by Lori Wick
A Texas Sky
(The Yellow Rose Trilogy #2)
Lori Wick
5
June 1882
Wellsville, Texas
"How is he?" marty bracewell asked anxiously as he
entered the bedroom, not remembering to remove his hat
or offer any of the standard greetings.
"Doing a little better," Desmond Curtis said. "Slate and
Cash were just here, and although Dakota's as weak as a
girl, he's in a good frame of mind." Desmond, knowing
how Brace would feel if he knew the whole truth, did not
elaborate, but he knew that Dakota was doing as well as he
was because of how significant his brothers' visit had been.
"Hey, Dak," Brace said softly, watching the Ranger's
eyes come open a little. As a point in fact, all three men
were Texas Rangers, but only one of them had nearly bled
to death from numerous gunshot wounds, and he was still
very injured.
6
"Hi, Brace," Dakota tried to say, but his mouth was too
dry. Desmond helped him with a drink, but they had to go
slowly--they would probably have to go slowly for a long
time.
"Sorry I took so long. I was up north and just got back."
"It's all right," Dakota managed.
"What happened out there?" Brace asked, not really
expecting an answer. Dakota tried anyway.
6 lori wick
"I thought I had the jump on them, but there were more
men than I figured. I went down fast. Had no choice."
Brace felt his throat close. This man was one of his best.
To see him shot-up and helpless was hard. He cleared his
throat, telling himself this was no time for tears.
"You'll be back soon, ornery as ever."
"No doubt/' the man in the bed agreed, a small smile
coming to his lips. 'Til see you in a few weeks."
Brace was suddenly angry. That this would happen to
one of his best infuriated him!
7
"If you so much as show your face near my office inside
of six months, I'll shoot you myself," Brace warned. "And
I mean it!"
Dakota could only nod. Right now six months sounded
too soon. Sleep was coming in again, but that was all right.
For the first time in his life, Dakota James Rawlings had
Someone he could talk to.
Dakota heard gunshots a few days later, as real as the
ones that had taken him down. His eyes flew open and he
gasped, remembering with painful clarity where he was.
"Easy..." Desmond's voice came softly to his ears, and
Dakota turned to find him sitting next to the bed.
Dakota tried to tell Desmond he was thirsty but
couldn't manage it Thankfully the older Ranger knew the
signs. He lifted a cup for the injured man. Dakota thanked
him with a slight raise of his hand, amazed at how spent he
was.
8
"Better?"
"Yeah. Is it hot in here, or is it me?"
"Both I would guess. It is June."
Dakota nodded a little, and Desmond thought he would
fall right back to sleep. Drained as he seemed, Dakota's
eyes stayed on a faraway spot on the wall, and he began to
speak.
A Texas Sky 7
"Do you know what I thought of when everything
started to go black?"
"No. What?"
"Something Slate said to me," Dakota said as he licked
his lips. "Of all the things to remember, I recall something
he said when I was angry." Dakota's mind went back to a
cloudy day in Shotgun. As the result of a senseless
shooting, a woman had just been buried. At the funeral
Dakota thought they should have talked about the woman
and not about God.
"What did you want Pastor Caron to say. Dak?" his brother
9
asked him. "What would you have deemed appropriate?"
"A little more about the woman herself, for starters. He
turned it into a sermon/"
"She was a changed person because of her faith/'
Dakota's eyes narrowed, telling Slater he was not happy with
that answer, but his brother went on anyway.
"If I'm a different person because of my beliefs, Dakota, and if
I were to die, I would want other people to know they could have
the same hope. Maybe you should be listening instead of criticizing/'
"My life is fine!" Dakota did not hesitate to clarify.
"If that's true, then why does this have you so upset? If everything
is fine, you should be able to shrug this off and go on with
your life."
Dakota's eyes now met Desmond's.
"In so many words, Slater said it shouldn't bother me if
I didn't believe as he did--but it didn't work that way. It
bothered me so much, I left angry."
"So the turning point came when Slate and Cash were
here?"
Much as it hurt, Dakota's chest lifted with his sigh. "My
10
very last thought before I lost consciousness was that I had
waited too long. When I woke up and they were sitting here,
I knew I'd been given a second chance." Another sigh
escaped the injured man. "As you well know, I've been a fool
many times, but not this time. I grabbed that second chance."
8 lori wick
Desmond had a comment on his mind, but he could see
that it was going to have to wait.
"Do you think he can eat something?" Geneva Curtis
asked from the doorway.
"No," her husband answered with a shake of his head.
