Jodi Thomas - Texas Rain

"When I finally got to my feet, he didn't even notice me leaving."

"McMurray!" Dillon yelled from halfway down the alley. "They went this way. Two horses traveling fast." Dillon looked directly at Travis. "You riding lead?"

"I am."

Dillon nodded and followed Travis to the horses. "I've left men assigned to clean up. I'm riding with you."

"Thanks," Travis answered, knowing there were none better than Dillon.

He checked the saddle and shoved his cane in with the rifle. The hardest part would be swinging into the saddle, he told himself. From then on, there would be no stopping.

Dillon stood close, one hand on the reins, ready to help if needed.

Travis bit his bottom lip and forced his body up. His muscles responded to the years of climbing into a saddle and he swung up in one fluid motion, not feeling the pain until he landed.

"Ready to ride?" Dillon asked.

"Ready," Travis answered as the other Rangers circled around him.

They shot out of town at full gallop following the trail easily.

He hadn't been on a horse in months and his leg ached all the way to the bone, but he didn't stop, couldn't stop, because his heart hurt twice as much.

At the river, the Rangers split up. Dillon took two men and moved downstream. Travis, leading an extra horse, rode with Roy Dumont heading upstream. The kidnappers were obviously trying to hide their tracks, but they'd leave a trail coming out of the stream long before a Ranger would give up looking.

"I'll fire a round if we see where they exit," Dillon said. "You do the same."

Travis knew there was a good chance they'd be too far apart to hear one another's shots, but he also knew outlaws were often not the brightest men around. Last year he'd worked a stage robbery where the bandit shot his own horse in a display of gunfire meant to frighten the passengers. Riding in the stream might be a good way to hide their trail, but it was also more dangerous and slower.

Roy Dumont didn't say a word as he took the left bank of the stream and began to look for sign. With the man in black dead, only two men stood between them and Rainey.

Travis would worry about who else might have been in on the plot to get even with him later.

He planned as he rode. Now was not the time to hope; he had to use all his skill and look at the facts. He had to get to her fast. Once the men discovered she wasn't Sage, they might kill her-or worse. Surely they knew the Rangers would be after them. The Rangers would have been even if someone kin to a Ranger hadn't been the target. How dare the outlaws think they could commit such a crime within blocks of the Ranger headquarters? The Normans were either stupid or very sure of themselves.

Seth and Eldon would probably ride until their horses gave out, which would be long before any Ranger's horse stopped.

If their horses made it until dark, there would be lots of places they could hide in this country. With only a sliver of a moon to see by, tracking could be difficult. If the Normans had any sense, they wouldn't light a fire. In the dark they might not know they had the wrong woman until morning. If they did set up camp, even in the firelight they'd see that Rainey wasn't Sage.

Travis pushed harder. He had to reach Rainey before dark. Her abductors might have decided they had gotten away with the crime if no one caught up with them by sunset. They'd build a fire and have their first good look at Rainey. With her blond hair she couldn't fool them into believing she was Sage for a moment.

He closed his eyes, thinking how frightened she must be. And she had a right to be. Seth and Eldon planned to make Travis suffer. They probably saw it as only fair to kill his sister since Travis had killed their brother in a gunfight.

Travis forced his mind away from thinking about how they'd kill her.

"Here!" Roy yelled as his horse climbed up the left bank. "Two sets of fresh tracks."

Roy slipped from his mount and knelt. He read the sign easily. "One is riding heavy-that's the horse with the girl and the stout man you said the widow described. It has to be Seth. The other mount stumbled coming out of the water. He won't last long if they keep riding him so hard."

Slipping back on his horse, Roy raised his rifle and fired once.

"You think Dillon heard?" Travis asked. They'd only split up thirty minutes ago, but Dillon and his party would be moving faster traveling downstream.

Roy shook his head. "Looks like we're going this one alone."

To Travis's surprise, Roy winked and added with a smile, "More fun that way." He must have seen the worry in Travis's eyes because he added, "Don't worry, we'll get her back."

They rode on for an hour across rolling countryside before Roy stopped again to study the ground. Travis wanted to look, but he knew if he got off, he might not be able to climb back in the saddle. His leg had finally stopped throbbing and was numb. He'd be no help to Rainey on foot.

While Roy read the trail, Travis cut one of the leather straps off the back of Mike's saddle and laced it around the top of his leg, tying himself to the saddle.

He took a drink from his canteen, realizing he hadn't eaten since yesterday. He wasn't sure he could eat anything until he found Rainey. He thought of how frightened of the dark she'd been. She wouldn't go into the alley alone, and now she was miles from anything she knew. She must be mad with panic. She had no way of even knowing he was looking for her.

"I'll find you," he mumbled to himself. "No matter how far they take you, I swear, I'll find you."

"The horse that stumbled coming out of the water is near finished." Roy removed his hat and wiped his brow. "The man riding single, probably Eldon, turned off here. If he doesn't stop, he'll have to put the horse down."

Travis saw a stand of thick oak maybe half a mile away. "He's planning to hold up in there. My guess is he's already found him a safe place to hide where he can see if anyone's coming."

Roy nodded. "He won't see me. I'll go get him." He covered his eyes and looked up at Travis. "Can you handle the other outlaw alone? I could ride with you and let this rabbit go."

Travis shook his head. "No. I want them all caught, but if you finish, leave him tied up somewhere if he's alive and ride to join me."

