Relentless (15 page)

Francie was in the kitchen helping her mother when she heard a loud knock at the front door.

“I’ll get it,” she told her mother, quickly wiping her hands on a towel before going to answer the door. She opened the door to find one of the young boys from town there.

“Miss Francie! Miss Gertrude sent me down here to get you!” Tommy said.

“Why? What is it?”

“The posse just rode in!” With that the youth turned and ran off.

“Mother!” Francie shouted.

Marlene heard her daughter’s frantic cry and rushed out to the front hall. “Who was it? What’s wrong?”

“Tommy just came to tell us the posse’s back!”

They shared a worried look.

“Did he say anything else?”

“No—”

“Let’s get down to the jail,” her mother said, her mood guarded. “Give me a minute to finish up what I was doing in the kitchen.”

It didn’t take Marlene long to rejoin Francie, and they hurried from the house to the sheriff’s office.

They soon found out that word had traveled fast. There were a lot of the townsfolk gathering there. Marlene and Francie could see most of the men who’d ridden in the posse standing there with the sheriff, but they didn’t see Fred or Rick, and wondered where they were.

“All right, all right, folks—” Sheriff Perkins called out, trying to calm the crowd. He only wanted to say this once and get it over with.

“What happened?” someone asked.

“Did you get ’em?”

Miss Gertrude elbowed her way to the front of the crowd to challenge the lawman. Her expression was fierce as she looked up at him and demanded, “Where is she? Where’s Dusty?”

The sheriff ignored her for the moment as he moved to stand on the boardwalk in front of his office. “Here’s what happened, folks. We tracked them for days, but lost their trail after a fierce storm washed through.”

“You mean they got away from you?” Miss Gertrude accused, voicing the outrage of the whole town.

Sheriff Perkins knew he had to face up to the truth and admit the posse’s pursuit had been a failure. “Yes. They got away from us.”

Marlene was furious. “Where’s my husband? Where’s Rick?”

“Down at the stable,” Perkins snarled, and with that he turned and went into his office, slamming
the door shut to block out the yelling of the angry people. The crowd slowly began to move away in disgust.

Francie burst into tears as she fell into her mother’s arms. “Oh, Mama—Where is she?”

Marlene held her close, trying to think of something to say, but she could think of nothing to cheer her. Privately, she wondered if they would ever see Dusty again.

Fred and Rick had stabled their horses and were coming back up the street as the sheriff stormed off. They hurried to the women.

“Francie—” Rick had seen her break down and start crying, and he wanted to comfort her somehow.

Francie lifted her head to find the handsome young banker standing there with her father, the two of them looking like defeated men. “Oh, Papa—Rick—”

“Fred?” Marlene said his name tentatively, wanting to hear his version of what had really happened on the trail.

“We wanted to keep searching for them, but Sheriff Perkins gave it up,” Fred said, feeling like a total failure as he faced the women’s despair.

Francie left her mother’s embrace and went to Rick, touching his arm supportively. “What can we do now?” she asked, desperate.

At that moment, Miss Gertrude joined them. She’d heard Francie’s question and spoke up. “We do the only thing we can do—we wait for our Ranger to show up. Grant will bring Dusty back.”

They looked in surprise at the iron-willed old woman.

Miss Gertrude went on. “I knew Sheriff Perkins was useless from the start. I told Grant as much when he was getting ready to leave. If anyone can find Dusty, he will. You’ll see.”

“Do you really think he can find her, when the town’s posse couldn’t?” Marlene asked.

Miss Gertrude lifted her chin, her expression proud as she responded, “Grant Spencer is a Texas Ranger. He’ll find Dusty and he’ll bring her home. He’s no quitter like Perkins.”

Francie thought of Grant and how he had helped her and Rick the night of the dance. Her spirits lifted.

“You’re right, Miss Gertrude. He won’t give up.” Rick was still angry over the sheriff’s decision. “I should have ridden out with Grant.”

“Well, don’t you go feeling bad,” the older woman told him. “You’re a good man, Rick. You did what you thought was right.”

“I just wish we could have rescued her.”

“We all do,” Francie said quietly.

Rick looked at Francie and then at her mother. “Would it be all right if I paid your daughter a visit later today, Mrs. Randolph?”

“Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight?” she invited.

“I’d be honored,” he accepted quickly.

“What about you, Miss Gertrude?” Francie asked. “Would you like to have dinner with us tonight? We’ll be eating around six.”

