Read A Texas Sky Page 18

apron asked as she appeared at his table.

  "How about the special?"

  "With or without gravy?"

  "With gravy, please, and coffee."

  "For one?" she asked with more than a little show of

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  interest

  Dakota smiled. "Yes, thank you."

  She was smiling in return, her eyes inviting, causing the

  Ranger to shake his head as she walked away. He hadn't

  shaved in days.

  Maybe she likes scruffy, half-started beards, he speculated

  even as his stomach growled. Glancing around to see if she

  was bringing his coffee, Dakota froze.

  He forced himself to look down at the tablecloth before

  shifting his gaze again. He could hardly believe what his

  eyes were telling him. His coffee was delivered, but he took

  little notice. He didn't even pick up the mug. All he could

  do was ask himself why he had thought he needed to come

  back to Aurora.

  I can't bel/eve this, lord. /haven't been able to get Darvi

  from my mind. I told Cash all about it and made him concerned,

  and here...

  Dakota stopped and tried to slow his racing thoughts

  before glancing over at another table in the hotel restaurant.

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  Sitting with two male escorts was a woman of striking

  appearance. She was also a near twin to Darvi Wingate.

  Dakota had all he could do to keep his teeth in his mouth.

  Was this the woman I saw that day? Had the incident at the

  train been completely innocent?

  Dakota made himself take a few deep breaths. He didn't

  want to overreact, but that was taking some effort By sheer

  force of will, he kept himself from dashing to the other

  table and demanding from the woman her whereabouts

  the day he put Darvi on the train.

  "Here you go." The waitress had returned, placing a

  steaming plate of food in front of him, the edges nearly

  running over with a huge cut of beef and a heap of mashed

  potatoes, both covered with a dark gravy, which also ran

  into a mound of cooked greens.

  "Thank you," Dakota said quietly, too distracted to miss

  her disappointment at not gaining more eye contact

  The Ranger ate slowly. After the initial shock wore off,

  he noticed that by using a large oblong mirror right across

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  from his table, he had an almost perfect view of the woman

  and two men.

  Already planning to wire Cash about his mistake and

  then head home in the morning, Dakota ate in a leisurely

  fashion, his heart calming some even as he glanced in the

  mirror from time to time. He was nearly through with his

  meal when he noticed something else. A man, fine in dress

  and manners, sat a few tables away from the strawberry

  blonde, a newspaper propped in front of him. Even though

  the man never lowered the paper from reading level, neither

  did he look at it. With remarkable consistency, he kept

  his eyes on the woman's table. No one sat at the tables in

  between, and the woman's table was against a wall. There

  could be no other person holding his interest. And if that

  hadn't been enough to convince the Ranger, he eventually

  watched the woman and two gentlemen exit, just 15 seconds

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  before the lone man got up to follow.

  Dakota left a coin on the table to cover both meal and tip

  and did a little following of his own. He still planned to

  wire Cash and tell him he had it all wrong, but he didn't

  think he'd say he was headed home, at least not yet.

  %r%r$r

  "Why didn't you go to town today?" Darvi asked in

  frustration.

  "I wasn't needed," Seth told her calmly, completely

  ignoring everything she'd said that morning.

  Arms crossed tightly, Darvi tapped her foot impatiently

  and nearly shooed him as she would the dog. The children

  were helping their mother bake a cake, and to get out of the

  house and away from Seth's watchful eyes, Darvi had volunteered

  to get the eggs. It hadn't made any difference.

  Seth tagged along right behind her, even though she had

  let him have a good piece of her mind that morning over

  her captivity.

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  "I don't heed help getting eggs, Seth," Darvi said as she

  turned her back and walked away from him.

  "You never know," he replied, bringing up the rear with

  this assurance. "Some of those hens can be pretty feisty."

  Darvi didn't answer, but Seth didn't care--4ie much preferred

  her to be like this. When she got all quiet and sad, he had to make himself continue with his plan. When she was fiery and told him what for, he knew he'd never let her go.

  He was still shaking his head a^out how he'd found her.

  Never in his life had he imagined such a woman existed.

  Never had he known such a mix of fire and uncertainty. He

  knew he would love her for the rest of his life.

  "And why don't you just tell me," Darvi suddenly spun

  and demanded, "just what is it you do for this Jared Silk?"

  Seth shrugged. "Whatever he needs."

  "Like what?"

  "Oh, a little of this and a little of that."

  Her arms crossed again. "I hope you know that was

  ridiculously vague."

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  "Was it?"

  Darvi's eyes narrowed. "It's rude to answer a question

  with a question."

  Seth stopped just short of saying, "Is it?"

