Two
Spring, 1868
“What the hell happened to you?”
Cole Bancroft eased himself into a chair and tried to grin at his elder brother. “Can I have a drink before I go into any details?”
Royal’s anger hid his concern. He had lost one brother and had no intention of losing another. By the looks of it, the wound in Cole’s shoulder had come far too close in succeeding in its clear intention of killing the lawman. Scowling, he handed Cole a drink.
“Don’t you think four years of getting shot at was enough?” Royal snapped.
“Plenty, but I’ve got two months left before I get out. Damn, Royal, we almost had the bastard.”
“Ramirez?” He forced away a sudden vision of wide purple eyes.
“Yeah. Still, we did him some real damage, so that might be an end to it.”
“How’d he get away?”
“That’s the strange thing. It was the girl.” He frowned briefly when Royal gave a sudden start. “She never gets involved. Never. We were closing in for the kill when she and those two Indians, or so they looked, came charging in. No one expected it. Threw us all off. They dragged off Ramirez and one other, though he looked dead. Gave the others left alive a chance to run.”
“That when you got shot?”
“Oh yeah.” Cole shook his head and took a drink. “I should be dead. I couldn’t shoot her, Royal. I was the only one who had the chance, but I couldn’t. Funny thing is, she was ready to shoot me. Hank yelled for me to shoot, but I froze.”
“Jesus. Well, she missed. You’re damn lucky.”
“I’m not so sure it was luck. She was aiming right and steady at my heart, Royal, then suddenly upped her aim.”
“Did someone say your name?”
“Come to think of it, yeah. Hank said, ‘Shoot, Bancroft, or get your dumb ass out of there.’ ”
A small grin flickered over Royal’s face. “Hell, and it’s been at least seven years. Wonder if he’ll consider that old debt paid now?”
“Think you might stop muttering to yourself and tell me what the hell you mean?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I ain’t going too far too fast.” Cole did, however, find a need to refill his drink as Royal told his story.
“I never told anyone, as it’s not a story I wanted to get around.”
“Hell no. They’d hang you. Slowly. It hasn’t stopped him from hitting our ranch though.”
“Never really thought it was him.” He held up his hand to stop Cole’s hovering outburst. “I don’t know who, though. Just felt it wasn’t him.” After staring into his drink for a moment, he asked quietly, “What’s she look like?”
“Told the men I didn’t know.” Cole grimaced. “Just didn’t want any of them setting out after her. She’s something, Royal. Lord, is she something. Not very big, but what there is of her . . .” He shook his head. “Well, it’s why I couldn’t shoot her. Just stood there gawking at her thinking stupid things, like how can a girl with hair like cornsilk shoot a man. She dresses all in black and her horse is a big black stallion. Startling. If Ramirez is like a father to her, I think she’ll be an orphan again real soon.”
* * *
Antonie had to face the truth. It was over and she knew it. She had even fetched a priest to give Juan the last rites. For eleven years she had held the love of and loved a man living on borrowed time. Now she would be alone again. Even Sage was gone. As she attended Manuel’s and Julio’s brief funeral then left Oro and Tomás to their grief, she wondered how much time was left before Juan left them, too.
“Niña, come to me,” Juan rasped from the bed. “We must talk.”
“No. You must save your strength.” She knelt by his bed and pressed his hand to her cheek.
“There is nothing to save it for, querida. Listen. You must pay my debt now. The gringo. Bancroft. I had plans made. You must carry them out. Vultures circle him, child. His land is good and a man is after it.”
“I think his brother was with the Rangers. I could have killed him, but I did not.”
“Not enough. Two lives I owe him. To this man his ranch is his life. Juan Ramirez will give it to him.”
“Who is trying to steal it and how can I help?” She was finding it hard not to cry as she watched the life slowly ebb from his body.
“A man close to him, but I have no name. Raoul is in his pay. Killed Bancroft’s parents. Many raids. Much trouble.”
She nodded and tried to keep the tears she could no longer hold back from dampening his hand. “Weaken him until he is broken.”
