Gabriel's Atonement (20 page)

“Too bad. He's a fine animal.”

“Yep. The others are sound horses, too. Most of them are around four years old.”

The younger man had proceeded down the line to the far end, bent, and lifted the hoof of the dun mare. Gabe stood back watching, hoping his gut was wrong about the scruffy duo.

The tall man walked around behind Tempest, keeping his hand on the gelding's rump. Then he turned to face the next horse in line, a gray gelding.

“How much for this mare?” the guy on the end asked. “She looks sound.”

“They're all sound.” Gabe walked toward him. “That horse is one hundred dollars.”

“A hunnerd dollars?”

Gabe shrugged. “Horses are in high demand right now. In fact, I've heard some people are renting them for fifty dollars a day, so I figure you're getting a good deal.”

Tempest snorted. Gabe turned to see what the problem was and saw the tall man jump up and slide his leg over the gelding's back. “Hey! I told you he's not for sale.”

The man lashed Tempest with the lead rope that had been unhooked from the picket line. The horse pranced sideways, reared, and then trotted away as the man kept kicking him.

Luke jumped up. “What's wrong, boss?”

Gabe broke into a run then suddenly halted and turned back. The shorter man had mounted the mare and was riding off in the other direction. Gabe stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Tempest halted suddenly, sending his rider flying over his head.

“Get that man and take him to the soldiers while I go after the mare.”

Luke broke into a run, dodging campers and their wagons as he raced toward the thief. Gabe snatched Tempest's bridle off the tree where Luke had hung it, while the horse trotted back to him. In half a minute, he had the bridle on and was mounted, following the other thief. He hated to leave the other horses unprotected, but he couldn't allow that man to get away with the mare.

He trotted Tempest, weaving around wagons, people, and all their goods, while keeping his eye on the man riding the mare. The dun stopped suddenly as it reached a line of wagons, and the man reined it sharply to the left, giving Gabe a few seconds to close the gap. The man spied him and kicked the mare. She reared then trotted forward. No tame horse would run with so many obstacles in its way.

Gabe narrowed the distance as the man turned again. The river wasn't far away, and if he got across, Gabe might lose him. He reined Tempest to the south and nudged his horse to a fast walk. Suddenly, a small boy ran out in front of him.

A woman screamed. “Michael!”

Gabe pulled hard on the reins.

Heedless of the danger, the woman charged forward and grabbed the child. She turned away from him and hunched over the boy, as if expecting to be run down. But Tempest had stopped in time.

After a long few seconds, while Gabe's heart pounded, she looked over her shoulders. A pair of wide green eyes made his heart jolt.

“Lara!”

Lara stared up at Gabriel Coulter—at least she thought it was him. He was wearing more casual clothes than the other times she'd seen him, and he'd shaved off his mustache.

He smiled and tipped his hat, his intriguingly dark eyes gleaming. “Fancy seeing you here. I'd love to talk, but I'm chasing after a man who stole my horse. I'll return later, and we'll chat then.”

And he was gone, weaving his horse through the crowd, toward the state line.

She still hugged her son, and she wasn't sure if her heart was throbbing because of the close call or the fact that she'd seen Gabe again. She watched him ride off, sitting tall in the saddle. This cowboy look was far more becoming on him than the dandy style.

Michael wiggled, and she released him.

“Why did you run off like that?”

“I was following a kitty.”

She blew out a breath, hoping for patience. “Sweetie, you can't run away like that. Not with all these people here. What if you had gotten lost? We might never have found you.”

“But I wanted to pet the kitty.” A pair of innocent, blue-green eyes stared up at her. He clearly had no idea of the danger of wandering off. She'd just have to keep a closer watch on him.

“Let's go back to camp.”

“But the kitty…”

She stroked his hair as she searched for the cat. “It's gone now, and we have work to do.”

She made a mental list of what she needed to accomplish today. Feed and milk the goats. Wash some clothing. Scrape together something for them to eat. Maybe she could barter some goat's milk for a hunk of meat to make soup with.

As they walked into camp, she noticed Grandpa had dug out his wrinkled shirt with the GAR patch on the sleeve and was wearing it. She didn't know much about the Grand Army of the Republic organization, other than it was a group for Union war veterans. She smiled. “You found your old shirt.”

He nodded and rubbed his hand down the front of it. “I ran into Jess Filbert, from my old troop, and he had his on. Lots of veterans are here, hoping to get land to leave to their families when they're gone.”

She winced, hating to think about life without him. But she was fortunate he was still here, considering the struggles he faced whenever a malaria attack hit him. All she could do was help ease his daily workload and pray that God wouldn't take him home for a long while.

“A group of us are gettin' together after supper to catch up on things.”

“That sounds like a nice evening.” She glanced around camp. “Where's Jo?”

“She and that friend of hers went for a walk.”

Lara pursed her lips. Leave it to Jo to disappear when there was so much to do. “Do you know when she'll be back?”

“Lunchtime, I reckon.” He winked at her. “You know how that girl loves to eat.”

“And hates to work.”

He chuckled. “Speaking of work, I already fed and milked the goats. What do you want to do with the milk?”

At the mention of the goats, Michael tugged a weed loose from its roots and trotted over and held it out to Mildred.

