Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
EPILOGUE
THE DALTON LINE
Critics are Hootin’ and Hollerin’ for “The Queen of the Texan Romance” (The Romance Reader)
A TEXAN’S LUCK
“[A] tale with more than enough fast-paced adventure to satisfy suspense buffs. But, as always, it is Thomas’s slower-paced handling of the romantic dynamics between her emotionally warm but wounded characters that is the novel’s strength.”
—Publishers Weekly
—Historical Romance Reviews
“An exciting story of waiting out the bad guys and discovering love in the process . . . Excellent.”
—The Best Reviews
WHEN A TEXAN GAMBLES
“Beauty and the Beast meets the Old West as the feisty Sarah refuses to fear the man whose reputation makes sane men tremble. Thomas’s second Texas title is even better than the first, which is terrific.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“Another wonderfully told tale of Texas, When a Texan Gambles is exciting, uplifting, and beautifully written . . . Once again, Jodi Thomas has kept me up reading past my bedtime! Don’t miss this terrific novel.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Lively dialogue and endearing homespun characters . . . This bright, character-centered tale should entertain fans of the Old West.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A superb Western romance that moves at a fast pace, is filled with plenty of action, and contains a strong cast . . . Readers will look forward to the final novel in what is so far a delightful series.”
—Midwest Book Review
THE TEXAN’S WAGER
“An exciting Western romance filled with engaging characters . . . fans will know they won by reading The Texan’s Wager.”
—Midwest Book Review
“A poignant, heartwarming tale . . . It’s the perfect beginning for Ms. Thomas’s new Texas trilogy. If, as I do, you love Texas, its exciting history, and sweet romance, don’t miss The Texan’s Wager. It’s one terrific book.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Jodi Thomas, the queen of the Texan romance, just keeps turning out entertaining stories with interesting characters and plots. The Texan’s Wager will undoubtedly delight her many fans . . . A most enjoyable beginning of what promises to be an entertaining trilogy.”
—The Romance Reader
“A great Western read! . . . [A] tender loving story . . . touching and romantic . . . It is a testament to the author Jodi Thomas’s skills!”
—The Best Reviews
“Thomas’s crisp prose, sprightly dialogue, and homespun characters will charm.”
—Publishers Weekly
THE TEXAN’S DREAM
“Packs a powerful emotional punch . . . [Thomas’s] latest Western historical romance highlights the author’s talent for creating genuinely real characters . . . Exceptional romance.” —
Booklist
TWILIGHT IN TEXAS
“A powerful Lone Star romance that brings to life the decade after the Civil War . . . filled with action . . . loaded with tender passion . . . another exciting tale.”
—Midwest Book Review
TO WED IN TEXAS
“Entertaining.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Tender, sweet, funny, and touching.”
—The Romance Reader
“A thrilling tale . . . a story that readers will want to read again and again.”
—Rendezvous
TO KISS A TEXAN
“Compelling . . . fans will appreciate Thomas’s subtle humor and her deft handling of sensitive topics.”
—Booklist
THE TEXAN’S TOUCH
“Delightful and memorable characters and a roller-coaster pace . . . Another wonderful read from a true shining star.”
—Romantic Times
TWO TEXAS HEARTS
“Jodi Thomas is at her remarkable best in Two Texas Hearts.”
—Debbie Macomber
TEXAS LOVE SONG
“A warm and touching read full of intrigue and suspense that will keep the reader on the edge of her seat.”
—Rendezvous
FOREVER IN TEXAS
“A great Western romance filled with suspense and plenty of action.”
—Affaire de Coeur
TO TAME A TEXAN’S HEART
Winner of the Romance Writers of America
Best Historical Series Romance Award
“Earthy, vibrant, funny, and poignant . . . a wonderful, colorful love story.”
—Romantic Times
THE TEXAN AND THE LADY
“Jodi Thomas shows us hard-living men with grit and guts, and the determined young women who soften their hearts.”
