A horse whinnied from the darkness. She spurred hers forward, following the sound to find Royce’s horse tied to a tree. Quietly, she slid off her mount and approached the man on the ground, gun drawn, only to find him sound asleep under the large pine.
Walking up to him, she kicked the worn sole of his boot. He shot up, fumbling for his gun as he blinked wildly and tried to wake up.
“Sorry,” he said, scrambling to his feet. “Mother Nature called. I got off my horse and sat down for a minute. Guess I fell asleep.”
“Guess so,” she said. “Go on back to camp. I’ll take it from here.”
Royce picked up his Stetson from the dried pine needles and, head down, untied his horse. He hesitated for a moment as if he wanted to say something more in his defense. But apparently, he changed his mind, swung up on his horse and left.
Jinx watched him go, figuring she knew why Huck Chambers had let the two go. If just being lazy was all she had to worry about, she could live with that a few more days. But she feared there was more when it came to those two, especially after Ella’s earlier suspicions about Cash.
ANGUS WOKE SHORTLY before he saw Jinx ride out. He rolled out and headed for his horse, figuring he’d relieve his brother so Brick could get some sleep. It didn’t take much to find him at the front of the herd. Angus simply followed the sound of Brick’s harmonica. His brother always carried the musical instrument in his hip pocket, seemingly lost without it.
As he approached, his brother kept playing an old Western song that their grandfather Angus had taught him. He and Brick had been named after their grandfathers. Angus Cardwell played in a band with his brother Harlan, while Brick Savage had been a marshal, like their father.
Brick finished the tune, holding the last note until Angus rode up alongside him. “We’ve got company,” his brother said quietly. His first thought was a grizzly. “Three of them. I spotted their fire. It’s almost as if they want us to know they’re down there.”
“T.D.,” Angus said. He’d been expecting him before this. Three riders on horses could easily catch a slow-moving herd. The question now was what happened next.
“What do you think his plan is?” Brick asked.
T.D. didn’t seem like a man who would have a plan. Instead, he bet the cowboy made decisions on the spur of the moment. It was another reason, Angus knew, that the man was dangerous. He’d learned from his marshal father that one of the most volatile situations involved a domestic dispute. And now he and his brother and cousin were right in the middle of Jinx and T.D.’s.
“I would imagine he plans to surprise us,” Angus said.
“You sure we shouldn’t go down there and surprise them?”
He shook his head. “Short of shooting them, all we would do is play into T.D.’s hands. He wants to torment Jinx. Better to ignore them as long as we can. Otherwise, I’m afraid there might be bloodshed.”
His brother nodded, but looked disappointed. Brick wasn’t one to back down from a fight. He’d gotten his namesake’s temper and his other grandfather’s musical talent, while Angus had taken more after their father. Hudson Savage was easygoing, solid as granite and just as dependable. He thought before he spoke and it took a lot to rile him.
“Get some sleep,” Angus told his twin. “Jinx said we’re moving out early again.”
He saw his brother glance down the mountain to where the men were camped.
“Let’s not say anything to Jinx,” Angus said. “Not yet. No reason to worry her when so far, T.D. and his friends haven’t done anything.”
“Not yet,” Brick said as he pocketed his harmonica and rode back toward camp.
T.D. TOOK A DRINK from the pint of whiskey he’d brought and stared into the flames of the campfire. He felt antsy but he knew that Wyatt was right. They’d had a long day on the trail, pushing hard once they finally hit their saddles at almost midday. They’d caught up to Jinx and the herd before sundown.
Wyatt had insisted that it wouldn’t be smart to do anything until they’d rested their horses and come up with a plan. Wyatt and his plans, he thought with a silent curse as he raised his gaze from the fire to consider his friends.
“You really hit the bottom of the barrel with these two, didn’t you, Junior?” his father had said when he’d begun running with Wyatt and Travis at a young age. “But then I guess it isn’t easy to find two dumb enough to tag along with you given where you’re headed.”
He thought of his father’s smirk, his words harder than a backhand and more hurtful. Tucker David Sharp Senior had never given him any credit. The man had been convinced early on that his namesake wasn’t going to amount to anything and neither were his friends.
Well, all that was about to change. At least for him. Once he got the ranch...
The more he’d thought about it, the more he wanted the whole thing. Half would force Jinx to sell her precious ranch, which should have been satisfaction enough, he supposed. And it would put a good chunk of change into his pocket—temporarily. Once he paid off his gambling debts, he wouldn’t have all that much left. Also, he knew himself well enough to know that money burned a hole in his pocket. He’d gamble, trying to use the money to make more money and probably lose it all.
But if he had the whole ranch, then he could show his father that he’d been wrong about him. Too bad the senior Sharp was in
