Cowboy 12 Pack Page 22

  Instead of heading for her hiding place behind the overturned wagon, Jake worked his way in front of it and reined in his horse to a skidding stop. Her heart plummeted. Was he suicidal?

  She watched in confusion as he lifted his rifle. What good would it do to kill a few cattle when there were hundreds bearing down on him?

  But Jake didn’t shoot the cattle. He raised his rifle and shot up in the air over and over.

  Amazingly, just like that, the stampede stopped.

  Stunned, Sadie pushed herself up into a sitting position. The longhorns stood all around them as if dumbfounded. She was pretty flabbergasted herself.

  Jake jumped off his horse and ran over to her, dropping to one knee. He gently cupped her cheek, his eyes searching her face as he ran a finger tenderly over her forehead. “Oh God, you’re bleeding.”

  She traced her fingers along her scalp until she found the wound. It didn’t hurt. And there wasn’t that much blood. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

  He frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  Jake muttered something under his breath. Then he yanked her close and kissed her so hard she almost lost her breath. She’d never experienced a kiss so demanding, so relieved, so…perfect in her life.

  When he lifted his head, however, it was so he could scowl at her. “What the hell were you doing riding into the stampede like that?”

  “She was saving my sorry, old ass, that’s what she was doing. And don’t think I didn’t see that kiss there.”

  Sadie turned to see Elmer’s slightly out of focus eyes locked on the both of them. She was so grateful he was awake she didn’t care what he’d seen.

  Jake cupped her chin once more, and she thought he was going to kiss her again, but all he did was look at her. The emotion in his eyes made her throat suddenly clog with tears. She probably would have cried if Jake hadn’t gotten to his feet and started shouting orders. She looked around, abruptly realizing the rest of the men had ridden up. Had they seen the kiss, too?

  “Brody and Dakota with me,” he said. “Wayne, get everyone together and find out how many injured we have, then round up the herd. Push them through the gulch until you come to a place where they can graze. Find those extra horses, too. We’re going to need them.”

  Giving the men a nod, Jake turned and strode to his horse.

  Sadie hurried after him. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to hunt those men down and make them regret ever being born.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  He stopped so fast she nearly ran into him. “No. I want you here.” She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. “Not this time, Sadie. For once, do as I tell you. Please,” he added, his voice softening. “Stay here and take care of the injured. Old Elmer probably isn’t the only one who got hurt.”

  Sadie bit her tongue. He was right. She’d be more useful here. She caught his arm as he took hold of the horse’s reins. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

  Jake gazed down at her for so long she thought he wasn’t going to answer. Then he nodded. “I promise.”

  That did little to ease her mind as he swung into the saddle and rode off, though. He was going to find Boone’s men and make good on his words no matter how dangerous it was.

  Chapter Eleven

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  JAKE DIDN’T KNOW whether to be angry or not when they only found three bodies up on the ridgeline. On the one hand it meant he’d get the satisfaction of hunting down the rest of Boone’s men and putting a bullet in them. But on the flipside it meant being away from Sadie, and right now all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and never let her go. He’d carry the image of her huddled behind that damn chuck wagon for the rest of his life.

  “This one had a leg wound, but he was shot in the head with a pistol,” Dakota said. The Arapaho had dismounted to make sure this wasn’t another trick and that the men were indeed dead.

  Brody frowned. “They killed one of their own? Why the hell would they do that?”

  “They probably didn’t want him slowing them down. Didn’t want him saying who he worked for, either.” Jake ground his jaw. “Not that it matters. I recognize two of the men anyway. They were at Boone’s ranch the day I went there to talk to the son of a bitch.” He looked at Dakota. “Can you track the other men?”

  He flashed Jake a grin, showing perfect white teeth. “They didn’t even bother covering their footprints. Even a white man like you could track them.”

  Jake would have laughed if he wasn’t so damn furious.

  Dakota mounted his horse, then led them down the backside of the gulch and into another ravine.

  “They had horses here,” the Arapaho said.

