The Texas Ranger's Secret (23 page)

“Whoa!” he shouted, pulling back on the leather guide straps and trying to sit upright instead of being buried in mane that rocked against his face. “Easy there, boy. Easy.”

“No!” shouted Willow from behind him as the horses reacted to his commands, slowing considerably. “Don’t stop them. We need to get to town. Fast.”

Gage took a moment to gather himself. Exhaled a few breaths to ease the pounding in his heart. “Just give me a second,” he yelled over his shoulder. “Stop long enough so I can climb in beside you.”

“Every second counts,” she argued, reining the team to a complete halt. “They’re coming.”

“Hutton?” Gage hopped down and waited until Snow joined the cook and the children in the backseat. Then he climbed in beside Willow and took the reins. Flicking the team into motion again, he let his horse run alongside the wagon without tying him to the back. Gage gave the team rein enough to run if necessary, but he kept them at a controllable gait.

“Yes, Hutton.” She offered Gage a quick report of all that had happened since Hutton had returned with the horses an hour ago.

Particularly troubling was the fact that the man had been daring enough to leave the tooth and can of polish for her to find next to her journal. He was taunting her, daring her to stop him.

“Now that he’s no longer trying to hide his identity, he’s a greater danger to you,” Gage warned. “You and your family need to stay in town somewhere safe until Hutton moves those horses. I expect he’ll do that tonight now that he knows you’re probably headed straight to the sheriff.”

Gage told her about what he’d learned from the spurned woman.

“Will she be in trouble for her part in it?” Concern filled Willow’s face.

“I’ll talk to the judge and see if I can get her off easier. She’s his usual kind of victim. Young pretty lady. Naive. Easy to persuade. I feared you might be his target, but you turned out to be smarter than he was.”

He remembered his thoughts about Willow not sitting any saddle well. She’d managed to find a way good enough to ride Hutton into a corner.

“You’re a Ranger, aren’t you, Gage?” Willow studied his face.

He finally admitted it, unable to keep the truth from her anymore.

Willow scooted away from him slightly. Would she forgive him? Understand his reasons?

“I knew it,” Ollie boasted behind them.

“I want to be one someday.” Thaddeus leaned up and stuck his head between their shoulders. “Will you teach me?”

“If I’m still around when you’re big enough.”

Willow’s eyes met Gage’s and held.

“Can girls be Rangers?” Ollie appeared next to her brother. “I’d make a better one than him any ol’ day.”

“You two sit back and leave them to their business.” Snow’s commanding voice made the two rascals obey immediately.

“We’ve learned Hutton’s secret, Willow. You just learned mine. I think it’s only fair that you let me know yours.” Gage watched indecision wash over her.

While he waited on Willow to feel comfortable enough to tell him, he kept an ear tuned to the sound of any danger approaching from behind and was relieved to hear none. He suspected that Hutton wouldn’t take time to chase after Willow and her family. His pattern was to collect the horses and take off as soon as he caught wind of someone who read his trail accurately.

It might have been a different story if any of these fine souls had been foolish enough to stay behind. Hutton could have taken a hostage. Willow had outsmarted him.

Willow had grown quiet, not answering him about her secret.

Knowing it had something to do with Atlanta, he wondered if she’d made some kind of mistake she wasn’t proud of. “Are you and Miss Finchmeister friends?”

“Acquaintances only.”

“She know about your secret?”

“I hope not.”

“Anyone else know about it?”

“She shared it with me just tonight,” Snow announced from the back. Her hand reached to gently press Willow’s shoulder.

“But it’s something you’d rather I not know?” Gage was hurt when she simply nodded. She didn’t trust him. “Care to tell me why?”

“You might hate me. I don’t think I could endure that, Gage. Not now. Not after all we’ve experienced together.”

“I could never hate you, Willow,” Gage whispered. “That’s a skill I’ll never take up, I promise.”

He thought he saw a tear well in the corner of her eye. What had she done that was so horrible?

“Does it have anything to do with your writing? The reason you’re learning all these new things?”

“Aww, Aunt Willow. Put the poor fella out of his misery. Ain’t nothing can be that bad.”

