by Leann Harris
“Do you need help with those jeans?” Alex asked.
“I can undo my own jeans,” Rafe grumbled as he reached for the snap. He pushed them over his hips, but stopped when the material brushed against his wound. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes drifted closed.
“This is ridiculous, Rafe,” Alex said. “Let me cut them off.”
His eyes snapped open. “No.”
“Well, all I have to say is you’re more like Dad than you know,” she grumbled.
Rafe didn’t look pleased. Gingerly, he sat on the bed.
Alex looked at his boots and shook her head. “They have to come off.”
Rafe nodded. Alex pulled off his boots and jeans. Rafe didn’t make a sound, but his face was white and beads of sweat had gathered on his forehead. She raced into the bathroom, gathered up several towels and placed them under his thigh.
Alex carefully examined the wound. After several minutes she glanced up.
“Well, you’re one lucky Ranger. The bullet only caught the fleshy part of your thigh. I’ll clean it up and put some antibiotic cream on it. But you need to have a tetanus shot.”
“But I just—”
“I looked at your records, Rafe. It’s been long enough. You need another. And I brought one with me.”
It took only a short time for Alex to clean and wrap Rafe’s wound and give him the tetanus shot.
“Well, that should do it.” She pulled out the antibiotic pills she’d brought with her. “You need to take these to make sure you don’t get a secondary infection. The directions are on the container.”
Rafe reached for his jeans.
Alex rested her hands on her hips. “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting dressed.”
“No, you’re not. You need to go to bed. Tomorrow will be soon enough for you to be up.”
“I don’t want to go to bed.”
“Fine. Go sit on the couch in the living room, but you need to stay put for the night. Why don’t I get you some sweatpants, and you can slip them on?”
He didn’t look pleased.
“I’m sure April will appreciate it if you get dressed. Her eyes were as big as saucers when you started to unzip your jeans.”
Finally, he nodded. “I’ve got some sweats on the top shelf in the closet.”
“I’ll get them for you.”
“I’m not the only one who is like Dad, Alexandra,” Rafe grumbled.
A laugh floated back to him.
April helped Derek unload the horses. As she walked Missy into the barn, Derek followed with Sam.
“What can you remember about what happened, April?”
Although she knew Derek was a friend, she couldn’t help the shudder that raced through her. She couldn’t say if her reaction was due to recalling the incident or to being this close to Derek. “I didn’t see anything. As I was getting out of the truck, there was a loud sound. Rafe pushed me down on the seat. That’s when he got shot. While we were hiding inside the cab, there were several other shots. I think one hit the tire on the truck.” She couldn’t help the despair filling her voice. “This has got to be my fault.”
Derek put Sam in his stall and began to unsaddle him. “You don’t know that, April.”
“When was the last time someone shot at Rafe?” she demanded.
Glancing up from where he was unbuckling the saddle, he answered, “Two years ago. Rafe was shot several times by a felon he was tracking.”
“Oh.”
“Why don’t you unsaddle Missy? Just follow what I’ve done with Sam.”
“Okay.” She was successful until she got to the bridle. “I think I’ve gone as far as I can.”
Derek stepped to her side. “I’ll take over from here.”
April moved away and let Derek go about his job.
“Has anything come back to you? I mean, do you recall any part of your past?”
She didn’t mention the flashback she had experienced earlier when she looked at Rafe’s wound. She’d seen another man, lying in a pool of blood on the floor. Now she shied away from admitting what she had recalled, not ready to face the memory. “I keep thinking that I’ll wake up from this dream and that everything will be all right. That I’ll have a past, a family, a job. But I keep waking up and the nightmare is real.”
When Derek was finished, he watered the horses. April was amazed that she had become so fond of Missy. She laid her cheek on Missy’s warm neck.
“You look like a natural there, April,” Derek said, walking to where she stood.
“You know, it feels right, standing here.” She shook off the feeling and stepped away from Missy. “Of course, when Rafe took me riding earlier, it was obvious that I hadn’t done it before.”
“Let’s go inside and see how Rafe’s doing.”
April nodded. She was eager to make sure Rafe was all right.
“All the bullets are pretty chewed up,” Derek told Rafe, handing him the shells that he had dug out of the side of the house and fence post. Derek and Rafe had closed themselves in his study to talk about the afternoon’s events. “I’ll take your tire into town with me and have Billy recover that bullet, but I don’t think it will tell us too much.”
Rafe rubbed his arm over the ache in his thigh. “Yeah, whoever was shooting at us meant business.”
“Could be. You want me to send this to the Ranger’s lab?” Derek asked.
“Yup. I’m also going to call my commander and tell him what’s happened. He needs to know about this development. He wasn’t too happy about me keeping April here with me. But I told him that it was the easiest way all around. One more thing, has that stranger that Mabel talked about shown up in town again?”
“No one’s seen hide nor hair of him. You know, this incident could’ve been sparked by that newspaper article that came out yesterday morning.” Derek frowned. “Maybe someone doesn’t want April to remember. She might have seen something she shouldn’t have.”
