by Jodi Thomas
Beth and Rose smiled. “Come back with Duck,” Rose whispered. “We’ll be waiting.”
Em turned and walked out of the house without another word. She knew if she’d said any more, all three of them would have cried, and they were far too old to start sobbing.
At the train station, she saw Sumner loading the horses. He must have stopped by Elmo’s Mercantile and given orders to have supplies delivered, because a kid stood beside him with what looked like enough supplies for a week packed in twill bags that would stand both the trip and the weather.
When Sumner saw Em, he said, “I figure we can pick up whatever I forgot when we leave the train.”
Em nodded, thinking the old guy couldn’t have forgotten much, because both packs looked full.
Without another word, they loaded the horses and packs and climbed on. Lewt was the last one on, and he looked around for a moment at their quarters. He smiled, then jumped back down for a moment before tossing up a broom.
While Wyatt and Sumner tied a line for the horses, Lewt swept out a corner of the car. When the train whistle blew, they tossed their gear in the clean corner and settled in for a long ride.
Em stood and watched the land passing by, as cold and dead with winter as she felt inside. She’d known from the first that what she had with Lewt was no more than a flirtation, but she hadn’t expected it to end so fast. He hadn’t said a word to her for an hour, or even acted like he’d noticed she was standing five feet away from him.
She was the one who had a right to be mad. He’d tried to order her around. If she felt like it, she might laugh at how he’d reacted when she’d told the ranger that she was Emily McMurray. He’d stared at her as if he knew she was lying. It seemed not to occur to him that she might have been lying for the past four days.
To him, she was still a woman hired to work with the horses. He couldn’t see her as a lady. She couldn’t help but wonder if he would have kissed her like he did if he’d thought her a McMurray.
The air coming through the slits in the car walls was bitter cold, but she barely noticed. She had to forget about Lewt and what he thought of her. She had to think about Duck. Part of her had always known he’d get himself in over his head one day. They’d even talked about it once when he’d come home for a few days. As they always did when he came back to Whispering Mountain, just the two of them went riding. That day they’d gone up on the hill where their grandparents were buried along with Sage’s first love and a child Em’s mother had miscarried.
Duncan had climbed off his horse and lain down on the grass beside the headstones. “Promise me, Em,” he’d said, “that when I die you’ll go get my body and lay me to rest here.”
She’d laughed. “If you’d stay home, you’d save me a trip by dying of old age right here on the ranch.”
“Not me. I want to take life at a full run. I’ve had this hunger to do everything there is to do since I can remember, but I want to be put to rest here so I can see Whispering Mountain and know I’m home.”
“Why don’t you go up to the summit and spend a night? Maybe you’ll do like the legend says and dream your future.”
“I don’t want to know. I want to be like a bird, just shot out of the sky in midflight.”
Em had sat down beside him. “Not me. I want to die of old age right here.”
Now, in the rattling train car, she thought about what he’d said. She loved him like a brother, but could remember only a few times when they’d talked, really talked, as adults. In many ways they were opposites, and neither understood the other.
She stared into the night. He was out there somewhere. Hurt. Alone. About to be killed by men who hated him just because he was a ranger. She had to find him or die trying.
“Cold?” Lewt asked from just behind her.
Em didn’t turn around. “No,” she lied.
“Would you look at me if I said I was sorry, Em? I didn’t mean what I said.”
“I don’t want to look at you,” she said, but she couldn’t help but smile. There was something about Lewt that made him a hard man to hate. “And I need to make something very clear to you. Whether a man wants to marry me or not doesn’t matter. I made up my mind a long time ago that I never wanted to marry. Not ever.”
“Want to tell me why?” he whispered.
“No.”
“Do you think, for just this quest we’re on, we could be friends?”
“Fair enough.” She had a feeling the peace between them wouldn’t last long, but she’d try once again. Somehow this strange man had broken down fences and stepped into her life, whether she liked it or not.
“You know, you may not be cold, but I am. I’d like to stand a little closer to you, but I’m worried about having my head blown off. You wouldn’t murder a friend, would you?”
“Probably not,” she said. “If you’ll promise not to try ordering me around. I hate that, Lewt.”
“I won’t even talk.”
“Good,” she whispered as she felt the warmth of him move very close behind her.
He kept to his word. He just stepped beside her, blocking some of the wind as his arm rested lightly at her waist.
She rolled a few inches until she pressed against his chest. Even if Sumner or Wyatt had been watching, she doubted they’d see how close they were to each other. She might not want a man in her life, but Lewt offered a kind of comfort. She liked the solidness of him. The way he smelled and the way he treated her like a woman even when she didn’t want him to. She’d never let a man boss her around or control her, but a friend might be nice.
Lewt’s stance was wide and seemed to steady her as the car swayed back and forth. They both watched the night as if there were answers out there waiting for the right questions to be asked.
After she’d grown warm in his arms, he leaned slightly and brushed her lips with a kiss. There had been no passion in the touch, only comfort, and she accepted it for what it was.
