The Circle Eight: Tobias (21 page)

“Where are you going?” Her soft words stopped him in mid-step. He turned, unwilling to believe she was giving him the chance he asked for.
 

“Uh, I thought you wanted me to leave.”
 

“I was considering what you said.” She let out another gust of air. “My heart says one thing and my head says something else.”
 

“Which one says pick Tobias?”
 

The corner of her mouth twitched. “My heart.”
 

He dropped to his knees. “Then listen to your heart, darlin’. Please.”
 

“I decided to—”
 

“Tobias!” James’s shout made Tobias jump to his feet, his hand on the pistol that no longer rode on his hip. His brother ran into the room, eyes wide and his expression grim.
 

“What is it?”
 

“It’s Will. Somebody took him.” James glanced at Rebecca and then returned his piercing gaze to Tobias. “Waldeck said it was three men.”
 

Cold fear slammed into him, followed by white-hot fury. “Those fucking bastards. I told Ellis they were shady and Donovan didn’t want to believe it either.”
 

“Why did you leave him alone? I wasn’t even supposed to be in town but McRae sent me in to pick up a special delivery at Feeney’s. I stopped at the livery and found Waldeck with a gash on his head, bleeding into the straw.” James clenched his jaw so tight, Tobias heard a crack.
 

“I cut up my hand.” He held up his freshly bandaged hand. “Rebecca just finished.”
 

“Then she needs to go tend to Waldeck. You and me need to go hunting.” James put his hand on the pistol he did wear.
 

Tobias kissed Rebecca hard. “We’ll talk later.”
 

She nodded and grabbed her ever-present traveling bag. “I’ll take care of Mr. Waldeck. You go get Will.”
 

Tobias had never loved her more. For now, he had to be a Gibson. God help the men who had taken Will. There wouldn’t be a trial or an arrest. There would be rope and a tree.
 

Tobias ran back to the livery with James beside him. Anger and fear swirled in his gut and he wanted to puke. Will was harmless. Hell, he’d forgotten the last fifteen years of his life, much less whatever it was those three men thought he knew.
 

They arrived at the livery to find Mr. Waldeck sitting in a chair, a bloody rag pressed to his forehead. Tobias knelt beside him. “I’m sorry they did this, old man.”
 

“Rotten jackasses. They thought the boy was lying about being tetched in the head. He were so scared but I’m too fucking old to help him.” Waldeck looked more angry than hurt.
 

“Doc is coming to tend your wound. She’ll get you fixed up in no time.”
 

Waldeck smiled crookedly, showing his less than pearly whites. “A pretty girl is gonna fix me up. Then maybe I oughta get bashed in the head more often.”
 

Tobias got to his feet and nodded to James. “Tell me about these three while I get my guns.”
 

James was usually steadfast, the anchor in the middle of the two brothers, who always made the right choice. Tobias hadn’t seen him so animated or so furious. The stirrings of a bond between them fluttered through him. Perhaps when this was over, the brothers would find peace and live as a family instead of a broken parody of one.
 

“Johnston, Travers and Bekins got hired on in early spring. Donovan needed hands and they showed up looking for work.” James pulled out his own gun and started wiping the barrel with a rag.
 

Tobias opened the cabinet in the room he shared with Will and pulled out the rifle that had belonged to Pops. He’d shot many an animal with it, but this time instead of feeding his family, Tobias would use it to defend it. Kill if necessary. There were many things Pops taught him, including how to take care of his weapons. The rifle and his pistol were well maintained and oiled. All he had to do was load them, which he did with practiced ease.
 

Focusing on the task at hand rather than what the three men were doing to Will helped him contain the fury raging inside him. When they found Johnston, Travers and Bekins, Tobias would unleash that which he held in check.
 

“Do you know where they were before Donovan’s?” Tobias glanced at James.
 

His younger brother frowned. “No, but that’s not uncommon with Donovan. He don’t ask many questions. If a man is there willing to work for the shit pay he offers, then he hires him.”
 

