by Jodi Thomas
“I don’t feel right leaving her.”
The sheriff nodded. “I know, but there is no one who can do the job you can for fifty miles around. You’re trained. If anyone can track the robbers, you can. You have to go.”
He flipped open the telegram he’d received while Jacob had been upstairs. “The marshal out of Denton says they’re headed this way. From all accounts there were six outlaws, all fully armed. If they get past us and into the Oklahoma Indian Territory, we’ll lose them for sure.”
Jacob strapped on his gear. “I know.” He didn’t need convincing. He knew his job. But for once, he wanted to complain a little.
Parker rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. “I didn’t tell you all the facts this morning when I brought the nurse in. I didn’t want to talk about it with the women around.” He took a deep breath. “They killed six, maybe eight people this morning in the train robbery. It’s no wonder everyone still riding came in drunk. I don’t know how bad it was. They found six bodies where the gang stopped the train and another two men wounded but still breathing.”
Jacob closed his eyes, not wanting to see in his mind what the sheriff described.
“Philip ran the telegram out as soon as it came in. He said he’d been listening to some of the other passengers’ stories. One told about how the guards inside the mail car refused to open up once the train stopped. He said the gang pulled one after another of the passengers off the train and shot them in the head with each minute that passed before the guards opened up. They’d killed four before they killed the two guards.” Parker looked like he was about to cry. “The last one killed before the guards gave in was a woman.”
Jacob pressed his forehead against his horse’s neck. He had to go. He had to leave Nell. And somehow, he had to stop the gang before they reached the border. Men like these couldn’t be allowed to roam. This would be only the first of many stories if he didn’t stop them.
“Ranger?” came a soft voice from the barn opening.
He looked up to see Marla standing several feet away. “Yes?” If she’d come out to the barn and spoken, she must need something important.
“I packed you supplies again.” She didn’t look at him as she held out a burlap bag.
He walked to the opening. “Thanks.”
She disappeared a moment after he took the bag. Jacob smiled. At least he was making progress with one woman in the house. Marla had talked to him.
He turned to the sheriff. “Ask Rand Harrison to stay on the grounds once he gets back from the Stockard place.”
“I will.” Parker nodded. “I already told the preacher that if I see him in town I’ll shoot him.”
Jacob smiled. “That should keep him sober.”
He handed the reins of his horse to Parker. “I’ll only be a minute. I have to say good-bye to Nell.”
Parker twisted the leather between his fingers. “She’ll worry about you. She always does.”
As Jacob walked to the house he thought about what Parker said. He would have never guessed Nell gave him more than a passing thought when he was out of her sight. She always looked glad to see him, but she’d never written saying that she missed him, even when he’d been away for weeks at a time.
When he entered the house, he wasn’t surprised to see that she was up and waiting. He climbed the stairs. “How you feeling?”
“You’re leaving, aren’t you.”
He nodded. “I have to.”
“I know.” She raised her arms.
He lifted her from the chair. “I’ll carry you down one last time before I go. The nurse should be sober enough to carry you up tonight, or Rand will be home and he and Marla can do it.”
She nodded, looking like she might cry.
He started down the stairs. “Promise me one thing, Nell. Promise you won’t marry anyone until I get back. I don’t know how long this will take, but I don’t want to have to worry about you going crazy and marrying while I’m gone.”
He expected her to remind him that she wasn’t going to marry him, but instead she whispered, “I promise you’ll be at my wedding. But do me a favor and come back safe and sound.”
“It’s only one band of outlaws.” He managed to look offended that she’d even worry.
She smiled. “That’s right, only one.”
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Jacob would have liked to kiss her good-bye, but everyone in the house except the snoring nurse on the couch watched. So he lowered her carefully and whispered, “When I get back, I plan to take you for a walk by the windmill again.”
“I’ll plan on it.”
He kissed her cheek. When he straightened, Gypsy handed him his hat. He shoved the Stetson low and turned to the others. “Take care of Nell until I get back, or I’ll . . .”
