A Texas Sky

  A Texas Sky

  (The Yellow Rose Trilogy #2)

  Lori Wick

  5

  June 1882

  Wellsville, Texas

  "How is he?" marty bracewell asked anxiously as he

  entered the bedroom, not remembering to remove his hat

  or offer any of the standard greetings.

  "Doing a little better," Desmond Curtis said. "Slate and

  Cash were just here, and although Dakota's as weak as a

  girl, he's in a good frame of mind." Desmond, knowing

  how Brace would feel if he knew the whole truth, did not

  elaborate, but he knew that Dakota was doing as well as he

  was because of how significant his brothers' visit had been.

  "Hey, Dak," Brace said softly, watching the Ranger's

  eyes come open a little. As a point in fact, all three men

  were Texas Rangers, but only one of them had nearly bled

  to death from numerous gunshot wounds, and he was still

  very injured.

  6

  "Hi, Brace," Dakota tried to say, but his mouth was too

  dry. Desmond helped him with a drink, but they had to go

  slowly--they would probably have to go slowly for a long

  time.

  "Sorry I took so long. I was up north and just got back."

  "It's all right," Dakota managed.

  "What happened out there?" Brace asked, not really

  expecting an answer. Dakota tried anyway.

  6 lori wick

  "I thought I had the jump on them, but there were more

  men than I figured. I went down fast. Had no choice."

  Brace felt his throat close. This man was one of his best.

  To see him shot-up and helpless was hard. He cleared his

  throat, telling himself this was no time for tears.

  "You'll be back soon, ornery as ever."

  "No doubt/' the man in the bed agreed, a small smile

  coming to his lips. 'Til see you in a few weeks."

  Brace was suddenly angry. That this would happen to

  one of his best infuriated him!

  7

  "If you so much as show your face near my office inside

  of six months, I'll shoot you myself," Brace warned. "And

  I mean it!"

  Dakota could only nod. Right now six months sounded

  too soon. Sleep was coming in again, but that was all right.

  For the first time in his life, Dakota James Rawlings had

  Someone he could talk to.

  Dakota heard gunshots a few days later, as real as the

  ones that had taken him down. His eyes flew open and he

  gasped, remembering with painful clarity where he was.

  "Easy..." Desmond's voice came softly to his ears, and

  Dakota turned to find him sitting next to the bed.

  Dakota tried to tell Desmond he was thirsty but

  couldn't manage it Thankfully the older Ranger knew the

  signs. He lifted a cup for the injured man. Dakota thanked

  him with a slight raise of his hand, amazed at how spent he

  was.

  8

  "Better?"

  "Yeah. Is it hot in here, or is it me?"

  "Both I would guess. It is June."

  Dakota nodded a little, and Desmond thought he would

  fall right back to sleep. Drained as he seemed, Dakota's

  eyes stayed on a faraway spot on the wall, and he began to

  speak.

  A Texas Sky 7

  "Do you know what I thought of when everything

  started to go black?"

  "No. What?"

  "Something Slate said to me," Dakota said as he licked

  his lips. "Of all the things to remember, I recall something

  he said when I was angry." Dakota's mind went back to a

  cloudy day in Shotgun. As the result of a senseless

  shooting, a woman had just been buried. At the funeral

  Dakota thought they should have talked about the woman

  and not about God.

  "What did you want Pastor Caron to say. Dak?" his brother

  9

  asked him. "What would you have deemed appropriate?"

  "A little more about the woman herself, for starters. He

  turned it into a sermon/"

  "She was a changed person because of her faith/'

  Dakota's eyes narrowed, telling Slater he was not happy with

  that answer, but his brother went on anyway.

  "If I'm a different person because of my beliefs, Dakota, and if

  I were to die, I would want other people to know they could have

  the same hope. Maybe you should be listening instead of criticizing/'

  "My life is fine!" Dakota did not hesitate to clarify.

  "If that's true, then why does this have you so upset? If everything

  is fine, you should be able to shrug this off and go on with

  your life."

  Dakota's eyes now met Desmond's.

  "In so many words, Slater said it shouldn't bother me if

  I didn't believe as he did--but it didn't work that way. It

  bothered me so much, I left angry."

  "So the turning point came when Slate and Cash were

  here?"

  Much as it hurt, Dakota's chest lifted with his sigh. "My

  10

  very last thought before I lost consciousness was that I had

  waited too long. When I woke up and they were sitting here,

  I knew I'd been given a second chance." Another sigh

  escaped the injured man. "As you well know, I've been a fool

  many times, but not this time. I grabbed that second chance."

  8 lori wick

  Desmond had a comment on his mind, but he could see

  that it was going to have to wait.

  "Do you think he can eat something?" Geneva Curtis

  asked from the doorway.

  "No," her husband answered with a shake of his head.

