They had returned home, and he had indeed taken her to bed, the story of love he had woven with each caress, each kiss had expanded her love for him. She could only hope that in time, her love would heal the wounds of his past.
She didn't want to sleep in case he needed her again, but she'd never been one for idleness. So she contemplated exactly what she would tell her parents. How to explain what she barely understood.
With a book on her lap serving to support the paper, using her left hand as a guide, she began to write.
My dearest Mother and Father,
I have met the most incredible man. In many ways, he reminds me of you, Father, so protective of his family, of those he loves.
In other ways, he's like no one I've ever met before. He sees me as I've always wanted to be seen: not as a woman without sight, but simply as a woman. He challenges me, pricks my temper, then soothes my anger.
No one has to tell me when he looks at me. I feel the intensity of his gaze warming me. His voice calms me. His nearness reassures me. His laughter and smiles become mine.
His love makes me complete.
I don't expect you to understand why I would choose to live with a man who has such a bleak future and refuses to promise me anything beyond heartache. I do hope that you'll respect my decision to stay here.
I love Lee as I never dared dream to love anyone … with all my heart.
I hope that someday you'll have the opportunity to meet him. Until then, I remain forever your daughter.
Angela
Setting the paper aside, she rose from the chair and leaned over the bed. Lee breathed evenly, calmly. Quietly, she left the room.
* * *
Counting her steps, Angela walked away from the house.
She missed her midnight strolls, but here she could find no landmarks to identify. No fence, no wooden Indian, no boisterous laughter drifting out from the saloon—nothing to guide her. She could easily lose her way, and knowing the exact number of steps between the house and her destination was imperative.
She must ask Lee to build her a path. She would go crazy without the freedom to wander. Her blindness would not cage her in as much as Lee's love would. Was that fair to either of them? Would she come to resent it?
She knew without a doubt that she wanted to spend the remainder of her life with him, grow old with him. Bring his children into the world. But she would have to raise them in isolation, and she wasn't certain she could deny them access to a world she could no longer see but still loved. Commotion, wagon wheels spinning, the din of conversation, the rumble of laughter. If only she could convince Lee to talk with her father. Then they might have a chance at a normal life, if they could only clear his name.
His name. She wanted him to clear a name that wasn't truly his. What was his real name? Why couldn't he go back to being who he was before the night Shelby attacked his family? Why had he chosen the name Lee Raven?
So many questions. He had trusted her with his heart, given her so much already, but she wanted everything, to understand each nuance behind his actions … but more, she wanted to save him from the gallows.
Shooting a man in the back might have been cowardly, but she understood his reasons for killing Floyd Shelby. She was convinced that if he would only explain to a judge all that had happened that night, he would be exonerated. Surely her parents would defend his actions. She thought Kit Montgomery would as well. Perhaps then Lee's nightmares would cease.
"Angela?"
She stilled, fear shoving aside what should have been joy. "Spence?"
"Thank God." He tightly wrapped his arms around her while her mind spun with a thousand questions. He moved back slightly, but anchored her to his side with one arm. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."
Resisting, she broke free. "What are you doing here?"
"What the bloody hell do you think we're doing?" he asked.
"We? Who all is here?"
He took her arm. "I'll explain everything once I've gotten you safely away."
Shaking her head, she jerked loose. "Explain now. Who is here?"
He sighed heavily. "Father, Gray, six Rangers, your parents."
"My parents are with you?"
"Yes. We're spread out so we have the area covered. I was sneaking up for a closer look to see if I could determine the weaknesses. We planned to take the place at dawn. You can well imagine that it was nearly impossible to convince your parents of the value in waiting, in the advantages of following standard Ranger procedure. But we thought it less likely that Raven would use you as a shield if we caught him unawares."
"He'd never use me as a shield."
"It's a moot issue now. Since we have you, we won't have to be cautious when we go in to get him."
"So you'll go in with guns blazing?" she asked, thinking of Lee's comment that he'd rather die by gun than by rope.
"We won't attack quite that dramatically."
"You're in Mexico. You have no jurisdiction here."
"Precedents have been set for Rangers not strictly adhering to the boundaries formed by the Texas border." He cupped her face between his hands. "Angela, what in the hell is going on? I'm here to rescue you, for which I would think you'd be immensely grateful. Instead, you're arguing."
"Because it's too dangerous for all of you. He has five brothers in the house. One is a little boy. His sister is there." She could well imagine the terror Juanita would experience to see a hoard of unfamiliar men storming the house. "You were searching for me. Why not leave Raven?"
"We can't now that we've found him. He's a murderer. You know Father's reputation and his quest for justice."
Clutching his arm, she wanted desperately to tell him the whole story, but Lee's gentle rebuke whispered to her heart that some things weren't hers to reveal. Although his family's history might be one of them, it still hurt not to vindicate him with the truth. "Justice won't be served if someone gets hurt."
