Heston had reclaimed his brats. He’d fooled them with fake gold and then ridden away. By now he would have an hour’s head start on them. And where would he go? Home, of course. But his horses were tired. One of them had carried the two crates over many miles.
Not that the outlaws’ own horses were fresh, but that wouldn’t be a problem. When they got back to the trail, they could steal more easily enough.
“We ride back to the valley,” Cord said. “If we get there ahead of Heston, we might pull it off.”
“Pull off what?” Dale asked.
“We know Heston and two other men hit us in camp. Heston has a lead, but his horses will need rest. We’ll steal fresh mounts when we reach the trail and outrun him. If we get to the cabin before him, we can take the rest of them.”
“And if they have help?” Dale said. “By now, they might have a whole army guarding the place.”
“They might,” Cord allowed. “But if we get there soon enough, we can convince them we have Heston. Those women will trade anything to get him back.”
“We don’t have Heston,” Dale said.
“If we get there first, we can take him when he arrives. Then it’ll be easy.”
Cord ground his teeth. He wanted Heston, wanted to see him suffer, wanted him to know that feeling of losing his entire world. Then he wanted to put a bullet right between his eyes.
Chapter 32
A day came and went with no sign of Jim. Two more followed.
Ellen tried to keep herself busy. She cleaned the house. She tended to her small garden. She tried to shift her mind away from her missing husband. For Walt’s and Alma’s sake, she wanted them to feel safe and secure. Her children needed that. She needed it.
Mostly, she failed.
The nightmares Alma had about her true parent’s murder on the trail returned. It had been almost a year since she had them last. Walt withdrew from everyone. He barely spoke, he barely ate, he spent his days staring into the west. He would do his chores when she told him, but quick as he finished, he went back to staring into the distance.
The hardest part—the worst part—was telling her son that the outlaws had killed his grandfather. Her only consolation was that neither Walt nor Alma had actually seen his death.
In light of all that had happened, the whole family—Martha, Abigail, Colton, Captain Neill, and Delphi—stayed with Ellen and the children at the cabin Jim had built. With its added rooms, it was the only place large enough to hold all of them.
Always armed and always ready, Colton and Neill roamed the valley.
“He’ll be here soon,” Colton said over lunch on the third day.
“I know,” Ellen said, and wished she meant it.
“Ellen, I wish you’d let Captain Neill put more of the mine guards here,” he said.
“This is my home, Colton. Not an armed camp. Walt and Alma don’t need armed men roaming around.”
“You won’t even notice them. We can keep them—”
“My mind is set,” Ellen said. “I won’t have my children watched over by strangers.”
Colton sighed. He finished lunch, took up his rifle, and stepped out into the bright sun.
Ellen listened to his steps on the walk. They’d had this argument often since he’d returned, and when she wasn’t having it with Colton, it was with Captain Neill.
Delphi was her only ally. She alone knew of Alma’s nightmares and Walt’s strangeness. Ellen did not tell the others. With Father lost, Martha and their mother had worries of their own, and the men had too much on their minds already. These days, it seemed all they had were their worries. Colton and Neill would have one less if she allowed them to post a few guards here.
Am I acting foolish? Perhaps I should let them put a few guards in the trees.
It would keep the children safe.
Noise outside startled her from her thoughts. Colton. She sighed and stood from the table. She would tell him they could post their men in the woods. Just a few, though. She did not want Walt or Alma to know they were there.
Before she reached the door, Colton burst in.
“Get your rifle,” he said. His breathing was quick and short. His eyes went to the open window, and he slammed the shutter closed.
Ellen snatched up her rifle even as fear quickened within her.
“There are six of them; coming up through the trees now. I saw them near the lake and raced back,” Colton said.
“Where is Captain Neill?” Ellen peered out through one of the gunports. She’d laughed when Jim insisted on having a notch cut in the shutters so he could shoot out. She and Colton would be using them soon.
At least the children are in Onionville with Martha and Mother. The sheriff will watch over them.
“Neill was at his cabin last I knew. Said he and Delphi needed to check on a few things. If he sees them, he’ll gather some of the mine guards and head here. We’ve got to hold them off until then.”
“We can do it,” Ellen said.
“We will do it.” Colton took her hand, gave it a squeeze, then moved to the door.
Ellen wondered where Jim was. If the outlaws were here, he should be back already. Had they caught him? Had they killed him? She forced herself to take a steadying breath. It need not be that. He was just delayed. His horse had come up lame, or he had to take a longer route back.
