The Texas Ranger's Secret (26 page)

As he drew closer to the livery, Gage noticed something had been dragged for a great distance from its door. The hackles on the back of his neck rose and his guts felt as if someone were twisting them into rope.

“Say, Newcomb,” Bear hailed Gage as he came from his personal quarters. “You mind fetching the sheriff for me? Had some trouble this morning. I just came to. Found my wife and my fishing partners all tied up. I’d still be out, but Ollie and Thaddeus were able to unknot the ropes and throw a bucket of water on me to revive me.”

“Trouble? Who was it?” Gage wondered if Willow had been anywhere in the vicinity. He needed to get into the livery and quick. “Sheriff ran into a little of the same thing himself last night.”

“Believe it or not, it was a thin piece of woman with a big nose.” Bear sounded astonished by the fact. “She was with Parker’s wrangler. According to Tadpole and her brother, it seems the wrangler’s out for blood, but it wasn’t ours. We were blessed that the pair only seemed to want us out of the way.”

“Have you checked your livery to be sure?”

Bear shook his bald head. “I was on my way just now to see if the cowboys who were sleeping it off for the night had fared any better than us.” The blacksmith pointed to the disturbed earth Gage had noticed earlier. “Do you see that? Something’s been dragged a ways past yonder. Sure looks long enough to be a body.”

Both men broke into a run toward the open livery door. A path leading from the stall where Gage had helped put away Willow’s team and buggy had been swept clean of straw. Seeing no sign of her, Gage wanted a better look at the stall itself.

“Check out your visitors,” Gage urged the blacksmith. “It’s too quiet. There was plenty of snoring last night when I checked for room. See if any are still here. I’m going to see if I can tell whether or not Willow’s been by this morning.”

“Can’t find her?”

Gage caught Bear up with what had happened and the fact that no one had seen her for hours.

Bear’s voice came from somewhere on the ladder that led to the loft. “Man down up here. Two in the far corner on the other side of Willow’s team. I’d say some big trouble happened here. From the looks of things, I’m guessing we were right in thinking that might have been a body dragged out the door.”

“I hope you’re wrong,” Gage whispered as he spotted the journal lying in the straw next to the team. He picked it up, clutched it in his hand and set his jaw.

She’d been here, all right. And she’d never leave, on her own accord, without the journal. His worst fears were realized. Trouble had tracked her here.

Was she dead?

All seemed lost.

What a fool he’d been to dwell on a mere loss of eyesight when now he’d lost his heart.

* * *

The sun had brushed away the fog of morning as Gage watched from the barrier of mesquite bushes that lined the approach to Daisy’s ranch and counted the men coming in and out of the barn. Not as many as he’d expected.

The other hired men must have already taken the horses and headed south to Mexico or west to mesa country, where they would rendezvous with Comancheros and the like. Why Hodge hadn’t joined them baffled Gage. The man usually stuck around only long enough to strike and run as if he had a yellow streak painted down his back, preferring to be one step ahead of the law. This time, he seemed bent for revenge or a reckoning.

Well, let him come. Gage was ready for him. But the thief wasn’t the sort to deal the cards fair. He always had a trick up his sleeve.

Hair on the back of Gage’s neck stood on end. If Hodge had hurt Willow thinking it would draw him out, the man had made the biggest mistake of his career. He would answer for every pain she had suffered if she’d been the unfortunate soul dragged behind that horse. Gage didn’t care how he took the man to justice anymore. An eye for an eye or in chains, it made no difference to him.

If Willow survived, she had to be inside somewhere among them.

Easy there
, Gage told himself as his heart hammered in his chest. He had to tread cautiously now and size up the situation well or he’d just end up putting her in further danger. Gage prayed fervently he wasn’t too late to make a difference.

He was glad now he’d convinced Bear to stay and form a posse in the event the sheriff hadn’t recovered enough to get this under control. Maybe they’d show up in time, but Gage wouldn’t count on it. He vowed to catch the men on his own if need be.

About a mile out of High Plains, he had spotted signs that the dragging had stopped. Whatever the burden, it had been thrown over the mount in front of the rider and carried the rest of the way.

