part0006

Mark saw the faint glint of sun on metal up in the hills. He couldn’t make the rider out, but they were soon hidden behind another hill. That he was riding into wild country with easy access for an ambush made him hesitate.

Then he saw the peanut shells. She was up ahead and riding into the hills. By the tracks, there were two of them. She’d taken Sam Russell, but why?

They certainly weren’t riding toward any town. What he knew of Sam was that he was a cold-blooded killer. What would Evangeline want with him? It didn’t matter. Mark was responsible for her. She was his partner, his wife.

So far, Timber was behaving himself. They stopped at a creek, and he let the horse rest. One look in the horse’s eyes still showed the animal to be trouble and a less than predictable steed. He patted the animal’s neck.

“So far, so good, Timber. Let’s keep it that way.” Mark wished he’d brought the bags with him. But they were too heavy, and he’d wanted to travel light while tracking his wife. He’d left the bags at the hotel.

He had his bedroll. That was more than she had. He wondered how she’d do as they climbed higher, and the air got colder. She didn’t have a jacket. Just a shawl. The sun was in the three o’clock position. Still warm, but he knew once it dipped behind the Rockies, it would get colder.

He’d brought a few provisions. Some jerky. Coat. And blanket. He was sure it was more than Evangeline had, except for that bag of peanuts. He looked around and saw more shells. She must be hungry. Every time she stopped, she ate some.

Mark glanced up to the hills they were riding in and took out his binoculars. He saw a man riding and a woman maybe twenty yards behind him. Had to be her.

He needed to be careful now. Evangeline had never shown that she had any care about him. For all he knew, she was part of the Russell gang.

He mounted Timber and rode him across the stream. Apparently, the horse decided this was the time to come unglued. He jumped straight up, twisted, bucked his way up the hill and then back down to the middle of the creek.

Mark held on and jerked on the reins to pull the stubborn animal’s head up. Finally, he had him under control and turned back toward the hills. Mark ran the horse up the rough hillside until the animal gave in and released the bit from his teeth and decided to behave.

“Good. Now you just keep going up this hill. You ornery, jug-headed, mule bait.”

Timber, lathered, and tired, kept going up the hill and then toward another when Mark stopped him. “You can rest a bit now.” He dismounted and led the horse around a stand of trees.

Mark fished in his pocket and brought out a sugar cube. He’d found that horses couldn’t resist them and thought it a good time to let Timber know he wasn’t the enemy. The horse took it and almost smiled while eating it.

After a few minutes rest, Mark mounted the horse and rode toward the hills. Somewhere above him were the riders that he was following. Mark stopped at the base of another hill and found a few more peanut shells. He took out his binoculars. Sweeping his gaze along the hillsides, Mark finally spotted them in the shadows of a hill a mile away. He was gaining on them.

He patted Timber and mounted him. “Come on, horse. Show me what you have. Let’s catch those two.”

Mark ran the horse around the base of the knoll and then up the higher trail. Timber might be unpredictable, but he was strong. The animal charged up the steep path and when they came to the top, Mark could clearly see the two riders. One a woman.

While reining her horse around a boulder, Evangeline happened to look back and see Mark charging toward them on a black horse. She couldn’t make out his face but guessed he wasn’t happy with her.

She looked at Sam, but he was busy guiding his horse through a rough patch of rocks and brush. She turned and followed her brother. Her path was set. Her choice made. She’d set out to free her brother, and she was going to see it through.

Pushing her horse onward, she guided the gray mare through the maze of rocks and brush, barely keeping Sam in view. “Sam, I’m losing you.”

Shoving a branch from her face, she kicked the horse to catch him and almost ran into Sam.

“I heard you. I also saw the man following us.” Sam pulled her pistol from his belt. “Too bad you didn’t buy a rifle.”

A flicker of life brightened Sam’s cold dark eyes. Then he shook his head. “You decide. Right here. Either ride back down and stop him, or I’ll shoot him.”

Evangeline shook her head, wheeled her horse around, and rode back down the hill. She prayed Sam would keep his word and not shoot Mark. At this point, she wasn’t all that sure he wouldn’t shoot her.

She stopped at the edge of the trail and looked back up. “Don’t shoot us. Please.”

