Jodi Thomas - The Lone Texan

"You young men sure do clean up nice," she said. "Sage will hardly recognize you when she gets back”

"I'm riding on up to the camp tomorrow," Drum said. "I thought Daniel might stay here for a few days. If you need him, he'll be close.”

"You think the boys may still be in danger?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I don't see how the raiders who killed their parents could find the boys here, but it pays to be safe." He didn't dare tell her Daniel's theory of the raiders and the outlaw being links of the same gang. "I think Sage may still be in danger. The man she treated at the outlaw camp seems to want another house call made. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen.”

Bonnie's hand shook. "There's so much trouble in this country.” Tears bubbled in her eyes. "I swear I'm frightened most all the time.”

Her show of emotion surprised Drum, but he had to admit for a woman who'd said she'd never gone more than a few miles from her home before she left Boston, this must be a terrifying place.

Daniel tried next. "Don't you worry, Miss Pierce, you're far enough from the saloons that even when there is gunfire, it'll never reach you."

Both men frowned when tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"I don't think you're helping.” Drum said.

Bonnie excused herself and almost ran from the room. Daniel pointed at Roak. "Well, at least I was trying. Which is more than you were doing. What do you suggest next?" "Pie," Drum said and waved down the waitress.

When Bonnie returned, she smiled at three pieces of pie sitting in front of her. It seemed to work; her mood did improve as she nibbled on a slice.

She filled them in on everything that happened on the trail up from Galveston. She also talked about Will and Andy. It was obvious she'd grown to love them both. During the weekdays, they'd stay with her at the clinic so they could go to school. On Friday, one of the McMurrays would take them to the ranch for the weekend, where they would run free.

"They invite me to go along," Bonnie said, "but I like my time alone here in town. There's too much going on at the ranch. I have my knitting and my books to keep me company, and of course when the clinic opens, we may have patients from time to time who are in recovery."

When she talked about the details of the clinic, both men listened politely as they ate.

Drum walked her back to the clinic while Daniel excused himself, claiming that a poker game was calling him. Drum strolled through the streets alone after he said good night to her on the porch. He took in the feel of the town and decided he liked it. Anderson's Glen seemed a safe place and, in a strange way, it felt almost like home. He knew people here, even if some of them didn't remember him.

Something else had changed. Men tipped their hats to him and women smiled. They'd say things like, "Evening, Ranger" and "Nice night.^” It seemed the badge he wore didn't just frighten outlaws, it was a welcome sight to those on the right side of the law.

He closed the door to his room and stripped his clothes off without turning up the lamp. Then he lay on the bed and relaxed. There was nothing he could do until dawn, when he planned to saddle up and go to the Apache camp to see Sage. After warning her, he thought he'd ride back with her to town. Maybe somewhere along the way he'd have enough time alone with her to remind her that she was still alive.

As he passed into dreams, he rolled to his side and reached for her as he had every night since they'd been together.

SAGE TURNED HER HORSE TOWARD THE WATER AND splashed across the stream, not caring that it was midnight and her actions would wake up half the camp. Her grandfather had been his usual impossible self, refusing to take any medicine that wasn't made the Apache way. He had a bad chest infection that could easily move into pneumonia. To make matters worse, he'd decided to sleep out beneath the stars, since it was the first clear night in a week.

When she'd objected, he'd ignored her plea and told her that a man on a black horse waited for her on the other side of the stream. She knew it had to be Drummond. Her grandfather wouldn't have let anyone else near the camp.

Sage decided she might as well go see what Roak wanted, because between worrying about her grandfather and worry over what bad news Drummond brought, she'd get no sleep.

When she reached his campsite, he stood and offered to help her down. She ignored his hands and jumped to the ground. "Why didn't you just ride into the winter camp? Grandfather knows you're a friend of the family. I told him all about how you saved me”

Drum smiled. Your grandfather may have welcomed me, but a few of the braves still remember years ago when I used to pilfer their game. I figured he'd tell you I was here. The old man keeps up with everything that happens around him.”

She moved to the campfire for warmth, and he offered her coffee. They sat across from one another. He told her all that Luther had given the Rangers about Count Hanover's condition, and she told him about her grandfather's health. They talked easily, sometimes finishing each other's thoughts. The days of traveling together had changed them, she thought. They'd become friends. True friends.

"So," she said when her coffee was finished. "What's the plan? You just going to hang around to see if anyone comes for me?"

"Something like that.”

She shook her head. "I got a better one. I can take care of myself. Go back to the Rangers. Hanover will never find me here and, if he does, I'll be ready for him”

"I-"

She didn't let him finish. "I'm not your worry, Drummond. I never have been. We're friends. That's all. If I ever need you, I'll send word, just like if you need me, you let me know." She stood and moved to her horse. She had her life planned out here, and she didn't need a bodyguard following her around.

"I need you," he said so low he wasn't sure she heard him. "God, how I need you, Sage.”

She froze. How could she tell him? That night in the stairwell had been a mistake. She'd just been pretending, living out a fantasy with the ghosts in her life. It hadn't been him she was kissing. She thought he'd understood that.

He moved behind her. She didn't have to turn around. She could feel the warmth of his body. His nearness had always attracted her like a magnet, but her mind knew there could never be anything between them.

