Chapter 25

Jane and Frost walked into the Army camp at the edge of town. She could tell that the men were a little jumpy and she didn't know why. She looked around and saw all the fires lit for the night. The guards were taking their positions around the camp and the rest of the men were getting ready to bed down for the time being. She knew that they would be on watch and they would rotate, but she could still see the uneasiness on their faces.

"What's got them spooked?" Jane asked Frost.

"Two Apache scouts started talking about a demon and they went a little nuts. Cavannaugh's having a time trying to convince them that there is no monsters. But, you know that these men have been in wilds too long. They think that ever tumble weed is out to get them. And, the City boys don't know what to do out here, so the country boys are trying to teach them how to live off the land. The officers are using this as a training opportunity."

"Of course they are," Jane stated under her breath as they continued to walk through the camp.

"Cavannaugh's this way," Frost said as her grabbed her arm and pulled her to the left.

She stared at his arm for a minute or two. He looked down at his own and hand then let her go. He pointed to tent and the left her standing there to follow him. Korsak saw them and headed towards them. His boisterous laugh could be heard before he got there. Cavannaugh was with him. She turned and looked at both men. Her dark eyes followed both them cautiously.

"Janie," Korsak said as he approached.

"Ranger Rizzoli, always a pleasure. So, you want to tell me why this guy has a hard-on for you? What'd do to him?" Cavannaugh asked her.

"I got away," Jane replied as she looked into his hardened Irish blue eyes.

"Well, then let's get this bastard."

"That's the plan, Colonel," Jane told him.

"Good. So, I've got my men setting boundaries around the town. Everyone will have to go through us as they come into town. The people seem to be okay with that. I have a company working on patrols and rotating protective detail for the civilians. My engineers and a platoon of both infantry and cavalry have reported to Pecos with some of the men. They are setting up there to rebuild."

"That sounds good."

"Your mother has been helping with the food, too. Good woman. Good cook, too."

"I'll let her know you said that, Colonel."

"You do that, Rizzoli. So, what else do you need from us? I've still got at least a platoon of men that we can use."

"The patrols that your men are doing, how large of an area are they watching?" Jane asked him.

"From here to Pecos," Cavannaugh told her.

"We'll have to break them up. I want a local man with each group, say five men. I'll get with my brother and get some local maps. We'll assign two groups a section. Each section will be patrolled a day and then they'll switch out teams. We'll look over each section and see if we can figure out where he's hiding or where's he's been. Then we'll move accordingly," Jane explained.

"Sounds good," Korsak replied.

"The town's people seem to be okay with all the extra men. But, I am not sure that they are going to want to leave town, Jane. Who are you going to use?" Frost asked her.

"Frankie already has some men together for a posse. Those are the men I want assigned to the patrol groups. Any of the other locals will stay closer to town and help with patrols and protecting the town. I don't want it turned into a fort, but Frankie knows that we are basically in charge."

"Is there a judge in route?" Korsak questioned.

"Frankie sent for a local one two days ago. Who knows when he'll get here, but I hope that we have a prisoner for him by the time he arrives. Also, there was a group of Apache men that came into town today. Frankie told me to wait and talk to you, Jane, about what to do with them," Frost told them.

"Have them set up camp behind the hotel. Do you know how many there are? And, who is their leader?"

"Goyahkla came with twenty men."

"I'll speak with them. And, Colonel, do me a favor and tell your men not to shoot the natives. They are here to help. I'll deal with them personally."

"As long as they don't go scalping my men, you have me word that they are off limits, Ranger," Colonel Cavannaugh replied.

"Good. I want to meet your team leaders in the morning. Everyone should get some sleep. If anyone needs me, I'll be at the hotel. We'll use the sheriff's office as our meeting place from now on. People in town get antsy around the troops and the troops have a tendency to make the people antsy, too."

"Sounds good, Jane," Korsak stated.

"I'll be running with the teams scouting between here and Pecos, Jane. I want to make sure that everyone is safe and see how things are coming. I'll bring you my reports in about two to three days time," Frost said.

"Good, Frost. Leave first thing in morning, but I want you to take an Apache with you. Trust me on this," she told him before turning to look at the Colonel again. "Goodnight, Colonel. I'll see you around noon at Sheriff's office."

She didn't wait for an answer. She simply turned on her heel and started back for the main part of town. As she walked out of the Army camp and back into town, there were only thoughts about Maura and her mother. She didn't even realize that she'd picked up her step. She knew that Maura was safe with her mother, but she wasn't safe from her mother. No one was, really, but Maura...she didn't know how to handle people like Angela Rizzoli. Hell, no one did, least of all her own family. She made her way quickly into the hotel to see Maura standing at a counter next to her mother in the kitchen.

The kitchen was remarkably clean, which meant that her father was already getting ready for bed. She saw the baskets of eggs and ground oats out, ready for breakfast in the morning. There was also some fruit and apples. Her eyes hit the apples and she made a mental note to grab some for Bass and Jo Friday. She was looking for some meat and bread. She was still hungry, but she didn't want to disturb her mother too much.

"Oh, hey, Janie," her mother called as she walked more fully into the kitchen.

Jane gave her mother a smile. She looked over to the salt box and the pork barrel. She grabbed a chunk of pork and decided to wait on the jerky for later. She then grabbed some left over bread for dinner. She went over to the counter and sliced the pork thin. She placed it on the bread and then in a cast iron skillet. Her Ma watched as she placed it over the stew pot. The stove wasn't lit anymore and Jane didn't feel like dealing with it. The stew pot was still hanging over the fire brewing low and slow for tomorrow. She knew that her mother would taste it first thing in the morning to see what it would need to serve. She also had the preparations out for some good sourdough.

