Harder Than the Rest

by Shirleen Davies

  “You just don’t give up,” Will responded quietly. He could tell by the look in Cord’s face that he, June, and the kids would be leaving for Fire Mountain soon. He was a good sheriff and would jump at the chance to work with Sam. Cord would never be happy working at the ranch, but a position as deputy sheriff was a whole different situation.

  “No reason to. Now, get out of here and let me do my job. Come by the house for supper tonight, and don’t tell me you’re leaving today because June would skin us both if you left without saying goodbye to her and the kids.”

  ******

  It had rained for three days without letting up. Slow, but persistent, which kept his clothes and horse soaked. The wind had died down so at least the chill seemed tolerable. He could feel the temperatures dropping. Snow could come at any time and Will had no desire to get caught outside of Cold Creek, Colorado when the first storm hit.

  The last word MacLaren had received confirmed that a man named Chet Hollis had been living in Cold Creek for a few years. The informant didn’t believe Hollis to be the man Will hunted. Nonetheless, Will had a sense about such things, and there were just too many similarities to ignore. The reward was good, and if this turned out to be his man, it would be worth riding halfway up Western Colorado to the small cattle town on the Gundy River.

  He’d had to battle both June and Cord the night before he left. They’d made the decision to return home to Fire Mountain and were determined to talk him into going back with them, but he’d held firm. Whether they accepted his new life or not, he had become someone that even he couldn’t have imagined before Emily’s death. A bounty hunter, bringing in fugitives that regular lawmen couldn’t find, and staying around to make sure that justice prevailed. He’d refused all help from his ex-marshal-brother, Jamie, and his oldest brother, Niall’s, father-in-law, Trent Garner, who had retired from the U.S. Marshal Service. Will had no intention of working within the law to find the man he wanted. He’d do it his way, no matter the consequences.

  Five years ago he never would’ve considered going outside of the law. Five years ago he would’ve been helping his brothers prepare for winter, and Emily would’ve been getting ready to deliver their baby. Aunt Alicia, Niall’s wife, Kate, and Jamie’s wife, Torie, would’ve been driving all the men crazy with their plans for the new arrival. Niall and Kate had a boy, Isaac. Jamie and Torie also had a boy, Adam. Everyone had wondered if he and Emily would bring the first girl into the family since the birth of Niall’s daughter, Beth, who was now fourteen. He hadn’t cared. He’d only wanted the one thing that God hadn’t provided, a healthy child and wife.

  But he had relented when June McAllister pestered him to get a message off to his Aunt Alicia. The telegraph Sam sent with the job offer for Cord had included a warning that Alicia MacLaren had reached her limit. She hadn’t heard from her nephew in months. It’d be best for everyone if he could get Will to contact his family.

  A hearty crack of lightening brought Will out of his reminiscing. His stallion, Justice, pranced sideways at the sudden sound. Will could see lights ahead and urged his horse forward but it took another hour before he reached the outskirts of Cold Creek. He needed to find a livery, food, and the sheriff, in that order. Then he could locate a bed and get out of his soaked clothes. The livery and food were easy. The sheriff wasn’t in his office and not at his home the town provided behind the jail. He’d have to wait for morning. Sleep sounded real good.

  ******

  “Sheriff?”

  The bulky man sitting behind the desk scouring wanted-posters looked up. “Yea. What can I do for you?” A slight southern accent tinged his deep voice.

  “Wondered if you might know where I could find Chet Hollis. I believe he lives in this area. I’ve come up from New Mexico looking for him.” Will’s voice was friendly but hard, the ever-present rasp growing worse in cold weather. Just thinking of Hollis made the anger that was his constant companion rise to the surface.

  The sheriff’s head shot up at the mention of the name, but he controlled his alarm. “That so. And what do you want with him?”

  Will didn’t respond. Instead, he opened the old wanted poster and placed it on the sheriff’s desk. He waited while the older man reviewed the document, rubbed his hand across his unshaven face, then looked up.

