Lady Outlaw (12 page)

The possibility of the other two rustlers, who were armed again, reaching her first fueled Caleb’s numb body with new energy. Pretending to be hurt, he waited for Smith to come at him again. When the cowhand approached, Caleb kicked out with his boot, connecting with the man’s leg.

Smith cursed and stumbled backward, giving Caleb time to come to his feet. He lunged at Smith and planted a hard fist into the cowboy’s belly. Groaning, Smith twisted away, but not before throwing a wild punch that connected with Caleb’s right cheek.

Ignoring the taste of blood and the momentary ringing in his head, Caleb pounded a blow at the man’s jaw. Smith fell back into the dirt, moaning loudly.

Caleb grabbed Smith’s gun from where he’d dropped it and ran to Saul. He threw off the horse’s hobble and mounted.

“Yaw,” he hollered, driving his heels into Saul’s flanks.

When he rounded the hill, he saw the cattle running hard a quarter of a mile away. He couldn’t spot Jennie, but the other two cowboys were racing to head off the herd.

Urging Saul faster, Caleb headed for Haws. The sound of pounding hooves matched his heartbeat as he drew closer.

Where’s Jennie?
Concern pulsed through him. Then he spied her to the left of the cattle, doing her best to turn the stampeding group in the direction of the ranch.

Caleb drew alongside Haws. The gap between them was less than thirty feet when the cowboy suddenly turned and fired his gun. Caleb bent in the saddle to avoid a direct hit from the shot, but a wave of pain and fire still pierced his right ear. He reached up and found to his relief that the bullet had only grazed the skin, tearing off a small piece of flesh.

He pushed his horse back toward the herd, leaning low in the saddle. It was time to put his gun skills to work. He aimed Smith’s gun at Haws’s hand and pulled the trigger. A second later, the cowboy screamed and dropped his own gun to the ground.

With two of the three thieves down, Caleb yanked his horse in the direction he’d last seen Gunner. The cows along the left side of the herd charged in closer to the others at his approach.

A quick glance at the front of the herd told him Jennie was still there, riding unharmed. Over his shoulder, he saw Gunner had given up the fight and was racing back toward the cowhands’ camp. Haws, his injured arm cradled to his chest, rode hard behind him.

A surge of victory pushed Caleb up in the stirrups with a whoop. “We did it!” he yelled, with all the voice he could muster over the racket of pounding cattle hooves. He removed his hat and waved it in the air, hoping Jennie understood the signal.

He kept waving until Jennie saw him. Even from far away, he thought he saw a smile on her face as she lifted off her own hat and swung it in the air in answer.

Sitting once more, Caleb replaced his hat and stuck his newly acquired gun in the slot on his saddle.
Now to get these cows off the range.

He and Jennie drove the cattle through the dimming light. When they reached the other half of the herd, they joined the two groups together and guided them toward the ranch.

Caleb’s face and ear throbbed and his legs and back felt stiff from being in the saddle so long. He didn’t let the complaints linger, though. He felt too exhilarated at their success. Perhaps cattle ranching wasn’t so boring after all.

At last he spied the dark outline of the fence in the distance. As they drew closer, Jennie charged ahead and opened the corral. She helped him steer the cows inside, then she secured the gate.

“We’ll give them something to eat in the morning,” Jennie said in a weary voice as they dismounted and led their horses to the barn. “They should be fine for one night.”

He followed her into the barn and put Saul away. The light of the moon coming through the open doors allowed enough light to see by. Caleb pulled off the saddle and gave Saul a quick brush over.

“Do you need a hand?” he asked when he finished.

Jennie shook her head, running a currycomb once more over Dandy’s flanks. “I’m done for tonight.”

Tossing the brush onto the table with the others, she joined him near the doors. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she took in the sight of his face. “What happened? You’re covered in blood.” She lifted her hand as if to touch him, but she clearly thought better of it.

