Again they rode in silence, finally reaching the flat rock. He halted his horse but stayed on it a moment, his arm firm around her. “I will miss you, Rachael Rivers,” he said softly. “You brighten my day, and you are proof that there are some whites who are kind and accepting.”
She felt a terrible urge to turn and hug him. “There are more of us than you think, Brand. I hope you’ll find that out some day. Maybe…maybe the two of us together can make people understand.”
“Maybe. For now it is best we continue this way. But the moment you sense danger, do not come. I will understand if I come here and you don’t show up.”
She put a hand on his powerful forearm, wondering at her own boldness as she squeezed it gently. “I’ll be here. Every three days, just as we planned.”
Brand dismounted. “Just the same,” he told her, lifting her down. “Don’t risk too much, Rachael. I will be here in three days. You do what is best for you.”
She met his eyes, her pride and stubbornness showing. “I said I would be here, and I will.” She looked down at the carving. “Thank you so much for this, Brand. I will treasure it always and I’ll…” She looked up at him again. “I’ll think of you every time I look at it.” She quickly turned and started walking back toward the small spot of woods that would hide her until she was on the outskirts of town. “Don’t you let old Rotten Mouth get me,” she called out, afraid to look at him again for fear he would see the desire in her eyes.
Brand grinned, watching her lovely form, the sway of her hips, wondering if she meant what it seemed like she meant when she said looking at the carving would make her think of him. Would such a woman consider loving a half-breed? It seemed hopeless, but the ache in his own soul grew bigger every time he saw her. Still, even if she could have those feelings for him, it would be bad for her, and wrong for him to allow it. For people would be cruel to her. Then again, somehow he sensed she was strong enough for that.
He watched until she was well out of sight. She had turned once, appearing as just a tiny, lovely blue dot in the distance. She waved, and he waved back, knowing already that the next three days were going to be much too long a wait.
Chapter Nine
Lacy greeted Rachael at the door. “Your brother is here,” the woman said quietly. “He’s in the parlor.”
Rachael paled slightly. “How long has he been here?”
“Quite awhile. He came earlier and when I told him I thought you were at the school, he went looking for you. Now he’s all upset because he couldn’t find you. I told him you must have been shopping, but he said he looked all over town.”
Rachael closed her eyes and sighed. “Thanks for your efforts,” she whispered.
“Are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know. Here, take these things for me. How do I look?”
“A little better than the first time. At least today it wasn’t so hot. Are you all right?”
Rachael smiled wearily. “Yes. I could use something to drink, though.”
“You go in to Josh. I’ll bring something.” She patted Rachael’s arm. “We can talk after he leaves.” The woman looked down at the carved wolf. “What is this?”
“He made it for me. It’s a wolf.”
“I can see mat, but why—” Lacy looked back up at her sternly. “Rachael, you shouldn’t have accepted it.”
“Oh, Lacy, please let’s talk about it later. Just take it up to my room for now, would you, please?”
The older woman sighed, shaking her head. “You’d better tell Joshua what’s going on, and soon.”
While Lacy turned and went up the stairs, Rachael looked at herself in a mirror that hung between coat hooks in the hallway. She took a handkerchief from a pocket of her skirt and pressed it to her face to absorb the perspiration, then toyed with her hair a moment, shaking it out behind her back. She took a deep breath, then walked down the hallway and into the parlor.
Joshua looked up from a love seat, where he had been sitting looking at some books Lacy kept lying on a nearby table. “Rachael! Where in hell have you been? I looked all over for you.”
“Oh, Josh, I’m sorry.” She approached him, her arms out, and he rose, moving to embrace her. She thought it would be easy to tell him, but suddenly all courage left her. He was already upset that he had not been able to find her, so he wouldn’t be in the best of moods; and their opinion of the Comanche differed drastically. “You must have missed me wherever you went. I was just feeling so bored lately, what with no school and all. I’ve been all over town.”