Roy smiled. "I'll do that. Maybe once I save this young lady, I'll have me three wives." His eyebrows danced up and down. "Women can't resist a hero."

Travis frowned and Roy changed the subject. "You know that burned-out mission due south of here?"

"I know it," Travis answered. "I was thinking the same thing. Our last kidnapper will feel safe in there with rock at his back. It would be the place I'd head to if I planned to hold up for the night, and if he's riding double, he'll have to stop soon."

Roy saluted and kicked his horse. "I'll catch up to you."

Travis put the cap back on his canteen and headed due south toward the remains of a mission. The ground was damp, making the tracks easy to follow. His left leg had started to swell. His boot felt tight, but there was no time to stop.

He reached the remains of a mission just before the sun set. Jagged white rocks lined the perimeter of the grounds like broken teeth no longer useful. He circled, keeping the sun at his back, and rode between the walls that had once held trouble at bay. Anyone at the mission would have to be staring at the setting sun to see him.

On the east side, where the walls were almost ten feet high, he found a horse tied to the last pole standing in what once had been a corral. Travis knew he'd found them. He pulled his knife and cut the leather holding his leg still, then slid slowly from the saddle. He wasn't surprised when his left leg wouldn't hold his weight. He pulled his cane and walked across the rocky ground knowing that if he stumbled and fell, he'd never be able to get to his feet. The ride had undone weeks of healing, but it couldn't be helped. He had to find Rainey.

First, he unsaddled the outlaw's animal, consuming valuable time, but delaying the outlaw's escape if he returned to the horse. Then he walked his horse and the extra mount he'd brought several feet away and tied them out of sight. His gun belt held two weapons, but he pulled the rifle from the sheath tied to his saddle. What he lacked in mobility, he might need to make up for in firepower.

He limped his way slowly through the maze of rocks as the sky blackened. Time was running out for Rainey. He needed to find her fast.

With each step he tested his weight against his left leg. He felt like he was counting down until he took one final step and the leg would no longer take any of his weight. He held to the wall when he could and moved as silently as the rocks would allow. He knew even if he fell and had to crawl, he'd find Rainey.

She was near. He could feel it.

Every few steps he'd stop and listen, hoping to hear voices, afraid he'd hear her scream.

Half an hour passed and the night blackened. Travis felt like he was lost in a maze made of stones.

He crossed between two rock walls. His boot struck against something that wasn't rock hard… something that gave when he shoved slightly. Travis almost tumbled as he tried to move forward again. Placing his rifle on a crumbled wall, he carefully felt his way in the darkness.

Travis brushed something furry and velvet bundled at his feet. Sage's coat? He'd held it for her a dozen times. Now there was no doubt Rainey was near. Also no doubt that Seth Norman knew he had the wrong woman.

Reaching again, Travis heard the sound of his own heart pounding. Something lay beside the coat. He spread his fingers wide and moved across it.

Blood, warm and sticky, wet his hand as the smell of it filled his lungs.

He lay his hand flat, feeling flesh, but no life beneath it. With careful circles, he tried to find the wound. Beneath the jacket, the body was too hard, too thick to be a woman's. Travis took a deep breath of relief and continued searching.

In the center of a man's chest he found a small knife planted as deep as the blade would go. Judging from the small hole and the great amount of blood the man had been bleeding for some time before he died.

Travis leaned back away from the body. Come morning he'd take a good look at the body and make sure it was Seth Norman, but right now, in the blackness of the mission, he knew two things. The man was dead and Rainey had to be the one who killed him.

The only question remaining: Where was Rainey? The possibility crossed his mind that someone might have been waiting here for the outlaws. Maybe crazy Old Man Norman, or someone else who'd escaped with the brothers and had offered to help in their revenge. If someone had been waiting at the mission, Rainey may not have bought her freedom with the killing.

He struggled to stand and resume his search.

"Rainey?" he said in a low voice that carried several feet. He didn't want to frighten her even more in the dark, but if she was hiding, he might not find her until morning if she didn't make a sound. "Rainey, it's me, Travis."

He'd moved about twenty feet when he heard someone crying softly. He hurried toward the sound.

"Rainey," he whispered when he saw the outline of her tiny form balled up in a corner near the opening. "Rainey?"

He knelt beside her but didn't touch her. "Rainey?"

She stopped crying and for a long moment remained as still as the rocks around her. Then she raised her head and whispered back, "Travis, I knew you'd come find me."

He sat beside her and wrapped her in his arms. She cried on his shoulder as he moved his hands slowly along her body, making sure she wasn't hurt. He didn't tell her to stop crying, or ask any questions, he just held her.

Finally she grew quiet and he felt her body relax next to him. After a while she whispered as if someone might hear them. "Travis, I killed a man today."

"I know," he answered. "Now go to sleep, Sunshine. We'll talk about it tomorrow. You're safe now." He didn't want to add that he doubted he could get to his feet if he tried. He needed time to rest and so did she.

She pressed against him as he covered them with his coat. He pulled both his guns from their holsters and placed them on either side, then he wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to tell her how he felt… like a part of him had been ripped away when he'd learned of the kidnapping… but he wasn't sure she'd understand. She thought they were friends. Deep down, he'd realized that she was his. Whether they ever married, or admitted it, didn't matter. She was his and he was hers.