She turned slightly, snuggling her back against his chest as his arms circled her, pulling her close. They stood like that a long time, before he leaned and kissed her neck. “I like just having you close to me,” he whispered, so low she wasn’t sure he knew he’d said the words out loud. “If that’s all that can be between us, Em, that’s enough.”
When she didn’t protest, his hands began to move at her waist, spreading out over the layers of coat and clothes as if he had to feel her, had to know that she was there.
Just having him close, she thought. That would be enough. That would be all she could handle. When he was gone, she’d remember that once in her life, she’d let her guard down a bit and it hadn’t been as frightening as she’d feared.
Sumner rattled his way to their side of the car, giving them time to move a few inches away from each other. “Hell of a night to be traveling in an open car,” the old man said.
“It is,” Lewt managed.
“I think I’ll turn in. We won’t get there before dawn. Once we’re riding we’ll be wishing for sleep, I figure.”
They all moved toward the stash of supplies and spread out bedrolls. Sumner took the spot closest to the horses. He used his saddle as a pillow and, half sitting up, pulled his hat low only minutes before he began to snore.
Wyatt took the other side of the cleaned-off floor. He rolled up in his blanket and pressed his back against one of the supply bags. He didn’t look comfortable, but the ranger also didn’t seem like a man who complained. If Em was guessing, she’d think that this might be one of the more comfortable places he’d slept during his years with the rangers.
Lewt spread her blankets a foot from his own. When she curled up inside, he removed his heavy leather coat and placed it over her, claiming all he needed was the blanket.
She watched him stretch out flat on his back and then raise his hand in the moonlight slicing through the car sides.
Em knew what he was offering. She snuggled in the warmth of his heavy coat and laced her fingers through his. She th
ought she’d be too worried or too uncomfortable to sleep, but something about having this man so near comforted her. She fell asleep.
When she awoke, all three men were up and the train was pulling into the station. She scrambled to get her things together as the train stopped and the door dropped. Within minutes they were unloaded, the horses wild with fright over the steam. Everything seemed to be happening at once. Sumner strapped the bags on one of the extra horses and Wyatt disappeared to the nearest outhouse.
“Morning, beautiful.” Lewt smiled as she stepped to the edge of the car, looking for a place to jump down.
She stared at him, thinking she probably looked a sight. Strands of her hair had come loose from her braid, and she wouldn’t have been surprised to find straw hanging off her clothes.
He raised his hands, and she leaned forward as he caught her and swung her down to ground. They moved to the horses in silence, but both knew that she’d forgiven him for yesterday. They were back to being friends and, she decided, just a bit more.
He lifted her saddle onto her horse and faced her. “I’m glad you’re with us,” he whispered. “I was wrong. You’ve got as much right as any of us to ride to help Duncan. Just promise me one thing. Don’t take any chances unless I’m there to cover your back.”
She nodded. “If you’ll promise me the same thing.” For this unsteady new friendship to work, he had to accept her as an equal.
He smiled as if he understood her meaning. “Agreed.”
When she finished saddling her mount, he tossed her an apple. “Enjoy breakfast. We’ll be ready to ride as soon as Wyatt gets back.”
Five minutes later, they were headed south at breakneck speed. Wyatt led the way with Sumner just behind, then Em, then Lewt. She caught herself glancing back to make sure he could keep up, but he seemed to be having no problem. She’d taught him well.
They stopped to rest the horses about noon and again three hours later. Wyatt and Lewt passed out hardtack and canteens, but no one suggested a fire. There wasn’t time.
By late afternoon Sumner had taken the lead, and they began to move slower. The old man was digging through twenty years of memory to find the trail that had once taken him into Mexico to a big place built like a stage station. He said the scarred woman sold supplies to travelers on one side and anything else on the other side. He remembered there had been whiskey and opium for those who wanted to forget what a mess they might be in and soiled doves for those looking for a few minutes to remember. Mixed in with it all, surrounding it all, were card games that lasted for days and often ended with gunfire. The woman who ran the place, Toledo by name, took no part in the gambling other than to charge outrageous prices for the drinks and food during them. She also charged the survivors for any burials.
When they stopped to water the horses, Sumner told them he’d gone down with another ranger looking for a strawberry-headed woman whose husband claimed she had been kidnapped by outlaws. They found her dealing cards, but she wasn’t in any hurry to come back to Texas. Apparently the customers treated her better than her man had. She claimed he worked her harder than the plow mules during the day and then rode her half the night. She’d begged them to let her stay.
Sumner smiled his toothless smile. “We went back alone and told the farmer she was dead. He shrugged and said he’d already ordered another woman from a mail-order bride place. I’ve seen men who had to shoot their horses show more emotion than he did. I always wondered what happened to that girl. Who knows, she may still be there.”
“But you and the other ranger did nothing about the illegal things going on down there, or the outlaws holing up there?” Em had to ask.
“It wasn’t our concern. We were just there to bring the woman back, and there’s no law that said we could do that if she didn’t want to come.”
Lewt had shown little interest in the story. “How much longer until we’re there?”
