Jodi Thomas

by When a Texan Gambles

  He wanted to ask her if she cared, but he didn’t think he could bear to hear her say that it was a wife’s duty to care about her husband.

  He felt her head rest against his back between his shoulder blades. She craved the feel of him as dearly as he craved watching her.

  “I have to go.” He walked toward the door wishing that someone, anyone, even that bothersome Texas Ranger was near enough to protect Sarah this morning. Grabbing the handle, he said, “Lock the door behind me.” He didn’t look back as he slipped through and waited on the other side until he heard the lock click into place. The small lock wouldn’t save Sarah if Reed came after her. Sam’s only choice was to find Reed before he found Sarah.

  He stormed down the steps past a surprised bell captain who had never seen Mr. Garrett wearing a twin set of polished Colts.

  “Morning, sir,” the man mumbled as he hurried to open the door for Sam. “Is something wrong, sir?”

  “No,” Sam masked his worry. “I’m just going hunting.”

  He stormed out of the hotel, scanned the street for anyone out of place, anyone watching. If Reed waited, even in the shadows, Sam would have seen the movement when he pulled back, out of sight.

  Nothing.

  Sam took a deep breath and headed toward the saloon where Norma and Ellie worked. Norma said her room was across the street from the bar. Reed would need a place to have his way with Ellie, and Sam guessed the man had little fear that Norma would follow. He probably figured the older woman was dead, or at least too frightened to come near him again.

  The apartment building across the street was Sam’s best bet. With luck, he’d find Ellie still alive. Reed always took his time, loving the look of fear in his victim. That’s why he returned again and again to the same woman, Sam figured. That’s why he always found women who were alone in the world without anyone to protect them. If they had been too frightened to turn him in to the sheriff the first time he called, he felt free to return, knowing he’d see the terror in their eyes the moment they saw him.

  Sam knew Norma came to him because if she’d gone to anyone else probably no action would have been taken. Most of the law in Dallas wouldn’t bother to get in fights between what they called the cockroaches in the back alleys. The few men who might come would wait until they knew a crime had been committed. By then, it would be too late for Ellie.

  Clouds blocked the morning sun, making the back streets dark and damp. Sam hated the way the air thickened with moisture and made the stench of garbage and filth heavier. As he entered the boardinghouse across from the bar, he tried not to breathe in deep of the smell of unwashed bodies and rotting food.

  A rat the size of a cat ran across the toe of his boot, and Sam had to fight the urge to pull his Colt.

  He moved down a dim hallway where papers were stacked in nests for those who didn’t even have the few dollars a month for a room. Most of the doors were opened for circulation. These boarders had little to steal.

  Sam listened at each door. Only snoring and an occasional cough. He moved up the stairs to the second floor. At the far end of the hall he saw a small boy curled into a ball. Soft sobs drifted in the air.

  Sam walked silently until he stood a few feet from the boy. He knelt down and touched hair the same color as Ellie’s. “How are you doing, son?”

  The boy jerked as if Sam had struck him, then crawled farther into the blackness.

  “I’m not here to hurt you. You’re Norma’s boy?”

  The child nodded.

  “I’m here to help your sister. You know where she is?”

  The boy pointed toward the last door at the end of the hallway.

  “She alone?” Sam stood slowly.

  The child nodded. “For now,” he mumbled. “But the man who came here with her said he’d be back and no one was to go into that room.” His eyes were so round in fear they seemed to cover half his small face. “He told me my sister would die if anyone opened that door.”

  “There any other way into that room?”

  “Nope. There’s a window, but it’s too small and too high up for even me to climb through.”

  Sam took a step, turning his head slightly, listening.

  “Stay here,” he said, glancing briefly at the kid. “No matter what you hear, stay here.”

  The child curled tightly into his ball, making him almost invisible amid the trash and shadows.

  Sam stood at the doorway. Something wasn’t right, but if he hesitated long, the girl might be dead.

