Tall, Dark, and Texan (14 page)

She had a way of doing little things that settled into his mind. Maybe they’d share a few minutes of coffee on the porch alone, or she’d whisper something she thought was funny so only he could hear. A few days before, they’d laughed over Bethie playing in the mud around the well. When he’d caught Jessie’s eye, she’d winked at him.

Last night Sage had invited the preacher to dinner. The women had made a fuss, but Preacher Paul hadn’t noticed. He’d brought his mother along, who seemed to be taking inventory of the house. The only thing good about the dinner was laughing about it with Jessie after everyone else had gone to bed.

He kicked his horse, suddenly in a hurry to be home.

Teagen knew something was wrong even before he made it to the corral. The wagon that Sage would have driven to town hours ago had been pulled to the house and left in the sun. Sage would never leave the horses like that, and Martha always insisted on the supplies being brought in at once.

Teagen galloped straight to the porch, his thoughts full of worry that something could have happened to Emily during her ride or to Sage and Jessie on their way home.

Before he swung down, Jessie was there.

“What’s wrong?” He could see tear streaks on her cheeks, and her eyes were wild with fear.

“It’s Em,” Jessie cried. “She must have woke up from her nap and found us gone. We think she saddled Glory and rode out to meet us, but Sage and I never saw her on the road back from town.”

Sage hurried from the barn and joined them. “I’m changing horses. The Apache said she crossed the bridge about an hour after we left. We should have seen her. I’ve covered the road from here to town. Now I’ll go the other direction.”

He looked at Jessie, fighting the need to pull her against him. “Don’t worry. We’ll find her.”

The little mother didn’t look like she believed him, but she nodded.

Teagen rode to the bridge and tried to track Glory’s prints. He wasn’t the tracker Tobin or Travis was, but he could follow a fresh trail. Sage rode beside him, watching for trouble while he climbed down again and again to study the tracks in the fading light. The road between their place and town was well traveled and fairly safe, but anyone turning the opposite direction at the bridge would be in open territory within a few miles. Any farmhouses would be few and far between. The ranch nearest the bridge had been abandoned for years so, if Emily looked for help, she wouldn’t find any.

The ground turned rocky, making tracking impossible.

“I should have told her not to ride alone,” Sage complained. “I should have warned her of the danger and not just told her how much fun it was. I should have—”

“Stop,” Teagen cut in. “We’ll find her.”

“It’ll be dark in less than an hour.” Sage yelled Emily’s name.

No answer.

“We’ll find her.” He thought of the frightened little girl who couldn’t even look him in the eye. “I’ll find her,” he whispered, knowing that he’d stay out all night if need be.

They moved on slowly, not sure what direction would be best. It looked like she turned around once, twice, three times. She must have been panicking. At one point she rode off the trail, and he couldn’t tell which way she’d turned. Since Sage hadn’t crossed her path coming home, it made sense she headed in the wrong direction at the bridge, but Teagen could find no tracks after the first mile. He should have added a second rule this morning. A rule that said never cross the bridge alone.

A little after dark, they saw a campfire in the trees. Teagen signaled Sage to be careful as they walked their horses toward it. He guessed if the campsite were Indians, they’d already heard the horses. If it was an outlaw gang, they’d be lucky to get away without shooting. Sage would be as good as either of his brothers if firing started, but he didn’t want to think about what might happen if the fight came down to fists. Most of him wanted to tell her to turn around and go back, but a small part knew his life might depend on having backup.

He’d also bet she wouldn’t leave him, no matter how loudly he ordered. Sage had always thought she was one of them, a full partner in the running of the ranch.

As they crossed through the trees and spotted the camp, Teagen took a long breath and relaxed when he saw only two men by the fire. From the way they had their gear stowed and their horses staked, they were traveling, not raiding.

“Hello the fire,” he called.

Both men reached for their rifles but didn’t take aim.

“State your name and purpose?” came the answer.

“Teagen McMurray, and I mean you no harm.”

To his surprise both rifles lowered. “Come on in, Mr. McMurray. You’re welcome to share our coffee.”

Teagen frowned, suspecting a trap.

