Free Stranger At My Door (A Murder In Texas) by Mari Manning

They backed away without a fight. But not Esme. She wouldn’t leave Dinah alone until Dinah screamed at her to “stay the hell out of my life.” She still remembered her words exactly and the pain in Esme’s eyes. Dinah had packed up her things the next day and left early for college so she wouldn’t have to deal with Esme’s hurt.
    “What’s your family going to think when you show up with me?”
    A rueful grin hitched up the corner of his mouth. “Rafe finally got himself a date.”
    “Will Esme be there?”
    “Why?”
    “We were friends until my daddy blew our lives up. She tried to help, and I might have said some things I regret. I guess you could say I was too ashamed to be grateful.”
    “She won’t be there.”
    “What happens if you don’t show up with someone?”
    “There’s an eighteen-year-old girl waiting for me. One of Ernesta’s friends. My mother is already planning the wedding.”
    This was an interesting wrinkle. Even out of uniform Rafe didn’t look a day under thirty. “How old are you?”
    He had the grace to drop his head. “Thirty-two.”
    “Your mother sounds desperate.”
    His eyes widened. Hurt flashed in their depths. He lost someone he loved. “I made the mistake of telling her I was looking for a sweet, hometown girl. She took me literally and has been on a mission to get me arrested as a dirty old man ever since.”
    Why not go? She was clearly not his type since she didn’t do sweet, and L.A. was her home now. Plus it had been eight long years since all the bad things had happened. The Pittman family would always be part of town lore, but the news was old, and most folks must have moved on by now. At least she hoped so.
    “So, will you do it?” he asked. A smile played on his lips, the dimples made another appearance.
    “I need a little time to clean up and change.” She looked up. Hollyn was watching them from the screen door. She waved at Dinah. “Would you like me to bring drinks?”
    “If you want to wait in the house, Hollyn can pour you a glass of her cold mint tea and serve you up her sugar cookies. That girl sure can cook.”
    He followed her into the house. “You won’t regret this.”
    “I already do.” But a tiny bubble of expectation floated inside her.

    Rafe was sitting in the kitchen under Hollyn’s watchful gaze when Dinah finished dressing. Her wardrobe was lean, but her jean skirt was only a few years old, and Hollyn had dug out her Old Gringo cowboy boots from somewhere. She paired them with her freshly washed green blouse and some slightly tarnished silver bangles her mother had left behind.
    “You look great.” Rafe rose from his chair. His eyes took her in slowly, wandering from her boots, up her body to her curly hair, which she’d let float free around her shoulders.
    She reminded herself this wasn’t a real date, and he was cop, but it had been a long time since a man had complimented her. “Thank you.”
    “Miss Dinah, you are going to be the most beautiful lady at the party.” Hollyn smiled like a proud mama.
    “Are you going to be okay here by yourself?” Hollyn looked like she was going to have that baby any minute.
    “Don’t you worry about me, Miss Dinah. I’ll be just fine. I’m fixing to put my feet up and relax. I found some old gossip magazines in the recycling bin next door, so I am going to catch up on all the Hollywood news.”
    “Run next door and call the hospital if you feel any twinges.”
    “Sure will, Miss Dinah. Go on now.”
    Rafe drove a banged-up Jeep Wrangler convertible. Fast food wrappers and empty soda cans littered the back seat.
    “Not a clean freak, huh?” said Dinah as she climbed in.
    “I didn’t think you’d come, or I would have cleaned up.”
    “I didn’t think I would either.”
    Hacienda Osito—the Honey Bear Ranch—about twenty miles west of town was a relatively small spread, only about fifty acres. It was dwarfed by the Shaw Valley Ranch, which covered the adjoining