  “This poster says Chad Hawley. Don’t think you got the right man, uh…”

  “MacLaren. Will MacLaren.”

  Again, the sheriff worked to control his shock as his mind registered the name. “Well, MacLaren, don’t think this Hawley is Chet Hollis. Chet’s been around here, oh, three or four years. He’s clean-shaven with real short hair. Stockier than the man in this poster.” The sheriff shook his head and handed the poster back to Will. “Sorry, MacLaren. Can’t help you.”

  “Well, I’ll be checking him out anyway, Sheriff. Thanks for your time.” Will opened the door to leave.

  “MacLaren?”

  “Yea?”

  “You wouldn’t be related to a Marshal Jamie MacLaren, would you?”

  “He’s my brother.” Will closed the door behind him.

  Chapter Four

  “Over there, Amanda.” Joey pointed toward the errant cow from atop the big roan he loved to ride. Jester had been given to him on his fifth birthday. He couldn’t quite fit the horse, even at ten, but he sure could handle him. Joey circled the stranded heifer while pulling out his rope. The poor thing had become entangled in the thick brush on the banks of the Gundy, and couldn’t get her footing to climb out. If she’d been any younger he and Amanda could’ve just lifted her up the bank, but that wasn’t going to happen now.

  “Okay, Joey, throw me the rope.” Amanda dismounted to climb down the embankment. Slipping the rope around the heifer’s neck, she moved behind the animal to help push. “Joey, pull real slow and steady. I’ll push and we’ll see if we can get her started.”

  A minute later Amanda was waist deep in river water with mud in her boots and a nervous heifer struggling to get traction on the gooey bank.

  “Need some help, ma’am?”

  Amanda looked up to see a man on a beautiful black horse dismounting while Joey kept hold of the rope.

  “Wouldn’t want you to drown saving a cow, right?” He began working his way down the bank to the back of the animal. Within seconds he had her moving up the bank and on to dry ground. Standing, he brushed his dirty hands on his pants and started back up the slope.

  “Aren’t you going to help Amanda up, mister?” Joey took the rope off the heifer and stared up at the imposing figure.

  “Nope. Doesn’t look to me like she needs any help.” He glanced behind him as he climbed back on his horse.

  Before he could turn the stallion to leave, Amanda walked toward him, pushed her hair out of her face, looked up, and smiled. It was a broad and utterly radiant smile that drew his gaze up to the most magnificent, bright-blue eyes he’d ever seen, like the blue in the English china Aunt Alicia had at home.

  “I just want to thank you, Mister…” Amanda held out her hand.

  He took it reluctantly. “Will, ma’am. Will MacLaren. Glad I could help.” Her hand felt good in his. Too good.

  “I’m Amanda Taylor and this is my brother, Joey.” She hesitated only a moment when he withdrew his hand abruptly. “Well, um, my brother and I couldn’t seem to get it accomplished. It would’ve taken us forever,” she stammered, not knowing what to say next.

  “Like I said, glad I could help.” He nodded to both, then turned Justice toward the ranch across the valley. Amanda just stared at his retreating figure.

  “Who was that, Amanda?”

  “Just some man named Will MacLaren. Never saw him before.” Amanda let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “Well, let’s get ourselves home and cleaned up. Maria will have supper waiting for us, and you know how she is when we’re late.”

  ******

  “I told you, Chet, the man is asking questions, and I don’t believe anything I
said changed his mind about you being the man on the poster. Heard he was heading out to the Taylor place—don’t know why, but they’re looking for men. Maybe you ought to go out there, talk with him. Convince him you’re not the man he’s after and put his suspicions to rest. Encourage him to move along.” Sweat beaded on the sheriff’s forehead and his hands shook. He placed the warm beer he’d been holding back on the table. He didn’t know why he drank the stuff, except it wasn’t coffee, his other drink of choice. “We can’t afford to have him poking around, asking questions about you.”

