Hill Country Cattleman

by Laurie Kingery

  She froze. “No...but it’s the perfect explanation, and one far more rational than the fellow having some supernatural ability to be in two places at once.” She pulled away slightly so she could look up at the man who held her. “Raleigh, I was so foolish,” she confessed. “I was on my way to talk to you, then ran into Allbright on the road between here and Colliers’ Roost. I let him persuade me that he knew of a deserted Comanche camp, complete with tepees and all. I was so stupid to have swallowed that story, Raleigh—I didn’t know they always took their tepees with them. He promised we’d find the camp around the next hill, but first we’d stop at the cabin for some refreshments he’d so kindly ordered and placed there for us....”

  “You couldn’t have known about the Indians, Violet,” he said, stroking her hair. She wanted to melt, it felt so good. “You could probably feed me a yarn about Queen Victoria and I’d swallow it whole, too. You thought Allbright was just a nice fellow, didn’t you?”

  She nodded. “Though I never felt anything more for him than that. Now I believe he’s a little mad,” she said, savoring Raleigh’s nearness and relieved that he didn’t think her gullible beyond belief.

  “Maybe that, along with being purely evil,” he agreed. “I’ll keep you safe from him, Violet, I swear it. And from everything else that could ever hurt you,” he pledged before lowering his mouth to kiss her forehead.

  “Oh, Raleigh...” She sighed, and lifted her face until their lips met.

  “I love you, Violet,” he said at last. “I don’t have anything to give you, unless I win that race, but I had to tell you. I can’t keep it inside anymore.”

  “And I love you, Raleigh!” she cried. “And you’re going to win that race. I’m going to help you train the horses to be sure of it.”

  “But your brother—”

  “Edward?” She laughed, lighthearted now in spite of all that had happened and the obstacles they still faced. “I think he’ll understand, but I wouldn’t go back to England now even if the queen had a spare prince for me to marry. What I felt for Gerald is nothing compared to what I feel for you.”

  “I’m the luckiest man in Texas, sweetheart,” he breathed against her hair.

  “I think we’re both lucky,” she said, “and it’s going to help you win the race. Oh, and Raleigh, there’s a story I wish to hear, very soon. But it’s late, my darling,” she said, smothering a yawn that wanted to escape despite her eagerness to talk to him forever, “and you need to go get some sleep.”

  * * *

  Later the next day, Allen Allbright grinned as he faced the brother who was his mirror image. “It worked like a charm, Drew. Just like always.”

  Drew chuckled. “It’s good that we figured out early how much more we could accomplish if folks think there’s only one of us.” And he was glad that Allen was the one content to remain in the shadows. He’d have to make it up to Allen for cheerfully spending the night in that jail cell in his place.

  “You should have seen that Englishwoman’s eyes goggle when she saw ‘you’ behind bars,” Allen said. “She was spitting mad, I can tell you, when the good sheriff told her he had no choice but to release you. So was her brother, and that other cowboy with them—Masterson, I think his name is? I think he’s sweet on the lovely Violet, you know.”

  Something inside Drew curdled and he felt his fists clench. “I’ll bring her to heel later. Maybe we’ll have to arrange an accident for the fellow.”

  Allen grinned again. “I’ve always liked the way you think, brother. I reckon it’s time to take myself off till you need me again.”

  “Why not hole up in that cabin where I kept Miss Violet captive? They won’t be looking there again, and that way you’d be close by when we put our plan into action.”

  * * *

  “Ella, I understand I have you to thank for alerting Sheriff Bishop in time for me to be rescued from a very nasty situation,” Violet said as Ella showed Raleigh and her to their table in the hotel restaurant.

  The dark-haired girl smiled shyly. “I’m glad I was able to help. I’m sure you’re wondering what I was doing in that saloon, but I’ll have to tell you another time,” she said, gesturing toward the many patrons in the restaurant. “The special today is beefsteak smothered in onions.”

  “I understand,” Violet said. “I’ll take that.”

  “Me, too,” Raleigh said, and Ella left to put in their orders.

