All I ever wanted was a baby, but not like this
A baby. Oh God. But just like all the others, Iâll probably lose her. Him? I simply canât let myself start thinking about this baby as real.
Writing in this journal isnât helpingâIâve got to talk to somebody. Iâll die if I donât. Now. Today.
Robbieâs outside the door. I canât lay this burden on her on her wedding day.
Markie! Sheâs been in this predicament herself, albeit as a teenager. Maybe she can help me sort this out.
A baby. Luke Driscollâs baby.
Dear Reader,
Frankie is the eldest of the McBride sisters, but sheâs the last to find true loveâ¦and to have the baby sheâs always dreamed of. In Book Two, Lone Star Rising, Frankie separated from her cheating husband, and her affluent, carefully controlled life in Austin was shattered. But I think any woman as spunky as Frankie deserves a second chance, donât you? And if anyone can make Frankie believe in love again, itâs Texas Ranger Luke Driscoll.
When Frankie and Luke go on their first date, she buys the pie. Iâve already had reader requests for Parsonâs famous recipes from The Hungry Aggie. People tend to forget I make this stuff up! If youâd like the recipe for Texas Cream Pie, please check out my Web site at www.darlenegraham.com.
Thank you, dear readers, for all your encouragement as I wrote this trilogy. I had a blast!
My best to you,
Darlene Graham
P.S. I love to hear from my readers! Drop me a line at P.O. Box 72024, Norman, OK 73070 or visit my Web site and send an e-mail.
LUKE DRISCOLL fought down a clutch of nausea as his boots thudded along the dusty moonlit path. Even with the desertâs cooling night breezes, the landscape around him reeked like an outhouse.
Little wonder. The place was a virtual garbage dump. His flashlight illuminated an arid terrain littered with bottles, cans, trash bags, soiled disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, discarded clothes, ripped backpacks, even used toilet paper and human feces.
But it was the sight of a syringe with an exposed needle near his boot that disgusted Luke the most. The Coyotes and drug runners shot their veins full of stimulants, staying high to endure the torturous journeys. Their human cargo got no such chemical help.
Out of the moonlit shadows a figure wearing a U.S. Border Patrol uniform emerged and flicked a flashlight up into Lukeâs face as he strode toward him.
Luke squinted at the glare as he fished his badge out of the hip pocket of his jeans and flipped open the cover. âLuke Driscoll.â
The light flashed off the badge, then the guard aimed the cone at the ground. âNobody said anything about you being a Texas Ranger.â
âMore like former.â There was no former, truth be told. In Lukeâs mind, once a Ranger, always one. But these days Luke kept his badge in his pocket instead of pinned to his shirt for all the world to see. He no longer covered the span of a couple of Texas-sized counties the way most Rangers did. These days he worked indoors with the hard-bitten crew of the Unsolved Crimes Investigation Team out of Austin, where, he imagined, it had been quietly arranged for the powers-that-be to keep an eye on him. Long-Arm Luke had become Loose Cannon Luke after his wife and daughter were killed.
âChuck Medina.â The border guard extended his hand and the two men shook. âIâm in charge of this case, at least for now.â The youngish agent, who looked part Hispanic, studied Lukeâs face in the off-glow of his flashlight. âDriscoll? Where have I heard that name before?â
âBeats me.â Luke kept his expression impassive and his tone a careful neutral. He had long cultivated the habit of sidestepping his history. âThanks for meeting me.â
âNo problem. But Iâm confused. What does the OAG want with this?â
âNothing.â And Luke was glad of it. He preferred to work alone. While the Office of the Attorney General would tackle most anythingâmurder, money-laundering, child pornâthey would never step on local law enforcementâs toes. And Luke had a feeling some pretty big toes were going to get stepped on in this deal. He had already delved into one murder that appeared to be part of some linked criminal transactions. âThis oneâs my personal deal.â