“Austin isn’t that big. I can’t believe I could have missed you.”
“Well, here I am. You can see I’m perspiring and a little tired. I walked all over town, visiting here and there.” She moved away from him and sat down on the love seat. “Joshua, sometimes living in Austin is like living in a prison. No one can go out of town alone without risking life and limb. It gets so frustrating sometimes. I have such urges to just get in a buggy and go riding.”
“Well, don’t you do it.” He came and sat back down beside her. “You stay right in town. Maybe some day Jason and his men will clean things up enough to make it safer, but until then don’t you even think of going out alone.”
She looked away at the mention of Jason. “Sometimes I think Jason Brown creates more trouble than he helps.”
Joshua frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Rachael leaned back, folding her arms. “Oh, it’s just a rumor we heard—that Jason used that bullwhip of his on an old Indian man.” She looked at her brother. “Remember when he told us back at the ranch that they had a little trouble with an old Indian man? All he said was that he ‘took care’ of it. But a boarder of Lacy’s was around one of Jason’s men one night when he was drunk, and the man said Jason used his whip on the old man. I don’t call that a very good way of taking care of things, not if we’re trying to make peace with the Comanche.”
Joshua shrugged. “What did the old Indian do?”
“Josh!” She met his eyes then. “Would anything warrant whipping an old man? I can’t believe you would go along with such a thing.”
He sighed and leaned back, running a hand through his hair. “No, I wouldn’t. But you ought to ask Jase about it. It might not even be true.”
She watched him, tempted to tell him she knew for certain it was true—to tell him how she knew it was true.
“Well, I think it is. Father always said a man usually speaks the truth when he’s drunk. And I still say there’s a mean streak in Jason. That’s why I don’t like him. And when he comes home next time, I’m going to tell him to please leave me alone. He asked me to marry him, but I won’t do it.”
Joshua turned a little, bending a knee and moving that leg onto the love seat so he could face her. “I think you’re wrong there, Rachael. But I want you to be happy. If Jason Brown doesn’t make you happy, I can’t force you to marry him. I just don’t think you’ve given him a fair chance.”
She held his eyes. “I know what I feel, way deep inside, Joshua. And way deep inside I’m afraid of Jason Brown.”
He’s cruel and vicious and a disgrace to the Rangers, she wanted to continue. Brand Selby is ten times the man Jason is.
“Oh, let’s not talk about Jason,” she said aloud. She put a hand on his arm. “It’s good to see you, Josh. I’ve been so worried. I’ve lost track of how many weeks it’s been since I came home.”
“Well, you know how it is in spring around the ranch—planting, branding, mending fences. It never ends. I came to town to order some lumber and seed. I’ll be coming back in another week or so, so I’ll get to see you again. Luke and Matt send their love.”
“Oh, give them mine in return. Try to bring one of them with you next time you come, Josh.”
“Well, I don’t like leaving one of them there alone. I almost sent Matt this time, but I was afraid he’d get the wrong kind of lumber. I reckon they’re all right. Things have been pretty quiet most of the w
inter and this spring. I think the Indians know Jason checks up on us pretty often. Of course he hasn’t been around much himself lately. He’s out on some patrol.”
“I know. He said he’d be gone a month or more.”
Lacy came into the room then, carrying a tray with two glasses of lemonade. “Here you go. Drink up, children.”
“Oh, thank you, Lacy.” Rachael took her glass quickly, gulping down the refreshing drink.
Joshua watched her, uneasy about her explanation of why he couldn’t find her. He reached for his lemonade. “I still can’t figure out how I could have missed you, sis,” he said after gulping down some of his drink.
Rachael looked up at Lacy, then back at Joshua. “I can’t either. I’m sorry you had to run all over town.”
“Well, I got some supplies ordered at least, and it was kind of nice to be around people again. Gets pretty lonesome back at the ranch.”
“You staying the night, Joshua?” Lacy asked him.