  "Go ahead and ask me about my work/' Seth encouraged

  her. "I'll try to answer."

  This took Darvi by surprise. She didn't want to get close

  to this man. Her chin rising, she laid it on the line.

  "No matter how you answer me, if s not going to stop

  my wanting to leave."

  "I understand that. Go ahead and ask."

  "Is he a banker?"

  "Yes."

  "Why would a banker want you to take a woman from

  the train unless he's hiding something? What gives either

  one of you the right to do such a thing?"

  Knowing she wouldn't like the answer, Seth hesitated.

  Jared's view--as well as his own--was that a man did

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  what he had to do. Seth knew he didn't look the part of a

  criminal, and rarely did he use the word to describe himself,

  but deep in his heart Seth Redding knew what he was.

  He also knew that wherever Darvi Wingate was from, she

  did not socialize with people who considered themselves

  above the law. Not having Jared here to defend himself,

  Seth let him take the heat.

  "Jared feels that sometimes we do what we have to do.

  If s not too much more complicated than that"

  "Not complicated?" Darvi said in disbelief, her mouth

  open. "You step in and turn people's worlds upside down,

  and I'm supposed to see that as simple?"

  Seth had nothing to say. He hadn't expected her to

  respond like that and knew anything he might tell her just

  now was only going to push her further away. He was glad

  when she turned again for the barn. He hadn't liked the

&nbs
p; little shake of her head, the one that said she was offended by his actions, but at least he didn't have to explain himself anymore.

  Quite suddenly he found himself wishing he had let her

  gather eggs on her own.

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  *3'"'3'"'3r

  It didn't take long to see that the redheaded woman was

  well known and liked in Aurora. Dakota kept his distance

  behind both the woman, who now walked alone, and the

  man who followed her from the hotel, but he still thought

  he caught a name now and again.

  Ann Bell. Dakota was certain he had heard right. He had

  stopped in front of the bank--looking for all the world as

  though he was window shopping--and was quite sure this

  was what people were calling her. Neither she nor the man

  stopped near the bank, but Dakota had caught up a little

  too swiftly He took his time fixing his boot, hoping no one

  was onto him, and in less than a minute was on the move

  again.

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  His work paid off. The woman went into the newspaper

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  office, and the man took up a position to watch everything

  that went on behind the large front window of the

  building. Dakota could see that even a rear exit would be

  detected. Dakota decided to go for his horse. The woman

  was distinct enough that he'd be able to describe her to the

  sheriff and get some answers, but the man was another

  story. If the man sat all afternoon and watched the news

  office, Dakota would regret retrieving Eli, but if he made a

  big move, Dakota wanted his horse.

  Knowing that the man could be long gone before he

  returned, Dakota nevertheless fetched Eli, tied him in the

  alley, and went back to stalking the stalker. As Dakota

  watched him, he felt a grudging admiration. The man was

  cool, very cool. When a lady passed, be she 15 or 50, he

  raised his hat and gave a polite bow. He didn't appear to

  be observing anyone, but he keenly noted any activity

  involving the door of the news office.

  Dakota was beginning to think that the life of a detective

  was a curse. His restless limbs were begging to move

  when the man consulted his pocket watch and walked

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  down the street. Dakota left Eli where he was and moved

  just enough to watch the man enter the Aurora Bank.

  Dakota wondered how long he could take the inactivity.

  He knew very well that the man could leave out the back

  somewhere and he would never be the wiser. Heavily

  exhaling with relief, Dakota noticed the man had reappeared

  and was headed into the very livery where Dakota

  had boarded his horse. Dakota moved again, this time to

  mount up and be ready. Again, his patience paid off.

  Coming from the livery on a fine animal--a city horse,

  as Rangers thought of them--the man rode south down the

  main street of town. He was not a short man, and his horse

  was of a size that made it easy to track. Dakota was careful

  to look disinterested as the man hit the edge of town and

  kept right on moving. He never picked up the pace but

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  rode easily, his attitude that of a man without a care in the

  world.

  Down the road some five miles, Dakota watched the

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  rider calmly turn down a well-worn side road. Dakota kept

  his eyes forward and allowed Eli to plod along, but only

  until a group of trees hid him from view, whereupon he

  doubled back through the woods, working to gauge just

  where the man might be headed.

  Long before he was close enough to see anything,

  Dakota heard cattle. Only a few hours of dayligm were left,

  so he moved swiftly along, dodging branches and low

  limbs in an attempt to see where the man might have gone.

  It took some doing. While still trying to stay out of sight, he

  made occasional visits to the edge of the tree line and

  checked the view. At last he saw something just at the edge

  of a barn. A few more feet and maybe...

