Beyond the Broken Road by Rain Trueax

Author:Rain Trueax
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781943537716
Publisher: Seven Oaks

The day Rock returned with his report on the lay of the land, Sam knew he could delay telling Abby no longer. He and she had skirted around a lot of issues. He wanted to make love to her, had seen her hurt that he hadn’t already done it. He knew from her soft yielding in his arms that she wanted him. He couldn’t take her. Not as it was. He forced himself not to touch her and struggled with the temptation to take the release he was sure awaited within her lovely body.

Walking into the house, he could hear Abby in the parlor humming, the sound of her soft, earthy voice cutting into his heart.

"Good afternoon," she said when he walked into the room. She put down the feather duster and walked to him. "You're in early. Is something wrong?"

Her intuitive ability to read his thoughts never ceased to amaze him. Sometimes it scared him, sometimes he cherished it, but today he dreaded it. "The boys and I are heading south tomorrow. I'm leaving Joe here to look after you and the place."

"South? You don't mean to get cattle, do you?" She dropped into a chair and looked up at him, disappointment in her big eyes.

He nodded. "We made an agreement for one more herd before I ever met you. The boys lost out on the payment for the last herd. They need this stake."

"You can't continue rustling. It's wrong."

"I can't not go." He wouldn't burden her with the knowledge that Sandy would go no matter what he did. He had tried several times to change the boy’s mind and been unsuccessful. It didn’t matter. The truth was simple. He was going, and he knew what that would say to her.

He could try to justify his actions as he had done for himself before. Tell her how the longhorns in the area from which they'd be rounding up were unbranded, that they belonged to dons who lived hundreds of miles to the south, who didn't even know their cattle were there, but none of that mattered because the cattle still didn't belong to him.

"You can't do this."

"I don't have a choice."

"There is always a choice."

"Sometimes it's already been made."

"It's not only wrong, it's dangerous. How can you take such risks?" Her dark eyes grew even darker. “If you’re leaving Joe, what does that mean about Sandy?”

"He’s going."

"I can’t believe you would take that boy on such a dangerous venture.”

“He’s a man now. He makes his own choices.”

“He could be killed.”

He nodded. "Rock saw a large herd only sixty miles or so south of the border. Nobody was around. I don't think we'll have any trouble." He knew that wasn't the truth. No one could ever know if there would be trouble. Sometimes it was simple. Round up the cattle, drive them north and collect the money. Other times they had to fight their way north, every mile marked with blood.

"Don't go.” She reached up, putting her arms around his neck.

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