When a Texan Gambles (28 page)

“I’ll show you to a room where you can rest,” the nun told Norma. “Your Ellie is sleeping just down the hall, and last time I looked your boy was eating in the kitchen. We’ll see that no harm comes to them while you rest.”

Norma let the Sister lead her into a room almost devoid of furnishings. Without a word the old barmaid crawled into the small bed. The kind nun covered her and whispered, “I’ll wake you if Ellie needs you.”

Sarah looked up at Sam and smiled. He’d found the perfect place. She couldn’t help but wonder how many other times he’d brought lost souls here. Sam wasn’t quite the ruthless bounty hunter he claimed to be.

As they moved back into the hallway, Sarah noticed the nun still stared at her, but couldn’t figure out why.

“Have you room for one more, Ruthie?” Sam broke the silence. “I’d like my wife to stay here for a few days while I take care of some business.”

The Sister smiled at Sarah. “I’d love to have her stay. I’d like a few days to get to know the mother of my future nieces and nephews.”

Before Sarah could ask what was going on, the Sister hugged her. Sarah had no intention of staying behind, but the Sister’s welcome felt so sincere.

When Ruthie pulled away, Sam put his arm around the tall nun and said with pride. “Sarah, I’d like you to meet my baby sister.”

Sarah couldn’t believe it. A hundred questions came to mind. As she looked at them side by side, she saw the same dark eyes, the same strong chin. All at once they were all talking. Ruthie wanted to know everything about how they met. Sarah wanted to hear about how she became a nun and how she kept up with Sam. If he’d been ten when their father died, she must have been two, for Sam had said once that his mother died in childbirth two years before his father had been killed in the war.

They moved into a large kitchen and circled a table. Ruthie brought hot tea and pumpkin bread. While they ate, Sam’s sister packed a five-pound cloth sack with basic supplies.

Sarah thought of how strange it was to think of Sam having family. She’d guessed that he was all alone like she was. But he wasn’t like her. He had someone who cared about him and loved him. From the way they talked, their parents had loved each other.

Sarah had had none of that. He had a base to grow from and she didn’t. She could say she loved him if she wanted to, but in truth she knew nothing of the feeling. She realized how wrong she’d been to believe there was a rule that could make someone love another.

Sam and Ruthie talked of their childhood, of growing up being passed around from family to family. They talked of having each other, of how when things got bad they would stand by each other.

When Sam enlisted to fight along the frontier, Ruthie moved into a mission, and there she found her home.

As they talked, Sam slipped money into the large pocket of Ruthie’s apron.

“You don’t have to, Sam,” Ruthie whispered.

“For Norma and her children. It’ll get them a fresh start.”

“I’ll see to it,” Ruthie said.

Sarah was surprised by the exchange, but acted as if she hadn’t noticed it. She thought Sam didn’t even like Norma, yet he’d helped her and her children, and done so in a way the woman would never know about.

When Sam stood and mumbled something about needing to get on with the plan, Ruthie touched Sarah’s hand. “It will be grand having you stay with me for a few days. I have my duties here, but we’ll have lots of time for long talks. And don’t worry about Sam. It’s always hard for him to say good-bye, even when he knows he’ll be back in a matter of days. You’ll see him again before you know it.”

Sarah looked around for Sam as Ruthie’s words sank in. He’d been gone more than a few minutes.

She glanced over to where Ruthie had set the supply bag. It was gone. He was gone.

“I’d love to stay, but I can’t.” Sarah almost knocked the chair over in her haste. “I have to go with Sam.” Dread drifted through her thoughts. What if she missed him? “Excuse me.”

She was at a full run when she reached the garden door they’d entered an hour before. Her carpetbag sat just inside on a table. He’d left it for her. He’d left her.

Sarah grabbed her belongings and opened the door.

Sam had one foot in the buggy.

“What are you doing?” She grabbed his shirt. “You were going to leave without even saying good-bye.”

“I told you I have something I have to do. I’ll be back in a few days. There is no sense putting off what I have to do. You’ll be safe here.”

“You weren’t going to say good-bye.”

He turned around and faced her. “How could I look in your eyes and say good-bye to you, Sarah, without holding you? I don’t think they allow that kind of thing in the mission. At least not in the way I want to hold you. I thought it was better if I just kind of slipped away.”

Sarah tossed her bag into the buggy. “Well, you don’t have to worry about being proper with your farewells, because I’m going with you.”

“You are not.”

She climbed into the buggy. “This is where I belong, next to you.” She crossed her arms and leaned back, staring straight ahead. “You even made me promise to sleep next to you every night.”

Sam figured it was a losing battle, but he tried logic. “It may be rough, Sarah. There may even be trouble.”

She looked at him. “Then we have no time to waste. You’d better teach me to shoot before dark.”

The mission door opened and Ruthie stepped out. She looked at first her brother and then Sarah already in the buggy.

Sarah tried to smile. “Thank you for the offer to stay, but I’m needed here with Sam. He can’t go without me.”

Ruthie nodded and winked at her big brother. “It’s about time he needed someone. I’ll see you both again.”

Sam swung into the buggy. “One of these days, wife, I’m going to win an argument with you.” Part of him wanted to pick Sarah up and toss her back where she’d be safe. He hated the idea that she might be in danger. But he couldn’t call her a liar. He did need her.

TWENTY-THREE

VALUABLE TIME TICKED AWAY, AND THERE WAS NOTHING Sam could do about it. Since he’d had word that Reed and his men were camped near Fort Worth, he’d wanted to finish the trouble between them once and for all. Ranger Dalton rode out after they’d had coffee before dawn. He was now three hours ahead of Sam. Jacob planned to check things out, then backtrack to meet up with Sam. But Sam couldn’t even seem to get on the road.

