Texas Brides Collection (18 page)

He pulled back, looking into her face. He stroked his fingers down the side of her face. “I’m so sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you. I realize how much I’ve hurt you, especially by rejecting God.” His smile was rather lame. “But I never could get away from Him. He wouldn’t let me go.”

“He never will,” she told him softly.

He noticed her shivering and crossed to the fire. Striking a match, he soon had a roaring blaze and motioned her to join him next to it. The look he fixed on her was intent. “I take it the ranger found you?”

Flushing, April watched the fire flickering in the stone hearth. “Yes,” she answered him quietly. “He found me.”

“Did he…were you treated good?”

She swallowed hard, still not looking at him. “Yes, he treated me well.” Her voice softened on the last word, and her brother’s brows rose.

“What aren’t you telling me?” he demanded, pulling her around to face him.

“She’s not telling you that we fell in love.”

April spun around at the same time as her brother, his hand instinctively reaching for his gun. He pulled it from his holster so quickly, April stared in amazement. The only problem was, Wolf stood in the doorway, his gun already pointed at Ted’s heart.

W
olf!” April barely got the word out of her mouth before Ted shoved her behind him. Neither man was willing to drop their weapon.

“You don’t want April to get hurt, do you, Hansen?”

Ted glanced over his shoulder at his sister huddling behind him. She lifted terrified eyes to his face. Slowly he dropped his Colt to the floor.

Glowering, he glanced up at Wolf. “What do you mean you fell in love? In a few days? That’s impossible!”

“It’s been known to happen before,” Wolf replied, still not holstering his own weapon. He moved carefully across the room until he could pick up Ted’s gun.

“Wolf, please!”

April tried to push past her brother, but he snaked out an arm to hold her in place. He glared at his sister. “Is what he says true?”

For the first time, Wolf totally ignored Ted. His dark eyes were fixed intently on April. “I knew it as soon as I left you,” he told her softly. “I didn’t want to love you, but I do.”

Ted’s angry voice lashed out at April. “You can’t be in love with a…a…”

“Half-breed,” Wolf supplied, his eyes glittering angrily, and he heard April’s swift intake of breath.

Ted turned to him, anger rising in his own eyes. “I wasn’t going to say that. I don’t want my sister involved with a ranger. That’s no kind of life for a woman.”

April was staring fixedly at Wolf. She knew she had been attracted to the ranger, but she hadn’t realized just how deep those feelings ran until he walked out of her life. She looked at her brother standing defiantly against Wolf, still trying to protect her. She loved him, too.

Her gaze clashed with Wolf ’s. “Let him go, Wolf, please.”

What did she see in his eyes? Disappointment?

“I can’t, April. I have a job to do, and I’ve given my oath.”

They both were surprised by Ted’s soft voice. “You know he’s right.”

April turned a pale face to her brother. “They might hang you!”

He shook his head. “Not for robbery. That’s just jail time.”

Wolf studied him closely, his thoughts hidden behind a granite mask. “Amos Miller’s gang has killed eight people. April’s right. If convicted, you’ll probably hang.”

Ted flashed him a look. “She didn’t need to know that.”

April didn’t know what to do. She had always gotten her brother out of his scrapes, but this one was beyond her. “Oh, Ted,” she lamented softly. She didn’t know what else to say.

“Where are the others, Hansen?” Wolf demanded.

Ted gave him a strange look. “I think you already know, Jackson.”

Wolf ’s puzzled look moved over Ted slowly. “I only tracked them as far as Hilton’s ledge, but you’re right. I’ll find them. But it would sure save me a lot of time, and possibly help you, if you cooperated.”

April tugged on his sleeve. “Tell him, Ted.”

Ted shook his head, still watching Wolf intently. “I don’t think so. Let’s just see how good you are, Jackson.”

Wolf sensed a double meaning behind the words. His lips pressed into a tight line. Without saying anything, he fastened a pair of handcuffs to Ted’s hands, while Ted watched him impassively.

April looked from one to the other, wringing her hands in agitation. She tried to get her brother to see reason one last time, but he still refused.

Wolf found Ted’s horse where he had hidden it behind the cabin. He helped him to mount, then mounted Sky Dancer.

April laid a hand against his saddle, and he frowned down at her. Her blue eyes pleaded with him, and despite himself, he felt his heart soften.

“I want to come, too,” she begged.

He looked like he was about to decline, but then giving a quick nod, he reached down and lifted her to the saddle in front of him. Wrapping his arms around her securely, he noticed Ted’s uncertain look flicking from one to the other.

Wolf led the way back to town, reluctant to open April up to any more censure. Still, Ted was her brother, and she loved him. It was only natural that she wanted to be with him.

He glanced once more at Ted, and the other man met his eyes. There was a message in them that he couldn’t quite interpret. Wolf pulled April closer, thankful for the time he could hold her in his arms.

April’s silence made his heart ache with sympathy. She loved her brother so much. What would it do to her if he did hang? And how could he live with himself if he was the cause of that pain in her life? At times like this, he almost hated being a ranger.

He handed Ted over to the sheriff, leaving April alone with her brother. He filled out the necessary paperwork to submit to his captain and quickly left the building. The sooner he got on the road, the sooner his job would be finished. And when this job was finished, he was coming back for April.

