“Of course, but she’s not getting the chance yet. Once she discovers chocolate, all my hopes of feeding her healthy foods will go right out the window.”
Laughter rumbled out of him, grabbing the little girl’s attention.
“Kit—” Amy spoke his name with a happy smile.
“That’s my name, sweetheart.” The tender look he gave her daughter touched Natalie deeply.
Kit dished out two bowls of the ice cream and handed one to Natalie.
She took a mouthful. “This is yummy. I haven’t had this flavor in years.”
His dessert disappeared in a hurry. “I’ve loved it since I was a little kid.”
“What else did you love as a boy?”
“Oh...the usual. Snakes, fireworks, anything scary or that went boom.”
A chuckle escaped her lips. “Your poor mom.”
“Yup. With two sons to raise, she had her hands full while Dad was out on a case.”
Her head lifted. “A case? What kind? What did he do?”
He eyed her through narrowed lids. “He was a Texas Ranger.”
“Was?”
“Dad was killed in a shootout when I was seventeen.”
“Oh, no—I’m so sorry.” She bit her lip. “How hard to have lost him that early in life. I’m surprised it didn’t put you off becoming a Ranger.”
He shook his head. “Just the opposite. In 1842 Sam Houston got a law passed that provided for a company of mounted men to act as Rangers under Captain John Coffee ‘Jack’ Hays. My ancestor was one of them.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yup. Three of the other Rangers who are my close friends are also descendants from the original company. The guys at headquarters have nicknamed us the Sons of the 40.”
“Wait a minute. I saw the four of you on TV. You brought down that huge drug ring!”
He nodded.
“I thought I’d seen you before.” She studied his rugged features. “I guess it isn’t all that surprising that you wanted to be like your father. The Texas Rangers are legendary and honorable. The kind of men any child would look up to.”
“That described Dad.”
Natalie thought of her own father. Those adjectives didn’t apply to him.
“Captain Hays and his company of forty defeated the Comanche raid at Bandera Pass, protecting the southern and western portions of the Texas frontier. Their story was passed down through my father’s side of the family. I knew that one day I wanted to be a Ranger, too.”
“I guess with a heritage like that, you couldn’t help but want to follow in your father’s footsteps.?
?
“Something like that. Throughout high school and college I did steer wrestling, but it couldn’t last. So I quit to go to the police academy. Eventually I was taken on as a Ranger.”
“Amy and I are very thankful you did,” Natalie said in a quiet voice and got up to clear the table. Much longer and she’d be begging to hear the rest of his life story.
He’d told her he was single. Much as she wanted to know, she didn’t dare come out and ask if he was romantically involved with someone. It was none of her business.