Beautiful Bandit (Lone Star Legends) (8 page)

As Josh had stoked the fire, he shared his own account of being stranded for nearly a week in a shelter just like this one. It had poured steadily for days, he said, filling the Rio Grande to overflowing. Fascinated by the tale—and the man who told it—Kate slumped onto the seat of a rickety, wooden chair, propped both elbows on the table, and rested her chin in her upturned palms. Josh told them how the waters had come closer and closer, hour by hour, to the door, and how, by the time they had reached the porch, he’d run out of food and had taken to eating bugs and sodden weeds. Kate sat there and listened, spellbound.

And that’s when he put the poker down and caught her staring.

All three Rangers turned in their seats to see why he’d stopped talking so suddenly, and why his expression had changed from intense concentration to fond warmth. They chuckled when he winked at her, and when he sent her a flirty grin, their bawdy laughter bounced off every wall.

What a pickle he’d put her in! The Rangers were behaving like schoolboys, but they weren’t fools. If they entertained a wary thought or two about her, her reaction here could make the difference between looking like a woman in love—or a woman wanted by the law.

“Even after all this time,” she said, “he still has the power to make me blush like a schoolgirl.”

The men were quiet for all of a second before another round of boisterous laughter filled the room. Josh hadn’t taken his eyes off her, not once since he’d looked up and caught her staring. If his smile alone could double her heartbeats, even under such intimidating and crowded circumstances, how might she have reacted if she had gone ahead and embraced him when the whim had struck her?

Feigning a yawn, Kate got to her feet. “I hope our bedding is dry by now,” she said, testing the blankets that hung near the stove, “because I’m about to fall asleep standing.”

“Just like a horse!” Shorty said.

His comment reminded her that all of their horses were out there in that awful weather. She couldn’t imagine being tied to a post while the wind blew the rain sideways, not to mention the blinding lightning and deafening thunder.

She didn’t understand the emotions tumbling in her head and in her heart. Before Frank had kidnapped her, she’d always been a realist, a both-feet-on-the-ground woman who took pride in how far she’d come in life by dint of hard work, stubborn determination, and keen instinct. She understood the impracticality of bringing the horses inside, but that didn’t stop her heart from aching for them. They worked so hard, endured so much, and didn’t ask for more than some hay or oats and enough water to wash them down. How unfair and unkind it seemed, making them stand out there in that mess.

Without warning, her eyes filled with tears, and her lower lip began to quiver.

Though she tried to hide it, Josh saw.

“Now look what you’ve gone and done.”

All eyes were on her. So much for trying not to call attention to herself.

Then, Shorty jabbed a thumb into his chest. “Who, me?”

Stretch and Gus echoed the question in turn.

“Sounds like a flock of owls in here,” said Josh.

The Rangers gave that a moment of thought. Then Gus said, “Aw, there ain’t no such thing.” When the others frowned in confusion, he explained, “Owls travel alone. Don’t you boys know nothin’?”

“Hmpf.” Stretch shook his head. “For your information, professor, owls don’t travel. They fly.”

“If flyin’ ain’t travelin’, I sure as shootin’ don’t know what to call it.”

The conversation went from abstract to silly in a matter of seconds, and in the silence that followed Gus’s last remark, Kate’s stifled sobs became a fit of giggles.

“Land sakes,” Stretch said to Josh, “you better hope that young’un of hers gets born sooner, not later.” He held one hand beside his face, hiding his pointer finger behind it. “She’ll drive you plumb loco if she keeps this up!”

Gus harrumphed, then stood up and stomped over to the corner where he’d tossed his bedroll. “I’ve had enough jabber-jawin’ for one night.” With two flicks of his wrists, he made himself a pallet on the floor. “I sure as shootin’ hope you fellers don’t aim to keep those lanterns glowin’ all the blessed night,” he growled. “We’ve got a long, hard ride ahead of us tomorrow.”

Shorty took a peek at his pocket watch. “Gus is right. Maybe, if we all just turn in, the storm will blow over, and we can head on out of here come daylight.”

“What time is it?” Kate asked him.

