The Ranger And The Widow Woman by Stella Bagwell Page A

promise.”
    “Goodnight, Mommy.”
    She turned out the light and slipped quietly from the bedroom. After a quick glance in the living room and kitchen, she decided Charlie must have gone to bed while she’d been giving Sam a bath. That was more than okay with her. She wasn’t company who expected or needed the attention from a host. As far as she was concerned she wished she could avoid Charlie Pardee altogether. If there was any way she could walk safely out of here with her son, she wouldn’t hesitate to hit the road.
    Deciding a bit of night air was what she needed to soothe her ruffled nerves, Violet stepped out onto the front porch, then immediately wished she hadn’t.
    Charlie’s tall frame was tilted back in a straight, wooden chair. His booted feet were propped on the porch banister. The moment he heard her footfall, he turned his head in her direction.
    “Sorry I disturbed you,” she said quietly, “I didn’t know you were out here.”
    He continued to study her, standing there in the shadows. She wasn’t disturbing him, Charlie thought. At least, not in the way she was thinking.
    Hating to appear as unsociable as he felt, he flexed a hand toward the chair next to him. “Since you’re already out here, you might as well sit down.”
    She eyed the roped-bottomed chair. It was only a small space away from the man. Maybe it was silly of her, but she didn’t want to get that close to him. She didn’t want to be tempted to look at his handsome face, to wonder what it would be like to be kissed by him again, kissed as if she were a woman he really wanted.
    The whole idea sent a shiver down her spine, but she forced herself to walk to the chair and plop down as if he were no more than a pesky brother.
    “It is much cooler now that night has fallen,” she said, lifting the heavy swathe of dark hair off her neck. “Sometimes when it’s hot like today, I think I should take Sam to a cool state. Northern California might be nice.”
    Charlie’s gaze followed the slim, elegant line of her neck, then down to the thrust of her breasts. She was a small woman but every curve was full and perfect, just made for a man to hold. Yet he tried his best not to think about that. From past experience he knew that he and women didn’t mix. Texas Rangers were married to their state and the law that protected it.
    “Have you lived there before?” he asked.
    Violet’s sigh was wistful. “I’ve never been to California. But I’ve read about it. The northern part has pines and mountains and lots of snow in the wintertime.”
    One corner of his mouth lifted mockingly. She sounded as if she were searching for the end of the rainbow. Didn’t she know paradise didn’t exist?
    “Ruidoso’s elevation is seven thousand feet, so it gets plenty of snow. And in case you weren’t looking, it has pines and mountains, too.”
    Violet could have told him it wasn’t necessarily a place in California she needed or wanted. Under different circumstances she would probably find Ruidoso perfect for her and Sam to settle down in. But the town just wasn’t far enough away from Amarillo for her peace of mind.
    “I noticed it was very beautiful...but...I’ll be moving on once my car is fixed.”
    Charlie turned his gaze back to the low, rolling hills in the near distance. He knew this land and every part of the Pardee Ranch as well as he knew the back of his hand. This place was as much a part of him as the very beat of his heart. It was home. He couldn’t imagine how it would feel to be like Violet, wandering, searching and alone. But wasn’t he like her? an insistent little voice inside his head whispered back at him. Hadn’t he really come back to New Mexico for relief, for a place to dump the blackness in his heart?
    “California isn’t necessarily the end of the rainbow, if that’s what you’ve got in your head.”
    He wouldn’t ever know what she had in her head, she thought. She frowned at him. “I’m not looking for a