Castroville: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 7 (17 page)

     Stacey looked at Randy.

     “Thank you for helping my daughter, Ranger, and helping to keep her safe.”

     Randy smiled.

     “I believe you have it all wrong, ma’am. Sara was surprised the first time we met that I was quoting Shakespeare. She said it wasn’t something she expected of a cowboy lawman who lived most of his life on the back of a horse. I told her even cowboys can be refined to a certain degree.

     “She asked me to define her, and I said, ‘tho she be but little, she is fierce.’

     “And I think that sums her up perfectly. She had my back out there, and I’d go back into combat with her again anytime.”

     Tom started to speak and the others turned to him.

     The words didn’t come easy through a mouth that was still badly swollen, through teeth that were broken and lips that were badly bruised.

     But they were patient with him.

     “And don’t forget the little runt saved my life. I’ll certainly never forget it. Sometimes even a young pup can teach an old dog new tricks.”

     Sara beamed with pride. She’d proven her mettle, and hearing herself praised by two peace officers gave her self-esteem a big boost. She didn’t know it yet, but in the days ahead she’d have some restless nights about taking the lives of two men.

     But in the end, she’d put her reservations to rest in the knowledge that she had indeed saved the lives of good people by doing what she did.

     Stacey asked Randy, “What are your plans for tomorrow, sir?”

     “I’m going to spend most of my time in town, spreading the word that the town is now under the protection of the Texas Rangers, and that anyone who isn’t comfortable with that should move on. Then I’m going to find a man named Wes Kirtland.”

     Sara was puzzled.

     “Who is Wes Kirtland?”

    Randy pulled a list of names and addresses from his jacket pocket. Sara had seen it before, when he showed it to her and Tom on the trail to Castroville. He’d offered to share it with them, if they wanted to take the time to copy it longhand.

     “His name is on the list of preppers who were able to save ham radios after the blackout. He’s one of the volunteers who’s helping the Rangers communicate from the field. And he lives on a ranch just east of here.”

     “So you’re going to call Ranger Headquarters? What are you going to tell them?”

     “That Castroville is a little bit safer today than it was yesterday. That I’m going to spend a couple or three more days to chase off some more of the bad element. That I have no prisoners to bring to Austin this time. That they’ve gone to the big jailhouse in the sky. And that I’m ready for my next assignment.”

     Sara was crushed.

     “I was hoping you’d stay here until Tom’s ready to travel. Maybe ride part of the way back to Junction with us.”

     “Maybe. Depends on where they send me and when Tom’s able to saddle up again.”

     Tom interjected.

     “I can saddle up just fine.”

     Annie would have none of that.

     “Saddling up isn’t the hard part. Any fool cowboy can get in the saddle with a leg cast. It’s getting back down that’s the tricky part. The cast I put on you is sufficient for healing, but it won’t take the constant beating of hopping down off a pony several times a day. You need to sit here for at least a week. Ten days would be better.”

     Tom said, “My, you’re a bossy little lady, aren’t you?”

     He tried to smile, but it hurt too much.

     She took it with the spirit in which it was intended.

     “You’re darn tootin’. And I’m not above going out to that elm tree outside and cuttin’ off a switch, if that’s what it takes to make you mind me.”

     Sara said, “Maybe the Rangers won’t have an assignment for you. Maybe you can get some time off.”

     Randy laughed.

     “The Rangers
always
have an assignment. There are still an awful lot of little towns with situations just like Castroville.”

-36-

     The sunrises in Texas are one of her best kept secrets. They are the prettiest sunrises in all the world. Any Texan will say that. And they’re not biased at all.

     Not much, anyway.

     God blessed Texas with four more such sunrises before Ranger Randy prepared to mount up and ride out to Pearland.

     Sara had asked, “Where the hell is that?”

     Randy had rolled his eyes.

     “Not far from Houston. And do you seriously have to use that language?”

     “No. I only do because I know it bugs you.”

     She smiled, then hugged him goodbye.

     “Am I ever gonna see you again, Ranger?”

     “I don’t know. Probably. If my travels take me anywhere near Junction I’ll stop by. I hope you’re not trigger happy when friends come to call.”

     “Not usually. But I’ll try to make an exception in your case.”

     He wrote down a radio frequency on a piece of paper and handed it to her.

     “If you folks ever need the Rangers’ help, or want to get a message to me, you call in.”

     She took the paper from him and said, “Just as long as you promise me I’ll never call in and hear them tell me you’re dead.”

     He smiled.

     “Well, I can’t promise you that. But I’ll promise I’ll do whatever I can do to keep it from happening.”

     He rode off that day leaving behind a teary-eyed Sara. Even old Tom, tough as he was, had moist eyes. Both knew they had befriended and gone to war with one of the best that Texas had to offer. And both hoped to see him again someday.

     During the four days Randy spent cleaning up the streets of Castroville Tom started to heal.

     Sara and Stacey started to mend fences long thought unmendable.

     Sara forgave her mother for not standing up and doing more to defend her from her abusive step-father. The more Sara learned about the situation, the more she came to realize that her mother was a victim too. Just as abused and just as helpless.

