The Texan's Reward (19 page)

push him away.

Jacob resisted, wanting more. The slight pressure against his shoulder was featherlight. He could ignore it. This

was what he wanted. What they both wanted.

Then he realized what he’d been about to do and straightened. It took a while for his pulse to calm, for him to

be able to look at her without passion in his eyes. “Are you al right? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“You didn’t hurt me,” she answered, but her smile was sad. “I don’t think we should be doing this . . .”

“Right,” he answered not needing to hear the rest. Of course we shouldn’t. How could he expect her to consider

marrying him if he wasn’t going to follow her first rule? Marriage in name only. She wanted his name, not his

love. If a fall could almost kill her, what might lovemaking do?

He stood and did his best to smile before he left the room. It didn’t surprise Jacob to find Gypsy outside the

door.

The old woman started past him. “I’l set with her while she’s resting,” Gypsy whispered. “No matter how she

hurts, it won’t be long before she wants to get back up.”

“You’ll call me.” Jacob felt helpless. “I’ll carry her down.”

Gypsy nodded. “You go down and try to sober that nurse up.” She reached for the door, then glanced back. “And

try not to scare her off before Nell gets a chance to talk to her. The nursing school told us they were scraping the

bottom of the barrel to find one more graduate willing to come. The only reason we got this one was because

she’s so old none of the hospitals wanted to hire her.”

Jacob walked down the stairs thinking they hadn’t even had lunch yet, and he’d already had enough excitement

for one day.

One look at Sheriff Parker’s face told Jacob he was mistaken.

JACOB SADDLED HIS HORSE. EVERY BONE IN HIS BODY wanted to stay with Nel , but duty cal ed. When he’d

signed on with the Texas Rangers he’d sworn to protect al the citizens, not just one, and if he didn’t do his job

now, more would die.

“You’l check on her.” He shot the sheriff a grim look. “Twice, maybe three times a day?”

“She’ll be all right. You’ve got your hands full of worry already.” Parker reassured Jacob for the tenth time.

“She’s surrounded by women, plus she’s got Harrison and Brother Aaron to look after her. Near as I can tell,

everyone in this house is armed, so don’t go thinking someone wil just walk in and harm them.”

“Maybe she’d be safer in town?”

Parker shook his head. “She wouldn’t go, even if we both ganged up on her and demanded it. This is her home.

How do you think folks are going to react if Nell moves all her gang to town?”

Jacob knew. Most folks wouldn’t speak to Marla, much less Gypsy. They’d treat Harrison and the preacher like

strangers. There wasn’t a hotel big enough to hold them al , or that would let the men stay close enough to the

women to be of any good if trouble came. Wednesday would be stared at. And worst of al , they’d pity Nel .

She’d hate that.

Parker was right. She’d be safer here. “I wish I didn’t have to leave,” he said aloud. “It’s been quiet for two

nights, but that’s no guarantee. I should have caught the shooter. Then al this worry over Nel would be over.”

“You tried, son. That’s the best you can do.”

“I don’t feel right leaving her.”

The sheriff nodded. “I know, but there is no one who can do the job you can for fifty miles around. You’re

trained. If anyone can track the robbers, you can. You have to go.”

He flipped open the telegram he’d received while Jacob had been upstairs. “The marshal out of Denton says

they’re headed this way. From all accounts there were six outlaws, all fully armed. If they get past us and into

the Oklahoma Indian Territory, we’ll lose them for sure.”

Jacob strapped on his gear. “I know.” He didn’t need convincing. He knew his job. But for once, he wanted to

complain a little.

Parker rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. “I didn’t tel you al the facts this morning when I brought the

nurse in. I didn’t want to talk about it with the women around.” He took a deep breath. “They kil ed six, maybe

eight people this morning in the train robbery. It’s no wonder everyone stil riding came in drunk. I don’t know

how bad it was. They found six bodies where the gang stopped the train and another two men wounded but stil

breathing.”

Jacob closed his eyes, not wanting to see in his mind what the sheriff described.

