"You have to be still, Casey," he warned. "You have a head wound."
Kate appeared in the doorway with a middleaged man Casey assumed was the doctor. He had a shock of white hair, and he smiled softly down at her. When he touched her face, he had the gentle hands of a healer, warm and comforting.
"I'm Dr. Cahill." He lifted the lamp and handed it to Kate. "Hold it close so I can examine her."
He slid Casey's eyelids upward and studied her for a moment. When he confirmed that her pupils were a little less dilated, he nodded in satisfaction. "You've got a concussion, young lady. From what I've been told, you're lucky that's all you got. But you seem to be coming around just fine now."
"Tell me about my brother and sister," Casey insisted, in spite of Sam's assurance that they were fine. "What is the extent of their injuries?"
"The little one has no more than a scratch on her elbow and face. Your brother's arm was sprained. You were hurt the worst." He touched her arm. "I want you to do exactly as I tell you."
She nodded in relief.
"Lift each leg one at a time, and then do the same with your arms.
"Good," he said as she followed his directions. "Good, that's excellent!"
When Sam still looked worried, the doctor said, "Your sister is going to be all right. A few scrapes and bruises, but they'll heal soon enough."
The day could have turned out so differently. Casey shivered and reached for Sam's hand, then closed her eyes, trembling. They had come close to being killed. And jenny... how she must be grieving because of Lucy-she loved that puppy so.
Kate came up beside her. "I'll stay with her tonight, Doc. I won't leave her side."
Casey didn't bother to open her eyes-she was just too confused. Cyrus Slaughter had struck fast and hard, and he'd hit them where it hurt the most. She didn't know how much damage had been done to the ranch buildings, and at the moment she didn't care. She had been ready to give up and let Slaughter have the place, but after what had happened, she would give the ranch away to someone else before she'd let him have any part of it.
She heard Kate scoot a chair beside her bed, but she didn't say anything. She was thinking of Gabe. She wondered if he had been with the men who stampeded the cattle. No. She refused to believe that. He would never do anything that would hurt jenny and Sam-would he?
Still, he was a deceiver and a liar. He could have ordered the stampede.
It was late when Gabe arrived at the ranch. He had been in the saddle for most of the day and night, and he was weary. He glanced at the house as he always did and found it dark. There was a light on at Kate's cabin, so he dismounted and walked in that direction.
He didn't even have time to knock before the little woman opened the door and glared at him.
"Where've you been at? All hell's broke out while you went running off who knows where, doing who knows what!"
He shook his head tiredly. "I've been to Fort Worth. Fletcher must have told you that. Then rode on to San Angelo."
"Fletcher ain't here to tell me nothing."
He frowned. "You said everything was falling apart?" He went to the door and opened it, glancing toward the ranch house. "There is nothing wrong with Casey, is there?"
"You might say the bottom's fallen out of everything. Casey paid a visit to your pa."
"Ah, hell! What did she say?"
"Well, after running Fletcher, Omous, and Flint off, she didn't say much to me. She figures I'm in cahoots with you and Cyrus to steal the Spanish Spur from them."
"What?"
"Yeah. And that ain't the worst of it; if'n you'd ridden in daylight, you'd've seen the damage caused by the stampede-fences down, horses running free, the bunkhouse porch splintered."
"Dammit, Kate, quit beating around the bush and tell me-are Casey and the children all right? What stampede?"
"The one that Cyrus set up. His men were shootin' and hollering and driving the cattle right through the place. Casey was very nearly killed. She got knocked down, and it's a miracle she wasn't trampled to death. She has to stay in bed for a while."
"Is she going to be all right? Did you send for the doctor?"
"She's mending. But we could be attending a funeral. That's how close she was to being trampled to death."
He stepped out on the porch, and she followed him. "I should have been here," he said.
"Why weren't you? There wasn't any way I could get in touch with you."
Gabe paced back and forth, trying to think.
