The Renegade's Redemption

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Can I do it, Lord? If Tex stuck around, the past was likely to keep eating at her. But surely she could endure some discomfort over the next few weeks if it made her better able to care for the children—and bring the other four boys to the farm.

“All right.” Ravena stuck out her hand for him to shake. “I accept your offer.”

His hand closed over hers. “You won’t regret it, Ravena,” he said, his gaze unusually serious. “I promise.”

She’d heard those words before. Breaking his hold, she strode toward the house to see how Ginny was coming at starting supper. Everything inside her hoped that Tex would fulfill his promise. Because she wasn’t the only one counting on him this time.

* * *

Tex hobbled toward the porch, the sun’s dying rays a fitting backdrop to how he felt. His body, and particularly his healing wound, protested each step. And he’d only been plowing that field for a couple hours. Outlawing wasn’t exactly a life free of activity, but he hadn’t done hard labor like this in years and every one of his muscles was determined to remind him of that fact.

Opening the screen and then the front door, he entered to the murmur of conversation coming from the back of the house. Mark and Luke had found him in the barn a few minutes earlier, seeing to the horses, and had announced it was time for supper. “And Miss Ravena ain’t partial to latecomers,” Mark warned.

Tex managed to work up a small smile at the memory of the boy’s words as he moved slowly down the hall. Ravena might run the farm with a steady hand, but she was compassionate too. It wasn’t hard to see how much the children loved and respected her. That was something he could easily relate to—she’d always engendered his love and respect as well.

Until you abandoned her.

A tremor of shame and guilt rocked him at the errant thought and stole what little strength he had left. Tex splayed his hand against the wall to hold himself upright. He’d thought he’d suppressed his regret over not coming back for Ravena that night. But being here again and having her ask him earlier about the past was making it harder and harder to ignore.

Laughter floated toward him, beckoning him forward, and away from the painful past. He hadn’t yet eaten in the kitchen with Ravena and the children. Tex gritted his teeth against his despondency, fighting it back with reminders that he was here to help her now. Surely that was something. Pushing away from the wall, he forced himself to walk instead of limp into the kitchen.

All of the children were seated, except for Ginny who assisted Ravena in carrying the dishes to the table. The laughter faded as he stepped through the doorway.

“Smells good,” Tex said, a little louder than necessary. But he was desperate for an escape from the physical and emotional pain battling inside himself. “Then again, it usually does.”

He noticed Ravena’s cheeks flush pink, though she didn’t change her passive expression. “You’re welcome to take a seat after you wash up.” She and Ginny sat at the table.

Crossing to the sink, he lifted the pump and began to wash his hands in the stream of water. “What’s for supper?”

His only response came in the form of a girlish giggle. Tex turned to see Fanny covering her mouth with her hands. The rest of the children were staring down at their empty plates, but they were all fighting smiles.