Jodi Thomas - WM 1 (36 page)
Read Jodi Thomas - WM 1 Online
Authors: Texas Rain
On the east side, where the walls were almost ten feet high, he found a horse tied to the last pole standing in what once had been a corral. Travis knew he’d found them. He pulled his knife and cut the leather holding his leg still, then slid slowly from the saddle. He wasn’t surprised when his left leg wouldn’t hold his weight. He pulled his cane and walked across the rocky ground knowing that if he stumbled and fell, he’d never be able to get to his feet. The ride had undone weeks of healing, but it couldn’t be helped. He had to find Rainey.
First, he unsaddled the outlaw’s animal, consuming valuable time, but delaying the outlaw’s escape if he returned to the horse. Then he walked his horse and the extra mount he’d brought several feet away and tied them out of sight. His gun belt held two weapons, but he pulled the rifle from the sheath tied to his saddle. What he lacked in mobility, he might need to make up for in firepower.
He limped his way slowly through the maze of rocks as the sky blackened. Time was running out for Rainey. He needed to find her fast.
With each step he tested his weight against his left leg. He felt like he was counting down until he took one final step and the leg would no longer take any of his weight. He held to the wall when he could and moved as silently as the rocks would allow. He knew even if he fell and had to crawl, he’d find Rainey.
She was near. He could feel it.
Every few steps he’d stop and listen, hoping to hear voices, afraid he’d hear her scream.
Half an hour passed and the night blackened. Travis felt like he was lost in a maze made of stones.
He crossed between two rock walls. His boot struck against something that wasn’t rock hard . . . something that gave when he shoved slightly. Travis almost tumbled as he tried to move forward again. Placing his rifle on a crumbled wall, he carefully felt his way in the darkness.
Travis brushed something furry and velvet bundled at his feet. Sage’s coat? He’d held it for her a dozen times. Now there was no doubt Rainey was near. Also no doubt that Seth Norman knew he had the wrong woman.
Reaching again, Travis heard the sound of his own heart pounding. Something lay beside the coat. He spread his fingers wide and moved across it.
Blood, warm and sticky, wet his hand as the smell of it filled his lungs.
He lay his hand flat, feeling flesh, but no life beneath it. With careful circles, he tried to find the wound. Beneath the jacket, the body was too hard, too thick to be a woman’s. Travis took a deep breath of relief and continued searching.
In the center of a man’s chest he found a small knife planted as deep as the blade would go. Judging from the small hole and the great amount of blood the man had been bleeding for some time before he died.
Travis leaned back away from the body. Come morning he’d take a good look at the body and make sure it was Seth Norman, but right now, in the blackness of the mission, he knew two things. The man was dead and Rainey had to be the one who killed him.
The only question remaining: Where was Rainey? The possibility crossed his mind that someone might have been waiting here for the outlaws. Maybe crazy Old Man Norman, or someone else who’d escaped with the brothers and had offered to help in their revenge. If someone had been waiting at the mission, Rainey may not have bought her freedom with the killing.
He struggled to stand and resume his search.
“Rainey?” he said in a low voice that carried several feet. He didn’t want to frighten her even more in the dark, but if she was hiding, he might not find her until morning if she didn’t make a sound. “Rainey, it’s me, Travis.”
He’d moved about twenty feet when he heard someone crying softly. He hurried toward the sound.
“Rainey,” he whispered when he saw the outline of her tiny form balled up in a corner near the opening. “Rainey?”
He knelt beside her but didn’t touch her. “Rainey?”
She stopped crying and for a long moment remained as still as the rocks around her. Then she raised her head and whispered back, “Travis, I knew you’d come find me.”
He sat beside her and wrapped her in his arms. She cried on his shoulder as he moved his hands slowly along her body, making sure she wasn’t hurt. He didn’t tell her to stop crying, or ask any questions, he just held her.
Finally she grew quiet and he felt her body relax next to him. After a while she whispered as if someone might hear them. “Travis, I killed a man today.”
“I know,” he answered. “Now go to sleep, Sunshine. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. You’re safe now.” He didn’t want to add that he doubted he could get to his feet if he tried. He needed time to rest and so did she.
She pressed against him as he covered them with his coat. He pulled both his guns from their holsters and placed them on either side, then he wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to tell her how he felt . . . like a part of him had been ripped away when he’d learned of the kidnapping . . . but he wasn’t sure she’d understand. She thought they were friends. Deep down, he’d realized that she was his. Whether they ever married, or admitted it, didn’t matter. She was his and he was hers.
Her breathing slowed and he knew she was asleep, but he stayed awake, listening to the sounds of the night just beyond the mission. Nothing would hurt her, now that he’d found her.
She moved in the night, shifting against him. He’d whisper that she was safe and she’d return to sleep.
She didn’t seem to notice as he moved her fingers through her hair, loving the way it felt.
Finally he relaxed and closed his eyes.
Just after dawn, her wiggling woke him. He opened one eye to find green eyes watching him.
“Morning,” he mumbled.
“Morning,” she answered, as if she’d responded that way a thousand times. “You awake?”
“I am now.” He stretched his back, but didn’t remove the arm that had grown numb from being around her. “How are you this morning?”
“I think I’m all right.”
He held her at arm’s length and studied her. “There’s a bruise on your cheek.”
She nodded.
“Anywhere else?”
She lifted her chin. “There’s probably one on my backside, but I’m not going to show it to you. My ribs are sore, my feet are freezing, and I’m hungry.”
He looked down and saw her stocking feet tucked against his calf. “Where are your shoes?”
“Upstairs in my bedroom, I think. When I left yesterday to warn the others, I didn’t have time to put them on. I had no plan of leaving the house at the time.”
