by Linda Broday
“I’m sorry, darlin’. I wish I’d have been here.”
“Me too. You might have stopped him.”
Brett kissed her and wiped her tears. “It wouldn’t have made any difference. I’ve heard of this belief among the Comanche. His time with us ended as he wanted—with dignity and great courage.”
“He’d just come into our lives. I loved him. I wasn’t ready to say good-bye.”
“I know. We never are.”
“Will you go after him?”
“No. Bob is following the sacred path of his ancestors. We have to respect that.”
He held her while she pressed her face into his chest and sobbed. At last she raised her head, feeling spent. “I don’t know where he got the black powder. Do you?”
“I had a bag of it in my tepee that was left over from when I blew up a tree stump a few months ago. He must’ve found it.”
“What do we do now?” Rayna felt so tired.
“Keep living and fighting for these orphans.” He rested his chin on top of her head. “I thought we’d have time to get back. I didn’t think they’d mount a raid so fast. Dowlen had called his followers to a meeting when we left. It took us some time making it back to the horses, only to find Rand’s had wandered off after the branch it was tied to broke. We finally found the gelding in a patch of sweet clover. Dowlen must’ve had his men mount up shortly after we turned back.”
Rayna heard the disbelief and remorse in his voice. Now it was her turn to comfort. “You couldn’t have known what the man planned. He’s evil.”
“It’s my job to know.” His angry words were hard. He moved her aside and stalked toward his tepee, leading his horse.
Whatever he planned, he kept to himself. With an ache in her heart, she watched him disappear into his house made of buffalo hides. When he emerged a few minutes later, he carried rifles in both hands and had a gun belt strapped around his waist with a deadly Colt hanging from it. From where she was, she couldn’t read his expression, but she imagined it was grim.
The sight made her chest hurt even worse. Dowlen was changing the gentle man who’d made love to her by the waterfall and called her his lady.
Yet, if she owned a Colt, she knew she’d strap it on as Brett had done. There came a time for standing up to bullies and hatemongers. This was such a time. God help her, she’d stand by Brett’s side and fight until the last breath.
Rand hollered that he was going after a wagon, and waved to her before galloping toward the road. Relief washed over her. To have a way to move the children would make her happy.
As Rayna stood riveted by her thoughts, a lone wagon pulled by mules rolled across the meadow’s tall grass. Even from this distance, she could see bones piled high in the back.
Despite the effort to remain calm, she inhaled sharply. The sight of those bones swept her back to a time of misery and pain and loneliness.
But maybe it was the Clark family that she’d helped at the clinic. It would be nice to see Silas and Elizabeth and the children.
Shielding her eyes from the sun, she could make out two people. Whoever they were, she’d offer them a meal if they were hungry. She told Sarah to keep the children out of sight and moved away from the trees.
When the wagon drew to a stop, her breath made a hissing sound in the back of her throat. A fist gripped her heart and squeezed.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
Raymond Harper’s vile grin showed his rotting yellow teeth. “Hello, Daughter. The good folk in Battle Creek told me where I could find you.”
“How dare you! You’re not welcome here.” Rayna’s gaze flicked to the woman beside him, recognizing Mrs. Vager. The woman had a black eye and split lip. One thing for sure, her father hadn’t changed an iota. His handiwork was as familiar as the blue sky overhead.
Turning on her heel, she moved toward the protection of the men, who sat in a circle by the cold campfire. Brett rose and hurried to meet her.
“What’s the matter? Who are these people?” he asked, putting his arm around her.
The bitter words spilled out. “Meet my dear father and his lady friend. I told them they aren’t welcome.”
“Mayhap you’ll change your tune, little girl,” Raymond Harper snarled, “after I lay into you and slap some respect into that uppity face.”
Quickly, Brett tucked her behind him and rested his hand on the Colt at his hip. “Touch her again, and you’ll die.”
Peeking around him, she watched surprise widen the old bone-picker’s eyes.
“Me an’ her got business. Snuck off while I was sleepin’. You ain’t got no right to interfere.”
