Texas Rain

CHAPTER 20

Travis followed Rainey through the streets seeing that she got home safely. He made no effort to catch up to her, even if he had been able. Except for a few very memorable parts, the evening had been a disaster. He'd had better days when he'd been outnumbered by outlaws. It appeared he took to stepping out with a woman with about the same skill as he showed when dancing.

If he hadn't frightened her to death pulling her into the alley, his proposal of marriage surely did the job. The only explanation he could come up with was that he must have suffered brain damage from being wounded. A minute before, the idea of marrying her had been the furtherest thing from his mind. He was simply enjoying holding her, touching her, teaching her how to kiss. Then suddenly it crossed his thoughts that she'd know how next time. And next time it would be someone else kissing her.

That was it, he decided. That was the moment all rational thought snapped in two and he asked her to marry him. Him! The man who never wanted to marry. Never wanted a family. Never wanted a wife at home worrying about him.

He followed her another block. He knew nothing about her that would even hint that she'd be a good wife. She was a thief. Definitely violent, she'd tried to stab him less than two hours ago. Maybe that should have given him a hint as to how the evening would turn out. No doubt about her being a liar: It had taken him three times to get her to settle on a name, and he wasn't sure she'd given him the right one yet.

So why had he asked her the one question he thought he'd never ask?

Travis swore, knowing the answer. This fairy woman brought the only sunshine to his colorless life. When he was with her, or even thinking about her, he felt more alive than he ever had. She felt so right in his arms, like a piece of his heart had always been missing and, somehow, she completed him. And touching her… he didn't even want to think about the way touching her made him feel.

Suddenly she stopped and looked back to see if he followed, and to his surprise she appeared relieved to see him. He walked to within stabbing distance of her, but kept his guard up knowing she probably had her little fingers curled around her knife.

"I hate to ask for a crazy man's help," she said, moving her fists to her hips. "But I have to get to the back of the boardinghouse, and I don't think I'm brave enough to walk into that blackness alone. Would you consider accompanying me, Mr. McMurray?"

"Why don't you just knock on the front door?"

"Mrs. Vivian will not open it before seven a.m. It's one of her house rules. She locks the house up and takes the only key to her room."

He walked closer, relieved she didn't bring up the proposal. Maybe, if he were lucky, she'd just forget he said anything. After all, he'd only whispered it. "I'll see you safely home, be it the front or the back door."

She took his arm with one hand and lifted the hem of her cape with the other. They moved into the alley. Travis's eyes adjusted enough so that he led her around trash and mud holes. She was right to be worried: Behind the Askew House lay the dark side of Austin. As a Ranger he'd been called many times into the saloons to break up fights and drag away bodies. Rainey probably didn't know it, but she lived only a few feet away from a boiling pot of trouble.

When they reached the back steps of the Askew House, she tugged him to the side of the building.

"I can go in through the laundry window," she whispered. "Mrs. Vivian's slave will open it for me."

He followed her the few feet to a small window without asking how she knew about the special entrance.

She tapped twice, and within seconds the window slid open. A young black woman poked her head out and smiled. "Welcome home, Miss Rainey. Me and the widow were about to give up on you. Miss Dottie says she feels like a little wine tonight and would like you to keep her company."

Rainey pointed with her head toward Travis. The woman closed her mouth and nodded once.

If Travis didn't know better-and he didn't-he'd think they were up to something they wanted kept a secret.

Leaning forward, Rainey tried to lift herself into the window. Frustrated, she turned back to Travis. "My friend usually leaves a stepstool here to help me make it in," she whispered. "It appears I'm too short to climb in without it."

"Maybe the window's too tall." He thought of asking why she didn't use the back door, but at this point Rainey's ways made as much sense as everything else in his life. "Will you accept my help?"

"Yes, please."

Slowly, so he wouldn't frighten her, he slipped one arm around her shoulders and slid the other beneath her knees. He lifted her into the window feet first, careful not to bump her head on the frame.

Once inside, she leaned out a few inches. "Thank you," she said and raised her hands to close the window.

"Rainey-" He moved closer, placing his hand on the open frame. "Would you step out with me some other night?" He thought of adding what he wouldn't do the next time, but the list was too long to bother with. "I plan to be in town several more days. I'd like it if we could have dinner again."

She straightened, all prim and proper now. "I don't think so, Mr. McMurray, but thank you for asking." The candlelight from the room beyond the laundry room silhouetted her in pale yellow, making her look like an angel.

He touched his finger to his hat in a salute. "Mind if I ask again?"