“We know,” Gypsy snapped. “Or you’ll shoot us all.”
Jacob frowned. “The way this house is growing, I may have to reload,” he mumbled. He’d become far too predictable. He stomped out of the house and down the walk. He wouldn’t be able to leave if he looked back and saw tears in Nell’s eyes.
Swinging onto his horse, Jacob saluted the sheriff, telling himself Nell wouldn’t be crying for him.
After two days in the barn, Dusty was ready to run, and Jacob ate up the miles as he rode due east. If the outlaws were heading north, they’d have to cross paths. He’d spent years learning all he could about tracking. They wouldn’t get by him. He had no idea how many were in the gang. The report mentioned there might be six. It didn’t matter. He would have to stop them. There was no time to get more lawmen in the area, and if he’d brought someone like Harrison or one of Parker’s deputies along, that would only be someone he’d have to watch out for.
Just before nightfall, he stopped on a ridge where he could see for miles in every direction. If the gang was riding hard, they’d stir up enough dust to be noticeable. If they stopped, he’d see their fires. He listed the facts he’d pieced together from the little he knew. First, they would own fast horses if they robbed a train, and be accomplished riders. Next, if two men guarded the mail car, there must have been something valuable inside. So the gang would be burdened with at least one, or maybe two pack animals. Probably mules. Their tracks would be easy to spot on the flat, dusty land he covered.
He’d crossed this part of the country several times. Near the Red River there were several spots to cross into Indian Territory, but a hundred miles south, the land was unpredictable. Unless the men knew the terrain, they’d probably stay close to one of the old cattle drive trails. They’d make faster time that way, and this time of year the chances of running into anyone were slight.
Jacob also knew one other fact. Whoever he was looking for wasn’t some group of boys or down-on-their-luck farmers trying to get rich quick. These men, or at least some of them, were hardened killers. They were men who placed no value on life. They didn’t get that way from their first robbery or murder. That kind of killing was burned into a man. He’d be willing to bet that most of the gang had already served time in jail, maybe more than once. If so, they’d have a hatred of lawmen built over time.
Pulling his badge from his vest, he slipped it into where he’d cut the stitching on his saddle a month after he’d bought it. If he ran into the gang, it might buy him a little time if they thought he was just a cowhand and not a ranger.
Watching the sky, he leaned back against his saddle. His muscles ached. The cold night air seeped into his bones, but he wouldn’t light a fire. He ate a biscuit in the dark and took a long drink from his canteen. After midnight, clouds moved in, and he pulled his blanket over his shoulders and closed his eyes.
But sleep eluded him. Nell lingered on his mind. He couldn’t get the vision of how she’d looked when he’d left her next to the fire. Or how she’d felt when he’d lowered his body over hers for just a moment before he’d realized what he’d been about to do. Or how she’d tasted when she’d opened her mouth and kissed him as if she’d hunger
ed for him for years.
She’d promised she’d wait to marry until he returned. She hadn’t promised to wait for him. He might not be the one.
Jacob tried to think how it would feel to watch her marry another man. For once in his life he’d thought of something he wasn’t sure he could do. When had he decided she had to marry him? Maybe he had always known, even when she’d been a kid and asked him to wait for her to grow up.
He tried to think of something else. Everyone at Nell’s place would be asleep by now. The preacher and Harrison would probably be in the barn. After all, there was no sign the dawn shooter would ever be riding by again. He hoped the nurse had sobered up enough to take care of Nell, and Wednesday, too. At least with Sleeping Ugly there, someone would know what to do if the baby came.
A coyote howled in the night, sounding as lonely as Jacob felt. He moved his finger close to the trigger of his Colt beside him. Without a fire, an animal might come close. It paid to be ready.
He drifted into a light sleep, dreaming that he lay beside Nell. They weren’t touching, but he could feel her near. The memory of the smell of her hair, the way she breathed, and how her whispers tickled against his ear were as real to him as the coyote’s howl.
