The Texas Ranger's Bride (Lone Star Lawmen 1)

“Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to stretch out on the hide-a-bed and get some sleep. To put your mind at ease, Lyle and the crew are outside and will remain on watch until tomorrow.”

He got up from the table. “Later today we’ll drive out to your parents’ ranch and go riding together. I want to watch the famous Kellie Parrish in action. When our stalker phones again, and I know he will, let him leave messages and I’ll listen to them later.”

And with that, she watched him leave the kitchen, feeling more comforted than ever that her Texas Ranger was here.

Chapter Six

Cy walked into the living room, where he took off his cowboy boots. When he’d proposed that Kellie announce their marriage on her blog, he’d thought she would never agree to it. But she went along with the plan and had her parents’ blessing.

Just now he’d assumed she’d put the brakes on this latest strategy. To his astonishment, it didn’t happen.

Who knew how long the case might go on. Cy did know exactly how his family was going to react when he told them that he and Kellie were pretending to be man and wife. They were worried he’d never get married and continually tried to line him up with a promising match. The party for his sister coming up on Sunday was another excuse for his parents to introduce him to a new woman.

Because of his undercover role as Kellie’s husband, any matchmaking on their part would have to be put on hold. They’d be forced to give up trying to manage his love life while he was still working on her case. Nothing would frustrate them more. Or please him more. In fact he was tempted to take her to the party with him on Sunday.

What was today? Thursday? Was it only last Friday when they’d collided outside the radio station in Bandera? Since she’d come into his world, he’d lost track of time. How could it be that already he couldn’t comprehend his life without her?

With a relieved sigh, he stretched out on the bed and turned on his side facing the wall. His body felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds, but the capture of Denny Denham had done a lot to lighten his mood. He could actually go to sleep knowing that when he woke up, he’d

be with Kellie, who wasn’t going anywhere without him. Later today they’d go riding together. He could hardly wait.

The next time he was cognizant of his surroundings, it was four thirty in the afternoon. He’d been sleeping on his stomach. When he turned over, there she was on the couch across from him, curled up with a book. Their eyes met. Hers were smiling.

Uh-oh. “If I snored, don’t tell me about it.”

“It will be my secret. But I want to know who Sylvia is.”

Cy started to chuckle and sat up. “I don’t believe it.”

“Believe what?” She smiled broadly, illuminating his world. “It seems you’ve been carrying around a secret. A little while ago you muttered something like, ‘Dammit. Where are you, Sylvia?’”

He couldn’t hold back his laughter and moved his pillow so she could see his gun. “That is Sylvia.”

She put the book down. “You call your gun Sylvia?”

“Yup. She goes everywhere I go, but sometimes when I’m dreaming, I find myself looking for her.”

Laughter burst out of Kellie. “You gave it a woman’s name. Why not a man’s?”

“That’s an interesting question. I really don’t know.”

“Was Sylvia an old girlfriend?”

“No such luck,” he teased. “When I was a little boy, my father took me to the barbershop in Dripping Springs for my haircuts. The older man had a picture of his wife, who’d died, on the wall. He called her Sylvia. I guess it stuck in my mind to come out later. Some of my colleagues give their weapons a name.”

She nodded. “Just like some pilots name their planes. My grandfather had an old car he called Elvira.”

Curious, he asked, “Did you name all your horses?”

Kellie let out a sigh. “No, but one day I’d love it if Trixie gave birth to a little filly I could name and raise.”

She could have been talking with the same kind of love she would have for her own baby. He wondered what plans she had for the future. “How long do you intend to compete?”

“After the Finals in December, I’m quitting the circuit. It’s a demanding life and I’ve already been in it so long.”

That was news to him. “What will you do?”

“This is a low-cost rental. I’ve been saving all my earnings and plan to buy a small ranch where I can run my own business of training future barrel racers. I have my eye on several properties that have been put out on the market. That way I can be involved with the rodeo, but on the other end.”