Running his hands through his hair, Rafe sighed. “I’ve thought about that.”
“And you agree?”
“Yeah, I think you have a point.” He didn’t like it one bit that his idea of doing the newspaper interview had brought about this action against April. “I think she’s in trouble.”
“Are you going to say anything to April about it?” Derek asked.
“You bet. I don’t want to put her in danger- After what happened today, we’ll need to be careful for the next few days while we wait on a response to our hospital ads and the newspaper article. We’ve already shaken something loose. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that some good leads turn up.”
Derek picked up the sheet of paper from the desk. “Have you checked the missing persons reports today?”
“I checked before April and I went out to feed the cattle. There still was nothing...which I can’t understand. If Alex was missing, wouldn’t you move heaven and earth to try to find her?”
“I would, but then again, I love my wife. If I wanted to kill her, I wouldn’t report her missing.”
The words hung like a pall in the room.
“I thought the same thing. What happened this afternoon only gives that suspicion credence.”
Rafe pulled out a padded envelope and began to address it to the Ranger lab.
Derek leaned against the desk. “Have you noticed that every time I get within a hundred yards of April, she tenses up?” he asked. “Why, in the barn a few minutes ago, when I got near her, I thought she was going to jump out of her skin. Is it me or is she like that with everyone?”
“It’s you,” Rafe answered. Pausing, he glanced up and saw Derek staring at him. “It’s not so much you as your position as a deputy. April was that tense with Wes at the main office in Alpine.”
“And she isn’t that wary of you?”
Rafe couldn’t help the grin that split his face. “I guess I’m a nice guy.”
Derek cursed.
A laugh erupted from Rafe’s throat. “Does my si
ster know you talk like that?”
That earned him another glare.
Rafe held up his hands. “Okay, okay. No, what I noticed is that everyone with the sheriffs department seem to make April tense up. I’ve also noticed that when she was in my office last night and we made up those pictures to send to the hospitals, she was nervous about the neatness.”
“So, my guess is that a neat sheriff would send April into orbit,” Derek teased.
Rafe shook his head. A neat sheriff. But as he thought about it, that might be the problem. “Derek, you might’ve hit the nail on the head.”
“What, that we need to investigate the neat sheriffs in the state?”
“No, but I think that the sheriff’s department and neatness has something to do with April’s past. Just keep your eyes open and know what we’re looking for.”
“Do you know how many counties there are in the state?” Derek asked.
“A lot.”
“Two-hundred-forty-five.”
“Then we’ve narrowed the search down from a million possibilities to a couple of hundred. Sounds like a winner to me. Also, listening to April speak, I’d say she was a Texan, but comes from an urban area. That might help narrow our search to sheriffs in the middle of the state.”
Derek nodded. “I think you’re right. I’ve got a couple of friends who are sheriffs or working in sheriffs’ offices. I’ll contact them—see what they come up with.”
“I’ll also notify my commander what we suspect.”
Rafe handed Derek the padded mailer.
“I’ll give this to our postmistress when I get back.” Tucking the envelope under his arm, Derek looked at Rafe. “You know, today is the first time I’ve ever heard you refer to Alexandra as your sister. She thinks the world of you.”
Rafe looked down at his leg. “She’s a fine doctor. And I’m proud she’s my sister.”
“I’ve noticed something else,” Derek added with a grin. “You seem to have come down with the same symptoms I had last year.”
“What’s that?” Rafe knew only that it had been the talk of the county for quite some time that Dr. Alexandra Courtland’s car had broken down in Saddle. While her car had been fixed, Alex had looked at the mechanic’s sick mother and discovered the TB that had raced through the town. Derek and Alex had fallen in love during that time.
“Well, during the TB epidemic, I found myself stuck in my house with Alex, the way you are with April. My eyes always tracked her and my body knew where she was every second of the time we were together. I’m afraid it didn’t get better, only worse. But—” he winked “—the cure wasn’t fatal. C’mon, let’s go mingle with the ladies.”
Derek offered Rafe his hand. He took it and tried not to put pressure on his bad leg. What Derek. had told him about falling in love with Alex was completely mind-blowing. Surely, he wasn’t acting like love-struck Derek, was he?
In that moment, Rafe knew that Derek was right. And his previously well-ordered world was suddenly tossed on its head.
When the men entered the kitchen, April and Alex were sitting at the table, with cups of coffee in front of them.
“Are you two finished being cops for the time being?” Alex asked.
“We’re done for the moment.”
Alex moved to Rafe’s side and gave him a hug. “Be careful, brother. And take your pills. I want you to try to stay off that leg tonight.”
“I’ve got stock to feed.”
“I’m sure April would be glad to do it for you.”
“No,” both Derek and Rafe answered.
“I’ll send Billy Mayer’s son out to do your evening chores,” Derek offered. “I’m sure the kid would appreciate the money. He’s wanting to buy a used car.”
Rafe nodded. “Sounds good.”
With a final nod to April, Derek and Alex left. When they were alone, April turned to Rafe.
“Why do you need to pay someone to do the chores? I’ll be happy to do whatever you need done.”