Sage pushed forward. “They must not know you if they’re welcoming you,” she teased.

They both kept their guns ready as they walked in. The fire was small, and from the looks of it the men only had coffee boiling. He saw no hint of food or game.

From twenty feet away, Teagen recognized both men. They were Rangers that Travis had introduced him to in Austin. Tattor Sims, somewhat of a legend for never being wounded in more than a dozen fights, and Dolan Hatch, who lost his family twenty years ago and swore he’d never settle anywhere until buried. Travis had said to call on them if Teagen ever needed guards. It had been so long since he’d sent the letter, he’d almost forgotten about asking them to come.

Teagen moved closer. “Sims and Hatch, welcome. I expected you sooner, but I’m glad you’re here tonight.”

“We would have arrived yesterday.” Sims stepped closer. “But we ran into a bit of trouble on the road and had to talk a couple of horse thieves into changing occupations before moving on.”

Dolan laughed at Sims’s choice of words but said nothing.

Teagen nodded at Sage, and they lowered their guns. “This is my sister, gentlemen. Sage, these are the guards I hired, Tattor Sims and Dolan Hatch.”

Sage stepped forward and offered her hand to each of the older men. “You could have ridden on in tonight. You weren’t far from the ranch.”

Sims shook his head. “We didn’t think it would be a good idea to ride in after sunset. We figured tomorrow morning would be soon enough.” His watery-blue eyes stared at Teagen, then the old man lifted one eyebrow. “You got trouble already, don’t you?”

Teagen figured Sims had been around long enough to smell trouble. Dolan hadn’t said a word, but Teagen didn’t miss the fact he watched every movement. If he were guessing, Teagen would say no one ever got the jump on Hatch. Maybe the two men’s talents had kept them alive long enough to turn gray.

Sims had an easy, friendly manner about him, but Teagen remembered Travis saying once that Tattor Sims was lightning-fast with a gun. Now he looked more like a kindly grandfather than a gunslinger.

Sage explained about Emily being lost. The old Rangers listened as they collected their gear.

“I’ve already checked the road to town. She has to have gone this way unless she struck out across open land or somehow crossed back over the bridge unnoticed.”

“What kind of horse is she riding?” Sims asked.

“The best, a McMurray horse,” Teagen answered. “But the palomino’s old. The mare wouldn’t do much more than a walk unless something spooked her.”

Sims spoke his thoughts. “Some outlaw might knock the kid out of the saddle and take the horse. Or a few might even capture her to use in trade. There are those who’d pay good money for a little white girl.”

Teagen didn’t even want to think about that possibility. If it were true, Emily could be miles away by now, probably headed toward Mexico. They’d never find her.

“If my horse gets the chance, she’ll turn toward home,” Sage said. “She’s old enough to want her stall when it gets dark.”

Teagen motioned for Sage to climb up, then he turned to the Rangers. “The riding won’t be easy at night. We’ll go back to the bridge and spread out. If she fell off, she’ll be on foot and frightened. We have to find her.”

No one argued. They rode back to the bridge.

Teagen could see the main house. It had to be after ten, but every lantern in the place was lit as if calling to Emily. He thought he could make out Jessie standing on the porch, her arms folded over her chest like she always did when she was worried. Part of him wanted to ride in and tell her everything was going to be all right, but with each hour passing, he grew more uncertain. If Emily had stepped down or fallen from Glory, the horse might have returned to the barn. At this point, seeing Glory would offer some hope, but they both seemed to have vanished.

He searched the dark yard to the left of the ranch house. If anything had happened since he and Sage left, Martha would have fired off three shots and lit the wash fires beside the house. She’d keep them burning high until they saw the signal.

Sims pointed with his head toward the tepees. “You got company?”

“Family,” Teagen answered. Since they knew Travis in Austin, they knew the McMurrays were part Apache. He and Tobin looked like their father, but Travis favored their mother’s people. “Some of the men from that camp are riding the ranch land just in case.”

“Good,” Sims said simply. “How about we ride in and get lanterns? If the kid sees a light, she might find us.”

