Texas Brides Collection

by Darlene Mindrup

  April’s cool voice lifted some of the tension in the room. “It’s all right, Sheriff Baker. I know you’ll do your duty and do it well. You always have.”

  Disconcerted by her show of faith, the sheriff coughed slightly. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Wolf glared at Sheriff Baker. “I need to speak with the prisoner alone for a few minutes.”

  Glancing from one to the other, the sheriff nodded and left the room. Wolf wrapped his hands around April’s, leaning close against the bars.

  “I’ll be back, I promise you.”

  She moved her mouth through the bars, and he kissed her again.

  “I believe you,” she told him softly.

  Reluctantly, he turned to go.

  “Wolf?”

  He turned back.

  “Please don’t kill my brother.”

  His expression clouded. “I never kill unless there’s no other way.”

  “Then I’ll be praying for you both.”

  Her quiet words hung in his mind long after he had departed the jail.

  Chapter 7

  The judge’s gavel rapped twice on the desk. Silence finally settled down over the room with only a whispered comment rupturing it from time to time.

  Since Abasca didn’t yet have a town hall, the trial was being held in the one-room schoolhouse. There was standing room only, and it seemed as if the whole town had turned out for April’s trial.

  Jason sat to the side, his dark look filled with malice. If anyone hoped she would hang, it would probably be him, April decided.

  The attorney seated at her side gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She smiled at him, relieved that Mr. Cord had decided to stand in her defense. He was a well-respected member of the community, and what was more, he was firmly convinced that April was innocent.

  He pulled his watch from his vest pocket, frowning. He might be in a hurry to get the show on the road, but April was certainly not.

  The circuit judge from San Antonio glared out over the courtroom, and April felt her heart sink. Mr. Cord noticed her frightened expression and smiled reassuringly.

  “It’s all right, April. Judge Bonner is a very fair and honest man.”

  Relaxing slightly, April sat back and allowed the lawyer to take over. He rose to present his case to the court, his well-groomed appearance giving him credence as an esteemed member of his profession.

  He brushed a hand back through his iron gray hair and cleared his throat. “Your honor and members of the jury, my client wishes to plead not guilty to the charges of aiding and abetting a robbery.”

  There was a brief tittering in the room. The prosecution counselor, Mr. Myers, rose to his feet also. Giving Mr. Cord a slight nod, he suggested to the court that he would prove beyond a shadow of doubt that April Hansen had, indeed, participated in the robbery on Abasca’s bank.

  When Mr. Harris, the bank teller who had been shot, was called to the stand, he walked by April and gave her a shy smile. April smiled back. She had always liked Mr. Harris. Not only was he the teller in Jason’s bank, but she sewed dresses for his wife.

  Mr. Myers tucked his hands into the armholes of his vest, his grave look making him rather intimidating.

  “Now, Mr. Harris, tell us what happened on the morning of November third.”

  Mr. Harris related everything he could remember from that morning. He motioned to April with his arm in a sling. “And if it weren’t for April Hansen, I’d be plugged six foot under right now. She saved my life!”

  The crowd broke out into excited chatter, and Mr. Myers frowned. Obviously, that was not what he wanted to hear. The judge rapped his gavel to quiet the crowd again.

  “Be that as it may, Mr. Harris,” Myers continued, “she was there with her brother, was she not?”

  Mr. Harris agreed that she was. Myers ended his questions.

  Mr. Cord rose to his feet to cross examine. “So, Mr. Harris, is it your opinion that Miss Hansen was trying to thwart the robbery?”

  Myers got quickly to his feet. “Objection, your honor. Mr. Cord is asking the witness to speculate.”

  “Sustained.” The judge gave Mr. Cord a warning look. He apologized.

  “Let me rephrase the question. Mr. Harris, did Miss Hansen’s quick action help to thwart the robbery?”

  Wrinkling his face, Mr. Harris cocked his head to the side. “Well, the robbers got away with the money, but no one got hurt. So I’d say, yeah, she did.”

