Texas Brides Collection

by Darlene Mindrup

  “I think I’ll just wait,” she told both men inflexibly.

  Quick anger fired in her brother’s eyes. He gave Jason a forced smile. “Perhaps you can convince her, Mr. Dice.”

  Ignoring the undercurrent of tension between brother and sister, Jason smiled at April, his white teeth gleaming. “Oh, don’t ask me to try to persuade April to leave. Her very presence adds sunlight to an otherwise drab day.”

  April hastily averted her eyes from the banker’s proprietorial look. She noticed that the stranger caught Ted’s eye, flashing him a message, and April wondered how they knew each other.

  Biting his lip, Ted tried once more to get her to leave. Again, she refused. Though she could tell he was angry with her, he said nothing more.

  April sat quietly while the two men transacted their business, her gaze wandering around the bank. Few people were there this early in the morning.

  Jason got up, motioning them to follow. There was an edginess about Ted that communicated itself to April.

  “This way, please. Your trinket will be safe here, Mr. Hansen, I can assure you. Our safe is the finest quality steel. We have never been robbed.”

  Fumbling with the tumbler on the safe, he puffed out his chest proudly, turning to retrieve the necklace. He found himself looking down the cold barrel of Ted’s revolver.

  Chapter 2

  Things happened so fast, April was caught totally unaware. When she finally realized what was happening, she grabbed for Ted’s arm.

  “What are you doing? Put that gun away!”

  Wrapping a large arm around her shoulders, Ted pulled her to his side and held her firmly.

  “Be still, April, and no one will get hurt.”

  The stranger had his gun out as well and was glaring menacingly at the bank’s occupants. He waved his Colt threateningly.

  “That’s right. Everyone just take it easy and no one will get hurt.”

  The look of betrayal April gave her brother caused his lips to turn down at the corners. His returning look asked for understanding.

  “I’ll never forgive you for this, Ted,” she told him coldly.

  Jason stood frozen to the spot, his angry gaze flashing from sister to brother. “Don’t try to make it seem as if you had nothing to do with this, April. You brought him in here.”

  Ted’s look became more threatening, and the banker’s eyes filled with fear.

  “My sister had nothing to do with this. She knew nothing about it.”

  Though Jason said nothing, his expression was skeptical. April realized that she might possibly go to jail for something she had no control over.

  The stranger pushed past the trio and entered the vault. “Let’s get the stuff and get outta here.”

  After filling a bag with cash, the man motioned for Ted to take it. Ted released April and took the bag from him, avoiding her accusing glare. He reached across and grabbed the diamond necklace from Jason’s unresisting fingers.

  “I’ll see you hang for this,” Jason hissed. The hatred in his eyes filled April with alarm. Instinctively she knew that having his pride dented would make him a lethal enemy. It was obvious that his anger was directed at April as well. There was no way that he was going to believe that she had nothing to do with this fiasco. He had quickly changed from ardent suitor to impassioned foe.

  “You’ll have to come with us,” Ted told her grimly, recognizing the threat to his sister.

  “I won’t,” she answered defiantly. “Unlike you, I’ll take my chances with the law.”

  Ted exchanged glances with Jason, the look in the banker’s eyes bringing a swift frown to his face. Ted shook his head, never breaking eye contact.

  “I said you’re coming with me.”

  “We ain’t taking no woman along,” the stranger interrupted angrily. “She’ll only slow us down.”

  Throwing the man a blistering scowl, Ted set his shoulders uncompromisingly. “She’s my sister, Amos, and I’m not leaving her here to face the consequences alone.”

  So intense was their argument that neither man noticed Mr. Harris, the bank teller, lift a rifle from behind the counter. He pointed the gun at Ted.

  “Drop them revolvers,” he told them, his voice shaking slightly. His beetling eyebrows lifted to his receding hairline as he waited for compliance.

