by Jodi Thomas
“You are a woman too long alone.” He said the words slowly, as if he thought they might frighten her. “And this is not a country for women alone. It’s the nature of things that men and women should be married. If not for love, then for convenience.”
“I’ve been on my own since I was nineteen.” She met his stare. If he expected her to be helpless and needy, he was about to be disappointed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll turn in.”
He puffed up slightly, as if not used to anyone dismissing him. Then he nodded once and mumbled good night.
Anna stood in the doorway watching him walk away, but her thoughts were on Ranger McCord, not the lieutenant. If Wynn had stepped into her quarters, he would not have left without touching her, and one touch would have made all her exhaustion vanish. He’d told her that what was between them was not finished, and she agreed. He might bruise her lips with his kisses and hold her so close to him she couldn’t breathe, but she knew he was attracted to her, he wanted her, needed her. There was no “convenience” in his passionate touch.
Dodson seemed about to propose a business arrangement. He hadn’t even taken the time to get to know her. Anna had the feeling that, in his mind, any woman would do.
Anna would never settle for so little. She’d rather have one honest day with Wynn McCord than a lifetime of convenience.
“Miss Anna?” Private Clark’s voice sounded from the other side of the porch. “Just wanted you to know that I’m on guard tonight. I’ll put my bedroll in front of your door once you’re inside so you won’t have to worry about anyone else coming along just to visit.”
She smiled. Clark was a good kid. He would have to be, for all the Texans to accept him. “Thanks,” she answered. “I’m going to turn in soon, but thought I might circle the camp once to get some air.” The smell of blood still lingered in her lungs. “Would you mind walking with me?”
“I’d be honored,” he answered as he set his rifle just inside her door threshold before offering his elbow. He didn’t seem to notice that her hair was a mess and she still wore the stained apron she’d had on all day.
She tucked her hand on his arm and they walked, talking quietly as the sun set. The camp was like an ant bed of activity with movement tonight. Someday, if the camp grew into a fort, the place would be surrounded by walls, but now most of the buildings and tents circled the stockade of supplies. Teamsters had brought in a line of wagons and everyone seemed to be helping with the unloading.
She watched the movements but spoke low to Clark. “You were listening to what the lieutenant said to me.” It was a statement, not a question.
“It was hard not to. The door was open,” Clark said, defending himself.
Anna smiled. “I got the feeling he’d come to ask me something.”
Clark laughed. “I swore I heard the trap door about to fall, but you played it smart.”
“Maybe we’re just guessing what he wanted. Maybe he just came to thank me for helping with the birthing.”
“Maybe,” Clark answered. “My guess is he didn’t know about McCord or he wouldn’t have even been hinting.”
She stopped walking and looked at the kid. “What about McCord?”
“He’s your man. All the enlisted men know it. I’m surprised the officers don’t.”
Anna had to ask. “How do they know it?” She couldn’t imagine McCord talking about their time together.
“McCord told us before he left. He said every one of us better keep an eye on his Anna or there’d be hell to pay when he got back.”
Anna started walking again, pulling the private along beside her. “I’m not his Anna and he’s not my man.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Clark said as he fell into step beside her. “He also said not to argue with you no matter what crazy thing you said.”
“Oh, he did,” Anna said, more to herself than the kid. She wanted to get home and think about what Clark had told her, then decide whether to kill McCord when he came back. A few kisses and touches did not define ownership, even if those kisses still filled her dreams at night and the memory of his touch still warmed her each time she thought of it.
When they stepped back into the infirmary, she noticed Clark’s rifle was missing beside the door, a moment before she saw two men standing in the shadows. Clark’s muscles beneath her hand tightened, and she prayed the kid wouldn’t go for his Colt. Maybe they should have locked the door before leaving, but they’d both felt safe inside the circle of the military.
