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Drums? “Tell me about the drums,” he demanded in a hoarse whisper. “Did they seem to come from everywhere at once? Did you feel them seeping inside you like they belonged to the air and the wind?”
She nodded sharply, then stared at him. “Do you know what they were? Did you hear them, too?”
He sat forward and leaned his forehead into his palms. Man, his head hurt.
“I thought I must’ve been dreaming,” he groaned.
“Tell me about it.”
“I have to think.” He rubbed his temples. “I can’t think.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right, Gray. We can talk about it later. You’ve been through a lot.”
His chin jerked up. “You know my name? But I don’t know who you are. I remember your help in the dry wash, but I can’t remember ever meeting you before.” The frustration was evident in his dark-rimmed eyes.
Abby swallowed the small ego buster. She clearly remembered the time he’d knocked Bigelow Yates off his horse when that bully had decided to use her as a lassoing post. A few of the dumber adolescent boys had oftentimes made her the brunt of their jokes back then. Probably because she’d fought back and refused to flutter her eyelashes and cry like the other girls.
But although Gray had been her hero that day and had always treated her with respect, there was no reason on earth why he should remember. It was a long time ago, and they’d both changed over the years.
“I’m Abby Gentry. We’re neighbors. And…we went to high school together for a year.”
“Abby Gentry?” He shook his head and wiped a palm over his mouth. “As in the Gentrys? I can’t…” He rubbed at his temples again.
“Don’t…don’t try. I doubt if I was very memorable.” She sympathetically placed her hand on his shoulder but quickly withdrew it when the feel of his bare skin sent a shock down her arm. “Let’s, uh, try something easier. What were you doing in that dry wash without a horse? And how on earth did you let that rattler get the best of you? Don’t you know better than to turn your back on a snake?”
He grimaced and rubbed his hand across his mouth again. “Can I have a little water?”
Abby was startled. How cruel could she be? Here the poor man had been near death and fighting for his life until just a little while ago, and instead of treating him like a patient she was interrogating him.
When she looked a little closer, she saw the dark, purplish circles under his eyes. “Sure. I’m sorry. Don’t talk. Rest. The paramedic helicopter should be here soon.” She quickly got him a cup of the bottled water.
He took a sip, cleared his throat and handed the cup back to her. “I owe you an explanation.” His gaze landed on her eyes, and his scrutiny made her nervous again. “In fact, I owe you much more…. I owe you my life.”
Abby shook her head sharply. “Really, I was just glad I was trained to help. Don’t give it a second thought.”
His lips crooked in a semblance of a smile. “I will do more than give it a second thought, Abby Gentry. Ask anything of me. My life is yours. Forever.”
Abby backed up a step, trying to put distance between them. She didn’t quite know how to take his fierce and serious manner. Shaking her head over and over, she began to deny his words, but he silenced her with a raised hand.
“We will not speak of it now. But I’ll honor the debt with every breath.” He eased back on the cot, staring up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. “I do remember that I was checking on the herd. My mustangs have been having some trouble with your fence lines for the past few weeks.
“Then, when I discovered that a section of the Gentry Ranch fence was down near the dry wash, I began to worry that the ponies might’ve wandered through. I was riding Thunder Cloud…” He let his words trail off for a second. “We ride together in the old way. No saddle. No bridle or bit. No horseshoes. Anyway, I thought I heard a horse’s whinny coming from the wash. I didn’t want to force Thunder Cloud into the rocks, so I dismounted and left him on the rim.”
“You left your horse? I should go back and get him. I’ll see to it that he gets fed and watered then returned to your ranch.”
He shot a surprised glance in her direction. “You’re worried about my pony?”
“Of course.” She said it so directly, so simply, that Gray was amazed.
A Gentry would be concerned over one horse? And another man’s horse at that?
“Do not trouble yourself over Thunder Cloud,” he told her. “He goes where he wishes, and he’s more at home on the range than in a corral.”
Gray still needed to finish the story, his pride be damned. “As for the snake, I never saw him, never even heard him. I don’t understand how I might have disturbed his nap.
“I track with the Comanche wisdom,” he continued. “My grandfather taught me. The nemene belong to the earth, they do not trample upon it.”
She tilted her head, lowered her chin. “Do you remember how you got that wound on your head?”
Gray touched the spot on his temple that now was swollen and bruised. “No. I must have hit my head on a rock after the snake startled me.”
Abby nodded. “That would explain why you didn’t just walk away from the rattler bite and ride for help.”
He couldn’t remember. The sounds of the beating drums had been so strong in his head that they obliterated everything else.
Was he going crazy? He needed to call his grandfather to ask about the dream—and why this Gentry girl had heard the drums, too.
At his first thought of the eerie drumbeats, Gray could swear he heard them again. But of course, that was nuts. A minute later he recognized the sounds. A helicopter was landing outside.
“Ah. The paramedics are here,” Abby said as she headed to take the barricades from the door. “It must be dawn.”
“I’m okay now,” Gray muttered. “I remember you administered antivenom. I was very lucky you carry such things on the range.”