—Pamela Morsi, USA Today bestselling author of Suburban Renewal
PRAIRIE SONG
“Thoroughly entertaining romance.”
—Gothic Journal
THE TENDER TEXAN
Winner of the Romance Writers of America
Best Historical Series Romance Award
“[A] marvelous, sensitive, emotional romance . . . spellbinding.”
—Romantic Times
Titles by Jodi Thomas
THE TEXAN’S REWARD
A TEXAN’S LUCK
WHEN A TEXAN GAMBLES
THE TEXAN’S WAGER
TO WED IN TEXAS
TO KISS A TEXAN
THE TENDER TEXAN
PRAIRIE SONG
THE TEXAN AND THE LADY
TO TAME A TEXAN’S HEART
FOREVER IN TEXAS
TEXAS LOVE SONG
TWO TEXAS HEARTS
THE TEXAN’S TOUCH
TWILIGHT IN TEXAS
THE TEXAN’S DREAM
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
THE TEXAN’S REWARD
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley edition / November 2005
Copyright © 2005 by Jodi Koumalats.
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CHAPTER 1
JACOB DALTON BRACED HIS BROAD SHOULDERS against the blast of wind howling through Lone River Canyon and urged his horse forward. Dusty, a stallion he had trained from a colt, knew the shortcut across the canyon as well as he did, but unlike Jacob, the horse didn’t seem to share his urgency to brave the treacherous path in order to get home a day earlier.
Jacob knew he needed to concentrate while crossing Lone River after dark, but he couldn’t clear his mind of the words he’d seen on a telegram four days ago. He read it only once, but once had been enough. He’d hardly stopped to eat or sleep since.
When he checked in at the Texas Ranger office in El Paso to pick up his mail, he hadn’t even opened the message from the sheriff in Clarendon until he walked across the street, ordered a whiskey, and relaxed into a chair by the window. Jacob had no relatives and, due to his occupation, few friends. Most correspondence he received came under the heading of business. But he opened Sheriff Parker Smith’s note first, knowing the old man cared about the same people Jacob did, and he hoped for news among the sheriff ’s correspondence.
He’d expected Sheriff Parker’s usual report: All quiet. Nell still recovering. But Jacob ripped the envelope in haste, just in case Nell had taken a turn for the worse. If so, he’d ask for leave and catch the next train east, whether she liked him worrying about her or not.
But the news had left him no time to wait a day for the train. He’d departed without finishing his drink.
Dusty’s front hooves slid over an icy rock, jarring Jacob back to the present. He leaned forward, shifting his weight, working with the animal with practiced ease. One wrong step could land them both at the bottom of the canyon with little chance of being found before spring.
Jacob forced his attention to the slow progress, but he couldn’t rid his thoughts of the hundred images of the kid he’d called Two Bits until she came home from school all grown up and decided her name was Nell. She’d been the orneriest brat ever picked up out of the gutter. Mean, foul-mouthed, stubborn.
An old madam who owned a house near the tracks in Clarendon took her in, claiming Two Bits was the daughter of one of her girls. Two Bits said her mother willed her to Fat Alice, and the old soiled dove took her responsibility to heart. She saw that Nell was fed and cared for until she was old enough to go back East to a fine school that wouldn’t have let Fat Alice on the grounds.
Jacob remembered the first time he saw the kid. He’d been seventeen, a month into being a Texas Ranger, when she appeared one morning, following him around like a lost puppy, all big brown eyes and skinny legs. She didn’t look more than eight, but she stood proud when she told him she had dreams. She planned to be the highest-paid lady of the evening in Texas when she grew up. He swore he’d marry her first and make an honest woman out of her.
Jacob laughed, remembering how she’d called him every name she could think of for trying to interfere with her dreams and yelled that she’d charge him double when he came begging to her bed.
From that day on, he’d been cursed with the need to watch over her.
