Cowboy Behind the Badge
Two newborns in jeopardy bring together former sweethearts in the second book in USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen's Sweetwater Ranch series!The last thing Texas Ranger Tucker McKinnon expects to find in his pantry is two sleeping newborns. But it's the woman who spirited the infants to his ranch who stirs the lawman's blood, along with haunting memories. Once, Tucker and Laine Braddock were inseparable…until murder divided their families. Now, with a killer on Laine's trail, Tucker has never felt more powerless. Or been more determined. Desperate to keep her and her innocent charges safe, Tucker uncovers some shocking truths. Including the feelings they still share–and the desire they're finding impossible to resist.
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Laine was there by the door, waiting for him, and Tucker wasnât sure who made the first move or even how it happened, but she ended up in his arms.
Strange that it kept happening, and it shouldnât. Even a hug of comfort was a Texas-sized reminder that it was Laine in his arms and that nothing good could come of this.
Well, nothing reasonable anyway.
Maybe it was because every inch of him was on edge that he even thought of holding her as a stress reliever. Yeah, for a second or two, it was relief, but what always followed were some crystal clear reminders of why they shouldnât be doing this in the first place.
The heat between them.
The bad blood, too. Hard to hang on to bad blood, though, when the blasted attraction kept getting in the way.
USA TODAY bestselling author DELORES FOSSEN has sold over fifty novels with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. Sheâs received the Booksellersâ Best Award and the RT Reviewersâ Choice Award, and was a finalist for a prestigious RITA® Award. In addition, sheâs had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines. You can contact the author through her webpage at www.dfossen.net.
Texas Ranger Tucker McKinnonâThe bad boy lawman of the McKinnon family. Heâs not daddy material, or so he thinks, until heâs forced to protect two newborns and the woman heâs long considered his enemy.
Laine BraddockâA child psychologist. Sheâll do anything to protect the babies sheâs rescued, even if it means turning to Tucker, the last man on earth whoâd want to help her.
The newbornsâTheyâre too young to realize the danger or the people willing to risk their lives to keep them safe.
Dawn CowenâA missing woman at the center of a black market baby farm investigation.
Martin HagueâA social worker who seems too eager to take the rescued babies from Tucker and Laine.
Darren CartyâLaineâs ex-fiancé, who might have a personal stake in not just the investigation but in the babies that Laine rescued.
Rhonda WessonâOnce a victim of a notorious black market baby farm, but does she know more than sheâs saying?
Contents
Tucker McKinnon heard the sound the moment he stepped from the shower. Someone was moving around in his kitchen.
He opened his mouth to call out to his brothers, the only two people who would have let themselves into his house, but then he remembered. His older brother, Cooper, was on his honeymoon, and his kid brother, Colt, was working at the sheriffâs office in town.
So, who was his visitor?
He didnât like most of the possibilities that came to mind. Heck, it could even be someone connected to the arrest heâd made just hours earlier. The dirt-for-brains fugitive that Tucker had tangled with could have sent someone out to settle the score with the Texas Ranger whoâd hauled his sorry butt off to jail.
If so, the score-settler wasnât being very quiet, and had clearly lost the element of surprise.
Tucker dried off, wincing when he wiped the towel over the cuts and bruises. He wasnât that old, just thirty-four, but he was too old to be getting into a fistfight with the fugitive whoâd gotten the jump on him.
Hurrying, Tucker pulled on his jeans and eased open the door so he could peek inside his bedroom. No one was there, so he grabbed his gun from the holster heâd ditched on the nightstand and stepped into the hall.
The sounds continued.
Someone mumbling. Other sounds, too. He heard the click of the lock on the back door. His intruder, whoever it was, had locked them in together.
Probably not a good sign.
Since he was barefoot, his steps didnât make any noise on the hardwood floors, and with his gun ready, Tucker inched down the short hall, past the living room, so he could look into the kitchen.
There was still plenty of light outside, but the trees next to his kitchen window made the room pretty dark and filled it with shadows. None of the shadows, however, looked like an intruder.
He saw the pantry door slightly ajar. A door Tucker was darn certain heâd shut because he was always stubbing his toe on it.
Someone was in there.
He glanced out the window. No vehicle other than his own truck. The sky looked like a crime scene, though. Bruise-colored storm clouds with a bloodred sunset stabbing through them. He hoped that wasnât some kind of bad sign.
âNot very bright,â Tucker tossed out there. âBreaking into the house of a Texas Ranger. We tend to frown on stuff like that.â He slapped on the lights.
âNo,â someone said. It was a woman, and even though her voice was only a whisper, there was as much emotion in it as if sheâd shouted the word. âTurn off that light. I donât want them to see us.â