He snapped his watch shut. “Eight-o-five.” Without another word, he fixed himself a bed across from Gus. He’d barely made himself comfortable when he sat up. “I’ve got it!”

“What’s got you bellowing like a bull moose?” Stretch asked.

“I know why our little mama-to-be looks familiar.”

While her heart hammered, Shorty grinned. If he realized she’d been featured on a wanted poster, would that have been his reaction?

Hopefully not.

“Don’t she put you in mind of your sister, Stretch? The youngest one, who lives in Abilene?”

Stretch sat up, too, and stared so hard at Kate that she thought surely her blushing cheeks would catch fire.

“Y’know,” the man said, “I have to admit that she does favor Rosa some. Mostly, around the eyes.” He nodded, then settled back onto his bedroll. “Now that you’ve solved your little mystery, you think we can maybe get some sleep around here?”

“Yeah,” Gus barked. “Like I keep sayin’, we have a lot of territory to cover tomorrow.” He flapped his blanket. “And you newlyweds keep the billin’ and cooin’ to a minimum, now, y’hear?”

Stretch chuckled. “Seems the least you can do since we left you both of the cots, so’s the li’l mother-to-be can get a good night’s sleep.”

Josh sent her a silent message by way of those oh-so-blue eyes, but Kate couldn’t manage to decipher it. She rubbed her temples and tried to remain calm. How had things gotten so far out of control?

She’d gone along with the charade to keep the Rangers from guessing her true identity. Thankfully, the plan had worked—so far. But, now, she faced a whole new dilemma, for in going along with the plot, she’d inadvertently dragged Josh into her quagmire of a life. Earlier, Stretch had said that after a good night’s sleep, things would look fine. She wanted to believe that, but something told her things wouldn’t be fine for Kate Wellington, aka Dinah Theodore, for a very long time. If ever.

10

Last night, amid the men’s droning snores, Kate had spent hours tossing and turning, despite the fact that Josh, bless his kindhearted soul, had stacked his mattress on top of hers for extra padding. He’d made himself a bed of blankets on the floor and, to quiet her protests, insisted it was cooler down there.

But she’d known better.

The shack had been constructed from the crudest of materials. A mere twelve inches off the ground, the warped and sagging floorboards acted like a wick, drawing moisture from the rain-soaked earth beneath them. Kate told him the Rangers were feeling the damp and the chill of this stormy night, and, as proof, she’d pointed out the way each had burrowed deep beneath his blanket.

“Every one of us has slept outside on nights this bad, or worse,” he’d quietly countered. “This beats trying to catch a few winks in the blinding rain. I know it, and so do they.”

And, with that, he’d turned the lamp down so low that it barely glowed at all and had fallen promptly to sleep, leaving Kate wide awake to ponder her situation. All through the night, though the rain drummed loudly on the shack’s roof and the wind rattled its walls, Josh and the Rangers slept soundly. Maybe he hadn’t exaggerated, and the little hovel’s shelter seemed like a mansion compared to the conditions outdoors. Between snores, Kate heard Shorty’s pocket watch counting the endless, slow-moving minutes and reminding her that her chances of living a normal life were ticking away, steady beat by steady beat.

Shortly before dawn, Kate was relieved to hear the wind die down and the rain stop falling. She sneaked outside to check on the horses, feeding them oats and then treating them to one bite apiece of the carrots Josh had bought for Callie. He treated that horse better than her stepfather had treated her mama, and far better than Frank had treated her! If he could show that much caring and thoughtfulness to his horse….

She couldn’t afford to entertain such thoughts. Kate sat down on the front porch step, her chin perched on her fist, as she recalled the few young men who’d inspired notions of a home and family—and had made hasty retreats the minute she’d declared that she intended to stand at the altar with a soul as pure-white as her wedding gown. She didn’t think she’d ever live long enough to figure out why they’d believed a girl with no parents deserved less respect than the girls with whom they’d gone to school and attended church. With every passing year, her dream of marriage and children had seemed less likely to come true, and her belief that she’d die a lonely, solitary death had sharpened.