“That is the plan. Much trouble planned for cattle drive. Sister in danger. You will go to him. Take Oro and Tomás. Be his guns. Pay our debt, my angel.” He felt her tears and smiled a little. “My child never cries.”
“Please, Juan.” She kissed his palm. “Please do not leave me alone. I love you.”
His hand went to her hair. “As I love you, Antonie, and this I have said to no one before. You were the sunlight in my dark life, and I thank you. Do not ask me to live, my pet, for if I do I would never rise from this bed and that is no life. Julio and Manuel wait for me. We will cause the devil a trouble, eh?”
“I am sure.” She kissed his too-cold cheek. “I will name my first son for you, father of my heart.”
“I will be remembered. That will be enough.”
He slipped away, quietly, with a soft sigh. Antonie wiped her tears and saw to his burial. The journey he had told her to take was postponed for a while as she saw to the selection of headstones for Juan, Manuel, and Julio. They had been hard men who had lived by their guns, but to her, Oro, and Tomás, they had been beloved family.
As they finally prepared to leave for Texas, Antonie studied her companions. Oro and Tomás were identical save that Oro had a small scar on his finely hewn chin and was less jovial and talkative than Tomás. The Indian blood bequeathed them by their mother, who had been part Yaqui, had given a light copper tone to their skin and high wide cheekbones. Their straight black hair was always too long, making that heritage seem more prominent than the greater Mexican one. From the moment they had been taken from their mother, they had been brothers and guards to Antonie. She hoped that their constant presence at her side, out of the raiding and fighting, would mean that they were not wanted by the law.
They were a half-day’s ride from San Antonio and not quite a half-day’s ride from the Bancroft ranch when they began to look for a place to camp for the night. It was Oro who first sensed others nearby. He came riding up to Antonie and Tomás, who were collecting brush for a fire, and, although few others would have read anything in his face, she knew he had news.
“Five minutes’ ride from here. Six men. Two captives. One girl, one youth. Raoul’s men. I am sure.”
“Juan said Raoul was working for the one who wants to break Bancroft. We’d better see to this.”
Sneaking up on the campsite was not hard. The men were swilling tequila and loudly celebrating their success. Oro saw to it that one man who had wandered off to answer the call of nature would never be bothered by such trivialities again. His compatriots were too interested in the young girl to notice any absence or to care, and Antonie knew that would prove their downfall. The young man they had captured was badly beaten, and Antonie wondered if that had happened during or after the capture as she slipped even closer to her chosen target.
Antonie watched the girl weep quietly as she was approached by her captors. She did not need to see the frustrated fury and fear in the youth’s face to know what was coming. Hearing the girl gag as one leering bandido tore the front of her dress and mauled her bared breasts, much to the amusement of his compatriots, Antonie threw her knife.
When her attacker suddenly went limp, grunting softly and falling on her, the girl whimpered as she saw the knife protruding from his back. Antonie could see that the girl was nearly hysterical, fighting to get out from beneath the dead man, but the battle that ensued required all her attention. The others fell quickly as they shot into the dark in a blind panic. When Antonie and the twins emerged silently from the shadows, she could tell that the girl’s terrified mind wondered what new horror had just arrived. Antonie knew that the three of them looked as much like bandidos as the ones they had just killed.
Oro stared at the young girl, trembling and wide-eyed in her panic. Her huge light green eyes never left his face as he calmly approached her and silently laced her torn bodice together with a piece of rawhide. Antonie wondered what was going through the girl’s mind.
“Would it not be best to untie her first?” she drawled.
“No,” Oro replied. “She would just run away. See her eyes? She is like a trapped rabbit. See to the boy, little one.”
“Yes, my general.” She grinned when she saw the glare the young man sent Oro. “They understand what we say, or some of it. At least, he does.” She switched to English as she took out her knife, newly retrieved from the dead man’s body. “I will only cut your bonds, amigo. Who are you?”
“Justin and Patricia Bancroft.”
“You have a brother named Royal?”
