Face of Danger. Valerie Hansen

Nothing about this sketch seemed quite right. She kept wanting to imbue the assailant’s face with the evil she’d sensed rather than sticking to his basic features.

      Cade handed her a fresh mug of the coffee they’d been sharing. They were already on their second pot. She glanced up at him and lifted her eyebrows. “Do you live on that stuff?”

      “I’ve been known to, especially when I have night duty.”

      “Is that what this is? Are you on duty?”

      “Might as well think of it that way,” he said amiably. “Just because I didn’t find any clues in the yard tonight doesn’t mean he won’t come back and try again.”

      “I sure hope not.” She laid aside her drawing pencil. “I still don’t get it. Why me? I’m harmless.”

      Pointing to the sketch she’d been laboring over, Cade said, “Not from where I stand. If I were a criminal, I sure wouldn’t want somebody with your talent and memory for faces drawing my picture.”

      “Thanks.”

      The notion of someday portraying Cade’s likeness struck her as a good one, although if and when she did decide to sketch him, she didn’t intend to let him know what she was up to. This Ranger’s portrait should be done the way she’d done Amy’s, she decided. With more than just features and color. It needed feeling. The sense of strength and uprightness she felt when she was with him. She didn’t intend to drape him in the Texas flag or add a superhero’s cape, but that was the overall impression she intended to convey.

      “So, how much longer do you plan to keep working on that sketch?” Cade asked. He was leaning nonchalantly against the kitchen counter, his boots crossed at the ankles, as he took cautious sips from his own mug.

      “I don’t know. Maybe all night, unless I can get it right before then. Why?”

      “Because it seems sensible for at least one of us to grab some shuteye. Your couch looks pretty comfortable. Mind if I bunk there? I’m not wearing my spurs so it shouldn’t hurt a thing.” He held up one foot. “See?”

      “Nothing except my reputation,” Paige countered.

      “Suit yourself. One way or another, I’m staying.”

      “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no reason to put yourself out like that. I’ll be fine.”

      “It’s not open to discussion.”

      She glanced past him into the living room and shook her head. “No way.”

      “Why not? I’m totally trustworthy.”

      “I don’t doubt that for a second. So am I. The trouble is, it would give the neighbors the wrong impression about me.”

      Cade nodded. “Understood.”

      “But…?” Paige arched her eyebrows. “I know you’re going to keep arguing. I can see it in your face.”

      “Um.” He began to give her a lopsided grin. “I thought I was better at hiding my motives than that.”

      “You’re as transparent as Max is.” To her chagrin, that comparison seemed to amuse the Ranger further.

      “I see. Well, I guess I’m in good company then.” He set his mug in the sink and picked up his jacket. “You win. I’ll bunk in my truck tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss making other arrangements.”

      “Like what?”

      “Like moving you closer into the city for the time being. I can get you a motel room next to mine so I’ll be handy in case you need me.”

      “Oh, no. I’m not running away. This is my home.”

      “What about Max? Don’t you want to protect him?”

      “Sure I do. He can come to work with me.” Paige could tell by the stubborn set of the Ranger’s jaw that he wasn’t planning to back down. He had raised some logical concerns, ones she hadn’t considered before. And now that he’d started her thinking along those lines, there was also the question of how she’d know the house was secure when she returned to it after having been gone all day with Max.

      She capitulated with a sigh of resignation. “Okay. I’ll think about moving. Do you need to borrow a pillow or blanket or anything for tonight?”

      “Nope. I carry everything I need with me in case I have to spend the night camped on the prairie.” His smile returned. “Or the wilds of a pretty artist’s driveway.”

      He’d bid her a quick good-night and was gone before she had time to react to his characterization of her as being pretty. Wondering if he’d slipped or had delivered the compliment on purpose, Paige locked the door, then stood at one side of the front window, pulled the drapes aside a smidgen and peeked through that slit until she was certain he was settled.

      She’d never admit it, especially not to the Ranger, but she was very glad he’d stuck around. There was something amazingly comforting about knowing that one of Texas’s finest was personally looking after her.

      Returning to the sketch, she sat there and stared at it till her eyes refused to focus. Her eyelids were heavy but she refused to surrender to sleep. There was too much to think about, too many unanswered questions.

      Whoever had attacked her had left them with no tangible clues. Neither did whoever had run Cade off the road and had probably followed him all the way to her office.

      Between her and the Ranger, however, she was certain they’d be able to outwit whatever adversaries they might have. Their only real problem was going to be getting the skull copied in resin and the face reconstructed before something happened to disrupt the process. As long as the original skull stayed locked in her safe when she wasn’t working, and Cade continued to act as her bodyguard, everything should turn out fine.

      Another concern was making sure Angela didn’t come home unexpectedly and get sucked into the same touchy situation.

      “That’s easily remedied,” she muttered. “But what should I do about Cade Jarvis?” Paige could still recall his parting words so clearly it was as if he were standing beside her.

      “Keep your cell close at hand and be sure I’m on speed dial,” he’d said. “Any little noise, any sign that Max is upset, call me.”

      Even now, hours later, Paige was continuing to draw strength from him. The man’s persona had seemed to fill her home completely. Overwhelmingly. Unmistakably.

      It wasn’t just because of his badge or the gun holstered on his right hip, either. It was much more. He was a Texas Ranger. The best of the best. Someone she not only admired, but trusted implicitly.

      Like it or not, Paige knew she’d rather place her future in the hands of a man like Cade Jarvis than trust it to anyone else.