LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter Three

      Heath held his side as he carefully lifted his arm into his suit jacket and then set his white Stetson on top of his head. The required Texas Ranger uniform wasn’t what people expected when they saw the star on his pocket. Traditionally they all wore white Stetsons, but with suits rather than jeans. He even wore a white shirt and black tie today.

      Good thing, since he’d been assigned to work with an FBI task force regarding potential cybercrime. The agent in charge thought a research company had some type of ulterior motive for collecting the data.

      Cybercrime had a broad definition—it referred to any crime committed with a computer or through a computing device. The slim file he’d received held just the basics and an address where to meet the agent. He was curious to learn what had tipped the FBI off and what the specifics of the case were.

      Why meet here in the field? It wasn’t the norm. Neither was getting a last-minute request for field backup on a task force he hadn’t been active with for a while. Jerry Fisher—his wife’s old partner—had been promoted to group leader overseeing several teams in cybercrime. What was different now?

      He waited for this mysterious agent at his truck. The older neighborhood was nicely kept up. The homes were on the smaller side for this section of Dallas. They’d eventually be sold and torn down to make way for larger lots.

      It was a shame. Some of them looked really nice and were perfect starter places for couples. Or to house mothers-in-law. He’d been thinking about his wife the entire trip across town.

      Only natural that he’d start thinking of her mother, since he half blamed her for egging on their arguments. He’d gone back and forth long into the night about calling Kendall. Even picked up his phone a couple of times. But the chicken part of himself won.

      What if that phone call ended everything?

      This morning he watched the sun rise while riding his mare and resolved to call Kendall today to make a date to talk. Not over the phone. Not around Skylar Dawn. Certainly not around his mother-in-law. The promise gave him peace of mind. Six months was enough time apart. He needed to try again. Speaking face-to-face would allow him to gauge her reaction. And if she called it quits?

      Well, he wanted her to look him in the eye if she did.

      There were several cars on the street of the address he’d been given. None of them were a government-issued sedan. He glanced at his watch—only a couple of minutes early.

      If he was working with the FBI, he’d eventually have to visit their Dallas field office. He wasn’t excited about running into Kendall accidentally. Or her supervisor, Jerry Fisher.

      Whoever his partner from the FBI was, they were late. Unless he was supposed to meet them inside. He walked around the truck, calling Wade to see if there’d been a time adjustment to the appointment. When a black sedan pulled up behind his truck, he disconnected. He leaned on the tailgate while putting his phone away, waiting.

      “Heath?” A familiar voice rang from the far side of the government car.

      The car door shut, and he stood at attention for some reason. The face came into focus while his body charged out of control.

       Kendall?

      Dammit. He’d almost dove into the truck bed. Hard to do with his heart galloping up his windpipe like a stampeding mustang. He wanted to leap on its back and get the hell out of there.

      His hands itched to wrap themselves in her wild strawberry blond mane. But no wild mane flowed down the back of FBI Special Agent Kendall Barlow. It was pulled smoothly against her head into a ponytail. A few short tendrils escaped in front of her ears, the lobes pierced with the small diamond studs he’d given her.

      “Nice to see you,” she said, before smiling a strained grin.

      “Hey.” It felt awkward. He hadn’t been alone with her in a long time. He deliberately eased his shoulders, trying to relax. “Nice earrings.”

      She fingered a stud, as if figuring out which pair she wore. “Oh, these? I can’t remember where I got them.” She teased with a genuine smile now. She remembered exactly who had given them to her... Him.

      The awkwardness was worth it for the smile he hadn’t seen in months. “I... No one told me it was your task force.”

      “Can we sort through the conflict of interest after Mrs. Pelzel’s interview? She’s watching us out her window.”

      “Would you like to work with someone else?”

      “Of course not.” She stopped on the sidewalk, head tilted to the side to look up at him. Physically only an arm’s length away, but completely out of his reach. “We can be professional about this. At least I can.”

       Professional? Sure. Why the hell not?

      Her task force. Her lead. Her knock on the door. He turned sideways on the porch to let her pass. The slight scent of ginger and orange filled him with memories. He recognized the smell of her lotion and was getting sentimental. Instead of pulling her into his arms and kissing her until they were both senseless, he tugged off his dark shades and tucked them in his pocket.

      He could be professional. If he had to.

      Kendall explained who they were when Mrs. Pelzel came to the door. She introduced him as Ranger Murray. No one was the wiser that they were married, since she’d always used her maiden name professionally. Once they were invited inside, Heath quickly discovered Kendall had been on this case for several months. Sitting on one of the most uncomfortable couches in the world, he concentrated on Mrs. Pelzel preparing large glasses of iced tea. A suddenly dry throat couldn’t wait to be quenched.

      Kendall looked at a message on her phone, and he wondered how they’d drifted apart. More than five years of his life had been devoted to this woman.

      How could it all be gone over one wrong question? He didn’t want it to be. But getting back to her wouldn’t be easy.

      Once again, he was close enough to touch his wife, but promise bound to keep it professional. Reminding himself to stay professional. He’d kept that way back when they’d first met. He could do it again now.

      Mrs. Pelzel brought the glasses in on a tray. He popped off the couch to help, but she shrugged him off. “Please sit. I have never had a real Texas Ranger visit before. This is so exciting.”

      She handed them each a glass. He downed his in record time and could only blame it on nerves.

      Kendall set down her glass after taking a sip, then straightened her jacket. Time for business. “Mrs. Pelzel, would you be willing to let my computer forensics team take a look at the PC?”

      “Can they do

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