“Yes. How do you know him?”
“We have come to repay a debt. We will take you back to him. Tomás,” she called, “can you find some water in this sty?”
A moment later Tomás appeared with water and a fresh bottle of tequila. “One still lives.”
“Can he make it back to Raoul?” She grinned at Justin’s weak protest when she stripped off his shirt.
“Sí. I will give him a message to take to Raoul, eh?” He chuckled as he strode back to the man who still lived.
Wincing as she ran testing fingers over his ribs, Justin asked, “You know whose men these are?”
“Sí. They are the men of Raoul Mendez, but a gringo hired them. What gringo I do not know. Oro, does the rabbit wear a petticoat? These ribs need to be wrapped.” She took the petticoat from Patricia’s trembling hand. “So the rabbit is loose.”
“Querida, you are a hard woman,” Oro said quietly. “I will help Tomás with the bodies. We can camp here.”
“Who are you?” Patricia asked tremulously after Oro left.
“I am Antonie Neumann Ramirez. They are Oro and Tomás Degas. We will return you to Royal. Drink, Justin.” She grinned when he choked on the tequila and then handed Patricia a dampened cloth. “Clean his face, little rabbit. Grit your teeth, chico.”
He did and turned alarmingly pale, but held onto consciousness with grim determination. Antonie knew he was staring at her but said nothing, feeling that he needed to concentrate on something as she tended his wounds. She thought that he looked very young and knew that he was deeply curious about how she knew his brother. Although she sympathized with that curiosity, she decided it was not really her place to satisfy it.
“How old are you?” he gasped as she hastily dabbed his cuts with tequila.
“Twenty. And you? Dios, but they pounded you, amigo.”
“Twenty also. At least I am alive. They killed the two men with us. Lord, I feel like I’ve been in a stampede.”
“You look it. Where were you headed?” She sat back on her heels to study her handiwork.
“San Antonio. ’Bout this time every year Pattie goes shopping. What is this debt you talk about?”
“I think I will let your brother tell you. Did they steal your gear along with you?”
“Not sure. Can’t see that they’d leave it behind.”
“This is true. I will look.” She strolled off to see about food and bedding.
“She said hardly a word to me,” Patricia hissed.
“Well, she was probably just leaving you to calm down. How are you? Okay?”
“Yes.” She shuddered. “I can’t wait to have a bath. I feel dirty. So many bodies, Justin.”
He took her hand in a comforting grasp. “It couldn’t be helped, Pattie. It was us or them. They weren’t the type of men you discussed things with.”
“I know.” She glanced toward the three setting up camp. “Are you sure we’ll be safe with them? Two Indians and that odd girl?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. I think the men are only partly Indian, you know. A lot of Mexicans got some in them. As far as Antonie goes, she’s probably led a hard life, that’s all. Just raised different. I might be wrong, but I think she was more comfortable talking with me. Might not have had much to do with ladies. Sorry about your shopping trip.”
“I couldn’t look at dresses now anyway. Let’s just get home.”
Antonie smiled faintly as she prepared a fire for their meal. She wondered if she should tell the pair how clearly their soft talk carried in the night, but decided not to. It never hurt to have an advantage. Covertly watching the young girl as the meal was prepared and the bedding laid out, Antonie thought that Patricia was probably what Royal had said a lady should be. Trying not to be critical, Antonie did concede that, despite the girl’s lack of fight and her continuing nervousness, Patricia was holding up well. The girl was simply not hardened to the rough side of life as she was.
Antonie had the first watch and, noticing Justin’s restlessness, went over to sit next to him. “In pain, gringo?”
“Somewhat.” He accepted the tequila she offered him. “I really can’t stand this stuff, but it does help.”
“I like wine better. The rabbit has decided to trust us?” She met Justin’s admonishing look with a grin.
“She’s not really timid, you know.” He stared at her in some surprise when she took a swig from the bottle and then handed it back to him.
“Mmmm. She is a lady. Juan tried to make me one. Some of it worked, some of it did not.” She could see just when he started to put a few facts together.
