Texas Gold by Tracy Garrett

Author:Tracy Garrett [Garrett, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Prairie Rose Publications
Published: 2017-04-19T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

For Rachel, the days passed in a fog of fear and grief. The first one was the hardest. Jake rode away with anger sizzling between them, and the heavens had opened, crying buckets of rain for what she’d lost.

As she went through the motions, day after day, cooking and doing Nathan’s chores in addition to her own, reality settled like a stone in her heart. He didn’t want her. Her mother was a prostitute, she didn’t know her father...no wonder Jake wouldn’t marry her. How could he explain it to his mother or introduce her to his friends?

“Sis? Sis!”

Rachel jumped, so lost in her misery she didn’t hear her brother approach.

“Sis, are you all right?”

“Of course I am. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’ve been staring at that bowl of batter for almost ten minutes, but you haven’t stirred it at all.”

“Sorry. I was just thinking.”

“About Ranger McCain? Why did he have to leave so soon?”

She closed her eyes, fighting sudden tears. “He has a job to do, Nathan. He can’t stay here, even if he wanted to.”

“Did you want him to? Is that why you’re so sad?”

Rachel nodded. She didn’t think words would get past the lump in her throat.

Nathan leaned against her, offering comfort. “I wish he could have stayed, too. I really miss him.”

A sob broke through Rachel’s control, shaking her.

He patted her hand. “You don’t have to worry about him, Sis. He’ll be fine. Going after bad men is what a Texas Ranger is supposed to do.”

She smiled through the pain. Her little brother was so sure that nothing could harm his hero. “You’re probably right. I’m just being silly.”

“You’re being you. When will that cake be ready?”

“What cake?”

“Sis!”

She was a little surprised to find she could smile. Teasing her brother always seemed to make her heart a little lighter. “It will be a while yet. Don’t you have some spelling words to practice?”

He wanted to argue, but, to her surprise, he didn’t say anything, just turned and limped to the table where his slate waited. Her smile faded as she watched his progress. They’d been fortunate that his leg wasn’t broken, but he was still in a lot of pain. From what he could remember, several larger rocks had hit him, bouncing on the floor of the mine before landing on him. Their crushing force had been spent on the dirt, but they’d still landed on him, battering and bruising as they fell. For a moment she was in the mine, feeling every impact, tasting his fear. She shoved the memory aside. If she let it, the fear could overwhelm her, and she was going to need all her courage.

The scrape of chalk on slate brought her back to the present. Settling the large bowl on her hip, she stirred the cake batter as she stood beside Nathan, checking his words as he wrote them. “Very good. You got every one correct. I believe your penmanship is improving as well.”

“It ought to be; I’ve practiced enough in the last five days.

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