"This is all my fault When I first came here, I only wanted to help the Hamiltons and then move on. It didn't matter about my name, except I thought they wouldn't trust me if I told them I was a Slaughter. But you already know that."
"They sure don't trust you now, and I can't say as I blame them."
He drew in his breath, trying to overcome his panic. "I need to see Casey right now!"
"You can't go busting in there in the middle of the night waking everyone up! Think of Jenny." She shook her head. "Speaking of jenny, it's like the light went out behind her eyes. That pup you gave her got trampled right in front of her."
He leaned his head against the supporting post, feeling gut wrenching pain in his heart. "In trying to help, I've only brought more trouble down on them. I should have figured that Cyrus would try to get to me through them. I don't know why I didn't think of that. He's played that game with people's lives before."
Gabe stepped off the porch. "I'm going to see Casey tonight if I have to wake up everyone in that house."
Kate didn't know what would happen when Gabe and Casey faced each other, but she didn't think anything good would come of it.
Gabe hurried toward the ranch house. He bounded up the porch steps and rapped softly on the door. It was a while before the door opened.
Sam's hair was mussed, and he blinked his eyes sleepily. When he realized who was standing there, his hands formed into fists. "What do you want?"
"I've got to see Casey, Sam. Kate just told me what happened."
Sam stood taller, blocking the way. "You already know what happened. And you can't see Casey. She's been hurt, and she needs her sleep."
Gabe wrenched the door open; he knew it would be a waste of time to try to explain things to the boy. "I'm not leaving until I see her. If she's asleep, I won't wake her. I just need to know she's unhurt."
Sam stood his ground. "I'm not letting you by."
"Look, you can come with me. I just want to look at her. Then I'll leave and trouble you no more."
Sam stepped aside. Somehow he still trusted Gabe. And he had never known that Gabe cared this much about his sister. Now that he thought about it, he should have suspected something. Gabe was always watching Casey.
"You can see her, but you aren't to wake her up. And then I'll expect you to keep your word and leave us alone."
Gabe nodded. He followed Sam to the bedroom door. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkened room. He could make out Jenny curled up in her bed, and Casey in hers by the window. His footsteps were silent as he crossed the room. The lace curtain ruffled in the early- morning breeze, and soft moonlight fell on Casey's face. He bent down beside her so he could get a better look at the bandage on her forehead. Her breathing was even and steady. Her lips were slightly parted, and he ached to touch his mouth to them.
He stood up and left as silently as he had come, and Sam followed him to the door.
"You love my sister, don't you?"
Gabe didn't say anything, but the gentleness in his eyes revealed a truth that even Sam, at his young age, could understand.
"Then you wouldn't hurt her."
"I would die myself before I caused her pain."
Sam didn't know what to believe, but he knew what Casey believed. "You need to be gone when she wakes up in the morning. I'll give you what pay you think you have coming."
He studied the boy for a moment. If he had a son, he would like him to be like Sam. He would miss him, jenny with her sunny personality
, and Casey... What would he do without seeing the light playing across her hair, or her laughing blue eyes, enticing him to kiss her?
"Good night, Sam."
Casey awoke before sunup. She touched her head and found the bandage still in place. Jenny was still sleeping, and she assumed Sam was as well. She threw the covers back and slid her feet to the floor. She had no time to languish in bed.
She quietly dressed and went directly to the kitchen. She tied an apron about her waist and poured water into the coffeepot. Hearing a noise, she swung around to look out the door and found Gabe sitting on the steps, his hat pulled, down over his face.
"What are you doing here?"
He rolled to his feet, opened the door, and came inside. "I had to learn everything from Kate; you fired everyone else."
"We gave them good wages first," she said, reaching for the skillet and banging it against the burner.
"How are you?"
She lit the fire and placed the coffeepot on the stove before she turned back to him. She couldn't let him know that just the sight of him left her weak and shaken. "I've been better."
"Sweetheart-"
"Don't call me that. I want you to leave right now."