“Thank you. I’ll be there,” she said.

Rick left them to go home and get cleaned up.

Marlene glanced from her daughter to her husband. “This is so sad.”

“Poor Dusty—” Francie said, her voice filled with a world of sorrow and pain.

When they met up to ride out of Gold Canyon the following morning, the tension between Grant and Dusty was real. They eyed each other skeptically, and neither of them spoke unless it was absolutely necessary.

Grant was furious because she still hadn’t told him where they were heading, and it was obvious she had no intention of telling him anytime soon. He’d kept pace with her, trying to figure out which towns lay along the route they were traveling and wondering how long it was going to take them to get there.

The first night out, they made camp just before dark.

Dusty knew the time was coming when they were going to be facing down Les Jackson and his men—probably the very next day—and since she didn’t have her shotgun with her, she wanted to get in some practice shooting her handgun. She set up some rocks on a ledge a distance from the campsite and practiced drawing and shooting. She was decent, but she wasn’t as good as she wanted to be. She just hoped that if she did have to take a shot at one of the outlaws, she could at least wing them.

Grant was watching her from where he was sitting
by the fire. He could tell she was no novice. She knew what she was doing, but he also knew she could use a little help. He got up and went to stand beside her.

Dusty had been very aware of him watching her every move. She’d tried to ignore him and had managed pretty well until he came over to her. She glared up at him. “What?”

“You want some advice?”

“Sure,” Dusty said, sliding her gun back in her holster.

“You’re used to using a shotgun, right?”

“Yes, that was what I always carried when I was working with Pa.”

He nodded. “I can tell you know how to shoot—just try to make your draw smooth and in one motion. Try it again.”

Dusty did, but her aim was still off.

“Here, let me help you.”

Grant moved behind her and positioned her correctly.

Dusty wasn’t quite sure how to react at having him so close to her. Mad as she was at him, she didn’t want to be reminded of the power of his kiss or touch.

Grant, too, was well aware of Dusty’s nearness, but he wanted to focus on teaching her the best way to improve her aim. He knew it could mean the difference between living and dying when they faced down the outlaws. He worked with her for a few minutes, helping her correct her aim, then moved away to watch her practice some more.

Dusty resented the fact that she’d had to take direction from Grant, but she also appreciated his taking the time to help her.

“Thanks. That does make a difference,” she said as she holstered her gun, and set about cooking some beans and bacon for them.

“Good.”

They ate dinner and then bedded down on opposite sides of the campfire.

“Good night, Dusty.”

“Good night, Grant.”

Neither was willing to say any more.

With the dawn, they were up and on their way again.

By noon, Grant finally figured out their destination.

“So they rode to Flat Rock,” he stated flatly, looking over at her.

“And with any luck at all, they’ll still be there when we show up. How do you want to handle this?” she asked, more than ready to follow his lead now. “What do you want me to do?”

He gave her a cold sidelong glance as he continued to ride. “So now you’re willing to listen to me?”

She returned his icy regard without showing any signs of backing down. “I’m going to do this—with or without you.”

Her words and defiance annoyed him.

She went on, her determination showing in her fierce expression. “We can do this together, Grant,
or we can part company right now. You know where the gang is, just like I do. It’s up to you whether we ride in together or not, but one way or another, I’m going to see Les Jackson and his killers brought in.”

Grant reined in and looked at her seriously as she halted beside him. In that moment, he knew he had just taken on a new partner. “Well, partner, the first thing we’re going to do is slow down. I don’t want to ride into Flat Rock in broad daylight. It’ll be easier to do what we have to do after dark.”

Dusty had to admit, she was taken aback by the change in him. “Are you serious?”

His dark-eyed gaze challenged hers. “I’ve never been more serious. Just don’t be afraid to use your gun if the need arises.”

“I won’t,” she promised.

“All right, let’s see if we can find some shade and rest up for a while. This might turn out to be a real long night.”

Grant spotted a mesquite tree not too far off and rode there. They dismounted and went to sit beneath it.

“How much do you know about Flat Rock?” Dusty asked.

“It’s pretty much a lawless town. I’m sure that’s why Les picked it. He probably figured that since there was no sheriff to deal with, he and his gang would be safe to hide out there for as long as they wanted to.”

“We’re going to prove them wrong,” Dusty said fiercely.

“And we might even get some help—”

She frowned at him. “How? If there’s no law in town, who’s going to help us?”

