Heart of an Outlaw *First in the Crane Gang series*

Chapter Twenty-Six

“It’s taken care of,” Gill assured him, watching Pete make his way to Jane. 

Jeb shrugged. “Okay.” 

Gill eyed him carefully. The man was upset over something. His shoulders were tense, his jaw set tight, his green eyes narrowed and his hands clenched tight. “What’s going on?” Gill questioned, wondering if it had something to do with the people gathered around the gang. 

“That’s just the welcoming committee,” Jeb replied, turning his gaze toward them as well. “The people here are thankful for our help. Craig, Wyatt and Willie love the attention. They say they feel like royalty every time they come to McGrady.” 

“Are you this well known in every orphanage town you come to?” Gill asked, wondering how they’d managed to stay unnoticed for so long with so many people who knew about them and their donations.

“No,” Jeb shook his head. “We never set out for recognition and we do our best to avoid anyone other than the orphanage operators knowing where the money and goods come from.” 

“So why the welcome brigade here?” 

“McGrady is different.” 

“Why is that?” Gill asked. 

Jeb just shrugged and took hold of Gill’s horse. “Willie was here,” he replied, before turning his back and heading toward the livery. 

Gill sighed. So Jeb was upset and if it wasn’t anything to do with the town, that meant it was something he had done. So--what the hell had he done?

***

“Willie!” Margaret Simmons exclaimed as she came bustling from the freshly painted yellow home. Her plump figure bounced and jostled as she rushed to Willie and wrapped him in a motherly hug, her white hair glistening in the sunshine. “You’ve been gone too long this time,” she scolded, pulling away. 

“Sorry, ma’am,” Willie tipped his head respectfully. “We’ve been busy.” 

Jeb felt Gill beside him and glanced sideways at the man. Jeb was confused and conflicted. He’d been so sure that he was indeed falling in love with Gill and he had trusted Gill--he wanted to still trust Gill…. But Gill hadn’t allowed him to come with him to send the message. 

Why?

Whatever Gill had sent the Rangers didn’t only impact Gill’s future but the future of Jeb and the gang as well. What if Gill had lied to him? What if he’d sent the Rangers word on where they were? What if he was fooling Jeb and Jeb didn’t realize it because he was so blinded by what Gill made him feel?

“When you said Willie was in McGrady,” Gill whispered beside him, pulling him from his thoughts. “Did you mean the orphanage?” 

Jeb nodded, attempting to bury his worries for now. He didn’t want to question Gill right out here in the open. They could talk--would talk--later. “Yeah, he was. Craig and I were orphaned when I was fifteen and he was nine. We eventually made our way to Uncle Billy’s since we’d been there quite a few times. Billy used to live right outside of McGrady and every time we’d visited, we’d played with the orphans, Willie included. Once we came to live with Uncle Billy ten years ago, Willie did too.”