  “Now, Ellis, you worry too much. It’s been five years and we’ve been here three of them. No one’s going to believe I’m the person on the poster. Hell, the man’s looking for someone who killed a woman—a pregnant woman at that—and left the husband for dead. You think the good people of Cold Creek would ever believe I’d do something like that?” Chet took a sip of his whiskey and peered over the rim of the glass to gauge Dutton’s reaction. He couldn’t let the man panic and ruin everything. “He’ll never be able to prove I’m the same person. Take my word for it.” Chet had no plans to confront MacLaren. No, he’d wait until he could catch the bounty hunter unawares, then kill him and dispose of the body. Might even get rid of Dutton at the same time.

  The sheriff thought he saw something in the other man’s eyes but couldn’t be sure. He’d need to keep an eye on Chet, just in case. They shared many secrets, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to go take the blame for the man’s past crimes. What they’d been doing was bad enough, but murder? “That’s not all. Do you have any idea who his brother is?” When Chet didn’t respond, Dutton continued. “Jamie MacLaren. He was a U.S. Marshal, one of the best. Fast with a gun and never gave up when he was after someone. He and his brother are a lot alike, it appears. They’re a bad pair, Chet. This bounty hunter is someone you need to deal with, and soon. You got that?”

  Chet ignored the warning. “Like I said, it’s been too long for him to prove a thing. As far as anyone knows, I’m just a hired hand out at Bierdan’s ranch, that’s all.” Chet downed the last of his whiskey and stood. “Don’t let his presence spook you. We’re both just what we appear to be, nothing more.”

  Hollis mounted his horse for the ride back to the Bierdan ranch and thought about the conversation with Dutton. Five years of being careful, working at menial jobs, laying low, and now this. Of course, he’d done a few other things during that time—including the side job he and Dutton had been doing the past year—but no more killing. His life had changed after that day in Fire Mountain. But he’d always known he could become that man again if pushed, and MacLaren might just be the man who could do the pushing. Chet had plans that included Miss Taylor and staying in Cold Creek. No one was going to drive him away from what he wanted, and he wanted that woman. He sure as hell wouldn’t let some bounty hunter—the husband of the woman he had murdered—haul him in now and ruin all he’d worked for. He’d kill again before he’d let that happen.

  ******

  “And where have you two been?” Maria, their long-time housekeeper and cook, asked as soon as Amanda and Joey walked in the back door.

  “Had trouble with a cow, Maria.” Joey glanced at his sister and laughed, then shot up the stairs to change clothes.

  “She was stuck in the river bank and couldn’t get out. Pushed me into the river, too, but we were fortunate. A rider happened by and helped us out.” Amanda smiled at the memory of the good-looking man on his magnificent black horse. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was about the stranger that had her on edge. She only knew that she’d never felt like this around anyone else—a combination of excitement and dread, all at once. “So, what’s for supper?” Amanda needed to change, get some food, and then work on the books before heading to bed. All that would help keep her thoughts off Will MacLaren.

  The back door banged open. “Hey, Maria. What’s for supper?” Jake called as he removed his dirty boots and set them beside the door.

  “Stew and biscuits with berry pie for dessert, just like I said this afternoon,” Maria grumbled, and rolled her eyes at his dirty clothes. They had known each other for years and for all that time she and Jake had kept up this constant stream of crotchety banter. He smiled at the slight aggravation in her voice. They both knew he came to supper with dirty clothes just to get a rise out of her. He’d never do that if Amanda’s mother, Eleanor, were here to enforce her form of English etiquette.

  “All right, you two, let’s start supper. I’m starving.” Amanda descended the stairs to take her place at the table.

  Ranch life produced an appetite that Amanda had never experienced back East. At school, young ladies were expected to take small portions and eat even smaller amounts than what they took. For some incongruous reason, leaving food on your plate was expected in that world. That had never been the situation on the ranch. You ate the animals you raised and the plants you grew, and did not let food go to waste. Looking back, she didn’t know how she’d made it through without losing more weight. Her father had been shocked to see her very slim figure when she had first returned home. Within a couple of months, she had put back on all the weight she’d lost while at school.

