by Lori Wick
"What can I get you?" a friendly woman in a clean
apron asked as she appeared at his table.
"How about the special?"
"With or without gravy?"
"With gravy, please, and coffee."
"For one?" she asked with more than a little show of
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interest
Dakota smiled. "Yes, thank you."
She was smiling in return, her eyes inviting, causing the
Ranger to shake his head as she walked away. He hadn't
shaved in days.
Maybe she likes scruffy, half-started beards, he speculated
even as his stomach growled. Glancing around to see if she
was bringing his coffee, Dakota froze.
He forced himself to look down at the tablecloth before
shifting his gaze again. He could hardly believe what his
eyes were telling him. His coffee was delivered, but he took
little notice. He didn't even pick up the mug. All he could
do was ask himself why he had thought he needed to come
back to Aurora.
I can't bel/eve this, lord. /haven't been able to get Darvi
from my mind. I told Cash all about it and made him concerned,
and here...
Dakota stopped and tried to slow his racing thoughts
before glancing over at another table in the hotel restaurant.
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Sitting with two male escorts was a woman of striking
appearance. She was also a near twin to Darvi Wingate.
Dakota had all he could do to keep his teeth in his mouth.
Was this the woman I saw that day? Had the incident at the
train been completely innocent?
Dakota made himself take a few deep breaths. He didn't
want to overreact, but that was taking some effort By sheer
force of will, he kept himself from dashing to the other
table and demanding from the woman her whereabouts
the day he put Darvi on the train.
"Here you go." The waitress had returned, placing a
steaming plate of food in front of him, the edges nearly
running over with a huge cut of beef and a heap of mashed
potatoes, both covered with a dark gravy, which also ran
into a mound of cooked greens.
"Thank you," Dakota said quietly, too distracted to miss
her disappointment at not gaining more eye contact
The Ranger ate slowly. After the initial shock wore off,
he noticed that by using a large oblong mirror right across
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from his table, he had an almost perfect view of the woman
and two men.
Already planning to wire Cash about his mistake and
then head home in the morning, Dakota ate in a leisurely
fashion, his heart calming some even as he glanced in the
mirror from time to time. He was nearly through with his
meal when he noticed something else. A man, fine in dress
and manners, sat a few tables away from the strawberry
blonde, a newspaper propped in front of him. Even though
the man never lowered the paper from reading level, neither
did he look at it. With remarkable consistency, he kept
his eyes on the woman's table. No one sat at the tables in
between, and the woman's table was against a wall. There
could be no other person holding his interest. And if that
hadn't been enough to convince the Ranger, he eventually
watched the woman and two gentlemen exit, just 15 seconds
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before the lone man got up to follow.
Dakota left a coin on the table to cover both meal and tip
and did a little following of his own. He still planned to
wire Cash and tell him he had it all wrong, but he didn't
think he'd say he was headed home, at least not yet.
%r%r$r
"Why didn't you go to town today?" Darvi asked in
frustration.
"I wasn't needed," Seth told her calmly, completely
ignoring everything she'd said that morning.
Arms crossed tightly, Darvi tapped her foot impatiently
and nearly shooed him as she would the dog. The children
were helping their mother bake a cake, and to get out of the
house and away from Seth's watchful eyes, Darvi had volunteered
to get the eggs. It hadn't made any difference.
Seth tagged along right behind her, even though she had
let him have a good piece of her mind that morning over
her captivity.
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"I don't heed help getting eggs, Seth," Darvi said as she
turned her back and walked away from him.
"You never know," he replied, bringing up the rear with
this assurance. "Some of those hens can be pretty feisty."
Darvi didn't answer, but Seth didn't care--4ie much preferred
her to be like this. When she got all quiet and sad, he had to make himself continue with his plan. When she was fiery and told him what for, he knew he'd never let her go.
He was still shaking his head a^out how he'd found her.
Never in his life had he imagined such a woman existed.
Never had he known such a mix of fire and uncertainty. He
knew he would love her for the rest of his life.
"And why don't you just tell me," Darvi suddenly spun
and demanded, "just what is it you do for this Jared Silk?"
Seth shrugged. "Whatever he needs."
"Like what?"
"Oh, a little of this and a little of that."
Her arms crossed again. "I hope you know that was
ridiculously vague."
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"Was it?"
Darvi's eyes narrowed. "It's rude to answer a question
with a question."
Seth stopped just short of saying, "Is it?"