The evidence gave him hope there was a chance Willow might still be breathing.

Waiting until he was certain all the men were now inside, Gage crept closer and pressed an ear against the barn wall. No one bothered to lower his voice, proving none of them were afraid of being caught.

“Gage will tear you into tiny pieces for what you’ve done,” Willow threatened. “You better ride, and ride hard, because he won’t stop.”

The sound of her voice weakened Gage’s knees, washing relief through him like floodwater over land cursed by drought. All he wanted to do was bolt in there and commence to firing. But he couldn’t. He might lose her for real this time.

His mind raced, wondering how he could cause distraction enough to give her time to run to safety. If she still had strength to walk. She seemed to have no problem talking, but he needed a good look at her. To see how badly she’d been hurt. Make sure it wasn’t just pure grit that sharpened her courage.

Sweat beaded on Gage’s forehead as his teeth ground together. He had to do something and do it now.

“Hold it right there!” he shouted as he stepped inside with both guns pulled.

Hodge shifted out of the direct line of fire, taking shelter behind the chair where he had tied Willow.

“No!” she shouted, her hands and feet bound with rope. “He means to kill you. Get back. There’s four of them.”

Gage focused on her face for a moment, quickly raking in her beauty beneath the scratches, splinters and blood. She’d never looked more precious to him.

“Guess I’ll just have to shoot two at a time, then,” he assured her even though they both knew he would be outgunned.

Willow fought against her bonds, struggling to break free. “Don’t do this, Gage,” she pleaded. “This is exactly what he wants. He told me so. Told me he was going to use me as bait to lure you. I didn’t want you to come. I hoped you’d see the journal and think I was already dead. That it was too late.”

“You’re mistaken, love. It’s never too late for you and me. We’re just beginning.”

“Aww, isn’t that just the sweetest thing you ever did hear,” Hodge mocked. “The Ranger’s lost his heart along with his good sense.”

“I have no beef with you other fellows. Just Hodge here. He’s run out of steam.” Gage made sure he kept close watch on the other three. Each had a gun, but he didn’t know if they had the grit to use it on a lawman. Rustling was one thing; most men had no stomach for killing. “I’m giving you a chance to change your future. Got a posse riding this direction. Should be here any minute now. You can take the time to try and draw on me if you want to test my mettle. But if you try it, I’m taking as many of you down as I can get off shots.”

“I don’t know about this, Hodge,” one of the men said. “Kill one Ranger, you got the whole corps coming after you. I think I’ll pass.” He walked out the door leading to the paddock.

Three to one now. Gage liked the better odds. Now get it down to two. One for each gun.

“Come back here!” Hodge shouted. “You leave now, you lose your cut of the money.”

“Leave that woman and let’s get out of here,” said another outlaw. “Posse’s coming. She ain’t worth this.”

“If you’re going,” said the third one, “no reason for me to stick around. I ain’t no gunman.”

The sound of a bullwhip cracked the air, stopping Hodge’s helpers from leaving. It snaked around Willow, making her scream. Hodge gripped the handle and pressed the end against her throat. “Put the guns down, Ranger. Slide them to me or I swear I’ll squeeze this until she squeals.”

“Don’t, Gage. It’s not worth it. I’m not worth it.”

“You’re worth everything to me. Don’t ever let me hear you say such a thing again. Do you love me, Willow?” Exasperation filled Gage.

Her eyes rounded. “Of course.”

“Then will you please do something for me?”

“What?” Hodge asked for her.

“Shut up,” Gage demanded.

“Me or her?” asked the thief.

“Both of you.”

Though Willow looked taken aback, she finally muttered, “Okay.”

The sound of Gage releasing the hammers brought deadly silence.

Gage knew he had failed but refused to be the one who sent Willow to her death.

“Let her go, Hodge. Let’s do this like men.” He threw down the gauntlet. “Fist to fist.”

“All right, lawman. Makes it easier on me. I ain’t the one who can’t see where I’m punching.”

“Like I said, let her go first.”

“You got a knife?” Hodge looked him in the eye as he moved the handle of the whip and uncoiled its length from around her. All that remained were the ropes that tied her feet and arms to the chair.