  "He just slipped back out"

  Geneva came and stood close, her hand on Desmond's

  shoulder.

  "He will make it, won't he, Des?"

  "I think so," that man replied with his eyes on Dakota's

  face. "As Dak just put it, he's been given a second chance.

  I've been wrong before, but something tells me he'll get out

  11

  of this bed and want to know everything God has ever

  said--and in the first hour, if I can tell him."

  Geneva chuckled softly and exited the room ahead of

  her husband. Her only thought was Look out, Texas, Dakota

  Rowlings is nearly on the loose.

  'M#

  July 1882

  if you so much as show your face near my office inside of six

  months, I'll shoot you myself.

  Sitting alone by the window, Dakota Rawlings remembered

  the words of his supervisor from just a month earlier

  and sat back, a thoughtful frown between his brows. He

  didn't know if he could stand five more months of inactivity.

  When Brace had first uttered these words, it had

  been an emotional time. Dakota had been certain he hadn't

  meant a literal six months, but his first letter--telling Brace

  when he thought he could come back--was hotly returned

  12

  in a no-nonsense way. ^

  Dakota's hosts, Desmond and Geneva Curtis, were out

  at the moment, so the house in Wellsville was quiet. Their

  home sat right in the middle of town, b
ut the street was not

  a busy one, and for a moment, Dakota thought he was very

  much alone. He'd just eaten a large lunch and still had half

  a cup of coffee to drink, but he was not particularly eager

  to continue sitting at the window.

  As a new believer in Jesus Christ, he'd spent almost two

  hours studying the Bible that morning and had understood

  some hew truths. Desmond had been a great help in this

  area, and Dakota was still amazed at how pertinent the

  Bible was to his life right now. Not many months back, he

  10 lori wick

  would have said that old Book was outdated and unrealistic

  He was learning every day just how wrong he'd been.

  Knowing he did not want the rest of the coffee, Dakota

  went to the sink, rinsed out his mug, and wandered onto

  the front porch. It was blistering hot, much as it was every

  13

  day at this time. That was Texas in July--something they

  all had to live with.

  He wrote a quick note and took himself out for a walk.

  It was too hot to be out for long, but he had to stretch his

  legs. He hadn't planned to feel this good. Only five weeks

  ago he'd been shot so badly they thought he Would die, but

  God had had other ideas.

  "I shot you first," a child's voice yelled from nearby.

  Dakota turned to see two little boys scoot up the alley,

  firing sticks at each other. Though he hoped they would

  never actually experience that pain, he nevertheless found

  himself smiling at their antics. He continued slowly up the

  street and turned right onto the main street of town.

  Interesting as the storefronts were, Dakota was beginning

  to sweat. He thought he might have overdone and

  should turn back, but his sister-in-law had celebrated a

  birthday a few weeks ago, and he hadn't sent her anything.

  Not that he'd been in any shape to do that

  "What are you doing out here?" Desmond suddenly

  spoke as he came up behind Dakota.

  14

  Dakota turned with innocent eyes. "Just strolling."

  Feeling like a father, Desmond pointed back up the

  street. "Get home!"

  Worried as she was to see Dakota's pale face, Geneva

  laughed from her place beside her husband.

  "You sounded as if you were scolding the dog."

  Dakota laughed as well, but he did want to shop for Liberty,

  who was married to his younger brother, Slater. He

  said as much to the Curtises.

  "As if Libby will be expecting anything with the way

  you were hurt," Geneva said with a mild shake of her head.

  ATkxasSty 11

  "Even a firecracker would do the trick, Gen. She was

  born on the Fourth."

  "And shell enjoy a late gift," Desmond said, his hand

  to the younger man's arm as he turned and directed him

  back up the boardwalk.

  Dakota wanted to argue, but he was suddenly feeling

  very warm and weak By the time he reached the house, he

  15

  was sweating profusely, and two of the bullet wounds were

  starting to burn. Geneva brought him a cool drink of water

  and waited for him to lie down on the sofa.

  "It looks as though you need to give it more time, Dak.

  I'm sorry."

  Dakota sighed. "I guess I could write to Libby."

  "She would probably enjoy that, but even as little as I

  know her, I can't think she would expect anything from

  you at this point."

  Dakota nodded and thanked his hostess, who returned

  to the kitchen, and then let his mind drift backward to

  when Geneva had met Liberty Drake, now Liberty Rawlngs.

  The wedding had been on Saturday, April 22. The whole

  family had gathered, including his parents, who had come

  all the way from St Louis. Special friends like Desmond

  and Geneva Curtis and Marty Bracewell had also been

  invited. Closing his eyes, Dakota could still see how pretty

  Liberty looked in her dress, her eyes shining with love for

  Slater as her stepfather, Duffy Peterson, walked her down

  the aisle.