Gage felt the same way and was glad the child had grit enough to say it for him.

“If you two want to get past what hurts,” the cook said, speaking up for the first time since he’d boarded, “the only way to do it is open the wound and let the truth pop out. It may take some time to heal, but it won’t lie there and fester anymore.”

“It all started with my boss at the newspaper in Atlanta where I worked before I came here...” Willow began, sharing the long and involved story behind her true reason for arriving in High Plains. It was as if a great floodgate of motivations burst, spilling her secret and justifying what she’d done.

She’d thought his being a Ranger would put her dream of succeeding in jeopardy, yet she had recognized that he was exactly the kind of man who could best help her achieve her goal. Though he had noted she acted guarded when they were together, he hadn’t recognized he was being used, and that surprised him. She’d played him for a fool and he’d let her.

What hurt most was that she thought him incapable of understanding the sense of worth she needed. Willow so wanted to be good enough at something that she was willing to go to great lengths to achieve it.

The irony of it all was that he, too, had been on the same quest and hadn’t even realized it. He’d hoped to maintain his sense of amounting to something as a Ranger. As long as possible. He refused to give it up and settle for a life less serving if there was any way to avoid it.

How selfish he’d been, isolating himself, letting despair blind him, mining the tragedy without finding some kind of closure to it.

“I hope you’ll forgive me for not telling you sooner.” Apology etched Willow’s face. “It sounds so shallow of me.”

“I’m glad you told me.” And Gage was. He could see how they both might be able to grow from the mistakes each of them had made. The cook was right. The truth was out. Now to let the wounds heal the best they could.

“We have this one last thing to do together,” Gage reminded her. “Putting Hutton behind bars. Then both of us can move on with our lives, Willow. I’d like to say goodbye now in case our trails don’t cross again. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, and I hope we’ll always think of each other with a measure of respect. I’d shake your hand if mine weren’t full of reins.”

She searched his eyes, looking as if she had something more to say.

He hoped she didn’t, for all he wanted now was to seek a quiet place to gather his thoughts and find a way to seal away his emotions.

He’d grown to love her, plain and simple.

Now he had to find the strength to walk away from her.

* * *

Willow said no more until they reached town and she instructed Gage to take them to the livery. Emotions too big to deal with right now had to be set aside. Confusion. Heartbreak. And, if she admitted it, anger threatened to engulf her and shatter her world into a million pieces.

She had to keep herself together. Make good decisions and no mistakes. If she faltered, she might be forced to pay a price too high.

The first thing to decide was whether to put the family up for the night at the hotel or see if the boardinghouse had a couple of vacant rooms to rent. Either seemed logical places Shepard might look first if the man intended to come after them. So maybe that wouldn’t be such a wise idea.

Besides, she’d just about used up her funds and wasn’t certain she could afford the cost of one room, much less two, anywhere.

All she could figure was that Hutton had chased them only a while, maybe just to make her feel threatened so he could have time to gather the horses and escape instead of trying to pay her back for being too nosy. She sure hoped so. She wanted him long gone so he posed no danger to any of her family anymore.

And before Gage decided to take out after him on his own, as he’d apparently been about to do before he thought she was in trouble with the team.

“Where do you intend to stay for the night?” Gage asked, climbing down to open the livery door. “Got anywhere particular in mind?”

Would he share his place? Let them put blankets on the floor long enough to get some rest? She still had no clue where he stayed. As a Ranger, he’d probably chosen somewhere he could come and go easily. “I haven’t decided yet,” she said, “but I’d feel safer if it’s somewhere Shepard’s not expecting us to be. So that leaves out the usual choices.”

“The Funderburgs will let me and Ollie stay here,” Thaddeus said. “They got bedrolls we take with us when we go fishing. Pigeon doesn’t feel so good sometimes and gets tired. She likes us to curl up beside her if we’re tired, too.”

Snow climbed out of the buggy. “I’ll check with them and ask. Might be a good idea, sis. That way, Ollie and Thad won’t have to miss school in the morning, and they’ll be safely tucked away until we’re finished with this mess. I’ll tell Bear what’s going on and ask him to take them back and forth from school just to make sure. And I’ll mention that you’re putting the team away here for the night. I’m sure he won’t care if there’s room.”