"Not at all, Mr. McMurray, if you don't mind if I'm unable to go."

She closed the window before he could think of anything else to say. Which was good, he decided, because with his luck he'd only hurt his chances of ever even getting her to speak to him again.

Maybe it wasn't her. Maybe she had just been there in the point in time when he realized that a woman in his life might not be the worst thing in the world. After spending months with nothing to do, his mind must have had too much time to think.

He walked out of the alley and circled round to the street lined with saloons. Maybe he should take the time to talk to a few other females and work the memory of Rainey out of his thoughts. What he needed was less thinking and more action.

An hour later.he'd tried three saloons and found nothing but rotten beer and cheap women. Most of the females he saw were too big. One redhead was almost as tall as him and outweighed him by twice. A few were small, but bony, not rounded like Rainey. He didn't have to touch them to know that they wouldn't feel right in his arms. One woman only had the bottom set of her teeth and another smelled worse than the alley. All were willing to step close, but Travis couldn't bring himself to kiss any of them. One beauty in a smoky back room stuck her tongue out and circled her mouth as if she thought that might encourage Travis to join her.

He walked into the fourth saloon and relaxed when he recognized three of the Rangers he'd traveled with over the years. They were holding cards, but he guessed they were talking more than playing.

One was several years older than Travis and well seasoned. Everyone called him Dillon, and he pretty much ran the Austin headquarters. Travis had no idea if Dillon was his first or last name. Dillon had ridden out with Stephen F. Austin as a scout when the first settlers came to claim land grants passed out by Mexico. He knew the land and he knew his job.

The second, Roy Dumont, was younger, about the same age as Travis. He liked living by the gun, and Travis guessed that if he hadn't been a Ranger, he would have been an outlaw. He had a wife and kids on both sides of the border, so he traveled back and forth, being a Ranger unless the money was better for him to cross the Rio Grande and become an informant.

The third man, Michael Saddler, was young, still a pup. He wore the star for the excitement and what he thought was the glory. His folks had been killed a few years back in a raid near Parker's Fort, but unlike some, Mike bore no hatred for Indians.

Saddler stood when he saw Travis at the bar. "Look, men, we're seeing a walking ghost and he's all dressed up like a gentleman."

Travis forced himself not to lean on his cane as he moved toward them.

Out of respect all three stood and greeted him. He felt as if he'd stepped on solid ground for the first time since he'd been shot. He knew these men, understood them, thought like them.

When he pulled up a chair, Mike dealt him a hand, but no one paid much attention to their cards.

They asked about the raid on the Germans' small wagon train. They wanted details, unlike his family who only wanted to know that he was all right. In the next hour he relived everything that he could remember knowing that they'd relay his story exactly to others.

Dillon wanted descriptions of the outlaws and mentioned a few names that might fit those killed. When Travis finished his report, Dillon thanked him for eliminating one of the raiding parties that had bothered travelers for almost a year.

When they all ordered another round of drinks the talk turned to how to prevent small groups of settlers traveling without army guard from being attacked. All four men agreed that even if there were five times the Rangers signed on now, not all the roads could be protected. Every year the fort line pushed a little farther north and west. Every year folks living on the fringes died.

Finally Travis leaned back and asked each man what they were working on. As he had them, they gave him details.

Dillon had just finished enlisting Mike's help in searching out three brothers who had escaped from a prison north of Houston.

"You know them, McMurray," Dillon said. "You put two of them in jail a few years back. The Norman boys."

"Seth and Eldon?" Travis frowned remembering. "Weren't they raiding around Jefferson? Killed a whole family of Quakers."

Dillon nodded. "That's them. They had a little brother who went to jail about a year later. Everyone called him Fancy Frank because he always dressed up in black suits and polished boots. I'm the one who put him in for murdering a woman, and he swore to kill me if he ever got out."

Travis laughed. "If I rounded up every outlaw who made that promise to me, I could fill a church. I was one of the guards who took Seth and Eldon down to prison. Every morning Seth would start the day with a new way to kill me. Last one I remember was that he planned to cut my heart out."

Dillon shook his head. "I get the feeling these boys mean it. If you're like me, you still watch your back. We posted a reward, but so far no takers."

He didn't know anything about the little brother, but he'd passed Seth and Eldon's pa at the courthouse once. The old man had a wild, crazy look about him that he must have passed down to his sons. "What about their pa?" Travis asked the other Rangers. "Any chance the boys are heading home?"

