Desperado Dad. Linda Conrad

lost that scrunched-up frightened look. She stroked his tiny hand, grateful that he no longer clutched it into a fist.

      Meanwhile, Manny took her daddy’s old clothes into the mud room to change. When he’d left the fireside, she’d felt a momentary chill, as if his leaving had changed the temperature and the physical forces swirling around her.

      Shaking off the strange sensations, she tried to focus on the situation. She had a potentially sick child on her hands. The flooding river had no doubt cut them off from town for the time being. The phone wasn’t working to call for help, and since they had no electricity to run the furnace’s fan, they’d need to stay downstairs here near the fireplace or in the kitchen by the stove. And to top it all off, she still didn’t know what Manny’s relationship to this child might be.

      Just who was this dangerous man, really, and why was he in her little town in the middle of a horrific rainstorm and flood? She’d be stuck throughout the emergency with a man who made her body alternate between shivers and hot sweats. What on earth had she gotten herself into?

      If he wasn’t Ricky’s father, why was Manny in the car with the baby? What did his being a lawman have to do with Ricky? Randi had seen the way he treated the child, softly petting him and murmuring encouragement. She refused to think that he might have taken Ricky for a bad reason, but she was determined to get to the truth.

      He was dangerous looking, what with the shaggy, ebony hair and the stubble darkening his chin and cheeks, but would it be fair to judge a man by appearances? She’d been taught never to jump to snap conclusions based on a person’s looks.

      “Is the baby asleep?”

      Randi heard Manny’s whispered words before she knew he was in the room and felt his hand on her shoulder. Instead of being startled, she felt heat settle over her in a liquid rush. Sort of like the burning sensation she’d experienced when she’d tried her one and only swallow of whisky but better…less bad tasting and more electric.

      She nodded silently and lowered her chin to stare at the floor. Randi knew she couldn’t look at him right now and still think clearly. Nervous tension made her body taut, and her mind fogged with unrealistic panic.

      “You sure are handy to have around,” he began in a soft and friendly tone.

      Without looking up, she knew he’d eased himself down on the rug next to her. He wasn’t touching her in any way, but she felt his presence tingling along the nerve endings of her skin. He was close enough that she could smell the cedar chips her mother had used to store her dad’s clothes.

      “I mean, you saved Ricky and me from drowning in the van and now you’ve taken us in and given us warmth and shelter from the storm. You’ve even come up with diapers and a baby bottle…and you know how to use them.” He chuckled deep in his chest, the sexy rumbling vibrating inside her.

      She peeked out from under her lashes to check his expression. When she saw his deep-set, chocolate-colored eyes flare to gold and his devastating features reflecting in the glow of the fire, she quivered with a strange anticipation. Randi felt a tide of color wash over her face, bathing her in a fiery flush and embarrassing her even more.

      From the tips of his sock-clad feet to the top of his now-dry hair, the man reeked of power and sex.

      Geez, she was way out of her depth here.

      Manny watched the young woman sitting next to him while her skin turned from pale and cool to bright pink and heated. And his body reacted with a jolt of heat all its own. He understood about basic survival needs, about adrenaline causing lust and the need to reaffirm life, but that didn’t explain the magnetic pull and his craving to protect her to his last breath.

      He felt a bit more in control now that he’d changed and replaced his weapon in its hidden holster at his waist. He set his jaw and swallowed hard. She might be a suspect, and he must uncover her involvement in this international ring before they went any further. What did she know? It was urgent he find out.

      He turned up the charm and tried a grin he certainly didn’t feel. “So, what were you really doing out on that lonely road tonight?”

      “Hold on, there! I want my questions about you and the baby answered before we talk about anything else.”

      “Look,” he growled. “I’m not asking out of idle curiosity, Randi. I’m a federal undercover agent, working on a case. And if I find out you’re withholding information…or that you’re involved in any way, I’ll have you in custody so fast your head will swim.”

      Her terrified look should have told him all he needed to know. But his emotions were so raw he ignored his own gut instincts.

      He pushed ahead, overpowering the conversation and demanding the truth with mere physical presence. “Now answer my question. Why were you out there alone tonight?” he persisted.

      “I told you. I was coming home from work in Willow Springs. I’m a nursery school aide there.” Her voice shook and the look in her eyes grew wilder as she automatically answered his demand.

      “A pretty woman like you?” His hand went to her soft shoulder. “You sure you weren’t there to meet someone?” He knew the grin had disappeared, but the longer she carried on this innocent game, the more Manny was positive she knew something she wasn’t telling.

      “N-n-n-no. Why are you asking? What kind of agent are you and what are you working on?” The words came pouring out. “It was just as I told you. Who would I be meeting in the middle of a storm?”

      Manny groaned inwardly, wishing she didn’t look so naive and young. He had to remain tough in the face of all this supposed innocence. She was either the best actress he’d ever seen or she was too guileless to be believed. His first quick impulse was that she must be one heck of an actress. He decided to force the truth out of her.

      “All right. Let’s go back to something else you said.” He ended up having to clear his throat to continue. “You said no one lived here on the ranch with you. I find that hard to imagine.”

      “I…I didn’t say that exactly.”

      Faster than a blink, Manny shoved the towel off her head. A rich, wet tangle of ash, gold and silver flowed over her shoulders. Grabbing a handful of it, he fisted his fingers into the silky strands. She gasped and her eyes opened to the size of dinner plates with his brash movement.

      “Then what did you mean…exactly.” He tugged her head back slowly, exposing the satiny skin on her slender neck to his view. A wayward thought of how much he’d like to place his lips on that expanse of softness flashed in his brain before he banished it and tried to steel his features into a threatening look.

      “Let go of me! We…I…there’s a ranch hand, uh, and his wife that live in the foreman’s quarters. But…”

      “So you lied to me?” he demanded.

      “No! You didn’t ask about the ranch. You asked about the house. Now let go…please.”

      Manny saw the tears welling in her eyes and immediately released his grip on her hair. But his hand refused to let the damp tresses go completely. His fingers lingered in the intoxicating texture of the multicolored silk.

      He felt like a jerk for hurting her. But it was part of the job, and he had to finish his interrogation. Ricky’s life might depend on finding the answers.

      “Why all these questions?” she sobbed. “What’s going on? I haven’t done anything wrong.” Randi sniffed and touched a finger to the corner of her eye.

      “I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice sounded raspy, hoarse. “But I’m the one asking the questions here. And I mean to know the truth. All of it.”

      She arched her eyebrows and glanced away as if she was barely interested in this whole conversation. Damn her. He wanted her scared—scared and willing to tell him anything she might know. He was finished playing games.

      Manny had his Glock out of its holster