STARTING WITH “THEY THOUGHT I WAS a woman named Annabelle Hewett,” and ending with hearing Dakota’s voice in the ranch house, Darvi chronicled her adventure. She grew emotional at times, but as they shared a wonderful Sunday dinner, Darvi explained the details she could recall.
Listening to her, Dakota knew his own range of emotions. At some times he thought he could string up Seth Redding, and at other times he felt Cassy and Eliot were to blame as well. That they hadn’t harmed her physically was a remarkable relief, but it didn’t get them off the hook. He would see to that personally.
“It’s your turn, Dakota,” Darvi finally said. “How did you find me? How did you know?”
Dakota smiled. “I have Cash to thank for that.”
Darvi looked to the tall redhead and waited for someone to explain. When Dakota did, she was as amazed at his story as he was at her own.
“So this woman, this reporter, does look like me?”
“Remarkably so. I had all I could do not to ask her where she’d been the day you boarded the train, thinking I’d made a complete mistake.”
Darvi shook her head a little. “That day feels like such a long time ago.”
“It was,” Cash said gently. “Not in actual chronological days, but in events, and those are far more emotionally draining than just time moving along the clock or calendar.”
“I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever thought of it before, but I think you must be right. I don’t know when I’ve been so tired.”
Not having meant to hint, Darvi was surprised when both men pushed back their chairs.
“Head out, Darvi,” Dakota spoke to her surprised face. “Go get some rest.”
“I didn’t mean for you…” But they didn’t give her a chance to finish.
“I’ll look forward to talking with you later, Miss Wingate,” Cash said, his voice and expression very warm and kind.
Darvi looked into his eyes and smiled.
“Thank you for a wonderful meal and for allowing me to stay with so little notice.”
“Well, don’t hurry off. I think you’ll find Kinkade and the Rawlings Cattle Company very much to your liking.”
Cash went on his way then, and Dakota came to get her chair.
“I’ll walk you up,” he offered, and Darvi allowed herself to be cared for. As her legs took the stairs, however, they began to feel weighted. By the time she reached her room, she was nearly wobbling.
“Will you get some rest too?” she couldn’t help but ask before going into the room.
“We take it pretty easy around here on Sundays, so I’m planning on it.”
Acute disappointment sprang into Darvi’s eyes.
“I missed church again,” she said with a small shake of her head. “It feels like it’s been forever.”
“It’s over now,” Dakota told her very gently.
“You’re right,” Darvi agreed, a part of her heart still trying to process this.
“Come on down to the living room when you’re ready. We’ll ride out and see a little of the ranch.”
“All right. Thank you, Dakota, for everything.”
“My pleasure.”
Dakota turned for the stairs, hearing Darvi’s door close behind him. He sought out his favorite chair in the living room and reached for Cash’s Bible. He was asleep before he could read five verses.
“And this,” Dakota pronounced dramatically as they rounded the trees, “is the pond.”
“Oh, my,” Darvi breathed. “It’s beautiful.”
“We think so.”
The two sat astride their horses and took in the scene. The pond was almost a perfect circle, a good 300 feet across, bordered on two sides by pecan trees.
“Do you want to walk awhile?” Dakota asked, all the time trying to gauge how she was doing.
“That sounds nice. Where shall we leave the horses?”
“Right here. We’ll tie Toby, but Eli will stay put.”
Darvi looked at him. “You whistled for Eli in the woods, didn’t you, just like a dog?”
Dakota smiled. “That about describes him. He’s always been like a big puppy. If you look behind us right now, you’ll find him watching me, as though he doesn’t want me out of his sight.”
Darvi did as he suggested and laughed out loud at how accurately he had called it. Dakota loved hearing the sound of her laugh and joined her when her face began to turn red.
“And you say he’s always been like that?”
“Yep.”
Darvi bit her lip to keep from laughing again. She didn’t know if it was that funny or if she was still tired. She was trying to figure it out when she spotted a half-circle of wooden benches that sat around a fire pit and gave a perfect view of the pond. Going to a seat and getting comfortable, Darvi let her mind drift back. It didn’t take much coaxing. The people she’d left, most especially Cassy and the children, were never far from her thoughts.
“It was strange,” Darvi began as though they’d already been speaking of it.
Dakota had taken a seat across from her, but she hadn’t looked at him. He watched and listened in silence.
“Cassy and the children were so sweet, and even the men were kind, but Seth would not see reason. I woke up every morning shaking my head that this had happened. I just didn’t think such a thing could go on in this day and age, and certainly not to me.”