  Grabbing the top of the doorframe above him, he swung, feet first into the flimsy wood. The door shattered, splintering in every direction as his body passed through. Sam’s Colts seemed to fly from their holsters to his hands before his feet hit the floor inside the apartment.

  Sam blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the sudden bright light of a lantern only inches from were he’d landed. Several tenants along the hallway yelled at the sudden noise, but none opened their doors to investigate.

  Taking a step forward, Sam let the barrel of his guns follow his gaze around the room. Broken furniture, clothing strewn across the floor. The odor of kerosene thick in the air.

  He stepped around the lantern and moved farther into the room.

  Tomblike silence greeted him. Ragged drapes looked as if they had been pulled down from the window and circled around a pile of papers and clothes, almost like a nest or a campfire.

  Sam circled, keeping his back to the wall, his body away from the window. He tried to make sense of the odd odor filling the room.

  Then something moved in the mass of clothing.

  Watching closely, Sam neared. The bundle moved again.

  He knelt, lifting a blanket aside with the tip of his gun. Whatever lay beneath the trash remained still. Glancing at the lantern placed so near the front of the door, Sam suddenly understood.

  He lay one gun aside and quickly pulled the material away. The thin frightened girl lay gagged and tied to the floor.

  Lifting the last bit of quilt that had covered her head, Sam met her stare. He motioned for her to remain still.

  The scattered clothes. The kerosene. The lantern close to the door.

  Someone had left her here, knowing that when the door was opened, it would hit against the lantern. Fire would spill across the already soaked clothes. The girl, and probably whoever tried to save her, would be covered in flames within seconds. Only luck had kept a piece of the door from tumbling hard enough against the lantern to topple it onto the trash.

  Sam shoved the clutter away from the girl and untied the gag around her mouth.

  “I’m here to help,” he whispered, pulling at her ropes. “Are you hurt?”

  She stared with wide, frightened eyes and showed no sign of understanding a word he’d said.

  Sam ran his hands over her, expecting to encounter blood or broken bones. “Are you hurt?”

  She didn’t answer. Whatever had happened in this room before he got here had terrified her beyond caring. Sam lifted her up. She was like straw in his arms. He knew he was putting himself in great danger. Reed could be waiting on the street to gun him down. For some reason Reed had left the girl, but obviously planned to return.

  He’d think about what had drawn the outlaw away later. Right now he had to get the girl and her brother as far away from this place as possible.

  When Sam passed the boy in the hallway, he motioned with his head for the child to follow. The minute the boy saw his sister, he hurried to catch up. His oversize clothes made a flapping sound along the passageway.

  “Where we going?” he asked as they hurried down the stairs. “What if that man comes back? He’s not going to be happy if Ellie’s gone.”

  Sam didn’t look down at the boy as he asked, “Do you want Ellie to wait for him?”

  “No,” the kid answered. “I didn’t like him. He made Ellie cry, I could hear it through the door. I couldn’t hear what he told her, but I heard her say she wasn’t going to do it, and then he sw
ore and said yes she would when he got back.”

  They were at the landing. Sam’s gaze searched every comer for movement, but the town was still silent. Only the sun streamed in early brightness along the streets.

  “What’s your name, son?”

  “Luther.”

  “Would you trust me, Luther?”

  “Sure. I followed you for two days. I don’t know what you are, mister, but you ain’t no outlaw. Ma said you might be a hired gun, or a Texas Ranger not letting nobody know.”

  “This place have a back way out?”

  Luther pointed, then followed.

  At the far end of the alley the boy hesitated. “I need to say something before you take me any farther.” He kicked at the ground without looking up. “I was standing in the shadows when that deputy got himself into trouble the other night. I saw what you did.”

  Sam frowned. He must be slipping if a boy could follow him for two days and watch his every move. He also didn’t like the idea of someone seeing him do a good deed. It would be hard on his reputation if it got out. “Does this mean you don’t want to come?”

  The boy looked up at Sam for the first time. “They planned to ambush the lawman. If you hadn’t left them both bleeding in the gutter, the deputy would be dead right now.”

