A Texas Sky (Yellow Rose Trilogy) (23 page)

means, but late enough to put off a visit to the local constabulary.

The day was fresh, the visit to the sheriff was

taken care of, and now Dakota was headed out into the

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streets of Aurora to see what he could find. He sensed that

it was a well-settled town with what appeared to be many

successful businesses, and as a rule the folks seemed

friendly. /

Not wishing to draw any undo attention to himself,

Dakota had arrived in clothing a little less suited to his

work than usual and having already let his beard go a few

days. It didn't take him long to look scruffy, and that was

just what he wanted. Eli was at one of the liveries, and

Dakota now prepared to move about on foot and have a

closer look around Aurora. Not knowing exactly what he

was looking for made things a bit tricky, but he was certain

that if something was amiss in this town, he would spot it.

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A horrible feeling of dread came over him as he thought

about how easy it would be to take a woman and disappear

with her, but Dakota forced himself away from those

thoughts. It would only disturb his concentration and

hinder his goal. He didn't know when or where he would

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find answers, but look he would.

It occurred to him very suddenly that he could wire

Brace and Darvi's family from Aurora and ask after her, but

he hesitated. If she'd made an appearance, he could return

to his life. If she hadn't... Deciding to give it at least a few

more days, Dakota began his tour.

5"^*'3r

Gassy was nearly pacing before Darvi emerged from her

room the next morning. The strawberry blonde had been

very quiet at dinner the night before and retired to her

room the moment she was able. Cassy had not witnessed

the exchange with Seth, but she knew from watching both

people that something had gone on. She and Eliot were to

be married in only two and a half weeks, but Cassy was not

waiting to tell Darvi that. She just wanted to make sure she

was all right.

Breakfast was long over, cleanup was done, the men

had headed into town, the hands were out with the stock,

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and the children sat reading books. There were dozens of

things Cassy could do, but she wanted to see Darvi first. All

of Eliof s talk was not doing her any good at the moment.

His telling her that they couldn't take Darvi from Seth and

that deep in her heart she wouldn't really want that was

sounding very hollow in her ears right now. If she didn't

want to, then why did she wish she could load Darvi into

the wagon and take her to the train? She and the children

could give her a nice sendoff.

Cassy was beginning to get quite worked up over this

idea when the bedroom door opened. She turned to see

Darvi enter, her mouth set.

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"Where is Seth?" she wasted no time in asking.

"He and Eliot went into town."

Darvi's shoulders slumped. She had been ready to do

battle with the man, and now he was gone.

Just the sight of Darvi turned all of Cassy's intentions to

dust It wasn't that she hadn't seen Darvi in the pale blue

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dress in the past, but today her cheeks were blooming with

color and her eyes sparkled. And it wasn't just that. Darvi

was one of the sweetest women the ranch owner had ever

known.

Cassy had never been in such a quandary. It was so easy

to see why Seth loved Darvi, and for that reason, Cassy

could not interfere. She found her heart reasoning that Seth

might be correct: Maybe Darvi would come to love him

and wish to stay.

"I don't suppose there's anything I can do," Cassy

finally voiced, knowing that she could, but wouldn't.

"Not unless you're willing to take me back to town,"

Darvi said, not bothering to read the other woman's

expression or to wait for an answer. She headed out the

door then, around the house, and toward the barn.

As yet, Cassy had never hindered her from looking

around. Knowing that both brothers were gone left her free

to look a little. She told herself she wasn't exactly planning,

but if something just happened to jump out at her, she'd be

foolish not to give it notice.

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Once inside the dark reaches of the barn, she looked out

at the house. The bedroom window above her bed

appeared to be some four feet off the ground. She had

tested the window just that morning and been surprised to

find that Seth had not nailed it shut. There was nothing to

step on when she climbed out, so it would be a bit of a

drop, but neither was there a prickly bush to fall into.

"Darvi!" Cassy called from near the house.

Darvi waited a moment and emerged into the sunlight.

"Yes?"

"Would you like something to eat?"

ATexasSty 161

"Is it near noon?"

"No, but the children are hungry, and you didn't get

breakfast."

Darvi waved. "Thank you. 111 be right in."

Still feeling as though she might have one person on her

side, Darvi was pleased to see that Cassy didn't hesitate

but turned around and went directly back inside. Darvi followed

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at a snail's pace, taking note of the layout of her

window at dose range. She had no idea if the information

would ever be useful, but somehow she felt better for being

prepared.

