house without telling her where they were riding off to. As usual. All the hired guns were in town, drinking. Gage had ambled over, as he always did, to carry her basket. She told him of her plan.
“I like it, Liz. Go in the house and pack a few things while ever’body is gone. I’ll get the boys.”
She stared at him, wide-eyed. “You mean ... ?”
“Right now, Liz. Let’s get gone from this crazy house ‘fore Dooley gets back. Move, Liz! ’
She went one way and Gage trotted to the bunkhouse. He sent the only rider in the bunkhouse out to tell the others to meet him at the McCorkle ranch.
“We quittin’, Gage?”
“I am.”
“I’m with you. And so will the others. Hep me pack up their stuff, will you. I’ll tote it to them on a packhorse. How about ol’ Cook? ”
“He’ll go wherever Liz goes. He came out here with them.”
The hand cut his eyes at the foreman and grinned. “Ahh! OK, Gage.”
Working frantically, the two men stuffed everything they could find into canvas and lashed it on a packhorse. “I’ll tell Cook to hightail it. Move, Les. See you at the Circle Double C.”
Ol’ Cook was right behind Les. He packed up his warbag and swung into the saddle just as Liz was coming out of the house, a satchel in her hand.
“You want me to hitch up the buckboard, Gage?”
“No time, Cook.”
“Wal, how’s she fixin’ to ride then? We ain’t got no sidesaddle rigs.”
“Astride. I done saddled her a horse.”
Ol’ Cook rolled his eyes. “Astride! Lord have mercy! Them sufferingetts is gonna be the downfall of us all.” He galloped out.
Gage led her horse over to the porch. “Turn your head, Gage. I don’t quite know how I’m going to do this. I have never sat astride in my life.”
Gage turned his head.
“You may look now, Gage,” she told him.
He had guessed at the stirrup length and got it right. She sure had a pretty ankle. “Hang on, Liz. We got some rough country and some hard ridin’ to do.”
“Wherever you ride, I’ll be with you,” she told him, adding, “Darling.”
Gage blushed all the way down to his holey socks.
“I’ll kill ever’ goddamn one of them!” Dooley screamed. “I’ll stake that damn Gage out over an anthill and listen to him scream.” Dooley cussed until he was red-faced and out of breath.
“This ain’t good,” Jason said. “I’m beginnin’ to think we’re snake-bit.”
“I don’t know.” Lanny scratched his jaw. “It gives the other side a few more guns, is all.”
“Seven more guns.”
“No sweat.”
Inside the house, Dooley was still ranting and cussing and roaring about what he was going to do to Gage and to his wife. The men outside heard something crash against a wall. Dooley had picked up a vase and shattered it.
The sons were leaning against a hitchrail, giggling and scratching themselves.
“Them boys,” Jason pointed out, “is as goofy as their dad.”
“And just as dangerous,” Lanny added. “Don’t sell them short. They’re all cat-quick with a gun.”
“About the boys ... ?”
“We’ll just kill them when we’ve taken the ranches.”
“Of course you can stay here, Liz,” Alice told her. “And stop saying it will be a bother.” She smiled. “You and Gage. I’m so happy for you.”
“If we survive this,” Liz put a verbal damper on the other woman’s joy.
“We’ll survive it. Oh, Liz!” She took the woman’s hands into hers. “Do you remember how it was when we first settled here? Those first few years before all the hard feelings began. We fought outlaws and Indians and were friends. Then...” She bit back the words.
“I know. I’ve tried to convince myself it wasn’t true. But it was and is. Even more so now. Dooley began to change. Maybe he was always mad; I don’t know. I know only that I love Gage and have for a long, long time. From a distance,” she quickly added. “I just feel like a great weight has been lifted from me.”
“You rest for a while. I’ll get supper started.”
“Pish-posh! I’m not tired. And I want to do my share here. Come on. I’ve got a recipe for cinnamon apple pie that’ll have Cord groaning.”
Laughing, the two women walked to the kitchen.
Outside the big house, Cord briefed Gage and the other men from the D-H about the outlaws’ plans.
Gage shuddered. “Kill the women! God, what a bunch of no-goods. Well, we got out of that snake pit just in