“You said it would be fist to fist,” Willow reminded him.

“I also said
no talking
.” Gage knew what game the thief played.

“If I remember right, you asked me to
shut up
.
He’s trying to make you put the gun down, Gage,” Willow warned, “so your hands are busy with my ropes instead.”

“I know, love. Don’t worry.” Gage nodded toward the man who had confessed he didn’t care to take on the corps. “You got a knife?”

The man shrugged. “Don’t remember.”

“Check. If you do, cut her loose. If not, then be very careful and dig into my left pocket and get mine.”

“Got one.” The fellow moved behind Willow’s chair to cut her free.

She whimpered as the binds finally loosened and she could soothe the marks against her wrists. Her feet could barely keep her upright.

Gage’s heart went out to her. He wanted nothing more than to grab her up into his arms and carry her into the house and never let her go. Instead, he said, “Now get out of here. Run if you can. Don’t stop until you’re far away from him.”

“I’m not leaving you.” She shook her head, setting her mop of curls free from the ribbon that had at one time held them back.

“You need to quit arguing with me for once and do what I ask.”

“You can’t handle your own woman, Ranger. What makes you think you can handle me?”

Willow turned and slapped her captor hard, leaving a handprint that jumbled his freckles together.

When Hodge lifted the handle of the whip to strike her, the fight was on.

Gage hurled himself at his foe. Willow kicked the whip out of the outlaw’s reach. Fists connected with flesh and the crunching of bone echoed in the rafters. Blow after blow landed hard and deadly, stirring up dust as their feet scuffled and grunts echoed from somewhere deep inside the pain.

All of a sudden, a loop of rawhide hurled over Hodge, barely missing Gage. The man was yanked backward, fighting the rope Willow had managed to grab and throw dead center.

Gage got up from the ground, wiping blood from his lip, discovering the other men were long gone. He guessed they’d taken their leave when the leaving was good.

He stared at the pride in Willow’s eyes as she tied off the knot that secured the horse thief to the same chair that had held her prisoner.

The sound of pounding hooves echoed the promise that Bear or the sheriff had finally arrived with the posse.

Ellie Finchmeister ran out of Daisy’s house screaming, “I was kidnapped. You’ve got to believe me. Kidnapped, I tell you.”

“A likely story.” Gage laughed, opening his arms to Willow.

“One I’m sure she’ll be telling for years to come,” Willow said, stepping into his embrace.

“Thanks for rescuing me.”

“Anytime,” she promised.

He studied her face, knowing that as soon as it healed, he planned to ask her to marry him. If she didn’t end up asking him first. He didn’t care what she looked like, but Gage knew she did. He planned to treasure the beauty in how Willow felt about him.

“Do something for me, please?” she whispered.

“What’s that, love?”

“Close your eyes and tell me what you see.”

She wants me to dig deep.
He smiled. “That you are what you hide unless you’re willing to trust yourself to do better...even if it’s just taking one step, or in your case, one good deed, at a time.”

She nodded. “The finest deed
you
ever did was make me feel extraordinary. I can’t thank you enough for that, Gage, and your words have set us free to love each other. Do you think you could ever be happy riding fictional trails with me, no matter how ordinary our real lives turn out to be?”

“There you go again, beating me to the punch. Shut up and kiss me.”

And she did for the next fifty-two years and through dozens of Will Ketchum adventures.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from
THE BOUNTY HUNTER’S REDEMPTION
by Janet Dean.

Dear Reader,

Usually the author of the book writes a note to the readers, but in this case I’d like to do the honor.

In 1983, DeWanna Pace and I took a creative writing class at Amarillo College. We were both shy, just dreaming of writing and on opposite sides of a packed class.

But when she read, I almost screamed, “I want to write like her.”

As soon as the class was over, we started meeting at the library, trading chapters every week. We shared knowledge and learned from each other. Five years later we were autographing books side by side. We traveled every weekend that first summer we both published.

Through births, deaths, illnesses and joy, we shared our dream of writing. We celebrated the ups and cried over the downs as we wrote at night, worked during the day and met every week to read.

I can still hear her telling me when I struggled, “How do you eat an elephant, kid?”