River to Cross, A (13 page)

“Good horsey, good horsey,” she said, over and over again.

Jake stared at her, his shoulders shaking.

“Don’t you laugh at me, Jake Nelson! I forgot my horse’s name.”

“I’m not laughing.”

But he was grinning.
Cuss his hide
. Her back stiffened as she snatched back her tattered pride. She was a swimmer, and a good one. She just hoped her horse was, too.

She thumped the animal’s neck the way Jake did his horse and held her feet out of the water.

Elizabeth’s horse scrambled up the bank on the other side.

“Yippee! Texas! I’m home, I’m home.”

Jake was there at the river’s edge, off his horse and waiting for her. He walked a few steps into the water and grabbed her horse’s bridle. Nervous, the horse whinnied, stamping his feet, shaking off the water. Elizabeth squealed and held on tighter.

Jake laughed and fed her horse a lump of sugar, stroking his neck and calming him down. “Good job. Good boy.” He gave him an affectionate scrub between the ears.

Gus and Fred rode up, their horses shaking themselves off, as well. “Nice work, Elizabeth,” Gus said.

“Her horse was as nervous as she was coming across,” Fred said to Jake. “Rolled his eyes the whole way over.”

“So did she. Neither of them had ever done it before,” Jake said.

“Jake! You didn’t tell me that!” Elizabeth said.

“A good example of what
horse sense
is in people. It was better you didn’t know.”

“What if he had shaken me off in the river?”

“I was right alongside, if you remember. It helped him to see my ‘bossy horse,’ as you call him, swimming quietly.”

Jake’s horse grunted and nudged him forward with his head.

“Hey, Banjo, I didn’t forget you,” Jake said, and pulled out sugar for the other horses.

Elizabeth watched him climb into the saddle and start up the bank for the road.

Outside Ysleta, Texas, they took the Lower Road—the old army road—to El Paso and Fort Bliss. It was a dirt road, a potholed single lane and not nearly as good as the newer road built a few years ago, Jake said. But it was less traveled and a direct route to Fort Bliss. He didn’t want to see anyone until after he’d spoken with Colonel Gordon and Senator Madison.

“We go right past the lane to your house,” he said. “Let’s stop in, take a look around, and get some clothes for you. I think it’s best you come to the fort before deciding what to do.”

Earlier, Jake had been strangely silent on the subject whenever she mentioned returning to the big house.

They turned through the gates and headed up the lane to Lloyd’s house—her house now.

From the outside, the big white house was as pretty and as impressive as ever.

“When we were here last, the inside had been vandalized,” Jake said. “Those Mexican soldiers did a lot of damage in a short time.”

The Rangers swung off their horses and went up the steps to the porch.

Standing in the doorway, Elizabeth stared at the living room. Her stomach sank. Broken glass lay everywhere, with lamps and pictures broken and furniture thrown about, their cushions split open. Sickened by the destruction, she went upstairs to her room, picked her clothes off the floor, and put them into a valise.

“A couple of outfits should be more than enough,” she told Jake.

“You don’t know how long you’ll have to be at the fort. Better plan on coming back to get more.” He grabbed the valise and carried it downstairs.

She frowned at his back as he walked out the door.
This
was her home, not the fort. She decided she wouldn’t stay out there one day longer than she had to. She needed to talk to her father. He’d straighten Jake out.

Alone for the first time, she walked down the hall to Lloyd’s room. Stepping inside, she hiccupped on a sob and leaned her forehead against the doorjamb. Hot tears filled her eyes.

She’d loved him for a hundred different reasons. She’d just turned six when their mother drowned on a picnic outing. Ten years older than Elizabeth, he’d helped their father raise his little sister. He’d taught her to fish in the Potomac and to swim, which their mother couldn’t do. He’d dried her tears and fixed her dolls. He’d taught her how to waltz and how to sit like a lady.

What would she do without him?

She missed him already.

At two that afternoon,
Jake saluted and stood before the desk of the battalion commander, Colonel Greg Gordon. A tall, slender man with thinning gray hair.

Gordon returned the salute and laughed. “Don’t let Commander King see you do that,” he said. “According to him, Rangers salute no one but God Almighty.”

He waved Jake to a chair. “Speaking of whom, when’s the last time you were inside a church?”

“Actually I’ve spent the last few days in one and even spent the night there. I left with the abbot’s personal blessing.” He laughed out loud at Gordon’s surprised look. “We hid out in a monastery in the mountains in Chihuahua,” he explained. “I know the abbot.”

