WM02 - Texas Princess (32 page)

“Oh, they won’t know anything is wrong until morning. We have hours and I’m only asking for a few minutes.”

He offered her his laced hands as a step and she swung

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into the saddle. A moment later he was behind her holding the reins in front of her while trying not to touch her.

“I’l tel you where to go as soon as we get near Elmo’s Trading Post.” She held her back stiff and kept her voice formal. “While I col ect my things, I think you should get me a horse.”

“We’ve already thought of that detail, miss. We have an extra one waiting for you at camp. I’l just stand guard while you retrieve your belongings.”

Neither said another word. She needed time to think and Warren seemed occupied watching the shadows for any sign of trouble.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at Mrs. Dickerson’s house.

The poor woman looked frightened when she answered the door but managed a smile as she recognized Liberty. A moment later she turned a raised eyebrow at the stranger who fol owed Liberty into her parlor that doubled as a classroom.

Warren’s tal thin frame with a rie crossed over his arms looked out of place in the tiny school.

Liberty gave her no time to talk or ask questions. She insisted on picking up her things left in Stel a’s room. Al the while she talked, she moved between the desks toward the back of the room where a stairway rose, pul ing Mrs. Dickerson in her wake.

Warren, thankful y, took up his station at the room’s only window.

When Mrs. Dickerson looked confused, Liberty said simply, “Please show me the bundles left for me. I’m sure they’re there even though you may not have noticed.”

When the teacher hesitated, Liberty added with a tug, “I may need your help in nding my things.”

Mrs. Dickerson nal y seemed to catch on to the game. She took the lead and moved up the stairs, frowning when Warren fol owed. When he stood at attention on the top landing, she said, “You know, my third husband was in the cavalry.”

Warren eyed her with a raised eyebrow.

Mrs. Dickerson smiled. “I can always tel the stance of a military man, with or without a uniform.”

Liberty passed the teacher and walked into the rst room. She lifted a slate and chalk from the smal table by the bed as Mrs. Dickerson told Warren details of her life as a sol-dier’s wife.

Warren looked uncomfortable at the old woman’s complaining. When she fol owed Liberty into the bedroom, he waited in the hal . He seemed to have no desire to continue his conversation with Mrs. Dickerson.

Liberty turned her back to him and scribbled, “Tel Mc-Murrays I’m being
taken
north to fort. Tel Tobin
not
to fol ow.”

Mrs. Dickerson made a fuss of looking under the bed and in several drawers. When she asked Warren to hand her the lamp in the hal way, Liberty slipped her the slate.

In one glance the teacher read the message and looked up at Liberty. Her thin eyebrow lifted, sending ripples of wrinkles across half her forehead.

Liberty whispered, “Do you understand what is happening?”

Mrs. Dickerson glanced back to the door as Warren returned. She leaned to check beneath the pil ows and when she straightened the slate had disappeared. “I can think of one other place to look,” she said loud enough for Warren to hear. “She might have left something in the laundry.”

The old woman took the lamp from Warren and crossed the hal . A moment later she returned with a smal bundle of clothes. “Reach and hand me that carpetbag on the shelf, young man.”

Warren did as told. He even held it open while she stuffed it with her nd.

“I’m sorry, Miss Liberty,” Mrs. Dickerson said. “I would have washed these right away if I knew you’d be leaving so soon.”

“Oh, that is al right.” Liberty took the bag. “I thank you for keeping them for me.” She fought down a laugh. Mrs. Dickerson had taken to the farce like a pro.

They moved to the door, forcing Warren to head down the

stairs ahead of them. “Thank you,” Liberty whispered. “You’re welcome. I’l expect you back soon for tea.” Liberty wished she could tel Mrs. Dickerson just how much trouble she was in, but at least she knew Tobin would not come for her. She’d be safe, at least until she reached the fort and Samuel found time to be alone with her, but if Tobin fol owed he’d be outnumbered.

chapter 25

Y

Tobin hit the bridge at full gallop. Daybreak

already dusted the eastern horizon. If he managed to move away from the camp unnoticed and if no one checked on him to see that their prisoner was stil tied, Tobin

gured he had two, maybe three, hours’ head start on the soldiers.