He didn’t need the embarrassment of having to be airlifted off the ranch for a simple snakebite. “I’m well enough to find my own way back to the Skaggs Ranch. Thunder Cloud won’t have gone too far.”
Abby started toward him and smiled—the first real smile he could remember having graced her face. With the early-morning light seeping through the open door and under the cracks in the window coverings, Gray finally saw what he’d hoped was true. Her eyes were a gray-green.
The swift arrow of lust he felt as he watched her walking to his side left him shaken. There was nothing overtly sexy about this woman, yet…
That must’ve been it, he mused. For the first time, he’d actually recognized the woman inside the tomboy’s form.
It had been so long since the spark of desire had shot through him, he barely recognized the feeling. Returning to Texas after his mother’s death had only brought him anguish, pain and hard work. Not women.
He didn’t have time for that nonsense now, either. Especially since it involved the one who’d saved his life, and most especially because she was one of the rich Gentrys. Besides, as a white woman she did not have the blood of the nemene running through her veins.
“You look like you’re going to survive, but you haven’t even gotten to your feet yet,” she said. “Why don’t you try standing first? Then you can decide about the paramedics.”
Abby took his arm, assisting him to get up. His head swam and his stomach rolled. Apparently seeing his weakness, she gently pushed him back down on the cot.
“Well, that answers the question. If you can’t stand, you can’t walk back home.”
Gray groaned with misery and embarrassment as two men in jumpsuits, carrying large plastic cases, piled into the little room. “Sorry it took so long, Miss Gentry. We’ve been filled in on the patient’s condition, so we should have him stabilized and delivered to the regional hospital within a few minutes. Don’t worry.”
The paramedics had been true to their words. Over Gray’s protests, they’d taken his vital signs, administered oxygen from a portable bottle and started an IV containing fluids to rehydrate him. Within minutes they had him loaded into the chopper and on his way.
Afterward, as Abby rode alone to the main house, she’d had a long discussion with herself about letting imagination overtake reality. Now, a few hours later, after a bath and nap, Abby began to feel human again.
She must’ve been exhausted and in a state of shock herself to imagine smoke and drums last night. And to believe that somehow Gray’s body had been spirited away…. Well, it was all just a crazy dream.
Abby had more important things to attend to this afternoon. She needed to give her older brother, Cinco, a piece of her mind. How dare he go over her head and speak to Billy Bob and Jake about her safety?
She knew he’d always been wrapped up in security issues, that he’d felt responsible for her and their brother, Cal, ever since their parents’ death. But in return, Cinco knew about her dreams of becoming the foreman on Gentry Ranch. She’d told him many times.
To think he’d actually told Billy Bob to watch out for her. Here she was, trying to prove that she was a capable ranch hand and nearly ready to become the foreman for the entire Gentry spread, and Cinco continued to under-cut her efforts. She loved her brother, but he had to start treating her like an adult who could take care of herself.
She stormed through the old homestead, stalking Cinco, but he was nowhere to be found. Abby slapped her thigh with the leather gloves she was about to put on. Dang, but he led a charmed life.
When she pushed into the kitchen through the swinging doors and found her new sister-in-law, Meredith, Abby’s mood lightened considerably.
There hadn’t been a woman besides herself and Lupe, the old housekeeper, on Gentry Ranch since her mother’s disappearance over twelve years ago. Abby had developed a real soft spot for Meredith, a tough ex-Air Force pilot who possessed a sympathetic and warm center. Besides, her sister-in-law could make Cinco listen to reason.
Her brother had generally been an insufferable control freak for the past twelve years. But since getting married, he’d softened some. At least, she’d thought so until Billy Bob’s words yesterday on the range.
“Abby Jo! I’m so glad to see you.” Meredith quickly embraced her. “When we heard about what happened out on the range, we thought you might’ve been in trouble…or hurt.”
Abby denied her own need for the warmth and comfort of her sister-in-law’s hug and stepped away. “Of all the danged silliness. You might not know me well enough to be sure I can take care of myself, but Cinco does.”
She narrowed her eyes and continued. “Where is the great ranch manager? I have a few things to say to him.”
Meredith smiled and held out a plateful of chocolate chip cookies. “Lupe made these just this morning. Have a couple. They’re her usual triumphs.”
It would be impossible to pass up any of Lupe’s cookies. Abby took a handful and stuffed one in her mouth.
“I think your brother is still out on the range,” Meredith said, finally answering her original question. “He decided to ride up to line shack twenty-three—” she put the plate back on the counter “—just in case you might need anything on your way back.”
Abby nearly spit out the mouthful of cookie crumbs. “What? Why that—”
“Hold on, honey.” Meredith took hold of her shoulders with a firm grip. “Don’t go crazy over him worrying about you. You’ve known him all your life. He’s a worrier. You know that part of him will never totally change.”
Meredith shrugged and tossed her thick, gold braid over her shoulder. “I’ve come to the conclusion that I like having him concerned about my welfare. You know that doesn’t mean he’s trying to control your life. It just means he loves you.”
Abby finally gave in. “I know he loves me, Meri, and I love him. But I want him to see that I’m grown-up enough to take care of myself and that I know what I want from life.”