Miles away, Nell lay on her back. The house had finally grown silent. Marla and the nurse had given Wednesday a bath and treated her welts. Nell heard the girl cry herself to sleep, but her tears seemed to come more from sadness than pain.
Gypsy had shown Mrs. O’Daniel to her room, and despite the fact that the nurse had slept half the afternoon away, she was snoring again within minutes of closing her door.
Mrs. O’Daniel had told them about the train robbery. Of how she’d tried to get off the train when she’d heard the gunfire and knew they were shooting some of the passengers.
“I’m a nurse!” she’d screamed and pushed her way to the platform.
But a lean robber who didn’t look old enough to shave had held her back and forced everyone to stay in place. He said they’d kill anyone who got off the car, and when she heard more shooting, the nurse had no doubt he spoke the truth.
They all waited until the robbers had what they came for, then the bandits ordered the train to move on. Mrs. O’Daniel cried when she told of looking out the window and seeing the bodies.
Nell knew what Jacob was riding toward. Trouble. Big trouble. She’d talked to Mr. Harrison about it. He had offered to try to catch up with the ranger, but they both knew Jacob would want him to stay right where he was. Whatever Jacob faced, he had to face alone.
Nell stared at the ceiling. For once, something besides the pain in her back kept her awake. She pictured herself lying next to her ranger. “Details,” she whispered. “Remember every detail.”
His chest rose and fell with his breathing. He smelled of horses and campfires and fresh air. His hair looked coarse but was surprisingly soft in her fingers. His hands were rough, and when he tried to be gentle he touched her heart. His voice was so loud when he was angry, but she heard the laughter in it when he whispered.
“Remember every detail,” she whispered, for with the details she’d somehow keep him alive. Nothing could happen to him if she remembered everything.
Closing her eyes, she imagined his lips touching hers. She listened to the pounding of his heart. The wall of his chest against hers. The warmth of him near.
Nell relaxed, slipping into sleep as her mind registered the faraway sound of a coyote howling.
CHAPTER 17
“WE NEED TO TALK, MISS SMITH.” RANDOLPH HARRISON said the words so matter-of-factly she knew she couldn’t put him off any longer.
He’d been patient enough, she guessed. Marla and he carried her down the stairs, and he hadn’t said a word. He talked mostly to Brother Aaron at breakfast without giving details of his trip to her worst property. He’d even stood watching as Nell took time to show Wednesday where all the knitting supplies were kept.
When Nell met his gaze, Mr. Harrison set his coffee cup down and once more waited.
“Very well, Mr. Harrison,” Nell answered, her hands already curling around the steel circling her chair’s wheels. “Shall we go into the study?”
He followed her in and closed the door. Sunshine flowed into the room, as bright and warm as a summer day. All the morning glories in pots along the windowsill were in full color.
“Spring is definitely here.” He brushed one of the flowers with his fingertips as if it had been a lifetime since he’d touched one.
She didn’t mention how little it mattered to her. The days were pretty much the same, cold or hot, bright or cloudy. Yet she couldn’t help but notice the difference in him since he arrived four days ago. He looked more solid, probably thanks to Marla’s cooking, and his face was now tanned. Again, she wondered where he’d been before he came here, but she didn’t ask. He had a right to his privacy. What mattered was what he did with his time now, and as best she could tell, he was well on his way to making himself indispensable to her.
Nell rolled to the desk and waited, wishing she didn’t have to deal with business. Settling the new nurse, taking care of Wednesday, and worrying about Jacob seemed like enough to deal with for the day.
Last night, when Harrison returned late, it was enough to know he was safe. She’d asked to delay any discussion about the Stockard place until morning. He’d nodded politely and disappeared into the kitchen, knowing that Marla would have kept his supper warm.
Nell thought she’d heard them talking once when Gypsy opened the kitchen door, but she couldn’t be certain. It occurred to her that the proper bookkeeper and the shy cook would probably have little to talk about.