  Raleigh was happy to see the way the two women, once enemies, had made peace. He reached his hand across the table and clasped Violet’s. “You said last night you wanted to hear a story from me?”

  She smiled. “I keep hearing you had an experience on the trail drive that changed you. I’d like to know about it.”

  “It was an experience, all right, and I’ve been wanting to tell you.” He sat back and took a deep breath. “I was a pretty wild, careless fellow before that event took place. Went to the saloons whenever I had the chance, to gamble and drink whiskey and...well, get into all sorts of trouble. Didn’t care a lick what happened to me, so much so that when Collier and the rest of us moved his herd up from south Texas, I got into a scrape and was very nearly hanged for something I didn’t do.”

  “Goodness,” Violet breathed, paling.

  He could still feel the scratch of the noose around his neck as he remembered standing on the rough planking of the gallows. “The truth came out there at the last possible moment, and I was let go, but I hadn’t learned my lesson. I kept on with my old ways till we went on the trail drive.”

  He drank some of his coffee and gathered himself to tell the story.

  “What happened during the stampede was an out-and-out wonder,” he told her.

  “Go on.”

  “Well, we were driving the herd to Abilene, Kansas, and had just about thirty miles or so to go. We bedded down the herd for the night but we could tell there was a thunderstorm coming, so we were all on the alert. We left our horses close by, saddled and bridled.”

  The chatter of the other diners, the clink of cutlery against dishes, even the lovely face of Violet, faded as Raleigh remembered. “Longhorns are spooky beasts,” he went on, “and it doesn’t take but one crack of lightning sometimes to start a stampede—like it did that night. Then it’s everyone onto their saddles trying desperately to turn ’em or at least keep up with ’em till they wear themselves out.”

  He could smell the longhorns now, hear their bawling over the thunder of their hooves, feel the pelting of the rain on his slicker. “I was on another cowpony that night, not Blue, and he was doing his best, but the lightning kept flashing and the beeves kept running. I thought I heard someone calling my name, but I couldn’t tell who over all the noise. That’s the loudest sound there is, I reckon, two thousand longhorns all running at once....”

  His throat had gone dry with the memory of it, and he paused to take a long drink of water. “We were about midway along the left flank of the herd when Rusty stumbled and went down. He scrambled to his feet, but I was stunned, I think, and for a moment I couldn’t move. He went galloping off.”

  She gasped, her blue eyes widening. “How is it you weren’t trampled?”

  Raleigh smiled. “That’s the amazing part. I looked up from the ground and saw the sea of cattle coming at me. I knew I was about to die. Yet I wasn’t ready to meet my Maker, not by a long shot.”

  He paused then, wondering if she would believe what he was about to tell her. “Violet, as sure as I’m sitting here, I saw the face of the Lord just then, shining right above me, and I cried out to Him to save me. My hair stood on end, and a second later I saw a blue-white bolt hit the part of the herd that was about to run over me, just a few yards away. A score or more of them fell dead, just like that, and their bodies piled up around me and formed a natural barricade. There I was, huddled behind it, while the rest of the her
d ran on either side of the steers’ bodies.”

  Violet sat with her mouth open, trying to take it all in. “If that wasn’t a miracle, I don’t know what else it could be.”

  Raleigh nodded soberly. “I resolved right then and there I was going to live differently, with God’s help. No more saloons and whiskey and such. But you know, I haven’t missed them.”

  Violet leaned forward. “I’ll admit when I came here I didn’t take spiritual matters too seriously,” she said. “I’m sure I sounded very frivolous. But now I want the faith you have, Raleigh. What do I do?”

  “All you have to do is ask Him, Violet.” He led her in a simple prayer right there and then, and when they finished, she felt like a new person.

  Their meal came after that, and while they ate, they kept their talk light and inconsequential. But Raleigh knew there were still important things to discuss. Once they’d laid their forks down he reached across and took her hand again.

  “Violet, I’m sure you’ve realized that Allbright still poses a threat to you.”

