Give Me A Texas Ranger. Jodi Thomas

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СКАЧАТЬ was so lost in his thoughts he almost missed the glint of sunlight off a rifle. The bullet came within a foot of his head as he dove off his horse.

      He rolled into the brush, both guns ready and waiting.

      Nothing.

      An hour passed. Not a sound. Frank Sanders was playing with him. The idea that McCord had escaped and taken another witness with him must have infuriated the gambler. Thorn and Sanders planned to pay him back by making him sweat awhile before they killed him. McCord wondered if the horse he’d heard riding past while he and Anna hid in the rocks that first night had been ridden by Frank. After he killed the others at the station, the gambler might have raced after them, knowing he’d be in real trouble if he failed Thorn by not finding the letter and by letting witnesses live.

      McCord burrowed in and waited out the day, determined not to give the gambler any chance to fire again.

      At dusk, he climbed on his horse and rode out before even the stars offered light. He’d have to be more careful, but when his job was done, he would track the gambler down.

      By sunup McCord and his horse were safely away, miles to the north of where he’d been shot at. The Ranger needed a few hours’ sleep and then he had to think. The letter in his boot was due by the end of the week to an Indian agent deep in the territory. He could make the ride in two days on a good horse. The question was, did he deliver it first, then find Frank, or try to find the gambler first, then burn leather to make it to the agent in time?

      Only one answer came to mind. The outlaw could wait a few days to be arrested; the letter had to be delivered. Hundreds of lives might be saved if the agent could put the governor’s plan into action.

      Splashing across the Cimarron River, he entered the rolling hills of Indian Territory. The outlaws wouldn’t follow him this far. Once he was out of Thorn and his mens’ rifle range, he could ride hard toward Medicine Lodge on the Salt Fork, where the agent was reportedly staying.

      Anna was safe at the camp, surrounded by a hundred armed men, and with luck he’d be back in time to catch Thorn’s whole gang before they caused any more harm.

      Chapter 7

      Annalane spent her first few days in camp setting up the long, narrow room at the front of the infirmary to serve as a doctor’s office and operating room. She wasn’t sure if it was curiosity, or the long absence of an infirmary in camp, but people dropped by to help and to complain about small ailments. Two of the three women in camp were pregnant and happy to see someone they could talk to.

      Her brother walked in on the third day to nod his approval at the job she was doing. Shelves filled with organized and labeled supplies lined the wall. He talked of his excitement at being posted at his first fort, but said little about medicine. When she asked a few questions about where to put tools, he seemed unsure. She knew medical school was mostly two terms of lectures and some work on cadavers if students could afford them, but she was shocked at his lack of knowledge. A nurse, a week into training knew the names of medical supplies.

      Before she could begin to ask more questions or suggest he might help set up his own office, Devin announced, “I’ll be riding back along the stage line to inform the owners of their loss of employees. Not that it’s the army’s fault—we warned them not to try a run this far north. Teamster wagon trains a hundred long were safe enough to move from fort to fort, but it is far too early to even think about establishing a stage line.” He pointed at her. “You were a fool to take a stage. You should have waited at Dodge until supply wagons with guards could have delivered you.”

      She hated the way he talked down to her, never thinking to ask if she’d had enough money to wait in Dodge. Before she could fire back, he stormed toward the door.

      Glancing back, he added, “I’m assuming you can handle everything here while I’m gone.”

      “How long will that be?” Annalane asked, thinking one, maybe two days there and the same back should do it. What if the camp needed a doctor while he was gone? She wondered if her little brother had yet had his hands covered in warm blood. She doubted it. Being a doctor to him was more theory and grandeur than reality.

      “I’ll be gone a week,” he said without meeting her gaze. “Maybe more. I have army business to take care of that doesn’t concern you.”

      She straightened. “Devin, I’m here to help you, not do all the work. Don’t you dare treat me like your servant.”

      He frowned. “Or what? Or you’ll pack up and leave? Go ahead. You’ve never been much good at staying around. I doubt if it ever occurred to you that all those years during the war your family might have needed you around. Times were hard then, you know.” For a moment he looked like the boy she remembered and not the man before her.

      Annalane fought down words she knew she’d regret saying. She didn’t have the funds to go anywhere and he was well aware of the fact. She might be able to make it back to Fort Worth, or even Austin, but then she’d be penniless, looking for a job. She wanted to also point out that if he thought it was hard at home, he should have tried being at the battles.

      But she wouldn’t tell him. That was the past. Hopefully he’d never know war, and in time her memories would fade.

      When she didn’t snap back, he softened slightly. “Look, sis, I know it’s hard on you, but you’re used to hard times. I want to help you, I really do. My plan is simple. Help me set up this place and get it started, then maybe one of the single officers will see how useful you are to have around. Lieutenant Dodson is a widower with three kids and having a hell of a time. If you play your cards right, you could be married to him by Christmas and have a man to take care of you.”

      “You’re delusional.” Who would take care of Dodson…and the three children…and the house…and…She frowned, knowing her brother would never understand that marriage is not a ticket out of work.

      Devin laughed. “Come on, Annalane, you need a husband and Dodson can’t afford to be too picky. It might not be a marriage of love like you and your first love thought you had nine years ago, but it would be practical. He’s been in the army for over ten years, so he’s made of sturdier stuff than the kid you called husband for an hour.”

      Annalane fought the urge to slap her only kin. If Sergeant Cunningham hadn’t walked through the door, she might have. Devin had always been spoiled as a child and he hadn’t changed much.

      Cunningham saluted Devin, then addressed her. “I’m sorry to bother you this early, but I’ve been sent to tell you or the doctor that Private Price’s wife is going into labor and everyone in camp knows Victoria is a screamer when she’s not happy.”

      Devin headed for the door. “Take care of it, Annalane. I’ve got men waiting for me. Surely even you can handle a birthing.” He was gone before she could answer.

      Annalane grabbed a basket she’d put supplies in and shoved it toward the sergeant. “Let’s go. Babies don’t wait.”

      Cunningham led the way. “Did your brother ever deliver a baby?”

      “Not that I know of,” she answered, aware that most of Devin’s experience had probably been on corpses.

      “That’s what I figured. He looked a might pale. How about you?”

      “I’ve delivered a dozen or more near battlefields. Wives wanting to СКАЧАТЬ