  Everyone went still. A split second later, Amos whirled to fire at the teller. Seeing his intent, April lunged to stop him. The Colt revolver went off, the bullet missing Mr. Harris’s heart, but imbedding itself in his shoulder. A woman screamed and fainted to the floor.

  Amos looked shocked, then turned an accusing glare on April. “Let’s get outta here!”

  Grabbing April, Ted lifted her and threw her over his shoulder, striding out of the bank behind Amos. He unceremoniously dumped her on her stomach over his saddle. Climbing up behind her, he quickly turned the horse.

  “Let’s go!” Amos shouted, and from her upside-down vantage point, April could see a flurry of horses’ hooves kicking up the mud. It was then she realized there were more men than just Amos and Ted.

  As they thundered out of town, April heard shouts behind them. Bullets winged by her head, and for the first time in her life, she felt the very real presence of death.

  When they were far enough from town, Ted briefly stopped his horse and helped April to sit upright. Her stomach was still heaving from the pummeling it had received from their fast escape, and she glowered at her brother.

  “I’m sorry,” he told her, and there was true contrition in his eyes. “I never thought this would happen.”

  “You never thought, period,” she snapped. “You never do.”

  April heard a chuckle and turned to find Amos and two other men watching them with interest. The other two looked as disreputable as Amos.

  “Shoulda left her behind,” Amos smirked. “Women ain’t nothing but trouble.”

  “Aw, now, Amos,” one of the others disagreed. “They have their uses.”

  Gleaming eyes studied April thoroughly, and she cringed closer to her brother. She could feel him tense against her.

  “Watch it, Chauncy. She’s my sister.”

  The other man lifted his hat slightly, surprising April with his courtesy.

  “Ma’am.” He smiled. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

  April’s reproachful silence met this greeting. Amos frowned. “Enough of this. We gotta keep moving. They’ll be after us by now.”

  The others waited for him to take the lead, then rapidly set out after him in a quick gallop. April clung to the saddle horn, wishing that she would wake up and find herself in her nice cozy bed.

  She tried to button her blue wool coat, but her fingers felt frozen, whether from cold or fear she wasn’t quite certain. Only the fact that it was her brother’s arms wrapped around her kept her from giving in to sheer hysteria.

  Several hours later, Amos pulled to a stop. April’s teeth were chattering with the cold, but it was her bones that felt like they had been jarred out of her body.

  “Al,” Amos commanded, “go back and see if you can catch sight of a posse. We’ll head for the canyon. Be sure you take the back route to find us, just in case anyone spots you and follows you.”

  Al nodded once, turning his horse back the way they had come. He raced away like the hounds of fury were after him, his speeding horse churning up mud behind him.

  They traveled on, but at a much slower pace. April was thankful for the reprieve from the bone-wrenching ride. Her mind was as numb as her body, and both refused to obey her will. Ted leaned forward so that he could whisper in her ear without being heard.

  “I’ll get you out of this somehow.”

  She said nothing. She heard him sigh in exasperation.

  The sun had set hours before, and now April noticed that they were descending into a small valley. Entering it, the cold wind suddenly decreased. The freezing temperatures caused frost ringlets from their breath to swirl around their heads in a light mist.
<
br />   Finally, they stopped at the entrance to a small cave. It was well hidden from view by the scrub brush around it and therefore made an excellent hiding place.

  Ted helped her dismount, holding her while her shaky legs became accustomed to the ground beneath her feet once more.

  Amos led the way into the cave, lighting a lantern near the entrance. April wrinkled her nose at the smell of unwashed bodies mixed with rotting food. How on earth had her brother gotten so low in his life?

  He cleared a place for her and motioned for her to have a seat while Chauncy made up the fire. Amos came and stood next to them. He grinned down at April, his tobacco-stained teeth making her stomach churn.

  “How’s it feel to be an outlaw?” he wanted to know.

  Ted glared at him. “That’s not funny, Amos. She wasn’t supposed to be involved.”

  Amos shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, I wasn’t the one offered to get us into the bank.”

