CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Alex charged along the edge of the stampeding herd, trying to get past the bulk of the animals to the leaders. Red galloped past the terrified longhorns, eager to do the job he’d trained for.

Up ahead, a couple of riders moved along with the cattle, silhouetted in the moonlight, but Alex couldn’t tell if they were trying to turn the herd or to make matters worse. Another gunshot split the air, and he knew the marauders weren’t finished yet. He gritted his teeth and put his spurs to Red’s ribs. If not for his anxiety, Nevada and Early would have been asleep and not available to charge down the hill to help when the Rocking P herd erupted in panic. They’d ribbed him about mother-henning Maggie, but they’d followed his lead of sleeping away the afternoon and then sitting up there with him after dark, watching the peaceful cattle below and listening to the ladies’ sweet singing as they tended the herd.

As near as he could tell, three or four riders had galloped out from a stand of cottonwoods farther along the valley and wreaked this havoc. He and his friends had jumped into the saddle without a thought and zipped down the hill to aid the women. Alex had two missions clear in his mind: stop the herd from running to destruction, and then hunt down those riders.

Red poured on the speed, and they surged past the cattle. The steers only wanted to get out of there, away from the noise. In their panic, they knocked each other down, trampling those that moved too slowly.

So long as Alex stayed out of their way, he could move up on the outside of the writhing mass, but small bunches of cattle broke from the main herd and veered off to run their own course.

Red dodged among them, making progress. Alex passed one rider. He was pretty sure it was a girl, but he had no time to speak to her, or even to be sure she was safe. He squeezed Red’s sides and kept moving forward.

Finally he neared the front of the herd. A few rogue animals charged ahead, and the rest strung out behind them. Alex pushed Red, asking for more effort than he’d demanded for weeks. The roan bounded forward, sensing the urgency of the task. As he did so, Alex eased off his jacket.

He thundered alongside the lead steers and flapped his jacket at them. The frightened cattle snorted and veered away from him. Alex kept at it, letting the first few run past him in a crooked path and rode in toward the next few.

“Get, you! Haw!” He waved the jacket practically under the nose of a wild-eyed longhorn. Red pivoted just in time to avoid being gored by a horn.

They weren’t turning fast enough. Up ahead was a small town—less than half a mile away now, unless Alex was mistaken. If they couldn’t turn the herd, it would plow through the town leaving chaos behind. Martin Porter could ill afford to pay for the damages.

Alex pushed Red up with the front-runners again and pulled his pistol. Yelling and flapping the jacket wasn’t enough. He fired a shot and ran his horse toward the leaders. They turned ninety degrees. Alex looked back. Two more riders were barely visible in the darkness, on his side of the herd. If they worked with him, they might be able to push the cattle aside and turn them back toward the camp.

Lord, let those riders be on our side!

He didn’t spare another thought to the identity of the other riders. Whether they were his friends, Maggie’s cowgirls, or the outlaws who had started this mayhem, he had no idea. Alex held his ground, pushing the oncoming cattle around to follow the few that led them on their raucous run.

Within minutes he knew his hopes had been realized. A couple of other riders supported his efforts, turning the cattle as they came on. The stock lumbered off in a right turn toward a steep hillside. When they neared that natural barrier, they swung around more, so that the entire herd was now moving in the shape of a giant U, with the leaders pointing back toward their night camp, nearly two miles behind them.

In the distance he heard a few more gunshots. Alex hoped those were fired by cowpokes turning cattle, not by the marauders, but he couldn’t leave his post to investigate.

He stayed near the farthest point they’d come, trotting Red back and forth and waving his jacket, giving any doubtful critters an incentive to turn and run the other way. By the time half the cattle had reached that point, they were trotting and lowing, instead of tearing at a flat-out run. Other riders must be guiding them farther down the valley, making them mill around, slower and slower.

The whole herd might be manageable now, though they’d probably be jumpy for the rest of the night. Alex rode in closer to start actively driving them back toward the camp.

A horse trotted up to him. “Alex!”

He turned to greet Nevada. “You all right?”

“Yup. Good job.”

“Thanks. Where’s Early?” Alex asked.

“He’s hit.”

“What do you mean?”

Nevada took his hat off and wiped his brow. “We saw those riders lightin’ out for the trees, and we took after ’em.”

“The ones who started the stampede?”

“The same. We think it was Tommy and his bunch.”

