A Texan's Luck (26 page)

The little man came awake like a bear, all rage and roar. He made a step toward the thin man before he woke up enough to realize what happened. When he saw Walker's rifle, he moved his hand toward his holstered gun.

"You pull that from leather," Walker promised, "and I'll have a bullet in your brain before you can aim."

Sneed was smart enough to move his hand away. "If you're robbing us, we ain't got nothing, mister. We been out of work most of the winter."

"Spread that blanket out." Walker pointed to the scrap of wool the chubby man had been using for a bed. "And unbuckle your gun belt. Slow."

Sneed followed orders while Walker reached beneath the wagon's bench and retrieved a rifle. He unloaded it and tossed it on the blanket.

"Wrap your weapons."

"These ain't worth nothing, mister." Sneed grumbled as he wrapped. "I got them secondhand, and they ain't even worth stealing, I oughta know."

Walker picked up the guns and clipped them to his saddle. "Now, your clothes and boots."

Both men looked shocked, then jumped as Walker fired a round between them. They started undressing, jumping around like puppets, just in case Walker fired another round.

"You can't take everything. Without the wagon and no clothes, we'll die before we can walk anywhere," Sneed begged. "We're half a day or more from Cedar Point or Mobeetie."

"I'm not taking the wagon, only what's in it. You should be able to make it back to Cedar Point before dark." He watched them shiver. "Toss the clothes in the fire."

Both men hesitated.

Walker took aim. "And the boots better hit the center of the fire, or one of you will be bleeding."

The two men watched as their clothes caught fire and their boots began to smoke.

Walker took a step closer to them. "You forgot your underwear."

Sneed looked offended. "You don't expect us to be bare naked to the world." He crossed his arms, standing his ground. "I haven't had my long johns off since September."

"It's that or death, gentlemen. Take your pick. I don't think there's a court in this country that will find me guilty of killing two snakes who kidnapped my wife."

The tall man glared at Sneed. "You didn't tell me she had a husband. I never would have gone along with this if I knew she had a man who'd come after us. All you said we had to do was get her to Mobeetie. Nothing dangerous, you said. Just take her for a little ride and make a hundred dollars."

"The underwear." Walker didn't want to listen to their argument. "In the fire."

Both men stripped, then shivered in the cold, their pale bodies looking mismatched to their tan hands and faces. Sneed only wore one sock, and he did his best to try to hide it. His partner had both socks still on, but the toes were out.

"Stay close to the campfire until I get my wife." Walker climbed in the wagon, then unlatched the casket. "Take one step toward this wagon, there'll be more than your clothes burning in that fire."

He raised the coffin lid, fearing what he might find. If she was hurt or even bruised, both men would die.

There, curled inside her blanket, slept Lacy. She blinked away the light and huddled farther into the quilt.

"Sorry to wake you. I know how you hate mornings." Walker smiled, loving the way she looked when she first woke. "But we really need to be going."

She finally focused on him. "I knew you'd come. I've been waiting for you."

Without another word, she came into his arms and eased the ache he'd had in his chest since the moment he'd realized she'd been kidnapped.

He carried her, quilt and all, to Trooper and sat her sideways before swinging into the saddle behind her. She hugged him so tightly he feared he might not be able to breathe. He could hear her laughing and crying all at the same time. He knew he'd have more control if she rode behind him, but he liked the feel of her with her hip pressing against the inside of one of his thighs and her legs over his other.

Walker kissed her head and held her close with one hand as he kept his rifle pointed in the direction of the fire. "Lacy, do you trust me?"

She nodded.

"Then tuck your head against my chest and don't look up. I don't want you to see what I had to do."

Lacy followed orders. "Is it the two men who captured me?"

Walker pulled Trooper away from the wagon and glanced back at the two kidnappers trying to stand close enough to the fire to stay warm without burning. "Yes," he whispered against Lacy's ear, breathing in the smell of her that he'd hungered for all night.

"Is it an ugly sight?"

"One of the worst I've ever seen," Walker answered honestly, knowing he'd have to tell her the truth later.

Lacy pressed harder against him. "Don't tell me about the blood or what you had to do. I don't know if I can bear it."

"All right," Walker answered as they rode away. She might be all tough and yelling when she was mad, but he knew she must be the gentlest soul on earth. "Just know that I did what I had to do." He knew no matter what settlement the two men wandered into, they'd be noticed by the law.

Lacy rubbed her cheek against his coat, and neither said a word for a while.

The sun tried to fight through the clouds but only succeeded in casting a gray light across the fog. When the ground turned more uneven and rolling, Walker guided Trooper off the road and into a stand of trees. The winter grass grew tall, almost brushing Trooper's belly at times. They crossed beneath ancient cottonwoods on a carpet of leaves, moving slowly now, letting the horse find his own footing. The day seemed to darken as branches overlapped.

Finally, Walker stopped. "We're another three, maybe four hours from the fort. I need to rest the horse for a while." He swung down, then lifted her to the ground. "I hear a stream over in the thick of those cottonwoods if you want to wash up."

She walked toward the water without a word. He removed the saddle and brushed down Trooper with dry grass. As he tossed the old scrap of wool Sneed had been sleeping in earlier over the horse's back, he noticed her standing behind him. Watching. Her clothes were wrinkled, and her hair a mess, but he couldn't help but smile. Lacy was safe. He'd felt like someone ripped out part of his insides when she'd disappeared.

He built a fire and tied Trooper in the small clearing banked on three sides by trees. Lacy retrieved her bag from where he'd strapped it and pulled out a brush.