  Jake thought that might make it more difficult to follow them, but Dakota had no problem. Once again, Boone’s men hadn’t bothered covering their tracks. Maybe they didn’t think anyone would go after them. Or maybe he, Dakota and Brody were riding into a trap.

  The farther away they rode from Sadie, the more anxious Jake got. Every bone in his body urged him to hurry and find the men who had hurt her, and put every last one of them in the ground, but he resisted the impulse. If this was a trap and he got killed, what good would he be to her and her ranch then? He had to keep his wits about him.

  Dakota dismounted several times after sunset to take a closer look at the tracks, then got back on his horse and continued in the same direction. Boone’s men were headed toward Cheyenne, which could only mean one thing—the bastards were planning another ambush.

  It was nearly two hours later when Jake caught sight of a campfire. He’d be damned. Boone either had idiots working for him, or the jackasses were beyond confident. Obviously, they weren’t expecting company.

  Or maybe they were, and this was that trap he’d been worried about. That’s how he would have done it—lure someone to the fire and then attack from behind. All five men were gathered around the campfire, however, so that scenario was unlikely. He’d clearly given Boone’s men too much credit.

  As Jake dismounted and crouched down beside Dakota and Brody, the men’s voices carried in the darkness. They were laughing and joking about what they’d done back at the gulch.

  “How many you figure we got with those boulders?” one of the men asked.

  “Gotta be at least half,” someone answered.

  “I just hope that Buchanan bitch is still alive,” another said. “I got some things I wanna to do to her, boy.”

  The other men laughed and added they wouldn’t mind taking a turn between her legs when he was done.

  Jake ground his jaw. Fucking bastards. He was going to enjoy killing them.

  He glanced at Dakota and Brody. “Follow my lead.”

  Pulling his pistol, Jake stood and strode toward the campfire. The men stared at him as if he were a ghost. Hell, maybe they thought he was. He didn’t ask. Instead, he shot the first man who went for his weapon. Jake didn’t know if he was the one who’d talked about raping Sadie, but he hoped so.

  Around the circle, the other four men reached for their pistols, but Dakota and Brody took out two of them before they could get their guns out of the holster. Jake put a bullets in the other two.

  As the echo of gunshots faded, there was a groan from the other side of the campfire. Brody gave Jake a sidelong glance.

  “I must have just winged one of ’em.”

  Jake circled around, following the sound until he stood over the injured man. He had a hole in his shooting hand, and another in his leg.

  Jake leveled his gun at the man’s head.

  “Please.” The man held up his good hand, tears filling his eyes. He was young. Early twenties maybe, he had reddish hair and freckles. If he hadn’t tried to kill Sadie, Jake would have felt sorry for him. “Please d-don’t kill me.”

  Jake cocked his pistol.

  Tears spilled down the man’s face. “Oh God, please! I’m begging you.”

  A few minutes ago, Jak
e wouldn’t have considered obliging him, but he could afford to be merciful if it meant getting a message to Boone. He slowly let the hammer down.

  “Go back to Boone and tell him that Jake Wagner is coming for him. He can stand and face me like a man, or he can run for his life. Either way, I’ll get him.” Jake glanced at the two men beside him. “Leave him one of the horses and take the rest.”

  Holstering his pistol, he turned and strode away.

  *

  SADIE WASN’T NEARLY as good as doctoring as her mother, but she patched up Elmer the best she could. Putting a splint on his broken leg and stitching the nasty cut on his forehead didn’t do much to take her mind off Jake, though. With every minute that passed, she got more worried.

  “Miss Sadie. Got two more for you.”

  She turned to see Mack helping an injured Jessie over to her. Behind him, Gus was supporting Bert, who was limping something fierce. She wiped her hands on a rag and hurried up to them.

  “What happened?”

  Jessie winced as Mack helped him sit down on a boulder. “Fell off my horse during the stampede and got kicked in the ribs. It’s nothing.”

  Mack’s brows drew together. “Broken ribs ain’t nothing.”

  “They ain’t—” Jessie’s words ended in a hiss as Sadie gently pressed on his side. She lifted a brow. “Okay,” he muttered. “Maybe they are.

