A Texas Sky

by Lori Wick

"This is Timmy/' Cassy began. "Next is Scooter, then

  Roy, Adam, and Gordie."

  "Howdy," Dakota said quietly and watched the men

  nod or utter a quiet greeting. No one looked particularly

  glad to see him, but neither did he feel threatened.

  "Plan to join us for lunch today," Cassy said, turning

  back to the ranch's new cook. "Then you can get started

  tonight."

  "AH right."

  "Your bunk is around here," Cassy directed him, taking

  him through an open doorway to the kitchen area. It

  appeared to be a well-stocked kitchen, and across from the

  stove was a bed and a small dresser. Dakota thought the

  space must be too hot for sleeping when it was midsummer

  and a meal had been cooked, but he didn't plan to

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  be there next summer, so that was the least of his worries.

  "I have an account at Dawson's General Store. When

  you need supplies, make a list and let me check it, but

  Dawson's is where you'll head for nearly everything.

  Breakfast is at 6:30, lunch at noon, and dinner at sundown

  or when the men come in. At times you'll need to cook on

  the range. For those times there's a cook wagon in the barn.

  Any questions?"

  Dozens was Dakota's first thought, but he said only, "I'm

  sure I'll have some, but for the moment I'll just settle my

  horse in the corral and have a look around. Oh! I guess I'd

  better ask how you want me to work the meals. Do I decide

  what we have?"

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  "In the future, yes, but Q had meals set up for a month

  in advance. He kept a list--oh, yes, here it is--*iailed to the

  pantry door. If you follow it, you'll probably have all the

  supplies you need. However, keep in mind that this list

  was for noon dinners. You'll probably run short since youll

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  be cooking evening meals too."

  Dakota moved with her and saw the schedule.

  "Thank you."

  "No problem," Cassy said quietly, having been affected

  just by seeing the dead man's handwriting. She moved

  slowly back to the doorway. "You and the boys all come in

  for lunch--maybe 30 minutes."

  "Thank you."

  Dakota wasn't far behind his new boss when she

  exited, walking slowly back to the front of the house to get

  Eli. The horse was within five feet of where Dakota had

  left him and came to him like a big dog as soon as he

  spotted him.

  Not until he had Eli settled and was headed back to the

  bunkhouse with his saddlebags did Dakota think about

  how hard this was going to be. He didn't want to stay here,

  and he didn't want to work here. He wanted to walk into

  that house, take Darvi, and ride as fast and far as they

  could go.

  Still praying for patience and wisdom about how to act

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  and when, Dakota hung around in the kitchen of the

  bunkhouse until it was time for lunch.

  '

  When she first realized Dakota had come for her, Darvi

  had been sorry that she'd never developed any kind of

  relationship with the ranch hands, but now that fact was

  standing her in good favor. It would have been nothing

  short of disastrous if she had even allowed herself to gaze

  in Dakota's direction, but since she never looked at the

  ranch hancls, she didn't have to do any pretending.

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  The men usually ate rather quietly in the evening, but

  today, during the noon meal, they were doubly so;

  everyone was. It had to have been Q's death, and Darvi

  didn't blame them. At the same time, Cassy hiring Dakota

  as cook probably meant that the men wouldn't be in for

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  supper. Darvi wondered when she would ever have an

  excuse to speak to the man when she realized Seth was

  addressing her.

  "Were you speaking to me?" she asked to give herself

  time to school her features.

  "Yes." Seth looked amused. "Do you want pie?"

  "Yes, please." Darvi took dessert for the first time,

  wanting to be dose to Dakota for as long as possible.

  Seth's gaze became rather hopeful. He took this as

  another good sign. Darvi usually ate and started on the

  dishes or disappeared into her room as soon as she was

  through. He passed her a large slice of pie and then tried to

  engage her in conversation, but she wasn't going for it.

  "Are you upset with me about something?" he finally

  asked.

  "You know I am," Darvi said plainly. "I've never made

  a secret of it."

  "I mean other than the obvious."

  "The obvious is all that matters to me right now," she

  said quietly, not wanting to draw attention. A glance into

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  Seth's face told her that he wanted to say more but was hesitating.

  She shouldn't have been surprised that he wanted

  to speak with her almost as soon as the meal was over, but

  surprised she was.

  "I'm helping with the dishes," she explained.

  "You help with them every day. I want to talk with

  you."

  "Go on, Darvi," Cassy urged her. Cleanup wasn't that

  bad, and right now she didn't want Seth to be sad. She

  didn't want anyone to be as sad as she was. If Q's death

  could somehow open a door for Seth and Darvi, she would

  be thrilled.

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  "Lindy can help me," she added. "You go on."

  Darvi did so reluctantly. She laid her towel down and

  preceded Seth out of doors.

