The Lone Texan

by Jodi Thomas

  The silence in the room widened the space between them. She had to think of something to say.

  She settled on a simple statement. "My name's…" "Bonnie?" he finished. "I like that. It fits you somehow.” No one had ever told her such a thing, but she didn't want to talk about her name. Not with this man who knew her so well in other ways. "Have you eaten supper?"

  "No."

  She'd guess he hadn't had breakfast or dinner either, but she wouldn't comment on that. "I've plenty here. It's not Thanksgiving, but its filling. You're welcome to join me”

  He never took his eyes off of her when he answered, "It'll do just fine. Thank you, miss”

  Bonnie didn't look at him as she grinned. "Don't you think we should call each other by our Christian names, Bradford?"

  "Yes"-he hesitated “Bonnie, I do”

  She couldn't face him and wondered if he was across the room not looking at her as well.

  Finally, when everything was ready, she collected enough nerve to face him. "Take off your coat, Bradford," she ordered, noticing he was still standing just inside the door. "Supper's ready”

  Removing his coat, Bradford hung it on one of the hooks. His movements were slow, as if he'd ridden for days without sleep. "The barn door needs hanging. I could do that for you”

  "You can wash up at the sink if you like” She held herself so stiffly, he probably thought she was made of board. She was being bossy, but she knew of no other way to act. She wanted to be the woman she saw herself to be in his eyes, but she didn't know how to start.

  She didn't move as he crossed the room and rolled his sleeves up, revealing powerful forearms, tanned by years in the sun. The memory of his arm resting just below her breasts as they slept returned to her in great detail.

  As he washed, she reached over and lightly touched his arm.

  He stilled.

  She pulled away, embarrassed by her boldness.

  He went back to washing.

  She reached for a towel and held it for him. When he took it from her, they were only a few feet apart.

  With cheeks burning, she looked up at him. When she saw the longing in his eyes, she knew he'd relived their time together a million times as well.

  "Mind if I kiss you?" he said simply.

  "I don't mind." she answered. She stepped closer, not knowing how to play at being coy or shy.

  He leaned over and touched his lips to hers, and as naturally as if they'd kissed for years, she moved into his arms and welcomed him home.

  When she pulled away, he held her chair, then took his seat across from her. His hand had brushed across her shoulder as he'd moved behind her, and his knee bumped against hers beneath the table.

  She handed him a plate, smiling as she met his stare. Their fingers touched for only a second, but he smiled back.

  She looked down, took a deep breath, and said, "You can hang the barn door in the morning.”

  "All right. Bonnie?" he answered. "I'll do that”

  CHAPTER 39

  SAGE WOKE A WHILE BEFORE DAWN. HER FIRST THOUGHT was that she didn't want to move. She was warm inside the cocoon of Drum's arms and a trail blanket that smelled of campfires.

  Her second thought was that she was nude. Totally nude.

  As carefully as she could, she pulled away from him and began searching for her clothes in the smoky glow of the dying fire. Half-dressed, she glanced over at Drum to make sure he was asleep.

  He was wide awake and watching her every move. "Turn around," she demanded.

  "Not a chance," he answered.

  Pulling her blouse on, she swore. "That's it. Drummond. That's why you drive me crazy." She fought with the material. "How can you be so loving one minute and so pestering the next? If you had the sense God gave a rabbit, you'd know a lady doesn't like to be watched.”

  He stood and helped her with a sleeve she had twisted backward. "You're one beautiful creature when you wake up mad." He laughed. "I'll have to remember that”

  "You were going to wake me in an hour so I could see what I dreamed”

  "I meant to, but I fell asleep. It seems the only time I really sleep is when I'm with you. It's probably because the rest of the time, I'm worried about where you are and what you're up to.” He studied her as she finished dressing. "Any chance you want to tell me how you could be married to some guy back East and not know about what we did last night? Seems to me he would have brought you to- "

  "We are not talking about that” She turned her back to him.

