Wild Texas Rose

by Jodi Thomas

“The end of your braid.”

  He waited. After the bed shifted a few times, he felt her put her bare arm in his hand. “I’m guessing that must be your elbow, Victoria.”

  “Brilliant. You’ve now touched the prettiest part of me and the ugliest. All the rest is somewhere in between my terribly wrinkly elbow and my beautiful hair.”

  “What are you saying, Victoria? I don’t understand the game.”

  “What did you touch, Killian?”

  “Your hand, your—”

  “No. Who did you touch, Killian?”

  “You.”

  “And, who am I?”

  “Victoria.” He stopped, suddenly understanding. “My wife.”

  She laughed. “That’s right. I’m your wife. Now that you’ve touched the prettiest part of me and the ugliest, might you be interested in touching the rest?”

  He grinned. “I’d like that very much.”

  With one simple game, Killian began a journey of knowing his wife, which he figured would take him a lifetime to complete.

  Chapter 39

  Abe Henderson and Stitch took until midafternoon to reach the first stop on the train’s route, but they knew they’d caught their first break.

  The train that had pulled out of Fort Worth at midnight was sitting on the tracks, still waiting for a report from the team of workers sent out to fix a broken spot on the rails.

  Stitch stayed back with the wagon while Abe visited with the conductor.

  “What’s the problem?” Abe asked as he offered his flask of whiskey to the conductor.

  “Thanks,” the chubby man said. “It’s been one hell of a night. We thought we’d only have a few hours’ delay, but something must be wrong. The crew searched all night and couldn’t find a thing broken on the tracks. They’re running one final check now. We should be under way soon.”

  “What made you think there was a break?” Abe acted like he took a drink and passed the flask back.

  “Had a telegram waiting for us when we stopped here. Now the office in Fort Worth thinks it might have been a false report, though why anyone would want to stop an empty train in the middle of nowhere is beyond me.”

  “Guess someone just wanted to waste your time.”

  “I guess. Last night I thought those people who rented wagons and headed out were crazy, but now it seems they may have been smart.”

  Abe raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t believe the conductor. “Folks left a perfectly good train and took wagons?”

  “Sure, a couple of men and four women. We helped them load everything up and they headed south like they thought they could make it by wagon before we’d get to the next stop.”

  He looked down the tracks. “Who knows, maybe they will. Until we get permission to move we ain’t even in the race.”

  Abe spent a few more minutes talking as he watched Stitch drive over to the livery and trade for fresh horses. When he joined the big man, Stitch grinned. “You did good, shopkeeper. I don’t think a detective could have done it any smoother.”

  “I read a lot of books.” Abe shrugged. “And my favorites are mysteries.”

  Stitch headed south. “The boy at the livery told me his boss woke him up last night to hitch up three wagons. He said one of the men crawled in the back of the first wagon like he was hurt.”

  Looking out over the endless land, Abe shook his head. “How are we ever going to find them in time? Whoever delayed this train will be on the next one rolling through and they’ll have horses that can travel much faster.”

  “But they won’t have me,” Stitch said as he slowed the team at the first fork, surveyed the ground, and then slapped them into a fast pace. “I ever tell you what I did on the frontier? I was a tracker. I picked out the markings on the last wheels to roll out of the barn and I’ll follow them true.”

  By nightfall Stitch found a camp where the three wagons had pulled off along with several others. A few hours later, he spotted another site where they’d stopped to rest. While Abe watered the horses, Stitch brushed the place where the three wagons turned south and left the trail where tracks led off to the north. It wouldn’t fool an expert tracker, but maybe it would fool men riding fast on horseback.

  They didn’t take time to build a fire but instead just ate the jerky Abe had packed along with apples and mason jars of water.

  “Why’d you pack the whiskey, Henderson? I didn’t know you to be a drinker.”

  “You been watching me?” Abe asked.

  “No more than I watch everyone,” Stitch answered.

