Inez returned with coffee and a plate of rolls for them. Adriana watched as the Ranger took a bite of Inez’s specialty and closed his eyes, savoring the flavor and texture. When he opened them, they looked right into Adriana’s. Unsettling.
She shook off the effect he had on her and grinned. “There’s nothing like them, is there?”
“I haven’t tasted better.”
The shared reaction to Inez’s cinnamon rolls oddly broke the awkwardness of the situation, and for a few minutes Adriana believed that she would be able to forget that Ranger McCord had been searching for and finally found her. And now he would...well, she wasn’t really certain what his next step was. At the end of this most holy day, she didn’t know what would happen to her. But, for now, they ate and talked as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
“What do you think of my lovely sweater?” Inez modeled it for them. “This was my Christmas gift from Tanya.”
Adriana looked at Brent. “We exchanged gifts last night. I guess we were both too anxious to wait to give our gifts today.”
“And what did Inez give you?” he asked.
She suddenly felt awkward because they had no gift for him, but he was an unexpected guest. “A beautifully carved leather handbag. I can get it, if you like.”
“No need. You can show me later.”
“I’m sorry I don’t have a gift for you. I didn’t know you were coming.”
“What?” He twisted his face in mock offense.
“Just a minute.” Inez gave a mischievous grin, then disappeared around the corner.
“So what’s it like working a llama ranch?” Was this Brent’s attempt at small talk? Benign conversation until Inez’s return? She’d play along, for lack of any other options. His voice intrigued her—it didn’t sound like he’d grown up in Texas. She might ask him about that later, if given the chance.
“I had no idea how much I’d love living and working on a llama ranch.” Adriana released a long sigh. “I could live here forever in peace.”
Brent moved away from the sofa and sat across from her on the floor, one knee up. His arm rested on his knee. “You mean, if it weren’t for the fact your brother is after you,” he whispered.
She leaned her head back. “You would have to bring him up. Bad enough you’re here, I had hoped to enjoy the day without thoughts of my particular situation.” She hadn’t forgotten her brother. Would never forget that everyone was after her—including the Texas Rangers—but, for today, she’d needed a reprieve.
“I don’t want you to relax. You can’t afford to until this is over.”
Brent stiffened at the approaching footfalls in the hallway and returned to his previous seat.
Inez held a wrapped package and handed it to Brent. He frowned as though he wouldn’t accept it. Adriana couldn’t let him hurt Inez. She grabbed the package for him and handed it over, forcing it into his hands, not letting him refuse. “Merry Christmas.”
Pain flickered behind his gaze. What was that about? Reluctantly he took the package. “There was no need,” he said as he glanced to Inez. “I’m intruding here, as it is.”
“God brought you here today for a reason.”
Surprise sprang from his eyes. “Well, I don’t have anything to give you in return.”
“Of course you do,” Inez said. “I know you’re here to protect my Tanya.”
Brent glanced at the woman. He turned his attention back to Adriana. She saw the question in his eyes. You told her?
Adriana gave a subtle shake of her head. Inez was extremely observant and had obviously figured out on her own that things were not as they seemed.
He hesitated another moment, then ripped into the small package. It was a leather-bound devotional filled with God’s promises. The leather carving was similar to that of Inez’s gift to Adriana, obviously purchased at the same craft shop.
“I had been praying about who to give this gift to,” Inez said. “A few moments ago, I knew.”
He stared at the gift long and hard before saying anything. For a moment, Adriana feared he would hurt Inez’s feelings with his lack of response, but then she realized she knew better. The woman was tough and her faith in God was strong. If she’d felt led to give this gift to Brent, nothing he said or did would make her regret it.
“Thank you.” His tone revealed he maintained a tight control over his emotions.
Brent rose to his feet and set the gift on the side table.
Adriana thought at first his action meant that he didn’t appreciate Inez’s thoughtfulness and was discarding the gift, but then she saw the emotion boiling up in his gaze. He glanced at Inez, true gratitude in his eyes before he shuttered it away.
He unholstered and brandished his weapon, surprising them both. “And now, for my gift, I’m going to check the perimeter. Make good on that promise of protection. Double-check the booby traps. You might want to let me know what and where all of them are so I can find and check them.”
“Let this be a test to let us know how well I’ve hidden them.” For a moment, she felt pleased and proud that he needed to ask. But then a dark thought crept in. “Except,” she admitted, “you got through some of them before on your own.”
He frowned, his thoughts clearly running on the same track as her own. “Right. If it had been anyone else, you’d be dead right now.”
* * *
Brent had to step away from this situation that had grown far too personal.
“We’ll be eating Christmas dinner in a couple of hours. Don’t be gone too long,” Inez called after him as he shoved through the front door, clomped across the porch and down the steps. He kept his eyes sharply attuned to his surroundings, though his mind remained muddled by the fact he’d found Adriana Garcia and was spending today with her and her friend like they were some kind of happy family.
He never in a million years could have imagined he would be eating Christmas dinner with the sister of drug cartel head Rio Garcia. She’d disguised herself to look nothing at all like the woman who had saved him. And it would have worked, except for those beautiful eyes. All he had to do was look closely and he saw the Adriana he remembered. Her warm brown eyes had been a dead giveaway. Those had been the same eyes that had signaled a warning to him to stay hidden while she’d distracted Garcia’s men searching for him. It astounded him to think that, even then, he’d had an instant connection with her and been able to read her easily enough to trust her silent offer of protection.
Then she’d come back for him after leading Garcia’s men away. She’d hidden Brent in her own home until she could safely spirit him out of danger. They’d spent that one day together, two years ago. He would never forget that day or those eyes. The hair and glasses might fool others, but up close and personal, they hadn’t hidden the luster and compassion in her gaze. At least, not from him.
When he’d seen her before, she’d had long dark hair, but she’d done a great job of disguising it with auburn curls to go with the plain farm clothes that hung loosely off her body. But changing her appearance hadn’t diminished her beauty or hidden away her spirited nature. Brent found himself insanely attracted to the woman. Still. After two years. It was why he’d had to be the one to find her.
Her disguise and the fake name, Tanya Parker, had worked well enough that the Texas Rangers and Garcia’s cartel had initially gone after the wrong woman—Danielle Segovia, who had been misidentified by a local policeman in El Paso after seeing photos of Adriana. Of