  Flushing, Ted had no answer.

  April glanced from one to the other. “So what happens to me now?”

  “Well now, that kinda depends on you. You be a good little girl, and I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.”

  He gave her a warning look then turned and left them alone. April shivered.

  “How could you get mixed up with someone like that? He’s awful!”

  Ted knelt beside where she sat stiff-backed on a wooden crate. The pleading eyes that normally wrenched her heart had no effect on her now. She deliberately ignored that tender spot in her heart that only he could touch.

  “April, I can’t explain now.”

  She studied his face. “What explanation could you possibly give for using me to commit a crime?”

  His eyes flashed. “If you remember correctly, I tried to get you to leave.”

  Her brows lifted, hiding beneath her dark bangs. “And that’s supposed to make a difference?”

  There was a rustling at the entrance, and Amos and Chauncy spun, their guns already drawn from their holsters. Al came in, stopping short at the sight of the two gun barrels facing his way. He lifted his hands, palms facing forward.

  “Hold on, fellers. It’s just me.”

  Slowly they replaced their guns. Al joined them near the fire.

  “So what’d ya find out?” Amos queried.

  Squatting down next to the fire, Al held his hands out to the warming flames. “Well, since no one saw me in town this morning, I just moseyed on into town and hung around the saloon for a spell. Figured I’d hear the news better there.” He grinned, his gleaming eyes speaking clearly of what he had done while in the saloon.

  “And?” Chauncy interrupted impatiently.

  “I guess it’s just too cold for them town folks. They decided not to send a posse out after all.”

  Amos leaned back, sighing with relief. “That’s good news.”

  Al shook his head. “Not quite.”

  Ted frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean,” he told them, “that they called for a Texas Ranger instead.”

  Amos’s face paled. Chauncy threw his coffee into the fire. “Blast it all!”

  April glanced up at her brother and caught an odd expression on his face. “Who are they sending?” he asked quietly.

  Al looked at each man in turn, his own face rather pale by the light of the fire.

  “Yellow Wolf Jackson.”

  April settled down under the blanket her brother had provided for her and tried to sleep, but the sound of the hushed voices of the others unsettled her nerves. She could hear the conversation as clearly as though she were sitting among them. Her eyes were fixed on her brother, sitting quietly like a statue.

  “He’s like a wolf,” Al muttered. “He slowly, methodically stalks his prey until he’s ready for the kill.”

  “Learned his tracking skills from his Comanche father,” Amos said, spitting into the fire. The hissing of it had barely faded before Chauncy took up the refrain.

  “Everyone knows a ranger can shoot a fly off a fence a half mile away, but Jackson uses his bow better than most men use their gun.”

  Amos nodded. “Yep. That’s what makes him so deadly. Leastways if you hear a trigger cock, you have time to draw, but you never hear that bow twang until it’s too late.”

  A long silence followed this pronouncement.

  “Why’s he called Yellow Wolf?” Ted asked, his quiet voice startling the others.

  “His ma was white,” Al answered, “but his dad were Comanche. He’s got his mama’s hair, yellow as sun-ripened wheat.”

  The more she heard, the more alarmed April became. What if this Yellow Wolf caught up with them and killed her brother? She might be angry with him, more than angry even, but she would never wish him dead.

  Chauncy sighed loudly. “We’re in for it, that’s for sure. He has a reputation for always getting his man.”

  Amos answered this with a snort. “There’s four of us, ain’t there? And some of us is pretty good at trackin’, too.”

  “Did you ever hear of the Walton gang?” Chauncy asked without lifting his eyes from the fire. “They was ten of them. Jackson caught ’em all. Killed four of ’em with that bow before they had a chance to reload.”

  April’s eyes widened. The man must be some kind of savage.

  “Let’s get some sleep,” Amos commanded. He motioned Ted toward the entrance. “I need to talk to you.”

