Low voices of men carried through the slowly opening door. Not Matt’s voice. Who were these men and what had they done to Matt? Erin lowered herself to her belly and scooted to the edge of the loft so she could see over. Luckily, the glow from the fire’s embers didn’t stretch all the way to where she hid, so she could see the men, but they hopefully couldn’t see her.
Three men, all larger than the ones who had been with her inside, entered the room, not bothering to be very stealthy. They either didn’t know about her association with Matt, or weren’t after her.
Could these be random thieves intruding on all the chaos of everything surrounding the issues with her family? She wasn’t sure whether that would be a good thing or a bad one. Either way, they weren’t’ going to just let her go if they found her. She needed to use this tiny advantage while she had it.
Easing back from the edge, Erin pulled on her other boot and scanned the loft. She’d left all her guns at the homestead when she’d first been kidnapped—obviously not by choice, but nonetheless, she didn’t have a single one on her.
Maybe Matt had one stashed up here. Any reasonable cowboy slept with something under his pillow. She crept slowly to the side of the bed and felt around, nearly yelping in joy as her fingers brushed the edge of the cold steel barrel of a weapon. She eased it from the holster and checked to make sure it was loaded. Satisfied she had enough ammunition to protect herself and find Matt, she cocked the weapon and headed toward the stairs.
Downstairs, the men moved around, roughly ransacking the place. She wasn’t sure if they were looking for anything important or just anything they could find. It wouldn’t’ take long before they came up to check this area.
As her foot came down on the top step, a grunt and the sound of a body collapsing on the wooden floor lifted the hair at her nape. Had they beat Matt up? A thousand scenarios raced through her mind and if she didn’t get moving, she’d be immobilized by fear until they found her and she lost her advantage. Squaring her shoulders, Erin hurried down the stairs and aimed her weapon. “Hold it right there!”
Matt groaned, and the three men swung toward her, weapons raised. “Well, lookee, lookee, lookee.”
She ignored the obnoxious leering jerk and aimed toward the biggest fellow. “Drop your weapon.”
“No chance.” He jammed his gun against Matt’s temple. Matt groaned again and though she wouldn’t look at him, she could tell that he was barely conscious.
Erin kept her eyes firmly on the intruders. She couldn’t meet Matt’s gaze or she’d collapse in a heap on the floor and they’d both be in trouble. “What do you want?”
“We came for the sheriff, but I think we’ll stay for you.”
Erin shot the floor beside his foot. All the men jumped. “You stupid bitch.” He shoved Matt’s head.
“You have to the count of three to get out.” Erin’s hand was steady as she pointed the gun. She’d been in sketchy situations before and this was something she was basically born to handle. Facing down horrible people was in her blood.
The men fidgeted nervously. Erin hoped they didn’t do anything stupid. Matt moaned again, and her gaze flickered to him. She yanked it back to the leader’s face and kept her face passive so he couldn’t tell how worked up she was about the condition of Matt’s face. The entire left side was bruised and bloodied. Her heart ached, and she wondered how long he’d been out there before they had attacked him. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard anything while it had been happening.
Matt moaned again, and she forced her gaze not to stray.
“Why did you want to beat him up?”
“We owed him one.”
“For what?” Erin wasn’t sure why she was stalling, but she wanted to make sure this wasn’t’ related to her. If her family was already after her, then they might have a few days of peace once she could get rid of these guys.
They exchanged glances, and the leader grunted. “None of your business.”
Erin waved the gun. “This makes it my business, now tell me what’s going on or I’m going to start shooting.”
“We was rustling some cattle and the good sheriff didn’t take to kindly to our attempts.”
“And you’re surprised?” She still didn’t understand what they wanted with Matt. Surely they didn’t think they could just come beat up the Sheriff and leave.
“Cost us a whole lotta days and our boss was none too happy about it.”
She was starting to believe that they really didn’t have anything to do with her family and now she just had to get rid of them so she could tend Matt’s wounds. “Fine. You’ve had your revenge. Now go on.”
The leader stepped forward, and Erin swung the gun toward him. “Now, you don’t think we can just waltz on out of here and leave you and the sheriff knowing all about us, do you?”
“Sure you can. Either that, or you can leave in the back of the wagon with a hole in your head.”
Matt grunted, and Erin was sure he was trying to get her attention, but she didn’t want to take her attention off any of the men and give them a chance to overpower her. Right now, this gun and her attitude where the only thing keeping them alive. She risked a glance at him, and he was tapping his fingers against his chest. She flicked her gaze back up, but watched his hand. He made a three . . . two . . . one.
