“It must have been the whiskey. Or whatever the hell that stuff was he poured down my throat.” He gulped down half the contents of the canteen. The water was cool and clean, but it didn’t go very far to quenching his real thirst—for vengeance.
“Well, Miss Hudson,” he sneered aloud. “You will pay for this, as well. If you’d come along peacefully, as you should have, I wouldn’t be alone in the middle of the damned desert!” He ended on a shout that caused his horse to shy. Cursing about the extra distance he’d have to chase the beast, he hefted his gear and stalked after it, leaving the blanket to the next fool who happened along.
•♥•
Abby squared off with Wolf, ready to fight him to protect Rachel.
“He won’t hurt her, Ms. Winston,” Nathan stepped between them. “This is Calvin’s pa, Mr. Richards. He’s staying here to keep us safe until Jake gets back.”
Wolf allowed her perusal for several long, silent seconds. When Abby relaxed a little, he turned back to Rachel, who remained silent, staring at the fire.
“My apologies, Mr. Richards. I’m kinda protective of her.”
Wolf accepted the woman’s apology with a small nod before stepping aside to let her near Rachel.
“Come on, honey.” She enfolded the young woman in a hug. “That nasty old woman isn’t worth you getting so upset.” Abby patted her hand and smoothed Rachel’s tangled hair away from her face. “Don’t worry. This will all work out.”
“How?” Her voice was so soft, Wolf barely heard the question, but the defeated tone tore at him.
“I don’t know, honey,” Abby soothed. “But you have to believe it will.” Abby glanced up at him, looking for support. Nathan came to the rescue.
“We don’t need this old town, Sis. We can go somewhere else where they want a teacher. I don’t mind movin’ again.”
“He’ll only follow us there.”
“Then I’ll shoot him.”
Rachel straightened to look her brother in the eye. “Nathan Hudson, you’ll do no such thing.”
He stared her down, unrepentant. “Maybe not, but I had to say somethin’ to get you to stop feeling so sorry for yourself.”
She slumped back in the rocker. “Is that what I’m doing?”
Before Nathan could argue further, Wolf spoke up. “If it means anything to you, the old bat had it coming.”
“She did, didn’t she?”
Rachel looked up at him with eyes nearly the same color as his dead wife’s. Pain sliced through him, all the worse for being unexpected. “Nathan’s right, though. Both of you should know how to shoot.”
“I despise guns.”
“Will you teach me?”
The siblings spoke over each other, confusing Wolf for a moment. “I’ll teach you both,” he answered Nathan. Then he turned to Rachel. “Doesn’t matter how you feel about them,” he told her. “You have to protect yourself.”
He tried to ignore a stab of regret. His Emily had disliked guns, too. If only he’d insisted his wife know how to use the loaded shotgun he always left standing behind the door, she and their daughter might still be alive.
“This afternoon, I’ll take a look at that Henry Repeater you have in the corner.” He focused on the boys. “But we have animals to see to first.” He glanced back at Rachel, then Abby. “I won’t be far away. If you need anything, just call out.”
Wolf herded both boys out of the cabin ahead of him, leaving the door open to the spring morning. A gentle breeze sighed through the room, bringing the scent of fresh grass. Rachel rose and opened every window to allow the wind to cleanse away the darkness in the room. If only it could sweep away the shadow in her heart.
“They’re damn fools, honey.” Abby settled into the rocker Rachel had abandoned.
“I know, Abby, but I shouldn’t have said what I did. It only enraged her further. Now, there’s no hope of undoing the damage.”
The older woman set the chair into motion, rocking back and forth in a steady rhythm. “Why would you want to?”
“What?” Rachel turned to look at her.
“Why would you want to undo it? This town is no place for you. I don’t believe the problem was ever where you came from. You’re too pretty and Lucinda Miller is insanely jealous. She’s been looking for a way to get you to leave ever since Arnold first laid his lecherous eyes on you. Then Hiram took an interest, and, well, you just aren’t fancy enough for her to have as a daughter-in-law.”
