Texas Rain

CHAPTER 14

Travis knew it was too soon for the fairy woman to answer him back, but he still stood on the porch and waited for Teagen to return from the trading post. Because today was the first of the month, his brother had driven the wagon in for supplies. The hours since Teagen left passed slowly for Travis, yet he didn't go inside. He could feel himself growing stronger every day now. His leg no longer ached when he stood for more than a few minutes, and he trusted himself to walk around the house without the cane.

At breakfast Teagen had suggested that Travis ride along with him, and in truth, Travis felt he might have been able to. Relying on his cane, he walked to the barn and back several times a day and even managed the wagon for short periods when needed. But Travis wasn't sure he felt ready to let anyone but family see him limp. His left leg was still stiff and sometimes wouldn't hold his weight. The fear that he might fall walking into Elmo's place kept him home.

He rubbed the muscle of his left thigh, wondering if the ache he felt all the way to the bone would ever go away.

And if it didn't, was he willing to stay here for the rest of his life? At some point he might have to decide whether to face the world with a limp or hide forever.

"Looking for another letter?" Sage asked as she wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and stepped onto the porch beside him. "You never did say who that letter was from."

She'd hinted before, but never asked so directly. He knew he'd have to break down and lie. "Ranger, business," he said, then added, "about a horse thief who is north of Austin."

Travis smiled. He hadn't lied and Sage looked like she'd lost interest. Over the weeks he'd talked enough about the law to bore everyone in the house. They'd even suggested he go down to Austin and stand before a judge for questioning. They all believed he knew enough for any judge to make him a lawyer.

He moved the subject away from the letter. "If Teagen doesn't hurry, he'll be caught in the rain." The clouds were so low they seemed to be sitting on the top of Whispering Mountain. He realized he liked stormy days when thunder sounded so loud it shook the ground.

"There he is now." Sage pointed as a wagon pulled out of the fog near the river.

Travis studied his older brother as he neared. Teagen raced the storm as fast as he could with a loaded wagon. "Tell Tobin and Martha. Maybe we can get the supplies in before we all get wet."

Sage didn't move. "What's that in the buckboard? It looks like he's hauling a hog pin."

Travis leaned on the railing. It was too early for the spring hogs or chickens, but his sister was right. Teagen hauled something in a cage big enough to hold a calf.

The rain broke just as he pulled alongside the house. Tobin ran from the barn to help. Martha and Sage stood on the porch taking loads of supplies as Teagen and Tobin raced through the rain to empty the wagon.

Travis leaned on his cane and tried to see what was in the cage. Nothing, as near as he could tell, but a pile of rags at the bottom. The cage was old and roughly made. It made no sense that his brother would bring such a thing home.

"Help me get him off the wagon!" Teagen yelled at Tobin.

As his brothers lowered the cage, Travis saw something move among the rags. A thin hand gripped the bars with tiny, dirty fingers.

Without thought of the downpour, Travis grabbed his cane and limped into the rain. The ground shifted beneath him, but he didn't slow as he slung hair from his eyes and hurried forward.

He reached the wagon as they set the cage in the mud. A frightened face peeked out from beneath the layers of rags.

"Get him out!" Travis shouted as he recognized the child he'd seen at the outlaws' camp the day he'd been shot. "Unlock the door!" The sight of the boy brought back the horror of the day. Seeing the camp. Knowing the farmers were about to be raided. Realizing he'd be their only hope of surviving.

Teagen pulled his hat off and let rain hit his face. "He came this way, Travis!" he yelled above the storm. "I didn't put him in there. The freighter who brought him to Elmo's said he bolts if you let him out."

Teagen's words were jumbled in the storm.

"Get him out!" Travis shouted as pale blue eyes stared up at him from behind the bars.

"I can't." Teagen sounded as frustrated as Travis. "The Germans you helped didn't know what to do with him, so they shipped him to you. He wouldn't let them touch him without fighting, and they're afraid if they let him out, he'll run out in the wilderness and starve. He's wild as a jackrabbit."

Travis closed his hand around the child's and forced himself to lower his voice. "Get him out." If possible the boy looked more frightened than he had that morning Travis had seen him tied up like a dog at the camp. His cheeks were so hollow, he looked more like a dying old man than a tiny boy. His hands were so thin, they were almost birdlike.

"I can't!" Teagen yelled again. "Somewhere in his journey to get to you, the key's been lost."

The rain washed down in sheets, pelting them all as Teagen continued. "We'll get him up on the porch and pick the lock." When Travis didn't look like he was listening, Teagen added, "If he runs in this rain, we'll never find him."

Before the brothers could lift the cage, Travis let his cane hit the mud. He patted the child's hand once, then moved to the next slat in the cage. With a sudden rage, he pulled, snapping the wooden bar. Before the child could react, Travis snapped another, then another.

In a flash the captive was out of his prison and jumping like a squirrel into Travis's arms.

The Ranger fought to hold him and remain standing. After a moment he realized he need not worry about the child falling, for thin arms had a death grip around his neck.

Tobin picked up the muddy cane and silently offered it to Travis. "Get him inside and warm. I'll take care of the horses." The remains of the cage were forgotten in the mud.

Limping, Travis made it to the porch. Without any thought of taking time to wipe his feet, he crossed into the house and headed straight for the fire in his study. Teagen walked behind him.

Travis's hand spread across the boy's back. He felt the bones of the child's rib cage as the boy shivered with fear and cold.

Carefully Travis lowered to the chair by the fire. He didn't know much about kids, but this one couldn't be more than three or four. The child began to shake violently but didn't make a sound.

