“Yes, of course there’s a reason. I’ve got to warn Emma to run for her life.”
Tom’s harsh tone was lost in a quick laugh.
Mark scowled at her, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. “Too late.”
“Maybe I’ll talk to Belle, then.”
“She’s already given her blessing, or as close as she’s ever apt to get when a man comes courting her daughter.”
“How close?”
“She hasn’t threatened to shoot me for nearly two days.”
Tom laughed again, and Mark joined in. Mandy closed her eyes then was helpless not to laugh, too. “Well, if Belle’s given you her … sort of … blessing, then who am I to oppose poor Emma signing on her future with you.”
“Silas is Belle’s fourth husband. The rest were a worthless lot. I think Emma will be okay with me because she’s had some terrible men to compare me with.” Mark grinned.
Mandy was tempted to swat him. He wasn’t quite close enough, though. And that might not be accidental.
“So are you telling me you want to draw your time?” Tom reminded Mandy that Mark had started this for a reason.
“You said you’d pay me in cattle. I’ve homesteaded on a holding up in these hills.” Mark pointed straight at a bunch of trees no one could begin to see through. “There’s a nice mountain valley I scouted out a few miles to the north of Belle and Silas’s. It turns out Emma’s sister lives to the north. Belle knows the place I picked and seems to be pleased with it. I’ll need the cattle. I’ll work as long as I can, but I want to get a cabin up before first snow, and I—”
“I’ll send some men with you to put up the house.” Tom looked at Mandy. “In fact—”
“You don’t have to do that,” Mark interrupted before Tom could go on. He had a tinge of pink on his cheeks as if his temper was up. “I can take care of my own wife and build my own cabin.”
Tom glared at Mark. “Neighbors help each other out here. You think I built my house single-handedly? And maybe Mandy and I could come, camp out with the young’uns. Get away from the ranch for a while. Let the Cooters hunt around for us.”
“It wouldn’t be hiding, and yet they’d have a hard time figuring out where we went.” Mandy liked the idea real well.
“But I thought I’d work another month or two. I figure I’ve earned five or six head of cattle. I’d like to add a couple more, get a better start for Emma and me.”
“I’ll make it ten—nine cows bred Angus and one young bull.”
Mark jerked a little and looked surprised and delighted.
“We’ll have to camp on the trail tonight. But we’ll get home midday and leave as soon as we can, maybe tomorrow if I don’t run into anything at the ranch that slows me down. I have to get in to Divide to talk to the law, but we can swing through there on our way to the building site. We’ll take all the men the ranch can spare and get the cabin up and finished while the sheriff and marshal do their jobs.” Tom looked satisfied.
Mandy liked it, too. It wouldn’t be hiding. She wasn’t a rabbit if she was helping a friend build a cabin.
“Well, I suppose—”
“It’s an order. And go back right now and tell Silas about it. He’ll need to come along with Emma, and he’s a good carpenter.” Tom shrugged. “No, forget that. Just tell Emma you want her to have say in how we build the cabin. Don’t even bother telling Silas. He won’t let his girl ride away from his place with you. He’ll come whether you ask or not.”
With an expression that made Mandy wonder if he was dizzy from his life being planned for him, Mark said, “I’ll go back and talk to her, then catch up with you wherever you camp.” He wheeled his horse.
“Wait a minute,” Tom ordered.
Mark turned back instantly.
“Leave Jarrod with me.” Tom shook his head as if Mark didn’t have possession of a lick of brains.
Grinning, Mark said, “I’ve gotten used to him.” He slung the pack off his back, and Tom donned it. Then Mark headed back in the direction they’d just come.
Tom gave a firm, satisfied jerk of his chin then headed for home carrying two of Mandy’s babies. He was protecting them. And Mandy. She’d brought terrible danger into his life, but he was strong enough to handle it all and build a house for one of his cowhands in his spare time. “The horses are rested. Let’s put some miles behind us.” Tom sped up, and Mandy fell into a gallop, keeping up with Tom’s fast pace toward home.
He was carrying more than just her children. He also had her heart.
