by Ari McKay
All thoughts of the traitorous man fled Luke’s mind, washed away on a wave of sheer panic as he bolted toward Stone and dropped to his knees, reaching out to shake Stone’s shoulders. But even though the timber wasn’t that large, it had hit Stone with enough force to knock him out, and Luke struggled to lift Stone enough to drag him out. His eyes were stinging, and his throat was burning, but he ignored the dangerous creaking that was getting louder and coming from everywhere, focusing on getting Stone out as quickly as possible.
When they were finally clear of the stables, Luke lowered Stone to the ground carefully and yanked off his kerchief to get a lungful of air. Coughing, he dropped down beside Stone, his legs giving out now that the rush of fear and panic was subsiding, and it was only a matter of moments later the roof collapsed with a resounding crash that echoed in Luke’s ears like a harbinger of doom.
The other hands were busy trying to keep the horses calm, and Luke saw they had abandoned the attempt to put out the fire. Not that he could blame them, since it was obviously a fruitless effort. If the water tank hadn’t collapsed, they might have stood a chance, but without it, they couldn’t fight a fire of that magnitude, which Hendry had probably been counting on.
Groaning and coughing, Luke tore his gaze away from the ruins of the barn and turned back to Stone only to feel a fresh surge of panic when he realized Stone wasn’t breathing. It was the smoke. It had to be! He didn’t think the timber had hit Stone hard enough to kill him with a single blow, but he had no idea what to do to get Stone breathing again. Desperately, he slapped Stone’s cheeks and then hauled Stone upright and pounded on his back, as if he could force air back into Stone’s lungs that way.
He wasn’t sure if it was the pounding that did it, but after few moments, Stone suddenly began coughing, leaning heavily against Luke as he struggled to draw breath. After a couple of minutes, the coughing eased up, and Stone wheezed, shuddered, and then turned his head to look at Luke, his eyes dark and pained.
“Raider?” Stone mouthed the words. “The men?”
“Raider got out,” Luke assured him, trying to keep his hold on Stone impersonal until Stone could sit up on his own. “I haven’t had a chance to do a head count yet, but I think everyone got out okay, and we didn’t lose any of the horses. We were damned lucky.”
Stone nodded and looked at the remains of the stable. Without water, there was no choice but to let it burn itself out and try to keep the embers from igniting anything nearby. Stone had to know that, but Luke had no doubt it didn’t sit well with him.
“Damn.” Stone’s eyes were bleak, his voice a hoarse croak. “I’m glad everyone’s safe, but damn it, Luke, this is gettin’ to be more than I can handle.”
“Yeah, I know,” Luke murmured, watching one of the stable walls start to collapse. “But I think we can put an end to it. We need to talk with Hendry.”
Stone coughed into his hand, then frowned in puzzlement. “Why? What’s goin’ on?”
“I saw him in the stables, draggin’ that leftover lumber from the water tank toward the fire.” Luke kept his voice low, not wanting anyone else to overhear, not only to avoid alarming any of the hands, but also to avoid alerting anyone who might be working with Hendry. “He was tryin’ to hide something, and I’ll bet my last dollar he’s the one who started the fire.”
“Damn.” Stone shook his head. “We’d better catch him before he runs off. I knew he hated me, but I never thought he’d stoop so low.” He suddenly realized he was leaning against Luke and straightened, his face and neck flushing. “Sorry. It looks like I owe you for savin’ my life. Miserable as it is at the moment, I reckon I ain’t ready to give it up yet. Thanks.”
“I reckon now we’re even.” Luke was relieved when Stone moved away. It would have been too much like torture to sit there with Stone practically in his arms for much longer.
Stone staggered to his feet. “I reckon we are. Let’s go get Hendry. But first, I’m gettin’ my gun.”
“Are you sure you’re up for that?” Luke asked as he climbed to his feet, watching Stone with concern. “Hendry didn’t see me. He was too busy coverin’ his own tracks. Maybe we should wait until he can’t knock you on your ass just by blowin’ on you.”
