Page 24

B lood. It was everywhere. Rich, red, warm, glistening in the night. Coating her hands, soaking through her clothes.

She couldn’t stop it from flowing like a raging river. She was drowning, drowning in the blood.

The scream ripped through the tranquil night. Dallas jerked upright as Dee rolled away from his side and turned up the flame in the lamp.

“What in the hell was that?” Dallas asked.

The terrorized shriek came again.

“It came from Austin’s room,” Dee said as she headed for the door.

Dallas bolted from bed, rushed after her into the hallway, and grabbed her arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To help.”

“Let me go first,” he ordered, taking the lamp from her. No telling what was waiting on the other side. The woman was always rushing into places where she shouldn’t.

Quietly he opened the door to Austin’s room and peered inside. The light from the lamp cast a pale glow around the room. He heard a woman’s harsh sobs.

Dee edged past him and walked into the room, giving him no choice but to follow.

Sitting in bed, the blankets draped around his waist, Austin held Loree. “It’s all right, Loree. It was just a bad dream,” he said, his voice low as he rocked back and forth, stroking her back.

“I didn’t know where you lived. I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have come here,” she wailed.

“It’s all right, Sugar. No one’s gonna hurt you here.”

She tilted her head away from his shoulder and the light from the lamp glistened over her tears. “I’m so scared, Austin.”

He pressed her face back into the nook of his shoulder. “I know you are, but I’m gonna make things good for you, Loree. You’ll see.”

Dee eased toward the bed. “Why don’t I warm up some milk for Loree?” she whispered. “It always helps the children get back to sleep when they wake up with a bad dream.”

Austin glanced over his shoulder at her, gratitude etched over his features. “And put a lot of sugar in it.”

Dee strolled to Dallas and placed her hand on his arm. “Light their lamp for them, then give them a little privacy while I warm some milk.”

When she left his side, Dallas walked to the bedside table and lit the lamp. “Need anything else?”

Shaking his head, Austin settled down on the bed, carrying his wife with him.

Dallas heard her stifling sobs and Austin’s repeated words of comfort.

He strode back to his own room, jerked open the door to the balcony, and stepped into the night.

He was trembling almost as much as he imagined Loree was.

Taking several deep breaths, he stared at the canopy of stars overhead.

Long moments passed before he heard Dee’s soft footsteps. She joined him on the balcony and rubbed her hand up and down his bare arm. “Loree’s sleeping. Come back to bed.”

“Did you see his back? They beat him in prison.”

It wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway. “It looks like it.”

“When we find the man who killed your brother, I’m gonna string him up from the nearest tree.”

“You need to let the law handle—”

He spun around. “The law sent my brother to prison.”

“The law isn’t perfect, but you have to trust it to serve justice. You have to let the law send the real murderer to prison.”

“They had better damn well hang the man, and I want a front row seat.”

Austin held Loree as she sipped on the warm milk Dee had prepared for her. She was trembling so hard that the bed shook.

After all she’d lived through, he wasn’t surprised she still had nightmares.

On the journey, he’d heard her whimper a few times in her sleep.

It seemed the farther they traveled from Austin, the more restless she was when she slept.

He hoped bringing her here wasn’t a mistake, but he’d feared she’d continue living as a hermit if they’d stayed at her home.

She gave him a shaky smile and handed the empty cup to him. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He set the cup aside, and with his thumb, he wiped the milky mustache away from her lip. “You’re welcome.”

She released an awkward chuckle. “I am so embarrassed. Your brother must think—”

“He doesn’t think anything,” he assured her, lying her down and tucking her against his body.

Lord, she fit so nicely, even though she was beginning to swell with his child.

As it rested against his chest, her hand curled like the petals of a flower closing for the night.

He wrapped one hand around it, while the other lazily stroked her back.

He kissed her forehead. “Were you dreaming about your family?”

She moved her head up and down against his chest.

“And the man who killed them. There was so much blood,” she whispered hoarsely.

“What did he look like?”

He felt the shiver course through her body.

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

“While I was in Austin, I talked with a detective about hunting the man down—”

She jerked away and stared at him, fear reflected in her eyes. “What?”

