Love’s Sweet Revenge(11)

Pepper looked over at Cole Decker and Vance Kelly, and all three men chuckled. Pepper, whose real name no one knew, looked back up at Lloyd. “Well now, I hate to interrupt, but Vance here has a message some special courier from Denver brought out and gave to your sister a few minutes ago. She looked kind of upset when she read it—said to give it to you. And that ain’t all. The courier—that fella called Jason Hawk from Denver—he said he’s pretty sure some rustlers might be headed toward the western edge of the J&L. Your pa is in that area. Anybody knows Jake Harkner can handle a few rustlers, but your mother is with him, so between that and whatever is in this message, we didn’t have much choice but to come and get you.”

“Shit,” Lloyd grumbled. “Wait up!” he yelled down to them. He turned to Katie. “I’m sorry, but I’d better go see about this. And here you had things all set up for us to spend some time together.”

“It’s okay.”

Lloyd saw the anxious look on her face, like the one she used to get when he had to ride away for days or weeks at a time as a marshal, never knowing if he’d make it back. “This is different, baby. It’s just a few rustlers, and we have extra men. If my mother wasn’t out there—”

“I understand. We’ll pick up where we left off when you get back and the kids are sleeping.” She gave him a weak smile.

“Sure we will.” Lloyd hurriedly dressed, then strapped on his gun belt. Katie sat there wrapped in a blanket, and he leaned down to give her a quick kiss. “I love you, Katie-girl. I should have said it sooner.”

“And I love you. Be careful, Lloyd.”

“Hey, it’s me and Pepper and Cole. I’ll tell Vance to stay here and keep a lookout. We’ll be fine. If there are rustlers out there, they will definitely regret trying to steal from us.” He put on his wide-brimmed hat. “And if Jake gets to them first, they won’t live long enough to regret anything.”

He scurried down the ladder and, needing a fresh horse, quickly saddled a roan gelding in a nearby stall. He led the horse to the door and removed the board that kept it closed, then mounted up and ducked his head as he rode out of the barn.

Katie stood up and hurried over to the loft door, staying to the side and out of sight.

“Did Jason say how many there were?” Lloyd was asking.

“Quite a few, maybe six or eight,” Cole answered. “Jason has rode all over this country, and he knows what looks right and what doesn’t. He said this particular thing didn’t look right, because he knows this time of year we’d never be herding cattle to Denver yet. Lord knows Jake can handle six or eight men on his own, but when your ma is with him, that might put a kink in things.”

“Where did you say he spotted them?”

“He noticed them when he was up on Echo Ridge near the place you call Evie’s Garden. The rustlers were south of there, camped like they belonged there and weren’t afraid of bein’ caught.”

“Damn,” Lloyd swore. “That’s hours away. We’ll have to ride hard and fast.”

“Yes, sir,” Vance answered. “I’ll bet them men have no idea they might run into Jake Harkner. They’ll get one big surprise if they do.” He handed out an envelope. “And here’s the message the courier left with your sister. She said you should see it right away.”

Lloyd’s horse skittered sideways as he took the envelope. He quickly opened it. From the loft, Katie watched his whole demeanor change. She could feel it. He removed his hat and shook his long hair behind his back. He’d not retied it. “Did my sister seem okay? Was she real upset?” he asked.

Katie’s heart pounded with wonder at what was in the note.

“She seemed shook up,” Vance told him, “but her husband came home from helpin’ that neighbor kid who broke his arm. She seemed calmer once he got there. What’s in the note?”

Lloyd shoved the note into a pocket inside his denim jacket. “One of the bastards who was at Dune Hollow is out of prison, and he’ll be after my ass for sure.”

“Oh no!” Katie groaned.

“First things first,” Lloyd continued. “Let’s go catch us some rustlers.”

“Jason said it looked like they were headed south toward Denver,” Vance told him.

“And by now Pa is headed south, too. He’ll come around the south border and head on up to the house. Hard to say if he’s ahead of them or behind them.” He studied the very weatherworn and life-worn Vance Kelly, who was about Jake’s age and who Jake suspected had a very colored past but judged him to be a dependable man. “You stay here, Vance, and keep a watch on things. I’m not sure what this sonofabitch who just got released might do. I killed his brother, and he swore to get revenge, so you stay close to my wife and my sister.”