Rachel poured tea for them both and carried a cup to Abby before returning to stare out the window. Wolf had the horses out in the sunshine and both boys were helping. Water dripped and sparkled as they washed the animals down.
“How am I going to feed them?”
“Who?” Abby stretched her neck to look. “The boys?”
“The horses.” She dropped onto a bench at the table. “There isn’t enough feed for more than a day or two, with three horses eating at it.” She sipped a little of the warm liquid, breathing in the spicy scent. “Of course, I don’t have much food for the men, either.”
“Men.” Abby chuckled. “It won’t be long before Nathan is a man, truth be told.” She swallowed the contents of her cup and rose to get more. “I brought a few things with me, an old chicken to stew, some dried venison I won’t use up. Did I ever tell you about the man who paid for a month’s worth of boarding with a deer hide and two smoke-dried haunches?”
As she launched into the story, Rachel let her mind wander. She had heard the tale more than once, but it was one of Abby’s favorites and she got such pleasure in the telling Rachel didn’t have the heart to stop her. Staring out the window, she found herself thinking about Jake. Where was he? Was he safe? Had he found Harrison?
Harrison. The sunlight dimmed a little as she relived the terrifying moments of yesterday morning. If not for Jake and Wolf, she would be with Harrison right now. She shuddered, imagining what he might have done to her.
“Honey, you’re getting too cool standing over there.” Abby broke into her musings. “Come sit by the fire.”
“I’m fine, Abby. I was just thinking about what happened—and what might have. I didn’t know a man could hate that much, and for so long. I didn’t do anything but run away.”
“He’s not right in his mind, honey. He won’t reason anything out the way you and I do.” She took Rachel’s cup and refilled it, watching until she took a sip. “I think you should take Wolf up on his offer.”
“And learn to shoot?”
The older woman nodded. “To protect yourself and Nathan, and so you can get food for yourself,” she spoke over Rachel’s protest. “Then, you won’t have to rely on the likes of Lucinda and Arnold Miller.”
Rachel wanted to argue, but the words wouldn’t form. “We can’t stay here, can we?”
Abby was quiet for a long time, considering. “No, honey, I don’t think you can. Lucinda Miller has decided you don’t belong, and nobody in this town will go against her.”
“You do.”
Abby snorted, the bark of laughter loud in the quiet room. “I’m too old to care what she has to say. But I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here, myself.”
“You’re leaving?” Rachel couldn’t believe it was possible. Abby was a part of the fabric of life in Lucinda.
Abby shook her head. “Not yet, but I may not have a choice much longer. We don’t get a lot of strangers staying through here anymore. Not much call for a boardinghouse with no boarders.”
Rachel set her tea aside. “The town won’t be the same. And what will I do without you?”
She pushed the rocker back, and rose as it rolled forward again. “Let’s not fret about it. If you decide to stay, then I will, too. Strangers will still come on occasion. I’ll manage.”
Did she want to stay? While Abby bustled around behind her, clearing away the tea things and starting lunch, Rachel wandered around the room, stopping at the open door to study the land around her home. The bare ground was slowly being t
ransformed by the green of new growth. On some of the hillsides, flowers were beginning to bloom. Barely a week after a blizzard and spring was here. She loved this time of year, when everything was new and anything was possible.
Rachel glanced around the little house they called home. It had seemed so perfect when they’d arrived in Lucinda. When Arnold Miller had offered her the job of teacher, and given her the house as payment for her first year, she thought they’d finally found the place where they belonged, a place to settle.
Thinking back, she should have realized Arnold’s generosity was more than friendliness, but she’d been desperate and frightened. No wonder Lucinda Miller hated her. Rachel would never truly be welcome in this town. And without friends, their home was just four walls and a roof. It was nice, but a house was not enough reason to stay where they weren’t wanted.
Where could she go? Anywhere, a voice in her head prompted. Rachel stepped off the porch and walked a few steps toward the hills, breathing in the fresh breeze. There were lots of places to choose from. Nathan was right. They could find another town that was looking for a teacher. All she needed was enough money to start over.
