Hired Gun

by Bobbi Smith

  Sykes’s anger continued to grow as he listened to her singing the hired gun’s praises, and he wondered how much more of this he could listen to.

  Jake was dancing with Abbie. He’d been trying to figure out the best way to propose to her, and he believed he finally had it figured out. He was going to make a scene and get everyone’s attention before he popped the question.

  Abbie noticed that he seemed lost in thought, and she looked up at him questioningly. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. Why?”

  “You look like you’re worrying about something, that’s all.”

  “I’m never worried when I’m dancing with you. You’re all that’s on my mind.”

  She was beaming over his answer, and Jake realized this was the perfect moment to put his plan into action. The dance had ended and they were standing in the middle of the dance area.

  Wanting to get everyone’s attention before the musicians decided to start up again, he called out, “Everybody! I need your attention! There’s something I want to say tonight.”

  Not quite sure what to make of Jake’s coming announcement, everyone grew quiet.

  “What are you doing?” Abbie whispered, a bit embarrassed by his actions.

  “You’ll see,” he said, giving her a warm smile.

  At his smile, her heartbeat quickened.

  “Abbie Ryan,” Jake began, turning to her, his gaze meeting and challenging hers as he went on, “you are one special woman.”

  She found herself blushing as he continued to sing her praises.

  “You are beautiful and smart and . . . and I love you, Abbie.” Jake said it nice and loud, so everyone could hear him.

  A murmur of excitement ran through those gathered there as they anticipated what was to come. They watched as he reached into his pocket and took out a ring.

  “Abbie, will you marry me?”

  Abbie’s throat tightened with emotion, and tears filled her eyes as she stared down at the ring he was holding and then lifted her gaze to look up at him. “Oh, Jake . . .”

  Oh, Jake wasn’t quite the answer Jake had been hoping for. He’d hoped she would say yes. He waited for a moment longer, but when she said nothing more right away, he grew nervous. He wasn’t quite sure what he should do, so he just asked again, and this time his tone was a little sharper. “Abbie—will you marry me?”

  Abbie had been completely taken by surprise at his proposal. She was overwhelmed, for she’d never known she could be this happy. When he proposed the second time, she eagerly answered him, “Yes—yes, oh, yes! I’ll marry you, Jake!” With that, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him, right there in front of everybody.

  Jake had been close to thinking she was going to refuse his proposal, and now that she’d said yes, he was as happy as a man could be. He grabbed her up in his arms and spun her around in a circle as he continued to kiss her. Abbie soon would be his wife! When he set her back on her feet, they were a bit dizzy, but neither cared. They were in love, and they were going to get married.

  “Here,” he said, offering her the ring.

  Abbie extended her left hand to him, and he slid the engagement ring onto her finger. Ever so gently, then, he bent down to her and sought her lips in a sweet, loving kiss.

  “I love you, Jake,” Abbie told him when they finally moved apart.

  “I love you, too.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  When everyone heard Abbie accept Jake’s proposal, cheers of excitement went up.

  Faith rushed to her sister and hugged her before turning to give Jake a hug.

  Trent followed Faith to where the couple was standing and congratulated them.

  “Thank you,” Jake said, slipping an arm around Abbie’s waist and drawing her close to his side.

  Mason made his way over to join them. He was happy for Abbie. He knew she loved Jake. He reached out and shook Jake’s hand. “I always wanted a brother. I’ve been outnumbered on the Lazy R for far too long.”

  “We’ll have to see what we can do about that.” Jake laughed.

  As the other guests came up to offer their good wishes, Faith and Trent moved away. Faith was smiling as she watched her sister being overwhelmed by the pure love of their friends. If ever there had been a time in their lives when Abbie had needed this show of support, it was now.

  Trent glanced down at Faith, studying her. He’d never known anyone like Faith before. She was beautiful and intelligent, not to mention strong-willed. Trent knew he’d met his match in her, and he knew he couldn’t lose what they had together. He loved her, and she loved him.

  Since his brother’s death, Trent’s work had been his whole life. Usually he finished a job, collected a paycheck, and then rode away, never looking back, but that wasn’t going to happen this time. Things had changed.

  Faith happened to glance up at Trent and saw that he was grinning down at her.

  “You look like you’re up to something,” she told him.

  “I was just wondering . . .” He paused, then went on, “Do you think your sister would mind a double wedding?”

  Faith was stunned. “Are you . . . ?”

  “I love you, Faith, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” he told her simply.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered with heartfelt emotion. Without thinking twice, she went straight into his arms and kissed him.

  “Hey! What’s this all about?” Mason called out when he saw them kissing. He drew the attention away from Jake and Abbie for a moment as everyone turned to look at Trent and Faith, catching them in the act.

  Faith was blushing when they broke apart, and she faced her brother. “I have to ask Abbie a question.” Looking over at her sister, she asked, “Trent wants to know . . . would you mind having a double wedding?”

  Abbie’s gaze met Faith’s and pure delight bubbled up within her. She was laughing as she answered, “I think a double wedding would be wonderful, but do you think Mason can handle it?”

  Everyone laughed.

