A Texas Ranger's Christmas Page 4

  When she handed them back, a lone tear trickled down her cheek. She wiped it with her napkin. “Who takes care of him while you’re working?”

  “He goes to a special-ed class at school and I have a housekeeper.”

  Blaire shook her head. “One of my piano students had a sister with neurological damage. She couldn’t bear to be out of her mother’s sight.”

  “That’s Josh. Every day is like Groundhog Day, if you saw the movie.”

  “You mean each day starts out like the first time, every time. That’s what Nancy told me. She’s the little girl’s mother.”

  “Except that Josh is making progress and walks into the school with me now.” Last month’s bus incident was a hiccup. “I don’t have to pick him up and carry him in.”

  “But I bet it’s agony for you to have to walk away from him.”

  He nodded, surprised by her insight. “How do you know so much?”

  “Because I’ve watched what happens to Nancy when she has to leave her daughter.” More tears glazed her eyes. “A parent’s love is something to behold.”

  There was a lot of depth to this woman. “When did you start giving piano lessons?”

  “I took piano from an early age and loved it. Music was my world. By high school I was giving lessons to the kids in the neighborhood.”

  “You must have been outstanding.”

  “Don’t I wish.”

  “I’m impressed.” He drank the rest of his coffee, anxious to get to know her better. He kept telling himself it was because he had a case to solve, nothing more. But already he found himself interested in Blaire for personal reasons. This shouldn’t be happening on the job. It never had before….

  “What about you, Blaire? Do you have children? I don’t see a ring on your finger.”

  “I-I’d rather not talk about myself,” she stammered, putting down her half-eaten hamburger.

  Fear, paranoia—all that and more was wrapped up in her defensive remark. After five years, Caige hadn’t expected her to sound this stressed. It was almost as if her husband’s disappearance had happened yesterday. He was beginning to understand why the Koslovs had said the disappearance was ruining her life.

  “Then we won’t. Just because we’ll be working together for a couple of weeks doesn’t mean you owe me any explanations.”

  He heard her take a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to be rude.” If he wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of anguish in those blue depths, arousing his curiosity.

  “No offense taken. Would you like dessert before we leave?”

  “I can’t finish all this, but thank you anyway.”

  Caige ordered sour apple pie, the best item on the menu. After he’d swallowed the last mouthful, he paid the bill and walked Blaire out of the diner. He couldn’t blame the male customers for staring at her. It had been hard not to do it himself.

  In another minute they’d taken off once more for their destination. Even without looking at her, he could tell Blaire wasn’t at ease. She shifted in the seat several times, recrossing her long, gorgeous legs. He needed to get her talking about something else.

  “Tell me about the project we’re working on.”

  “You pretty much know everything already. We’re trying to save as many trees as we can. On Thursday we’ll be speaking to a large group of Realtors about the Forest Legacy Program. You know, making sure that when land is bought or sold, the trees remain so that the existing forest isn’t endangered. You’ve been working for the Trees for Texas program. With your knowledge you’ll be able to add valuable input on the subject of stewardship.”

  That remained to be seen, he mused. For the rest of the trip Blaire went over what they would discuss using the department’s PowerPoint presentation. There’d be plenty of slides with facts and statistics to provide backup material. He’d call Stan Belnap tonight and get filled in on the legal details of the presentation. By the time they’d reached College Station, they’d exhausted the subject.

  In the restroom at the diner, he’d taken the time to look up directions to the lab on his smartphone. When they reached the campus, he was able to drive them to the plant diagnostic lab at the AgriLife extension service as if he did it every day. Recognizing that she wanted some space, he handed her the ice chest and told her he’d wait while she delivered the bags.

  With her out of earshot, he leaned against the truck and phoned Mac. “Any news from Dirk yet?”

  “No. My guess is he’ll have the ballistics report tomorrow. How are things going for Jack Lignell?”

  “So far it’s working, but this is only the first day.”

  “Just so you know, when I’m not available I’ve assigned Ernie to be your contact. He’s been brought up-to-date on the case.”

  “Good.” Caige had worked well with the veteran Ranger many times before and since his retirement. “Talk to you later.” As he hung up, Blaire came out of the building. When she reached him, he took the chest from her and put it in back while she climbed in her side.

  Once they got going again, he glanced at her. “It’s warmed up and we’re coming to a convenience store. I feel like a drink. Would you like one, too?”

  “Nothing for me, thanks.”

  He pulled to a stop and went inside for a diet cola. In case she changed her mind, he grabbed a bottle of water. While he was on his way to the counter, he reached for a couple of chocolate bars and a pack of Josh’s favorite orange gum. When the day was done, Caige liked to take something home to his son.

  After he got back in the truck, he opened the sack and put it in front of her. “Take anything you want.”

  A half smile broke the corner of her mouth. “You don’t give up.” She opted for the water.

  Pleased by this much progress he pulled out the cola and put the sack between them. “One thing you’ll learn about me, I don’t like drinking alone. For another, when I was married, my wife would always tell me she didn’t want something I bought to eat or drink. But two minutes later she was asking for a bite of it, or a sip.”