A strange twinge of disappointment flared inside him and then disappeared. “One of the cowboys grazed my ear with his shot,” Caleb answered. “I’m just glad he didn’t take the whole thing off.”

“I heard the gunfire, but I couldn’t tell who was firing at whom. When I saw you waving your silly hat, I knew you were all right.” A faint smile lifted her mouth. “Let’s get you patched up inside.”

She closed the barn doors and fell into step beside him as he started for the house. He shot a glance at her and saw her quickly look away. Now that the excitement of rustling back her cattle had faded, Caleb felt awkwardness between them.

“About that...um...” He coughed, suddenly unsure how to proceed.

“You mean the kiss?” Jennie stopped walking and turned to face him, her arms folded.

Caleb ran a hand over his stubbled chin. “Yes, that. If I’ve been too casual in my teasing...”

“If you’re worried about your job, you shouldn’t. I won’t...do that again.” She stared down at her boots and shrugged. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I suppose I was just caught up in the moment and the possibility of something happening to either of us.”

“Jennie.”

He touched her sleeve, but he wished he hadn’t done it when the gesture made her peer up at him. Even the dim light couldn’t erase the hurt he saw reflected in those dark eyes. He wanted to say something to take the pain away...but then the front door flew open and the moment was lost.

* * *

Jennie looked up as Will came out onto the porch. “We thought we heard you,” he said. “What happened?”

Jennie seized the opportunity to distance herself from Caleb and hurried toward her brother. “We’re fine, Will. The cattle are fine, too.”

Grandma Jones appeared in the doorway. “We’ve been sick with worry.”

Caleb trailed the family into the kitchen, and Jennie heard Grandma Jones and Will gasp at the sight of the blood trickling down his neck and into the collar of his shirt.

“Oh, my! You’re bleeding. What happened?” Grandma Jones asked Caleb, fussing around the kitchen for medical supplies.

“We went after the cattle, Grandma.” Jennie sank into a chair. “Someone stole them.”

“What?” Will exclaimed.

“For goodness’ sake. And you went after them yourselves?” Grandma Jones stopped midway through cleaning Caleb’s injury with a damp cloth. “Good thing I didn’t know. Why didn’t you go for the sheriff?”

Jennie placed her elbows on the table and massaged at her forehead. Her head ached and she felt weighed down with weariness. “There wasn’t time. I tracked their trail before I came to the church. I figured if Caleb and I hurried, we could find the cattle.”

Will flipped around a chair and sat down, his arms resting against the back. “How’d you get ’em?”

“Caleb pretended to be traveling in the area.” She looked over at Caleb, careful to guard her expression. “While he distracted the three cowhands, I drove off the cattle.”

Grandma Jones shook her gray head in disbelief. “No one was hurt?”

“Just Caleb’s ear,” Jennie said. Perhaps God had heard her awkward prayer for his safety, after all. “He didn’t duck quite fast enough to dodge a bullet.”

All three turned toward him.

“I’ll be all right.” Their attention brought a flush to his neck. “I just need some sleep.”

Grandma Jones clucked her tongue. “You need a good deal more than that. The alcohol may sting some, but it’ll help.” Jennie’s grandmother dabbed the liquid onto her rag and pressed it to his ear. Once she seemed certain the wound wouldn’t get infected, Grandma Jones bandaged his ear with quick fingers and stood back.

“You’re all done.” She smiled.

Caleb gingerly touched the bandage. “Thank you.” He climbed to his feet, then paused, seeming to remember something. “By the way, I found out who those cowhands were working for.”

“Who?” Jennie questioned.

“A Mr. King.”

Anger was Jennie’s first reaction—one that was shared by Will, if the way he slapped his fist against his chair was any indication. Grandma Jones just looked shocked.

“You know him?” Caleb asked.

Grandma Jones nodded. “He’s practically our neighbor.”

