Page 107 of The Ranger Gets His Girl

Taylor closed her eyes, soaking in the hug from the older woman. Lucy knew what this moment meant to her, so she stepped over to Ray.

He nudged her with his elbow. "How's your week going?"

She shrugged. "Alright, I suppose." She refused to ask about Mason. She hadn't asked at any of their Sunday afternoon dinners over the past few months. The pain had eased somewhat, but the loneliness hadn't. She assumed he was doing fine in Marshal school.

"How's the book coming along?"

She brightened. That was the one good thing that had come out of being on her own. She had plenty of time to write.

"It's almost done. I'm in the final chapters now."

Helen and Taylor turned toward her with watery tears. Ray grinned and put his thumbs in his belt loops. "Anyone hungry? Let's go celebrate."

Taylor nodded, and Lucy frowned. She looked more fragile than normal, less her peppy self. They went to dinner, and afterward, Lucy waved them goodbye from the parking lot.

She wrapped an arm around Taylor's waist and smiled. "So, are we going to hit up some frat party like my graduation back in December?"

Taylor wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Not unless you really want to. I've stayed far away from frat parties, thank you very much. How about we go down to the Stockyards in Fort Worth? Some of my classmates are going to meet up at Billy Bob's in a few hours."

Lucy nodded. "Sounds like a great plan. Do you have anything I can wear?"

Taylor laughed. "Of course I do. Let's go get ready to party it up."

Two hours later, they walked through the doors of the bar. Taylor found her other friends, and they grabbed a table and some drinks. The music was loud, and Lucy could hardly hear anything.

Taylor dragged her to the dance floor, and they laughed as they tried to keep up with the music. She was slightly tipsy when she motioned to Taylor that she needed a bathroom break.

She rounded the corner and stood in line. She tapped away on her phone, then someone cleared his throat.

A man had stopped beside her. He wore wrinkled jeans and a pearl snap shirt, but his thick gray hair and gold-rimmed glasses showed bright brown eyes. She blinked, then her brain caught up with what she was seeing.

"Dad?" she frowned.

He grinned and threw his arms wide, enveloping her in a hug. "Princess, you're here. Look at you, all grown up. Are you sure you're legal to be in here?" He laughed heartily and slapped his hands on his hips.

The other ladies in line stared at her, but she ignored them. "I'm twenty-three, dad. I'll be twenty-four in a few months. Where have you been?"

Her dad rubbed his jaw and his eyes went cloudy in confusion. "Twenty-three? No, that can't be right. And what are you wearing? You need to cover yourself up."

She clenched her jaw, her spine straightening. "Where were you when Mom died?"

He looked back at her, focusing on her face once more. She could see his bloodshot eyes, the dark circles under his eyes. "Eh? Oh, well, not sure what happened there. We were yelling at each other like always, then she got a terrible headache. She sat on the couch, then her eyes rolled back in her head. It was crazy."

Lucy's voice was barely audible over the music in the background. "Did you call 911?"

Dad nodded, knocking his glasses crooked. "Of course. They came right away. I barely had enough time to get all my goodies and get out. Didn't want them to find anything, you know."

She fisted her hands at her sides, but the woman behind her laid a soft hand on her forearm. "Don't. He's not worth the assault charges," she whispered.

Lucy took a deep breath and ground out. "I can't believe you. You left her to die. You didn't come back, didn't come to the hospital, didn't call me at school. I was barely seventeen, Dad. And I had to plan her funeral and do all of it myself. I was left homeless."

He scoffed. "You weren't homeless. You moved in with Helen, didn't you?"

The woman's hand fell, and she whispered, "I changed my mind. It's totally worth it."

Lucy reared back and punched him in the face. The force reverberated up her arm, and she gasped at the pain.

Her dad fell back against the wall, his eyes blazing as he held his nose. "What the hell, Lucy? How dare you—"

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