Texas Rain

by Jodi Thomas

  "Where's the man you went into the trees after?" Travis asked as they collected supplies.

  "He gave me a grand chase, but I lost him." Roy didn't like admitting he'd failed.

  "We'll get him," Travis said. "What matters is we found Rainey."

  Roy nodded. "Yeah, but I got a feeling he's going to show up before long to pester us again. Seth might have been the meanest brother, but Eldon is sneaky. We both better be watching our backs until he's behind bars again."

  Travis agreed.

  Roy loaded Seth's bloody body on his horse. As they packed up, Roy wanted to hear the whole story of how such a little lady killed a man he could barely lift.

  Rainey told him, then asked if he'd help Travis mount his horse. She said that Travis had reinjured his leg.

  Travis protested, but Rainey continued to beg Roy. Travis claimed he could mount the horse alone, but if it made her happy, he'd take the help.

  Roy mumbled as he helped Travis, "If you were married, you would know that sometimes it's just better to go along than to try and reason with a woman."

  Once Travis was on his horse, he glanced at Rainey, silently thanking her for making such a fuss. If she hadn't begged, he wouldn't have made a show of giving in, even though, in truth, he wasn't sure he could have climbed on his horse alone.

  Once they started back, Roy asked one question after another. The rough, fighting Ranger turned into a gentleman worrying about Rainey. Travis noticed she barely knew how to ride a horse, but Roy kept saying she was doing grand.

  Halfway back Roy insisted they stop and let Rainey rest. He built a fire and made coffee from his pack and then said he had to go down by the river and rest for an hour before he could go any farther. "I didn't get a wink of sleep last night," Roy complained.

  Rainey retrieved a blanket from the saddle and spread it by a tree, insisting that Travis sit down. When he did, she rolled his coat and placed it under his left knee, relieving a little of the pressure he felt.

  "How'd you know that would help?" Travis asked as he leaned back against the tree trunk.

  "I was hurt once in an ice-skating accident." She spread the extra blanket over Travis.

  "I'm not an invalid," he mumbled.

  "I didn't say you were. The blanket is for me."

  Travis watched Roy disappear in the cottonwoods down by the creek. "He's giving us time alone. He doesn't need a nap."

  "I know, he's sweet."

  "Sweet," Travis grumbled. "If he were here alone with you, he'd have you with child before the hour was up."

  Rainey laughed. "I doubt it. You see, I'm not the least attracted to him."

  "How about me?" Travis thought he already knew the answer.

  "You I can't keep my hands off of." She laughed. "But, I'll try."

  "Roy is right about one thing. We do need to talk."

  Rainey sat next to him on the blanket padded with the dried grass beneath a tree. "About what?"

  "When we get back, there will be no time for us. The Rangers, the newspaper, everyone will ask what happened. In most places you'd have to tell the story once or twice, but in Austin everything turns into a sideshow."

  She cuddled closer to him, pulling the blanket over her shoulder. "What do I say?"

  "The truth of course. Tell them all about why you put on Sage's coat. How the Norman brothers kidnapped you. How you killed Seth. All they'll have to see is that bruise on your cheek to believe every word you say."

  She laid her head on his shoulder and spread her fingers over his heart. "Well, if all I have to do is tell the truth, I guess our talk is over. Mind if I take a nap? I dreamed last night I was sleeping in a cave with a hibernating bear. He was delightfully warm, but noisy."

  He put his arm around her and tugged her closer to him. How could a woman feel so right? "That's not all. There is one thing I want you to lie about."

  Rainey raised her head and looked at him. "What?"

  "I want you to tell people that I found you huddled in the ruins at dawn."

  "But you found me last night."

  "I know I did and you know I did, but no one else has to know."

  "But nothing happened last night."

  "I think I know that, too. I'm just thinking of your reputation."

  Rainey laughed. "I don't have a reputation, good or bad." She smiled at him. "So I guess I shouldn't mention to the paper that I came to your room late the night before."

  He didn't answer.

  "Or that we kissed in the alley long after the boarding-house was locked up. We kissed and you opened my shirt."