“Evening,” one stranger said as he stepped forward, a rifle pointed at Clark’s chest. “We’ve come to ask you, lady, if you’d like to take a ride with us.” He smiled, showing rotting teeth in a face weeks past needing washing. “There’s a gambler who says he has a little game to finish with you. He says you ran out on him before all the cards were on the table.”
The stranger laughed as if pleased with his politeness, then glared at Clark. “I guess you’re coming too. If we kill you it’ll draw attention, and I’d like to ride out of here the same way I rode in. Unnoticed. A soldier riding along with us will make us look all the more legal.”
Anna panicked. “No. Tie him up and I’ll go with you without a sound.” She guessed they’d kill Clark when they were far enough away from the camp that no one would hear the shot.
“No,” Clark answered calmly, his eyes staring at the man without any fear showing. “I go with her. I’m her guard. If I’m not outside someone will come check on her, but if we’re both missing they’ll think we’re somewhere in camp.”
Anna closed her eyes, wishing he wouldn’t be so logical. He was signing his own death warrant.
The second stranger, a bookend of the first outlaw, moved out from the shadows. He had the same wide-rimmed hat that his partner wore, but his clothes were buckskin, not wool. If possible, he looked even meaner than the first, with a touch of insanity flickering in his whiskey-colored eyes. Both were men who would not be welcome in anyone’s home. Something about them seemed more animal than human.
Clark raised his hands as the men took the Colt at his side and tied his hands.
“That’s the way, boy,” the first outlaw whispered. “Come with us nice and easy and we’ll make the end quick for you.”
The mad twin tied her, spitting out a giggle when his hand kept slipping to brush against her. He was having so much fun, he didn’t notice when she twisted her wrist wide as he pulled the knot.
“Where are you taking us?” Anna demanded.
“Luther and me ain’t got no orders to kill you, if that’s what you’re asking. We’re just planning on delivering you.”
Anna decided the smart one was dumb as a cow patty and his partner, Luther, smelled worse than one. When she opened her mouth to ask more, Luther wrapped a dirty bandanna across it.
“Make a sound,” the leader added, “and we kill your bodyguard. We weren’t told to bring him along anyway, so if one of our knives happens to slip between his ribs we know it won’t matter one way or the other to the boss.”
Anna had no doubt he meant what he said. Luther pulled a long knife and began poking them with it.
While the leader waited and watched for full dark, Luther pressed the point of the knife against her throat and giggled when he drew a drop of blood.
Anna stood perfectly still, refusing to move or cry out. She knew she couldn’t get away if he wanted to kill her, but she wouldn’t play his game.
Each cut drew one bubble of blood. Two, three, four pricks. Luther watched each drop slide down her throat and melt into the lace of her collar.
“It’s dark enough,” the leader whispered as he shoved Clark and her out of the infirmary and around to the back where they’d left horses tied. A small wagon train of settlers had been picking up supplies before dark and the outlaws had no problem blending in among the other visitors.
Anna forced her mind to notice every detail as she dug her heel hard into the ground before they lifted her onto the horse. The outl
aws had brought two extra horses. She knew they hadn’t planned on Clark, so the other mount would have been for McCord.
She smiled. It had been three days since McCord left. If they expected to pick him up here, then they hadn’t caught, or killed him. He was alive and she had no doubt he’d be coming after her.
All she had to do was stay alive until he reached her.
Chapter 8
Ranger McCord delivered the letter to the Quaker in charge of the territory. He stood, forgotten, as the man read suggestions from the governor of Texas. McCord could tell by the way he folded the letter away that the Indian agent didn’t plan to put any new policies into action. The Indian Wars, which had been raging for thirty years in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico, would continue. He’d ridden all this way and risked his life for nothing.
Thorn and his men wanted the trouble to continue, so they could play off both sides. Now they had won, not by interfering, but by the indifference of one man.
The Quaker looked up as if just remembering Wynn was in the room. “Thank you for delivering this,” he said in a tired voice. “I have no reply.”
