Susan Sleeman - Taken In Texas

“Man,” Cord said. “Whatever I said has you seriously upset. You’re working your jaw like crazy.”

“It’s nothing.” Headlights joined hers in the driveway, and she turned to watch for the first McKade to arrive.

Her father came barreling through the door. Six foot two, he was still fit and trim and wore his county uniform well. “Kendall, honey. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Dad. Just a bump on the head.”

He took hold of her chin and studied her face, the look far more clinical than when Cord had examined her injury. She could feel the worry rolling off her dad in big waves, and she felt bad about getting caught up in her thoughts of Cord and not radioing in that she was okay. Her father rectified that by leaning down to his radio and reporting in. She was thankful he did so, as that meant the rest of the marauding McKades wouldn’t show up.

He pinned his focus on her again. “You’ll let the medics check you out.”

“No problem,” she said, though inside she cringed at his demanding tone.

Cord snorted.

Her father released her chin and shot Cord a look. “Cord Goodwin. Well, I’ll be. Didn’t expect to see you in Lake County again.”

“This is my aunt Eve’s house.”

“She okay?”

“She’s missing, and we found blood in the kitchen.”

Her father clapped Cord on the back. “I’m real sorry to hear that, son.”

Her father had always liked Cord and had taken it hard when he’d left. Not that her dad knew the real story. Cord thought it best not to bring his personal life into the job and explain that he had to leave because emotions were running high with her. So he’d said he was looking for a different challenge.

“I’ll get a team out here,” her father said. “And we’ll do a grid search of the immediate area.”

Cord’s face paled, but he didn’t say anything. What could he say? Her father basically said that he thought Eve might be hurt or dead somewhere nearby. Either thought had to be messing with Cord’s emotions. She wished she could provide some comfort—offer the reassurance that she might offer another family member, but as a detective, Cord knew all too well that his aunt could be in peril. Her best way to help him was to do her job and do it well.

“Our suspect is long gone,” she said. “But I can put out a clear description on him.”

“You got a good look at him?” Her father’s eyes widened.

She nodded and radioed in the suspect’s details as her father frowned at her.

The moment she finished with dispatch, her father took a step closer to her. “As much as getting a look at the suspect will help the investigation, I don’t like the sound of it. He might panic and want to silence you.”

She hadn’t thought of that, but she wasn’t going to let fear get in the way of investigating her first case. “Then the sooner I figure out his identity and where Eve is, the better. I’ll get started investigating right away.”

“Wait, what?” Cord shot her a look. “You’re investigating? I don’t understand.”

She faced him. “Dad’s retiring, and Matt’s running for sheriff. He’s on a leave of absence to work on the campaign. If all goes well, he’ll be taking over Dad’s spot in a few months, and I’ll be stepping into his detective role. So I’m handling investigations in his absence.”

“No. No.” Cord shook his head hard. “I can’t have a rookie detective in charge of finding my aunt.”

Before Kendall could offer a rebuttal, he swung his gaze to her father. “You have another detective, a more seasoned one, who could work this investigation, right?”

“I do.” Her father faced her, and he didn’t have to say a word. His apologetic expression said it all. He was going to side with Cord. “What with your injury and the potential for this suspect to come gunning for you, maybe it’s a good idea for you to sit this out, honey.”

How could he take Cord’s side, and equally as bad, talk to her like she was still a little girl?

“Honey. No. No. You wouldn’t call Matt ‘honey.’ It’s Kendall or Deputy McKade. But not ‘honey.’” She crossed her arms, anger starting to mount. “I caught this case fair and square, and it will be mine. Besides, it’s not like I don’t have any experience. I’ve worked with the tri-county cybercrimes task force for five years and successfully headed up complicated investigations.”

She saw Cord curl his fingers on one hand and shove the other in his hair that was the color of wheat bread, but with blonde highlights from all the time he spent outside. At least she thought he was still an outdoors kind of guy, but then she didn’t know him anymore, now did she? She did know the old Cord would have made the same suggestion and maybe even gone a step further to actually find a way to have her removed.

He released his hair and looked at her dad. “I have an idea, Sheriff. I have some vacation time coming. I could take time off to work alongside Kendall. I’ve been a detective for four years now and might even be able to teach her a thing or two.”

“No.” She couldn’t work with Cord. The attraction was still there, and he’d just proved he hadn’t changed. He was still too controlling for her liking.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” her father said. “Nothing better than getting firsthand training.”

“Cord is not going to be training me,” she said through clenched teeth.

“You’re right.” His lips quirked up in a devastatingly handsome smile. “But if you learn something along the way, what’s the harm in that?”

“Good.” Her dad clapped his hands. “It’s all settled, then. You and Cord will partner on this investigation.”

Wait, what? Settled?

Right. She’d failed to reaffirm her stance of not wanting to work with him. She’d only voiced her unwillingness to let him take over as her trainer, and her dad took that as acceptance. Now there was no changing his mind. Not when he was even more stubborn than she was.

She fixed her gaze on Cord. “This is my county. I’m in charge. We do what I say, when I say it. No running off in your own direction and cutting me out.”

“Me?” he asked, feigning surprise. “I’d never do anything like that.”

Yeah, right. I know you, bud. Don’t forget that. How she wished she could say the words aloud, but with her father standing there, she’d have to settle for a look that put Cord in his place.

He held up his hands and took a step back. “Message received.”

Her father glanced between them. “Am I missing something here?”

“No,” they both answered at the same time.

Her dad continued to eye them, but finally shook his head and muttered, “Young people.”

A tall medic carrying a backboard stepped into the doorway, and he looked at them for direction on how to proceed.

Kendall crossed over to him. “Thanks for responding. You were called for me, but I’m fine.”

“No, she’s not.” Cord joined them.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said, keeping her focus on the medic. “I’m not going to take the time to be checked out until after this scene is processed, so you might as well take off.”

The medic glanced at her father. For her entire life, everyone had looked to her dad for answers. As a kid, she’d appreciated that. Was even glad for it a lot of the time as an adult. Just not when it came to something she could handle on her own.

Kendall met his gaze. “I’ll go to the ER when I’m done.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

“Go on, then,” he said to the medic, who all but ran from the house like a guilty child finding reprieve. Her father turned to Cord. “My wife, Winnie, would have my hide if I didn’t invite you to stay at the ranch while you’re in town.”