  "Walk this way," he directed and started toward the

  woods. The last time she walked to the woods with him, he

  tried to kiss her, but Darvi was not going to be caught out

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  this time. She kept her distance as well as a watchful eye.

  "I've noticed that you've stopped asking me to let you

  go," Seth began, making Darvi's mouth open in surprise

  and then shut before he could notice. "I know you didn't

  want to come here originally, but I guess I'm hoping mat

  your silence means you're getting somewhat adjusted."

  He stopped talking, and Darvi realized his head was

  turned to look at her. He was doing it again, watching her

  with such tender anxiety that Darvi was amazed. She

  shook her head a little and tried to think.

  "Seth," she began but got no further.

  I'm going to have to tell him. I'm going to have to share my

  belief and not worry if he tries to emulate it for the wrong reason.

  "I can't give you any hope, Seth." Darvi put it on the

  line. "I don't even know if I'm supposed to be married,

  but--"

  "Thaf s ridiculous," Seth cut in with quiet conviction,

  "Do you have any idea how envied I am?"

  Darvi blinked, not having expected this.

  "Do you really not know how much you're meant to be

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  cherished, Darvi? If s so clear to me, I just assumed you

  would understand."

  "If s not that simple, Seth. I want to marry a man who

  shares my beliefs."

  "How do you know I don't?"

  "Because you've -abd
ucted me, Seth!" she said with

  some heat. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

  "But if I had met you some other way, it wouldn't have

  been like this."

  "But you still felt you had the right, and you don't."

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  Seth looked slightly discouraged and spoke softly,

  almost to himself.

  "Why can't we ever talk about things?"

  "I'll tell you why," Darvi spoke up, not caring if he'd

  really asked her or not. "You can't steal a person and then

  expect to find her reasonable. If s reasonable to me that you

  return me to town this instant, and your idea of reason is

  that I fall for you because you're handsome and polite."

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  "You think I'm handsome?" he asked with such great

  hope that Darvi threw her arms into the air.

  "I'm done!" she announced, turning and striding

  toward the barn.

  "Darvi, come back."

  "No! Leave me alone, and I mean it."

  "Darvi!" he tried again, but she kept walking.

  Darvi was so angry she thought she could spit. All the

  excitement over Dakota being there to rescue her had

  drained away. She thought she would go crazy if she had

  to spend another moment on this ranch.

  Willing to be anywhere but in the house, Darvi stalked

  into the barn and stopped suddenly to let her eyes adjust

  in the dimness. She heard movement at the rear, but before

  she could investigate, she glanced over and spotted Lindy.

  "Hello, Lindy," Darvi said softly, always wishing to be

  kind to the little girl. "What are you doing?"

  Lindy looked up at her and then toward the rear.

  "Is someone working back there?"

  The little girl nodded.

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  "You want me to go with you so you can see?"

  Lindy nodded at once and slid off the barrel she'd

  climbed onto.

  As Darvi half-expected, Dakota was doing something

  with the cook wagon. Still angry at Seth, Darvi didn't find

  it too hard to keep her other emotions at bay. Earlier she'd

  have burst into tears and sobbed out her whole story, but

  not now. '

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  "Hello," she said as they neared. "We came to watch

  you work."

  "You did?" The Ranger came out with a smile, wiping his hands on a handkerchief. "Who's this?" he smiled down at Lindy, his attention entirely on her.

  "This is Lindy."

  "Hello, Lindy."

  "She doesn't say too much with her mouth, but her eyes

  and hands do a lot of talking."

  "I'm Dakota." Dakota put a hand out and smiled hugely

  at her when she shook it. "If s nice to meet you, Lindy. Are

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  you Mrs, Robinson's daughter?"

  Lindy nodded, her cheeks dimpling in delight before

  tugging on Darvi's hand. After observing a few hand

  movements, Darvi turned to translate.

  "I think she wants to know what you're doing."

  "I'm just looking at the cook wagon today in case I need

  to make a meal for the men when they're out on the range.

  Have you ever eaten out on the range, Lindy?"

  The little girl shook her head no.

  'If s pretty fun. Especially if you get to sleep out under

  the stars."

  Lindy smiled and moved to climb up onto the wagon.

  Dakota helped her, and Darvi stayed to the side. She listened

  as he talked and explained things, but suddenly

  Darvi's breath quickened. What if they didn't make it?

  What if he couldn't figure a way to get her out? Darvi

  wondered if she might need to be the one to put together a

  plan; after all, she'd been there longer.

  Her mind raced with what might be the best method:

  full confrontation or slipping away quietly after dark?