  “I can handle it, but I don’t know if Jake and Trent are up to it.” Mason grinned. “Do you boys know what you’re getting yourselves into?”

  More laughter erupted, and more celebrating and congratulating followed.

  Mason went to hug both of his sisters.

  What had started off as a welcome-home party had turned into a double engagement party.

  The women moved off to sit at the tables and start making wedding plans, leaving the men to their own devices.

  Mason looked over at Trent. “Are you going to give up working as a hired gun? We could sure use you here on the ranch.”

  “I haven’t made up my mind yet,” he answered honestly. He knew he needed to talk it over with Faith when they had some time alone.

  Sheriff Fike spoke up. “Don’t be in too big a hurry to quit, Trent. There aren’t many men out there who are as good at tracking as you are. Just look at how you found the raiding party. You found that outlaw Matt Sykes and brought him in, too.”

  “It was amazing how you were able to follow the raiding party the way you did, especially since the trail wasn’t fresh,” Jake said. “You saved Abbie, and I’ll forever be grateful to you.”

  “I’m glad we found her, too,” Trent replied.

  “I heard some talk about Sykes a while back. Wasn’t he a stage robber?” Mason asked.

  “Yes. He and his partner had robbed a stage and killed the driver and the man who was riding shotgun,” Trent answered. “The posse managed to bring in his partner, but Sykes got away. That’s when the stage line contacted me, and I went after him.”

  “Sykes was nothing but a cold-blooded killer,” the lawman added in disgust. He knew about the outlaw’s reputation.

  “Well, thanks to Trent, he won’t be causing anybody else any more trouble,” Jake said.

  “That’s right,” Sheriff Fike agreed. He was always glad when a murderer was brought to justice.

  Sykes was sitt
ing nearby, listening to their conversation. Hearing the other men praise Trent had left him fuming, but he’d managed to control his anger until they began to talk about how Trent had brought Matt in.

  It was then he knew the time had come.

  He was going to get his revenge—tonight.

  Sykes was so furious he was almost out of control. He wanted to pull out his gun and shoot Trent down right there in the middle of the crowd, but he realized that if he did, he wouldn’t get off the Lazy R alive. The sheriff was armed, and so were most of the other men at the party. He would do it later, when he could corner Trent alone. He wanted to see the expression on his face when he had the hired gun in his sights and told him he was Matt Sykes’s father. Then Trent Marshall would know what it felt like to be hunted down—and killed.

  Sykes smiled.

  As much as he wanted to kill the hired gun right then and there, it would be worth the wait for that moment.

  Sykes knew that if he was going to stay in control, he had to move away. He’d heard enough of what the men were saying. The others didn’t notice when he got up and left, and he was relieved. He would be nearby watching—and waiting. When the time was right, he would make his move.

  Mason had been watching Larissa while she’d talked with the women. She was a beauty—there was no doubt about that—and for a moment he thought about making it a triple wedding, but then decided against it. When his wedding day came, Larissa would be the woman waiting for him at the altar, but he wasn’t quite ready to settle down just yet.

  Mason noticed that Larissa looked his way briefly and then left the other women to walk toward him. He went to meet her.

  “Have Faith and Abbie got the wedding plans all made yet?” he joked.

  “Not yet, but they’re working on it. Dottie’s helping them. It’s going to be so wonderful.” She sighed.

  Mason couldn’t even begin to imagine what that day was going to be like. One wedding with the likes of Faith or Abbie would be wild, but both of his sisters on the same day . . . Pure chaos came to mind, but he’d worry about that later as the day came closer.

  “Mason.” Larissa frowned, glancing past him again to where one of the ranch hands had gotten up from the table and was moving away. “That man . . .”

  He glanced over and saw she was looking at Tucker. “What about him?”

  “Who is he?”

  “He’s a new hand we hired on. With Hank gone, we needed some extra help.”

  “I noticed him for the first time when I was looking at you just now. Something about him reminds me of the man I saw on the street the night the fire was discovered at the stage office. Do you think I should say anything to Sheriff Fike about it?” She was troubled by the thought. “It was dark, and I’m not completely sure, but—”

  “It couldn’t hurt. Why don’t we go talk to him now?”

  They moved off to where the lawman was laughing with some of the townsfolk.

  “Sheriff, could we speak with you for a minute?” Mason asked.

  “Sure,” he answered. He excused himself from the people he was talking to and followed Mason and Larissa off a ways. He noticed that their expressions seemed a bit troubled. “What’s wrong?”

  Larissa was uneasy as she answered, “I’m not one to accuse anyone lightly, but . . .” She paused, then continued, “I saw a ranch hand here tonight who looks something like the man my father and I saw in town the night of the fire.”

  Sheriff Fike was instantly alert. “Who is it?”

  “He’s over. . . .” Larissa turned to point Tucker out, only to discover he’d disappeared. “He was sitting there by Trent and Jake a minute ago.”

  “He must have gone off to talk to someone,” Mason said, then went on to explain. “His name is Tucker. He was passing through town and needed work. We were shorthanded, with Faith and Hank gone, so we hired him on to help out until they got back. As best I can recall, Tucker did go into town that night.”