  His arm tightened slightly, but she didn't stop.

  "Or maybe I should leave out all together about how we met and how you accused me of stealing your horse."

  "You did steal my horse. Twice."

  She slid her hand to his collar and touched his hair. "I have a little trouble with what to leave out of my life when you tell me to be totally honest. I figure on a good day the best you'll get is about fifty-fifty." Her fingers moved into his hair, closed into a fist, and tugged.

  Travis cracked and pulled her to him. He kissed her hard on the mouth. "You're going to drive me to drink, Rainey."

  She smiled and felt her body relax in his arms. "Kiss me again, but don't ask for honesty. Kiss me hard like you did before dawn. Kiss me like you'd die if you didn't get to kiss me."

  He turned her until she faced him and kissed her gently. "I don't want to hurt you here." He brushed her cheek. "Or here." He slid his hand over her backside. "You're nice and rounded here."

  She smiled up at him, guessing that it was his turn to tease her. "It doesn't hurt and I don't mind if you touch me. After all, I touched you plenty while we slept together."

  He raised an eyebrow. "You didn't." He studied her green eyes and had no idea if she was lying or telling the truth.

  "You'll never know, but I promise you, you'll wonder."

  His hand moved along her waist as he kissed her again. He would have kept the kiss soft, but she would have none of it. This time she wanted passion and would settle for nothing less.

  When his hand slid to her hip, he pressed gently, then slowly, moved up until his fingers covered her breast. If she said he could touch her, he planned to call her bluff.

  But she didn't move away. In fact, she shifted slightly, filling his hand with her ample breast. Through the few layers of clothes, he could even feel the point of it brushing his palm. She felt like heaven hidden beneath a few layers of cotton.

  Suddenly he was very glad she'd placed the blanket over them. He'd thought her small, slim, but she was very much rounded in all the right places. Breaking the kiss, he stared down at her eyes as his fingers unbuttoned a few buttons on her blouse. When he slipped his hand beneath the dress, he saw surprise in her green eyes, but she didn't move away or tell him to stop. When his touch moved over the thin camisole and once more closed around her breast, he saw fire flicker in her eyes.

  Then, to his surprise, she arched her back slightly, closed her eyes, and let him enjoy exploring the softest flesh he'd ever touched. He wished he could pull the blanket down and see her, but for now it was enough to watch her smile and feel her flesh grow warm beneath his hand.

  He kissed her gently and whispered against her lips, "I could get used to the feel of you."

  She moaned and stretched like a cat as he continued.

  He told himself that maybe she just needed to feel alive, or maybe she wanted to know what the touch of a man felt like. It didn't matter that she'd allow no promises of the future. For right now, it was enough to hold her.

  He gripped one breast tightly and smothered her surprise with a kiss. While his tongue tasted her, he held her breast boldly.

  When he released her mouth, he expected her to pull away. He knew he'd been too forward.

  But she only whispered, "Again, please. I like the way you hold me."

  He laughed, deciding he was her slave. He had no choice but to grant her request.

&n
bsp; But when he started to kiss her, she leaned away, smiling shyly as she unbuttoned the rest of her blouse so his hand could move freely between her breasts.

  He kissed her as he explored, then whispered against her ear, "I'd love to taste all of you."

  Her cheek warmed against his, and he knew he'd shocked her, but she didn't pull away. He kissed her tenderly then, trying to remember that all this was new to her. He wanted nothing more then to tell her that she was his and would be all their lives, but he knew he'd only frighten her. So he kissed her gently and touched her as if she were a treasure.

  By the time Roy came whistling into camp, she looked like she had a fever and she definitely knew she'd been both kissed and touched. He buttoned her blouse beneath the blanket and sat her beside him before Roy had walked close enough to notice what they'd been doing.

  "We'll continue this discussion later," he whispered.

  She smiled and nodded slowly as if she'd already decided to do that very thing.