Cord crested a high ridge in the trail and pulled up. “Look down there.” He pointed at a spot to the west of the Linscott ranch.
There was room for several of his cousins to come up beside him. “What’re ya lookin’ at, Cord?”
“It’s Linscott. I recognize his black stallion. I’d know that big beast anywhere.” It was getting on toward noon. They’d ridden late last night. Then one of his cousins had produced a bottle or two of rotgut, and they’d stayed up late playing poker and talking.
Cord knew they needed to push hard, but he’d enjoyed the whiskey himself and had needed the sleep this morning.
“You said his ranch was to the east of here.” One of the cousins was a whiner.
Cord could taste the victory, and it would cost far less than he’d planned. A direct assault would have brought a lot of Cooters down. Cord had been ready to do it, but now he saw a way out. “He’s heading for Divide. He’s got a few men riding with him, but he’s not barricaded like he’d be at the ranch.”
And he had Lady Gray with him. With cold pleasure, Cord focused on her white braid. He saw a toddler strapped on Linscott’s back. Cord suspected the other two children were on someone’s horse, but he couldn’t see them from this distance.
Thinking of that, the children, twisted his gut. This was a blood feud, and those young’uns had bought in just by being born. But he hadn’t really thought of bringing those little ones under his gun. Unless he was killing mad, he didn’t think he could do it. And he was sure the rest of his kin hadn’t given it much thought.
But how could he spare the children if he was raining fire down from an overlook? If he tried to be careful of them, he’d miss his chance to finish Lady Gray and Linscott. He settled it by nursing his grudge and letting the need to avenge his family turn his mind from an act even he couldn’t stand to think about.
He glanced at his kinfolk. “We can take the high trail right here, instead of going down. We’ll get ahead of Linscott and cut him down where he stands.” He studied the landscape then pointed to a high outcropping of rock. “That looks like it looms right over the trail. A perfect place for an ambush.”
A lot of heads nodded, and more than a few seemed relieved. They hadn’t complained, but Cord sensed they weren’t eager to launch a frontal attack on a well-defended ranch. He wondered what flowed in the blood of the Cooter family that made them inclined toward back-shooting. He preferred it himself.
He turned his horse, not half the animal Linscott’s stallion was, and headed straight north on the highlands. He didn’t know the country around here, but he knew the woods, and there was a faint but clear game trail. These were mountain-bred horses—at least his was. If a deer or a mountain goat could leave a trail, his mustang could follow it.
“This is gonna be over in a couple of hours.” With renewed energy, his family followed him to the final showdown.
Tom set a blistering pace. He wanted to talk to the marshal and Sheriff Dean then do his best to get into the highlands before nightfall. They’d find the place where Reeves’s cabin would be built and have themselves a few days of hard labor, in complete safety.
He loved his ranch, but the whole time he’d been there this morning it’d itched at him that the Cooters would be coming. They were pure weasel, but they were dependable.
Without slowing up, he hollered back, “Reeves!”
Mark came up beside him. “Here, Boss.”
“There’s a nar
row spot in the trail ahead. It’s the only place where someone could get a good shot at us from cover. We can’t scout the trail without it taking half a day, there’s just no way up to those rocks.” Tom pointed at an overhang in the distance. Then he glanced back at Mandy and met her eyes.
She nodded, taking in every word.
He made no attempt to keep anything from her. After what he’d seen of her in action, there was nobody he’d rather have fighting at his side. She might be worried about becoming a killer, but Tom wasn’t overly. He suspected he could keep her from hiring out to settle range wars if he watched her close.
She was trailing him, but only because it was too narrow to ride three abreast, especially at a gallop.
“What do you want me to do?” Mark asked.
Tom tried his best, but he was having a hard time getting really mad at this little punk who’d known Mandy for so long and had such a deep connection to Tom’s children. “Drop back and tell the men we’re going through hard. I’ll signal you when I’m ready to pick up speed.” Tom shifted his grip on the reins so he held them in his left hand, which was busy holding Catherine on the saddle. He raised his right hand in a fist. “That’ll be the sign. I don’t want to yell and wake up the children. Tell the men to ride low to their horses until I signal you to stop. We’ll make it. The Cooters wouldn’t have any way of knowing where we are. My men have been scouting around the ranch, and there’s no sign we’re being watched. But even so, we ride hard, keep low, and be ready for trouble. Tell ’em.”