Though trembles shook her from her head to her toes, Rayna felt safe behind Brett. Why had her father come? Why couldn’t he leave her alone? Standing close to Brett with her hand on his back, she felt his muscles grow taut beneath his skin. Gone was his easy, quiet way. The man before her had become hard and deadly.
Brett removed the small leather strap securing the Colt to the holster. “Get off my land before I kill you.”
“Figures that she’d take up with a breed. Guess she ain’t interested in her worthless ol’ mama.” Raymond Harper flicked the reins. “Get on up there, you fleabags.”
Rayna shot from behind Brett. “What have you done with Mama? Talk or I’ll let him shoot you.”
Her father grinned. “Thought that’d bring you off your high horse. Mayhap I might be of a mind to do a little swappin’. I’ll tell you where your mama is in exchange for a few dollars.”
“She won’t pay you one cent.” Brett widened his stance.
Laying a hand on his arm, Rayna spoke up. “I have two dollars. I reckon that’ll buy some truth.”
Though she didn’t tell her father, she knew she’d pay far more for the location of Elna Harper. “Is she alive?”
Raymond wiped the spit from his mouth with the back of his hand. “Heard you’ve been workin’. Bet you’ve put back a lot more than two measly dollars.”
“It’s all you’ll get,” Rayna said firmly. “I asked if she’s alive.”
“Was last time I saw her.”
Rayna reached into her pocket and drew out a plain knotted handkerchief. Loosening the knot, she held out two dollars. “Now speak, or I’m walking away and your name will never cross my lips again.”
The old bone-picker stared at the money with a strange gleam in his eyes. “A little food first. Ain’t had nothin’ to eat for days. Some for my new wife too. Not above dickerin’.”
“We’ll feed you out here,” Brett insisted. “Stay with your wagon. Only friends eat at my fire.”
“Any chance you got a snort of whiskey? I could use some.”
“Never touch the stuff.”
“More’s the pity.” Raymond Harper gave a deep sigh.
Though Rayna couldn’t be sure, she thought she saw a flicker of a smile cross Mrs. Vager’s swollen lips. Though she didn’t like the woman, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. “One question first,” Rayna said. “Why have you really come? If you think for one second I’m leaving with you, you’ve been eating locoweed.”
“Like I said, I happened to pass through Battle Creek. Heard a Rayna Harper’s working for some doctor. Figured it might be you, and thought I’d see what it’s worth to you to get rid of me.” Harper’s eyes glittered like cold stones.
“You’ll get no more than what’s been agreed on,” Brett snapped.
Harper glared, rubbing his whiskered jaw. “Whatever you say, boy.”
Rayna took Brett’s arm, borrowing from his strength, and they walked toward the camp. “Thank you. I hate that my father found me. But if he can shed some light on my mother’s whereabouts, I’ll gladly pay him.”
“Just don’t be disappointed,” Brett cautioned. “He never said if your mother is alive or dead.”
“You don’t have to worry. I learned the hard way what a son of a jack’s word is worth. I didn’t trust him then, and I don’t trust
him now.”
He pulled her closer against him. “Remember, you’re not alone, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
A tremble ran through her. “That’s the only thing keeping me from getting a horse and riding away like Bob did. I don’t have much courage where Raymond Harper is concerned.”
Brett helped her prepare some food, and while they worked, she told him a little about her mother. “The last time I saw her, she took a beating for me, to keep him from striking me with a stick of firewood. She screamed for me to run and keep running. I took off into a cornfield and hid. I watched him hitch up the horses and throw Mama into the wagon bed. When he came back, he was alone.”
He put some venison into the skillet and glanced up. “What do you think happened to her?”
“Raymond either sold or traded her, or else he killed her. I know my mother wouldn’t have left me with him. Not in a million years.” Hatred for the man who’d sired her sat on her tongue like the rancid meat he’d made her eat.
“You mentioned the town of Mobeetie to me before.”