"We have to talk, Casey."
"I don't want to hear anything you have to say." She turned her back to him. "Sam will give you the wages you've earned. Then we want you to go away."
He stepped closer to her. "Don't do this." Her coldness had wounded him deeply. "Just listen to what I have to say. There was a good reason I didn't tell you my name."
She angrily turned to face him. "Yes, there was, and that reason is named Cyrus Slaughter." Tears were swimming in her eyes. "I'm such a gullible fool; you even warned me against your own father and convinced me I needed you to protect us from him."
She looked so fragile with the bandage on her forehead. He wanted to wrap her in his arms. He had done a lot of thinking while he'd been away. He didn't know what love was, but he knew what it felt like to have the memory of Casey's sweetness surrounding him. Just thinking about her made his heart overflow with joy-and he thought of her a lot. His body had ached and throbbed for her. He wanted to take care of her, to make love to her, long and slowly. He wanted her even now.
She turned away from him, unable to look at him any longer. But she felt the heat of Gabe's gaze, and she knew that he was willing her to look at him. She wouldn't let herself. "If I hadn't taken Mr. Slaughter an apple pie because I wanted to settle the misunderstanding between us, I would never have known you are his son." She spoke so softly he was barely able to catch her words. "He rejected the pie just as he rejected my offer of friendship. He said he didn't like apple pie."
"He's not a man you can reason with."
"You should know, since you are his son."
"Casey, don't do this. If you never believed anything I've said before, believe me now. You need me to protect you."
Her eyes blazed, and that stubborn chin came up in defiance. "Don't you dare say that to mel And from now on, you can refer to me as Miss Hamilton."
. He knew her so well-she would not relent. To her he was the enemy, and nothing he could say would convince her otherwise. "The only lie I ever told you was a lie of omission when I didn't tell you my last name."
"You let me think you didn't have a last name."
"Yes. I did that."
He could only imagine what she was feeling. She had given herself to him and even admitted she loved him, only to discover what she thought was the ultimate betrayal. "Casey, I have seen my father only once since I came back to Texas, and that was to warn him to stay away from your family. The day I came upon you at the river, I had just come home."
"I don't believe you."
"I guess it's time for me to tell you all about myself."
"I asked you to tell me about your past the other night, and you refused, and now I know why. I don't care anymore."
He could hardly find his voice because she was looking at him with such contempt. "I did tell you that one day you would come to despise me, and you do."
Her head dropped just a bit, but she brought it up again. Standing there beside him, she still loved him; she still wanted him. She wanted to be in his arms right now. There were tired lines beneath his eyes, and he looked like he was suffering. But she told herself it was an act to gain her sympathy, and she would not fall for his trickery a second time.
"I don't feel anything for you." Now she was being untruthful; her need for him was stronger than it had ever been. "To love a man I must respect him, and he must be honest and honorable. You are neither."
He flinched as if she'd struck him. "I can see how you might feel that way."
"What did you expect?"
He pulled out a chair and sat down. "If that's fresh coffee on the back of the stove, I'd take a cup." He rubbed his eyes. "If you don't mind."
She poured him a steaming cup and set it before him. The longer he remained in her kitchen, the more her agony was prolonged. "Drink it fast."
He looked at her, wishing he dared reach out and take her hand, pull her onto his lap, and make her believe him. He took a sip of coffee and set the cup down. "I want to tell you about myself, Casey. It's not a pretty story, and you will probably be shocked." He raised his gaze to hers. "Another thing I haven't told you is about my mother. She was a full-blood Comanche. For the first thirteen years of my life I lived with her. I'm proud of the Comanche blood that flows in my veins, but I am ashamed of that part of me that came from Cyrus Slaughter."
She didn't believe him. He wasn't an Indian. "Don't, Gabe. I don't want to hear any more."
"Omous is my uncle, my mother's brother, and Flint is my cousin. My Comanche family is very devoted to me because of my mother, and they have always helped me when I asked it of them. They came here to help me protect your family."
