“No. She wanted to be a stay-at-home wife and mother like her own mom.”
“Some women want that.”
“I know, and that’s fine. When we married, I worked hard to make enough money so she could stay home. I thought she was happy and we tried to have a baby right away, but it didn’t happen. We talked to her OB and were checked out. He saw nothing medically wrong with either of us and told us to relax and give things time. But Linda just got more worked up as the months went by without her getting pregnant.”
“Soo-Lin has been going through the same experience. I’m so sorry for you and your ex-wife.”
“Twice in our marriage I had to be away when it was her fertile time. One night when I got home from a case, she made a demand. Either I give up law enforcement and find another career that didn’t keep me away from her, or she was going to leave me.”
“How painful for both of you.”
“It was. I loved Linda, but she’d asked me to do something that I knew would turn me into a person I wouldn’t like. In time she wouldn’t have liked me, either. So we separated. I hoped she’d have a change of heart. We both wanted a miracle, but it wasn’t meant to be and so we divorced.”
Ally moaned inwardly. “Thank you for telling me.”
He found her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. “I’m glad you asked. Now I want to know if you’ve made your decision about teaching me Chinese. I’m free tomorrow for my first lesson.”
A laugh broke from her. “You said you’d give me until we got home.”
“I’m an impatient man. Today you’re discovering my many faults.”
As far as Ally was concerned, he didn’t have any. The explanation about his failed marriage had answered a lot of questions for her.
“All right. One lesson. Have you ever taken a foreign language class?”
“Three years of high school Spanish.”
“How did you do?”
“You don’t want to know.” She smiled. “I wouldn’t blame you if you think I can’t do this,” he added.
“I’m convinced you could do anything, Luckey. It’s a question of how much time you have before your work prevents you from being able to keep it up.”
“I won’t know until I try.”
Or until you’ve solved this case and grow bored with me. She didn’t know if she had what it took to keep a man like Luckey Davis. All she knew was that she’d met an exceptional human being who blew every other guy she knew out of the water.
They reached Austin as the sun was setting. When he pulled up in front of Ally’s parents’ ranch, he said, “What would be the best time for me to come over tomorrow?”
Ally wished they didn’t have to say good-night, but he hadn’t suggested they do anything else. “Why don’t we say four o’ clock. That will give me time to finish my paperwork.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“I’ll leave the briefcase with you and get it back later. Thank you for the wonderful lunch and the company. See you at four.”
She opened the door and got out, knowing he probably had Ranger business to work on. After the revelation about his former wife, the last thing Ally wanted was to come off as being needy. She’d be seeing him tomorrow and that had to be enough for now.
* * *
AN EARLY SUNDAY morning phone call from Jakarta woke Luckey up. The man on the other end spoke passable English.
“Mr. Davis? My name is Rahmat Teguh, and I’m manager of Gema. I understand you called yesterday about a police matter. I’ve been instructed by the authorities to assist you.”
“Thank you. I’m with the Texas Rangers in Austin, Texas. How long has your company been manufacturing DMSO cream?”
“Three years.”
“I need the names and addresses of any people who’ve been ordering that cream over those three years from any location in Texas. This is a very urgent matter. When you can, please fax me that information and let me know which international express carriers were used. I’ll give you the fax number.” Luckey relayed the number slowly.