The bright day dimmed a little when she considered what that meant. The mine. She’d have to go back, just long enough to locate the gold that Nathan had found. But she couldn’t do anything until she was alone.
She knew as soon as Jake came back, Wolf and Calvin would leave. Wolf seemed restless, anxious to be on his way. But he’d stay as long as necessary. He’d given his word.
Rachel strolled away from the house, taking care not to go too far. What would she do in the meantime? She had food for a couple of days, a week at best, but they’d need meat. She stopped and stared toward the house, thinking over Wolf’s offer. Could she do it? Did she have a choice? Her stomach rolled as years of teaching were reassessed and discarded.
Making her decision, she veered toward the corral where Wolf was feeding the horses. He straightened, waiting for her to speak with the patience of the hunter she knew him to be.
“Teach me to shoot.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jake stood in the stirrups, listening. He swore he’d heard a scream. Not the kind of sound a person in trouble would make, but a howl of outrage.
“I heard it, as well,” Hank Gerard confirmed. “A man who is rather unhappy with his circumstances at the moment, I think.”
“I’d bet a month’s pay it’s Harrison.”
He nudged Griffin into a trot across the small valley they were following. He’d picked up the outlaw’s tracks easily and had been following them since the sky was light enough to travel safely. “Sounds like he’s closer than I hoped.”
“It would be pleasant for something to finally go in our favor.”
Jake grunted in agreement as he concentrated on following Harrison’s trail. Just before they crested the next hill, his skin started to crawl. Long accustomed to listening to his instincts, he hauled Griffin to a stop and slid from the saddle. Taking care he stayed out of sight, he belly-crawled to the edge of the rise and looked around.
“There he is,” he breathed to Hank as the man joined him. Satisfaction filled Jake. “He won’t get away this time.”
He studied the landscape, looking for the best route to take that would let them get in front of Harrison.
“Why is he carrying his saddle?”
Hank’s quiet comment brought Jake’s gaze back to the outlaw. “Maybe his horse had enough of the stench. Let’s go.”
They eased backward down the hill. As soon as it was safe, Jake stood and strode to Griffin. Vaulting into the saddle, he set off on a path parallel to the one Harrison was taking, eager to be done with it and get back to Rachel. Hank followed close.
Just a little longer, Jake vowed. When this was over, Rachel would be safe from William Harrison. She could get on with her life, settle anywhere she wanted.
“Gerard,” Jake slowed enough to let Hank catch up. “Do me a favor. If anything happens to me, give everything I have with me to Rachel. The money is hers. Just ask her to let my mother know where I’m buried.”
“Mon Dieu,” Hank cursed. “Do you plan on dying, mon ami?”
“I don’t plan on it, but it’s possible.” He didn’t tell his friend that he’d always expected to die at in a shootout with William Harrison. He figured that information wouldn’t be helpful at the moment.
“Then, if we are considering the worst, there is a letter in my pocket from my elder brother in France. See that he is notified of my demise. It would amuse him to know his worthless younger sibling died for a good cause.”
Jake looked over at Hank. He’d never stopped to consider that someone else might die, too. “Let’s see if we can’t hold off the funerals for another day.”
One corner of Hank’s mouth kicked up in a grin. “An excellent idea, my friend.”
They rode the rest of the way in silence. As they rode out of the valley ahead of Harrison, Jake spotted a train of wagons, heading south. One wagon rolled along a mile or so behind the rest. He calculated the distance to the single wagon. “We have to cut him off before he can reach that family. It’s too dangerous to have civilians within range.”
He spurred Griffin forward, praying to Rachel’s God that Harrison didn’t crest a hill. Making for a tiny cut in the landscape, he felt a surge of satisfaction when he found it was large enough to conceal them.
Guiding the horse down the steep wash, Jake leaned back in the saddle to keep from pitching over the horse’s head. Dust rose behind them as they disappeared into the cut in the land.
As soon as he got to the bottom, Jake jumped from the saddle. He put his saddlebag holding the extra ammunition over his shoulder and slid his rifle from its scabbard. Hank followed suit and in moments, both men were armed to the teeth.