Her gaze swept his face. What she had thought to be a dark tan could be the darker skin of an Indian. She knew he was waiting for her reaction. "Your eyes are like your father's," was all she could manage to say.
"No other comment-not how could I ever have kissed you when I am nothing but a halfbreed?" He lowered his voice. "Or how did I dare touch you?"
She heard the defensiveness in his tone. What did he expect of her? "I am half English and half Scottish. What does that make me?"
"Fortunate. Everyone accepts you for what you are. Some people are not so fortunate."
Anger welled inside her. "How dare you say this to me? Do you think I care who your mother was? Although," she said, fighting for control, "I do have some objections as to who your father is. And I resent the fact that you brought Omous and Flint here to keep an eye on us when you couldn't."
When Gabe reached for her, she shook her head and quickly stepped away from him. Heated words poured out of her. "Now that I think about it, their arrival was very timely. They appeared to rescue me the day Mr. Teague came here. You must have staged the whole thing just for my benefit."
"I know this has all been a shock to you, Casey. I never intended for you to learn that Cyrus is my father in this manner." He stood up, shaking his head. "There is nothing I can say that will change your mind. I'll do as you say and leave." He reached out and took her hand, raising it to his lips. "I missed you while I was away. I couldn't wait to get back here so I could see you."
She slid her hand out of his grasp. "I won't listen to any more. You should leave before Sam gets up. And we haven't told jenny you are leaving. She... she liked you a lot."
"Casey." He shrugged, not knowing what to say. "Tell her I'll get her another dog."
"No, thank you. If Jenny gets another pet, Sam and I will give it to her."
His eyes closed for a moment. "It doesn't have to end like this, Casey."
She turned back to the stove, clutching the skillet to keep from falling into his arms. She heard the screen door open and close, and then his footsteps faded in the distance.
Jenny chose that moment to come into the kit
chen, and Casey was glad. Otherwise she might very well have gone running after Gabe.
Gabe rode down the deserted streets of San Bastion in a dark mood. He dismounted in front of the log cabin that served as the area's Texas Rangers headquarters. If he didn't get some satisfaction from the Rangers, he didn't know what he would do. He had nowhere else to turn.
When he entered the room, the man behind the desk glanced up at Gabe.
"Can I help you?"
Gabe sat down on a wooden chair and stared back at the ranger. "I hope so. I'm Gabe Slaughter from Mariposa Springs. The sheriff there won't help me, and neither will the marshals in Fort Worth or San Angelo. So I thought I'd try the Rangers."
"Since I am well acquainted with the sheriff in Mariposa Springs, I understand why you can't get help from him."
The man was of medium build with dark hair and dark eyes. Gabe already knew him by reputation. He let nothing stand in the way of bringing in the bad guy. "Are you Ron Harwood?"
"Yes, I am. And I know who you are, Mr. Slaughter. I also know about your pa."
"Then you probably already know why I need your help."
The Ranger hooded his eyes but not quickly enough to hide a glint of suspicion. "You're a Slaughter, so I can't think why you would need our help. Your pa's got an army of his own."
"That's why I'm here. Someone needs to protect the family on the Spanish Spur. Cyrus has already caused them trouble, and there will be more. The family is named Hamilton-Casey Hamilton is the oldest; she takes care of her younger brother and sister."
"I already know about that family, and I know their situation. Bart Murdock asked me to send someone to look after them. He said there was a stampede on their place, and from what he said, it wasn't an accident."
Gabe rubbed his eyes, which felt gritty from his long ride. "Will you help them?"
"I can't figure you going up against your own pa."
"Let's just say that there is no love lost between my father and me."
Harwood nodded. "I do know about your situation. I've also been told how your sister, Nora, died."
Gabe leaned back in the chair. "Look, I'm not here to give you a history lesson on my family. I just want to know if you are going to help the Hamiltons."
Heart Of Texas (Historical Romance) Page 16
