Tall, Dark, and Texan (24 page)

He knew if she took the house in town, he’d be settling for less than he wanted, but he’d settled all his life, and if it took that to keep them close, he’d buy her a place.

Teagen felt his whole body shift as if the earth had rotated backward for a heartbeat. He wanted more, much more. For the first time ever he needed something he’d never had. He wanted Jessie. She might not love him. She might never love him, but he needed her by his side and in his bed. He’d give her the house in town if she insisted, but he would be part of her life.

He galloped to the high point of his land and glanced back one last time before descending away from his property. For once the grand sight didn’t fill him with pride. His mind was soaked with the memory of a smile on one very special brown-eyed woman. If she asked for his touch this morning, she’d ask again tonight, and he planned to take his time giving her what she asked for.

Smoke to the east caught his attention. Not the thin line from a campfire but the rolling black kind that could only signal a grass fire.

With a sudden jerk of the reins, Teagen turned his horse and raced back toward home, his mission to town forgotten. The horse’s hooves almost drowned out one lone shot coming from the same direction as the smoke. Teagen pushed harder, leaning low as the animal ran.

When he reached the barn, Martha yelled from the porch. “We got a grass fire going on the east side!”

“I know,” he said pulling his saddle from the lathered bay. “I saw it from the top of the mountain. I’ll change mounts and be out there. Tell Sage to fire rounds to pull all the men in.”

“They all know. She had Hatch load the wagon with both rain barrels and all the old blankets. The other two men are already there fighting it dry. Sims rode off in that direction to check the riverbank half an hour before we saw the smoke. He probably made it to the site first.”

Teagen slapped his horse into the corral and began saddling a fresh one. The small herd they kept in the corral was circling nervously. They’d already smelled the fire.

A grass fire was normally somewhat controllable on windless days. But the land was dryer than usual, and guessing from the direction of the smoke, this fire appeared to be close to the place Travis was building in the woods. They’d need to get it contained fast, or the blaze would take not only the half-finished house belonging to Travis and Rainey, but the trees around it.

Jessie ran to the fence. “What can I do?”

He knew the more help they had, the better, but he didn’t want her too near the fire. “Help Martha hitch the old wagon and load it down with buckets full of water.” He looked directly at her. “Tell Martha not to drive the wagon within a hundred yards of the fire. I don’t want the horses bolting on her. We’ll see her and come to her.”

He pulled the fresh mount past her and lowered his voice. “You stay here. As soon as Martha comes close, we’ll trade wagons and send her back. Refill the buckets as fast as you can.”

Jessie nodded. “Em and Rose will help me.”

He swung up without another word and headed toward the smoke. He wished he’d had a minute to hold her. The fear in her eyes worried him. Grass fires could be hell to fight, but they’d fought several over the years. By nightfall it would be out with hopefully only a few sections of grassland lost. The land would look dead and black until spring, but then any sign of the fire would disappear.

The heat hit him before the smoke did. A warmth like opening an oven washed over him, turning the already warm air to hot. He saw three men working thirty feet from the tree line. A tall figure that could only have been Hatch rode in, jumped from his horse, and joined them. With no wind, the fire was eating up the ground on the other side, but the wet blankets the men slapped against the earth seemed to be holding it away from the trees.

He saw Sage pulling a wagon along one side of the fire pushing the blaze into a triangle shape so that it would grow smaller. They were letting the third side of the blaze burn its way to the river.

To Teagen’s surprise, Drummond Roak stood in the back of the wagon, hatless and dripping wet as he splashed bucket after bucket from the rain barrel. From the looks of it he was dipping deep, almost out of water. They’d be ready for another wagonload of water long before Martha could get to them.

Teagen rode toward his sister. The moment he tied his horse to the wagon, Roak tossed a dripping blanket at his head. Grumbling, Teagen went to work.

The air burned down his lungs, and his clothes turned black from the smoke, but he didn’t slow. If the wind whipped up before this line of the fire was under control, it could head straight to the house. They kept the area around the house and barn free of grass, but he knew seeing the smoke coming would frighten the girls.

