Travis came around to Melissaâs side of the Jeep.
She lowered the window. Their faces were only inches apart. It was madness, but she ached for him to kiss her. If he ever got the urge, would he pretend she was his wife? She couldnât bear the thought.
His eyes played over her features. âYou made this evening more memorable for us than you know,â he said. She felt his warm breath on her mouth. Only a little closer ⦠âHow do I thank you?â
The blood pounded in her ears. âYouâre already doing that by agreeing to track down the people making our familyâs life miserable. Itâs a miracle youâve already unearthed so much. Who else but a Texas Ranger could do what youâve done?â
He let out a sigh. Maybe he didnât like remembering he had a job to do. âSpeaking of your case, I was wondering if tomorrow youâd go hiking in the forest beyond the ridge with me. Since weâre going to a new area, I thought weâd take my truck. Bring a backpack with the things youâll want.â
What Melissa wanted was right here, and she didnât want to have to wait until tomorrow. âIâll be ready.â
Dear Reader,
Have you ever been told you looked like someone else, or that someone else looked like you?
Did you like being compared?
Several times in life Iâve been told I looked like someone else, or acted like someone else, and I didnât like it. I wanted to be ME. It gets into all the questions of comparisons, whether good or bad. Though we simply brush off these comments and go on, I think we all care to varying degrees.
In The Texas Rangerâs Reward, I thought about this problem and decided to magnify it to the point that it becomes one of the linchpins of the plot concerning the hero and heroine. Strongly resembling someone else can lead to all kinds of consequences. In my story it raises doubts, picks away at self-confidence, arouses anger, destroys trust. The more I wrote, the more fascinated I became to see the way it produced so many issues on so many levels. I hope as you read, youâll find this element in my story fascinating, too. Most of all, I hope youâll find the resolution satisfying.
Enjoy!
Rebecca Winters
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 my dear sister Kathie, who is kind enough to read my novels and always gets the essence of what Iâm trying to say. Even better, we have long discussions that thrill my heart.
Melissa Dalton pulled her red-and-black Jeep Wrangler into the parking lot outside the entrance to the Lone Peak Childrenâs Physical Therapy Clinic with no time to spare before her first appointment at eight-thirty. She lived on Salt Lake Cityâs southeast bench, in the Sandy area, close to the Wasatch Mountains, and the new facility was only five minutes from her town-house condo.
How typical of her that even though she lived so close, she was still going to be late!
Waving to her friend Rosie, another therapist whoâd just arrived, she hurried into the building and then her office, ready to go. As was her custom, sheâd caught her shoulder-length hair at her nape so it wouldnât get in the way while she worked with one of her patients.
Today sheâd worn a floppy French clip bow in navy to match her short-sleeved navy-and-white print top, and designer jeans. Sheâd put pearl studs in her ears. Melissa believed in dressing up as much as possible so she wouldnât look clinical. No lab coat for her. It made the kids nervous. Children who had to see her on a regular basis liked it when she came wearing something fashionable.
What she wore on her feet had to be comfortable for work, of course, but little girls often commented on her cute candy-apple-red flats. And her bangle bracelets, which came in gold, silver and jeweled tones. It was also important that she smelled good and kept her nails manicured. Children noticed everything. When she was looking her best, the sessions seemed brighter for the kids. Which made Melissa feel better about herself.
After the trauma leading up to her divorce six years ago, sheâd gone through a period where she hadnât paid attention to her clothes or hair. But once sheâd gone into pediatric orthopedic physical therapy, the children asked so many personal questions that sheâd begun to look at herself again and care about her appearance. It was her young patients who helped pull her out of her depression. She loved them and enjoyed working with them.
Susan, the receptionist, had put a new file on her desk. It was a pertinent history sent by a doctor. Melissa sat down in her swivel chair to read it.