  The woman at his side chuckled. “I know exactly what you mean. Thank you for being so thoughtful.” Her smile remained as she undid the lid and they both drank. By the time he’d finished his can of soda, she’d emptied half her bottle. He put the empty can in the sack and they headed back to Austin. So far he hadn’t got her to open up about her husband.

  “When we get home, will you have a load of piano students waiting for you?”

  It took her a long time to answer. “Not anymore.” He noticed her hand tighten around the neck of the bottle. “I stopped giving lessons five years ago.”

  “Because of school?”

  “No.”

  “After what you told me about your love of music, I have to admit I’m surprised.”

  When she didn’t offer anything else, Caige realized he was almost out of tricks. “Then tell me some more about the Texas Oak Wilt Suppression Project.”

  At first he thought he’d made her angry. Then suddenly she broke down and laughed. The sound pleased him no end. “I bet you drove your mother crazy.”

  He grinned, liking the fact that she didn’t take herself too seriously. “You don’t want to know.”

  She sat straighter in the seat. “Since we have to work together, it’s only natural we know a few basic things about each other. But once I tell you about me, you might not want to work with me and I wouldn’t blame you.”

  “Then how come Stan Belnap told me I was going to like this job?”

  “He’s paid to say things like that.”

  Caige reached in the sack for a candy bar and started eating it. “If you’re willing to tell me, I’d really like to hear. We’ve still got some miles to go. I’ll be honest and admit that I don’t feel like talking every minute about Ceratocystis fagacearum, Phytophthora foot rot, Hypoxylon canker or any other tree disease you can think of.”

  He’d hoped to get another smile out of her, but she stared glumly out the passenger window. �
��You might prefer it to knowing I’m a person of interest to the police and have been for the last five years.”

  “That’s quite a statement.”

  “There’s more. My last name’s Farley, but I go by my maiden name, Koslov, for less notoriety. My father’s Russian great-grandparents settled here. Some of their things are in the Russian Heritage Museum in Naylor.”

  He’d gone to see it many times as a boy. That’s what she’d meant about museums. The part of her blood that was Russian might account for her rare kind of beauty.

  “What happened five years ago?”

  “The husband I loved disappeared one day as if into thin air.”

  The husband she loved.

  That clear, simple, pure declaration, told to a man she had no idea was a Texas Ranger, rang in Caige’s ears.

  “Until his body is found alive or dead,” she went on speaking, “I’m someone they continually watch in case I killed him or helped kill him or have knowledge of his whereabouts.”

  Caige felt as though he was hearing all this for the first time. “And I thought I went through hell three years ago.”

  She turned her head in his direction. Her face was a study in pain. “If there were a better word than hell, I’d use it. The night he didn’t make it home, I’d fixed a special dinner for him to mark our wedding anniversary. We’d been married eight months. I’m not saying it was a perfect marriage, or that there weren’t moments of doubts and fears, but I have to admit I didn’t see it coming.”

  “No one could see something like that coming,” Caige said. He hadn’t seen Josh’s accident or the aftermath coming. After it happened, three lives had been turned upside down.

  “When the police interrogated me, I couldn’t believe they thought I might have had anything to do with his disappearance. I was incredibly naive back then. Over the last five years I’ve learned enough and read enough to understand it’s part of their job to be suspicious, but it’s been a bitter pill to swallow.”

  He heard the suffering in her voice, except it went much deeper than that. He heard unspeakable sorrow, disbelief, bewilderment, defeat, anger and loss beyond tears. For a minute he felt as if he’d gotten inside her skin.

  “The police couldn’t have a case against you or you wouldn’t be working for the forest service.”

  “That’s true, but an invisible finger has always been pointed at me, and not just by the authorities. It’s okay. I’ve lived with it for a long time.”

  It had to be agony for her every time she had to tell her story to a new guy wanting a relationship with her. He understood why she’d closed up on him at first.

  “Naturally the subject comes up whenever a man wants to get to know you better,” Caige muttered more to himself than to her. He could imagine there’d been many men over the past five years wanting a relationship with her. “Does everyone in the office know?” The guys in the office wouldn’t be immune.

  “I’m sure Stan’s told them, but it hasn’t put Marty off. He keeps trying to line me up, but I always tell him no. My life’s a joke right now. What man wants to know I could be Nate Farley’s widow, but maybe I’m not? Maybe he was kidnapped and he’s still trying to get back to me—or maybe he isn’t.

  “Maybe he struck his head and has amnesia and is wandering around close by. Maybe he wanted his freedom without going through a divorce, so he checked out of life and commited suicide in the middle of the ocean. Maybe he died of natural causes in a place that has yet to be discovered. Or maybe he was murdered in cold blood and his body is in a landfill.”

  Her head reared back. “The maybes are endless and five years gives you an eternity to think of the possibilities.”

  She was right about that. “Did you know him for a long time before you were married?”

  “No. We met and married within six months.”

  “Were you planning on a family?”