Ollie piped up. “He let a whole bunch of us sleep in his livery one night. I bet you might could sleep there if you want.”

Gage checked inside the livery and came out shaking his head. “Already full capacity. Spotted a couple of cowboys stretched out in the hay and I heard someone snoring up in the loft. Sounded like someone big enough we shouldn’t disturb.”

“Could be one of my uncles,” Ollie suggested. “They sleep up there when they come to town and can’t ride good enough to get back home. They snore real bad. I should know.”

“How about the three of us women stay at Doc Thomas’s office or Bernie’s?” Myrtle suggested. “Both of them have some extra beds that won’t cost us a penny, I’m sure. Maybe even a couch long enough for one of you long-legged beauts.”

“Try Doc’s place first.” Snow frowned at the cook. “I don’t mind a cot, but I refuse to use a slab at the undertaker’s.”

A smile split Myrtle’s face, lifting at least one of her chins. She laughed. “Okay, so I was trying to spice up the night with a little flavor of adventure.”

Snow took each child’s hand. “Leave it for another time, Myrtle. It’ll be funnier when we’re all not so tired. Once I’ve got the children settled in, I’ll look for you at Doc Thomas’s first. If you decide on any other place, just leave a message with him and tell me where to head from there. I won’t be long.”

Willow ran over and hugged her sister. “Be careful, sis.”

Snow leaned to press one cheek against Willow’s. “You, too, Will. We’ll get through this together and come out the other side of it better. Have faith.”

Willow watched her sister and the children turn the corner and disappear from sight. Hopefully, Bear and Pigeon had enough room and keeping the kids would place no hardship on the couple.

She and Myrtle helped Gage put the team away in the livery, trying very hard not to disturb any of the current visitors or their sleep.

Gage’s forefinger lifted to his lips as he pointed to the door with his other hand and signaled them to head outside. By the time they were all rounding the corner, she noticed her sister going into the doctor’s office ahead of them. It was hard to miss her wealth of white curls even in the dark.

“Looks like there was no trouble with the Funderburgs taking the children,” Gage noted. “Snow’s beat us to Doc Thomas’s.”

“You reckon he’s there?” Myrtle yawned, trying to keep up with their quicker steps. “I know we’re in a hurry but y’all are taking two steps to my four.”

Both Willow and Gage slowed their pace.

“I’ve watched him ride in at all hours of the night and be right back up at the crack of dawn,” Gage admitted. “No wonder the man is thin as a broomstick handle. But he must be really good at his profession. I’ve only heard great things about him.”

Willow hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting the man yet. She sure hoped he was really smart about one particular part of his profession. Taking care of eyes. She’d already made up her mind—if the doctor allowed them to stay, she would make sure the man checked Gage’s eyes.

She knew Gage would fuss and holler about it, but she was prepared to stand her ground if she had to. That was what a friend would do, and she wanted to leave High Plains with Gage knowing, without doubt, that she considered him her friend. Whether or not they could ever be anything else.

“Do we knock?” Willow asked as they reached the doctor’s office.

“Just go on in.” Gage grabbed the knob and opened the door for the ladies. A bell that hung over the door rang, announcing their presence.

“I hope I don’t have to listen to that all night,” Myrtle mumbled, waddling in to find a place to sit. “I’ll think Old Bessie’s gotten loose and I have to chase her down again.”

Willow hadn’t even thought of the rest of the livestock they’d left behind. She expected Shepard would take every piece of horseflesh on the ranch with him. But who would milk Old Bessie and feed the chickens? She smiled thinking of Butler. Maybe Ollie’s billy goat would run the man down and butt him to kingdom come. It would serve him right.

She had to think of something tonight to make sure that the animals didn’t suffer.
Please, Lord, let Hutton be on his way or get caught quickly.

Either way his trail led him, she knew Gage meant to be part of the posse.

The posse. The sheriff. She needed to inform him as fast as she could. “You reckon the sheriff’s still up?” she asked, hoping Gage might know.

“I’ll find him once you’re settled in somewhere.” Gage looked as if he was champing at the bit to be on his way.