by Bobbi Smith
“Yeah?”
“I’ve got your lunch,” Rose said, opening the door and starting into his room. She hoped he would start eating better than he had been. She knew he would never get his strength back if he didn’t take care of himself.
Mason said nothing as she marched inside, carrying the tray of food. He hadn’t had much of an appetite, but he knew the housekeeper well enough to know she’d start spoon-feeding him, if she had to.
Rose set the tray on the bedside table. “Are you strong enough to sit up?”
“Let’s try it,” he agreed, weary of lying flat on his back.
Rose slipped an arm beneath his shoulders and helped lever him into a sitting position. It wasn’t easy, but finally she got him up.
Mason let out a muffled groan, then drew a ragged breath as he straightened and leaned back against the headboard. “There.”
“Is that better?” she asked, hoping the change in position would help.
“Yes. Thanks.”
Rose picked up his tray, ready to put it on his lap, when they both heard the sound of riders coming in.
Mason tensed, unsure of what to expect. If it was Faith returning after only four days, the news could be good—or bad.
“Go see if it’s them,” he urged. He was uneasy, torn between excitement and dread.
Rose didn’t hesitate. She put the tray back on the table and hurried from his room at the back of the house.
Mason waited, and it wasn’t long before he had his answer. He heard footsteps coming down the hall and saw Faith appear in the doorway. The ordeal had taken its toll on his sister. Her face was sunburned and dirt-streaked, and her clothes were filthy from the long, hard days on the trail. Across the width of the room their gazes met, and he knew immediately by her tormented expression that the news she had for him was not good.
“What did you find?”
“Nothing,” Faith answered flatly.
“Nothing at all?”
She came into the room to stand at his bedside, so she could tell him what had happened. “We lost the trail after the first day out and then spent the next two trying to find it again. We never did. It was almost as if they just vanished.”
“Jake and Sheriff Fike couldn’t find anything?” Mason was surprised, for he knew they were good trackers.
“Not after that first day. It was horrible.” Faith pulled the chair up and sat down, tears burning in her eyes. She’d been strong through all the adversity, but suddenly she felt hopeless. “I don’t know what more we can do.”
Mason heard the sound of defeat in her voice, and it startled him. Faith was a fighter. She never gave up on anything. After their parents had died, she’d taken over the ranch and made it successful. She’d never backed down from a challenge. She was always fearless when it came to caring for her family, and he realized now that it was time for him to be strong for her. “There’s got to be something that was missed—some way we can find her.”
Faith lifted her troubled gaze to her brother’s. “I kept thinking the same thing, but we covered it all.”
“We’ll think of something. We can’t give up. Abbie won’t give up. Maybe she’ll find a way to escape from them.”
“If anyone can, it will be Abbie.”
“How’s Jake taking it?”
“Hard.”
They shared a knowing look.
“I’d better go back and let them know how you are. They were waiting to hear. Everyone’s worried about you.”
“Tell them I’m fine,” Mason answered.
“Are you?”
“I’m as fine as I can be.”
Their gazes met in understanding as she got up to leave the room.
Coyote Canyon
Trent had been taking it easy. He’d been resting and trying to figure out where he was headed next. He made his way down to the Ace High Saloon to pass the evening. He saw Cal there and joined him at the bar.
“Trent, it’s good to see you,” Cal said. “You been enjoying your time here in town?”
“Yes, it’s a nice, quiet little town you’ve got here.”
“Sheriff Fike works hard to keep it that way.”
Max, the barkeep, came up to take Trent’s order. “What’ll it be?”
“Whiskey. You need a refill?” Trent asked Cal.
“Sure. Thanks.”
Max set about pouring their drinks and looked at Cal. “You two know each other?”
“This is Trent Marshall. We hired him to hunt down Matt Sykes, and he just completed the job a few days ago,” Cal explained as he picked up his glass and took a deep drink of the potent liquor.
“You did?” The bartender looked at Trent with renewed respect. Sykes’s reputation as a cold-blooded killer was well-known throughout the area.
“That’s right,” Trent replied, not offering any more. He rarely made small talk. He didn’t see the need. In fact, he’d been in the saloon several times over the last few days and had managed to keep his conversation to a minimum by sitting alone at one of the tables in the back of the room. In his line of work, it was important that he be able to see and not necessarily be seen.
“How’d you manage that?”
“Trent’s good—real good,” Cal said, lifting his glass to Trent. “That’s how he managed it.”
“You must be,” Max agreed. “Your drink’s on me. The world’s a safer place with Sykes not running loose anymore.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Max! We need some liquor down here—fast!”
Max heard the roar and looked over to see Sheriff Fike coming through the swinging doors, followed by the other men who’d ridden with him on the search for the missing girl out at the Lazy R. He heard the edge of anger in the lawman’s voice and hurried to serve them.
“How did it go?” Max asked as he lined glasses up on the bar before the weary group.
“Don’t ask,” Sheriff Fike growled.
The lawman had planned to go straight back to his office and check in with the deputy he’d left in charge, but the lure of a drink had waylaid him. The men needed some liquor after their endless days of searching and turning up nothing.