  Sam turned down a street to the left, charting his course. “So, Luther, are you coming or not? If you’re afraid of me and want to stay here, I’d suggest you stay out of sight.” He hated that the boy had watched the fight, but he guessed Luther had seen a great deal in his life already.

  Luther hurried to his side and tried to match Sam’s long strides. “I ain’t afraid of you, I was just wondering why you didn’t stay around and let the deputy know what you did.”

  “No need,” Sam grumbled. After all his efforts over the years suddenly everyone he came across was deciding not to be afraid of him. First Sarah, then Frank’s kid, and now this alley brat.

  They moved through the shadows between the buildings. Sam had spent enough time in Dallas to know he was headed in the general direction he wanted to go. Few people moved about, and those who did paid no notice of Sam.

  When they turned onto a dusty road leading out of town, Sam needed to explain a few things to Luther. “The man who was with your sister is the one who cut her face. I’d like to take you and Ellie where you’ll be safe for a while. I’ll let your mother know where you are. The ladies in this place will help you all find a safe place to live.”

  The boy looked as if he was chewing the decision over. “You ain’t taking us to jail, are you?”

  “No. I’m taking you someplace where your sister can get help.” He glanced at the girl bundled in his arms. She was more child than woman.

  Sam turned down a path leading to a mission he’d visited many times before. The path wound around for half a mile. By the time he saw the small church, he had the feeling he was far from town. The sisters rose before dawn to begin their prayers.

  Sam glanced at the boy. “Now, you be on your best behavior in here. No swearing, or stealing, or spitting.”

  “Aw, hell.” The boy spit on the side of the road, getting it out of his system. “I’ll do it for my sister, but I don’t need no help. I’ve been taking care of myself since the day after I was born.”

  “Thanks.” Sam knocked on the door. “She’ll need you.”

  A tall woman in a habit answered his pounding. She smiled up at Sam as she stepped aside and allowed him to enter.

  “Morning, Sister,” he said as he sat Ellie down on the bench by the fire. She looked so weak, as if even her spirit to live had been frightened out of her. “I brought you a couple of souls in need. Have you room for them?”

  “Is she hurt?” The sister knelt in front of Ellie and took the girl’s hand.

  “Just frightened,” he answered. “They need food and a place to rest for a few days. I’ll figure out some way to get them out of town so they can get a fresh start somewhere else if you can see to their immediate needs.”

  “We can take care of that.” The nun stood and held her hand out to Luther. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll show you a place where you can eat all the oatmeal and cinnamon bread you want.”

  Luther looked at Sam and whispered, “Spittin’ and stealin’ might be worth oatmeal, but I’ll have to think about givin’ up swearing.”

  “Do the best you can,” Sam offered. “Maybe they’ll give you two meals a day for trying.”

  The boy seemed to see the logic. He followed the nun.

  Sam stayed with Ellie as two old nuns came in and gently helped her to stand. Their soft voices and kindness drew her through another door with promises of a warm bath and rest.

  Pulling off his hat, Sam dug his fingers through his hair. They were safe for the time being, but Reed would be looking for them soon. The only good thing would be that hunting for Ellie might keep Reed from coming after Sam. All Sam needed was a little time to get ahead and become the hunter instead of the hunted.

  He crammed his hat on and headed for the door, planning to drop by and let Sarah know Ellie and the boy were safe, then start looking for Reed. There was no time to waste.

  Sam was almost at the door when a soft voice called his name.

  Turning, he faced the tall nun. For a moment they just looked at each other, and he knew she did the same thing as he. They remembered.

  “I’ve worried about you,” she whispered.

  “I’m fine,” he answered as he took her hand in his and held on tight. “Thanks for the shirts.”

  She didn’t look as if she believed he was fine. “I had a dream, Sam. In my dream you were walking with an angel with hair so blond it was almost white.”

