The Cattle Drive [The Armstrong Brothers of Cedar Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) (24 page)

“Damn!” Michael cursed loudly as a couple of ranch hands came toward him.

He just lost it.

“Get back to work!” he yelled and rode off in the opposite direction. His brothers heard him snap at the boys, and soon they all rode after him. Matthew caught up with him first. “Mikie, slow down!” he shouted. Michael turned to find his brothers riding up behind him. Trying to ignore them was like ignoring a freight train headed right for him. Michael prayed they would at least give him some time to calm himself, but that was like hoping for snow in the Bahamas…that was never going to happen.

“Well?” Mason asked. He slowed his horse.

“Well what?”

“Don’t play stupid, Mikie. What is wrong?” Mason asked.

“He wants Henry,” Michael shouted. “That bastard wants my son! What do you think is wrong? I have had it! I am tempted to pack Henry off to the farthest place on this planet I can find. He knows he is on this drive.”

“Well he can’t have him,” Mark quickly said, turning to find Henry. He saw him riding with Jimmie, laughing and enjoying himself.

“Michael, look, we are all here. None of us are going to let that man near Henry. Trust us. That boy is just important to us as he is to you. We all helped raise him,” Mason said, grabbing Michael by his arm. “Just relax. We have to get this cattle delivered and stop that bastard from taking Rachael’s ranch. Think of her. You protect her, and let us take care of Henry. Okay?”

Michael looked over and saw Henry. He smiled, watching him having the time of his life.

“Speaking of little miss delectable. What else is bugging you?” Mitchell questioned with a grin on his face. “I mean, this temper of yours was fuming before the old man called. What got you riled this morning?”

“You didn’t pick another fight with her this morning, did ya? Seriously, Mikie, if you’re gonna piss her off all the time, just let me have her! I know how to treat her right,” Mark said with a smile.

Michael looked at Mark with contempt in his eyes. Out of all of his brothers, Mark sure did know how to rub him the wrong way. “You stay away from her, you hear me?” Michael said, grabbing Mark by the cuff of his shirt.

“Hey, Michael, that’s enough!” Matthew said, hitting Michael in the arm. “The idiot was only joking with you. What is the matter with you?”

“Nothing,” he shouted as he let his brother go riding off.

* * * *

The five of them all just sat there staring at Michael as he rode away.

“What the hell is wrong with him?” Marcus asked.

“Don’t know,” Mitchell replied.

“You don’t think it was all the old man, do ya?” Mason asked.

“Doubt it,” Matthew replied.

“Oh shit!” Mark shouted. “He is in love with her!”

“What?” Mitchell said, confused.

“You’re crazy!” Mason replied, annoyed.

“Seriously, our big brother is in love. That has to be what had got his balls in a twist! That dumb moron has gone and fallen in love with her,” Mark said, laughing.

“Oh, this is gonna be fun!” Matthew laughed.

* * * *

“Which one is hers?” the man beside him asked.

“It’s the blue tent,” he replied as they both walked through the now almost-deserted camp. Trying not to be seen, they ran through the trees, finding the tent.

He knew this was a risk, but he had to stop her. All he wanted was for her to return home and forget about everything, especially Michael Armstrong. What was it that she saw in him anyway? He wasn’t but a good-for-nothing interloper. He just walked in and started taking over everything.

Everything that was rightfully his!

“She’s not in there,” the young man said, walking back toward him.

“What do you mean she isn’t in there? Her horse is still over at the corral. She has to be here somewhere.”

“Well she ain’t in the blue tent,” the young man complained. “You think she could be in his?”

“If she is, she deserves what she is about to get,” he vehemently said. Quietly making their way across the camp, they reached the red tent. As he looked through the flap, he saw her sleeping there in his bedroll.

The fury that ravaged his veins was astronomical. She slept with him. She bedded down next to him. She had allowed him to touch her. Why should he be so shocked? She was a tart. Always was, even from the very beginning. Throwing herself around every man that came near her. Flirting and playing coy, but hell, he still wanted her.

Taking the bag from the man next to him, he dumped the contents and fled.

“Serves her right, maybe next time she will stay where she belongs,” he said to the man next to him as they walked toward his vehicle and drove away.

* * * *

Michael was looking out over the herd, watching the cowhands maneuver the cattle through the open plain when it occurred to him that he hadn’t seen Rachael since he left the camp earlier this morning. Looking around, he tried to find her. “Where is Rachael?” he quietly asked himself. Michael turned his horse and rode back to the rear of the heard. She was still nowhere to be found.

“Damn it!” he shouted. Heading back to camp, he yelled for Matthew to ride along with him.

Jake was all packed up with one lone tent still up, sitting on the back of his wagon and waiting when the brothers rode into camp.

“What the hell are you still doing here? You should be two miles headed in that direction,” Michael said, pointing north.

“I know that, boss, but you told me let her sleep,” he said, trying to explain.

“Get your asses moving. I will take care of her. Go!” Michael yelled, dismounting his horse and watching him flip the reins on the oxen’s back, and finally the wagon started moving. Michael walked into his tent to find her still sleeping.

No matter how angry he was at that moment, Michael knew he could not take his frustrations out on her. She looked like an angel sleeping there in his bed. All the emotions that he felt this morning were coming back, flooding his soul with her. She had fought her way into his life, and now he was more than sure that he wanted her to stay in his life.

Sitting down next to her, he placed his hand on her shoulders and began to softly nudge her. “Rachael, honey. Wake up,” he said softly at her, removing the covers and finding her curled in a ball, shivering and sweating profusely. Michael quickly bent his head down, touching his lips to her forehead, and he noticed she was running a fever. He grabbed her shoulders and tried shaking her awake, but she never opened her eyes.

