Texas Homecoming (27 page)

Epilogue

Laveau remained concealed in the trees, his broken hand splinted and useless at his side, a pair of binoculars in the other. The longer he watched, the more his rage grew. The festivities of Pilar and Cade’s wedding had spilled outside the hacienda. He was too far away to hear the music, but he could easily make out Cade and Pilar as they danced. He recognized the faces of the men who encouraged them with boisterous shouts accompanied by smiles and laughter. He didn’t recognize everyone, but he knew some of the guests to be neighboring ranchers, some important people from San Antonio. Everybody had turned out to welcome Cade home and celebrate his wedding.

Laveau’s curses were pithy and continuous.

Cade not only had all the diViere land, he had the diViere heiress. The Wheeler triumph was complete. They had taken everything. It didn’t matter to Laveau that he technically still owned half of the rancho. He wasn’t free to enter it. He might as well have been an outcast. With
a last withering curse, he put his binoculars into their case and melted back into the thicket where his horse waited.

It took considerable effort, caused some pain, and elicited a lot more curses, but he managed to hoist himself into the saddle. Being careful to avoid low-hanging limbs and thorny branches, he worked his way out of the thicket and headed south.

“I’ll be back,” he vowed.

He wouldn’t rest until he’d finished what the Union soldiers had begun, the complete destruction of the Night Riders. He reserved special vengeance for his sister.

No one betrayed Laveau diViere.

About the Author

Leigh Greenwood is the award-winning author of over fifty books, many of which have appeared on the USA Today bestseller list. Leigh lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Please visit his website at
http://www.leigh-greenwood.com/
.