Wynn backed out of the office and walked to his horse. He’d planned to find a meal and a bed for the night, but all he wanted to do was get back to Anna. She’d never left his thoughts. The possibility of asking her to marry him crossed his mind more often than he wanted to admit. He had a good-sized spread from a land grant his father bought fifty years ago. They could settle down in south Texas where things were calm and be hundreds of miles away from the fort line where trouble blew in with every new wind. Behind the line of forts a man could raise his family and worry about crops but here life was never easy.
He didn’t want her to just let him in when he came back. He felt a hunger for something that might fill a hole in his heart that he’d been ignoring since the war. For the first time in more years than he could remember, Wynn wanted to stay.
Smiling, he wondered if she wouldn’t mind wearing a ring and a gag. He’d never get used to that accent of hers. If he could just keep the woman quiet, she’d be darn near perfect. He didn’t even care if she could cook. Hell, he’d been eating his own grub for so long, any food that didn’t crawl off the plate looked good to him.
McCord swung into the saddle. He’d trade mounts at the edge of camp and make a few hours of hard riding before he slept. With luck he’d be back to Anna in two days.
As he always did, his mind focused on his goal and he rode hard with little food or sleep. Only this time he didn’t feel like he was running away from something. This time he was riding toward her.
He was three hours out of Camp Supply when he saw soldiers riding fast. Wynn knew who they were by the way they sat their saddles. Seasoned soldiers, Cunningham and the two other Texans.
The men pulled their mounts up when they reached McCord, but only Sergeant Cunningham stepped down.
McCord slowly swung from the saddle, knowing something was wrong when his friend didn’t smile. “What is it, Dirk?”
Cunningham didn’t waste words. “From the markings, two men, probably part of Thorn’s gang, took Anna and Private Clark at gunpoint two nights ago. We’ve been trailing them since dawn yesterday.”
McCord didn’t move, but inside he felt his entire body take the news like a blow.
“Captain’s had every man out on patrol looking. We got lucky and picked up fresh signs this morning. Spotted a woman’s footprint out back behind the infirmary yesterday as we left. About the time we figured we’d lost them for good, we spotted her print again near a creek bank. From there it was easy to follow the trail of four horses. Every time they stop, your Anna must be stomping around leaving footprints everywhere.” He stared at his friend as he told the whole truth. “Along with fresh blood. They’re heading due south.”
“No body?” McCord said as he checked the cinch on his horse. “Clark’s still alive.”
Cunningham nodded. “That’s my guess.”
“Then we’d better get to them fast. Clark’s not the one they want, so they’ll kill him as soon as possible. I’m surprised he’s lasted two days.”
“I figure the men who kidnapped them don’t do much without orders. So we’ve got till they get to camp, where the boss is.” Cunningham reached for his saddle horn. “Looks like they’re heading toward Red Rock Canyon. Once they’re there, we’ll never find them.”
Both men mounted and rode without another word.
It had been a long time since McCord had felt anything, including hate, but he felt it now. He’d kill every one of the outlaws if even one touched Anna. He might have given up on ever being able to love anyone or anything in this lifetime, but he could still hate.
They rode until almost dark before they spotted movement ahead of them. Then, without a word, Cunningham signaled and the four men spread out, leaving no trail of dust big enough to notice if one of the outlaws glanced back.
McCord took the center, riding in the open, daring them to look back. He rode fast, but not full-out; he had to give the others time to move into place. As he climbed, he closed in on four riders, one in what looked like a blue dress. Anna, he thought. His Anna.
One outlaw led the line, pulling the two captives behind him. The other outlaw rode drag, but he wasn’t on guard like he should have been. Not once did he look back, and from what McCord could see he held no weapon at the ready.
The captive next to Anna slumped in his saddle. It had to be Clark, but he was either asleep or hurt.
When they crossed over a ridge, McCord saw that the outlaws were moving toward two men camped out near a stream in the bottom of a shallow canyon. Both men were waiting, watching the riders approach. If they’d looked beyond the riders, they might have seen McCord in the long shadows, following.