He waved at the braves on guard and knew they’d be no match for the storm of a dozen trained soldiers. Though he hated to lose time, he had to let them know he only wanted them to re one shot when trouble crossed, then disappear into the trees. He no longer needed warning if someone came; he only needed to know when. The soldiers might already be riding toward Whispering Mountain, but with luck, he and Libby would be wel into the mountains before the Apache red off a shot.

Tobin spoke to the two Apache in their native tongue. They nodded and began breaking camp sensing their time on guard would be ending soon. Al his life Tobin had felt his grandfather watching over them, but the old man never interfered. In his eyes his daughter had joined the white man’s tribe when she’d married Andrew McMurray, and

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her destiny, as wel as the destiny of her children, lay with them.

Tobin whirled his mount and rushed for the house. Minutes later he wasn’t surprised to see Sage, ful y dressed, running toward him from the barn. By the time he slowed his horse, Teagen had stepped out on the porch.

“You’re home,” Teagen stated the obvious. “Good, that sorrel mare is getting close to giving birth.”

“We’ve got trouble.” Tobin barely heard Teagen’s words as he dismounted and ran toward them.

“More than you know.” Sage gulped for air. “Liberty’s gone.”

Tobin slowed. “She’s already safely in the mountains?” He spoke his hope even though he knew from the faces of his siblings that his words couldn’t be true. Teagen looked surprised. Sage showed only worry.

Sage shook her head. “She must have left some time in the night. She apparently took Sunny, but he returned a few minutes ago. I just nished cooling him down.”

Teagen was the only one who didn’t look worried. “Maybe she just went for a ride. We al know Sunny heads for home if he gets the chance.”

Tobin hadn’t slept in two days. It took his tired mind a few seconds to run through al the possible explanations. She wouldn’t have gone riding by herself and certainly not before dawn. No one could have gotten onto the ranch and taken her out, not with the ranger watching from the bunkhouse and the guards at the bridge. Even if someone could have made it onto the ranch and passed the old ranger, Teagen was asleep next to Liberty’s room, and Travis slept directly downstairs. One of his brothers would have heard something. Travis woke when the rst snow fel each winter.

There was only one way she could have left ...under her own power. Liberty had chosen to leave. But why?

Maybe she’d thought she needed to help him? Maybe she wanted away from him? He tried to remember what the ght they’d had earlier had been about. How could he remember being angry at her and not remember why?

Tobin continued to try to think of some reason she would leave while he told his brothers about the camp of soldiers. Travis came in halfway through and started asking questions in rapid re.

“They’l be on their way here as soon as they discover I’m gone,” Tobin said.

“Great.” Travis shrugged. “Sage said when she was in town she heard talk of men organizing to come out here and save Liberty thanks to al the lies that maid of hers told. Mrs. Dickerson mentioned they planned to have a meeting last night and organize.”

“Drink, you mean,” Sage said.

Teagen shook his head. “We’ve got townspeople coming from one direction and soldiers from the other.” He tossed his brothers ries. “With any luck they’l al run into one another at the bridge and start ghting over who gets to kil us rst.” Teagen didn’t crack a smile, leaving his brothers to wonder if he was serious or joking.

When he handed Sage a rie, she straightened proudly.

Teagen said what was on al their minds. “We’re in agreement. No one steps foot on McMurray land uninvited.”

They al nodded. For a moment, no one said a word. They just stared at one another, knowing they were al thinking the same thing. Today they’d ght, maybe even die, but they’d stand or fal together.

They’d fol ow the rst rule their father set down on paper almost twenty years ago. No one invades McMurray land.

Tobin glanced at Sage. The brothers had spent their lives protecting her from harm, but she was an adult now ...and more... She was a McMurray.

Teagen took charge. “Travis, make sure your wife and Martha know what is going on.

Their safest hiding place might be the cel ar.”

Rainey stepped outside. “I heard everything, Teagen, and I stand with my husband.

Martha can take Duck to the cel ar.”

Travis shook his head as he blocked her way. “No, Rainey.”

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He widened his stance as if preparing to ght the little woman before him. “Darlin’, you can’t risk being hurt, not now.”

She touched his arm gently, having no fear of the bear within her husband. “I can’t risk losing you now.”