Although he had wondered if he could make any woman go through the prejudice his own mother had been through, he knew that he couldn’t go on without at least offering April the chance to give them both a life full of love. After today, though, he was no longer confident of her feelings in the matter.

He had just mounted his horse when April hurried outside. The cold wind caused her gray wool dress to wrap around her legs. Shivering with the cold, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “I need to talk to you, Wolf.”

His hands tightened on the reins. He thought he knew what she had to say, but he wasn’t certain he wanted to hear it. After consigning her brother to almost certain death, how could she help but hate him?

“Not now, April. When I get back.”

“No! I have to say this now.”

Staring into her determined blue eyes, he slowly dismounted. Taking her arm, he pulled her to the side of the building, out of sight and sound of others who might be passing by.

He folded his arms across his chest, his look wooden. “Go ahead.”

She studied his face for some time. Sighing, she laid a hand gently on his arm. “What Ted has done, he has to pay for. He made his own choices.”

Slowly, his shoulders relaxed. “April, I—”

She placed her fingers over his lips. “It’s all right, Wolf. You did what you had to do. I don’t hold that against you.” A sad smile curled her lips. “If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be the man that I love.”

He pulled her close, his large hand pressing her head against his chest. She could hear the thundering of his heart against her ear, and her smile widened. She looked up into his face, and blue eyes filled with love met brown eyes filled with adoration.

“I’ll be back,” he told her huskily, and she knew he was making her a promise.

“You better,” she agreed just as huskily. Her eyes grew solemn. “Be careful, Wolf.”

He kissed her with a kiss so full of promise, her legs threatened to buckle beneath her. She watched him climb back on Dancer, and giving her one last look, he wheeled about and headed out of town. Heavyhearted, April watched him leave.

She made her way slowly into the sheriff ’s office, not certain she was up to her brother’s upcoming interrogation. The look in his eyes told her that she had a lot to answer for.

The sheriff allowed her into his cell, and she seated herself on the bunk next to him. His look roved her features, and lifting one dark eyebrow, he asked, “Jackson gone?”

Flushing, she dropped her gaze to the dusty floor. “Yes.”

“Do you really love him?”

She looked at him then, her eyes sparking with resolution. “Yes, I do.”

He sighed heavily. “I hope for your sake that you’re not disappointed.”

“Why should I be?”

Reading the look on her face, his own face darkened. “Don’t even think that! I am not referring to the man’s race. If you remember correctly, mother hired a black nanny for us when we were younger, and we both loved her. You’re not the only one who can see beyond skin color. I have no problem with his race.” He got up and curled his hands around the cell bars. “But there are things you don’t understand.”

“Such as?”

Instead of answering, he yelled for the sheriff. Sheriff Baker took his time answering the summons, and when he finally meandered into the room, Jason Dice was with him.

“What do
you
want?” the sheriff snapped.

Jason’s look was nasty. “He wants to hang, don’t you, Mr. Hansen?” The look he threw April was full of loathing.

“I have something for you,” Ted told the sheriff, surprising everyone. He reached down and took off his boot. Turning it over, he pried open the heel with his fingers and pulled out a piece of paper. Unfolding it, he handed it to the sheriff.

Curious, April joined him at the bars. She tried to see past his broad shoulders, but all she could see was the stunned expression on the sheriff ’s face.

“What is it?” she asked.

The sheriff looked at Ted, his face a curious mixture of disbelief and awe. “It’s a letter from the commander of the Texas Rangers, Mr. John Ford. It’s cosigned by the president of the United States, James Buchanan.”

April’s startled gaze flew to her brother.

“It says here,” the sheriff continued, “that Mr. Ted Hansen, Texas Ranger, is acting under the auspices of the federal government and the State of Texas, and that he is to be afforded every vestige of legal rank.”

Jason grabbed the paper from his hand. “Let me see that!” He quickly scanned the note, his face blanching. “It’s a forgery,” he declared vehemently.

The sheriff took the paper, studying it. “Not with the president’s seal, it’s not.”

The color drained from April’s face. “You’re a ranger? But…but why didn’t you tell Yellow Wolf?”

He avoided her searching eyes. “I need out of here, Sheriff. Now!”

Sheriff Baker hastily retrieved his keys and opened the door of the cell. Ted quickly exited, April following more slowly. Jason followed behind, his manner suddenly subdued. He stalked past them angrily and left the office.

“I need my guns,” Ted barked at the sheriff.

“Ted!”

He turned to her then. Taking her by the shoulders, he bent until he could look into her eyes.

“Listen to me, April. I don’t have time to explain things now. You’ll have to wait until I get back.”

“If
you get back!”

He cocked her a grin. “Have a little faith, will you?” Strapping on his holsters, he returned the paper to his hollowed-out boot sole, tapping the leather back in place. Putting his boot back on, he told her solemnly, “Pray for me.”

He dashed out the door, jumping to his horse tied to the rail. Whipping the reins loose from the post, he turned and galloped after Yellow Wolf.

April watched him leave, her heart in her throat. Swallowing convulsively, she decided that he was right. It was time to pray.

Amos Miller had been decidedly sloppy in leaving a trail to follow, and Wolf was more than a little suspicious.

He watched from the confines of a green shelter belt of trees as the trio ambled around their shanty in preparation for leaving. They were tying bundles to their horses, and he suspected it was probably the loot from their recent escapades. That they were cold-blooded killers warranted caution.