  “One day. When he first disappeared, part of me wished I’d insisted on getting pregnant right away even if I was still in school. Nate thought it would be better if we waited until I graduated. From a financial point of view it made sense. But after he was gone, I thought how much easier the loss would have been to handle if I’d had a baby.”

  She drank the rest of her water. “After a year had passed, I was grateful I didn’t have a child to raise. Without having to worry about anyone but myself, I was able to go to graduate school. I consoled myself that in an ideal world a little boy or girl needed both parents, something I couldn’t provide.”

  “Yup,” he muttered. She’d hit on the very problem Caige had been wrestling with since Liz had left.

  “Oh, I’m sorry if I said anything to hurt you—” she blurted, sounding so penitent it humbled him. Her soul-filled eyes got to him.

  “You didn’t. Like you, I’ve had to learn to live with certain facts of life.”

  At this point Caige didn’t like trying to find out if she’d had a part in getting rid of her other half. In fact, he didn’t like living a lie, no matter if everything else he’d told her was the truth. Until now he’d never felt any guilt for going undercover in the line of duty. This was a new one on him.

  “Your boss didn’t say anything to me about your personal life. He only told me you were the best forester he’d ever had working for him.”

  “He’s a sweet liar and probably held back details about my private life because you’re a temp.” She put the empty bottle in the sack. “Sorry I’ve been difficult. Tomorrow we’ll start fresh.”

  The one thing Blaire hadn’t done was assert her innocence. He had a hunch that no matter how long he waited, he wouldn’t hear it from those tempting lips. If he were in her shoes, he’d be the same way. Righteous indignation would stop you from insisting that you hadn’t done anything wrong.

  They’d arrived back at the office. He parked the truck and carried the ice chest to her car in the other parking lot. She got in with her satchel and put down her window. Some of the shadows had gone from those blue eyes. “Thank you for lunch.”

  Don’t let things get personal, Dawson. “You can buy it for us tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good. See you at eight. But if there’s a problem because of Josh, don’t worry about it. You can catch up to me if you have to. Sheila always has a copy of my work schedule.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  For the first time in so long he couldn’t remember, he was looking forward to eight o’clock tomorrow morning. Before getting in his car, he watched her drive away.

  Since morning Caige had been looking for a motive to prove she might have had something to do with her husband’s disappearance, but so far he hadn’t stumbled across anything to make him doubt her love for her husband. It seemed the opposite held true.

  But her comment that Farley hadn’t wanted to start a family right away could mean something, or nothing at all. The average person wouldn’t think about it one way or the other. Caige had to consider everything. Since Farley had disappeared, Caige was forced to consider what other motive besides lack of money might have prompted him to want to put off fatherhood.

  More time alone with his wife? Not wanting the responsibility of being a parent yet? Did being an only child make the thought of having a baby with Blaire less of a priority? Had he been a selfish man? Narcissistic, even?

  Agent Robbins had made a comment about something Mrs. Koslov had said that had stuck with Caige. Her son-in-law was a self-starter. It was a great quality that could lead to greater things, or it could get a person in trouble depending on certain character traits.

  How hungry was Farley for the things he hadn’t been given in life?

  Unless there’d been a fund set up by his family years earlier, a grandmother on a fixed income didn’t give a smart, good-looking young man the kinds of perks he might have received from a well-heeled father, for example. Caige didn’t know nearly enough about Farley, but he was determined to find out.

  He reached for his cell and called Mac. “
I’ll need a warrant to go through the Farleys’ bank-account records. I want to see if any of the half-dozen names of friends and coworkers his wife had mentioned in the police report might have done business at the same bank. In case any of them did, I’m curious to see what might turn up. You never know.”

  “You’re right about that.”

  “Do me a favor and ask the judge to fill it out for tomorrow morning when the Yellow Rose campus branch opens at nine. I’ll need a couple of hours.”

  “You’ve got it. Anything else?”

  “Not for now. Thanks, Mac.” He hung up.

  After spending the day with Blaire, he would stake his reputation as a Ranger that she was innocent of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, he was going on gut feeling, not hard evidence. For him to get emotionally involved with her went counter to everything his profession warned against, but by the time he pulled into his driveway, he recognized he already was involved in a way he shouldn’t be. This was a complication he didn’t need right now.

  Damn.

  He hurried into the house to give his son a big hug and spend time with him. Josh loved games. Caige hid the gum he’d brought under a book on the coffee table. He played warm and hot with him. By the time Elly had dinner ready, his boy had uncovered his prize.

  Chapter Three

  Blaire left the Arboretum Shopping Center two hours later feeling relief that she’d gotten Mark’s gift sent off. Because he was in the navy, it had been hard to pick the right present for him. In the end she’d decided to send him a care package with all kinds of little things he could use and enjoy.

  It hadn’t been easy for her when he’d first left home two years ago. After Nate’s disappearance, her brother had been there for her every step of the way. Though he was still supportive, it wasn’t the same knowing he was so far away.

  The shopping expedition had provided a good distraction to get her mind off Jack Lignell. It had been at least a year since she’d been forced to talk about Nate to anyone, but it had been easy with him.