“Frank Thomas. He’s the other Ranger I was riding with. We split up to follow the gang when they separated, and I haven’t heard from him since. I know he’s out there on Jackson’s trail somewhere.” Grant looked out over the countryside, wondering again how his friend was doing.

“Maybe when we ride into Flat Rock, we’ll find out he’s already arrested them,” Dusty offered, allowing herself to smile slightly at the thought.

“Frank’s certainly capable of it, and that would be some real good news,” Grant agreed. “We’ll be finding out soon enough.”

Once Frank had started feeling better, he’d moved out to stay in the bunkhouse with the hands. He would have his full strength back soon, and he knew it was time he took some action to figure out the truth of who he was. He’d hoped the ride to the scene of the shooting would stir his memory, but it hadn’t worked out that way.

The only thing stirred up was his desire when he kissed Sarah. But he couldn’t let himself think about any kind of relationship with her until he knew his past.

He might have a wife and children—a family waiting for him to come home.

He had no idea.

His mind was still a blank.

Frank had come to recognize a few things about himself, though. He definitely was a man of action. He instinctively knew it wasn’t normal for him to just be sitting around waiting for things to happen. He was looking forward to the day when he was healthy enough to go hunting for the truth of his past.

There was one other thing he’d discovered about himself. Staying in the bunkhouse with the ranch hands, he’d learned he was a pretty good card player. The hands got a poker game up some evenings, and he’d proven himself to be sharp. Frank had joked with the men that if he never got his memory back, he could become a gambler and just move from town to town, earning his keep playing poker in the saloons. Though the thought had made him smile at the time, he’d known it was something he’d never do. Living that kind of life held no appeal for him. There was more to him than that.

It was almost dark when he saw Sarah riding back in, so he went over to the stable to talk to her. She’d been out working stock that day, so he hadn’t seen much of her. He found her tending to her horse as he came to stand in the stable doorway.

“Been working hard?” he asked.

She had been worrying about her father as she’d ridden back up to the ranch house, but just hearing her Ranger’s voice eased her mood. She smiled as she turned to greet him, realizing she thought of him as
her
Ranger now. “Harder than you,” she teased.

“That’s not difficult to do these days,” Frank countered

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. I think in another week, I should be about back to normal—whatever ‘normal’ is.”

“We can always use another hand here on the ranch,” she told him.

“I appreciate the offer. You were looking worried
when you rode in. Did you run into some trouble today?”

“No, I was just thinking about my pa—”

“You knew he was going into town today, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, and that’s why I was worried. There usually is trouble if he stays in town too long. He starts drinking and his mood can get ugly.” She turned away, not wanting to say more about her father’s abusive ways.

“Sarah—” Frank moved to put a hand on her shoulder and turn her back around to face him. “You know if you ever need anything—I’m here.” His dark-eyed gaze met and held hers.

Sarah felt her heart actually skip a beat at the look of concern she saw in his eyes. Except for Andy, who was so much younger than she was, she had never really had a man in her life who cared for her and wanted to protect her. “Thank you.”

“No,” he said in a low, soft voice, “thank you—”

The temptation was there, and he had no desire whatsoever to resist it. Ever so slowly, he took her by the shoulders and drew her to him for a kiss.

Sarah didn’t even consider resisting. She had done nothing but think about the kiss he’d given her the other day, and she willingly met him in that embrace, returning his kiss full measure.

Frank was stunned for a moment by her response, and then he just relaxed and enjoyed it. He knew he shouldn’t be kissing Sarah, but right then, he didn’t care. He needed the feel of her in his arms, willing. Had he not been aware that some of
the other hands were around, Frank might have swept her up and carried her to one of the piles of clean straw in the stable, where they could enjoy themselves. Instead, he just savored this stolen moment of closeness.

“I did need that,” Sarah said when they finally ended the kiss and put some distance between themselves.

“Like I told you,” he said, grinning at her, “if you ever need anything, I’m your man.”

Sarah liked that thought. “I’ll remember what you said,” she assured him, returning his grin.

Luckily, they were a respectable distance apart when Andy came into the stable, looking for her.

“Sarah, Pa’s still not back,” he told her.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Sarah said in disgust. “Maybe he’ll spend the night in town and sleep it off.”

“It’d be better that way,” Andy remarked.

Frank could hear the uncertainty and terror in the boy’s voice and felt a stirring of understanding and sympathy. He put a hand on Andy’s shoulder.