  Dakota stood and stared. In a remarkably picturesque

  setting sat a large, low farmhouse and a huge barn. The

  buildings were in fine condition, and as he watched, it

  looked as though a child was running in the yard, a little

  girl with flowing blonde hair.

  Tying Eli up the hillside a bit, Dakota dug his field

  glasses from his saddlebags and climbed a tree. With

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  enough light to still see things clearly, he methodically

  went over every building and scrap of ground. No one was

  visible until a man emerged from what appeared to be a

  bunkhouse to throw out a pail of water. An outhouse stood

  beyond that structure, as did one for the main house.

  Dakota was in the process of planning how to get into

  the barn when he saw her. The hair was the first thing to

  catch his eye, and then the field glasses did the rest. Never

  taking his eyes from her, Dakota watched Darvi stand at

  the corner of the porch, her gaze locked on the road that led

  to the ranch. A moment or two passed before she looped an

  arm around the porch support and leaned there.

  Dakota was still watching when the little blonde girl

  appeared, held something out for Darvi to see, and then

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  took her hand to lead her back inside. Dakota scanned

  the windows of the house but saw no sign of life. Shaking

  just a little, the big man climbed from the tree and moved

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  to Eli. Once next to the horse, his arm went across the

  saddle and he buried his face. A sob broke in his chest as

  he prayed.

  You knew she was here; You knew. Please help me. Please let

  me rescue this woman before she comes to any more harm, I want

  to ride down there and take her and defy anyone to stop me, but

  something isn't right here. I've got to go slow and use my head.

  Dakota took some moments to compose himself before

  climbing back up into the tree. He watched until darkness

  filled the sky but caught no further sight of anyone he

  could be certain was Darvi. The decision to camp in the

  woods was no decision at all. Scouting the area for safety

  and privacy, Dakota settled down early. He didn't dare

  light a fire and was glad he'd eaten a large lunch, but in

  fact, his stomach was not really on his mind.

  Not interested in lying down right away, he sat for a

  long time in the dark and thought about what might have

  gone on at the ranch. It seemed a good sign that at least one

  child appeared to live in the house. That didn't mean the

  adults in the situation could be trusted, but the child

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  appeared happy and carefree as she played. And at least

  from a distance, Darvi looked all right. Dakota was

  thankful for that much, but he knew even without getting

  closer that she didn't want to be there. And for that reason

  alone he was intent on getting her out just as soon as he

  could manage it

  It was well and truly late by the time Dakota sought his

  rest
, but it was a peaceful sleep. He hadn't been able to read

  his Bible, but he prayed off and on for hours. He also fell

  asleep with a plan. He would put it into action in the

  morning.

  "S'srS-

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  Darvi groaned a little as she bent over to pick up the

  spoon she'd just dropped. Nate had finished his breakfast

  but not cleared his place. Darvi stooped, and sticky as the

  utensil was, she managed only to lose it again.

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  "You sound stiff," Cassy commented.

  "lam."

  "Is it your mattress?"

  "It might be/' Darvi guessed, not having thought of it.

  "Nate slept on that one for a time and said it was a bit

  lumpy."

  Darvi decided not to comment. She didn't think it

  would do any good to complain about the mattress, but

  more than that, she had just noticed that Seth was in the

  room. She was not giving him the cool treatment or anything

  too dramatic, but if he was in the room, which was

  too often for her comfort, Darvi was careful with what she

  said and did.

  "I'll check it for you, Darvi," Cassy now offered, thinking that her silence meant she was a bit unhappy about it

  "Thank you. Do you want me to do anything special

  with this water?" Darvi asked from her place by the sink.

  "Why don't you just dump it? I'll send Nate for fresh."

  Seth had learned not to take things from Darvi--he

  knew she did not want him to coddle her--but that didn't

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  stop him from following her outdoors. He stayed well back

  when she poured the water on the flowers at the side of the

  house but was right close when she turned.

  "You can always try my mattress," he said gently, his

  gaze tender and inviting. "It's not lumpy at all."

  Darvi barely hesitated before drawing her foot back and

  kicking him in the shin. Her foot hurt with the impact, but

  having him double over with pain was well worth it. Darvi

  didn't speak until his red face came up again.

  "Where I come from," she gritted, "a gentleman does

  not make such suggestions to a lady! If you ever say such

  a thing to me again, I'll not only repeat the kick, Til slap

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  your face until your ears ring." This said, she turned on her

  heel and stomped into the house.

  "Good girl," Dakota Rawlings found himself saying

  aloud from the tree he had staked as his own. As he

  watched, the man--not the one from town--straightened

  up and put a hand to the back of his neck, his face