The Texas Ranger's Nanny (Lone Star Lawmen 2)

Our household? She swallowed hard. “I do know. That’s why you need to get him to a therapist as soon as possible and hire a new nanny. The right set of people will make it easier for him to detach from me.”

“You think he can shut off his feelings with a simple snap of the fingers?” He’d never been this short with her.

“No.” She shook her head. “Of course not, but you’re the rock he clings to. Other people, women, will come in and out of his life, but he has you, and he’ll be fine. Now, if it’s all right, I’m tired and need to get to bed. I’m sure you do, too.”

Claire’s pain went beyond tears. She hurried down the hall to her bedroom. Vic wanted her to stay on for another year and was willing to pay any price to make that happen. There was just one huge thing wrong with that scenario. She loved his son like her own. As for Vic, she was in love with him. Deeply in love.

But he wasn’t in love with her.

Over the past nine months he’d never made any physical overtures. Not once. The only time he’d ever given her a kiss had been when he was at his most vulnerable, fearing that his son had disappeared forever. When they’d recovered Jeremy, he’d caught her from behind because he was euphoric to have his son back. Having lost his parents, he’d needed someone to hold on to and had derived comfort by being with her because she loved Jeremy, too.

But if the kidnapping had never happened, they’d still be stuck in the same place. Claire wasn’t foolish enough to live with him for another year, hoping he’d develop feelings for her. If he hadn’t been attracted to her from the very beginning, then waiting for it to happen was futile.

She was honest enough with herself to admit she’d fallen hard for him from the first day she’d met him. Over the months her feelings for him had grown until she was ready to burst. That was why she needed to leave him and Jeremy ASAP.

* * *

VIC STARED AT Dr. Marshall. “I couldn’t believe I lunged for Leroy like that. I’ve never done anything even close to that in my life.”

“It’s understandable. You’d lost your wife and your parents. To think you might have lost Jeremy, too, sent you over the edge. If your colleague Kit hadn’t come in right then, what do you think you would have done?”

He sucked in his breath. “I don’t really know. The table separated me from Leroy. I presume I would have tried to shake an answer out of him before I realized what I was doing. To beat him unconscious when he was my only lead to Jeremy wouldn’t have made any sense.”

“That’s an honest answer. Now tell me something else. How has your son behaved since you brought him home?”

“He acts like nothing happened, sleeps through the night. But this is his first day back at school. I have no idea how he’s handling it, but the nanny will call me if there’s a problem.”

“Your boy will need therapy, too.”

“I agree. Jeremy’s nanny said the same thing. I wanted to ask if you could recommend a child psychiatrist for him.”

“Dr. Andrea King. She has her own clinic in this hospital. I’ll give her a call and explain the circumstances. I’m sure she’ll fit Jeremy in. Just phone the main number and have the operator ring her office.”

“I will.”

“Our time is up for today. What I want you to do is think about the other reason why you came close to losing control. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Vic frowned. “There wasn’t any other reason.”

“But there is. That’s why your captain told you to see me. You have some unresolved issues in your life. As we explore them and you understand what part they played in that moment when you gripped the perp’s shoulders, you’ll be able to see why the incident happened. With understanding you’ll be able to control your emotions in the future. See you in the morning.”

Vic thanked him and left his office. But he was troubled by Dr. Marshall’s remarks as he drove home. Unresolved issues?

His frustration level rose when he saw Claire sitting behind the wheel of her car in the driveway. She was on her way to her interview, but had waited until he returned. He parked alongside her and got out of the car to talk to her.

She lowered the window at his approach. He noticed she was wearing a white short-sleeved jacket with a navy tank top underneath. The outfit looked great with her coppery hair. Then again, everything she wore looked great. Her gray eyes showed concern. “Hi. How did your appointment go?”

The simple, normal question set him off, forcing him to take a quick breath. “He gave me the name of a psychiatrist for Jeremy.”

“I’m happy to hear that. Was it helpful to talk to him?”

Good question. It would probably alarm her if he told her he’d left the doctor’s office unsettled, angry even. “Today I had to walk him th

rough the facts. There wasn’t time for anything else. Tomorrow we’ll get started.”

“It’ll be good for you to have someone to talk to. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t talk to my parents during an ordeal like you’ve just been through.”

“You’re very lucky to have them. How did it go at school?”