"Maybe." Dillon shrugged. "Old Man Norman lives south of here on a piece of dirt he doesn't even try to farm. I checked on him once. The neighbors say he killed his two wives, but if he did, it was years ago. Nowadays he runs just enough cattle to scratch out a living."

Travis couldn't get the Norman boys out of his mind as the conversation changed. They were bad news and he didn't like the idea that they were once more on the loose. It would only be a matter of time before someone paid.

He downed half of his beer in one gulp and turned to listen to Roy. Despite the fact the man had two wives, he liked the stout Ranger.

Roy Dumont said he'd just ridden in from the border and had as many questions as Travis about the Norman brothers. Neither was assigned to the case but both wanted to help, so the talk turned back to the brothers.

Travis smiled to himself. Rangers were like drunks, looking for adventure instead of the next drink. Funny thing was, the fights that always seemed the grandest were the ones you missed. He drew back into the circle and listened. Dillon had done his background work on this problem. If someone didn't find the brothers before they reached town, there was no telling the havoc they'd cause.

Austin was still struggling to remain the capital. If they got a bad reputation now, the folks in Houston would have the state papers moved and Austin would die. The two towns had been fighting over which should be the capital for years.

"The problem with the Normans escaping is that if they cause trouble here in Austin, no one in the state will feel safe." Roy spit at a spittoon three feet away, and none of the other men looked to see if he missed.

"You're right," Travis answered, glad to have his mind on work. "I'm not here officially. I'm still recovering, but I'll keep my ears open." He looked from Dillon to Mike. "If you need backup, you know where to find me. I'll be checking in at the office every few days to see if anything new has turned up. Since I know what Eldon and Seth look like, I'll keep a close eye out for them." He didn't mention that he would be sitting for a bar exam.

"Can you ride?" Dillon asked the question casually. The meaning had far more to do with Travis being ready to hit the trail at any minute than with his ability to sit a horse.

"No," Travis answered honestly. "I'm here with my sister and the kid I told you I found with the outlaws. We're hoping to connect him with any living family, but the chances are not good."

Dillon waited for more explanation about his condition. When Travis didn't say another word about his leg, they all knew the answer. None had missed the cane he carried.

"I understand. It wouldn't be fair to pull you back before you're healed." Dillon smiled. "In truth, if I need you, it will probably be right here." He looked around, then leaned in closer to the center of the table. "I heard the Normans kept a list of men they planned to get even with on their cell wall. Most were Rangers, a few judges and informants." He looked around the table. "With you in Austin, McMurray, that makes over half the list in town. It makes sense they'll come here."

"Any clue when?"

Dillon shook his head. "I heard a rumor that one of the barmaids here used to be sweet on Seth. Maybe he'll drop by for a visit."

Travis frowned. Dillon wouldn't have even brought the rumor up unless he believed it.

Dillon played a card from his hand, and the others did the same so anyone watching would think nothing more than a card game was going on. "Think about it. Old Man Norman may have been keeping an eye on the men on the hit list for his sons. All Rangers pass through here regularly as well as judges and lawyers they may think did them wrong."

Travis thought about it, then added, "There were four brothers. I killed one in a shoot-out when I captured Seth and Eldon."

All three of the other Rangers looked at him. Finally, after a full minute, Roy whispered, "Then I guess that makes you at the top of their list, McMurray."

No one nodded. No one needed to. Travis knew they were all thinking the same thing.

Roy finally broke the silence. "So, what's the plan tonight? I hope there is no fighting or gunplay involved. I've been on the trail a month and was hoping to sleep in a bed tonight."

Dillon frowned. "One of us needs to get real friendly with a few of the ladies in here tonight and find out if they know anything. If Seth's been seen, I'd like to know it before I hear a bullet coming at my back."

The youngest Ranger glanced around. "Which girl you think Seth likes?"

Dillon nodded at a thin girl near the bar. "That's her. I've been watching her. She's about as smart as a cow chip, but she might know something."

Travis raised his eyes to study the woman at the bar. She was young, maybe not out of her teens, but she'd been playing this game for several years. She had that hardened look of one who no longer cared about anyone, including herself. He could read her story on her face. She'd probably started serving drinks at fourteen or fifteen, then began taking men to her room a short time later because it paid better. She'd been beat up several times by unhappy customers, and judging from the tobacco stains on her fingers she had more than one habit she was supporting by working here.

In his early years as a Ranger, Travis had stepped in a few times trying to help the barmaids out. More often than not they'd turned on him, claiming he was interfering with their business. Some were hard and cold, some were sweet and talky, but they were all in it for the money. He'd bet a month's pay that this one wouldn't help the Rangers unless she saw some benefit in it for her.

