Free Texas Brides Collection by Darlene Mindrup

careful aim at the man wearing the sombrero, hoping Chet had his sights on the other. The Mexican stepped into the sunlight. He made a dreadful mistake.
    He raised his pistol. She held her breath and squeezed the trigger. The two shots fired simultaneously, but the Mexican fell. Still holding her breath, she wrapped her fingers around the pistol and moved to the other window, where Chet had leaned his rifle to look like another stood guard. It occurred to her then. Chet only had one rifle.
    Another shot fired, and the Indian fell. The third man stole around the barn entrance in the direction of the fallen Apache. Serena didn’t see Chet, and a new set of tremors raced up her spine.
    The third man stood in the clearing for a mere second before chasing around the side of the barn. Serena could wait no longer. Unlatching the door, she hurried outside. The man must have sensed her, for he whirled around, pistol aimed.
    With a loud groan, the man fell face down with a knife in his back. Chet raced toward her.
    “You crazy girl,” he said, his voice hoarse. “He would have killed you.” He caught her and pulled her into his arms.
    Serena could not hold back the sobs. “I was afraid he’d shoot you. And you lied to me; you only had the rifle. I couldn’t sit by and do nothing.”
    For several long minutes, he held her and stroked her hair. “It’s all over now, sweetheart.”
    Finally he released her and they looked behind them. The men were dead; no doubt entered her mind. Reality sickened her at what she’d done…they’d done. Chet stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the fallen men.
    “Let’s go see about your pa,” he said, slipping his hand around her waist and urging her to the cabin. “You’re still shaking.”
    She nodded, unable to speak until she garnered enough breath to calm herself. “I feel horrible, dirty, and yet relieved,” she said.
    He brushed a kiss in her hair. “I know. I feel the same way each time I finish a job. You did real well, Serena, but you have to put it past you. Think about what they’d done if you and me had not stopped them.”
    “Oh, Chet, I know, and I’m grateful God spared us.” She took another glance behind them. “Would you pray with me?”
    He turned her to face him and grasped both of her hands into his. They bowed their heads; even so, tears still trickled down her cheeks.
    “Thank you, Lord, for delivering us from those men,” Chet began. “They won’t be hurting any more folks. Lord, I still don’t understand the ways of war, but I know You protected us today just as You have done for me many times before. The cap’n is in bad shape, and we ask Your healing powers to mend his body. Amen.”
    “Thank you,” she whispered, gazing into his treasured face. “I think we need to give them a proper burial.”
    “I will,” he said firmly, “right after we check on your pa.”
    Hand in hand they walked into the cabin where Pa had gained consciousness. His head lay in Ma’s lap, and she held his face in her hands. His side had been bandaged, but his leg still needed doctoring. The agony of pain layered lines upon his face, causing him to look years older.
    “Go ahead and tend to my leg, Rachel. It won’t get any better like it is,” he said through a labored breath.
    She bent and kissed his brow, then glanced up at Serena and Chet. “Would you bind it? I don’t want to let him go.” Ma picked up his hand and wrapped her fingers around it, her lips braving a tender smile.
    Together Chet and Serena cleaned the wound and bandaged it. Pa said nothing but gripped Ma’s hand all the harder.
    “There, it’s done,” Chet announced. “What do you say we get you into bed?”
    “Not yet,” Pa said, wetting his lips. Perspiration dotted his brow. “Let me rest just a minute. Besides, there’s a thing or two I need to say.”
    Serena suddenly grew numb. Surely Pa would not run Chet off after he’d saved their lives.
    “Chet, you saved my family