by Tina Leonard
“Yes, but these are the first coherent words you’ve spoken. At least, reasonably coherent.”
Ranger frowned. “Then you weren’t in the movie.”
The man shook his head. “No.”
“My name’s Ranger Jefferson.”
“I know. And I know all your brothers’ names, and their every fault. I also know that you are in love, and this scares you terribly.”
“Nope.” Ranger closed his eyes. “Now you’re hallucinating. I am not, nor ever will I be, in love. It’s dangerous in our family. We’re cursed. It all started when our mother died. Or maybe it started before then. I haven’t been able to figure that one out.”
“Hmm. Drink this.” The man offered a tin cup to Ranger.
“If that’s a love potion, I’m not thirsty,” Ranger said stubbornly. “You have to understand, I’m already in bad shape. I need to keep my wits about me.”
“By all means,” the man said dryly. He put the cup beside him. “My name is Hawk.”
Ranger checked the man’s bare feet, colorful poncho and leggings. “I would have thought it was something fancier, but never mind. Can you get me out of here, Hawk? My buddies are around here somewhere.”
“They’re in your truck, sound asleep.”
“Still? It’s been hours! They should be looking for me by now.” A sudden thought occurred to Ranger. “Hey! How did you see my truck? It’s too far away for you to see from here.”
Hawk laughed. “There’s an easier way to get up and down the arroyo than the route you took, friend. Anyway, they’re fine. I’m sure they’ll come looking for you soon. What happened to your clothes?”
Belatedly, Ranger realized he was covered with a rough but warm blanket. That and his black boxers were all that kept him warm—and clothed. “It’s not worth talking about,” he said, embarrassed.
“First, I figured she kicked you out. Otherwise you wouldn’t have babbled about her so much in your sleep. Then I realized it was your pride that had sent you down here. You should rest,” Hawk said, waving a hand over Ranger’s eyes. “You should reflect upon the bad feelings inside you.”
“Now look,” Ranger said impatiently, aware that sleepiness was claiming him and not sure what Hawk had just done to him with that hand trick but knowing Hannah would be all over it like a curious kitten, “I have no bad feelings inside me. I stepped on something sharp and lost my balance.”
“A poison plant,” Hawk clarified. “I picked the needles from your feet. The poison can kill you.”
“And so could yapping with strangers.” He fought the darkness.
“You have more to fear from yourself than me.” Hawk gazed back at him patiently. “Have you heard that saying about having to hit rock bottom before you can start back up? Metaphysically, you have hit rock bottom by rolling down into the arroyo. Best you don’t return to your truck and your woman until you examine your life.”
“My life’s fine.” Ranger closed his eyes.
“You’re running.”
The voice sounded far away. Ranger relaxed, actually glad that Hawk was keeping him company.
“Your father left. You’re leaving. But people sometimes leave to get well. You have left to stay unwell. One day, you must choose to heal yourself.”
“Listen, when I want a shrink, I’ll call one. Now let me sleep. And tell my brother to get his ass down here and get me.”
But something was wrong. He couldn’t move his arms or legs. He couldn’t think straight. And it was true what Hawk said, most of it anyway.
Not the part about being in love, of course.
HANNAH GASPED when she saw the shape Ranger was in. “He’s like, red!” she exclaimed.
Hawk nodded at her. “Yes. An after-effect of the antidote I gave him. He would have died.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said, wringing his hand gratefully.
“He’s still got a long way to go,” Hawk warned her and Cissy and Archer, who looked suitably concerned about his twin.
“Should we get him to a hospital?” Archer asked.
“If you like. Unfortunately, they are not familiar with how to treat these types of illnesses. And the nearest hospital is two hours away.” Hawk looked at the waning sun outside the cave. “My advice would be to let nature take its course.”
Hannah dropped to her knees beside Ranger. “We stopped here because of the sandstorm. It was impossible to see anything. Which is how he stepped on the plant.”
“It would have helped to have had boots on,” Hawk pointed out, not a trace of sarcasm on his face. “Clothes. Of course, he suffered lacerations rolling down so far. I fear infection.”