“Philip ran the telegram out as soon as it came in. He said he’d been listening to some of the other passengers’

stories. One told about how the guards inside the mail car refused to open up once the train stopped. He said

the gang pul ed one after another of the passengers off the train and shot them in the head with each minute

that passed before the guards opened up. They’d killed four before they killed the two guards.” Parker looked

like he was about to cry. “The last one killed before the guards gave in was a woman.”

Jacob pressed his forehead against his horse’s neck. He had to go. He had to leave Nel . And somehow, he had to

stop the gang before they reached the border. Men like these couldn’t be al owed to roam. This would be only

the first of many stories if he didn’t stop them.

“Ranger?” came a soft voice from the barn opening.

He looked up to see Marla standing several feet away. “Yes?” If she’d come out to the barn and spoken, she

must need something important.

“I packed you supplies again.” She didn’t look at him as she held out a burlap bag.

He walked to the opening. “Thanks.”

She disappeared a moment after he took the bag. Jacob smiled. At least he was making progress with one

woman in the house. Marla had talked to him.

He turned to the sheriff. “Ask Rand Harrison to stay on the grounds once he gets back from the Stockard place.”

“I will.” Parker nodded. “I already told the preacher that if I see him in town I’ll shoot him.”

Jacob smiled. “That should keep him sober.”

He handed the reins of his horse to Parker. “I’l only be a minute. I have to say good-bye to Nell.”

Parker twisted the leather between his fingers. “She’l worry about you. She always does.”

As Jacob walked to the house he thought about what Parker said. He would have never guessed Nel gave him

more than a passing thought when he was out of her sight. She always looked glad to see him, but she’d never

written saying that she missed him, even when he’d been away for weeks at a time.

When he entered the house, he wasn’t surprised to see that she was up and waiting. He climbed the stairs.

“How you feeling?”

“You’re leaving, aren’t you.”

He nodded. “I have to.”

“I know.” She raised her arms.

He lifted her from the chair. “I’l carry you down one last time before I go. The nurse should be sober enough to

carry you up tonight, or Rand wil be home and he and Marla can do it.”

She nodded, looking like she might cry.

He started down the stairs. “Promise me one thing, Nell. Promise you won’t marry anyone until I get back. I

don’t know how long this wil take, but I don’t want to have to worry about you going crazy and marrying while

I’m gone.”

He expected her to remind him that she wasn’t going to marry him, but instead she whispered, “I promise you’l

be at my wedding. But do me a favor and come back safe and sound.”

“It’s only one band of outlaws.” He managed to look offended that she’d even worry.

She smiled. “That’s right, only one.”

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Jacob would have liked to kiss her good-bye, but everyone in the

house except the snoring nurse on the couch watched. So he lowered her careful y and whispered, “When I get

back, I plan to take you for a walk by the windmill again.”

“I’ll plan on it.”

He kissed her cheek. When he straightened, Gypsy handed him his hat. He shoved the Stetson low and turned to

the others. “Take care of Nell until I get back, or I’l . . .”

“We know,” Gypsy snapped. “Or you’l shoot us al .”

Jacob frowned. “The way this house is growing, I may have to reload,” he mumbled. He’d become far too

predictable. He stomped out of the house and down the walk. He wouldn’t be able to leave if he looked back

and saw tears in Nell’s eyes.

Swinging onto his horse, Jacob saluted the sheriff, telling himself Nell wouldn’t be crying for him.

After two days in the barn, Dusty was ready to run, and Jacob ate up the miles as he rode due east. If the

outlaws were heading north, they’d have to cross paths. He’d spent years learning al he could about tracking.

They wouldn’t get by him. He had no idea how many were in the gang. The report mentioned there might be six.

It didn’t matter. He would have to stop them. There was no time to get more lawmen in the area, and if he’d

brought someone like Harrison or one of Parker’s deputies along, that would only be someone he’d have to

watch out for.