Sage yelled when she saw a wagon coming. Drummond dropped the last of the water out and jumped to the ground with a soaked tarp over one shoulder.

“I’ll trade out the wagons and send Martha back,” Sage said, already turning the team.

Neither man uttered a word as they continued to fight. At times, the fire seemed to circle as if playing a game of surrounding them. To Roak’s credit, he knew how to work the flames. When the fire came too close, the men fought with their backs to one another. The blanket dried, becoming less effective with each swing.

Teagen raised his head. The men who’d been near the trees were working their way closer, and the smoke seemed less intense, but Sage was nowhere in sight. With clouds covering the sun and all the smoke in the air, Teagen couldn’t see any sign of either Sage or Martha’s wagon.

His lungs ached, and his knuckles were starting to bleed, but he didn’t slow. The wind kicked up, sending the fire dancing but bringing whispers of rain to come. With no moisture in weeks, this would be the perfect day for an afternoon shower. Raising his head, he took a deep breath and smiled. Rain was in the air.

They worked for an hour before the fire was brought under control. At first, he’d thought Sage must have driven the wagon farther to the east. The buckets of water could be used on any side. But as time passed and the smoke began to clear, Teagen couldn’t see her.

A worry fisted in the pit of his stomach, bothering him far more than the fire. He glanced at Roak just as the kid raised his head to look in the direction Sage had gone. Roak was worried about her too. She should be safe. She drove away from the fire. Once she traded wagons with Martha, she should have had a full load of fresh water.

“She’s safe,” Teagen shouted to the kid.

Roak glared at him.

Neither of them believed his words.

They worked on, the worry building. When Teagen and Roak were within fifty feet of Hatch and the two hired men, Teagen yelled, “Have you seen Sage or the wagon?”

The Ranger shook his head even before his “No” reached them.

Teagen swore and fought down worry turning to panic.

Roak echoed his words from a few feet away.

“Have you seen Sims?” Hatch shouted.

“No,” Teagen answered, knowing somehow the two missing people were connected. He reasoned that Sims could take care of himself, but Sage might try to take on more than she could handle.

Roak tossed the remains of what had been a good tarp on the ground and straightened. “I’m going after her,” he said. “To hell with this fire.”

For once Teagen couldn’t blame the kid. In fact, he felt the same way. But Teagen stayed, thrashing away at the flames as he watched Roak head in the direction Sage had gone.

Thunder rattled above. For the hundredth time, Teagen prayed for rain.

Just before the kid disappeared into the smoke, Teagen thought he saw the outline of a wagon. He dropped his blanket and ran.

The shadow of the wagon was ringed in smoke.

The whole world seemed to darken. Teagen couldn’t tell if it was from the smoke or the clouds gathering above. He didn’t care as he slowed his steps, searching for any sight of the wagon he’d seen minutes before.

“Over here!” Roak yelled.

His words circled in a gust of wind, but Teagen spotted the wagon sitting in the middle of burned grass still smoking, even though the fire had died. He saw no one.

As he stepped over the wagon tongue, he guessed Sage must have turned the team loose. But why? If the horses were able to run out of the fire, why hadn’t she ridden with them?

His boots crunched in the blackened remains of grass as he stormed closer. She shouldn’t have been this close to the edge of the fire. Martha must have pulled the wagon too near. Or Sage had been dumping the water herself and let the flames get too near.

His boot sank suddenly into mud. He looked down. A circle of water steamed around the wagon.

What he saw didn’t make sense. Why would she dump water on the wagon to keep it from burning and set the horses loose? Why didn’t she just get out?

No one was in the wagon. Half the buckets were still full.

Teagen ran around to the other side and froze. The sight before him stopped his heart.

There, on an unburned patch of pale grass, knelt Sage and Roak. Sage had used half a wagonload of water to save one small patch of ground.

He took a step closer as Roak stood and backed away. “I’ll be back as fast as I can,” the boy said to Sage as he turned, almost colliding with Teagen.