"Making gravy in the morning?" Jane asked as she watched her sandwich.

"That's the plan. Biscuits too. Got a fresh sack of flour. I was thinking of making some cakes for the troopers. They are so far from home and all," Angela told her.

She smiled. That was what her mother did in a crisis. She cooked. She was always cooking. It helped her deal with the stress, but it also made her feel like she was needed. Plus, has there never been a time when food didn't help? Jane couldn't think of one.

She poked at her sandwich with her finger. She was trying to tell how hot it was. She heard Maura gasp, but her Ma just smiled. She knew that it didn't matter. Jane wouldn't really feel the heat, but she would know when he sandwich was ready. She went to the drain board and selected a small plate. She moved the sandwich from the skillet to the plate and set it on the counter. She sat the skillet on a iron grate near the sink.

She grabbed the sandwich and took a bite. She smiled at the bacon-y goodness and went for another bite when Maura simply reached out for her hand. She looked at Jane's right hand, but was surprised to not see any pink flesh. She reached down for her sandwich with her right hand and continued to eat while Maura kept looking at her left. She gave Maura a quizzical look, that bordered on amused, as she did so.

"Did you want one too?" Jane finally asked her between bites.

"Your hand...your fingers aren't burnt," Maura said finally and released her hand.

Jane looked at her hand and then at Maura. She cocked an eyebrow and then looked at her mother. Angela just wanted to laugh.

"No, it isn't burnt. I didn't stick it in the fire. Why would you think that it was burnt?" Jane asked her.

"You put your finger in the skillet," Maura answered.

"I didn't put it on the skillet. I was merely testing the temperature. I wanted to make sure that the bread got toasted and meat cooked a little. I never actually touched the pan, Maur. My hand is fine. I've been doing that since Ma could get me in the kitchen. Every good cook can do that," Jane replied.

Angela offered her hand for Maura to explore as well. Maura studied both of their hands. She could see the small scars caused from cutting fruits or vegetables. She could see the oil marks from butter and fat popping from a hot pan. But what she didn't see was the burn scars or marred flesh that she thought should be there.

"I don't think I ever saw our cook test a pan," Maura said.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie. Not everyone does it. But, Janie is doing something that I taught her when she was younger. She's been cooking or helping me in the kitchen since she was old enough to stand on a chair. She wanted to help. And, then one day, she comes into the hotel and tells me that she's heading to Austin. She's going to be a Ranger or something. I thought she'd met someone and was following him. Little did I know, she was right."

"What do you mean?" Maura asked.

"She came home with that damn badge on her shirt. She told me that she served as one of the Governor's detail. I didn't know what that meant. So I asked her."

"I told her the truth. I has scored high on all my marks that I attracted the attention of Governor Doyle. I didn't know how to fail. My first assignment was protecting the governor. No one suspected that a woman could do the job. Turns out they were wrong. After I found a bunch of holes in his detail, he had me rework it for him. So, I did. After I was done, he laughed and offered me whatever district I wanted. I chose to come home."

"And, he let you?"

"Yes, he did. He made me co-leader, I guess of our area. Korsak and I run the teams in our district, but I know that I am always on call for the governor as well."

"Which is why you were selected to escort me?" Maura questioned.

"It is one of the reasons, yes. But that doesn't matter, tonight. Thanks for the sandwich, Ma. I'll help clean up after breakfast, but I need to get some more sleep before we start our patrols in the morning. I'll make sure to see you before I leave town," Jane told her and walked out of the kitchen without waiting on Maura.

"Go on, Maura. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask her about it. Lord knows she doesn't talk to me anymore. I don't know what happened to her our there, but I know that it was bad enough to cause this raucous. Go on. I'll finish up with the kitchen. It's fine," Angela told her as she practically shooed her out of the room.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I am. Just be sure to stay close to the hotel. I know Janie means well, but I'll be happy to have the extra hands with all these folk in town."

"It's no problem, Mrs. Rizzoli. I'll be down as soon as I wake in the morning. Hopefully, it'll be early enough to help you with breakfast," Maura told her and then found her way to the stairs.

She worked her way upstairs and to her shared room with Jane. She carefully opened the door and entered the room. She saw Jane already stripping down for bed. She shut the door and locked it.

"Jane?"

She didn't answer. She just continued to get ready for bed. She watched as Jane poured some water in the basin and wiped her face with it. She was quick to hand her a cloth to dry off with. She could feel the heat coming from Jane's body, but she could see how rigid she was as well.

"You need to relax."

"I can't."tat

"You won't sleep in this condition."

"I probably won't sleep for a while."

"Jane."

"Maura, it's the truth. I know how long I can go before I'll drop. The only thing is I have to know that it would be out on patrol. I know I need to sleep. I know that I need the rest, but I can't when I think about him being out there," Jane told her truthfully.

Maura walked to window and closed the curtains, being sure to draw the heavy curtain closed, too. She moved back to Jane and took her hand. Jane looked up into her big green eyes and lost herself. Maura pulled her slightly to the bed. She could see some of the water still clinging to Jane's face and neck. She reached for the cloth that Jane had clenched in her hand and gave it a tug. Jane let it go and Maura finished drying her off. Their eyes never left each others.

"Jane?"

"Yes, Maur?"

"Be careful, please."

"I will."

"Come back to me."

"I will."

"Don't let him win."

"I won't."

"Kiss me."

"Every day if you'll let me," Jane told her as she leaned forward and sealed her promises with a kiss.