“Hmph.” Stone glared at Luke, but then nodded reluctantly. “Maybe you’re right,” he conceded. “Besides, I’d probably just as soon shoot him as talk to him, and we need him to tell us if he’s doin’ this on his own and why.”
“My gut says he’s takin’ orders.” Luke unknotted his kerchief so he could wipe soot off his sweaty face. “If not, then he’s got more hatred for Indians than anyone I’ve ever seen, but if that’s his problem, I’d think he’d just go ahead and shoot you instead of doin’ all this.”
“Yeah.” Stone ran a hand through his hair, but before he could say anything more, they were interrupted by Shorty, who ran up, red-faced and breathless.
“We accounted for all the horses and the hands,” he said, wheezing a little. “Sorry about the stable, boss. There wasn’t enough water to stop it, but we didn’t let it spread.” He looked at Stone with concern. “You okay, Mr. Harrison? Looks like you took a beatin’.”
“Fine. I had a little trouble, but Luke got me out. You all did a great job, Shorty. I owe every hand here for what they’ve done, and you can believe I’m goin’ to show my appreciation. Otherwise we might’ve lost everything.”
“We need to get the horses settled, and then someone’s got to go to town and buy some supplies.” Luke pushed his hat back on his head. “We’ve got to replace the feed and the hay, and we’ve got to start rebuildin’ the stable as soon as possible. We might need to hire some more men, if anyone in town’s lookin’ for work. Otherwise, we’re goin’ to be spread pretty thin until the tank and the stables are rebuilt.”
As much as he hated to admit it, Luke was starting to feel overwhelmed, but he would be damned if he let whoever was behind this win. It would take a lot of work and manpower, but they’d get the rebuilding done, and then maybe life would start getting back to normal.
“Shorty, you’ve got a good head on you,” Stone said. “I’d like you to take Little Sam, Brent, and Dave and go into town with the buckboard. Tell Mr. Stephens what happened and get all the hay and feed he’s got to spare. Then go by the mill and tell Mr. Williams thanks for the rush on the wood for the tank, but we’re goin’ to need the timber for a new stable instead, so we’ll need more for the tank. Last, please stop by the post office and put up a sign sayin’ we’re hirin’. Can I trust you to manage all that? Me and Luke have a lot to do here, so I really need your help.”
Shorty drew himself up to his full six and a half feet. “Yeah, boss, I can do it.” He ran off, obviously pleased to be given the responsibility.
Stone looked at Luke. “I hope you don’t mind me steppin’ on your toes like that, but I do need you here. We need to round up Hendry before he can do any more damage.”
“It ain’t unheard of for bosses to tell their hands what to do,” Luke said dryly.
“True, but normally you’d be the only one I’d trust with all that. Right now, though, I don’t trust much of anyone besides you, the men who’ve been here for years, and the men I know well. We can’t take much more of this, and we’re goin’ to stop it, one way or another.”
“I ain’t in a trustin’ frame of mind myself,” Luke agreed, glancing around at the hands. He knew it was unlikely most of them were in league with Hendry, but it was impossible to know whom he could trust beyond the hands who had worked at Copper Lake for longer than a couple of years. The newer ones were all on his suspect list until he had proof they didn’t deserve to be. “Let’s go inside and rest a minute, and then we’ll talk to Hendry and get some answers.”
“Right.” Stone started back toward the house, wincing as he stepped on a rock with his bare foot. “I’ll want my boots too. And not just so I can use them to kick his ass up between his ears.”
“You need more’n your boot
s,” Luke muttered, glancing sidelong at Stone, who was half-naked and covered in sweat and soot.
Stone nodded, looking a little sheepish. “I ran when I heard you ringin’. I didn’t stop to worry about much else.” He looked down at himself. “I suppose I don’t look too intimidatin’ like this.”
“That ain’t the word that comes to mind.” Luke kept his eyes fixed straight ahead as they walked toward the house, but he could feel Stone’s gaze on him.
“I’ll wash in the lake later,” Stone said. “I guess for now, we’ll have to make do with what we can get out of the pump. I’m just glad Dandy Jim decided a lack of plumbin’ offends his sensibilities and took himself off to the hotel in town.”