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  Now, or when everyone had been lulled into thinking

  Dakota was a real cook? Darvi was so intent on her ideas,

  she didn't even hear Nate calling his sister but suddenly

  saw Lindy run past

  "The thing to remember--" Dakota's voice came softly

  to Darvi, and she looked up to find him bent over the back

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  of the wagon, not even looking at her, "is that there will be

  no heroics. Some night when I tell you, you'll climb out

  your window, I'll be there, and we'll leave for Kinkade. No

  shooting. No one chasing us. We'll just leave."

  This said, Dakota tucked things away, moved toward

  the rear door, and exited the bam. Darvi stood with her

  mouth open, wondering if she might have imagined the

  entire episode.

  "Darvi?" Eliot called from outside.

  "I'm in here," she answered, hoping she sounded

  normal.

  Eliot came to the double doors and stopped.

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  Watching him, Darvi waited for him to speak. She

  almost began to question him, but he was finally ready to

  talk.

  "When are you going to stop running from Seth?"

  Darvi found hey mouth open again in shock. She shut it

  swiftly in irritation.

  '"Don't you start with me, Eliot McDermott! Don't you

  do it!" Darvi spat out her words with instant vehemence.

  "You know as well as I do that it was wrong for him to take

  me. And I've made it very clear to everyone that I wish to

  leave. So don't you dare stand there and tell me to be nice

  in order to put his or anyone else's mind at rest"

  "Have you heard him out?" Eliot asked.

  "Regarding what?"

  "How he feels about you."

  "Eliot." Darvi tried to temper her voice. "He's just

  infatuated, thaf s all. The man barely knows me."

  "If you knew him better, Darvi, you'd see how wrong

  you are. He's in deep."

  Darvi only shook her head, knowing it was pointless to

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  keep up this line of conversation. She wanted to sigh in

  frustration but thought she might be doing a little too

  much of that lately.

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  Eliot, on the other hand, did a little sighing of his own

  and then admitted, "The truth is, Darvi, I'm getting married

  a week from Saturday, and I want it to be a happy day."

  Darvi blinked. "I didn't know that Cassy said you

  didn't have a date."

  "Well, we do now."

  His tone and face spoke volumes. Darvi's hands came

  to her waist and she went to him, her eyes hard and determined.

  "There's a simple answer to your problem, Eliot, and we

  both know it. You can return me to town so we can all get

  on with our lives."

  He was shaking his head, and Darvi's brows lifted.

  "You have some nerve," she said quietly, "coming and

  asking me favors when you're just as much to blame for

  this as Seth is."

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  As Darvi stepped around him and moved toward the

  house, she wondered what would happen if she just

  started walking down the road. Then she remembered

  Dakota's words.

  I must be patient.

  Rounding the house, Darvi found Seth on the porch, his

  facing lighting up at the sight of her. Darvi knew that more

  prayers for patience would
be forthcoming.

  %r%r$r

  Having left the interior of the barn, Dakota was still

  leaning against the side, fixing a boot that was just fine but

  hearing enough from inside to put a few more pieces into

  this puzzle. Right now he hoped for one of two things: a

  chance to either get Darvi out or run low on supplies and

  have an excuse to head into town and hopefully see the

  sheriff. He found he had a few more questions for that

  man.

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  "COME AND GET IT," DAKOTA TOLD THE MEN that evening,

  thinking he would have to start some bread; they wouldn't

  miss it tonight since he'd made biscuits, but they would

  surely expect it in the morning.

  The men were slow to join him, but in time they gathered

  around the table at the far end of the kitchen area, no

  more talkative than they had been at the noon meal; that is,

  until they tasted the food.

  "This is good/' Gordie said, shoveling in more spoon-v

  fills of the beef, potatoes, and thick gravy.

  "So are the biscuits," Roy added.

  Dakota reminded himself to thank Katy when he got

  home. She was the main reason he knew his way around

  the kitchen.

  "You boys worked here long?" Dakota now felt free to

  open some conversation.

  The answers varied, one man as many as ten years, the

  others somewhat less. The youngest of the group, Dakota

  remembered his name to be Scooter, said that Q had been

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  on the ranch the longest, way back before Mrs. Robinson

  had married her husband.

  "So this is his ranch, but he lets her handle it?" Dakota

  asked, thinking about the man he'd first seen in town.

  "Robinson's dead. You're thinking of Eliot McDermott"

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  Dakota nodded as though that explained everything. It

  didn't, but he still refrained from asking any more questions.

  He was sitting quietly over his own plate of stew when Roy announced to the group that he was going to ask his girl to marry him come Saturday night. Dakota knew that

  a longstanding joke was in play because his comment

  brought gales of laughter, something he could see they all

  needed.

  "Will we be invited to the wedding?" Adam asked. "111

  polish my boots if you let me dance with the bride."

  Dakota had to put up with a few comments about the

  other things Adam wanted to do with the bride, but overall

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  he could see that the men respected each other. He also

  caught a note of respect for Mrs. Robinson and the others

  living in the house.