  When Jason was called to the stand, April’s heart sank. His malevolent look focused on her, and she shivered.

  Mr. Myers crossed the room and stood next to Jason’s chair.

  “Please tell the court your name.”

  Without taking his eyes from April, Jason answered, “My name is Jason Dice. I am manager of the Abasca Bank, the one she helped rob.”

  The crowd came alive again. Mr. Cord frowned at Jason. “I object, Your Honor.”

  “Sustained.” Judge Bonner glared at Jason. “Kindly refrain from making any more of those suggestive remarks, or I will have to declare you a hostile witness and remove you from the courtroom.”

  Jason subsided, his lips curled out into a childish pout. He answered the questions of both Mr. Cord and Mr. Myers, still trying to implicate April with the robbery.

  Mr. Myers called as his final witness the woman who had fainted. She made her way hesitantly to the front of the room and, after swearing on the Bible, hastily seated herself.

  Mr. Myers smiled reassuringly. “Now, Mrs. Winston, suppose you tell us just what you saw and heard on that morning.”

  She basically confirmed the stories of the others, but she added one final clause.

  “I heard Miss Hansen try to stop her brother. She told him she would never forgive him for what he was doing.”

  The silence was once again disrupted. Mr. Cord refrained from questioning, knowing that Mrs. Winston had already made his point for him. The judge dismissed the jury and told the room that court would resume after three o’clock.

  April was returned to her jail cell, where she quietly prayed, not on her own behalf, but for Wolf and her brother.

  When they returned to the courtroom several hours later, the judge asked the jury for its verdict.

  The jury foreman stood to his feet. “Well now, Judge, the law says you don’t condemn a man unless there’s no shadow of a doubt about his guilt.” He glanced at the other members of the jury. “We all feel that Miss Hansen is a good, upright young woman. We have our doubts about whether she’s guilty of such a crime. Therefore, we find the defendant not guilty.”

  The room erupted in cheers. April sank bank into her chair, exhaling her breath in relief.

  No one noticed the tall figure clad in buckskins who exited the room at the back.

  Wolf slipped out of the courtroom, his heart light with relief. Through the whole trial, he had been praying that God would spare April. Now he realized that if God had done so, it wasn’t because of him, Wolf, but because of April’s faith in the Lord Himself. Still, she was right, and he was through serving the devil who had killed his parents. From now on, he would give his all to fight Satan here on earth in any way he could.

  He had found the trail of the Miller gang. Three had gone in one direction, one had circled back. Hansen was in the vicinity, he knew, and he had no doubt that he would be waiting to talk with his sister. Wolf would be ready.

  April climbed down from the buggy, turning to smile at the man holding the reins. “Thank you, Mr. Cord.”

  He returned her smile. “You’re quite welcome. I knew you were innocent.”

  “Well, thank you again for having such faith in me.”

  She stepped back from the buggy, but Mr. Cord didn’t move on. He frowned at her. “Are you sure you won’t come and have dinner with Mrs. Cord and me? I hate to think of you spending this day alone.”

  Her lips tilted wryly. “Solitude is good for the soul,” she quoted. “Right now, I think I want to be alone.”

  He nodde
d in understanding. “Well, don’t be a stranger. You’re always welcome in our home. Besides,” he grinned, “you owe Mrs. Cord a dress.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want more payment than that?” she asked softly. “I do have some money, you know.”

  He lifted a brow. “Not until that Texas Ranger gets it back, you don’t.”

  At the reference to Yellow Wolf, April felt her breath lodge in her throat. Where was he, anyway? Had he found Ted and the others? Was Wolf alive, and if so, had he had to kill Ted? These torturous thoughts had been with her the entire past week since Wolf had left. She longed for him to finish his job and return to her as he had promised, but she also knew that to do so would more than likely be to condemn her brother.

  “Good-bye, Mr. Cord, and thank you again. Tell Mrs. Cord to let me know when she wants to start on her new dress.”