A firm jerk of Mark’s chin was the only response before Mark let Tom ride on ahead.
That tight stretch in the trail was still a ways ahead. Tom had ridden this trail a hundred times and knew it right down to the trees and game trails. Within the hour they’d pass through what felt to him like a death trap all of a sudden. Rugged rocks rose high on the right side and dropped away on the left. Swallowing, he realized he’d never given it much thought before. Despite the hard life, most of the danger out here came from rattlesnakes and grizzlies and blizzards, not gunmen. Even the outlaws tended to run off a few head of cattle and avoid coming under anyone’s gun.
Being married was going to be tricky, what with Mandy always halfway ready to run away, thinking to protect him. He looked down at Catherine, deep asleep in his arms. He’d have to guard the children to keep their stubborn mother in line. She wouldn’t run off without them. Then he realized she already had once.
Hugging Catherine close, he felt the weight of Jarrod on his back and thought of what would happen if dry-gulchers opened fire on him or Mandy. The children would be right in the line of fire.
Tom’s fury tightened his whole body, and Catherine shifted in her sweet sleep. Forcing himself to relax, lest he squeeze her until she woke up, Tom set his jaw and looked ahead. One more hour and they’d be through that narrow stretch of trail and likely be safe.
His big hand nearly covered Catherine’s tummy, and he wished his hand were iron, a solid barrier for the little girl.
One more hour.
“We’ll be down there in less than an hour.” Cord pointed to the outcropping of rock that loomed over the trail the Linscott party was traveling. “We’ll have time to set up and be waiting for them.”
A grumble of satisfaction from behind pulled a smile onto Cord’s face. This was all going to be over. He thought maybe he’d move to California once this was done. He was tired of the Rockies in winter. He had no taste for homesteading or ranching. Maybe he could work for someone like he’d done for Sidney Gray. That had been the best job he’d ever held. Easiest, too. With a smirk he thought of how that fool Gray had ended up dead at his hand.
It flickered through his head that if he hadn’t mistreated Lady Gray and gotten himself fired, he might have instead continued to protect Sidney. Sidney might still be alive, especially since Cord had killed Gray personally.
For one second his whole world tilted as he considered that he had set all of this in motion. He had lost the best job he’d ever had through his own behavior. Now he daydreamed about getting a job just like that again.
Shaking his head to avoid the unsettling notion, he remembered when he’d gone up behind Lady Gray and put his hand on her shoulder. Offering her protection and … male companionship. She should have been honored. Cord knew the way Sidney treated her. She should have jumped at the chance to be friendlier with Cord. Instead she’d been offended and had him fired. Gray had acted like it was about the gold, but Cord knew the truth. Mandy had spoken to her husband, and Cord got booted out of his job. The sting to his pride was still there.
He looked down the tree-covered slope to the trail where he’d seen Linscott. It was hidden from sight, but Cord knew it was there. He knew Lady Gray was there. He’d teach that woman a lesson.
Then he touched his face where she’d nearly killed him. She’d hit, near as Cord could tell, his rifle right in the muzzle. As good as sent her bullet straight up the barrel of his gun. If she’d really been aiming for the muzzle, then she’d hit a target less than an inch in diameter. And she’d done it while she was moving, ducking, diving. Shaking his head, Cord knew no one was that accurate. Lucky shot. But Cord couldn’t deny she was greased lighting with that Winchester. Well, he’d see how she did against two dozen hardened men.
He also decided he’d take his pick of spots. Even with him high above in a surprise attack, she’d get her rifle into action. He suspected she’d keep firing even if she were dying. It’d take a well-placed bullet to bring her down, and if they didn’t place the bullets well, it’d take a hail of them.
The first bullet out of Cord’s gun was already marked just for Lady Gray. He saw the game trail he was following narrow, which was next to impossible because it was already so narrow it was little more than a rabbit track. It curved downward sharply, and Cord had to slow his horse. Tree branches reached out and would have knocked a man off a running horse. Keeping low, Cord wondered if they’d have to end this on foot. Could his horse even get down to that overhang?
