The sound of someone hollering behind them interrupted Ethan and Louise’s conversation. Coming up quickly from behind was Bryce. Lou watched him approach with fire in her eyes. She couldn’t wait to have a little chat with him.
“There you are,” Bryce exclaimed after catching his breath. “I was worried sick!”
“Were you?” Lou questioned sarcastically. “Are you sure you just didn’t forget about me?”
“Forget about you?” Bryce asked in confusion. “Never! My horse got away from me, and it took forever to catch him.”
The sincerity that reflected in his eyes made Lou warm up to him. How could she have ever doubted him? He had to be telling the truth, other wise why would he have worked so hard to catch up with them? In reality, she had abandoned him! “I’m sorry, Bryce,” Lou apologized.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said with his most charming smile. “Maybe you should ride with me now?”
“She’s fine where she is,” Ethan informed his brother.
“Maybe you should let the lady answer for herself?” Bryce suggested.
Lou remained quiet, very unsure of how to answer. Obviously, the two brothers were competing for her attention. The more Lou thought about it, the clearer it became. One brother always showed up after the other disappeared. They have been secretly battling it out to see who gets to escort her home! Although Lou felt her anger growing for being used in their foolish game, she couldn’t help but feel a little pleasure in it. Two gorgeous men dueling for her attention was flattering, but still inappropriate! Besides, brothers shouldn’t act this way towards each other. “What’s going on here?” She demanded finally. The two men just stared at each other.
The young woman halted her black mount near the water’s edge, and quickly dismounted to stretch her legs. Gently she patted the horse she had stolen on the neck to reward him for his hard work. He was a much more reliable horse than her sassy paint.
“You know,” Cally confided to the horse. “I do feel bad about stealing you.” She wasn’t a heartless person. In fact, if her brothers hadn’t drove her to the point of insanity, none of this would have happened. Ethan and Bryce just couldn’t resist competing with each other over who could make the family business more successful. Their father had been a fool to leave the majority of the business to the boys. They were nothing but trouble.
Finally, Cally couldn’t tolerate their foolish competition anymore. Her brothers were taking unnecessary business risks just to out do the other. The once profitable business began losing money faster than it was earning it due to their competitive game. To end her brothers’ game, Cally sold the entire establishment behind their backs. She had no intentions of handing the money she received over to her brothers. After all the chaos they caused, they didn’t deserve one cent. Unfortunately, her brothers didn’t agree. Now they were hunting her down. Of course, it was the thrill of the chase that encouraged them to pursue her. The money meant little to her brothers. They just wanted another reason to compete, and that Cally had given them the instant she robbed the tomboy.
If Cally was right, then her brothers had already met the young damsel in distress. Poor girl. Ethan and Bryce would definitely make a game out of saving her. They’d secretly battle for her, and the young woman would probably never reach her destination. Not with Ethan and Bryce as her saviors. Of course, maybe things weren’t as hopeless for the lady as Cally originally thought. After all, the young lady did have three very handsome men concerned of her where abouts.
Cally soon realized the irony of the situation. The poor woman had her brothers after her, and she had the woman’s associates after her. Maybe if Cally was really lucky, the men she had tricked earlier had decided not to pursue her. Not that she had to worry. The men had galloped off in the wrong direction. Still, it wouldn’t take them too long to discover her trickery. It’s not like she wouldn’t mind seeing them again either. They were very attractive men. However, Cally knew they were more interested in capturing her than courting her.
The sound of twigs breaking announced her company’s arrival. “I was just thinking about you gents,” Cally said as she turned to face them. She had to appreciate their dedication. “It didn’t take you fellas long to figure out my little trick.”
“Well?” Lou demanded after several moments of complete silence.
“Nothing,” Bryce answered angelically.
“Nothing?” Although he looked very innocent, Lou was seeing right through his performance. “Are you sure?”
“We just want to make you comfortable,” Ethan reaffirmed.
“I see.” Lou sighed softly to herself. For once the brothers were working together. Both were denying their competition over her. Realizing the men had no intentions of confessing, Louise allowed the subject to be dropped.
Five miles along the trail, Kid was beginning to regret ignoring Noah’s advice. He had put too much faith in the young horse who had proved to be more than just a little sassy. The sorrel rebel had a will of iron, and that will no longer wished to travel the trail. Instead, his heart desired the sweet grass the littered the earth. Kid cursed his rebellious mount for picking a terrible time to throw a temper tantrum. The horse couldn’t be that hungry!