Travis touched her cheek gently. “Why’d you put Sage’s coat on? You must have known they were storming the house to kidnap her.”
“It was the first thing I thought of to help. I couldn’t let them take her. She’s your sister. You love her.” She pushed away from him and stood suddenly. “Are you arresting me for killing that disgusting man?”
“No. If you hadn’t done it, I probably would have. Want to tell me what happened?”
Rainey ran her fingers through her hair and brushed the dust from her dress. “We made it to this place before dark. He pulled off a bag they’d tied over my head and arms. When the hood fell back, he knew I wasn’t Sage. That fact made him furious. He hit me hard, knocking me down and swearing in two languages at me like it was all my fault. When I fell, I stayed down. He must have thought he knocked me out, but I reached for my knife tucked away in my pocket. He grabbed the coat in one hand and tried to pull me to my feet with the other. I knew I would only have one chance to fight and I had to hit his heart. If I missed, he’d kill me.” She took a breath, shaking at her own words. “He was screaming about different ways he planned to kill me when he was finished with me. He said the sight of how he planned to cut up my body would give you nightmares the rest of your life.”
Travis stretched his leg and slowly rose from the ground using only his right leg for support. The swelling in his left leg had gone down some.
“I took a step back and held the knife with both hands. When he came at me, I fell toward him using my whole body to propel the knife.” She covered her face. “I couldn’t look. He stumbled backward and fell first to his knees, then forward without saying another word. I think I must have cut open his heart.”
Travis tugged her hands away from her face. “You did what you had to do. Don’t ever think of it again, it’s over.”
“How did you find me so fast?”
“I followed your trail. The guy you killed left tracks Duck could probably keep up with. I must have got to the house within minutes after you left. Sage had bolted the doors and was watching for help to arrive. She ran out as we neared.”
He couldn’t stop touching Rainey. He pulled her to him as he continued. “The men who stormed the boardinghouse were brothers. They’ve had a hatred for me that goes way back.” He kissed her head, needing to reassure himself it was all over even as he recounted every fact. “The widow shot one of the brothers. She took a bullet in her arm, but she’s in good hands.”
“No.” Rainey stopped him by brushing her fingers over his lips. “How did you get here?” she repeated.
“I rode.”
“You’re not well enough to ride.” She looked at his leg that he had been rubbing since he stood. “Oh, no . . .”
He watched her pale and had to smile through his pain. She cared. “Now, don’t worry. I’m all right. To tell you the truth, I was so worried about you I hardly noticed the pain.”
She moved to him. “I’m sorry.”
He hugged her close. “It would have hurt far more to find you dead in this graveyard of rocks.”
He kissed her then, long and hard. She circled her arms around his waist and held on tight. Though their embrace warmed him with need, it was not passion that demanded he hold her so tight, but caring. A caring that ran so deep he knew he’d never know peace if she were in danger.
Without a word he leaned on her, and together they walked out of the ruins. When they were in the morning sun, it didn’t seem so cold. He insisted she wear his coat. She made him rest on a rock while she brought the horses around to him. After she brought them, saddled and ready, he rummaged through the saddlebags and found jerky for breakfast. They were both tired and healing so neither talked, but they touched.
He moved his big hand along her back as she sat next to him. She patted his arm in thank-you when he passed her the canteen. They didn’t talk of the fear they’d both felt or the worry. They didn’t need to.
By the time the sun began to warm the day, Roy rode up from the north. He was alone.
When Roy was inside the border of the mission, he swung down from his horse and ran to Rainey, grabbing her in a bear hug. “Glad you’re alive!” he shouted. He whirled her around and then sat her back on her feet and apologized for being so forward.
When Rainey looked pale, he apologized again, and Travis thought he saw a hint of the charm that must have won him two wives. He asked about her bruise and said he’d gladly kill the man again for putting such a mark on a pretty girl like her. He worried over her lack of shoes as Travis had never thought to do and offered her his good socks to wear.
Travis finally told Roy to stop being a mother hen. They needed to get her back to Austin as soon as possible.
“Where’s the man you went into the trees after?” Travis asked as they collected supplies.
“He gave me a grand chase, but I lost him.” Roy didn’t like admitting he’d failed.
“We’ll get him,” Travis said. “What matters is we found Rainey.”
Roy nodded. “Yeah, but I got a feeling he’s going to show up before long to pester us again. Seth might have been the meanest brother, but Eldon is sneaky. We both better be watching our backs until he’s behind bars again.”
Travis agreed.
Roy loaded Seth’s bloody body on his horse. As they packed up, Roy wanted to hear the whole story of how such a little lady killed a man he could barely lift.
Rainey told him, then asked if he’d help Travis mount his horse. She said that Travis had reinjured his leg.
Travis protested, but Rainey continued to beg Roy. Travis claimed he could mount the horse alone, but if it made her happy, he’d take the help.
Roy mumbled as he helped Travis, “If you were married, you would know that sometimes it’s just better to go along than to try and reason with a woman.”
Once Travis was on his horse, he glanced at Rainey, silently thanking her for making such a fuss. If she hadn’t begged, he wouldn’t have made a show of giving in, even though, in truth, he wasn’t sure he could have climbed on his horse alone.
Once they started back, Roy asked one question after another. The rough, fighting Ranger turned into a gentleman worrying about Rainey. Travis noticed she barely knew how to ride a horse, but Roy kept saying she was doing grand.
Halfway back Roy insisted they stop and let Rainey rest. He built a fire and made coffee from his pack and then said he had to go down by the river and rest for an hour before he could go any farther. “I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night,” Roy complained.
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