Mike scooted his chair back. "I'll go try to talk to her."

Roy put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "She'll eat you alive, kid. Let me try. I'm used to handling women. Both my wives say I have the magic touch."

Dillon shook his head. "You got enough woman trouble, Dumont. Last I heard the one you have on the other side of the border told her six brothers that she wanted to be a widow. She was tired of being half a wife." Dillon nodded once at Travis. "Let McMurray do it. He's all dressed up like a gentleman. They'll never suspect him to be a Ranger."

Travis wanted to scream "No!" The last thing he wanted to do tonight was talk with another female. But he knew what Dillon was trying to do. He was giving Travis a chance to be part of the team. If he had any hope of remaining a Ranger, he had to do his duty, but talking to this thin, homely woman seemed impossible.

He finished off his drink and stood. No use putting it off. There would be pride in trying, even if he failed. The failure would lie in not giving it his best shot.

He walked to the bar and ordered another drink.

"Evening," he said as he stood beside the woman and waited for the bartender to return.

Her smile seemed painted on. "Evening, fellow. You tired of talking to your friends and want to have a little fun?"

He glanced back to see the three Rangers leaving. They knew if he learned anything, he'd report in, and for now they'd be wasting their time watching. It looked better if they appeared to be calling it a night, leaving him behind. One man who'd been drinking might look like easy pickings to a girl wanting to make some money.

"What do you have in mind?" He forced himself to smile back at the barmaid who wore enough paint for a war party.

"Depends on how much silver's in your pocket. For the price of a drink, we can talk. A few bits more and I'll give you a taste of what might be for sale."

He placed a few coins on the bar. "A bottle, bartender, and two glasses. The lady and I are going to have a few drinks and get to know each other."

She tugged him to one of the back tables where the smoke hung in a gray cloud thick as soup. The bony woman ignored a chair and took a seat on his knee. He wanted nothing more than to toss her off, but instead, he shifted her to his good leg and told her he'd been wounded recently.

She asked no questions about his wound, but two drinks later she was whining about every injury she'd ever suffered. Her voice reminded him of a violin that was badly in need of tuning. She had a way of never ending a sentence. She just rolled on and on with breaks only when she needed a drink.

Her friend circled by and helped herself to Travis's drink. He knew he'd not touch the glass again. She laughed and asked him if he were man enough for two women.

When he said he was, but his pocketbook wasn't, she snorted, letting him know that at this hour of the night the price could be negotiated.

The girl on his knee began to whine about never having enough money to buy a new dress.

Travis stilled as if the air had suddenly grown frosty. Without a doubt in his mind he knew who he was talking to. Snort and Whiny, the two women Rainey had described in her letter. She said she heard them talking every night. Except for the night they'd whispered about murdering someone, Rainey commented that Whiny always complained and Snort tried to make her laugh.

He counted houses from the alley and guessed if he went out the back door of this bar he might be directly under the boardinghouse's third-floor window.

These women might not know anything about Seth Norman, but they were plotting a murder. The world seemed full of criminals tonight. He studied them carefully, trying to decide if they had been just passing time, or if one or both of them could truly be setting a plan into action.

"Have a seat," he said to Snort. "It looks like a slow night, and I've enough money to at least buy you a drink."

When the older woman plopped down, he filled both their glasses and said with a smile, "Now tell me ladies, do either of you know where I might find a way to make some fast money?" He forced a smile. "I'm not too particular about it being strictly on the up and up."

They giggled and eyed one another as only people who share a secret do.

"You have any ideas?" he pushed.

"Nothing," Snort said, obviously deciding not to take a chance on him. "We're just looking to have some fun." She leaned close and rubbed her mouth against his throat. She wasn't kissing him. Her action seemed more that of an animal smelling prey. She had considerably more meat on her bones than Whiny, but unfortunately most of it was flabby.

Travis fought down a shudder. No matter what else he learned tonight, he knew one thing. He hadn't been attracted to Rainey simply because she was a woman.

If a woman had been all he needed, there were two pressing up against him now who seemed more than willing. He stared at the bottle knowing he could never get drunk enough to want to sleep with either.

The one Rainey had called Whiny let the strap of her dress fall. Her pointy little breast slipped from the faded dress and drooped over the fabric. She looked up to make sure Travis watched. "See something you like?" she whispered in his ear. "I'll let you hold it for free, if you like."

