Jodi Thomas

by When a Texan Gambles

  “Of course I’m standing by it. I never said I wasn’t.”

  “Drop the gun, Sarah. Put it down slow,” the Ranger encouraged, but no one was listening.

  “And you can stop bossing me around. I swear, Sam, you act like you’ve never been around a woman long enough to have a conversation.”

  “That’s probably right,” Jacob said calmly, taking a step toward Sarah. “Go ahead and shoot him, Sarah. I’m sure whatever he did, he deserves to die.”

  “Shut up, Dalton!” Sam snapped. “What kind of help is that?”

  “Well, I don’t know,” Jacob defended himself. “I never run across a bounty hunter and a confessed murderer’s nest before. For all I know you two do this every night as some kind of mating call. Half the people in this state seemed to be trying to kill you, and you’re shooting at each other.”

  He took another step toward Sarah.

  “Stay back, Jacob,” Sarah ordered. “I don’t want to have to bury you, too.”

  “She’s not going to kill you,” Sam said. “She can’t hit the broad side of this barn. She’s already fired three shots and I’m still standing.”

  Sarah turned her attention back to Sam, ignoring Jacob as he took another step. “Stop running me down, Sam.” She raised the Colt and fired. A rope hanging a few feet above his head danced with the shot.

  Before Sam could react, she squeezed off two more shots, keeping the rope dancing.

  Both men froze as they watched the rope settle back into place.

  “If I’d wanted you dead, I would only have needed one bullet.” Sarah slipped the Colt back in its holster.

  “But the other day in the woods?” Sam moved toward her. “Why’d you act like you couldn’t shoot?”

  “I liked the lesson.” She grinned as he lifted her off her feet and kissed her.

  “I liked it better when she was shooting at you.” Jacob pulled off his hat. “It makes more sense than the lady liking you.”

  Sam broke the kiss, but didn’t loosen his hold on Sarah. “Next time my wife and I have an argument, do me a favor and stay out of it.”

  “No problem. How about you send me a telegraph, and I’ll make sure I’m not even in the same county.”

  Sarah pushed on Sam’s chest, and he reluctantly set her down. “Thanks for coming to my aid, Jacob. It was very kind of you, but if I hadn’t learned to shoot as a child, the old woman I lived with and I would have starved.”

  “You’re not going to hug the man again, are you, Sarah?” Sam asked. “Because if you are, I swear, I’ll have to hit him a few times.”

  She offered her hand to Jacob. “Thank you,” she said. “Have you had supper? I could make some coffee to warm you up.”

  “We’ll need it.” Jacob’s stare met Sam’s. “I’ve got news.”

  For the next hour Jacob told them of the trouble Reed and his gang had been causing in Fort Worth. It seemed a sheriff tried to kick Reed out of town, and the outlaw planned to stir up as much trouble as possible. Three men were dead already in gunfights, and the sheriff claimed a woman who was cut up in one of the bars identified Reed.

  “I’ve circled around, waiting for you.” Jacob finished off his coffee. “We’ve got to catch Reed when he’s not expecting anything, or more folks will die.”

  Sam agreed.

  Jacob nodded toward Sarah, who had curled beneath a blanket and fallen asleep several minutes before. “I thought you were going to leave her somewhere safe.”

  “I tried. I can’t win an argument with that woman. I swear, she doesn’t look it, but she’s tougher than either of us.” Sam smiled. “And probably a better shot.”

  “We’ll keep her between us, if trouble comes,” Jacob said. “She’ll be safe there.”

  Sam agreed. “You’re welcome to share our fire.”

  “No, thanks. I’ll bunk in the loft. It’s probably safer up there in case she wakes and the two of you decide to continue the discussion I walked in on.”

  TWENTY-SIX

  SARAH DRIFTED IN AND OUT OF SLEEP AS SAM PULLED off his boots and slipped in next to her. As he always did, he tucked the covers over her before leaning back.

  “Sam?” she whispered, rolling over.

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “Will you hold me, tonight, or are you too mad at me?”

