Page 68 of In Honor’s Defense

Thank you, Lord. You made a path where there was none and gave me back the child of my heart.

“Let’s go home,” she said when Nathaniel began to pull away.

He didn’t say anything, but the way his eyes shimmered as he nodded his agreement spoke volumes. A night spent alone with the very real fear of losing either his home or his freedom had changed him. Matured him. Given him perspective.

In fact, once he untangled himself from Damaris’s embrace, he straightened his shoulders and walked past Luke to stand before Oliver Grimes. “I’m sorry for the pranks I pulled and any damage I caused, Mr. Grimes. I promise to work hard for you to make it right.”

Damaris caught Luke’s eye and found the same pride in his gaze that flooded her chest.

“Thank you for not pressing charges, sir.” Nathaniel’s voice quavered, but he cleared his throat and continued. “I know it looks bad, but I swear I didn’t take your cows.”

Mr. Grimes dipped his chin slightly. “And I swear I didn’t kill your father.”

Nathaniel nodded. “I know that now.”

“Good. Then I’ll expect you at the Triple G straight after school on Monday. You got a barn to paint.” Grimes held out his hand.

Nathaniel stared at it a moment, then clasped the rancher’s palm with a firm grip. “I’ll be there.”

And he was. Every day after school the following week, Nathaniel and Luke headed to the Triple G and worked until suppertime.

Damaris knelt beside her brother’s grave and laid a small bouquet of wildflowers near the headstone. “You’d be proud of him, Douglas. He’s grown up so much in the past few days. It’s as if when he stepped out of that jail cell, the anger and resentment he’d been carrying fell away like shedding skin. He’s raw and confused and still misses you terribly, but I think he’s finally starting to heal. Luke is helping. Picking up where you left off in showing him what it means to be an honorable and godly man.”

A small chuckle erupted as she recalled last night’s impromptu recitation. “It turns out Luke has been helping Nathaniel memorize scripture while they work on the barn. Your son quoted all of Psalm 15 to me yesterday before sitting down to supper. He squirmed a bit at the part about a righteous man doing no evil to his neighbor, but there was something about the way he held himself as he recited the verses. As if the psalm had become a creed of sorts for his life, not just an assignment he’d been forced to complete as a punishment. God is at work in him, Douglas, and it’s a remarkable sight to behold.”

Damaris took a handkerchief from her pocket and spread it upon the sundried ground behind her brother’s grave. Lowering herself to sit on the cotton square, she let out a sigh and leaned against the tombstone as if she were resting against her big brother’s back. “I think I’m falling in love with him, Douglas. Luke sees me. And instead of merely tolerating my presence like most people, he actually appreciates what I have to offer. If a bluestocking old maid could actually offer anything worthwhile to a Texas legend. He’s a Horseman. Did I tell you that? A former cavalry officer who makes his living training horses and rounding up criminals. As opposite from my quiet bookish existence as one can be. Yet he actively seeks my opinion. Not only seeks it but honors it. Honors me. He looks at me as if I were a rare treasure he’d never thought he’d find, and when I look at him . . . Oh, Douglas. It’s as if all my odd, misshaped edges finally fit somewhere.”

As if God himself had handpicked Luke just for her.

Is that the case? her spirit asked as she looked over the landscape with unseeing eyes. Did you send Luke to us for more than just Nathaniel’s protection? Did you send him for me, too?

Oh, how she wanted that to be true. To have the assurance that he wouldn’t leave after the job with the rustlers and Harbinger was done. That he’d have a reason to stay. Two reasons. Both carrying the Baxter name.

“I wish you could’ve met him,” she murmured as the wind started to pick up and blow against her face. “I think you would have liked—”

An acrid odor crinkled her nose, cutting her off mid-thought.

Damaris frowned as she pushed to her feet. It smelled like . . .

Smoke! A line of charcoal clouds marred the horizon to the north.

Lifting the hem of her skirt, she ran to the top of the rise and scanned the countryside. There. The dark clouds met the ground in the distance. A flash of orange caught her eye. Then another. Her heart clenched.

Prairie fire!

And with the south wind, it would head straight for the house.

God, help us!

Damaris spun and raced down the hill toward the barn. Nathaniel had taken one of the horses to the Triple G, and Luke had Titan. That left one horse for her to ride and a cow to turn out just in case the fire couldn’t be stopped.

Saddling the horse would take too long, so after fitting a bridle over the gelding’s head, she positioned him near the paddock fence and used the bottom rail as a mounting block. With an inelegant lurch, Damaris threw herself over the back of her brother’s second-best steed. Praying she wouldn’t fall off, she grabbed a generous handful of mane along with the reins and urged the horse into a canter.

She had to get to Luke before the fire grew too large to fight.

Luke stood at the base of the ladder, trying not to get dripped on while Nate painted the trim along the top of the barn door. They’d finished the second coat of red paint on the siding yesterday and started on the dark brown trim today. They should complete the job by the end of the week if all went well.

Nate was proving to be a good worker, now that he’d set his mind to the task. He heeded direction, focused on the job, put forth quality effort, and didn’t complain. Luke was downright proud of the boy. If he kept this up, he’d soon be a man who garnered respect from all who crossed his path.