“He lost at strip poker,” Hannah admitted. “Even Cissy can beat him, and she’s not that good at cards. He gets huffy when things don’t go his way.”
Hawk smiled. “He needs time to let the fever pass by.”
“You know what you’re doing?” Archer asked.
“I have treated this before.”
“You some kind of doctor or something?”
Hawk gave a bland nod.
“My grandfather was a medicine man. I inherited some of his skills and many of his medications.”
“I know who you are,” Hannah said suddenly. “Red Hawk was your grandfather. He was a famous medicine man in this part of Texas. I remember reading about him in the newspaper.”
Hawk nodded. “It’s true.”
Hannah stared down at the thrashing cowboy under the blanket. For the first time, she began to feel panic, and a little forgiveness seeped into her soul. Not too much forgiveness, because he was still a louse for kissing Cissy, but she didn’t want him to be sick. “Can you help him?”
“Do you want me to?” It seemed his eyes asked her for another answer. “Do you care?”
“I want him well. He’s ornery and pigheaded, but I don’t wish him ill.”
Hawk glanced at Cissy, but then knelt at the side of Ranger. He placed a palm over Ranger’s face. “The fever is very high. But I will do my best.”
Ranger’s eyes snapped open, staring and glazed. “Maverick isn’t coming back, bro,” he told Hawk.
“I know.” Hawk nodded as if they were indeed brothers, and as if he knew who Maverick was.
“I’d better go find him.”
“Someday.” Hawk pushed Ranger down gently. “Sleep now.”
But Ranger’s gaze had found Hannah. “I’m dying,” he told her. “Just like the dinosaurs.”
She gasped. “Don’t say that!”
His head rolled to the side. “Marry me.”
“What?” Hannah stared at him, her shock greater than her worry right now.
“You have to marry me so I won’t die.”
“Wait.” The forgiveness zapped right out of her heart. “Look, cowboy. You said the Curse of the Broken Body Parts would visit you if you fell in love. So far, nothing’s busted on you, so let’s stay ahead of the game. I am not about to believe that I am your cure for a hot head and pierced feet.”
“I have to marry you,” Ranger insisted. “Cissy read one of those girly magazine advice columns to me, and it said that marriage can actually make someone healthier. It has to do with dopamine.”
“You are a dope.” Hannah shook her head at Hawk. “He’s lost it. Could the damage be irreversible?”
Hawk didn’t answer.
“You marry him, Cissy,” Hannah said, standing. “Although I’ve never heard of a wedding ring curing anything.”
“I have,” Archer said. “People do it all the time. A joining of souls makes each half of the union stronger. It’s like…it’s like spirit healing. Internal buffering against inner demons. Double-taping a pipe for strength, if you need an illustration.”
“Hannah,” Ranger said on a gasp. “Say yes. I know what I’m doing. Those lovelorn columns all say a man just needs the right woman to change his world. His whole outlook. And a married man is the happiest and healthiest species of male on the planet. They live the longest. Say yes!�
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“Oh, all right,” Hannah said crossly, not meaning it. Pacification was the plan at the moment. He wouldn’t remember this absurd conversation later, anyway. “Yes.”
“We didn’t all hear you,” Ranger stated, his tone determined. “Witnesses.”
“Yes!” Hannah exclaimed, totally annoyed. “But just to save your life.” A sigh of exasperation left her lungs. Trust that when she finally got a proposal from the man she loved, it was because he saw her as a tool to his own well-being. “Now go to sleep, Ranger. You need to break that fever, or I’m dragging you into a city for conventional medicine.”
But no one paid her last words any mind. Hawk put a rope wedding band on Ranger’s left ring finger and took Hannah’s hand to tie an identical ring on her finger. He murmured some guttural words, moved his hands over both of them and then closed his eyes.
“What’s he doing?” Hannah demanded of Cissy.
For once in her life, Cissy seemed at a loss around a handsome man. “I don’t know. Hawk, are you all right?”