But Sam was already gone. A mere shadow riding through the dense trees and boulders.

She turned and rode toward Mark. Praying he would be gentle with her. Her horse stumbled on a rock and went down to her knees. Evangeline jumped off and waited for Blue to rise.

Evangeline patted her horse’s lathered neck and waited for Mark. It didn’t take long, and he rode to her.

“You wore your horse out? Where’s your friend?” His eyes were hard. The love was gone.

“My brother. He went on.” She went to Mark’s horse and put a hand on his reins. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you.” She could feel the tension in the air and the battle going on inside him.

“Your brother is Sam Russell? A killer? It would have been nice if you’d told me. Are you part of his gang?”

“No. I didn’t even know Sam was in a gang. I still don’t. He sent me a letter and said he was innocent. I believed him.”

Mark dismounted and grabbed her arm. “He’s guilty, all right. Did he say he was going to meet with his gang? Go to their hideout?”

She nodded. “His hideout. I don’t know about the gang or who is in it. I’m sorry.”

“Right. That really helps.” He put a hand on her horse and winced. “She’s done in. We’ll walk them down to the stream and camp there tonight.”

“We’re up high. It will be colder. Good thing I brought some provisions.” He opened a pack and handed her some jerky. “We’ll track him tomorrow.”

She looked at him with pleading eyes. “Do we have to? Can’t we go on and catch the train and go after the gang that’s raiding the stagecoach line?”

He gave her a wry smile. “I’m betting we’ll find them with your brother.”

A bullet pinged off the rock just over Mark’s shoulder. He ducked and drew his gun, glared at her, and then looked up the ridge. “Good thing he didn’t have a rifle.”

She ran to him and hid by the boulder. “That couldn’t have been Sam.”

“It was him all right.” He pointed and then looked through his binoculars. “Good thing for him he’s out of my range, or I’d have taken care of your brother.”

Evangeline grabbed the binoculars from him and looked up the ridge. He was just a shadow by a tree now, but it was Sam and the buckskin horse she’d bought for him. “But he promised me.”

She slumped down and put her head in her hands and cried. Sam wouldn’t have shot at Mark. He just wouldn’t have. But the horrid truth was, Sam did shoot at Mark and could have hit her. What had she done? What had her brother become?

Mark sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “At least, now we have an idea of where the hideout is. Do you want to go back to Fort Collins? I can get another agent and go after—”

“But he’s your brother. Believe me, that’s not the first time an agent has gone after a brother or relative. It’s not easy.” He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

“No. I’m not happy with you, that’s for sure. But I don’t hate you.” He smiled at her and gently fisted her chin. “I still love you.”

She shook her head. “How could you? That’s more unbelievable than Sam shooting at us.”

“He wasn’t aiming at you. Just taking a lucky shot to warn us to stay away. Does he know you’re a Pinkerton agent?”

“I don’t think he believed me.” She fingered her badge in her pocket. “I remember Sam as gentle and kind. We’re twins.”

Mark moved a stray curl from her face. “People can change. Life can give out some hard knocks and cause a man to go down the wrong trail. After a while, he loses his way back.”

She shook her head. “I refuse to believe he’s an outlaw. That he would kill someone.”

With a deep breath, Mark stood and helped her up. “Let’s go ahead and get down to the stream. These horses need some water and rest.” He pointed down the hill. “I’ll take the horses down the rough part of the trail, then we can ride them the rest of the way.”

Evangeline nodded and walked behind him. Her mind went on a wild ride of its own as she tried to reconcile that her brother just may have been guilty. And she still couldn’t understand Mark. Why would he still love her? Nothing made sense.

At the bottom of the hill, he handed her the reins to her horse and helped her into the saddle. “We’ll take it easy to the stream. No rush now.”

He looked at her and cocked his head. “Well, agent Evangeline, we’re going to get a good night’s sleep and then go back up those hills until we find your brother and his gang of outlaws.”

She nodded and rode down the hill toward the stream. She’d have to come up with a way to stop Mark. She didn’t want him or her brother hurt. Evangeline still held out hope that Sam was innocent.

His actions told her otherwise, but until she knew for sure, she’d trust Sam.