She jumped out of the way as Matt lunged from his chair, bowling over the leader and tackling him to the ground. The other two started to jump in, but Erin held them still with the gun. “Get out!”
They ran for the door, and she aimed at the two men wrestling on the floor. Matt got the other one rolled over and pinned on his stomach. “Erin, get over here.”
She checked the door, but the other two were long gone. She heard their horses grunt as they kicked them into a gallop away from the house and into the night. Matt punched the leader in the head. “Now. The lady asked you nicely to leave. Should I have her shoot you?”
“No. We didn’t mean no harm.”
Erin cocked the gun again, and the sound of the metal against metal sent a thrill through her. She didn’t want to kill the man, but adrenaline was coursing through her body and she couldn’t help the feeling of power she had over the prone man.
Matt grunted and Erin resisted the urge to drop her hand to his shoulder. She needed to stay focused on the man in case he tried anything. In Matt’s condition, he’d probably expended all his energy wrestling him to this point.
“I can’t get going with you on me.”
Matt yanked the man’s arm backward. “I’m not going to let you go until I have your word that I’ll never see you again. Because if I do . . . I’ll shoot you on sight.”
The man groaned and agreed. “Fine. The boys are already gone. You won’t see us again.”
Matt wrenched his arm further. “And not just around my house. I don’t want to see you anywhere within a hundred miles of here.”
“Fine!”
Erin held the weapon on him until he was mounted and riding off into the darkness. Matt slumped against her, and she shoved the weapon in the back of her pants and helped him in the house. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? I should have come with you.”
“No.” He closed the door and bolted it behind them, then took the gun from her and put it in his shoulder holster. “I’m glad you weren’t. We’d have been in big trouble then.” His arms were shaking when he pulled her into them. “I was so scared, Erin. So scared they were going to come in here and do something horrible to you. How did you get the jump on them?”
She shrugged and leaned into him. “Lucky. Sheer luck. I must have heard them, and I woke up.” Erin pulled back and examined his face. “Sit down and let me fix you up.”
Matt pulled her close and buried his face in her hair. “I don’t want to let you go. That was awful.”
“It’s fine. We handled it.” She led him over to the kitchen table and forced him to sit in one of the chairs. She’d been just as scared, but one of them needed to pus
h past this instead of dwelling on it. They were just a couple of cattle rustlers, nothing as serious as her family and the men who’d kidnapped her.
His face was pretty bad and starting to purple. She searched the small kitchen for a clean cloth and came up with a small dish that she could put water in.
“I have some ointment I’ve been using on the horses up in that cabinet.” He nodded toward the single wooden storage spot in the kitchen.
Erin pulled the tin can down and peeled back the wax covering. It was a yellowish waxy material but it didn’t smell too foul. “And you’re sure I can use it on you?”
He shrugged. “No, but it hasn’t killed me yet.”
Erin laughed and tended his wounds. Matt winced and cursed as she wiped the blood from his cheek. His fingers curled around the back of her thighs, and she could tell every time she pressed to hard and hurt him because his fingers dug into her flesh. “Sorry.”
He leaned against the table and sighed. “Thank you for fixing me up.”
Erin dipped the cloth in the water again and squeezed the excess water out, turning the bowl a pink color. She’d cleaned most of the dried blood off, but there was still some around the wound and she was sure it would reopen it and make it bleed again. “I want to put the salve on and bandage it, but we’ll have to clean it again.”
“Whatever you think.” His fingers tightened on her legs again as she finished even though she tried to be careful.
“Sorry if I’m hurting you.”
“No worse than they did.”
“I’m so sorry.” The unsaid hung between them. There was far more danger on the way and Erin was responsible for bringing it to Matt’s doorstep. What had happened tonight was a drop in the bucket compared to what they could expect. She wound a loose bandage around his wound and helped him stand.
Erin turned out the lights in the lanterns and double-checked the lock on the door, then helped Matt to the loft. “I’ll be right back. Let me go fix the fire.”
Matt rolled onto the mattress and let out a grunt, then yanked the pistol out of the holster and tucked it back into the hiding place beneath the bed. Erin hurried back to the fire and loaded it with logs that would keep them toasty through the rest of the night and into the morning.
Upstairs, she helped Matt with his pants and eased him onto the pillow. “Just take it easy. We’ll figure everything out in the morning.”
She curled up next to him and waited for his breath to even out.
At least one of them would get some sleep tonight.
Chapter Four
The morning sun pooled on the blanket and Erin snuggled closer to Matt, then softly touched his forehead, relieved to find it cool to the touch. That would be just their luck for him to be running a fever and have an infection from the cut on his head.
