Rainey rode toward Austin feeling as if her mind were weighted with lead. In the past twenty-four hours she'd been kidnapped, attacked, forced to murder an outlaw, rescued, and almost made love to by a man she'd told never to ask her to marry him again.
She felt like her life was galloping along at breakneck speed and any moment she'd slam into a wall and it would be over. Refusing to look back at Travis, who rode several feet behind her, wouldn't erase him from her thoughts. She couldn't decide if he'd taken advantage of her condition, or if it were the other way around. Only hours before she'd been too frightened to move. He'd comforted her, held her through the night. Then, with only a little encouragement, he'd made her feel more alive than she thought possible.
The heat of his fingers sliding across the camisole still warmed her. The way his hand had gripped her breast as he'd kissed her deep made her ache for more. Maybe she was exhausted, but she felt as if lightning had struck her beneath that tree. With his touch she'd discovered why a woman would both want and need a man.
If she were honest with herself, she did need him. She could very quickly become addicted to his kiss, his touch. But she didn't want him. She had not fought her way to freedom only to marry the first man who kissed her. No matter how fair he seemed, the fact remained that once she married she would belong to a man. She'd be like her mother, trapped.
Maybe she'd been too straightforward with him. Maybe she should have told him she didn't like his kisses. That would have put a stop to everything. How could she tell Travis that she was attracted to him but she wanted time to be on her own for once in her life? She wasn't ready for love.
It occurred to her that maybe he wasn't interested, either. He'd never said a word about love.
Rainey closed her eyes. She was too tired to even think straight.
When they crossed the creek, the other Rangers joined them. All of them seemed as happy to see her as Roy had been, and if she hadn't been on horseback, she feared they all would have hugged her. Like palace guards, they surrounded her and rode toward town.
Once on the streets of Austin, Rainey noticed people stopping to watch them ride by, and as they neared the Ranger headquarters, several shouted praise.
In front of the office Roy jumped from his horse and helped her to the ground. Travis stayed on his mount. She wanted to help him, knowing that the ride must have been hard on him, but she was surrounded by Rangers. They all hurried her into the office with Dillon shouting orders for one man to take Seth's body to the undertaker.
Once inside, Rainey tried to see over the men to find Travis, but he was nowhere in the room. They offered her coffee and Dillon asked if she needed to see a doctor before she gave her statement.
'No,' Rainey whispered, overwhelmed.
Dillon was all business, but Roy stepped in at her side. He wrapped a blanket over her knees, hiding the fact that she had no shoes, then winked at her as if telling her he'd keep her secret.
Roy then stepped back all formal and said, 'Miss Adams, we just need a short statement. I think I can fill in the report of how you killed Seth Norman from what you told me.' He lowered his voice as if he could somehow make his statement less frightening. 'Three men went into the boardinghouse after Sage McMurray. Frank Norman was shot during the attack. You killed Seth. Eldon got away. To your knowledge was there anyone else involved?'
Rainey shook her head.
Suddenly everyone started talking and asking questions at once. It appeared Governor Peace had gotten involved. For a town fighting to remain the capital of Texas, this could only look bad. The residents of Houston had been fighting for years to have the state papers and offices moved. This kind of thing would only give them ammunition. The governor wanted Rainey's kidnapping solved as fast as possible.
Roy bounced with excitement. Though it had been Travis who reached her, he seemed to be the one taking the lead. He related the details of the rescue in rapid fire, slowing only as he ended with 'Travis found her this morning at the ruins south of here. She'd killed Seth with a small knife she had in her pocket after he roughed her up a bit. We brought the body in.'
Rainey stared at her hands. She needed Travis, but he was nowhere in sight.
'Is there anything you need, Miss Adams?' Dillon interrupted. The older Ranger looked like he'd been petrified by the sun and wind, but his eyes were not unkind.
'I want to see Dottie,' she whispered. She'd worried about her friend ever since Travis told her the widow had been shot.
'We'll take you to her in a few minutes.' Dillon would have had to be blind not to notice how tired she was. 'Now, tell us about the kidnapping, starting with what you and Mrs. Davis overheard from your window.'
The room grew silent as she described first what she'd heard, then running down the stairs. She told of how she realized there was no time to warn the others and thought if she could reach the coat, they might mistake her for Sage.
'You were willing to risk your life for a woman you never met?' Dillon asked, his bushy eyebrows almost reaching his hairline.
Rainey nodded, thinking it best not to mention that she had met Sage at the McMurray ranch when she was dressed as a boy. If she revealed any part of that story, there would be questions asked having nothing to do with the kidnapping. 'I've met Travis McMurray, and I know how much he cares for his little sister.'
Dillon opened his mouth to ask another question, but Roy interrupted him. 'Tell us about the three men. Every detail you remember or anything they might have said.'
Rainey explained that she couldn't see anything. She heard one say that they'd paid Haskell in the saloon to get Mrs. Vivian's slave out of the way. They were afraid she'd scream and warn everyone.
Rainey explained that when they were loading her on the horse, the one who held her kept saying that Frank would follow. They couldn't have known that he was dead.
Several of the rangers mumbled. One asked if the brothers mentioned their father.
Rainey shook her head. 'Can I go now?'
The old ranger held up one finger. 'One more thing.' He looked pained when he asked. 'When you stopped at the ruins, was anyone there to meet you?'
She shook her head again, too tired to answer.
He continued. 'What did Seth say? Did he give any hint that he planned to meet someone?'
Rainey gripped her hands tightly in her lap. 'He said he wanted me to take off my clothes. When I refused, he slugged me and started telling how he planned to cut me up in little pieces just like he would have Sage. When he came at me again, I had the knife in my hand.'
The room was silent. She stared at Dillon. 'I'm very tired. May I go?'
Dillon looked like he wanted to ask her more questions, but Roy stepped before her and offered his hand. 'Of course,' he said. 'Someone take her to where the widow is recovering.' He looked sad. 'I'd take you myself, but I must file a report.'
'I understand.' Rainey felt like a sand doll with a hole in her toe. All the sand in her was draining out fast and she needed to get somewhere where she could rest. 'You've been very kind, Ranger Dumont. If you weren't already married a few times, I'd set my bonnet for you.'
The other Rangers laughed and Roy looked proud of himself.
Dillon stood between her and the door. 'You understand, Miss Adams, that your life is still in danger.'
She nodded, wanting to ask when it hadn't been. Since she walked out of the dorm months ago, she felt like she'd been looking over her shoulder for trouble. At the time her greatest fear had been that her father would catch her. All she'd thought of was disappearing. Now she knew there were men far worse than her father.
Dillon moved aside, letting one of the others escort her to the door.
By the time Rainey got to the porch, a buggy waited for her. The Rangers helped her in, and a young man drove her straight to the Baileys' home.
'Are you sure Dottie Davis is here?' Rainey said as she climbed out.
'Yes, ma'am. She's recovering under Dr. Bailey's care. Miss McMurray insisted on it.' He walked her to the door, knocked, then handed her over to Mike Saddler.
She smiled, remembering the young Ranger and thinking that he must be Sage's riding partner that Travis had been so worried about.
Ranger Saddler looked overjoyed to see her and, like Roy, hugged her as if she were kin. He directed her inside, and within minutes, Rainey was sitting in the Baileys' huge formal dining room. Dottie, wrapped in a quilt that covered most of her bandaged arm and shoulder, sat across from her while the housekeeper served them the first