Martha leaned over and placed a towel over the boy. "We need to get his clothes off before he catches cold." For once her voice sounded more worried than harsh.

Travis started to pull the boy away from him, but the child had a solid hold around his neck. If Travis pulled any harder, he might break the child's arms.

"I can't," Travis said. "Pull all the layers off you can and we'll keep him warm. He'll dry fast enough this close to the fire." He didn't want to think about how many times the boy must have been wet and cold with no one to worry about him.

Martha tugged at the rags and most of them shredded away. Then she tucked the towel around as best she could and went to get something hot for them all to drink.

Travis leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He could feel the boy's heart pounding as fast as a bird's against his chest. The child cried once, very softly, and turned his face into Travis's shoulder. The boy's cold cheek rested against his throat, and Travis thought he felt warm tears falling.

Muddy, wet, and feeling his leg cramping, Travis made no effort to move. He just held on tight and willed the tiny body to warm.

When he opened his eyes, his two brothers were staring at him. They were also muddy and wet but didn't seem to notice. The child was the center of all their thoughts and worries.

"The kid knows," Tobin whispered. "He knows you're the one who saved him."

"How could he?" Travis shifted slightly.

Tobin shrugged as Teagen tossed him one of the towels Sage brought in. "I don't know, but I can read him as clear as I do a horse. He's half wild and scared to death, but he knows he's safe now."

"He does smell like a horse," Teagen offered as Sage hit him with a towel.

"He knows," Sage interrupted, "because you're his hero. He must have seen you that day before the battle. If one of the scouts spotted you, maybe the boy did, too. If you ask me, he wasn't trying to run away from anything, he's been trying to find you."

Travis frowned at her logic, but Tobin nodded. "Face it, Big Brother, you're his mother duck. The first thing he saw he could trust, and he's bonded with you for life."

"Surely he belongs somewhere," Travis reasoned.

"Maybe," Teagen offered, "but until we find out where, it looks like he belongs to you."

Travis wasn't sure he could take care of himself, much less a child. He thought of bringing up alternative plans like farming him out to some family who could do a better job than him of watching over the boy, but he didn't say a word. The grip around his neck told him plainly that the boy had no plans of going anywhere.

Tobin pulled off his muddy boots and asked, "What are we going to call him?"

Sage patted the child's damp hair. "Duck," she said.

The brother's nodded. They'd had no experience with names, and Duck sounded as good as any.

It took Travis an hour to get Duck to pull away enough to drink Martha's special warm milk with molasses blended in. Once the boy swallowed his first gulp, Travis had a battle on his hands to keep him from downing all of it at once. Half the cup spilled on him, mixing with the mud and rain already soaking his clothes.

Travis fought down an oath as the others laughed.

When the boy finally fell asleep, Travis lowered him to a thick bear rug on the floor and left him in Sage and Martha's care while he went to the back to clean up. When he returned, the boy was still asleep, but much cleaner and dressed in an old shirt of Sage's long enough to have been a dress on the kid.

Travis covered him and moved to the desk. He'd write the Rangers and ask if anyone knew of a child his age being kidnapped. Now that Duck was clean, Travis could tell he had sandy blond hair. He might have parents looking for him somewhere, but by his thin body and inability to speak, Travis feared he'd been captured very young, and if that was true, the chances were his parents were dead. They wouldn't have let him wander far at such a young age, or permitted him to leave them without a fight.

When Travis finished one letter, he started another to his fairy woman. He had no way of knowing if she ever got the first letter he mailed, but for some strange reason he wanted to write and tell her about Duck. Maybe he thought the woman would understand how the little one felt being all alone, or maybe he wanted to write because he had something to talk about besides his pain and her crime.

An hour later he moved to the chair by the fire and tucked Duck in, then relaxed. Everyone else in the house waited out the storm. He guessed Teagen was in the main room at his work desk. Tobin would be watching the storm from the porch. If it let up, he'd be heading toward the barn to calm the animals. Sage and Martha talked softly as they worked in the kitchen.

Travis felt a tiny hand touch his, then the child was back in his arms. Duck cuddled against his side and went back to sleep without even looking up to see if he were welcome.

Travis frowned. Duck must be one brave little boy, because Travis usually frightened children. Looking over as Martha entered, Travis pointed toward the child with his head and frowned, silently asking what to do.

Martha winked, but didn't offer to help. "That's just the way kids are-they climb on your heart and stay there. Nothing you can do about it." She collected the pile of towels and left without another word.

Travis thought about what the old housekeeper said long after she'd gone. She was right. Duck had climbed on his heart the minute Travis had seen him chained at the camp. He'd fought that day, almost lost his life, but even through the pain he'd worried about the child and hoped later that the Germans had found him still alive. With a shock he realized, if he had to, he'd walk that close to death again for this kid.

Travis cupped the boy's head with his hand. "It's all right, Duck," he whispered. "You're safe."

The boy relaxed in sleep, and Travis knew he'd feel the weight of the kid's heart against his for the rest of his life. What happened the day of the raid didn't matter; it was in the past. What counted was that they lived through it. They might be a little the worse for wear, but they were alive.

"You know, Duck," Travis whispered, "we're both going to be just fine."

Hours later, when the house was asleep, Travis returned to his desk and added a sentence to the letter he'd written about Duck.

In this midnight hour I think of you and how you vanished into the night. I found myself wondering what it would be like to sleep with your heart against mine. I know we are strangers, but you felt so right in my arms. I can't help but wonder if any woman will ever feel that way again. You remain in my thoughts,

Travis

He sealed the letter before he could change his mind and scratch out the words he'd written. It felt good to be honest with her even if he'd told her something in the letter that he'd probably never had the nerve to say aloud.