Darvi finally looked at him, and Dakota asked the question he dreaded, fearing that the answer would make him want to shoot the man in question.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No. I didn’t feel threatened in any way.”
Darvi suddenly frowned.
“He wanted to kiss me. I wouldn’t let him!”
“You did the right thing.”
“One time I kicked him.”
“That was good. Your kisses are yours to give, not someone else’s to take.”
Darvi melted a little. It was such a nice thing to say, but as she was finding, memories continued to flood back.
“He said I had an upside-down mouth.”
Dakota looked at her.
“It’s a very kissable mouth.”
Emotions chased across Darvi’s features in rapid succession: first surprise, then pleasure that softened her features as she looked at the man across from her. But before long that softness was replaced by a look of uncertainty and then another frown.
“Dakota Rawlings,” she said in soft rebuke “a gentleman does not tell a lady that her mouth is kissable.”
Dakota wished he’d kept the thought to himself.
“You’re right. I’m sorry I said that.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over them, neither looking at the other. The water proved to be a helpful neutral point, and both took advantage of it.
Several minutes passed. A breeze stirred the trees, and as always, the low sound of cattle could be heard from the distance. Not certain how she felt about what had just happened, Darvi did not like sitting there with a strain between them. She was the first to chance a peek and was glad the Ranger’s gaze was on the water. She transferred her own gaze back before saying, in as normal a voice as she could manage, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Dakota, how are your bullet wounds? Has all of this mess with me kept you from going back to work?”
“No, it hasn’t. My wounds are fine. I feel I could go back at any time, but Brace said he didn’t want me for another month after I dropped you off.”
“How long has it been?”
“Let me see. I think I had dinner with you and Brace in Austin just four weeks ago yesterday, and after that we were in Stillwater with Calder and Merry and then in Aurora, so that makes it about two and a half weeks ago.”
“We were in Austin just a month ago?”
“As far as I can figure.”
Darvi stared at him, looking upset.
“Is that right?”
“Yes. You can check the calendar when we get back to the house.”
“That means I haven’t been home for more than a month.”
Dakota, who was on the road most of the year, understood completely. At times he missed home so much he ached. Darvi’s face told him she ached right now.
A bell rang in the distance.
“That’s for us,” Dakota told her as he stood. “Katy must have supper nearly ready.”
By the time they reached the horses, Eli was rather anxious, starting Darvi’s laughter all over again.
Dakota listened in silence, hoping to find other ways to hear her laughter in the following days. In his opinion, she’d been frightened and sad for much too long.
“Are you just a little bit amazed by it all?” Cash asked kindly. Dinner was over, and they were having coffee in the living room. “I mean, I thought about it most of the day, and it’s almost too outrageous to be true.”
“I was just telling Dakota that very thing. Even in the midst of it, I could hardly believe it.”
“I don’t find it so hard to believe,” Dakota stated calmly. The two other occupants of the room stared at him.
“You don’t know her, Cash, but things have a way of following Darvi around.”
“Things?” Cash questioned, even as he caught the gleam in his brother’s eye.
Dakota shook his head in pity. “Yes, things. They just mange to follow Darvi around. I’m not sure why, but there’s no doubt about it.”
“Do not believe a word he says, Cash,” Darvi finally cut in, having gotten over her shock to see she was being teased. “Dakota is very imaginative; that’s all there is to it. Those other incidents were just circumstances beyond my control.”
“Following a stranger down the streets of Austin?”
“I knew you were a Ranger,” Darvi defended, trying not to laugh.
“Then there were the men in Stillwater who just had to talk with you and wouldn’t let you pass?”
“I think,” Darvi responded, growing as outlandish, “that they were wanting to ask directions to the sheriff’s office, and we didn’t give them a chance.”
“The snake?”
Darvi shook her head, her expression one of pity over his shortsightedness.
“The snake simply misunderstood the time schedule and that it was my turn at the creek. It’s all very easily explained.”
Dakota gave a huge sigh of mock exasperation and looked back to his brother.
“You see, Cash. Things happen to Darvi, so I’m not at all surprised she was mistaken for another woman. She just can’t seem to help herself.”
“And if that wasn’t bad enough,” Darvi added, almost taking Dakota’s side against herself, “even after those people realized their mistake, they decided to keep me.”
“That’s the part!” Cash came forward in his seat and exclaimed. “I can’t get over that—I can’t imagine what they must have been thinking.”
“It was more Seth than anyone else. If it had not been for him, the others would have let me go.”