"He just slipped back out"
Geneva came and stood close, her hand on Desmond's
shoulder.
"He will make it, won't he, Des?"
"I think so," that man replied with his eyes on Dakota's
face. "As Dak just put it, he's been given a second chance.
I've been wrong before, but something tells me he'll get out
11
of this bed and want to know everything God has ever
said--and in the first hour, if I can tell him."
Geneva chuckled softly and exited the room ahead of
her husband. Her only thought was Look out, Texas, Dakota
Rowlings is nearly on the loose.
'M#
July 1882
if you so much as show your face near my office inside of six
months, I'll shoot you myself.
Sitting alone by the window, Dakota Rawlings remembered
the words of his supervisor from just a month earlier
and sat back, a thoughtful frown between his brows. He
didn't know if he could stand five more months of inactivity.
When Brace had first uttered these words, it had
been an emotional time. Dakota had been certain he hadn't
meant a literal six months, but his first letter--telling Brace
when he thought he could come back--was hotly returned
12
in a no-nonsense way. ^
Dakota's hosts, Desmond and Geneva Curtis, were out
at the moment, so the house in Wellsville was quiet. Their
home sat right in the middle of town, b
ut the street was not
a busy one, and for a moment, Dakota thought he was very
much alone. He'd just eaten a large lunch and still had half
a cup of coffee to drink, but he was not particularly eager
to continue sitting at the window.
As a new believer in Jesus Christ, he'd spent almost two
hours studying the Bible that morning and had understood
some hew truths. Desmond had been a great help in this
area, and Dakota was still amazed at how pertinent the
Bible was to his life right now. Not many months back, he
10 lori wick
would have said that old Book was outdated and unrealistic
He was learning every day just how wrong he'd been.
Knowing he did not want the rest of the coffee, Dakota
went to the sink, rinsed out his mug, and wandered onto
the front porch. It was blistering hot, much as it was every
13
day at this time. That was Texas in July--something they
all had to live with.
He wrote a quick note and took himself out for a walk.
It was too hot to be out for long, but he had to stretch his
legs. He hadn't planned to feel this good. Only five weeks
ago he'd been shot so badly they thought he Would die, but
God had had other ideas.
"I shot you first," a child's voice yelled from nearby.
Dakota turned to see two little boys scoot up the alley,
firing sticks at each other. Though he hoped they would
never actually experience that pain, he nevertheless found
himself smiling at their antics. He continued slowly up the
street and turned right onto the main street of town.
Interesting as the storefronts were, Dakota was beginning
to sweat. He thought he might have overdone and
should turn back, but his sister-in-law had celebrated a
birthday a few weeks ago, and he hadn't sent her anything.
Not that he'd been in any shape to do that
"What are you doing out here?" Desmond suddenly
spoke as he came up behind Dakota.
14
Dakota turned with innocent eyes. "Just strolling."
Feeling like a father, Desmond pointed back up the
street. "Get home!"
Worried as she was to see Dakota's pale face, Geneva
laughed from her place beside her husband.
"You sounded as if you were scolding the dog."
Dakota laughed as well, but he did want to shop for Liberty,
who was married to his younger brother, Slater. He
said as much to the Curtises.
"As if Libby will be expecting anything with the way
you were hurt," Geneva said with a mild shake of her head.
ATkxasSty 11
"Even a firecracker would do the trick, Gen. She was
born on the Fourth."
"And shell enjoy a late gift," Desmond said, his hand
to the younger man's arm as he turned and directed him
back up the boardwalk.
Dakota wanted to argue, but he was suddenly feeling
very warm and weak By the time he reached the house, he
15
was sweating profusely, and two of the bullet wounds were
starting to burn. Geneva brought him a cool drink of water
and waited for him to lie down on the sofa.
"It looks as though you need to give it more time, Dak.
I'm sorry."
Dakota sighed. "I guess I could write to Libby."
"She would probably enjoy that, but even as little as I
know her, I can't think she would expect anything from
you at this point."
Dakota nodded and thanked his hostess, who returned
to the kitchen, and then let his mind drift backward to
when Geneva had met Liberty Drake, now Liberty Rawlngs.
The wedding had been on Saturday, April 22. The whole
family had gathered, including his parents, who had come
all the way from St Louis. Special friends like Desmond
and Geneva Curtis and Marty Bracewell had also been
invited. Closing his eyes, Dakota could still see how pretty
Liberty looked in her dress, her eyes shining with love for
Slater as her stepfather, Duffy Peterson, walked her down
the aisle.