  He circled his arm around her and pulled her against his chest. “I’m still mad, but I’ll hold you.” His warmth moved in around her as he added, “You’re driving me crazy, you know.”

  “I know. I feel bad about that, I truly do.” She could hear Jacob stomping around above them. She snuggled closer to Sam. She was glad the Ranger was up there, but she needed to be with Sam.

  “Why didn’t you tell the Ranger the reason you were shooting at me?” Sam whispered against her ear.

  She crawled atop him and put her mouth close to his ear to answer. “I couldn’t. Then he’d know that I was breaking one of the rules.”

  Sam held her head in his hand. “Sarah, there are no rules between a man and a woman. Even if there were, I wouldn’t know them.” He rubbed his cheek against hers. “All I know is I want you. I want you so bad it may take a lifetime to get my fill. No rules matter except the ones we make.”

  He kissed her then, soft and sweet, like their first kiss should have been. Both of them had learned a great deal of the art. She marveled at how this one man could make her melt inside. She drank in sweet fire that only burned when it reached her belly, then the heat spread all the way to her toes.

  While the kiss continued, he moved his hand down her back and gripped her hip.

  “Sam, we can’t do this. Jacob might hear.”

  Sam rolled her to her back and whispered, “I won’t make a sound, but if you’ve no objection, I plan to touch my wife tonight. You’ve been asking to be held all day.”

  “No, I haven’t.” She buried a giggle against his chest.

  “Yes, you have. In the way you move. In the way you look at me. Even when you were shooting at me, you were begging me to hold you tight.”

  She relaxed as his hands crossed over her gown. He didn’t unbutton the tiny buttons that ran to her waist or try to pull up the hem, he just explored her body with the thin layer of cotton between them.

  “When you come to me as a wife, Sarah, come to me without anything covering you, not even this thin gown. Come to me in the light so I can see you and touch you without having to take anything off of you. Promise me.” His hand closed around her breast as his words drifted across her cheek.

  “I promise,” she whispered.

  His hand continued to roam, warming her beneath the material. He kissed her until all thought left her mind and she drifted with him in pleasure. He broke the kiss finally and moved his mouth once more against her ear. His breath was ragged as he whispered, “The next time you say you love me, it better not be because of some rule. Love me, or hate me, but do what you feel and nothing more. I have to know how you feel inside and not just what you think you are supposed to say.”

  “All right, Sam,” she answered.

  He turned her so that her backside fit against him and added, “We’d better get some sleep. If Jacob is right, we should hit trouble by mid-morning. No matter what happens, stay close to me and do what I tell you. Both our lives could depend on it.”

  “I’ll remember.” She moved closer. “Good night.”

  “Mind if I touch you while we sleep?” His hand already held her breast. “I seem to be developing a habit. I know no peace without the feel of you next to me.”

  “No,” she answered. “I don’t mind.”

  She listened as his breathing grew steady, but his hand still held her firmly in his grasp. He wasn’t the only one developing a habit. She felt complete next to him.

  Hours later, when the fire had burned low and the storm had settled to a shower, she awoke to his touch. He’d unbuttoned her gown enough to move his hand inside and was gently crossing his thumb back and forth across her nipp
le. The pleasure rocked her as if she were still dreaming.

  When she sighed, he looked up, his dark eyes fiery with passion. Neither said a word; they’d both said all there was to be said.

  He closed her gown and rolled to his back. For a long time they just lay side by side, not touching, but listening to the other breathe. She wanted to tell him how easily she responded to him. How much she wanted him. How she’d been wrong to make him promise. He wanted her, she wanted him, they were married.

  Most of all, she wanted to tell him what it meant to her that he waited. She was putting him through hell. But he waited. Maybe she was putting them both through hell, and she couldn’t find the words to let him know that by this one act, he honored her. By waiting, he gave her the respect she’d longed for all her life. She was no longer someone to be passed from place to place, someone without value. Sam had made her feel cherished. He’d made her feel worth waiting for.

  “Sam,” she whispered, knowing he wasn’t asleep.

