Lorelei finally let Rachel pull her around the house for what was probably to be the drenching of her life.
Only Braddock stayed planted where he was, more unsure than he’d ever been in his life.
Jay stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “You want to talk on the porch?”
Braddock took a deep breath, then dragged himself after his friend. As Jay maneuvered the steps by clutching the rail, Braddock took his time wiping his boots on the dirt. Jay finally settled into a rocking chair at the end of the porch.
Braddock took the swing beside him. He sat forward, his forearms on his knees. Gazing into Jay’s clear blue eyes, he remembered all the times he had confided in him.
His friend appeared strong and healthy, as he had when he was first assigned to Braddock’s unit. Braddock hung his head, unable to look at him. This wasn’t the same man who had been assigned to his unit.
“I’m in a lot of trouble,” he said.
Jay shoved Braddock’s shoulder, sending him and the swing off balance. Braddock looked up to find Jay grinning the way he did when he had a winning poker hand. “I’ve been waiting to hear you admit that. Now, tell me what I can do.”
“Corey was involved in a stagecoach robbery near Santa Fe. He’s not a killer, though. He’s just…” Braddock never expected to find himself defending the kid. “Stupid,” was all he could think of to explain Corey’s behavior.
Jay rocked back, and Braddock tried not to notice how his wooden legs bent. He was unsuccessful.
Jay rubbed his thighs. “You’d never bring anyone here I’d have to worry about. I trust you, Chris.”
Braddock leaned forward, squeezing his hands together. Jay never missed a chance to reassure him that the injury wasn’t his fault. Of course, there was no disputing who had led him into the booby-trapped field and who had walked away without a scratch.
“Well, don’t trust me, Jay. Because if the law doesn’t get Corey, Rowen Mulcahy will. That is, if I don’t find him first.”
“Mulcahy again. I told you, he’s not worth your trouble.”
“Corey knows where to find him. He’ll tell me. He has his sister to worry about.”
Jay rubbed his brow as if putting all the pieces together. “The woman’s this Corey’s sister. Who’s the other fella?”
“He’s someone we picked up in Coyote Pass. I won’t leave him here.”
“Coyote Pass?”
“Do you have anything to drink?” It was a long story, and Braddock didn’t really want to tell it. But Jay wasn’t one of those people he could skirt the facts with—nor did Braddock have the right to.
“Lift up that plank to your right.”
Braddock found the loose plank in the porch and liberated bottle of whiskey. “You don’t tell Beth about this?”
Jay shrugged. “We’ve got liquor in the house, but sometimes a man wants to have a drink by himself.”
“Are you in pain a lot?” He pulled out the cork and handed the bottle over.
Jay motioned for Braddock to drink first. “Let’s hear about Coyote Pass and the sister.”
Braddock took a long swig, knowing Jay would dig right down to the meat of his problem. He gulped enough to burn all the way down to his toes, then set the half full bottle away from himself. The temptation to get rip roaring drunk was too strong.
“I met up with Lorelei when I tracked Corey to his homestead after the robbery. She tried to hide her brother.” Braddock stopped himself. He wouldn’t tell how Lorelei came to his hotel room, or what had happened between them back at the ranch, though he knew Jay would understand. “Then Langston showed up. Remember him?”
Jay nodded with a grimace.
The look on Jay’s face reminded him that Jay was the one who’d gotten stuck begging for supplies after Braddock lost his temper with Langston’s ridiculous need for proper protocol. The fact that Langston had broken his leg during a training exercise and spent the entire war shuffling papers was something he never let anyone forget.
“He wanted to arrest Lorelei as Corey’s accomplice. I stopped him, but how I did it wasn’t exactly legal. Since Langston’s now a deputy marshal, I guess that makes me an outlaw.”
Jay raised his eyebrows. “I guess it does.”
“And Lorelei aimed a rifle at Langston because he had his guns on me. You know Langston. He isn’t going to ignore that.”
Jay sat forward. “Langston outdrew you?”
“Hell, no.” Braddock flinched at the insult. “I didn’t have my guns.”
Jay’s surprised expression had Braddock rocking back in the swing and averting his gaze. Braddock wasn’t about to admit he had been buck naked at the time.