right this wrong. Surely you can understand how we feel, Harrison. You had a mother once, didn't you?'
'I wouldn't bet on it,' Cole drawled out, just to get Harrison riled up.
His brother-in-law wasn't in the mood to take exception to the remark. 'Your reasoning is twisted,' he said. He waited until the derisive snorting had stopped before he announced that Travis's plan to shoot the thief was premeditated murder.
Cole laughed at Harrison, reached around Douglas to slap him on his back for saying something so amusing, and then suggested Harrison start thinking about a way to get Travis released from jail should he be arrested for doing a son's duty. He also suggested Travis simply drag the culprit back to Montana and let all the brothers shoot him.
Harrison was nearly ready to admit defeat. It was impossible to talk sense into any of the brothers. The only thing that was keeping him sane was the fact that deep in his heart he knew none of them would ever commit cold-blooded murder. They sure enjoyed talking about it though.
'How do you know the man you're after is really Daniel Ryan? He could have made up the name,' he remarked. 'He could also have lied about being from Texas.'
'Nope,' Cole said. 'He told Mama Rose his name and where he was from before she started talking about the presents she was bringing to us.'
'Thank God she didn't tell him about the other gifts. He probably would have stolen my pocket watch,' Douglas said.
'I'll bet he would have taken my map too,' Adam interjected.
'And my leather-bound books,' Travis added.
'The thief's from Texas, all right,' Adam said. 'He had a peculiar drawl in his speech.'
'That's right,' Douglas remembered. 'She thought it was… What'd she call it, Travis?'
'Charming,' he replied with a frown.
'Never did like the names Daniel or Ryan,' Cole announced. 'Come to think of it, I don't have much use for Texans either. Can't trust them.'
Harrison rolled his eyes heavenward. 'You never did like anyone or anything,' he reminded him. 'Do me a favor and don't say another word until I go upstairs. You're making me forget I'm a logical man.'
Cole laughed. 'You're the one who insisted on moving back into Rosehill with your wife. I'm part of Rosehill, Harrison, like it or not.'
'Mary Rose needs to be with her mother during her confinement. I'm not about to go from town to town with Judge Burns and leave her alone in Blue Belle. And by the way, the next time you tell her she waddles like a duck, I'm going to punch you. Got that? She's a little emotional right now and doesn't need to be told she's as big as a-'
Cole wouldn't let him finish. 'All right, we'll stop teasing her. She sure is getting pretty, isn't she?'
'She was always pretty,' Adam said.
'Yes, but now that she's carrying my nephew, she's even prettier. Don't you dare tell her what I just admitted, or she'll never let me live it down. My sister likes to torment me whenever she can, and frankly, I can't imagine why.'
He noticed the gleam that came into Harrison 's eyes and knew the man was about to say something to provoke him. Since Cole wasn't in the mood to argue tonight, he decided to turn the topic back to the more pressing business at hand, catching a low-down, thieving garden snake who had slithered all the way up to Montana Territory from Texas.
'Travis, are you going to leave tomorrow?'
'Yes.'
'How was it decided you would be the one to go after Daniel Ryan?' Harrison asked. 'If the Texan really did steal your brother's compass, and I'm only willing to concede that the possibility exists, then shouldn't Cole be the one to go after him? The compass was meant for him.'
'Cole can't go anywhere just yet,' Adam explained.
'He was to lay low until old Shamus Harrington calms down,' Douglas added.
'What did you do, Cole?' Harrison asked, already dreading the answer.
'He defended himself,' Adam said. 'One of Harrington's sons thought he was faster with his gun than Cole and forced a shoot-out.'
'What happened?' Harrison asked.
'I won,' Cole said with a grin.
'Obviously,' Harrison snapped. 'Did you kill him?'
'No, but almost,' he admitted. 'It was really kind of strange the way he came after me,' he added. 'Lester had fallen in with a gang passing through Blue Belle, and the word on the street was that they were planning to rob the bank in Hammond, Saturday next,' he added.
'Does seem odd he'd come after you,' Douglas agreed. 'Lester's been strutting around acting like a big man in front of his new friends. Maybe he wanted to impress them.'
'I heard they goaded him into the shoot-out with you,' Adam said. 'Dooley told me they acted like they knew who you were, Cole.'
'Dooley's been hanging around his friend Ghost too long,' Cole said. 'You can't take anything either one of them says as fact, Adam.'
'They probably heard of your reputation,' Douglas suggested.
'They were just looking for trouble,' Cole said. 'Besides, everyone knows Harrington's sons are as dumb as dirt.'
'True, but old man Shamus is still going to hold a grudge,' Douglas said. 'Mountain men do when one of their own gets shot, and since he has five other sons, you're going to have to be real careful for a long time.'
'I'm always careful,' Cole boasted. 'Now that I think about it, I could go after Ryan, Travis. You've got enough to do without-'
His brother wouldn't let him finish. 'No, you're staying here,' he said. 'Besides, I've got everything all planned out.'
'That's right,' Douglas said. 'He's going to kill three birds with one stone.'
Travis nodded. 'I'm going to take my papers to Wellington and Smith so everything will be in order when I begin my apprenticeship with their law firm in September, and since Hammond's just a jump away from Pritchard, I'll take care of that business Mama Rose stuck me with, then swing on over to River's Bend, shoot Ryan, pick up the birthday present back in Hammond, and come back here in time for the celebration.'
'You owe us ten dollars for Mama Rose's birthday gift,' Cole reminded Harrison.
'What are we getting her?' he asked.
'A fancy sewing machine,' Douglas said. 'Her eyes lit up when she saw a picture of it in the catalog Adam gave her. We're getting her the most expensive model, of course. She deserves the best.'
Harrison nodded. 'Aren't Golden Crest and River's Bend in opposite directions?'
'Just about,' Cole said. 'Which is why I think I should go after Ryan, Travis. It would save you-'
Once again his brother wouldn't let him finish. 'You've got to lay low,' he said.
Harrison agreed and offered an alternative that would save Travis time and trouble.
'Surely you can get a sewing machine in Pritchard and save yourself several days' riding.'
'I suppose he could,' Cole said. 'But Ryan wasn't spotted in Pritchard. He was headed for River's Bend yesterday.'
'And how would you know that?' Harrison asked.
'We put the word out to let us know if anyone runs into him,' Adam said. 'Travis, it's a pity you have to do that favor first. By the time you reach River's Bend, Ryan will probably be long gone.'
'I've got it all figured out,' Travis said. 'It should only take a day of hard riding to deliver this Emily Finnegan woman to her groom in Golden Crest, and if it's dry enough, I can cut through the gully and be in River's Bend the following afternoon.'
'You're dreaming,' Adam told him. 'It's been raining off and on for a month now. That gully's going to be filled. Why, it will take you at least three days to go around.'
'Who is Emily Finnegan?' Harrison asked.
'She's the favor I'm doing for Mama Rose,' Travis said.