  16

  He and Cash, Dakota's older brother, had both known

  that Slater would be the first to fall. They were only

  thankful that he'd found a girl like Liberty. Dakota thought

  that if another Liberty could be found, he too might be

  tempted to marry. Almost as soon as the thought materialized,

  he pushed it away. His was not a job that was suited

  to family life. Hours on the trail, uncertain pay, and the

  dangers of being a Texas Ranger played hard in his mind.

  Desmond had made it work, but a career in the Rangers

  12 lori wick

  had its drawbacks. The fact that the Curtises had never

  been able to have children had been a factor.

  Suddenly Dakota wanted to get up. He felt lazy, as

  though his not trying hard enough was slowing the healing

  process. But wanting to get up and actually doing it were

  proving to be two different matters.

  Just help me, Lord, Dakota prayed. Just help me to rest and

  give it some more time--even a few weeks. Dakota fell asleep

  while still wondering what he would do with himself in

  17

  the months to come.

  r'5'"3''

  August

  Dakota could not believe the difference just four weeks

  had made. He was feeling very strong. His last little

  escapade had set him back, but as he left the church with

  Desmond and Geneva for the second week in a row, that

  incident was already receding from his thoughts. His

  mind was on the sermon for some of the ride back to the

  house, but Dakota waited only until they sat down to eat

  Sunday dinner to tell his hosts what was really in his

  thoughts.

  "I need to thank both of you for your care and hospitality,

  but I have some good news for you."

  Desmond looked up from cutting his meat.

  "A statement like that could mean only one of two

  things," the older Ranger began. "Either you're pulling out

  soon, or one of the women who were falling over themselves

  18

  to catch your eye this morning did in fact catch your

  eye, and you're getting married."

  Dakota had a good laugh before saying, "The first one

  is correct."

  "Where are you headed?" Geneva wished to know.

  "Back to work," Dakota replied calmly while buttering

  a piece of bread with complete ease.

  A Texas Sty 13

  "I thought you said Brace didn't want you for the full

  six months."

  "That's right.

  "But you're going anyway?"

  "Yep."

  "And what of Brace?" Desmond asked.

  Dakota smiled his slow, warm way. "He'll get over it."

  Knowing how much Marty Bracewell liked to have his

  own way, Geneva enjoyed a good laugh over this.

  The next morning, however, her laughter was not to be

  found. Tears welled in her eyes as she hugged their guest.

  19

  Dakota had come to Christ under their roof and grown so

  much in the few months they'd had with him. She could

  have easily
had him stay on.

  "Thanks, Gen. Thanks, Des."

  "You know the door is always open" were Desmond's

  parting words to the young Ranger.

  Husband and wife stood together as he rode away,

  Geneva with a hankie to her face and Desmond watching

  for signs of hurt or discomfort. Not that he actually

  expected to see any--Dakota was as tough as they came-- but he was concerned too, and missing him already.

  "Will he be all right?" Geneva asked, her eyes still on the

  dark figure as he rounded a corner and moved from sight

  Desmond slipped an arm around her.

  "Don't forget who indwells him now, Gen. He'll be

  more all right than he's ever been before."

  Austin, Texas

  20

  Marty Bracewell entered his office as he did most mornings,

  sat at his desk, and began to open the mail; it was

  always a large stack. As a Ranger, Marty had traveled

  extensively for many years, but now he kept the home

  office fires burning. He kept track of new men, deaths.

  14 lori wick

  countless details, and payroll for the area. It wasn't that he

  never went out on patrol, but most weeks he was needed

  at the office.

  "What in the world?" Brace was muttering over some

  confusing correspondence when the door opened and

  someone stepped inside. He looked up to see a familiar

  face and smiled in delight

  "You must be fieeling better," he said as he stood and

  came around the desk.

  Darvi Leigh Wingate warmly accepted her uncle's

  embrace and smiled into his eyes when he stepped back.

  Darvi was a smallish strawberry blonde who appeared

  21

  more frail than she actually was. However, this time she

  had been very ill. She had come by train and stagecoach all

  the way from St. Louis, and had picked up an illness en

  route. For the first few days of her visit she had been laid

  up in bed, miserably achy and sick to her stomach.

  "I do feel better," she admitted with conviction, taking

  a chair when the Ranger returned to his desk. "For a few

  days there I was dreadfully sorry I had come, but now I'm

  raring to go."

  "Where are you headed first?"

  "To the bank and then to see Merry. Did you need anything?

  I'd be glad to pick it up." Darvi had asked the question,

  but Brace didn't answer. He sat staring at his niece for

  several seconds, his face uncertain.

  "What is it, Uncle Marty?"

  "She's married now, Darv. Didn't you know that?"

  "Merry? Of course I knew. She was engaged when I last

  saw her."

  "She's also moved away. She and the doc moved about