Tobin noticed the look they exchanged. Love and worry. The kind of love that lasts a lifetime.

Rainey didn’t back down.

Final y, Travis ended the standoff. “Take one of the ries to the upstairs window, Rainey. You’l have more cover there but stil be able to re if they storm the place.”

“I’l take another window.” Sage looked at her sister-in-law. “These ries are heavy. If the ring lasts a while, we’l be glad we have the window sil to use as a brace.”

Rainey nodded and they moved inside as Travis and Teagen loaded al the extra ries and stacked them along the railing while Tobin saddled the horses and brought them around to the back of the house. No one planned to leave, but it wouldn’t hurt to have horses ready to ride.

Duck ran onto the porch with Martha yel ing for him. He took one look at what was happening and jumped toward Travis.

The tough ranger held his son tightly for a few seconds and then pushed him away enough to see the little boy’s face. “You got to go with Martha, son.”

He shook his head wildly.

Teagen lifted him from Travis’s arms. “We need you, Duck,” Teagen said. “You’re the next generation of Mc-Murrays. You’re the most valuable thing we got on this ranch, so just for today we want to know you’re safe.”

Teagen spoke to Duck, but he looked at his brothers as he said, “If something happens to us, there’s a letter in the bottom drawer of the desk in the library.”

Tobin hadn’t heard those words for twenty years, but he remembered his father saying them as if it were yesterday.

The tiny boy looked from one of the McMurrays to the other. Tears bubbled over his eyes and down his cheeks, but he nodded. Teagen passed him back to Travis, and Travis held him tightly as he walked back inside and handed the boy, their future, over to Martha.

When Travis stepped back outside he didn’t look up. He just reached for his rie preparing to do what had to be done.

Tobin looked at his brothers. The three of them were nothing like the children of yesterday, but they al believed the same thing. No matter what. Hold the ranch.

The brothers spread across the porch watching a winter sun sparkle across their land as peaceful y as it had for years.

“Do you think they know Liberty is gone?” Teagen asked in a low voice.

“No,” Tobin answered. “From what I heard at the camp, the soldiers were just waiting for a scout named Warren to return and then they planned to attack. But now that I’ve escaped, my guess is they won’t wait on him.”

Travis grunted. “If the town is ring up after a night of drinking, they’re probably on their way as wel . The ones sober enough to stay on their horses should be here soon.”

Tobin didn’t comment. He’d heard Travis’s stories of when the Texas Rangers had to deal with mobs. The men coming from town wouldn’t be in any mood to listen to reason. Though they probably couldn’t shoot straight, they might hit someone by accident. Tobin had no desire to shoot anyone, but if they came he’d have to ght.

Seconds ticked by. No one moved. Tobin thought of how much he loved this place his father had found. He loved the hil s at his back and the rivers that bordered. He loved the way the wind sounded in the trees and how frost blanketed the rocks in winter.

This one spot of earth offered him al the beauty and comfort he’d ever wanted.

Until now. Now he ached for the sight of Liberty. She drove him nuts most of the time.

Bossy as a general. Pampered like a princess. But he missed her so badly even his bones ached. The knowledge that she’d left him wil ingly bled like an open wound across his soul. He’d always thought they’d have time to say good-bye. Maybe they’d share one last night together . . . one last night to remember.

Why had she run? If not from him. Not from here. Then why? If she wasn’t running from something, she had to be running to something, but what?

He knew how she felt, how she smel ed, how she tasted, but he had no idea how she thought. She was afraid of horses, afraid of riding, afraid of the dark, yet she’d ridden out alone in the night. He might never get the chance to ask her.

“Something’s coming over the bridge.” Teagen’s warning jerked Tobin out of his thoughts. The brothers raised their ries. A few minutes later, a buggy cleared the bridge. “It’s a trick,” Teagen said, without lowering his rie.

“Five men could be hiding inside.”

Tobin watched, thinking his brother must be right, but as the buggy rol ed closer he saw only one person. The Apache on guard hadn’t red a shot. They must have seen no danger.

“It’s Mrs. Dickerson.” Travis laughed as he lowered his rie. “Great, the old woman has come to cal again. She’s like a stray cat. We shouldn’t have fed her those jel y sandwiches.”