“I think I’d better. I’ll leave real early in the morning so I can get home by tomorrow night.”
“Will your brothers be safe overnight?”
Josh ran a hand through his thick, sandy hair. “I can only pray they will be. We haven’t had any trouble in a long time.”
Rachael thought about old Rotten Mouth being so close to town, a man who traded with outlaws. She felt torn between a desire to tell her brother she had seen renegades close to town, and a fear of telling him just yet about Brand Selby. “Well, you be extra careful, Josh,” she said aloud. “You’ve said yourself Comanche can be around without being seen at all.” She looked at Lacy, who frowned and nodded.
“Mmmm-hmmm,” was all the woman said in reply. She moved her eyes to Joshua. “I have an extra cot in the storage closet under the stairs. I’ll take it out and you can sleep on it in the hallway tonight if you like.”
“Well, that’s real nice of you, Lacy.”
The woman smiled. “Anything for the children of Joe and Emma Rivers. I’ll go drag it out and get it ready.” She turned and left, and Rachael met her brother’s eyes.
“You remember what I said, Josh. Please be careful.”
“Oh, you know me. I’m as good as Pa with a gun. And Pa made friends with some of the closest Comanche. They’ve been leaving us alone.”
“I know. But what about outlaws?” She wanted to tell him what she knew about the Comancheros from Brand, but she used Jason’s name instead. “Jason says they do as much dirty work as the Comanche, and sometimes the Comanche get blamed for it.”
“Well, no outlaws have come around our way. And I expect the Comanche deserve the blame for most of the violence that takes place around here. You’re too quick to defend them, Rachael. You know yourself some of the things those animals have done.”
Rachael set her glass back on the tray. “Don’t call them animals, Josh. Pa would never have called them that.”
“Pa leaned a little too much toward the Indians because of how he was brought up. But I told you before, the Comanche are different. Jason has told me stories—”
“Jason!” She got up from the love seat. “You act like you think the man is God, Joshua. And how do you know he always tells the truth?” She walked to a window, folding her arms.
Joshua frowned. “What’s with you, Rachael?” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You act like you hate Jason, like you know something I don’t. Do you? Did he try something with you?”
She reddened, but he couldn’t see her face. “No,” she answered quietly. “Oh, he kissed me before he left—a kiss I didn’t want. He didn’t really do anything offensive. It was just…the way he kissed me.” She shivered. “I didn’t like it and I don’t like Jason. I think you are making him out to be a better man than he is, Josh, that’s all. I’ve been more sure of it ever since hearing about him whipping that old man.”
Joshua studied his sister, wondering if there was a prettier young woman in all of Texas. He liked and trusted Jason Brown, but he didn’t like to see his sister unhappy, nor did he like the idea of anybody touching her.
“You do what you think is right about Jason,” he told her. “I think he’s a good man, but if he tries to force a kiss out of you again or keeps bothering you after you tell him you don’t want to see him anymore, you tell me, Rachael.”
She smiled, turning to face him, her cheeks still crimson. “Thank you, dear brother. But I can take care of it. I don’t want to ruin your friendship. But I do wish you would look at Jason with a little more objectivity. I’m sorry if I disappoint you by not wanting to marry him.”
Joshua rose. “Hey, Rachael, I just wanted the nice feeling of knowing you’ve got a husband and are being taken care of, that’s all. I hate you being here all alone. I feel like I should be doing something to take better care of you.”
Rachael turned, moving toward him and putting an arm around his waist. “Josh, you don’t have to take care of me. And I am not going to marry a man just for that reason. I’m perfectly happy here in Austin, and Lacy is so good to me. It’s just like having a mother again.” They sat back down on the love seat. “Maybe I should come and stay with you and Luke and Matt for a while before school starts again.”
Josh frowned. “I don’t know. We’re away a lot, mending fences, rounding up young stock and such. It’s probably best you stay here. Just because we haven’t had any trouble from the Comanche doesn’t mean it will stay that way.”