Max poured them shots of whiskey and watched as they quickly drank them down.
“Did you find the girl?”
“No. We lost the trail after the first day out. We kept looking for two more days, but we were never able to pick it up again.”
The barkeep understood their frustration. “What’s the family going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Sheriff Fike answered sadly, thinking of Faith and how brave she’d been during the search, and what she had to face now that she was back home with her wounded brother. “Right now, I can’t offer much hope that Abbie will ever be found.”
“Who’s missing?” Cal asked, having heard only a part of their conversation.
The lawman glanced over to where Cal was standing with a stranger at the bar. “You didn’t hear about the trouble out at the Ryan place?”
“No. What happened?”
He quickly told them about the raiding party’s attack. “It’s been four days now. We got on their trail as fast as we could, but they still got away.”
“And you’re sure it was Apache?” Trent asked.
“That’s right,” Sheriff Fike answered, looking him over questioningly. “Why do you ask?”
Trent reached into his pocket and took out one of his business cards to hand to the lawman.
Sheriff Fike took the card and read it—MARSHALL’S LAW—TRENT MARSHALL, GUN FOR HIRE.
He looked back up, sizing the stranger up. “Being fast with a gun is one thing, but how good are you at tracking?”
“He’s the best,” Cal claimed. “He’s the one who just hunted down Matt Sykes in Silver Mesa.”
“So, you’re the one who found him. Good job.” The lawman’s expression showed respect. He’d heard from Cal that Sykes had been brought in the other day, and that was some of the best news he’d
had in a long time. “That man was one mean bastard. That’s for sure.”
“And thanks to Trent, here, he won’t be robbing or killing anybody ever again,” Cal said.
“That’s the kind of news I like to hear.” Sheriff Fike was thoughtful. “But there’s a lot of difference between tracking down an outlaw like Sykes and going after Apache.”
“I know,” Trent said.
“So you’ve done this kind of thing before? Tracked renegades?” There was an edge to his voice.
“Yes.” Trent’s answer was firm, but he didn’t elaborate.
“Well, if you’re as good as Cal says you are, you might be the Ryan girl’s only hope. You interested in taking on another job? Do you want to ride out and talk to the family?”
The thought of an innocent girl in the hands of a savage raiding party deeply troubled Trent. “Where’s the ranch?”
“Not too far out of town. I’ll ride along with you,” Sheriff Fike offered. Weary though he was, he didn’t mind making the trip back to the Lazy R if it would help Abbie in some way.
Any thoughts Trent had had about relaxing were gone. He now had a feeling he knew what his next job was going to be. “How soon do you want to leave?”
“Let me check in with my deputy and then I’ll be ready to go.” Sheriff Fike drained his glass and threw some money on the bar to cover their drinks. “Meet me at the sheriff’s office.”
“I’ll be there.” Trent left the saloon and went straight to the hotel to get his things together. If he took on this search for the girl he would have to ride out right away. There would be no time to come back into town to get his few belongings.
Jake and Faith walked outside the ranch house.
“Thank you for staying,” Faith told him.
Jake had known how hard it was going to be for her to tell Mason what had happened on their search, so he had remained behind after the sheriff and the other men had returned to town to offer her what moral support he could.
“I just wish there were something more I could do to help find Abbie.” Jake was thoroughly disheartened by their failure.
“I keep thinking that we must have missed something on the trail, but we went over the area so many times and found nothing. It was almost like they vanished off the face of the earth. . . .” The torrent of her emotions threatened to overwhelm her again. With an effort she fought it down. She didn’t want to appear weak or vulnerable in front of Jake.
“If you need me or if you hear anything new, just send word.”
Faith nodded and stepped back as he took his reins and swung up into the saddle. “Thanks, Jake.”
Jake nodded to her and started to turn his horse, about to leave when he saw two riders in the distance. “Faith, someone’s coming.”
“It looks like Sheriff Fike, but I don’t recognize the other man.” She tensed, surprised that the sheriff should be returning to the ranch so soon.
“I don’t either.” Fearing that the lawman might be bringing bad news, Jake dismounted to stay with her. If there was news about Abbie, he wanted to hear it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Faith waited, anxiously watching the two men ride in. Her gaze was fixed on the man riding beside the sheriff. Even at this distance, something about him seemed vaguely familiar, but she wasn’t sure why. As they drew ever closer, Faith suddenly came to realize who the man was—none other than the darkly handsome stranger named Trent who’d danced with her at the social.
“It’s Trent,” she said, surprised to see him, and her heartbeat actually quickened at the sight of him. For an instant she thought how dirty she was after all the days on the trail. When they’d met she’d been at her best, and now . . . As quickly as she had the thought, she put it from her. There was nothing she could do about the way she looked, and it didn’t matter. What mattered was Abbie.
“Trent? You know him?”
“I met him at the social, but I don’t even know his last name. I wonder why the sheriff’s bringing him out here?”
“I think we’re about to find out.”
“Afternoon, Faith, Jake,” Sheriff Fike greeted them as he and Trent reined in before them.