  “Hired that new hand we’ve been needing. Think he’s going to work out great. Used to work for a large spread in Arizona. From what I can tell, man knows his stuff,” Jake said between bites.

  “That’s great. How’d you meet him?” One more thing Amanda didn’t have to worry about. Many of the hands moved south over the winter, choosing warmer locations over the cold, snow-packed winters.

  “He rode up today. Had several letters of reference from ranchers, as well as one from the sheriff in Splitshot, New Mexico, and another from the sheriff in Fire Mountain, Arizona. Rode in on one of the most impressive black stallions I’ve ever seen. Would you pass the stew, please, Maria?” Jake finished without seeing how his words had affected Amanda.

  “A big black stallion with a white blaze?” Joey asked, also unaware of how Jake’s words had impacted his sister.

  “Yea. How’d you know?” Jake passed the rest of the stew over to Joey for him to finish.

  “He’s the stranger who helped us with the heifer this afternoon.” Joey finished off the stew while grabbing another biscuit.

  “What heifer?” Jake looked at Amanda and set down his fork while Amanda explained the happenings by the river.

  “He introduced himself as Will MacLaren.” Amanda folded her napkin before standing to walk towards the kitchen. “Who wants pie?” She asked over her shoulder as she disappeared into the next room.

  Amanda reached up to grab plates from the cupboard. Will MacLaren, she thought. Of all the men Jake could have hired, it had to be the one person who unsettled her more than anyone she’d ever known, and she’d only just met the man. Well, she had a ranch to run, a brother to help raise, and so many other duties around the Big G to take care of while her parents were away that she would just make it a point to stay as far away from MacLaren as she could.

  Chapter Five

  “Good morning, Mr. MacLaren. Jake told me he had hired you to work the Big G.” Amanda smiled as she turned to stare up, yet again, at the broad-shouldered, imposing figure of Will MacLaren as he entered the barn. “Where does he have you working today?”

  “The usual.” He took off his hat and ran the other hand through his auburn colored hair. He cast a disinterested gaze around the barn as if comparing it to something else. “Riding fences, looking for strays–––or anything unusual.”

  “I see. Is that what you did at the other ranches?” So many things about this stranger intrigued Amanda, including the rough, raspy tone of his voice. Was he born that way, or was he injured? What was it about this man that aroused her curiosity?

  “Yes, among other things.” He stared into her eyes for the first time that morning, then glanced away. “I better get going, Miss Taylor.” Will turned his back on her and strode to Justice’s stall.

  Amanda s
tared at the retreating figure. She wasn’t used to people snubbing her, especially not ranch hands, or ignoring a question as simple as where he had gotten his experience. But he’d looked uncomfortable the minute she’d asked about other ranches and had taken the first opportunity to shut down their conversation. Why? Amanda thought as she mounted Angel to ride south and survey the river area for the second day in a row.

  “Amanda, wait up.” Jake walked out of the bunkhouse toward her. “I’d like you to ride with MacLaren today. Give him a tour of the ranch, boundaries, and such. Planned to take him myself, but we’re having a problem with a couple of the new colts and I’m needed here.”

  “I don’t believe Mr. MacLaren needs any help from me or anyone.” Amanda still stung from the rebuff by the new hand. “He’s a loner, Jake. I’m sure he’s good, just like you said, but a loner all the same. Send one of the boys with him if you think he needs a nursemaid.” She cast a look over her shoulder at the barn just in time to see Will leading Justice outside.

  “Now, Amanda.” Jake could only smile at the defiance in Amanda’s voice. He didn’t know a more affable woman, and polite to a fault, but keep out of her way if she felt slighted. “He couldn’t have gotten you so riled this quick, could he? Or is something else tainting your day? And so early, too.” He grinned at the disgust on her face.

  “No one’s riled me. I just have my own plans, that’s all, and they do not include the new hand. Find someone else. Please.”

  “All right, but I’m sending Joey your way as soon as he finishes his studies,” Jake yelled after her. “You hear me, girl?”

  All Jake got was a wave of her hand as she continued south and away from the stranger who both annoyed and fascinated her.