  CHAPTER 27

  Rainey rode toward Austin feeling as if her mind were weighted with lead. In the past twenty-four hours she'd been kidnapped, attacked, forced to murder an outlaw, rescued, and almost made love to by a man she'd told never to ask her to marry him again.

  She felt like her life was galloping along at breakneck speed and any moment she'd slam into a wall and it would be over. Refusing to look back at Travis, who rode several feet behind her, wouldn't erase him from her thoughts. She couldn't decide if he'd taken advantage of her condition, or if it were the other way around. Only hours before she'd been too frightened to move. He'd comforted her, held her through the night. Then, with only a little encouragement, he'd made her feel more alive than she thought possible.

  The heat of his fingers sliding across the camisole still warmed her. The way his hand had gripped her breast as he'd kissed her deep made her ache for more. Maybe she was exhausted, but she felt as if lightning had struck her beneath that tree. With his touch she'd discovered why a woman would both want and need a man.

  If she were honest with herself, she did need him. She could very quickly become addicted to his kiss, his touch. But she didn't want him. She had not fought her way to freedom only to marry the first man who kissed her. No matter how fair he seemed, the fact remained that once she married she would belong to a man. She'd be like her mother, trapped.

  Maybe she'd been too straightforward with him. Maybe she should have told him she didn't like his kisses. That would have put a stop to everything. How could she tell Travis that she was attracted to him but she wanted time to be on her own for once in her life? She wasn't ready for love.

  It occurred to her that maybe he wasn't interested, either. He'd never said a word about love.

  Rainey closed her eyes. She was too tired to even think straight.

  When they crossed the creek, the other Rangers joined them. All of them seemed as happy to see her as Roy had been, and if she hadn't been on horseback, she feared they all would have hugged her. Like palace guards, they surrounded her and rode toward town.

  Once on the streets of Austin, Rainey noticed people stopping to watch them ride by, and as they neared the Ranger headquarters, several shouted praise.

  In front of the office Roy jumped from his horse and helped her to the ground. Travis stayed on his mount. She wanted to help him, knowing that the ride must have been hard on him, but she was surrounded by Rangers. They all hurried her into the office with Dillon shouting orders for one man to take Seth's body to the undertaker.

  Once inside, Rainey tried to see over the men to find Travis, but he was nowhere in the room. They offered her coffee and Dillon asked if she needed to see a doctor before she gave her statement.

  "No," Rainey whispered, overwhelmed.

  Dillon was all business, but Roy stepped in at her side. He wrapped a blanket over her knees, hiding the fact that she had no shoes, then winked at her as if telling her he'd keep her secret.

  Roy then stepped back all formal and said, "Miss Adams, we just need a short statement. I think I can fill in the report of how you killed Seth Norman from what you told me." He lowered his voice as if he could somehow make his statement less frightening. "Three men went into the boardinghouse after Sage McMurray. Frank Norman was shot during the attack. You killed Seth. Eldon got away. To your knowledge was there anyone else involved?"

  Rainey shook her head.

  Suddenly everyone started talking and asking questions at once. It appeared Governor Peace had gotten involved. For a town fighting to remain the capital of Texas, this could only look bad. The residents of Houston had been fighting for years to have the state papers and offices moved. This kind of thing would only give them ammunition. The governor wanted Rainey's kidnapping solved as fast as possible.

  Roy bounced with excitement. Though it had been Travis who reached her, he seemed to be the one taking the lead. He related the details of the rescue in rapid fire, slowing only as he ended with "Travis found her this morning at the ruins south of here. She'd killed Seth with a small knife she had in her pocket after he roughed her up a bit. We brought the body in."

  Rainey stared at her hands. She needed Travis, but he was nowhere in sight.

  "Is there anything you need, Miss Adams?" Dillon interrupted. The older Ranger looked like he'd been petrified by the sun and wind, but his eyes were not unkind.

  "I want to see Dottie," she whispered. She'd worried about her friend ever since Travis told her the widow had been shot.

  "We'll take you to her in a few minutes." Dillon would have had to be blind not to notice how tired she was. "Now, tell us about the kidnapping, starting with what you and Mrs. Davis overheard from your window."