As a young lieutenant, Jake served under Gordon in the Fourth Cavalry until Gordon accepted a promotion. When Gordon was later assigned to Fort Bliss, Jake was pleased. He respected Gordon, as a man and as a commander.

Now, occasionally, Gordon trained with Jake’s Rangers, doing five-mile runs in the morning with them every chance he got. Sometimes Jake found himself running alongside Gordon, who was glad to get out from behind his desk.

The colonel’s aide knocked and stuck his head in. “Senator Madison’s here, Colonel.”

Colonel Gordon met him at the door. “Come in, Senator, and meet Captain Nelson. He just walked in himself. Have you seen your daughter yet?”

“A few minutes ago. I left her at my quarters with Ruthie,” the senator said. “They were down on the floor hugging and playing jacks when I left.”

He looked over at Jake. “And I’ve heard a lot about you. I understand you don’t think much of her going back to live alone in a big empty vandalized house a few miles from the Mexican border.”

“That’s right, sir. Not without security, and not until we see what’s going to happen in Mexico. In fact, I’d like her under twenty-four-hour guard.”

“You figured this situation out fast. I agree completely. Thank you for that. And thank you for bringing my daughter back safely. She’s all I have.” He cleared his throat.

Colonel Gordon spoke up. “I’ve already offered the senator’s quarters here on base for Elizabeth,” he said to Jake. “On the post, she’s certainly safe. Ruthie can stay with our family and go to the nursery school with my four-year-old when Elizabeth’s not there.” He smiled. “That’s one of the privileges of being a Texas senator’s daughter at a Texas Army post.”

Jake sat and talked with the men for a moment, telling them how they’d gotten out of Mexico. “We need to spend a couple of hours together. I haven’t had a chance to fill Colonel Gordon in on what all took place last week. Everything points to General Diego’s growing revolt. I think he intended to use Lloyd’s death to force the U.S. into reacting. Now he may be trying to raise the stakes. If so, we may have a problem. Elizabeth could be in real danger.”

Senator Madison walked to the window. “I was afraid of that. You think they’d abduct her again?” he asked.

Jake studied the floor, thinking before he answered. “I don’t know. It would be easier and safer for them not to.”

“Just kill her, you mean.”

Jake shook his head. “I’m thinking worst cases, you know. The reason against it is their desire that Washington know Mexicans did it. Abduction first, with a ransom note, would do that.”

“I’ve been in touch with Washington and Austin. Both of them are watching this situation in Mexico. Both are very interested in your report.” He turned around and smiled at Jake. “How about dinner tonight—you, me, and Elizabeth? You too, Greg, if you can get away.”

The colonel shook his head. “Not tonight. My wife has invited friends for dinner at our home,” he said.

“Captain, are you available?” Senator Madison asked.

“With pleasure, sir. What time? I have a buggy and can pick up you and Elizabeth.”

“Seven o’clock sounds fine.” Gordon looked up. “But you haven’t checked in with your own office, Jake. Go do what you have to on that end. We’ll talk in the morning, probably all morning. The adjutant general is coming up from Austin.”

Jake shook the senator’s hand. “I’ll pick you up at seven. A real pleasure to meet you, Senator.”

Senator Madison watched him leave and shook his head. “Where did you find him?”

“I didn’t,” Colonel Gordon said. “He found me. Ten years ago, I was his commander at Fort Dodge and managed to get myself shot in an Apache raid. Jake was a kid lieutenant and rode out on the field to find me. He rides like an Indian, hanging on the far side of his horse. He kept that horse between us and the bullets and dragged me out of there while I still had my hair.”

“Sounds like we both owe him,” Senator Madison said quietly.

“I’m trying to get him to rejoin the Cavalry and come work with me,” Colonel Gordon said. “I’m looking for a new Executive Officer to head things up.” Gordon closed a folder on his desk and leaned back in his chair.

“Which puts him in line to take over the battalion when you leave.”

Colonel Gordon nodded. “He’s ready. Texas Rangers have a certain professionalism about them, as well as a certain stubbornness. Nelson has both. For him, there is one way—the Ranger way. If a door is locked, kick it open. Jake Nelson is a door-kicker.” Gordon chuckled. “And I understand you’ve got a front door to prove it.”

Madison’s eyebrows went up. “So that’s what happened. Glad he did it. He got my granddaughter out alive.”

The senator stood and returned to the window. “They didn’t know what they might find in that house. I think they expected to find everyone killed.” Staring out the window, he covered his eyes briefly and said, “I know I did. That was the worst train ride of my life.”