The Matchmaker's Match

{Chapter} 21

“Whoa, what’s wrong with you?” he asked.

Katie shifted the pot in her arms and moved toward where the fire was just beginning to burn good.

“Something’s terribly wrong, Adam” she said.

“What is it?” Adam dragged the words out.

“It’s Mark. I think he wants Joe Blake to… to…” Katie took deep breath. “To take care of you.”

Adam nodded as he processed the information. She told him about what she had overheard earlier.

“Hmm…” he said. “That’s because I asked a few round about questions to Blake. He didn’t take to them too well.”

Katie sighed. “Don’t get yourself in more trouble than you already are. Mark already has you on his hit list. He’s never put any cowboy on drag as much as he does you. I know this because Toni told me so. Let’s not even mention the endless nights on guard. He’s being hard on you on purpose.”

Adam shrugged. “I can take all he throws at me.”

Katie gritted her teeth. “Not if he decides to throw a bullet, you can’t.”

“There’s nothing I can do about that.”

Katie groaned. He was being so nonchalant about this!

“Kate, we can’t worry ourselves into being paranoid. I’m used to people wanting to kill me. Most of the time people are just angry and never follow through with it” Adam tried to reassure her.

“So you’re not going to do anything?” Katie set the pot of the ground.

“Tell me what I can do.”

Katie sighed. “I don’t know.”

There was a strained silence for a moment.

“Just try to stay away from him?” Katie asked.

“Sure, but it there’s trouble with him, I’m gonna be on him like ugly on an ape,” Adam warned.

“Deal.”

**********

Erik propped his boots up on a barrel in the chuck wagon and leaned back with Justin sound asleep on his chest and Toni’s head in his lap.

“I’m so glad it’s nearly over,” Toni murmured.

“Me too,” Erik sighed.

“I can’t wait to get back to Texas. One day here soon you and I are gonna go prairie dog hunting,” Toni planned.

Erik smiled. Toni had taken a liking to prairie dog hunting as of late.

He looked down at Justin, whose little breaths could faintly be heard over the wind blowing through the grass. He hated the wind in Kansas. It was so harsh. Nonetheless, he and his little family were safe inside the chuck wagon.

“You figured out how much we’re gonna make?” he asked Toni.

“Well, cattle’s at about twenty-four dollars a head, so that’ll put us at about…” Toni figured up a moment. “I’m gonna say about eighty-six thousand. Then I’ve gotta pay the cowboys outta that. I think we’ll do pretty good, though.”

Erik nodded. “Sounds’ about right.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“You just wait, honey. Soon we’ll be back on your ranch and things will be back to normal. Well, except for the fact that I’m gonna make you rest with this little guy” Erik lightly bounced Justin in his arms.

“Rest? I don’t need no rest, Erik,” Toni protested.

“I ain’t gonna hear it this time, Toni. You’re gonna do as I say and rest. Not only for your sake, but for the baby’s,” Erik told her.

Toni huffed. “Why do you always insist I rest about everything?”

“Because I worry about you. Most women aren’t out on cattle drives a month after birth, you know.”

“Most women don’t have a ranch to run.”

“Most of those don’t have a husband and uncle who are more than capable of doing the work, either.”

“A husband and uncle who refuse to get along.”

“Hey, it’s not me. It’s Mark. You know he doesn’t like me.”

“I know, but one would think that you are a couple of roosters fighting over a worm.”

“I don’t like the way he treats you.”

Toni sighed. “He’s just hardened.”

“He’s just crooked.”

“Now, Erik!” Toni protested, sitting up.

Erik held up his hands. “Okay, okay.”

Toni rested her head down on his lap again. “Let’s not fight over this. I hate arguing with you.”

“Me too,” Erik smoothed her hair with the hand that wasn’t holding Justin on his chest. “This whole cattle drive is stressing everyone out. They always do.”

“Who’s standing guard tonight?” Toni asked.

“Blake, I reckon” Erik answered, running his finger over Justin’s small head of hair.

Toni yawned.

“Sleepy?” Erik asked.

No answer.

He looked down to find her fast asleep. He smiled and leaned his head back against the side of the wagon. After a few moments, he joined his wife and son in dreamland.

**********

Adam stared at the fire and tried to sort out the information he had gathered in the past few months. First four men robbed the bank. He killed one. Then he tracked the other men down until he eventually followed four sets of tracks. This could be understandable if they picked up an extra man. Then the tracks led him to the MC, and he hadn’t followed them further. Why? He wasn’t exactly sure. He had a hunch that in the midst of the fourteen new cowboys there were four murderers. He had several suspects. Brant Alexander, of course, Marshall Heath, and Joe Blake. He didn’t suspect Alex Harrison of being one of them, because the man hadn’t hung around Mark too much that he had seen. That is, until Katie had told him what had transpired between Alex and Mark. Something was mighty fishy about those five, that was for sure. He’d seen Mark off to the side of the camp alone with each of the men in a conversation on separate occasions. Now he had a hunch they were in cahoots.

He started putting two and two together. From what he gathered - and this was only speculation - Mark was their leader. This would mean that Mark organized that bank robbery. Which would mean that Mark killed Joel in a roundabout way.

Adam felt his anger rise up.

I thought you had let go of that, Sterling. You know that revenge never got anyone anywhere.

Reaching inside his shirt pocket, he pulled out the badge that he had carried with him. Once he got back in Texas, he would pin it back on and arrest his suspects. If he had to do it single-handedly, then so be it. In the meantime, he would try to find more solid proof of the connection.

He might get closure on this after all.

Okay, guys. Last night I finally sat my tail down and wrote. Music helped a lot:) Thank you so much for your prayers and kind words...er... letters:) They meant so much to me and you guys were so understanding. I guess that writing is my escape, and over the past few days I haven't been escaping much. It's what I needed. Thanks again you guys! Love ya'll all!