  “Try to get some sleep, Sarah. It’s almost dawn, and this promises to be one hell of a day. I didn’t mean to wake you. I just wanted to touch you one more time.”

  “Sam, I want to say one thing before we start this day.”

  “All right.”

  She found his hand resting between them and held it tightly as she whispered, “I love you.”

  He gripped her hand in his for a moment, then stood and moved to the barn opening.

  She followed.

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her as they watched the sun come up. He leaned his head so that he could breathe in the smell of her hair and added, “I love you, too.”

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  SARAH KNELT BEHIND A PILE OF ROCKS AND WATCHED Sam and Jacob moving closer to Reed’s camp. It had taken them until almost sundown to find the outlaws, but now that they were here, all the exhaustion of the ride vanished as fear ran through her veins.

  The feeling that finally Sam would be rid of this man who had haunted them settled over her. If Zeb Whitaker truly made it to jail and they killed or captured Reed tonight, she and Sam might both know a little peace.

  She lifted the rifle Sam had insisted she keep and stared down the barrel. Two men sat by the fire; one other stood several feet away, staring toward the west. The night was still after the storm the day before, and their voices drifted to her. She couldn’t make out words, but she knew they were arguing.

  Sam told her he didn’t think Reed was among them. He’d said the man was thin to the point of bone and liked to wear a black leather coat with fringe on the sleeves. Though they’d been told Reed and his men were camped along this bend in the Trinity River, the informers could be wrong. Sam and Jacob had to make sure before they rode into a camp firing.

  No man in the camp fit the description of Reed. Sarah leaned back and tried to relax. Jacob planned to ride into the camp and ask a few questions with Sam hanging behind on guard. She’d noticed the Ranger slipped his badge into his pocket before they’d left her at the rocks. Even if the men by the river were Reed’s men, there was no point in having a shoot-out with them and take the chance of scaring Reed further into hiding.

  She heard her horse make a sound and glanced up to see if anyone in the camp had heard it, too. She doubted it, but Sam told her to stay down and out of sight. He also told her if shooting started, to aim and fire at anything that didn’t look like him or the Ranger.

  She studied the men at the camp, trying to guess if she were close enough to hit any one of them. Sam’s attempt to keep her safe might not be the best thing if she could be of no help when he ran into trouble.

  Something rattled in the brush behind her, and Sarah realized she was no safer here than she would be closer to the action.

  Lifting her rifle, she silently moved through the shadows along the tree line, cutting the distance between her hideout and the camp in half. Her moccasins didn’t make a sound as she ran. Within minutes she reached a place so thick with branches the trees seemed to be growing on top of one another. Just for safety, she pushed her shoulders against a twisted tree trunk. No one would see her here, but she had a clear view of the camp, or a clear shot if need be.

  Again she heard something moving behind her. This time the shuffling sounded more like boots trying to walk softly over the ground littered with leaves. Her first thought was that it might be Sam, returning to check on her. But then she realized he’d been in front of her only minutes before. He wouldn’t have had time to circle behind her. Also, he thought she was out of harm’s way, so he would be more likely to stay with Jacob, who would be facing down three-to-one odds if Sam didn’t back him up.

  She pressed farther into the tree as a black shadow passed between her and the edge of the tree line. He was almost close enough to touch. A thin man. She could hear the soft swish of his leather coat and see the fringe dance between her and the camp’s fire.

  Holding her breath, she realized she was almost close enough to smell Reed. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry. It was almost as if he strolled in the darkness, waiting for something.

  She heard the click of his knife as he tapped the blade. For a moment she thought he might have seen her running and was playing with her now, knowing she hid somewhere near. But as he continued to wait, she realized all his attention was focused on the camp.

  Reed was doing the same thing she was doing. He was waiting in the safety of the trees until trouble started.

  Without letting Reed out of her sight, she watched Jacob ride toward the camp, his head low, his body loose as though he were almost asleep in the saddle.

  “Hello the camp!” he finally yelled. “All right to ride in?”