“We’ll reach the river by midnight and sleep there. Then we’ll cross in the morning and be at the Three Forks ranch before noon.”
They all looked tired as they climbed back on their horses and continued riding. Em worried that this trip might be too much for Sumner. He’d been twenty years younger when he’d crossed before, but they might never find Duncan without him.
As he’d told them they would, the little band reached the river before midnight. They camped and built a fire. Em helped make coffee and boil up a soup made from vegetables. Without more than a few words, they ate and spread their blankets out around the fire.
Lewt put the head of his bedroll so close to hers that the tops of their heads almost touched. He sat watching her unbraid her hair and comb it before braiding it once more in a smooth rope. She guessed they were both too tired to say anything, but the way he looked at her told her how he felt. He liked watching her, and the knowledge warmed her cheeks.
When she lay down, she raised her hand above her head and found his hand there waiting.
She liked the way he remembered to hold her hand and didn’t kid her about it. A friend and more, she decided. A friend for a few days and then only a memory.
CHAPTER 25
DUNCAN BEGAN TO WORK HIS LEG, EXERCISING until he was sweating. If he was going to break out of this place, he had to be strong enough to overtake Ramon in seconds, before the big man could alert any other guards. From bits and pieces he’d picked up, there were a dozen men working for Toledo and they took their meals in the kitchen just beyond his locked door.
He had no idea where they were the rest of the time, but pacing seemed to help him think. The sheet wrapped around his waist was bothersome, but necessary. She’d washed every part of him, but he couldn’t see himself standing nude in front of Anna, be she child or woman.
She watched him with her huge dark eyes as if she had no idea what he was doing. He thought he saw a slight reaction when he pulled his clothes from under the bed and found his guns tucked between the layers.
A few nights ago, after he knew they’d been locked in for the night, he motioned for her to sit on the floor.
She looked wary as if fearing he might be tricking her. Duncan started to take her hand, but she jerked back and he knew her fears. He lowered himself to the floor and hoped she’d follow.
She sat down slowly a few feet away, and he pulled a burned stick from the fire. With the ashes, he drew a square on the rock floor. “If this is the house, where does the sun come up?”
She watched him for a moment, then pointed to the left of the box he’d drawn.
“And where is this room inside the house?” He offered her the stick.
She drew a tiny square in the back away from the sun, and then she began adding squares to his drawing as if she understood what he was trying to figure out. A barn to the north with a corral. A road running northeast and then south just beyond the barn.
He smiled and whispered, “Horses?”
She pointed.
“Stores of supplies?”
She drew a circle to the left of their room.
For the next half hour, he whispered and she showed him on their crude map where everything was, down to the guards’ stations.
“Thank you,” he finally said as she handed him the stick back and began to wash the map away.
Duncan stood and forced himself to pace, working out the soreness in his leg. He listened at the door and heard nothing. The kitchen must be closed for the night. Which meant that Ramon, or maybe some other guard, was sleeping on the other side of the door.
Exhausted, he finally climbed into bed. Every night he was managing to do more, but he worried that he wasn’t recovering fast enough.
Anna moved to a dark corner and removed her clothes. Every night she wore a soft gown that had been washed so many times it looked little more than a rag. She climbed onto the bed beside him, curling into her ball next to him, almost touching him. Since the night she’d cried on his chest, she hadn’t come so close to him. He knew she wasn’t afraid of him as she
was of Ramon, but she still didn’t trust him completely.
He moved so that he could whisper near her ear. “Ramon said you came here more than six years ago. He said he heard you were six or seven at the time. How old were you, Anna, when you came to stay?”
She sat up on her legs and looked at him as if no one had asked her such a question or expected her to respond. Slowly, she lifted her hands and held out all her fingers, then closed one fist and held two up on the other hand.
“You were twelve?” He found it hard to believe that even with her small build, the old woman had missed her age by five years.
She nodded.
“That would make you about eighteen now.”
She shook her head.
“Nineteen?” he guessed again.
She nodded, and he thought she was brilliant to be able to pull childhood off for so long.
“Why didn’t you, or did you try to run away?” He thought he remembered Ramon telling him one night that Anna had tried to run once and she’d almost died from the punishment.
She turned her back to him, then unbuttoned a few buttons of her gown. Holding it in the front, she let the garment slip free at her shoulder and showed him the thin long scars on her back from the years-ago beating. There were fresh bruises as well along her arms, as if some hand had jerked her suddenly.
Duncan got the picture. It wasn’t all that hard to break a twelve-year-old; a few beatings, but as she got older, Toledo must have begun locking her in. It crossed his mind that maybe the old woman knew or suspected that Anna, though small, was fully grown. Duncan wouldn’t put it past the old witch to make Ramon wait for his prize as long as possible, but Duncan had no doubt that one day she would turn her great-niece over to the man. Toledo had plans for Anna, and they were too horrible for him to imagine.
When she started to pull her gown up, he stopped her with a gentle touch. “No,” he whispered. “Let me see them all. I don’t ever want to forget what the old woman did to you.”