“I thought it would put your mind at peace if the man was found and hanged for what he did to your family. But I couldn’t give the detective enough information. If you tell me what you know about him—”

She shook her head violently. “No, no, I don’t want him looking.”

“Sugar, I’m not gonna let the man hurt you—”

“No!” She buried her face against his chest. “It’s been over five years. Please just let it be.”

“It’s not right that he murdered three people and got away with it.”

He felt her tense within his arms as she shook her head. He drew her closer. “I won’t press you on this, Loree, but think about it. What if he’s out killing others?”

Loree squeezed her eyes shut. She should have told Austin everything before they were married even though she might have sacrificed any affection he held for her. But she’d wanted what he was offering for her baby.

Strange how a little one, not yet born, could bring so many responsibilities with him. She had to do what was best for the baby. She had to put him first. So she held her silence.

A detective searching for the man who had killed her family was a worse nightmare than the one that had woken her up screaming. If anyone tracked down the man who had killed her family, he’d no doubt discover things about her father that Loree wanted to remain a secret.

The only peace of mind she found resided in the fact that she knew the murderer wasn’t going to kill anyone else.

“Loree? Is that short for Lorena?” Dallas asked.

Austin watched his wife jerk to attention and glance down the breakfast table at his brother. Shadows rested beneath her eyes. He wished he had the power to rid her of the nightmares.

“Yes, it is,” she said. “My father told me it was a favorite song around the campfire during the war.”

“Not in my unit,” Dallas said. “I forbid my men to play it, sing it, or think about it.”

“How come?” Rawley asked.

“Because it made the men miss home so much that they’d end up deserting. Can’t tolerate a man shirking his responsibilities.”

Loree flicked her gaze to Austin, and he noticed the crimson fanning her cheeks. He gave her wink. Dallas tolerated less than most men, and Austin was glad Loree hadn’t shared her father’s military history with his brother.

“Can I add taking care of Aunt Loree’s dog to my list of chores?” Rawley asked.

Austin sipped on his coffee, watching Rawley wait expectantly for his father’s permission.

“Don’t you think you got enough chores?” Dallas asked as he scooped up his eggs.

“But I like taking care of dogs, and I don’t have one to watch over since Ma’s went to live with her friends.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Austin saw his wife lean forward and glance down the table at Dee.

“While she carried her litter, she got a bit testy, so I thought it was best to set her free. She still comes up to the house, but not as often,” Dee said.

Loree shook her head. “I don’t understand why you set if free—”

“It was a prairie dog,” Dallas said with disgust.

Loree blinked, confusion mirrored in her eyes. “You had a prairie dog as a pet?”

“Yep,” Austin said, grinning broadly. “Dallas even made it a leash. Carved the dog’s name right into it.”

“Me ‘n’ Wrawley wanna dog,” Faith piped in from her high chair beside Dee.

“Maybe you can borrow your Aunt Loree’s for a spell,” Dallas suggested.

“Can we, Aunt Loree?” Rawley asked. “I’ll take real good care of him.”

Loree smiled softly. “I’d appreciate the help.”

“Now that that’s settled,” Dallas began.

Austin listened with half an ear as Dallas rattled off all the things that Austin needed to tend to that day. He remembered a time when he’d handled his chores and still had time to go into town and visit with Becky.

Right now, it seemed his list of responsibilities would leave him with little time to visit his wife.

He watched as she sprinkled two spoons of sugar into her coffee and began to stir.

Austin reached across the table and took her cup from her.

When she started to protest, he silenced her with a lifted brow.

Then he scooped four more spoons of sugar into the brew before handing it back to her.

“There’s no shortage of sugar around here. ”

Her cheeks took on the hue of a sunrise. “Most people don’t use as much sugar as I do.”

“Maybe if they did, they’d be as sweet as you are.”

Her blush deepened and she lowered her gaze to her plate.

“Have you heard a damn word I’ve said?” Dallas asked.

Austin shifted his gaze to the end of table. “Heard every word. I want to take Loree over to Houston’s this morning so she can pick out a horse.”

Narrowing his eyes, Dallas rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his mustache. “Reckon Amelia will have your hide if you don’t take Loree out and introduce her.”

Austin gave his brother a nod. “I figured the same thing. I’d rather face your wrath than Amelia’s.”

Dallas leaned back in his chair and laughed.