  "Another thing you like to do but not talk about. I don't mind. Talking about it isn't near as much fun. But I got to tell you, when you shook in my arms, you-"

  She glared at him. "We are not having this discussion.” "Right," he agreed. "Maybe we'll not talk about it again tonight."

  Sage tugged on her boots. "I've more things to worry about than talking to you. I didn't dream." she said. "What good is the legend if I didn't dream?"

  "I did. But it didn't make much sense," he said as he strapped on his gun belt, all playfulness gone from his tone. "It started with two carriages storming the bridge”

  "Our bridge?"

  Drum nodded slowly, as if piecing together a puzzle with a picture he didn't like. "I got a bad feeling about this. Something Daniel said once about how the raiders who killed the Smith boys' parents and the robbers at Shelley's place being part of the same gang. Maybe my mind just put them together in my sleep.”

  "Or maybe your dream put the pieces together for you," Sage answered. "Pieces that belonged together."

  "We'd better get back.” Drum kicked dirt over the fire. "I just remembered the last detail of the dream.”

  She helped him roll up the blanket. "What was it?" she whispered, knowing that it had to be something terrible by the frown on his face.

  "I'll tell you later. The sooner we get back, the better.”

  She trusted him enough to know he wasn't lying. They moved down the mountain as fast as they could, and by daylight they were riding full-out toward home.

  Sage knew something was wrong when she walked into the kitchen. Martha and Jessie were cooking. Teagen and Jessie's three girls and the two little Smith boys were playing games in the dining room, but she could feel something in the air. "Where is my brother?"

  Jessie rushed toward her. "Thank goodness you two are back. Daniel said you went for a morning ride. It may be nothing, but we all agree it feels like trouble. Guests traveling on Thanksgiving? Men surrounded by guards are demanding to come onto the ranch. They claim they know you”

  Daniel walked through the door with an armload of wood. Sage glanced at him and swore she saw him wink at Drummond.

  "Where are my brothers?" she asked again, trying to make sense of what Jessie had said.

  This time it was Martha who answered. "Teagen is handling the trouble at the bridge. Travis and Rainey haven't come up from their place yet." She pointed toward the window that faced the bridge. "The ranch hand on guard wouldn't let anyone pass and sent up a round to signal a warning. Teagen rode down. The other three hands on the place rode out to the back pasture a little after dawn to check on a horse after breakfast. If they heard the shot, they should be riding in soon”

  Drummond stepped forward, his voice a low command. "Jessie, I need you to collect the girls and get to somewhere safe as fast as possible. If there is trouble, you need to be somewhere safe.”

  He looked at Sage.

  "Don't even ask," she said. "I'm here to help. If there is trouble, I stand.” Teagen's wife, Jessie, was six months' pregnant and not raised to fight, but Sage was a McMurray. She saw no reason she couldn't stand.

  "Tell the old hand in the barn to saddle three horses, would you Daniel? Have him bring them around to the side of the house so they can't be seen from the bridge," he said without taking his eyes off Sage.

  The young Ranger left as Drum whispered, "Can you take Will and Andy through the hills? They have to be away from here. If my dream is coming true, the men at
the bridge have some kind of papers. They'll be demanding custody of both boys."

  Sage didn't like the idea of leaving when trouble might be riding in, but she and Drum were the only two at the house who knew the back passage. She also knew Teagen might try to stall, but he'd follow the law. He'd think it his duty to hand the boys over if the proper authorities demanded it. Right now, Drummond's suggestion made a great deal more sense.

  As everyone around her hurried to follow orders, Sage stared at him. "Tell me your dream."

  "Two closed carriages, surrounded by guards, at the bridge. The first holds a judge who Teagen knows and trusts, and a man claiming to be a relative of the boys. The second carriage holds Shelley Lander and a big guy with red hair. He fits the description of the outlaw you called Charlie, who kidnapped you. In my dream Charlie was swearing to Shelley that you and the boys will be tied up and on your way back to the count before nightfall. He laughed and said he'd be paid a thousand for bringing you back alive and ten thousand for each of the boys' heads. It seems, unlike you, the boys are no good to him alive."

