Taming Texanna (33 page)

There wasn’t much talking and the blood had eventually stopped flowing. She felt a little lightheaded sometimes but other than thirst, her canteen rode off with her horse, she was not too bad physically. She knew mentally she was losing her battle on clear-headedness. She knew her horse was home long ago and hoped the women did not try to come after her. They would not be a match for three men with guns. They would know that.

They were stopping for the night. “I need to relieve myself,” she boldly stated to Mark.

“Yeah?” responded Adder. “Well, there are those trees next to you. We aren’t giving you privacy if that is what you are looking for because I don’t underestimate anyone.”

“You are going to watch me?” Anna was getting angry.

“Yeah, and if you want to relieve yourself, that is the way you will do it.”

Anna did as she was told, finding she wished she had worn a dress for this one reason, she could have kept covered while conducting her business. But her drawers were split so she didn’t have to bare her bottom to go. Usually, she went bare because of the bulk but not today. Thankfully, she was wearing one of Colton’s shirts and they were long. She tripped trying to get away from the hand of Adder. She had yanked the trousers up too quickly as he advanced and fell. When he reached down to grab her hair, she grabbed a river rock and tried to hit him. She screamed as she saw the boot coming towards her. He kicked her unconscious.

Texanna’s head pounded. Her nose bled again. She was dizzy. She was bruised. It hurt to breathe. Oh, God. She had brought them in. She had fed and housed this family and look at him. He was likely a robber and a murderer. He admitted he was the third man of the gang that no one had been able to identify. They couldn’t because they would never have suspected a man with a family. Texanna groaned inwardly. Did that mean that Nada was part of this whole life? Did she help him? Were Pia and Kaku safe?

Texanna opened her eyes. She was scared. Afraid to move from the ground she was lying on. Adder’s men had obviously given her a blanket that she had wrapped up in, thankful for small favors. Pia had made her wear so much clothing. Did she know something was going to happen? No, she would not have known, but did she have a premonition and worried that something might happen? Her mother-in-law had cautioned against going but Anna was always so stubborn. Never again, if she ever got out of here alive, she would never ignore a suggestion from her.

Texanna was light headed. She was going to pass out again. She moved slightly to relieve the head pain. She must have hit her head when she was kicked or maybe they kicked her head because she didn’t remember much except bits and pieces. When she moved, her body released an unbidden groan, which alerted someone over on the peripheral of the little makeshift camp. Sweat broke out on her face and bile swam up her throat trying to find release. She gagged. Her head pounded and stomach rolled. Her nose was caked with blood and made breathing through it difficult. She wrapped further in the blanket and breathed slowly through her mouth, trying to settle the revolt that was her inner body workings. Sleep, sleep now.

Someone kicked her feet and she tried to lift up but she gagged on the bile again. A blinding pain shot through her head, flashing bright light behind her eyes. She opened her eyes carefully. Again, same place, same situation, same hurts except her head was pounding a little less. Her stomach rolled in smaller waves. This time, she didn’t move. From her vantage point, she listened. Was this a familiar spot? Was this the four winds?

One time, not so long ago, when Colton described his line of work to her, he had said that if she were to listen carefully, she would hear everything around her and learn all she needed to know about her surroundings. Therefore, Texanna listened and heard water, the sizzle of water and hot rocks, and murmurs of plotting men. Interspersed with her listening she mentally called for her husband. She wished she had her husband’s spirit voice but she could try to speak to his. Colt said he could connect with her better when she was not chaotic. She had to calm down and concentrate.

Colton had said he could track her in a few hours even with a day advance travel on him. She called to him and in her imagination, she saw him, clear as day. She imagined she saw him coming for her. She relaxed and let the darkness edge its way back in, overtaking her again.