  “I’d be interested in talking to him. If we don’t spot him again, I can ride out tomorrow and see what he’s got to say for himself.”

  Larissa smiled in relief. “Thanks. I can’t be certain he was the man, but if there’s any chance . . .”

  “I appreciate your help.”

  Mason and Larissa moved off to join some of their friends.

  It was starting to get late when the celebration came to an end.

  Jake was reluctant to leave Abbie, but he knew that in a very short time they would never have to part again. They managed to sneak away for a quick kiss before he started back to his own ranch.

  Mason had no such luck. Larissa’s parents were there when the time came for her to go. He watched her leave with them, wishing the party could have lasted longer.

  Once Larissa and her parents had gone, Mason went down to the bunkhouse to see if he could find Tucker. He’d been keeping an eye out for the man, but had seen no sign of him since they’d talked to the sheriff. Mason was surprised to find Tucker wasn’t in the bunkhouse with the other men. Puzzled, but not overly concerned, since the sheriff planned to return the following day to speak with him, Mason went on up to the house to get himself a drink and relax for a while.

  After the guests had gone, Faith and Trent finally found a moment to get away by themselves. It was just starting to get dark as they slipped off to a tree-shrouded spot not too far from the house. It had been Faith’s special place ever since she’d been a child. She’d always gone there when she’d wanted to spend time alone away from her pesky brother and sister. And right now she definitely wanted to be away from her siblings—and anyone else who might be around. By themselves at last, Faith went eagerly into Trent’s arms.

  “I love you,” she whispered, looking up at him.

  Trent gazed down at her and knew he was blessed that she had come into his life. He lifted one hand to caress her cheek as he bent to claim her lips in a passionate kiss—a kiss that told her more clearly than words ever could the depth of his love for her.

  Faith responded hungrily to his embrace, clinging to him, wanting to get as close to him as she could.

  The feel of her soft curves crushed against him fed the fire of his need to make love to her, and Trent was hard-pressed to keep his desire under control. When they finally did break off the kiss, Trent gave a low, sensual chuckle as he asked, “Is there a justice of the peace anywhere close? We could run off and get married tonight, you know.”

  Faith gave a throaty laugh, wishing the same thing. “There’s one in town, but I don’t think we could get away with eloping tonight, after all the excitement about the double wedding.”

  Trent kissed her again, and she lost herself to the ecstasy of his kiss and touch. Her eager response was such a temptation to him that he was forced to put her from him, although it was the last thing he truly wanted to do.

  “You’d better go on up to the house now. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Faith gave him one last tender kiss, then regretfully left him.

  Abbie had gone to her room, and Mason was sitting in the parlor, enjoying his whiskey. His thoughts were mellow as he savored the potent liquor.

  Life was good—very good.

  Larissa cared about him.

  Abbie was back.

  He was almost completely healed.

  And both of his sisters were about to get married.

  That thought in particular made him smile. Soon—very soon, if things went as he hoped and Trent stayed around—he would not be the only man of the family on the ranch. Yes, life was very good indeed.

  He heard Faith come into the house then and got up to go speak with her.

  “Happy?” he asked with a grin.

  “Can’t you tell?”

  “Where’s Trent?”

  “When I left him he was down by the trees.”

  “You took him down to your secret hiding place?”

  “That’s right,” she told him, and she was smiling as she went to her room.
r />   Mason moved out onto the porch, hoping to have a word with Trent on his way back to the bunkhouse.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Sykes was ready.

  He’d seen Trent and Faith sneak off together and had moved in close to keep watch. Trent Marshall wasn’t going to get away from him—not tonight. When he saw Faith go back up to the house alone, he knew it was time. Though it was getting dark, there was still enough light to see by. He wasn’t going to miss.

  Sykes drew his gun and started to close in on his quarry.

  Mason didn’t see Trent heading back up to the bunkhouse, so he decided to go find him and see if he wanted to have a drink before calling it a night. As he was heading toward the trees, he caught sight of someone moving cautiously in the same direction. He thought it looked like Tucker, and he wondered what was going on. He remembered what Larissa had told the sheriff about the man, and started to worry as he hurried after him.

  Trent had been enjoying the peace of the moment when he heard someone coming. He thought it might be Faith returning, and he turned to welcome her. He was surprised to find it was the hired hand named Tucker, coming toward him with his gun drawn.

  Trent immediately thought of renegades. Had another raiding party been spotted? “Has there been some trouble?”

  Sykes’s expression was cold as he answered, “There’s trouble all right—and it’s all because of you.”

  Trent tensed at his answer. He could see the gleam of hatred in the other man’s eyes. “What are you talking about, Tucker?”

  Sykes lifted his gun to aim it straight at Trent. “My name ain’t Tucker. It’s Sykes—Ward Sykes—and you killed my son.” His voice was filled with fury.

  Trent suddenly understood what he was facing.

  Sykes went on before Trent could say anything. “You can’t get away from me. I hunted you down, just like you hunted down Matt, and now you’re going to die. I killed Cal Harris and now I’m going to kill you!” He cocked his gun, enjoying the sense of power he felt at having the other man helpless before him.