He waited as the day aged and the outlaws slowly wound their way around rocks and streams toward the camp.
In the campfire light McCord swore one of the men had to be the gambler. He even noticed the flicker of gold from the watch chain on the gambler’s vest. The other man in camp was tall and dressed in black. If this was an outlaw camp there would be one, maybe two men in the shadows on guard, but the Ranger had no time to worry about them now. Anna’s and Clark’s lives might be measured in minutes.
McCord knew his part. He could go no closer without the men in camp seeing him, and when they did he needed to be ready. He drew both his Colts, not bothering with the rifle, circled the reins around his saddle horn, and kicked the tired horse into a full run. With Anna and Clark halfway between him and the camp, Wynn knew he’d reach her long before the outlaws could make it to the others watching from the shadows.
The minute the outlaws, with their captives in tow, spotted him, McCord opened fire. He hit the man leading the two prisoners with his first shot. The other outlaw grabbed at the rope on Anna’s horse. Clark shouted something as he tumbled off his horse, hands still tied behind his back. A second later, Anna also tumbled and rolled from a horse gone wild from the noise.
The outlaw with Anna was so busy fighting to control the horses he didn’t notice that he’d lost his captives. Both men at the camp grabbed their weapons and shouted orders.
Suddenly, shots exploded from every direction. The men standing at the camp jerked in a fatal dance with bullets. The outlaw on horseback tried to ride away.
A dozen more shots rattled across the sky and then the night fell silent. Both men at the campsite lay dead. The mounted outlaw screamed as his horse bolted, and tumbled. One of his feet remained in the stirrup dragging him behind his horse. One shot from somewhere left of McCord silenced the screams, but the outlaw’s body still bounced over rocks as the horse ran.
The screams and the last shot echoed into the canyon until they were only whispers on the wind. McCord took a deep breath. He’d felt the peace after a battle many times. One more time he’d survived, but tonight his thoughts were for another.
McCord holstered his guns and headed toward Anna. He found her sitti
ng beside Clark, wrapping what was left of her apron around the kid’s arm. Both of them smiled as he neared.
“She said you’d come,” Clark groaned. “Drove the two fellows crazy with her threats of what you’d do to them when you came.”
McCord didn’t look at her; he couldn’t, not yet, not till he knew it was over. “You all right, kid?”
“I’m fine. They shot me in the right arm this morning because I told them I was a crack shot. But Anna made them let her bandage it. She says I’m lucky the bullet went right through.”
McCord saw Cunningham and his men moving into the campsite, making sure the others were dead.
Clark’s voice shook a little. “They told us they were going to hang us tonight, then gut us like we was fresh game. They knew you’d be coming and they figured when you found our bodies, you’d be foolish enough to do something stupid.”
Anna stood. “Which you did.” Fists on her hips, she faced him. “You rode straight in here like a madman. It’s a wonder you don’t have four bullets in your chest.” Her voice was fired with anger. “When I saw you barreling straight toward us, Wynn McCord, I almost had a heart attack.”
McCord finally looked at her. “Startled men don’t take the time to aim. I knew I could kill one, maybe two before they’d get a shot close to me. I was giving the sergeant and his men time to step out and open fire from other directions.” He hesitated, fighting down a smile over her finally using his first name. Damn, if she wasn’t adorable all covered in dirt and twigs. “Glad to see you, Anna.”
When she straightened up as if planning to give him a lecture on being careful, he raised his hands in surrender and closed the distance between them. He couldn’t very well grab her and kiss her in front of the other men, but he could at least get close.
The click of a rifle cocking sounded from somewhere in the night. It had to be the lookout the outlaws posted. The outlaw McCord had forgotten might be hidden in the night.
He dove at Anna, knocking her down a second before the bullet meant for her blasted into his back. He felt her beneath him, then pain exploded all other thought. The last thing he heard was another round being fired. He waited for the second bullet to hit, but before he realized it hadn’t been meant for him, blackness washed over him, carrying him under like a huge wave.
