“I understand.” But she wasn’t about to let him get away with it. “As long as I’m here, can I be of any help on the case before I drive home?”
“It’s best you leave, Ally. I’ll walk you to your car.”
Crushed by the way he was treating her, she turned to his horse. “I’ll see you later, Persey.” She patted his rump before walking ahead of Luckey. But when she reached the car, she didn’t get in. On impulse she turned to him.
“I’m free tonight. You said you had to get back to work. Give me a job and I’ll do it. No one wants Robert Martin put away forever more than I do. Two people doing research together will make things go faster.”
His well-defined chest rose and fell. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Well, I’m going to do it anyway, whether you like it or not!” she retorted. “In the beginning you came to me for help. I went to Houston with you. Now that you’ve gotten me involved, I’m committed all the way. Let’s agree to keep emotions out of it. Give me any assignment. Mom and I tried to do our little part over the years, but at this stage I can really help to make a difference.
“Though you’re already a whiz kid at Chinese, you know you could use an expert, if only to make a phone call here or there or to provide backup for translation. Use me, Luckey, because I’m not leaving here. In fact, I’m going to text my teaching assistant and ask him to cover for me tomorrow, too. That way I can work through the night with you if necessary.”
“No, Ally!” Luckey snapped, but she ignored him.
After sending the message, she lifted her head. “Why?” She continued the argument, sensing that he was starting to cave. “Last week you said, and I quote, ‘I need to solve this case ASAP so I can have a normal life with you.’ Remember?”
His lips thinned in an uncompromising line.
“I have a photographic memory, too, Ranger Davis.” Ally walked to the front of his house and stood at the door to wait for him. “While we’re here together working like crazy, neither of us is in danger, so there’s no problem.”
“The hell there isn’t.”
She bit the inside of her bottom lip so she wouldn’t smile. “We’ll make a new rule. Three feet away from each other at all times, and if you have to leave on an emergency, I’ll stay put and take care of Persey until you get back.”
His sharp intake of breath didn’t escape her. “This isn’t funny, Ally.”
“It kind of is,” she answered, then challenged him. “Shall we see how long we last before we realize how ridiculous it is to fight something we know we’re going to lose, Kemo Sabe?”
She’d purposely called him Tonto’s nickname for the Lone Ranger in order to trigger a reaction, and she got one. His body started to shake with laughter before it pealed out of him.
“That’s more like it.” Ally smiled at him. She loved this man with a passion. “Come on and show me what you were working on when I interrupted you by showing up in your driveway. Chop chop!” She slapped her hands together several times in succession.
“Don’t tell me that’s a Chinese expression,” he drawled.
“No. It’s one of mine, because I’m hoping to get this show on the road. Are you always going to be this difficult?”
A glimmer of amusement lingered in his eyes. He opened the door. “It’s evident there are many sides to you not immediately apparent. Won’t you come in, Dr. Duncan.”
Ally was so happy to have won this skirmish she practically floated into his house without her feet touching the ground.
* * *
LUCKEY USHERED HER into his den. “I’ll make a place for you at the end of the desk so you can see the screen, too.” He pulled up another chair for her. “I’ll bring us some coffee.” He had no intention of letting her stay long.
A few minutes later he joined her with mugs of hot brew and snacks. Luckey hadn’t been able to say no to her. When she’d driven over to his place, determined to tell him she would marry him, he’d been afraid to believe it. He wanted her for his wife more than anything he’d wanted in his whole life.
But everything he’d told her about his fear for her safety was true. Until she’d arrived at her parents’ home with Shan, he’d been frightened out of his mind. Her life was so precious to him, it had caused him to question if he could handle marrying this woman. If he lost her...
“Where do you want to start?”
“I’ll check any new emails, then we’ll dig in.” One of the messages in his in-box had come from a Chinese Olympic official, who had sent a telephone number. “I’m making progress, Ally,” Luckey stated. “This person should be able to give me information about gymnastics training in China.”
Her eyes met his. “Do you think he’ll be willing to tell you everything you want to know? Does he realize you’re a Texas Ranger?”
“Not yet. I asked someone official to supply me with a name of someone dealing with the Junior Olympic team, but I didn’t give a reason for my inquiry.”
“Then why don’t you let me talk to him. I’ll think up a story that won’t make him suspicious.”