Heart Of Texas (Historical Romance) (26 page)

Gabe emerged from the shadows and opened the
door to the bunkhouse. He was careful not to
make a sound as he stepped across the floor. The
lone lantern cast a ring of light around the
Ranger as he sat with his head bent over a book.

"Come on in, Gabe. I've been expecting you."

Gabe stepped into the light. "No one hears me
if I don't want them to unless it's another Indian."

"Like you, I'm half Indian. My pa was a full-
blood Cherokee." He motioned to a chair. "Sit
down and ask your questions. I could see you were
full of them today in town."

"I spoke to Murdock. He told me some of what
I wanted to know. You must be really worried
about Cyrus if you are actually working undercover here on the Spanish Spur."

"Murdock told me a few things about you as
well. I imagine I know more about you than you'd
be comfortable with."

"I don't care what you think about me. My only
interest is keeping Casey and her family safe."

"She was shaken up about running into you in
town. I don't care what happened between the
two of you; I only want to do my job. You do know
we have your pa's place staked out?"

"I'm comforted by that: It should have been
done a long time ago."

"I met the two Hamilton kids today. Dammit,
how can your pa have done what he did to them?
That stampede could have killed them all."

"You need to understand about Cyrus-he
cares nothing for anyone except himself. And
when he wants something, he gets it one way or
another."

"That's why I'm here... to make sure he
doesn't get what he wants. People around here
are fed up with him. That day when you came to
see me, I figured it was time to act. If a man's own
son don't trust him, who will?"

"It's about time someone did something," Gabe
said, irritated. He stood and walked to the door.
"I'll just be going now. But I'm not far away. I'll
be keeping an eye on the Hamilton, too."

"I know where you're camped. I know where
Will Fletcher and your uncle are camped, too."

"Then if you need me for any reason, you know
where to find me."

"You must love her a great deal."

Gabe glanced up at the ceiling with his hands
on his hips. "More than you can imagine." He walked out onto the porch and stepped quickly
back into the shadows. Jenny was running across
the yard, and Sam was laughingly trying to catch
her. Casey stood on the porch, lovingly watching
over them.

Gabe felt the now familiar ache inside him. He
moved silently away and melted into the shadows,
but he could still hear their voices.

"You can't catch me," Jenny called breathlessly.

"Yes, I can," Sam said, grabbing her up and
set ding her in his arms.

Casey had been worrying for two days over what
Betsy had told her about Gabe. She had to know
everything, and there was only one person she
could go to for the truth.

Kate was watering her plants on the porch
when Casey approached her cabin.

"Looks like cold weather is coming," Kate said.
"I'll be needing to move these plants indoors before long."

"It is much cooler. I have put quilts on our
beds."

Kate broke a yellowed leaf from one of the
plants. "You didn't come here to talk 'bout the
weather or my plants, did ya?"

"No." Casey moved up the steps. "I could use a
cup of tea, and a good dose of the truth."

Kate smiled. "I got hot water on the stove. I was
just waiting for you to start questioning. I knowed you'd start putting the pieces together and see
they didn't fit."

Casey followed Kate into the house and to the
kitchen. "Betsy, the most unlikely person, made
me question my conclusions. She told me Gabe
despised his father."

"With his yardstick of honor, Gabe could not
take to his pa's way of doing things. He could
never forgive Cyrus for Nora's death."

Casey took the little woman's hand. "Can you
ever forgive me for the unkind things I said to
you?"

Kate patted Casey's hand. "Shucks, hon, you
was just mixed up in your feelings. And it did look
bad, Gabe not telling you that Cyrus was his pa.
I'd have probably thought the same thing, if I'd
been you."

Casey sat down at the table. "Tell me everything."

Kate grinned. "I can do better than that. I can
tell you where Gabe is. He never left you at all.
He's been Watching over you like a guardian angel." Her grin widened. "Well, Gabe ain't exactly
an angel. But he's watching over you all the
same."

Flint had heard the rider approaching before the
horse even came into view. With catlike quickness,
he flattened himself behind a tree. Gabe had chosen this location because they had a clear view of
the surrounding countryside.

He recognized that it was Miss Hamilton right
away. Flint glanced at Gabe, who was asleep on
his bedroll. Usually his cousin heard every sound,
but right now he slept in total exhaustion.

He knelt down and shook Gabe. "Wake up.
You're about to have company."

Gabe blinked groggily, trying to throw off his
sleep- drugged state. Then he immediately became alert and rolled to his feet. Moving quickly,
he hurriedly put on his boots.

"Your woman has come to you."

Flint moved away, blending in quickly with the
countryside. Only someone with Gabe's hearing
could have heard him lead his horse away and
mount up in the distance.

Gabe pushed his hand through his hair and
buttoned the top button of his shirt. When Casey
drew up to him, he nodded.

She watched him tuck his shirt into his waistband. "Forgive my appearance. I was sleeping," he
admitted.

It was midafternoon, and Gabe would never
have been sleeping at this time of day if he had
not been awake all night. Knowing him like she
did, she suspected he had been watching her
house to make sure her family was safe.

