Page 43 of Rancher to the Rescue

The baby stirred in the adjacent room, working up to a cry.

Adam caught her gaze, as though making sure it was okay to step away and attend to Angel.

Prudence nodded, missing his touch the minute the pressure on the small of her back changed.

“I can do one better than that,” Lawler said. “Animal control can swing them by on their way to the shelter. It’ll ease their burden anyway.”

The first glimmer of hope lit inside Prudence. She loved those dogs, and they didn’t deserve what was happening. Neither did their owners and she felt helpless to do anything there. They were good people who should be finishing up packing for a vacation they’d planned and looked forward to for weeks, if not months. A rogue tear escaped as anger welled up inside her. She couldn’t afford more than one.

“Thank you, Sheriff.”

“It’s the least I can do,” he said quietly. “I’ll be in touch if there’s any additional news. In the meantime, it’s probably a good idea to sit tight at the ranch.”

She understood the implication. There was security at Firebrand unlike anything she’d ever seen. She would be safe there.

“Will do,” she said as Adam joined her with a teary-eyed Angel in his arms. She was sucking on her binky like there was no tomorrow. Did she have a bad dream? A memory?

Prudence had no idea what a newborn was capable of. But she was one hundred percent certain Angel was special.

Lawler ended the call.

“I’m sorry about your clients,” Adam said.

“Someone must want that little girl awfully bad to go to this much trouble to get her back,” Prudence observed.

“She leaves this ranch over my dead body,” Adam stated. His look of determination said he would back those words up in a heartbeat.

“What do you think we should do with her in the morning?” Prudence didn’t think it was safe to take her along to the sheriff’s office and she needed to hear what Libby’s parents had to say. Considering her life hung in the balance until this investigation was over, she figured she had a right to follow it along.

“Good question.” And then the answer seemed to dawn on him. “How would you like to meet my mother?”

“Tonight?” She glanced down at her jogging suit as panic engulfed her. “Like this?”

“You’d be beautiful in a paper bag,” he said without hesitation. Did he mean it? “But if you’d rather not, the house is huge. You can go upstairs and relax. I’ll call when she’s gone.”

“It’s getting late and animal control will be dropping off Hutch and Miss Peabody soon. I’d rather stay downstairs and keep watch for them,” she rationalized. Besides, it wasn’t like she was meeting his family in a formal sense. The two weren’t even dating so her need to make a good impression had to take a backseat.

“I’ll ask her to come over.” He managed to balance the baby and make a call. His skills at handling Angel were improving by the minute. If she turned out to be his child, he was going to make one helluva father. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“I might sit out front. It’s a beautiful night,” she said, wanting to be as far away from Adam and his family as possible. Her heart practically melted every time she saw him holding the baby.

“Suit yourself. My mom is a decent person, though. She’s nothing like my father. You might actually like her if…never mind,” he seemed to catch himself. “Looking at the stars at night is one of the main reasons I never felt a need to leave this ranch and is a big part of why this land, Texas, will always be a part of my soul. You always hear people talking about stopping to smell the roses when all they really have to do is walk outside in the evening and look up.”

That was about the most beautiful thing she’d heard today.

Heading toward the front door, she heard his voice as he made the call to his mother. The tender way in which he spoke hit her square in the chest.

Out on the front porch, she sat down and hugged her knees. There was a slight chill in the air and a couple of clouds dotting in the sky. The promise of rain hung in the air. They needed it. The ground was so parched cracks were fracturing the earth.

Prudence had no idea how long she sat there in silence before the all-white animal services van pulled up. An older gentleman wearing all khaki-colored clothing exited the driver’s side.

“Evening, ma’am. Mr. Firebrand said I’d find you here on the porch.” He looked to be in his late fifties, early sixties. He was short by Texas standards, so probably five-feet-nine-inches. He had a ready smile, horse teeth, and a soft, round middle that looked like it might burst out of his shirt and pants in the same manner as a Pillsbury cinnamon roll can.

“Beautiful night,” she said, liking small talk as opposed to the heavy conversations she had been having all day.

“Wish it would hurry up and rain already,” he said, extending his hand. “Name’s Randy, by the way.”

She met him halfway, introduced herself, and took the offering. He had a firm shake.