  When her brother returned, his face was pale and strained. He glanced her way, then quickly turned aside. April could hear him stumbling about for some time before he finally settled with the others for the night.

  Exhausted from the torturous ride, she felt the tug of sleep’s call, and too weary to do any more thinking, she finally succumbed.

  She dreamed of galloping horses and a faceless man with golden hair chasing her across the hills of West Texas.

  When she opened her eyes in the morning, the man sitting Indian style across from her was not her brother. His yellow hair hung long to his shoulders, and the two Colt revolvers strapped to his side gave away his identity before he ever said a word.

  Chapter 3

  April lay immobile, frozen with shock. Numerous thoughts chased themselves through her mind finally settling into one cohesive idea. She had to warn her brother.

  Jumping to her feet, she ran for the entrance to the cave. She never reached it. Strong hands latched onto her upper arms, whirling her around. Her eyes were level with a broad chest housed in soft buckskin. She struggled against the restraining grip, pushing her small fists upward until she was able to pummel the intruder in the chest.

  “Let me go!”

  Grabbing hold of her wrists, he twisted them behind her until she was effectively pinned against his chest. She lifted frightened eyes and was surprised to find a smile on the man’s face, although the smile was a decidedly nasty one.

  “Just where did you plan on going?” he asked, a snicker in his voice.

  Chocolate brown eyes roved her features, and April stilled beneath his careful scrutiny. He was a big man, tall and powerful. She felt a tremor of fear run through her when she remembered the comments of the others.

  “Unhand me!” she commanded. She wanted to hurl the word savage at him, but realizing his size and power, she didn’t dare.

  As though he could divine her thoughts, his eyes darkened until the only thing she could see was her own reflection in them. His face turned grim.

  “Where are the others?”

  Glancing around, she realized that they were truly alone, just she and this savage. Her own brother had deserted her, leaving her to face this man alone. Pain unlike any she had ever known rose up to choke her. Although she was angry at her brother for deserting her, she was relieved that he had gotten away.

  “I don’t know.” She could barely speak past the obstruction in her throat.

  Again he searched her face, delving deeply into her eyes. A puzzled frown crossed his face, and suddenly he released her.
r />   “So they left you here to divert me from the chase, huh?”

  The nasty smile had returned to his face. He cocked his head slightly, assessing her critically from her tousled black hair to her black button-up shoes. Blushing profusely, she wrapped her arms defensively around her waist.

  “I must say, I’m tempted.”

  The color multiplied in her cheeks until they resembled overripe cherries. “You, sir, are no gentleman.”

  The smile turned into a full-fledged grin. He folded his arms over his chest, causing the buckskin to strain against him. April’s eyes followed the line of his figure past long, lean legs wrapped in the same buckskin to feet encased by leather moccasins.

  “Not like your brother and his cohorts, huh?”

  She had nothing to say to that. If the truth were told, this man had a strong magnetism that reached out to her even from the distance she had removed herself to. If he was a savage, he was unlike any she had ever heard about.

  “What are you going to do with me?”

  His eyes flicked over her briefly. “Well, I’ve got to hand it to your friends, their little ruse worked. I can’t very well take you with me, and I can’t leave you here alone.”

  He went to the fire and lifted the coffeepot from the coals. Surprised, April watched him pour a cup and hold it out to her. She hesitated before crossing to where he crouched and took the offered cup.

  “So, I repeat, what are you going to do with me?”

  He glanced up at her from under a lowered brow. “I’m going to take you back to Abasca and then come back and follow the trail again.”

  April pulled her lips in between her teeth, pressing them together. She sat down on the crate she had vacated the night before. When she finally looked at him, she found him watching her.

  “Look, Mr. Jackson.” His eyebrows lifted at his name, and she stumbled to a halt. His eyes grew dark and stormy.

  “How do you know my name?” he asked in a quiet voice that was frightening in its intensity.

  She explained about Al’s returning to town. His eyes began to gleam, and April felt real fear for her brother.

  “So, it is Miller’s gang.”