She dismounted in a flurry of petticoats. "I have
come to talk to you."

"I know already what you want to say, so you
can save your breath." He looked past her to Flint,
who was just riding over the hill. "I'm not here to spy on you for my father's sake, if that's what you
think."

He looked so tired and worried, she ached to
take him in her arms and comfort him. "You're
wrong. I don't think that way anymore."

His eyes widened slightly. "What made you arrive at that conclusion?"

"The most unlikely source-Betsy Turner."

"I seem to remember that name, but it was a
very long time ago." He nodded as recognition
hit him. "I do remember her."

Casey thought it was ironic that Betsy adored
Gabe while he hardly remembered her at all. It
was sad in a way.

"So," he said, breaking into her thoughts, "you
don't object to my camping on your land?"

There were so many things she wanted to say
to him. After talking to Kate, she knew Gabe's
reason for guarding her family-it was out of love
for his sister, Nora. The way Kate had put it,
"Gabe didn't want to watch any more innocent
people die."

She felt ashamed that she had misunderstood
his motives that night by the river. She had
thought he had been attracted to her as she had
been to him. She had blatantly enticed him into
making love to her. He never would have touched
her if she hadn't been so forward.

She met his gaze squarely and said in a straightforward manner, "You are free to camp here as
long as you want. I have no objections."

"And," he remarked dully, "you rode all the way
out here to tell me this?"

"No, that was not my reason. When you left, you
forgot to draw your wages. I have brought them
to you."

"I... No. Don't do this."

She was puzzled by his response when she held
several bills out to him, and he stepped away from
her. "You earned this money. Please take it."

He ignored her offering. "I earned nothing! I
wasn't there when you needed me the most."

"Kate told me where you were. It must have
been frustrating for you to find out that the law
wouldn't help you."

"Is there anything else?"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence between them. "No," she said at last. "Nothing else."

"Then there is no point to this, is there?" He
angrily took the money out of her hand and
stuffed it in her saddlebag. "You brought me the
money, and I refused it. End of conversation."

She felt a heavy sadness. "If that's the way you
want it. The money will be waiting for you should
you change your mind."

"I won't."

She could almost see the young boy finding his
sister dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
She remembered him telling her about the incident, and how her heart had gone out to that
young boy. She'd never imagined that he had
been speaking about himself.

There was nothing else to say, so she mounted
her horse. "Stay here as long as you like."

His hand went instinctively toward her and tension corded his muscles. He quickly turned away,
unwilling to watch her ride out of his life.

Gabe was not expecting his next visitor. He had
just taken a drink from his canteen when he
heard the rider approaching. The horse was coming from the direction of the river, so he knew it
wasn't Flint returning.

Instinct drove him to the ground, and he rolled
over until he could reach his rifle. Then he stood
up, aiming it just as the rider came into view.

He lowered the rifle and waited for Cyrus to
approach. His father halted and thumbed his hat
back.

"I was told I'd find you here." His gaze dropped
to the rifle. "You don't need that."

"I can't think of any reason you would feel it
necessary to pay me a social visit."

Cyrus dismounted. "I've been doing some
thinking since your visit, and something you said
struck a chord with me."

"I didn't think you were listening to me."

"Well, I was. You said I had no friends or family,
and for most of my life, that never mattered, but
I find it matters now."

"It's too late. Anyone who would have been willing to love you is dead."

"You're not dead."

"I am as far as you're concerned, Cyrus. You've
told me that plenty of times. I don't even think
of you as my father." Gabe couldn't swallow his
anger; it stuck in his throat. "If you don't think I
won't shoot you dead, just try going near the
Hamiltons again."

"Suppose I agreed to back off-would you
come home then?"

Gabe heard a rifle cock just behind him, and
he cursed himself for a fool to have trusted his
father. He had Teague at his back and his father
on the other side. He flipped his rifle up and
spun around, but he was too late; there was no
time to cock it. Ira Teague was not twenty paces
away, and Gabe hadn't even heard him approach.

"I guess you got me this time. I should've
known you'd have someone sneak up behind my
back. Tell him to shoot, because if he doesn't, I
will."

"Gabe, son-this is none of my doing."

The bullet rang out; Gabe dove for the ground
and fired, but from his vantage point he didn't
know if he'd hit Teague. He turned toward his
father, thinking he might have drawn his gun, but
he saw Cyrus slumping to his knees, the red spot on the front of his shirt growing wider.

Teague had shot his father! At the moment he
didn't know whether the man had missed him
and hit his father by mistake or shot him on purpose. He crawled forward, ripped off his shirt, and
fell to his knees, pressing the wadded-up cloth
against his father's wound.

Cyrus was coughing up blood as he put his
hand on his son's. "L.. didn't... do this."

Gabe pressed tighter against the wound, but
there was too much blood. "Hold on. Flint will
have heard the shot, and he'll be here in no
time."

But he could tell by the position of the wound
and how much it was bleeding that it was fatal,
and the look his father gave him was evidence
that he knew it too. For all he knew, Teague could
be sneaking up on him right now, but it didn't
seem to matter; he had to be with his father when
he drew his last breath.