  Sage felt a chill go all the way to her heart. Even if Drum told the judge his fears, he wouldn't be believed. After all, the only evidence he had was a dream. Teagen would believe him, but would he stand against the judge?

  She ran to the porch and lifted a spyglass Teagen kept hidden on a windowsill. Two carriages waited along with a dozen men on horseback. Teagen was on horseback, barring the entrance.

  She didn't want to believe it, but the scene was exactly as Drum had described. She had to get the boys away. If she took the pass, she could be in town an hour before the carriages could go by road. She could collect Bonnie and disappear. Charlie was chasing her and the boys; he wouldn't waste time pestering the McMurrays if she were gone.

  "I have to stand with Teagen," Drum swore as he pulled a rifle from just inside the door, "much as I want to go with you, I can't leave him alone if that outlaw you called Charlie is with them and decides to cause trouble. From what you told me, he'd kill anyone and everyone to get to them.”

  She knew what he wasn't telling her. She could get the boys to safety without him, but her brother might not survive without more firepower. He was outnumbered twelve to one right now at the bridge. The old, broken-down cowhand in the barn might fire a few rounds, but he would be little help in a fight. The other men who worked on the ranch were probably too far away. Travis would help, but his cabin was too far in the woods to have heard the alarm round fired.

  Drum looked down at her, and she saw the conflict in his eyes. She was his world, but other things mattered, others demanded his help, and honor drove his actions now.

  "Find me," she whispered. "When you put an end to this, find me."

  "I will," he answered as he stepped off the porch.

  He motioned for Daniel to take the horse Sage had ridden in on.

  "Drum," she whispered.

  He heard and turned as he shoved his rifle into its sheath. "I love you” Her words, raw and honest, shocked her as much as they did him.

  "Go!" he demanded. "I'll come after you.”

  She watched them ride toward the bridge, knowing Drum would buy her as much time as he could, even if it cost him his life.

  CHAPTER 40

  THE LITTLE BOYS AND SAGE MADE IT TO THE beginning of the pass before they heard gunfire. When it came, it sounded like thunder rolling off the hills.

  Will looked up at her with his sad eyes. "Jessie's girls? Are they safe?"

  "Yes," she answered, loving that he worried about others more than himself. "They know where to hide. They'll be safer when we are away."

  "It's the men who want our blood” Andy said. "I was afraid they'd come again”

  "Your blood?" Sage asked.

  Will nodded. "Our father said there were bad men who wanted to wipe our blood off the earth”

  "Why?" Sage didn't think the boys were making much sense, but they both seemed to agree.

  "I don't know," Will said, "I just heard Father say to Mother that we had to keep moving, keep running, or they'd come."

  The talk of blood gave her a chill, and she kicked her horse.

  "Stay up with me, boys," she said, watching Andy closely. Will handled horses well, but Andy was still learning. She slowed her pace slightly. "We have to go get Miss Bonnie” If the men were looking for her and the boys, the second place they'd go would be the clinic.

  As they climbed, she tried not to listen for shots being fired.

  Drum and her brother were back there, and all she could do was outrun trouble.

  Part of her wanted to ride back and make sure Drum and Teagen weren't hurt, but she couldn't risk it. Not now. If one of them had been shot or captured and she rode back, their sacrifice would have all been for nothing.

  She led the boys down the pass and along the creek. Teagen had chosen the location of her clinic well; she could ride in now without anyone from town knowing she and the boys were there.

  When she neared, she saw a man working on the door to the barn. He was tall, very tall, and lean, but he didn't stop his work when she rode in.

  As the boys slid down from their mounts, Sage said, "Go pack what you can. A change of clothes, extra socks. I need to talk to Miss Bonnie.”

  The boys hurried into the house.

  Sage walked from room to room until she found Bonnie in the kitchen.

  The nurse looked shocked to see her. "Back already? I thought you were staying for Thanksgiving.” Bonnie didn't give her time to answer. "What's wrong?"