“Maybe a good shot of penicillin might be best for Ranger—” Archer said, stepping forward.
Hawk took Hannah’s hand and placed it inside Ranger’s.
Instantly, the angry redness left Ranger’s skin. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
“Hey, he turned into a human rock. What just happened?” Hannah demanded.
“The fever left him,” Hawk said with a broad smile. “Apparently, you are good medicine for this cowboy.”
“Lovely,” Hannah said. “Just lovely.”
“That was amazing,” Archer said.
“That was a miracle,” Cissy said.
“It’s what happens when two people surrender their spirits to each other,” Hawk said, satisfied.
Hannah stared at the rough rope ring on her finger. “Okay, that was a Hallmark movie moment. For his sake, I hope the cure takes, I really do. However, I really can’t use a husband while I’m dealing cards on a riverboat,” she told Hawk. “When he’s well, can you undo this thing?”
Hawk nodded, looking worried. “It’s not a good idea. Unjoining is unhealthy.”
Hannah could think of more unhealthy things. “So is hanging around until the sand hits the fan. What happens when he snaps out of it and realizes he’s tied to the one thing he wanted the least?”
“Ranger is pretty much of a rascal,” Cissy said, worried. “He’s going to think she somehow tricked him into this. Ranger is the only man I know who says he doesn’t want to be married and means it.”
Archer blinked. “They have a point. Can we leave him here with you for a while? We could head on down the road, and maybe you don’t mention what cured him. When he’s a hundred percent, you could ship him back to Malfunction Junction.”
Hawk shook his head. “He needs her close by.”
“Well, three hundred miles is close enough,” Hannah pointed out. “Our spirits can dial in long-distance.”
Hawk grinned. “Now I know why his aura changed colors when he saw you. You are the right woman for him. He runs, you run. Together, you can run like wolf mates.”
Hannah shook her head. “Even if I believed that there was a right person for everyone on the planet, I can assure you that the man under that blanket wearing nothing but black boxers is not my destiny.”
“He’s your husband,” Cissy reminded her. “Sort of.”
“Yeah, well.” Hannah went to stand at the mouth of the cave, looking out to where the sand had finally settled, leaving the arroyo dusty. “Not for long.”
Chapter Five
“It’s come to my attention,” Archer said to Cissy as he slid next to her on a rock under the stars that evening, “that there’s no huzzah-huzzah between you and me.”
She couldn’t help looking surprised. “Should there be?”
He grinned. “Not that I know of. I just thought I’d mention it.”
“So it’s mentioned. What else is on your mind?”
“The fact that my twin is married for the moment. You and I are not.”
“Right-o,” Cissy said with a nod. “And it’s staying that way.”
“Precisely. I vote we ditch them.”
Archer now had her full attention. “Ditch…your brother? And my traveling buddy?”
“Hey. It only sounds cold. There is a method to my madness.”
“Not an obvious one.”
“Look, we’ve already established that we’re safe alone together.”
“Much safer than even you can comprehend after your stupid suggestion. Like I would ditch Hannah,” she scoffed.
“Hmm. Honor amongst rival hairdressers. I didn’t factor that in,” Archer said.
“Maybe you should have factored in honor amongst brothers. Then you might have had a measurement by which to gauge your witless idea. Let me weigh this out.” She held up two palms, pretending to hold something in each. “Turncoat in this palm. Brother in this. Turncoat. Brother. Hmm, I think blood outweighs personal agendas every time, Archer.”
“So do I,” he said eagerly. “You’ve misunderstood my goal.”
“You want to leave a sick man and a woman without a cell phone in a canyon cave with a stranger. What was the goal I didn’t get?”
“They need to be alone together—in order to give their marriage a chance.”
“Archer,” Cissy said, enunciating her words, “they are not really married. It’s a ruse, while Ranger is out of his head. Their union is as flimsy as those rope rings.”
“Shh! Don’t let Hawk hear you say that!”
“Why not?” She shrugged as he glanced around nervously. “He was very clear about that mumbo-jumbo being a psychological edge more than anything.”