  Her face was somber as she nodded. “Drew, and his twin, or whoever that was in the jail cell who was his spitting image.”

  “He—they—will trip up sooner or later. Their kind always do, and then we’ll have them dead to rights. In the meantime, I need you to stay safe—no riding anywhere alone, no going to that grove of trees to write while Lady grazes.”

  Distress flooded her gaze. “You really think he would risk coming after me again? He may think he’s succeeded in making me look loco—” she smiled as she used the word Westerners had borrowed from Spanish “—but no one who knows me would believe it. I think he’d be taking off for greener pastures, except for that ranch of his.”

  “He’s got a lot of gall. Thinks he’s above the law because he got by with something. I can’t be with you all the time, Violet, and I love you too much to risk losing you. Will you stay safe for my sake, sweetheart? Just until he makes a mistake we can catch him at?”

  She considered his words. “But if I hide in the ranch house like a mouse, then Drew wins in a way, doesn’t he? Besides, we’ve got to get ready for the race,” she reminded him. “I suppose Allbright will still show up to run, bold as brass. What does he need with another ranch, anyway?” she demanded. “He already has a ‘huge spread,’ as you say here in Texas.”

  “I reckon he will,” Raleigh said. “He’s the greedy sort. Look, Violet, I know you want to help, but the boys can help me—Shep and Quint. One of them can ride Lady, while I’m riding Blue, while the other one comes along to keep an eye out for any sneaky antics Allbright might pull.”

  Her jaw dropped for a moment. “You think he’ll try to ambush you? Raleigh, you can’t risk it—I don’t want anything to happen to you, either!”

  “Violet, a man’s not a man if he lets himself be scared off,” Raleigh told her. “Besides, he probably wouldn’t try anything obvious after what happened. And there’ll be plenty of other entrants out training their horses.”

  “Then it’ll be me riding Lady, not one of your cowhands. Lady knows me now, not them. If you want to bring the pair of them to ride along, fine, but I’m helping you train. We’ve got less than a fortnight before the race, you know. Time is of the essence.”

  Raleigh sighed. Nick was going to hit the roof when he heard of it, but he wished him luck bottling Violet up at the ranch house.

  “I had no idea Englishwomen were so stubborn,” he murmured. “It would serve you right if our sons and daughters took after you in that.”

  His words resonated like a single plucked string.

  She stared at him. “Was that a roundabout proposal, Raleigh Masterson?”

  He grinned, realizing his heart had seized control. “I was just thinking aloud, Violet Brookfield, but yes, I reckon it is. Contingent on winning the race, of course, so I have a roof to put over your head.”

  A slow smile spread over her face. “No, no, no, Raleigh, I’ll tolerate no conditions to this proposal,” she told him. “If you don’t win, we’ll find a way somehow, but I will marry you, regardless.”

  He could only marvel that the Lord had sent this woman of amazing beauty and steely will across the ocean, just for him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Violet’s heart was full of joy as they mounted their horses and headed for the ranch. She had invited the Lord into her life just as Raleigh had before her, and she and Raleigh would get married. That this meant she would never have to leave Texas was merely icing on the cake.

  It had been hard to leave without spilling the news to Ella and everyone else she was acquainted with in the restaurant, but it was only right to tell her family first.

  “I can’t wait to get home and see Nick and Milly’s faces when we tell them,” Violet said as they passed the last house in Simpson Creek. Yes, Brookfield Ranch and Texas had become home to her, Violet realized. Someday the ranch Raleigh would win would be home, but for now, it was Nick and Milly’s ranch.

  Raleigh looked alarmed. “Violet, you can’t run right into the house and tell them.”

  Jolted out of her happy daydream of doing exactly that, she stared at Raleigh beside her. “What are you saying, Raleigh? You want to keep our engagement secret? May I ask why?” She kept her tone neutral, but her heart quailed within her. Was he already sorry for his impulsive proposal?