  He nodded, tipping his hat. “Will do.”

  April watched him leave, then slowly turned and headed for her small cabin. She entered the house, dropping her bonnet by the door. Her whole body was filled with lethargy from the anticlimax of the past two weeks. The whole thing seemed like some surrealistic dream.

  Jason’s glare when he had passed her on the way out of the courthouse had left her just a little shaken. His look promised retribution. She shook her head sadly, going to the fireplace to ready a fire.

  She stopped short. The logs and kindling were already set, just waiting for a match. Who would have done such a thoughtful thing? Mr. Cord? Glancing quickly around the room, she froze when a figure rose from her bed in the corner. She could barely make out the figure in the dim light coming through the small glass windows. With a glad cry, she flew across the room.

  “Ted!”

  She ran into his outstretched arms, and they folded close around her. He laid his cheek against the top of her head.

  “Oh, April, April! I thought you would never speak to me again. I’m so sorry for the hurt I’ve caused you.”

  She pulled away slightly, staring up into his face. “How could you, Ted. How could you leave me like that!”

  He pulled her over to the bed and sat down next to her. Taking both her hands in his, he squeezed gently.

  “I had no choice. Amos told me that we either had to leave you behind or kill you. Since there was three against one, I was afraid to take a chance on you getting hurt.” His hold tightened. “I’ve never prayed so hard in my life.”

  “Oh, Ted! Then it was all worth it.”

  He pulled back, looking into her face. He stroked his fingers down the side of her face. “I’m so sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you. I realize how much I’ve hurt you, especially by rejecting God.” His smile was rather lame. “But I never could get away from Him. He wouldn’t let me go.”

  “He never will,” she told him softly.

  He noticed her shivering and crossed to the fire. Striking a match, he soon had a roaring blaze and motioned her to join him next to it. The look he fixed on her was intent. “I take it the ranger found you?”

  Flushing, April watched the fire flickering in the stone hearth. “Yes,” she answered him quietly. “He found me.”

  “Did he…were you treated good?”

  She swallowed hard, still not looking at him. “Yes, he treated me well.” Her voice softened on the last word, and her brother’s brows rose.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” he demanded, pulling her around to face him.

  “She’s not telling you that we fell in love.”

  April spun around at the same time as her brother, his hand instinctively reaching for his gun. He pulled it from his holster so quickly, April stared in amazement. The only problem was, Wolf stood in the doorway, his gun already pointed at Ted’s heart.

  Chapter 8

  Wolf!” April barely got the word out of her mouth before Ted shoved her behind him. Neither man was willing to drop their weapon.

  “You don’t want April to get hurt, do you, Hansen?”

  Ted glanced over his shoulder at his sister huddling behind him. She lifted terrified eyes to his face. Slowly he dropped his Colt to the floor.

  Glowering, he glanced up at Wolf. “What do you mean you fell in love? In a few days? That’s impossible!”

  “It’s been known to happen before,” Wolf replied, still not holstering his own weapon. He moved carefully across the room until he could pick up Ted’s gun.

  “Wolf, please!”

  April tried to push past her brother, but he snaked out an arm to hold her in place. He glared at his sister. “Is what he says true?”

  For the first time, Wolf totally ignored Ted. His dark eyes were fixed intently on April. “I knew it as soon as I left you,” he told her softly. “I didn’t want to love you, but I do.”

  Ted’s angry voice lashed out at April. “You can’t be in love with a…a…”

  “Half-breed,” Wolf supplied, his eyes glittering angrily, and he heard April’s swift intake of breath.

  Ted turned to him, anger rising in his own eyes. “I wasn’t going to say that. I don’t want my sister involved with a ranger. That’s no kind of life for a woman.”

  April was staring fixedly at Wolf. She knew she had been attracted to the ranger, but she hadn’t realized just how deep those feelings ran until he walked out of her life. She looked at her brother standing defiantly against Wolf, still trying to protect her. She loved him, too.

  Her gaze clashed with Wolf ’s. “Let him go, Wolf, please.”

