Free The Kissing Stars by Geralyn Dawson Page B

Gabe watched Robards closely. Tess’s news had disturbed him more than just a little.
    Gabe snagged a biscuit off a serving plate in the middle of the table and took a healthy bite. Curious reaction, he thought. Robards wasn’t telling all. He’d bet another biscuit on it.
    “I need to get a message to them,” Tess finished. She reached out and rested her hand on the Ranger’s forearm. The warrior goddess turned manipulator, both her eyes and voice pleading as she asked, “Could you do that for me? That’s how I could use your help.”
    Robards winced and cut a quick glance toward Gabe. “Uh, I’m scheduled to patrol the northwest for the next few weeks.”
    “I know it is asking a lot, Lionel, but it would mean so very much to me if you could see a way to juggle your schedule. If your offer to help is sincere…?”
    “I do want to help you. I just don’t know if I can get away to the Big Bend.”
    Her voice was soft and haunting as she said, “But I must warn Doc.”
    “And just who is he, Tess?” Gabe interrupted. She glanced in his direction briefly, exasperation and a flash of guilt obvious in the look. The guilt made him uneasy. “I thought you said Aurora Springs doesn’t have a doctor?”
    “He’s not a medical doctor. He’s a scientist like me. Doc is a nickname, a joke that stuck.” She refocused her attention on the Ranger. “Perhaps some of your men could go?”
    While Tess tried to convince the other man to do her bidding, Gabe pondered the facts he had picked up. That led to more questions. He’d gathered that Will was a boy, but who was this Doc? Why the guilt? Could he be Tess’s lover?
    He rolled the idea around his brain. Tess and another man. His wife and a lover. Gabe grimaced as the sour taint of jealousy coated his mouth and a burning sensation stabbed his gut. His gaze focused on Tess, then shifted to the Ranger, then returned to Tess again. Was that why she high-tailed it away from him at the state fair? Did she have a guilty conscience?
    Gabe hadn’t been celibate during the past dozen years, but then he’d had every reason to believe himself divorced. Tess didn’t have that excuse. Tess knew she was a married woman.
    Tess knew she was a married woman .
    Gabe dragged a hand along his stubbled jaw and considered the willful beauty engaged in hammering out a concession from the enamored Texas Ranger. He’d known her inside and out twelve years ago, and he simply couldn’t picture her character undergoing that enormous a change. Nope, Gabe would bet his favorite pair of boots that ol’ Doc wasn’t his wife’s lover. Tess wouldn’t commit adultery.
    However, twelve years was a long time to do without.
    Nagged by doubts, he raked her with his gaze. Tess and another man. The idea made him want to puke.
    Then she glanced in his direction and the doubts faded away. Nah, Tess was true blue. He’d still put his money on her faithfulness.
    Honesty was something else. It hadn’t escaped his notice that she wouldn’t look him good in the eyes. He tuned into the conversation. “… pay you for your effort. The pictographs are in the caves up in the mountains.”
    The captain nodded reluctantly. Tess flashed a beautiful smile and leaned over to kiss his cheek. Gabe’s grip tightened on his coffee cup.
    His wife stood and crossed to a shelf in one comer of the room. She took down a jar and removed a wad of cash. Slipping a sealed envelope from her pocket, she handed both the note and the money to the Ranger. Robards slid them into his pocket.
    Gabe was disgusted. The man took money for doing his job? What a pig. Just another example of the depths to which some outfits in the Ranger corps had sunk.
    “I’ll ride back to Eagle Gulch and outfit myself and a few of my men for the trip. I’ll deliver your note, honey. And when I get back…well…we’ll talk.” He reached out and touched her cheek. “You know my feelings for you. You know how much I care. Say yes this time. Let