Alex let out a deep breath and shook his head. “What happened?”

“They turned around and shot at us. As soon’s I saw they’d hit Early, I left off. But I shot one of ’em out of the saddle.”

Bile rose in Alex’s throat. “Is Early dead?”

“Nope. Winged him. He told me to go on and help you. I left him lying by a big rock, with his six-shooter and my rifle, just in case they came around him again.”

“Let’s get these cattle settled and go get him.”

It took them nearly an hour to help guide the herd back to the starting point. Alex saw a couple of the cowgirls and waved to them. Mariah Key, rancher John Key’s sister, rode up to him and squinted at him in the moonlight.

“That you, Alex Bright?”

“Yup. We saw that you ladies were in trouble and thought we’d help.”

“You didn’t ‘help’ start this thing, did you?”

“No, but we saw it happen. Do you know where Miss Maggie is? I’d like to talk to her about it once we get the herd bedded down.”

“She’ll be in the thick of it,” Mariah said. “If I see her, I’ll tell her to speak first and shoot later, at least as far as you’re concerned.” She wheeled her pony and loped away.

Maggie wove her horse among the cattle, keeping her neckerchief over her face to filter out some of the dust the herd churned up. She wasn’t sure how to get the animals to bed down—she didn’t think she could sing right now if her life depended on it. Several bunches of cattle had charged off away from the main herd in the confusion. When daylight came, they’d have to look for them.

Carlotta trotted her horse over.

“Hey, you all right?”

“Yes.” Maggie’s voice croaked, and her throat felt raw. “We need to get a head count. I saw Bitty a while ago, and I think Rhonda.”

“Mariah and Poppy are fine.”

“Well, see who else is out here.”

“We all ran for horses when we heard the gunshots,” Carlotta said.

Maggie nodded grimly. “We need to make sure nobody got caught in the stampede.”

“Right.” Carlotta wheeled her horse away.

Most of the cattle were grazing now, but the least noise or sudden movement could send them off in a panic again. Maggie rode out to where a few had separated from the rest and gently nudged them back toward the herd.

Mariah found her a half hour later.

“Maggie, have you seen Alex?”

Maggie jerked her chin up. “He’s in this?”

“Well, he’s out here somewhere. I saw him an hour ago at the head of the herd, when they were still stampeding. I don’t know if we could have turned them without him.”

Maggie’s chest tightened. Had Alex started the maelstrom so he could ride in and be the hero?

“Who else have you seen?” she asked.

“Helen, Poppy, Celine, Rhonda … oh, and Carlotta.”

Maggie nodded, cataloguing in her head all the women. “Have you seen Sarah?”

“Not for quite a while.” Mariah rode in closer. “Are you sure you’re all right? You sound awful.”

Maggie coughed. “It’s the dust.”

“Well, Alex said he wanted to talk to you after the herd calmed down.”

“Oh, I’ll just bet he did.”

Alex rode slowly behind Nevada. They didn’t dare go faster than a jog, for fear of agitating the cattle again. They came to a large boulder near the tree line, and Nevada dismounted. Alex grabbed his canteen, jumped down, and followed him to the base of the rock, where Early lay sprawled on the ground.

“How are you doing?” Alex crouched on one side of the old cowboy and Nevada knelt on the other.

“Thought you boys fergot about me.”

“We’d never do that.” Alex pulled the stopper from his canteen. “Here—drink some of this.”

“What’s in it? Warm water?”

“Well, yeah. It’s all we’ve got.”

Early took it, but he fumbled using only one hand. Alex reached to steady the canteen, and Nevada slipped an arm behind Early’s neck and held him up while he drank.

“Thanks.” Early pushed the canteen away and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “I tried to get up a while ago, but everything spun around, so I stayed put.”

Alex peered at his left arm. A bandanna was tied around it just below the shoulder. He couldn’t tell in the darkness how much it was bleeding. “Maybe the gals have something medicinal at the chuck wagon.”

Nevada leaned over Early. “Can you ride to their camp if we hoist you onto your horse?”

“Maybe.”

Two horses trotted up, and Maggie and Carlotta hit the ground within yards of them.

“Who’s hurt?” Maggie asked, striding closer.

Alex stood and pulled his hat off. “It’s Early Shaw. One of the outlaws shot him.”

“Outlaws?”

“Yes’m.”

