Salvation in the Sheriff's Kiss(46)

“Bill stopped by the ranch on his way out of town. I fixed him up with some supplies.” Foster’s eyes widened and he sat up as straight as his hunched back would allow. “That make me an outlaw, too?”

Hunter waved him off. “You’re not an outlaw. Did Bill say anything to you about this Syndicate?”

“Jus’ that the cattle rustlin’ wasn’t a random thing. Said there was a group of men runnin’ some kind of ring here that stretched as far as Boulder. Bill said the Syndicate would steal ’em, transport the cattle to another ranch, rebrand them and sell them at auction. Guess it was a profitable kinda business.”

“And Abbott wasn’t a part of it?”

Foster shook his head. “Might have been once upon a time when he and Bill were younger, but he changed his ways after marryin’ Vivienne. Can’t figure out how he got himself caught up in the whole matter. Maybe one of the cattle wandered onto his property and your pa hatin’ him like he did, decided to point the finger in that direction. Guess he had a change of heart, though, at least about seeing him hang for it.”

Hunter absorbed the information, filling in the pieces of the puzzle. It helped, but the picture was far from complete.

“Did Abbot think this Syndicate would come after Meredith?”

“Can’t say. Bill never said so exactly, but I always had the sense Abbott knew something he shouldn’t have. Maybe ’cause of that he worried they might use Meredith as a means to keep him quiet.”

“Why didn’t they just let him hang?” No one was quieter than a dead man.

“Dunno. After Bill lit on outta here that was the last I heard on the matter. Guess I shoulda come forward, but Bill told me it was best for my own safety to keep my mouth shut and mind my own business. Figured he would know, so I did what he said. I didn’t have much interest in winding up dead ’cause I shot my mouth off. Maybe I should ’ave.”

Hunter shook his head. “No, you likely did the right thing.” By then the die was cast. Abbott was going to prison, Meredith to Boston. Sheriff McLaren was dead and Bill Yucton had disappeared into the night.

The barn door opened a crack and a slim body slipped through the narrow opening. “Rachel sent me,” Meredith said, pulling her wool shawl tightly around her shoulders. From the sound of the howling, the wind had picked up outside. “Lunch is ready.” She glanced over at Foster. “Hello, Foster. How have you been?”

Foster smiled and ran a hand through the messy mass of white hair on his head. “Right as a man can be, Miss Merry. Mighty nice to see you back in town again.”

“It feels good to be back.”

“Well...” Caleb slapped his hands against his knees and stood. “Guess we best not keep the ladies waiting. Let’s go, old man.” He helped Foster to his feet and tipped his hat politely to Meredith as he walked past, glancing over his shoulder long enough to give Hunter a wink.

It appeared Rachel wasn’t the only matchmaker in the Beckett family.



“The three of you looked quite intent on your conversation when I came in,” Meredith said, leaning slightly against Hunter’s weight where her arm looped through his. He had offered it as they set on their way up the well-worn pathway from the barn to the house and she took it without hesitation. She told herself the temperature had dropped since their arrival and the extra warmth of another body felt too good to pass up, but in truth, she wanted to prolong the tentative friendship they had embarked on during their trip here.

“Did we?”

She glanced up. “You did. What were you talking about?”

The afternoon sun caught the planes of his face. The sharp edges of his jaw and cheekbones were balanced by the sensual curve of his lips and dark intensity of his eyes. She decided she preferred the lines the years had traced into his face. The difference made it difficult sometimes to remember the pain he had caused her, breaking her heart as he’d done. And in quiet moments like this, it was easy to put it out of her mind completely, as if it had never happened at all.

It wasn’t that she had forgiven him what he’d done, nor fully trusted him, but she couldn’t deny how good it felt, even if just for today, to have his strength to lean on, to feel a little less alone in the world, to recapture a sense of belonging to someone. She was thankful he had offered to help her prove Pa’s innocence. She was well out of her depth and had no idea where to start.

Hunter kept his gaze fixed on the path, his shadow casting a dark stain on the ground in front of him. For a moment, she thought he might not answer, but he surprised her.