“That’s the only good thing to come out of this whole mess.” Luke grimaced, wishing there was a way to keep James in town permanently.
“I suppose I should wash before he decides to stop by for a visit.” Stone mounted the steps and entered the kitchen, heading to the sink to prime the pump. “Let’s talk to a couple of other hands before going after Hendry, just so he doesn’t suspect we’re comin’ after him in particular.”
“Good idea.” Luke nodded, standing out of the way while Stone dipped his hands into the water, and turning his attention elsewhere. The last thing he needed right now was to watch rivulets of water streaming along Stone’s bronzed skin.
Fortunately, Stone didn’t dawdle. He cleaned up quickly and dried off. “I’ll go change clothes while you wash. Then I’ll start coffee, and we can figure out who to go after first. That work for you?”
“Yes, sir, it does,” Luke replied, keeping his eyes averted as he moved toward the sink. It was bad enough when Stone was sooty; it would be worse now that he was clean.
Stone moved away from the sink, but then he stopped. “Luke,” he said softly, and Luke heard him sigh. “Ah, never mind. I’ll be back shortly.” With that, he heard Stone leave the kitchen and the creak of the stairs as he went to his room.
As soon as he was alone, Luke released a long, slow breath and leaned heavily against the sink for a moment, feeling as if the weight of the world were resting on his shoulders. The ranch was falling apart, they had a traitor in their midst, and he was forced to keep his distance from the one person he wanted to be closest to. Life needed to get a lot better soon, or else he was going to have to consider some serious changes, because he couldn’t keep on like this.
Mustering his strength and resolve, he pushed upright and primed the pump. They had a traitor to find, and he hoped stopping Hendry and whoever was working with him would mean the end of this string of disasters once and for all.
21
“NO, SIR, I didn’t see nothin’. I was in the middle of puttin’ on my boots, and I come runnin’ out with everyone else.”
Stone looked at the grizzled hand sitting across from him at the table and nodded. Deke Jones was an old-timer who’d apparently been on the ranch since before Priss inherited it from her pa, and neither Stone nor Luke suspected him of any connection to Hendry. But that, he hoped, would make Hendry and whoever he might be working with relax and keep them off their guard.
“We didn’t figure you did.” Stone gave the older man a tired smile. “We ain’t lookin’ to blame no one. I just want to make sure that what happened don’t never happen again.”
“Sure.” Deke seemed to accept that reasoning. “We’re just havin’ a run of powerful bad luck. Happens sometimes. Been years I seen where ain’t nothin’ gone right and years where nothin’ gone wrong. Just happens that way.”
“Yeah. I just wish we weren’t havin’ the bad one this year,” Stone muttered. “Thanks, Deke. Ask Charlie to come here when you get back to the bunkhouse, will you? We want to talk to everyone. And thanks for your help in tryin’ to save the stable. Would’ve been worse if you and the others hadn’t worked so hard to save the horses.”
“Yes, sir.” Deke rose from the table, nodded to Stone and Luke, and left the kitchen.
Stone waited until the door closed behind him before turning his attention to Luke. “What do you think? Charlie, then Hendry? Or should we talk to a couple more first?”
“Just Charlie,” Luke replied, his expression turning grim. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get to the real questions.”
“Yeah.” Stone tilted his head to one side and rubbed his neck to relieve the knots of pure tension. He couldn’t believe that only a couple of hours ago, he thought maybe he was being too paranoid in believing someone could be sabotaging the ranch. Now, however, they were dealing with yet another disaster, and this time, Luke had seen who was behind it. Sure, maybe Hendry had a good reason for dragging the wood from the tank over to make sure it burned in the fire, but Stone wouldn’t bet a plug nickel on it.
The biggest questions were why he’d done it and who else might be in on it with him, and Stone had to admit he’d be just as happy to beat the information out of Hendry as ask him for it. He was feeling every bit the savage Nelson had called him, and he was struggling to keep his temper in check.