Her stomach knotted as she thought of any of these people being killed. Lee's family. Hers. Kit. Grayson. Spence. Would Lee surrender to protect his family? Would anyone who participated in the search to find her give him a chance? They didn't know him as she did. And he didn't know them. What would anyone's death accomplish? She swallowed hard. "If I promise you that he'll never again rob another bank, he'll never again cross into Texas, will you please just leave us here and pretend you never found us?"
Tenderly he cradled her cheek. "What happened while you were with him?"
Tears stung her eyes. "I fell in love with him."
He drew her close. "Listen to me. That's not uncommon in abductions. I've read where women who were carried off by Indians fell in love with their captors."
She shook her head. "It's not like that. I've written a letter to Mother and Father explaining that I want to stay with him."
"Trust me, sweetheart. What you're feeling is a result of the circumstances, not the man."
"He's a good man."
"He's a coward. He shot a man in the back, for God's sake. To be sure, you are our first consideration, but we're not going to leave without him."
And if they tried to take him, they would end up taking him dead. How could she possibly endure his death? "I can deliver him to you," she rasped, her throat aching as she forced out the words.
"Raven?"
She stepped out of his embrace. "There's a spot by the river. You'll find initials carved in a tree. I'll have him take me there shortly after dawn. If we aren't far from the house, his brothers will try to stop you and someone is bound to get killed"—she thought she might be ill—"and you can arrest him at the river." She dug her fingers into his arm. "Just don't hurt him."
He sighed heavily. "I really need to discuss this idiotic idea of yours with Father."
"We don't have time. If Lee wakes up, and I'm not in bed—" Too late she realized what her words had revealed.
"Christ," Spence muttered. "Tell me you're not in his bed."
"Please, Spence.
Just go back to the others and tell them what our plan is."
"Our plan? I'm not going to take any credit for it."
"I'll take full credit for it, then, but don't you see that it's the only way we can guarantee that no one gets wounded—or worse, killed?"
"All right, but if you haven't left the house by noon, we'll come in and take him—any way we can."
Rising up on the tips of her toes, she kissed Spence's cheek. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me. Your father is going to bloody well kill Raven when he realizes what the man did."
"You use too much profanity, Spence."
"What?"
She shook her head. "Nothing."
"One other thing—don't try to warn him. We'll leave men behind to watch the house. If he tries to escape, my promise to you is voided. We'll do whatever we have to in order to arrest him."
Putting Lee on alert was possibly the worst plan of action. She knew how stealthy he could be when he set his mind to it. Hadn't he sneaked up on her time and time again? And if he truly was as skilled with weapons as he claimed, she knew he would do whatever it took to protect his family. "I'll keep my end of the bargain. Can you turn me so that I'm in a direct line with the house?"
He placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her around. "Be careful."
"You, too. Please tell my parents not to worry. Raven never hurt me. Never."
As she walked back toward the house, she wondered if he'd ever be able to say the same of her.
* * *
"Describe the sunrise to me. I want to see it through your eyes," Angela said quietly, too quietly, as they stood beneath the tree where he'd carved their initials.
He wasn't certain what had possessed him when he'd taken his knife to the bark. He'd almost carved his true initials, had almost convinced himself to reveal everything. She made him believe in possibilities, had forced him to realize that his quest for revenge had somehow gone astray, was hurting the wrong people. Perhaps with her by his side, he could redirect his energies, he could find a more satisfying way to make Shelby accountable for his actions.
She'd been somber ever since he'd awakened her before dawn and made love to her. She'd wept afterward and had told him that she wanted to come here. As willing as she was to stay with him, he had to be as willing to open his heart completely.
He watched as she traced her fingers over the ragged gouges he'd made.
"The sunrise," she whispered.
"I'd rather describe you."
"I know what I look like."
"Do you? Do you know that through my eyes you are the loveliest woman I've ever seen?" Taking her hand, he knelt on one knee. "Will you marry me?"
She gasped, not with the joy he'd expected, but with an expression of horror. Tears filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks.
The crunch of a boot heel alerted him that they weren't alone. Every nerve in his body felt as though lightning had streaked through it. He shot to his feet and wrapped his fingers around the butt of his gun at the same moment that Angela wound her hand around his wrist.
"No," she pleaded, her face stricken but showing no evidence of surprise, only quiet acceptance.
"Move your hand away from the gun, Raven," someone ordered. "We have half a dozen rifles trained on you."
"Please," Angela rasped hoarsely, "do as Captain Montgomery says. They won't hurt you."
Montgomery. He should have known. "What about my brothers?"
She shook her head as more tears fell. "They only want you."
She'd known, somehow she'd known they would be here waiting for him, had lured him here. Slowly he unfurled his fingers and raised his hands, grateful his hat shadowed his face and enabled him to hide the agony of her betrayal.
"Angela, move away from him."
Montgomery's voice resonated around Lee, cultured, authoritative, his British accent apparent.
But Angela didn't move. "Promise me you won't do anything to draw their fire," she begged Lee.
"I'm going to remove my gun belt," he announced before cautiously lowering one hand. While he worked the fastenings, he sliced his gaze to Angela. "A man only fights, querida, when he has a reason to live."