“What did you think of them?”
 

James looked surprised. “Me?”
 

“There ain’t nobody else here. Besides you were always the one to do the watching. Best damn memory I ever saw.”
 

James blinked a few times. “I, uh, didn’t like ’em much. They kept to themselves mostly. Played cards a few times with the rest of the men, but only a couple times. On payday they went off with just the three of them. I didn’t trust ’em.”
 

“Did you tell Donovan?”
 

“He don’t listen to me.” James scoffed. “Hell, a man could come up and punch him in the balls but he’d still keep the fool on the payroll if he did his job. One reason I left that outfit. The man wasn’t good at running a business.”
 

“Was there another reason?”
 

James looked at his gun for a few moments before he lifted his gaze to Tobias’s. “My family came here.”
 

Tobias couldn’t do something as stupid as cry in front of James, so he clapped him on the shoulder. “And I’m damn glad you’re here too.” It was the closest he would come to confessing he loved his brother, but the
sentiment was there just the same. “What do you figure they were up to at Donovan’s?”
 

“I reckon they were rustling. A few beeves here and there, ain’t nobody gonna notice it. Folks are watching the calves ’cause they’re the future of the herd. Nobody’s watching the steers.” James’s face lit up as he spoke. “I figure for every hundred head, they probably took five. Hid ’em away somewhere nearby. Will must’ve found their hidey-hole or heard something. They waited until they were clearing trees to kill him and make it look like an accident.”
 

Tobias growled in his throat. “We’ll punish ’em for what they did to Will. The law ain’t gonna have nothing left to hang. Whatever they get, they deserve.”
 

“Damn right.” For once James agreed with Tobias. “Can you still track?”
 

Tobias thought about boasting about his tracking skills. Pops had taught him and at one time, he’d been damn good. That was before he discovered the numbing effects of liquor and lost himself to it. Now he would have to dig deep to remember all the skills Pops had passed on. It had been more than five years since he attempted to track. Now it was to save his brother’s life.
 

“I don’t know but I’m damn sure going to track him. If Will dies because I didn’t find a footprint or a broken branch showing me a trail, I’ll ain’t never gonna forgive myself.” Tobias couldn’t fail his brothers again.
 

“Then let’s get moving. They have a head start but we can catch up.” James picked up the rifle. “I’ll saddle your horse. You start tracking.”
 

Tobias wanted to tell his brother to shut the hell up, but he knew James’s orders were meant to get started finding Will. Every moment they waited was a moment their younger brother could be scared, hurt or worse. No, Tobias would not take James to task for giving orders. Time was too precious to have a big head.
 

As James went to saddle the horse, Tobias walked outside and studied the ground around the livery, noting the scuff marks and the blood in the sandy ground. That had to be where Waldeck landed.
 

Tobias spread out and looked at the hoof marks, noting a distinctive change in one horse’s markings. They were deeper, meaning the animal was carrying more weight. He followed the trail as it traveled down the main street in Briar Creek. The riders had kept a slow pace, probably so as not to call attention to themselves.
 

He saw Feeney sweeping the front porch of the store. “Hello, Tobias.”
 

“Daniel.” Tobias stopped. “Did you see three riders come by here a little bit ago? One of ’em might have had a passenger.”
 

“No, but I just came out. Is anything wrong?” The shopkeeper looked concerned, verifying Tobias’s choice of a new home was the right one.
 

“Three men took my brother Will. He’s bound to be scared and he’s in danger.” Tobias expected Feeney to wish him luck and walk on.
 

“What can I do?”
 

Tobias hid his surprise and swallowed his pride. “Can you help me ask around to see if anyone saw them?”
 

“Of course.” He set the broom down. “Let me check with the folks inside first.” Daniel disappeared into the store.
 

Tobias continued on, tracking the same hoofprints as they moved north, toward the open prairie and beyond that, woods. Sons of bitches had wasted no time taking Will where no one would find him.
 

