River to Cross, A (7 page)

Shortly before Elizabeth woke up the next morning, Jake went outside and stuck his head in a bucket of cold water, but it didn’t help. He’d had only a few hours’ sleep and it showed in the lines of his face. Weary, he rubbed his face with both hands and returned to the cave to finish getting dressed.

The dull, throbbing headache that had woken him that morning was thumping his ears like a bass drum, and his mouth tasted like old socks. Worse, he’d made a fool of himself last night, collapsing onto Elizabeth’s bed sack.

A hangover—another first. A little fumble-fingered, he handed her a clean shirt and trousers, turned his back and waited while she put them on. Then he moved to help her with the buttons.

“I’ll button myself,” she said, and pushed his hands away.

“You can’t, so slide your hand under the buttons and stand still.”

Quickly he buttoned her up and laced her boots, all while trying to figure out how and why last night had happened the way it did. He’d never been drawn to any girl this fast, and he intended to stop it cold. Right now. He had no time for women in his life.

When he finished, he stepped back and looked at her. “Thank you for not mentioning last night. I’m sorry about it. Charge it off to foolish friends who slipped liquor into my coffee. I don’t drink. It never happened before, and it never will again.”

Jake guided Banjo down
through a mixed forest of pines and towering oak trees covering the mountainside. He reined to a stop and pointed to a large farmhouse below, overlooking a sweeping bend of the Rio Verde in the distance. “That’s their house,” he said.

Built of whitewashed adobe, the house had wooden shutters and painted beams. Pots of geraniums soaking up the sun on a second-floor balcony added a bright Mexican touch. Two barns and several corrals lay beyond.

Jake waved to a dark-haired man running from the house. When the man came closer, Jake and Fred both jumped off their horses and rushed forward to greet him. The three of them laughed and hugged and thumped each other’s backs.

Elizabeth watched. This was more than casual friends meeting. Since Fred and Jake were both Rangers, Ricardo must be, too. For some reason, that did not make her feel any better.

“Jake! Jake!” A woman carrying a little girl hurried down the hill toward them. Behind her, two young boys slammed out of the house and ran to catch up. The toddler in her arms squealed and waved at Jake.

Smiling, Jake strode to meet them, kissed the woman on both cheeks and took the girl from her.

He kissed her and swung her around until she was giggling. Then he set her down and turned to the boys, who rushed up and hugged him.

He spoke to the mother in a guttural language Elizabeth didn’t understand. Aztec. Ricardo’s wife was half Indian.

Switching to English, Jake introduced Elizabeth to Maria and Ricardo Romero and their two boys.

The little girl turned shy and wrapped both arms around Jake’s leg. Hugging his thigh, she looked at Elizabeth and grinned.

Jake laughed and ruffled the child’s hair. “And this proper young lady is Jakina. She’ll be three next month.” He handed her to her mother and looked at his friends, his expression turning serious. “Ricardo, Maria, I need your help.” The three of them stepped aside to talk.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth nodded when Ricardo turned to her with a little bow. “Señora Evans, we are honored to have you in our home. You and Fred Barkley—another old friend—are most welcome.”

She looked at Ricardo with a half smile. “You Rangers do stick together, don’t you?”

He laughed. “As they say, like glue.”

Jake took her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Smarty, you figured that out fast. Hey, don’t look so worried,” he added.

Elizabeth grabbed both of his hands and held them tight. Looking up at him, she whispered, “Please don’t leave me here. Take me with you. I’ll help any way I can, and I won’t be any trouble, I promise.”

“Taking you with me would be dangerous and might get us both killed. You’re safer here with Fred and Ricardo than with me.” He pulled his hands free and traced a finger lightly down her cheek.

Her breath caught. He’d never touched her before unless it was absolutely necessary.

“Stay here, eat good food, and get yourself some rest. I’ll see you in a few days. Good-bye, Duchess.”

She blinked at him, surprised. She’d been wrong. Until that minute, she’d thought he called her that only when he was angry. His face had a masked, unreadable expression, one she’d seen earlier.

“I have to go now,” he said. He stepped into the stirrup and swung himself up easily into the saddle. Touching his heels to Banjo, he started back up the hillside.

When he reached the tree line, he swung around and waved his hat at her. The sunlight slanting through the trees caught in his straw-colored hair and turned it almost golden.

She swallowed past the tightness in her throat. Tough as he was, Jake Nelson was all she had right now. In the past couple of days he’d saved her life, cooked her food, and even helped to dress her. And he’d made it all seem so commonplace and natural, nothing to be embarrassed about.

When she looked embarrassed, he’d made some silly remark or joke which got her laughing.

She owed him for all that.

“Please watch over him, Lord,” she whispered as he disappeared into the trees.

Not wanting to be seen together, the Rangers had separated that morning. Gus had split off and taken one of the main trails leading to San Jose, a small farming community ten miles deeper into Mexico. Jake would meet him there later that afternoon. And Fred would stay with her at the Romeros’.

Maria Romero touched her arm and nodded toward the house. “Don’t look so worried. Jake will be all right.”

Elizabeth looked away quickly. “I’m sure he will.”

“That man is good at what he does.”