"If you were older, you'd know it's not that simple. You can't just say you need me and expect me to react.”

"I'm old enough," he brushed his hand over her shoulder. "And it is that simple.”

She shook her head. "No, it's not”

"Stay with me tonight. Just sleep beside me like we did on the trail. I need to hold you." He hated himself for asking, but he had to try.

"No.” She couldn't turn around. She knew she was hurting him. She should have stopped this the first time he'd kissed her when he was still more boy than man.

She expected him to argue, to ask again, but he moved away.

She waited until she'd climbed on her horse before looking back, knowing that her refusal may have ended the friendship they'd built. Why couldn't he understand that this wasn't about him, but her? She wasn't brave enough to take the loss of another love. Her love for adventure didn't cross to her heart. The pain was too great. For once in her life, she had to play it safe, and getting involved with a wild gunfighter was definitely not playing it safe.

The campfire cast a low glow all the way to the trees. There was no sign of Drum. He'd disappeared just as he always had as a kid. Only, he was a man now. A man who'd asked to hold her, and she'd turned him down without even facing him.

Sage felt like a coward as she rode back across the stream. Turning him down had hurt deep inside her, and she suddenly didn't like herself. How much would it have cost her just to let him hold her for a few minutes? She doubted anyone had ever held him, and when he'd asked to hold her, she'd turned him down.

Drum had been alone all his life, and tonight, she'd managed to make him feel even more so.

She'd thought she couldn't feel worse, but she was wrong. Her grandfather waited at the edge of the Apache camp for her return. The anger and disappointment in his eyes shocked her.

"I was just-"

He answered in Apache. "I know where you were.”

She felt like a teenager caught behind the barn with a boy. "We were just-"

He shook his head. "I don't care what you were doing. Go back and tell Roak that he is welcome to our fire. A man who saves my granddaughter's life should not sleep on the other side of the water."

"I can't-"

"You can and you will. Teagen tells me he is very brave, and he carries you in his heart. Are you afraid of him?"

"No." The conversation had taken a turn she hadn't expected. Her grandfather lived by a strict code. She'd insulted him by not asking Roak to come into camp. She had no idea what the comment meant about his heart, other than that Drum was constantly worried about her. "He would never hurt me, Grandfather. Teagen is right; we are friends, and he is a very brave man."

"Then go back and invite him to share our campfires. If he does not cross the water, you do not."

Sage had a headache. On a good day her grandfather could easily drive her to drink, and today hadn't been a good day. She wasn't surprised he thought more of Roak than he seemed to of her. To Grandfather, a brave man was highly valued, whereas women, including his four wives, were mostly a bother. When she'd been little, he'd thought she was cute and spoiled her, but now he seemed to think she was a great embarrassment to the family by not being able to keep a man alive long enough to get her pregnant.

"All right, I'll go back and invite him." She turned to the stream. "If he doesn't want to come. Ill drag him over here at gunpoint and tie him to a pole.”

Her grandfather grunted. "Good. I will watch."

Sage splashed back across the water, trying to think about what she could say to Drum to get him to come with her. She'd just insulted him, probably hurt him, and now she wanted to invite him over. Men!

She wasn't surprised to find Drummond's camp empty. He'd be out walking off his anger. She sat down on his bedroll and leaned against his saddle. Maybe if he didn't come back, she could wait half an hour and sneak across the water to her bed. Surely her grandfather wouldn't stay up waiting for her. He was at least seventy years old, she thought. What does a man that age do with four wives?

Sage groaned, closing her eyes. She knew what he did. She'd heard the wives giggling about it.

She heard firewood tumbling to the ground a few feet from her and looked up. Drum stood above her, frowning. He was tall and handsome in his lean, dark way. Dressed in black with his gun worn low and his hat tilted to shade all but his strong jaw from the firelight, he reminded her of what a highwayman of old must have looked like.

"What do you want?" No welcome flavored his words.

"I came back to tell you that you are invited into my grandfather's camp."

He knelt and added more wood to the fire. "No thanks.” "If I said I'm sorry, I didn't intend to hurt you, would you come with me?"

"No," he answered, still looking at the flames. “And you didn't hurt me”

She knew he was lying. Part of her wanted to reach out and touch him, but she had a feeling he wouldn't welcome sympathy. "What do you want from me?" she finally whispered.

"Nothing," he lied again. "I don't want or need anything from you. I never have. I've been alone all my life. What makes you think I need anyone? Go back to your grandfather."

"No."

"That seems to be your favorite word tonight. Sage. Go away."

She stood and faced him.

His gray eyes were cold as he looked down at her. "Tell me, do you turn down every man in your life? Is that why they die on you, from neglect?"

Before she thought, she slapped him so hard she wouldn't have been surprised if her grandfather heard it. She hated Drummond Roak at that moment more than she'd ever hated anyone. How dare he say such a thing to her!

When she raised her hand again wishing more than planning to hit him, he grabbed her wrist with lightning speed.

The sudden thunder of horses startled them both, leaving them frozen in place as Apache surrounded them.

Her grandfather slid from his pony and stormed toward them. For all his complaining of being sick and old this morning, he looked to be in full warrior glory tonight.

"I've heard enough." His words seemed even more powerful in Apache. "If you two plan to argue like you are married, let you be bound."