talk to him about something. Claire waited a few minutes before she started to wonder if something could be wrong.

Deciding she’d better check on him, she got out of her car and hurried across the playground to the door leading into the second grade pod. When she peeked inside the classroom, she saw the teacher sitting alone at her desk. No Jeremy. Claire’s heart started to thud.

“Mrs. Rigby?”

The older woman lifted her head. “Hi, Claire. If you’re looking for Jeremy, he left the second the bell rang.”

“But he didn’t come out the doors.”

“Did you check the office? Maybe he’s there for some reason.”

“I’ll do that.”

Claire practically ran down the hall to the main office, but there was no sign of Jeremy. “Have you seen Jeremy Malone since the bell rang?” she asked the secretary. “He’s in second grade. Kind of tallish for his age with dark hair and brown eyes?”

“I know who he is, but no, he hasn’t been in here.”

“Would you call him to the office for me?”

“Sure. I’ll do it right now.”

The secretary got on the PA system and asked Jeremy Malone to report to the front office. She repeated the request three times. When Jeremy still didn’t show up, fear for his well-being cramped Claire’s stomach. Where could he be?

“Will you call the security guard and give him a description? Jeremy wore a blue-and-green plaid shirt and jeans today and he has a blue backpack. And can you ask the guard to check with the crossing guards, and look in all the bathrooms, the library, the gym and anywhere else Jeremy might possibly be? I’m worried about him.”

While the secretary contacted security, the principal came out of her office. “Is there a problem?”

Claire nodded. “I can’t find Jeremy Malone. He didn’t come out to the car. I’m going to phone his father and let him know what’s happened.”

“Maybe you should wait until we’ve confirmed he hasn’t gone home with a friend,” the principal suggested.

“No, I have to call him. Jeremy could be in danger.”

She’d been around Vic long enough to know that when a person went missing, the first twelve hours were crucial in finding them alive. “Jeremy wouldn’t go home with a friend without getting my permission first. We have strict rules about that.” Sick to her stomach by now, Claire pulled out her phone and called Vic.

He answered after three rings. “Hi, Claire. What’s up?”

“I’m worried about Jeremy.”

“What’s wrong?” Tension crept into Vic’s deep voice.

“I’m here at the school to pick him up, but he never came out. I got here ten minutes before the bell like I always do, but there’s been no sign of him. I’ve checked with his teacher and with the office. They’ve called his name over the intercom, but he hasn’t shown up. The security guard just walked in the door. He’s been looking everywhere for him but he’s shaking his head.”

“I’ll be right there. You drive home. Maybe a friend’s mother dropped him off. Call the list of parents we keep by the phone.”

“Okay, I will.” She hung up and told the principal she was going home to see if Jeremy was there. “Ranger Malone is on his way here.”

“Let’s hope Jeremy made his way home and is waiting for you.”

If he did that, then he’d have left the school through another entrance. Claire hurried out of the building to the car. As she drove to the house, she called out to any kids she could see who were walking home from school. No one had seen Jeremy. Adrenaline caused her heart to pound so hard it was painful.

If anything had happened to Vic’s son...

She shouldn’t go there, but she couldn’t help it. Three years ago Vic had lived through the nightmare of losing his wife and his parents. For him to have to go through his only child’s disappearance seemed unimaginably cruel. But her gut told her something bad had happened to Jeremy.

Vic’s job as a Texas Ranger made him a target for felons he’d put in prison who were out for revenge. His line of work was terribly dangerous. In fact, when he’d hired Claire, he’d warned her she would have to be extra careful at all times, for her own safety, as well as for Jeremy’s.

Jeremy was a very obedient kid. He worshipped his father and told Claire he wanted to be a Texas Ranger like his dad when he grew up. Because of his lively imagination, Jeremy had a spy kit he kept adding to. He’d also come up with a secret password for them to use if either one of them was ever in trouble. Wolverine. It was the name of his favorite action figure.

If someone tried to call him on the phone and pretended to be Claire, they had to give him the password. The same held true if someone pretending to be Jeremy called her. The two of them laughed about it when Jeremy came up with the plan, but she wasn’t laughing now. If that dear boy wasn’t found soon...

Too many negative thoughts ran through her mind as she called the last name on the list of Jeremy’s friends. Her heart sank to learn that his friend Nate had been home from school all day with a cold and had no idea where Jeremy could be.

* * *

VIC RACED TO his boss’s office. “Captain?”

TJ Horton raised his gray head. “What is it, Vic? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“My son is missing. I don’t have a good feeling about this, and I’m headed over to Pinehurst Elementary on Wilson Drive right now. I’m going to treat it as a crime scene and I’ll need backup to meet me there. Put a surveillance crew on my house. Claire could be in danger as we speak.”

The head of the Rangers nodded. “Kit’s in the building. I’ll send him over there, too, and I’ll tell Dino and Carlos to keep an eye on your nanny.”

“Thanks.”

Vic rushed out to his gray Chevy Tahoe in the parking area. On his way to the school, Claire phoned to tell him she was at the house, but Jeremy wasn’t there. She’d called the mothers of all the kids he played with, but no one had seen or heard from him.

“Thanks. You stay put, Claire. I’ll be in touch soon. Just so you know, we’re putting some men outside the house to guard you. They’ll be in a surveillance van, so don’t be worried when you see an unfamiliar vehicle near the house.”

“I won’t.”

Vic’s cold sweat had seeped through his clothes by the time he reached the school. He ran into the main office, where he found the principal telling some other teachers about Jeremy. She turned to him. “Ranger Malone, we’re devastated this has happened.”