“That was his story. He said he’d taken her there, that she took up with a gambler and refused to come back. But then, the story always changed when he got a snootful. Once he said he traded her but never could remember what for. Another story was that he sold her into a brothel. I just wish I knew the truth, but the truth and Raymond Harper parted company a long time ago.” She stirred the onions and winter squash.
“Look at me,” Brett requested softly, taking her hand. “You may not ever learn what happened from your father, but it doesn’t mean you have to stop searching. I’ll help you. Together we can sort this out.”
Tears lurked behind her eyes as she met his gaze, yet she refused to let them fall. “I don’t deserve you, Brett Liberty. I’ve done a bad thing. I may not be any better than he is.”
Brett brushed her cheek with his fingertips. “Don’t ever say that. I wish I could kiss you. I’d give anything to take you to our spot and make love to you until you forget about evil and heartbreak and Raymond Harper.”
“I wish you could too.” She noticed that Rand had moved everyone away so they could have some privacy. How like Brett’s brother. He seemed to sense when she and Brett needed some time alone. The men had a special kind of love for each other and truly an unbreakable bond.
She thought of Hershel and wished he was here. He’d send their father on his way.
At last the food was ready. She filled two plates, and Brett helped carry them to the wagon where the waiting couple sat.
“It’s about time,” Raymond Harper complained.
“Shut up, or I’ll dump it out on the ground and you can eat it like a dog,” Brett ordered, handing the first plate up to the woman, who hadn’t uttered a word. Raymond tried to snatch it, but Brett was too fast.
Rayna wanted to laugh at her father’s frustration but decided against it. She waited to give her plate to him until he’d settled down. When she did, he jerked it from her and began cramming food into his mouth with his dirty fingers.
After a few minutes, she held up the two dollars and said, “I’ve kept my end of the bargain. Now talk.”
“Cain’t a man eat his food first?”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Brett slide the Colt from his holster and heard the click of the hammer when he pulled it back. A muscle in his jaw worked. “Tell her what she wants to know.”
The deadly steel underlying Brett’s words and the Colt pointed at her father’s rotten heart got the right results. Rayna had no sympathy for the man who inflicted so much misery.
Raymond swallowed hard and put down his plate. “Reckon I ain’t got much choice in the matter.”
“That is correct,” Brett snapped.
“Speak the truth,” Rayna said firmly. “No more lies.”
Raymond’s shifty gaze focused on her. “It’s all your fault, you know. Your ma didn’t give me much choice. She thought the sun rose an’ set in you, her precious little girl. Wouldn’t listen to a damn word I said. The woman was gonna have me locked up for what she saw me do. I weren’t about to let that happen. Elna jumped out of the back of the wagon an’ took off walkin’. I chased her down.”
He fell silent.
“The rest of it, you sorry rotten vermin,” Brett ordered.
“The money, girl. Give me the money.” Raymond started to get down from the wagon seat.
“Step one foot on the ground, and I’ll kill you.”
Rayna stared at Brett. She’d never heard such threatening words from him or witnessed such fury in his dark eyes. Evidently, he’d reached his limit with men like Raymond Harper, Edgar Dowlen, and Oldham.
Her father sank weakly onto the seat in the wagon box and pointed to Rayna. “It’s all your fault, like I said. You ain’t my kid. Never was. I stole you after I slit your ma’s and pa’s throats. Should’a drowned you in a river somewhere. Ain’t never been nothin’ but trouble.”
The horror hit Rayna with the force of a bullet. Brett’s arms went around her as she buried her face in his chest, drawing from the security he offered. She wanted to put her fingers in her ears to block out the pain and the sound of Raymond’s voice.
The growling rumble of Brett’s voice vibrated his chest. “Why tell her this now?”
“She always thought she was better’n me. Better than a bone-picker. Goin’ around with a secret smile like she knew somethin’ I didn’t. Whimperin’ when I told her she had to pay for my liquor with her body, like she was too damn good. Guess I showed her.”
“Tell ’em the rest,” Mrs. Vager said through her swollen lips. “You tell ’em or I will.”
