Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger / Once Upon A Christmas Eve: Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger. Christine Flynn
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a sharp look. “That’s not anybody’s business, but we’ve spent some time together. We happened to run into each other in San Antonio last month when I was shopping there.
“Sean asked me to lunch, and we found we enjoyed each other’s company. And since we’re both so busy this is the only time we have to see each other.”
“You’re right. It isn’t my business. I just thought Millie Roberts had a thing for Sean.”
Her mother sighed. “I know, but Sean doesn’t feel the same about her. We find we have so much in common, and there is that spark. Oh, plenty of sparks.”
Lilly wanted to put her hands over her ears. Was this more than a platonic friendship? My mother is in a love triangle.
“And I need to tell her, today,” Beth said.
“Yes, you should,” Lilly agreed. “She’d be hurt if she heard it from someone else.” What else could happen this morning? She’d ogled a man, and her mother was dating. Suddenly the music vibration started upstairs in Kasey’s bedroom.
This was going to be an interesting summer.
It was after seven o’clock before Coop was off the phone with his captain relaying details about Delgado and the possible drug shipment coming to Kerry Springs. That was enough information to have more men posted around the landscaping business, looking for any unusual activity.
They wanted to get Delgado this time. In the past he’d managed to slip through the cracks, and no one would rat him out. Mike Perry might have tried, but he was dead now. They needed to find the proof that Mike had planned to give them, and before it got into the wrong hands.
He stood and looked out the window. He wasn’t sure he should go to the house for breakfast. He couldn’t deny the attraction between himself and Lilly. It would be easy to let things happen, but in the end he would have to leave when the job was done. Except Lilly Perry would be hard to say goodbye to.
There was a soft knock on the door. He opened it to find Robbie. “Hey, Rob, you ready to work?”
He nodded. “Mom said to tell you breakfast is ready.”
Coop hesitated, but seeing the bright look on the boy’s face, he nodded. “Good, I’m starved.”
The boy didn’t move. “Coop, can I ask you something?”
They walked along the path together. “Sure.”
“If you’re not too busy later, can you play catch with me?”
“Sure. We could probably find some time.”
“Oh, boy. Thanks.”
Robbie ran ahead and through the back door. Coop smiled and followed him inside where he found a brooding Kasey at the table and her mother at the stove making pancakes.
“Hi,” he said to Lilly as he went behind the island. “Need some help?”
“Sure. You can set the table. Plates are up there.”
He reached overhead and brought down four plates. He grabbed flatware and headed to the table. “Here, Kasey, make yourself useful.”
The teenager was about to argue, but Coop gave her a look that had her changing her mind. He went back to get the orange juice and glasses. In a few minutes they were all seated at the table and enjoying a nice breakfast.
“Where’s Beth?”
“She has an … early appointment.”
Robbie chimed in, “She’s having breakfast with Mr. Rafferty.”
“Robbie, where’d you hear that?”
“You and Grandma were talking.”
“How many times have I told you that eavesdropping isn’t polite.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“I mean, you shouldn’t listen to other people talking.”
“But didn’t she go with Mr. Rafferty?”
“Yes, but Grandma’s business isn’t to leave this house. If she wants other people to know she’ll tell them.”
He took a bite of pancakes and after swallowing, he said, “Kinda like when Daddy left us, and people started sayin’ bad stuff?”
“And we don’t want that to happen again.”
The silence was deafening and Coop could see Lilly was uncomfortable.
“Hey, Rob, why don’t you go grab your ball and glove and we’ll toss a few?”
“Oh, boy. Can I, Mom?”
“Finish your milk, then you’re excused.”
He grabbed a few more bites of food, then drank up and ran off. So did his sister, although she didn’t ask permission.
The room was quiet with only the sound of footsteps overhead. “It was rough for you and the kids, wasn’t it?”
She nodded. “Even though there were a lot who stood by me, there were many who speculated on what happened between Mike and me. I was a bad wife. Had he met someone else? It all happened so fast. As if overnight my husband had changed and I couldn’t stop it.” She toyed with her coffee mug. “I guess I didn’t protect my children as well as I’d hoped, because in the end, their father abandoned them, and I can’t forgive him for that.”
If nothing else, Coop hoped he could learn the truth for her, but first he had to find it. Then they would both have answers to all the questions.
“I’m sorry, Lilly.”
She turned those hazel green eyes toward him. “Why? None of this is your fault. Mike was an adult. He made choices. All bad, but he made them.” She chewed her lower lip. “Worse, I know it had something to do with Stephanie.”
Bingo. “Why? Did your sister-in-law try to break up your marriage?”
She sighed. “You saw her yesterday. She was always jealous. She was the baby of the family, ten years younger than Mike. He spoiled her rotten because their father ignored her. After their parents died, Mike took over the business, and that included helping Stephanie.”
Coop carefully worked for information. “It seems that the business is prosperous.”
“That’s thanks to Mike. He expanded it to do landscaping and new construction and he opened the nursery on the property. We all sacrificed, too, helping to secure the future. Now they’re without a father, and my kids get nothing.
“Why is that? Aren’t his children in the will?”
Lilly shook her head. “Mike signed a survivorship clause, leaving everything to his sister. Stephanie walks away with it all, the business that rightfully should go to my children. She and that slimy boyfriend, Rey Santos, get everything.”
“Do you suspect something isn’t right?”
He watched her anger build along with her tears. “I don’t care anymore, Noah. Mike’s gone and the kids are without a father. All I want is for Stephanie to stay away from my family. We want to move on with our lives.”
Lilly stood. “Excuse me, Noah, I need to get to the store this morning. If you want anything more, help yourself. I’ll get Kasey to do the dishes.”
He got up, too, and stopped her before she left. “If my opinion means anything, I think you’re one hell of a woman, Lilly Perry. A man would be a fool to leave you.”
An hour later, Coop was calling himself every name in the book as he stood in the Staley backyard. He had no business saying anything to Lilly at breakfast.
Dammit. The woman was getting to him, and he had to stop it. He had to find a way to stay focused on his job. Not how much he wanted to pull her into his