"Yeah."
Allie turned to him, stopping at the bottom step of the porch. "What's wrong, Brandon? I know it's not just the boys—"
"No." He sighed. "Now's a good time. Owen had some other news yesterday, but we never had a minute to ourselves. Let's sit here on the porch."
When he finished telling her about the gambler and his connection to Sam, Allie couldn't suppress a shudder that ran through her body. "Have you told Sam yet?"
Brandon shook his head, bringing his gaze to bear on the sunset over her shoulder. "No. Not yet."
"What're you waiting on?"
"I may not tell him at all, Allie."
Allie's eyes narrowed in speculation. "What are you planning?"
He took her hand. "Making another trip into town tomorrow myself. I'm not waiting for that bastard to come after my brother. I'm going after him, first."
"He knows you're here!"
"Yeah," Brandon replied in a deadly tone. "And I know where he is too."
Foreboding squeezed at her chest. "Bran—"
"Shh." He encircled her waist with his arms, putting his mouth over hers. His tongue played over hers, caressing her lips deliciously, stealing her breath as well as her thoughts. "We've got a few minutes to ourselves," he whispered, taking her hand in his. He started up the steps. "I can think of something I'd rather be doing than talking." He glanced back at her, and the look in his eyes made her breath catch, her heart turn over in anticipation.
"We'll have to hurry."
Brandon chuckled, releasing her hand to unbutton his shirt on the way in the door. "I'm glad to oblige."
Chapter 30
Twilight had fallen when the boys began to straggle back to the house. The younger ones came first, racing and laughing; Travis, Jay, and a mixed-blood boy the others called Tiger.
Allie was already dressed, just buttoning the last of her buttons. She turned to look at Brandon who still lay in bed, his skin dark against the white sheets in the shadows.
"Tiger," she said with a smile. "I think that's the first time I've heard him actually laugh since he's been here."
Brandon moved to sit up on the edge of the bed. He pulled his pants on, reaching for his socks and boots.
"I'll go on out," Allie said. "Start getting them settled for the night."
"Maybe you and I'll go for a swim once they're all bedded down." He gave her a quick grin.
She leaned down to kiss him. "That sounds wonderful. I could get used to that."
"I'm thinking of making it part of Gabriel's Law," he teased. "Swimming – every night."
"Or?" She cocked a brow at him, her hand on the doorknob.
He stood up and reached for his shirt. "I'll think of something," he threatened.
She laughed, and pulled the door open. "We'll swim." Coming into the front room, she hurried to light the lamps, turning up the wicks in the falling darkness. Big Mack wasn't in his usual place beside the settee. She stood at the front door and glanced outside at the groups of boys running and playing together. They weren't all back yet. Brandon came to stand behind her, his hand at her waist.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." But she could hear the uncertainty in her own voice, and she knew he could, too.
"Big Mack's up and around, it looks like."
The place he liked on the porch was empty as well, Allie noticed. He was recovering quickly, but she imagined by now, with full darkness approaching, he would have been back at the house.
She felt Brandon's muscles tighten, and she knew he was counting heads, as she'd just done. "Should be thirteen," he muttered.
"There's only ten."
"Dog's still gone—" he broke off, abruptly releasing her, turning back for the bedroom. The Henry stood in the corner of that room, his gun belt and pistol on the bureau.
Something was wrong. They both felt it. When Brandon came back, the holster was strapped on, low, and he was carrying the rifle.
Allie called to Jay, and he ran to the porch, laughter in his eyes. "Mama, we had the most fun, ever! Tiger an' me an' Travis, we were swimming where the tree hangs out over the creek, an'—"
"Jay, where are the others?" Brandon knelt in front of Jay, his voice serious.
The gaiety fled from Jay's dark eyes. "I don't know." He looked around behind him. "Sam an' Ben were still in the water, but they said for us to come on home."
"Who else? Someone else is missing—" Allie's throat tightened, an inexplicable flutter of fear flitted in her stomach.
Brandon looked past Jay into the darkness. "Here comes someone – no, two of them." He stood up and hurried down the steps, Jay beside him. Allie grabbed a lantern and followed quickly as they closed the distance.
Two of the boys hobbled out of the tree line toward the cabin. Brandon's strides grew longer, until he was running, eating up the distance between them.
Ben stumbled and fell forward, but Brandon dropped the rifle and caught him in his arms at the last possible second. "Ben!"
"'M sorry," he mumbled.