“How is Mrs. O’Daniel this morning?” he asked more as conversation than true interest.
“I don’t think she’s over her fright from the robbery, or maybe it’s the whiskey she drank yesterday. When Marla stepped into her room at dawn, the nurse told her to inform me that she’d be taking today off, but she’d like to visit with me when I awoke.”
“And did she?”
“Take the day off?” Nell asked. “Yes.”
“No,” Harrison corrected. “Did she talk with you?”
Nell nodded. “I tapped on her door an hour ago. She was still in bed and, to tell the truth, the woman was as white as the sheets. But she wanted to go over her duties and then thanked me for the job.”
Nell shook her head. “I thought she was going to cry, but she didn’t. She seemed so grateful when it is I who should thank her for coming all this way.”
“Jobs must be hard for a widow her age to find.” He sat behind the desk.
“Especially one with her unique ideas. She tells me I’ll be starting exercises twice a day tomorrow and as soon as it warms a little, she plans to take me into the water. I told her the nearest water is two miles from here, but she didn’t seem to think that would be a problem.”
Rand relaxed his arms on the desk as if it had been his for years and not days. “Do you think that will work? Exercise in the water?”
Nell shrugged. “Nothing else has. I’m willing to try it. All the others seemed to think I needed more rest.”
He smiled, one of his rare grins. “I hope Mrs. O’Daniel can swim, because I doubt the woman will float.”
Nell thought he had a pleasant face when he smiled. “She says standing shoulder deep in water will take most of the weight off my legs and help me build the muscles back a little at a time. Her first husband, McGovern I think she called him, came back from the war in the back of a wagon. Folks told her he’d never walk again, but they swam every night in the Gulf of Mexico until his muscles finally grew strong enough to hold. She said he was running the day he died.”
“What happened to husband number one?”
Nell smiled. “She said gambling killed him. Apparently, he didn’t see that there were already three aces on the table when he showed his hand.”
“Too bad the water didn’t improve his sight,” Harrison said. “This
theory of hers might work, if you don’t float downstream.” He shuffled papers on the desk, putting little faith in the nurse’s idea.
“And if I did,” she teased, “would you jump in and save me, Mr. Harrison?”
He shook his head. “No. I can’t swim.”
She had no doubt he was being honest. Her ranger would have said he’d have tried even if he couldn’t swim. With Harrison, life would always be constant, even. With Dalton, it would be unpredictable.
“Shall we get to work?” Harrison asked as though they’d wasted enough time simply talking. “There is much we need to cover this morning.”
Nell nodded, wondering if the man would ever allow anyone to know him well. He’d been in her house almost four days, and she knew little more about him now than when he’d introduced himself.
As he explained all that he’d found on the Stockard place, she tried to focus. This was her land, her money, her future income. She couldn’t afford not to know all about it. But thoughts of Jacob drifted like tumbleweeds across her mind. He’d been gone almost twenty-four hours. Had he found the train robbers? Was he still safe?
A strange sensation settled over her. An ache deep inside. She’d missed him before, thought of him often, but never like this. Never as if a part of her were missing. The longing wasn’t for something she wanted, but more for something she needed.
“I drew a map of the property.” Harrison broke into her thoughts. “It is my estimate that about thirty percent of the land could be used for farming, but it would take a dozen men a month to clear it of brush and rocks. Another twenty percent had enough grass and water to be used as range. But it wouldn’t take long for the cattle to move across the grass. With your other land, there would be no need to move the cattle to Stockard’s ranch. If you ran a few head on the place and there was a drought, the cattle on the property would have to be absorbed into the other ranches.”
“So, you’re telling me half is worthless and the rest is poor.”
He nodded. “A man would have to be a fool to offer more than half the going rate for land like I saw yesterday. If you add in how far out it is from town and the signs that the water will disappear in a drought, a half-price offer for the ranch would be worth considering.”