  Abe accepted his answer. “You’re right, I’m not a drinker. Always saw it as a waste of money. I brought the whiskey ’cause I thought it might help with the pain in my leg. I’m used to standing on my feet but not moving around without something to brace my bad leg on. I figured it’d start giving me problems within a few hours.”

  “Does it?”

  “Haven’t had to use it yet. Funny, the worry about how it might hurt was worse than the ache.”

  Stitch nodded but didn’t say more. Like Abe, he wasn’t a man used to conversations. As soon as the horses were rested, Stitch moved on with tumbleweeds tied onto the back of his wagon to dust away any hint of what direction they were traveling.

  Through the night both men took turns resting in the back. The sun was up when they pulled into a small German settlement. The tracks they’d been following since yesterday blended with others on the wide road into town.

  “I’ve heard the Germans build their main roads wide enough to turn a team, but I’ve never seen it.”

  “You don’t travel much?” Stitch asked.

  “I don’t travel at all.”

  As they moved closer to the stores, Stitch added, “Might want to think about marrying that little teacher and spending some time seeing the country.”

  Abe nodded, but he didn’t seem to be listening. He was looking for a business that was open early. He spotted one and pointed.

  Stitch pulled the team to a stop.

  “I’ll go see what I can find out,” Abe said as he lifted his cane from the side of the wagon and walked toward the neat row of stores.

  “I’ll stay out of sight. Maybe I’ll go over to the barn and see if I can’t buy enough feed for the horses. They could use a rubdown and some rest before we push on.” Stitch didn’t wait for Abe to answer. He wasn’t asking permission, just stating a fact.

  The day was still early and the nearest barn he saw was over by a beautiful little church. He pulled his wagon around to the back and found all he needed on a workbench near the corral. Even though his bones ached from the endless ride, he wanted to take care of the horses first. No one seemed around, so he turned the horses loose in the corral and went to work on them one at a time.

  Twenty minutes later he was cleaning one of the hooves when he heard the front door of the barn open. From the length of the shadowy barn he saw a woman slip in and move over to where several wagons looked like they’d been stored.

  One at a time she began to look under heavy tarps.

  Stitch set down the tools he’d been using and moved into the shadows. He didn’t want her to spy him standing in the sun. He was frightening enough in poor light.

  With a little squeal, she pulled one trunk out of a wagon and tumbled backward from the load.

  Stitch ran to help. “You all right?” he shouted halfway to her.

  The woman scrambled to her feet and reached in the wagon. Stitch stopped as she swung a rifle at him.

  “Get back or I’ll shoot,” she said in a shaking voice. “I know how to use this.”

  Stitch kept his head low. “I wasn’t going to attack you, honey, just making sure you weren’t hurt.”

  “Shawn?” she whispered, sounding even more frightened than before. “Now am I seeing a ghost? I must be going mad.”

  He didn’t know what to say. The truth seemed his only option. “I’m no ghost. I just followed you and Killian to make sure you were safe. A man named Myers and t
wo lowlife men who look real mean are on your trail. If they reach you, I plan to be here to help. I swear, honey, I didn’t come to hurt you.”

  She lowered the rifle. “Who are you, really?”

  “I’m Killian’s brother. That much is true, but I’m not a ghost.”

  “Why don’t you look at me? Why didn’t you tell Killian you were still alive? How could you let him believe you were dead?”

  Stitch felt her questions hit him like blows. She was right, he should have told Killian. He used the only defense he could use. “I’m not that easy to look at, honey. I’d frighten you if you saw my face. I thought it would be easier for Killian if I just stayed in the shadows where I belong.”

  He didn’t look up, but he heard her moving toward him. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and she was about to see just how ugly he was.

  Stitch turned to move away, but she caught his hand. He could have shoved her back. He could have run, but something deep inside him told him it was time to stop running.