First, Norma had to be taken to the mission, then his sister always thought they had to talk. Now Sarah insisted on going with him, and of course, shopping had to happen before they could leave town. At this rate he’d be an old man before he ever caught another outlaw. He was beginning to believe there was a reason why he’d never known a bounty hunter to marry.

The only good thing about the direction they were riding was that once Sam settled things with Reed, they would be near his place. Sam wanted to take Sarah home. It was the one thing he had to offer her. A place she could call her own. He wasn’t sure she believed he was telling the truth when he talked about it, but she’d see the farm soon enough.

Glancing in her direction, he did have to admit Sarah was quite a sight riding beside him. While he’d found her a horse and gathered supplies, she’d insisted on switching into a pair of trousers and a shirt she picked up at the saddle shop. Both were far too big and of poor quality, but she hadn’t complained. Even the hat she bought looked like a hand-me-down. But the small leather moccasins he’d insisted she wear fit her feet like gloves. They laced to the knee so she would have extra protection against scrapes along the trail.

She’d told the truth when she said she could ride. He enjoyed watching her long gold braid bounce from side to side as they galloped out of town. In truth, he enjoyed watching every part of her swaying in the saddle. He might never use a buggy again.

“You handle a horse like a top hand, Mrs. Gatlin,” he offered when they finally slowed to allow the horses to walk.

“I used to take care of Granny Vee’s old nag. I’d ride whenever I had my chores done. I’ve always loved animals.” She glanced at him. “That’s probably what attracted me to you.”

“You like this over a buggy?” He couldn’t help but wonder if she had any idea of how much of an animal he was. She was so sure she could tame him, but Sam knew she had little chance.

“Oh, yes.” She leaned forward and patted the gray mare’s neck. “I can’t believe you found such a fine horse to rent.”

“I didn’t rent the animal. I bought her. If you want, she’s yours.”

Sarah looked at him in surprise. “Mine? Just mine?”

“If you want. I know you can’t fit her in that bag, but she’s yours just the same. I’ve got plenty of room in the barn on our place, and there’s a pasture with a creek that runs through it. I’d have to do some work on the fence, but it wouldn’t take me more than a few days.”

Sarah pulled her reins. Sam did the same.

“You mean she’s mine to ride.” Sarah pushed her hat back and looked at him.

“I mean she’s yours to keep, Sarah. If I’d have known you liked to ride, I’d have gotten you a mount earlier.”

“She’s mine to keep, forever?”

Sam was starting to feel as if he were talking to an echo.

“Forever.” He didn’t know what more to say, but he had to talk to her. He had to let her know where she stood, with him, the horse, with everything. “If you ride away from me one day, at least I’ll know you’re on a good horse.”

“Thank you for the horse.” She patted the animal once more. “But I’m not leaving you, Sam. I don’t know why you think I might. You’re my husband.”

He watched her, surprised she’d read him so clearly. The Ranger’s words haunted his thoughts. How had he put it exactly? “If Sarah isn’t already with child, Sheriff Riley might call the whole thing off.” She might say she wasn’t leaving, but Sam wondered how she would react if she knew it could be possible.

“To my way of thinking, when we married, we made a deal,” Sam said. “I’d bail you out and take care of you. That means a home for you to stay and that you’d never go hungry. In exchange, you’d be my wife. Cook my meals when I’m home, keep house, and share my bed when you’re ready.”

“It is a fair bargain. More than I could have hoped for.”

She didn’t say anything else, but Sam saw it in her eyes. She wanted more. The problem was he had no idea what the more could be.

“We’d better stop here and let me teach you how to use a gun,” he said, changing the subject. “If you’re going to ride with me, you’d better know a few things.”

They directed the horses into a wooded area half a mile from the road. Sam took his time showing her how his .45-caliber Colt worked. For Sam the weapon had been almost an extension of his hand for years. He found it hard to believe anyone would not know how to use a six-shooter.

At first he had been in a hurry to finish the lesson and ride on, but as they sat close, their heads together, looking at how to load the weapon, Sam decided he didn’t care if it took days.

When she was ready to pull the trigger, Sam propped a branch up with rocks about thirty feet away and stood behind her. The weapon looked huge in her hands as she raised it and fired.

She jumped and almost dropped the gun.

Sam laughed. When she tried again, he was prepared. He made her stand on a rock so that she was almost as tall as him, then he braced her, circling his arms around her, talking low in her ear.

When she fired again, she rocked against him.

For almost an hour she aimed at the branch and fired. Each time he patiently went over his instructions once more, touching her gently as he talked, loving the way she leaned into him as she grew tired. Fascinated by how she took his slight caresses as though they were as natural as breathing. At sundown the branch still stood, but neither of them seemed to care.

They camped beneath the live oaks and feasted on food Ruthie had packed in an old flour sack. There were times when silence stretched between them, but neither seemed to mind. The air grew cold as the sounds of the night whispered around them.

Sam built up the fire, wondering if Jacob would see it from the road when he backtracked looking for them. They were on the same road, they’d catch up with each other eventually, and he hoped they’d do so before either of them found Reed. The outlaw was wanted in three states. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill if he felt trapped.

Sam knew there were others besides Reed out there looking to put a bullet in him, but Reed irritated him more than most. Some men became outlaws out of anger, or looking for a fast way to make money during hard times. But Reed was just mean to the core. Everyone he touched suffered.

When Sam spread his bedroll by the fire, he wasn’t surprised Sarah put hers a few inches away. The need to make love to her had long ago become an ache deep inside him, sweet and torturing at the same time. Wanting her made him know he was still alive, still a man. In the past few years he’d closed down until he sometimes thought of himself as no more human than the Colt he wore. Everyone, but Sarah, looked at him the same way, but to her, he was a man ... her man.