filled his hand and he swore.
Travis straightened in resolution. He'd kill as many as he could before he lost too much blood to fight.
Then, almost like a dream, he saw two men running from among the horses. Both were tall, powerful and fully armed. His brothers.
They moved in and set up on either side of him, placing rifles and pistols within easy reach. His younger brother pulled out powder and bullets, lining everything up to reload fast.
There was no time for questions. Travis smiled and raised his weapon. The odds had just gotten a great deal better.
Their first volley took down three outlaws. Teagen passed Travis another rifle and they aimed in unison. The second round of fire took down another man.
'You missed, little brother.' Teagen smiled as he tossed his rifle to Tobin for reloading.
Travis grinned. 'More likely the fellow has two bullets in him.' He raised his last loaded rifle and fired again. Another outlaw tumbled from his horse. Those left circled, unsure what to do.
The McMurray brothers moved back while German men took their place. Travis leaned heavily on Teagen. 'If they break through,' Travis said between clenched teeth, 'take my Colt and knife. I've lost too much blood to be of any help in the fight.'
Teagen was already tying a bandanna around Travis's blood-soaked leg. 'They won't break through!' he yelled above the gunfire. 'The farmers will see to it.'
Travis tried to focus. His brother was right. The Germans were holding the outlaws off. They kept up constant firing with three shifts. 'You…' He couldn't get the words past the pain.
His brothers spread out a bedroll and lay him down. While Tobin cut away the leg of his pants, Teagen said calmly, 'We got here right after you left. I decided to help these folks turn their wagons into a fort, then we talked about how to fire against intruders.' He shrugged. 'I figured you'd bring back more than a dozen.'
Travis fought the pain. 'There's a kid tied up at the outlaw camp. Tell Ackland to send someone to get him. It's due north.'
'I'll do that.' Teagen glanced at the Germans. 'Doesn't look like there will be enough outlaws left to return to camp.'
Tobin stood, his face lined with panic, his hands red. 'There's so much blood. I can hardly find the wound. I'll get water.' He passed Teagen the soaked bandanna. 'Press this where his blood is pumping out.'
Teagen pressed the leg wound with one hand and gripped Travis by the shoulder with his other. 'Don't worry, Travis. We'll get you home alive.'
Travis closed his eyes and sank into the blackness. Relax, he thought. He was safe; his brothers would keep their word.
CHAPTER 7
Rainey watched from the porch of the McMurray bunkhouse as two men on horseback moved toward the main house. They were both tall and lean with a way of handling their mounts more with their legs than the reins, informing Rainey they'd been born to ride. One led a third horse. As they neared, she could tell the extra animal pulled something behind him on long poles that scarred the ground.
Slowly she crossed into the shadow of the barn for a closer view. She'd managed to stay on the ranch the past three days by being invisible most of the time. When she returned the horse she'd tried to steal at the dance, Rainey explained to Tobin McMurray that his brother Teagen had told her to bring the animal to the ranch. Before she could finish explaining, Tobin ran for the nearest horse. She danced around him, repeating all she'd heard at the trading post as he saddled up. A few minutes later the housekeeper tossed him a pouch of supplies when he rode past the house.
'Take charge, Sage!' the brother called Tobin had yelled at a girl on the porch.
Rainey stared at the young woman she'd seen with Travis at the barn dance. She and Sage were around the same height and age except the girl looked far more like a woman in her trousers and shirt than Rainey did. Sage also had an air about her, a pride in the way she stood-like she belonged to this time, this place.
Rainey feared any pride she might have felt had long ago been beaten out of her by life. And she'd learned the hard way that she belonged nowhere.
When Sage's brother had ridden out of sight, she turned her questioning blue gaze to Rainey. 'Who are you?' she asked, suspicion in her tone.
'Sam, ma'am.' Rainey kept her voice and her hat low. 'Mr. McMurray told me to bring the horse and wait for him here.'
Sage didn't look like she believed Rainey. 'Which Mr. McMurray?'
'The big one,' Rainey said before realizing that every man named McMurray she'd met had seemed a mountain. 'I think I heard Old Elmo call him Teagen.'
From that time on, Sage McMurray seemed to stop worrying about Rainey. 'Martha,' the girl yelled, 'find this kid something to do. I'm going to have my hands full until Teagen and Tobin get back.'
Sage grabbed her hat and headed toward the bam, yelling at a few of the hands who'd stopped to see what was happening.
To Rainey's surprise the men followed Sage's order.
An old housekeeper stepped on the porch. She took one long look at Rainey and then met her eyes. Rainey had no doubt that Martha knew her secret, but to her surprise, the housekeeper didn't say a word about it. She assigned Rainey to the bunkhouse cook and said simply, 'You can sleep in the corner of the kitchen so you can be the first up to light the cook fires. There's too much snoring in the bunkhouse for the likes of you.'
Rainey thanked her and had a feeling her lie would be safe with Martha for a few days. She'd have somewhere to sleep and regular meals.
But now that was about to end because the McMurray men were almost home. At least two of them were. There was no mistaking the riders now.
Rainey strained her eyes trying to make out which of the McMurrays headed toward her. If one was Teagen, he might pay her a few dollars for bringing the horse back to the ranch. Tobin, the one she'd barely met, probably wouldn't remember her. But if Travis returned, he would know her even dressed like a boy. Unless he was a lot dumber than she thought, he'd already figured out she stole the horse the night of the dance. Bad luck and bad news were two companions who'd followed her since the moment she'd stepped on the train to New Orleans.
A shudder passed through her even though the day was warm. She couldn't face Ranger Travis McMurray. She'd seen laughter in his dark eyes, and something more when they'd touched. She didn't want to see the coldness again. No matter how he'd touched her, he'd still do his duty when they met again.
Glancing around, she thought of running. With two men riding toward her, the odds were not good. Running didn't seem much of an option. If she stole a horse from the ranch in daylight, someone was bound to notice and the only way out would be past the two men riding in.
Sage stepped from the shadows and shielded her eyes as she also spotted the riders nearing. 'Martha!' Sage yelled. 'Martha. Someone's hurt.'
The housekeeper hurried onto the porch as the men grew close enough for them all to see that the riderless horse pulled a litter with someone covered in blankets.
Sage broke into a run toward the men, but Martha only straightened like an old soldier hearing a battle call. As she swung around, her gaze caught Rainey hiding in the shadows. 'Boy!' she yelled, one eyebrow raised to claim her lie. 'Get in here and help me!'
Rainey had no choice but to follow. The housekeeper issued orders in rapid fire as they moved through the house. 'We'll need water. Build the fire in the stove and haul in extra buckets.' She swung a large pot from beneath a cutting board table. 'Fill this half full and get it to boiling as fast as you can. Once it boils, move it to the back of the stove and start another one. After that keep one boiling and one ready until I tell you to stop.' She faced Rainey. 'If I need your help, can you handle the blood or even the sight of death if it comes to that?'
Rainey nodded. Following orders seemed far better than just standing around panicking. She'd nursed sick students and cleaned up after them. Blood could be no worse. She'd also bathed her mother's body and dressed her
