A Texas Ranger's Family. Mae Nunn

stomach plunged like a runaway roller coaster topping the first hill.

      What a tragic choice of words!

      From the looks on the faces of Daniel, LaVerne and Candace, they not only read Erin’s thoughts, they echoed them.

      “Let me see you to the door.” LaVerne pushed herself up from the love seat and guided the visitor from the solarium. The pretty blonde knitted together beauty queen brows to show Daniel her concern and then turned her attention to the real power behind the man. His mama.

      Daniel closed the French doors after the two women so he could speak privately. While he settled in a nearby armchair, Erin braced herself for the lecture that was sure to come. He arched his back, rubbed both hands through his short-cropped hair, and then leaned toward her with his elbows resting on the knees of his dark-wash jeans.

      “Erin, I don’t know where to start.” His voice was heavy with exasperation.

      She held out her left palm and lowered her eyes in defeat. “Daniel, I’ll understand if you want to start by packing me off to a local rehab center. Or maybe it would be easier on you if I leave with J.D. when he shows up tomorrow. He can arrange to get me back to New York.”

      Daniel thrust his chin forward and squinted, angled one ear toward her like he hadn’t heard clearly. “You just got here. Why would you want to leave already? And what’s this about J.D. coming to Houston?”

      “You heard what a stupid thing I just said in front of Dana and you saw how she reacted. It’s bad enough that I’m disrupting your lives and keeping your mother away from her ranch. Upsetting Dana like that was never my intention and I don’t want everybody walking on egg shells thinking I’ll choke on my foot again at any moment.”

      Daniel slumped back into the chair. He looked more relaxed now.

      “Erin, listen to me.” A note of understanding mingled with the frustration in his voice. “Dana’s a sixteen-year-old girl. She looks for reasons to be upset. That’s what girls her age do for entertainment. So, don’t be too tough on yourself.”

      “You mean you’re not angry with me?”

      His forehead wrinkled as if he were pondering the simple question.

      “I’m tryin’ real hard to keep angry from being the right word. Look, I’m a daddy raising a daughter on my own with no help and no game plan other than God’s. That’s not a complaint, just a statement of fact,” he insisted. “Occasionally, I hit a home run but lots of days with that kid are strikeouts. You’re gonna have to figure her out for yourself but I’ll advise where I can.”

      “I’m listening,” Erin encouraged him to continue.

      “For starters, you need to choose your words more carefully when Dana’s around. Mostly ’cause she’s got a memory like a bear trap and she’ll snare you with your own comments when you least expect it. What you just said was insensitive, that’s for sure. But it doesn’t justify puttin’ you out on the street, if that’s what you expected. Not tonight, anyway.”

      The last words were tacked on with humor but there was warning in them just the same.

      “Got it.” Erin made a mental note. “What else?”

      “Oh, there’s plenty more but we’ll take it as it comes. Mostly be prepared that even though she’s agreed not to press you, she has about as much self-restraint as a wolf in a butcher shop. She won’t lay back and wait on your lead for long.”

      “I know.” Erin fixed her eyes on the putty in her hand, grateful for the valuable guidance he was giving. “Thank you, Daniel.”

      “You don’t have to keep sayin’ that. I know you’re out of your element, and for Dana’s sake I’ll support you whenever I can ’cause it’s the right thing to do.”

      Relief wrapped Erin like the warm blanket LaVerne put over the bed each time she turned down the thermostat. The certainty of Daniel’s help was unexpected and comforting, but Erin felt sure his good graces had limits, as well.

      “So, what do I do now? I don’t have any experience making amends with a teenager.”

      “Trust me, you’re gonna get plenty of practice. I’ll go talk to her and I wager you dollars to doughnuts she makes some excuse to come back down. You pray about it in the meanwhile and you’ll know what to say when the time comes.”

      She nodded. The man was kind, supportive and as handsome as any country western star. It was no wonder the pretty neighbor lady was hot on the heels of his fancy boots.

      “All right, then.” Daniel slapped his palms on the tops of his thighs and leaned forward as if preparing to stand.

      “If I could just say one more thing.” Erin interrupted his effort to leave. “I owe you for so many reasons, not the least of which is raising Dana in a Christian home. That means a lot.”

      “I always hoped you’d feel that way. There were times during our few months together when you gave me the impression you had a foundation of faith.”

      “I did, but it wasn’t by design. It was because the foster parents dumped us kids off for vacation Bible school at every church in the area. I’m sure we went to five or six programs each summer. Every home I lived in did the same thing so it seemed like common practice. You didn’t have to be very old to figure out it had nothing to do with providing a Christian environment. They were just unloading us for the day.”

      “Did knowing that bother you?”

      “Not after a while. The church volunteers showed us kindness we wouldn’t have gotten any other way. And the food was a nice change.” She smiled at one of her few pleasant memories of those days. Hot dogs and s’mores always made her think of Jesus. “The summer I was fourteen, I got baptized in a little limestone sanctuary near San Marcos. They gave me a certificate with the date on it but I lost what few keepsakes I had in all the moves. I forgot the name of the church, but I always wondered if it was still there.”

      “It’s pretty easy for me to find out if you really want to know. There’s not much I can’t dig into.”

      She felt a razor-sharp point of pain low in her back and winced away from the sensation. Daniel noticed and without a word he was on his feet, moving her efficiently from the chaise to the bed, casually tucking a pillow beneath her knees. He lowered the headboard to shift her weight then pulled the bedclothes over her hospital garb. Lastly, he injected the evening dose of meds into her IV port.

      Erin couldn’t help but mull over all Daniel had sacrificed and continued to do for her. She knew it was because of what she meant to him as Dana’s mother and had nothing whatever to do with who she was as a woman.

      And just as well, since it would complicate a situation that was already a big honkin’ psychological mess.

      

      Daniel was relieved to see Erin once again comfortable now that he’d settled her on the hospital bed and positioned things as he’d been taught. Following instructions was second nature on the ranch, but his years as a city detective had put him on the giving end of orders. It was good to realize he was not such an old law enforcement dog that he couldn’t pick up tricks of a new trade if the situation required it.