Teagen made no move to get out of Roak’s way. He saw only one thing amid the smoke.

Jessie lay curled on the ground, her black dress only a foot away from the scorched grass. The spilled water had saved the one spot she lay on.

He moved closer and saw a flash of the white of her petticoats. Then, all that filled his vision was red.

Blood red everywhere.

SAGE GLANCED UP AT HER BROTHER AND WISHED FOR a second that she could spare him the pain. He’d never allowed himself one day of happiness before Jessie came into his life, and even with her as his wife, he’d been slow to smile. But she’d made him happy. Sage had seen it this morning. They’d both been laughing at something secret between them when Sage saw them leave the barn. Something secret, something nice.

And now she would have to tell Teagen horrible news.

Teagen knelt. His hand went out to touch Jessie, but dirty, soot-covered fingers pulled back. “What’s wrong with her, Sage?”

Before she could answer, he swore. “She shouldn’t be out here. I ordered her to stay at the house where it was safe. Why would she drive the wagon out? Martha should have done that.”

Jessie whimpered and moved as if trying to curl into a ball, and Teagen seemed to forget all his anger. He glared up at Sage. “What can I do?”

Sage nodded once, knowing that she’d have his help, and they’d need each other if they were going to move the little widow.

“She’s losing the baby,” Sage said plainly, knowing Teagen would want the facts fast. “She tripped climbing out of the wagon. By the time I reached her, blood was already flowing out, and I was afraid to move her.”

Teagen looked up, and she knew he could fill in the rest. Sage had let the horses go, doused the area with water, and tried to help Jessie, even though they were in the middle of a grass fire.

“What can I do?” he repeated between clenched teeth.

Sage shook her head. “She’s in so much pain she won’t let me see. I need her to lie back so that I can see how far along with the delivery she’s come. If you could hold her . . . comfort her . . . maybe I could see if we’d be safe moving her.” Sage met his stare before whispering, “With this amount of blood, I’ve little hope we can save the baby. It will be too small to survive. Now the best we can hope for is to save her.”

Teagen knelt at Jessie’s head and hooked his hands beneath her arms. He pulled her gently up against him until he held her shoulders and head.

She whimpered in pain.

“Easy now, Jess,” he said. “I’ve got you.”

Her fingers closed around his arm, and she took a breath. “Teagen,” she whispered. “You’re here.”

Sage moved to her skirts. “Jessie, you’ve got to let me look. Hang on to Teagen and try to relax enough so that I can have a look.”

“Jess,” he whispered as he pushed her hair away from her eyes. “Jessie, we’re going to help you get through this.”

She bit her lip against the pain, and he would have given his soul if he could have taken this torture from her.

“Jessie,” he ordered. “Look at me.”

She didn’t move.

“Look at me.”

Her eyes fluttered open. “All right, Teagen,” she whispered.

“I’m right here with you.” He closed his hand over hers. “I want you to relax and let Sage help you.”

Jessie nodded and glanced down.

“Look at me, Jess. Look only at me.” He didn’t want her to see the blood.

“You’re a mess,” Jessie answered.

He smiled at her. “Ranching is a dirty job most days.”

“I . . .” She glanced down as Sage lifted her skirts. “My baby?”

“Look at me, Jess,” Teagen demanded.

She met his eyes. “An order or a request?”

“A request,” he answered. “I like looking into those brown eyes of yours. I think of them sometimes when I’m alone.”

“You do?” she whispered in pain as Sage gently pulled her legs apart.

Jessie seemed to understand what was happening for the first time. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she did not break the stare. “I’ll look only at your face if you’ll look only at mine.”

He tightened his grip. “I’ll do that. We’ll get through this together. Sage knows what to do.”

Jessie bit her lip and nodded as Sage moved her hands beneath her skirts.

Teagen had to think of something to take her mind off what was happening. “Why’d you come out after I told you to stay at the house?”

“I had to,” Jessie said, pulling her gaze back to his. “Martha was busy taking care of the Ranger named Sims.”