Maggie glared at him. “You expect me to believe you didn’t have a hand in this?”

Alex’s heart raced like a freight train. “I do.”

“I told you weeks ago to leave us alone, but you followed us all this way.”

Alex swallowed hard. As he’d thought, she’d set her mind and her heart against him. “It was only to make sure you’d get to the stockyards all right.”

“Oh, because I’m an incompetent female?”

“No. Because we heard there were rustlers working this area earlier, and because we knew Tommy Drescher was having thoughts of harming you and your enterprise.”

Maggie stood scowling at him for several seconds. “I’m not sure you’re telling the truth.”

“Why would he lie to you?” Nevada Hatch towered over Maggie. “You’re acting like a spoiled brat. We caught Tommy and his bunch once near Brownwood, about to stampede your cattle, and we ran them off. Tonight we risked our lives to try and help you. Early got hurt defending your property. Now, if you want to treat him the way your pa treated Leo, just get on your horse and ride away. We’ll take care of our own.”

Alex pulled on Nevada’s arm. “Take it easy.”

“What, and let her wipe her feet on you?”

Alex kept one hand firmly on Nevada’s arm and raised the other as a signal for him to pull back. He turned to face Maggie and squared his shoulders.

“First things first, and then we’ll leave if you want us to. Did all your drovers make it?”

Carlotta stepped up beside Maggie. Silver conchos on her hatband glinted in the moonlight. “I just took a head count. We’ve got a few bruises, but all of our women are accounted for.”

“Good. Glad to hear it. The women I saw working the herd did a good job.” Alex focused his attention on Maggie again. “Now, second: We think Nevada hit one of the outlaws. We’d like to go to the next town and see if they’ve got a lawman. If you’d be kind enough to lend your wagon, we’d take Early and see if he can get some medical help.”

Maggie cleared her throat. “I … Yes, of course. But Rhonda could look at him right away if you want. She’s very good with nursing.”

“That’d be fine. If he needs a doctor, we’ll take him afterward.” Alex held her gaze. “Third thing.”

“Yes?”

“When it’s daylight, we’ll look for the man Nevada shot, and we’d be pleased to help you round up any cattle that strayed off during the stampede.”

Maggie looked down. “We haven’t got a count of the herd yet, but I think we’re missing a couple of hundred head.”

Alex nodded. “It’ll take a while to find them. If you can use Nevada and me, we’re at your disposal for the day.” He flicked a glance at Nevada.

“That’s right,” his friend said. “But if you still want us out of here, we’ll be gone as soon as we get Early tended to.”

Alex nodded and waited for Maggie to speak. Carlotta leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

Maggie hauled in a deep breath. “Do you swear you weren’t involved in causing this trouble?”

Alex’s throat tightened, and his eyes burned. He wasn’t sure he could speak. “Maggie, I would never do something like that. Never.”

Nevada shifted, but Alex shot him a warning glance, and he remained still.

“Hey, boys,” Early said plaintively, “if you all are done yammerin’, how about askin’ Bronc’s wife if she’s got any whiskey in camp? I’m feeling kinda peaked.”

“I’ll get her,” Carlotta said and hurried to her horse.

Maggie went to Early’s side and crouched down. “Early, I want to thank you, and to say I’m truly sorry this happened to you. When you get better, if you need a job, you come and find me, all right?”

“Yes, ma’am. Much obliged.”

She stood and looked toward Alex and Nevada, her face white as milk and her eyes heavy. “I owe you an apology as well. Thank you very much. And we’ll accept your offer to help round up the strays in the morning. Now I’ll go check in with Shep and see if he can bring the buckboard up here and help you with Early.”

Alex watched her mount and ride off, her head high.

“Well, now,” Nevada said. “She’s still got a ways to go, but that’s an improvement.”

“I don’t blame her for thinking ill of us,” Alex said. “We did plague her back at the sheep ranch, and we followed her after she said to stop.”

“You would think that way.” Nevada shook his head. “Well, you can have her, so far as I’m concerned—she’s not to my taste. But that Herrera girl, now she might interest me. She’s spunky. I can see myself ridin’ the range with her.”

By sunup, Maggie’s fatigue had her slumping in the saddle. Carlotta tried to persuade her to sleep, but she couldn’t do that yet. The cattle had begun to graze and seemed fairly well settled, but she wanted to keep them where they were for the day, while she and her outfit rounded up strays.

