Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger / Once Upon A Christmas Eve. Patricia Thayer

you’ll need a broom and dustpan. And I have a trash can at the side of the house.”

      Robbie took off, calling out, “Be right back.”

      Smiling, Coop went back to work, but was quickly distracted when a work truck pulling a trailer stopped at the curb. The vehicle had the lettering Perry’s Landscaping on the side door.

      Coop felt the rush of adrenaline. “Okay, it’s time to do my real job,” he murmured and climbed off the ladder.

      Two Hispanic men got out of the truck and took the mower from the back of the trailer. It looked like they were here for the yard service. Then he spotted the driver as he climbed out.

      Also Hispanic, he was above average height with a slender build and thick coal-black hair. He might have been dressed in a work uniform, but Coop doubted he was a day laborer.

      He took a closer look at the man. Since he’d studied Delgado’s actions for a few years, he recognized this man’s familiar features. And this guy could be his twin.

      And it looked like he was going to get the opportunity to speak with him as the worker walked to the porch.

      “Hey, man, are you painting the house?”

      “You could say that.”

      “Good.” He studied Coop for a second or two. “Rey Santos.”

      Coop didn’t offer his hand. “Noah Cooper.”

      “Where’s your crew?”

      “You’re lookin’ at it.”

      Santos frowned. “You need men? I can get you some workers. At a good price, too.”

      He bet he could. “No, thanks, I work solo.”

      The two studied each other when Robbie came back with the broom and pan. He stopped on seeing Santos.

      “This guy here is all the help I need,” Coop said.

      Santos nodded. “Is Mrs. Perry around?”

      “No!” Robbie said. “She had to leave.”

      Coop could see the boy’s fear. Why? Had Santos been bothering the family?

      “I’ll catch her later.”

      Robbie waited until the guy left the porch, then went to Coop. “What is he doing here?”

      “Doesn’t he work for the lawn service?” He knelt down in front of the boy. “Is something wrong, Robbie? Did that man do something to you?”

      The boy shook his head. “No, he yelled at my mom once. She told him to go away. And a long time ago he worked with my dad. He got mad when I was there with my dad.”

      Coop hated to pump the boy for information, but he didn’t have a choice. “Is it a secret?”

      “Kinda. I promised my dad I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

      “Tell anyone what?”

      Robbie was silent, but fear showed on his face. “It’s okay, Robbie.” He needed to know if Santos had threatened him. “You can’t get into trouble now.”

      “One day I was supposed to stay with Kasey, but she got mad at me and made me stay in my room. I sneaked out and went to see my dad at work.”

      Bingo.

      The kid looked frightened. “Don’t tell my mom. She’ll be sad again.”

      Coop gripped the boy’s shoulders. “We don’t want to make her sad. Just tell me one thing. Did Santos see you with your dad?”

      Robbie shook his head rapidly. “No, Dad made me hide when the man came in his office. They were yelling and I got scared. After that man left, my dad said it wasn’t a good idea for me to come back. Then he … died.”

      The boy’s tears tore at Coop. “I know it’s hard to lose someone you love. I lost my brother.”

      The boy’s lip trembled. “Did you cry?”

      Coop didn’t even hesitate. “Yeah, I cried a lot. He was my only family.”

      “My sister says boys aren’t supposed to cry.”

      “She’s wrong. Everyone cries when they’re sad. It helps to heal your heart. And you know what else helps?”

      The boy wiped his nose with the back of his hand and Coop gave him his bandanna to use. “No, what?”

      “To remember good things about that person.”

      The kid looked thoughtful. “You mean like how much my dad liked peanuts. He used to hide a jar, but he’d share with me.”

      Coop’s chest tightened. Mike Perry sounded like a decent guy. So what the hell happened?

      “That’s a good one,” he said. “I remember that my brother used to get into my baseball cards. I yelled at him because he used to get them dirty and bend them. A few years ago for my birthday, Devin found me a rookie Nolan Ryan baseball card.”

      The boy grinned. “Dad liked him, too.”

      “Well, maybe … we can go to a game sometime.” Coop stood, knowing this conversation was getting far too personal. “Right now, we better get to work.”

      Lilly walked down the hall to close the front door to block out the noise from the mower, and keep Santos away. That was when she heard her son’s and Coop’s voices.

      She hadn’t planned to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t stop when Robbie started talking about his father. Since her ex-husband’s death, both children had clammed up and refused to say anything. So to discover that Robbie had gone to see Mike was a shock. She also learned what she’d suspected—that Mike had been involved with Santos. She didn’t want to think about that. Mike was gone, and she and the kids had to deal with the aftermath.

      Lilly’s focus turned back to the man who seemed to be getting through to her son. She liked how Coop handled the situation by telling his own stories. She’d known from their breakfast conversation that Noah’s brother had died. Maybe that was what he and her son had in common.

      She felt her chest tighten. She wasn’t the only one who had lost. She might have misjudged Noah Cooper. Over the past couple of years, she had a lot of anger to deal with and she’d been lousy at it. She hated the fact that the entire town knew her business. Thanks to Mike, aspects of their divorce were made public. Yet that didn’t make it right to take it out on every man who came into her life.

      She pushed open the screen door and stepped out on the porch.

      “Hi, Mom,” Robbie called. “I’m working for Coop. And guess what, he’s paying me, too.” He returned to sweeping paint chips as if proving he could do the job.

      “That’s good, son. Since you’re working so hard, why don’t you go and get you and your boss some bottles of water?”

      “Okay.” He dropped the broom and ran into the house as Lilly turned to Coop.

      “Thank you for working with Robbie. He hasn’t had much chance to be with many men.”

      “It’s easy. He’s a great kid. I take it that he didn’t have much time with his father.”

      She didn’t want to go into it, so she just shook her head.

      “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”

      “It’s true. Robbie and Kasey hadn’t had much time with their father the past few years.” She swallowed hard. “I made it nearly impossible.”

      Coop took a step toward her, but she raised a hand. “I was too demanding after he’d left us. I made all kinds of rules and stipulations about his visitation. Finally Mike stopped showing up at all.”

      She heard Coop curse. “Did the custody agreement