  Sadie glanced at Mack. “I tore strips off one of the bedrolls to bandage Elmer earlier. Can you bring me some? They’re over by the wagon.” She gave Jessie a stern look. “I’m going to check on Bert. Don’t move.”

  Bert’s injury was more severe. A pissed-off longhorn had gored him in the thigh. But while the wound was ugly, the bleeding stopped as soon as she covered it was a thick wad of bedroll material and wrapped it with the makeshift bandages. When she was done, she handed him one of the bottles of bourbon Elmer had secretly stashed in his bedrolls and told him to drink until he passed out. She gave Jessie the other bottle and the same orders.

  Jake would probably have a fit when he found out, but those injuries were going to hurt like hell on earth real soon. It would be better for the men if they were unconscious by then.

  Sadie shielded her eyes from the late afternoon sun and scanned the ridgeline for Jake. There was no sign of him or the men he’d taken with him. It was foolish to hope he’d be back so soon.

  Behind her, Mack and Gus were doing what they could to fix the chuck wagon. The poor thing looked beyond repair to her, but she went to help out anyway. If nothing else, it would keep her mind off Jake. It wouldn’t be a wasted effort if they could get it working again. They’d need it to transport the injured men back to the ranch—if they could find the missing horses. If not, she and the men were going to have to take turns walking while their horses took turns pulling the wagon.

  It was almost sunset by the time she and the men were finished, but surprisingly, they did a fairly good job of putting the wagon back to rights. It wouldn’t hold up to a lot of punishment, but if they moved slowly and carefully, it would make it back to the ranch.

  She, Mack and Gus used the last remaining light to collect up the food and other supplies that had gotten tossed when the chuck wagon flipped. Unfortunately, the water barrels were busted, but they found most of the food and even Elmer’s cooking set. The old man almost cried when she came back with the pots and pans. He was still exclaiming over them when Wayne walked up.

  “We were fortunate with the herd,” he told her. “Most of the cattle stopped once they got outside the gulch, and we found the rest a few thousand yards out grazing. We’ve got ’em about a mile down the trail. They’re skittish, though. They get spooked and they’ll be off again.” He looked around. “Jake isn’t back yet?”

  She shook her head. “Not yet.”

  Wayne frowned, but said nothing. He looked as worried as she was.

  Elmer cleared his throat. “The men are probably hungry, Miss Sadie. I can’t do much with this bum leg, but if you do most of the cookin’ I can still help you get a pretty good supper goin’.”

  Sadie nodded, glad of something else to do. She was a better cook than a doctor, but making a meal out on the trail was a heck of a lot different than preparing one in her kitchen back at the ranch. With Elmer’s guidance, she made a pan of frybread and a pot of beans. It wasn’t as good as Elmer made, but it was respectable and tasted good. Or maybe she was just hungry.

  The men watching the cattle ate in shifts. Clancy, Hugh, Everett, Lloyd and Lonnie went first, then Mack, Gus, Wayne, Mohan and Emmitt. As the rest of the men finished up, Wayne pulled Sadie aside.

  “I’m going to have Mack and Gus stay here with you and Elmer,” he said.

  “That’s not necessary. The herd needs more protection than I do.” Jessie and Bert wouldn’t be much good if Boone’s men came back, but Elmer could still hold a rifle and she could take care of herself. “Besides, Jake will be back soon.”

  Wayne’s brows drew together. “Be that as it may, I’d feel better if Mack and Gus stayed here with you.”

  Sadie watched him walk away. Wayne didn’t think Jake was coming back. She’d heard it in his voice. But he was wrong.

  An hour later, Jake still hadn’t returned, and Sadie was more nervous than ever. What if Wayne was right? What if Boone’s men had killed Jake? The flames from the campfire went blurry and she quickly blinked back the tears filling her eyes before they could fall. Jake was too smart and too good with a gun to let anyone get the drop on him.

  “You don’t have to worry about him, Miss Sadie.”

  Sadie looked at Elmer sharply. Despite her best efforts, a tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away, hoping the old man hadn’t seen. “Wh-what?”

