Look-Alike Lawman. Glynna Kaye
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A Little Boy’s Hero
When big-city cop Grayson Wallace visits an elementary school for career day, he finds his heartstrings unexpectedly tugged by a six-year-old fatherless boy. Gray offers to mentor the child, but widowed mother Elise Lopez wants nothing to do with men in uniform. Now he can’t get the struggling Lopezes off his mind. All he can think about is what family means—especially after discovering the identical twin brother he hadn’t known he had in Grasslands. Maybe a trip to ranch country is just what he, Elise and little Cory need.
“Thank you again for going out of your way for my son,” Elise said. “But he needs to get to his homework and I need to get back to my job.”
Gray smiled down at the boy. “Can’t slack on the homework, mister. Wannabe police officers have to keep up their grades.”
The child groaned, then lifted a hand for a parting high five before trotting back to the house.
The officer turned to her, his probing gaze setting loose a truckload of battering rams in her stomach.
For a moment she thought Cory’s cop was going to say something else. But he merely motioned to her vehicle at the curb. “I’d better let you get on your way.”
She was unwilling to get too chatty with the more-than-attractive man. No, he hadn’t crossed the lines of propriety as some had done. Hadn’t asked her out. Nevertheless, she kept up her guard.
* * *
GLYNNA KAYE
treasures memories of growing up in small midwestern towns—in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois—and vacations spent in another rural community with the Texan side of the family. She traces her love of story-telling to the many times a houseful of great-aunts and great-uncles gathered with her grandma to share hours of what they called “windjammers”—candid, heartwarming, poignant and often humorous tales of their youth and young adulthood.
Glynna now lives in Arizona, and when she isn’t writing she’s gardening and enjoying photography and the great outdoors.
Look-Alike Lawman
Glynna Kaye
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him
and he will make your paths straight.
—Proverbs 3:5,6
To my wonderful Love Inspired editors:
Melissa Endlich, Emily Rodmell and Rachel Burkot. Thank you for believing in me!
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Glynna Kaye for her contribution to the Texas Twins miniseries.
Contents
Chapter One
“My daddy was a policeman, too. A bad guy killed him.”
Grayson Wallace stared at the boy gazing up at him. The little chin jutted in evident pride, but the dark brown eyes searched his own for understanding. A connection. Acknowledgment. He was only a first-grader, not too much older than the son of Gray’s former girlfriend. Way too young to have lost his daddy, let alone lost him to a bad guy.
Gray massaged the shoulder of his own left arm, which was held close to his body in a sling. Hadn’t the division captain said, when asking for a volunteer, that visiting a Fort Worth elementary school’s career day was cushy duty? He could still hear the good-natured hoots and catcalls of his fellow officers when he’d raised his hand. Couldn’t blame them. He didn’t have kids of his own. Spent almost every waking moment trying to keep lowlifes off the streets. He wasn’t known for coaching T-ball, catching Disney matinees or reading bedtime stories in his spare time like many of the other guys and gals did.
But then, they weren’t aware of how close he’d let himself get to Jenna’s boy.
No, catering to kids might not be his gift, but hanging out with grade-schoolers for a few hours was better than another day sitting around the office shuffling paperwork as he’d done the past several weeks. This was a perfect task for a cop on limited duty, recovering from a shoulder injury sustained during an undercover assignment.
But now, looking into this child’s pain-filled eyes, it sure didn’t strike him as cushy.
Grayson crouched in front of the dark-haired boy, aware of other kids crowding close, and uttered the words he instinctively knew the youngster needed to hear. “It takes a lot of courage to be the son of a law-enforcement officer.”
The boy blinked back tears and nodded, his eyes reflecting gratitude that Grayson had taken notice of him.
Poor kid.
“What’s your name?”
“Cory Lopez, sir.”
Sir. Didn’t hear that a lot these days, even in the South. Gray held out his hand and clasped the small one offered. Gave it a man-to-man shake. “Good to meet you, Cory. Like your teacher said earlier, I’m Officer Grayson