“We have more bullets here than the entire Spanish army,” Hank joked, keeping his voice low.
Jake shook his head. He could get used to having this man at his side. Before he could comment, a movement in the distance caught his eye. Harrison had managed to catch his horse and was riding toward the wagon train.
“Will you try to take him alive?” Hank re-checked the load in his rifle.
“Only until he starts shooting,” Jake drawled.
As if Jake had called to him, Harrison angled away from the wagons and toward the spot where they waited. The minutes ticked past with agonizing slowness. The sun beat down on his head, so brilliant even his hat couldn’t protect him from the glare.
Harrison drew closer, showing no sign he was aware of their presence. He was cradling his left arm and cursing nonstop. Even from a distance, Jake could see his face was bathed in sweat, and he doubted it was due to the sun. It looked like his wound would kill him eventually, even if Jake didn’t fire a shot.
When he got within a dozen yards of where they waited, Jake stood up, making sure the outlaw saw the loaded rifle pointing at his chest. “That’s far enough, Harrison.”
Time seemed to slow down for Jake. He saw the shock on Harrison’s face, and the flash of indecision before he went for his gun.
Jake hesitated. He wanted the man to shoot first so there’d be no doubt. But Hank wasn’t concerned about the nuances of the law. Before the man’s weapon cleared the leather holster, he opened fire. Harrison managed to get off a shot, striking the boulder in front of Jake. Rock exploded, spattering Jake with sharp slivers of stone. “Close enough,” he muttered. He squeezed the trigger and, with one bullet to the heart, eliminated forever the threat that had been William Harrison.
Hank waited until Jake lowered his rifle to speak. “I hope I wasn’t too anxious to see this matter done.”
“He got a shot off. That’s enough for the State of Texas.”
“I just couldn’t bear the thought of what he’d done to Wolf Richards’s wife and child, what he planned for Miss Rachel.” He ran a shaking hand across his eyes. “I couldn’t allow him a chance to escape.”
Jak
e slapped the man on the back. “You did fine, my friend.” Though he was sure Harrison was dead, he approached with care, his revolver in hand. One look at the sightless eyes staring into the brilliant sun finished it.
A dull ache started in the hollow of his gut. Jake waited for the satisfaction to come, the elation that this man who’d murdered so many was dead. He’d worked so long to avenge the souls Harrison had destroyed, he thought he would feel…something. But there was nothing—not even relief.
Jake looked up at the sound of approaching horses. Six men rode toward him. It was only a little comforting that their guns weren’t drawn. They pulled up just out of range of Jake’s revolver.
“Looks like you had some trouble,” the man in the lead called out. “Do you need any help, or should we be taking you into custody and delivering you to the nearest lawman?”
“I’m a Texas Ranger. Name’s Jake McCain.”
The riders visibly relaxed. One man, who looked to be about a hundred, urged his horse closer. “So Mama was right about him bein’ an outlaw.”
Jake lifted one eyebrow and waited for an explanation. The old man obliged with no more prompting.
“I’m Henry Bradley. That there man stumbled into our camp last night, just after moonrise, with a bullet in his back. Yours?”
Jake nodded to keep the man talking.
“Said he’d escaped from thieves. Mama—that’d be Rosa, my wife—didn’t believe him. We gave him enough of Mama’s pain potion to keep him asleep until well after the sun came up this morning. Then, we headed out by the light of the moon to catch up with the rest of the wagons.”
“A wise decision,” Jake confirmed. “This man had a weakness for women, and children, and he made it a habit to never leave witnesses.”
The old man swallowed hard and dragged the back of a wrinkled hand across his mouth. “Glad to know he won’t be followin’ us, then.”
The captain of the wagon train offered assistance burying the body, which Jake readily accepted. While Hank caught the man’s horse and tied it to a bush near their own mounts, Jake emptied Harrison’s pockets. There was probably cash in the saddlebags, but the man carried little in his pockets. Jake found a gold watch, some coins, and a small folding knife. Nothing identified him as the monster that he was.
Texas Gold Page 24