“Yes, but there’s a possibility the marriage could take, if it’s given a running start.”
She crooked a brow. “You’d want that?”
“Uh, yeah. You don’t know what it’s like to live in a house with no women. Hannah will fit right into our family. She’d like us. We’d take real good care of her.”
Cissy frowned. “I don’t think Hannah has that in her cards, so to speak. She was more excited about getting out to the riverboat than I was.”
“Well, she just needs some time with my twin. He’ll change her mind.”
“Okay. Let me see if I follow. You and I are going to hit the highway and take off somewhere.”
“You and I can head in the direction of the riverboat scene. If Ranger and Hannah decide they don’t like each other, they can catch up.”
“Why does this seem unfair? You were the stowaway. He was the man with the mission. And you’re planning to leave him behind.”
“Marriage could be his mission, if we give him a chance to find out. Don’t you think? We could be adding to the successful outcome.”
“His or yours?”
“Both. Look, I was in the back seat having a snooze. I didn’t know my twin was planning a road escape. I was just looking to get away from Mason for a while. There’s almost no place to get away from him these days, so I picked the truck. Next thing I know, the truck is moving and I’m about twenty miles down the road. Ranger’s talking to himself, muttering like a madman. Should I have left my bro to his own devices? Not me. I figured he needed someone to help him through his trauma. If you lived at Malfunction Junction right now, you’d understand the necessity of brotherhood.”
“Mason is that bad?” she asked with a frown. “He seemed nice enough when he came to the rodeo.”
“It’s not only Mason. It’s Helga the Horrible.” He sighed deeply. “She keeps us on our toes to the point we can’t ever relax. And she is devoted to Mason. He returns the feeling. The rest of us don’t get a vote, but if we did, she’d be voted out.”
“I heard there are two other houses on your property. There’s also a new hair salon if you were of a mind to have some female companionship for a while. Sorry, Archer. I’m just not buying all this pitiful me, let’s take off and leave my brother behind
. What’s your real reason for wanting to leave him behind?”
He eyed her hopefully. “Being alone with you?”
“Sorry.” She shook her head. “I’m in love with another man.”
That thought seemed to give him pause. “Do I…know him? It’s not Ranger, is it? That would explain your unwillingness to desert him.”
“It’s not Ranger.”
“But…I know him. You didn’t say I didn’t.”
She turned away, guarding her gaze. “Archer, I don’t know you very well, and…we don’t really need to be having a conversation this personal.”
“The thing is, I think Ranger really likes Hannah. He needs to be alone with her if anything is going to be achieved.”
Cissy faced him again. “How do you know that?”
“Because he wanted to marry her.”
“To get well. Bottom line, he’s using Hannah because he’s hallucinating. I’m not leaving my friend for that reason.”
“Uh-uh. He asked for her. Any girl might have worked the spell, even you. But no sparks flew between you two. But now, him and Hannah, they just about set the whole truck ablaze.” He looked at her for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Look. I’m leaving. I’m taking the truck. I didn’t want to leave you behind, because you don’t fit in the picture. You’ll just be a third wheel. You’re safe with me, because there’s no…um, attraction between us. But if you want to stay by Hannah’s side, so be it.”
“But wait. What are they going to do for food?”
“Hawk has supplies. And I left Hannah some of those magazines of yours. The ones with the recipes in them.”
He started walking up the hill. Cissy bit her lip, then glanced toward the cave. Was he right? Did he have a point? Or was he simply being a rolling stone?
Yet, he didn’t strike her as being totally irresponsible. A bit chauvinistic, maybe. But guilty of one-upping Ranger, no.
“Wait,” she called, running after him. “Where are we going again?”
“To that riverboat of yours. Hannah can catch up with us there. When she gets Ranger over his fever. If she still wants to find Mississippi.”
They struggled up the rock incline together. He never turned to offer her a hand, and she appreciated that he let her take care of herself. “Shouldn’t we say goodbye?” she said on a gasp of exertion.