LITMIR.BIZ

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I’m not sure I can stand up long enough.”

      “Come on, dear. Nick can’t teach you to ride in designer heels, and you can’t continue to borrow his two sizes too big boots.”

      “You want me to buy cowboy boots? What will I ever do with them when I get home?”

      “And jeans and a good sturdy coat.” Juliet looked down at the extra-large overalls hanging on Beth’s thin frame. “You never know when the weather’s going to change.”

      “I have five coats back home.” Beth sighed at trying to fit another overcoat into her already overstuffed tiny front hall closet.

      “We’re expecting the first cold front soon. Do you want to chance it?”

      “No, ma’am. I’ll get cleaned up.”

      The shower had made her feel human again, along with some serious stretching. She felt even more herself slipping into her Jimmy Choo shoes, then jumping behind the wheel. She loved driving the ranch’s Jeep. The top was off, the seats faded and mud all over the body, but it was the neatest car. The cool air from outside mixed with the blasting heater at her feet. She just felt...free.

      Maybe she should get something like this when she got back to Chicago. Carroll and Elizabeth would kill her. It would be impractical and get horrible gas mileage in the city. But she didn’t care.

      Then again, sitting in traffic she’d be choking from the other cars’ exhaust. No, she’d just enjoy the fresh air while she could here in Texas.

      Parking at the café/gas station, she saw Kate McCrea wave from just inside the window. Her new friend gestured for her to come inside, but didn’t sit at the empty tables near the entrance. Instead, Beth followed her to the back corner booth. Cord McCrea pulled up a chair with one hand and balanced his son with the other. The remaining seat left her with her back to the door.

      Exposed.

      Knowing she could trust the Texas Ranger to warn her of impending danger, she sat and didn’t ask to move. She couldn’t complain to him or make a suggestion that he not sit with his wife. He was the boss and he’d placed himself against the wall.

      In more ways than one. He was depending on her when no one else would.

      Beth had only admiration for the man who’d pulled some strings to get her assigned to his three-man task force. In his shoes, she would have acted much differently. He and Kate had plenty of reasons not to want to be in the open, either. They had a long history with the cartel that included tragedy and victory over a vicious murderer just a year before. They’d divorced, remarried and now had a child. She understood exactly why he didn’t expose his back to the room.

      “Thanks for the invite, Kate. Juliet assured me you’d know everything I needed to get for an extended stay.” She tapped her nails on the tabletop and quickly covered them with her other hand to keep them still.

      “Oh, it’s entirely my pleasure. Do you want some tea or something?” Kate didn’t wait. She waved at Brandie and raised her own glass. “Add another iced tea to our bill, please.”

      “You aren’t ready to leave?” Beth asked, eager to escape the peering eyes of Marfa citizens breaking for lunch.

      “Believe me, I’m so ready. But we’re waiting for Pete and Andrea. They’re staying at the house and babysitting Danver. Cord and I have been called to Lubbock for a couple of days. We’re flying there when we get back.” She leaned across the table and brushed her son’s full head of soft hair.

      “Keep your voice down, Kate. You don’t know who’s going to overhear,” Cord said, giving the entire room another look and landing on the mechanic leaning in the archway to the gas station.

      Beth cringed at the thought of facing Andrea. The sheriff’s girlfriend had no reason to trust her abilities. Her inadequacy with horses had put Andrea in danger and was yet another reason Beth needed to learn how to ride.

      “I’m glad you thought about me for a shopping trip.” Beth searched the occupants, too, giving the mechanic a closer look. He seemed too alert, watching his surroundings constantly. Almost like she paid attention to details and her surroundings. A well-toned body was hidden under his coveralls. He wiped his hands as if he was used to grease under his nails. Cord watched him for a couple of minutes, raised an eyebrow and the man left.

      “You’re the perfect excuse to take off for the afternoon,” Kate continued, smiling at her husband. “Just girls. Baby and husband free for the first time in months. Cord only trusts me to be out with someone licensed to carry.”

      “I’ve got a good reason for keeping you close,” the Ranger mumbled before turning to Beth. “You do have your weapon, right?”

      “Yes, sir.”

      Kate ignored Beth’s response and her husband’s question, for that matter. “Shopping over the internet and in downtown Marfa’s just not the same as trying on clothes. And especially picking out things for someone else.”

      “Where can you buy clothes here?” Beth lowered her voice so the rest of the café wouldn’t think she was complaining. If her cover was going to work, she had to make them think she actually liked their small town. “The commercial part of Marfa is about the same size of one block in downtown Chicago. Comparing the two just depresses me. Sorry, I know this is your home.”

      “Not a problem. We know it’s a culture shock for most. I attended school in Austin. Cord’s originally from Dallas. Believe me, sometimes I really miss the convenience of a department store just a few minutes away.”

      The bell above the door rang and Andrea entered, the sheriff at her side. Kate waved and called the couple over. Beth wanted to tap “Jingle Bells” with her nails, she was so nervous.

      The last time she’d seen Pete Morrison, he’d been fanatically expressing his opposition to her being kept on the task force—agreeing with everything Nick said. Of course, she hadn’t been an asset rescuing Andrea from the gunrunners. She’d lost control of her horse, which had forced Nick to leave the group to rescue her.

      The two couples shared pleasantries and Andrea sat next to her. While Kate invited Andrea to join them in Alpine, Beth could just nod and smile.

      “Would you two want anything?” Brandie asked, handing Beth the iced tea.

      “You should take the afternoon off and come with us, Brandie,” she said. Then the conversation couldn’t be about all her screwups.

      “Sorry, I’d love to get some Christmas shopping done, but I’ve already sent the extra help home.”

      Rotten luck. Now it was inevitable that the afternoon girl talk would include men. The two women might even be bold enough to ask about her night in the mountains with Nick. She wouldn’t trade their night together, but the circumstances leading to it were consistently embarrassing.

      Evade, tell the truth or lie? Three options she wasn’t looking forward to. Before she could dwell on a decision, the ladies stood, handed off baby stuff—including the baby Andrea now held—and were ready to leave.

      Both women knew she worked undercover and both knew she was locating herself at the ranch as bait. But she still couldn’t let down her guard. She needed the shopping trip, but she needed to prove her abilities at the same time. From downtown Marfa, it was a thirty-five minute ride, straight highway with no traffic. She could keep things casual that long.

      “Cord wants you to be on your toes. Both of you, of course,” Kate stated once they were on the road. “Having a conversation with both law enforcement entities should clue whoever’s watching exactly which side you’re on, Beth. Bait the hook, so to speak.”

      “I figured.”

      “A day off from hiding while you’re here in Marfa should be nice,” Kate said.

      “Or hiding that I prefer city life in Chicago.” She couldn’t forget that

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