  The two men who’d been arguing by the fire stood. “Come on in, slow and easy, mister,” one answered as all three men in camp readied their guns.

  Jacob moved closer. “I saw your fire and thought you might be the couple I’m looking for. A man and his wife on their way to Fort Worth.”

  The two men by the fire seemed to relax, but the third man on the edge of the light stood ready.

  “We’re just a few wranglers heading back home,” the man who’d spoken before said.

  Sarah knew little about wranglers, but these men were not dressed like men who herded cattle. They wore no chaps, and the wool of their trousers would never take the rough work around cattle.

  If Jacob noticed he didn’t comment as he climbed from his horse. It was considered good manners to offer any stranger who came in unarmed a cup of coffee, if not supper.

  Not one of the three men offered.

  Jacob checked his saddle. “Well, I’ll be moving on.”

  All three men waited for him to leave. They weren’t looking for trouble, but they weren’t inviting any in. Silence stretched.

  Finally the only man who’d spoken said, “I think I saw a couple camped a few miles back. You might want to check before you stop, stranger.”

  Jacob nodded and lifted his rifle from the saddle. “Raise those hands nice and easy, boys. I’m a Texas Ranger and I think it’s about time you came with me.”

  The two men did as he asked, but the third went for his gun. A gun fired from the shadows and the lookout fell. Jacob kept his rifle steady on the two remaining outlaws.

  Sarah searched the area where the shot must have come from, but she couldn’t see Sam. When she looked back, the thin shadow of Reed had also vanished.

  “I didn’t come alone.” Jacob motioned with his rifle for the two by the fire to keep their hands high.

  Sarah heard movement in the trees several yards away. Suddenly Sam stepped out, his hands in the air. A moment later the thin man moved behind him, a gun shoved against Sam’s back. “Drop that gun, Ranger, or your friend will not take another step.”

  Jacob swore and lowered his rifle.

  In horror Sarah watched as Sam was herded into camp.

  “We’ve been waiting all day for you two boys to show up.” Reed laughed. “I knew if I stopped lo
oking for you, you’d find me. And this spot had too many hiding places near to pass up.”

  “Come on in, boys!” he yelled.

  Men, well armed, materialized from around the camp. If she would have tried to get another ten feet closer to the fire, she would have almost stepped over one. She counted six.

  The two men who’d been arguing at the camp earlier quickly grabbed Jacob’s weapons and tied his hands behind his back.

  “You’ll never get away with this.” He shoved at the men who tried to hold him.

  “Oh, but I will,” Reed answered. “All we have to do is toss your body in the river. You’ll float for miles, and no one will even be able to guess where you were shot. Since there’s no scene of the crime, lawmen will all think someone else will handle the details.”

  “That’s not the way the Texas Rangers work. Someone will come after you.”

  “Me!” Reed yelled. “By the time they find your body, I’ll have witnesses that put me nowhere near this river.”

  “You can’t murder us and get away with it.” A bit of nervousness flickered in Jacob’s voice, but Sarah noticed Sam hadn’t said a word.

  She lifted her rifle. If any man tried to open fire, she’d down one, maybe two, before they could hit Sam and Jacob.

  “You, I can kill.” Reed laughed. “One Ranger in the state, more or less, won’t matter, but the great Sam Gatlin is another story. My name will be whispered with respect in every saloon in the state when folks know I downed the legend.”

  Sarah couldn’t believe Sam wasn’t making a sound. In fact, he seemed to be just listening, as if he had only passing interest in the conversation.

  “Shot him in the back, you mean,” Jacob hissed.

  Reed eased Sam’s guns from their holster. “I’m not going to shoot him in the back, I’m going to face him and kill him while he’s armed.” He motioned for two of his men to move closer. When they each held one of Sam’s arms, Reed ordered, “String him between those two trees, boys. Pull his arms out tight.”

  The moment Reed pulled the gun from Sam’s back, Sam shot into action. He grabbed the man on his left and sent him flying into the fire. The man on his right put up a fight, but he was no match for Sam. Within a few blows he lay flat out on the ground, moaning in pain.