“Let's pour one bucket into the milk can and see if we can trade the other for a piece of meat.”

“You want me to check with the Biggses? See if they're interested in barterin'?”

“That would be nice. I need to take some clothes to the river and wash them.” Maybe she'd see Gabe there. She hoped he found his horse. “I heard a man had one of his horses stolen this morning.”

Grandpa's eyes shot to hers. “Sad thing when folks steal from one another, but I reckon we'd better keep a closer watch on Sunny and them goats.”

“The goats? Why?”

He lifted a brow. “There's lots of folks here, and fresh meat is hard to come by.”

She gasped. “I can't even think about that.”

“All the same, we need to keep a close watch on all that's ours. I don't plan to be gone long tonight. Don't want to leave you girls alone too long.”

“We need to get Jo to stick around more. I don't like her wandering off with so many unmarried men around. I know many are trustworthy, but the theft proves there are others who aren't.”

He nodded. “Desperate times make folks do things they normally wouldn't.”

“I'm glad we're so close to the border and near the soldiers. They may be a deterrent.”

“That's true, but we still need to be cautious.”

“All right. So will you stay here while I go to the river and do laundry?”

“Yep. I'll head over to the Biggses' camp now while the milk is fresh.”

“Good idea. I'll gather the laundry. While I'm gone, could you please string a line to hang the clothes on? I'll need to do that when I return.”

“Soon as I get back, I will.”

Lara glanced at Michael, who was making a circle of pebbles, then she walked over to the back of the wagon and tugged the wicker basket of dirty clothes toward her. She dreaded hanging up her and Jo's unmentionables where so many people could see them, but everyone else was doing it, too. Heat warmed her cheeks at the thought of Gabe Coulter seeing them. Maybe she could hang their drawers and chemises under their dresses and petticoats. She smiled. There was a solution to every problem.

Gabe reached the border and reined Tempest to a halt. He'd lost track of the thief when he nearly ran down Lara Talbot. He gritted his teeth, hating the thought of losing his horse to a trickster. He could ford the river and hunt for the man, but then soldiers might think he was a Sooner. He couldn't afford to get arrested and miss the run. Better to just count the one horse as lost. He did get Tempest back, and they'd caught the man who'd tried to take him—at least he hoped Luke had managed that task. He patted the gelding's neck then loosened the reins so he could get a drink.

A commotion to his left, just across the river, snagged his attention. A pair of soldiers was wrestling with a man on the ground. If he wasn't mistaken, that was
his
horse grazing not far from them. He tapped his heels to Tempest's side, walking the horse along the line of the river to a group of soldiers on the near side who were watching the wrestling trio. Gabe dismounted and approached a corporal. “Excuse me, sir.”

The man turned and lifted one brow. “Can I help you?”

“That man stole one of my horses.” He nudged his chin toward the mare. “That dun grazing over there is the one he took. He crossed the river, trying to get away from me.”

“You got a bill of sale?”

Gabe nodded. “Back at my camp.”

The men eyed him for a moment, as if taking his measure, then faced the river again. “I don't guess we'll need it. You look like a man whose word is good.”

Gabe straightened, savoring the rare compliment. Most folks didn't believe a gambler's word was worth much, but the soldier had no idea what his trade was. Feeling respected made Gabe stand a bit taller. It was something he could easily get used to.

“If you can hang around for a bit, I'll see that you get your horse back.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

An hour later, Gabe walked into camp with both horses.

Luke looked up from where he was grooming one of the geldings and smiled. “You got her. I didn't know what to think with you gone so long.”

He dismounted and patted Tempest's neck. “The soldiers stopped the thief after he crossed the river. Guess they thought he was trying to sneak over to stake a claim.”

Luke chuckled. “I bet them soldiers was surprised to find out he was a horse thief.”

“That's true. I told a corporal what happened. They questioned the thief, and when they threatened him with hanging, he spewed out a tale about the other man forcing him to help him steal the horses. Did you get that tall fellow to the soldiers?”

“Yep. He was a bit dazed after that fall he took off yer horse. Followed along like a docile ole dog.”

Gabe grinned at the image. “Things been all right here while I was gone?”

“Yep, quiet as a saloon at noontime.”

He liked the young cowboy with his quirky comments. “I need to tend to some business. Can you groom this mare after you're done with that gelding?”

“Sure thang, boss. Want me to give her a little extra feed?”

“Good idea. Keep a close watch on the horses.”

“I will. Got my gun loaded and a rifle leaning against that tree that's nearest the horses.”

“Good.” Gabe mounted Tempest again and reined him in the direction where he had last seen Lara. He hadn't thought to ask if her camp was near there, but a boy so small couldn't have run too far without her catching him. His stomach swirled at the thought of seeing her again. He didn't even know what he would say—only that he wanted to talk with her. Be near her.

He blew out a breath and reined in his thoughts. He needed to be careful. Lara Talbot was a new widow—and he was the man who'd made her one. That was the last thing he wanted her to discover, although keeping the truth from her didn't sit well with him. But if she knew he was the one who shot her husband, she'd want nothing to do with him. She needed to get to know him first—see that he was an honorable man—then he would tell her. Or maybe they'd end up going their separate ways and she'd never need to know.