But all I have to do is tell Brand, and he’ll make sure no one bothers us, she wanted to tell him. What would he say? Would her own brother hate her if he knew? Somehow she couldn’t bear the thought of his disapproval.
“Whatever you say,” she answered. “But you must need the house cleaned again.”
Josh grinned. “We’re getting better. And I’m not such a bad cook.”
Rachael grinned, putting her arm up on the back of the love seat and turning to face him. “I think you’re the one who needs to be married, Joshua Rivers. It wouldn’t hurt to have a woman around to take care of the three of you.”
Joshua shrugged. “We’ve got along for a long time without that. But I have to admit things were a bit easier when Ma was alive, that’s for sure. Trouble is, I don’t have much time to go running around meeting girls. The only kind of women I have time for are the kind a man doesn’t have to woo first, and they aren’t the kind a man marries.”
“Joshua Rivers!” Rachael reddened. “Such talk.” She looked at her lap and Joshua laughed lightly.
“Rachael, I’m twenty years old.”
“Well, you shouldn’t be around women like that, not my brother.” She faced him again. “There is going to be a dance here in town the last Saturday of May, a kind of pre-celebration of Austin becoming the capital of Texas. The Millers are holding it. I think they’re being a little premature, but I expect it’s more an excuse to get the town together and have a party. Why don’t you come to it? Maybe you could hire some men to watch the ranch for a couple of days and you could bring Luke and Matt with you. You might meet someone at the dance—someone nice, someone worth wooing. It’s time you did some serious looking.”
He laughed again. “You’re as bad as I am.”
Rachael smiled in return. “All right,” she answered. “When we find the right person, we’ll tell each other.”
Again she was tempted to tell him. I’ve met someone, Josh. He’s strong and brave but gentle and good.
Joshua sobered. “The way things are going with Mexico, maybe I shouldn’t get too serious about anybody yet. I might be fighting Mexicans.”
“Oh, Josh, do you think it would get that bad?”
He shook his head. “I like to hope not. But Mexico refuses to recognize Texas as a Republic, insists she still owns us. It looks like statehood is a sure thing now. The minute we’re annexed to the United States, Mexico is going to let loose, mark my words. There is even a rumor that Santa Anna might be called back to lead Mexican soldiers. Nobody is go
ing to fight harder than somebody with a bone to pick, and he’s got one. He’ll never live down that defeat at San Jacinto.”
“Well he didn’t win the first time, and he won’t win this time,” she answered, sitting up straighter on the love seat. “We have a bone to pick, too. Just thinking about the Alamo is all our men will need to win another round.” She met his eyes. “But I would hate to see you go to war, Josh. I hope it never comes to that.”
“So do I. I’d lose the ranch for sure if I had to leave it. I’m having trouble making a go of it as it is.”
She frowned. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Not really. The best thing you can do is stay here where it’s safe so I’ll have less to worry about.”
“Well, I hope you’re making Luke and Matt practice their reading and writing. That’s so important. I wish they were close enough to come to school.”
“Ma taught me good and I’ve taught them. They’ll do okay.”
“Well, I have a couple of books to give you to take back to them. Make sure they practice reading them.”
He bowed slightly. “Yes, ma’am.”
Her eyes teared a little. “Things were a lot easier when we were young, weren’t they, Josh? I mean, life was hard, but Father and Mother, they were always there and everything was okay as long as they were there.”
He sobered, taking her hand. “Yeah. I miss Pa an awful lot. Nothing to do with needing his help. It’s just that it was nice having him around. Seemed like he always had all the answers.”
She looked down. “It was that way with Mother, too.” How she wished she could tell Emma Rivers about Brand Selby. Her mother would understand better than anyone.
Joshua squeezed her hand. “Everything okay, Rachael? Is there anything you want to tell me?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“If you want to go back to St. Louis, I’d understand, Rachael.”
The Bride Series (Omnibus Edition) Page 51