"Go ahead and ask me about my work/' Seth encouraged
her. "I'll try to answer."
This took Darvi by surprise. She didn't want to get close
to this man. Her chin rising, she laid it on the line.
"No matter how you answer me, if s not going to stop
my wanting to leave."
"I understand that. Go ahead and ask."
"Is he a banker?"
"Yes."
"Why would a banker want you to take a woman from
the train unless he's hiding something? What gives either
one of you the right to do such a thing?"
Knowing she wouldn't like the answer, Seth hesitated.
Jared's view--as well as his own--was that a man did
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what he had to do. Seth knew he didn't look the part of a
criminal, and rarely did he use the word to describe himself,
but deep in his heart Seth Redding knew what he was.
He also knew that wherever Darvi Wingate was from, she
did not socialize with people who considered themselves
above the law. Not having Jared here to defend himself,
Seth let him take the heat.
"Jared feels that sometimes we do what we have to do.
If s not too much more complicated than that"
"Not complicated?" Darvi said in disbelief, her mouth
open. "You step in and turn people's worlds upside down,
and I'm supposed to see that as simple?"
Seth had nothing to say. He hadn't expected her to
respond like that and knew anything he might tell her just
now was only going to push her further away. He was glad
when she turned again for the barn. He hadn't liked the
little shake of her head, the one that said she was offended by his actions, but at least he didn't have to explain himself anymore.
Quite suddenly he found himself wishing he had let her
gather eggs on her own.
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*3'"'3'"'3r
It didn't take long to see that the redheaded woman was
well known and liked in Aurora. Dakota kept his distance
behind both the woman, who now walked alone, and the
man who followed her from the hotel, but he still thought
he caught a name now and again.
Ann Bell. Dakota was certain he had heard right. He had
stopped in front of the bank--looking for all the world as
though he was window shopping--and was quite sure this
was what people were calling her. Neither she nor the man
stopped near the bank, but Dakota had caught up a little
too swiftly He took his time fixing his boot, hoping no one
was onto him, and in less than a minute was on the move
again.
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His work paid off. The woman went into the newspaper
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office, and the man took up a position to watch everything
that went on behind the large front window of the
building. Dakota could see that even a rear exit would be
detected. Dakota decided to go for his horse. The woman
was distinct enough that he'd be able to describe her to the
sheriff and get some answers, but the man was another
story. If the man sat all afternoon and watched the news
office, Dakota would regret retrieving Eli, but if he made a
big move, Dakota wanted his horse.
Knowing that the man could be long gone before he
returned, Dakota nevertheless fetched Eli, tied him in the
alley, and went back to stalking the stalker. As Dakota
watched him, he felt a grudging admiration. The man was
cool, very cool. When a lady passed, be she 15 or 50, he
raised his hat and gave a polite bow. He didn't appear to
be observing anyone, but he keenly noted any activity
involving the door of the news office.
Dakota was beginning to think that the life of a detective
was a curse. His restless limbs were begging to move
when the man consulted his pocket watch and walked
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down the street. Dakota left Eli where he was and moved
just enough to watch the man enter the Aurora Bank.
Dakota wondered how long he could take the inactivity.
He knew very well that the man could leave out the back
somewhere and he would never be the wiser. Heavily
exhaling with relief, Dakota noticed the man had reappeared
and was headed into the very livery where Dakota
had boarded his horse. Dakota moved again, this time to
mount up and be ready. Again, his patience paid off.
Coming from the livery on a fine animal--a city horse,
as Rangers thought of them--the man rode south down the
main street of town. He was not a short man, and his horse
was of a size that made it easy to track. Dakota was careful
to look disinterested as the man hit the edge of town and
kept right on moving. He never picked up the pace but
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rode easily, his attitude that of a man without a care in the
world.
Down the road some five miles, Dakota watched the
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rider calmly turn down a well-worn side road. Dakota kept
his eyes forward and allowed Eli to plod along, but only
until a group of trees hid him from view, whereupon he
doubled back through the woods, working to gauge just
where the man might be headed.
Long before he was close enough to see anything,
Dakota heard cattle. Only a few hours of dayligm were left,
so he moved swiftly along, dodging branches and low
limbs in an attempt to see where the man might have gone.
It took some doing. While still trying to stay out of sight, he
made occasional visits to the edge of the tree line and
checked the view. At last he saw something just at the edge
of a barn. A few more feet and maybe...