“Sheriff, Trent.” She was looking up at Trent in surprise.
“Faith.” He nodded to her as he said her name. When Sheriff Fike had mentioned on the ride out that they’d be speaking to Abbie’s sister, Faith, at the ranch, he’d realized she might be the same woman he’d danced with the other night. As they’d ridden in, the lawman had pointed her out, and he had recognized her at once. He gazed down at Faith now and could tell she was as startled as he was by the coincidence.
“You two know each other?” Sheriff Fike was caught off guard as they dismounted.
“We met at the dance,” Trent offered.
Faith looked back at the sheriff. She pushed the memory of being in Trent’s arms out of her mind. So much had gone on since that night, it seemed as if it had happened a thousand years ago.
“Why are you here, Sheriff Fike?” Faith asked nervously, concerned over his reason for returning to the ranch so soon and puzzled as to why Trent was with him. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Faith. I thought it was important to bring Trent out here to meet you.”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
“Trent’s a hired gun. He just did some work for Cal Harris and the stage line. He’s one of the best trackers around. I thought he might be able to help you search for Abbie.”
For the first time in days, Faith felt a glimmer of hope. She turned to Trent, a light shining in her eyes. “You’re a good tracker?”
“Cal says he is,” the lawman affirmed.
“Did Sheriff Fike tell you what happened to my sister?”
“Yes.”
“And you think you can do this? You think you can find her?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“And his best is damned good,” Sheriff Fike added.
Faith knew from what the sheriff had said that Trent wouldn’t be doing this for free. She eyed him as she asked, “What do you charge?”
“Five hundred dollars.”
It was a lot of money, but if hiring him meant they had a chance to save Abbie’s life, then he was worth every cent and more.
“You’re hired,” she stated. “Let’s go up to the house, so we can talk.”
“All right.”
They all started toward the house.
“Faith.” Jake drew her aside for a moment.
“What is it?”
“If you need any help getting the money to pay him, I’ll be glad to give it to you,” Jake offered. He had been troubled by his own failure to find Abbie, and was more than willing to do everything possible to bring her safely home.
Faith was deeply touched by his offer. She looked up at him and gave him a reassuring smile as she touched his arm. “You are a good man, Jake. Thank you, but I should be all right.”
“Just know that if you do need any help, all you have to do is ask.”
“I’ll remember.”
They hurried to catch up with Sheriff Fike and Trent, who’d walked on ahead of them.
As Faith moved past them to lead the way, Trent’s gaze was drawn to her slender, pants-clad figure. Even dressed as she was, there was no mistaking she was female, and though in her current state she bore little resemblance to the delicate-looking beauty she’d been the night of the dance, she was still a lovely woman.
Recognizing the direction of his thoughts, Trent pushed them aside. He had to focus on finding her sister. He had no time to think about anything else.
When they reached the house, Jake stayed with Sheriff Fike outside on the porch.
“We’ll wait out here for you.”
They watched as Faith and Trent went indoors.
“Are you heading back to your ranch now?” the lawman asked Jake, thinking they could ride out together.
“No,” Jake answered. “When Trent rides out, I’m going, to
o. Send word to the ranch for me, will you?”
“I’ll let them know as soon as I get back to town,” the sheriff promised.
They settled in to wait and see how Faith and Trent planned to track down Abbie.
Jake just prayed that Trent was as good as they said he was and that he would have the ability to find her.
“How do you want me to pay you?” Faith asked Trent as they went inside.
“You can have the money wired to my account at the bank in San Antonio.”
“You’re from Texas?”
“Originally. I get back when I can, but that hasn’t been too often lately.”
“Well, I’m just thankful you were in town. We have to do everything possible to find my sister,” she told him.
Rose was waiting anxiously to find out what was going on, and Faith quickly explained everything to her.
“Tell Mason we’ll be back to see him in a few minutes.”
Rose hurried off to do her bidding while Faith led Trent into the small room she used as an office.
“Have a seat,” Faith directed as she sat down at the desk.
He took the chair in front of the desk and gave her the information she needed to have the money transferred.
“I can be ready to leave within the hour,” Faith began when the financial arrangements had been made. “I want Hank to go, and Jake will probably want to ride with us, too.”
Trent was surprised by her announcement and quickly wanted to set things straight. “You don’t understand. . . .”
“What don’t I understand?” She looked up at him in irritation.
As he met Faith’s challenging green-eyed glare, Trent realized again what a good-looking woman she was, and he grew even more annoyed. The last thing he needed was her kind of distraction while he was trying to work.
“I work alone,” Trent stated firmly. It was his one hard-and-fast rule. When he was on his own, he could move quickly and quietly. He didn’t need any help from anyone when he was working, and working by himself, he didn’t have to worry about anyone else.
“What are you talking about?” Faith’s regard turned into a cold-eyed glare across the desk. In the years since she’d taken over running the ranch, she’d dealt with all kinds of men. She hadn’t backed down from any of them, no matter how arrogant or demanding they were, and she wasn’t about to start now—not when her sister’s life was hanging in the balance.