     Now they talked mostly of the future. About their return to the compound near Junction, and what their new lives together would be like.

     Randy had passed a message from Wes Kirtland’s ham radio to Scott and Linda at the compound. And to Jordan, Sara’s husband. Their mission was successful, the message said. Sara and Tom were able to find Stacey and all three were alive and well.

     That last part wasn’t entirely true. Randy had to grit his teeth when he said that part, because he was normally an honest and straightforward man. But he agreed with Sara on this one. There was no reason for anyone to know of Tom’s injuries, or the way he’d barely escaped death at the hands of a madman. It would just make them worry about what other troubles they might encounter on their way home.

     The first part of Randy’s message to Scott and Linda brought joy and celebration to those still in the compound. The last part, that Sara and Stacey would bring with them a big surprise, was a matter of great speculation. Sara hadn’t told Randy exactly what the surprise was, for fear he’d spill the beans. Linda tried her level best to get Randy to tell, but he honestly didn’t know.

     Tom asked her after Randy had left what surprise she was referring to.

     “Well, let me give you a hint, Tom. It has something to do with a little bundle of cuteness back in San Antonio.”

     Millicent was a sweet young girl of eleven they’d met on their way through San Antonio a couple of weeks before. She was orphaned, having lost everyone she knew in the violence that followed the blackout, or in the plague which came later on.

     Tom had his reservations.

     “Oh no,” he said. You just can’t show up with another mouth to feed. Another lost soul to take care of. You surprise your husband with candy or a good meal. You don’t surprise him with a new daughter.”

     “You don’t know Jordan like I do, Tom. He loves children, and he’s the best father I’ve ever known. He’ll accept Millicent as though she was his own flesh and blood. I know he will. And you’re wrong. You
can
just show up with another mouth to feed, another lost soul to take care of.

     “I know because they’ve done it before.
Jordan
has done it before. Long before we ever met you, on the day of the blackout, Jordan took in another mouth to feed. Another lost soul to take care of. It was me, and I never would have survived if he hadn’t had the heart to do that.

     “This is simply my chance to follow his lead. And to help out someone else by doing the same thing. Jordan will accept her as his own daughter, I know he will. You’ll see.”

     “I know he will, sweetheart. I just don’t think this is something you just spring on someone, that’s all.”

     “Oh, quit being a worry wart, Tom. Jordan won’t mind. As soon as he sees Millicent for the first time his heart will melt. Just like mine did. And yours did too. I saw it in your eyes. Don’t you dare deny it or I’ll break your good leg and you’ll have two casts to wear.”

     Annie interrupted long enough to ask, “Tom, how’s your leg feeling, anyway? Think you’ll be able to travel soon?”

     “I can put a little bit of weight on it now. Not enough to put the full weight of my body as I step down off my horse, but I’m guessing that’s only a couple of days away.”

     He nodded in Sara’s direction. “Of course, I might need you to protect me from this little alley cat, so you don’t have to set my other leg as well.”

-37-

     Four more Texas sunrises came and went before Tom decided he was able to get on and off his horse with his lower leg in a cast.

     Annie had cautioned him about spending ten to twelve hours a day in the saddle.

     “You strike me as a cowboy of old, Tom.”

     “Meaning what, exactly?”

     “Meaning you’re as comfortable in a saddle as others are sitting at a desk, working on a computer all day long. At least in the old days, when we had such things as computers.”

     “We still have them,” Sara interjected. “They make great paperweights and boat anchors.”

     “My point is that you’re the type of man who can spend all day in a saddle, seeing the best of the countryside, without ever feeling any discomfort or boredom.”

     “Well, that part you have right. But why are you bringing that up?”

     “Because such activity could be bad for your health. While you’re in the saddle for so many hours of the day, your horse will get plenty of exercise. But you won’t. You’ll just be sitting there, your bad leg hanging down and making it hard for your blood to circulate through it.”

     “Yes. And that’s a concern why, exactly?”

     “Two reasons, actually. The lack of movement and circulation can cause blood clots to develop. And it can make it easier for infection to set in.”

     “So what’s your treatment plan, Doc?”

     “Don’t call me Doc. I was never a doctor. I never had the formal training. But I have picked up a few things in my life, and in my career as a nurse practitioner.”

     “Sorry. I meant no offense. From my viewpoint you’re smarter than any doctor I’ve ever known. What’s your treatment plan?”

     “I’m going to prescribe that you exercise at least four times throughout the day, each and every day, until you take that cast off six weeks from now.”

     “I’m afraid I won’t win any foot races. The best I’ll be able to do is a slow jog.”

     “Don’t be a smart-aleck, Mr. Haskins. It doesn’t become you.”

     Sara raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but smile. She loved to see Tom get scolded for his behavior.

     “What I mean is that I want you to drink plenty of fluids. You’ll have to do that anyway to help fight off infection. And that’ll do something else as well. For a man of your age, increased fluid intake will mean you’ll have to relieve yourself several times a day. That means you’ll have to climb on and off your horse several times a day, and will get some movement on that leg of yours.”