“Let’s eat breakfast, and then we’ll count the herd,” she said.

Alex and Nevada returned an hour after dawn with a third man. Maggie and eight other women met them on horseback near the herd, where they’d just finished their tally. The others had gone to their bedrolls so they could relieve Maggie’s team after noon.

Maggie rode toward Alex with her stomach fluttering. She still wasn’t sure where she stood with him, or if she ought to love him as fiercely as she did. She’d acted with inexcusable rudeness last night.

“How’s Early?” she asked.

“Not too bad.” Alex looked tired. His new beard was coated with dust, and his eyes creased at the corners. “It’s a flesh wound, like Rhonda thought. The doctor’s keeping him today. We’ll pick him up tomorrow, if he’s able to ride.”

“I’m glad.”

“Oh, and Shep’s bringing your wagon in. We rode on ahead.” Alex looked to his left, past Nevada, to the other man. “We brought along a Ranger. He’s going to look at where Nevada and Early had the dust-up with that bunch last night.”

The Texas Ranger touched his hat brim. “Ma’am.”

“Thanks for coming out here,” Maggie said. “I asked my drovers not to go near that area.”

“Did you get a count on your cattle?” Nevada asked.

“Yes. As near as I can tell, we’re out about two hundred and fifty. We’re heading out now to look for them.” Maggie pressed her lips together. She hoped the cattle hadn’t caused any damage in their rampage. All she needed was some irate landowner demanding money.

“We’ll help you, as soon as we show the Ranger where it happened,” Alex said. His brown eyes held her gaze for a moment, steady and true.

Maggie’s tiny flame of hope flared. Maybe when she was rested she could think about Alex and what he meant to her. Right now she had to keep moving, or she’d collapse from fatigue.

He gave her a quick smile and touched his hat brim, then loped with the other men toward the rock where Early had been shot.

“All right, ladies, let’s split into two groups,” Maggie said. The other women clustered their horses around hers for directions.

Maggie took Sarah, Bitty, and Helen with her and put Carlotta in charge of the second group. They rode northwest, where they’d earlier found tracks leading away from the herd. They trotted along, checking in copses, behind scattered buildings, and over knolls. They’d just spotted a bunch of about forty cattle bearing the Rocking P brand when Alex loped up behind them on his red roan.

The women stopped and waited for him. “Did you find anything?” Maggie asked as he brought Red closer.

“Yeah, we did.” Alex glanced at Sarah and then back at Maggie. “Tommy Drescher was lying just a few yards inside the woods. He’s dead.”

Sarah gasped and covered her mouth with one hand.

Maggie nudged her horse over next to Sarah’s and touched her shoulder. “Why don’t you go back to camp and lie down? We can get these cattle.”

Sarah shook her head. “No … I’m … I’m all right.”

“Sweetheart, you’ve been up all night, and this is a shock,” Maggie said softly.

Tears streaked Sarah’s dirty face. “Oh, Maggie, this is all my fault.”

“Don’t be silly. How could it be?”

“Tommy was furious with me. You heard him.”

Maggie shook her head. “Tommy was angry with my father. It’s Papa he wanted revenge on, not you.”

“But he was so upset when he saw me riding with you!”

Maggie patted her shoulder. “Sarah, whatever sorrows you’re having may be your fault, but my troubles are not. God put us in this situation. And do you know what He says?”

Sarah blinked through her tears and shook her head.

“He says to do our best for Him. You’ve been doing that. But you won’t answer for Tommy’s actions. He will.”

Sarah drew in a shaky breath. “I know you’re right, but it hurts.” Her voice broke.

“Of course it does.” Maggie leaned over and managed to give her a hug before their horses shifted apart. “Look, Sarah, I want you to go back to camp. Helen, will you go with her?”

Helen nodded. “Sure. Come on, Sarah. They’ve got a big, strong cowpuncher to help them now. Let’s you and me go back.”

Alex smiled without humor. “I’d be happy to assist with the cattle.”

Sarah allowed Helen to guide her back toward camp. Maggie looked at Alex from beneath the brim of her Stetson. Her heart ached for Sarah, but her love for Alex was building, even when she’d neglected it. She couldn’t turn him away again to prove she didn’t need him. She didn’t want to.

“Thank you.”

Alex’s eyes brightened. “No problem. Let’s get these critters moving.”