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

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СКАЧАТЬ That was if she ever wanted to get out of debt. And thanks to her mother, she and the kids had a roof over their heads.

      She glanced back at Mr. Cooper. “I guess now is fine.”

      He nodded and they started toward the exit, but she detoured and stopped by her mother first. “Are you ready to go home?”

      Beth glanced past her daughter and saw Noah Cooper. “Well, I wanted to get a glimpse of little Mick. Why? Do you need something?”

      “Mr. Cooper wants to move in right now. So I need to finish up a few things.”

      “Okay, I’ll be home in about an hour.” Her mother went to the new tenant. Lilly watched the two in conversation, then Beth came back smiling.

      Great. Was she the only one who was suspicious of strangers?

      Coop was careful not to push for conversation on the drive back to the Staley house. He already knew Lilly Perry wasn’t exactly happy to have him in the cottage. One wrong move and she would find an excuse to cut him loose. He needed to be here. It was a perfect place to possibly learn more about Delgado.

      A long shot maybe, but it was the best he had.

      Lilly instructed him to pull into the driveway and park on the far side of the garage. “There’s enough room for all our vehicles.”

      “Thank you. That’s a lot more convenient.” He got out and grabbed his duffel from the truck bed.

      He waited until Lilly came around and together they walked to the cottage. She took out a set of keys.

      “I thought small towns were safe enough to leave your houses unlocked.”

      Coop watched a panicked look mar her pretty features. “It used to be that way. Things change.”

      From the information he had about Mike Perry’s death, Lilly’s home had been broken into. Shortly after that she’d lost the house to creditors and moved herself and the kids back here. Probably the safest place for her. But he wondered about that, too. Not with Delgado out there.

      They walked inside. This time he took a better look at the rental. It was small, but homey and the furniture looked comfortable. He carried his bag into the other room where a queen-size bed took up most of the space.

      He peered into the bath. A small shower stall and a pedestal sink and toilet were accounted for. “Everything I need,” he said.

      “There’s a television, but only basic cable.”

      “That’s more than I expected.”

      “Tell that to my kids. They seem to think they’re deprived without the premiere channels.”

      “With you as their mother, and Beth as their grandmother, I’d say they’re pretty lucky.”

      That seemed to frazzle her. “Well, having a mother who’s the school principal doesn’t exactly make them the most popular kids.”

      It beat the heck out of having a mother who didn’t care about anything but the next man in her life. After two bad marriages, Cindy Morales was still looking for the elusive husband. That meant leaving her two boys alone. “They’ll live,” he said.

      That comment got him a smile. “Well, I’ll let you get settled in. Holler if you need anything.”

      “Wait.” He pulled out his wallet and took out five one-hundred-dollar bills. “Here’s part of the deposit. Tell your mother, I’ll have a cashiers check for her in the morning.”

      Her eyes rounded as she stared down at the money.

      “The banks are closed now.”

      She nodded and started for the door. He didn’t want her to leave. That wasn’t a good thing. He was here to do a job, nothing more. “I’d like to do some repairs around here,” he called to her. “Will that bother you?”

      She turned around. “You don’t have to.”

      He shrugged. “I’ll have some time before my job starts. Let’s say my hobby is old Victorian homes.”

      She didn’t look convinced. “I would think that you’d want to take advantage of the free time.”

      “I’ve had too much time off already. And I’ll get to do something I love.” That wasn’t a lie. He did like to repair and refinish things.

      “Well, Mother could use some help with the upkeep. It’s really too big for her since my dad died, but she’ll never leave here.”

      “It’s a great house. And there seems to be plenty of room for you and your kids. I’m sure your mother likes having you all here with her.”

      She shrugged. “There wasn’t a choice. We didn’t have anywhere else to go. Goodbye, Mr.—Coop.” She turned and walked out.

      This time Coop didn’t stop her departure. He didn’t want to scare her off for good. If he wanted to get any information, he needed to tread lightly.

      His phone vibrated and he pulled it off his belt and checked the caller ID. It was his captain’s private line, because they didn’t want any of his calls traced back to the off ice.

      “Coop here.”

      “How’s it going?” Ben Collier asked.

      “Fine, so far. I checked in with Casali yesterday.” The lucrative rancher/businessman had hired him for the project with only the sheriff’s request. No more details given. “He’s awarded Perry’s Landscaping the housing project job. I’m also renting a cottage at the Staley house.”

      “Good.” There was a long pause. “I’d tell you not to take any unnecessary chances, but I know I would be wasting my breath. Since you’re pretty much working on your own, just tread lightly around Delgado. If he gets wind of you nosing around, it could be dangerous for all involved. Outside of the local law enforcement, you have no partner as back up.”

      Coop’s immediate concern was Lilly Perry and her family. “I’m good at my job.”

      “No one questions that, but you’re personally involved.”

      His chest tightened as he thought about his half brother, Devin Morales. “We’ve got to get this guy off the streets.”

      “We will.”

      The connection was broken when Coop closed his phone. He knew firsthand that Raul Delgado was trouble. For years, he’d been involved with drug and weapons trafficking along the Mexico border. Yet, they couldn’t link him to any of the killings or the thousands of pounds of illegal drugs coming into the U.S.

      Even with the government’s increased patrols, Delgado had managed to do business until one night a local cop was killed trying to break up a drug deal. Of course there were no witnesses to the crime. Coop fisted his hands, remembering how his younger brother Devin’s life had ended too soon.

      Yet, Delgado got away. Last word on the street was he’d relocated his operation from the El Paso СКАЧАТЬ