Dakota stood and stared. In a remarkably picturesque
setting sat a large, low farmhouse and a huge barn. The
buildings were in fine condition, and as he watched, it
looked as though a child was running in the yard, a little
girl with flowing blonde hair.
Tying Eli up the hillside a bit, Dakota dug his field
glasses from his saddlebags and climbed a tree. With
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enough light to still see things clearly, he methodically
went over every building and scrap of ground. No one was
visible until a man emerged from what appeared to be a
bunkhouse to throw out a pail of water. An outhouse stood
beyond that structure, as did one for the main house.
Dakota was in the process of planning how to get into
the barn when he saw her. The hair was the first thing to
catch his eye, and then the field glasses did the rest. Never
taking his eyes from her, Dakota watched Darvi stand at
the corner of the porch, her gaze locked on the road that led
to the ranch. A moment or two passed before she looped an
arm around the porch support and leaned there.
Dakota was still watching when the little blonde girl
appeared, held something out for Darvi to see, and then
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took her hand to lead her back inside. Dakota scanned
the windows of the house but saw no sign of life. Shaking
just a little, the big man climbed from the tree and moved
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to Eli. Once next to the horse, his arm went across the
saddle and he buried his face. A sob broke in his chest as
he prayed.
You knew she was here; You knew. Please help me. Please let
me rescue this woman before she comes to any more harm, I want
to ride down there and take her and defy anyone to stop me, but
something isn't right here. I've got to go slow and use my head.
Dakota took some moments to compose himself before
climbing back up into the tree. He watched until darkness
filled the sky but caught no further sight of anyone he
could be certain was Darvi. The decision to camp in the
woods was no decision at all. Scouting the area for safety
and privacy, Dakota settled down early. He didn't dare
light a fire and was glad he'd eaten a large lunch, but in
fact, his stomach was not really on his mind.
Not interested in lying down right away, he sat for a
long time in the dark and thought about what might have
gone on at the ranch. It seemed a good sign that at least one
child appeared to live in the house. That didn't mean the
adults in the situation could be trusted, but the child
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appeared happy and carefree as she played. And at least
from a distance, Darvi looked all right. Dakota was
thankful for that much, but he knew even without getting
closer that she didn't want to be there. And for that reason
alone he was intent on getting her out just as soon as he
could manage it
> It was well and truly late by the time Dakota sought his
rest, but it was a peaceful sleep. He hadn't been able to read
his Bible, but he prayed off and on for hours. He also fell
asleep with a plan. He would put it into action in the
morning.
"S'srS-
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Darvi groaned a little as she bent over to pick up the
spoon she'd just dropped. Nate had finished his breakfast
but not cleared his place. Darvi stooped, and sticky as the
utensil was, she managed only to lose it again.
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"You sound stiff," Cassy commented.
"lam."
"Is it your mattress?"
"It might be/' Darvi guessed, not having thought of it.
"Nate slept on that one for a time and said it was a bit
lumpy."
Darvi decided not to comment. She didn't think it
would do any good to complain about the mattress, but
more than that, she had just noticed that Seth was in the
room. She was not giving him the cool treatment or anything
too dramatic, but if he was in the room, which was
too often for her comfort, Darvi was careful with what she
said and did.
"I'll check it for you, Darvi," Cassy now offered, thinking that her silence meant she was a bit unhappy about it
"Thank you. Do you want me to do anything special
with this water?" Darvi asked from her place by the sink.
"Why don't you just dump it? I'll send Nate for fresh."
Seth had learned not to take things from Darvi--he
knew she did not want him to coddle her--but that didn't
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stop him from following her outdoors. He stayed well back
when she poured the water on the flowers at the side of the
house but was right close when she turned.
"You can always try my mattress," he said gently, his
gaze tender and inviting. "It's not lumpy at all."
Darvi barely hesitated before drawing her foot back and
kicking him in the shin. Her foot hurt with the impact, but
having him double over with pain was well worth it. Darvi
didn't speak until his red face came up again.
"Where I come from," she gritted, "a gentleman does
not make such suggestions to a lady! If you ever say such
a thing to me again, I'll not only repeat the kick, Til slap
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your face until your ears ring." This said, she turned on her
heel and stomped into the house.
"Good girl," Dakota Rawlings found himself saying
aloud from the tree he had staked as his own. As he
watched, the man--not the one from town--straightened