  Sage noticed the table was set for two. "Drum thinks the men who kidnapped me and the raiders who killed Will and Andy's folks were part of the same band. They're at the ranch now, looking for us."

  Bonnie paled.

  "We have to disappear, at least for a while.” Sage kept her voice low and calm so she wouldn't frighten the nurse. "How fast can you be ready to ride up to my grandfather's camp? The Apache will take us in."

  Bonnie shook her head. "Doc. I can't ride. You know that. I'd only slow you down. Go without me."

  "No." Sage could not leave her here. "We'll go slow. You'll make it fine. I can't leave you here alone."

  "No," Bonnie said as she spread her hand across her middle. "I can't risk a fall.”

  "I'll watch over her." A man's voice came from the doorway. "She'll be safer here with me”

  Sage turned. The tall cowboy who'd been fixing the barn door filled the entrance. It took her a minute to place him. The man who'd bumped into them the first day in Galveston, the cowboy in the saloon at Shelley's place, the man Drum had talked to on the road one night who'd lost his brother. It made no sense that he'd now be here in her kitchen. His words were meant for her, but his eyes were on Bonnie.

  He crossed the room to stand in front of the nurse.

  Sage started to ask what was going on, when she noticed neither of them was paying any attention to her.

  The stranger spread his hand over Bonnie's just below her waist. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.

  "I planned to” Bonnie answered. "I wasn't sure how you'd react.”

  They stared at one another. Sage shook her head, trying to get the picture before her to make sense. "Tell him what? Who is this man? What's he doing here? What's he doing touching you?"

  Apparently everyone in the kitchen had gone deaf except Sage, who could still hear her questions echoing off the wall.

  Finally, the stranger turned toward her. "I'm Bradford Summerfield, the father of this child"-he moved his hand over Bonnie's middle-"and you're not taking my family anywhere, Doc. They'll be safe. I'll give my life to keep them so”

  There are times in life when the earth tilts too far on its axis for just a second, and everyone in the world is in danger of falling. Sage felt one of those moments. A dozen questions came to mind, like how did Bonnie, who never even talked to men, manage to find a family? Sage wanted to yell for her to stop allowing that man to put his hand on her, but about the time she
opened her mouth, Sage saw the tears on Bonnie's smiling face.

  The cowboy saw them too, and he pulled her into his hug. And there they stood, totally forgetting Sage was in the room all over again.

  She didn't try to interrupt them again. She just stared at the pair, wondering why love couldn't come that easily for her. Bonnie couldn't have been with this cowboy more than a matter of hours. Neither of them looked like great talkers, but somehow they'd found one another, fallen in love, and started a baby.

  He whispered something to Bonnie, then pulled away. "I'll water your horses, Doc, then you can be on your way."

  While Bonnie packed them food, Sage drilled the cowboy on all she thought he should do. Tell the marshal Bonnie was in danger. Stand guard. Make sure she eats right.

  Finally, they were ready to leave. Sage turned to Bradford and added, "If you hurt her, I'll shoot you.”

  "If I hurt her," he answered. "I'll load the gun.”

  "Fair enough." Sage took the reins and motioned for the boys to climb up. Bradford helped Andy, making sure his feet were in the stirrups.

  Sage glanced back as they rode away. The cowboy had his arm around Bonnie. They looked like a settled couple. The only thing that worried her was that they seemed to have settled faster than water in a shallow well. She made a promise to herself to keep an eye on the cowboy.

  Sage smiled. Both of them were old enough to know their own minds. If Bonnie wanted the cowboy, and he obviously wanted her, who was she to stand in their way?

  She glanced back one last time. At the rate they were moving in the relationship, they'd have a half dozen tall, thin kids by the time she got back from the winter camp.

  CHAPTER 41

  DRUMMOND AND DANIEL TORRY MADE IT TO TEAGEN'S side about the time the arguing started between Sage's big brother and the judge. Teagen was a man of logic, and his tolerance of fools was a gnat's worth of time. To him, the judge stopped being rational when he insisted that the boys needed to leave immediately and suggested his sister, the doctor, come along.