Just before nightfal , he stopped on a ridge where he could see for miles in every direction. If the gang was riding

hard, they’d stir up enough dust to be noticeable. If they stopped, he’d see their fires. He listed the facts he’d

pieced together from the little he knew. First, they would own fast horses if they robbed a train, and be

accomplished riders. Next, if two men guarded the mail car, there must have been something valuable inside. So

the gang would be burdened with at least one, or maybe two pack animals. Probably mules. Their tracks would

be easy to spot on the flat, dusty land he covered.

He’d crossed this part of the country several times. Near the Red River there were several spots to cross into

Indian Territory, but a hundred miles south, the land was unpredictable. Unless the men knew the terrain,

they’d probably stay close to one of the old cattle drive trails. They’d make faster time that way, and this time of

year the chances of running into anyone were slight.

Jacob also knew one other fact. Whoever he was looking for wasn’t some group of boys or down-on-their-luck

farmers trying to get rich quick. These men, or at least some of them, were hardened kil ers. They were men

who placed no value on life. They didn’t get that way from their first robbery or murder. That kind of killing was

burned into a man. He’d be willing to bet that most of the gang had already served time in jail, maybe more than

once. If so, they’d have a hatred of lawmen built over time.

Pulling his badge from his vest, he slipped it into where he’d cut the stitching on his saddle a month after he’d

bought it. If he ran into the gang, it might buy him a little time if they thought he was just a cowhand and not a

ranger.

Watching the sky, he leaned back against his saddle. His muscles ached. The cold night air seeped into his bones,

but he wouldn’t light a fire. He ate a biscuit in the dark and took a long drink from his canteen. After midnight,

clouds moved in, and he pul ed his blanket over his shoulders and closed his eyes.

But sleep eluded him. Nel lingered on his mind. He couldn’t get the vision of how she’d looked when he’d left

her next to the fire. Or how she’d felt when he’d lowered his body over hers for just a moment before he’d

realized what he’d been about to do. Or how she’d tasted when she’d opened her mouth and kissed him as if

she’d hungered for him for years.

She’d promised she’d wait to marry until he returned. She hadn’t promised to wait for him. He might not be the

one.

Jacob tried to think how it would feel to watch her marry another man. For once in his life he’d thought of

something he wasn’t sure he could do. When had he decided she had to marry him? Maybe he had always

known, even when she’d been a kid and asked him to wait for her to grow up.

He tried to think of something else. Everyone at Nell’s place would be asleep by now. The preacher and Harrison

would probably be in the barn. After al , there was no sign the dawn shooter would ever be riding by again. He

hoped the nurse had sobered up enough to take care of Nell, and Wednesday, too. At least with Sleeping Ugly

there, someone would know what to do if the baby came.

A coyote howled in the night, sounding as lonely as Jacob felt. He moved his finger close to the trigger of his Colt

beside him. Without a fire, an animal might come close. It paid to be ready.

He drifted into a light sleep, dreaming that he lay beside Nel . They weren’t touching, but he could feel her near.

The memory of the smell of her hair, the way she breathed, and how her whispers tickled against his ear were as

real to him as the coyote’s howl.

Miles away, Nell lay on her back. The house had finally grown silent. Marla and the nurse had given Wednesday

a bath and treated her welts. Nell heard the girl cry herself to sleep, but her tears seemed to come more from

sadness than pain.

Gypsy had shown Mrs. O’Daniel to her room, and despite the fact that the nurse had slept half the afternoon

away, she was snoring again within minutes of closing her door.

Mrs. O’Daniel had told them about the train robbery. Of how she’d tried to get off the train when she’d heard

the gunfire and knew they were shooting some of the passengers.

“I’m a nurse!” she’d screamed and pushed her way to the platform.

But a lean robber who didn’t look old enough to shave had held her back and forced everyone to stay in place.

He said they’d kil anyone who got off the car, and when she heard more shooting, the nurse had no doubt he

spoke the truth.

They all waited until the robbers had what they came for, then the bandits ordered the train to move on. Mrs.