“Are you angry about that?” Cash asked.
Darvi had to think on it.
“Not exactly angry, but amazed—like you are. Seth’s and Eliot’s jobs are not aboveboard, and the fact that they believe they can do things outside the law leaves them open to any whim. They have their own standard, which they feel gives them the right to take someone.”
“Did this Seth really think you would eventually wish to stay?” Dakota now asked.
“That’s exactly what he thought,” she replied, shaking her head, and suddenly wanting to laugh a little more. “Did I tell you that I tried to sneak out in the wagon?”
Both men smiled but said no.
Darvi nodded. “I did, but Seth caught me, and Cassy went to town without me.”
“Tell us about Cassy, Darvi,” Cash urged her. “Did she not have trouble with what the men were doing?”
“Actually, she did. In fact, my telling her about my faith somehow prompted her into marrying Eliot. They just set a date after being together for five years.”
Both men gawked at her.
“You had a chance to witness to this woman?” Cash asked to be sure.
“Yes. We were talking, and she was saying how sorry she was that I’d come to be there under those circumstances, but that Seth was a fine man. I told her I didn’t want him, and thinking that I meant he wasn’t good enough for me, she became angry. I had no choice but to lay it on the line. She took it very well. It actually got her to thinking. The next time she went to town she bought a dress to be married in and showed it me. Then later I heard they’d set a date.”
“When is it?”
“Let me see. The days were so full and anxious at the same time that they tended to blend together, but I think it’s this Saturday.”
Dakota looked thoughtful, and Cash was the first to catch on.
“She’s going to have to go back, isn’t she?”
“Eventually, yes, but I think it can wait until after she goes home.”
“Why do I have to go back?” Darvi asked with a sinking heart.
“Because anything that happened to you is hearsay without your testimony.” Dakota looked at her. “You do want these people to answer for this, don’t you?”
Nate’s and Lindy’s faces sprang into her mind, but she still nodded her head yes.
“I can’t say that I’m thrilled to return, however.”
Dakota caught her eyes and told her plainly, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“You’ll be there?”
His brows rose as though he’d been insulted, and for a moment they only looked at each other.
“But first,” Cash cut in, “you’ll get in touch with your family and tell them you’re spending the rest of the week here resting up before starting for home.” Cash paused and smiled at her. “At least that’s what I hope you’ll do.”
Darvi smiled back. “I would like to rest a little before traveling again. Are you sure I won’t be imposing?”
“Very sure.”
“Does the train run from Kinkade?”
“Twice daily. You’ll connect at Dallas and then be on your way.”
“I’ll telegraph tomorrow.”
“I’ll take you in,” Dakota offered.
At that point the evening came to a very quiet close. Darvi found herself watching Dakota yawn and needing to do the same. Cash rescued both of them and said he was turning in.
Darvi lay down in bed just a short time later, hardly able to remember that she’d taken a nap. She thought she might lie there for long minutes, still in wonder over how God had used Dakota to rescue her, but the strange sounds and surroundings took little time to fade.
“So when did you tell them you’d be home?” Dakota asked when Darvi was finished in the telegraph office. He saw her inside but took a seat to give her privacy.
“I’m going to take Cash’s offer and stay until Friday or Saturday.”
“Why not Sunday or Monday?”
Darvi looked up at him. “I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
Again she received that look; Dakota’s brows went up as though he was insulted for his brother.
“I told them to look for me sometime next week,” she admitted.
Dakota smiled complacently and offered to show her around town, pointing out the bank and the new hotel. Kinkade had a fairly good-sized school, and Dakota told her all about it.
“I love Texas,” Darvi mentioned at one point.
“Why is that?”
“The diversity. Some areas are huge and flat; others are hilly and dense.” She looked up at him. “Uncle Marty even took me to Houston one summer and down to the Gulf of Mexico. It was so exciting.”
“I’ve never been,” Dakota admitted.
“Oh, you’ve got to go, Dakota. It’s beautiful.”
“I think I’ll do that sometime,” he said with quiet conviction.
Watching him, Darvi noticed for the first time how handsome he was. His eyes were very dark and oftentimes serious, but when he was smiling or amused, they were beautiful. She took in the square line of his jaw to the thick black hair atop his head. His features were strong, something she found very appealing. Suddenly feeling shy with him, Darvi dropped her eyes, hoping he had not caught her gawking.
“I just spotted someone I need to speak with, Darvi. Come on over with me, and I’ll introduce you.”
Feeling rescued, Darvi looked up to see they were in front of the general store.