16
He and Cash, Dakota's older brother, had both known
that Slater would be the first to fall. They were only
thankful that he'd found a girl like Liberty. Dakota thought
that if another Liberty could be found, he too might be
tempted to marry. Almost as soon as the thought materialized,
he pushed it away. His was not a job that was suited
to family life. Hours on the trail, uncertain pay, and the
dangers of being a Texas Ranger played hard in his mind.
Desmond had made it work, but a career in the Rangers
12 lori wick
had its drawbacks. The fact that the Curtises had never
been able to have children had been a factor.
Suddenly Dakota wanted to get up. He felt lazy, as
though his not trying hard enough was slowing the healing
process. But wanting to get up and actually doing it were
proving to be two different matters.
Just help me, Lord, Dakota prayed. Just help me to rest and
give it some more time--even a few weeks. Dakota fell asleep
while still wondering what he would do with himself in
17
the months to come.
r'5'"3''
August
Dakota could not believe the difference just four weeks
had made. He was feeling very strong. His last little
escapade had set him back, but as he left the church with
Desmond and Geneva for the second week in a row, that
incident was already receding from his thoughts. His
mind was on the sermon for some of the ride back to the
house, but Dakota waited only until they sat down to eat
Sunday dinner to tell his hosts what was really in his
thoughts.
"I need to thank both of you for your care and hospitality,
but I have some good news for you."
Desmond looked up from cutting his meat.
"A statement like that could mean only one of two
things," the older Ranger began. "Either you're pulling out
soon, or one of the women who were falling over themselves
18
to catch your eye this morning did in fact catch your
eye, and you're getting married."
Dakota had a good laugh before saying, "The first one
is correct."
"Where are you headed?" Geneva wished to know.
"Back to work," Dakota replied calmly while buttering
a piece of bread with complete ease.
A Texas Sty 13
"I thought you said Brace didn't want you for the full
six months."
"That's right.
"But you're going anyway?"
"Yep."
"And what of Brace?" Desmond asked.
Dakota smiled his slow, warm way. "He'll get over it."
Knowing how much Marty Bracewell liked to have his
own way, Geneva enjoyed a good laugh over this.
The next morning, however, her laughter was not to be
found. Tears welled in her eyes as she hugged their guest.
19
Dakota had come to Christ under their roof and grown so
much in the few months they'd had with him. She could
have easily
had him stay on.
"Thanks, Gen. Thanks, Des."
"You know the door is always open" were Desmond's
parting words to the young Ranger.
Husband and wife stood together as he rode away,
Geneva with a hankie to her face and Desmond watching
for signs of hurt or discomfort. Not that he actually
expected to see any--Dakota was as tough as they came-- but he was concerned too, and missing him already.
"Will he be all right?" Geneva asked, her eyes still on the
dark figure as he rounded a corner and moved from sight
Desmond slipped an arm around her.
"Don't forget who indwells him now, Gen. He'll be
more all right than he's ever been before."
Austin, Texas
20
Marty Bracewell entered his office as he did most mornings,
sat at his desk, and began to open the mail; it was
always a large stack. As a Ranger, Marty had traveled
extensively for many years, but now he kept the home
office fires burning. He kept track of new men, deaths.
14 lori wick
countless details, and payroll for the area. It wasn't that he
never went out on patrol, but most weeks he was needed
at the office.
"What in the world?" Brace was muttering over some
confusing correspondence when the door opened and
someone stepped inside. He looked up to see a familiar
face and smiled in delight
"You must be fieeling better," he said as he stood and
came around the desk.
Darvi Leigh Wingate warmly accepted her uncle's
embrace and smiled into his eyes when he stepped back.
Darvi was a smallish strawberry blonde who appeared
21
more frail than she actually was. However, this time she
had been very ill. She had come by train and stagecoach all
the way from St. Louis, and had picked up an illness en
route. For the first few days of her visit she had been laid
up in bed, miserably achy and sick to her stomach.
"I do feel better," she admitted with conviction, taking
a chair when the Ranger returned to his desk. "For a few
days there I was dreadfully sorry I had come, but now I'm
raring to go."
"Where are you headed first?"
"To the bank and then to see Merry. Did you need anything?
I'd be glad to pick it up." Darvi had asked the question,
but Brace didn't answer. He sat staring at his niece for
several seconds, his face uncertain.
"What is it, Uncle Marty?"
"She's married now, Darv. Didn't you know that?"
"Merry? Of course I knew. She was engaged when I last
saw her."
"She's also moved away. She and the doc moved about