Texas Ranger Dad. Debra Clopton

goodbye, but it was her grandmother’s wish that Rose be safe. And against his better judgment, for the first time in his life his job became personal.

      It went beyond his oath, beyond the promise to her grandmother that he would keep her safe at all cost…he’d fallen in love with Rose, with her principles, with her loyalty. And she’d almost lost her life because of it.

      “I did what had to be done to keep you safe,” he said. And it was true, even down to leaving her. It was putting her at risk and not telling her goodbye that he needed to make right.

      

      Rose stared at Zane. Hearing him say he’d done what he’d thought was best to keep her safe cut to the quick. After all these years, how could it still hurt so much?

      “We need to get some things straight,” she said, hearing the bitterness in her voice. “Have you told anyone that we know each other?” If no one knew, then maybe she had a little more time to figure things out. But she had to know if he knew about Max and had come looking for him.

      “No,” he said, unlocking the door. “Let’s go inside.”

      Rose didn’t want to be alone in a room with him. But what she needed to say shouldn’t be discussed on the street, so she nodded.

      She refused to let him see her unravel. But looking into his amber eyes so dusted with flecks of gold that they stood out in a crowd made it near impossible. She felt certain everyone in Mule Hollow was going to see that Zane Cantrell had given his son his distinctive eyes.

      And if that weren’t enough, he’d passed his devastating smile to Max as well.

      Rose felt sick and her legs barely held her up long enough to walk past Zane to the chair in front of his desk. “I’ve started a new life here, Zane,” she managed while she sank into the chair. “This one is real. I don’t want to be reminded of my past. Of the lies. My son doesn’t know I was once in the witness protection program and I had hoped to keep it that way. I wanted him to be…one identity. His real identity.” Only he doesn’t know his real identity.

      Rose inhaled sharply. Her blood pounded in her temples. Until Zane had come into the picture she’d been able to pretend that Max didn’t need to know the truth.

      Zane sat on the edge of the desk and looked down at her. Despite everything between them, her insides knotted with the pull of emotions. Oh, how she’d loved this man before he’d abandoned her.

      Abruptly, he moved from the desk to the window and stood gazing out, with his back to her.

      Did he know?

      She wasn’t sure how well the U.S. Marshal’s office kept up with witnesses after they were deemed safe to return to the world as they’d known it. And she wasn’t certain how much information a Ranger assigned to the case would have access to. How much of her life since the last time they’d seen each other did Zane know?

      His wide shoulders remained rigid as moments ticked by and he stared out the window. When he turned back to her, his expression gave nothing away. Striding past her, he took his seat behind the desk. “I’m not sure I understand why you’d keep your past hidden,” he said finally. “What you did was a brave thing. It’s something to be proud of. Since there is no threat any longer, no one would be in danger from knowing the truth.”

      He didn’t know! Relief washed over Rose at the realization. She suddenly felt light-headed and closed her eyes.

      “Are you all right?”

      Startled by the concern in his voice, she opened her eyes and nodded. “Yes,” she said, trying to get a hold on her emotions. He didn’t know Max was his son. If he did he would understand that she wasn’t hiding her life in the witness protection program all these years. She’d been hiding from him.

      He studied her, his keen eyes searching for the truth in her expression. “Look, Rose. I came here hoping to start over, too. Hoping that we—”

      At his admission her traitorous heart beat a little faster. It upset her all the more. “‘We,’” she gasped. “There is no ‘we.’ Will never be a ‘we.’”

      “We” died the day you left me there…alone.

      The muscle in his jaw jerked and his gaze darkened. “I see,” he said after a long moment. “Coming here and seeing that you’re okay has been worth it. I would never do anything to jeopardize your happiness.”

      There was so much she wanted to say to him. But she wouldn’t. She’d believed she was over being bitter…but she was seeing the truth now. “I hope not. But if you’ll remember, I don’t have much faith in what you say.”

      His expression hardened. “I did what I considered was right for you when I got reassigned. I believed it would keep you safe. I’d do it all over again if I felt it was the best choice.”

      She surged to her feet, emotions rushing at her like darts. “I trusted you, Zane. Do you even know what that means?” She was mortified at knowing she was about to unravel in front of him. “I can’t do this. I just needed to get things out in the open between us. Stay away from me and my son. Like I said, Max has no idea about my life in the witness protection program. I chose not to tell him because we’ve had more than our share of bad luck and I feel as if I’ve spent my entire life in hiding. I didn’t want him to feel that way. Your coming here can only make things bad again.” She closed her eyes and fought down the fear of what would come if he stayed. It was an impossible situation. “Stay away,” she managed as she headed toward the door.

      Zane was beside her in an instant, his hand reaching to open the door for her, surprising her with his apologetic smile…Max’s smile.

      “I can’t do that, Rose. I owe it to you to explain. To make you see—”

      “I don’t want anything from you. It’s too late for explanations.” There, that was plain enough. Back stiff, she walked out the door. But she knew when she got inside her car and met Zane’s unwavering gaze through the windshield that somehow what she wanted didn’t matter. Never had. Zane would do what he wanted and she would suffer the consequences.

      Chapter Four

      “You feeling okay, Mom?” Max asked as they got out of the car and started toward the church the next morning.

      “I’m fine. Just a little tired, I think,” Rose said, feeling as if she was walking straight into disaster. She should have told Max last night. “I was up late making syrup for the jelly.” And worrying—but she kept that thought to herself as she looked up at her son. Even at his age it was obvious he was going to be tall and lean just like…his dad. All these years she’d tried to pretend she didn’t see Zane every time she looked at Max, but that was impossible. And today, with each step she took toward the small crowd gathered on the church lawn, her world teetered on the edge of falling apart.

      What would Max say when he realized that she’d lied to him? The very idea made her sick. Her skin was clammy and her stomach kept lurching as if she were on a raft in high seas. Seeing Zane standing among her friends sent her hand to her stomach in the futile attempt to quell the queasiness. She’d left his office the day before knowing she’d left herself wide open for a public confrontation. She’d like to think that even if Zane realized the truth, he wouldn’t make a scene…but she didn’t really know him. It was stupid on her part, but she really wasn’t thinking straight. How did a woman break such news to her son? She prayed God would help her figure this out. So far no light had appeared at the end of the long, dark tunnel she found herself in.

      “Hey, there’s Gil. I’ll check ya later.” Max loped away.

      She watched him go and felt a touch of relief knowing the inevitable might have been put off for a few minutes. Why hadn’t she figured out a way to tell him?

      “Rose, over here,” Norma Sue hollered, waving her over. Rose paused and engrossed herself in digging a peppermint out of her purse. It was her only excuse