A Little Time in Texas by Joan Johnston Read Free Book Online Page B

asked.
    “No,” Dallas admitted. “But there are plenty of women police officers. Why you can—” Dallas stopped. He couldn’t imagine what career to suggest for a woman who had been a cattle rustler, a pickpocket and a cardsharp. He didn’t even know if Angel could read and write. “I’m sure there’s something you could do,” he muttered.
    “What, exactly, did you have in mind?” Angel asked, her lips curling sardonically. “I don’t understand even the simplest of your machines. What skill do I have that could possibly be translated into an honest profession in your world?”
    “I don’t know…yet.” Dallas pulled off his Stetson, wiped his forehead with his bandanna, then settled his hat back low on his brow. “There’s bound to be something honest you can do.”
    Angel snorted inelegantly. “You don’t sound confident about that.”
    Dallas was worried. Not that he let Angel see what he was thinking. She obviously wasn’t a hardened criminal, but with the road she was traveling, it wouldn’t take but a few wrong turns and she’d end up spending her life in jail. He didn’t know why he thought he could help her go straight. But from everything she said it sounded like she hadn’t had too many breaks in the past. With some honest employment—
    “I hear something,” Angel said.
    Dallas listened. “That droning sound?”
    “Yes. Sounds sort of like bees or—”
    “It’s an airplane,” Dallas said. He looked upand when he spotted it, pointed. “Look there. See that? Where the sun is glinting off silver? That’s an airplane. It looks like we’re not in the past after all, Angel. I’m sorry.”
    “No, you’re not,” Angel said bitterly. “You’re glad. Now you can believe I’m crazy or lying or whatever you want. And there’s nothing I can do to prove differently.”
    Tears glittered in Angel’s eyes.
    “Angel? Are you all right?”
    Her chin came up and her eyes flashed dangerously. She might be temporarily down, but she most certainly was not done in. “Of all the bean-headed—no, I’m not all right,” she retorted. “I’m trapped in the future with a man who doesn’t believe I’m from the past. I haven’t any skills to make my way honestly, and that same man also just happens to be a Texas Ranger. No, I’d say I’m definitely not all right.”
    Dallas knew enough to keep his distance from a spitting wildcat. He offered verbal comfort instead. “Things aren’t as bad as you think, Angel,” he said. “I meant what I said. I’ll help you find a job. You can stay with me until you find something you like, something you can do well.”
    Where had the inclination to make that offer come from? Dallas had lived alone since his father’s death. He’d had only one use for womensince his mother had walked out. Angel was clearly off limits for that purpose. She had made it plain her virtue was intact—and would stay that way. So why this sentimental reaction to a woman who was nothing more than a common thief? He had to be a little crazy himself.
    Insane or not, he couldn’t let her go. “Come on, Angel,” he coaxed. “Say yes.”
    She wanted to run away, but there was nowhere she could go. She wiped her stinging eyes on the sleeve of her shirt. So be it. She had fallen on hard times before. She had learned to take the bitter with the better. Any hopes of a “normal” life had been denied when her mother had put her and Belinda in the orphanage. Since then she’d had to struggle tooth and claw simply to survive.
    Angel wished she had been able to make it to San Antonio. She had wanted the satisfaction of being there when…Better not to ponder what couldn’t be changed. If she couldn’t get back, she couldn’t get back.
    Only, Angel had serious qualms about the honest life the Ranger was offering her. She was willing to try it, but if it didn’t work out…She had been taking care of herself a long time. She would manage somehow to take care of herself now,