***

He was almost there. He saw a movement next to the river. Then another movement in the tree line and another man stepped out. Mark Trenton. He was calling to Colton and for long seconds, Colt began to fight his warring inner self. His immediate desire was to respond to Trenton as a friend, not foe. His human self-didn't see the true inner soul of Trenton. Colton’s spirit was chaotic in that he wanted to accept the man Trenton, but his innermost self would not allow that. It fought the vileness. The chanting got louder forcing him to allow his non-physical essence to overtake him again. He saw Mark as he truly was. A serpent with many tongues, all split. His skin was scaly and his words were garbled. Colton saw past the outer man, once a friend, to the inner malevolent soul.

Colton moved slowly, carefully and listened for his wife. She was here and hurt but peaceful. Sleep. She slept. Another serpent came out of the forest and this one was all black. It was Adder. Adder leaned down in the brush and picked up Texanna, limp and unmoving. Grabbing her under one arm and a hand tangled in her hair, he shook her. Anger and fear reared up and took over Colton’s thoughts as his human emotional self tried to take over the purity of his spiritual self. He could faintly hear Kaku chanting, pulling his inner self to the forefront once again.

He watched as the next things happened in slow motion. There was a gunshot, a scream, and a splash. The unseen third man fell on the fringe of the tree line. Another shot and the chameleon snake that was Mark Trenton turned blood red. The Black Adder was running from the edge of the water and aiming his gun at Colton, he fired.

Screaming, Texanna was screaming and splashing. She was in the river. The chanting was louder. He went forward without any fear. As he came closer, riding his now galloping horse, he raised his gun and fired. Without even hesitating to look over after he saw the shot bring its target down, he turned his focus on Texanna. He rode straight to the river, dismounted and dove in to retrieve his woman. She was thankfully caught in reeds and struggling frantically with a stump, which she was holding onto for dear life. He swam to her, grabbed her out from the reeds and pulled her forcefully away from the trunk. She feverishly fought Colton until she recognized him, and released the stump to desperately grasp at him.

As Colt carried her to shore, he realized he was in the moment. No longer in his mind’s eye, no longer ruled by his spirit, he was himself and he had to think fast. Texanna was trying to breathe and talk. Colt needed her quiet. He put his hand on her mouth and watched her eyes grow large with fear. He reached down and kissed her gently, keeping his lips lightly pressed against hers until she released a breath of relief.

He indicated that she remain silent and she nodded. He listened carefully and found the sound he was looking for, breathing and rustling vegetation. He tried to leave Texanna on the ground next to the river and for a moment, it appeared as though she would not comply but Colt looked into her eyes in silent reassurance. Finally, she nodded her head and let her hand slide off his arm.

He silently approached the breathing sound and saw Adder lying on the ground with gurgling breaths. It was something Colt had heard enough in his life to know it was the gurgle of death. He found Adder’s gun on the ground near him and grabbed it without objection from the dying man. Colt left him to die after searching his supine body for any other guns. He found one under the snake and pulled it out, checked the safety and then tossing it away from Texanna and his horse.

The next person he went to was Mark Trenton. He lay dead with a shot to the head. He could feel no remorse for the loss of his life when weighed against Texanna’s life. He did lament the loss to Nada’s family of their provider a second time, but he would take care of that. Those children did not need to be raised by a man with no honor after their own father had died so gallantly. Texanna had told him the story.

Finally, he looked to see where the third man was lying in a pool of blood, eyes still open but lifeless. Colton could feel no remorse. He took a quick look around to see what had happened and saw nothing. What he didn’t understand was how the three men were shot when he only recalled firing one shot. Could they have shot each other? He didn’t have time now to analyze what he had done. How his mind’s eye had become his guide.

He shook his head, gathered the other guns, and decided to throw them all in his saddlebag for the sheriff. He walked back to his Texanna, who had risen to a sitting position. He looked at his wife as she sat unsteadily. Her red hair matted with her own blood, mud and river debris. Her eyes were weary and swollen as was her ghostly white face. Her hands were scraped and there were tears rolling down her bruised cheeks. She never looked as perfect to him as she did right then.

He scooped her up in his arms and heard her yelp of pain. He wasn’t sure how he would get her home safely. As he gingerly held his love close, there was a call to Texanna from a male voice. Instantly on guard, Texanna reached for his hand.