  He leaned back against the side of the wagon. “Jake. He’s comin’ back.”

  “I’m not worried about him.” She blushed. “No more worried than I am about any of the men, I mean.”

  “I saw you and him kiss, remember?”

  Her color deepened. She shot Mack and Gus a look to see if they heard, but the men looked deep in conversation on the other side of the wagon.

  Elmer shook his head with a laugh. “You and Jake don’t have to work so hard to keep your relationship a secret, you know. Everyone on the ranch already knows.”

  How? She and Jake had been so careful. Well, up until today when he’d kissed her in front of Elmer. “They do?”

  “Sure. Anyone can see the way he looks at you. That man is downright smitten.”

  Was he? Sadie wanted to think so. But he was a man, and men could be smitten with a woman for different reasons, sex being the primary one. Just because he hadn’t run screaming at the word marriage didn’t mean he intended to make an honest woman of her, either. Right now, she wasn’t concerned with what his intentions were, though. Right now, she just wanted him to come back safe.

  The clip-clop of horses’ hoofs brought her head up sharply. She jumped up, her heart hammering like crazy as she strained to see into the darkness. On the other side of the wagon, Mack and Gus aimed their rifles in the direction of the sound. Sadie knew she should arm herself, too, but she didn’t trust herself to handle a gun right now.

  When Jake’s tall form came into view, she almost cried. Maybe she did. She couldn’t be sure. It took everything in her not to throw herself into his arms the moment he got off his horse. Trying to hold back tears at the same time would have been too much.

  Jake must have seen them. After nodding at Mack and Gus, he immediately strode over to her, his face etched with worry. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes.” She smiled so big her cheeks hurt. “I’m just glad you’re back.”

  “Told her you would be,” Elmer said.

  Jake frowned at the splint on Elmer’s leg, but Sadie rushed on before he could say anything.

  “Did you find Boone’s men?”

  His mouth tightened. “They won’t be bothering us again.”

  Meaning they were dead. But Jake, Brody and Da
kota were alive. Thank God. She looked around for the two men, abruptly realizing they weren’t with Jake. “Where are Brody and Dakota?”

  Jake jerked his head at the far end of the ravine. “With the other hands out near the herd. I didn’t do a head count, but it looks like you got all the cattle rounded up.”

  “Mack, Gus and the rest of the men rounded them up,” she corrected. “I tended to Elmer’s injuries.” She slanted the cook a reproving look. “Who wasn’t a very cooperative patient, I might add. He kept trying to convince me his leg wasn’t broken at all, but had simply fallen asleep from sitting in the cart for so long.”

  Elmer snorted and waved his uninjured hand dismissively.

  Jake chuckled. “I see you got the wagon fixed, too.”

  “Barely.” She sighed. “It won’t do us much good if we can’t find the horses to pull it. Jessie and Bert are too injured to ride.”

  “Wayne mentioned they’d been hurt. No worries about horses. I borrowed the ones Boone’s men were riding. Figured they wouldn’t be needing them anymore. What about you?” Jake turned her toward the campfire and gently brushed her hair back. “How’s that cut?”

  She was keenly aware of Elmer watching them. She ignored him and smiled up at Jake. “Fine. I told you it was nothing.”

  He regarded her in silence and for one heart-stopping moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again right there in front of the three men. But he dropped his hand and gave her a smile instead. Then he turned to Mack and Gus.

  “Stay here with Elmer and the others. I’ll send someone to relieve you in a few hours.” He put his hand on Sadie’s back. “Come on. It’s been a long day and we could both use some sleep.”

  Sadie would have slept better with Jake sharing her bedroll. Something told her he thought so, too. Although if they were sharing a bedroll, sleep would probably be the furthest thing from their minds.

  When they were well outside the ravine and away from curious eyes, Jake pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, lingering kiss.

  “You scared the hell out of me today when you rode into that stampede, you know that?” His voice was rough with emotion. “It was reckless and dangerous and probably the bravest thing I’ve ever seen. Promise me you’ll never do something that crazy again, sweetheart.”