“Would you mind very much, Dakota, if I stopped in here first? I’ll come find you afterward.”
She watched him hesitate but didn’t know why.
“All right. I’ll come back for you, okay?”
“Okay.”
Dakota waited until she went inside before crossing the street. Darvi didn’t look back but headed inside with good intentions. Unfortunately, they didn’t last very long. She wasn’t in the mood to shop, just in the mood to think about this new awareness of Dakota. She wandered the aisles of the store for a time but couldn’t keep it up. With a smile to the proprietor, she exited.
There was no sign of Dakota. Darvi was getting ready to sit on one of the empty benches out front when she spotted a small dog as he went limping into the alley. She changed her mind and trailed after the stray.
“Hey, there,” she said softly when she found the dog had gone just halfway down the alley and stopped against the mercantile wall. The dog’s tail thumped at the sight of her, but he still held his right foreleg close to his body.
Darvi approached without fear and stroked his small head. He didn’t look to be more than a pup. Nevertheless, she knew she would need help. Darvi made a swift trip back out to the boardwalk and immediately spied a pair of teenage boys. She stopped them with a word.
“Excuse me.”
The boys stopped and came to immediate attention; this lady was pretty, and she had spoken to them first.
“There’s a dog in the alley that seems to be hurt. Could you tell me where I could take him?”
“We’ll help you,” the taller of the two boys said.
Darvi didn’t know why they did this but still showed them the dog. It was no trouble for the first one down the alley to lift him, and Darvi was glad to see that he was gentle.
They took the dog to Dr. Wilcox, whose sign Darvi remembered seeing earlier. His speciality was people, the boys told her, but he had compassion for dogs. That was enough for Darvi.
She was a little surprised that the boys did not drop off the dog and leave, but she didn’t mind the company as long as the little dog was helped. Darvi was still sorting through some of her thoughts when the doctor joined them in the waiting room.
“What can I do for you?” Dr. Wilcox asked.
“I found this dog in the alley,” Darvi explained. “His leg seems to be hurt.”
The wise doctor took in the scene at a glance before kneeling down to examine his canine patient.
“I think this is Rickmans’ dog. Why don’t you boys run down the street and let them know he’s here?”
The youths agreed readily enough, but neither one moved. Darvi had been too busy watching the dog to notice.
“So what’s your name?” one of the boys now asked. The strawberry blonde answered without looking up.
“Darvi Wingate.”
“Darvi. That’s a nice name. You new in town?”
Darvi finally caught on. She looked up to find keen interest in both sets of young eyes. Hers had been for the dog; theirs were for her.
“I think I should tell you, gentlemen, that I’m old enough to be your, well, your older sister.”
They both smiled at her.
“Where do you live?” was the next question, telling Darvi they were not put off.
Darvi’s chin came up, but she turned away from them, opening her purse as she moved.
“I’d like to leave payment with you if I could,” she said to the doctor and held out a coin.
“Thank you,” he said graciously, “but I’m sure Mr. Rickman will be happy to take care of it.”
Putting her money away, she asked, “Will the little dog be all right?”
“He’ll be fine. We’ll have him wrapped up and back to his owner in no time.”
“Thank you,” she said to the doctor and then to her helpers.
As she moved to the door, she heard the physician say, “Stay here, boys.” With that she moved outside and almost into Dakota’s chest.
“Oh, Dakota, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. I found a dog in the alley and he was hurt. We just brought him down here.”
“Is the dog all right?”
“He’s going to be fine. The doctor is taking care of him.”
“Are you all right?” he asked, thinking she looked a little flushed.
Darvi nodded quietly, and Dakota was willing to let the matter drop, but he’d caught the word we and noticed the two young men who stood at the doctor’s office window watching them.
“Ready to head back to the ranch?”
“Yes, please.”
Dakota saw her to the wagon, but before he could assist her, she stopped and looked up at him.
“There were two young men who helped me. I think they were more interested in me than the dog.”
Dakota nodded, his eyes telling her he cared.
“I think you might be right,” she said in a soft little voice. “Trouble seems to follow me around.”
“It’s not your fault, Darvi. If I know you, you didn’t do anything improper. Their interest is not your doing.”
“Why were they interested?” she asked in genuine confusion. “I’m clearly no longer a teen, and they don’t even know me.”
“You’re very pretty and very sweet, and that’s a combination most men can’t resist.”
Darvi smiled a little at the compliment and allowed herself to be helped into the wagon even as her heart asked, What about you, Dakota Rawlings? Can you resist?