The losses were bad enough, but Stone couldn’t figure out why anyone would want to do something so terrible, not just to him, but to the people who depended on the ranch for their living. If someone held a grudge against Stone, why not just shoot him and be done with it? Why destroy a whole ranch? They needed answers, and he understood Luke’s impatience to get them. After all, Luke’s ties to the ranch ran far deeper than Stone’s did.
He looked at Luke, seeing the unhappiness on his face. Oh sure, he had no reason to jump with joy with all the recent disasters, but it was the root cause of why Luke had been so miserable the last few months that made Stone ache. It was his fault, and he knew it, and he wanted so much to do something to make it better. But he wasn’t even sure if that was possible anymore. Had he hurt Luke so badly Luke would just push him away if he reached out now?
And he did want to reach out. The ranch and his responsibility to it meant a lot to him, but so did Luke. Luke had stood by him through all this, helped him keep things together, even saved his life, and all Stone had done was keep him at a distance neither of them really wanted. He thought his reasons for doing it still mattered, because he couldn’t stand it if anything happened to Luke because of him or if Luke got tired of him and left. But life was short and fragile, as he’d been reminded today, and he felt he was being unfair to Luke. Once they got this matter with Hendry cleared up, he was going to square things with Luke, and they were going to talk. He’d tell Luke how he felt, and if Luke didn’t want him any longer, he’d just have to take it and let Luke go. Somehow.
He pushed back his chair and stood. “You want some more coffee?” he asked, heading toward the stove. He didn’t want more, but he was going to drink it just to have something to do other than pacing around the kitchen like a caged bear.
“No, thanks.” Luke shook his head and leaned back, his arms folded across his chest. “I’ve had enough.”
Somehow the words had an ominous ring to them, and Stone turned to look at Luke, but before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door.
“Come on in, Charlie.” Stone admitted the short, plump man and headed back to the table as the hands’ cook entered.
Five minutes later, they let Charlie go after he swore upside down and sideways he hadn’t seen anything, not that Stone expected any different. As the cook closed the door behind him with instructions to send Hendry to the house, Stone began to tense in anticipation.
He glanced at Luke. “A man can do some powerful stupid things when he feels cornered. I just hope he don’t. I want to kill him, but I’d just as soon he didn’t give me a reason to do it in the house.”
“He ain’t got a lot of gumption,” Luke said, shrugging. “I’ve had words with him before, and he backed down right quick, but I guess that could’ve been because he didn’t want to risk losin’ his job before he got up to all the mischief he wanted to.”
Stone nodded. “Just look out for yo
urself. I don’t want him to decide takin’ one or both of us on is his only option. Whatever his beef is with me, I don’t want you gettin’ hurt because of it.”
Luke smiled, but it was a thin smile without any amusement behind it, and he patted the gun at his side. “Don’t worry. I ain’t got a hankerin’ to die young. If it comes down to me or him, I’m goin’ to make sure it’s him.”
“Good.” Stone would have to be satisfied with that, although it wouldn’t completely stop him from worrying. Then there was a knock on the door, and he stiffened. “Come in.”
Hendry entered, trying to look confident and unconcerned, but Stone could see from the set of his shoulders that he was on his guard.
“Have a seat, Hendry.” Stone managed to keep his voice even. “We’re just askin’ all the hands some questions to see if we can figure out how the fire started.”
Hendry shot a look at Luke as he took a seat at the table. “I don’t know nothin’,” he replied, shrugging carelessly. “I came runnin’ with everyone else.”
“Did you now? Did you notice if anyone was missin’, like maybe they went out for a smoke first thing?”
Hendry’s eyes narrowed, but Stone kept his face expressionless. Hendry couldn’t know what Charlie or Deke might have said, and since he hadn’t been in the bunkhouse, he didn’t know what the other hands had been up to. But he didn’t panic. “Not so’s I noticed,” he replied. “But I don’t notice much before I have my coffee.”
“I see.” Stone leaned back in his chair. “You don’t smoke, I take it?”
“No.” Hendry began to relax a little bit, apparently getting the idea they weren’t going to ask him any really tough questions. “Never got into the habit.”