He smiled. She’d been nothing but trouble for almost a dozen years. He’d washed her mouth out with soap so many times that first year, he thought his hands would chap and bleed long before she stopped swearing. Every time Fat Alice tried to make her behave, Two Bits ran away, and the next thing he knew, Jacob would get a telegram asking him to come back to Clarendon to straighten out the hellion.
When he’d been twice her height, he’d managed to get his bluff in on her. But as she grew, it didn’t take long for her to wrap him around her finger. She thought he was her own private guardian. When Nell was in trouble, she’d call him and, like an idiot, he came running, if for no other reason than that she needed him. He’d always managed to keep her out of serious trouble.
Except the last time. She’d been hurt bad, maybe even crippled for life, in an ambush. She held onto his hand through those first days of pain, depending on him, needing him. Then as soon as she’d recovered enough to hire a nurse, she’d told him she never wanted to see him again.
Jacob had spent three days drunk and angry, trying to figure out why. They’d been in each other’s lives for years, fighting, caring. Now suddenly she wanted no part of him. Maybe she’d seen the pain in his eyes when he watched her try to move. Maybe he reminded her of happier days and lost dreams. The more he’d argued that she needed him, the more she’d insisted he leave.
Dusty reached the far wall of the canyon, and Jacob relaxed. He’d be within sight of Clarendon by dawn. And he’d better be on time.
Sheriff Parker’s telegram echoed through his thoughts. “Two Bits plans to buy herself a husband.” Fat Alice had left her enough money to do just that.
“Like hell,” he mumbled to himself. He had to get home in time to stop her. No sorry, money-hungry, worthless excuse for a man was going to take advantage of her while she was down.
If he missed the wedding, Jacob decided, he’d be making her a widow before nightfall.
CHAPTER 2
NELL LEANED BACK IN HER CHAIR AND WATCHED A well-dressed man in his late twenties climb from the best horse the livery in town loaned. He was taller than most, a few inches under six feet, she’d guess. His jaw square. His carriage proud. His dark hair had been cut short. Everything about him seemed to be in place. Fat Alice, Nell’s adopted guardian, would have said he looked like a man who had generations of breeding flowing through his blood.
“This one just might do, Miss Nell.” Mary Ruth, her nurse, leaned over the back of Nell’s wheelchair. “Nice-looking man, I’d say, and cleaner than most who come to call.” Mary Ruth’s eyebrow lifted almost to her salt-and-pepper gray hair as she emphasized her point. “In Number Twelve we might just have husband material. At least his clothes look tailor-made, which is more than I could say about the past eleven men who’ve come to call.”
“I don’t care about the cut of his clothes,” Nell said more to herself than anyone. “I hate him already.” She watched the stranger move down the long path toward her front door below. Hadn’t Mary Ruth seen the way he climbed from the horse? Like a man who hadn’t ridden in a long while. Couldn�
�t the nurse see how he walked, slow and careful as though fearing he might step in something on the way to her door that he might have to wipe off? “I could probably outride him, even crippled up.” She lifted the curtain slightly. “And thin. He seems walking bones inside that suit.”
Mary Ruth, as usual, paid no notice to Nell’s grumbling. She rushed to tidy the room. The nurse had been with Nell for three months, and she’d organized everything upstairs a hundred times. She would have liked to work on the downstairs, but that was Gypsy, the housekeeper’s, territory. Mary Ruth considered herself so far above Gypsy’s station that she only talked to the old woman through Nell.
At first Nell had found it interesting being the interpreter between the second floor and the first, but she’d long ago tired of the game. As she’d tired of everything within the walls of her home, her prison. The porch was as far as her wheelchair would allow her to roam.
She looked down from the window once more. The man walking toward her front door had shoulders that weren’t wide enough. His smile seemed forced. She didn’t trust a man who smiled with so many teeth showing. What did he have to grin about anyway? He must be on hard times if he was knocking at her door.