“That sounds like Ben, my brother Ben. Could it be him?” Before Colton could stop her, she called out to the voice. “Ben? Is that you, Ben?” her own voice cautious but hopeful.

“Is that you, Chipmunk?”

“Ben!” Texanna tried to run but was unable to with heavy wet clothing and pounding head. However, she was supported by her loving Colton, who stood holding his wife while Ben did the majority of running to close the gap. The hug looked bone crushing to Colt and it must have been to an extent because Texanna pushed back a bit.

Colton was suspicious and it could be heard in his tone, showed on his face as he surveyed the situation.  “What are you doing here? And by here I mean in this exact spot?”

“Honestly, I don’t know if I can explain it.”

Colt nodded his understanding as his wife hugged her brother once again. “Come help me check to make sure I have gotten what I need from this and let’s hide these bodies under the brush to keep them as safe from animals as possible. I’ll mark the area and bring the sheriff back later.”

Colton took his bride and her brother home.

Epilogue

“Now tell me this tale, for I don’t believe I understand it fully,” entreated Isabelle, Benjamin’s wife.

“And my poor wife thinks I am crazy. I tried to tell her but I got lost in the story, myself,” agreed Benjamin.

Ben had returned to his wife after they had saved Texanna from the Adder gang. He had come because of a horrible foreboding and told his new wife he would return. He returned to his bride with the begging of Texanna and her family to bring his wife back and homestead. Once home, he had been able to convince his Belle to move near his sister when they discovered she was with child. They had no family that far west and Belle longed for family. Ben was content to live near his sister, blood or not, she was his only sibling. He loved her and he missed her.

It had been nine months since Adder and his men had taken Colton's Texanna Rae.

“So,” Texanna came out of the bedroom with their two-month-old daughter, Sarah, to pick up the story. “As it turned out, the gang was supposed to kill both Colton and me in exchange for gems.”

“Yes,” added Benjamin. “The gems mentioned in the letter I never gave Anna on her eighteenth birthday because I was so far away. We might have avoided all of this if I had been there to give her the letter from Miranda. It told her where to look for them and that her father had left them. They should go to her in legacy.”

“But where did they come from?” asked Belle.

Colton picked up the story. “The raw mined, uncut gems were found by Grant under the floorboards that lay beneath the heavy dresser in Texanna’s old bedroom. He was getting rid of everything that reminded him her. He was losing his mind some by then and saw her as a mockery to him. One everyone knew about when no one knew at all. Anyway, he saw a small irregularity and just by luck, discovered the gems under the dresser.” He reached for his daughter.

Texanna went on. “He offered them to the gang for getting rid of the girl that brought him shame. Me. Because I wasn’t his daughter.” Her voice shook and Colton laid his free hand on hers. It still bothered her.

“Your father would do that, Ben?” asked a horrified Belle.

Colton nodded. “He wanted them to get rid of just Texanna and Miranda but they would not touch Miranda as she was married to Judge Jackson.”

“Yes,” added Ben, “However, they would take care of the marshal because he had such good instincts, he would be able to track them down. They had no doubt that it would become his life mission after they killed his wife.”

Colton growled, “Damn right.” The women all shushed him. He smiled and kissed Sarah.

Colton continued. “Mark Trenton had been with the gang the whole time. That was why he didn’t want to stay in one place and a family gave him the best cover. He could not believe his luck when Anna had offered them our home. The couple of men he had turned in for the bounty were for credibility if he needed it to prove to the town he was who he claimed to be.”

Colton stood to walk a now squawking baby. Pia grabbed her from her son.

Ben picked up this part of the story. “Horace Grant confessed when Colt explained the events of Texanna’s harrowing experience. Colt warned Grant that he would never be able to sleep another night again because every sound he heard, Grant would wonder if it was Colton. Wonder if he was finally coming after him, to pay him his due for his part in what happened to Texanna.”

Belle looked over at Colton and said, “You would scare me to death.”

“My husband is a gentle soul.”

“Unless you mess with my family,” growled Colton. “They say he lost his mind in the Austin jail that they sent him to stand trial.”