  “Shawn?” She whispered his real name as her free hand cupped the side of his face. “Shawn, my ghost, my friend, my husband’s brother.”

  He looked up and met her stare. She wasn’t shocked or frightened. He felt her fingers move along his cheek.

  “So many canyons, so many cuts. I can almost feel the pain you must have had to bear.”

  Stitch closed his eyes, forcing himself to let her touch him when all he wanted to do in this world was hide away. Only he couldn’t. They were in danger, and deep down he knew if they died, he’d die inside.

  Finally, she let her hand drop. “I’m glad you’re not a ghost. Killian will be very happy. He never let you go, you know, not even when everyone told him over and over that you were dead.”

  “I know.”

  Like a butterfly, her mind flew on. “Oh, Shawn, I’m glad you’re here. Can you help me carry this trunk? It seems to have broken open when I fell. I want to wear a new dress today. After all, I’m a married lady. I know just the one I have to put on this morning. Nothing too frilly, we’re still on the road, you know, but something in yellow. Killian’s favorite color is yellow.”

  Stitch smiled. “I didn’t know.” He helped her pack up her things. When he picked up the trunk and lifted it on his shoulder, he thought it far heavier than a normal case. No wonder it had broken the lock and come open, she’d packed far too much inside.

  “That’s odd,” Victoria said as if he’d missed something important in life. “What’s your favorite color, Shawn?”

  He didn’t answer. In almost forty years of life he’d never thought about it.

  Victoria tugged his free arm along toward a little house. “You know, Shawn, what color do you look best in? That’s usually what people think of as their favorite.”

  “Shadows,” he finally answered.

  Victoria laughed. “That’s not a color. I’ll have to think about it, but I’ll let you know. It’s important for a man to wear a touch of color.”

  Stitch smiled. He could see why Killian loved this woman. There was something childlike about her and wise at the same time. Five minutes after meeting him she was more concerned about what color he wore than about how he’d frighten most of the people he met half to death. They’d talked about his scarred face and now it was time to talk about something else.

  Chapter 40

  Saturday

  Duncan pulled Rose out the front door when she passed through the parlor. He’d tried to talk to her since she’d stepped out of the little bedroom at dawn, but there was never a time when people weren’t surrounding them.

  “Duncan, stop this. I have to help with breakfast or we’ll never get out of here.”

  “We need to talk,” he whispered, then yelled back at Hallie. “Rose and I will get that coffee you said we might need.”

  Rose let him guide her along, but she wasn’t happy about it. “We don’t have to have the coffee right now. We’ve plenty for breakfast and we can make it to the train without a cup.” She looked suddenly worried. “How are you today, Duncan? Are you in pain? Did the stitches break loose?”

  “Forget the stitches and forget the coffee.” He pulled her into an arbor next to the church. A cluster of winter morning glory vines blocked them from anyone passing. He figured it was as near as he would get to being able to talk to her alone.

  She looked confused when he leaned close and said, “Where in the hell did you learn to kiss like that?”

  With a flash of lightning in her eyes, she stormed, “I don’t think that is any of your business.”

  “Damned if it’s not. You’re family.”

  “Stop swearing at me, Duncan McMurray, and I think we’ve already established we’re not family. Maybe I just felt like kissing you and I don’t remember you objecting at the time.”

  Duncan dug his fingers through his hair and forced himself to calm. He wasn’t going at this right. For once he didn’t want to argue with Rose. They’d always been honest with each other, and he might as well be now. “I’ve never been kissed like that, Rose.”

  The anger in her gaze melted into surprise. “Never?”

  “Never.”

  She smiled the way women always smile when they understand something and know it would be a waste of time even trying to explain it to a man. “I won’t tell you where I learned to kiss, but I will say that I insisted on practicing until I got it just right.”

  He opened his mouth, but she added before he could get a word out, “Don’t bother to ask who.”

  “Fine, Rose. How about I ask when?”

  “When what?”

  “When will you kiss me like that again?”

