Her Texas Ranger Hero. Rebecca Winters

got home, he went straight to the kitchen for a cold cola and ended up in his den. The first thing he did was phone Stan at headquarters. Stan was one of the best forensics experts in the country.

      “Luckey? What do you need?”

      “What can you tell me about a cream called DMSO?”

      “That old underground home remedy?”

      “Is that what it is? Traces of it were found on the sleeves of the dress of a suspected murder victim, a sixteen-or seventeen-year-old Chinese girl.”

      “Hmm. Dimethyl sulfoxide is a by-product of the wood industry, used as a solvent. It acts like a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. In the 1970s, rumors spread that athletes were using it to cut down on joint pain. The controversy stemmed from the fact that some people believed it to be poisonous, but in reality, DMSO isn’t dangerous unless it’s injected in gross amounts. Most athletes have since moved on to other treatments.”

      Luckey made notes. “So the person who dumped the deceased’s body in the street had to have been using it at the time. I’m faxing you a report from Dr. Wolff. I need your team to do a global search on DMSO and find a cream that matches the properties on the evidence he identified. Then I can track down where it’s sold.”

      “Will do.”

      “Thanks.”

      Once he’d sent the fax, Luckey sat back in his comfortable leather chair and pulled out the six pages of secret writing. To think Ally Duncan had taken one look at these and made sense of them...

      What were the odds of him quickly finding anyone else who had her incredible knowledge? All the years he’d been a Ranger, she’d been growing up in an entirely different culture. What an amazing woman.

      A gorgeous woman with raven-black hair tumbling to her shoulders and eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets.

      When she’d opened her office door, he’d been knocked sideways in more ways than one. The contact had awakened something inside him. She was well-endowed and probably about five foot seven. The scent of her skin and hair, the breathless way she’d responded to him had made Luckey conscious of her as a living, breathing woman.

      It had been eight years since his divorce. Since then he’d had relationships with other women, but none had lasted long. He’d always made it clear to the woman he was dating at the time that he wasn’t interested in a permanent commitment. Too much damage had been done for him to feel the emotions necessary for a relationship to flourish. But all that changed today. Today he’d been caught totally off guard by a rush of desire so foreign to him he was stunned.

      He knew his family worried that he might stay single for good. Luckey hadn’t given it a lot of thought until now. Damn if meeting Ms. Duncan hadn’t pierced through the armor he’d built up around him to the part that had either been asleep or in a deep freeze. What if he still felt this way tomorrow after meeting with her?

      Luckey didn’t want to experience these feelings again. He couldn’t take it. He was just going to meet her for breakfast and record the translation, then he’d get on with the investigation, and that would be the end of it.

      Needing to get his mind off Ally ASAP, he phoned Randy. His brother was still on patrol, however, so Luckey left a message that he’d get in touch tomorrow. He thought about calling one of his best friends, but all three were Rangers and he knew they’d be busy working other cases. Restless, he fixed himself a TV dinner, then walked out to the barn and saddled his horse, Persey, who needed the exercise. A good ride would help Luckey put his feelings in perspective.

      When it was dark, he came back in and turned on the TV. But he was unable to concentrate on anything. In the end, he returned to the den and pored over the information he’d gathered at the coroner’s office. Luckey worked until he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore and then he went to bed.

      * * *

      TUESDAY MORNING HE woke up early to shower and shave. After dressing in a long-sleeved Western shirt and trousers, he went out to feed his horse and noticed he needed to buy more food for him. Once back in the house he remembered that his cleaning lady, Ruth, would be coming by later. She came twice a month and did odd jobs for him. Luckey left her a note to drop by the feed store as well as the grocery store for supplies, and then he took off for the Magnolia Café.

      He always felt a certain excitement when he began a new case, but driving to meet with Ally, he recognized an eagerness that had nothing to do with his work.

      His pulse picked up speed when he spotted her Audi in the parking lot among at least a dozen cars with license plates from other states. The place got a ton of tourists because the food was reputed to be so good.

      He walked in and was greeted by a hostess. “Your party is already at your table,” she told him. “She’s over in the south corner.”

      Luckey was surprised. “How did you know?”

      The woman smiled. “You’re the man with the badge. Can’t miss you.”

      “Thanks,” he said.

      Ally Duncan stood out from every other female in the room. This morning she’d tied her glossy black hair back at her nape with a simple leather cord. Those purple-blue eyes fringed by thick black lashes met his as he approached the table. Everything about her was classy. Her nails were manicured in a soft pink shade that matched her lipstick.

      “Hi.” She smiled at him.

      He sat in the chair opposite her and took in the creamy blouse she wore, covered by a sleeveless crochet vest in the same color shot with gold. “Hi, yourself. You were smart to get here early. This place is hopping.” He would have suggested a quieter spot, such as a park, for their meeting, but felt a public space would make her more comfortable.

      “I remember the last time I came here, with friends. We had to wait an hour to get a table. Since I knew you were in a hurry to get going on this case, I thought I’d make sure we beat the rush.”

      “Well, I thank you for your consideration.”

      The waitress came to the table and poured them coffee. Ally murmured, “Go ahead and give her our orders, since you already know what I want.”

      He smiled. “Chocolate-chip pancakes?”

      She smiled back. “Of course.”

      “Would you like some juice?”

      “Sure,” she said. “I’ll take apple.”

      “Anything else?”

      Ally shook her head.

      “Two orders of chocolate-chip pancakes, one apple juice and one glass of OJ, please,” he told their waitress.

      Once she had left, Luckey was free to focus on the beautiful woman sitting across from him. She wasn’t wearing a ring. How could she still be single? If she was, it had to be by choice. Had she been wounded in the past, like he had? Was she reluctant to open up her heart for fear of being burned again? The question hung in the air. Of course, she could be in a relationship right now. Either way, he would get an answer soon, so help him.

      She sipped her coffee. “If you’ll show me those papers, I’ll look over the writing and translate it for you once we’ve eaten.”

      With those words he was reminded of the reason they were there. What she said made perfect sense, but his mind had been on her instead of the case. “Why don’t we eat first, then I’ll let you read from the file while I record you. It will probably be more horrifying on a second reading.”

      Quiet reigned as they both drank their coffee. When she lifted her head, he saw the pained expression that had snuffed the light from her eyes.

      He put down his mug. “Will it be too horrifying, second time through?”

      “Horrifying and heartbreaking, Ranger Davis.”

      “Call me Luckey. With an e.”

      Ally