The Texas Ranger's Nanny
SON OF TEXASVic Malone took a solemn oath when he joined the Texas Rangers, and devastating loss only hardened the widower’s resolve to do good in the world. When his only son is kidnapped, he finds invaluable help in Claire Ames, who is just as committed to bringing home the boy they both love.Sweet young Jeremy wasn’t the only male Claire would miss when the chemistry grad left her nanny job to start a career in Houston. But all that matters now is helping Vic find his son. When they do, will she be able to leave, proud of her part in his rescue? Or will her Lone Star lawman realise what she’s known all along—that they share something too wonderful to lose?
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Claire felt a hand on her shoulder.
She didnât realize Vic had come out to the barn. His touch triggered her tears. She started sobbing, and before she realized it, heâd pulled her into his arms. They clung to each other, seeking comfort while the tears gushed down her face, wetting his Western shirt.
As his body heaved with unshed tears, tearing her apart, she was aware of the warm smell of the horses combined with the soap he used in the shower. The heady combination plus the feel of his hard body reminded her he was a man as well as her employer. A beautiful man. A loving father. The ultimate protector. The total male. One who was utterly desirable.
Shaken by the feelings coming from deep inside her, she slowly eased herself out of his arms and stepped away. Too many emotions since sheâd been hired had been growing and were taking over, surprising her. Overwhelming her. Tonight it was impossible to separate her feelings for Jeremy from the man whoâd fathered him.
REBECCA WINTERS, whose family of four children has now swelled to include five beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. With canyons and high alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favorite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels, because writing is her passion, along with her family and church.
Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to email her, please visit her website, www.cleanromances.com.
To our wonderful lawmen throughout the country who lay their lives on the line every day to keep us all safe.
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âThere is a storm warning in effect in the Denton area, where two tornadoes have been confirmed this morning. Those driving toward Denton are advised to take shelter beneath an overpass or to abandon their vehicles and find a ditch, if possible, until the storm pasââ
Unable to listen to any more, Texas Ranger Stephen Victorio Maloneâbetter known as Vicâshut off the radio as he drove from his house to headquarters in downtown Austin Monday morning. Though the weather was in the mideighties and had been for the entire month, he broke out in a cold sweat after hearing the warning. He always listened to the news in the car, but any mention of a tornado triggered a response he doubted he would ever overcome.
Three years ago heâd lost his parents and his wife, Laura, in a tornado near his hometown of Blanco, Texas. His initial grief might have passed, but the pain of losing three people he loved at once would stay with him to the end of his life. If it hadnât been for his four-year-old son, Jeremy, who wasnât with the family at the time, he didnât know if he would have survived it.
Austin didnât usually get the tornadoes that other parts of the state experienced. For the first three months after the tragedy, Vic had stayed in Blanco while he put up both his house and his parentsâ home for sale. During that period, his sister-in-law, Carol, and her husband, Dennis, had helped take care of Jeremy while Vic commuted to work in Austin. Carol and Dennis had two children: Sarah, who was eight, and five-year-old Randy. Randy and Jeremy had become close buddies.
Vic hadnât been prepared for the pushback he got from Jeremy when he told him they were moving to the suburbs of Austin to be closer to his work. But as much as it pained him to tear his son away from his cousin and new best friend, Vic had to get on with his life. And so did Jeremy. Austin represented a new beginning for the two of them. He couldnât continue to depend on Lauraâs sister to be a mother to his son.
The first thing Vic did when they moved was hire a professional cleaning service to clean his new house. That part was easy. The hard part was finding the right nanny for his son. Through an agency heâd found a woman in her early fifties who was a good fit. But after two years she moved to Dallas to be near her older sister. Then Claire Ames, a college student finishing up a masterâs degree at the University of Texas, came into their lives.
Out of the four women Vic interviewed for the position, Claire was the one Jeremy liked the most. Although he felt a little awkward about it, Vic asked her outright if she was in a relationship with anyone that might interfere with her taking care of his son. Claire assured him there hadnât been anyone since she broke up with her last boyfriend because he didnât like being put off when she had to study. Her explanation convinced Vic to take a chance on her.
Since then everything had been great, but now Vic was faced with the possibility he might lose Claire, as she had just graduated from her masterâs chemistry program. He and Jeremy had gone to the ceremony on Friday. Claire let Jeremy keep her tassel, which heâd proudly hung from a knob on the chest of drawers in his room.