“Rachael! Wake up,” Michael said, shaking her. “Rachael!” It was then that he saw two small puncture marks on her shoulder. “Shit!” Michael said, laying her back down and quickly removing all the blankets in the tent and off her. In the corner he found what he was looking for. There, curled and ready to defend itself, was a rattlesnake. Michael drew the gun from his waist and fired the one shot. The echo of the gun vibrated through the range. Hearing the shot, the brothers started heading back toward camp.

Michael quickly picked up Rachael, and soon he had her mounted on his lap, riding fast to catch up with Jake.

“Matthew!” Michael yelled into his walkie-talkie as he rode fast toward the wagon. “Mattie, get the snakebite kit.” Reaching the wagon, Michael found Matthew and Jake ready and waiting for him. Jake grabbed Rachael and carried her over to the wagon, quickly assessing the situation. Matthew soon went to work. It didn’t take long for his brothers and most of the crew to descend upon the chuck wagon.

“Michael, leave now. I can’t do this with you hovering around me. Let me do my job. Mason, get him out of here!” Matthew said, looking at his younger brother. Knowing damn well Michael was not going to budge, Mason and Mark grabbed Michael. He fought them off as more ranch hands descended. Matthew yelled to all them, “Get him out of here!”

Michael soon had several hands around him trying to move him. Though he fought them off as best as he could, when a big bear of a man named Brutus rode up, he quickly stood in front of Michael. “Boss, don’t make me move you. I don’t want to hurt you. Let Jake and your brother do their job,” he said with a deep voice. But when Michael didn’t budge, Brutus and the others moved him.

Mason had Michael corralled about a hundred yards away, when they all heard Rachael scream. Michael flew into a rage. Trying to climb over the guys holding him back, he started hitting everything in his way until Brutus threw a punch, knocking him to the ground.

* * * *

The brothers watched Matthew walk over to them, wiping blood from his hands.

They walked away from Michael, letting Brutus watch him. Matthew stood with a grim look upon his face.

“Mattie?” Mitchell asked. “How bad is it?”

“Of all the places to get bit, she has to go and get bit on the shoulder.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Mark asked.

“That’s just it, I don’t know. I had to suck out the venom, but I don’t know how long ago she was bit. If venom had time to work its way into her system, she is going to get worse.”

“Just give her the damn antivenom,” Mark suggested.

“Now, why didn’t I think of that?” Matthew said sarcastically. “You know, Mark, I did go to medical school.”

“Enough,” Mason firmly said. “What has you worried, Mattie?”

“The bite was close enough to her main artery. I can’t tell if it punctured it or not. I gave her the antivenom, but if the bite nicked her artery, she is going to get a hell of a lot worse. It’s just too soon to tell,” he said, running his hand through his hair. The look upon his face said it all, and the brothers knew he was worried. “How’s Mikie holding up?” Matthew asked.

Marcus smiled, and Mitchell started whistling, looking at the sky. “What?” Matthew asked again.

“Oh, our big brother went a little psycho when he heard Rachael scream, but good ole Brutus over there took care of him,” Marcus said, moving out of the way so Matthew could see.

“How long has he been out?” Matthew said, walking over to him.

“About fifteen minutes. Brutus knocked him a good one.” Mark laughed.

“Mase, grab me a pail of water,” he asked. Matthew leaned down and started feeling his face for any broken bones. When he figured Michael was fine, he stood up and moved out of the way as Mason threw the water.

* * * *

Michael woke with water being thrown in his face, sitting straight up and swinging.

“Now, Mikie, you behave. Don’t make me get Brutus,” Mark said, standing ten feet away from him. Michael just sat there, and when he looked up at all of his brothers, he quickly got to his feet and grabbed Matthew by his shirt.

“Is she alive?” Michael asked.

“Yes, Mike. I think I got most of the venom out. I had to cut her. That’s why she screamed. I have stitched her up and given her an injection of antivenom. She is sleeping now. She still has a small fever, but I will watch her over the next few days to monitor her.”

Michael quickly left his brother and ran over to the wagon. He found her sleeping beneath several blankets. Michael climbed into the wagon and picked her up, putting her in his lap. He held her tightly, close to his chest, as she slept.

“Michael, you can’t stay in there. We have a job to do. I will take care of her. I give you my word, she will be right in a couple of days,” Matthew said softly, standing outside the wagon.

“I can’t leave her.”

“I know, Mikie. But you have to. The boys need you.”

Michael just sat there with her in his arms. Her frail, limp body pressed against his felt more real than anything in his life. He sighed a breath of relief when he felt her heart beating, and as she took a breath he thought he would cry. His whole world was now hers. He wanted her. He wanted to protect her, to love her, and to be with her always. Leaning his head next to hers, he whispered into her ear, “I love you, you crazy girl. Don’t you dare leave me yet, you hear me, Rachael. I love you.”

She shifted in his arms, mumbling something he couldn’t understand, and he smiled.

“Michael?” Matthew questioned.

“Mattie, I don’t think I can leave her.”

“Michael, we all know how you feel about her,” Matthew said, smiling and looking at the ground. Michael just snickered a little. “Am I that obvious?”

“After today, we have no more doubts. So give the lady a kiss and get your butt back to work. Jake and I will tend to her. You just get this herd moving and see to it that she doesn’t lose that ranch of hers.”

Knowing his brother was right, Michael gently laid her back down and kissed her softly on the forehead. He left the back of the wagon, and the look upon his face said it all. Matthew just nodded in compliance and went to tend to Rachael.

Reaching for his cell phone, Michael remembered that he threw it away. “Mattie, where’s your cell. I need to make a call,” Michael asked, walking back to the wagon where Jake handed him the phone.

Michael walked back to his horse and took a deep breath before he dialed the number.

“Judge Clark’s office, how may I help you?” the soft voice answered.