The Ranger Takes a Bride (8 page)

Chapter Nine

Alejandra
shuffled around the table the next morning, setting a white ironstone plate at each chair. The dishes were beautiful, with wide fluted edges and delicate leaf prints pressed into the sides. She'd never used anything so lovely. And to put them out for the vaqueros to eat from? It seemed
loco
.

"If that food tastes as good as it smells, I'm sorry I have to miss it."

The deep male voice resonated across the room, sending Alejandra at least three inches off the floor. Her heart stopped for a split second, then thundered in her chest. "What in the world?" She spun toward the voice.

There stood Edward Stewart. He was halfway across the room, but even from this distance she could see his mouth quirked, exposing one of his dimples. "Sorry if I startled you." He held up a cloth sack. "Just came by to pack some food before I head out."

Head out? Alejandra blinked to clear her mind. He was leaving already? She pushed herself into action. Striding forward, she reached to take the sack from him. "I'll pack lunch for you. Will you stay for breakfast before you go?"

She was close enough now to touch him, and warmth crept up her neck at his nearness. She couldn't look at his face, so she kept her gaze on the sack as he handed it to her. He wore a gun today, like that day he'd saved her in San Antonio. But had he worn it the other day when they first visited the ranch? Not that she remembered. It was probably a good idea for him to be armed when he traveled, though.

"Afraid I don't have time to eat here. I'll just snack on the trail."

With the cloth sack in her hand, she spun toward the kitchen. "I'll fill this and be right back." She scurried through the doorway, conscious of the boot thuds that followed at a slower pace.

"Buenas dias, Señora." His voice was warm as he greeted Mama Sarita, who stood at the stove tossing corn tortillas in a pan.

Mama Sarita kept up a lively chatter with him while Alejandra focused on filling his pack. There were a few tamales left from the other night. She wrapped the apple one in a separate cloth. Tortillas. A hunk of cheese. A generous bundle of buñuelos. Too bad she didn't have a way to wrap the arroz con pollo. How long would he be gone exactly? She turned to ask him…

And froze.

What was that on his chest? Something metal glimmered in the light from the window. A star? Her chest burned, and she struggled to breathe.

A badge? Edward wore a badge?
No!
He couldn't be a soldier. Could he? But only soldiers wore badges.

He must have noticed the stricken look on her face, because he stopped in the middle of speaking to Mama Sarita. His brows lowered. "What's wrong?"

Alejandra spun away from him. What was wrong? Everything! How could they be living in the home of a soldier? The kind that killed Mama. And Papa. How could she let this happen?

And how could it be Edward? She bit down hard on her lower lip to hold a sob inside.

An ache in her fingers penetrated Alejandra's awareness. She looked down, and found her knuckles white as they gripped the satchel. She had to get him out of here. Her body vaulted into motion, stuffing all the food she'd laid out on the counter into the satchel. No matter what the items were. She didn't care anymore. All she wanted was for him to leave.

Pulling the drawstring tight on the bag, she whirled and shoved it at him. "Here."

She didn't miss the shock on his face as he reflexively clutched the bundle. But she ignored it. Spinning back to the work counter, she busied herself laying out serving dishes to use for breakfast. She wouldn't leave the room until he was gone. Couldn't leave a soldier alone with Mama Sarita.

The room grew silent, but for the clanging of the dishes as she dropped them on the counter. Had he left already? But then came a shuffle, and the tell-tale sound of boots thudding on the hard wooden floor. The steps grew quieter as he retreated down the hall, then disappeared in the sound of the closing door.

~ ~ ~

What
had just happened? Edward paused on the front porch to replay the last few minutes in his mind. One moment Alejandra was giving him one of her shy smiles, and the next she looked at him as if he were a two-headed demon. Had he done something to anger or upset her? Not that he could remember. Certainly not anything he'd intended to do.

Mama Sarita was telling him what Emmaline had said about her "favorite Uncle Eddie." That shouldn't have upset Alejandra. So what then? He wasn't dumb enough to think she was upset about him leaving, even if he wanted that to be the case.

A horse nickered from the corral beside the barn, pulling Edward's gaze in that direction. He had to get going if he was going to make it to Austin in time to meet the other Texas Rangers. With a weight in his chest, he turned and strode down the steps.

For the first time in two years, he hated leaving the ranch. Especially without knowing what had upset Alejandra.

~ ~ ~

"Mija."

Alejandra didn't look up from the peppers she chopped, but the concern—and hint of reprimand—in Mama Sarita's voice was hard to miss.

"The huevos rancheros are better with chunks of peppers, not powder."

Powder? She paused for a glance at the green vegetable scattered under her knife. It wasn't powder, but the pieces were somewhat shredded. Or mutilated might be a better word.

A gentle hand touched her shoulder. "Mija, what's wrong?"

Without warning, tears blurred her vision, their sting a perfect match to the burning in her chest. A sob escaped, and she clamped a hand over her mouth, just as Mama pulled her into an embrace. The tears would no longer be held back. Standing there in the kitchen, with Mama Sarita holding her close…she wept.

At last she pulled back, and with a shuddering breath, wiped her eyes with her apron.

"Now, mija. Can you tell me what happened this morning?" Mama Sarita's eyes held only concern as she studied Alejandra.

Alejandra's gaze skittered down to where her fingers wrapped around her apron hem. She had to tell Mama Sarita. Right? So the older woman would be wary? Or maybe they should leave the ranch. Yes. They had to leave.

She looked up to meet Mama Sarita's gaze. "The badge. He's a
soldado
, Mama Sarita. He wore the badge of a soldado." She gripped the older woman's arm. "We must leave here. We can't stay in the same house with him." Panic sounded in her voice, and she watched for that same emotion to appear on Mama Sarita's face.

