Rescued by a Ranger

“Alex?” His voice was a husky rumble, and she couldn’t help wondering how he would sound saying her real name.

She stiffened at the mental slip. For all intents and purposes, Alex is your real name. Keep it together.

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable earlier,” he apologized. “I just thought maybe you’d like to have dinner sometime. You’re new in town and don’t know anyone. And...I’d really like to get to know you.”

Their gazes locked. For a moment she desperately wanted to say yes. In addition to being undeniably attractive, Zane seemed like a great guy, straightforward and dependable. Trustworthy. Unlike me. She belatedly remembered that it was imperative he didn’t get to know her, not the real her.

“I can’t,” she blurted. “Thank you, but no.”

“I see.” Disappointment clouded his gaze as he turned away. He began sweeping broken glass into the dustpan. “I’m tempted to try to talk you into it anyway, just an evening out as friends, but I was raised to be more chivalrous than that. A gallant man should accept a woman’s refusal gracefully.”

She steered the subject away from her personal life. “So who instilled this code of chivalry, your mom or dad?”

“Both.” His mouth curved in an affectionate smile that seemed more natural than his earlier toothy grins. “He was a fireman and she was a nurse. They’re retired now, living in an apartment at Gunther Gardens, but age doesn’t stop them from volunteering around the community. They share a strong drive to help others.”

“They sound like good people.” It made sense that two civic-minded, everyday heroes had raised a strapping lawman with a penchant for wanting to help.

“What about your parents?” Zane asked. “Are they retired or still working?”

“Don’t actually know,” she said, her voice tight. “I was a ward of the state.”

Was it folly to share that personal fact with him? Did it make her more identifiable, should anyone ever ask about her? Zane didn’t need to know she’d been abandoned as a sickly toddler. She’d needed so much extra care that no one had adopted her. Eventually, she’d become as healthy as any other child, but she’d never found a permanent home.

“I don’t really like to talk about it,” she added. She glanced pointedly at the cheap digital watch that was light-years away from the diamond-studded Cartier Christopher had given her when they’d learned she was pregnant the first time. “Not to be rude, but I need to run Belle’s bath soon.”

“Right. One quick favor to ask, then I’ll go. Would you let Eden babysit for your daughter sometime? If you and Tess ever wanted to go see a movie, for example. I would owe you big-time.”

“You would?” Alex blinked, not sure how hiring his daughter to babysit was a favor to him. “Is Eden trying to save up for a car or something?” She knew parents of teens often encouraged their kids to seek employment, but Zane’s going door to door on his daughter’s behalf seemed a touch overzealous.

“This isn’t about money,” he said. “It’s about responsibility. My ex asked if Eden could come live with me because she’d fallen in with a bad crowd in California, developed some dangerous habits. She was becoming argumentative, disrespectful, sneaky.”

“You realize you’re not painting a picture of someone I want to entrust with my only child?” she asked wryly.

“She’s still a good kid deep down,” he maintained, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself as much as Alex. “I catch glimpses of it, like last night. Watching her with Belle was encouraging. She was the Eden I remember, the young woman I believe she can be. There are a lot of rehabilitative programs that focus on giving offenders more responsibility as a way to improve self-worth and behavior.”

Damn it. Alex understood too well the need to do what was best for one’s child; she empathized with his goal. And after turning down his dinner invitation, saying yes to this seemed like the least she could do. Further entangling her and Belle’s life with Zane and his daughter’s, however, was too big a gamble to take.

She was slow to answer, trying to frame her refusal gently. “I appreciate your being so candid with me.” Didn’t she owe him some honesty in return? If she’d stepped on the broken glass, it wouldn’t have stung more than her conscience did now. “The truth is, I’ve always been a little overprotective of my daughter, even before my husband’s death. Belle wasn’t my first pregnancy. Before her, I...lost two. Then I went into labor with her prematurely. I was terrified. She’s my miracle, and I can’t let anything happen to her. The idea of letting a teenager I don’t know well, one with a history of irresponsibility—”

“I understand,” Zane interrupted. “And I won’t take up any more of your time.”

He looked so dejected that it was on the tip of her tongue to offer a compromise, such as suggesting they discuss this again after she was better acquainted with Eden. But Alex couldn’t afford to get any better acquainted with the Winchesters! It was temptingly easy to talk to Zane. In one short conversation, she’d mentioned being a foster child and her miscarriages, both of which were private matters she rarely discussed.