She wasn’t sure if he’d be up to riding, but she needed to head out to her place and see what was left of her home. Most likely her uncle had taken everything of value after he’d kidnapped her.
Matt stirred and tucked Erin alongside him. He was so warm and cozy that she could stay here forever.
“Good morning.”
Erin tipped up her chin and kissed his stubbled chin. “Morning.”
Matt winced and moved gingerly so he could wrap his arms around Erin and tuck her head beneath his chin. “I feel like crap.”
She flattened her palm against his chest and hugged him tight. “I’m sure you do. I wish I had something a little more helpful than horse goo to put on you.”
“You and me both.” He kissed her forehead and licked his dry, cracked lips.
“Are you okay if I leave you for a bit?”
Matt jerked upright, then pressed his palm to his forehead and leaned back down. “What do you mean?”
Erin cupped his jaw and checked his bandage, then slid down beside him. “I need to check my place.”
Matt shook his head. “Not without me.”
“You need to rest.”
He gripped her jaw and turned her face toward him so she had to meet his gaze. “I’m not letting you go by yourself.”
She smiled and kissed him. “Fine. Let me know when you’re ready.”
He closed his eyes and laid there for a bit. “Give me a few minutes.”
Erin nuzzled against his chest. “Okay by me.”
They cuddled until the sun rose high in the sky, and Matt’s head stopped pounding long enough for him to stand. Erin helped him dress and pulled on her own clothes, then saddled two of his horses and they headed toward town. “I want to swing by the post, send a couple telegrams.”
Erin kicked her horse up closer. “Are you sure? I don’t want you overdoing it.”
Matt tipped his hat. “Don’t you worry, ma’am.”
Erin rolled her eyes and followed him into town. She glanced at every shadow and jumped at every creak of the wooden boardwalk as they made their way down the main street. Matt was just as watchful and kept Erin’s horse close beside his. The two geldings threw their heads and tried to bite each other the whole time. Erin kept tugging on the reins, but she was paying far more attention to the men standing at the far end of the street.
They stood in a cluster of three just outside the shadow of the bank. For all Erin knew, they were bank workers, but something about them didn’t sit well with her. She traded glances with Matt, but he seemed oblivious to the group and Erin wasn’t sure she could point them out without being seen. Matt slowed to chat with a young mother with three kids hanging off her skirt. He introduced Erin and she tried to make small talk, but her attention was at the other end of the street.
“Nice to meet you,” Erin said as Matt moved his horse back into the street and toward the post. “What are you sending?”
“I want to let a couple of the lawmen out east know what’s going on with your family and what happened out here.” Matt reined his horse into the hitching post and dismounted. “I was thinking about asking a couple of them to come out here for a bit, maybe give me a hand so I have time to help you fix your place up.”
Erin swallowed and looked down as he came around his horse and tied hers up. She hung onto the reins and glanced down the street again. “I think I’ll stay out here if you’re not going to be very long.”
His hand caressed her knee. “Are you sure?”
The men dissipated and went into the bank. Matt didn’t seem to care about them, so they must not be a threat. She was just being jumpy. “Yeah, I’ll just sit here and wait.”
“Okay.” He stared up at her. “Everything okay?”
She forced a smile. She was just being cautious. There was nothing to worry about. Nothing was going to ruin today for them. Matt was on top of everything that happened in his little town, and if he was going to alert more lawmen, then her family didn’t have a chance of coming after her. Not again.
Matt patted her knee and stepped into the building. Erin glanced around but the street was lazy and sleepy in the high afternoon sun. The minutes ticked by and the uneasy feeling left her. Erin was about to dismount and go in when Matt reappeared in the doorway, a crumpled telegram in his hand. Erin’s head jerked up. “What’s wrong?”
He held the telegram out to her. “Someone beat me to it.”
“Matt, what’s going on? Tell me.” She threw her leg over the saddle and hurried up the stairs. Matt held it out to her, but read it off before she could. “They tried to rob a bank and several were killed. The rest were incarcerated.”
Erin gasped. “Are you sure?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Matt checked the telegram again. “I had him confirm it before I came out to tell you.” He pulled her into his arms. “They’re never coming after you again. I promise.”
Erin leaned up and kissed him. “Guess we’ve got a lot of time on our hands then.”
He pulled her tight against his chest. “I hope you’re not planning on ever getting rid of me.”
She chuckled and swept her lips across his. “Not a chance.”
THE END
Western Homestead Love (Trilogy Bundle) Page 7