be Little Jack to anyone who knew his father—especially the ones who had worked for his father. And probably to anyone who knew him in high school. Hell, a few junior-high kids had snickered that afternoon and whispered “Sure thing, temporary mayor Little Jack” behind their hands when he told them to stop skateboarding on the sidewalk.
He clicked the phone off and looked at his guest. She visibly gulped in front of him. He waved the phone back and forth, trying to break her trance. “That’s the problem with living in a small town. Everybody has my cell number.”
“You have a gun. And badge. Are you with the police?”
“No.” Hadn’t he told her? “I’m a Texas Ranger out of Company B in Garland. Is that a good thing or a problem?”
“Can I see your ID?”
“Sure.” He opened the drawer again, thought better about tossing the phone back inside and shoved it in his pocket. He picked his badge up from next to the remote. “Habit after having a dog that loved to chew on electronics instead of toys.” He handed her the official picture ID and badge.
Megan took a look and handed it back to him. “Things might have been simpler if you’d shown me that at the beginning.”
“Honestly, I saw the guy approach you and couldn’t get through security to help. I’d already shown my badge a couple of times. I was more concerned about getting you away from the airport. Then you passed out.” He rubbed his chin, conceding she was right. “I don’t know your friend Therese. I’m doing a favor for my partner.”
Before trying to pick her up, he’d assumed she already knew he’d be there to help. He wouldn’t be assuming anything about this so-called favor again. Jack liked a good mystery. He just didn’t need one this particular week.
“A man I don’t know. Why would Therese tell me to hide from the police, then send me to hide with a Texas Ranger?”
“Maybe to protect you?” Jack mumbled the smart-ass question. He was stunned whenever Megan looked up at him. He’d never seen eyes as green as winter rye. Outlined with smudged mascara, they were still as pretty as they came.
Stop. This woman was in trouble. He wasn’t going to admire anything. Not how she looked or how logical she was about staying with him. Letting her stay was a means to an end. He did this favor...his partner would get back in line. Okay, so he could hope.
“It’s been a long day. Where can I clean up?”
“Straight through there.” He pointed past the bedroom, through the hallway that was mainly hidden from view.
She pushed herself up tiredly from the old couch and looked him almost eye to eye. “For the record...I know how to defend myself. I’ll stay until the morning, if it’s really not a problem.”
Feisty. Determined. Cute. Stop.
“I don’t mind.” It wouldn’t have made any difference to his rogue partner if Jack had minded. Wade would have asked for the favor no matter the consequences. It was just the way he was. “You can take the bed and we’ll work out what to do in the morning.”
She gave him a two-fingered salute and followed the hall. He trailed behind and tried to lean against the wall casually. All of his senses were on alert. The ones concerning his guest shouldn’t be, but he couldn’t help it.
“Just my luck. There really is only one bed.” Megan turned slowly, grabbing the bathroom doorknob after passing his room. “And oh, gosh. No shower?”
“My grandmother always said a hot soak will do you good. You said you were sore.”
Her eye roll said more than words. She didn’t appreciate that he knew details from her day. Or was the fact that someone had gotten the jump on her embarrassing? It wasn’t important now. He could find out tomorrow.
“Are you going to stand guard? Because it’s not necessary. I have nowhere to run...tonight.”
The slight hesitation didn’t escape him. She wasn’t looking to stay around longer than necessary. But that wasn’t his deal with his partner. He’d given his word, and the only way his partner was ever going to obey the rules for good was if he kept it.
“No need to waste my time standing here. The window’s too small to crawl through and the house is small enough that I hear every floorboard creak from anywhere inside or out. I’ll go grab my camping cot. You can take the bed.”
She stopped dead in her tracks before crossing into the old bathroom. “Oh, good grief. There’s no lock on this door.”
“The place was my grandmother’s. She didn’t need them. I won’t barge in. Just hand me your clothes. There’s a robe hanging inside that you can use.”
She gasped. There weren’t too many times in his life that someone looked as shocked as they sounded. Plenty of times they’d acted like it. Especially when pulled over for a moving violation. But this woman...either she had the gesture and sound down perfectly or she’d really gasped at his suggestion.
“That’s ridiculous. Ranger or not, I don’t know if you’re trustworthy. Would you expect your sister to just hand over her clothes to a stranger?”
“I wouldn’t expect my sister to be in this position. And I do have a sister who I expect to do whatever’s necessary. That is, if she’d been rescued from someone trying to hunt her down and murder her. Yeah, she’d do whatever the man protecting her suggested. Within reason, of course.”
“Murder is a strong word.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not mine. Your friend is the one who used it. Don’t forget, we’re both in the dark here. Especially the part where Wade felt this was the only place for you to stay.”
“Who’s Wade? And if I knew details, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be getting to the bottom of whatever’s going on. Life would be a little less complicated if Therese had just explained everything.” Megan mumbled the last sentence, mixing it with a yawn. “Can’t you call and ask or something? Surely your phone’s okay to use.”
Jack couldn’t blame Megan. Not really. Right now he didn’t know if his partner was safe, either. Whatever had happened, it must be disconcerting to be drugged and told to stay with a stranger with no other place to hide.
“Wade isn’t big on phones when he’s suggested someone needs to lie low.” He really did hope the phone was just off and that his partner was alive. But he couldn’t get distracted. This woman knew he was a ranger, but he didn’t trust her to stay put. He perched his fists on his hips. That stance always worked to make him look serious. “For the record, Megan, I am willing to barge in or to handcuff you to the bed. Don’t doubt me.”
“I’m not giving you my clothes.”
“Just doing you a favor. Thought you might want clean stuff that fit you tomorrow.”
“I have a change of clothes in my roll-on.” Realization showed in her expressive eyes as she released a long sigh and dropped her chin to her chest in defeat.
She’d left her bag at the airport. “Yeah. So I’ve got a washing machine for your clothes and I’ll leave a T-shirt for you to sleep in. Take your