  He grinned in that heart-stopping way he had that melted her uncertainty like mist in sunlight. “Now, don’t go worrying that I’m backing out, sweetheart,” he said, reaching out a hand to touch her arm. “But even in wild, rough Texas, a man needs to do the proper thing and ask for a lady’s hand in marriage. Your elder brother isn’t here, of course, so I must ask Nick. And hope he can persuade your elder brother not to cross the ocean again just to slaughter me for my presumption.”

  Her heart warmed at the idea of the man she loved wanting to go about this with propriety. What a good man Raleigh was. “I’m sure Milly will guess when you ask to speak to Nick privately,” she said, knowing she was beaming. “All she’ll have to do is take one look at me. Oh, Raleigh, I’m so happy!”

  “So am I, sweetheart.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure Nick won’t be too hard on you,” she said. “He’ll write to Edward and convince him that this is the best possible thing that could’ve happened to their sister. Oh, I wonder if Edward and the rest of the family will be able to come to the wedding! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” she said, imagining Edward and Richard, their wives and all the children, sailing to Texas and seeing this beautiful land she had embraced and her handsome, wonderful cowboy.

  She’d be writing a letter also to tell Gerald she had had a change of heart, and was sending back the ring she’d had on a chain around her neck. She’d stopped wearing it days ago, when she’d realized she no longer wanted to return to England and him. She didn’t imagine he’d be too heartbroken. There’d been many ladies in his life before her, she knew, and he might well have found another even before he received her letter.

  Edward had been so right to bring her here to Texas so she wouldn’t throw herself away on Gerald. She thanked God for her wise elder brother.

  * * *

  Nick was unsmiling as he faced Raleigh in the parlor. “I can’t say I’m really surprised at what you’re telling me.”

  For a moment, Raleigh felt almost as terrified as he had facing those stampeding cattle before the Lord had rescued him.

  “Are you...are you saying I can’t marry your sister?” he asked, striving to keep his voice steady. Did Nick think Raleigh didn’t know he wasn’t good enough for Violet? Of course he did. It was like another miracle in his life that the lovely, refined, Honorable Miss Violet Brookfield loved him, a mere cowboy. He steeled himself to hear Nick tell him in that crisp English accent that he’d lost his mind if Raleigh thought he was going to le
t Violet marry so beneath her.

  But Raleigh couldn’t stand the silence that stretched between them. “I—I know I have nothing, not even a place for her to live that’s mine—yet,” he said quickly. “But I’m going to win that race and then I’ll have my own ranch—it’s got a house on it and all, not that we won’t be enlarging and improving it. And if by some chance I don’t win it, Nick, I’ll work until I earn the money to put a roof over her head—a good roof, mind you, not some dogtrot cabin. I don’t care if it takes years....”

  His voice trailed off as he saw a small smile playing about Nick’s mouth. “Are you going to laugh at me?” he asked, affronted. “I thought I was being an honest, upright man, not saying I’d run off with her if you didn’t give your blessing.”

  Nick held up a hand. “Steady on, lad, I wasn’t going to laugh at you. I was merely enjoying the rare experience of seeing you flustered. I suspect it wouldn’t do any good to forbid you, for my sister wouldn’t hear of it. And the truth is I don’t want to forbid you two to marry, either—it’s just deuced difficult timing, what with that scoundrel Allbright walking scot-free after what he tried to do. I won’t draw an easy breath until he’s no longer a threat.”

  Raleigh nodded. “Me, either. But I think you should know Violet’s determined to help me train the horses to get ready for the race.” He saw Nick’s face darken, so before the other man could speak, he outlined the plans he’d laid down to have Shep and Quint ride along to guard them.

  Nick sighed. “Got the bit in her teeth, hasn’t she? Well, you can alternate having one or the other, but I’ll be coming along, too. I don’t imagine the fool would be so bold, what with all those who’ll be on the course training their horses in the next two weeks, but it wouldn’t do to be careless.”

  * * *

  Violet jumped out of her chair when the door to the parlor opened and the two men emerged into the kitchen. Neither said a word as they looked at her, and she almost couldn’t find the air in her lungs. Then Nick reached out a hand and clapped Raleigh on the back.