  Sam grinned. “Ruthie, you always did have an instinct about things, even when you were a kid, but this time you’re seeing me still alive, and the angel at my side is my wife.”

  Suddenly a little girl shone through all the clothes of a proper nun. “Oh, Sam! You married! You really married.”

  He laughed. No matter how bad things had been when they were little, Ruthie always made him feel good inside. He always tried to protect her, and she always tried to understand him.

  “I could be an aunt.” She tried to keep her joy to a whisper, but Sam saw the sparkle of his mother’s eyes in Ruthie’s.

  Sam almost said “doubtful,” but he wasn’t about to go into details of his marriage with his kid sister. “Can Sisters of the Church be aunts?”

  “Of course we can.” She slapped his shoulder. “I’d love to meet her. I can’t believe you found someone who actually likes you. She must be a truly wonderful person if she saw through that tough shell of yours.”

  Sam couldn’t resist. “She even thinks I’m handsome.” He knew he was pushing it. Sarah hadn’t exactly said he was handsome, more like that he wasn’t repulsive, but he saw no harm in the small lie.

  “No!” Ruth’s mouth dropped open. “I’ll pray for her sight to return, for she must be blind as a bat. Tell me more.”

  “Well, she looks like an angel and worries about me whenever I’m out of her sight. She thinks I need her around.” He smiled, deciding he was starting to wonder how he had made it through life without Sarah.

  “More,” Ruth insisted. “Tell me more.”

  He took a breath and debated how much to tell his sister. “I met her in prison where she was a confessed murderer.”

  Sister Ruth laughed. “Stop it, Sam. Though I’ve often wondered where you would meet a nice woman traveling around chasing outlaws. Tell me more and stick to the truth.”

  “She’s young. Years younger than me. Maybe five or six. She looks frail, but she’s not. And bossy. I’m afraid I’ve married a very bossy woman.”

  Sister Ruth smiled. “I love her already. Will you bring her to see me?”

  “When I can,” he promised. They both knew how careful they had to be about even knowing each other. Ruth’s life would be in danger if anyone knew she was related to him. There were men i
n the state who wanted to do him harm, and if they thought they could get to him through her, they would.

  “I know.” She squeezed his hand one last time and then let go. “I’ll be patient. One Sunday I’ll look out over mass, and there you’ll be with an angel sitting next to you. And, of course, she’ll already be rounded with child.”

  “One Sunday,” he answered in promise.

  TWENTY

  SARAH DRESSED IN ONE OF HER NEW FROCKS WITH lace at the collar and cuffs. Standing in front of the mirror, she could do nothing but stare. Before her stood a woman she had never seen before. Her hair. Her eyes. But that couldn’t be her looking back from the glass. She’d seen herself in the mirror at Granny’s almost two years ago. Since then there had been no time for more than a glance of how she appeared in window reflections and in water.

  She moved closer to the glass. Somehow, when she hadn’t been looking, a woman had replaced the girl. Sarah straightened. “It’s time for me to stop allowing others to run my life,” she said to her reflection. “I’m a grown woman.” She pushed her hair back on each side with small ivory combs the shop ladies had said matched perfectly with her dress.

  When she returned to the drawing room, sunlight sparkled through the windows as though all was well with the day. True to her word, Norma kept the rifle close and watched the door. But Sarah noticed she still managed to eat two platefuls of breakfast and drink half the pot of coffee while maintaining her guard. They had spent the morning talking while Norma grew more restless by the hour.

  “I can’t just wait,” Norma whined for the tenth time. “Not when my babies are out there somewhere, maybe hurt, maybe dead. I got to go see. I should have gone with him to find my Ellie.”

  Sarah tried to calm her, but in truth she agreed. When Sam had left them here hours ago, it had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now she wished she’d gone with him as well. Maybe she didn’t know how to use a gun and she might be near worthless in a fight, but she still needed to know he was all right. Thinking back over their short married life, she realized he always got hurt, and she needed to get him out before he fell. Who would help him walk away if she wasn’t there?