After several attempts to gently encourage the horse to continue on, Kid finally kicked the horse roughly in the belly. His stunt not only caused the horse to speed up, but also motivated him to buck continuously. Once he managed to toss Kid roughly to the ground, the sorrel rebel began nibbling on the tender grass. Kid remained on the ground, motionless.
“Kid,” Noah cried as he rushed to his hurt friend’s side. “Lady Luck has definitely skipped the territory,” Noah thought in discouragement. No one deserved this amount of bad luck.
“You two sure are persistent,” Cally noted. “But, do you really think it was necessary to restrain me?” No matter how hard she tried, Cally was unable to loosen the ropes that bound her wrists snugly to the saddle horn. Obviously they still remembered her pervious stunt.
“You already have your answer,” Buck commented dryly.
After showing her displeasure with the situation, Cally turned her attention to the man who was leading her horse along. She was very curious about the silent man who bore two Navy Colts at his side. “Do you like living by the gun?”
“I’m an express rider,” Jimmy said defensively. “I deliver the mail.”
“My mistake,” Cally muttered sarcastically. The man’s defensiveness was intriguing. Most men would boast at being a gunfighter. Not this young man. He had a haunted soul.
“Hopefully the others will have found Lou by now,” Buck noted optimistically.
“Lou?” Cally cried in surprise. “That must be a pet name.”
“It is,” Buck admitted. “Her real name is Louise.”
“I’m Cally Hayes,” the young lady said with a faint smile. Since they were going to be spending some time together, they might as well introduce themselves. “And you are?”
“Buck Cross. This is-”
Before Buck could finish his sentence, Jimmy quickly interrupted. “Jimmy.”
“Just Jimmy?” Cally teased. Noticing his reluctance to warm up to her, Cally added, “Louise will be just fine.”
“You know that?” Jimmy interrogated. The woman had just abandoned her there without horse or clothes.
“Uh huh,” Cally said with determination. “I realized the instant I met her she was a survivor.”
Talking about Lou to the thief seemed very odd. Still, Buck sensed that their captive wasn’t an evil person. Something drove her to the measures she took. “Why did you leave her like that?” Buck demanded.
“You wouldn’t understand,” Cally answered after meeting Buck’s beautiful brown eyes.
“Try us,” Jimmy insisted. His tone hinted that Cally was probably right, but he wanted to hear her excuse anyways. “This oughta be good,” Jimmy muttered to himself.
Ethan halted his tired bay horse after spotting two men camped in the distance. One of the men appeared to be hurt. His brother was too busy charming Louise to notice the strangers.
Without warning, he encouraged his tired mount to hurry to the men. The might need assistance.
“Kid!” Lou cried after eventually spotting the riders. Once Ethan arrived a few feet from Noah’s horse, Lou quickly dismounted and rushed to her love’s side. Ethan and Bryce glanced out each other in curiosity.
“I’m fine,” Kid said weakly. “I was so worried-”
“I’m fine,” Lou assured him. “These gentlemen were escorting me home.” Kid forced himself to sit up even though his actions caused his head to ache. He glanced at her companions, who wave in response.
“He woke up just before you arrived,” Noah tattled. “That new sorrel and him had a disagreement,” Noah informed a concerned Lou.
“I’d say the horse won,” Bryce commented. The riders were out of ear shot, so Ethan was the only one to hear his brother’s remark.
“Kid,” Lou said in concern. “Maybe you should lie back down.” He appeared awful dizzy.
“I’ll be fine,” Kid insisted. He would be eventually. For now he’d have to settle with his pounding head. His injury couldn’t compete with the over whelming relief he felt. Lou was safely by his side.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” Lou questioned. Now it was her turn to worry. Kid’s displeasure with her interrogation was apparent.
“You know I ain’t very good with figures,” he joked. Of course Lou knew he was avoiding her test. Things were still a little blurry.
“Shouldn’t you be asking him more important things?” Noah scolded. “How about his real name?” That was information all the riders wanted to know.
“Why were the men chasing you?” Buck asked. Cally had vaguely described the reasons for her actions, but he suspected she was leaving crucial parts out.
“More importantly,” Jimmy began heatedly. “Why did you place Lou in danger?”
“She’s not in danger!” Cally snapped.
“How do you know that?” Buck wished he could share her confidence, but her story was too vague.
“The two men won’t hurt her,” Cally guaranteed. “It’s not in their nature.”
“Then why were you running?” Jimmy demanded.
Cally became silent. The gunfighter had little faith in her words. His harsh feelings for her were clearly displayed in his words, and Cally suspected he had strong feelings for Louise. Even though Buck was concerned about his missing friend, his words were not filled with anger. Jimmy was making things more complicated then they needed to be.