“I was just telling your sister, if you ever need any help, you just let me know.”

Andy was surprised by the edge of fierceness in his voice. “You’d help us?”

“Of course. You helped me. We have to take care of each other. That’s what friends are for.”

“I got dinner going, Sarah,” Andy said, then turned to look at Frank with almost heroic adoration in his expression. “Do you want to eat with us up at the house instead of with the hands, Ranger man?”

“Why, I’d like that a lot, Andy. Thanks for asking.”

“Let’s go. It’s almost ready.”

“You two, go ahead. I’ll finish up here and be right with you. I hope you made something good tonight. I’m real hungry,” Sarah said, and she watched them walk from the stable together. She felt a warm glow within her at the sight of them. The Ranger was exactly the kind of man Andy needed in his life—a man who was strong and honest and kind.

She hurried to finish her chores and then followed the men up to the house. She went straight to her room to wash up before joining them in the kitchen for the meal.

Andy had made stew and there were some leftover biscuits from breakfast to go with it. The stew smelled delicious.

“I’m glad I taught you how to cook,” Sarah said as she sat down at the table.

Andy said grace, and they all dug in, enjoying the meal and the time together.

But even though Andy and Sarah did have a good time, they were ever aware that their father could ride in at any minute. They had to be ready for whatever might happen when he did.

“You’ve never mentioned your mother,” Frank said, thinking that she’d died. “Has she been gone long?”

Andy looked quickly at his sister, while Sarah tried to keep her expression from revealing too much.

“She’s been gone for about five years,” she answered.

Frank realized how young Andy had been when he’d lost his mother. “That was a rough time for you.”

“Yeah,” Andy began, wanting to tell Frank everything, “we woke up one morning and she was gone.”

Frank thought he meant she’d died of a fever or something sudden overnight. “Was it a bad fever?”

They both looked up at him quickly.

“No, you don’t understand,” Sarah began carefully. “Our mother left us. She ran off, and we haven’t heard a thing from her since.”

“Pa was so mad—” Andy had been young, but he still remembered all the heartbreak that morning when he’d gotten up and tried to find his missing mother.

Frank was shocked by the news. “I’m so sorry.”

“So are we. We still miss her, but—” Sarah let it drop. “We’re doing all right. Pa’s kept the ranch going and we’ve got each other, so things are good.”

Andy looked at her, then added a little sullenly, “Most of the time.”

“All right, let’s enjoy what’s left of our dinner,” Sarah said, changing the topic. “It’s almost time to start cleaning up the dishes.”

“I’ll be glad to help out,” Frank offered.

“Good!” Andy was happy for the offer for he hated doing women’s work. Cooking a meal was one thing, but dishes and actual house work were another.

It was an hour later when Frank bid them good night. He gazed at Sarah longingly for a moment before leaving the house. He was almost aching
with the need to have her back in his arms, but with Andy so close, there was no privacy. He wanted to respect her and honor her, so he put the thought from him as he made his way back to the bunkhouse.

A few of the men already had a poker game going, and Frank joined in. He’d already won enough to pay back the money they’d loaned him the first time he’d played with them, so they were all eager for the chance to get back what he was regularly winning from them now. He knew, too, playing poker would take his mind off Sarah, and right then he needed to be distracted.

Sarah gave Andy a hug as they started to get ready for bed.

“Do you think Pa is going to show up tonight?” Andy was nervous at the prospect of their father riding in drunk.

“If he does, you just stay in your bedroom. I’ll take care of him.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” She gave him another reassuring hug, then kissed him on top of his head. “Now, go on and get some sleep.”

“You, too.”

“And don’t forget to say your prayers, young man—”

“I won’t,” he promised as he disappeared into his room.

Sarah undressed and put on her gown. As she settled into bed, she found herself unable to sleep.
Her Ranger was in her thoughts, and she couldn’t stop thinking about how wonderful it had been to kiss him in the stable. Even as she relived the thrill of his embrace, a sense of sadness overtook her. She wanted him to stay with her forever, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. It probably wouldn’t be too much longer before he got his memory back. Once he did, she was sure that he was going to leave.

Sarah forced the thought away, and closed her eyes. She was determined to enjoy what time they had together. The future she would deal with when it happened. There was no point in worrying about it now for there was absolutely nothing she could do to change what would happen.

A tear traced a path down her cheek as she tried not to think about the day when her Ranger would ride away.