“I went after Elna that night an’ shot her between the eyes,” Harper said. “Left her for the damn coyotes. There. You happy?”
Rayna raised her head and threw the money on the ground. “Rot in hell. You’d better run and find a hole to crawl into, because every lawman in Texas will be looking for you.” She stood straight and tall. “I’m glad you’re not my father. If I ever see you again, I won’t need a gun. I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”
Thirty-one
If Brett didn’t have more problems than he could handle with protecting the orphans, he’d hold Raymond Harper until Cooper could ride back in and cart him to jail. But they didn’t have anywhere to put him and couldn’t spare a man to guard him.
Weighing his options, he decided to send the man on his way and let Cooper hunt him down after this was over. “You’ve got two seconds to get the hell off my land.” Brett shook with rage. Never had he wanted to take a life, but he could shoot Raymond Harper and not bat an eye. He wanted to comfort Rayna—who was walking back to camp—but he first had to make sure he rid them of this evil monster.
“Ain’t done eatin’.”
Upon Brett’s signal, the ranch hands led by Rand rode out and encircled the wagon.
Mrs. Vager handed the plates down to Brett. “Thank you for the food. We’ll be on our way.”
Raymond Harper finally saw the wisdom in leaving. He slowly turned the wagon around.
“My brother’s the sheriff in Battle Creek,” Brett said. “I’d hide if I were you. You ever come back here, you’ll find a grave waiting.”
He stood rooted to the spot under the noonday sun until Raymond Harper and his wagon of bones had faded from view. Then he turned to Rand, who had dismounted. “Thanks, Brother. How did you get back so fast?”
“Never got past the bend. Road’s blocked again by armed gunmen. I hid in the brush and watched for a bit, but they never left. They’re turning back everyone passing on the road. We’re on our own.”
“I wonder if you and the men can move the children deeper into the trees? I meant to do that right away but had my hands full here. I hate to ask, but I have something I need to do.”
Rand grinned, slapping him on the back. “Be happy to. Go comfort Miss Rayna. She needs you.”
“How did you know…?” Brett stopped then
said, “Never mind.”
He took off at a lope, his moccasins barely touching the ground. Within a few seconds, he stood beside Rayna, who sat outside his tepee, staring at the horizon with sightless eyes.
Tugging her to her feet, he said, “Come.”
“Where are we going?”
“Need you ask?”
“Oh, Brett, thank you.” She threw her arms around his neck and held tight. “You always know how to make me smile again.”
Arm in arm, they walked to their hidden sanctuary. There was no need for words as he held her until her trembling stopped. He gently kissed her, letting soothing caresses of the soft lines of her back and waist speak for him.
Rayna glanced up at him and said simply, “I need you.”
Silently, they undressed each other and lay down on the carpet of grass.
Brett smoothed back her hair and stared into her blue-green eyes that had seen so much sorrow. “Darlin’, I’m sorry you had to learn all this.”
Her bottom lip quivered. “I don’t know what to do next. Everything I knew about myself was a lie, from my name to where I came from. My grandfather wasn’t even mine. Who am I now?”
“I can’t imagine how much you hurt. I wish I could take it all away. We’ll figure this out together.” Brett’s lips brushed her brow. “In the Indian culture, they take their names from the wild creatures and birds. Maybe you can too.”
“I’ll have to think on that. Thank you.”
Silence stretched for a long minute before Brett spoke. “I have no right to say these words, but I can’t keep silent. Danger lies at every turn, and we never know how much time we have left. I love you. I have from the first moment I ever laid eyes on you in that jail in Steele’s Hollow. I was out of my mind with pain, but I recognized an angel when I saw one.”
Rayna cupped his jaw. “I love you, Brett. I never had anyone to stand up for me until you. No one to show me what love was really like. That it could be so wonderful.”
Tenderly, he crushed her to him, breathing in her special scent that reminded him of ripe berries. With a cry, his lips found hers, and he drank his fill while his hands sought the contours of her body.