“I should have known it was him,” Jennie said, her voice strained from trying to hold in the fury she felt. “Whenever we see him in town, he’s always asking how things are now that Pa’s gone. He might even be the one who stole our calves last spring.” At the time, she’d thought he was just another rancher who thought she couldn’t handle it—couldn’t run things now that her father was gone. Now she wondered if he was the one arranging things so that she
couldn’t
hold them together, sabotaging her deliberately to make her fail, no matter how hard she tried.

“Now, Jennie.” Her grandmother shook her head. “We don’t know that for certain. Besides, Mr. King was here just the other day asking to talk to you about sharing water. Why would he come over if he planned to steal our cattle?”

“I don’t know, but I still don’t trust him.”

“We ought to go to the sheriff,” Caleb suggested. “Have the man arrested, or at least questioned, for cattle rustling.”

“No,” she said, more adamantly than she intended. All three of them stared in surprise at her. Involving the law would only make things worse, Jennie was sure of that. “I don’t think that’s wise.” She made her voice more even. “We only have the word of his cowhands, since King wasn’t actually a part of the theft. It would be our story against theirs.” She scraped back her chair and stood. “And for that matter, they could have been lying. They said they worked for Mr. King, but they didn’t have any proof, did they?”

“We shouldn’t let him off.” Will scowled.

Caleb nodded. “I agree with Will.”

“Either course has its repercussions,” Grandma Jones interjected. “By not going to the law, we’re running the risk that it could happen again, which means we’ll have to keep a better watch on the cattle. But accusing the man of something as serious as cattle rustling would definitely stir up trouble.”

“Mr. King’s a powerful man. If we accuse him without any proof, he could make this difficult for us. And we’ve got difficulties enough already. No real harm was done,” Jennie added. “Well, except to Caleb.”

“Thanks,” Caleb muttered. He didn’t seem pleased, but at least he didn’t try to change her mind.

“I think we should be grateful we found the cattle,” Jennie said, “and leave it at that.”

“I agree with Jennie. The cows are back and we don’t want to go ruffling feathers.” Grandma Jones moved about the kitchen, putting away the supplies she’d used to mend Caleb’s ear. “Now it’s time for this old woman to turn in.”

She ushered Caleb and the others from the kitchen and up the stairs. Jennie let out a sigh of relief that the day was nearly over. It was one of the most frightening, exhilarating and, ultimately, disheartening days she’d ever known. She would be very glad to put it behind her. But she tensed when she saw that Caleb had paused outside his room.

Was he going to make her talk about what had happened between them after all?

* * *

Caleb knew he couldn’t go to sleep until he’d at least tried to make things right with Jennie. He hated the idea that he’d hurt her, however unintentionally. He hadn’t been the one to instigate their kiss, but he hadn’t refused her at first, either. Little wonder she felt hurt and confused by his behavior after their return. How could he make this right?

“Jennie?” he said as she passed by him.

She stopped, her attention on the floorboards. Grandma Jones threw them a questioning look and then disappeared into her room. Will continued on up the stairs to his room in the attic.

“Jennie, I didn’t mean to—”

“Please, Caleb.” Her voice wavered until she lifted her chin. The steeliness had returned to her eyes. “It was my mistake. I appreciate all your help, I really do. I’ll be fine. Good night.”

She crossed the landing and went into her room. Caleb stared at the shut door. He thought less of Liza the more time he spent with Jennie and he’d come to prize her friendship. It was nice talking to a woman again, making her smile. But that didn’t mean he was ready for a more serious relationship. He couldn’t risk caring that much for someone else. Not yet. Jennie would be fine, just like she’d told him. But somehow he still felt like he’d made the wrong move.

Chapter Ten

J
ennie tucked bean seeds into the small holes in the dirt Caleb had made with his stick. Pushing up her hat, she watched him working farther down the garden row. They’d both been quieter since rustling back her cattle, twelve days ago, less teasing, fewer smiles.

If only I hadn’t kissed him out on the range,
she told herself yet again. She had talked herself through the different reasons he’d spurned her. She was after all his employer, and he was still grieving the loss of his fiancée. Yet his rejection stung just the same.