  What did she see in his eyes? Disappointment?

  “I can’t, April. I have a job to do, and I’ve given my oath.”

  They both were surprised by Ted’s soft voice. “You know he’s right.”

  April turned a pale face to her brother. “They might hang you!”

  He shook his head. “Not for robbery. That’s just jail time.”

  Wolf studied him closely, his thoughts hidden behind a granite mask. “Amos Miller’s gang has killed eight people. April’s right. If convicted, you’ll probably hang.”

  Ted flashed him a look. “She didn’t need to know that.”

  April didn’t know what to do. She had always gotten her brother out of his scrapes, but this one was beyond her. “Oh, Ted,” she lamented softly. She didn’t know what else to say.

  “Where are the others, Hansen?” Wolf demanded.

  Ted gave him a strange look. “I think you already know, Jackson.”

  Wolf ’s puzzled look moved over Ted slowly. “I only tracked them as far as Hilton’s ledge, but you’re right. I’ll find them. But it would sure save me a lot of time, and possibly help you, if you cooperated.”

  April tugged on his sleeve. “Tell him, Ted.”

  Ted shook his head, still watching Wolf intently. “I don’t think so. Let’s just see how good you are, Jackson.”

  Wolf sensed a double meaning behind the words. His lips pressed into a tight line. Without saying anything, he fastened a pair of handcuffs to Ted’s hands, while Ted watched him impassively.

  April looked from one to the other, wringing her hands in agitation. She tried to get her brother to see reason one last time, but he still refused.

  Wolf found Ted’s horse where he had hidden it behind the cabin. He helped him to mount, then mounted Sky Dancer.

  April laid a hand against his saddle, and he frowned down at her. Her blue eyes pleaded with him, and despite himself, he felt his heart soften.

  “I want to come, too,” she begged.

  He looked like he was about to decline, but then giving a quick nod, he reached down and lifted her to the saddle in front of him. Wrapping his arms around her securely, he noticed Ted’s uncertain look flicking from one to the other.

  Wolf led the way back to town, reluctant to open April up to any more censure. Still, Ted was her brother, and she loved him. It was only natural that she wanted to be with him.

  He glanced once more at Ted, and the other man met his eyes. There was a message in them that he couldn’t quit
e interpret. Wolf pulled April closer, thankful for the time he could hold her in his arms.

  April’s silence made his heart ache with sympathy. She loved her brother so much. What would it do to her if he did hang? And how could he live with himself if he was the cause of that pain in her life? At times like this, he almost hated being a ranger.

  He handed Ted over to the sheriff, leaving April alone with her brother. He filled out the necessary paperwork to submit to his captain and quickly left the building. The sooner he got on the road, the sooner his job would be finished. And when this job was finished, he was coming back for April.

  Although he had wondered if he could make any woman go through the prejudice his own mother had been through, he knew that he couldn’t go on without at least offering April the chance to give them both a life full of love. After today, though, he was no longer confident of her feelings in the matter.

  He had just mounted his horse when April hurried outside. The cold wind caused her gray wool dress to wrap around her legs. Shivering with the cold, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “I need to talk to you, Wolf.”

  His hands tightened on the reins. He thought he knew what she had to say, but he wasn’t certain he wanted to hear it. After consigning her brother to almost certain death, how could she help but hate him?

  “Not now, April. When I get back.”

  “No! I have to say this now.”

  Staring into her determined blue eyes, he slowly dismounted. Taking her arm, he pulled her to the side of the building, out of sight and sound of others who might be passing by.

  He folded his arms across his chest, his look wooden. “Go ahead.”

  She studied his face for some time. Sighing, she laid a hand gently on his arm. “What Ted has done, he has to pay for. He made his own choices.”

  Slowly, his shoulders relaxed. “April, I—”

  She placed her fingers over his lips. “It’s all right, Wolf. You did what you had to do. I don’t hold that against you.” A sad smile curled her lips. “If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be the man that I love.”