  She moved out of the arbor. “Not now. We have to go get coffee. There is simply no time.”

  “When?”

  “Maybe tonight. Maybe never.”

  Duncan followed thinking that getting coffee must have moved up ahead of kissing on her to-do list. As he walked across the wide road to the general store, he wondered if the kiss could have possibly been as great as he remembered. Rose never did anything wild in her life, how could she have kissed him like that. Just thinking about it made his head hurt.

  As he walked past a man sitting in a rocker on the porch of the store, he said, “Morning, Abe,” before it dawned on him that Abe Henderson shouldn’t have been within miles of this place.

  Abe grinned.

  Rose turned and recognized the man who’d served as Killian’s best man. “Why, Mr. Henderson, how on earth did you get here?”

  Duncan brushed his hand over his Colt. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

  Abe nodded as he stood. “Stitch and I got here as fast as we could. We had to warn you. Myers and two men we think might be the Tanner brothers are riding hard to overtake you. We’re guessing you’ve got three, maybe four, hours before all of you need to vanish.”

  Duncan forgot all about the coffee and the need to kiss Rose. Right now his mind only had room to think about one thing—survival.

  He grabbed Rose’s hand and started back to the little house.

  Abe fell into step beside him, limping as fast as he could.

  Rose tugged so hard, Duncan finally slowed. He turned to Abe. “How many men do you think they’ll have with them?”

  “Stitch said he saw a few hanging around the hotel who looked like they were waiting for orders. If the Tanners had their men with them, I’m guessing a dozen at the most. From what I’ve heard of Myers, he’s not the type to come after you unless he thinks he’s got the advantage. He won’t know Stitch and I are with you, but he knows even wounded a ranger’s not an easy target.”

  “He’s coming after me?”

  Abe Henderson shook his head. “He’s coming after Victoria. You and, I’m guessing, Killian are just two he plans to knock out of the way. If he gets the chance he’ll kill everyone except Victoria. She’s worth a fortune alive. The way I figure it, he’s only got a few days to get her back to her father in Galveston
or he’ll lose this fortune he’s been telling everyone is going to fall into his hands. Once he gets the money, my guess is Victoria won’t live long, or if she lives with Myers she’ll wish she were dead. Stitch said they found Victoria’s maid beat near to death. She claimed Myers did it because she didn’t keep up with Victoria like she should have.”

  Rose moved in between the two men. “Both of you have to calm down before we go inside. I don’t want Victoria frightened out of her mind.”

  “We also need to get somewhere where we can defend ourselves. If they hit us here, people in town would die and I don’t want that. This town is too small to even have a sheriff, so everyone here would probably get involved if a gunfight breaks out on the streets.”

  “Out in the open we’ll be sitting ducks.”

  “We’ll load up and race for the train station,” Duncan said. “I’ll need a horse so I can ride drag. If I see them coming I’ll fire off a shot so you’ll have time to make ready.”

  “I’ll go find Stitch and meet you at the house,” Abe said.

  Duncan pointed out where they’d be and Abe turned off toward the road leading to the barn.

  Chapter 41

  Killian stood at the back door of the little house, watching Victoria walk in from the barn. He hadn��t noticed when she’d slipped out, but Hallie told him she’d gone to find a new dress to wear among the luggage they’d been hauling around. After last night, he could barely focus enough to answer. They’d talked and touched most of the night until slowly they’d grown used to each other.

  He felt like sometime during the evening they’d traded hearts. They’d become a part of each other. They’d become one. If anything ever happened to her, he knew his heart would stop beating.

  For a minute he just watched her come near with her arm looped around some man’s free arm. The stranger carried a trunk on his shoulder. Killian couldn’t see the man’s face, but he didn’t like the way he strolled with Victoria as if they were old friends.

  When Killian stepped out on the porch, Victoria saw him and waved. She was smiling and Killian swore he could feel the sunshine from her smile.