  The room grew silent as she described first what she'd heard, then running down the stairs. She told of how she realized there was no time to warn the others and thought if she could reach the coat, they might mistake her for Sage.

  "You were willing to risk your life for a woman you never met?" Dillon asked, his bushy eyebrows almost reaching his hairline.

  Rainey nodded, thinking it best not to mention that she had met Sage at the McMurray ranch when she was dressed as a boy. If she revealed any part of that story, there would be questions asked having nothing to do with the kidnapping. "I've met Travis McMurray, and I know how much he cares for his little sister."

  Dillon opened his mouth to ask another question, but Roy interrupted him. "Tell us about the three men. Every detail you remember or anything they might have said."

  Rainey explained that she couldn't see anything. She heard one say that they'd paid Haskell in the saloon to get Mrs. Vivian's slave out of the way. They were afraid she'd scream and warn everyone.

  Rainey explained that when they were loading her on the horse, the one who held her kept saying that Frank would follow. They couldn't have known that he was dead.

  Several of the rangers mumbled. One asked if the brothers mentioned their father.

  Rainey shook her head. "Can I go now?"

  The old ranger held up one finger. "One more thing." He looked pained when he asked. "When you stopped at the ruins, was anyone there to meet you?"

  She shook her head again, too tired to answer.

  He continued. "What did Seth say? Did he give any hint that he planned to meet someone?"

  Rainey gripped her hands tightly in her lap. "He said he wanted me to take off my clothes. When I refused, he slugged me and started telling how he planned to cut me up in little pieces just like he would have Sage. When he came at me again, I had the knife in my hand."

  The room was silent. She stared at Dillon. "I'm very tired. May I go?"

  Dillon looked like he wanted to ask her more questions, but Roy stepped before her and offered his hand. "Of course," he said. "Someone take her to where the widow is recovering." He looked sad. "I'd take you myself, but I must file a report."

  "I understand." Rainey felt like a sand doll with a hole in her toe. All the sand in her was draining ou
t fast and she needed to get somewhere where she could rest. "You've been very kind, Ranger Dumont. If you weren't already married a few times, I'd set my bonnet for you."

  The other Rangers laughed and Roy looked proud of himself.

  Dillon stood between her and the door. "You understand, Miss Adams, that your life is still in danger."

  She nodded, wanting to ask when it hadn't been. Since she walked out of the dorm months ago, she felt like she'd been looking over her shoulder for trouble. At the time her greatest fear had been that her father would catch her. All she'd thought of was disappearing. Now she knew there were men far worse than her father.

  Dillon moved aside, letting one of the others escort her to the door.

  By the time Rainey got to the porch, a buggy waited for her. The Rangers helped her in, and a young man drove her straight to the Baileys' home.

  "Are you sure Dottie Davis is here?" Rainey said as she climbed out.

  "Yes, ma'am. She's recovering under Dr. Bailey's care. Miss McMurray insisted on it." He walked her to the door, knocked, then handed her over to Mike Saddler.

  She smiled, remembering the young Ranger and thinking that he must be Sage's riding partner that Travis had been so worried about.

  Ranger Saddler looked overjoyed to see her and, like Roy, hugged her as if she were kin. He directed her inside, and within minutes, Rainey was sitting in the Baileys' huge formal dining room. Dottie, wrapped in a quilt that covered most of her bandaged arm and shoulder, sat across from her while the housekeeper served them the first meal Rainey had had in two days.

  Mike disappeared, saying he'd be back in a few minutes.

  The two friends both talked at once, telling each other what had happened while they were apart.

  "We're heroes." Dottie laughed. "Everyone in town knows about us. We're all the talk."

  Rainey found that hard to believe.

  Dottie shoved around food on her plate, trying to catch it using the fork in her left hand. "It's true. Everyone has stopped by to check on Sage and to tell me how brave I was having a shoot-out with the Norman boys. Even Judge Gates stopped by twice. He sat by me on the couch and patted my hand." She giggled. "I don't know if he likes me, or if he figures he was next on their list."