“April, whoever shot at us might try again. I don’t want to put you in jeopardy.”
She stared at him, her eyes wide with fear. “I’m sorry.” Her lower lip trembled. “This is all my fault.”
Although his leg hurt like hell and he wanted to sit down, he opened his arms and April gingerly slipped into his embrace.
“Don’t blame yourself, April. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
His words made her cry harder. Well, damn, he seemed to do nothing right today.
Yet, even as that thought occurred to him, he remembered April kneeling before him, tears in her eyes, as she looked at his wound. And he experienced the oddest sensation.
Peace. It didn’t make sense, but there it was.
“For the next few days, April, you need to stay away from the windows. I don’t want you to be a target.”
She clutched his shirt and buried her face against his chest.
“Will you do that for me, April?”
He put his fingers under her chin and lifted it. He lightly brushed his mouth over hers, then drew her closer. Suddenly, he didn’t want to let her go. But his leg was burning like a brush fire, and he released her.
“I believe I need to sit down.”
“Let me help you to the couch.”
He nodded and allowed April to help him. When he relaxed against the cushions, he felt powerless. Meeting April’s eyes—so full of understanding and compassion—those thoughts disappeared. And it pulled him out of his despair. So this was what it felt like to be cared for, he thought. It was a good feeling.
“Yes, Steve, the bullets should be there tomorrow. Derek’s taking them into Saddle to mail,” Rafe told his commander.
“Who do you think the shooter was after?”
“He was aiming at the woman.”
“But he got you by mistake.”
“Yeah, I got in the way.”
“I don’t like my men being shot at.”
“I don’t care for it, either, Steve.”
He laughed. “I imagine not. How are you doing? You need any more support?”
“No. Derek did a fine job of recovering the bullets. My wound’s minor. I don’t believe I’ll be riding tomorrow, but other than that, I’m fine.”
“You know, Rafe, I believe your situation needs some more publicity. How about I call around to see if I can get one of the stations here in Midland, or CNN, interested in the story. We’ll get a wider audience to see if we can come up with a name for your mystery lady.”
“Sounds good.”
Rafe hung up the phone, then noticed April hovering near the door to his study.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
“Yes. I just talked to my commander and told him what happened. I let him know about the evidence I’m sending to the lab.”
She nodded but didn’t step into the room. “Does this room make you nervous, April?”
Glancing around the neat room, she swallowed. “Yes.”
“Can you identify why this room in particular makes you uneasy?”
Her brow furrowed. “I don’t know.”
“Derek mentioned to me that you appear nervous every time he comes within a hundred yards of you. You acted that way in his office and at the party yesterday. Also, when we went to Alpine, you were as nervous as a three-legged cat in a room full of dogs when you met Wes. You do realize that you react that way to anyone in the sheriffs department, don’t you?”
“I had hoped you wouldn’t notice my attacks of nerves.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “But you’re not nervous with me, are you?”
“No,” she answered hurriedly. “I’m not—for some reason.”
“But my office makes you uncomfortable?”
She pursed her lips, scanning the area. “Yes,” she reluctantly admitted.
“Why is that, do you suppose?”
“I don’t know.” His desk was uncluttered and the trays filled with papers were organized. “Maybe i
t’s the neatness.” Shrugging, she added, “It’s odd, because your bathroom is neat, and it doesn’t bother me. Of course your kitchen isn’t, and that does bother me. Maybe that blow to my head has scrambled my brains.”
He rubbed his chin. “I don’t think so. I think that your mind is trying to send you a message.”
“That I don’t like neat offices, but do like neat kitchens?”
“That’s it, exactly.”
“I think you’re reaching. I made some more chili. It’s ready if you want to eat.”
“You bet, I want to eat.”
“I can bring it in here, if you want.”
“Nope. I can walk.”
He was right, but April walked by his side, just in case.
“What are you frowning about?” April asked Rate as he finished his dinner.
“What?” he asked, startled.
“You were frowning a minute ago.”
He leaned back in his chair. “I was just thinking about something Derek said.”
“And what was that?”
“That today when Alex and he got here, I called Alex ‘sis.’”
“Why would it be so unusual for you to call her that?” She rested her elbows on the table and looked at him.
He heaved a sigh. “I told you about discovering that Alex was my sister after I got to know her as the town’s doctor and as Derek’s wife. We’d developed a friendship. She was good for Derek and his daughter. When I learned who my father was—well, it shed another light on our relationship. I was kinda uncomfortable with it. I hadn’t called her sister until today.”
She gathered the dishes and put them in the sink. “How long have you known Alex was your sister?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked at the ceiling. “Close to two years.”
She turned to him. “Then I say it’s about time.”
“You don’t cut a guy much slack, do you?”
“I would give my eyeteeth to know if I had kin. Don’t blow that off. I don’t think that Alex is responsible for the actions of your parents.”
“I know it. It’s just that my mom went through so much.” Memories of his mother and her struggles flooded his mind.
“Why didn’t she ever contact your dad once she knew where he was?”