"Lee, listen to me—"
"You have nothing to say that I want to hear." He dropped his gun belt to the ground and took a step back. Two men immediately emerged from their hiding places behind the trees, spun him around, and wrenched his arms behind his back. His stomach knotted as he heard the clanking of iron. He was grateful that his family wasn't here to witness his shame and humiliation, to see him stripped of dignity as the cold metal was snapped around his wrists.
"You don't have to chain him," Angela said.
"Angela!" a voice boomed.
Lee listened to the hurried halting footsteps and the sound of a cane tapping the ground. Keeping his head bent, his hat rim hiding his face, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man come to a staggering stop and draw Angela against him with one arm, the cane not merely a prop. He relied on it … heavily if the way his knuckles turned white as he gripped the golden lion's head was any indication.
Lee's breath stilled as memories flitted in and out of his mind. A child, studying the lion, frightened of it. Then the memories faded and he doubted that he'd seen them at all.
"Papa, tell them that they don't have to bind him."
"Angela, Kit knows best," her father said, his accent undeniably British. "Are you hurt? Did he harm you in any way?"
"No, Papa, I'm fine but you have to help him."
"I'll help him all right. Straight to the gallows." Her father moved away from her until he stood directly in front of Lee. "I ought to beat you to a bloody pulp."
Dear God, but he wished he would, would beat him black and blue until he was unrecognizable.
"Look at me, you sorry bastard."
"Harry, I'll handle this," Montgomery said. "You take care of Angela."
His head still lowered, he saw Montgomery's boots first. Scuffed, covered in dust, but obviously finely made.
"I'm Captain Christian Montgomery of the Texas—"
"I know who you are," Lee said solemnly. His heart pounding, dreading what he feared he would discover, he slowly lifted his gaze…
And found himself staring into eyes the same light blue as his own.
* * *
Chapter 18
« ^ »
Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, Kit Montgomery reached out with a trembling hand and swept the black Stetson from his prisoner's head.
Kit had always envisioned Lee Raven with dark hair. Perhaps because his name conjured up images of black birds. He'd never expected him to have hair that curled as his did when he allowed it to grow too long. Hair the color of wheat … like his wife's.
"What do you want us to do, Captain?" Sean Cartwright asked.
Kit did what he'd never expected to do at this moment. "Put him on his horse," he ordered before turning his back on his son.
* * *
Angela heard the quiver in Kit's voice, the clanging of the chains, and Lee's retreating footsteps. She couldn't remember when she'd felt this lost, could never remember feeling this abandoned. Frantically reaching out, she clutched her father's arm. "Papa—"
"Come along now," he said briskly.
"Papa, what's wrong?" The silence before the Ranger had spoken had been palpable, almost deafening. "Papa?"
"Angela!"
She turned at her mother's urgent plea. "Mama!"
A scent she knew well—the fragrance of affection and caring that she associated with her mother—greeted her a heartbeat before her mother's arms wound tightly around her and her mother's tears dampened her cheek.
"Oh, sweetie," her mother rasped, rocking her slightly. "Oh, my baby."
"Mama, something's wrong."
"Not anymore. We have you back. Are you hurt?"
"No, but what are they doing with Lee?"
"Lee?" her mother asked.
She nodded, her
worries increasing. "Something is terribly wrong. Kit was upset. I heard it in his voice."
"Oh, Angela," her mother began, brushing Angela's hair back from her face, a comforting gesture, but also a telling sign that she didn't know exactly how to explain something. "What do you know about Lee Raven?"
"That he probably hates me right now."
"What else?"
"I don't understand. Why are we playing twenty questions? Why don't you just tell me—"
"He looks remarkably like Kit," her father said quietly.
Her heart lurched, her stomach knotted, and bile rose in her throat. "I don't understand. You mean he's a darkened version of Kit? He's Mexican—"
"No, sweetie, he isn't."
She spun around. "Where is he? I have to talk with him."
"They're escorting him across the river," her father said. "We need to follow."
She sank against him, tears stinging her eyes as she pushed the question past the knot in her throat, "What color is his hair?"
"Blond."
Images bombarded her. Damon Montgomery running into her arms. Damon Montgomery chasing her. Damon Montgomery playing hide and seek with her.
Damon Montgomery making passionate love to her.
* * *
Angela sat by the fire, listening to the crackling of the flames. Dear God in heaven, Lee Raven was Damon Montgomery. She felt numb from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, had ever since the truth regarding his identify had burst through her with unrelenting anguish. She had failed him as a child. Had she failed him now that he was a man?
Her mother and father sat on either side of her, each holding her hand. Spence sat beside her mother. Grayson Rhodes was on the other side of her father. She didn't know where Kit was. Lee was somewhere nearby. She'd heard the rattle of his chains, but they'd fallen into silence before she could identify the location.
No one had spoken as they rode. No one had uttered a word when they made camp. No one had talked while they ate. So much needed to be said, yet everyone seemed wary of communicating their thoughts and concerns aloud. As though everyone was in shock, stunned beyond belief.
THE OUTLAW AND THE LADY Page 19