“You’re the girl with Juan Ramirez.” He looked toward Oro and Tomás. “His men?”
“Mine. Oro and Tomás were my bodyguards. They did nothing but watch out for me.”
“It was Ramirez who killed my folks. He raided our ranch.”
“No, not Juan,” she replied, unmoved by his hissing fury. “He owes Royal and has never touched your ranch. It was Raoul.”
Watching him as he digested her words, Antonie was relieved when he nodded, indicating that he believed her. It would be almost impossible to repay Juan’s debt if the brothers, even just one of them, could not accept her or the twins. The battle they faced demanded close cooperation and trust.
“He shot my brother last week.”
“No. I shot your brother last week. Go to sleep, gringo.”
She calmly walked away, but had to grin at the look of stunned surprise on his face. It was clear that Justin’s brother had not told exactly how he had been wounded. When she saw him grin, she laughed softly. The brothers at home were clearly going to be pressed to do a lot of explaining.
* * *
Royal sat down to share a hearty breakfast with a still healing Cole. “Stiff?” he asked.
“Yup, but it’s going. Another week and I’ll be nearly as good as new. Damn embarrassing. The men’ll never let me forget it.”
“Well, you’ve only got a short time left with them anyway.” He frowned at the way Cole looked away, and did not answer. “Don’t you?”
“Hell, I don’t know. Just might join up again. Don’t scowl. It’s a job that needs doing and you don’t really need me here.”
“You don’t need a job either. You know the ranch was to be for all of us.”
“I know, Royal. Pa bought plenty of land for each of us to have a piece even after you take your large chunk. I’m only twenty-three, not ready at all to settle and breed horses as I thought it’d be nice to do. Maybe in a few more years. Right now?” He shrugged.
“Right now you crave the excitement,” Royal said with a touch of anger, then sighed. “I can understand that but, damn, I don’t like you taking chances. I also hoped to have you help me for a while. I’m going on the drive this year.”
That caught Cole’s interest. “Nothing says I have to rejoin right away.” He grinned. “Been wanting us to try a drive.”
“Well, I’ll be more than glad to have you.” He pushed back his chair. “Best get to work. What the hell does she want?” he snapped as a familiar voice called a greeting from the hall and footsteps approached the door.
“You,” Cole replied and grinned when Royal scowled even more. “Why don’t you just surrender?”
Royal wondered the same thing as Marilyn Collins strolled in, kissed him briefly, and sat down. She was lovely, with her rich auburn hair and hazel-green eyes. Although he had never made love to her, he would certainly have few objections to doing so. She knew ranch life, yet was as much a lady as any New Orleans belle. He even liked her most of the time. Somehow, though, that did not seem enough.
“What can we do for you, Marilyn?” Royal served her coffee, trying to hide his eagerness to get to work.
“Since Patricia isn’t here, I thought you would need help for the dinner tonight. I’ve come to see that everything goes well.”
“There was no need. Maria has things well in hand.”
“You know how those people are, Royal. They need someone to keep them moving. I’ll just provide the needed push.”
There was evidently no way Royal was going to talk her out of it, so he just gave up. After several moments of idle conversation, he made his escape, Cole close behind him. The last thing he wanted was to be put to work on the dinner party, and Cole clearly felt the same.
“Why didn’t you defend Maria? You know she doesn’t need help or prodding.”
“Cole, Marilyn is her father’s daughter. She thinks all Mexicans are lazy. You can’t argue with their kind of prejudice. Believe me, I’ve tried. Next time I’ll know enough not to let Pattie run off. I hope she gets home in time.”
* * *
The ride to the Bancroft ranch was taken very leisurely, due to Justin’s injuries. At midday they took a long rest in a cool, shaded grove near a small creek. It was good for the horses as well as their riders to rest in the noon heat.