But it was sadness that flickered there. The woman opened her mouth to speak, then paused, uncertainty wrinkling her forehead. "Alejandra. Señor Stewart is a good man. He's Anna's brother. A
good
soldier."

A good soldier? There wasn't such a thing. "We have to leave."

"No, mija." Mama Sarita's voice held a quiet firmness.

"But…"

Mama Sarita laid a hand on her forearm. "This is where God has planted us. We're needed here. We'll stay." And with that, she turned back to the work counter and began cracking eggs into a bowl.

So many emotions swirled in Alejandra's chest, she couldn't think straight. Just like that, they were staying here? Under the same roof as a soldado? Mama Sarita said he was a good soldier, but that wasn't possible.

All soldiers killed.

~ ~ ~

"
Quit
yer squirmin', Jack. Won't do any good." Edward eyed the man who sat atop the horse beside him. "Slope-back Jack," as he was known to the general public, twisted his upper body in an effort to get at the rope that bound his hands. The man could wind himself up like a knotted yarn if he wanted, but that rope was tied tight, in so many knots a sailor would be proud.

Jack snarled, the ugly pink scar beside his eye not hidden by the scruffy growth on his face. As scars went, that was a nasty one. Must not have had any medical care when the wound happened.

Edward's mind drifted to a scar on another face. Had Alejandra seen a doctor for the scar that edged her cheek? Hers was only a pink line, stretching from the point of her beautiful cheekbone to her cute little ear. What had caused it? An accident on the ranch she lived on before she left Mexico?

He'd pried enough from Anna to know Alejandra and her father worked on a large ranch there, until he died recently. But Anna wouldn't say more, even though she rarely kept secrets from him. When he'd pushed, her face took on a serious expression, and she said he'd have to learn the rest from Alejandra. What did that mean? It must be bad, whatever had happened.

Did it have anything to do with the way Alejandra had looked at him the morning he left on this assignment?

A sudden thought flashed in his mind. An awful thought. Had someone hurt her? Maybe something that happened in the kitchen that morning had brought back a terrible memory. His chest tied in knots like the ones holding the prisoner captive. What terrible thing had Alejandra suffered? If it had to do with her scar, it couldn't have been very recent.

His horse bobbed its head, jerking at the reins. Oops. He'd been squeezing with his legs at the same time his hands had a stranglehold on the reins. Poor animal, getting conflicting signals from him. Relaxing both his legs and the reins, he reached down to pat the gelding. "Sorry, boy."

But if he ever got his hands on the louse that hurt Alejandra, Edward wouldn't be sorry.

The man would pay. Dearly.

~ ~ ~

The
next day, apprehension tightened Edward's chest as he rode into the yard of the Double Rocking B. He'd been more eager to come home after this assignment than any he'd had yet, but would Alejandra be back to her normal self? Would she flash that timid smile at him when he told her how good the food was she'd packed for him? That smile could make a man hike barefoot through a cactus grove.

Juan stepped from the barn and shuffled toward Edward as he dismounted.

"Hello, boss." The older cowhand still spoke with a heavy Mexican accent. Juan had been on the ranch before Edward and Anna came, and he was getting up in years now. Not so much that he didn't want to feel useful, but riding herd all day took too much toll on his weather beaten body. Taking care of the barns and stock around the house seemed a good fit for the dedicated cowpuncher now. Besides, it was nice to have a man close to the house to protect the women. Just in case.

"Amigo." Edward extended a hand and a smile to greet the man.

"I take your horse. Give him a good rub down and corn."

"No, Juan. I can take care of Pepper." A decent cowboy always took care of his horse. That's the first thing Monty taught him about riding with the cowpunchers as a lanky fifteen-year-old.

But Juan didn't seem to have any intention of obeying orders. He grabbed Pepper's reins and started toward the barn. "I bring your bedroll in later. If you hurry, you'll be in time for the lunch," he called over his shoulder.

Shaking his head, Edward removed his hat and slapped it against his leg as he turned toward the front door. Would Alejandra be as eager to see him as he was to feast his eyes on her?

A savory aroma with a hint of spice greeted him when he stepped through the front door. Women's voices drifted down the hallway, and he followed them into the dining room. Anna, Mama Sarita, and Alejandra ate at the far end of the table. Conversation stopped when they saw him, and Mama Sarita rose quickly and strode to the kitchen.

"Sit down, Señor Stewart. I'll bring your plate out."

His normal seat was in the middle of the table, but it didn't seem right to leave so much space between him and the ladies. So he sat in the first empty seat near them. Just around the table's corner from Alejandra.

She hadn't looked at him yet, but he couldn't stop staring at her. Her sleek black hair was wrapped in a knot at the back of her neck, and stray wisps framed her face. Each of her features was so refined, almost like a china doll. She was breathtaking. Truly.

But she steadfastly ignored him.

Mama Sarita shuffled from the kitchen with a bowl in one hand and a small plate in the other. Steam wafted from the bowl, along with that same aroma he'd noticed when he first entered the house.

"Mmmm… Chili and Bean soup?" He raised a questioning gaze to the older woman.

The skin around her eyes creased into a cheery smile. "Sí. And Anna made the cornbread for tonight's dinner. You will have an early taste."

He shot a grin at his sister. "Yep, Anna makes the best spicy cornbread in Texas."

"You haven't tried Alejandra's yet," Anna shot back. "She made it for us two nights ago, and it makes mine taste like I forgot to add the water."

"Really?" Edward paused from eating to watch Alejandra's reaction to the compliment. She sent Anna a quick smile that didn't reach her dark eyes, then dropped her focus back to the brown mixture in her bowl.