"Aren't you afraid someone will see the smoke?" She brushed her hair as if it were something important to do.

"The fog's thicker than the smoke. I'm more afraid we'll freeze." He could feel the temperature dropping and knew they needed to keep moving, but Trooper had to rest, and now that Lacy was safe, the two nights he'd spent without sleep were starting to catch up to Walker. He needed to be alert when they neared civilization.

He spread his bedroll on the ground beside the saddle and motioned her to sit. "Why don't you relax."

"But, I've been asleep," she answered as she sat on a corner of the blanket and leaned back against the saddle. Absently, she braided her hair in one thick cord. "There was nothing else to do inside the box while I was waiting for you."

"Good." He rolled onto the bedroll and handed her his rifle. "Then you keep guard."

Without another word, he spread the quilt atop them both, lay on his back, and pulled his hat down over his face.

Lacy waited for him to say more. Surely he didn't
plan to sleep out here in the middle of nowhere? They could have both walked and let the horse rest. There was no need to stop. She wanted to get to Bailee. Nell must be there by now, and they'd all be worried sick about her.

"Captain?" She tried to see under his hat.

He didn't move.

"Captain?" She tapped his arm that rested a few inches from her leg.

Walker raised his hat slowly. "Yes?"

"Shouldn't we be moving on? The others will be worried by now. Maybe we could make it as far as Carter's place by nightfall. If you're worried about me, I can go farther. I'm not all that tired."

He seemed to think about her plan for a minute. "Carter and Jacob know you're with me. They'll assume you're safe." He put his hat back over his face, apparently planning to end the conversation.

"But," Lacy hurried to add, "if it's three or four hours to the fort, it must be even farther to Cedar Point. I've never been down this road, but I've heard it's a hard day's journey on a good horse."

"Your point?" Walker said without raising his hat.

"My point is, we'll be forever getting home as it is, and you're taking a nap."

He didn't answer, so she poked him. "Captain?"

The hat slowly rose from his face, and to her surprise, he looked angry. "I've had no sleep for two nights. In fact, I'm not sure I've had much in the way of sleep since I got ordered to come watch over you. Trooper needs a few hours' rest. I wasn't aware we planned to visit during the time."

Lacy lay the rifle at her side and leaned down so that she could see his eyes better. "I slept most of the time I was in that coffin. There wasn't anything else to do while I waited for you to show up."

"You seem to have the ability to sleep anywhere." He raised one eyebrow. "Whereas I need someplace quiet." His last word echoed across the small clearing.

"I understand." She straightened back up, lifted the rifle, and resumed her guard. The man had held her so tight when he'd saved her. He'd even brushed the top of her head with his chin as if loving having her back with him. Only now she was here, he seemed to have little interest in talking to her.

He moved the hat back in place over his face and pulled the quilt to his shoulder.

Lacy waited, trying to be still. The fire warmed the air a little and the saddle kept her back from the cold, but she wasn't comfortable. She pulled off one glove and felt her nose. Cold. She tried to rub it warm, then gave up and decided just to let it freeze off. After all, Walker probably wouldn't notice.

"Captain?"

"Yes," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry to bother you again, but you haven't had time to get to sleep. I still don't understand why you think we're going to the fort. If we're not going to Bailee and Carter's place, we should be heading home."

"We're not going back to Cedar Point. You'll be safer at the fort."

"But—"

He raised his hat again. "Cedar Point is not safe. This was the third time someone's tried to do you harm. I'll not take the risk again."

"But I don't want to go anywhere. We'll take precautions. I have the paper to get out and the cats to feed. I can't just leave."

"Lacy, we're going to the fort." He closed his eyes, ending the discussion.

She poked him in the shoulder once more, anger building. "So what you're saying is I have no choice. You saved me from those two idiots only to kidnap me again."

"I'm not kidnapping you," he mumbled through the hat.

"What do you call taking someone by force where they don't want to go?"

Walker tossed his hat, giving up on the idea of sleeping as he rose to one elbow and swore.

As always, Lacy's temper exploded first. "Take me back to the mismatched morons. At least they kept me warm in the box. If you left them still breathing, maybe they'll take pity on me and agree to rekidnap me. As least when I was with them, I was heading somewhere, not sitting in the middle of nowhere."

She tossed aside the quilt he'd spread over her legs and tried to pull her skirt away so she could stand, but she'd wiggled so much, her legs were tangled in yards and layers of material.

Walker sat up and placed his hand over her arm. "Lacy, settle down," he said, trying not to make it sound like an order. "I'm not making you go to the fort. It's the closest place from here where I know you'll be safe. Once there, we can telegraph the sheriff, and he'll get word to Carter and the others that you're all right."

She didn't comment.

"Besides," he continued, "if Whitaker thinks you're dead, he won't expect the paper to be up and running. Look at it as a little time off."

She stopped struggling. He was right, of course, but she wasn't ready to admit it.

Walker dragged his fingers through his hair. "Look, Trooper's carried me most of yesterday and all night. He needs to rest for a few hours."

She nodded, guessing he'd figured out she'd never let an animal suffer. "All right. We'll rest. Then I'll go to the fort. But only long enough to plan how to get back home."

"Good." He relaxed back on his elbow and spread the blanket over her. Then, as casually as if he'd done it a thousand times before, he lay his head in her lap and rested his arm across her knees.

Lacy sat very still. She wasn't sure if he were just getting comfortable or making certain she didn't try to bolt while he slept. His breathing grew slow and regular as she watched his features relax in sleep. He shifted once, pressing his cheek against her coat.

"Captain?" she whispered.

"Mmm?" He didn't open his eyes.