A nurse came into the room and informed the group that Ginny would soon be moved up to a med-surg floor where she would be more comfortable. Jordan and Ray said their goodbyes and went back out to the waiting room.

Not able to sit still any longer, Jordan paced the floor after checking with the charge nurse multiple times. It seemed like an eternity by the time a nurse brought Alex out into the waiting room in a wheelchair. With his arm now in a sling, he didn't act like he was feeling much pain.

"Apparently, that old bull isn't nearly the bada.s.s that he thinks he is," Alex said with a grin. "One broken rib and a dislocated shoulder was all the damage he could do." He showed them a prescription bottle. "These will be my friends for a few days."

Jordan leaned down and kissed him. In that moment she knew that she couldn't live without this man.

After being officially discharged, Ray wheeled Alex outside where they all piled back into Ray's SUV. There was little conversation between them on the thirty-minute drive back to Ranchero, and Jordan used that time to say a prayer of thanks.

When Ray pulled into the parking lot at Empire Apartments, she glanced over at Alex, her eyes questioning. "Don't you want to spend tonight with your family, since they're leaving in the morning for Houston?"

He looked into her eyes and smiled. "You are my family, Jordan, and right now there's no where else I'd rather be."

She felt all her fears slowly slipping away. This man loved her. "That's just what I wanted to hear."

The next morning, she and Alex awoke before seven, and she went with him to say goodbye to his mother and sister. Afterwards, he called Captain Darnell to find out about Jeff Hamilton.

When he hung up, he shook his head. "Turns out the police think he's responsible for Georgette's death as well as Marco's."

"What? Why would they think that?"

He sat down at the kitchen table and motioned for her to do the same. "After talking with Ginny, they found out that Georgette had called under some false pretense about the festival, but what she really wanted to know was if Ginny had seen Frankie go up the steps to Marco's room that night."

"Frankie? Why would he go up there?"

"She knew her son hated Marco because of the way he'd treated him. When Frankie's first business partner died in a carjacking, he was the one who'd introduced Marco to Emilio. Then when Marco started undercutting Frankie, especially after Frankie had helped him, Frankie was livid. And more recently, Marco had been seriously s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g Frankie in their joint drug smuggling venture. Georgette may have known about Frankie's extracurricular activities."

"Probably not or she would have intervened," Jordan said, remembering her conversation with Emilio about his stepson. "She'd already forced him to go to two different rehab facilities, but he always went right back to drinking and drugging as soon as he was released. He was a thorn in Emilio's side, but because he loved Georgette, he tolerated her son."

"Anyway, according to Ginny, Georgette was so relieved to hear that Frankie had indeed gone up there earlier but he'd come back down long before Marco went up, that she'd almost kissed her."

"I still don't get why that would make them think Jeff would kill her, too. He must have known the police would find everything out when they questioned her, once they saw her on the hotel security tapes the day Ginny went missing."

"The police found a text message from her when they seized Frankie's cell phone. She said she was at the hotel and ended the message by saying she'd just found a way for him to take over Emilio's company."

"Holy cow! Do you think she saw Jeff walk out with Ginny and was planning to use it somehow to force him out of Emilio's life?"

"We'll never know, because Jeff certainly isn't taking."

She wrinkled her brow in deep concentration. "Even if that were true, how would they make the connection between Jeff and the heroine overdose?"

His eyes lit up. "Forgot to tell you. Those surveillance tapes, Emilio took to the station after Frankie was arrested, showed that he'd been so high the night of his mother's murder that he'd collapsed at the hotel and stayed in bed the entire night. There's no way he could have killed her." He arched his eyebrows. "But that isn't all. The tapes also showed Jeff rummaging through the drawers and leaving with some of Frankie's personal supply and a couple of syringes, apparently unaware the room was being monitored. Even though the DA won't be able to convict with that alone, they're satisfied with putting Emilio's lawyer away for a long time for Marco's murder and your and Ginny's kidnappings and attempted murder."

"I'm glad for Frankie. Maybe this will be enough to qualify as his rock bottom and he'll get sober this time."

"Hope so." Alex stood up. "I need to get going. I have someone from the office picking me up, but we'll drop you at the office and then I'll see you back at your apartment later with dinner."

