Deep in the night Rainey woke with a start. For a moment she couldn't remember where she was. All she knew or felt was a deep need to make sure Travis was all right. As sleep left her brain she feared someone looking for her might have gotten into the house. What if the Norman brother who got away had returned to kill Travis or her?
With a lamp she slipped from her room and climbed down the stairs to the left wing, telling herself she'd check on Travis and be back in her room before anyone knew.
CHAPTER 28
Travis didn't bother to open his eyes. He'd heard the mantel clock chime three and knew it would be at least another hour before anyone checked on him. Dr. Bailey had insisted on tying him down, claiming he didn't want Travis rolling over in his sleep. Travis felt like a prisoner. His left leg had been wrapped and soaked in an oil the doctor swore would take the swelling out. The doctor had also put something in the tea Sage had forced down him, but it wasn't working. He remained wide awake.
The doc had probably been right about tying him down. He would have been up checking to make sure Rainey was all right if he could have gotten out of bed. He'd caught a glance of her just before she disappeared into the Ranger station office. She'd looked frightened, her green eyes darting around searching for him. His pride wouldn't allow him to ask for help to get off the horse. Instead, like a fool, he'd let her go in alone. He told himself Dillon would go easy on her. Roy would watch over her.
So he'd ridden over to the Baileys' knowing he had to see the doc. He'd all but fallen off his mount and stumbled up to the door like a drunk. He hadn't made it more than three feet inside the house before the pain peaked and he blacked out. He had no idea how they got him to bed, but when he woke up, everyone was crowded around following the doc's orders and treating him like some kind of puppet they all wanted to handle. He fought them worse than Duck usually did when they removed his clothes for a bath. But between trying to stay dressed and trying to hold his leg still, he lost the battle with clothes.
The whole experience had been painful and humiliating. The only thing that would have made it unbearable would have been if Rainey had been there.
Travis heard Michael Saddler snoring in the seating room beyond his bedroom door and knew the young Ranger was there not only as guard, but to keep Duck happy. The boy had dragged his bedding into Travis's bedroom three times before Mike showed him that the door between the rooms would stay open, the fire would be left burning, and Mike would be near.
'I plan to beat a few years' life out of Saddler when I get on my feet,' Travis mumbled. The young Ranger had held him down while the doc dug into his leg. Just before Travis passed out, he heard the doc say he knew there must be lead left in the leg, but he couldn't seem to find it. Saddler smiled and said, 'Keep digging.' Then he'd slammed all two hundred pounds of himself onto Travis's chest to hold him down.
When Travis came to again, the doc had quit digging into his flesh and was busy wrapping his leg so tightly he could feel it throbbing. The bandages were warm and soaking wet. As they cooled Travis felt warm spots where his blood Soaked through. As if the whole operation hadn't been humiliating enough, Dr. Bailey ordered the bandages changed every two hours. He'd heard of Indian torture ceremonies with less pain.
And through it all, the boy watched, shaking with fear. Duck didn't like sleeping a room away from Travis, but he finally curled down in his covers making sure he could see Travis through the open door.
Travis hoped that in an hour when they came to change the bandages, they'd be quiet enough that they didn't wake the boy. He promised himself he wouldn't swear, no matter how much it hurt.
When Sage had last checked on him, Travis had heard Mike gently tell her to get some rest, there would be plenty to do in the morning. He'd said that Travis had been drugged and would sleep for a few hours.
Travis felt like his mind was sloshing through a fog. He was surprised his body didn't hurt. The last few miles to town he'd had to struggle to keep from screaming. If he hadn't been so worried about Rainey, he would have demanded they stop. But with Eldon Norman still loose, they needed to get her to safety before the outlaw figured out that she'd killed his last brother.
Closing his eyes, he remembered how Rainey had melted into his arms so easily when they'd stopped to rest. She'd acted as if she would have stayed on that blanket beneath the tree for the rest of the afternoon and he wouldn't have minded at all. He'd forgotten about the throbbing in his leg when he'd touched her. She'd been the only medicine that he needed.
Rainey had no idea of the danger she was in. All the Normans were hate-filled men, even the old man. The Rangers had never been able to pin anything on the father, but the sons were reckless. They'd all been in and out of jails by the time they could shave. Every time they went on trial, Old Man Norman would ride into town and be in court every day. When his boys were sentenced, he'd wait outside to cuss every Ranger and judge involved.
Travis turned his head slightly. He sensed someone in the room. A movement in the air that hadn't been there before. A shifting of shadows.
He reached for his gun that he'd insisted Mike leave near the side of the bed and slowly opened his eyes a fraction.
Rainey stood before him in a nightgown that covered her from throat to toes. She leaned over him, looking very much like an angel come to call.
He returned the gun to its hiding place. 'Looking for something?' he whispered.
She jumped, then like a child looking at a snake, leaned a bit closer. 'You scared me to death,' she scolded. 'I was just making sure you were breathing.'
He studied her closely in the light coming from the door. If she knew just how much the firelight revealed what lay beneath her nightgown, she would have been horrified. He decided, purely to save her feelings, he wouldn't tell her. 'I'm breathing. Come closer, I don't want to wake the others.'
Rainey glanced at the open door. Duck was curled into a ball by the fire. Mike's snoring kept time with the ticking of the clock.
She moved closer. 'How are you?'
'Thanks to the doc,' Travis lied, 'I feel much better, but for some reason, I'm wide awake.'
She sat on the edge of the bed. 'Me, too.'
'Think you could keep me company for a while?'
'Of course, but I have to be gone before anyone wakes. I think this is most improper to be in your bedchamber.'
Travis smiled. 'I know it is.' He slid his hand over hers. 'Tell me how it went at the station. Dillon wasn't too hard on you, was he?'
Rainey curled atop the covers on his right side and pulled her feet beneath her gown. 'No. I think he might have been, but your friend Roy wouldn't let him.'
Travis didn't look happy. 'Any word about the last brother?'
'Not that I know of.' Her voice shook slightly.
'Rainey,' Travis whispered. 'Are you cold?'
'A little,' she admitted.
'Curl up beside me like you did last night. We could talk and pass the time.'
She hesitated. His arms and chest were bare tonight. She could see the strength of his muscles and the dark tan of his skin. She wasn't surprised to find his chest looked like it had been carved of oak.
'Are you afraid of me?' He had to ask.
'No,' she answered without thought.
He waited.
Slowly, so that she didn't touch him, she moved beside him. He could feel her warmth an inch away. For a few minutes she shivered, then finally relaxed.
'You smell good,' he whispered a few inches from her ear. Moving his cheek against her hair, he breathed