He wished he could see the Linscott crowd, but they were out of sight. That lone stretch of rock topped by the outcropping would be the only place they’d have a clear shot. They’d gained ground. Cord suspected they’d pulled well ahead of the Linscotts. Now they just had to get into place and bide their time, patient as hungry cougars.
Cord liked that image. He was coiled and ready to spring. All he needed was a rabbit to pounce on.
Twenty – three
For the first time in years, Mandy didn’t feel like a rabbit being stalked by a pack of coyotes. She followed Tom’s broad shoulders, feeling like he could block the whole world for her. Hating that she’d put him in danger, but still glad not to be on her own anymore.
And they were nearing Divide. Somehow getting to town seemed like the end of all the danger. They’d consult with the marshal, find out hopefully that they had the situation with the Cooters under control, and then make tracks for Mark’s homestead.
If they needed to build Mark an eight-bedroom mansion, they’d do it and stay at that homestead until the Cooters were arrested and no longer a risk to anyone. If her husband would just agree.
Tom looked back over those broad shoulders. “We’re almost to that narrow stretch.”
He spoke softly, so as not to wake the children. Trying to smile, she barely managed a brief upturn of her lips and a terse nod.
Tom wasn’t fooled. He knew her very well considering how short was their acquaintance.
Looking ahead to the tapering trail, Mandy swallowed hard and held Angela closer. The trail twisted and climbed. They could only see a few yards ahead. It led to a woodless rocky stretch. The whole trail was narrow and heavily forested, except this one stretch. For a few yards, it would be so tight it almost grabbed Mandy by the throat. They just needed to get through it, and the mountain on the right dropped away. There was nowhere to ambush riders on the trail after that one spot. After that was a fairly safe route to Divide.
They’d be passing through it in minutes. Mandy was scared right down to the ground, but at least, finally, she was no one’s rabbit.
Cord didn’t speak a word. They were too close. Chances were the heavy forest would drown out any sound, but he wasn’t taking a chance. The trail was so sheer now his horse took a single step at a time. They were cutting it close, but they’d get there. A trail had to go somewhere after all. And though Cord wasn’t familiar with this area, he was dead certain that this trail led straight to that rocky knoll.
He caught a glimpse of a rider far below, still well behind the Cooters. All he had to do was reach that stack of boulders, and that was only a few hundred yards ahead.
Salivating, Cord could taste the victory. He’d like to get his hands on those beautiful black horses of Linscott’s. He’d like to get his hands on Lady Gray’s gold. He’d like to get his hands on Lady Gray. He doubted he’d manage any of that because he was going to come down on that party like iron fire raining from heaven. Lady Gray was too fast and too accurate to risk leaving her alive or aiming carefully to spare those horses. The horses were too well-known anyway. Someone would identify them as Linscott’s, and that would tie the Cooters to their deaths. He was content with just finishing this business and riding away with the slate wiped clean, the feud settled.
He reached a sudden drop-off in the middle of the trail that forced him to stop. He could clearly see tracks. Deer and mountain goat, heading down, straight for that overlook. But his horse had finally reached the limits. It balked and wouldn’t go another step. What’s more, Cord knew the horse couldn’t go another step. It couldn’t handle this sheer descent. But a man could.
Grimacing with anger, he looked back at his kin. “There’s no trail from here on, not one a horse can handle. We’ve got to go on foot.”
His family grumbled, but they all knew there was no time to hash out a new plan.
Swinging down, they tied their horses to the nearest limb, and there was an abundance of them. Cord looked again at that drop-off. Easy enough on foot. He’d just have to jump. It might have been twenty feet of sheer rock, but Cord could swing down, hanging on with his fingertips, then drop the last bit. He checked that his six-gun was firm in his holster and took his rifle. He’d need the long gun to make that shot. Even from where he wanted to lie in wait, it was a long shot to make a hit. But he had no doubt he and his cousins could do it.
Sophie's Daughters Trilogy Page 85