Her sister-in-law slowly shook her head. “Oh, he knows that you’ve grown up, all right. I’m not supposed to tell you this yet, but he’s planning a big shindig for your birthday—inviting all the eligible bachelors in the county, too.”
Once again cookie crumbs went spewing over the kitchen. “What? But why on earth…”
Meredith slung an arm around her. “He thinks you must be lonely way out here. He’s concerned that you haven’t been seeing friends or dating since you’ve been home from school.”
“Well, if that doesn’t beat all.” Abby hung her head. “I can’t believe he didn’t remember that I never dated anyone in high school…and I certainly don’t need a man messing up my life now. How could he just go off and invite people without speaking to me about it first?”
Meredith took a step back and studied her. “You never dated in high school?”
Abby shook her head.
“How about in college?”
The incredulous tone in Meredith’s voice caused Abby some embarrassment, but she didn’t have anything to hide. Men just hadn’t fitted into her dreams. Lots of women in this modern world lived long and fruitful lives without being tied to a man. She’d always planned to be one of them.
She shook her head and headed for another cookie.
“Are you telling me that you’ve never ‘been’ with a man?” Meredith asked in amazement.
“Of course not,” Abby managed to say before stuffing her mouth again. “Why would I?”
Meredith chuckled. “Oh, honey, I can see why Cinco worries so much about you.”
Abby wrinkled up her face but couldn’t protest with her mouth still full.
“Listen up, Abby Jo Gentry.” Meredith straightened to her full five foot ten. “You will go to this party Cinco’s planned. You will talk to some of the men. And you will enjoy yourself.”
Meredith kissed her on the cheek. “That’s an order.”
Three
A week later Gray climbed the back steps to the kitchen of the Skaggses’ main house. His body still ached, but at least he hadn’t been forced to stay in the hospital for more than a few hours.
“You must have a strong constitution, son.” One of the doctors told him as he signed the papers to send him home. “Most people would’ve been down for a week after what you went through.”
If that were true, he imagined he’d inherited the trait from his grandfather. Gray sure hoped he’d finally be able to talk to that cranky old Indian this morning, too. He needed answers, but Grandfather still didn’t have a phone.
While he’d lived with him for ten years, going to college and learning the ways of the elders, Gray hadn’t cared much about phones, either. Now that Grandfather lived alone, Gray thought maybe he should buy him a cell phone, even though neither of them wanted to jump into technology quite so forcefully. In general, the old ways were infinitely better.
But he wanted the old man to quickly be able to get in touch with him should anything happen. And Gray wanted to be able to reach him when he had a question only Grandfather could answer.
His grandfather, Stalking Moon Parker, had always lived near the progressive and relatively prosperous tribal family lands, located in southwestern Oklahoma. But the stoic old crank would have none of the modern conveniences and civilized companionship of other Comanches. He lived alone with the old ways, and far from the rest of nemene.
Gray imagined that by today his grandfather would’ve gotten the messages he’d had a neighbor hand-deliver. And Grandfather would’ve come to town this morning to answer a phone call placed to an old friend.
As he stepped into the kitchen of the Skaggses’ main house, Gray sighed quietly. Unfortunately, his own phone privileges had been somewhat restricted lately. He could only pray that his two stepbrothers, the current bane of his existence, would be out of the house.
No such luck.
“Hey, hey, hey, looky here,” the younger Skaggs brother, Milan, said as he turned from the open refrigerator door. “Take a gander at who just walked right through the back door…like he owned the place or something.”
Milan Skaggs was twenty-three, and to Gray’s mind he didn’t amount to much. Lean and gangly at about five foot eight, the younger Skaggs boy had to physically look up to his stepbrother—which didn’t do much in the way of making him any more pleasant.
At the moment Milan was grinning at him with one of his typically foolish looks. Gray tried to keep a steady and neutral expression on his face. But it wasn’t easy when Milan looked so dumb, gazing up at him from under that shock of straw-colored hair.
“Don’t waste your time with the Indian, Milan.” Harold, the elder Skaggs brother waltzed into the kitchen, waving a small white card around in the air. “We’ve got more important things to attend to right now.” Harold threw Gray a disgusted glance, then returned his attention to his own flesh and blood.
Gray took an involuntary step forward. But remembering where he was he fisted his hands in his pockets and froze in place, standing near the back door. Something about Harold just made him feel like a fight.
Which, come to think of it, was surprising, considering the eldest Skaggs brother’s demeanor seemed so wimpy. His face always carried that pasty, drawn scowl. His nondescript brown eyes never managed to look at anyone directly, and that paunch above his belt spoke volumes about the sad state of his athletic ability.
Whatever it was that bothered Gray about Harold, he didn’t want to cause any trouble with either of his stepbrothers. He’d been forced to come back here to their ranch last year after his mother died, in order to manage the mustang herd and make sure those rare Indian ponies remained pure and well. But as soon as he could afford to move them to a place of his own, he’d be gone.
Regardless of what his stepfather, Joe Skaggs, wanted…or needed.