S'S''S* *

Sitting down in the hotel to treat himself to a hot meal

for lunch on his third day in town, Dakota ate slowly and

gave himself plenty of time to think. He was not discouraged,

but he was starting to wonder a bit. Were things in

this town just a little too neat, or was he getting overly suspicious

with his line of work and Darvi's disappearance?

Was the law doing its job in Aurora?

Two days had passed, two full days of watching,

waiting, and making subtle inquiries, and still he had no

leads as to whatjnight have happened to Darvi. He'd all

but stalked the alley where he thought she might have been

taken, but there was nothing of even the slightest interest

going on.

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He learned that at least five stills were set up in full

operation, quietly attended but working nevertheless. He

found two homes where men came and went at all hours

of the night, but the saloons appeared only to have some

dancing and lots of cards and drinking.

What he'd seen of the law in action had been impressive.

He had watched an officer haul a man off for spending a

little too much time outside the home of Mrs. Gillham, who

gave piano lessons to the town's young ladies. Several

drunks had made trips to the jail, and when one of the gen-

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eral stores had a customer who refused to pay, the law

answered in great haste.

"What can I get you?" a friendly woman in a clean

apron asked as she appeared at his table.

"How about the special?"

"With or without gravy?"

"With gravy, please, and coffee."

"For one?" she asked with more than a little show of

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interest

Dakota smiled. "Yes, thank you."

She was smiling in return, her eyes inviting, causing the

Ranger to shake his head as she walked away. He hadn't

shaved in days.

Maybe she likes scruffy, half-started beards, he speculated

even as his stomach growled. Glancing around to see if she

was bringing his coffee, Dakota froze.

He forced himself to look down at the tablecloth before

shifting his gaze again. He could hardly believe what his

eyes were telling him. His coffee was delivered, but he took

little notice. He didn't even pick up the mug. All he could

do was ask himself why he had thought he needed to come

back to Aurora.

I can't bel/eve this, lord. /haven't been able to get Darvi

from my mind. I told Cash all about it and made him concerned,

and here...

Dakota stopped and tried to slow his racing thoughts

before glancing over at another table in the hotel restaurant.

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Sitting with two male escorts was a woman of striking

appearance. She was also a near twin to Darvi Wingate.

Dakota had all he could do to keep his teeth in his mouth.

Was this the woman I saw that day? Had the incident at the

train been completely innocent?

Dakota made himself take a few deep breaths. He didn't

want to overreact, but that was taking some effort By sheer

force of will, he kept himself from dashing to the other

table and demanding from the woman her whereabouts

the day he put Darvi on the train.

"Here you go." The waitress had returned, placing a

steaming plate of food in front of him, the edges nearly

running over with a huge cut of beef and a heap of mashed

potatoes, both covered with a dark gravy, which also ran

into a mound of cooked greens.

"Thank you," Dakota said quietly, too distracted to miss

her disappointment at not gaining more eye contact

The Ranger ate slowly. After the initial shock wore off,

he noticed that by using a large oblong mirror right across

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from his table, he had an almost perfect view of the woman

and two men.

Already planning to wire Cash about his mistake and

then head home in the morning, Dakota ate in a leisurely

fashion, his heart calming some even as he glanced in the

mirror from time to time. He was nearly through with his

meal when he noticed something else. A man, fine in dress

and manners, sat a few tables away from the strawberry

blonde, a newspaper propped in front of him. Even though

the man never lowered the paper from reading level, neither

did he look at it. With remarkable consistency, he kept

his eyes on the woman's table. No one sat at the tables in

between, and the woman's table was against a wall. There

could be no other person holding his interest. And if that

hadn't been enough to convince the Ranger, he eventually

watched the woman and two gentlemen exit, just 15 seconds

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before the lone man got up to follow.

Dakota left a coin on the table to cover both meal and tip

and did a little following of his own. He still planned to

wire Cash and tell him he had it all wrong, but he didn't

think he'd say he was headed home, at least not yet.

%r%r$r

"Why didn't you go to town today?" Darvi asked in

frustration.

"I wasn't needed," Seth told her calmly, completely

ignoring everything she'd said that morning.

Arms crossed tightly, Darvi tapped her foot impatiently

and nearly shooed him as she would the dog. The children