And then, along came Frank, with his swashbuckling charm and lavish lifestyle, treating her as though she were a gift from heaven and saying everything she so desperately needed to hear.

Disgusted, she got to her feet and paced the only grassy spot near the shack. “Fool,” she scolded herself. “Stupid little ninny.”

She heard footsteps, but not in time to silence herself.

“What’re you doing out here all alone, talking to yourself?” Josh asked, placing his hands on his hips.

The sight of his handsome face sent a shiver down her spine. She caught sight of the coffeepot brimming with clear rainwater and said, “Just trying to figure out how I’m going to make coffee without waking our guests.”

He took a small step closer to her. “I wouldn’t worry about it. They’re the ones who said they have a lot of ground to cover today.”

This was how it had begun with Frank, and she’d rather die than go through that again! Kate hurried for the porch and retrieved the coffeepot. “Guess I’ll get this on the stove. The water’s ice-cold. It’ll probably take forever to heat up.”

One blond brow rose in response to her abrupt departure and change of topic. “Well,” he started, “just don’t keep to yourself too much.”

She might have asked why if he hadn’t quickly added in a low voice, “Wouldn’t want to rouse their suspicion. Again.”

His remark reminded Kate that her resemblance to a Ranger’s sister had already stirred some misgivings about her. Thanks to Stretch, the matter had been cleared up, at least in the Rangers’ minds.

While the coffee brewed, she busied herself trying to pull together some semblance of a breakfast. As the men devoured the oatmeal mush and sad flapjacks made from stale flour and sugar Kate had found stored in rusting, dented tins in the cupboard, she thought of the stories she’d read as a little girl about knights in shining armor who rescued damsels in distress. Though Josh rode a dapple gray instead of a great white steed, he’d saved her all the same.

With trembling hands, Kate poured the coffee. She barely heard the chorus of thank-yous as she distributed the steaming mugs, because her head was too full of memories of all the thoughtful things Josh had done since finding her on that cold, frightening night.

Josh’s fingers touched hers when he accepted his cup, and the brief caress lit a boyish light in his long-lashed eyes. But she didn’t trust herself to make smart decisions about men. Especially not after Frank. Besides, what if Frank was out there somewhere, skulking in the hills, waiting for the Rangers to leave so he could make good on his promise? “I’ll slit your throat if you leave,” he’d threatened her more than once, “to keep you from testifying against me.” As long as Josh stayed with her, he was in just as much danger as she saw.

Josh had said he lived in Eagle Pass, but Kate didn’t know where, precisely. He’d mentioned a big family, but she didn’t know if it included a wife and children. He’d talked about his ranch, but it could be the size of the shack or as vast as the horizon, for all she knew. Had he really been on his way home from San Antonio when he’d found her? Or had that been just another chapter of his “follow my lead” story to keep her from knowing the truth?

If it had been a lie, it meant he had his own secrets, and the thought sent a shiver down her spine. During her hours with him, Josh hadn’t provided many details about himself, partly because she’d been so wrapped up in self-centered thoughts about her own problems that she hadn’t asked. Yet, unless he’d robbed a bank and murdered innocent civilians, he was still too good for the likes of her.

Kate sighed, tired of whipping that same, dead horse. Self-pity was an ugly thing, and she needed to shed it, and shed it fast. What this situation called for was a healthy dose of acceptance. Maybe then you can stop dwelling on thoughts about “poor, poor, pitiful me.”

An hour later, as the scents of male sweat, wet leather, and strong coffee mixed with the sticky air, Kate didn’t so much as crinkle her nose. What business did she have complaining about anything? Days ago, she’d escaped the vicious hands of the vile Frank Michaels and staggered into a stranger’s camp, and she hadn’t wanted for a single thing since then, thanks to Josh.

He was sitting in the chair he’d ended up sleeping in, tilting back on two legs and leaning against the wall nearest the door, with both arms folded over his broad chest and one booted foot crossed over the other. As Kate gazed at his weather-worn, lightly whiskered face, she fought the affection smoldering inside her. If he did have a wife, how much like a princess she must feel to wake beside him, care for him, and be cared for by him. That, Kate decided, was the stuff fairy tales were made of!