"How's your arm holding up?" she asked.

"I'm off the hard stuff and only using ibuprofen now." He followed her out the door.

Jordan could have used at least a few more hours of sleep, she thought as she walked into the office. The moment she arrived at her desk, her phone rang, pushing all thoughts of actually catching a break today, further out of her reach. Jackie Frazier, her boss's secretary, called to tell her that Egan wanted to see her in his office as soon as possible, and she promised it wouldn't take long.

She put her purse down at her desk before making the dreaded trip up to Egan's office, noticing that Loretta wasn't at her cubicle. a.s.suming she was already up in Egan's office, Jordan decided it was now or never and headed that way.

She tried to mentally prepare herself for whatever her editor was about to say to her. But she wasn't the same girl today as she was just two days ago. Getting dumped as the culinary reporter seemed miniscule when compared to almost dying at the hands of the bull in the pasture.

When she got off the elevator, Jackie looked up and smiled.

That was a first! Egan's secretary had never tried to make nice before.

"He's waiting." She waved her in with a hand.

Jordan was surprised to see that Loretta wasn't there, waiting to gloat. She sat down in a chair across from her editor and waited for him to get off the phone.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said after he disconnected. "The story about you and that Italian woman is all over the front page today. I'll need you to give a full interview to one of our reporters."

She nodded, waiting for the hammer to drop. "Where's Loretta?" she asked, too impatient for small talk.

"Downstairs in her uncle's office." He reached for his coffee mug and took a sip. "Want Jackie to bring you a cup?"

She shook her head. "Get on with it, please. Am I back to writing only the personals again?"

He took the last swallow of coffee before he leaned back in the chair and put his hands behind his head, making his oversized ears protrude even further from his face. "Why would you think that?"

She lifted her chin and met his unreadable stare with an icy one of her own. She wasn't in the mood to play games. "Just tell me, and I'll be out of your hair."

"For your information, you are no longer writing the personals," he answered.

There it was-worse than she'd imagined. Not only was he taking the culinary column away from her, but he was also giving her the boot.

"You're now my full-time culinary reporter, and I've b.u.mped up your columns to four a week."

Her head snapped up, positive she hadn't heard him right. "What about Loretta?"

"Seems she posted a recipe in Friday's paper that has a lot of angry people bombarding Uncle Earl with phone calls and emails." He chuckled. "She claims you deliberately sabotaged the recipe so that would happen. That so?" His eyes told her he already knew the answer to the question.

"I did no such thing. I told her the recipe was missing one of the main ingredients, but unfortunately, she'd already stolen it from my desk drawer and posted it."

He leaned forward on his elbows and supported his chin with both hands. "That's what I figured. Well played, if I have to say so myself."

"So what's she going to be doing?"

"Uncle Earl rea.s.signed her to the Cla.s.sifieds, and I can tell you, she's not a happy camper right now."

"And the column is really mine now?"

"As long as you keep the people of Ranchero happy, it is." He shuffled a few papers on his desk. "Now get out of here and get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." He tilted his head and stared at her as if trying to figure her out. "Oh, and McAllister, I'd appreciate it if you'd reprint the correct recipe and get all those people off my back."

She bit her lip to hide the smile. "I'll see what I can do." She stood and walked out when he dismissed her with a nod.

After gathering her purse, she went home, and although she didn't think she could, she slept for three hours. Awakened by a knock at the door, she was surprised to see that it was already after five.

When she opened it, her friends poured into the apartment, all talking at once.

"Tell us everything," Rosie said. "And don't you dare leave anything out."

"Then y'all had better sit down, because it's a doozy."

When they were all seated, she started at the beginning of how her snooping had landed her in Jeff's car on the way to the pasture with the bull.

When she was finished, Victor's eyes were wide with excitement. "d.a.m.n, girl! I'll bet you needed new underwear after seeing that bull coming at you." He gritted his teeth. "I always miss out on the good stuff."

"Be careful what you wish for, my friend" Jordan said. "This was way too close for comfort, even for me." She waved to Ray who had just walked in with a bag from Myrtle's. "Please tell me that's her Chocolate Bread Pudding."