Elizabeth gave a small huff. Which is
what
exactly? she wondered.

Maria picked up the saddlebag of Elizabeth’s clothes and led her into the house and upstairs to a room off a long hall overlooking the kitchen. The room contained a small dresser and a single bed. A colorful patchwork quilt lay folded over the footboard. A white lace curtain covered a small window.

Maria set the saddlebag on the bed. “Now, let’s get you out of those boy’s clothes. I’ll bring you up some things of mine. After that long ride, Jake thought you might like a hot bath. The tub is next door, and the boys are filling it now.”

It was an old-fashioned metal tub. Elizabeth removed her clothes and let them fall to the floor. They smelled like horse.

She wrinkled her nose. Ugh,
she
smelled like horse.

She stepped into the tub and slid into the hot water. Head back, eyes closed, she luxuriated in it. The heat relaxed her. She stuck her head underwater to wet her hair, then lathered up the bar of soap and rubbed until her scalp felt clean and fluffy suds lay on the water. She dunked her head under again to rinse it and came up smiling.

Thoughts of Jake and Fred and Gus and their brave decision to come after her flew at her from all directions. Texans saving another Texan.

With no warning, her face crumpled. She hiccupped on a sob, and hot tears blended with the water on her face. She was so grateful to them. Mouth twisting, she wept quietly. She hadn’t realized how terrified she’d been.

She wrung her hair out and winced. A dull headache, made worse by the tears, throbbed behind her eyes.

After she climbed out, she flexed her fingers. They moved easily. Jake was right. He’d said nothing looked broken.

A slight annoyance at him welled up. The man had dumped her on top of a mountain with complete strangers. She didn’t even know where she was!

She watched herself drying off in a mirror. She was in his friend’s house, bathing in a tub he’d probably used in the past. She looked at the towel and wondered if he’d ever used it. Somehow, it all felt right.

Wrong.

Despite that masculine Texas courtesy with women, he was a Texas Ranger, part of the Frontier Battalion which, although not U.S. Army, was just as military. She didn’t need that complicating her life again. She pulled on the clean chemise and the blue housedress Maria had left on the bed and went down to the kitchen.

Sausages and scrambled eggs steamed in a plate on the table. Elizabeth’s stomach rumbled, and she sat down to the first normal meal in a week.

The kitchen was huge. Lacy ferns spilled from pots on a windowsill. In one corner, next to a fireplace, was a counter inset with a firebox and grates for cooking.

Sipping her second cup of coffee, Elizabeth watched as Maria tidied up the kitchen.

“How well do you know our Jake?” Maria asked.

Elizabeth hedged, wondering what Jake had told Ricardo outside about her and what she should say. These people were his friends.

“I hardly know him at all. I didn’t meet him until a few days ago, after I was kidnapped and they sent him to get me.”

“Nobody sent him. He sent himself.”

“What do you mean?”

Maria chuckled. “The story I heard was, when you were taken last week, he went into Colonel Gordon’s office and said he was going to Mexico to bring you back. He didn’t ask permission to go because crossing into Mexico is a violation of international law, and Colonel Gordon couldn’t give it. Jake had planned to go alone, but U.S. Army Intelligence got wind of it and insisted he take two more Rangers with him. Seems both Austin and Washington want to know if Diego had a hand in killing your brother.”

Which was what Jake had told her, Elizabeth thought. She drew a deep breath of relief. He hadn’t lied to her. For some reason, that was important. The last of the tension drained away.

She’d been with only men for a solid week, and it felt good to talk with another woman. They chatted about everything, including the Texas Rangers.

“Who are a different species altogether, I’m beginning to suspect,” Elizabeth said. “I’m not even sure they’re human.”

Maria chuckled. “I notice you didn’t smile when you said that. He’s getting to you, eh? Well, he’s not as tough as he seems.”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows went up. “I don’t know. He seems pretty tough to me.”

“Until you get to know him. Growing up, he didn’t have much of a family. He loved his mother dearly but hated his stepfather, who drank and beat her. And then he beat Jake for trying to stop him.”

Elizabeth nibbled on her lower lip. “He’s never let on.”

Maria nodded. “He probably never will. He’s private about a lot of things. At fifteen he left home and joined the Army. At the time, the Army was desperate for new leaders, young men with manners and muscles. They grabbed him on the spot and sent him to specialty schools. At seventeen they made him a second lieutenant. Mind you, they thought he was three years older than he was.”

“That’s so sad,” Elizabeth said. “I had no idea. . . .”

Maria went on, “He also speaks Spanish, French, and Nahuatl, the language of my Aztec ancestors. It’s an asset to anyone who works in Mexico, particularly men like Ricardo and Jake. Your brother was also learning it.”

A small red flag shot up in Elizabeth’s mind. “You know my brother?”

Maria smiled. “You look a lot like him. Must be those bright blue eyes you both have. Jake brought him down to meet Ricardo a couple of months ago.”

Elizabeth’s breath caught in her throat.

Ricardo Romero was Lloyd’s connection in Mexico.

And it got him killed.

“Hey, inside, you ladies decent?” a male voice called.

“Yes, she is,” Maria said, laughing. She looked at Elizabeth. “I knew he’d be back.”