Antonie laughed when she, Oro, and Tomás took a swim in the creek, for it had Patricia covering her eyes or averting them for quite a while. In deference to the girl’s sensibilities, Antonie wore a bandana around her breasts just to keep from shocking Patricia too much. She and the twins then sprawled on blankets spread on the grass to dry off in the heat. She was glad to be on the road again, however, for she wanted to reach the Bancroft ranch before nightfall. If Raoul’s man had reached him, they could well come looking for them.
“Don’t scowl, Pattie. We’ll get there before dark. About an hour yet,” Justin soothed as the hour grew late.
“Just in time for dessert.”
“Oh, hell, the dinner party. Clean forgot it.”
“There a problem?” Antonie asked as she rode closer to the siblings, pulled a bottle of wine from her saddlebags, and opened it.
“Dinner party at the house tonight. We were planning on being back for it, but not in this state. Is that our wine?”
“Sí, Justin. Want some?” She grinned as she held out the bottle and he accepted it, taking a healthy swallow. “What about your sister?” she asked when he handed the bottle back.
“I don’t drink. Well, an occasional glass of sherry, that’s all.” She watched a little enviously as Antonie had another long drink.
“Ah, sí.” Antonie tossed Oro a bottle of wine. “That is a ‘being a lady’ lesson.”
“One of the ones that didn’t work?” Justin teased.
“Juan never taught it. He said it was stupid. That lady can then be made very drunk very fast by a man and be a lady no more, eh? He said women should know drink and drinking, so that then they cannot fall into that trap.”
“God, that actually makes sense.” Justin took another drink. “Maybe we should creep in the back way.”
“I don’t think so, Justin,” Pattie said. “Cole and Royal must be wondering where we are even now. Dinner will be nearly over anyway.”
“You’re right, Pattie. We’ll just walk in. Best way.”
“No. I will announce you.” A slow smile crossed Antonie’s face as she thought of the perfect way to do that. “I, too, owe Royal.” She edged over to Tomás, who was beginning to look as if he knew what she was thinking. “I just need a little instruction.”
“Sí, querida, and you have come to a master,” Tomás drawled and then gave her a lengthy kiss.
Emerging from the embrace a little breathless, Antonie mused, “That was not how he did it.”
“He gave you a kiss for a child. Tomás gives you a kiss for a woman.” He turned with her to look at Oro, who had made a mocking sound.
“You can do better, amigo?” Antonie asked with a grin, partly prompted by the shock on Patricia’s face.
“Of course. Who do you think instructed Tomás?” He put his arm around Antonie and proceeded to demonstrate his skill.
“Amateurs,” Justin drawled when Oro lifted his head and grinned at the increasingly warm Antonie.
“Oho, the gringo challenges.” Tomás laughed and was clearly as amused as Antonie was over Patricia’s gaping face.
Moving next to Justin, Antonie leaned toward him and drawled, “Well, amigo?”
Gently and clearly savoring every minute of it, Justin kissed her, then asked a little huskily, “Well?”
“I think I’d best stop this lesson or I will fall off my horse.” Antonie grinned when the young men laughed and then she took a hearty drink, for she was feeling decidedly warm. “This kissing is thirsty business.”
“You’re going to walk in and kiss Royal?” Patricia squeaked as she finally guessed Antonie’s plan.
“Sí. I owe him one and I always pay my debts,” she purred. “Come. If we move we will get there before the wine is gone.”
They increased their speed just a little and Justin made no complaint. Antonie guessed that he was eager to get home. At the ranch there would be a soft bed to ease his pain.
Antonie kept an eye on Patricia, watching as the girl tried not to look shocked by the increasingly free behavior around her. Even Oro grew less quiet and gentlemanly as the wine flowed. He joined Tomás in entertaining the less worldly Justin with some decidedly ribald stories. That Patricia had somehow managed to remain unaware of this side of men was very evident. Antonie was rather glad that she had not been raised as a proper little lady. It looked to have a lot of drawbacks.
She turned her thoughts to Royal Bancroft as they crested a rise and the ranch came into view. Except for jade green eyes and chestnut hair, she remembered little of him. She was curious to see if he recalled her at all.