"Nope. It's her Better Than s.e.x Cake. I know how much you love it. I had to promise to fix all her smoke alarms in the morning to get her to break it out. She was saving it for a book club luncheon tomorrow."

"I love you, Ray Varga," Jordan said, hugging his neck. "If I didn't know what a great lady you already have by your side, I might consider making a play for you."

"Oh, hogwash!" Lola said, throwing her arms in the air. "On second thought, a shot at that handsome officer of yours might be worth trading for." When Ray nailed her with a glare and was about to protest, she held up her hand. "Oh chill, honey. You'll always be my little teddy bear."

The playful moment was cut short when the doorbell rang and Jordan jumped up to answer it, expecting to see Alex with a couple boxes of pizza. She flung the door open and couldn't believe what she saw. Looking up at her with big doe eyes was the white dog with one black paw. She bent down to pet him, and he jumped into her arms, knocking her over before covering her face with wet kisses.

Then Alex stepped out from behind the door. "Jordan, meet Max."

"How did you find him?" she asked, laughing as she returned the affection to her little friend.

"I talked to a farmer who knew immediately what dog I was talking about when I described him. He sent me to another farm house farther down the gravel road where I was prepared to pay big bucks to bring him home to you." He laughed out loud. "This dog was made for you, Jordan. As it turns out, the farmer was so glad to get rid of Max, he probably would have paid me to take him off his hands. Seems your little friend has every cattle rancher in the area furious because he chases their cows and teases the bulls." He handed her the leash. "So you're stuck with him."

She looked up at Victor and Michael. "I know there's a no pet policy here but-"

"This dog saved your life, Jordan. How can we say no? Just try not to let the other tenants see him," Michael said bending down to pet the dog.

"Yeah, right. If Max is as frisky as Alex says, that's not going to happen," Rosie said, stooping down to receive a big wet kiss. "We'll all help you take care of him. He can be the new Empire Apartment mascot."

Jordan looked up at Alex. "Max, huh?" When he nodded, she smiled and mouthed, "I love you."

His eyes sent a slow and sensual message in reply. "Save that thought for tonight, love, " he whispered. Then he looked at the others. "Okay, who's gonna help me bring in the pizza and beer from the car?

THE END.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fict.i.tiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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LILL'S SPAGHETTI SAUCE AND MEATb.a.l.l.s

(From the files of Rose Magistro) For the Meatb.a.l.l.s 3 lbs. ground chuck 3 large eggs 1 cups Italian flavored bread crumbs 1 cups Parmesan cheese 6 tablespoons parsley 3 teaspoons salt cup virgin olive oil 2 country style pork ribs 1 tablespoon garlic powder (optional) For the Sauce 6 cans (12 ounces each) tomato paste 18 cans (using empty tomato paste cans) of water. If making less, use 3 cans water to each can) Salt and pepper to taste 2 bay leaves Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet. Mix together ground chuck, eggs, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and salt and fry in olive oil, along with the ribs until completely browned. Shake some garlic powder on the meatb.a.l.l.s while they are cooking.

In large stock pot, mix together all the sauce ingredients. Add as many meatb.a.l.l.s as you want along with the two ribs. Bring sauce to a low boil and let it cook for 3-4 hours until it thickens, stirring frequently to keep it from sticking to the bottom. Be sure not to stir too hard as this may cause the meatb.a.l.l.s to break up. Remove bay leaves and enjoy!! This sauce, without the meatb.a.l.l.s, can be used with baked ziti, ravioli, and lasagna. It makes a large amount, but it freezes well. Any leftover meatb.a.l.l.s can also be frozen for a later meal.

DEZI'S BAKED ZITI

Yields 6-8 servings 1 package (1 pound) Mostacioli, Ziti, or Rotini pasta 1 tube (16 ounces) Italian sausage 7 cups Lill's Spaghetti Sauce (Or you can use 2 jars (24 ounces) prepared sauce. I use one jar of the hot and spicy and one regular.) 4 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare pasta as package directs. Crumble sausage and brown in a separate skillet and drain. In a large bowl, combine pasta, sausage, spaghetti sauce, and 2 cups of cheese. Mix well. Turn into greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Uncover and top with remaining 2 cups cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

ASPARAGUS RISOTTO.