Travis gripped the whiskey bottle so hard he was sure it would shatter in his hand. "No," he managed to say. "Maybe another time. I have to go."

He tossed a coin on the table. "Please, finish the bottle for me tonight, and I'll see you again when I'm more flush."

Whiny shrugged. He'd said the one thing to make her lose interest. He was broke.

Travis walked out the back of the bar and closed the door behind him. The cold night air hit him full in the face, sobering him completely. Like a deer, he wanted to push a hard breath out and get rid of the smells he'd just breathed in, but the alley was no place to draw more air in.

He looked up and could barely make out the third-story window. As he'd hoped, it was open. It seemed halfway to the moon.

"Rainey," he said as calmly as if she were standing right beside him. "Rainey, I know you're not asleep. Answer me."

After a moment she whispered, "What are you doing down there?"

"I met your two friends. We need to talk about them tomorrow. They may be in far more danger than you think they are."

The alley was silent for so long he feared she might not answer. Then her answer carried on the air. "Where?"

"The café where we had dinner. Noon."

"I'll try. But I'll not promise."

He smiled. Even if she did promise, he wouldn't believe her. "Rainey," Travis said as he started down the alley.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Good night, Sunshine."

"Good night," she echoed. "And don't call me Sunshine."

He walked all the way home with a grin on his face. Maybe she didn't hate him half as much as he thought. After all, she'd almost agreed to see him again. Maybe his brain would be clear enough in daylight to keep him from saying something crazy.

He crossed the grounds of the capital and entered the side door of the Bailey home. As always, the house smelled of beeswax and roses. He'd heard it said that Mrs. Bailey always kept fresh roses in every room during the summer when she could charge twice as much for a room, and there were plenty who would pay it to have their families close while they did their business.

When he opened the door to the sitting room he shared with his sister, he found Duck sitting on a short stool by the fire.

The minute the boy heard Travis, he jumped up and ran to him. As always, Travis swung him up and held him safe and sound.

The boy smiled.

Travis hugged him tightly and sat down in the chair beside the fireplace. "It's all right, Duck. It's all right. I'm not going to leave you. You will always be safe. If I go out, I promise I'll come back." Travis felt like he gave the same speech every time he left the room. Maybe it was not the words, but the sound of his voice that always seemed to settle the child down.

Sage appeared at her bedroom door with her arms crossed in anger. "He won't go to sleep without you here, Travis. And I can't go to sleep knowing he's sitting waiting."

She walked farther into the room, her new blue dressing gown swishing against the polished floor. She leaned down to the little iron teapot that was delivered every night even though no one ordered it.

"He's fine with me while it's daylight, but as soon as the sun sets, he starts watching for you." She poured herself a cup. "Tonight he went from window to window waiting for you to come back."

Travis didn't know what to say. He wasn't sorry for being gone. He hadn't reported in at dark to anyone since his mother died, and he didn't plan on explaining his actions now. Not to his little sister, or to anyone else. If he told her he'd been working, she'd want to know details, and if he told her he'd stepped out with a woman, he'd never hear the end to the questions. So he said nothing.

Sage would calm down. She was like kindling. She fired up fast, but her temper never lasted long.

She brushed her hand over the boy's hair. "He's already asleep. All he needed was to know you were near."

Travis smiled down at Duck. "He'll grow out of it. He must feel pretty lost most of the time."

Sage walked back to her bedroom as he lifted Duck down onto the blankets in front of the fire. "Tomorrow," she started, "Mrs. Bailey and I are going to Sunday services at the chapel. They're having singing afterward that I think I'll really enjoy. You and Duck can have some time together."

"Will you be back by noon?" Travis looked forward to sleeping in and catching up on reading. He was glad she didn't ask him to go with her. He'd be fine here with Duck, and she'd be safe with the Baileys.

"No. There's a potluck lunch. I helped Mrs. Bailey make bread for it after supper. I should be back by three." She closed the door without expecting him to comment.

He opened his mouth to call her back, but what would he say? I've got a date to meet a horse thief to discuss a murder planned by two barmaids I saw a little too much of an hour ago?

A tiny hand touched his.

He looked down at blue eyes staring up from the blankets by the fire.

Travis growled.

The boy growled back, then climbed up in the chair with Travis. Duck put his head on Travis's shoulder and let out a deep breath as he went back to sleep.

Travis kissed the top of the boy's head. "I don't scare you one bit, do I, my brave little man."

He leaned back in the chair and thought of Rainey. "I probably don't frighten her, either, but if we're talking honest, son, she about scares me to death."