“Tobias!” Daniel called as he ran toward him.
 

“Did someone see them?” Tobias’s heart thumped.
 

“Yes, Mrs. Donaldson said three men rode past her as she was walking to the store. One of them had a rolled-up rug thrown over the back of his horse.”
 

“A rug?” Tobias frowned. That didn’t sound promising.
 

“Here’s the thing. She said the rug had shoes in it. Thought it was odd and even stranger, she said ‘good day’ to them and they cursed at her.” The shopkeeper shook his head. “That had to be them. Will must’ve been in the rug.”
 

Tobias knew how scared Will must be and that only fueled his fury. “Dammit! How could they do that to a man as harmless as a newborn?”
 

“Makes me wish we had a lawman in Briar Creek. There’s a Texas Ranger who stops by every couple months but we haven’t had a regular lawman in a few years.” Feeney looked as serious as Tobias felt. “I can get my rifle and join you.”
 

“Thanks, Daniel. That’s right kind of you.” Tobias gestured to James, who rode toward them with Tobias’s gelding in tow. “My other brother James is here. We’ll find Will.”
 

“I can spread the word he’s been kidnapped. Folks around here are willing to help.” Daniel held out his hand and Tobias shook it with gratitude. He’d never had neighbors or friends. He had learned a lesson right along with how important family was. He also had been stupid as a burned stump most of his life.
 

He couldn’t spend time thinking about the mistakes he made. The men were getting away with Will and there wasn’t a moment to lose. He threw himself up on the horse and pointed in the direction of the hoofprints.
 

“They took him rolled up in a rug. He’s probably scared to death.” Tobias growled low in his throat.
 

“If they hurt him…” James trailed off and swallowed audibly. “I know we ain’t always seen eye-to-eye, and that’s likely to change. But Will, he’s ours to protect.”
 

“Truth.” Tobias kept his gaze to the ground. They couldn’t pick up speed yet for two reasons. First, they were still in town and might hurt someone. Second, Tobias’s tracking skills were rusty. He didn’t want to lose sight of the hoofprints.
 

“Maybe I should live in town so one of us can always keep watch over him.” James’s suggestion shocked Tobias.
 

“I, uh, yeah. We should do that. After we find him, safe and sound, we’ll do that.” Tobias hadn’t lived with his brothers all together for more than two years. They hadn’t been a family since Pops died. The little ones would have a more stable life and family with the folks who adopted them than they would have with Tobias. He hadn’t failed them as much as saved them from the misery of being a Gibson. When he returned to Briar Creek with Will he would write letters to the little ones and make sure they were all right.
 

Tobias had some apologies to make and some mistakes to make up for. Today he would focus on finding Will and then he would plan for the future.
 

It was the first time in his life he felt he had one.
 

Rebecca left Mr. Waldeck napping, bandaged and happy with a bit of laudanum. She raced into Ocho’s stall and he shook his mane, unhappy to have his afternoon snooze interrupted.
 

“I need you, boy. Tobias is in trouble and I plan on helping him whether or not he wants it.” She was still reeling from their interrupted conversation in the clinic.
 

He loved her. He apologized to her. He cried. She’d never seen a grown man cry but Tobias had cried for Abigail. The little girl who never had a chance to live, but was loved by both her parents.
 

Rebecca swiped at her watery eyes. She had never felt so conflicted. Tobias asked for a chance. She’d been hurt by him twice, almost destroyed
the first time. Now he came to her contrite and sincere, asking for a third chance.
 

She had to talk to her family. They would help her think through what he asked. Of course, she would have to confess to them what had happened five years earlier and then they might not want her to give Tobias that chance. Her brothers might want to shoot him.
 

Rebecca could protect him but one thing she needed was advice. However, right now, she needed to help him find Will. She saddled the horse and set off for the Circle Eight, praying she wouldn’t be too late.
 

Chapter Eleven