Teagen was so tired and worried he hadn’t thought of lanterns. “You’re right. We’ll ride in. Sage and I will fill lanterns, and you men eat a bite. If I know Martha, she’ll have food waiting.” If they had no food at their campfire, he could pretty well guess that they hadn’t eaten all day.

When they rode back to the house, Teagen only took a minute with introductions, then he went to saddle fresh horses and get the lanterns.

He wasn’t surprised when Jessie followed him. “Can I help? I have to do something.”

He looked into her brown eyes, wishing he could ease a little of the pain he saw there. “We’ll find her.”

“I know.” She worked at his side, filling every extra barn lantern. By the time they’d finished, the Rangers were back at their horses, still chewing their food. Sage handed him a roll stuffed with a slice of ham, but Teagen knew he could never get it down. All he could think about was Emily, frightened and alone out in the dark. Even if she hadn’t been kidnapped, she was lost and maybe hurt.

They mounted. Jessie tied the last of the lanterns on when Dolan Hatch stood in his saddle and said calmly, “Someone’s coming.”

Teagen looked toward the bridge. He saw nothing in the darkness for a moment, then, with everyone frozen, he heard what sounded like a low hum.

All stood ready.

A black horse and a rider dressed in midnight slowly materialized out of the shadows. Drummond Roak was riding easily as if he carried something with great care. His head bent low, he hummed what sounded like a lullaby as he cradled his charge.

Jessie was the first one to break and run toward him. Teagen followed on horseback. They reached the kid at the same time.

“Evening,” Roak said with a smile. “I found this little one down by the creek near town and remembered she belonged to you.”

He lifted his coat to reveal a sleeping Emily in his arm. “Came with me when I told her I’d take her home, but she was so scared, she cried herself to sleep. She kept saying she had to get back to the mountain ’cause it was a rule.”

Carefully, he handed her down to Jessie.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she hugged her daughter. “Thank you so much.”

Roak shoved back his hat and smiled. “You’re welcome, Widow Barton. She told me she was riding to meet you and Sage, but when she passed the place where Mister had refilled the canteen, she decided to get a drink. Apparently no one told the child how to tie a horse up. She’s been wandering around looking for Glory.”

Sage kissed Emily’s cheek. “Thank the Lord she’s safe.” She looked up at Roak. “What about my horse, Glory?”

“I thought I saw her grazing about a quarter mile downstream. I figured she’d be all right till morning.”

Sage patted his leg. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, darlin’.”

Teagen felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. “Would you like to come in, Roak?” He tried his best to say it like he meant it.

“No. But I will bring that old palomino back come morning, say around breakfast time.”

“You’ll be welcome.” Teagen meant the words. This was the second time Roak had helped the McMurrays, and he owed him friendship, no matter how much the kid irritated him.

Jessie thanked Roak one more time, then took Emily inside. Martha followed, fretting over the child as if she were Em’s grandmother.

Roak looked down at Sage. “Since you’re already saddled, how about riding with me to the bridge?”

“All right.” She smiled. “But don’t get any ideas.”

They were halfway to the bridge with Teagen still wondering what Sage had been talking about. He turned to the Rangers. “Well, it wasn’t as long a night as we feared. I’ll show you to the bunkhouse and let you settle in. Tomorrow, at dawn, I’ll explain everything.”

Sims grinned. “Sounds good. I’m looking forward to sleeping on a bed. The ground gets harder every year.”

Hatch offered to take care of the horses.

As Teagen walked to the bunkhouse Sims said, “Travis told us you were having trouble. We’ve done this kind of thing before. Between the three of us there won’t be a time when someone isn’t watching over the ranch.”

“Four,” Teagen said. “Sage will do her part.”

“I should have figured that,” Sims agreed. “All the Rangers know about her. We were real sad when Mike Saddler died. He was a good man, and from the way he talked about your sister, I know he planned to offer marriage.”

Teagen looked off toward the rise in the land where three bodies lay. “We buried him here,” he said. “I think it’s where he would have wanted to be. Travis told me once that Mike said the best he could hope for in life was a woman to cry over his grave. I guess he got that.”